By John Trevorrow
Joe Trevorrow, a top Victorian pre and post-war cyclist, has died in Geelong after a long illness. He was 80 years of age. Trevorrow was a Victorian title winner and rode off scratch on the road and track, a rare feat. He raced against some of the best track cyclists in Australian history, including legends such as Sid Patterson, Bill Guyatt, Reg Harris and Ken Stewart.
When the pint sized Trevorrow (newspapers called him the pocket tank) returned from serving overseas in the RAAF in 1945, Sid Patterson was the new wonder kid of cycling at the North Essendon board track. "I was going pretty well and although I didn't win every race, Joe was the first person to come past me up the straight that season," The late Patto was quoted as saying.
Following his retirement from cycling Joe moved to Morwell and opened up a hardware store/bike shop. He started the Morwell Cycling Club in 1960 and was the driving force behind the emergence of cycling in the Latrobe Valley.
Joe's old Chev sedan and Dodge ute became infamous at races around the state with most of the Morwell club squeezed in. When the numbers outgrew his own vehicles, Joe hired a furniture truck.
His funeral will be held on Friday at Tattersall Funeral Care, Bellarine Highway, Newcomb Geelong.
