Sir Donald Henry Trescowthick, AC, KBE (4 December 1930 – 13 August 2024) was an Australian businessman.
Trescowthick was born on 4 December 1930. [1] His wife, Norma, predeceased him in March 2024. He died on 13 August 2024, at the age of 93. [2]
Trescowthick was involved in several Australian business enterprises.
With Norman Swann, Trescowthick founded Swann Insurance, which grew to be a major general insurer. Prior to being sold to CGU Insurance, Swann Insurance was Australia's largest privately owned general insurer.
Trescowthick acquired Charles Davis Limited, a major Tasmanian company which had been established in 1847.
Charles Davis grew under Trescowthick's leadership to become at one time Australia's fourth largest retailer, and third largest department store operator.
The company was renamed Harris Scarfe Holdings Limited in 1995.
In addition to his involvement in Charles Davis Limited, Trescowthick was involved in several private ventures, including ownership of the Place Arcade in Toorak Village shopping centre in Melbourne Australia.
Trescowthick was involved in community, sporting and charitable activities during his business career.
In particular:
Trescowthick was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 [4] and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1991. [5] He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1991 and received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000. [6] [7]
Sir William Patrick Deane, is an Australian barrister and jurist who served as the 22nd governor-general of Australia, in office from 1996 to 2001. He was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 1995.
Elders Limited, formerly known as Elder, Stirling & Co., Elder Smith and Co. and Elder Smith & Co. Ltd, is an Australian agribusiness that provides agricultural goods and services to primary producers in Australia.
Ormond College is one of the largest residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents.
Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan was an Australian Army officer who was Governor of South Australia from 23 April 1982 until 5 February 1991. A career officer, after joining the Army in 1940 during the Second World War, Dunstan graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1942 and served as an infantry officer, seeing combat against the Japanese during the Bougainville Campaign in 1945. After the war, he served in a variety of appointments, including as commander of the 1st Australian Task Force during the Vietnam War. From 1977 to 1982 he held the appointment of Chief of the General Staff, before retiring from the Army having overseen a large-scale re-organisation. Afterwards, he became the longest-serving governor of South Australia. He died in 2011, at the age of 88.
The Melbourne Club is a private social club established in 1838 and located at 36 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the National Roads and Motorists' Association NRMA. It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
Harris Scarfe is an Australian retailer that sells bed linen, kitchenware, homewares, electrical appliances and apparel. It was founded in 1849 in Adelaide, South Australia and has more than 50 stores nationally.
Sir Leslie James Herron was a prominent Australian barrister, judge, Chief Justice and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales. Biographer Martha Rutledge describes him as being "interested, interesting and with a lively sense of humour", but that he "conducted his court with consideration, dignity and mercy". The ferry The Lady Herron was named after his wife.
FitzGerald's Department Stores (FitzGerald's) was Tasmania's largest chain of department stores. The chain was rebranded and relaunched as Harris Scarfe in 1995, and the renamed stores continue to trade today.
Charles Davis Limited was a department store company established in Hobart, Tasmania in 1847 and is one of Australia's oldest companies. It had several businesses across the surrounding states in industries such as manufacturing, boating including yachts and races and hardware and electrical equipment.
The British United Provident Association Limited, trading as Bupa, is a British multinational health insurance and healthcare company with over 43 million customers worldwide.
Liberty Holdings Limited is a South African financial services and property holding company that focuses on Insurance and Asset Management with registered head office in Johannesburg, South Africa at Liberty Centre, 1 Ameshoff St., Braamfontein.
Sir Justin Hickey was an Australian businessman, insurance executive and philanthropist.
Sir Joseph Aloysius Sheehy KBE was an Australian jurist and Senior Puisne Judge of the Queensland Supreme Court. He also served as Administrator of the Government of Queensland in 1965 and 1969, and as Queensland's Lieutenant-Governor, Deputy Governor, Acting Governor and Acting Chief Justice on several occasions.
The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were published in supplements to the London Gazette of 2 June 1950 for the British Empire, Australia, Ceylon and New Zealand.
Richard Smith was a partner and managing director of the Adelaide, South Australia, firm of George P. Harris, Scarfe & Co., later known as Harris Scarfe. His son Harold Law-Smith was prominent in the history of the company.
Spotlight Group Holdings Pty Ltd (SGH) is an Australian retail conglomerate and one of the country's largest private companies. Its Spotlight Retail Group division operates fabric and craft store chain Spotlight, outdoor retailers Anaconda and Mountain Designs, and department store chain Harris Scarfe. The first Spotlight store was established in Melbourne in 1973 by brothers Morry Fraid and Ruben Fried.