Earlier this year friends and family of Sapper Rowan Robinson gathered to farewell him and then again to spread his ashes on his beloved bommies off the coast at Kingscliff after the young soldier was killed in Afghanistan.
At the weekend, his friends and family gathered once more, this time to honour “Robbo” in a way that his father Peter Robinson said would have made his son very proud.
His surf club, Cudgen Headland, which he joined as a nipper more than a decade ago, unveiled their brand new surfboat on Sunday – named in Rowan’s honour and carrying his picture and the logo of his favourite football team – the Cronulla Sharks.
“Rowan believed the war in Afghanistan was a just cause and the only way for evil to prevail was for good men to do nothing,” Peter Robinson said.
“His spirit will live on through this boat and this boat should do very well now.”
However pointing to his son’s picture on the boat, Mr Robinson joked that “Rowan was usually not that far back”.
“No,” head boat man Mark Buckman laughed.
“Rowan liked to be right up the front.”
Mr Buckman said the new boat, which was launched just in time for a busy representative season which will culminate in the NSW titles on their home beach next year, was made possible thanks to generous donations from sponsors “Dial Before You Dig”, “Cudgen Surf Club” and the “Cudgen Old Boys” as well as support from the general community.
The design for boat was created by graphic artist Kellie Buckman although Mark admitted it wasn’t easy for her.
“It’s probably not easy having your dad as a client,” he laughed.
“I changed my mind a lot.”
Club spokesman Brian Vickery said the surf boat was an “icon of surf lifesaving” and Rowan Robinson had been a beloved member of the club who had “captured the spirit of being a lifesaver and a soldier.”
