Bob Oatley
|
Bob Oatley AO, BEM |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert Ian Oatley 11 June 1928 Mosman, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 10 January 2016 (aged 87) Pittwater, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Businessman, winemaker, yachtsman |
| Known for |
Wild Oats XI Rosemount winery |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Kristy Oatley, Lyndal Oatley (granddaughters) |
| Website | Official website |
Robert Ian "Bob" Oatley AO, BEM (11 June 1928 – 10 January 2016) was an Australian businessman, winemaker, yachtsman and philanthropist. He was perhaps best known for owning the eight-time Sydney-Hobart-winning yacht Wild Oats XI. He bought Hamilton Island, Queensland in 2003 for $200 million, he also owned retirement homes and a villa in Sardinia, Italy. Oatley also established the Rosemount winery, in the Hunter Valley in 1969.
Robert Oatley was born in the Sydney suburb of Mosman in 1928, the son of Geoffrey Oatley and Isabel "Jean" née Brown. Oatley was a great, great grandson of British clock maker James Oatley. and a great grandson of James Oatley, Lord Mayor of Sydney and a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales.
Oatley's mother, Jean, died from melanoma 13 months after his birth, leaving him as an only child. Oatley's father was employed in the wool industry, which meant spending much of his working life was spent travelling in rural New South Wales. Consequently, Oatley was raised by his mother's sister, Muriel, the wife of Duncan A Cameron. Oatley attended the local Mosman Primary School.[Good Weekend, Sydney Morning Herald, on 1 September 2007; New South Wales Marriage Index]
Oatley's first employment, in about 1943 and still wartime, was by the firm, Colyer Watson, owned by Rupert Alexander Colyer. His tasks included delivering letters by hand to other local businesses and to fill the company's inkwells. Later, as Bob gained expertise and business acumen, he accompanied his employer on business trips. The Colyer Watson firm also owned a coffee division on Papua New Guinea; a division which owed money to the parent company. The task of recovering the money was handed over to the increasingly competent business employee, Robert Oatley. Oatley started out as a businessman in the 1950s trading coffee and cocoa beans from Papua New Guinea.
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