Local football hero remembered with a community bus

Community stories: 20 March 2019

When Steven Noble lost his life in a road crash at Mt Gambier on Easter Sunday in 2013, aged 27, it devastated the Limestone Coast community and stripped his wife, Courtney of their future together. In the lead up to the fifth anniversary of his passing, Courtney and a team of passionate mates have brought a vision to reality, with the delivery of a community bus in honour of Steven and all that he stood for.

Steven was a well-respected member of the Port MacDonnell and Allendale East community, growing up on a family Dairy Farm in Allendale East and attending Allendale East Area School during his schooling years. Small communities create close relationships, and Steven is remembered in the Port MacDonnell and Allendale East community as a friendly, outgoing, loyal and caring person who always put others before himself and had a smile that would light up the room. A talented sportsman, Steven was a successful senior footballer with the Port MacDonnell Football club. Sadly missing out on his 150th game by only two games, Steven played football for the Port MacDonnell Football Club from junior level right through to being the Premiership Captain of the PMFC team in 2012. Steven’s father Chris was well also respected in the Kongorong community, playing for the Kongorong Football Club for many years.

The Steven Noble Memorial Sub Fund was established in Steven’s memory by a group of three friends who participated in Swinging with the Stars in 2013 and wanted to do something in his honour. With Courtney’s consent and support, Simon Livingston, Tahlia Gabrielli and Amy Trevilyn established a Sub Fund to honour Steven’s memory, with the aim of supporting the local communities of Port MacDonnell, Allendale East and Kongorong. The Sub Fund represented what Steven was as a person, someone who was always willing to give everything he had to assist and support other people.

“When Steve passed, I thought we had to do something that not only remembered him but also helped those who were struggling with his loss.  I was really drawn to how Stand Like Stone had set up their trust funds and realised that we didn’t have one for our area.  Courtney was behind Tahlia, Amy and myself from day one, which really got us going with our fundraising.  To actually see Courtney’s vision come to fruition is amazing,” said Simon Livingstone, who initiated the Steven Noble Memorial Sub Fund.

The vision became a reality in 2018, with the delivery of a community bus to service the extended communities of Port MacDonnell, Allendale and Kongorong, for the charitable purposes of education, awareness and accessibility for rural and regional communities. Although outside of Stand Like Stone’s normal operations, the Board agreed to this unique outcome and supported the wishes of those involved to enable the capital raised to be applied for this purpose. The project was supported through the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal who allowed the funds to be flowed out of the Stand Like Stone Public Fund to assist with the purchase of the community bus.

The community bus will be housed at the Allendale East Area School and will be available for community use for charitable purposes as identified. The bus will be managed under the governance of the School Governing Council and a community bus management committee. The community bus is dedicated to the memory of Steven John Noble (8/12/1985 – 1/4/2013). The purchase of the bus was enabled by Courtney Fox, Simon Livingston, Tahlia Gabrielli, Amy Trevilyan, Alisha Stephens, David Fox and Grant Fensom and supported by Noel Barr Toyota.