Former Williamstown mayor and Rotarian Douglas Lindsay has been remembered as a gregarious community-minded man who drew people to him.
A service for Mr Lindsay, who died on March 18 aged 83, was held in Altona on Friday.
Mr Lindsay served as mayor from 1984-85 and was president of the Rotary Club of West Footscray from 1988-89. He was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow in 1996.
A qualified civil engineer, Mr Lindsay found his calling in school teaching and became principal of several western suburbs’ schools, including the former Williamstown Technical School.
Fellow Rotarian and close friend Peter Hollings said Mr Lindsay had a “very strong attitude to community service and international works”.
“[He was] a man’s man who was quite gregarious, but once he made a friend, it’s amazing how close people felt to him,” he said.
Newspaper archives from the time show that when sworn in as mayor, Mr Lindsay said he felt like he was on stage in his Williamstown theatre group.
“I feel like I’m back in the Little Theatre again, like I’m back in costume, but I guess I’ll have to get used to it,” he was quoted by the
Williamstown Advertiser.
Mr Lindsay moved from Williamstown to Bacchus Marsh and became secretary of the nearby Coimadai fire brigade.
He is survived by his wife, Joan, children Catherine, Michelle, Mark and Andrew, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
