Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 9 : Construction of the cultural centre, 1977-1981

Sir David-K·ing of the Cultural Centre By o SPECIAL WRITER FOR a man who never went to university Sir Dnid Muir has done pretty well. He is the man behind the Queenslond Cufturol Centre - the chair– man of the controlling trust, the mon whose life hos been a series of suc– cesses crowned by the realisation of ad reom on the south bank of the Brisbane River. Wednesday•, opening or the centre'• audito– rium and car park prob– abli• meant more to the ta I I , e Ie g an t , allver haired 66-year-old than any or the other 450 guests there, except, per– haps, architect. Robin Gibson. It nil began se,·en years ago '\\'hen Sir Da,id \\'tU appointed chairman or the pln.nnlng com• mlttee for an Idea that wa. to become the gyent co m p I e x now nearing com1>ietlon. Then there was noth• Ing on the alte but & tumbledown array or old bttlldlngs and the rhosts or the atara that had ap• peared at the Cremornc Theatre that once occu– pied part or the site and burned dovm In Uie 19501. That Cttmome Theatn, site 'll'U tmpor• tant to Sir Davtd In more ways than one, It wa, where he and wife Joan did their court.Ing. His next ambition Is to "stlll 1Je around In 1984 when the centre la com– pleted and henr Dame Joan Sutherland !!Ing In the concert hall nnd WA tch The ,A uatNltan Baflet dance In the Lyrlc Theatre." The fact that Sir Da• vld has "babied" the project alonr right from the begtnnln~ Is one or the ,reasons he's kno•.n around the rld@el as "llfr CUiture." though perhap.s Sir CUiture would be more appropriate. Dlplomat Sir David J)Olnts out that hla Involvement With culture began long before anyone thought or a cul– tural centre. "I've lllways enjoyed a little theatre" he aatd. He was foundation chairman or the Queensland Theatre Company. The completion r.r the bulldlng will not neces– sarily mean the end or the rolld for the man who many oay Is the greatest diplomat to have emerged from the Queensland public ser• vice. And anyway, he snys he doesn't want to retire. As chairman or the Queen a Ian d Cultural Centre Trust, Sir David Is virtually king or all he surveys on either side or Melbourne Street, South Brisbane. There are autonomous trusts running the per– forming arts complex, galleiy and museum, but the centre trust ta the su– preme one, having com– plete control or the fab– ric, runntng and mainte– nance or the complex. Its restnurnnt nnd \'arlous eateries dotted around the pince. lt's • Joh Sir Dn,•ld took on 9.'hen he ••re– tired" earlier this sea.r from the public service. He hnd spent the two yenrs running up to his 65t h birthday as State ombudsman. Before that he had been Chairman or the Public Service Board, DI– rector or IndustrlnI De– velopment and chairman of the Industries Assis– t.once Board. Defore thnt nanln he hnd spent 13 years In London ns Queensland -~acnt-Genernl. "l was 35 when t went ornr. The roun~est agen t eeneral e1·er from Amtrafln. It's n record r still hold." he said. At 32 he was nlso the J'Ollllgl?St person 1(1 hr • P· pointed pcrm•nent head or the Premier's Deput– ment. "Thnt , , " tell htfu• Sil DAVID MUil inspecting progress at the Cultural c;entre yes– terday. Sir David belleves that opportunity knock, at least once ror everybody. "I took advantage or e,•. er y o n e that came along," he aald. "I've had some rantas– tlc experiences. I was In London when the Kine died. I went to two royal weddtnrs. Princess Mar– raret'a and Prlnceu Al• exandrn ·s. I was In Eng• land when the British Empire became the Com– monwealth." He also had to go Into CUba rlrht tn the middle or the Cuban mls.slle crisis to neaottate sugar sales with Fidel Castro. And he once had to go Into Sotheby's '\\1th a command from the Quecnsl~d ~vemment to apen DO;ooo-on pnifltln,J Crom the De Vahl ~uben collection for the Queensland art 1allery. Sir David thlnk1 part or his success has been his willingness to move around and not stay In the one position for too Joni, Brl11Nne, Qld.