The Riverine Herald recognises that fathers come in all shapes and sizes. The celebration of dads was inspired by Father’s Day, which will be celebrated in different style again this year (on Sunday, September 5) as not everyone will be able to visit the ‘‘number one’’ man in their life.
THE FOOTY DAD
For Stewie Day, being a dad is his number one priority.
Growing up without a father himself, Stewie says he takes family and his role as a dad seriously.
“It’s the responsibility, you get up and know you’ve someone else to care about other than yourself. It makes you less selfish,” he said.
The 29-year-old is a father of three to Ryder, 9, Aaliyah, 6, and little Archie, 1, the latter whom he shares with fiancé Bianca Quirk.
“Bianca’s been there since the start, and taken on two children as well, which is a credit to her,” Stewie said.
“We make it work for the benefit of the kids and for both families.”
“We’ve got Bianca’s niece and nephew a lot of the time, and we’ve got a lot of little cousins who don’t have a father, so you step up in a way, and pitch in where you can.”
With current restrictions, Stewie said they would keep Sunday fairly simple.
“We’ll probably have breakfast at home and then go for a walk with the dogs.”
THE GYM DAD
“Kind, caring and funny”, is 12-year-old Darius’ glowing review of his dad, Keith Hearn.
A former chef, Keith has passed on his knowledge to Darius who will be cooking up a storm this Sunday for a Father’s Day breakfast.
Cooking and watching movies – particular favourites include the Marvel series and Maze Runner – are just some of Darius’ favourite things to do with his dad.
Meanwhile Keith’s other son Tayven, 18, is in the midst of his Year 12 studies and can be found with his head buried in the books.
As co-ordinator of Nyini Health and Wellness gym and a qualified personal trainer, Keith is training Darius up in boxing, and once COVID-19 allows, hopes to enter into competitions.
THE TRUCKIE DAD
Fourteen-year-old Shaun Hanson still remembers making his dad an Essendon-coloured tile, which he considers the best Fathers' Day present he has produced.
He will be the only one there on Sunday morning for his dad.
His older sister, 29-year-old Narzha, is stuck across the river in Moama and 25-year-old brother Thomas is in Melbourne.
Dad Travis, a truck driver with Neil's Transport here in Echuca, is a grandfather to four and has another on the way.
Shaun said the pair shared a passion for fast things together, barracking for the Holdens in the Supercars, motorbike riding and, for a change of pace, camping.
Travis travels to Melbourne and back from Monday to Friday, so weekends are cherished - particularly Sunday mornings.
Wife Kylie will probably be in charge of the Father's Day menu, while the usual go-to presents are chocolate or tools.
Travis is the resident mister fixit and tradesman are not offered required at the Hanson household.
THE SCIENTIST DAD
It's not exactly a case of exchanging Lego and Barbie dolls for test tubes and Bunsen burners for Echuca scientist dad Wayne Stirling, but the white lab coats came out all the same for our photo shoot last week.
Funnily enough it is Wayne's partner of the past 21 years, Laura, who has the strongest link to science these days - through her role as operations manager with TwistED Science in Echuca.
The pair are parents to 12-year-old Liam, Amber, 9, and Ari, who is six.
Wayne worked as a food scientist with Nestle at Tongala until only recently.
"It was the food side of it that really interested me and I find the technology quite fascinating," Wayne said.
"It's actually how I met Laura, we worked in very similar fields."
"He is one of those blokes that says, 'don't get me anything'," Laura said.
The family, who moved to Echuca just after Amber was born, has recently found a new passion to share with their dad.
"They really love (snow) skiing, we were lucky enough to get out between lockdowns. But we go a bit slow for the older two," Laura said.