Back at Bundamba

NEW Ipswich Turf Club (ITC) general manager Brett Kitching reckons he has all the right credentials to run a major Ipswich sporting club.

Brett Kitching in the familiar environment of Bundamba racetrack, where he will soon start work. Photo: Damian Dunlop

By PETER FOLEY

NEW Ipswich Turf Club (ITC) general manager Brett Kitching reckons he has all the right credentials to run a major Ipswich sporting club.

Kitching, 41, was yesterday named the club's replacement for former chief executive Ken Dunlop at a board meeting at Bundamba racetrack.

His claim appears well-founded with the father of three boasting a noble family background, sporting prowess, a love of racing and experience.

"I was told the committee basically had four criteria for the position ? interest in racing, a local person, a financial background and a strategic-thinking mindset," Kitching said.

He said he was the fourth generation of a family that entered Ipswich history 100 years ago and made its mark chiefly in the football world.

"My father Spencer played soccer for Australia and he and his brother Coly (Col) Kitching played in the same Ipswich United team," he said.

Brett Kitching was born at Ebbw Vale and went to school at Bundamba State School and Bundamba High before moving to Townsville to play football.

While there, he studied at James Cook University before returning to work as a chartered accountant at the Burnie Board factory at Bundamba for 12 years.

"I keep coming back to Bundamba,'' he said. "The last four years I worked for Steggles at Wulkuraka."

About seven years ago, he and his family moved to a property at Peak Crossing where he and his wife Annette dabbled in breeding racehorses, he said.

"I've been to all bar one of the last 23 Ipswich Cups," he said.

"One of ours raced at the Gold Coast one year and that was the only year I missed."

Two of the horses he bred he named after his children Alex, 14 (Alex's Princess) and Ellen, 10 (Ellen Loves Roses). His other daughter is Ondreea, 12.

Originally published as Back at Bundamba