Bruce Small
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Sir Bruce Small OStJ, JP |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Surfers Paradise |
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In office 27 May 1972 – 12 November 1977 |
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| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Andrew Bruce Small 11 December 1895 Ryde, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 1 May 1980 (aged 84) Benowa, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | National Country Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Country Party |
| Spouse(s) | Eileen Hayman (m.1919 divorced), Lillian Ada Mitchell (m.1939) |
| Occupation | Bicycle manufacturer, Land developer, Company director |
| Religion | Salvation Army |
Sir Andrew Bruce Small OStJ (11 December 1895 – 1 May 1980) was an Australian businessman and politician. In Melbourne, he developed Malvern Star bicycles into a household name in Australia, then retired to the Gold Coast, Queensland, where he developed property, and as Mayor of the Gold Coast, promoted the area to Australia and the world as a family friendly holiday destination through the bikini-clad meter maids in Surfers Paradise.
Bruce Small was born in Ryde, New South Wales, in 1895. At the age of 24 in 1920 he bought an interest in the Malvern Star shop at 185 Glenferrie Rd, in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern, from Austral Wheel Race winner, Tom Finnigan. His brothers, Frank and Ralph Small, joined Bruce in his sales, building cycles at the rate of 5 per week.
The small cycle shop offered prizes in cycle races, resulting in Hubert Opperman winning a prize in 1921, and impressing Small so much that a job was offered to the young cyclist. Thus started a long relationship, as both friend and sponsor of Hubert Opperman.
With the Second World War affecting parts supply, Malvern Star bicycles started manufacturing many of its own parts for bicycles. Defence contracts help the growth of the business. At its peak after the Second World War, Malvern Star had 115 stores with 1,000 dealers.
After the war, Small's Malvern Star bicycles were ridden by Sid Patterson, who won the World Championship Sprint in Copenhagen in 1949, and several other races including amateur World Championship Pursuit in Liege (1950), professional World Championship Pursuit in Paris (1952), and professional World Championship Pursuit in Zurich (1953). At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Ian Browne and Tony Marchant won the gold medal in the Tandem on a Malvern Star.
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