Vale Lang Walker AO
A true Australian city-making visionary.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson has offered the condolences of Council and its development manager, SunCentral Maroochydore Pty Ltd, to the Walker family and Walker Corporation on the passing of Lang Walker AO.
Lang Walker passed away peacefully with his family beside him in Sydney on Saturday evening, January 27.
“With the passing of Lang, our nation and our Sunshine Coast has lost a true visionary in city making, urban regeneration and philanthropy, and a person who always put people at the heart of what he did,” Mayor Jamieson said.
“Lang’s stewardship of Walker Corporation and its contribution to the urban fabric of places like Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and our own Maroochydore City Centre will be one of his greatest legacies.
“I have come to know Lang well since we first cemented the development partnership for the delivery of the Maroochydore City Centre in November 2020, and I have to say that not only was he remarkable and inspiring in his ability to foresee opportunities and how they should be curated to benefit communities, he was always a down-to-earth and decent bloke.
“His care and concern for the people who worked for him, the people and organisations he partnered with – like our Council – his deeply ingrained sense of social responsibility and his desire to give back is something that is a mark of the man who was Lang Walker and is something I will always remember.
“With Lang, you never left a meeting wondering what he was thinking. If he had something to say, he would do so and if he thought something wasn’t right or wouldn’t address the problem, he would work with you until the solution was found.
“He could talk to Prime Ministers and Premiers whenever he needed to – but equally, he was just as happy talking to local community members, hearing what mattered to them and their ideas.
“On one of Lang’s visits to the Sunshine Coast, he was up early in the morning, walking around Maroochydore and other areas, assessing what was happening and seeing the potential – which he was willing to share with everyone he spoke with.
“Lang was also someone who knew how to think long term, plan for the future and commit to seeing ideas worked through and come to fruition.
“Walker Corporation’s developments at the Finger Wharf at Woolloomooloo, Rhodes Waterside, Parramatta Square and Collins Square – to name just a few – are testament to Lang’s long-term thinking, vision and tenacity and we have been seeing this same approach with where Walker Corporation is heading with the Maroochydore City Centre.
“The current amendments to the Development Scheme for the Maroochydore City Centre, which are presently being considered by the State Government, are a big part of realising Walker Corporation’s vision for this site.
“They coincide with Council’s objectives for the Maroochydore City Centre and, once in place, will well and truly set our region’s central business district on the trajectory that Lang and the Walker Corporation management team, our Council and SunCentral have envisaged for this project.
“Today however, we mourn the loss of a great man and on behalf of our Council and SunCentral, we extend our deepest sympathies to Lang’s wife Sue and their family on the loss of a much loved husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather."