It is with great sadness that we share the news that Bruce Blocksidge, third generation of Blocksidge & Ferguson, passed away on Monday the 7th March 2022.
Glen Norris from The Courier Mail wrote a lovely article that we would like to share.
Bruce Blocksidge, the scion of Brisbane’s oldest real estate clan, has died only six days short of his 95th birthday after a lifetime spent working in the 134-year-old family firm.
Bruce Blocksidge has left a big legacy in Brisbane.
Bruce Blocksidge was born into an era when real estate contracts were still signed using quill pens and deposits were as low as a pound.
The scion of the fourth-generation Blocksidge real estate clan, died on Monday only six days short of his 95th birthday after a lifetime spent working in the firm incorporated in 1888.
Bruce’s son Jonathan, who is now managing director of Blocksidge Real Estate, says his father was a “respected mentor and fierce friend to many.” Jonathan says that up until a couple of years ago, his father would dress in a suit and drive into the company offices at 144 Adelaide St, the firm’s headquarters for almost a century.
Jonathan says the building was completed the year his father was born in 1927 and underscored the firm’s commitment to tradition and stability.
He says his father was a conservative businessman but prepared to give someone a go if he saw they had potential. “If someone had a good business idea, he would help them into a lease at a rate that was more affordable,” says Jonathan, who joined the firm in the 1980s.
Bruce Blocksidge’s grandfather George Henry Blocksidge (known as Geo) hung out his shingle as G.H. Blocksidge Real Estate Agent in Stanley Street, Woolloongabba.
Bruce Blocksidge with family portraits.
A few years later, he brought in Charles Douglas Ferguson to create G.H. Blocksidge & Ferguson. Jonathan’s daughter Georgia (known as Geo II) now works in the firm as a director and company secretary.
The firm aided the rapid urbanisation of the city in the decades ahead, developing estates in Sandgate, Boondall, Zillmere, Clayfield, Greenslopes, Holland Park and Mt Gravatt.
Bruce Blocksidge had fond memories of visiting the company’s headquarters during his childhood, looking over letters that were written by hand using quill pens and Indian ink.
In those days, deposits on land could be as low as ₤1, and on some occasions the auctioneers would open a barrel of beer as refreshment for the bidders on the completion of the sale. Throughout his career Bruce had seen business methods change from using letterpress and typewriters to computers and mobile phones.
Jonathan Blocksidge says the firm’s longevity could be traced to the earlier generation’s leadership in preserving and building wealth.
Bruce and Jonathan Blocksidge in front of the Blocksidge & Ferguson building in 1998.
Prior to joining the family business in 1959, Bruce undertook a traineeship as a legal clerk before working in London’s upmarket Mayfair as a real estate agent.
Before his death he recalled that upon joining the family business there were half a dozen agents in the centre of Brisbane – Sharpe & Musgrave, Ray White, Melloy, Bright Slater, Cameron Brothers and Blocksidge.
In that era real estate sales were predominantly done under an open listing where multiple agents would try to sell the same property. He believed that one of the biggest changes in the real estate industry was the improvement in regulation and the increase in professionalism among agents.
Bruce Blocksidge also had a philosophical take on real estate. “Property is a living thing that is required to be nurtured,” he once said. ”It requires to be planned for, and it requires constant attention. If you are interested in developing things and you find that you can improve something by your input there is an excitement about it, it keeps you vital, it keeps you young and it keeps you interested.”
The Blocksidge family thanks Glen for this lovely article. Bruce will be sorely missed.