Bowen Local Receives OAM

It takes great bravery to stand up to a big corporation when you know something is wrong, especially one you work for, but that’s exactly what Peter Russel did back in 1961.

Holding a senior position with James Hardie, one the world’s largest building companies, Mr Russell began suspecting that asbestos was killing people and, worse than that, the company he worked for was covering it up.

“It was very well hidden,” recounts Mr Russell.

“And it would have been easy not to step forward, but I thought – this is murder, and I am not prepared to be an accomplice.”

Saying goodbye to a company where he had worked for 22 years, Mr Russell became one of the original whistle blowers, an expert witness at more than 50 asbestos cases.

His actions allowed the families of those effected by asbestos related health issues to receive the compensation they deserved and also helped change the laws to prevent future deaths.

Mr Russell also featured in a book entitled Killer Company which exposed the damage caused by James Hardie.

“Some people were aware I could have been a target, advising me to be careful in case I had an accident,” said Mr Russell.

“But I wasn’t worried because I had a prominent position in the company, and I was cheeky!”

Now 92-years-old, Mr Russell remains sharp and quick-witted, sharing his story as if it were yesterday.

He remembers leaving Sydney after resigning from his job at James Hardies, sacrificing his entire career to help speak-up against the injustice that was taking place.

It was 1970 and Mr Russell and his wife, Velma, had four children aged between six and 14 years.

The family owned their house out-right and had no debt and Mr Russell commends them for all being ‘flexible’ when he asked them to travel up the highway in their caravan to Cook Town where he had heard of a potential business opportunity on a cashew plantation.

The family decided to leave the plantation after six months and travelled down to Bowen, making a life here in the Whitsundays.

“I’ve always flown by the seat of my pants!” he said.

“And I’ve had a very interesting life.”

An entrepreneur at heart, when they arrived in Bowen, he bought two houses and a toy shop which he operated and then sold.

Deciding to venture south, Mr Russell purchased a 160-acre property in Airlie Beach, site un-seen, where he was hoping to place a fence and farm cattle.

When he arrived at the property, however, he realised it wasn’t the flat land he had been expecting, in fact it was hilly terrain.

Never to be beaten, Mr Russell simply subdivided the land into 18 five acre lots which he then sold.

One day soon afterwards, he picked up a Canadian hitch hiker who was about to sail around the Whitsundays on a charter boat and after a conversation in the car, Mr Russell was convinced to join his companion on the sailing adventure.

On the jetty when he was farewelling his wife, Mr Russell mentioned that they were looking for a house and the skipper of the charter boat informed him he had one for sale.

By the time the boat returned, Mr Russell had bought the house.

Unfortunately, at the same time the real estate had already found a buyer who had cash ready, so Mr Russell lost the house - but in a twist of fate, the skipper managed to convince him to buy the charter boat instead!

Now the proud owner of a trimaran called Trinity, one of only three charter boats operating from Airlie Beach at the time, Mr Russell became a skipper, taking 22 people around the Whitsundays.

He operated the boat business for seven years.

Now retired and living in Bowen with his wife, Velma, who is turning 90 this week, Mr Russell is content to have lived a wonderful life and says he has a ‘lucky family’.

When asked about his OAM he said this:

“It wasn’t something I was striving for, and it was very out of the blue!”

“It does give me great satisfaction to some extent - the decision I made was pretty difficult – I had to give away an interesting career, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t brought it to a head.”

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