Leo Weiser Port (7 September 192226 August 1978) was an Australian businessman, engineer, television personality, and
Lord Mayor of Sydney
The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...
from 1975 until his sudden death in 1978.
Biography
Leo Weiser Rapoport was born in
Kraków, Poland in 1922 to Jewish parents. His family moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in 1928 and fled to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in 1939, reaching Sydney later that year. At that time his father and brother changed their surname to "Port", and Leo did likewise.
Schooled at
Sydney Boys High School
, motto_translation = With Truth and Courage
, established =
, location = Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pu ...
, he became an electrical and mechanical engineer. He was elected to the Sydney City Council in 1969 representing the
Civic Reform Association
The Civic Reform Association, variously known as the Civic Reform Movement and the Citizens' Reform Association, was an Australian non-aligned ratepayers' organisation that was formed by approximately seventy people at the Sydney Town Hall on 20 ...
. He served as Lord Mayor between 1975 and 1978. Port was an advocate of civic design, and was partly responsible for the pedestrianisation of
Martin Place
Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney. and Sydney Square.
He was appointed a Member of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(MBE) in the New Year's Honours of 1974.
Port was a panelist on the popular ABC television program ''
The Inventors''.
Port died in 1978 of
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
, survived by his wife, daughter and three sons.
[ Port, Leo Weiser]
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Accessed 2 August 2008. At Port's funeral, Rabbi
Raymond Apple of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, described Port as a person with "remarkable capacities", possessing a "strong character, resourceful mind, generous heart, broad vision, quick imagination, and tireless industry".
Eulogy for Alderman Leo Port
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port, Leo
1922 births
1978 deaths
20th-century Australian engineers
Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent
Australian television personalities
Civic Reform Association politicians
Jewish Australian politicians
Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney
Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire
German emigrants to Australia
20th-century Australian politicians
Deputy Lord Mayors of Sydney
Polish emigrants to Germany