A large group of orienteers and other friends were present at Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth on Friday, 21 August, to farewell Roy Hiller, who died on 16 August, just ten days before his 85thbirthday. Roy, who was born in Sheffield, England, was one of the pioneers of orienteering in Western Australia. He was well known to Eastern States orienteers of his age group being a regular competitor in interstate and international events.
Roy Hiller celebrates with the OFA Shield in 1988
Roy was a tireless worker for orienteering in WA, enthusiastically embracing mapping, event setting and controlling, newsletter editing and other administration tasks. In 1978 he became the founding convenor of the LOST Club, a position he held for many years, subsequently being made a Life Member of that club. He was OAWA’s Newsletter editor from 1978 to 1981, President 1986 to 1989, was made a Life Member of OAWA in 2000 and awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2001. Roy was Association President when the Australian Orienteering Championships were held in WA, for the first time, in 1988. Western Australia won, for the first time, the OFA Shield, decided on points gained by placegetters in the individual championships. An enduring memory is a photograph on the front page of the December 1988 issue of The Australian Orienteer, of Roy triumphantly holding the shield above his head. The accompanying story included the sentence “When Roy Hiller held the OFA Shield aloft it must have been a special moment for all Western Australian orienteers and a true indication that the State had come of age in the orienteering sense”. In addition to his whole hearted commitment to orienteering Roy found the time and energy to act as a Rottnest Island guide, to do maintenance work on the Bibbulmun track, and to carry out field surveys and compete in annual On Your Bike tours. He organised orienteers in annual Clean up Australia campaigns and was a regular rogaine competitor.
The Western Australian orienteering community has been greatly saddened by the loss of Roy and has extended its sympathy to his wife Jo, daughters Mandy and Anne, sons in law Steve and Henry, and their children. He shall be sorely missed, a great friend and contributor, a gentleman in every sense of the word.
Don Young