Rob Francis

Rob is a 6th generation Australian; having had ancestors come out on the second ship "The Tranby".  Although he started school in Belmont, his father was in the Air Force, so they moved around a lot and he completed his education in at least 4 of the other states - finishing up his secondary schooling in South Australia.

 

Once he left school he spent some time in the Commonwealth Bank  before moving on to become a Legal Insurance Manager for BP.  At the time he was the youngest Legal Insurance Manager in Australia.  He was head hunted to Woodside.  When he started there, he was working with about 190 employees but during the time he was with them the number grew to over 1,000.  He moved to Queensland to set up a coal mine at one stage in his career with BP. 

 

Deciding to return to Perth he created his consultancy firm - and from there he headed to Britain for some time.  He has spent some time there, in Spain and the Netherlands as well as engaging in a number of projects in Asia, including one in Brunei.  Then in the 1990's he headed back to Australia where he was involved in several projects to create housing estates; including one along the Serpentine River.  Others that he have worked on with various companies included Frasers' Apartments. 

 

He became a contractor to the UN; on the "Feed the People" project.  His role was to set up bases in a number of countries, including China and Vietnam.  This included developing protocols with government agencies.  Some work is still needed to get it totally up and running. 

 

Having had some health issues, he returned to Perth, once again; and is now working on setting up a Finance Company with one of his 2 sons. 

 

Over his time in the Belmont area he has seen a number of changes.  He arrived as a 3 year old and indicated that in those days where were were meeting this morning was a piggery; with a chicken farm nearby.  Hardy Road was unpaved and could only be accessed during the summer as it was too swampy in the winter.  He has seen Belmont grow from a shire into the city that it is today.  His family were some of the first people to build in the 1950's (although Gren indicated that his family had been in the area much earlier - his Dad went to Belmont Primary in 1903).

 

Rob started the Belmont Chamber of Commerce in 1993 and then set up the Belmont Enterprise Centre.  He became a founding member of Burswood in 1999.  While overseas he did not have much to do with Rotary and is now pleased to join us as he lives and works in the city of Belmont.

 

Thanks Rob for a very informative talk.  It seems that there are lots of little stories within that bigger story that may be tapped into at a later date.