Old-school lessons today
As the former deputy mayor, co-founder of AB Paterson College and passionate Broadwater advocate, Alan Rickard has long studied this city – including as a student at Labrador’s century-old school
WHEN it comes to the future of the Gold Coast, Alan Rickard is old school.
As the former deputy mayor of the city, co-founder of AB Paterson College and passionate Broadwater advocate, he’s studied the Coast well … and learned our success is built on the pillars of education, community and opportunity.
It’s a lesson he first learned 70 years ago – as a year 1 student at Labrador State School, which this year celebrates its centenary.
While a reunion of the school’s century of alumni was scheduled for this weekend, it’s since become another casualty of the Covid lockdown. But Alan says despite the decades, he’s long remained in regular contact with his schoolmates.
Walking barefoot to the school then on the outskirts of town, all but in the bush, Alan made friends that not only lasted a lifetime but helped propel him to become an elected city leader from 1988 through to his retirement in 2004.
“I started at Labrador School in 1951, when it was still on the corner of Billington Street and Brisbane Road. The first day I remember we had to chase the kangaroos and wallabies out of the way,” he says.
“The next year it moved to its current location on Turpin Road but it was still the edge of town. It was only five years after the end of World War II.
“I always make a point of telling people that at that time there was no rich or poor. We were all the same.
“They were happy days. There was not a lot of discontent, all we knew was we loved to play sport. It was football in the winter and cricket in the summer.
“We had high respect for our teachers. That was one of the main reasons everyone was so looking forward to the reunion – it was an opportunity to see them or talk about them again. They were firm but they were fair, and they gave us a lot of guidance.
“I went through Labrador primary school and then Southport State High, then I opened a mechanic business in Southport … and as I went through my life on the Gold Coast, it’s amazing the range of people I have worked with that go back to my school days. Even when I first ran for council in 1988, so much of my support came from those old school friends.”
Growing up near Loders Creek, in a home owned by his family from 1948 until his mother’s
death in 2000, Alan says he always felt an affinity for the Broadwater and decided to run for the Gold Coast City Council when it was under threat from development.
And once he won that war, he just couldn’t walk away from the battlefield.
“I always felt that a lot of the development being suggested was really removing public access to the Broadwater, and that includes The Spit and Stradbroke Island,” he says.
“That land should always be free and accessible to all of the public. That’s the beauty of the Gold Coast, you don’t have to be a millionaire to live the life of a millionaire with milliondollar views.
“There was a push to develop a golf course in the southern part of Stradbroke Island and I believe that just was not right. We’d already fought in 1985, when the Seaway was constructed. We supported that construction but not the idea to sell Broadwater land to pay for it. In the end the full $50m was paid for by the state government.
“We managed to end the golf course development plan for Stradbroke. I took a boatload of journalists over to the island to see all the wildlife and pristine bush and that just killed the development pretty much right then.
“But then I felt that I just couldn’t leave already, and I got involved in finance and economic development. In that role, I really believe that we set the base for a lot of the prosperity this city has now.”
However, Alan says the city has lost momentum in the past 15 years when it comes to investing in new opportunities.
He says some of his proudest achievements in council were in diversifying our economic base but that the strong trajectory has not been continued. “During my time with council, I chaired the economic development committee and tried to broaden our economic base so it’s not just tourism and construction,” he says.
“After the Gold Coast and Albert shires amalgamated in 1995, we were really able to achieve things – like the marine precinct in Coomera and the industrial estate in Yatala.
“At the same time, one of my colleagues said one of the foundations for any successful city is how well educated its residents are and that’s when I started working with others to establish AB Paterson College.
“We were also fighting to keep our tertiary institutions here. Bond University was going through financial issues and there was a real threat it would be sold off as a residential development. It was also mooted that Griffith University would be broken into separate institutions at each of its campuses. We fought for the Gold Coast campus to be its anchor. And look at both of those universities kicking goals now.
“Our aim was always to help the Gold Coast to become more than just a tourism town. If people are going to move and live here, all their kids can’t be baristas. Unfortunately, that push seems to have lost the momentum it had between 1995 and 2004.”
Alan says despite stepping down from council in 2004, he remained active in the community.
He cites his involvement with the Southport Chamber of Commerce as an example of an opportunity lost by the council.
“In about 2011, I was working with the chamber in trying to get a business site established at the old Gold Coast Hospital. At the 2012 council election we were getting a lot of support from various candidates but that didn’t translate into commitment.
“It’s a real shame because that site could have easily attracted the General Electric base that went to Ipswich. It was a lost opportunity. That site is now being developed into a retail/residential mix … but really, that’s more of the same in terms of investment rather than diversification.
“There was also an opporin tunity to invest in a communications cable between Singapore and Sydney but we opted out and the Sunshine Coast got it instead. That’s given them the ability to attract Silicon Valley firms. In this city we just can’t afford to rest on our laurels, we have to keep pursuing opportunities.”
Alan says one of the greatest opportunities for the city is to engage the community.
He says his role as president of the Save Our Broadwater group has been one of his most rewarding – and successful.
“I never intended to get involved when I stepped down from council. My wife and I have a very happy life and I was looking forward to getting back into business and investing.
“But then the issue that got me into council raised its head again. Once again, there was a lot of pressure for this public land to be developed and I just didn’t think that was right.
“It was particularly frustrating because on August 8, 2003, the council unanimously adopted a resolution called the Gold Coast Harbour Vision 2020, which effectively ruled that development of The Spit would stop at the Southport Yacht Club, other than what already exists such as the Sheraton Mirage and Marina Mirage.
“I left in 2004 believing The Spit was safe but suddenly it was under threat again.
“We have protected a beautiful, irreplaceable piece of the Gold Coast. While there are still little arguments over things like the size of the jetty the marine stadium, the most important thing is that we have all accepted there will be no high-rises in that area. “That’s a win.”
While he may not be a fan of a cruise ship terminal, Alan says he supports the construction of the light rail from Helensvale through to the Gold Coast Airport.
Although he admits that the devil is in the detail.
“I think we really have to make sure we protect businesses during construction. But in the big picture, we need this. If you’ve been to Paris, you wonder how the city would operate without the Metro – yet it was a major source of contention when it was built as well. As time passes, I believe we’ll realise just how much this infrastructure is worth to the city.”
While Alan will never be tempted to return to civic life, he says he’ll always be involved with his city.
And despite those missed opportunities in the recent past, he believes the tide is turning in the current council.
“It worries me that some of our elected people seem to think they are judged only by their social media presence, rather than their actual presence at community meetings.
“But I have to say I really think that’s changing now. I’m seeing our councillors show up at things like Waterways Authority meetings and not just for a token appearance. They stick around and talk to the people and are really getting involved. That’s how it should be. That’s how you build community, find opportunity and learn what matters to the people.”
And when it comes to the relationship between residents and leaders, Alan is old school once again.
“Back in my youth, I played a lot of sport. And you always played the ball, not the man. These days there is too much playing the man. We need to keep our eye – and our arguments – on the ball.”
Just like the good old Labrador schoolyard.
In this city we just can’t afford to rest on our laurels