November 23rd, 2024Ritchie: Gregarious, flambuoyant, kind

Richard Herr, otherwise known as Ritchie Rich, is a Daylesford icon. There is no doubt about that. Many people are familiar with his sartorial excess as part of his many appearances in the yearly Chill Out parade. Others know him as the best dressed Santa in town.  

Flamboyant, gregarious, larger  than life, you could call him the soul of contemporary Daylesford. A living  encapsulation of the town’s inclusivity,  exclusivity and idiosyncrasies.  

Like so many of the eccentric creative types who have found their way to  this town, Ritchie’s journey has been a long and convoluted one and began in Melbourne.  

“I was born from German Polish parents with a very traditional European upbringing in the suburbs of Springvale.  I was bullied at school for being both European and effeminate and while my grandpa was an artist and my mother was very creative, my father tried to suppress  all my creative inclinations.”

Ritchie, like any boy with dreams of a career in a creative field, decided to go to art school. But his father put a stop to all that.

“He said ‘no, you’ve gotta go and get a job’.”  

Consequently Ritchie began running  little cafes, became a film crew caterer and also travelled widely in Europe with his then girlfriend.

It was the 80s, an age of neon, punk, gender bending and artistic decadence and certainly  a great time to be swanning around the continent soaking up ideas and influences. But if there is a time in his life, a point upon which everything  pivoted, it was at the grand age of 36.  

“That’s when I took on Merricks General Store (built in 1922 by the Joyner family on the Mornington  Peninsula),” Ritchie says.

“And it was also the year I came out. It was an era of madness and creativity, alcohol, happiness,  sadness and table top dancing.

“From that point in my life I just went full steam ahead. Ever since then I’ve never had any boundaries. I’ve had businesses, I’ve lost money and I didn’t care. I would just shrug and think: ‘right, that chapter’s over’ and go and do something else.”  

But the film catering gigs remained a constant. He could not get enough of the intrigue and glamour of visiting Hollywood productions with their pampered superstars and people with big bad egos.

And if there is any department privy to the gossip, stories and tantrums of a film set it is the caterer.

At one point or another everybody will pass through the dining marquee, eating, drinking and letting their guard down over bountiful food.

And ultimately, it was film production catering that brought Ritchie to Daylesford in 2001, sparking his love affair with the town that smoulders to this day.  

“I was working on the short lived TV series Ponderosa at Kataminga near Newbury and ended up living here for two years,” he says.

“I then moved to the town permanently in 2014.”  

But then life bowled Ritchie another curveball around 50 years of age. He got  diagnosed with HIV and two shots of cancer.

“I also got my first tattoo,” he adds.  

Of course Ritchie remains here today to tell his tale which means he conquered his bouts of cancer and is managing his health. To say he is a survivor is stating the obvious but to thrive is another thing entirely.

But thrive he has and one of the things that helped was his segue into the world  of philanthropy and fundraising. It was both a way of helping people in need and best of all, another way to express himself.  

“First up I walked 740 kilometres from the Mornington Peninsula to Canberra  with artist Clare Whitney in 2008 raising $50,000 for the Scaffidi Foundation,” he says.

“After this I helped raise approximately $100,000 for the Kids in Cambodia Charity.  I have also assisted the local CFA and organised a ‘homeless couture’ event at the  Daylesford Town Hall in 2018 – raising money for the purchase and distribution of  backpack beds for Central Victoria.”  

Ritchie has spent enough time in the town to be acutely aware of the changes  that have taken place over the years and the things that have stayed the same.

His  first impression of the town over 25 years ago was one of an absolutely vibrant  Vincent Street with very eccentric people and fabulous shops, something Ritchie  contributed to with own place, the sorely missed Ruby Slippers on Howe Street.  

“I look at Daylesford now and it has gone so mainstream and very business  oriented. But what I still like about the town is Monday to Friday, as daggy as Vincent Street is, the colourful people are still there and they all come out.”  

Words: Tony Sawrey | Image: Inkdfotogrfa Daylesford