More than 100 family members and friends gathered at Forbes Sports and Recreation Club on new year’s day to celebrate Harry Coggan’s 90th birthday.
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Harry is a very well known former NSW Police Senior Sergeant who was attached to the Forbes command when he retired 30 years ago.
At his birthday celebrations, John Bentick made a complimentary speech and thanked Harry on behalf of the Forbes community for his help and dedication to the community over so many years.
Mr Coggan is still a very active 90 year old and a regular at the Sport and Rec Club.
He served as club president for a term whilst he was in his late 80s.
He was certainly not shy when he made his speech, thanking family and friends who had travelled considerable distances for his birthday and giving a brief autobiography.
Born at Avondale near Morriset, he grew up in this area attending primary school at Morriset and later at the Gosford High School.
After leaving school at 15 he started work as a carpenter. At 16 (during the war years) he joined the ‘Civil Construction Core’ taking him from Morriset to Brisbane, Townsville and Cairns.
At 18 Harry joined the Australian Air Force and was posted overseas from Townsville.
Whilst overseas in Borneo he was involved in the Morotal and landing of Taracan campaigns returning to Australia in 1946.
In 1947 Harry joined the NSW Police Force, following training in Sydney he was posted to Maitland then Hay where he met and married his life partner Noreen Croft.
In his speech, Harry spoke lovingly and at length of his wife, who sadly passed away a few years ago.
After their marriage in Hay, the police department transferred Harry and Noreen to Temora where their daughter Theresa was born, then on to Henty where Phillip was born and later to Corowa where Ann-Maree was born.
The police department continued with the transfers and the family managed to avoid Sydney and continue with country policing, working at Young, Nowra and finally at Forbes where Harry retired at the end of 1985.
It is especially pleasing to see Harry so happy during his lengthy retirement.
He remains very active, likes to follow the local football, especially the “pub draws”.
Harry still has his carpentry tools and he has been known to do the odd bit of wood work.
A big thank you has to go his daughter Ann-Maree who organised the celebration, a most enjoyable and pleasant evening held on the new rear deck at the club overlooking the beautiful Forbes Lake.
* Contributed by Linden Byrne
