What I See With Peter Fiorenza: Community support lifts spirits after passing of my uncle Barry Dalton

In 1971, Brigades Football Club came from behind to steal the game from Railways and secure the Great Northern National Football League premiership. The team was led by player/coach Barry Dalton, a talented footballer who booted three telling goals in the second half that set the Hawks up to eclipse their rivals and win a memorable grand final. But Barry Dalton was not just a talented sportsman. He had a unique personality that endeared him to everyone he met. I know this quite well because Barry Charles Dalton was my uncle. His recent passing was indeed felt by family, but the outpouring of public sentiment has been incredible. I know my Aunty Annette and cousins Lara and Jane have been deeply touched. And this is tremendous comfort, knowing that Barry, who suffered a severe stroke several years ago, had not been in the public arena for some time. Many have spoken of the genuine love they had for a man who coined the phrase “Here’s my hand and there’s my heart”. Growing up, Barry was simply Uncle Baz, the man who would sit at the kitchen table listening to the races on his transistor radio while eating his favourite tomato, onion and garlic combination. My brother and I spent many weekends and holidays with our cousins Lara and Jane on Scott Road in Rangeway. It wasn’t until we got older that we became aware that Barry was more than just our uncle. He was one of the Dalton brothers, a family name synonymous with Sawyers Valley and the Perth Demons Football Club. All the brothers — Paddy, Barry and Don — played football at WAFL level, with Paddy Dalton winning the coveted Sandover Medal in 1970. But well before that, Barry had made his mark here in Geraldton at Brigades, first coaching the club at the tender age of 21 in the early 1960s before moving back to the WAFL and lining up for Subiaco. But the lure of the Mid West and my Aunty Annette saw him come back in the early 1970s, when he married Annette and secured a cup for Brigades. Well-known sporting identity Gary Clark was still wet behind the ears when he lined up on a wing in ‘62. On social media, Clark said Barry was a great player and coach because he exuded charisma. “My greatest ever coach … I learned so much from an amazing footballer. He always had a trick up his sleeve (but more importantly) a great communicator, “ he wrote. “He has left us with some wonderful memories.” And for many of us, those memories are not restricted to the football arena. Barry was also a great lover of poetry and song, always accompanied with a laugh and a grin. For me, his stage was the back shed, but for many it was the former Victoria Hotel in Marine Terrace. I believe this was where Barry was in his element. “Wish me luck as you way me goodbye, cheerio, here I go, on my way,” would have been sung at the end of many a Friday session. And who can ever forget The Flight of the Bumblebee. Despite numerous false starts, I don’t think anyone has actually heard it. This and more were acted out in his light green suit, waistcoat, flared pants and all, which I believe made several nightclub appearances in the 1980s and 90s. There is no doubt, Uncle Barry had a huge impact on the local community. But it was the establishment of the Brigades Football Club clubrooms at Eadon Clarke Reserve that was perhaps one of his biggest achievements. It was a place where many were offered BCD’s hand and heart. Peter Fiorenza hosts Sports Shed Saturday (9am to noon) and Fiorenza on Sunday (10am to noon) on Radio MAMA and Radio Geraldton