Bishop Gary Weatherill said the whole diocese was saddened by Father Brehaut’s passing.

“In his long majority in this diocese and other places, Father Brehaut offered good and able pastoral ministry to all in his care,” Bishop Weatherill said.

Father Brehaut was ordained in 1968 and served in Kaniva, Portland and Heywood, the Otways, Dimboola and Edenhope parishes, as well as in Tasmania, where he was the Tasmanian Anglican editor.

In retirement, Father Brehaut served as a retired priest in the Holy Trinity Sebastopol parish and assisted in Ballarat’s Christ Church Cathedral.

Father Brehaut was also involved with Neighbourhood Watch and the Ballarat Tramway Museum.

Leading Senior Constable Janine Walker, of Neighbourhood Watch,  said he was a key volunteer, editing both the Sebastopol south-west and Coffee Club newsletters.

“He was just a fantastic person,” Leading Senior Constable Walker said. “He was very endearing and very wise.”

Father Brehaut and his late wife Anne had three children, David, Rhys and Raelene, and seven grandchildren.

David said his father – who was a descendent of Thomas Hiscock, who first discovered gold in Buninyong – grew up in Sebastopol and attended Redan Primary School and Ballarat High School, before training at the Ballarat Teachers College.

His first teaching placement was at Ercildoune Primary School in 1954, followed by Timboon, Ensay North, Mannibadar and Cobden before he trained for the Anglican ministry in 1965 at Ridley College, Melbourne.

Mr Brehaut said his father had gone full circle after his 1998 retirement, returning to Holy Trinity Anglican Church which he attended growing up and where he was an organist in his teenage years.

“The church always played a very big part in his life,” Mr Brehaut said.

He said his father was passionate about trams and was a Ballarat Tramway Museum foundation member.

He was a conductor on the Ballarat trams until recently, when he became a museum volunteer.

“He was always a familiar face on the trams,” Mr Brehaut said.

fiona.henderson@fairfaxmedia.com.au