Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on one of Tasmania's icons and treasures Josef Chromy and send my best wishes for his 90th birthday in December. Josef Chromy is well known and well loved around Tasmania. The 90-year-old has made a living from building businesses from the ground up in a variety of sectors in my home state.

Affectionately known as Joe Chromy, he arrived in Australia 70 years ago. He was borne in Czechoslovakia, and fled his war-torn homeland in 1950 when he was just 19-years-old. With just the clothes on his back, following more than a decade of Nazi and Soviet occupation, he had to risk his life by crossing the border into Austria. He was travelling with two friends. One of his friends was shot in the foot and captured. He never heard from the other again. After crossing into Austria, Joe Chromy caught a train to Vienna where he had to cross another border into an American occupied zone. From there he was able to become a political refugee and was given the choice to relocate to either the United States, New Zealand, Canada or Australia. He chose Australia because he thought that it was a land of opportunity and far away from everything that he was trying to escape.

He settled in Tasmania and started working in a sheeting factory in Railton on the north-west coast. Then he took a second job at the Heinz factory before going to work for a butcher in Penguin. After getting married to his wife, Alida, in 1954 he opened Continental Butchers in Burnie. It was later named Blue Ribbon Meat Products. He spent the next forty years establishing his business and making it a powerhouse. The company grew beyond Chromy's expectations to have 530 employees working for him. In 1993, Chromy made his company public and used the float from the company in the stock exchange to invest proceeds into the state's novice wine industry. Chromy established a new vineyard from scratch at Kayena in 1994 and built a new winery in 1998, soon to be the well known Tamar Ridge. He also owned and developed Rochecombe, now known as Bay of Fires, Jansz and Heemskerk. After selling Tamar Ridge, he purchased a vineyard in Relbia in the north and branded it Josef Chromy Wines.

Chromy has also made redevelopments and property developments at several sites over the years. Notably, he played a key role in the redevelopment of the old Launceston General Hospital in 2009. He turned a derelict building into The Charles boutique hotel, a mixture of private accommodation and business suites. Among those is my office in Launceston. The redevelopment of this site came at a time when no-one was investing in new hotels across Australia. Chromy and his family again played a vital role in boosting confidence in the region's tourism industry following the global financial crisis. This was achieved through the redevelopment of the Penny Royal, reinvigorating a neglected part of the Launceston landscape as a quality hospitality and tourism precinct. Now local families across Tasmania enjoy this wonderful attraction, and Joe is often present at Penny Royal, overseeing the success of the venture. In 2017, he was named the Tasmanian Tourism Champion in recognition of his contribution to the state's tourism industry and ongoing investment in accommodation. With his impact on the wine industry, where he has been recognised internationally, he has certainly helped put Tasmania on the map.

Josef Chromy was able to settle in Australia, work hard, start his own business and make something of himself. It's indicative of the Tasmanian spirit and showcases our ability to be world leaders and to nurture talent and ambition. To celebrate his 70 years of freedom and his 90th birthday, he will be hosting a public celebration of food, wine and music at Josef Chromy Wines on 20 December. The developments that Joe has made over the past 70 years have given employment to hundreds of Tasmanians and encouraged them to remain in our great state. Unfortunately, we are prone to experiencing a brain drain and a net migration deficit from time to time. However, with such leadership and vision as displayed by Mr Chromy, it shows that Tasmania and Tasmanians can be world leaders in fine wine and food, tourism and hospitality. Of course, all money raised in that celebration is going to charity.

Josef Chromy is a great Tasmanian, he's an icon, he's a treasure, and he's a fantastic role model for what you can do if you believe in yourself and you're prepared to have a go.