Farewell and thank you to Tony Bacon

Tony has been a long time resident of Waiatarua, moving from Mt Eden to Cascade Ave in February 1984 with his late wife, Jean.
The Cascade Ave property contained a purpose-built pottery, having once been the home of the NZ potter, Renton Murray. This suited Tony very well, being a highly accomplished potter himself. Tony has sold his works over many years and is a member of the Pots of Ponsonby Co-operative.  Tony and Jean later moved to Forest Hill Rd where Tony still resides.
Tony became involved with the WRRA driven by a desire to help in the community. He has served on the Executive Committee, on and off since the late 1980s. He took over editing our monthly newsletter from 1988 to 1992 and held the position of WRRA President in 2003 for one year. Many of you will know Tony as our newsletter distributor, making sure the correct batches are handed out to the deliverers once a month. He’s done this tirelessly since about 2003. He has now handed this task on to Carol Hinton since he will leaving Waiatarua in the near future to move into his new home. Tony also runs the weekly table tennis evenings held in the Waiatarua Hall every Wednesday evening.
When I took over as newsletter editor in 2017 I knew nothing about desktop publishing at all. Tony came to the rescue and was very patient and kind, helping me once a month for quite some time to get everything set up on my computer and showing me how to put the newsletter together, until I was confident enough to do it on my own. For that I am grateful and very thankful.
Tony is also a very accomplished baker. Many Waiatarua residents will have enjoyed his delicious biscuits and slices, including myself. He has provided sweet treats for many of our events such as the Volunteers Lunch and I think the general consensus is that they are very good indeed.
He’s had a career in IT for over 50 years including roles such as computer programmer, project manager and a technical writer of computer manuals.
For the past 18 or so years Tony has been (and still is) a volunteer driver for the Cancer Society, taking people undergoing treatment to their appointments, providing transport and companionship. The staff at the Oncology Unit at Auckland Hospital are very lucky to be some of the recipients of Tony’s excellent baking. For many years Tony’s wife Jean also took part in the driving before she became too unwell to continue.
Now the time has come for Tony to downsize and move on and it is sad to see him go. He has been a valued and respected member of our community and of the WRRA for many years and has given so much of his time selflessly and willingly. We will certainly miss having him around, and the questions and comments he’s raised at the AGMs over the years.
In recognition of his dedicated service to the community, Tony was presented with this stunning print, sunrise over Waiatarua (photographed and printed by Waiatarua locals Greg Lokes and Peter Casey respectively), from the WRRA Committee at the AGM on Tuesday 20 February. Hopefully it’s something he will love and will help him to remember his years living in beautiful Waiatarua.

Erin Kingsleigh-Smith
Editor