Les Darcy was a man ‘as Maitland as The Belmore Bridge’ and a gentleman who brought all walks of life together before and after his death.
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This week our city pays homage to this hometown hero through a raft of exhibitions and unveilings to commemorate the centenary of the boxing great’s untimely death on May 24, 1917.
The gestures are moving and heartfelt but in time, when all the pomp and ceremony is finished, will become little more than memories that slowly disappear into the ether.
Of course Darcy’s story has touched people from all walks of life.
Sporting folk to bikies, service clubs and community members who have all at some stage banded together to support and fund monuments as tributes.
Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore said Darcy was much more than a champion boxer.
He had character, charm, an incredible work ethic and the ability to inspire a nation.
While bricks and mortar tributes are fitting, it’s the indelible marks we must leave on the next generation that should really count.
For those of us lucky enough to be born and bred in Maitland we are proud.
Proud of our strong agricultural heritage and now proud of the standing our city has on the national stage as a regional economics driver.
Thousands of people have moved to Maitland from across the country because they see a future here for their families.
If that’s the case let’s tell them how their city was shaped and who set the foundations. Let’s not stop at Les Darcy.
What about biscuit manufacturer William Arnott, actors John Bell and Ruth Cracknell, philanthropist Caroline Chisholm, bushranger Ben Hall, playwright Nick Enright, racing car driver Allan Grice, president of the United Nations General Assembly and Justice of the High Court HV Evatt, painter Margaret Olley, state minister for transport Milton Morris?
These are all Maitland people who have made a mark on their hometown, their country and in some cases the world.
The list goes on.
While it is Les Darcy we commemorate and honour with much respect this week, let’s not forget the many others who donned the gloves and also put up a fight.
For them, it may have been a very different bout but in some cases, they may have been much tougher.
