In the world’s most remote capital city there is a hardy core of Gasheads who like to gather whenever there is a celebration to be had. Gerry Prewett confesses all.
When I first arrived in Perth in April 1990, having spent a month in the sporting desert of Texas (unless it is NBL or Gridiron that pushes your buttons), I soon became aware of the stellar run that the Gas had achieved. It culminated in the epic 2 May 3-0 defeat of Bristol City of course. I soon discovered that there was a Perth Gas outpost, and we were going to meet up at Bob Langridge’s mansion in the southern suburbs to watch the video of the game he’d had Express Posted over.
That night I discovered I had been at Withywood School with Bob (who was a Horfield resident when at Withywood) and met up with Pete Williams and Alan Homer amongst others.
Some eighteen months later I was visited by my mum and dad, Amy and Harold Prewett. Whilst they were here on the night of 21 December 1991 Rovers happened to have a home match against Bristol City. Bob opened up his business office in the city for several of us and put in a long distance phone link direct to Radio Bristol for full commentary of the game. Early on it was all City and Dave Rennie gave the away team a 12th minute lead. We refused to be downhearted and Devon White and Tony Pounder both scored as half-time approached to give the Gas an unlikely lead.
During the half-time break Geoff Twentyman took the time to conduct an interview with Bob. Firstly, he asked him about the cost of a two-hour phone call, was Bob wealthy? The response had us in stitches, “Everyone is wealthy here in Western Australia”. Bob was laying it on thick and even convinced Geoff that we were all at the beach listening to the game (I don’t think Geoff realised it was midnight here in Perth). By the end of the interview Geoff told Bob that most of Bristol ‘hated him’!
The second half of the game saw Carl Saunders scoring a third before Junior Bent pulled one back in injury time.
In April 2000 I was daft enough to think that running the pre-Olympic Sydney Marathon would be a good idea. In all honesty the race gave me the opportunity to forever boast that I had beaten the winner of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Marathon, by about 5 months! I was able to catch up with a few Gasheads at a pub in Crows Nest in the Harbour city Rich Horton and Roy Wynes remain good friends to this day.
Fast forward to 2009 and after a night out in Fremantle with fellow Bristolians Darren and Laurie Bush, my wife announced from the back seat of the cab that she had been kidnapped by Pirates! That set the discussion going, a Pirate Party had to be held. The most convenient date? 14 February! Valentine’s Day. Undaunted, we decided we were going to be Pirates with Passion. We duly decked out our outdoor area with all things pirate related; an inflatable island with a palm tree and a parrot, a hammock, lots of rigging, a treasure chest full of chocolate coins, a tug of war down the drive.
We held a Talk Like a Pirate competition but everyone from Bristol was banned. Of course, all 18 of my Rovers shirts were distributed to wear. We also had a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe to celebrate.
Fast forward again to July 2016. After securing an unlikely double promotion courtesy of Lee Brown’s right foot it was once again time to celebrate. This time it was at the home of old time Gashead Roger Turton, an ex-schoolboy neighbour of Ray Graydon.
Roger had installed a bar at his home, complete with an illuminated sign outside with Rovers’ badge. We were there in Perth’s northern reaches to open the bar, Irene’s Arms and honour Lee Brown’s immortal right foot!
The last time we had a formal gathering was after that almost impossible run to the 3rd place automatic promotion spot on 7 May 2022. We gathered at Blasta Brewery, Burswood which is reasonably central. We had a fabulous night and Darren’s big flag attracted attention.
I was so ‘up’ for the evening that on my walk home I decided to emulate Elliott Anderson’s header for the 7th goal and fell flat on my face. A 69-year-old guy with a black eye and blood pouring down his face certainly attracted the attention of passing motorists on the way home! It was worth the embarrassment!
Since this last get together my good friend Bob Langridge has passed away. Bob was a great friend and has been sorely missed over this last year. R.I.P. Bob.
