Derek (Rick) Millar – Avalon Beach SLSC
Rick Millar was a legend as a surf boat sweep and mentor. He was also a very generous human being. ‘’He had a heart of gold. What he really liked to do was help young kids to become better people. Once he liked you then you were his friend forever,’’ said Avalon Beach SLSC Boat Captain Peter Carter.
Carter knew Rick well. ‘’He was my coach for 27 years, taught me how to sweep and was just an inspiration to everyone,’’ Carter said. Donna Wishart, who had Rick as her sweep with the very successful Antiques female Masters crew, said: ‘’There was that rough, tough exterior but deep down Rick was a softie and one of the amazing things about him was how he would reach out and help people who had fallen on tough times,’’ Donna said.
Rick was raised in Narooma on the far south coast of NSW. His parents moved to Avalon in 1960 to give him a better education and he joined the local Surf Club two years later when he was 14. A year later, he started rowing in the bow seat for the Club’s Junior Crew. Rick continued rowing for another 10 years and won a State Open title in 1974 at Tathra on the South Coast. Lod Leggett swept the crew at Tathra but retired after that success.
With no-one available to sweep, Rick thought he’d have a crack at it. How fitting it was that Rick was still sweeping and guided the female U19 crew (Chanels) to victory at the Aussies at Scarborough Beach in April, 2018. He lost his battle with cancer four months later. In one of his last interviews, Rick said that his success as a sweep was built around sticking with locals. Many crew members came from Barrenjoey High School.
’I remember one year I had six crews. I had 30 rowers and all of their phone numbers started with the number 9918 (Avalon area code). I was actually more proud of that, seeing they were all locals. The best crews I had at Avalon were locals,’’ he said at the time. He continued: ‘’I love coaching because it allows you to see the results. When I was rowing you had to be 6ft 3in. I was only 5ft 8in little, so I had to really want it, fight for it. ‘’If you give me four unfit, odd-sized people who really want it, I’ll take them more than giving me four athletes and they will go better. I had one kid who was grossly overweight and was a bit slow running but he came back and went onto row in three Australian finals.’’
Rick was bestowed Life Membership of Avalon Beach SLSC in 1989. He filled every position at the Club – except President. That’s something, he said, that he never wanted. But he was the Australian Surf Rowers League President for four years and was inducted into the ASRL Hall of Fame in 2009. Rick became a Life Member of Sydney Northern Beaches Branch in 2010.
Rick had been diagnosed with cancer and had started chemotherapy before the Aussies at Kurrawa on the Gold Coast in 2012. But the brave fight came to an end six years later when he sadly passed away.
Rick was awarded SNB Life Membership in 2010.
Rick passed away on August 4th, 2018. He was aged 69.
