Peter Woodgate Obituary, Death – The AWCC Committee would like to express our deepest condolences to Peter Woodgate’s family and friends on the passing of one of our most beloved club members just a few days before the holiday season. Despite the fact that Peter never actually participated in a game, over the course of many years he provided our club with an invaluable contribution. Pete, along with his wife Janet, daughter Bronwyn, and of course his son Will, quickly became pivotal members of the club after his son Will signed up for the club at the Ashburton Festival in 1998.
Pete never missed a match of Will’s as he progressed from a technically gifted young junior into a strong contributor and representative player, and of course his shining moment was sharing in a 130-run match-winning partnership with Peter Roach in the 2007/08 Dunstan Shield Premiership. Pete also had success in his first season as a coach, winning the flag for the U12 A’s while competing against fierce rivals Glen Iris. He did this by getting the best out of all of his players.
Will and his teammates were always a joy to watch play, and Pete and Janet took full advantage of this by pulling out the camp chairs and proudly setting up the camera every week to record the action. In 2005, Pete altruistically accepted the position of Junior Program Coordinator at Eastern Willows CC, where he assisted in guiding the club through a period of significant expansion. Pete was essential in helping to build the club into what it is today, playing a key role as the leader of a committee that was well organized, professionally minded, and strategically aligned.
He was an outstanding link between the Senior Programs and the Junior Programs, and he gave the club thousands of hours of his time while serving in these capacities. People with names like Salkowski, Yeo, and Fraser, as well as current club leaders like Barr and Ellis, all spent their formative years at our club, where Pete Woodgate served as a tremendously constructive force in each of their lives. Pete was a founding member of The 1876 Club and continued to provide the club’s committee with sound advice and counsel long after he joined the organization.
A few years ago, the committee took great pleasure in taking Pete completely by surprise by awarding him an AWCC Life Membership. The fact that Ferndale Park was completely full and that Pete’s loved ones were there to celebrate his life demonstrated how far-reaching Pete’s influence had been and how much his family and friends will be missed. In more recent times, Peter was in charge of leading the program of work that our club was doing to document the history of the AWCC and our part in the larger community.
He enlisted the assistance and expertise of local historian Sarah Craze, and over the course of the past couple of years, he has sat down and interviewed dozens of club legends in order to capture and create our story, which is the true narrative of a club he loved. All of this was done with the intention of preserving and creating our story as accurately as possible.
By carrying on with this program, we will honor the work that Pete did as well as his intentions. He is worthy of having an entire section devoted to him! We are looking forward to gathering at AWCC on Saturday, February 4th, which is when PAST PLAYERS DAY is being held, to celebrate Pete’s amazing life and all he has accomplished there. In a short while, we will provide further information.