My father was a truck driver. That’s where it all started, and academically I was a disaster at school. My cousin got his name on the honour board; I, at Melbourne High School, I carved mine on the desk.

Personal relationships are always the key to good business. You can buy networking; you can’t buy friendships.

Life isn’t about algebra and geometry. Learning by making mistakes and not duplicating them is what life is about.

Simple old-fashioned values that come from a sense of community are the key to a great society. I believe we all have that sense from childhood memories, when life was simple. It’s those memories that should drive us to reflect on our values.

Simple old-fashioned values that come from a sense of community are the key to a great society. I believe we all have that sense from childhood memories, when life was simple. It's those memories that should drive us to reflect on our values.

Gaining my education from practical experience certainly benefited me. If I had gone on to be a lawyer, my life wouldn't have been anywhere near as interesting.

Three score and, and ten has always been something that I never thought I'd make. So when I made it, I wanted to celebrate it and I did.

People in business generally have a responsibility to the community. They have to put back into the community from which they take. I think I've adopted that all through my life. Caring and sharing are two major fundamentals of life.

Initially, I used to cart coke from the West Melbourne Gasworks -12 tonne a day, 150-pound sacks. I'd come home looking like Al Jolson at the end of the day - white teeth, black face... A good hard day's work.

I started ice-skating when I was about 12 or 13 and I was selected in the Australian team for ice hockey. I met my wife at St Moritz Ice Skating about 1955.