The irony was not lost on Labor veteran Michael Forshaw when Sutherland Shire Council paid tribute to former president Kevin Skinner.
Mr Skinner, who died on June 26 at 93, established more than 60 ovals and recreation areas, swimming pools and bike tracks during his 25 years on the council from 1962 to 1987, including six terms as president.
For many years, he was chairman of the parks and playground committee.
A plumber by trade, he played a hands-on role by laying pipes for one of the shire’s biggest sports centres, the Bellingarra netball courts at Miranda.
The council, at its meeting on Monday night, endorsed a mayoral minute “to acknowledge the contributions of the late Kevin Mackay Skinner OAM to the Sutherland Shire and officially record his passing”.
Cr Forshaw, a former senator who knew Mr Skinner over a long period though their joint ALP involvement, noted the meeting agenda item on the proposed seasonal closure of the Engadine pools and the recent debate on children’s bike tracks.
“I wonder what Kevin would have been saying tonight,” he said.
A murmur of agreement went through the public gallery, where residents were anxiously awaiting the pools decision.
Cr Forshaw described Mr Skinner as one of the “titans of the shire council”.
“As was the case with other former presidents Arthur Gietzelt, Michael Tynan and Ian Swords, service to the shire community through local government was in their DNA,” he said.
”They were all people who held fast to their political views, but they served the community and put it first,” he said.
“They built friendships on the other side of politics.
”Kevin Skinner and Michael Tynan, another great president, were the best of mates.
“They argued it our on the floor here but retired later and enjoyed an ale.
“Their families, I understand, were quite close.”
Cr Carol Provan said, when she was first elected in 1983, it had been “a privilege to work under Kevin Skinner”.
”He was a really lovely man, very easy to speak to and his door was always open,” she said.
“He loved bees, and anyone who could do that would have to have a delicate touch.”
Cr Provan recounted how Mr Skinner supported moving the Sutherland to Surf run from a Saturday to a Sunday event, helping make it the huge community event it was today.
Deputy mayor Peter Scaysbrook, who leads the ALP group of councillors, said when Mr Skinner joined the council in 1962, only 17 years had passed since the end of WW11.
It had been a period of uncertainty and restricted funding.
“Kevin took up the cudgels and progressed some of the facilities and made the blueprint, which made Sutherland Shire what it is today,” he said.
“While we wrestle with maintaining the infrastructure, he had the much greater task of inventing and building it in the first place.
“He needed to cajole all the agencies that were involved.”
Cr Scaysbrook said Mr Skinner not only served his country at war, he enlisted twice.
”Under age at the time, he used his brother’s name and, when he was found out, he enlisted again,” he said.
Cr Scaysbrook said he and Mr Skinner belonged to the same ALP branch and, “until his passing, he sent an apology to any meeting he could not attend.”
Cr Scaysbrook said Mr Skinner had “a passion for the environment and the land” and his expertise spread over a wide range of subjects.
”He was of an era that has probably gone forever, but he will remain an inspiration to us all.”
Cr Ray Plibersek said Mr Skinner was “a giant in the shire community and ALP”.
“One of the stories from the memorial service was he apparently got into into politics by meeting Gough Whitlam on a train at Cronulla,” he said
[Mr Whitlam lived at Cronulla when he first entered federal Parliament in the seat of Werriwa].
Mayor Carmelo Pesce said in his mayoral minute Mr Skinner and his wife Gwen “moved to Jannali as a young married couple in 1946, and already Kevin was exhibiting leadership qualities and an awareness of community needs”.
“He believed in working for the good of the people and achieving the best results possible,” Cr Pesce said.
”Much of the environmental beauty of the shire can be attributed to Kevin and his role in guiding and contributing to council policies.”
Cr Pesce detailed his contribution to the shire in establishing ovals and other sporting and community facilities.
”Kevin served for 12 years on the Sutherland section of the National Parks & Wildlife Service and was a life member of the Menai Bushfire Brigade,” he said.
“Kevin was awarded the OAM in 1987 for his service to local government.
“In celebrating our centenary in 2006, Kevin was chosen as one of the 100 Faces of the Shire.
“Sutherland Shire owes a lot to the work done by Kevin.”
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