The Wagner family have been in business in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, since 1896 when John Henry Wagner first established the stone masonry business JH Wagner & Sons which continues to this day. In 2018 the Wagners were inducted in the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Library Foundation and the QUT Business School The QUT Business School is one of six faculties at the Queensland University of Technology. It is home to the QUT Graduate School of Business, a ...

History

Henry Wagner, a grandson of John Henry Wagner, eventually acquired control, expanded to include concreting, and in 1989 formed a partnership with three of his sons John, Denis, and Neill. Later, a fourth son Joe, joined and became an equal partner in the business which has achieved regional, national and international distinction. One of their early projects with the stonework of the third stage of St John's Anglican Cathedral in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. From 1989, the business expanded rapidly from one concrete plant to 19 within 20 years and a work force of 1,100. Diversification led the business into

pre-cast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast be ...

, re-enforcing steel, ground-breaking building products and major construction and infrastructure projects both at home and abroad, including in sub-zero temperatures in

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

, Russia. In Australia, the business thrived in a range of diverse construction and infrastructure related activities. Wagners developed fibre technology products and their "earth friendly" concrete. In 2017, Wagers successfully listed its building materials and mining services operations on the

Australian Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as ...

. The Wagner family established

Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport is an airport in Wellcamp, west from the CBD of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. It was known as Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport until November 2017. The airport and an associated aviation and business park is the ...

, the first public airport to be constructed in Australia in 50 years, built with a $40 million dollar contribution to an incorporated entertainment precinct from Queensland Government delivering on a election promise, otherwise funded with family money and to be completed in less than 20 months. The airport is currently only for domestic and freight use, and does not have capacity to accept international travellers due to lack of customs and border control infrastructure. Built, owned and operated by the Wagner family, the airport is a regional and interstate passenger facility with major airlines and is a hub for the export of regional produce to China via a weekly 747 service.

Defamation case against Alan Jones

Following the

2010–11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, radio host Alan Jones made a series of on-air allegations against the Wagners accusing them of being responsible for the deaths of 12 people during the floods following the collapse of a wall in a quarry they owned. The Wagners commenced a defamation action, which resulted in a 2018 judgment that Jones and the radio stations that broadcast him were ordered to pay $3.7 million in damages to the Wagner family.

Wellcamp Entertainment Precinct

In October 2020, Wagners announced they were planning to build an entertainment precinct at Wellcamp at a cost of $175 million project. The precinct will have motorsport facilities and performing arts venue capable of seating 40,000 people. The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

has committed $40 million towards the project.

References

Attribution

External links