Skatey...The life of Les Skate
Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer
Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019
Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer
Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019
Skatey The Life of Les Skate I was jumping out of my skin. We didn’t win. We had beaten them through the year but they put in a player that had played seconds for Richmond and he just killed us. It only takes one good footballer in a weak side … but that was my claim to fame. I was coached by a Brownlow Medalist. But it never rubbed off on me! But that was my claim to fame. I was coached by a Brownlow Medalist Those early years at Coldstream … because we were one of the lesser sides, we got terrible hidings. But still everyone turned up. By the time we got to move over to the new oval, we’d picked up a few new boys that had moved into the area. There was one family, the Wines family, who were very natural athletes and they stood out at our club. One descendant of them is Ollie Wines. He now plays for Port Adelaide. The Yarra Glen Football team in its earliest years, circa 1950-52. Les is in back row, third from right So, we kicked on a bit. Our first coach was just a local bloke who had played a bit of footy, so we didn’t learn much. The following year we got a paid coach who had played for Croydon. He’d gone to Richmond for a bit but he didn’t click, or he didn’t like it. After him we had a series of different coaches who were past their time. They were playing coaches and you hoped they’d give you a lift, but they were only there to get their money. Anyway, we did learn a bit. 50
Skatey The Life of Les Skate We had done a lot of work at the other ground getting it ready. We had basically just been left with a great big cut in the ground with yellow clay. We had to put topsoil on that and hope we’d get good grass. But when you put topsoil on top of clay, the top soil gets full of water and the clay just takes over. Our boots just sank in the clay. So, we started to drain it, we put all sorts of drains through, but it was very difficult to drain. We put up the posts. We did have some old lights that had been given to us. We’d put them up at the old ground, but unless you were right under the lights you couldn’t see what you were doing. But we put them up on higher poles over the new ground for a little while and it did help. In the long run though, in these later years, the Coldstream Football Club has one of the best grounds and facilities in the whole competition. I’m proud to know that. That our hard work paid off. A lot of things went into it, sowing the right grass, the drainage … it just all got better as we went on and it has turned out very well. As a cricket ground and as a football ground. It just all got better as we went on and it has turned out very well. At that stage I was still putting up steel buildings. So, I was able to get one through the firm I dealt with. It was like a big tin shed. We whacked that up, divided it up, and that was our change rooms for quite a while. Then we realised that we needed something better. So, on the north end of it we built the big clubroom. Pretty much all clubrooms were just a room at each end and a division in the middle. We wanted to upgrade ours. Put in showers, a proper runway where they ran out on to the ground, and stuff like that. So, then we went a bit further. The steel building was pulled down. (That went up to my brother Neil’s place. Neil at that stage was getting quite involved with the football team.) We built the next section. All this was done in brick. We did our foundations and bricked them up. All this was done to carry another storey on top which was done out of steel. This accommodated the rooms for the timekeepers, and a balcony for viewing. Then they needed facilities for making money, and for having meetings and parties and such. So, we built another big section. Each addition was done much in alignment, with a little curve, to match the fence. That was quite a big job. That was quite a big job. We needed a lot of concrete to pour the footings. We ran the brick work up a little bit. Then we had to do the concrete floors before the brickwork went up any higher. So, the concrete trucks could pour the concrete directly from the trucks. Otherwise we would have had the cost of the pumps and hoses that would have been needed. As well as the cost of the blokes dragging them in. 51
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<strong><strong>Skate</strong>y</strong><br />
<strong>The</strong> Life <strong>of</strong> <strong>Les</strong> <strong>Skate</strong><br />
We had done a lot <strong>of</strong> work at the other ground getting it ready. We had basically just been<br />
left with a great big cut in the ground with yellow clay. We had to put topsoil on that and<br />
hope we’d get good grass. But when you put topsoil on top <strong>of</strong> clay, the top soil gets full <strong>of</strong><br />
water and the clay just takes over. Our boots just sank in the clay. So, we started to drain<br />
it, we put all sorts <strong>of</strong> drains through, but it was very difficult to drain.<br />
We put up the posts. We did have some old lights that had been given to us. We’d put<br />
them up at the old ground, but unless you were right under the lights you couldn’t see<br />
what you were doing. But we put them up on higher poles over the new ground for a little<br />
while and it did help.<br />
In the long run though, in these later years, the Coldstream Football Club has one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
best grounds and facilities in the whole competition. I’m proud to know that. That our hard<br />
work paid <strong>of</strong>f. A lot <strong>of</strong> things went into it, sowing the right grass, the drainage … it just all<br />
got better as we went on and it has turned out very well. As a cricket ground and as a<br />
football ground.<br />
It just all got better as we<br />
went on and it has turned out<br />
very well.<br />
At that stage I was still putting up steel buildings. So, I<br />
was able to get one through the firm I dealt with. It<br />
was like a big tin shed. We whacked that up, divided it<br />
up, and that was our change rooms for quite a while.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n we realised that we needed something better. So, on the north end <strong>of</strong> it we built the<br />
big clubroom. Pretty much all clubrooms were just a room at each end and a division in the<br />
middle. We wanted to upgrade ours. Put in showers, a proper runway where they ran out<br />
on to the ground, and stuff like that. So, then we went a bit further.<br />
<strong>The</strong> steel building was pulled down. (That went up to my brother Neil’s place. Neil at that<br />
stage was getting quite involved with the football team.) We built the next section. All this<br />
was done in brick. We did our foundations and bricked them up. All this was done to carry<br />
another storey on top which was done out <strong>of</strong> steel. This accommodated the rooms for the<br />
timekeepers, and a balcony for viewing. <strong>The</strong>n they needed facilities for making money, and<br />
for having meetings and parties and such. So, we built another big section. Each addition<br />
was done much in alignment, with a little curve, to match the fence. That was quite a big<br />
job.<br />
That was quite a big job.<br />
We needed a lot <strong>of</strong> concrete to pour the footings.<br />
We ran the brick work up a little bit. <strong>The</strong>n we had to<br />
do the concrete floors before the brickwork went up any higher. So, the concrete trucks<br />
could pour the concrete directly from the trucks. Otherwise we would have had the cost <strong>of</strong><br />
the pumps and hoses that would have been needed. As well as the cost <strong>of</strong> the blokes<br />
dragging them in.<br />
51