For around 40 years, Robert Halliday had a high-profile across the South East region through education, community volunteering and sport.

Teaching appointments took him to Millicent, Rendelsham, Kangaroo Inn and Tintinara while he served for about a dozen years on the committee which established and operated the Noorla Yo-Long youth camp at Rendelsham.

The Millicent Saints benefited from his ample talents as a footballer and cricketer while he also played Aussie Rules with distinction at Hatherleigh, Mount Burr and Kalangadoo.

After drawing his 38-year teaching career to a close, Mr Halliday left Millicent in 2018 to return to his boyhood home of Encounter Bay.

Nowadays he shares his life with a lady who was a fellow teachers’ college student in Adelaide in the 1960s.

In true Halliday style, his community involvement is undiminished.

The 73-year-old co-comperes a 90-minute sports show on community radio in Victor Harbor every Saturday morning and helps with various staging chores each week at the Encounter Bay Football Club.

He made many friends over his 40-plus years in the South East and he recently visited Millicent to see old chums.

They included retired Mount Burr farmer Ken Bellinger.

The pair had developed a close bond around 30 years ago at the Mount Burr United Football Club.

With Mr Bellinger being an invaluable support as club president, Mr Halliday coached the Mozzies to the 1989 and 1990 premierships.

He had earlier been playing coach of the 1978 premiership team at Mount Burr.

Other football highlights were the 1974 Mail Medal whilst at Hatherleigh and playing in flags with Kalangadoo in 1982 and 1983.

He retired after the 1984 season but he did make one cameo appearance at the age of 41 in 1991.

As non-playing coach, he had to discipline a Mount Burr player for breaching the team rules by socialising on a Friday night.

The coach himself decided to make up the 20 players on the team list.

“I still managed to get a few kicks,” Mr Halliday said with a wry smile.

After several years away from footy, Mr Halliday returned to the Mid South East Football League for a decade as its investigation officer and senior vice president.

He speaks with pride of the great work done at the Noorla Yo-Long camp at Rendelsham.

“It is a great facility,” said the man who volunteered for 12 years on its management committee.

The other foundation members dating back to the mid-1990s were Millicent police officer Sergeant Steve Chapple, local GP Dr Adrian Griscti and Millicent businessman Phil Richards.

In the realm of schooling, Mr Halliday served Millicent High School for 34 years as a technical studies teacher and assistant principal.

“The most satisfying aspect of my teaching at Millicent was the development of the successful Engineering Pathways course,” he said.

“It got a lot of people into trades.

“One of past students back in 1991 was Michael Holding.

“He started his working life as an apprentice carpenter and is now a senior executive.”

Millicent has not seen the last of Robert Halliday as he has signalled, he will be on the look-out to attend various reunions.