Vale - Peter Rowland

Peter George Rowland, affectionately known as “Rollo” or by some “Little Old Rollo”, died peacefully at the Calvary Hospital, Kogarah on 5 August 2014.  He was diagnosed with lung cancer about 18 months ago. He was 82.

Peter joined AGC at Tamworth after closing his menswear store at Gunnedah in the early 1960s. Like many of the great people the company initially employed in the rural centres, Peter’s abilities were soon recognised by his appointment as the first District Manager at Liverpool.

A good brain and a great personality were but two of Peter’s attributes, and these led him into his final role - Staff Training - where he excelled. Geoff Matthews worked closely with Peter at this stage and recalls that “his strengths were his interpersonal skills; he could interact with any level of person in a very genuine way, and ability to develop and maintain worthwhile and lasting relationships.  He was a very professional people person in the company and senior executives had no idea of the small bushfires he put out, and people he supported and helped in his role as Staff Development Manager. He took the role very seriously.  He also had that bit of larrikin in him, which also made him a joy to be around.  You were never quite sure what was going to happen when he was relaxing with you.”

Peter certainly was particularly popular, and was highly regarded by all. He was a ton of fun and there would be very few who don’t have at least one hilarious story involving him. Among these, Fred’s Bistro, the Epping Hotel and “white lightening” come immediately to mind.

Typically, Peter didn’t want any fuss made of his passing; so he was privately buried beside his beloved Sylvia at the Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland, on August 11^th.

A really good bloke, Rollo will be missed.



Rollo in Action - from the cover of the 1983 AGC Report to Staff