Ron McKenzie celebrated his 80th birthday on 1 August without the planned party at Noosa Springs resort when, on the eve of the event, lockdown sabotaged the family arrangements, deferring it until the Covid-coast is clear.
Back in the 1960s the local sporting identity from Melbourne was competing on the international tennis circuit, playing in Wimbledon in 1963, 1964 and 1967, and boasts victories over Davis Cup stars John Newcombe and Ray Ruffels, in a very different sporting arena.
“I was a mediocre battler around the circuit. I played all the grand slams – Australian, French and US. Things were different then. I played the last amateur Wimbledon, a lot of professionals weren’t allowed to play,“ he said.
“You just wrote to tournaments and told them how good you were and got invited to the competition. There was no money in it, only trophies. You got 50 pound expenses to get into the draw for Wimbledon. Now you get $120,000 if you’re in the first round.“
Ron travelled to England to compete at Wimbledon aboard the SS Arcadia. It took six weeks to reach London and he ran around the deck to keep fit.
“It was fantastic just seeing the world,“ he said. “I drove around Europe in a VW Kombi van,“ he said.
His return trip was on a Swedish freighter from Los Angeles. It took 17 days and he paid his fare by chipping rust off the deck.
Ron also played squash in Melbourne, like a lot of tennis players in the off-season, and was ranked number six in Victoria.
For most of his working life Ron worked for IBM in the computer industry in Melbourne before a holiday in 1994 convinced he and wife Marie-Claude to move the family to Noosa. The family moved to Noosa Waters and are now the longest residents of the estate.
“I had a couple of friends move up here, guys who’d played tennis in Melbourne. I shared a block of land on Noosa Sound. I came up for a visit in the middle of winter on a beautiful sunny day. I had a look at a display home (at Noosa Waters) and thought I should bloody well live here,“ he said.
He recalls that when they purchased their land, the canal outside their home had not yet been filled with water, the Saltwater Ave bridge had not been built and the sight of kangaroos bounding along Shorehaven Drive was common, he even encountered a dingo about 1km from home.
A friend of Ron’s had an electrical company in Victoria so Ron became the Queensland agent for the company for the next 20 years.
Ron played a lot of golf in Melbourne, though describing himself as never being much good at the game, he persevered and took up the sport in Noosa, playing at Noosa Tewantin for 25 years before becoming an inaugural member at Noosa Springs when the course opened.
Unfortunately a stroke in 2019 left him with a weakened left hand that has prevented him playing, but he’s working on recovery and a return to the course.The belated 80th birthday party promises to be a great day.
