The founder of Stockland, Ervin Graf, graduated in architecture before leaving his native Hungary shortly after World War II. He came to Sydney as a bricklayer and, with a small loan, started in business in 1952. Mr Graf went public six years later by taking over the smallest company on the stock market, Stocks and Holdings. Today, Stockland is Australia’s largest diversified property group. In June 2000, Mr Graf was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the building and property industries. Mr Graf retired as Stockland’s chairman in October 2000, and sadly passed away in 2002.