Salvatore "Sam" Coffa, AM, JP (born 15 January 1936) is a former Australian

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

and long-time sporting administrator. He was also actively involved in community affairs, and was a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the former

City of Hawthorn The City of Hawthorn was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, on the southeast bank of the Yarra River. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. History Hawthorn ...

, Melbourne.

Weightlifting

Sam Coffa's first

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

competition was at the Hawthorn Boys' Club Annual Display at the

Hawthorn Town Hall The Hawthorn Arts Centre (formerly the Hawthorn Town Hall) is a former civic building located in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Designed by architect John Beswicke in the Second Empire style, the hall was built from 1888 to 1890 an ...

, in 1954. He then represented Australia at the 1954 World Championships in Perth; then at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games; and the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was Victorian Champion 11 times consecutively between 1959 and 1969, and is six times Australian Champion.

Sports administration

Sam Coffa has served Australia for more than 40 years as an outstanding athlete and sports administrator, particularly as an Executive Board Member, Commonwealth Games Federation. He was President of

Commonwealth Games Australia Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) is the Commonwealth Games Association for Australia, and is responsible for representing and promoting the Commonwealth Sport movement in the country, and organises the participation of athletes at the Commonwe ...

from 1999 to 2018. He was Deputy Chairman of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Bid Committee and 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. He is also vice president of the International Weightlifting Federation, and Chairman of the IWF's Technical Committee.

Councillor and mayor

Sam was first elected onto the Hawthorn City Council in 1972. In 1979 ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' newspaper reported the following: "Sam Coffa, was widely known and liked within the Hawthorn area through his interactions with the business community, his youth work, the Hawthorn City Band, Rotary and the Community Chest and in particular the sport of weightlifting. It was these connections which encouraged him to stand for election as a city councillor. He was elected unopposed to represent Auburn ward upon the retirement of Max Yunghams in 1972. He was elected first European-born mayor of Hawthorn in 1979-1980 at the age of 43 yrs". He remained a Hawthorn councillor for 14 years serving a second term as mayor in 1986-87, after which he did not seek re-election. (In 1994, the Hawthorn City Council was incorporated into the then-newly established

City of Boroondara The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn. It has an area of ...

Community affairs

Shortly after arriving in Australia, Sam had joined the Hawthorn City Band, which was his entrée into a life of serving the community. He soon became a member of the Hawthorn Boys' Club, (later known as Hawthorn Citizens' Youth Club) and was a driving force for the inclusion of young women into the club. The Coffa family have made a huge contribution to the Hawthorn Citizens Youth Club. Sam was elected President in 1964 and Secretary in 1967, the latter a position he held for many years. Sam was also the driving force behind the establishment of the new million dollar Hawthorn Community Recreation Centre situated beside the

Glenferrie Oval Glenferrie Oval is an Australian rules football stadium located in Hawthorn, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the historic home of, and is synonymous with, the Hawthorn Football Club, who played there from 1903 and as a VFL/AFL ...

and as Mayor of the City of Hawthorn, and Club Secretary, he presided over the official opening ceremony by the Governor of Victoria, Sir

Henry Winneke Sir Henry Arthur Winneke, (20 October 1908 – 28 December 1985) was a Chief Justice of Victoria and the 21st Governor of Victoria, from 1974 to 1982. Early life and career Winneke was born on 20 October 1908 to the descendants of German immi ...

in November, 1979. Mrs Marjorie Coffa held the position of President in 1979/80, 1998/99, as did his brother Paul Coffa in 1987, and son Daniel in 1989/90. Sam Coffa’s daughter, Iolanda Marinov is currently 018the Club Secretary. Sam still retains the position of Honorary manager/Treasurer. Both Marjorie (deceased) and Sam Coffa are Honorary Life members of the Hawthorn Citizens Youth Club. Over the years Sam has been associated with many other community organisations, particularly those based in Hawthorn. He is a long time member of the Hawthorn Historical Society.

Personal life

He was born on 15 January 1936 in

Ferla Ferla ( Sicilian: ''A Ferra'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). The Necropolis of Pantalica, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica" is situated betw ...

, Italy. Sponsored by his uncle, Sam migrated to Australia in 1952 at the age of 16 years. Initially, he boarded with a family in Liddiard Street,

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

. Other members of the Coffa family soon followed Sam from Sicily to Melbourne. The long-term family home was located Hawthorn.He lived there with his sister Michela/Lina, Salvina and brother Paul. Sam, his father Francesco, and his brother Paul, opened a boot repairing business in 1954. They specialised in surgical boot making. The shop was in

Glenferrie Road Glenferrie Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in Melbourne, Australia. It runs from Kew to Caulfield North, and includes major shopping districts at both Hawthorn and Malvern. There are a number of rail transport options on Glenferri ...

, Hawthorn, next to the Maternal Health Centre and close to Hawthorn Library. It closed in 1993. Sam became an Australian citizen in 1959, and his naturalisation (now citizenship) certificate is dated 12 October 1959. Marjorie Edith Lamb had known Sam for some years prior to their marriage in 1959, at the Immaculate Conception Church , Hawthorn. Marjorie Lamb was the daughter of Mrs M G Mueller and step-daughter of Mr M G Mueller of Oxley Road Hawthorn. Mrs Coffa passed away on 30 June 2017.

Recognition

* 1988 - Member in the General Division of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

for his service to sport, in particular weightlifting, youth and the community. * 2000 -

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

* 2018 - General Member of the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

for outstanding service to the Commonwealth Games and Weightlifting Australia. * Life Member

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffa, Sam 1936 births Living people Australian male weightlifters Weightlifters at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters for Australia Italian emigrants to Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia Australian sports executives and administrators Commonwealth Games Australia officials Members of the Order of Australia Australian justices of the peace Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Weightlifters at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Mayors of places in Victoria (state) Sportspeople from Melbourne People from Hawthorn, Victoria Sportspeople from the Province of Syracuse Italian male weightlifters