0400 774 102 paul @ landscapelogicnsw. com. au www. landscapelogicnsw. com. au
LOCAL LIFE
Neal Hall
“ I’ ll always be grateful to my darling Vicki,” Neal said.“ She kept the home fires burning-raising our two girls, running the household, and managing our property with horses and cattle.”
first time— and over the years he travelled extensively: the US, Canada, Europe, China, the Middle East, Asia, the UK, Ireland, Japan, and India.
In 1983, he shifted gears and teamed up with local builder Gordon Lawson to build six indoor sports centres across NSW. Neal handled planning and council negotiations, while Gordon built the centres. They’ d get each one up and running, then sell and move on to the next.
The pair didn’ t stop there. They also ran a 37-room ski chalet in Jindabyne( 1986 – 97), a bottle shop in Glossodia( 1988 – 2002), and developed around 90 homes, units, and factories.
After their partnership ended, Neal teamed up with his father-in-law, Col Nagle, a real estate agent. Together they built and sold 20 more homes over two decades. He and Vicki also ran the Wright Chicken delicatessen in Richmond( 1994 – 98).
Between 2000 and 2007, Neal became a meat and deli specialist, training managers for Franklins and Woolworths. He later managed RAAF base facilities at Richmond and Tindal( NT).
In 2008, he found his final gig— spending 14 years as Harris Farm Markets’ specialist meat training manager before retiring.
“ I’ ll always be grateful to my darling Vicki,” Neal said.“ She kept the home fires burning— raising our two girls, running the household, and managing our property with horses and cattle.”
Neal and Vicki Hall have long had the wanderlust- their hard work at the coalface has enabled them to travel extensively. Here they are posing for the birdie in front of the Taj Mahal.
And if that wasn’ t enough, Neal somehow found time to organise 76 sporting trips across Australia and overseas for his golf and cricket mates. He met Vicki at a tennis night in Wilberforce in 1984 and tied the knot in’ 87. They’ ve raised daughters Lisa and Cailla and are proud grandparents to five.
Neal loved tennis, but cricket was his true passion. He started as a pace bowler, later switching to leg spin, and had a glittering local career. He was instrumental in Hawkesbury Hawks’ 1985 entry into Sydney Grade Cricket and, with mate Paul Wayling, helped organise a worldrecord three-day charity match in 1976 at
McQuade Park. He played in eight top-grade premierships, represented the district in Martin Shield and Gibson Cup sides, and joined the Hawks at 37— playing one season in firsts, five in seconds, and one in thirds. In 1972, he even played for Keighley in a Yorkshire league during a business stint in the UK.
On his way to the Munich Olympics later that year, he narrowly avoided tragedy when his bus was diverted to Austria following news of the terrorist attack. Oh, lucky man!
Then again, as they say— luck often follows the brave and the busy.
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THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 181 // JUNE 2025 7