Vasilios (Bill) Aroney, father of son Minas, passed away on Monday, July 14, 2025, aged 76 years.
Bill was born at Narrabri District Hospital on January 25, 1949, to Minas Vasilios Aroney (dec) and Haricleia Louiza Aroney (dec).
He was named Vasilios after his grandfather, and was the eldest of four children, followed by his three sisters Helen, Kalliste and Christiana.
The family lived in Balonne Street, and the Aroney children attended Narrabri Primary School until the family moved to Vaucluse in Sydney.
Bill’s childhood in Narrabri was filled with mischief and adventures with his sisters and friends.
In 1959, at the age of 10, Bill, like many country children, went to boarding school at Scots College in Bellevue Hill.
He boarded for two years and then attended as a day boy when the family moved to Sydney in 1961.
He finished school at the age of 16 after completing his Leaving Certificate and went on to study accounting at the University of New South Wales.
Bill began auditing the accounts at the Sydney Fish Markets where he met his former wife and had a son in 1976, who they named Minas, after Bill’s father.
Bill’s arrival in Narrabri, approximately six years later, was the start of a new life.
He left Sydney in his van with Henry the cockatoo.
Henry remained with Bill for the rest of Bill’s life and was a wonderful companion, together with an adopted marmalade cat called Bella.
This was the early 1980s, and the move proved to be a huge change in Bill’s life.
The initial aim was to help his ageing uncle, Nick Aroney (dec), manage the Caledonian Hotel in Maitland Street.
The Aroney name had already made its mark on Narrabri, when as far back as 1928, Minas (Mick) Aroney, along with his two brothers, Emmanuel and Nick (all dec), opened the Crystal Palace Café in Maitland Street.
The brothers later built the first arcade in town and proudly displayed their name on the front and back of the arcade.
However, since then, many of the letters have dropped off from the front of the building.
The Caledonian Hotel, affectionately known as ‘the Callie’, also has a long history as a family-owned business, originally purchased by the three brothers in 1958, and renovated in 1959.
After a period assisting his Uncle Nick with the hotel, Bill eventually took over the licence and became a full-time publican for the next forty-fifty years.
Life as a publican allowed Bill to meet people from different walks of life, who were not only patrons, but his friends.
Hotel life was very busy, with long hours and only two days off each year.
School holidays were spent with his son Minas, whilst any other spare time was spent driving his cars and motorbikes, collecting records, CDs, musical instruments, stamps and many other things.
Bill loved the arts, particularly painting, photography and music.
He was a talented self-taught musician, playing a wide range of instruments including the guitar, piano and violin.
He also spent time renovating his heritage house and looking after the family properties which had been acquired by the Aroney brothers in the early 1930s through to the late 1950s.
In its heyday, the Callie was a meeting place for young and old and was hugely successful.
Bill held numerous raffles, organised karaoke nights and often played his guitar and piano for his patrons.
Christmas days were always spent entertaining his mates in the pub kitchen.
He sponsored local sporting teams, donated to many charities, filled the belly of anyone in need of a meal and was actively involved in the town he called home, just like his father and uncles.
Bill liked to walk up and down the main street of Narrabri every day and was well-known to residents of all ages.
In his later years, Bill was delighted to become a grandfather to grandson Bodhi and was a treasured uncle to his nephews and nieces and their children in Sydney.
Bill was a man whose hands could go from being at peace playing a piano, a guitar, a violin or banjo one moment, to reluctantly clenching his fists and ushering trouble from the bar the next.
He will be remembered as a caring, proud, honest, talented, and generous man.
Bill is survived by son Minas, grandson Bodhi, and his siblings and their families.
He was laid to rest in Sydney surrounded by family, following a private funeral.
His legacy has left an indelible stamp on the history of Narrabri.
