<< Back to Lion homepage
Remembrances
Ewen Fraser Gellie (OW1986)
15/10/1968 – 09/03/2022
Ewen’s life was inextricably linked with bicycles. His achievements in the bicycle world are legendary: Australian Mountain Bike Champion in downhill and trials 1988 – 1991; competing in the World Mountain Bike Championships in Italy in 1991; inducted into the Australian Mountain Bike Association Hall of Fame in 1993. His ingenuity and engineering skills made him a leader in handmade bicycle building.
He was the only son of Janet and John Gellie (OW 1951), with three older sisters - Kirsten, Catriona and Fiona (who taught at Glen Waverley from 1984-1994).
In Year 7, Tom Fortuin introduced him to the Mechanics Club, where they pulled things apart to see how they worked.
Bryan Kenneally introduced him to many outdoor sports. He did high jump, jumping 1.85 metres, played in the First XVIII, and received General Sports Colours. Close friendships with many of his classmates continued through the following years – a testament to Ewen’s warm, caring nature.
Teenage Ewen had a BMX: he rode it over almost anything. Then he graduated to mountain bikes, competing in and winning his first race at age 14. He developed his riding technique and learned how the bicycles he rode could be improved.
Ewen entered Queens College and began Mechanical Engineering at Melbourne University in 1987. Friends at Queens remember him as ‘the athletic guy performing superb wheelies in the quad’ and ‘a gentle, intelligent soul.' Before graduating, he applied his budding engineering knowledge to bicycle design: once he took a hacksaw and then a TIG welder to a poorly designed bicycle, reconfiguring its geometry to improve traction and ride comfort.
He created his ‘Yowie’ brand of mountain bikes, riding them to victory in National Championships.
In 1990, he graduated as a mechanical engineer and was selected for the Australian Mountain Bike Team - an impressive double for the year. Following the World Mountain Bike Championships in Italy in 1991, he competed for another year before switching to riding for pleasure.
Beyond his riding achievements, he mentored young riders and promoted the sport. In 1993, Ewen worked for General Motors Holden Engine Division. He moved to Ford, then Toyota, travelling the world as a problem-solver. He returned to full-time bicycle building in 2006 with his ‘Gellie Custom’ brand.
Ewen joined the ‘Round the Bend Conservation Co-operative’ at Bend of Islands in 2005, building a house and workshop in the bush.
Wanting to ‘walk the talk’ of his convictions, he embraced sustainable green living and shared community input. He described it as ‘living in his own national park.' From 2006 to 2022, Ewen created superb handmade bicycles, perfecting his techniques and tools. On the wall at home was this Albert Einstein quote: ‘Scientists investigate that which already is; engineers create that which has never been.’ Ewen loved adopting new technologies.
He used 3D-printing to make unique bike parts and created what is possibly the first ever tandem bicycle that could be dismantled and packed into two airline suitcases. In the Co-op, he created a pole-mounted camera that enabled checking of animal nest-boxes in trees from the ground, part of their monitoring of local wildlife.
A seeker of knowledge with an enquiring mind, especially in science and new technology, he shared his knowledge with people around the world.
Ewen was an engineer and an innovator, creative and inquisitive. In his workshop, he created his legacy of unique state-of-the-art steel-framed bicycles. His contribution to the bicycle community cannot be overstated.
He achieved so much, but remained thoughtful, humble, caring, calm, kind and environmentally aware – a gentle man who walked softly and considerately on the earth.
Contributed by John Gellie (OW1951)
