Herb Prior in action on the bowling green.
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Kyabram lost one its greatest all-round sportsmen last week with the passing of Herb Prior.
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Herb, who had been battling ill health for some time, died on the morning of Tuesday, April 22.
A self-motivated native of Kyabram, Herb was 94 years of age.
Aside from his sporting feats, he was known as an astute Kyabram businessman who conducted a fruit shop in Kyabram for 40 years on the western side of today’s Kyabram Bakery.
That venture came after driving a taxi for many years.
But Herb’s sporting prowess was what he was best renowned for in the Kyabram community and beyond.
He was a fine footballer for Kyabram, a top golfer and lawn bowler and a crack claybird shooter.
His football career with Kyabram started in the 1940s and lasted for over 200 senior games with the Bombers.
He is a life member of both the Kyabram Football Netball Club and the Goulburn Valley Football League.
As a footballer he was an athletic utility who could hold down any position. But he was probably best known for his performances as a full back after starting his career as a full forward.
He played in Kyabram’s senior premiership sides in 1950 and 1958 and in runners-up senior sides to Tongala in 1949 and to Lemnos (Shepp Swans) in 1959.
Early in his footy career he was in Kyabram’s flag-winning reserves team in 1948.
Herb was a life member of both the Kyabram Football Netball Club and the Goulburn Valley Football League.
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In the 1958 senior premiership triumph over Nagambie under coach Tony Bull he was named in Kyabram’s best players along with Alan Vick, John Ryan, Bryan Dillon, Bob Vick and Ian Howard.
Herb was a star golfer and lawn bowler who had stints with both Valley View and Kyabram bowls clubs.
He is the only person to have won club championships at both golf and bowls at Valley View.
He won VV Golf Club championship in 1968, ’70, ’71 and ’72.
He was a member of some of the Kyabram Bowls Club teams that went through a golden period of winning pennant premierships in the 2000s.
He was a member of 12 Kyabram division one bowls premierships sides, including a purple patch of five in a row.
There were numerous other bowling triumphs, sharing pairs titles at club and association levels with James Lally, Alf Parkinson, John Hatze and Russell Locke.
His record as a lawn bowler resulted in him being inducted into the GV Hall Of Fame in 2017.
Herb was once described by a star claybird shooter as a ‘‘rare talent’’ but he didn’t pursue this sport for long due to his other sporting commitments.
But long enough to win Echuca Gun Club’s State Double Barrel Sparrow Championship in 1961.
But Herb had shown his all-round natural sporting prowess well before his days on the football ovals of the GVL and the district’s bowling greens and golf courses.
He won swimming championships in his early teen years when competitions were held at the primitive Kyabram pool where the Kyabram Zoo is today.
He also played cricket and tennis at the top level with Kyabram teams for a couple of seasons as a teenager.
It seemed nothing that Herb turned his hand to in sport was difficult for him and he was named in Kyabram’s top 10 sporting greats at one stage as a reward for his stellar performances at numerous sports.
Just a true sporting champion who has left a huge legacy and fond memories of his halcyon feats for ever.
Herb’s funeral is on Wednesday, April 30, with details in the Free Press.
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