Don Buntine is enjoying his new shelter after 18 years as the Pakenham Football Club’s gatekeeper. But the only shade Don, Teresa and Kate needed on Saturday was from the sun. Teresa (right), has been helping Don on the gate for 10 years, while 15-year-old Kate, Don’s granddaughter, is a regular on the scoreboard… despite the temptation of sleeping in. 66964 Pictures: Stewart Chambers
By Gavin Staindl
DON Buntine has seen a lot of changes in his time at the Pakenham Football Club, but none more significant than the tiny extension to his office at the entrance of Toomuc Reserve.
For 18 years, Buntine has been Pakenham’s number one gatekeeper, but when he began at Pakenham’s new oval, all he had for protection against the elements was a garden shed and his Driza-bone jacket.
“Back in those days, when it rained, I got wet,” Buntine said.
“Then they got this water tank and done it up for us and bit by bit, they’ve put this shelter up to help keep us out here and keep an eye on traffic.”
It has been a welcome change for Buntine, 72, and “tag-team” partner, daughter Teresa, who has been helping her dad on the gate for 10 years.
Teresa, who was named after Kerri Moore, the “sexy looking actress from the ’50s and ’60s that used to wear a little pink fluffy bikini”, has been a vital addition on the gate.
“The club told me I needed someone to help me out, so I asked them if they had any objection if I brought my daughter on and they said no,” Buntine said.
“So Teresa and I have been looking after the gate ever since… it is a tag-team for sure.
“I believe my daughter and I have a pretty good reputation.”
After a stint in the navy, Buntine moved from Frankston to Pakenham 48 years ago… and says he is only two years away from being able to call himself a local.
Buntine, who is a member of the RSL and a helper on the gate for the Pakenham Racing Club, says there is nowhere else he would rather be.
“I love nothing better than when someone turns up here with money in their hands, a big smile on their face and asks ‘what are you raffling today’,” Buntine said.
“We have babysat many a child for parents in our time, and we pat all the dogs that come in because we don’t like to be bitten.
“It never gets lonely either, because you’ve got the characters that come in like “Bomber” and the committee members.
“I have found the club fabulous to work with, they’re a great mob of blokes and ladies.”
