Cyril White was born on October 11, 1942, one of three children born to Hirem and Frances White in East Coburg.

During the summer of 1943, the family moved to Cobram where they rented a house in High St which today houses the immensely popular Panny’s Thai Restaurant.

Young Cyril began his schooling at the original Cobram State School, a historical building which today is occupied by the Cobram Historical Society.

He remained there until 1952 when the school moved to where the Cobram Secondary College was later built.

It was renamed Cobram Consolidated School after the closure of several smaller country schools.

In 1955 Cyril transferred to Numurkah High to continue his education and attain his leaving certificate.

While at Numurkah Cyril played his first game of senior football with Cobram at 15, and played as a rover and in the back pocket under esteemed coach Les Mogg.

Football became his main sport, and he went on to play 239 games with the club. He played in the 1961 and 1969 premiership sides, being awarded ‘best on ground’ in the ‘61 final. He played in a further two grand finals, which unfortunately did not go his way.

Now aged 83, Cyril has seen an enormous amount of change in ‘his’ town and, like many others, has played a considerable role in improving the town and its facilities.

In 1964, the football club decided to move from the Cobram Agricultural Society showgrounds to Scott Reserve, named after members of the Scott family who were generous supporters of the club.

It was a huge task to transform a ‘paddock’ into a good playing surface and the site into an operational football club.

However, club members got to work, and Cyril became a regular at the working bees, as they fenced Scott Reserve’s proposed oval, planted trees, built toilet blocks and a clubhouse.

It was quite an experience for Cyril and the other volunteers, who took pride in each achievement.

The thriving club is testimony to the members of that time and while the clubhouse is in need of replacement, the heart of the club remains strong, particularly after the 2025 MFNL senior premiership cup, won against favourites Congupna.

In 1964 Cyril was inducted into the Apex Club of Cobram where he served as secretary and later president during 18 years as a member.

Projects he is proud of include the Punt Road Caravan Park, development of Thompsons Beach, assisting at the Peaches and Cream festival and putting on an acclaimed performance by club members of ‘East Lynne’ at the Melba Theatre

A proposed three-way Link which Cyril was keen to see formed between Apex Clubs in Pretoria, South Africa, Neath in Wales and Cobram, Australia was ultimately formed and continues today with unique friendships and a strong understanding of cultures proving invaluable to all members. Next year, the three clubs will celebrate 50 years of the Apex 3-Way Link.

In 1976, Cyril was appointed treasurer of Cobram Barooga Golf Club, a position he held until 1990. The club expanded considerably over the ensuing years, with cash flow enabling many improvements and developments, including the purchase of Barooga Station land to increase the course to 56 holes.

It was an amazing time for the club which was flourishing with a good increase in membership.

Cyril was ultimately honoured with life membership of the club when he retired in 1990.

At this stage Cyril and his former wife Vicky were parents to Nicholas, who grew up in Cobram, and after completing school attended university in Wagga where he studied pharmacy.

Today, at the age of 39 years, he is a senior pharmacist at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Let’s take a step back to when Cyril completed his schooling and obtained a Certificate in Business Studies in Real Estate from Shepparton TAFE.

The young man initially went to work for Elders before opening his own office, which he ran for six years before making a move to Queensland.

However, the pull of Cobram remained strong and Cyril returned home a year later to begin work at Denbro. Later he was offered a position in rentals with Peter Wilson.

Cyril completed his working life at the age of 73 with Hoban Real Estate, where he continued to offer his expertise.

Reflecting on the past, Cyril is happy to say it has been an interesting life.

He's pursued a number of interests, most particularly creating beautiful furniture from native timbers he has been able to source.

His father Hirem was a carpenter and had all the tools, so Cyril would just pick up a piece of wood and create something.

The result is that, more than 60 years later, Cyril has become a craftsman with a magnificent bedroom suite, glass doored cabinets, television cabinet, variety of large and small coffee tables plus a lamp stand furnishing his entire home.

“This is my greatest achievement,” Cyril said.

Among other interests, when he wasn’t generously helping organisations in the town, Cyril has been a beekeeper who had 20 beehives at one time and used a large honey box he made himself.

He also fishes on the Murray River in his small tinny, catching yellowbelly and Murray cod. He runs a citrus nursery and loves to barrack for his beloved Cobram and Richmond Tigers.

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Sunday, 4th January 2026

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