QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The men who moved mountains

Leslie Thiess and his nine brothers (five older, four younger) and one sister were children of Henry and Mary Thiess. Henry’s parents had emigrated from Germany in 1870 and settled on the Darling Downs. Coming to this farming environment, Henry, who was a carpenter by trade, also became known for the excellent homes he built. In 1909 the family moved to Drayton, where, a few months later, Leslie was born, to be followed by Stan, Pat, Cecil, and Bert. The siblings proved to have abilities and energy far beyond the norm and from their young ages considered school merely an interruption in their day’s work. In fact, it’s fair to say that Leslie’s actions came to significantly alter the face of

Their wives and children lived in tents on site, often with small children, doing the cooking other family chores as well as the bookkeeping, and at times even driving heavy equipment. For a time children of school age were sent back to live with their grandmother in Drayton until permanent homes were established. The end of Wold War II provided Thiess Brothers with a golden opportunity to acquire modern American construction equipment left behind in New Guinea, the Philippines, and other places in Asia-Pacific theatre. Leslie Thiess led the brothers in taking tendering risks, and guiding the work force to giving them a sense of belonging to the Thiess family. All projects were finished on time. With an element of good luck the brothers

Queensland – literally – over six decades, from 1927 to 1987.

succeeded and their company became one of Australia’s largest engineering construction companies. The company did not hesitate to take on massive projects, building dams, tunnels and power stations for the Snowy Mountains Scheme in the 1950s against competition from international construction firms. Thiess Brothers built the Tooma dam, the Tooma-Tumut tunnel,

In the early years after Federation, Queensland’s roads were mainly dirt tracks. The vast expanse of the state – much of eastern Europe, from the Rhine to the Balkans could fit comfortably in its land area – had led to inevitable shortcomings in road development. The establishment of the Main Roads Board in 1920 marked the state government’s deter mination to provide a comprehensive road network.

Thiess family photo. Image courtesy of Thiess family collection

the Talbingo Dam, the Tumut 3 Power Station, completing 25% of the overall works of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme.

The name ‘Thiess Brothers’ came to public notice in the 1950s. But many do not appreciate the first three ‘hidden decades’ of effort, tremendous hard work, self discipline, frustration and tenacity invested to get to that point. Possibly one of the most significant events in the rise of Thiess Brothers was the award of an earthmoving contract from the Main Roads Commission in 1927. An outstanding example of innovative thinking was the Heifer Creek cutting constructed in 1940. The deepest cutting in Australia at the time (104ft or 31.7m) at the centre point, it was originally designed as a tunnel, but was changed to a cutting when the brothers submitted a second and cheaper tender for a cutting. Leslie Thiess understood from the beginning the significance of running an efficient company that would attract road construction contracts. Success depended upon having good, modern equipment. For the Thiess Brothers and their wives it had meant years of very hard work from before dawn to after dark seven days a week.

Early Thiess roadwork crews in rural Queensland. Image courtesy of Thiess family collection

Further expansion throughout Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, the acquisition of Toyota’s dealership for commercial vehicles, starting an aircraft business – and much more – all required capital, so Thiess Holding shares were listed on the Sydney and Brisbane Stock Exchanges in 1958.

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