Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This evening I speak to acknowledge the one-year anniversary, later this month, of the passing of an Australian industry trailblazer, a South Australian entrepreneur, an iconic character from the Limestone Coast in my electorate of Barker, and, above all, a great feller: Don Wray, the visionary founder of MiniJumbuk in Naracoorte, the largest manufacturer of wool bedding products in the nation. Sadly, on 25 October last year, Don passed away at the age of 72. But, boy, did he pack in a lot to his life! As I pay homage to Don as a captain of industry, I want to acknowledge his wife, Denise, who has joined us in the gallery this evening together with Don's sister-in-law Janine Enright.

Much has been written about Don, not just because of the wonderful life he led but because his story is a truly inspirational one—a genuine, made-in-country-Australia success story. Don's early working life saw him shearing across the Limestone Coast. Shearing would in fact be the foundational experience that would assist Don in becoming a manufacturing trailblazer. Shearing provided a first-class, hands-on education about sheep and their woollen fibre. Don knew wool—the feel of it; the consistency and quality of it; its versatility. And he understood the commercial potential of it.

In his mid-20s, Don had to give shearing away due to a back injury. Always up for a challenge, he bought a small local business called MiniJumbuk, which, at the time, was manufacturing mini sheep souvenirs from locally-produced wool. Not too long after acquiring the business, in the late 1970s, Don saw an opportunity for local wool-filled quilts or doonas to enter the Australian bedding market. His innovative foresight and business courage paid off. MiniJumbuk began to grow and expand.

Over the next few decades, Don's business acumen and his determination, together with a loyal and energetic team, turned that little business into what it is today: a global leader in the design and manufacture of premium wool products, with a turnover of more than $30 million, employing 70-plus people, still based in his home town of Naracoorte.

Don's commitment to buying and using local wool, his commitment to local farmers and his commitment to his local community never wavered. When many other manufacturing businesses, particularly textile businesses, were moving their factories offshore to cut costs, Don and his management team remained proudly committed to being Australian made, remaining in Naracoorte and continuing to employ their long-term skilled staff. His dedication to quality—to the quality of the brand, to the quality of the people who worked at MiniJumbuk—has made MiniJumbuk, and the MiniJumbuk team, the success it is.

Yet, in an interview with the ABC Landline program in 2016, Don's characteristically humble character shone through when he said, 'You know, it's not me. It's Naracoorte and the people I've had with me who've built it up to where it is today.' The impact and success of MiniJumbuk is not just in the economic activity Don created; it's also the social and cultural impact he and his business have had across the region.

Don, together with Denise, are well known for their kindness and for an unrelenting willingness to support the local community. Don advocated for many individuals and local industries, supporting sheep and wool farmers; the cattle industry; wine and grape growers; the forestry sector. Wherever he could, he supported local enterprises. He sponsored and donated goods to many local groups, sporting clubs and community committees. In fact, I don't think I've ever been to a charity event on the Limestone Coast that doesn't involve the auction of MiniJumbuk product.

And in times of crisis, Don, together with MiniJumbuk, was there. Following the devastation of Victoria's 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, where more than 170 people lost their lives and countless families lost their homes and livelihoods, MiniJumbuk helped out by participating in the Dollars 4 Doonas campaign, assisting to raise tens of thousands of dollars and donating over 600 quilts and a thousand pillows to fire-ravaged communities.

When South Australians suffered losses in fires that burnt through the Adelaide Hills, Kangaroo Island and Keilira in the south-east, MiniJumbuk donated up to a thousand quilts and 2,000 pillows, to support victims, and provided wool bedding packages to individuals and families who had lost everything. Don and Denise literally ensured that, at this difficult time, impacted individuals had a pillow to lay their head on. That generosity, that kindness and that concern for people was Don Wray to a tee.

To Denise, Amber, Andrew, Emily and the whole Wray family: thank you for sharing Don with us. Our nation, my state and our local community are stronger for Don's service to it. Vale, Don Wray.