Sir Justin Hickey (5 April 1920 – 21 August 2005) was an Australian businessman, insurance executive and philanthropist. His father

Simon Hickey Simon Hickey (born 12 January 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for Crusaders (rugby union) in the Super Rugby. He has represented Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, playing as a first five-eighth. He is a form ...

was a New South Wales Labor politician.

Early life and education

Hickey was born in a working class suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where he attended De La Salle College. He reportedly left school at the age of 14 to work in a factory.

Career

He became wealthy by founding Accident Insurance Mutual, which became Australia's largest privately owned insurer.

Lifestyle

He and his wife, Lady Barbara Hickey, owned ''Lady Barbara'', a superyacht built in 1983, now known as ''Emerald Lady''. Their home was ''Bartinon'', a mansion standing on of land, once Queensland's most expensive home, located on Marseille Court in the exclusive Sorrento area of Australia's Gold Coast. It was built for about $8 million in the 1980s and sold in 1998. Hickey, a sailor and raconteur who staunchly supported the

Australian National Party The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Australian Country Party in 1920 at a fede ...

, told an ABC ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' program in 1982 that he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

after giving $100,000 towards the construction of a senior citizens' hospice in Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen's electorate. Hickey replied to a question regarding the confluence of the contribution and the knighthood by saying "I paid the hundred thousand before I received the knighthood."

References

External links

''Courier Mail'' report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Justin 1920 births 2005 deaths Australian people of Irish descent Australian justices of the peace Australian Knights Bachelor Businesspeople from Queensland Businesspeople from Sydney 20th-century Australian businesspeople