Dick Dusseldorp

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Gerardus Jozef Dusseldorp

AO (2 December 1918 – 22 April 2000) was a Dutch water engineer and the founder of Civil & Civic, the financing arm of which later emerged as Lendlease, one of Australia
's largest companies.

Career

Born in

anglicised version of which stuck with him for the rest of his life.[2] At the age of 15, he enrolled as a marine cadet, with the aim of becoming a captain in the merchant marine. He was found to be color blind when he sought entry into officer training and withdrew from the service. During World War II, as a Dutchman of working age, he was deported to Berlin, to work as forced labor.[3] Returning to the Netherlands, he secured work with a Danish firm building a railway from Copenhagen to Hamburg.[3] In late 1943 he was transported to Kraków, again as forced labor but this time for the Siemens Organisation.[3] In Summer 1944 he escaped with his wife and four-year-old daughter, and returned again to the Netherlands.[3]

In 1945 he and his younger brother Hank secured jobs at Bredero's Bouwbedrijf, a Dutch housebuilder established in the 1870s.[4] By 1947 he had been promoted to Construction Manager.[4] In March 1951 Bredero's sent him to Australia to seek out business opportunities. He identified a project to build workers' housing in the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the largest infrastructure project to have been attempted in Australia. He established Civil & Civic, as a subsidiary of Bredero's. The success of which was based on the principle that the designer should be employed by the contractor rather than the other way round.[5]

During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s he undertook residential housing developments such as Harbour Heights Estate and was a competitor of

philanthropist.[11]

Honours

On Australia Day 1988 he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia.[12]

Family

He was married to Anne and together they went on to have five children.[3] Australian actress Marta Dusseldorp is his granddaughter.[13]

Legacy

Dusseldorp was the founder of two

Organic Architecture.[14]

References

  1. ^ Clark, L. Page 18
  2. ^ Clark, L. Page 19
  3. ^ a b c d e Clark, L. Page 22
  4. ^ a b Clark, L. Page 24
  5. ^ Clark, L. Page 30
  6. ^ Middle Cove Archived 17 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  7. ^ The Evolution of the 1960s Beachcomber House to Today's Platform Home. Houzz. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  8. ^ Clark, L. Page 31
  9. Cumberland Argus
    13 November 1957 page 10
  10. ^ Stuart Hornery's illustrious career was shaped by his mentor Daily Telegraph, 22 September 2008
  11. ^ Rise and shine Sydney Morning Herald, 16 October 2004
  12. ^ "It's an Honour". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  13. ^ Keenan, Catherine (16 October 2004). "Rise and Shine". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Heritage Study: The Sydney Suburb of Middlecove 2068". Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2010.

Further reading

  • Finding a common interest - The story of Dick Dusseldorp and Lend Lease By Lindie Clark, Cambridge University Press, 2002
    ISBN 978-0-521-82531-3
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