General News
9 October, 2023
Adventurer farewelled
Geoff John Crisp LOVABLE larrakin, Roy Orbison fan and lifetime adventurer Geoff Crisp was farewelled by family and friends at Brim Sports Centre on August 25. The son of Ralph and Jean Crisp, Geoff was raised on the family farm at Brim where...
Geoff John Crisp
LOVABLE larrakin, Roy Orbison fan and lifetime adventurer Geoff Crisp was farewelled by family and friends at Brim Sports Centre on August 25.
The son of Ralph and Jean Crisp, Geoff was raised on the family farm at Brim where, together with brother Ken, he grew up working beside his parents, hunting rabbits, snakes and anything else he could find, playing any sport he could find and tinkering in the shed with all kinds of motors.
Sons Nigel and Shannon remember Geoff having to park up the top end of the main street due to hotting up a car so much that it couldn't idle under 3000rpm and his "tests" of the speed limit which ensured he never had any issues being on time.
And it was this love for motors which led him to commence a mechanical apprenticeship with Amor Motors, something which would become a lifelong passion and lead into careers as an engine technician, international harvester mechanic and Irwin Motors mechanic.
In fact, his interest in modifying New Holland harvesters caught the eye of the company's head office and Geoff was approached to move over to the brand as a technical support manager and troubleshooter.
Unfortunately for them, Geoff had no interest in leaving the Wimmera for Sydney and stayed with Irwin.
He always has his tool boxes in his work ute, though, and later went on to sell machinery - something which led to his friendship with Allan Bell who was one of, if not the, first Warracknabeal farmers to start a direct-drilled sowing program.
A natural sportsman, Geoff once won every event at the school swimming carnival, leading the teachers to hold him back in the final race to make it fair.
Of course, once the other competitors were halfway down the pool, Geoff jumped in and still managed to win the race by an arm.
Unfortunately, while determined he was not so gifted on the footy field, where he quickly became renowned for being the one to black out mid-game due to a heart condition, needing to be picked up in the back of the ute in seven out of eight matches.
In fact, it was following one of these blackouts that Geoff met his future wife Gale, who nursed him in Horsham Hospital intensive care for a week before he was transferred to Melbourne.
The pair lost touch but reunited following a chance meeting in Kmart and were married on November 12 1996 under the pergola of the Minyip farm they had bought.
An avid water lover, Geoff became the first person to ski barefoot on Brim Creek, only after convincing his mates Kanga and Ken McKenzie to launch their boat and let him "have a crack", having told them that he "knew roughly where the trees and stumps were".
After teaching his family the sport and skiing the length of Lake Hindmarsh, which he claimed was "a six-can trip", Geoff decided skiing was too easy and too noisy and turned his hand to sailing instead, becoming a champion after just three years in a $500 catamaran which had received a few “minor” modifications.
Out sailing with his son one day, Geoff quickly jumped in to help a fellow sailor whose boat had broken down.
No sooner had he jumped in than he had the motor hanging from a tree, accepting a go behind their boat to "show them how it was done" as the only payment for getting the boat going again.
Loving a yarn in the pub with his mates, Geoff also had a passion for exploring Australia with daughter Rhiannon, who recalled that she learned a lot from Geoff and Gale's adventures when they would share the names of places she'd never heard of.
Rhiannon also fondly recalls an orange hat he would wear - something he had picked up on the side of the road in New South Wales, declaring "that will be good for one of the grandkids" but which he quickly claimed after deciding it looked good on him.
So passionate he was about exploring his own country that any time someone mentioned going overseas he would ask "Why would you want to do that when you haven’t even explored your own backyard?".
Enjoying a fish, his annual trip with mates was a must-do, no matter what, but this didn't always go to plan, like the time Geoff was in a hurry and went to pull the boat out of the water, not discovering until a few kilometres later that he'd forgotten his boat trailer.
Unfortunately made redundant when the drought hit, Geoff commenced work with BBS Transport, driving trucks and working in logistics.
After he later suffered some major health issues, he never really returned to full-time driving, eventually falling back on his mechanical skills to work on Allan Bell's farm, where he remained until retirement.
As he claimed he didn't like pets it was ironic that Geoff was known to always have one sitting on his lap.
He spent many happy hours with his Kelpie, Bella.
Wherever he was, Bella wasn't too far behind.
One of the strongest people his family knew, he would talk to anyone seated beside him, hated tracksuit pants and would rarely wear closed-toe shoes.
Geoff is remembered as a legend who taught his children to stand up for what they believe in and to give anything a crack.
Geoff is survived by his wife Gale, children Nigel, Shannon, Trent and Rhiannon, stepdaughter Jo and grandchildren Jesse, Jaymon, Georgia, Millie, Charlie, Jasmine and Lukah.