| Tamil Australian Maha Sinnathamby - Tenth wealthiest individual in Queensland , Australia |
|
|
|
|
Maha Sinnathamby is a Hindu of Tamil descent, born in Malaysia in 1939 where he lived in the small farming village of Rantau, without power or water, and where he was educated at a Catholic school. His father survived three years in a Japanese POW camp, thanks largely to his mother making regular and long journeys from the village to the camp to bring him food. Maha had to travel 36km every day by bus to and from school. He learnt two significant lessons from his parents – the importance of a good education and the value of a strong work ethic. Maha travelled to Australia by boat in 1962 to study civil engineering at the University of New South Wales and after years of persistence, graduated and worked for different organisations as a civil and design engineer, including a stint with the World Bank. He started his own property business in Perth in 1976 and later moved his young family to Queensland in the early 80’s, convinced that bigger opportunities awaited him in the Sunshine State. He continued slowly building the family company with numerous small residential subdivisions and several commercial projects in the region. In the early 1990s, Maha’s mind turned to the potential of the south-east corner as a fast-growing “sun belt” region. With business partner Bob Sharpless, he secured a 2,860-hectare parcel of land in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, for $7.9 million in 1992. Maha became Chairman of Springfield Land Corporation which was established in conjunction with the purchase of the parcel. Friends, family and business partners all marvel at his extraordinary passion and persistence. The family saying is: “It’s never a no, until it’s a yes.” Maha’s lobbying and negotiating skills as he and his team lay the foundations of Springfield were extraordinary – he once approached Premier Wayne Goss at a business function and pounced on him on the way out the door, just so he could get a face-to-face meeting with Goss about State Government support for Springfield. He lobbied the Education and Transport Departments just to get their co-operation to help build basic infrastructure to the area. Eventually, it needed a special act of Parliament to enable things to happen and he achieved the extraordinary – getting all 89 members of Parliament to vote in favour of the legislation. Maha assembled a team who shared his vision and commitment and has in just 15 years developed Greater Springfield - Australia’s first privately-built city and the country’s largest master planned community. It is the tenth largest master planned community in the world. Greater Springfield has a present population of over 15,000 people. With an average number of three families moving to the city per day, a population growth of over 100,000 is predicted within the next 20 years. Maha is passionate about education. He sees it as the golden ticket to a better life – just as it’s been with him. He has a vision of socially uplifting society around him – in this case the Ipswich and Western Corridor - through education. Maha is married to Yoga and has three daughters – Raynuha, Meera, Uma - and a son Naren. All of them work for Springfield Land Corporation. Link : In pictures: Queensland's 10 richest people http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/gallery/0,23816,5032021-17382-10,00.html - Paarimahan Related Story: Proud to be a Tamil - says Queenslands Top 10 richest person Maha Sinnathamby |
Maha Sinnathamby , A man with Sri Lankan Tamil roots, who migrated to Australia in his 18's has been listed as tenth wealthiest individual in Queensland in BRW 2008 Rich list. Courier Mail reported his achievement as , “ The man who founded the entire Springfield property development, Sinnathamby is worth an estimated $571 million. He has few obvious trappings of wealth, living in a modest abode at Fig Tree Pocket, his ownly real luxury being driving a Mercedes car. “ Like Sri Lankan Tamil Community Maha is highly values the importance of Education and says & believe “Education is the key. Education creates a strong community. Education changes our potential.”| < Previous | Next > |
|---|
Post New Event
