It is with great sadness we report the sudden death of Bruce Rowley aka Rolls, Breadrolls or simply Rowley. Bruce was visiting a friend in Melbourne last Saturday night when he suffered a heart attack.
Bruce was a well known, respected and loved CYCA Member for many years.
Bruce was born in Parkes in 1944 and attended the Australian National University (ANU) where he graduated with a Degree in Economics. He was a keen rugby player and later supporter, and whilst at the ANU he toured the world representing them against other rugby playing universities around the world.
After a stint working for a fuel company with offices in Edgecliff he headed off to London and worked in a number of hotels. Always the larrikin, he enjoyed his time there.
On the death of his father, he returned home to help his brother Bill run the family’s Retravision store in Parkes. The store was sold in 1978 and Bruce moved into the hotelier business and was employed as a hotel manager by the FAI group. He had stints at the Watsons Bay Hotel and others at Marrickville and Cabramatta. Never one to walk away from a confrontation he kept those hotels profitable and safe.
In 1995 he was employed by CYCA as Secretary / Manager, a position he enjoyed until leaving in 1999. During that time his experience as a hotel manager was called on to develop better controls in the bars. Following that he purchased the lease of a hotel in Mittagong and turned it around to be a profitable venture and then sold the lease. Not quite finished with the hotel business, a mate asked him to help him turn around a hotel in Goulburn, which he did.
Following his time in Goulburn, he purchased a unit in Lake Macquarie and proceeded to renovate it.
Bruce was a very keen sailor, having participated in many Sydney Hobarts and many races north. A few years ago he purchased his own boat Samiel – a beautifully constructed timber yacht. He took Samiel to Lake Macquarie and raced it on those waters.
Never one to sit still, he recently sold his unit in Lake Macquarie and decided to move to Tasmania. He found a place to buy in a township just south of Cygnet and in fact had recently put a deposit on it. He planned to bring Samiel to Tasmania with him. He had met some of the locals and was really looking forward to moving there. Regrettably, that is not to be.
Bruce is survived by his two daughters Sally and Melissa.
The family will organize his cremation and then his ashes will be returned to Sydney. A wake will be held at CYCA on Friday 29 March 1400 – 1700hrs to celebrate the life and larrikin times of our mate Rowley!
RIP old mate.
By Past Commodore Geoff Lavis
