By Dominique Tassell
Excitement levels were high when Allora welcomed hometown hero Matthew Denny back home on 10 September.
Balloons lined the street in Australia’s green and gold, with homemade signs hung on on locals’ homes and in business windows.
The atmosphere was electric as locals lined the streets to cheer Matt on, with his family gathered outside the Allora Hotel.
Matt was driven through the parade from the Allora Sports Club down to the Allora Sports Museum.
Allora local, Jill Bockman, said Matt has “done very well for himself“.
“He’s a really dedicated young man,“ she said. “He’s done us proud.“
She said “he never gives up“ and is a wonderful role model for local kids.
“He comes up really well in all aspects,“ she said.
Southern Downs Regional Council members were in attendance, including Mayor Vic Pennisi who presented Matt with a certificate of recognition to honour his efforts.
The Mayor joked that if Matt brings home a gold in 2024, he’ll get the key to the city.
Mayor Pennisi said Matt “breathes hope“ into the community after a tough period of drought, Covid-19 and more.
“You breathe hope into the community for now and into the future.“
Allora Sports Museum curator, Perry Cronin, was also presented with one of the certificates for posterity.
Matt spoke outside the sports museum, first thanking everyone for their support.
“For me, it’s pretty incredible that I got fourth and still have the amount of support that’s been shown.“
While he usually speaks off the cuff, he had prepared a few words.
“It’s hard to talk at the moment,“ he said.
This was evident as he spoke, becoming overcome with emotion at times.
“I just want to say I honestly can’t believe the parade and the hugs and the wishes and the high fives and just the general support in everything that I’ve done since I started.“
Matt stated he wanted to share a story about why he’s so proud to be from Allora.
“As you may all know, my brothers were great footballers. My dad probably sold half the people here a car in his local business, and my granddad and uncle owned a local silo business that took over Queensland,“ he said.
“I was so proud when I used to walk down the street and tell everyone who my family was, the best part was when people used to say to me ’aren’t you John Denny’s boy?’ or ’hey, you’re Jason’s little brother, how’s Jason going after getting sin-binned on the weekend?’
“A lot of people used to say I had a lot to live up to but I always thought I used to have a lot of people to look up to.
“Living in the shadow of people I admired, and that were family, wasn’t something I was afraid of. If anything they gave me the opportunity to learn and to grow in the shade before I walked into the sunlight.
“So I want to say thank you to mum and dad, Mia, my family, and those who I looked up to when I was growing up and thank you for still being those people in my life today.
“I’m so grateful for this parade being planned for me today, for placing fourth, it makes me so much prouder that I’m part of a community that supports me win, lose, or draw.
“You’ve all said congratulations to me, but I want to say congratulations to us because this was a group effort.
“Without the support of you all in something that I wanted to achieve, I never would have made it past Darling Downs trials.
“So thank you for all your support, your effort in this parade, and your love.
“You make me love what I do so much more and you make me even more proud to call this place home
“But most of all, thank you for always referring to me as John Denny’s boy.“
Matt said afterwards that it’s hard to put into words what it means when a whole town comes out to support you.
He says the whole experience has been crazy, and he wants to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported him.
For Paris ’24, he thinks the town might just have a “street party” in celebration.
