The Courier's editor Eugene Duffy steps down after eight years of covering Ballarat

Throughout his tenure, Eugene Duffy has deliberately maintained a low profile, aware his role, and that of the newspaper, has been to benefit the region.

Yet, even though his approach has been unpretentious, Mr Duffy harbours unquestionably strong feelings for Ballarat's daily tome.

"I'm so proud of it," he said, referring to the masthead in the days prior to his departure.

"It's suffered a lot over the years, and it is not the big institution it was once, but I think when it comes to serving its purpose, most importantly serving Ballarat, it does a great job."

Regardless of the multiple ways by which the modern population consumes its news, and despite competition from a range of sources, Mr Duffy has continued to be firm in his convictions and unwavering in his expectations.

"You have to be honest, you have to be balanced, and you have to be informed," he unequivocally outlined when addressing his principles on news reporting.

"That's part of the culture here.

"We don't take sides, whether it's in politics or on a particular issue.

"What The Courier does for Ballarat, it keeps it informed. It's enormously important; nobody lives in a shell."

When going into greater detail about the role played by The Courier, Mr Duffy is unapologetic.

"It holds the mirror up," he said.

"In this case, specifically, it holds it up to Ballarat. It is a reflection of the reality in which people live.

"It shows them the city they live in, the city they love."

The newspaper has been far from parochial and blinkered in relation to holding up the mirror, according to Mr Duffy.

It has not shied away from the city's darkness and its underbelly.

"In that mirror, you would also see the ugly," Mr Duffy said.

"There is the ugly side; there's the issues side, long-term complex issues, like homelessness. We have an obligation, if we see people sleeping rough, to report on that. We have an obligation to ask, 'What is the bigger problem and how do we fix it?'

"We do court and crime. We do that because it's important. It happens; it affects people's lives, sometimes devastatingly. It is important we show that and show how the process of justice works to remedy those problems.

"It's easy to demonise people, whether they're drug addicts or criminals. It's much harder, and more important, to actually show the more complex story, potentially the solutions."

However, under Mr Duffy's stewardship, The Courier has also addressed additional areas of significance to the region.

"Equally (important to cover) is council and other levels of government," he said.

"It isn't just where they spend the money and where are the problems.

"It's about, 'Are we getting our money's worth when it comes to rates, when it comes to services?' Is (council) being sufficiently transparent?

"When we vote, when it comes to a council election or a state election, we know who we are voting for, what they've done, and what they promise to do."

An ongoing and unending focus on community has been a fundamental tenet under Mr Duffy.

If a matter - smaller or more substantial in scale - has affected the community, The Courier has displayed a willingness to cover it.

"We'll do the big issues, but we will not lose touch with the community," Mr Duffy asserted, referring to the newspaper's frequent profile pieces on the area's citizens.

"We have the ability to take (readers) into their lives. By doing that, we actually show the intrinsic value of human beings who make up this community. Human stories are a really important part of the mirror.

"If we only show court and crime, if we only do clickbait headlines around nasty things in town, we would not be true to that picture of that place people live in."

An always-anticipated annual feature of The Courier remains 'Big Steps, Little Feet' in which every prep pupil in the region is photographed, featured, and named, bringing much joy to beaming parents and grandparents.

"That is the heart of the community, it's kids going to school, a milestone event for every single family," Mr Duffy said with notable enthusiasm.

"If we were a bigger organisation, a metropolitan newspaper, it wouldn't be feasible."

More challenging issues impacting the community of Ballarat and beyond have had the investigative light shined upon them too.

"Because it's a growing city, a lot is changing," Mr Duffy said.

"We have a role of highlighting the issues that come with change. Is it changing for the better or the worse? That's an ongoing discussion.

"We have an obligation to show the problems of growth, where the pressure points are, and also the good things coming out of this: economic prosperity, diversity, the richness and sophistication of life."

Professional fulfilment stemming from one of the bleakest, if not the bleakest, episodes in the regional centre's history is still felt.

"The way the newspaper covered the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse was a landmark, not only for this paper, but for this city," Mr Duffy commented, his words conveying the emotional weight associated with the troubling era.

"It didn't get bogged down with the lurid tales of abuse.

"It grew, as the city grew, to embracing the survivors, saying, 'You are a part of the community; we need to stand by you'.

"A community can face up to its darkest moments and even embrace the consequences; in this case, a large group of very damaged people, and support them.

"It was a triumph of The Courier as a news organisation and the community that embraces it."

Mr Duffy is indebted to his family which has remained behind him while he has been in the journalistic trenches.

"(They have been) incredible, Clare particularly; the kids - Leonora and Elsa - have been superb," he said of his wife and two daughters.

"It's an enormously consuming occupation being the editor of a paper. It takes up a lot of your time, but it also takes up a huge amount of your energy and it doesn't always have nice outcomes.

"There's a lot of tension, a lot of stress, a lot of complaints, sometimes even threats. You get to know that people don't like you. It takes its toll. Not having the support of your family, you would be lost."

Mr Duffy is also effusive in his praise for The Courier staff. "Without them, The Courier is nothing," he emphasised like a protective and gratified parent.

"They are who delivers that information and that mirror. They are its body and soul.

"I'm enormously proud of them, whether it's doing tough investigative work or colour pieces on parts of the community. They've done it and they've done it well.

"Every day, we have a news meeting and, every day - I think I better say something positive; it's not hard to find something.

"It's because of their efforts, whether it be the photographers or the journalists or the office managers. It's an enormous credit to them.

"It's a credit to that content that people say, 'I live in Ballarat; I need to know what's going on; I need to know what's happening to my city; I'll go to The Courier'."

The editor leaves The Courier after more than a decade of devotion and zeal, he has his fingers crossed it will not lose its raison d'être.

"I hope they can keep it local because that's what matters to the readers and that's what matters to the people who work here," Mr Duffy wished.

"I still think it holds a special place.

"Nobody holds that mirror up to Ballarat the way we do."

Eugene Duffy, the individual, is the sum of many parts.

In some ways, he is an enigma; in some ways, he is predictable.

If he was a book, he is the final product of occasionally disparate, often intertwining, chapters.

On the surface, Mr Duffy is immaculately presented within the workplace, never without a collared shirt, tie, and trademark waistcoat.

His pants are neatly pressed and his shoes polished. His silver hair and bespectacled visage are indicative of a vast wisdom and a considered nature.

Calm in appearance, there have been times in the past when he has been reluctant to display emotion.

That said, one should not be fooled into concluding Mr Duffy is a traditional and unfeeling overseer of The Courier. He is immensely protective of the city's flagship newspaper and its staff, as well as being a fierce supporter of Ballarat, a locale which has a mix of both conservative and radical elements in its past and present.

Additionally, Mr Duffy appreciates the importance of education and is an avid reader of Russian literature.

He is a seeker of excitement in distant, mountainous, and at times, dangerous lands; an advocate for women, perhaps not surprising given a childhood surrounded by seven sisters and his household of a wife and two daughters; and a lover of family.

Educated at Xavier College, and then at the University of Melbourne, Mr Duffy developed a life-long passion for learning, although as an adolescent, his conduct might have raised a few eyebrows among those attempting to guide him.

"The young Eugene Duffy was a troublemaker," the man himself admitted.

"I was always looking for new ways to do things. I always was looking for a purpose."

While traditional white-collar pursuits, such as law and medicine, were encouraged at his alma mater, Mr Duffy studied philosophy and English at tertiary level, academic realms which enriched his life.

A good friend persuaded him to explore the works of great Russian authors, an area of scholarship which has remained a lifelong passion.

"There was a genuine love of learning," Mr Duffy said, reflecting on his youth.

"I'd love to think education can still do that in an age of ATARs and all the other numbers which get bounced around and the corporate quality of so many schools to make sure (students) achieve."

However, the wilder side of the idiosyncratic character could not be tamed.

"At that age, I was also looking for adventure," Mr Duffy said.

"That was my preoccupation for the first 35 years of my life; I don't think I've quite shaken it yet. I thought there was so much more to life, and I better take my time, look around, and enjoy myself. The next step was the world which I wanted to explore."

Mr Duffy sought employment to fund his overseas trips, ventures which invariably involved scaling natural geographic wonders of dizzying heights.

The jobs, while supporting his mountaineering exploits, resulted in an expansion of personal horizons and a wonderment of humanity as well.

In helping to manage a pub in Barnes - part of London, but with a village feel - Mr Duffy gained an appreciation of the unique personalities who frequented the establishment.

"It was populated with the most spectacular people," he fondly recalled. "They were all characters. It was one of those pubs where 90 per cent of the people who walked through the door were regulars. You'd get to know them.

"That's the richest travel of all."

In working in hospitality in Melbourne, specifically as the maitre d' at the renowned Lyceum Club whose membership involved female luminaries, such as Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, an even grander admiration for strong females formed.

"I could not believe what an extraordinary place it was," Mr Duffy ardently proclaimed.

"There were so many brilliant, high-achieving women. They came together, not just to drink and socialise, but they had multiple language groups, they had a writers' group. Some of these women were amazing pioneers, as women, as doctors, as educators.

"When I think about it retrospectively now, I think about what a gift it was to get to know these sorts of people. It was a privilege to have known them."

Over time, the attraction of overseas travel and the lure of exotic locales remained, but something else - or more to the point, someone else - had also captured Mr Duffy's heart.

During a year spent in South America, he embraced the antiquated art of letter-writing, remaining in frequent contact with future wife, Clare.

On one occasion, having descended a mountain outside La Paz, Bolivia, Mr Duffy chose to delay a celebratory meal for his birthday.

He was desperate to get to the post office to receive the latest batch of correspondence from Clare.

A subsequent traffic jam almost put paid to Mr Duffy reaching his destination before its closure.

However, as if in a scene pulled from a Hollywood romance, the dexterous Australian jumped out of the car which was transporting him, sprinted through bumper-to-bumper vehicles, and made it to the post office with one minute to spare.

"I picked up a bundle of letters from Clare," Mr Duffy said. "It was the most joyous thing."

The love-struck man sat down on the steps outside the post office to read Clare's letters.

"I drank them in," Mr Duffy gushed. "It was one of the most beautiful gifts I could ever have had on a birthday, to be remembered and loved.

"I was obsessed with climbing, but at the same time I never forgot where I was from and the people who were really important to me.

"Of course, Clare was number one on that list."

Another escapade in a far-off land illustrated the decency of The Courier personnel and the bond with their editor.

Although he and his expeditionary group were not at the epicentre of the 2015 Himalayan earthquake, Mr Duffy and his fellow adventurers felt the traumatic shockwaves as they were trekking.

The group was in a narrow valley and its satellite phone was not working.

Subsequently, those at home in Australia, including Mr Duffy's family and colleagues, presumed the worst.

It took a couple of days for the group to get to the open to get a signal and confirm all had not been lost.

"The silence would have been horrendous," Mr Duffy said, addressing the consequences of a lack of contact from the Asian continent.

Those at the paper were ever mindful of the Duffy family during the days of uncertainty.

"The support they showed for Clare in that period was just amazing," Mr Duffy recalled.

"They went around and supported her."

Upon reflection, the selfless actions of his staff reaching out with care to his family was of little surprise to Mr Duffy.

"It was great community stuff," he said.

"We see it again and again in Ballarat. You see it in times of need."

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