Imagine the fun-celebrated Aussie poet Henry Lawson, who spent some of his childhood in the gold rush township of Gulgong in NSW’s central west. He would’ve had to write a ballad about the table tennis-obsessed Beaumont clan, of which Olympian Michelle Bromley was the youngest child.
Bromley, who moved to Gulgong when she was two—and it has been well over a century since young Henry sauntered along the township’s streets—is a third-generation table tennis player on both sides of her family!
Her grandparents, Bob Beaumont, a World War II veteran, and his beloved wife Thelma, played for NSW into their 80s, and upon his passing in 2014, aged 92, he was remembered for his efforts as the Arncliffe YMCA Table Tennis Club’s president.
Her father, David, represented NSW and Australia’s over-40s team, held many positions in Table Tennis NSW, and also served as vice president of Table Tennis Australia. Upon his passing in 2012, the NSW Country Table Tennis Association created the David Bromley Memorial Award for outstanding regional talent.
“Mum, Glenys, played in New Zealand; so did my grandfather, Bruce Hughes,” she said.
“When mum moved to Sydney, she did what most people with a hobby do when they go to a new place—she used it to meet people.
“She and dad met at a table tennis club in Sydney’s Summer Hill, fell in love, and married nine months later. Dad was the family’s star player and taught me and my brothers how to play.”
However, her parents didn’t restrict their passion for table tennis to their family, introducing the entire township to the sport.
“They started a Friday night competition for the whole town,” she said.
“At one point, just about everyone was taught to play by either dad or mum.”
Bromley practiced as a six-year-old by hitting a ball off the kitchen wall, but when she grew big enough, she entered Gulgong’s unofficial Centre of Excellence.
“My training ground wasn't exactly what you’d call ‘pristine conditions,” she said.
“It was a stand-alone, dusty tin shed. The door didn't close, which meant spectators often included the local wildlife: spiders, snakes, possums, rats, etc. . . We had a resident wombat that’d perch in the shed’s corner while we trained.
“It was freezing cold in winter and scorching hot in summer. I didn't get access to the best coaches or facilities, but what I did have was a dream and the desire to pursue that dream.”
Bromley’s father focused his coaching attention on her after she finished the under-14 national championships as a 10-year-old and ranked in the top five.
“My dad and I had quite a unique bond in that he could separate the table tennis side of coaching from being a father,” she said. “He could wear both hats.”
“From when I was 10- to 24, Dad always came to tournaments with me. We’d drive the eight-hour round trip to Sydney to compete every few weekends. When I competed interstate, we’d often drive the 10-plus hours to those as well, but as a truck driver, dad was used to long hauls.
“He was my warm-up partner and my bench coach, and it was an odd experience going to my first tournament after dad passed away [from cancer] and having to ask someone else to help me warm up as I’d never had that problem before.
“Likewise, not having him in my corner the first match I played... I remember coming off the court and breaking down. It was a hard transition. It's still not easy now, and when I think about all that he’s missed. All of my biggest sporting achievements have been made without him here.
"He would’ve been the biggest gloater in town, and I hope he's ‘up there’ watching with a big, fat smile on his face.
“We did it, dad!"
Bromley is the proud mother of an 18-month-old baby boy, Lachie, and guess what?
“He’s obsessed with table tennis!” she laughed. “My husband, Stu, would like him to be pushed towards something more lucrative, but someone made him a little bat, and he loves it!
“We might have our fourth-generation player!”
Daniel Lane
