Beloved man of many talents, dedicated to paralympic sport

Published date19 August 2022
Dave was a man of ferocious energy, amazing talent, organisational skills, and a No 8 wire mentality that oozed from his pores

Although Dave’s dad died when Dave was 10, Albert Hill had stamped these words on his son’s mindset and into the fabric of his life: ‘‘You must always help people’’.

He did, sacrificially even after his diagnosis of superficial siderosis consequential to falling ill with viral encephalitis in 1991, which confined him eventually to a wheelchair and left him profoundly deaf and reliant on communication with a whiteboard.

Where does one begin with his accomplishments, his escapades, or his wicked sense of humour?

At the age of 10 he became a milk boy for Arthur Cunningham and was so reliable that when his boss went on holiday three years later, he left 13-year-old Dave in charge of the milk run and his older sister Rose drove the milk truck.

Not to be held back, at the age of 15 he had already restored Tabitha, a ’29 Chev, and from that he became a long-time member of the North Otago Vintage Car Club, fulfilling the role of secretary for a few years.

In 1974 he owned his own milk run and in 1977 moved to owning Auto World Garage as he was a qualified mechanic, having done an apprenticeship at Don Sloane Motors.

In his teenage years he belonged to Youth for Christ and his eye was caught by a lovely lady, Trish. They married and formed a solid partnership. Trish was later one of New Zealand’s first Paralympians and the Hills became very involved in 1973 in the North Otago Paraplegic and Physically Disabled Association, now known as Paralympics New Zealand.

In all his busy-ness Dave was also a very active and supportive member of the Oamaru Salvation Army Corps and its Emergency Caravan, which he ran for 10 years.

Trish and Dave also ran a sports clothing shop for a few years, called Trish’s Place.

The Commonwealth Games have just been completed with both able-bodied and para sport participation but in 1975, Dave was voted on to the national executive of the Paralympics New Zealand Federation as the North Otago representative and went on to chair the National Sports Committee.

That was the start of a very active voluntary involvement for many years to come that helped lay the foundation for the combined involvement we see today.

Dave’s strong belief was that both the Olympian and Paralympian should be seen as equal. The best way to summarise and acknowledge his incredible involvement in Paralympics, leading to what we take to be the...

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