TRAGIC END FOR THE MAN WHO DELIVERED
A NEWSPAPER delivery man who died in a crash has been remembered as a larger than life character who would do anything to help someone in need.
Barry “Baz” Wasley, 77, died while completing the morning paper run for a Newcomb newsagency on Tuesday.
Police believe Mr Wasley was partially out of his stationary car, at the intersection of Westmoreland St and Wilsons Rd, when it appears to have accelerated and struck him before crashing into a fence about 4.20am.
The Whittington man sustained life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital, where he later died.
Mr Wasley was born in Sale before moving to Eltham as a child. He raised his three children — Michael, Catherine and Tony — in Greensborough before moving the family to Geelong in 1982.
Mr Wasley was a bank manager with ANZ when he was seconded to the region and worked across Geelong before being made redundant in the mid-1990s.
Tony, a former Geelong Advertiser graphic artist, said his father always became “a helpful member of the community” in which he lived.
An avid golfer, Mr Wasley was a “mover and shaker” at the Barwon Valley Golf Club until injuries prevented him from playing.
Tony said his father picked up the newspaper delivery round in recent years and was committed to every task he set his mind to.
“He said he would keep working until the day he died, and he did,” Tony said.
Mr Wasley would wake in the early hours of the morning to sort the papers prior to delivery around 1.30am.
Tony said his father was driven by a desire to be healthy and live independently despite his age.
“He was definitely strongwilled and was quite a prolific sportsman in his day, he didn’t like to slow down,” he said.
Tony said his father would be remembered as a cheeky personality who was a mixture of Paul Hogan and Alf Stewart, with a touch of Sam Newman.
“He was generous to a fault,” Tony said.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.