- Frank Sleeman
Frank Northey Sleeman (
4 March 1915 -1 August 2000 ) was an Australian local government administrator and politician, principally asLord Mayor ofBrisbane ,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 attendedCanterbury 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 theGreat 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 theCoral Sea where Japanese forces captured Sleeman. He spent 3 years and 8 months as a prisoner of war inChangi 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 onDecember 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 the1982 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
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