Sir James Gilbert Hardy OBE AASA (born 20 November 1932) is an Australian winemaker and businessman who is also noted for his

yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...

achievements.

History

A great-grandson of the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

n winemaker

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Wor ...

, James Hardy was born at

Seacliff, South Australia Seacliff is a coastal suburb located in the capital city of South Australia; Adelaide. Overseen by the council, City of Holdfast Bay, this suburb is adjacent to South Brighton, South Australia, South Brighton, Seacliff Park, South Australia, Se ...

on 20 November 1932. His father, Tom Mayfield Hardy, who was appointed chairman and managing director of Thomas Hardy and Sons in 1924, was one of those killed near

Mount Dandenong Mount Dandenong is a small township/suburb of Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mount Dandenong recorded a population of 1,2 ...

on 25 October 1938 in the crash of the plane "Kyeema". Tom Hardy was a noted sailor, associated with the yacht ''Nerida'' at the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron. Hardy was educated at Brighton Primary School, St. Peter's College and the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. On leaving school, he spent two years share farming at

Port Vincent, South Australia Port Vincent is a small town on the east coast of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 194 km from Adelaide by road. At the , Port Vincent had a population of 514. History The Narungga Aborigines inhabited the area prior to white settlement ...

, then joined the family wine company Thomas Hardy and Sons in 1953, working as a shipping clerk. He then served as Sales Supervisor from 1957 to 1961, then as Regional Director for the Eastern States of Australia, when he and his family moved permanently to

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 Mounta ...

with a residence at Manly. He was appointed chairman in 1981 and non-executive director in 1992 when it merged to become BRL Hardy Wine Company.

Yachting

A renowned world champion yachtsman, Hardy represented Australia at two Olympic Games (

1964 in Tokyo Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

and 1968 in Mexico City), skippered three

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one ...

challenges (in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

), and competed in four

Admiral's Cup The Admiral's Cup was an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event (occurring in odd-numbe ...

Ocean Racing Championships.

Public service

Hardy has served 25 years on the executive committee of the Neurosurgical Research Foundation of South Australia He was Chair of the Federal Government's Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee for 8 years He is a former Chairman of the Landcare Foundation.

Honours

In 1975, in recognition of his contribution to sailing and the community, he was appointed an Officer 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 ...

(OBE). In 1981 he was invested a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, for services to yachting. In 1994, Hardy was inducted into the

America's Cup Hall of Fame The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers ...

. In 2000 he was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

. He was Chairman of Sydney's Australia Day Regatta, serving from 2004 until 2011, and is a patron of numerous organizations and charities. Hardy also has a street named after him in the South Australian suburb of Woodcroft.

Family

Hardy married Anne Christine Jackson on 29 December 1956. They had two sons: * David Ponder Hardy * Richard James Hardy

Freemasonry

Hardy is an active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and was initiated into the Lodge City of Sydney No. 952 in 1962. He then served as

Worshipful Master In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the j ...

of his mother lodge in 1971. In 1976, he was appointed as Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, an office he served for two years. Lodge Sir James Hardy No. 1046, on the register of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is named after Hardy in his honour. The lodge was consecrated on 21 May 2011 and Hardy still maintains active membership in the lodge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, James Living people 1932 births 1970 America's Cup sailors 1974 America's Cup sailors 1980 America's Cup sailors 1983 America's Cup sailors 1987 America's Cup sailors Australian Champions Soling Australian Knights Bachelor Australian male sailors (sport) Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian winemakers Olympic sailors of Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – 5.5 Metre