Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in my capacity as the duty senator for the federal seat of Parkes, particularly representing the historic mining city of Broken Hill. I want to speak on the sad passing earlier this year of Gary Radford OAM, or Ripper as he was known to his friends, and to say a few words about the life he lived and his tireless efforts to improve his beloved city of Broken Hill.

Gary was born in 1941 to Reginald and Nell Radford. Raised by his grandparents with the help of Legacy after the tragic death of his father in New Guinea in World War II, he started working for his grandfather Les in his building and transport business, at the now-astonishing age of 14. Gary worked countless jobs, doing welding and mechanical work, working equipment in the mines, working as a foreman and working on local government contracts. For 109 years, the Radford family have been involved in the Broken Hill business community.

Following the death of his grandfather in 1964, he left the family business and began his own business. With a 1953 Ford Tipper and a Massey Harris overhead loader, he established an earthmoving business with his uncle called R&R Earthmovers, later to be called Gary Radford Earthmovers. Coming from an Irish earthmoving family myself, I have a particular affinity with the men and women who work in that industry. The local paper would later report that it was said of Gary that he could operate every piece of machinery his company owned—and that was exactly like my dad. Gary was a man very proud to be able to work with his hands and deliver good jobs for people and improve the civic life of the community that he lived in. Consolidated Mining and Civil, and Basin Sands Logistics, employing 540 staff members and operating 900 pieces of haulage plant and equipment from his Broken Hill base, are a massive testament to his efforts.

Gary also moved into the mining industry and helped keep the South Mine alive by providing his earthmoving equipment and starting open-cut operations without pay until the mine became profitable. He not only kept 300 locals in work at the mine but, by 1981, his company MMM had achieved the highest rate of profit in any mining company in Australia. Following his success with the South Mine, in 1978 Gary also began an airline, Radford Silver City Airlines, which ran routes from Broken Hill to Melbourne and Adelaide. He also operated a quarry and a concrete plant, before returning to the mines. In his later years, he turned to managing his pastoral properties with the help of his sons.

In 2016, Gary was awarded, in combination with his son, the prestigious Icon of the Industry Award at the Shell Rimula National Road Transport Hall of Fame for his services on behalf of the Australian road transport community. His generosity to Broken Hill was legendary. He was deeply involved with the St Pat's races and always lent his water trucks and other machinery to keep the track in good condition. His legacy there is honoured today by the Gary Radford Pavilion at the Regional Events Centre in Broken Hill, a project that Gary worked tirelessly to put together. He spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars of his own money, time and equipment to ensure its success so the club would not have to spend money to hire marquees.

I read in his obituary in the Barrier Daily Truth of the many examples of his generosity, and I'd like to recount just a few:

Only last year, after hearing that the Sea Scouts had been robbed of the bottles and cans they were saving to cash in for a 'cuboree' he immediately presented them with a cheque for $1000.

He then turned up at the scout hall with his son Stephen and a shipping container to hold the empties so they couldn't be stolen again.

Broken Hill is home to many testaments to his efforts on behalf of the city, such as:

… the old Silver City Comet in the railway museum that he had carted from the train station and hoisted into place; the Kintore mine headframe that he donated and erected in Blende Street; the sculptures in the Living Desert for which he transported the blocks and set them in place; the churches and schools he helped refurbish.

New South Wales men and women looking for somewhere to go should go to these Living Desert sculptures and support the community of Broken Hill. They're a fantastic sight to see, especially at dawn.

He also gave his time to serve as an executive member of both Lifeline and Legacy and he was a chairman of the Line of Lode Association, during which time the Miner's Memorial and visitors centre were built. The Silver City is all the poorer for his loss. His advocacy and open heart helped to sustain one of Australia's oldest and proudest cities through good times and bad. My deepest condolences are with his family and, indeed, the whole city of Broken Hill. May the memory of Gary Radford OAM, or 'Ripper', as he was better known, live long, and may the community continue to enjoy the many blessings he delivered.