WHEN flooding devastated the community of Eugowra last year, David Conyers was on the ground, doing what he could to help.
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He started the group Fridgy's for Eugowra 2022-23 with the Rotary Club of Bathurst Daybreak, to help install new donated air conditioning units to uninsured residents.
He spent months on the ground, over 14 hours a day, on the tools, phone and office organising suppliers to donate, arranging staff and students of TAFE to assist while working 40+ degree heat.
"Every household had a story of survival, you wouldn't believe," he said.
"There was just massive destruction across the town owned.
"There wasn't a lot of help from when those first responders came in.
"The second or third responders had to do a lot helping with people, to get their heads right, to help them mentally."
Mr Conyers said it never once felt like a chore.
"Once you start to help with it, you really feel compelled to keep going back," he said
"I still like doing what I do for my job and I've got some incredible relationships with people up there.
"People have fed me and housed me. Some have helped pay my fuel bill. All it's cost me is my time."
His work never went unnoticed by the Bathurst community and earlier this year he was named one of six new Living Legends, an initiative that recognises the achievements of local individuals and how they've positively contributed to the community.
"It was incredible, an honour actually to become a Living Legend," he said.
"I've basically lived here my whole life, except for 10 years when I went overseas."
Mr Conyers is more well known in Bathurst and across the Central West region for his dedication to rugby union.
He's a life member of the CSU-Mitchell Rugby Club and he was named the Central West Rugby Union coach of the year in 2019.
Across a lengthy career,he played 553 club and representative matches and was one of the foundign members of the Bathurst Secret Squirrels Rugby Club in 1990.
He's coached and won premierships with all three Bathurst clubs (CSU-Mitchell, Secret Squirrels and Bulldogs) and as coached at all four Bathurst high schools.
He was also a referee for 15 years and his coaching career has also extended outside the Central West region, into the United States and Austria, winning international trophies in both countries.
Mr Conyers originally started off playing rugby league for Blayney Bears in their under 8s team in 1965.
Two years later he was playing the 15-a-side code for the Bathurst Burrs and enjoyed a stint with Bathurst High Campus, when the English master introduced the sport to the school.
The English master was transferred a year later, so Mr Conyers ended up playing rugby league for the school and for Bathurst Railway for the rest of his school years.
But once he finished his Higher School Certificate he was playing rugby union again for Blayney, with a number of his mates.
And he's not looked back since.
His favourite coaching moment came in 2013 when he was coaching USA South at the NACRA Rugby Championship.
Made up of players from a number of southern states, the USA South team defeated hosts Trinidad and Tobago 26-18 in the final at Port of Spain.
"That was definitely one of the most memorable moments," Mr Conyers remembers.
"We'd only been in the competition for a couple of years and it was America's first title."
While in the USA, he coached Kennesaw State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The 15-a-side code isn't necessarily a major sport in the USA, but numbers have been increasing and it's considered one of the fastest growing sports in the country.
Mr Conyers said the sport enjoys good support at a college level but he said many give it away after they graduate.
His other international trophy with Austria was in 2017, when they won the Rugby Europe Sevens Conference 2.
His other fond memories include the 2004 Blowes Cup premiership win with CSU-Mitchell, the 1992 Presidents Cup premiership with Secret Squirrels and the 2019 New Holland Cup grand final win with CSU-Mitchell.
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