Just a month on from his passing, the late Alf Scott has been given the recognition he deserves for his significant contribution to Moree with an Order of Australia Medal (OAM).
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The Moree legend, who sadly passed away on May 2, aged 94, was named in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours List for service to the Moree community.
Although he just missed out on being around to receive the honour himself, Mr Scott's daughter Sue Stafa said he did know he'd been nominated before he died.
"He was pretty chuffed about it," she said.
"He was speechless. To be nominated and then recognised by the government, I think he'd be pretty proud.
"I just wish it'd happened sooner. He would have been disappointed that he wasn't here for it. He was disappointed that he didn't reach 95. He would have been 95 on July 19."
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Born and bred in Moree, Mr Scott's passion for his hometown saw him dedicate much of his life to giving back to the community through various groups and organisations.
He became a member of Moree Amateur Swimming Club in 1932 and was involved in raising funds to build the clubhouse. Over his years of involvement with the swimming club he was a past president, senior vice president and publicity officer from 1965 to 1979, and became a life member in 1960.
Mr Scott was also a member of Neighbourhood Watch Group (1982 to 2000), Moree RSL sub-branch, Moree and District Services Club and a life member of Moree Greyhound Racing Club of which he was the stipendiary steward from 1948 to 1998. He was involved with Moree Diggers Swimming Club and dedicated more than 15 years to P&C associations across Moree.
When his beloved wife Beryl passed away from cancer 30 years ago, Mr Scott joined the Moree Cancer Support Group and was instrumental in establishing the palliative care rooms in Moree.
"When mum had cancer, there was nothing in Moree for her," Ms Stafa said.
"That's why they've got the palliative care rooms now. When he saw something that needed doing, he just did it.
"All of this was unpaid work. It was just the enjoyment, the satisfaction of seeing things done. It was not for recognition, just because it was there to be done. He loved his town, he loved his country.
"Mum was there too. She supported him in everything he did."
Mr Scott's greatest passion, however, was rugby league. It was this passion that saw him dedicate much of his life to rugby league in Moree, for which his legacy will last for countless years to come.
"He loved his football," Ms Stafa said.
"That was his love.
"With dad being involved, footballers were always coming in and out of the house. That was dad."
After trialling with St George football club in 1947, Mr Scott had to give up the chance to play in Sydney on the advice of doctors and instead turned to playing with East Moree Football Club in 1947. However, due to illness, he turned to administration.
He was a member of Moree East Football Club from 1947 to 1951 and then was a committee member with his beloved Moree Boars Rugby League Football Club from 1948 until 2018. During this time, he served as secretary/treasurer for 15 years, was timekeeper and publicity officer from 1955 to 2017, during which time he was a columnist for the Moree Champion for 40 years, and was a past regional delegate. From 1955 to 2018 he was game manager and club record keeper, and is known to have some of the best kept records in the country.
"The records he kept, they're some of the best in rugby league," Ms Stafa said.
"Anyone can go to those records and find out how many games they played, how many points they scored."
Mr Scott was a life member and patron of the Boars since 1973, and in 2016 the 'Alf Scott Medal' was named in his honour. He was also a life member of Group 4 Rugby League since circa 2000 and received the Country Rugby League of NSW Merit Award in 1998.
Along with Bob Picone and Tich Henderson, he was also involved in bringing the great Clive Churchill to Moree in 1961.
Among his other achievements, Mr Scott also received a Moree Plains Shire Council mayoral award for '50 years continuous support of business in Moree' in 2002, a Citizenship Award in 1998, a Mayoral Community Service Award in 1994 and was named on the Community Elders Honour Roll in 2017.
And, despite all of this, Mr Scott's family always came first.
"I'm so proud of dad," Ms Stafa said.
"Whatever he did, he did 110 per cent.
"Even though he was involved in all these things, he was the best dad in the world. My brother and I were always treated equally. We miss him."
