James Glen Service AO (9 February 193329 September 2021) was an Australian

company director A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

Early life

Service was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and spent the first four years of his life in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. He was educated at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(1945–1949). He gained his Intermediate Certificate in 1946 and Leaving Certificate in 1948 in which he obtained First Class Honours in English. In his final year he added First Class Honours in both Chemistry and Geology. Recognition for his academic ability and diligence saw him awarded the Wigram Allen Scholarship in 1947; the Edwin & May Grainger Scholarship and the Holliday Scholarship in 1948; and the RT Baker Scholarship in 1949.

Business career

Apart from two years as a jackaroo, Service worked in Sydney until he moved to Canberra in 1964 as an executive of ''Moteliers''. In 1981 Service founded ''JG Service'' which is a national property and development consulting company based in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. The company now employs around 100 staff in Australia and New Zealand. He served as national president of the

Property Council of Australia The Property Council of Australia is a prominent industry organisation that represents the Australian property sector, advocating for its growth and positive impact on the nation. Founded in 1969, the Property Council operates across all major ca ...

, the Building Owners and Managers Association and chairman of the Australian Building Codes Board. Service was appointed a director and chairman of ACTEW in June 1995. He was also chairman of the ActewAGL Joint Venture Partnerships Board, TransACT Communications Pty Limited, TransACT Capital Communications Pty Limited, J G Service Pty Limited and JGS (UK) Limited; deputy chairman of Australand Property Group and a director of CapitaMall Trust Management Limited.

Community involvement

Service was chairman of the ACT

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

advisory board and a trustee of the CFMEU Children's Healthcare Trust. He was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

of the National Institute for Governance. He was involved in Floriade, Olympics Project 2000, the

Bundanon Trust Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

in the National Capital Committee, ACT Board of Health, Australian and New Zealand Health Management Network and the

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

Cultural appointments

Service was the chairman of the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

from 1996 until 1999, chairman of the Canberra Theatre Trust from 1993 until 1995 and chairman of the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Foundation from 1994 until 1996.

Honours

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

(1977) * Member, Order of Australia (1990) – For Service to the community. *

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

(2001) – For service in developing Australia's construction industry. * Canberran of the Year (2001) – Awarded by the

ACT Government The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party or coalition with the Con ...

* Officer, Order of Australia (2004) – For service to business and to the community particularly through support for arts, cultural and charitable organisations. * Newington Medallist (2011) *

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

Honorary Doctorate (2012) – To recognise his outstanding contribution to the Canberra community through his business, voluntary and philanthropic activitiesHonorary Degree Holders Profiles Dr Jim Service
Retrieved 6 October 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Service, Jim 1933 births 2021 deaths People educated at Newington College Officers of the Order of Australia Members of the Order of Australia Businesspeople from Sydney Australian corporate directors Australian chief executives