Hewes, a former first grade trainer and manager with the Parramatta Eels, has collected some rare and priceless memorabilia, mostly Parramatta artifacts, over more than 20 years of involvement in the game.

Among his prized possessions are a framed aerial picture of the last game played at Cumberland Oval, a picture of himself with rugby union's Ella brothers and a picture of the first rugby league game ever played at the WACA in Perth.

But for Hewes it is the friends he has made through his involvement in the sport from 1974 through to 1996, which he treasures the most.

"I had a great time at Parramatta and met some really wonderful, wonderful people," Hewes said.

"Jack Gibson, Ron Massey, Denis Fitzgerald, the list goes on and on. Peter Wynn is a very close friend, he lived with me for four and a half years and Peter Sterling he stayed with us for 18 months."

Wynn, a Parramatta second rower during the 1980's, runs a very successful sports store in Parramatta these days and barely a day goes by without the pair talking to each other on the phone, and while I was interviewing Gary, Wynn phoned and had nothing but praise for Hewes.

"Gary Hewes is a bit of a legend at Parramatta and when I moved to Sydney in 1978 he made me feel more than welcome," Wynn said.

"Gary was an important part of Parramatta in those days and he was very popular and was a good worker for the club. He's a great bloke and the town's lucky to have him."

Hewes moved to Bathurst in November to run a new business with his son-in-law Greg Stanley, with the pair the owners of the Westpoint Cellars, at Westpoint Shopping Centre, Windradyne.

Hewes and his wife Jan, who have been married for almost two years, chose Bathurst as their new home, because they wanted to move away from Sydney and because their grand daughter is a boarder at All Saints' College.

"We decided that we wanted to get out of Sydney and we wanted to make a move," he said.

"We decided on Bathurst because our grand daughter was here and we came up here looking for a business and we were very fortunate to fall into what was called Porters' at Windradyne and we're here for the long haul."

Although he has only been in town for a short time, Hewes has already noticed the difference from living in the country to the city.

"I find up here in Bathurst, in the six or seven weeks we've been here, (that) there is a camaraderie you don't get in Sydney. There is something about the people west of the mountains, which is terribly different to those below the mountains," he said.

Hewes' long association with Parramatta started in 1974, when he served as a rubber and strapper at the club.

Hewes remained as a trainer and masseur at the club until early 1981, when he took up the position as promotions manager for adidas in NSW.

That meant Hewes could no longer be associated with the club in an official capacity, but the Parramatta fanatic was still there at every game cheering on the boys and witnessed first hand the Eels premiership victories in 1981, '82 and '83.

Hewes also kept in close contact with the Eels through work, as adidas were the official boot supplier to Parramatta, as well as the Eastern Suburbs, Manly, St George and Illawarra clubs.

In 1985, Hewes left adidas and joined Parramatta's arch enemy Penrith, taking up the position of marketing manager at Penrith Leagues Club.

He only spent six months at the club, but Hewes managed to secure the club's first major sponsorship deal with Alpha Micro Computers.

Hewes returned 'home' to Parramatta in 1986, when he joined the club's advisory board, before being offered the position of first grade manager shortly before the season started.

The Eels went on to win the premiership that year, beating Canterbury 4-2 in the only tryless grand final, and Hewes said that win is among his highlights.

"It was great to be personally involved in 1986, but when you say I wasn't there for the others I was there as a sponsor and my heart was always there and will always be with the club," he said.

Hewes stayed on as first grade manager until 1996 and during that time he worked under three Parramatta coaching legends, John Monie, Mick Cronin and Ron Hilditch.

Hewes said Mick Cronin is the nicest person you would ever want to meet bar none and believes Cronin's coaching ability was under rated.

"I worked with Mick Cronin when he was first grade coach and I was first grade manager, and I thought (he) was a great coach but he didn't have a lot of people to work with."

In 1992, he became a director of Parramatta Leagues Club and in 1994 he served on the boards of both the leagues and the football clubs.

In 1996 Hewes stepped down from his position on the Leagues Club board to pursue his business interests and its a decision he doesn't regret.

"No because my focus has changed," he said. "I have a new lifestyle, I have a new wife and we have a new business.