Vale Peter Meury. 1935-2026

A lifetime of service to the Swiss Community

It is with sadness that we learn of the passing of Peter Meury. He was a most influential personality within the Swiss Community in Australia.

Peter arrived in Melbourne in late 1960, delegated from Basel for a position with the Swiss Ciba Company. Almost immediately he got involved with the Swiss Club of Victoria, eventually taking on the Presidency of the club. The club house on Flinders Lane is one of Peter’s enduring legacies, as he was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the acquisition of the property.

In 1978 Peter relocated to Sydney were he again got involved in the life of the Swiss community – as President of the Swiss Club of NSW and later with the Swiss Benevolent Society (later called Swiss Community Care Society) which he led for 19 years. In his capacity as executor of the will of a Swiss benefactor, he organised and managed the subdivision of her estate. The house and substantial cash were a bequest to the Society made on condition that these assets were used for the benefit of needy Swiss.

In 1985 several Swiss businessmen took the initiative to establish the Swiss Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (now SwissCham). Peter was elected Founding President. After seven years at the helm of SACCI, he handed over to a successor but stayed on the Board for a few more years.

Peter was a delegate to the Council of the Swiss Abroad for 25 years, from 1984 to 2009. In 1988 there was the question of Switzerland’s representation at WORLD EXPO in Brisbane. The Swiss Government decided not to participate, but it was thanks to Peter’s lobbying activity right up to Federal Council that the decision was reversed.

Asked in an interview in 2009 what his main motivation is to do so much work for the Swiss community, he said: “There are a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is an interest in all matters Swiss. I am proud of being part of our Swiss-Australian multicultural heritage, and in this context make Switzerland better known in Australia. My other motivation is involvement in all matters concerning the community. I consider myself a link in all issues Swiss and Australian which I consider of importance”.

Peter passed away on 10 February at the age of 90 years, after a long battle with illness. We express our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Roland Isler