QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Grand visions become great projects

With this appointment, Syd resigned from Bond University but, after a few years, the extent of the group’s Australian commitments was wound back after the collapse of the Japanese economy in 1993–94. Sir Syd also served for five years as a Director of Jupiters Development Ltd and Jupiters Management Ltd. He was a member of the inaugural Management Committee of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, maintaining his membership for more than 25 years. A Commonwealth government body, its membership was augmented by the addition of ministers from each state and territory. Day-to-day management was the responsibility of the Queensland National Parks Department. The Marine Park was declared a World Heritage Area in 2001. This wealth of experience and knowledge was put to good use from 2000 to 2007 when Sir Syd served as chairman of the co-operative research centre CRC Reef Ltd, for which finances were provided primarily by the Commonwealth Government. Additional funding came from Marine Park Tourism Operators association, of which he was also chairman. Under his leadership the work was extended beyond the Great Barrier Reef with the establishment of CRC Rainforest Ltd and CRC Torres Strait Ltd. In addition to his knighthood, Sir Sydney has received many other honours. They include appointment as Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences. In 2006 he received an honorary doctorate from James Cook University in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the management of far north Queensland’s environmental assets. Most recently, he was named in June 2012 among the ‘Queensland Greats’, with a commemorative plaque placed in the Roma Street Parklands in Brisbane. Perhaps no single image can capture the measure of Sir Sydney Schubert’s role in Queensland’s development, but the raw power and energy of this 2170 class diesel coal train on the line from the Moura coal fields comes close. Image Copyright Queensland Rail Ltd; reproduced by permission

Work was done on planning and implementing the Wilbur Smith plan for transport and traffic management in Brisbane, the major project being the construction of the Riverside Expressway. As with similar projects, the planning was done in the Coordinator-General’s Department and the construction was handed over to Main Roads. During this time the first sales of coal to Japan were negotiated, necessitating the development of infrastructure such as railways, ports, and new towns at Moranbah and Dysart. Sydney Schubert and Leo Hielscher from the Treasury Department worked closely together in the planning and financing of these projects. It was also a time when the Queensland economy began to be transformed by overseas investment, especially from Japan. Syd was closely involved in the negotiations which led to the construction of the Iwasaki Resort at Yeppoon on the central coast. When Australia’s first private university was mooted, an expert committee was set up including notable academics and architect Robin Gibson. The proposal came to fruition as the Gold Coast’s Bond University, and attracted more Japanese investment from EIE. In 1985 Sydney Schubert’s immense contribution in service to Queensland was recognised by his investiture as Knight Bachelor. In 1987 he resigned from the public service and embarked on a new career in the corporate world. In 1988 he became the inaugural Chancellor of Bond University, holding the position until March 1990. At the same time he was appointed Executive Director of the Daikyo Group in Australia, one of the largest Japanese developers of tourist resorts in the country with offices in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Cairns, Sydney and New Zealand.

photography by don stephens

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