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CONDOLENCE MOTION – SIR NICHOLAS SHEHADIE

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Rev. the Hon. Fred Nile MLC delivered a condolence motion last Thursday in honour of, and to commemorate the life of Sir Nicholas Shehadie, who passed away at the age of 93 on 11 February 2018. Sir Nicholas Shehadie had an extensive career in the public service, which included being an Alderman at the City of Sydney, Lord Mayor of Sydney and Chairman of the Special Broadcasting Service, and was also involved in rugby, having represented Randwick DRUFC as well as New South Wales and Australia. The following speech delivered by Rev Nile MLC is extracted from Hansard:

Condolence Motion

Sir Nicholas Shehadie

Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE: I am very pleased and honoured to participate in debate on this motion of condolence, Private Members' Business item No. 1876, which states:

(1)That this House express and place on record its deep sense of the loss sustained to the State by the death of Sir Nicholas Michael Shehadie, AC, OBE.

(2)That this resolution be communicated by the President to the family.

Some members may be surprised that there could be any connection between Fred Nile and Sir Nicholas Shehadie, but we both attended the Cleveland Street Public School and the Crown Street Commercial School. In those days the system was that for a number of years students attended the Cleveland Street Public School and then they were transferred to the Crown Street Commercial School to do a course that involved learning bookkeeping and other matters related to business administration. Whenever Sir Nicholas and I met at functions, we always had a joke about the Cleveland Street Public School and the Crown Street Commercial School and our memories of various events that occurred during his time and my time, and some during my time of which he was aware. But I will not go into that now because it would detract from the motion. We are not talking about me; we are talking about Sir Nicholas.

I was pleased to have a friendship with him through that association.

Sir Nicholas' grandfather, Nicholas Shehadie, was a clergyman in the Antioch Orthodox Church. He migrated from Lebanon in 1910 and later became head of the church in Australia and New Zealand. I was pleased to be invited to visit the church both in New South Wales and Adelaide. Antioch Orthodox Christians have made an important contribution to our nation's cohesion and growth. Obviously, the most significant part of Sir Nicholas' public life was his rugby career. He embraced Sydney's sporting lifestyle and joined the Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, where many of the surfers were avid rugby players. He joined the Randwick rugby club and was first picked as a replacement in first grade when he was only 15 years old. As members who have met him would know, Nicholas was a big man and would have been a big boy.

At age 16, Sir Nicholas made his first representative appearance for New South Wales against a combined services side. In 1947, he appeared in a New South Wales XV team against New Zealand and then made his debut for Australia in the final test against the same touring All Blacks. He was the fourth-youngest member of the 1947‑48 Wallaby tour 30-man squad. He dislocated his shoulder on the fourth tour match against Cardiff but recovered to make 24 tour appearances, including the final two tests against England and France. He finished the tour in the Wallabies side that met the Barbarians in their inaugural match against an international touring team. He made representative appearances against the New Zealand Maori in 1949, and that year toured New Zealand in Trevor Allan's team, which for the first time in history returned victorious with the Bledisloe Cup. He made further representative showings against the British and Irish Lions in 1950, the All Blacks in 1951, and Fiji in 1952.

He has an outstanding record in rugby. All up, Shehadie made 175 appearances for Randwick rugby club in a 16-year club career. He represented Australia on 114 occasions and was the first player to reach the century mark. He played 30 Tests—a record at the time—three of them as captain. In addition to his sporting success, Shehadie had success in business. He became a sales manager with a major asphalt company. When his footballing days ended, he commenced a business supplying and fixing vinyl tiles that were used in hotel bars and computer room installations requiring anti-static floors. The business was successful, being the first to market with a product in high demand by the growing information technology departments in corporate Australia. Another major highlight in his life was his 1973 election as Lord Mayor of Sydney, a role that he carried out with great flair. He was in office at the time of the opening of the Sydney Opera House by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.

He was involved with the Sydney Cricket Ground. He has been a member of the Sydney Cricket Ground trust for 29 years. In 1978 when he was invited by the New South Wales Minister for Sport and Recreation, Ken Booth, to become a trustee. At the time he was a patron of the Randwick Rugby Club and a committee member of the Sydney Turf Club. Sir Nicholas was also involved in rugby administration and was successful in his contribution. In 1981, he was appointed Chairman of the Special Broadcasting Service [SBS] and served the organisation until 1999. He was national Chair for the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Australia. Sir Nicholas was married to Marie Bashir, who was Governor of New South Wales from 2001 to 2014—she later became Dame Marie Bashir. The couple had three children and six grandchildren. We thank God for Sir Nicholas' life and his contribution to our city, State and nation. May God bless him and all the members of his family.

END

Media inquiries:                                 The Rev. The Hon. Fred Nile MLC

(02) 9230 2478                                                              18 February 2018

Rev Hon Fred Nile MLC
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Rev Fred Nile (02) 9230 2478