Lang Walker remembered as a building visionary who defined his age
Property tycoon Lang Walker has been remembered as a visionary who changed the face of Australian property, while enjoying the fullest of lives.
Property tycoon Lang Walker has been remembered as a visionary who changed the face of Australian property, while enjoying the fullest of lives, whether at the helm of his business empire or his beloved boats.
A celebration of his life in Sydney on Friday drew mourners reflecting the breadth of his interests, including former prime minister John Howard, ALP powerbroker and lobbyist Graham Richardson, mayors, a former police commissioner, and a Fijian politician hailing from near Mr Walker’s Kokomo Private Island Resort.
In a message, Anthony Albanese wrote that Mr Walker inspired and energised others and in many ways “embodied so much of what is best about the Australian spirit and contributed so much to making our country an even better one”.
The founder of the multibillion-dollar property empire emerged as a surprisingly humble figure, with a gift for listening to multiple perspectives on complex problems, before coming to a decision and pursuing it with his trademark iron determination.
Mr Walker, who died aged 78 in January, was remembered for his charm and charisma, and a wit that also smoothed his business acumen, which was founded on his extraordinary drive and ability to take on and solve complex problems.
The vice-chancellor of Western Sydney University Barney Glover summed up the deliberately low-profile business figure as “quintessentially larger than life, an imposing man, never to be underestimated, driven and charismatic, a force of nature, both hard and soft”.
Mr Walker was lauded for his instrumental role in the frenetic decade of urban regeneration in western Sydney as investment, transport, health, education, residential and commercial developments poured into the area. These achievements have been matched with projects in almost all major cities.
“He simply never stopped. No physical, regulatory, geographical or political barrier daunted him,” Professor Glover said. “He could see the impact of major development with a breathtaking level of clarity, scale and purpose.”
His generosity was on display with donations to medicine and a $20m family commitment to the new Powerhouse Museum, being built on the banks of the Parramatta River.
Professor Glover captured the spirit of the times which Walker shaped but also recognised his personal touch.
“This country needs people of intellect and resolve like Lang, more so now than ever,” he said, but he remembered both the “occasional bollocking” and his “willingness to reach out to help at every opportunity” as the tycoon tested the mettle of those around him.
“With Lang, partnership wasn’t about contracts. It was always about people, about trust and respect.”
Mr Walker’s oldest son, Blake, reflected on his father’s humble spirit – and array of humorous traits that helped form his endearing personality. Away from business Mr Walker was a clearance diver in the navy Reserve, a champion sailor, a keen snow skier, fisherman and golfer, as well as a constant and adventurous traveller armed with a phone connecting him back to his operations, and to his family, “most of all a loving father”.
In a perceptive address, Blake talked of his father’s ability to conjure a vision of how a place could be better by providing an environment for it to thrive, and the creations that came from his unique way of thinking and operating, including family excursions to Sydney’s developing suburbs.
From an entrepreneurial childhood of reselling mis-hit golf balls and school stationery – and being wrongly told at high school he may not amount to much, before he later bought the property and redeveloped the site into housing – it was hard to see how Lang Walker could have fitted much more action into an extraordinary life.
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Originally published as Lang Walker remembered as a building visionary who defined his age
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