Remembering 

Trevor John McMahon

Over the past year there has been an exchange of information between the College and Noel McMahon, the fourth son of former student Trevor John McMahon. Trevor McMahon, who hailed from Deloraine, attended the College as a boarder from 1929-1932.

Upon leaving school he started Repco Ltd at Burnie and stayed in the company for the remainder of his working life. Following his time in Burnie, he moved to Albury and then to Melbourne. He had a close relationship with the Chairman of Repco, Sir Charles McGrath, who was to be his best man when he married Winifred Williams in 1944. The couple were to have four sons, the youngest was Noel.

In July 1940, Trevor joined the RAAF reserve and went on to enlist the following January. During 1942,  he was based in England with Coastal Command. He survived a crash landing and also was part of a crew responsible for sinking an enemy submarine. On 12 June 1943, all seven of the members of the air crew he normally served with were all killed in a crash. Trevor was required for that particular mission as it was a test flight after repairs.  He was discharged on 6 March 1945 while holding the rank of Flying Officer, 1 Operational Training Unit.

Trevor was an outstanding sportsman  - particularly with regards to football and athletics. He won the SVC Seniors Sports Champion in 1930, 1931 and 1932. In 1931 at the Combined School Sports carnival, he won the 100, 220, 440 and 800 yard events, as well as the Senior Cup.

He played in the SVC Island Premiership teams of 1929 and 1931 and in the team that lost to Launceston Grammar by one point in 1932. Post school he played for City in the northern league and was a regular in combined northern sides (NTFA) against southern Tasmania (TFL).  He was awarded life membership at the City Club in 1946. 

Trevor dominated school and inter-school athletics during his time at the College. He played a major role in winning the state titles in 1929, 1931 and 1932. Trevor went on to become a regular on the professional athletics circuit both in Tasmania and on the mainland. Among his successes were victories in the Burnie and Latrobe Gifts in 1935. In 1936 he was second in the Bendigo Gift and won the 75 yard event at Stawell. In 1938, he was the ranked favourite for the Stawell Gift but failed to get through the heats. 

Young Launceston runner and NTFA footballer Trevor McMahon started firm favourite for the Gift after winning the Latrobe sprint on Boxing Day. He won the Gift comfortably from stablemate C.G. Billing. Whilst Trevor might have been unsuccessful in winning the Stawell Gift, such was not the case for his son Noel with whom we have been liaising. Noel won the Stawell Gift in 1979.

Noel became manager of some of the major hotels on the Mainland. Older brothers, Richard and Peter, like their father, had successful careers in the automotive industry, whilst a third brother, David, played football with Fitzroy. He was a Victorian representative and played a total of 218 VFL games between 1973 and 1984, booting 236 goals. Trevor McMahon passed away in 1999 and his wife, Winifred, in 2012.