Dick Dusseldorp

Gerardus Jozef Dusseldorp
Born	1918-12-02 Utrecht, Netherlands
Died	2000-04-22
Occupation(s)	Engineer, businessman
Known for	Founder of Civil & Civic, Chairman of Lend Lease Corporation

Gerardus Jozef Dusseldorp AO (2 December 1918–22 April 2000) was a Dutch engineer specializing in water management and the founder of Civil & Civic. The company's financial branch later developed into Lendlease, which has become one of the largest corporations in Australia.

Career

Dusseldorp, affectionately called Dik, was born in Utrecht in 1918. Initially, he intended to pursue a career at sea but abandoned this path due to color vision deficiency. During the Second World War, he was compelled to perform forced labor in Berlin and subsequently Kraków, from which he escaped in 1944. Following the war, he joined Bredero's Bouwbedrijf, a Dutch construction firm, and advanced to the position of Construction Manager by 1947.

In 1951, Bredero's dispatched him to Australia to investigate potential business ventures. There, he discovered an opportunity involving worker accommodation for the Snowy Mountains Scheme and established Civil & Civic as a subsidiary company. The firm’s innovative approach involved employing designers directly under contractors, departing from conventional practices.

Between the 1950s and 1970s, Dusseldorp broadened operations into residential projects such as Harbour Heights Estate, challenging established competitors like Leslie Joseph Hooker. In 1957, Civil & Civic won the contract to construct the Sydney Opera House podium and was responsible for erecting Sydney’s inaugural high-rise office building, Caltex House.

He subsequently created a publicly traded financing division for Civil & Civic, which evolved into Lend Lease Corporation. Dusseldorp served as Chairman until his retirement in 1988. Upon stepping down, shareholders granted him one million shares to establish the Dusseldorp Skills Forum, an organization dedicated to initiatives aimed at influencing government policies to assist disadvantaged young people. In his later years, he gained recognition as a hands-on philanthropist.

Honours

He was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia on Australia Day in 1988.

Family

Dusseldorp was married to Anne, with whom he had five children. His granddaughter is Australian actress Marta Dusseldorp.

Legacy

He was instrumental in founding two suburbs in Sydney, including the distinguished Middle Cove, where his family resided from 1959 until 2004. The residence he designed there is considered among Australia's top five architectural achievements, drawing inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright’s honeycomb design and serving as a prime example of Organic Architecture.

Further reading

• Finding a common interest - The story of Dick Dusseldorp and Lend Lease by Lindie Clark, Cambridge University Press, 2002