My father would be immensely proud to receive this acknowledgement for his lifetime’s work – to be inducted to the Property Hall of Fame.
It is wonderful to be here with my brother and sister and our Mum to represent John Roberts AO
tonight.
It is particularly appropriate that Angela Roberts is here, because it was Mum and Dad who visited the Royal Show in Perth in 1962 and found inspiration for the name of their new company in a humble cactus in the horticultural display – the Multiplex cactus.
The Multiplex cactus displays a propensity for rapid growth; colonising its surrounding territory. We can now witness how the business has remained loyal to these characteristics, as it has continued to grow and prosper under the visionary leadership of John Roberts, and now continues to flourish as Brookfield Multiplex.
Multiplex’s first project was building a pipeline, elevated upon piles, across an estuarine waterway. The project was well beyond the capacity and capability of this new business! However in a manner that was emblematic of John Roberts, he managed to successfully complete the project after facing some initial set-backs. (In fact I think the boat they employed to lay the piles required constant bailing, and the initial piles disappeared into the quagmire).
When you look upon the Perth skyline, you see the working of John Roberts and Multiplex – with almost every major building having a Multiplex involvement. John Roberts and Multiplex’s footprint is also visible across the other cities of Australia and across the Dubai and London. My father steered the business in its expansion to many parts of the globe, initially as builder and then as a major developer and building owner.
He was a remarkable man with so many admirable qualities, too numerous to mention here. But most of all he was a ‘people – person’, and it was his employees and those he worked with that, after family, mattered most. In fact the Multiplex team were an extension of family.
So I know I speak for my father when I say this award recognizes not just John Roberts AO…but also all those past and present employees of Multiplex – so many who were indelibly influenced and mentored by him, and through them that John Roberts and Multiplex achieved their tremendous success.
Thank You.
John Roberts AO
