Robert Fredrick ("Ric") Stowe (born 1944) is a businessman who was once prominent in Western Australia.
Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.
Stowe acquired Griffin Coal in 1979 and later acquired SkyWest and East-West Airlines during the 1980s. [1] In 1984, Stowe joined the John Curtin Foundation along with Alan Bond, Ernest Henry Lee-Steere and Laurie Connell to raise funds for the then premier of Western Australia, Brian Burke.
Griffin Coal Mine is a large mine in the town of Collie in Western Australia, producing about 5 mn tons of coal p.a.
SkyWest Airlines is a North American regional airline headquartered in St. George, Utah. SkyWest is classified as one of the major airlines of the United States. However, as a regional airline it primarily serves as and flies under the name of other airlines it has contracted with such as American, Delta, Alaska or United. SkyWest is primarily paid to operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed, and priced by a partner mainline airline. In all, it is the largest regional airline in North America when measured by fleet size, number of passengers carried, and number of destinations served between all the airlines it contracts with.
East-West Airlines was an Australian regional airline founded in Tamworth, New South Wales in 1947. It operated to major regional city-centres and connected these centres to various state capitals, and by the 1980s it was Australia's third largest domestic airline. It also carried out its own heavy maintenance in Tamworth and operated a network of Travel Centres.
The reclusive millionaire moved to Monaco in 1986, mooring his 60-metre (200 ft) yacht Capella at the tax haven. Since then he has split his time between his new home and Western Australia.
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state, country, and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe. France borders the country on three sides while the other side borders the Mediterranean Sea.
Stowe separated from his partner, Jemma Lee-Steere (Ernest Lee-Steere's daughter), in 1990. The subsequent court battle was subjected to media scrutiny. The couple had three daughters and a son Jason and had been together for ten years. Though they never married, she changed her surname to Stowe by deed poll at his insistence. In 1994 she sued Stowe for A$250 million and, by 2000, a settlement was reached. [1] In 2003, Stowe married Anne-Margaret MacDermott of Perth, his fourth wife. [1]
A domestic partnership is an interpersonal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation and others.
A deed poll is a legal document binding only to a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an active intention. It is, strictly speaking, not a contract because it binds only one party and expresses an intention instead of a promise.
In 2010 administrators were called in when Griffin Coal failed to pay a US$25-million instalment on US$475 million worth of bonds. Griffin had also failed to pay the Australian Taxation Office a A$5-million instalment of a A$65-million debt. The company collapsed shortly afterward, leaving an estimated A$2 billion debt on coal and associated energy assets. [2] Soon after, properties from another Stowe company, WR Carpenter Agriculture Pty Ltd, which controlled a herd of 50,000 cattle, were being sold off; these included Minilya and Joanna Plains Stations. [3]
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is an Australian government statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system, superannuation legislation, and other associated matters. Responsibility for the operations of the ATO are within the portfolio of the federal Treasurer.
Minilya Station, most often referred to as Minilya, is a pastoral lease currently operating as a cattle station that once operated as a sheep station in Western Australia.
A fire sale of Stowe assets followed, with his estate, Devereaux Farm, near Bullsbrook selling in 2013. The 2,700-hectare (6,672-acre) property—with a 20-room, 8-bathroom mansion, two swimming pools, two helipads and a polo field—for which the asking price was A$70 million, [3] sold for A$21.35 million in 2013. [4]
A fire sale is the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices. The term originated in reference to the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage. A good example would be in Heatons in 1993. It may or may not be defined as a closeout, the final sale of goods to zero inventory. They are said to occur in the financial markets when bidders who value assets highly are prevented from bidding on them, depressing the average selling price below what it otherwise would be. This lowering of the price can cause even further issues because it may be inaccurately perceived as signaling negative information.
Bullsbrook is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia in the outer metropolitan area. It is located in the City of Swan. The original Bullsbrook townsite is located slightly west of the current town, on the 17 km mark of the Midland Railway. Bullsbrook is also the home to the RAAF Pearce airbase, a major training facility for the Royal Australian Air Force. The suburb is situated on the Great Northern Highway, 25 kilometres north of the Midland Strategic Regional Centre. It is well serviced by several major transport networks including the Great Northern Highway, Railway Parade and the Brand Highway to the north, Chittering Road to the east and Neaves Road to the west. Bullsbrook is also adjacent to the State rail network, providing an opportunity for the development of an intermodal freight transport hub. The site is further strengthened by linkage to the planned Perth-Darwin National Highway via Stock Road.
A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft.
