Tats all, folks - news reading legend inks in his retirement
THE legendary Rob Kelvin will get up from the Channel 9 news desk for the last time on December 31 to step into retirement.
HE has been the face of South Australia's news for three decades, but at 6.30pm on December 31, Rob Kelvin will get up from the Channel 9 news desk for the last time, walk out the Tynte St studio doors and into retirement.
The 66-year-old has told the Sunday Mail the New Year's Eve news bulletin will be his last, ending his 32-year career with the network.
From January 3 he will be replaced by Kate Collins and Michael Smyth.
Apart from getting to spend more time with his wife Anna, 64, and son Jesse, 38, Kelvin is looking forward to another aspect of retirement - being able to roll up his sleeves and show off the tattoo he's had to keep hidden from viewers since 2005.
"I got it in Tahiti - we were there on holiday and there was a guy in a shack on the beach full of surfboards and skateboards and dreadlocks," Kelvin said.
"His name was Joseph Samuela and people were coming from all over the world for tattoos. I just thought 'What a moment! If you're ever going to get a tattoo I'm going to get one now'."
The small, black tattoo - a tribal depiction of a sea turtle - sits on the inside of his right forearm, over a blood line to his heart.
"It's for conservation - keep the oceans clean, keep the turtles alive and the whole planet will live," Kelvin said.
"It was a spur of the moment thing and I'll be one of the few people who can leave it at one tattoo."
Kelvin's retirement announcement was not altogether unexpected - in May, the local media went into overdrive when Nine issued a Friday afternoon press release announcing he would be replaced by Collins during a month's long service leave.
Many speculated those weeks were really a litmus test for Collins' and Smyth's on-air chemistry, a preview of what the station's 2011 news line-up would be. Since then his appearances on the Nine newsdesk have been sporadic; he returns to screens tomorrow after wrapping up another three months' leave.
But Kelvin said his retirement had come about simply because "it's the right time".
"I've just had three months off which has been a fair sort of dress rehearsal for retirement," he said.
"I guess first and foremost the reason is that I'm 66 years of age.
"For some years I've had 65 as a rough target and a couple of years ago I spoke to Tony (Agars, Nine News director) and said I might pull stumps at 65, he said, 'ooh, can you hang on?'.
"And it's been a terrific year, I've really enjoyed this last year too."
Kelvin started on Nine's news team in 1979 as a sports presenter before teaming up with Caroline Ainslie in his first stint as news anchor in 1983.
The news desk proved to be his rightful home, although that first year he endured the awful pain of losing his 15-year-old son Richard, who was murdered by Bevan Spencer Von Einem.
It was in 1987 that Kelvin found his true deskmate - Kevin Crease - with whom he forged a 20-year partnership that became the trusted face of Nine's nightly SA news.
That partnership came to a sad end in April 2007, when Kelvin was forced to present a tough story - Crease's death from cancer at the age of 70.
That night Kelvin stoically read the intro to the news report next to an empty chair, with Crease's jacket hanging on the back.
While the newsman said he would miss the thrill of chasing the big stories, the thrill of waking up to a day without deadlines was even greater. "No deadlines, that's the amazing thing about retirement," he said. "Once upon a time, I had a wrist watch that had six alarms on it and they were different things that I would have to do at different times during the day and it would go off for all these different things. And I haven't missed a deadline that I'm aware of in 32 years."
It's that dedication to his work that has earned Kelvin the respect of his colleagues - news director Tony Agars has nothing but praise for him.
"He's a great bloke, full of integrity and you need people like Rob around," Mr Agars said.
"His influence on the bulletin has been nothing short of brilliant and we love him to bits."
Mr Agars insisted Kelvin's work at Nine would continue, although he was not ready to reveal in what capacity.
"Rob now reads through until the end of the year," Mr Agars said.
"After that it's not the end for us. Rob is quite keen and I'm certainly very keen to have Rob with us for a while yet. We're talking about some projects now that Rob can get his teeth into and certainly I reckon you'll see Rob reading news as we've got holidays and things like that coming up."
Meanwhile Kelvin - who notes with glee he will start his retirement on 1/1/11 - couldn't be happier about his decision to walk away from the news desk.
"I don't think I'm going to miss it," he said. "As for not doing it, I don't know, 30 years is probably enough."
FYI Life and times of a media blueblood
> Born Adelaide, Sept 20, 1944.
> Educated at Woodville High.
> From 1964 to 1970, worked as a patrol officer in Papua New Guinea. He was involved in a host of projects, including surveying roads, administering local elections, performing magisterial duties and advising local government.
>> Returned to Australia in 1971.
>> Joined Lee Murray's Radio School in Melbourne and has been in the media ever since.
>> Has worked at several radio stations, including 4AY Townsville, 3SH Swan Hill, 7HT Hobart and Adelaide's 5KA and 5AD.
>> Started at Channel 9 in 1979, first as sports editor and presenter.
>> Began reading the weekday National Nine News in 1983 with Caroline Ainslie.
>> Began a 20-year reading partnership with Kevin Crease in 1987.
>> Highlights: Two Commonwealth Games (Brisbane, 1982, Auckland, 1990).
>> Met Pope John Paul (1986) when MC'd the Pontiff's outdoor mass in Adelaide.
>> Port's 2004 AFL Grand Final win.