Jack Darling, 96, adds premiership ink to become one of the oldest Victorians to get a tattoo
Jack Darling, 96, promised to get a Collingwood tattoo if the Magpies won the premiership. Within days, he added the fresh ink – 80 years after his last.
Victoria
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Lifelong Pies fan Jack Darling might just be the oldest Victorian to get a tattoo.
It was probably the longest gap between tattoos as well, with the 96-year-old last being inked at age 16.
He added a Magpie on his left arm just a few weeks ago, celebrating Collingwood’s record-equalling 16th premiership.
Mr Darling, of Morwell, did not hesitate to book in a session at his local tattoo parlour in the days after Collingwood’s grand final success.
The veteran said getting a tattoo was a no-brainer.
“I said before the game, if Collingwood wins the premiership, I’ll be getting a tattoo,” he told the Herald Sun.
“A couple of days later, that was it, I did.
“The tattoo artist was very good, except it turned out a bit funny.
“She drew the magpie but it didn’t have any feet, so I had to go back and get the feet drawn on.”
Mr Darling said he was able to push through the pain knowing the young lady next to him was practically having her whole body tattooed.
“It was a bit more than a tickle,” he added.
“There was a female in her 20s, she had plenty of tattoos on her and she was getting three more big ones that was going to take all day.
“She’s sitting there as calm as anything, and I thought ‘Christ, if she can get all that done, I can get a little magpie done’.
“Mine was set to cost $200, but because I’m by far the oldest one they’ve had getting a tattoo, they gave it to me for half price.”
Mr Darling singled out one of the tattoos he got as a teenager as a mistake.
“I’ve got a couple of other tattoos which I got when I was 16,” he said.
“One is a butterfly, I don’t know why the hell I got that.
“The other one is a heart with the name Helen on it, which I got when I was 16, I did marry her so that turned out alright.”
Mr Darling’s happy-go-lucky attitude was personified again this winter as he donated $1000 worth of heated blankets for those in need, an act he has repeated for several years now.
He says his time in the navy – where he served for 12 years in the 1950s and 60s – was the motivation for the yearly donations.
“(I do it because) I can’t stand the cold, I hate to see old people being cold,” he said.
“When I was in the navy, I was in Korea for 12 months… in the real cold, in the winter, there’s icicles hanging off the guard rails, off every bloody thing.
“You’re in a tin bloody steel container, floating in a sea of ice, I’ve never been so bloody cold.
“I don’t think I’ve recovered yet.”
As for the Collingwood tattoo, Mr Darling said it had “caused quite a stir” around his Morwell nursing home and local RSL.
When asked if he’d add to the ink if the Magpies were successful again, Mr Darling cheerfully said: “Oh s— yeah.”
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