ROBERT Rice has been remembered as a fiercely loyal son, brother and mate with a zest for life.
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The 26-year-old was killed last Saturday when his Holden Commodore left the roadway on a bend and hit a tree at O’Connell.
He had been driving back to his Kelso home to spend his birthday with family.
Born on May 26, 1986, Robert Michael James Rice was the second child of Jennifer and Michael Rice. He was a brother to Michelle, Matthew, Johnathon and Paul.
Known as “Bob” to most, “Shotty” to some and “Robbie” to his mother, the young Kelso man had a passion for the great outdoors.
“He loved camping and fishing; anything that meant being in the bush,” his mother Jennifer said.
Robert was educated at Kelso Public School and later Kelso High School. At 14, he worked as a shearer, travelling throughout NSW, Queensland and Victoria to gain work.
His best mate, Nash Brown, considered him like a brother. He said the 26-year-old larrikin had “the gift of the gab”.
“He never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn – and didn’t he have some stories to tell,” Nash said.
When Robert was new to shearing he accepted a job at Freemantle. The elderly property owner was compiling pay cheques at the end of the day and, on hearing Robert’s surname, said he had been living on the young shearer’s “relations”, referring to the only diet he could afford: rice.
“This frail old man could barely afford to pay his workers, let alone eat,” Nash said.
“So Robert refused the cheque. That was the sort of bloke he was. He’d give you the shirt of his back.”
“Family was everything,” Jennifer said. “He never got to marry or have children, but family was everything.
“His brothers and sister were a tight-knit group. If one was in strife, they were all in strife. They were thick as thieves and Robbie was leading the charge. He was always very protective.”
Robert spent the last night of his life with his sister Michelle, brother Johnathon and a couple of mates on a property near O’Connell.
“They stayed up until midnight to wish him a happy birthday,” Jennifer said. “When I heard the sirens that morning, I knew something bad had happened. But I didn’t think it had happened to my boy.”
Robert’s funeral will be held at The Cathedral of St Michael and St John on Monday at 2pm.
