Thank you all sincerely for remembering Michael on this special day, his 55th birthday, and for visiting Michael’s Official Memorial Site. We hope you also find time to honour Michael by leaving a short birthday greeting in his Guestbook.

It is hard to imagine how Michael might have felt about turning 55. No doubt he would have wanted to spend it with family so we have decided to include a precious description of those early days of his life written by his dear, adoring father, the late Kelland Hutchence.

In the formative days of building Michael’s Memorial Site, back in 1998/99, Kelland wrote the following beautiful account of the arrival of Michael Kelland John Hutchence. Imagine Kell reading this out just before the candles were blown out, the cake cut and the glasses held up to toast Michael. Please read Kell’s doting and candidly humorous words below, and join us today in expressing from our hearts, “Happy Birthday dear Michael”.

“My son Michael was born on the 22nd January 1960 at the Mater Misericordia Hospital, North Sydney.

His mother Patricia Kennedy and I had been married on 31st January, 1959 after a six week whirlwind courtship.

We were overjoyed by the arrival of a son …a happy gurgling little boy who I knick-named ‘Sparkle Plenty’

Kelland Hutchence

Michael was my first child and we were overjoyed with the arrival of a son. He looked so cute and when the day came to take mother and son back to our home at Lane Cove, Sydney, I remember driving so very carefully, worried about the precious cargo I had aboard.

The Hutchence family home in Lane Cove had become available to us as my father had sadly and unexpectedly died a couple of years earlier and my mother had remarried. So we had moved from our small apartment in Neutral Bay to Lane Cove during Patricia’s pregnancy. This lovely home gave us plenty of space – three bedrooms and a large garden – I thought it was just the right place to bring up children and it had been a happy home for me and my sister Croy.

Patricia and I had prepared the second bedroom at the front of the house for our baby – Patricia had handled all the linen items and baby decorations and toys and I had concentrated on painting the walls and ceiling giving the room a fresh and sparkling atmosphere. The room faced the north so it got the morning light and I often sat there and watched the glow of the sun shining through the leadlight windows of the English style cottage my mother and father had built in the early twenties after they settled here from England.

I looked so often at this baby boy and wondered what his future would be. We had been thinking up names for months but chose what we both liked so much – Michael, and it was agreed that my christian name Kelland would be given to him as his second name and John as his third christian name after one of Patricia’s brothers who had died at an early age in an accident.

So Michael Kelland John settled down to a comfortable and happy life in his nursery and seemed to take on a special presence in our home – he was cute to look at and was generally a very happy baby with quite a personality even with strangers. It was into a rather secure lifestyle that Michael entered our family circle – we weren’t rich but we were comfortable.

Michael thrived and of course was loved by all – he had a way with the girls even then and I recall how he peed into the face of one of our friends, Dianna Gregory who was a top model in those days and helping out on that occasion with a nappy change. It happened at a barbeque we had held inviting all our friends along to view the new babe. And of course the house was full of beautiful ladies – model and mannequin friends of Patricia’s and Michael seemed to know he was in glamour company.

About a year after Michael joined us I had to move office to Brisbane due to the company acquiring another business in their expansion plans. We bought a house in Kenmore, Brisbane and although it had been an unsettling move we gradually made the best of it and began to like the atmosphere of outer Brisbane suburban country type living. It was a healthy lifestyle and good for kids.

Michael by this stage was crawling around everywhere – a happy gurgling little boy who I knick-named ‘sparkle plenty’ as he reminded me of that cartoon character who seemed to crawl around dragging a long shawl around behind. Michael was about fifteen months old then and about this time Patricia found she was pregnant…some eight months later another boy was born and this time in the Brisbane Maternity Hospital. This was the arrival of Rhett Bradley – a fine bonny boy.”

An extract from Kell’s writings retelling the arrival of Michael and Rhett.

Ian Patterson for fellow Co-directors
Susie Hutchence, Mario and Jacqui Ferrari
… and especially for Tiger.

Copyright Kelland Hutchence Collection

It’s November again and Jacaranda time when Sydney is bathed in a purple glow. A yearly reminder of that fateful November seventeen years ago when your father and I bathed in your happy glow whilst enjoying what would be our last dinner, indeed the last time we would see you in this life. 

The news of the following Saturday morning broke our hearts, as it did those close to your heart and the legion of fans around the world.

One thing is certain every November the Jacaranda will blossom again in all its purple glory, and we will pause to remember the loss of a prodigious talent and a sensitive and beautiful soul.

Rest in peace Michael with your dear father Kelland.

Susie Hutchence
(A very proud stepmother)

Wishing dear Tiger Lily a splendid 18th birthday today! Tiger has grown into a beautiful young woman with grace and poise. All your family and huge numbers of friends world wide, collective wish you dear Tiger a happy birthday! We also wish you every success, with great health and happiness in the year ahead.

Special birthday greetings today for dear Kelland Hutchence. The impact your life made on your son and many, many others, continues to reverberate around the world.