By Tyler Lewis
One of this year’s Volunteer’s of the Week didn’t want to watch the footy… he had to!
Meet Berwick’s gatekeeper, John Kluyt!
JULY, 2022
There wasn’t a lot happening in Berwick back in the 1960s… just ask the Wickers long-serving gate-keeper John Kluyt.
As a proud ‘soccer man from Holland’, Kluyt built a house in Berwick in 1964.
But with very little soccer played in the area at the time he found his way to Edwin Flack Reserve to watch some Aussie Rules.
“There was nothing here in Berwick in the early 60s,” Kluyt said.
And as it turns out, he arrived at Berwick at the perfect time, as Jim ‘Frosty’ Miller was in the pinnacle of his goal-kicking ways for the Wickers.
While born and bred footy fans would’ve killed to see Frosty kick 201 goals back in 1978, poor Kluyt felt like he…‘had to watch it’.
“He (Frosty) was here with Cliffy Donegan… I was a soccer man, I come from Holland, I played soccer at the time and then we sort of came here, we had no choice but to watch it (footy).”
With Kluyt’s ticket booth designed in the shape of a red sedan, he doesn’t get time to pivot around and watch much of the footy until after half-time.
Aside from his grandson – Jarryd Trait – who is his favourite player, he does enjoy watching exciting forward Harry Money play.
But unfortunately for Kluyt, he was broken with the news about Money’s ACL injury via this interview.
“I don’t catch much of it,” he said of the footy.
“My grandson plays in the ones, Jarryd Trait.
“I like watching Money, he’s a bit showman, he makes hard work of taking a great mark.
“When he misses it, he walks off a bit ‘oh oh’ (making a sad imitation).
“Has he? Oh god… that’s not good is it…”
As far as reward for this volunteer goes, Kluyt has the best one imaginable.
After starting at the beginning of the under-19s, welcoming all footballers from home and abroad through the gates, he clocks off and has ‘a drink or two’ with his wife on the hill.
“About half past 10 to about half past 3, until usually half-time of the main game,” he explained.
“Then that’s it, I go up there (on the hill) with my wife, she sits up there somewhere and we have a drink or two.
“She’s good, she comes down here because she has family here, my stepson, my granddaughter and my grandson… we know a lot of people here.”
Well done to John Kluyt on being this week’s Pakenham Gazette Volunteer of the Week.
