From late night writing to early morning baking

ROLF LIE June 21, 1934-April 13, 2025

Rolf Lie, a former Canberra and Japan correspondent for The Age, had several lives that included journalism and baking.

He was proud of his writing and kept a “to-do” file that contained his self-selected articles. Among them, a record of the change from pounds to decimal currency and another, a report on Japan’s cherry blossom festival.

Although my mother, his first wife, Joan Lie (nee Venn), complained his articles were ineffectual, I came to see they reflected his ability to see another point of view. Being the first political correspondent for The Age in Japan required a gentle touch and this was his strength. With a chance encounter with a journalism student, I came to learn his reporting was of such quality it was even used in teaching future journalists.

The time in Japan was just one of dad’s many lives. Not long after returning to Melbourne for family reasons, namely the safe arrival of his son Sverre, he followed a previous passion and took ownership of a small cake shop in Noble Park. This followed on from his university holidays where I was told he learnt baking from a Swiss baker. His passion for food was also part of his school days. He had cooking sessions at home when his parents were away travelling. Apparently, his aunty Phyl would make sure the kitchen was clean for his mother, Sybil, upon her return.

Maybe he was also inspired by his time in Germany. He had studied German at the University of Melbourne and although he was “not a great student” he must have learnt something and spent six months there in a part of the world he loved. He would talk fondly of his friend Karl, who lived in Trier and was also an Australian citizen, although his final days were spent in Germany.

It was perhaps fitting that shortly after his passing, I stayed at Bingen and wondered if his great late friend and former judge John Bingemann’s family was from this region. They also shared a love of good wine. Dad would always linger over his meals, maybe to savour the wine and conversation. I would say in his later years this order reversed. At John’s final resting moment, and after a heartfelt eulogy, Rolf cheered up the mourners with a vigorous, “Three cheers for John!”

Life changed for dad: he weathered challenges, rebuilt his business after a factory fire, remarried, had children after 40. He was nimble and drew on his business and marketing skills to reinvent his business and, of course, the shape of the pie. With the help of the late baking pioneer Frank Seton’s new pie trays, he was able to convince Melbourne pie makers of the efficiency of a new system.

Former foreign correspondent Rolf Lie at his Melbourne bakery making 4200 pies an hour.Credit: Terry Forrester

He helped them along the way with quality German equipment. I often wondered about his choice of the pie, and he just said wistfully: “I always thought there was a great future in pies.” Perhaps it reflected his ability to read the zeitgeist.

Dad continued to live a rich family life. His second wife Colleen Lie (nee Farrelly) provided the stability and organisational skills that made them a perfect match. Dad lived a happy family life with their children Angela and James. He was also a wonderful grandfather to my children Jack and Emily and James and Lisa’s children, Georgie and Henry. I gather there were many happy holidays up north with his family.

He had not lost his journalistic flair and liked to chat with people on the beach, seamlessly drawing out their stories. He lived most of his life in Hawthorn, followed his local football club and nothing made him more excited than his beloved Hawks and cold, wintry weather in Melbourne, just a time “when you feel like a pie”.

Rolf Lie was a Canberra and foreign correspondent for The Age in the 1960s. Sandra Lie is his daughter.