Robbie Dewar, a gentle giant with a big heart
Robbie Dewar, a gentle giant with a big heart
Robbie Dewar is a gentle giant with a big heart.
The recent winner of the inaugural Racing and Wagering WA Service to Industry Award, Dewar had ambitions of becoming a jockey in his early years.
But once he filled out his 198cm frame he realised that this was an impossibility.
“I grew up in an era when racing was king,” he said. “In those days, the mid-60s to 70s, the back page of the newspaper led with racing, footy or cricket.
“Mum and Dad used to take me to the races when I was five or six and I was bowled over by the colour, glamour and the noise it generated.
“I wanted to be a jockey, but of course that wasn’t going to happen.
“I’ve always had a big mouth, so the next best thing was to be a race caller.”
Dewar grew up listening to such greats as Bert Bryant and Ken Howard on the family’s radio and decided that that was the vocation he would follow.
When he left school he enrolled at the Mt Lawley Tech and did a radio announcers course.
“When I finished the course I put pen to paper and wrote to all the non-TAB courses in WA. Places like Wyalkatchem, Kellerberrin, Trayning and Williams and told them of my desire to call races,” he said. “Nothing much came back. Eventually I landed a stint doing voluntary work at the Katanning Trotting Club as a fill-in for the main caller, Robbie Armstrong.
“I was travelling from my home in Midland to Katanning for every meeting … that went on for about two years. I did call a few races up there, but I was bloody hopeless.
“But by then I had been bitten by the bug and I became a keen trotting fan.”
Dewar would have loved to have made race calling his profession, but he knew this was a bridge too far so he started working with Australia Post as a postie in the city.
It was a job he would keep for 30 years and one that he loved dearly.
“I took a redundancy package from Aussie Post in September,” Dewar said. “I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in August, but I knew something wasn’t right going back six or seven years ago.
“I was a postie at the City Delivery Centre and the girls at work noticed a change in me. I started to go downhill a little bit. I was shaky and unsteady on my feet.
“That’s when I asked for a different role at work and ended up in the sorting section. Aussie Post were sensational when I was diagnosed … I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
But Dewar hasn’t let his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis get him down.
Owners, trainers and drivers still see the same smiling face of the “big fella” as he quietly goes about his business down at the stalls at headquarters every Friday night … getting quotes from the victors for his weekly column in the Sunday Times.
“I’ve been writing trotting for the Sunday Times for 10 years now,” he said. “Prior to that I started covering the trots for the Community Newspapers Group as a volunteer.
“I wrote for Community for about 15 or 20 years … in those days I would write my column out longhand. The poor editor of the Wanneroo Times, the late Merv Day, had his work cut out trying to make sense of my scrawl.
“I also did a stint for about three years or so calling trials at Wanneroo.
“The only calling I do now is the Pony Trots at Gloucester Park … I’ve been doing that for 20 years. I took over from Colin Flindell when he gave it away.
“And I also do a radio program on 107.3FM every Saturday morning from 6.45 til 8.15 – it’s called Coffee and the Form Guide. We discuss the three codes, with a harness racing bent.”
Dewar, who counts his nomination for a James Brennan Award in 2007 and his Joseph Coulter Award win in the same year as two of the highlights of his career, says his recent accolade has been quite humbling.
“I love this industry and to be recognised for what I do is a great honour,” he said.
“Before I was nominated for the James Brennan Award, I thought no one even noticed me, or what I did.
“I’m really thrilled with being named the winner of this new award. It’s a real honour and a bonus for a bloke like me who loves doing what he’s doing.”
FOOTNOTE: Robbie Dewar does a Personality Profile piece for RWWA’s online publication. He gets owners, trainers and drivers to divulge some personal details about themselves for the column. We thought it would be an apt way to finish this story by turning the mirror on to Dewar himself and putting him in the “hot seat”.
PROFESSION: Retired mail officer. Harness racing writer.
DATE OF BIRTH: 2-4-58.
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Wendy for 27 years. One child, Rebecca (23).
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST THRILL IN THE SPORT: Being nominated for the James Brennan Award in 2007, winning the Joseph Coulter Award in the same year and being named RWWA’s Service to Industry Award winner.
BEST HORSE ASSOCIATED WITH: Motu Kinglin, won two races in the country for our syndicate.
BEST HORSE SEEN: Im Themightyquinn.
BEST DRIVER SEEN: Justin Warwick.
GREATEST INFLUENCE IN THE SPORT: Gino de Mori.
BEST LIKED SPORT: Harness racing/AFL.
FAVOURITE SPORTING TEAM: Eagles.
FAVOURITE TV SHOW: English detective dramas.
FAVOURITE FOOD: My wife’s cooking and spaghetti marinara.
FAVOURITE DRINK: Anything liquid.
FAVOURITE ACTOR: Greer Garson.
FAVOURITE PASTIME: Spending time with Wendy.
FAVOURITE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: Riding my exercise bike.
AMBITION IN LIFE: Making sure Wendy’s looked after.
Be happy, be safe.
Wayne Currall