Copyright (0000) Grafton Examiner & NSW Government

NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard

TRIBUTE TO MR BRINOS NOTARAS
Page: 17630

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/0/bb35d39058d07b15ca257085001ef375?OpenDocument

Mr STEVE CANSDELL (Clarence) [5.59 p.m.]: I draw the attention of the House to the tragic death of Mr Brinos Notaras, one of the leaders of hardwood timber production on the North Coast. Mr Brinos Notaras, a man of integrity, honour and substance, passed away two weeks ago in an accident on the Pacific Highway, Woolgoolga.

Last Monday, Brinos was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton. The service was attended by a huge crowd, an acknowledgement of his greatness.

Brinos was born in Grafton in 1930, the elder son of Jack and Muriel Notaras, who were Greek immigrants and local business people. The family began business in Grafton with a fruit shop which they later expanded into a restaurant and milk bar.

In 1927 the family built the Saraton Theatre, "Notaras" spelt backwards, in Prince Street, Grafton. That theatre is a rare surviving example of a two-level cinema, and still operates despite three fires, two renovations and threatened demolition.

After Brinos' early schooling in Grafton he — and later his younger brother, Spiro —were sent to boarding school at Sydney's Newington College, where their love of sport saw them excel in the school community. Brinos was a member of the Newington College rowing team when it won the Head of the River regatta in 1947, and he was a front-row forward in the college's open rugby team.

Brinos was an all-round sportsman. After leaving school, Brinos played first grade rugby union in Brisbane. He then played league for the Grafton Waratahs in the Upper Clarence competition. Finally, along with his younger brother, Spiros, he joined the Ulmarra Ramblers rugby club, which became the United Rugby League Club. In those days, everyone knew that if one of the Notaras brothers was picked for a football team, the two of them would be taken on.

In 1952 both brothers joined the Woolgoolga Surf Live Saving Club. In 1955 Brinos was part of the Woolgoolga surfboat rowing Open A crew. The team comprised Brinos as stroke, Bruce Judd in number two, Ted Wolters in number three, Spiro rowing the bow and Billy Miller as the sweep. However, there was one drawback: Brinos, Bruce, Billy and Spiro could hardly see without their glasses, which left most of the lookout work to Ted. The team always performed competitively, especially against the crews from Yamba.

In 1951 Brinos and Spiro, with the help of their father, Jack, bought the Lawrence Sawmill from Vic Latham. The brothers went to work there, learning about the timber trade from long-time employee Col McPherson. So began a long involvement with the timber industry.

Later investments were the Yamba Picture Theatre and the T. B. Timms mill at South Grafton. Brinos was totally dedicated to the hardwood timber industry. He was driven by the pursuit of perfection to the finest detail in everything he did. That pursuit required continual development of new business, products and processes. He carried out everything with an unrelenting commitment to quality and honesty, and with loyalty to everyone with whom he dealt.

His workers and friends were treated as family from start to finish and, in return, he secured their loyalty. Brinos was always outspoken on what he believed and treated his staff with respect. Nothing gave him more pleasure and satisfaction than knowing his employees were getting ahead.

The Notaras' business has survived all the forest assessments over the past 30 years, when many have faltered. At every setback they found a new approach and continued to develop business on whatever resource they could secure. Dealings with Forests NSW were always interesting, taking 1½ hours, or two hours if price was involved. Bom Bom was always a bone of contention. After two hours with Brinos, Forests NSW was struggling to get out of the gate and agreeing to conditions. A former Forests combatant expressed his feelings in this way:

For me, Brinos's professional legacy is not only about the innovative and successful business you created together but also about the positive impact Brinos had on the people around him. I have met few people with the character, humour and passion of Brinos, he is and will always be an industry icon.

When things were getting tough, Brinos was always the one who started looking for overseas markets. When the Bom Bom industry could not get rid of spotted gum, he sold it to Japan, which used it for boardwalks, local bridges, train stations and golf clubs. Brinos led the industry by a country mile in value adding to hardwood production. He stands alone in that success. Brinos has left his mark and his character as the supplier of unique North Coast timbers throughout Australia. His place in the heritage of Australia's forests is carved permanently in spotted gum from Bom Bom.

Brinos Notaras's love for his family was immeasurable. The smile on his face as he spoke about his youngest granddaughter, Molly, was priceless. He will be sadly missed by his wife, Joan, and their daughters Alexandria, Elizabeth and Marina and their families, as well as everyone in the Clarence Valley. As I said earlier, Brinos was a man of integrity, courage, passion and substance.

Brinos Notaras. Daily Examiner, Grafton, article

Makarthis photograph of the Timber King

Father and Uncles of Brinos Notaras. Greek Parade Lismore 1940-46

Emmanuel Dimitrios Notaras and his first cousins Anthony and John Lambrinos Notaras, at Grafton 1912

Saraton Theatre, Heritage Preservation

One of numerous Saraton Theatre entries on the kythera-family website. Search under Saraton.

Including long excerpts from Kevin Cork's Ph.D thesis on Ownership of Cinema's by Greeks (mainly Kytherians) in NSW.

For innumerable other entries pertaining to the Notaras family, search under Grafton.