Community & Business
3 December, 2024
Tributes flow for Mr Mareeba
TRIBUTES have flowed for Mick Borzi AM OBE, with community leaders and former councillors describing him as a visionary, accomplished leader, and a passionate advocate for Mareeba and Far North Queensland.
Mr Borzi was 91 years of age when he died on 26 November, and his life and legacy was honoured at a funeral service on Monday.
As a former Mayor and Chairman of the Mareeba Shire, chairman of the Cairns Harbour Board and, subsequently, the Cairns Port Authority, Mr Borzi made his mark in public life, and played an integral role in significant projects becoming a reality – projects like the development of the Cairns International Airport, the Mareeba Industrial Estate, and the Mareeba Heritage and Museum and Visitor Information Centre.
Mr Borzi’s commitment to the community was demonstrated through his involvement with the Lions Club of Mareeba, Mareeba Rotary and the Mareeba International Club and was considered the “father” of the Great Wheelbarrow Race which he wanted for the benefit of small towns along the way.
Last week, former colleagues and community leaders told of their experiences with Mr Borzi and paid tribute to his life.
Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin
It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of the former Mayor of Mareeba Shire Council, Mick Borzi AM OBE.
Mr Borzi served at the young age of 27 as the Chairman of Mareeba Shire in 1961, a position he held until 1973 and was then the Mayor from 2000 until 2008.
Mr Borzi was an incredibly accomplished leader and was recognised with a Centenary Medal in 2001 and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2005.
As a passionate advocate for the Mareeba Shire community, Mr Borzi was a major player in advocating for Mareeba Shire’s independence from Tablelands Regional Council, following the forced amalgamation in 2008. Mr Borzi believed that the community of the Shire would be better served by a stand-alone Council.
His efforts then saw the de-amalgamation occur in January 2014. He will be remembered for his efforts in supporting the development of commerce and industry in our Shire.
We thank Mr Borzi for his incredible contributions to our region and our thoughts are with Elza, his family and friends at this time.
Tom Braes OAM (Lions Club of Mareeba)
Mick Borzi AM OBE a name synonymous with hard work, respect, dignity, and diligence. Mick was instrumental in the development of the north in so many ways in business, sport, agriculture, local government and community service.
He was a founding member of the Mareeba International Club, the Mareeba Heritage Centre, the Mareeba Lions Club and many other organisations. He was a driving force behind the construction of the Cairns InternationalAairport and a fearless advocate for the Mareeba Hospital and Dimbulah Clinic.
In 1958, Mick and a handful of others had a dream and formed a Lions Club in Mareeba. The Club was Chartered in 1959. Mick worked hard to expand Lions in North Queensland and PNG and became the first District Governor of the new District 201H in 1963.
He received many of the highest awards in Lions including the Melvin Jones award and the International President’s Ambassador of Goodwill Award. Although a Lion, he and Lioness wife Elza were both awarded the highest award in Rotary, the Paul Harris Fellow.
As a young man I heard of Mick, Councillor and Mayor of Mareeba Shire, Chair of the Cairns Harbour Board. I read of the things he was doing, and, as a young man, this made an impression on me – that someone from a little country backwater like Mareeba could do and achieve so much.
This made a lasting impression on me and I believe was instrumental in spurring me on to improve my lot in life. The time came and I actually met Mick. I was blown away, and on occasion when I thought I might quit a project, he encouraged me to keep going, and I am thankful I did.
The community has lost a fighter, an advocate, I hope that others will follow in Mick’s footsteps to advocate for our town, our region, our way of live. Although Mick has left us his legacy will remain for ever.
As Mick would say: “Mareebaderci!”
Alan Pedersen (former Mareeba Shire Councillor)
I joined the Borzi team in council during 2003 after the passing of Gordon Arnold. This “apprenticeship” helped me in good stead for my following 15 years in council.
Mick’s work ethic was amazing and very few powers were delegated to the senior officers. Councillors would read through a 600-page agenda every fortnight – there wasn’t a pothole or leaking pipe we didn’t know about.
Mick became the Chairman of the Mareeba Shire in 2000 and, in the following eight years, we paid off most of its debt and delivered a huge amount of infrastructure, including the Mareeba Industrial Estate.
Mick was typically financially frugal, there wasn’t any budget overruns or free lunches – ratepayers’ money was in good hands when Mick was at the helm. One of Mick’s pet hates was the privatisation of public assets – something that was only supported by lazy or incompetent elected members. He set the standard and expected the same from those around him.
When the Beattie Government decided to amalgamate Mareeba Shire with our three southern shires in 2008, it almost broke Mick’s heart. With his “never say die” attitude, he assembled a group of business people and set about de-amalgamating his beloved Mareeba Shire from the newly-formed Tablelands Regional Council and finally achieved this five years later. An incredible effort!
Micks legacy’s still echoes through the corridors of Mareeba Shire to this day, holding the crown of one of the most financially sustainable shires in Queensland.
It is with great sadness we farewell this visionary and our hearts go out to his wonderful wife Elza who has been a pillar of strength to Mick throughout his life.
Rest in peace Mick you’ve done us proud.
Bill Cummings (leading Cairns economist)
I have regarded it a privilege to have worked with Mick Borzi over the years and for Janet and I to regard Mick and Elza as friends.
Mick’s influence on the progress of Cairns and the region was exceptional.
I first met Mick in his role as Chairman of Mareeba Shire along with Roy Dickson as Chairman of Johnstone Shire at the Herbert Valley Motel in Ingham in the early 1970s. Mick and Roy were collaborating on behalf of the North Queensland Local Government Association on a campaign to gain community support to promote recognition of local governments’ vital role in national progress and an increase in national government support for the sector.
Over the years, I would come to work with Mick on various projects.
Mick was the best meeting chairman I have ever worked with and seen in action. His ability to quickly and efficiently steer a meeting to an agreed and sound course of action was outstanding.
However, Mick’s greatest achievement for Cairns and the region was the upgrading of Cairns Airport to take wide-bodied jets on long distance direct flights from overseas. It was a team effort but it was Mick as Chairman of the Cairns Harbour Board, who first brought to everyone’s attention the potential of moving to “local ownership” as a pathway to achieving a long sought after much-needed upgrading of the airport if the Cairns region was to achieve its obvious potential to become an international tourism destination.
It was Mick who formulated the resolution passed at a public meeting at the Civic Centre to form a special committee to pursue local ownership.
After a furious internal community debate it was Mick who as chairman of the Cairns Harbour Board, reconfigured as the Cairns Port Authority to also manage the airport who negotiated the Commonwealth funding that made the upgrading possible and it was Mick as Chairman of the Port Authority who oversaw the works that culminated in the first Jumbo Jet flight to Honolulu taking off at the end of March 1984.
Bob Katter (Member for Kennedy)
Kennedy MP Bob Katter has paid tribute to a true visionary, former Mareeba Mayor Mick Borzi, who played an integral role in transforming Cairns and the Far North into the global tourist destination it is today.
He referred to the development of Cairns International Airport. “I thought Cairns was lucky to even have an airport, but Mick's influence led to its expansion, making it a key gateway for tourists. His work laid the foundation for the city’s booming tourism industry,” he said.
“Mick was a humble man, always grounded in the values of hard work and service to his community. The last time I visited him, he and his wife were working on their mango plantations, embodying the spirit of self-sufficiency and dedication that defined his life.
“And when I last saw him in the public arena, he was working as a volunteer for St Vincent de Paul, helping others in need.
“If you were ever going to build a statue in Far North Queensland, it should be for Mick Borzi. His leadership and legacy will continue to benefit Mareeba and the region and its people for generations to come.”
EVAN MCGRATH OAM (former Mareeba Deputy Mayor)
In late 1999, my friend Gordon Arnold and I decided to nominate for councillors in the coming local government election. We met with Mick Borzi, who was standing for Mayor. It was decided to form a team.
Members of the Borzi Team who were elected were Mick, Gordon, myself, Vince Randazzo, Joe Moro, and Elayne Bird. Later additions included Keith English, Darryl Camp, Alan Pedersen, Gaye Taylor and Craig Batchelor.
Highlights of those two terms under Mick’s leadership included:
· The highway Welcome signs proclaiming “300 Sunny Days a Year”
· Negotiations to purchase 700 acres to establish the Mareeba Industrial Park, heralding millions of dollars of business investment.
· The Great Wheelbarrow Race – from small beginnings, the race has grown in popularity, raising millions of dollars for charities.
· The mid-year influx of grey nomads who were welcomed by the Borzi Team and which boosted local businesses and Mareeba’s reputation for welcoming visitors.
· A strong control over finances, allowing council to pay down the $19m debt inherited in 2000 to $6m at the time of amalgamation.
I commend Mick for his sterling efforts and commitment to the progress of Mareeba Shire and his achievements as Borzi Team leader and our Mayor.
Barry Simpson (former Tablelands Advertiser Managing Editor)
Like literally thousands of others across the greater Far Northern community, my family and I were shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of former Shire Mayor and “Mr Mareeba” legend Mick Borzi.
Already possessing an insatiable appetite for hard work, planning and enacting positive outcomes for the future, his early working life within the Far Northern dairy industry, and then via Turner Agencies, quickly sharpened his skills in seeking new opportunities for progress and advancement, as well as the building of networks throughout all levels of the local, and indeed greater, Far Northern community, business and industry.
Accordingly, it did not surprise those of us who knew him that in 1961 he began his very public life as the youngest ever Shire Chairman of Mareeba Shire at only 27 years of age, a position punctuated by ensuring community and public services improvements and ever watchful control over shire budgets and surpluses that did not compromise benefit of the common good.
As a town, Mareeba was one of the first to obtain improved water reticulation delivery, fluoridation of town water, construction of the Mareeba Memorial Swimming Pool (far below anticipated cost) and many more community benefits and projects that most residents now take for granted.
From improved shire road and transport links to airport improvements, sporting facilities, community events and an ensuring “can do” attitude, under Mick’s leadership Mareeba Shire quickly became one of the most progressive of any rural shires in the eastern states of the nation.
From the local QATB, Mareeba Hospital Board and International Club to smaller but popular groups, there is hardly any organisation or group in Mareeba Shire that has not benefitted from Mick Borzi’s personal involvement and support.
Not surprisingly, many hundreds of people who came from other nations to settle in the shire have been personally assisted and supported by our very own Mr Mareeba, as Mick was widely known as for more than six decades. His ability to produce positive outcomes also was clearly evident throughout the greater Far North.
Mick’s leadership example and capabilities also were to the fore in diverse organisations including James Cook University, North Queensland Local Government Association, Cairns Star Bowkett, Cairns Amateurs, the establishment of Mareeba Dimbulah Community Bank, Cairns Hospitals Board, Cairns Port Authority, reforming Mareeba District Chamber of Commerce, the establishment and opening of Cairns International Airport, Mareeba Industrial Park, Mareeba Heritage Centre and Museum and literally hundreds more over his six decades of productive public life.
Mick’s unquestioned ability to communicate, build active and results driven projects, and gain support for community benefit projects established him as a widely acknowledged and capable community leader, the likes of which are seldom seen twice in one lifetime, if ever.
His example is the greatest possible for young people who aspire to make a difference to our region’s future and the production of long-lasting positive outcomes that benefit the common good.
I join with the greater community on expressing deepest condolences to Mick’s wife Elsa and their family, and express never ending appreciation for them sharing Mick and his remarkable and unique abilities and talents with us all over so many years.
