Three incredibly proud daughters surprised Peter Newley for Father's Day, but having his girls turn up unexpectedly on his door wasn't the only surprise playing on his mind on Sunday.
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The feeling of pulsing anticipation in his blood, the recollection of cool metal in his warm palm, the sense of deep pride on a stunning Thursday afternoon has never left him, even after two decades.
Mr Newley was the first Tamworth man off the line in the town's Olympic Torch Relay.
Sitting in his living room with wife Joan, the sun streaming through the curtains filtering through the colours of blooming spring flowers, he said that moment had changed his life.
"The sun was out and it was a beautiful day, much like today," he mused.
"We were transported on a bus near Werris Creek Road ... and it was unbelievable. It was the highest point in my life."
Mr Newley said he had never been the same man since, putting more and more effort into the community, cumulating in his Tamworth Lions Club presidency from 2007 to 2008.
Yet while the relay may have put a bit of thrive on his community spirit, the seeds had always been there.
This potential was seen by Mrs Newley, who, unbeknownst to her husband, secretly submitted the application which would see him one of the town's torch bearers and become something of a local celebrity.
"I remember we were out a few years later, and I heard a boy say 'look Nan, that's the man in the photo who is holding the torch'," Mrs Newley laughed.
Mr Newley had found it incredibly rewarding giving talks at schools like Karinya, and visiting the children's ward at the hospital showing the torch around.
After receiving his selection, Mr Newley had trained on Moore Creek Road for the 600 metre stretch.
Always an incredibly athletic man, he had won the combined schools cross-country and was four times the college swimming carnival champion.
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Going on to be a wool-classer, he walked approximately 10 kilometres each day.
"To be part of the Olympic Torch Relay was a privilege, an honour, and an experience I shall never forget," he said.
"We all had the sense of sharing ... I feel the relay connected the Australian people."
