Last Saturday we lost Con Toparis, owner of the Greengrocer café and bike shop in Goulburn. While riding his bike on Crookwell Road on the edge of Goulburn, he was killed in a tragic accident.
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Con was one of a kind - driven and determined with a prodigious work ethic. When he committed himself to something it was always 100 per cent.
He was a remarkable sporting talent, despite struggling with persistent back problems. I keep discovering new achievements. A talented road cyclist, mountain biker and runner, he played for Canberra in the soccer league in the 1980s and competed in national series for motocross as a junior, and car racing at the senior level. He even competed at the national level for ballroom dancing!
There was a real energy to Con and it's not surprising that he was school captain of both Wollondilly Public and Goulburn High. He famously gave his captain's speech at Goulburn High after riding his motorbike down the aisle and onto the stage.
Con had a great mind, demonstrating his academic ability in his school years. He was able to simultaneously engage in the day-to-day realities of running his business - every last detail of the bike stock he purchased - as well the much higher-level issues facing our region and our country.
He built up his business in Goulburn through periods of terrible adversity, most recently the pandemic and the fire in 2016. Like so many other small business people, he was a real innovator, introducing an artificial intelligence robot to the Greengrocer well ahead of others, which in itself was a great novelty to customers.
There were times when the grinding reality of running a small business got to him. Running a small family business is relentless and at times unforgiving. A small business person manages accounting, sales and marketing, management, human resources, procurement and IT all at once. I know he had very tough days.
But when it came to the communities he was part of, he cared deeply. He wanted the very best for Goulburn and despite occasionally flirting with other places (including a short stint at university in Sydney), in the end he always stuck with what he knew and loved.
He also wanted the very best for the Goulburn cycling community. He contributed enormously over a long period of time - encouraging new people to get involved, supporting local racing and regular rides including the wonderful Christmas ride each year.
But most of all he loved his family. His two boys, Eli and Costa, together share some of their dad's very best characteristics. Eli has excelled academically at school and is now studying politics, philosophy and economics at ANU whilst also playing an important role in the running of the business.
Costa is excelling at motor racing at a global level, joining a prestigious Formula 4 team in England as a gateway to F1 driving. Both have had enormous support and encouragement from their very, very proud parents. Both will continue to remind us of Con every time we see them.
Con's wife, Lana, has always been an important part of the business, as has his father, Elley. The Greengrocer is a truly family business, in every sense.
I know Goulburn will miss him. I can't imagine how much his family will miss him. And I will miss him enormously. There will be a hole in my heart every time I jump on my Greengrocer bike.
Rest In peace, Con.
- Angus Taylor is the federal member for Hume, a friend of Mr Toparis's and a fellow cyclist.
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