The Late David Risby

David Risby (1955-2024)

As the Falls Creek flags flew at half-mast on Friday 19 January, David Risby was farewelled at a funeral service in Melbourne by his partner, family, friends, and the alpine community.

David will be remembered as a significant volunteer contributor, who provided a huge commitment to the Victorian alpine industry, with a particular love for Falls Creek, where he was a skier for many years, a member of Carey Alpine Club for 51 years and past Club president.

In 2003, he became heavily involved, along with various ski clubs and stakeholders, in the formation of the Falls Creek Alpine Association (FCAA), a rate-payers group, becoming an inaugural committee member, then Vice President and subsequently President (2006-2019).

David was also a founding member of the All Resorts Working Group (a collective of the rate-payer groups from Falls Creek, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Mt Baw Baw), later becoming the Victorian Snowsports Association (VSA). As a FCAA representative and the President of the VSA for a number of years, David participated as part of each of these groups, with a focus on improving the representation of all alpine users and stakeholders.

In 2013, the Alpine Resort Industry Advisory Group was created. David was an industrious member of this group. Driven by an insatiable desire to encourage all stakeholders to communicate and work with one another for the good of the alpine industry as a whole, David’s passion seemed limitless.

David worked successfully with each of the Falls Creek CEOs, particularly Ross Passalaqua and the incumbent Stuart Smythe, both of whom saw great value in local stakeholder input. The FCAA, headed by David Risby, became a founding member of, and a very active participant in, the Falls Creek Stakeholder Group, set up by Ross Passalaqua. Today that stakeholder input, which David was so passionate about, is part of the legislation governing Alpine Resorts Victoria.

David was a huge contributor on all alpine issues, very well researched, fully across the topic, and despite many frustrations, was always able to maintain his enthusiasm and drive.

In 2005, in the early days of user and stakeholder input, David was part of the advocacy that successfully lobbied to change the proposed new building regulations requiring the retrofitting of sprinklers to many ski clubs. Recognising the unfeasible cost to clubs, David, together with others, provided submissions that led to a far more practical and achievable outcome.

When COVID hit, David again joined with others, assisting the Victorian Health Department to establish rules that clubs could operate by, contributing to the penning and adoption of the ‘Clubs COVID Safe Plan’, playing a part to ensure user access to alpine resorts and clubs during trying times.

While over many years, David was a driving force behind the ‘Road to Falls Creek’, a FCAA-member discount card promoting businesses / suppliers from Melbourne to Falls Creek, and an annual FCAA social event, the “Mountain Muster” to mark the opening weekend of the ski season. As part of this event the FCAA provided donations to local Falls Creek groups on a regular basis.

In doing all of this voluntary advocacy work David always maintained his interest in the people he was dealing with, he was a passionate people person and invariably remembered their personal story, their contribution and relationship to the alpine region, the snow and skiing. 

He will be missed and remembered by many.  

Prepared by Sally Risby (daughter) and Robert Thompson (long time friend)