When our “Where Are They Now?” subjects have been asked to nominate the best player they have seen at Uni Oval, a name that has been mentioned more than most is Aaron Davis.
A freakish onballer hailing from Murtoa, Duxy strolled into the Pavvy from St Hildas College in 1991 and played around 70 games over the course of the 90s. Asked to select the best player that he saw at Blues, Duxy assembles an impressive roll call from his era: “Lots of great players - JK, Treeo, George De, Gillon Mc, Vanders, Nath Cav, Jim Hayter - but Rabbit Worsely was a great leader on and off field that I really enjoyed playing under and looking up to him as he was hard and fair during the game and lots of fun after the game. Rich Furphy was the best player I played with in VAFA, tough and fearless on the field and great come Pavvy functions. His father abused me more than any opposition player though.”
Duxy’s first senior coach at Blues was Sid Myers. He recalls Sid dishing out a particularly savage spray during a 3/4 time break in a game when Blues was being soundly beaten, including “blaming us for his carpet business in Perth going under as he couldn’t spend enough time over there”.
Duxy figured prominently in post-match Pavvy life. Like a number of other Blues at Uni Oval in the mid-90s, he remembers the inaugural “Spa Pavvy” fondly, recalling that he arrived to be met with the sight of the club captain Hamish Worsley sliding along the floor from one corner of the Pavvy to the other in a mass of water and soap suds as 3 or 4 other revelers lined up to try and top the “captain’s run”.
Duxy was also a member of the Blues contingent that took out the Ararat Pub Run. A mini bus full of players drove up the highway on a Sunday morning and completed the time trial event around the city’s hotels faster than all local entrants, although Duxy claims that Justin Jamieson managed to be “2.5 kilometres behind on a 2 kilometre course”.
Duxy now runs his own travel (land operator) business named Bashukway Travel (http://www.bashukwaytravel.com/). It conducts adventure and outdoor activities in Asia, Europe and Australia for a variety of travel agents that make use of local operators. The business is based in Tokyo, where Duxy himself resided for a number of years, but he has recently relocated with his family to his original hometown of Murtoa. Duxy and his wife Sarah, who hails from Lancashire, have three daughters aged 3, 4 and 5 and are expecting another addition to the clan.
His return to country Victoria has also resulted in Duxy pulling the boots back on for the local club. He made a number of appearances this season as a goal sneak for Minyip-Murtoa’s senior team in the Wimmera League. From his new base, Duxy is looking to step up his business’ Australian tour offerings for international clients, including by showcasing the township of Murtoa and the nearby Grampians National Park. He also suggests that Blues players stay tuned for a football-related tour of Japan that Bashukway Travel has scheduled for January that will involve playing games against Japanese teams and some football clinics, along with snow ski-ing, hiking and cycling.
