Club Eulogy for Mr William ‘Bill’ Oatey OAM
Read by John Cox, Chairperson on behalf of The Payneham Table Tennis Academy Inc.
It is nice to see so many people from Payneham and the SA table tennis community here today to honour Bill.
In representing the Club today, I have received stories and input from several players who have had strong associations and friendship with Bill over the years.
I would like to acknowledge Payneham Life Members in attendance today – Herb Ellis, Ken Granfield, Kaye Merrett, Jeff & Marilyn Bull and Brian Howard.
Bill was awarded Life Membership of Payneham in 1959.
In particular I would like to thank Dawn Darwent for her detailed and informative insight of Bill’s involvement with Burnside, then South Adelaide, which evolved into Payneham Table Tennis Club as well as the South Australia table tennis community over the many years.
When Bill came to Adelaide to live in the early 1940’s from Maitland, he became involved with the Burnside Table Tennis Club which later took over the South Adelaide District Club which he represented for his entire playing career. The South Adelaide District Club ‘morphed’ into the Payneham District Table Tennis Club sometime in the late 1960s.
Bill was a top table tennis player, a highly skilled left-hander with a forceful attacking style. He represented South Australia in the 1955 Australian Men’s Championships.
Bill was appointed State Coach in about 1959 and had control of Junior and Senior squads which included many well-known SA players. In 1963 he coached the SA Men’s team which won the Australian National Championships – the team comprised Bill Oatey (coach), Phil Anderson (Captain), Syd Morgan, Murray Thompson, Graham Langley and Roley Owen – all top Australian players in their era.
He relinquished the State Coach position in 1963 because of family and business commitments but stayed involved with coaching as Assistant Coach to Phil Anderson.
In the late 1980s Bill became involved in coaching South Australian Veteran teams, conducting sessions for mainly players at the now defunct Torrens Table Tennis Club and later at the Payneham Table Tennis Club. Training consisted of physical fitness exercise as well as table tennis strokes and drills. Bill was a hard taskmaster but under his training regime, many players rapidly improved their skills and fitness.
One of his favourite sayings was “If you can’t push, you can’t play!
Who can forget the
- hit-push-chop routines,
- and forehand and backhand cross court and down the line strokes,
- chopping, looping and endless pushing routines.
Many players have been coached by Bill over the years, some are here today – Julie Coombes, Ann Middleton, May Cho, Jon Schubert, Frances Norton, Theresa Surman, Corrie Rawson, Jenny Burford, Cynthia Langley, Gail Adams, Chris Matthews, Lorraine Short, and Dawn Darwent – to name a few.
He was very strict with players during his coaching sessions, insisting that the player concentrate 100 per cent of the time whilst practising, with the focus on stroke development.
He always maintained that players should regard themselves as athletes and behave and train as such.
SA Women’s Veterans Team (early 2000’s)
Back Row – Kay Crowell, Cynthia Langley, Julie Coombes, Lorraine Short, Christine Matthews
Front – Lorraine Baker, Alice Abbas, Bill Oatey, Jenny Burford, Corrie Rawson Dawn Darwent
Personally, I knew Bill for almost 9 years through my involvement as a social player then management committee member of The Payneham Table Tennis Academy.
If you called Payneham a Club you were quickly and abruptly corrected that it is an Academy. Many players fell into this trap!
He had a genuine passion and love for the game of table tennis and it was a significant part of his life.
A few words to describe Bill with would be – passionate, integrity, dedication, talented, committed, relentless etc.
But in saying the above, you must also include grumpy, feisty and argumentative!
Those who knew Bill through the table tennis community could probably attest to many of the above descriptors.
In the later years coming to Payneham, he struggled with his mobility, but that did not deter him. Up until a few years ago, Joyce would drop him off on the roadside, members would attend to getting the walker out of the car and he was set for another coaching session.
In saying that about his mobility his mind was as sharp as ever and his wit even drier.
About six weeks ago he was coaching Alexandra Cunningham on the table adjacent to where I was playing. After my game and went to see him and got the usual
“Hello Lad”
I said the Club would like to do something for your birthday in November, maybe involving a family day, everything covered by the Club in acknowledgement of your years of dedicated service.
He said that would be good and as I turned to leave the court I heard
“If I am still here”.
From my experience Bill always had the last word! I am certain many other here today also had similar result in any conversation with Bill.
Also, I note that Bill would regularly coach Alexandra, there would be plenty of chat, both being passionate and with strong personalities. I am sure they both enjoyed the training session and banter!
In my early years, I would come for the Saturday afternoon session, arriving a bit early as the morning session was finishing. I would see and hear Bill barking instructions to players as he watched everyone with a keen eye.
Bill would tell me to come earlier, and he would coach me, I said I only play social and am probably too old to learn new skills, invest your time in others.
Four years ago, I became involved in the Club’s management committee and would get regular phone calls from Bill, two or three times a week, mostly to complain.
Most of our, calls started with me answering and then Bill saying:
“Listen Lad”
He would then proceed to view his concerns and lecture me about something that had bothered him at the club and, on many occasions, simply hang up when he had finished. It was hard to get a word in.
I would then see him at the Club and he would say “Hello Lad”, and we just moved on.
Other calls during the COVID era would be expressing his frustration as while the community could move around freely, he was often in lockdown at the Walkerville Home. He would also call the Club’s landline, often speaking to Brian Howard – I would ask Brian “what did Bill want” – he would reply “a chat”!
On one occasion he said, “can’t make Saturday we are being held prisoner today, what do they think I am going to bring COVID back here”.
Bill had a special relationship with some Payneham members over the years, many are here today.
He was passionate about his Saturday morning coaching session which he shared with Arun Aryan and Gail Adams. They had a special bond. Sadly, Gail, also a Life Member passed in 2022 but until recently Bill and Arun continued.
Bill would have one or two other sessions during the week, coaching anyone who wanted to improve their game.
Bill was passionate with the Club’s competition in TTSA Winter Pennant training the players, selecting the sides etc.
To the people that have provided me further insight to Bill’s involvement in Payneham I thank you for your input and know that you cherished that time and relationship.
Bill was involved with our Club for 70 years, spending countless hours volunteering his coaching skills and sharing his knowledge and experience.
Dawn provided a photo of Bill with his group of SA Veteran Women’s players back in the early 2000s (can’t show today).
They were sometimes affectionately referred to as ‘Bill’s Old Boilers’!
Awards and Recognitions:
- Patron of Table Tennis SA
- Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his services to table tennis as a player, coach and administrator in 2004
- Life Member of The Payneham Table Tennis Club – 1959
- Life Member of Table Tennis SA
- Senior Coach, The Payneham Table Tennis Academy
- Coach at many other table tennis Clubs
Bill thank you for your service to Payneham and the SA table tennis community. You will be missed by many
For and on behalf of
The Payneham Table Tennis Academy Inc.
Friday 13th September 2024