Bernie "Sarge" Buko - B Ward
Bernie Buko: Committed to family, football and community.
Get yourself to the famous Hill at Brookvale Oval to watch the Manly Sea Eagles go 'round and if you mention you know "Sarge", there's someone who will surely clear a space for you in the midst of the multitude.
Bernie "Sarge" Buko has been making the pilgrimage to Brookvale to watch his beloved team since 1966 - that's more than forty years of unwavering devotion to the maroon and white.
For him, the beating heart of the Northern Beaches is buried under the try lines at Brookvale Oval. "The ground is the best in Australia for watching Rugby League – the layout means you can get up close and see all the action. See the players. Hear the battles. You're right there," he says. "Manly must always stay at Brookvale. Forever." declares Sarge.
"If you think about it, the district of Manly is known across the nation through the success of the Sea Eagles. Why is our ground so run down when so many other clubs have been given money? It's a tragedy to me. Our ground needs to be upgraded and developed. It belongs to all the people – not just a few local residents who moved in there in later times. "Football inspires kids to play sport. If more kids played sport there would be more discipline and more respect for authority. Once you've had that feeling of being in a team... well, it's an attitude that stays with you for life. Our kids need to have that experience."
It's a long time since Bernie ran around the field as a swift soccer winger himself and idolised Bozo, Wombat and Les Hannigan. Why's he running for Warringah Council? Why now?
'Now is the time for me to stand and try to make a difference. And if that sounds like a cliché... Something has to be done about Brookie – both the major political parties have let us down - I'm putting my hand up. I want to see this through."
"Sarge" gained his nickname as a foundation member of the Sea Eagles Rockers fan club. Anyone who has ventured onto the club web site will know of the thousands of photographs he has taken and posted for all fans to share – free of charge. "It was for everyone who couldn't get to the game. I wanted them to feel the excitement and enjoy the atmosphere. You can read the result – that's one thing, but I hope my pictures made people feel they were right there."
To look at Sarge settled into the seat of his Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide – his black leathers pinned with badges and a greying beard sprouting from underneath his bike helmet – you'd peg him as a renegade. But for Sarge it's all about family, team and community.
"There's this big, scary exterior and deep down, I'm and old-fashioned softie …but don't tell anyone," he laughs. Bernie and his wife Selena (nee Schwarz) have been married for 32 years. They met at Randall's Ballroom Dancing in Balgowlah. Locals might remember Selena's father who owned Thompson's Shoe Stores - 26 stores in all - from Warringah Mall to the north of New South Wales and one in Orange.
Bernie and Selena settled in Cromer and raised two daughters – Eleisha ( 25) and Danielle (26). Eleisha has battled cystic fibrosis all her life and made her father unbearably proud when she played representative netball with Manly-Warringah.
Bernie dedicated his time to coaching his daughters' Cromer netball and sports teams when they were young. "I got a great thrill out of coaching the kids back then," he says. These days he's the proudest grandpa on the peninsula and rejoicing in the birth of his first grandson, Jack.
Bernie and Selena are a hard-working team. Selena works in catering with the Lady Davidson Private Hospital, the Salvation Army Conference Centre and the War Vet's. Bernie is a security officer at North Sydney TAFE. At the age of 55, Sarge is finally about break out with his own business at www.bernardphotography.com.au It's a little bit Elvis, a little bit gospel, a little bit old-fashioned soul and a lot of love. Bernie lives to capture the joy of life through the faces he photographs.
"My motto is 'Carpe Diem – Seize the Day'," he says. "Never leave your home angry. Never miss a chance to tell your family you love them. You might never walk back in the door again. "My only son died at 36 hours old 29 years ago. In some ways losing him taught me about the real stuff. I'm not on this earth to sell. I'm here to give. And I'm ready to give this challenge everything I'm able."