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Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst’s family has been inducted into the prestigious Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Brothers Tony (left) and Rodney Longhurst accept the honour from Grace Grace, Queensland Government Minister on behalf of their family and late father John as the Longhurst family are inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. This award is in recognition of more than 50 years of visionary and sustained entrepreneurship across the tourism, property and boating industries nationally.
The Longhurst family – the late John, and sons Tony and Rodney – has been inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in recognition of more than 50 years of visionary and sustained entrepreneurship across the tourism, property and boating industries nationally.
The family, renowned for their entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen, has left an enduring mark on Australia’s tourism and marine industries. At the helm of their achievements stands John Longhurst, a visionary known for founding Dreamworld, a pioneering theme park on the Gold Coast.
John Longhurst’s journey began humbly, starting as a truck operator and machinist before venturing into lawn mower manufacturing when John started Pace mowers in 1954 in the garage of his suburban house.
But after experiencing expansion constraints and receiving noise complaints from neighbouring residents, he moved to a small factory in Burwood. Some years later John expanded again to a factory at Silverwater with the Pace brand doing extremely well. So well, it became a major competitor for Victa Mowers, an iconic Australian lawn mowing company.
In fact, when John started developing his own engine for Pace mowers, Victa’s Mervyn Richardson realised how much of a threat Pace was and would be in the future, and in 1959 made John an offer he couldn’t refuse. Victa took over the mower company.
Rodney (left) and Tony Longhurst talk about their family’s journey.
John Longhurst started Pace Mowers in 1954 in the garage of his suburban home.
"At the helm of their achievements stands John Longhurst, a visionary…"
In 1959 John continued his journey of invention with his “have a go” attitude seemingly knowing no bounds. He turned his attention to building houses and established Pride Homes which were marketed as affordable homes for newlyweds – and specifically targeted at ex-servicemen and migrants who were arriving onto the Australian shores in large numbers. John said: “I liked to work out ways to mass produce things. We wouldn’t make one or two frames, we would make a dozen at the same time.”
John was an inspiring creator, and his entrepreneurial drive led him to the boat building business where he established Pride boats in New South Wales in 1961. Having witnessed the surge of private boating in the American market and the move from wood to fibreglass hulls, he built the first boat in the garage of the family home in Strathfield in Sydney. From that first boat onwards, the business flourished and went on to become the largest builder of fibreglass pleasure craft in the southern hemisphere. Pride built thousands of boats for more than a decade, before the business was sold to the owners of one of Pride’s largest dealerships.
Rodney has special memories of life as a young boy and particularly boating with his father who would often take Pride boats out to sea and put them through their paces in his quest to enhance the quality and performance of his Pride boats. Clearly, these were very formative times for a young Rodney that would put him in good stead in later life in his quest to do the same thing with Riviera.
But true inspiration struck John in the 70’s during a flight between Hawaii and Japan, after visiting Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, leading him to conceive what would become Dreamworld.
Under John’s stewardship, and the tireless work of his family including sons Tony and Rodney, Dreamworld flourished, becoming a catalyst for significant investment in theme parks and hotels on the Gold Coast. In 1989, Dreamworld was sold to Dreamco, marking the end of the Longhursts’ direct involvement but solidifying their legacy in Australian tourism.
In 1959 John (pictured right) continued his journey of innovation and turned his attention to building houses, establishing Pride Homes which were marketed as affordable homes for newlyweds, ex-servicemen and migrants.
“Under John’s stewardship and the tireless work of his family including sons Tony and Rodney, Dreamworld flourished…”
John’s entrepreneurial legacy lives on through Tony and Rodney. Rodney, following in his father’s footsteps, has carved his own path in the marine industry. In 2012, Rodney acquired Riviera and revitalised the company. His strategic vision and the leadership team turned Riviera around, earning accolades such as the Australian Marine Industry Exporter of the Year.
In 2013, Tony and the Longhurst family acquired Gold Coast Marine Centre and transformed this into The Boat Works and developed the business into the largest facility in the southern hemisphere for marine service, refit and repair.
Beyond business, the Longhurst family has made substantial contributions to charitable causes, including medical, animal welfare and wildlife conservation, reflecting their commitment to ethical conduct and community welfare. John Longhurst’s influence extends far beyond business success – he was a pioneer, a visionary, and a generous philanthropist who left an enduring impact on the Gold Coast and beyond.
“Our father originally had Pace lawnmowers, and he got into building Pride boats, using fibreglass technology as he could see what was happening overseas. He was very successful at that. He sold that business, and then he wanted to build a theme park,” Rodney says.
Rodney said that he had been helping from a young age, so it was easy to move into full-time work once he left school at 15 and started his apprenticeship as a carpenter and cabinetmaker working at Dreamworld.
(Left) The Hon. R.J. Hawke, Prime Minister, John Longhurst and The Hon. John Brown, Minister for Sport, Recreation and Tourism.
(Right) John on the famous Thunderbolt rollercoaster.
True inspiration struck John during a flight between Hawaii and Japan, after visiting Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, leading him to conceive what would become Dreamworld.
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For Rodney (left) and Tony (right), work at Dreamworld included a host of trades from building mountains to testing waterslides.
“There were great tradesmen on the job during the construction of Dreamworld, who taught me an enormous amount, which I still use today (at Riviera). We were doing whatever it took to get the job done. So, although I was doing an apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner, we were laying train tracks, or we were building mountains, or we were testing waterslides, all of this type of work that was far from traditional.”
Always seeking more challenges, in 1988 John purchased the Great Adventures Group, with Green and Fitzroy islands included, as an adjunct to Dreamworld.
He then sold Dreamworld in 1989 – and within 12 months had bought the Logan Hyperdome as he could see that Logan was emerging as a significant growth corridor. John wanted to make what was known in property circles as the “Taj Mahal” as he wanted to make the shopping centre “a little bit different and a little bit better”. He had the idea of building a mini-Disneyland in front of the main entrance and also wanted to increase the size of the Hyperdome by an ambitious 50 per cent over five years. Initially, Logan City Council’s mayor and fellow councillors welcomed the idea, however the support soon became “lukewarm with the town planning department not able to get their heads around it”, so the plan was shelved.
Rodney, John and Tony Longhurst have been inducted into the prestigious Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
Tony Longhurst at The Boat Works yard that sits alongside the Riviera facility on the Coomera River.
"...opportunities will come along, and they’ll come along because we’ll be ready."
RODNEY LONGHURST
The next move was to expand on the family’s love of boating – buying Riviera and expanding The Boat Works – which also provided employment to thousands of people over the years.
On March 8, 2012, Rodney purchased Riviera and at the same time negotiated an 18-month option to buy the 14.3-hectare facility, which he completed at a later date.
“I wasn’t going to buy the business unless the land was included,” he said. He immediately reinstated CEO Wes Moxey, who had left Riviera during the period of private equity ownership.
Riviera’s turnover has more than quadrupled since Rodney arrived and it is listed as one of Queensland’s largest private companies.
“You’ll see upholsterers, cabinetmakers, shipwrights, all showing their great skills here, and putting the finishing touches on the yachts before they go to the water. In total there’s approximately 900 people on site. We’re always training and wanting people to get to the next level.”
“Many of our team here at Coomera have come through the Riviera Apprentice Training Program and today they’ll be mentoring our current apprentices. There’s over 500 people who have gone through our training program to become master craftspeople.
The holistic training program offered by the Riviera Academy of Excellence teaches apprentices their chosen trade skills alongside coaching life skills, to nurture world class people that will help build Riviera’s world class motor yachts.
“We opened the Riviera Academy of Excellence in January this year and this is where our apprentice training program is conducted today. We teach trade skills alongside life skills to help all our apprentices realise their full potential. It really allows for a more thorough transfer of knowledge. It’s made Riviera sustainable and able to be operated in a country like Australia.”
And what does the future hold?
“I think at Riviera we’ll just continue refining; opportunities will come along, and they’ll come along because we’ll be ready,” Rodney says. “And to have all of this here on the Gold Coast, Australia’s favourite tourist destination, with the quality of infrastructure that is now on the Gold Coast, is an exceptional opportunity.
“The skills we have here are the greatest in the whole country by a long way. And those skills transfer down to the people moving up, whether they’re apprentices, tradespeople or trades assistants. This will be the marine industry hub for forever going forward, because you just can’t pick it up and move it somewhere else. The skills, learning and the families will also always be here.
“We’re happy with how our father’s legacy has all evolved. How that growth occurs in the future, we don’t always know, but I feel just like our father, that we’re always preparing, and opportunities will come.”
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