One of those who came to celebrate the life of Reg Ferguson was local broadcasting, racing and trotting personality, Terry Bootle.
Terry is remembered for his colourful calls of sporting events, but is probably best-remembered for his quips on a Sunday afternoon as the Ansett or TAA planes flew across the city.
“If you’re wanting to meet someone at the airport, or you're on the 3 o’clock plane, you’d better get in the car because it’s just flown across Victoria Park,” he would say.
“I only became aware of it when I walked into the old Royal Hotel one day, and Macquarie five-eighth ‘Bomber’ Forrester asked me if the 3 o’clock plane had been on time today,” he laughed.
In the sixties and seventies, Terry was the voice of local rugby league, as well as racing and the trots.
“In fact, I took over from Reg on the sideline at No 1 Oval and called Group 11, representative and grand final matches for over 20 years,” Terry recalled.
He also called the gallops and took on the trots as well after Reg suffered a bout of mumps.
“I did 10 or more Dubbo Sportsperson of the Year events as MC and live to air on 2DU and was on the grass at No 1 for many Astley Cup matches.
Terry left Dubbo to continue his career in racing at Fairfield and is now a judge with the AJC. He asked to be remembered by all his old friends.
“My only regret, is that I didn’t come home a day or two earlier to catch up with Bomber, Singy, Peach and the Macquarie players on their Old Boys Day last weekend”.
