Sport
31 March, 2023
Mellick Reigns On Squash Court
SENIOR sportsman Fred Mellick, 83, is Queensland’s oldest squash fixtures player and a pioneer of local squash.
Born in 1940, Mr Mellick has always had a knack for sports, he was a swimmer, a tennis player, and a lifeguard at the Ellis Beach Surf Club, but there was nothing he loved more than squash.
“My daughters used to say that I lived in the squash court,” he said.
Mr Mellick dedicated much of his life to the enrichment and growth of squash in the region, growing the sport from one club and one court to seven squash centres across the region in the sport’s boom from 1969 until the 80s.
“All I’ve done is promote the sport,” he said.
“I do it because people are what matter, not buildings or courts.”
At 83, Mr Mellick is a highly active squash player, playing fixtures run by Cairns Squash on Tuesday and Thursday mornings weekly to stay healthy.
He remains one of the best players in the region, but back in his 20s, he was one of the best players in FNQ.
“Sport was my life in Cairns,” he said.
“That was our source of entertainment back then; I started with the swimming club when I was eight years old, and apart from marbles at school, we all played either cricket or football or tennis.
“I switched to squash when the first squash courts were built in Cairns in 1960 when I was 20. It was natural, I wasn’t the top ‘top’ player, but we used to get in teams and play Townsville, and Townsville played us. The goal was to promote squash in North Queensland.”
In 1962, Mr Mellick left the country, got married, and returned to Cairns in 1965, where he became president of the Cairns Squash Association.
He quickly became a coach and introduced morning fixtures into the women’s games and club and junior fixtures that remain until today.
In the late 60s, he started his own squash centre, triggering a squash boom in Cairns until the 80s.
“There is only one squash centre now, and I would like to continue to promote the sport ...”
