Wilson’s way: The story of a visionary Brisbane businessman
Steve Wilson is a high achiever and one of Brisbane’s most successful businessmen – his story is an important one and it’s now between the covers of a handsome hardback.
Every time I drive past St John’s Cathedral on Ann Street heading into Brisbane’s CBD I think of Steve Wilson.
He’s the bloke who then Archbishop Peter Hollingworth anointed as head fundraiser in pursuit of the $25 million required for the completion of what is regarded as “the finest neo-gothic cathedral in the world”.
When construction was underway, I was dispatched to interview a master stonemason from England who was working on the project. It was fascinating and an amazing experience to see this architectural icon finally finished.
The story of how Wilson, a well-known Brisbane businessman and philanthropist, got involved is told in a new biography, Steve Wilson: Little City, Big Dreams, by Michael Blucher, a respected journalist and author with a special interest in sport.
This is Blucher’s 15th book and it is an expansive and detailed biography that is also part history and part social history of Brisbane, the city Wilson loves so much and has given so much to.
“Growing up in Brisbane in the 1980s and ‘90s, it was hard not to notice Steve Wilson,” Blucher writes. “A big man with a big personality and big ideas, he was somebody who was never satisfied with good, when he knew better was possible. He bobbed up everywhere – in the news, at business events, at corporate events, at the footy – it was like there were four of him, working alternate 12-hour shifts.
“For the sake of Brisbane’s history, it’s important that the stories of people like Steve Wilson are captured, because they’re interwoven into the tapestry of the city.
“He has his detractors – people like Steve always do – but nobody can challenge his passion, his energy and his determination to make Brisbane one of the most livable cities in the world. Without question, Steve believes in the city of Brisbane, perhaps more than anyone else alive.”
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Steve Wilson: Little City, Big Dreams also continues Blucher’s keen interest in sport, particularly rugby union, with Wilson’s strong ties to the code.
The Brisbane author has previously published Perfect Union, about Wallabies players Tim Horan and Jason Little, and Bubble Boys, delving into the lives of professional athletes. He has done a great job on this book which was, according to Steve Wilson, a project that wasn’t without its difficulties.
“It took three years,” Wilson tells me when we catch up briefly at the book launch at the Museum of Brisbane.
He indicated that there was a point where it seemed almost impossible – he’s always very frank – but these two blokes pressed on together and the result is a very edifying and entertaining work.
Sure, it is historically detailed and thorough but Blucher hasn’t let the facts get in the way of a good story. Must be his journalistic training.
The book launch was attended by a cross-section of Brisbane society and Wilson was working the room in his emphatic way. He makes it a point of connecting with everyone he can and people appreciate his personal touch.
He is genuinely interested in other folk and what they have to say but, as the book makes only too clear, he has strong ideas and aims and won’t be deterred from his chosen path however rocky that might be at times.
Steve Wilson AM is a name synonymous with Brisbane, and this book charts the rise of this enterprising local visionary, business leader and philanthropist and his city-shaping vision of the Queensland capital as Australia’s most successful and sustainable city.
At its core, Steve Wilson: Little City, Big Dreams is a lively character study of Brisbane from 1886 to present day, which will appeal to those passionate about local history and lore.
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Born into Brisbane’s premier stockbroking family, Wilson established his financial career in London before returning at age 31 to helm firm Wilsons after his father died in 1986.
Steering Wilsons through the 1987 global stock market crash and other challenges, the forward- thinking Wilson led the stockbroking firm to become a national leader in emerging companies, establishing Hyperion and Pinnacle – two of Australia’s fund management success stories.
While Steve Wilson: Little City, Big Dreams is a triumphant tale set in the financial industry, it is equally the real-life story of a local vision of a better Brisbane and a plucky small town growing up to become a world-class capital that is now globally recognised as one of the world’s most livable cities.
Wilson was instrumental in the transformation of South Bank and has steered pivotal tourism, sports, cultural, conservation and place-making projects in Brisbane as chair of Racing Queensland, St John’s Cathedral Completion Fund and Queensland Rugby Union.
Recently, he and his wife, Dr Jane Wilson, have resurrected one of Brisbane’s most impressive heritage homes, Lamb House, on Kangaroo Point.
For all his achievements, though, there have been struggles and the book is candid about those. It’s also very much a story of a large loving family (Steve and Jane have five children) and the many photos in the book tell that story.
Jane Wilson has written a very endearing Foreword about her husband: “Being married to Steve Wilson has been rewarding, sometimes surprising, often exhilarating, and on occasions, utterly exhausting.”
She writes that this is “both a family story and a business story” and the book explains “what makes Steve tick”.
He’s the sort of bloke you would want on your side in the trenches, for sure, and his determination is admirable. The chapter about his endeavours to complete a family holiday home on Lizard Island shows just how determined he can be. It took decades for it to come to fruition and he was blocked very step of the way, but he pressed on and achieved his goal.
I remember him banging on about South Bank and Grey Street in the 1990s. We all nodded and smiled. Was it all just pie in the sky?
Well, no, it wasn’t. His vision has come to fruition and South Bank and its surrounds is now the vibrant precinct he always envisaged.
The book doesn’t pull any punches and local business people and politicians will be poring over it to see how they fared in the telling of the story. Some will heave a sigh of relief, others might be a bit cross – and that makes the book all the more interesting.
Steve Wilson, Michael Blucher … well done! Now – stand at ease.
Steve Wilson: Little City, Big Dreams by Michael Blucher, $49.95.
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