In 2018 I was a co-conspirator in a grand surprise . . .interviewing friends and family, and editing their recollections and opinions, of a man turning 80. Dick Lester knew nothing of the genesis and structure of the project, which produced a book and eventually delivered to him and all participants on that special birthday in November.

The book was a comprehensive survey of his life, stretching from his parents’ early lives in Victoria before World War II, up to his and the family’s European trip at Christmas 2018. The Lester largesse stretches far beyond family . . . he and his Lester Group have embraced the worlds of art sponsorship, polocrosse and polo championships, and medical research.

It was a great pleasure to compile this array of contributions to Australian public life, alongside the revelation of events in one man’s busy and fruitful life.