Great anticipation for Queensland Business Hall of Fame announcements on Sept 1

The Queensland business calendar has little to match the Business Leaders Hall of Fame in terms of anticipation.

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Flight Centre's Graham 'Skroo' Turner (centre) was one of last year's Business Leaders Hall of Fame inductees.

The Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame 2011 Induction Dinner will be staged on Thursday, September 1 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC). Expectations are running high as to which business leaders and organisations will join the esteemed list this year.

The Hall of Fame Governing Committee said tickets were now on sale and special guest Queensland Governor Penelope Wensley AC would be inducting the 2011 nominees.

In 2010, Australia's first millionaire, century-old family businesses, Flight Centre's founder, Golden Circle, Ray White and Bundaberg Rum were among nine great Queensland business success stories inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame, now in its third year, celebrates leading businesses and business leaders who have enhanced Queensland's reputation and its economy. It is a joint partnership between the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Business School, the State Library of Queensland and Queensland Library Foundation, with support from the Queensland Government.

The Hall of Fame now has a permanent home in a purpose-built space at the State Library where video stories and historical data proudly display Queensland's business leadership excellence and culture of innovation.

"Our 2010 inductees represent the diversity and development of the Queensland economy from the 19th century to the present," QUT Faculty of Business executive dean, Peter Little said.

"Each has exhibited excellence and, in their own way, made a remarkable contribution to business in Queensland," Professor Little said.

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame is supported by Origin Energy, the Australian integrated energy company and one of Australia's leading accounting and advisory services firms with a Queensland presence dating back 120 years, WHK Horwath,

The 2010 Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame inductees were:

Jack Hutchinson - Mr Hutchinson took the family building business, established in 1912, and turned it into Queensland's largest privately owned construction company, whose projects include Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island and St. Stephen's Cathedral restoration in Brisbane.

Kate Mary Smith (1847-1932) - The Irish immigrant founded K.M. Smith Funeral Directors after the premature death of her husband left her with six children to support and a business to run. The business, 130 years later, remains in the family.

Graham Turner - ‘Skroo' Turner is managing director and co-founder of Flight Centre, Australasia's largest retail travel group. He established the company in 1981 after selling the successful Top Deck tour company he established in England in the 1970s.

James Tyson MLC (1819 - 1898) - Immortalised by Banjo Patterson's poem T.Y.S.O.N, Australia's first millionaire began his working life as a squatter on the Lachlan River. The rural entrepreneur first found wealth droving cattle to the Bendigo goldfields and butchering the meat for miners. By the time of his death, he had served as a member in the Queensland Parliament and owned more than five million acres in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Bundaberg Distilling Company - In 1888, several small sugar producers banded together to float a new public company, The Bundaberg Distilling Company. The company used molasses, the by-product of the booming local sugar industry to produce the now iconic Bundaberg Rum.

Golden Circle Limited - Founded 63 years ago by Queensland pineapple farmers as a growers' co-operative, Golden Circle has played a significant role in the Queensland economy and processes about 180,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables with a $400million turnover annually.

Queensland Institute of Medical Research - Established in 1945 by the Queensland Government, the QIMR is one of the largest and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, recognised worldwide for the quality of its research. Its achievements include discovering Ross River Virus and developing environmentally friendly, mosquito-breeding control programs against dengue fever.

Ray White Group - Established in 1902 in Crows Nest, Queensland, family-owned Ray White has grown into Australia's most successful real estate agency business, specialising in auction as a method of sale since 1906. Run by the family's fourth generation, the Ray White Group handles 10 percent of all real estate business in Australia.

Xstrata Mount Isa Mines - Following the discovery of lead ore in Mount Isa in 1923, Mount Isa Mines was established the following year. However, due to difficulties such as isolation and flooding, it was not until 1937 that the company first made an operating profit. Acquired by Xstrata in 2003, the business has made a significant impact on the Queensland economy and regional development.

 

* For more information on the 2011 Hall of Fame induction event, contact Rebecca Gauld. Tel: (07) 3138 2532. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Master of Ceremonies for the black tie event will be national television broadcaster Sharyn Ghidella and Katie Noonan Jazz Trio will provide entertainment.

www.qut.edu.au

 

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