Vale - Mick Kelly | Glebe Rowing Club

Mick Kelly

25 August 1949 to 14 January 2025, aged 75

Mick Kelly and a small group of other members were the difference between Glebe Rowing Club ceasing to exist a couple of decades ago or surviving to become the thriving club with the facilities we all enjoy today.

In 2002, the club had been without a boatshed for nearly a decade after going broke in 1994 and losing its shed on Blackwattle Bay to Sydney University Boat Club, which still holds the site. Protracted negotiations with the Department of Education saw the club eventually secure its present site, but the new lease came with the condition that the boatshed be built by March 2003.

With the deadline fast approaching and the club without the money to complete the job, it looked like a then unsupportive and unsympathetic Department of Education would reclaim the site.

This is where Mick and a couple of other members stepped in to provide financial support. Mick lent the impecunious club a six-figure sum to complete the job with no guarantee the money could be repaid, other members toiled to help complete the work, and GRC was saved.

The loan was repaid a decade later.

Michael Bernard Kelly was born in Glebe in August 1949 and grew up in the then working class suburb. He joined Glebe Rowing Club in 1965, following in the footsteps of his father Alick, who had rowed for the club in the 1930s and died when Mick was 11.

Frank Demspsey joined the club at the same time as Mick and rowed with him in junior and novice fours. “He was a very strong, very powerful bloke. You were always pleased to have him in your crew,” said Frank, who had known Mick since kindergarten.

“He was always there for me when I needed anybody.”

In 2008 Mick won an Australian Masters Championships in a coxless four, with Dave Clark, Terry Davis and Kim Mackney.

“He was very much a determined Glebe rower and he represented Glebe very well,” said Kim. “Mick was often on the pontoon and being that person trying to get people to be happy in their rowing and including people in the joy of being in Glebe Rowing Club.”

Emily Constantine is one of the many current and past GRC members who has benefitted from Mick’s patient coaching. She said Mick gave freely of his time and his goal was for a rower to come off the water feeling good about themselves and their efforts.

“One of my fondest memories of Mick was arriving at the club for a coaching session one ANZAC morning. Mick turned up wearing a suit and his service medals. We sat and watched the sun rise over Blackwattle Bay and talked about life and never made it onto the water,” Emily said. “Mick imparted wisdom to me about ageing well, keeping it real, and not taking things too seriously – all of which I will carry with me.”

As much as Mick enjoyed a chat and a story, most GRC members wouldn’t know what he’d done for the club or his sporting achievements, such as playing third-grade rugby league for the Balmain Tigers.

“He was no show pony,” said Max Solling.

He described Mick as self-effacing, friendly and energetic. “He was a tireless worker and one of the most noble people I've ever met,” Max said.

Outside of rowing Mick worked as a wholesale butcher. Later, a part-time job as a rowing coach at Sydney Grammar led to a position as the school’s ‘front gate sergeant’, where he was liked and respected by the boys.

And he was a stalwart of the GRC Old Boys.

“Along with ensuring the physical survival of the rowing shed, Mick's generosity embodied the community spirit of the club,” said GRC president Catherine Maxwell. “The sight of Mick's broad shoulders and wide smile always lifted my spirits.”

Mick died in Prince of Wales Hospital on 14 January after a brief illness. He is survived by his two sons Luke and Daniel. Another son, Grant, predeceased him.

Mick, in the engine room (seat 5)