LIFELONG Yea resident Daryl Callander turned 90 on 26 October, with many people keen to congratulate him on this milestone. He even received a handwritten birthday card from Member for Indi Helen Haines about three days after she was attacked. Receiving the card was an emotional moment for Daryl. Daryl was born in Yea, attending Yea School at both primary and secondary level, before the Yea High School was created. He married Heather McDonald from Strath Creek in 1960 and together they had four children, Lisa, Rhys, Adele and Gina. Sadly, Heather died 12 years ago. “Then 11 years after that, I lost my daughter and then I lost my son 10 months after that, so they've thrown the bloody brick at me, I tell you,” Daryl said. “You shouldn't be burying your kids, should you?” He said of children Adele and Gina, “I don't know what I'd do without them.” Daryl bought an engineering company in 1972 and built the Yea Saleyards in 1993. He said, “That was the biggest achievement in my life.” He said that the business “Went through until I did the saleyards and then I had a stroke and had to get out of it. That was in 1993.” He spent the next 25 years doing maintenance work at the saleyards. “I couldn’t get away from them,” he joked. He was philosophical about life, saying, “I've had a lot of ups and a lot of downs. I think I go for the positive and go for the for the ups.” Daryl spent a lot of time as a member of both Yea Rotary and Yea Probus Clubs, as well as recently becoming a member of the Yea Men’s Shed for the fellowship. He added, “I'm enjoying my life here... We've got a lovely area.” Asked about the secret to his longevity, he said simply, “Hard work. “I've never backed away from a job or work. “I've done work in different places, done a bit of travel, but I've never backed away from the job.” His work has also included making fabulous metal sculptures, an activity he took up after having his stoke. He said that he’s recently “backed off a bit” from making them, explaining, “When I started it, your head's full of ideas and things to make and then it sort of eases off, but apart from that, I'm happy with them… When I started building these things, it kept me alive.” There is also a social aspect to the sculptures, with Daryl often seen at markets and other events, showing and selling his creations. He said, “I like talking to people and mixing with people.” A lovely birthday lunch was held on Saturday at the Yea Tennis Club to celebrate Daryl’s birthday.
