Former Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC) President and well-known Melbourne personality, Max Kirwin, passed away at home on 22 March 2022, aged 96.
Max was a leading automotive advocate, lending his expertise and experience to drive positive change across all sectors of automotive. He was a long-serving and current member of the VACC’s Victorian Automobile Dealers Association, Executive Board and Board of Management.
He was also instrumental in the 1986 sale of VACC Insurance Company to majority shareholder AMEV.
“VACC was getting $1 million in insurance commissions and no one wanted to upset that; we couldn’t operate without it,” Max said in an interview with VACC publication ‘Australian Automotive’ in 2013.
Despite ongoing Board resistance, Max invited an offer from AMEV for VACC’s 49 per cent stake in the venture, saying “If it is all right, I will give it my best consideration and refer it back to the Board. They were a bit shocked, but I got an offer from them fairly quickly for $58 million which surprised me; I thought it might be about $40 million. I quickly I did an exercise on that and, compared with the $1 million we were getting, I could see that we could get $7 million at bank rates.
“I could [also] see that the insurance company was going nowhere interstate. It was almost impossible for VACC Insurance Company to go forward. But what could we do with $58 million? Well, properly invested by a committee and with very good advice we should be able to get up to 12 per cent on our money. I then had to convince the Executive Board and the Board of Management, and boy did that take some doing.”
The proposal was controversial, with Max saying he received death threats. “One guy rang me and told me that he was going to kill me. Another guy said that he was going to beat me up badly. I didn’t tell anybody because I didn’t want to upset things, but I acted very carefully. I finally got Board approval. We sold the shares and we got our $58 million, and VACC Insurance left the country. If we hadn’t done that, we would be broke like the rest of the [motoring] associations across the country. Instead, we have $150 million.”
The VACC said members will long benefit from Max’s sound decision making, adding “his legacy and business acumen left the chamber in a strong position to face future challenges.”
A successful businessman, Max was well-known throughout the wider Victorian community for his high-profile advertising of Max Kirwan Mazda in Preston that carried the familiar catchcry, ‘Good one, Max!’ He also presented his own radio motoring show on 3AW which ran for 23 years.
Away from the motor industry, Max was prominent in national water skiing circles, serving as President of the Australian Water Ski Association between 1970 and 1978. He was prominent in TV coverage of the Moomba Masters International Water Ski Championships, which he was instrumental in establishing and promoted for more than 50 years. In 1985 he received an OAM for services to water skiing and in 1989 was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as a General Member for his contribution to water skiing administration.
The team at BodyShop News extends its condolences to Max’s family and friends.