Moving to Kyabram at the age of 17, Mrs Newman quickly made the town home.
“My dad moved around for work a fair bit — at 17 we came to Kyabram and I’ve been here ever since,” she said.
“It’s a lovely community, and it’s good that sport is strong here; that’s mainly what we’ve been involved in, sport.”
The Newman name is known in the community for a number of reasons, one in particular being the hereditary athletic gene.
Three generations of Newmans have possessed unique talents on the football field, with Penny’s father-in-law, Dave, holding a special place in Tongala Football Club history.
Penny and Dave Newman soon realised their boys, Paul and David, carried on the legacy, a future that would make the family very busy.
“The boys came along and started getting into their sport, ours had to give way. My boys were very into it,” Mrs Newman said with a laugh.
“It’s been really enjoyable watching their journey.
“We were lucky in a way that they were as good as each other, so they could play on the same team as each other a lot and we’d only have to go to one place.”
Paul and David are known for their commitment to the local football and cricket clubs and as the boys got older, Melbourne trips for sport became more common for the Newmans.
When asked how she managed to fit in all the sporting events, trainings and trips, Mrs Newman just laughed.
“You just do, you do it all for your kids,” she said.
Penny understood the level of commitment needed to excel in sports from her own experience of playing in representative teams in a time of peak popularity with the Kyabram Netball Association.
“We used to get up to 700 netballers up there on a Saturday, juniors and seniors — I did that for many years,” she said.
“Then I started basketball, I would play rep netball and basketball and just loved it.”
At 35, Mrs Newman retired from her own sporting endeavours to make way for her sons, instead taking up netball coaching and volunteering her time as the Kyabram Football Club secretary, a role that led to Mrs Newman being made a life member of the club, along with her husband, Dave, for their endless efforts and contributions.
Penny has witnessed the evolution of local sports.
“All clubs have to do what they can to survive,” she said.
“Over the years, there’s been lots of changes, which is amazing to see, but the amount of work for administrators is so great that it’s hard to get volunteers because of that volume of work.
“But Kyabram has been really strong in their sporting community and has a lot of great sports people come out of the area, so we’ve been really lucky.”
With no complaints, Mrs Newman said the differing sports had been the family’s life, leading to new experiences and achievements along the way.
“When the boys left home, we thought, what are we going to do? But really, it’s just as busy,” she said with a laugh.
“Lots of friends have been made and sporting communities are always there for you, if something happens they’re there to pick up the pieces.”
