NEIL BALNAVES AO
1944 – 2022
Neil Richard Balnaves was born in Adelaide in 1944, the middle child of three children to Sidney and Jean Balnaves. Having attended King’s College in Adelaide (1957-61) and upon leaving school at age 16, Neil embarked on a career with Rigby Publishers.
In 1968 Neil joined Kevin Weldon in PR and advertising at Paul Hamlyn’s Australian arm of the Hamlyn Group and in doing so found himself in Sydney, where he took up residence in Neutral Bay on Sydney’s North Shore. It was in Sydney that Neil met his wife Diane, also originally from Adelaide. Neil and Diane were married in 1971 and relocated together to Mosman, also on the North Shore, where Neil remained for the rest of his life.
It was in television that Neil achieved his greatest professional success, when at age 30 he was appointed to head up the local arm of the American animation house Hanna-Barbera. In 1978, James Hardie Industries (later known as Taft-Hardie Group) bought the Hamlyn Group, thereby taking control of Hanna Barbera Australia, as well as Rigby Publishers and Neil was appointed Chief Executive of the publishing and leisure division of Hardie, renamed the Rigby Group.
It was during this period that Neil made two of his most significant business decisions. The first was to recognise video as an emerging segment of the industry in 1979 – and act on it by partnering with Paramount Pictures and MCA Universal, two of Hollywood’s largest studios, in a 50/50 joint venture known as CIC-Rigby. The second decision was to form a consortium to develop and build a theme park which became the largest amusement park in the southern hemisphere. In 1985, Australia’s Wonderland in Western Sydney was opened.
In 1988, Neil led a management buyout of the Taft-Hardie Group, rebranding it as Southern Star Group. It was, he stated in 2010, the best investment of his career.
As a film and TV executive, Neil ran Southern Star Group (later Endemol Shine Australia). He was proud to have been involved in bringing many popular shows to Australian screens, including Water Rats, Blue Heelers, Big Brother, The Secret Life of Us, McLeod’s Daughters and Bananas in Pyjamas.
Following a devastating boat accident in 2002 and a long recovery, Neil decided to sell his stake in Southern Star Group and turn his attention to philanthropy. “I give because I’ve been lucky in this country”, he said
Working closely with his wife Diane and children Alexandra, Hamish and Victoria, Neil founded The Balnaves Foundation in 2006. Already an established philanthropist, Neil wanted to create a pathway for intergenerational giving, bringing his family together to help create a better Australia.
As a child Neil suffered polio, an experience that played a major role when deciding where to focus his philanthropic giving. It was this and his more recent accident that led him to decide that the medical sector would be one of the Foundation’s core tenants.
Describing his own childhood in Adelaide, in which art was “a distant concept”, Neil’s enthusiasm for the arts evolved in his later years thanks to Diane’s passion and interest in art. It was his personal experiences and love of contemporary art, in particular sculpture, that fuelled his desire to support the arts and create opportunities where the arts could be engaging and accessible for young people.
As Education is the key to success and the pathway to creating systemic change, Neil elected to make this the third area of focus for the Foundation. It was his hope that by supporting and providing access to education, it would help create significant change now and in the future.
As the Foundation coalesced it became clear that supporting First Nations people, young people and those facing disadvantage were all important to Neil and the Balnaves family, Neil therefore decided that it would be optimal to seek projects that also supported these demographics.
In 2009, son Hamish joined Neil at the Foundation in the role of CEO and together they identified unique innovative projects to support, in the mission of creating a better Australia. For Neil, some of most memorable were Sculpture by the Sea, Sydney Dance Company, Venice Biennale.
Neil was the Chairman of Ardent Leisure Group (now Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited), one of Australia’s most successful owners and operators of premium leisure assets, from 2003 until 2016. Other former directorships include Hanna-Barbara Australia, Reed Consolidated Industries, Hamlyn Group, Taft Hardie, Southern Star Group and Southern Cross Broadcasting.
He was the Chancellor of Charles Darwin University, from 2016 until 2018, and a former Director and Trustee Member of Bond University, receiving an Honorary Doctorate of the Bond University in 2009. In addition, Neil was a Board Member of the Art Gallery of South Australia from 2013 to 2019, a former member of the Advisory Council and Dean’s Circle at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Medicine, and in 2010 received an Honorary Doctorate of the University of New South Wales.
In 2010, Neil was proud to be appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his services to the community through philanthropic support for the arts, education, medical research and Indigenous programs, and to business.
ALEXANDRA HONOR (nee BALNAVES)
1974 – 2019
Born in July 1974, Alexandra was the eldest child of Neil and Diane Balnaves, sister to Hamish and Victoria, and mother to Caillean and Leith.
Growing up in the suburb of Mosman on Sydney’s north shore, Alexandra was a studious and compassionate child. With an enthusiasm for reading and music, Alexandra played a variety of instruments, her preferred being the clarinet. Horse riding with her sister Victoria was also a favourite pastime, later inspiring her to volunteer at Riding for the Disabled during her university years.
A conservationist from a young age, Alexandra was greatly concerned about the environment and the impact of climate change on the world around her. Whilst attending Wenona School in North Sydney, Alexandra established the school’s recycling program, advocating with the school’s leadership to implement the program and promoting the concept to her fellow students.
In 1992 Alexandra graduated from Wenona as joint Dux of her year. In the break between finishing high school and commencing at university, Alexandra undertook an expedition with Earthwatch, a global not-for-profit organisation dedicated to environmental sustainability and scientific research. This experience overseas, focussing on conservation work, was an experience that greatly influenced Alexandra’s life and stayed with her always.
Upon her return, Alexandra embarked upon a degree in leisure studies at the University of New South Wales, however, with reflection on her recent life-changing experience overseas, she elected to move to a Bachelor of Arts with a Diploma of Education at Macquarie University. It was during her time at university that she drove from her home in Sydney, to spend a month at Cape York, where she met Aunty Wadjularbinna, a Gangalidda Elder. It was this firsthand experience, combined with her study into Indigenous history and culture, which instilled a strong sense of the injustices inflicted upon First Nations People and ignited a passion for Alexandra to advocate for reconciliation and self-determination for First Nations communities. This was a passion she shared with her family, and something they would work towards together, through the Foundation.
During her time at university, Alexandra had a range of jobs, including working at community radio station 2SER. This experience led Alexandra to compile a series of oral histories, combining her interest in history with her newfound skills in broadcasting. Later in her degree, she began working in disability care, predominantly helping young people to live as independently as possible.
Following her time at university and upon completion of her degree, Alexandra embarked on a career in teaching, something she truly loved and enjoyed doing and in equal measure she was beloved by her students.
In 2004, following the birth of her second child Leith, brother to Caillean, Alexandra and her young family relocated to Gumbaynggirr Country (Valla near Coffs Harbour) on the New South Wales mid-north coast where she continued teaching at local schools. It was here that Alexandra embedded herself in the local community, supporting local environmental groups, living a low impact lifestyle and spending lots of time outdoors with her children. Through her personal and professional pursuits she also connected with local Indigenous Elders and organisations on Gumbaynggirr land.
Throughout her career Alexandra worked in a variety of roles, nearly all linked to education: evaluation, research and development; as a secondary school teacher in learning support and the humanities; as an educator and advocate with people with disabilities; and as a freelance journalist she produced a number of radio documentaries. Her passion for ensuring equitable access to quality education and her commitment to supporting First Nations communities would later lead to her embarking on an innovative project providing education and access for Indigenous children from regional and remote areas.
In 2018 Alexandra completed a Masters of Evaluation at The University of Melbourne. That same year, Alexandra was diagnosed with breast cancer, and despite the best efforts of her medical team, she sadly passed away in April 2019, aged 44.
Alexandra was beloved by her children, and she loved them beyond measure. It was Alex’s joy and pride to support and encourage her children in their interests and to educate and introduce them to the causes she was so passionate about. She instilled in her children a profound respect and regard for the environment, and an awareness of the vast injustices done to First Nations people. Alexandra’s legacy is her children, and in them she has left a fierce desire to be part of the change to help right the wrongs of the past.
Inspired by her lifelong dedication to education and advocacy for First Nations people’s right to self-determination, recognition, and equity, the Balnaves family made the decision to honour Alexandra with a gift to support the furtherance of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
In May 2020, on the third anniversary of the Uluru Statement, it was announced that Professor Megan Davis AC had been appointed to The Balnaves Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of NSW. Alexandra was a strong supporter of Megan and her work on constitutional recognition dating back to the early 2000s. The Balnaves Chair was created to support Megan’s work and help make the aspirations of the Uluru Statement a reality.
Alexandra was a passionate advocate for the Indigenous community, people with a disability, the environment and access to education for all. Her contribution to the Foundation is greatly missed and it is our honour to continue supporting the causes that meant so much to her.