The Story Bridge is Brisbane’s most iconic structure and now the man who helped build it has been honoured with a place among Queensland’s business icons.
Sir Manuel Hornibrook (1893-1970) was last night (July 28) inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame at a black-tie dinner at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. (A digital story on his life and work can be viewed here)
His name is synonymous with Queensland construction, with his family business building more than 100 bridges and responsible for projects including Brisbane’s William Jolly Bridge, Story Bridge, and Hornibrook Highway and even the Sydney Opera House sails.
Sir Manuel Richard Hornibrook, known to many as MR, was one of six Queensland business icons this year chosen to join the Hall of Fame, with representatives presented with their awards by The Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, last night (July 28).
Now in its eighth year, the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame is a joint initiative between the QUT Business School, State Library of Queensland and Queensland Library Foundation.
The 2016 inductees are Sir Manuel Hornibrook, IT pioneer Mincom, Australia’s first female stockbroker Margaret Mittelheuser AM, The North Australian Pastoral Company Pty Ltd (NAPCO), insurance and banking giant Suncorp Group and leading company director Rod Wylie OBE.
Sir Manuel was one of seven children and his early years were spent on his parents’ farm in the Obi Obi Valley in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
His father died when he was nine and he became an apprentice carpenter in Brisbane at the age of 13, and had established his own business by 19.
This family business, which progressively involved his brothers, quickly moved into civil engineering, building water supplied in Rockhampton and storm water systems in Brisbane, and excavating Queensland’s first open cut coal mine at Blair Athol in 1923.
But it would be bridge building that cemented the Hornibrook name into the history books.
“Sir Manuel Hornibrook came from humble beginnings and built what became the number one construction business in Australia,” Sir Manuel’s granddaughter Julie Hornibrook said.
“He built Brisbane's iconic bridges ... One of his greatest triumphs was the construction of the sails of the Sydney Opera House. He was a giant of a person, a huge character and a giant of the Australian construction industry.
“By sheer grit, determination, and hard work they built up the building company that developed the skills and capacity to build Brisbane infrastructure – bridges, power houses, wharves, factories, wool stores, university colleges – so many different types of building works.
“My grandfather was a very dominant figure and I know that he negotiated very well with government, but I think he came to the table in a pretty strong minded and forceful way. He was visionary in his thinking and he didn't suffer fools gladly.”
The Hornibrook Highway was built across Bramble Bay between 1932 and 1935 as a toll bridge linking Brisbane and Redcliffe and was the longest bridge in the Southern Hemisphere.
The heritage-listed William Jolly Bridge, built from 1929 to 1932, was Sir Manuel’s all-time favourite project because of the aesthetic appeal of the bridge and his pioneering use of the sand island method of pier construction.
The Story Bridge, also heritage listed, is the longest cantilever bridge in Australia and was built as a partnership between Hornibrook Constructions and Evans Deakin from 1935 to 1940.
Ms Hornibrook said these projects were achieved during the Great Depression, providing much-needed jobs for Brisbane and building a loyal and skilled workforce which enabled the company to expand through the decades of the twentieth century.
She said her grandfather never wanted to live anywhere else than Queensland – and the Obi Obi Valley stayed close to his heart.
“My grandfather never forgot his roots in the Obi Obi Valley,” she said. “They were formative years for him, his siblings, his parents, uncles, and really defining for them … I know small rural areas always need ongoing support so I think that stayed in his heart.
“When they built the Hornibrook Highway and needed timber for the bridge, he knew exactly where to find that timber and it was in the forest around the Obi Obi area. So that served him well in his life as a builder as well.”
The Hornibrook business became Australia’s number one construction company in the 1950s and 1960s before becoming a public company which was acquired by the British Wood Hall group in 1964 and later became Baulderstone Hornibrook.
In addition to his constructions and his place in the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, lasting reminders of Sir Manuel include the Sir Manuel Hornibrook Park at Teneriffe, Redcliffe’s Hornibrook Esplanade, the Australian Institute of Builders’ annual Sir Manuel Hornibrook Medal, and the Master Builders Association’s MR Hornibrook Golfing Tournament.
Professor Peter Little, QUT’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Corporate Programs and Partnerships), is on the Hall of Fame’s governing committee which chose this year’s inductees.
“The inspiring business leaders inducted in 2016 have demonstrated the innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience that are typical Queensland traits,” he said.
“Their extraordinary stories of enterprise have helped shape the development of this great state and they will forever be valued and remembered.”
Digital stories on all the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame members can be viewed online at www.halloffame.slq.qld.gov.au.
State Librarian and CEO Sonia Cooper said the Hall of Fame ensured the businesses and individuals who had played vital roles in the state’s business landscape would be recognised and remembered.
“The Hall of Fame records, retells and celebrates their outstanding stories, and highlights the importance of documenting, collecting and preserving Queensland’s business heritage for future generations,” she said.
Last night’s induction dinner also included the presentation of the 2016 Queensland Business History Award to architecture firm Conrad Gargett by the Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business, Leeanne Enoch.
Release date: Friday, July 29, 2016
Media contacts:
- Mechelle McMahon, QUT media officer, media@qut.edu.au or 07 3138 9449
- Rose Trapnell, QUT media team leader, media@qut.edu.au of 0407 585 901
** Biographies, high-res images and digital stories of this year’s inductees are available for media use.
TWITTER: Follow the event on the night - #qblhof
