Rowing, residency and a life of purpose
Dr Michael Robert Jones AM PSM (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery 1963) was known as ‘Taffy’ to his many friends. In his memoir Taffy Jones: A Doctor’s Life and Times, Taffy wrote: ‘The purpose of life is not to be happy but to matter – to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that we lived at all. This is what I have tried to do.’
When his memoir was launched in 2016 at Trinity College (where he had served as Acting Dean, Fellow and Governor), many of Taffy’s friends noted his remarkable achievements as a doctor and medical administrator. His deep connection with Trinity College extended beyond service and friendship – he bequeathed part of his estate to fund an annual prize for a student who is a significant contributor to college life, with preference given to Indigenous students intending to pursue medicine. His support for medicine reflected the broader dedication to healthcare that characterised his professional life.
Taffy was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2000 for outstanding service through health care in Victoria. He was the recipient of the 2005 Australian Medical Association Victoria Gold Medal for his outstanding service to the medical profession in Victoria and, in particular, his leadership and dedication to the Victorian Doctors’ Health Program. In 2008, he was awarded an AM for his service to medicine, particularly in health services management, accreditation and standards of patient care. In 2009 the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards honoured Taffy with their highest award ‘for outstanding achievement in the promotion of quality and safety in healthcare services’.
Perhaps even more than his extraordinary achievements, those gathered at Taffy’s book launch were keen to celebrate his kindness, his sharp wit – and his great love for rowing.
Taffy was an early member of the 1859 Club: a community for people who leave a gift in their Will to the Melbourne University Boat Club (MUBC) Future Fund, which is a sub-fund of the Melbourne University Sport Foundation. The Club takes its name from 1859, the year the Boat Club was founded, just three years after the University itself.
The MUBC Future Fund has an ambitious goal of $5 million. The Fund will enable MUBC to employ more coaches, maintain and enhance the quality of the fleet, ensure ongoing administrative support, and provide a range of ‘taster’ experiences so more students can discover and enjoy the benefits of rowing.
Taffy’s friends at MUBC remember him as a lifelong member and a Captain of Boats, as part of the University of Melbourne Intervarsity Eight that won on the Derwent River in Hobart in 1957, and as the second member of the MUBC to include a gift in his Will to rowing at the University of Melbourne.
Andrew Michelmore AO, Chair of the MUBC Future Fund Advisory Board attests:
“We are so grateful for Taffy’s decision to direct his bequest to support the Melbourne University Boat Club. Taffy was one of the first people who came to us and advised that he planned to remember the Melbourne University Boat Club in his Will.”
Ultimately, MUBC is committed to offering University of Melbourne students the opportunity to forge a lifelong connection to rowing. For some members, this culminates in World Championship and Olympic Gold. For Taffy and his crew, rowing afforded more personal rewards. Andrew Michelmore explains, “Like me, Taffy spoke of the fantastic experiences at the Melbourne University Boat Club. In addition to the rowing, it was the friendships created and maintained outside of the Boat and the other skills and benefits that came from being part of a team and part of the Club that he noted.”
With Taffy’s generosity, members will continue to experience these benefits for many years to come.
True to his own words, Taffy chose to matter, to be useful and make a difference – and his impact endures in medicine, in his college community, and in the sport he loved.
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