Neville Crichton

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Neville Crichton
Australian
OccupationEntrepreneur
Spouse
Nadi Hasandedic
(m. 2017)
Australian Touring Car Championship
Years active1985–1990
TeamsJPS Team BMW (1985)
Volvo Dealer Team (1986)
Dick Johnson Racing (1987–88)
Tony Longhurst Racing (1989–90)
Best finish4th in 1985

Neville Alexander Crichton

Australian
businessman who was also a competitor in Australasian motor and yacht racing.

Early life and background

Born on a dairy farm in Otago, New Zealand, Crichton developed a skill for selling bicycles and left Rotorua Boys' High School,[1] aged 14 years, to start selling tractors and hay balers, door-to-door.[2][3]

Career

Automotive industry

Crichton entered the automotive industry in his local Ford dealership, where he was promoted to sales manager. A short time later, he became general manager of a General Motors dealership. In 1972, he acquired an ailing used car operation;[4][5] and in 1977 he acquired the Mazda distributorship for the state of Hawaii.[4][3] Crichton sold his Hawaiian interests in 1982 and moved back to New Zealand where he acquired a group of Ford dealerships that were in difficulty. Under his stewardship, he turned them into the country's largest Ford dealership.[4]

In the early-1980s Crichton immigrated to Australia and acquired

battery electric and the Stellantis range of motor vehicles[9] (that includes Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot
, RAM Trucks, and Vauxhall).

Competitive touring car racing

In the 1980s, Crichton was a regular competitor in

Australian Touring Car Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
1985 JPS Team BMW
BMW 635 CSi
WIN
2
SAN
5
SYM
3
WAN

4
AIR
4
CAL
3
SUR
5
LAK
6
AMA
9
ORA
Ret
4th 149
1987 John Andrew Motorsport Ford Sierra XR4Ti CAL
10
SYM LAK
WAN
AIR SUR
Ret
SAN AMA ORA 31st 1
1989 Benson & Hedges Racing
Ford Sierra RS500
AMA
12
SYM
9
LAK
8
WAN

8
MAL
7
SAN
9
WIN
DNS
ORA
Ret
12th 12.5
1990 Benson & Hedges Racing
Ford Sierra RS500
AMA SYM PHI WIN LAK MAL
WAN

9
ORA 18th 2

World Touring Car Championship

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points
1987
Australia HDT Racing P/L
Holden VL Commodore SS Group A
MNZ JAR DIJ NUR SPA
Ret
BNO
SIL
NC 0
Australia Shell Ultra-Hi Tech Racing Team
Ford Sierra RS500
BAT
Ret
CLD
ovr:13
cls:9
WEL
Ret
FJI

† Not registered for series & points

Bathurst 1000

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1985 Australia JPS Team BMW Australia George Fury
BMW 635 CSi
C 68 DNF DNF
1986 Australia Volvo Dealer Team New Zealand Graham McRae
Australia John Bowe
Volvo 240T
B 156 11th 4th
1987 Australia Shell Ultra-Hi Tech Racing Team Australia Charlie O'Brien
Ford Sierra RS500
1 2 DNF DNF
1988 Australia Shell Ultra-Hi Tech Racing Australia John Bowe
United Kingdom Robb Gravett
Ford Sierra RS500
A 26 DNF DNF
1989 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Tony Longhurst
Ford Sierra RS500
A 27 DNF DNF

Sandown endurance

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1985 Australia JPS Team BMW Australia George Fury
BMW 635 CSi
A 129 2nd 2nd
1987 Australia Shell Ultra-Hi Tech Racing Team Australia Dick Johnson
Australia Gregg Hansford
Australia Charlie O'Brien
Ford Sierra RS500
B 86 DNF DNF
1989 Australia Benson & Hedges Racing Australia Tony Longhurst
Ford Sierra RS500
A 87 DNF DNF

Spa 24 Hours

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1986 United Kingdom TWR – South Pacific Racing Australia Ron Dickson
New Zealand Dave McMillan
Rover Vitesse Div.3 31 DNF DNF
1987 Australia HDT Racing P/L
David Parsons
Holden VL Commodore SS Group A
Div.3 206 DNF DNF

Bathurst 12 Hour

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1992 Australia BMW Australia Pty Ltd Australia Alan Jones
Australia Tony Longhurst
BMW M5
C 251 2nd 1st
1994 New Zealand Neville Crichton Australia Alan Jones
Australia John Bowe
BMW M3
X 120 DNF DNF

Ocean-race sailing

Crichton also had a distinguished sailing career, having owned ocean-racing maxi yachts Alfa Romeo I, Alfa Romeo II and Alfa Romeo III. Crichton skipped the line honours winning yachts in the 2002 and 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races.[15][16]

He was also the founder of

Alloy Yachts, which he incorporated with the same team that, in 1985, built Chanel, his 28-metre (92 ft) sailing yacht. Over 29 years, Alloy Yachts launched sailing yachts in excess of 67 metres (220 ft) and motor yachts up to 47 metres (154 ft) in length. The company ceased trading in 2016.[17]

Personal life

In 1978, aged 29 years, Crichton was diagnosed with throat cancer. He underwent 30 operations and eventually had his voice-box and oesophagus removed. Doctors told him it was unlikely he would ever speak again, however he was one of the first people in the world to receive an artificial voice box during experimental surgery in Indianapolis.[5] This would lead to his nickname of "Croaky".[7]

Aged 71 years, in 2017 Crichton married his fourth wife,

Point Piper.[7][21][22]

Net worth

Crichton appeared in the

The Australian Financial Review assessed Crichton's net worth at A$1.06 billion, in the 2023 Rich List.[8]

Year Financial Review
Rich List
Australia's 50 Richest
Rank
$A
)
Rank
US$
)
2022 163 Decrease $798 million Increase
2023[8] 137 Increase $1.06 billion Increase
Legend
Icon Description
Steady Has not changed from the previous year
Increase Has increased from the previous year
Decrease Has decreased from the previous year

Awards and honours

In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, Crichton was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to yachting and business.[5] In 2015, he was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.[24]

References

  1. ^
    New Zealand Herald
    .
  2. ^ Stahl, Michael (30 December 2018). "Robb Reader: Neville Crichton". Robb Report. Australia and New Zealand. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b Corby, Stephen (24 July 2016). "Neville Crichton interview". Which Car. Wheels. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "Popular drivers from NZ: Neville Crichton". Historic Racing. 4 June 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  5. ^
    New Zealand Herald
    . 4 June 2012.
  6. ^ "About us". Ateco Group. n.d. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  7. ^
    The Australian Financial Review
    . Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Bailey, Michael; Sprague, Julie-anne (26 May 2023). "The 200 richest people in Australia revealed". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Brand partners". Ateco Group. n.d. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ISSN 1031-6124
    .
  11. .
  12. .
  13. .
  14. .
  15. ^ "No race record but Crichton still delighted". Sydney to Hobart. 28 December 2002.
  16. ^ "Jubilant Crichton glad its all over". Sydney to Hobart. 29 December 2009.
  17. ^ "Alloy Yachts". Boat International. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Skipper trims waist as well as sails". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 December 2002. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ^ Hornery, Andrew (13 May 2017). "$6 billion guest stable as millionaire car importer Neville Crichton ties knot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  20. NZ Herald
    . Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  21. ^ Macken, Lucy (14 December 2017). "Neville Crichton buys $45m Point Piper mansion next door to Malcolm Turnbull". domain.com.au. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  22. ^ Macken, Lucy (3 April 2022). "Medical entrepreneur makes $60m return to Sydney's trophy home market". Domain; The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  23. New Zealand Herald
    . Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Past laureates". Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved 19 February 2023.

External links

Ateco official website