Tasmania has lost one of the icons of our agricultural industry this week with the passing of Bill Casimaty.
Bill Casimaty was a man of enterprise, innovation and vision. Bill’s significant contribution to Tasmanian agriculture and business is well recognised and he helped put Tasmania on the national and world stage.
Bill was part of a large Casimaty family that migrated to Australia from Greece and after originally moving to Sydney most of the Casimaty family relocated to Hobart and bought land near Cambridge, Richmond and in the Southern Midlands.
After winning a Nuffield Scholarship in 1966, Bill studied turf farming in the United States and the United Kingdom and then set up his Strathayr Turf business in Tasmania.
The rest they say is turf growing history with Strathayr Turf being used in sports stadiums in the US, at Lords in England, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, race tracks like Flemington, Sandown and Moonee Valley, and locally at the Mowbray race track.
It was a mark of Bill’s drive to provide the best product, and he invested heavily in research and development - ``science is the essence of good turf,’’ Bill said.
Bill’s children kept the business flourishing following his retirement and we offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends and, on behalf of all Tasmanians, acknowledge his outstanding contribution to this State.
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