LOCAL LIFE
BLACKTOWN ’ S FINEST ...
Despite not being in the best of health , Derek Whorlow can still produce a winning smile , and so he should , because this man has lived a truly inspirational life . Photo : Kathryn Johnston . by John Macdonald
Amidst the controversy over immigration numbers , it ’ s not mentioned we ’ re still letting the English arrive in big numbers . However , there have always been good Poms amongst them , and Derek Whorlow would qualify by any measure , imperial or metric .
Whorlow came to Sydney in 1978 sponsored by NSW because he had something to sell , literally and metaphorically , knowledge .
Originally from Reading , he ’ d been a computer company manager in England at a time when computer use was in its infancy , and before the technological revolution that would make the late 70s seem like the dark ages now . He ’ d got his grounding , working on statistics in a research laboratory .
On arrival 40 years ago , the Whorlows soon settled in Kings Langley , one of the early settlers as it were , in the new suburb .
“ We can remember hearing the cows mooing and seeing the snakes ,” he recalled , of a Kings Langley that not long before had still been bush and the occasional homestead and farm .
Whorlow ’ s knowledge of computers saw him work out of the old AWA building in North Ryde and across the fledging and expanding computer universe , and varied contact with the likes of Ansett , and abattoirs !
He designed and built the display system in Ansett Airport terminals , showing arrivals and departures of aircraft in colour . But valuable as those contributions were , his real and future contribution was , and remains , priceless .
It was acknowledged when Whorlow received recognition when he was named as the Greater Western Sydney Senior Volunteer of the Year as part of the NSW Volunteer of the Year awards from the Centre for Volunteering . What had this marvellous man done to merit such recognition ? The citation read : “ Over decades of dedicated volunteering , Derek has made substantial contributions to the safety and wellbeing of the outer Western Sydney community .
“ His skilled support and leadership across various organisations , including Marine Rescue NSW Hawkesbury unit , NSW Rural Fire Service Kenthurst Brigade , St John Ambulance NSW , Blacktown Scouts , and Probus , have left a lasting impact .”
The 79-year-old Whorlow couldn ’ t attend the ceremony because of illness and a fellow marine-rescue volunteer accepted the award on his behalf .
“ At the start of the year I saw my doctor . He gave me an ECG and said ‘ you ’ re going to hospital ’. I had two stents put in my heart ,” he said .
Whorlow isn ’ t going too well or too far these days , but that hasn ’ t stopped his contributions , but more of that anon . He started his volunteering with Blacktown scouts for which he was all prepared .
“ I ’ d been in the scouts and the sea scouts as a boy in England .”
“ Out here , it was the least a fair-dinkum Pom could do , since the scouts were established by another one of the good ones , Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1907 .”
At Blacktown , Whorlow progressed from the scouts to the O / 15 years Venturers , and a couple of its members took him on an older Boys ’ Own adventure .
“ The kids took me caving near Blayney .
6 ISSUE 44 // NOVEMBER 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT