Frank Sleeman

Frank Northey Sleeman (4 March 1915 - 1 August 2000) was an Australian local government administrator and politician, principally as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Queensland from 1976 to 1982.

Early life and education

Sleeman grew up in the tough neighbourhood of Abercrombie Street in the inner Sydney suburb of Redfern, Sydney. He attended Canterbury Boys' High School.cite web|url= http://www.msfa.qld.gov.au/content/venue.asp?name=Sleeman_History |title= Frank Sleeman |accessdate= 2008-02-20|work= Sleeman Sports Complex |publisher= Queensland Government] Like many of his generation, Sleeman lived through the difficult days of the Great Depression.

Military Service and Prisoner of War

At the age of 18, Sleeman joined the Citizen Military Forces and was a lieutenant in 1939 when World War II broke out. The following year he joined the 2/26 Battalion AIF and volunteered for a secret mission that resulted in the formation of Australia’s first commando unit. The unit was scheduled for England but was diverted to the Coral Sea where Japanese forces captured Sleeman. He spent 3 years and 8 months as a prisoner of war in Changi prisoner of war camp, Singapore. He refused to work for the Japanese, but he survived the appalling conditions.

Return to Australia

After being released from Changi, Sleeman returned to Townsville and worked as a salesman for the Australian General Electric Company. He married Norma Robinson on December 29, 1945.

porting Prowess

Sleeman’s greatest sporting success was in amateur boxing, where his 5 foot 4 1/2 inch frame was undefeated in his division (middleweight). His love of fishing earned him the nickname “Sandbank Frank”, given to him by a fellow Labor alderman who claimed he consistently steered his boat into sandbanks.

Lord Mayor of Brisbane

He was in local government for 21 years. After serving for a period as a Brisbane City Council alderman, Frank Sleeman became Lord Mayor on 7 April 1976. As Lord Mayor, Sleeman decided to commit Brisbane to host the 1982 Commonwealth Games. Although he faced opposition from Queensland Government politicians and some members of the community, Sleeman stuck by his decision.

A few weeks later, Sleeman ordered that the cycling and swimming complexes for the Games be sited at a common venue. This was the birth of the Chandler Complex. The Sleeman administration was the driving force behind the complex as a Commonwealth Games facility. In 1982, he retired as Lord Mayor of Brisbane.

Frank Sleeman died on 1 August 2000 [ [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-30365936.html Death notice] ] ; he had been suffering dementia for the past five years and passed away in his sleep at the Freemasons Home in Sandgate/Brighton aged 85.

One of Frank Sleeman's favourite sayings was " Behind every great man is a great chair".

References

Books and Articles

*cite book
last = Blackburn
first = Kevin
authorlink = Kevin Blackburn
coauthors =
title = Commemorating and commodifying the prisoner of war experience in south-east Asia:The creation of Changi Prison Museum {Journal of the Australian War Memorial, Issue 33)
publisher = Australian War Memorial
date= 2000
location = Canberra
id=

External

http://www.awm.gov.au/journal/j33/blackburn.htm - Commemorating and commodifying the prisoner of war experience in south-east Asia