“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
Pericles, Athenian statesman, general & orator
In 2017, I stood on the Acropolis in Athens with my wife Viki and our young family, looking up at the Parthenon.
Even after thousands of photographs and years of history lessons, the first sight of it is still arresting as it dominates the hill above the city – physically and symbolically.
Nearly 2,500 years after it was built, the temple still defines the skyline of Athens and remains one of the most recognisable symbols of civilisation.
Every civilisation before and since has asked the same question: what will we build that stands the test of time?
Enduring statement
The Parthenon began with an ambitious idea. Photo: Magnisalis private collection
Like many enduring landmarks, the Parthenon began with an ambitious idea.
In the 5th century BC, the Athenian statesman Pericles launched an extraordinary rebuilding program after the Acropolis was destroyed during the Persian Wars.
Athens was emerging as the cultural and political centre of the Greek world, and Pericles wanted the city to reflect that confidence.
The Parthenon became the centrepiece.
Built between 447 and 432 BCE, the Parthenon was designed by Ictinus and Callicrates, overseen by Phidias and dedicated to Athena.
But it quickly became something more than a place of worship.
It became a statement of civic ambition, cultural leadership and of belief in the future.
It was also, in many ways, an economic project.
The building program employed thousands of craftsmen, labourers, artists and engineers.
It channelled public resources into construction and culture, strengthening Athens economically and symbolically.
Two and a half millennia later, the Parthenon still does exactly that.
It shapes how the world sees Greece, anchors Athens’ identity; and draws millions of visitors each year.
Outlasting the moment
Australia's Sydney Opera House is a defining monument for the nation. Photo: David Hill, Deep Hill Media
That’s the power of great projects - they outlast the moment in which they were built.
They define cities and shape economies.
Modern societies are no different.
Paris has the Eiffel Tower.
New York has the Statue of Liberty.
Australia has the Sydney Opera House.
When the Opera House was proposed in the 1950s, the idea seemed almost impossibly ambitious – unconventional design, complex engineering and controversial cost.
Today it’s impossible to imagine Sydney without it.
The building has become shorthand for Australia itself, a cultural icon, a tourism magnet and an economic engine.
What the Opera House demonstrates is something entrepreneurs instinctively understand: bold projects shape places.
They create industries, attract global attention and change the trajectory of cities.
In other words, they become economic infrastructure as much as cultural landmarks.
That idea has been very much on my mind in recent years.
Next generation
Winter Sports World will be more than simply a tourist attraction. CGI render
As the visionary of Australia’s first indoor snow resort, I’ve been thinking about how landmark destinations come into existence.
At one level, Winter Sports World is simply tourism infrastructure.
It introduces a new asset class and attraction category to Australia and brings together international expertise in indoor alpine technology and operations.
But at another level, it reflects something broader.
It reflects the role entrepreneurs can play in creating the next generation of national destinations, of which Western Sydney will become.
Throughout history, diaspora communities have acted as bridges between cultures and economies, bringing global networks and ambitious ideas.
Alexander the Great famously expanded the Greek cultural footprint across continents, spreading language, art and ideas throughout the ancient world.
Today, diaspora entrepreneurs extend that legacy by connecting global expertise, capital and opportunity.
Modern infrastructure increasingly depends on those global connections.
Winter Sports World reflects that reality.
Reshaping the market
Winter Sports World is plugging a gap in the market. CGI render
The project has brought together designers, engineers and operators from around the world, including Bonski, the world’s most experienced indoor snow resort operator.
Indoor snow centre are not new internationally (there are more than 150 across Europe, Asia and the Middle East).
The gap in the market is Australia.
And that, in many ways, is where entrepreneurship begins: recognising how a proven idea elsewhere can reshape a different market.
Western Sydney provides a particularly compelling setting for that.
The region is one of Australia’s fastest-growing urban areas, undergoing major transformation, particularly with the new Western Sydney International Airport and Bradfield city.
As the region evolves, it will need more than transport and housing.
It will need destinations; places that create identity, attract visitors and shape the visitor economy.
Many of Australia’s defining projects – Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Snow Mountains Scheme – emerged from moments of ambition.
Each faced scepticism when first proposed.
Each required imagination.
And each ultimately reshaped the country.
Progress rarely comes from incremental thinking alone.
It also comes from people willing to imagine something that does not yet exist, and then assemble the expertise, capital and persistence required to build it.
If the ancient Greeks had consulted the Delphic Oracle before building the Parthenon, the answer might well have sounded familiar to modern entrepreneurs:
Bold ideas always seems improbable – right up until the moment they become inevitable.
In ancient Athens, the Parthenon stood as a declaration of what a confident civilisation could create.
Somewhere between the Parthenon and Penrith, Winter Sports World – Australia's next great landmark – is already taking shape.
Beyond Winter Sports World, we look forward to seeing the landmark projects emerge that will help define Australia’s next generation.