By Derek Schlennstedt
It’s always difficult to convey the sadness when an enduring member of the hills community passes and within such a close and tightknit community each loss is deeply felt and noticed.
That loss has certainly been recognised and felt by the hills and wider community with the sad loss of beloved local, and founder of Gemco, David Greenaway, who passed away on 17 March.
David made quite an impact when he first arrived in the Dandenong Ranges from England in 1977, and it was an impact that would leave an enduring legacy.
A true character he was well known by people of all ages – a feat of his own making.
His celebrity status came from being kind to everyone he met, but he was also a guiding voice and teacher to many of the individuals who wandered through the doors at the Gem Community Arts Centre in Emerald – which he just so happened to be founder of.
David’s love for theatre was borne from his involvement in school plays in England where he was a mathematice teacher, and would often encourage children who were shy to follow their dreams.
His son Mathew Greenaway remembers his father’s enthusiasm and words of encouragement.
“When he came to Australia he was involved in teaching here, and managed the school performances and theatre … he was always inclusive and encouraged the people that might not have gotten up on stage, he always fostered those relationships,” said Mathew.
It was little wonder that when he moved to Menzies Creek in 1977 he would start a community theatre that would display the same values he encouraged.
The idea for the group started on one auspicious night in 1980 when David was alone and wanted to meet some people in his community. To do so he put up a sign in the local milk bar.
That notice enticed 20 people to turn up to the first meeting, interested in being part of a community theatre group, and each one walked away with a role in Gemco’s first production – a musical melodrama to be performed in only two months’ time.
According to Margie Gemmel whose milk bar displayed the sign, it was David’s enthusiasm that drew people in.
“Gemco Players was literally born that night, its name coming from the initial letters of Emerald and its surrounding towns – Gembrook, Emerald, Menzies Creek and Cockatoo,” said Ms Gemmel
“From the outset Gemco included all comers – their ideas, their varying abilities and their ages – and it was David’s enthusiasm and belief in all that drew them in.”
That small meeting of 20 people in 1980 was the birth of Gemco.
Offering locally written and produced shows many of the early productions were created from David’s enthusiasm for performance and were often rehearsed in people’s homes and small halls in Emerald and Clematis.
As time went on, so too did Gemco’s rise in popularity and it was with great excitement and after overcoming many obstacles that Gemco gained its first permanent home, where, through the voluntary work of many helpers, the small hall was erected.
This saw a huge expansion of the youth groups take place and it was a place in which Gemco was able to easily perform many different styles of theatre.
Though, David’s dream of a large, permanent theatre in the area was still well and truly alive and was pursued by him and the various groups of people working with him over many years and many setbacks.
His dogged determination was finally rewarded in 2009 with the amazing space on Kilvington Drive.
Ms Gemmel said that despite many of the difficulties the group faced in its early days, David’s dream never vanished or dissipated and he was always there to see it through.
“Many people instrumental in the various stages of Gemco’s growth over thirty-eight years have come and gone, but David has been the only constant and will be remembered and sadly missed by all.”
Towards the later years of his life Mathew said his father always retained that volunteer interest in the community and was heavily involved in various community groups, having never lost his love for the area he lived in.
“He was still very much involved in other community organisations; U3A, Emerald Community House, Pave festival, it wasn’t just Gemco, it was all throughout … he always gave his heart and soul to others without expecting anything in return.”
