Entrepreneur to Megapreneur

Lesa Hinchliffe

• Publisher: Lesa J Hinchliffe
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780648597124
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Entrepreneurship
• Index: Business

Entrepreneur to Megapreneur charts the journeys of eight entrepreneurs who started with nothing but a dream and against all odds, became the Megapreneurs of their fields.

Theirs are stories of courage, uncompromising self-discipline, and relentless determination to not only survive but to become the best in their fields. They talk candidly about the highs and lows, the pressures, the mistakes, and the lessons learned along the way.

If you are driven to succeed in business, then the lessons shared in this book may well help you turn your idea into reality. The principles are simple, and you will have heard many of them before, but what is crucial to understand - it's simplicity that makes them easy to dismiss as unimportant and yet, by not applying them, chances of success are reduced.

Understanding how the truly successful manage their journeys is the key to the door, behind which lies a formula for success. By listening to the advice given by these extraordinary 8 not only will you find the key, but you will soon realise that if you follow the formula, success could be yours for the taking.

6 Mastering Collaboration and Partnerships

“Someone said to me winning’s not everything and I said “Excuse me, of course winning is everything, but you have to know how to lose!” Don’t go in without wanting to win but if you’re not sucessful then dust yourself off and move on. That’s more important than anything.”

They say the first five years of a child’s life are the formative years, the foun dation that shapes the future development, performance and success of a person. If that statement is true then it is not surprising to learn that a young Nedlands lad, whose world from the ‘get go’ was surrounded by water, beer, wine and spirits, would eventually have those liquids play a major role in his life. But there was more to add to the mix. There was a free spirit, a love of sport and horses, but more significant was a hugely traumatic, early life experience. It was an unusual combination that could easily have shaped the child into being the kind of fellow who would spend his time at the local pub with one hand on a beer, one eye watching the football and one ear tuned to the bar radio, listening to the race caller’s voice follow the horses down the home straight. But no, this man chose a different road; the road less travelled – and that choice has made all the difference.

Yes, he may well enjoy a beer at the bar and watching the football, but he chose to stand behind the bar, to don his own footy boots, kick his own goals; he chose to climb onto the horse itself and steer his life from an in the saddle perspective. This seemingly quiet and unassuming chap, despite his 6 foot 2 frame and good looks, has achieved more than most. Perhaps that can be attributed to his ability to take considerably more than one step at a time, preferring to pack in all the opportunities and experiences that came and continue to come his way.

He has bought and sold islands, developed wineries and created football teams. Many know him from an icon on the Swan and a school on a river, others for his speed in and on the water, or his ability on a horse. Others still, for his full bodied red or oak ripened white; less know him for his pots and pans or cooking for the masses. Oh yes, this man has many strings to his bow, way too many to mention here – that is for the story to come. Still, there is no time or desire for this man of great humility to look back over a life of exceptional achievements and admit a job well done. This self-confessed red wine junkie has his eyes on the road ahead and with so many paths still to follow who knows how many more strings he will add to his already full bow.

The owner of the bow is a highly successful publican, a collector of pubs and bars, restaurants and bottle shops, he is a leader of the West Australian football fraternity, he is a developer of property and of wine, he is an extraordinary entrepreneur, he is…

Murray McHenry

So, where did the makings of such a man begin? It actually did start with liquor, well the mixing of liquor. As we all know Australia has always had a thirst for alcohol. Hence, long, long ago, barrels upon barrels of concentrated spirits were transported from England all the way to Australia. It was then precisely mixed according to industry regulations, which at the time varied from one state to the next. One for you, two for me wasn’t good enough – mixing spirits was a serious business – serious enough to bring a chemist all the way from Ireland to Perth to get it right. For that sole purpose Thomas McHenry left Dublin and travelled to Western Australia with his wife and their seven children. It was 1919 when they settled into the ocean-side suburb of Cottesloe, and from that day forward liquor and water became indelibly entwined in all their lives.

Liquor strength laws were eventually made uniform around the country and with that change came the opportunity for Mr McHenry to move to Sydney to take on a similar role at a national level. Three of his sons remained on the west coast. With their knowledge of the liquor industry it was an almost natural progression for each to take out a lease on a public house (pub). In the late 1920s Alex, the oldest son, took on the Subiaco Hotel; Stephen, the second oldest, travelled 300km to start his life as a publican at the Mukinbudin Hotel while the youngest Joe, headed 200km northeast of Perth to the Moora pub.

But it is the story of Stephen that requires a more in-depth account as it was his life that would greatly influence the path his yet unborn son, Murray, would take some 25 years down the track.

Stephen Comnee McHenry at 27 years old, was immediately comfortable in the role of publican and in his new position on the Mucka footy team. It was a significant adjustment changing from Gaelic football to Aussie Rules, nevertheless Stephen embraced the game and the oddly shaped ball and helped his team take out the 1930 premiership. Despite making the most of his time in Mukinbudin it was a little far from the ocean and maybe a little quiet for the life loving Irishman. After a relatively short time behind the country bar he headed back to Perth and found another pub to lease. This time it was the Shaftsbury Hotel in Beaufort Street, Perth – a majestic building that later fell victim to Perth’s thirst for modern architecture. From the Shaftsbury he went to the Clarendon in Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge, and then to the stately Palace Hotel. The Palace, set on the corner of William Street and St Georges Terrace in the centre of the city, was the site of the first licensed premises in Perth.

The opulent Palace Hotel had opened its doors in 1897 to meet the demands of the gold rush. Glamorous parties and celebrity sightings saw 108 St Georges Terrace quickly become the place to be seen.

By the time Stephen McHenry took over the lease in the early 1930s, a vibrant history had been well and truly established. The popularity, the fun and the laughter continued, although now with Stephen behind the beautifully hand carved bar, entertaining Irish tales added yet another dimension to the hotel’s character.

Today, the chink of glasses and laughter has been replaced with the more sombre tones of office employees. The grand dining room and guest suites have long gone to make way for an adjoining 50-storey office tower. Whilst this distinctive concrete, steel and glass skyscraper now dominates the Perth skyline, at street level it pales into insignificance behind the beauty and graceful facade of what will always be remembered to the people of Perth as the Palace Hotel.

I jumped way ahead there and that will happen a lot in this story because of the way Murray lives his life – at a frenetic pace – he fits a lot in to a day. But right now I need to go back to 1935. It was the year that Stephen McHenry decided he was ready to leave the Palace and take on a new challenge; a challenge that came in the form of a publican’s lease on the Nedlands Park Hotel. And it is this hotel, set on the banks of the Swan River that forms the backdrop for this story.

The Nedlands Park Hotel was built in 1908 and designed by architect Harold Boas as a residential hotel for farmers and country folk. But it was also a very popular watering hole for the locals, visitors to the nearby Nedlands Baths and students from around the corner at the State’s only university, the University of Western Australia. A tram-stop out the front of the hotel provided easy access to and from the city and was just another element that added to the promise of ongoing success.

The Swan Brewery, a beer brewing company founded in 1857, was trying to purchase the Nedlands Park Hotel from its owners – a family who only wanted to sell to Stephen. Not in a position to do so Stephen made a deal with the Swan Brewery; they buy the hotel on the basis that he would have the tenancy. It was agreed and a simple week-to-week lease was set informally in place.

Stephen was in his element. He was a publican of a hotel that was set on a river’s edge, which meant he was able to indulge his love of boats. (It was Stephen, his brother Alex, a four-time King’s Cup rower, Gra Rosser also a King’s Cup rower and a few other mates who pretty much put the initial wind in the sails of the Royal Perth Yacht Club down the road from the hotel.) Stephen was also happily married to Kitty Dix; they had two daughters, Joy and Julie, and an abundance of friends and acquaintances who all loved dropping into ‘Steve’s’ for a drink on their way home. Life was good in Nedlands, Western Australia, but 1939 was looming and change was afoot.

By early 1941, Lieutenant Stephen McHenry was a long way from the Nedlands Park Hotel. He was at the coal face of war in North Africa with the 2/28th Battalion. His platoon was part of the Australian garrison that held the Libyan port of Tobruk. It was critical for the allied forces to secure North Africa as a base, but the conditions were horrendous. To enable them to carry out counterattacks and to survive the extreme regional conditions, the Australian soldiers dug a network of linking tunnels and shelters below the ground. It was from those trenches they fought an unrelenting German and Italian offensive. Their ingenuity and determination to both survive and triumph, challenged the enemy who labelled them the Rats of Tobruk. The title was delivered with contempt, but it was received with pride and honour because the Rats of Tobruk became known as men of courage and inspiration throughout and well beyond World War II.

It was a courageous fight but with no way to replenish their ammunition or resources, it was soon apparent victory was impossible. With only one way to save his troops from what would have been a brutal and bloody end, Lieutenant McHenry made the agonising decision to raise the white flag. As soon as he and his men were taken behind enemy lines the German troops moved forward into the trenches. As they entered a massive explosion tore through them. Retribution was immediate. The German commander, convinced the prisoners had laid the trap, ordered they be shot. Archival photos show the blindfolded soldiers lined up in front of a German firing squad, Lieutenant McHenry among them.

But as history shows they were not destined for such an end. Extraordinarily, moments before the call to fire was issued, one of the German soldiers who had been held captive in the trenches, rushed to the commander, pleading their innocence. He insisted the Australian soldiers were not responsible for the explosion; for, if they had laid the trap, he would have seen them doing so. If not for that German soldier’s bravery and strength of conviction Lieutenant McHenry and his men would most certainly have been shot. Instead, they were sent to Italy and imprisoned.

In 1945, after 3½ years as a prisoner of war, an almost skeletal Lieutenant Stephen Comnee McHenry returned home to Western Australia where he was later made a captain.

Getting back behind the bar at the Nedlands Park Hotel was a welcome distraction from the memories of war – but life had changed. Stephen’s wife, Kitty, had died of cancer during his imprisonment. Their daughters, Joy and Julie, were growing up fast and were at school at Methodist Ladies College. They also had a home tutor, a bright and educated Anglo-Indian woman, Hazel Joyce Dallywater. Hazel hailed from India where her father ran British Rail. When he retired, in search of greater opportunities for his children, he moved his family to Perth, Western Australia. His son Sam Dallywater went into the Air Force and Hazel to UWA where she completed her diploma in education. To earn additional income, she tutored Joy and Julie after their mother died.

The girls adored Hazel, so when Stephen had to attend one of the many balls that were so common back in the late ‘40s, it seemed only natural to suggest their father take Hazel. It turned out to be a great match. It wasn’t long before the two were married and welcoming a daughter – Sandra. Fifteen months later, on the 15th of March 1950, Murray Stephen McHenry, was born – and with his birth this story can really begin.

Almost from the moment he drew his first breath Murray was full on. He loved his sport, he loved the water, he loved horses, truth be, he couldn’t and wouldn’t sit still – from the start life was an adventure to be seized.

He spent his days at home at the hotel or with his dad and Murray Church (his namesake and King’s Cup rower) at the Royal Perth Yacht Club. When he wasn’t with them, Murray was swimming in the river, kicking a football or riding his beloved gelding, Silver.

Silver was a gift from his father’s cousin Rex Roper, a farmer from Nukarni. Rex who had four daughters and was divorced, stayed often with the McHenrys when he was visiting Perth – probably to go to the races. He loved racehorses. His own Sparkling Blue ran in the 1959 Melbourne Cup but sadly he never made it into the history books. If he had, this story might have taken a very different path because Rex had a huge impact on Murray’s life. Murray was the son Rex never had. Often Murray would travel back with his uncle to Nukarni, stopping at every hotel on the way for a couple of beers here and a couple of beers there. But once they reached the farm Rex would get straight to work – he took his farming very seriously. It was always a long trip, but young Murray loved every moment of it. He would sit and listen intently to his uncle’s stories about life, about how to cook, how to be independent and the importance of working hard.

Murray was five when Uncle Rex gave him Silver. He lived in the stables behind the hotel, next to the laundry room overlooking Broadway. It’s where the local policeman kept his horse too. Every day Murray would jump on Silver’s back and with just a halter and a rope he’d ride around the local streets or up and down the foreshore in front of the hotel.

Horses were a common sight back in the ‘50s because most things were still delivered by horse and cart – bread, milk and even ice which was always in high demand at the hotel. When the ice arrived, it was Murray’s job to chip off pieces from the huge blocks kept under hessian bags in the cool room. He’d then put the chipped ice into a calico bag and smash it up with a mallet ready for use in the bar. No doubt Murray would never have thought that instant ice machines would one day take over his job but if he had, he would have wished it would happen sooner – chipping ice in the middle of winter wasn’t his idea of fun. So, the arrival of the ice cart brought him no joy, but the milk c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Pursuing Excellence and Unrivalled Outcomes
• The Vision, The Passion and The Style
• Taking a Risk, Reshaping an Industry
• Thinking Big, Building Strong, Going Global
• Navigating the Roller-Coaster Ride of Business
• Mastering Collaboration and Partnerships
• Pursuing an Obsession with Passion and Purpose
• About the Author
• Copyright