Written by Sam Halliday (Grandson)

Many members will be familiar with my grandfather Bill Halliday. A man who was universally
respected for his modest, friendly and gentlemanly manner. It is with sadness I write to
inform you that Bill passed away peacefully on Sunday 12 May 2024 at the age of 93. The
below account is provided as a tribute to one of life’s finest gentlemen.

Brief account of early life and how he got into golf

Many will know Bill was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1930 and this is why he, and the
rest of the Halliday boys, support the West Coast Eagles. He attended Hale School and was
awarded a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Western Australia. As a
young man he was a stand-out Olympic standard swimmer, and rode an ex-WW11 Harley
Davidson when he was courting my grandmother in the early fifties. They married and
together they raised three boys – Steve, Jeff and Greg (deceased). The family moved to
Hobart in the early seventies for Bill’s work in the finance industry and this was where he
was introduced as a member at KBGC.

Golfing highlights, reflections and legacy

Bill had been a member of KBGC for nearly 50 years. During this period, he had served as a
general committee member and President for many years across the late sixties, seventies
and eighties. He occasionally reflected that this contribution was simply part of being a
committed club member.

Bill identified representing KBGC playing and winning pennant as a significant highlight of
his time in the game. He held fond memories of the battles against traditional rivals Royal
Hobart, Tasmania and Claremont. His lowest handicap was high single-figures and he often
lamented on picking up the game in middle-age, attributing this factor to the golfer’s difficult
and eternal quest for consistently lower scores. Another important highlight was his long-
lasting friendship with Nobby Clarke and Ray Westwood. They had been playing together on
Wednesdays for approximately 25 years.

As young boys interested in any ball sport, my younger brother Lewis and I were drawn to
Bill’s Saturday excursions to the sacred turf of KBGC where war was seemingly waged
between man, club and dimpled-ball. Eventually he relented to our badgering and allowed
me to caddy for him in a Holden Scramble in the early nineties. I was around 9 years old and
hooked. Soon my brother and I would become permanent junior fixtures, following the
competition field with Bill on Saturday afternoons after our football games. Bill would spend
hours on the course and range teaching us the fundamentals of both the golf swing, course
etiquette, and, when necessary, life. Unsurprisingly, spending this time with us has been his
greatest golfing highlight. My two children, Daisy (10) and George (8), have now started to
pick up clubs and this had been a further source of satisfaction for Bill.

Whilst we were unaware at the time, the fundamental lessons of the game and life he
passed on such as: learning new skills; facing adversity; persevering; treating others
respectfully; playing it (golf and life) as it lies; and to always maintain a sense of humour and
perspective have been altogether applicable to living a meaningful life and this has been his
greatest golfing legacy.

Bill is survived by his wife, Val, sons Jeff and Steve, 8 grandchildren and 8 great-
grandchildren. We are sure he is now wandering the fairways above, making birdies and
sharing many laughs with friends. A life well lived for a man well-loved. 

Sam Halliday