PIRIE’S BRIGHT LIGHT WILL SHINE ON

DAPHNE Pirie and the Sporting Hall of Fame at Southport stood side by side. It is almost impossible to think of one without the other.

Her death yesterday, after a short illness, at 90, puts a real spotlight on how Gold Coasters can contribute to their community.

When she and her late husband Mick first played hockey here it was on a bumpy grass field marked in greasy black by reclaimed sump oil. Fifty years later, the city at the Commonwealth Games hosted the sport at a world-class ground.

The council is to write to the state government seeking support for a statue to be erected in her honour. Statue or not, Daphne Pirie will never be forgotten.

At her 90th birthday last year she spoke of her deep love of family and friends and how sport shapes lives and lives shape sport, and how she wouldn’t change a single thing in her life’s magnificent journey.

Acting Mayor Donna Gates described Ms Pirie as a “true icon of Gold Coast sport”. Mayor Tom Tate called her “one of our bright stars”. Her light, in her volunteer work, shines on.