Peter Carthew was an exceptional man – he was a great Australian and an outstanding Ararat citizen who impacted many people within the business and wider community.
Peter sat on and chaired many Boards and Associations, and in 2005 was a proud inductee as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), which reflected unquestionably the commitment he made to civic and charitable organisations, regional development and local government.
His proudest achievement was creating countless employment opportunities through AME Systems which he was instrumental in establishing in Ararat over 40 years ago.
In 2008, Peter was recognised for his lifetime achievements in the manufacturing industry and duly was inducted as an honouree. He humbly accepted this award, however would have reflected back to 2004 when AME Systems was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame which was recognition of the business and employees.
As a community leader, he played an enormous role in the betterment of the region’s businesses and its people.
Peter served as a councillor for the City of Ararat from 1986 to 1989 where he took a predominant role in encouraging the expansion of industry and commerce throughout the municipality. He was appointed Chairman of Commissioners of the newly created Rural City of Ararat in 1984 until the election of councillors in 1996. His ability to implement change brought about the successful amalgamation of the former City and Shire of Ararat. Not surprisingly, he took very little financial reward for his work as Chairman of Commissioners even though the normal arrangement for the Chairman was to be paid a full salary and be provided with a fully maintained vehicle. Thankfully, while he was doing all this he had dedicated employees at AME Systems keeping the wheels turning.
Peter was also a founding member of the Regional Development Board and importantly recognised the economic importance of improving quality in manufacturing and service, and set about developing a quality culture within the region. In 1985 he created ‘Country Quality’ in Ararat to present the Quality message, and to profile to the rest of Australia what Ararat had to offer. For over 20 years, ‘Country Quality’ became an annual gathering of industry leaders, organisations and businesses committed to quality and continuous improvement.
Even though Peter was fully committed he also took on an important advisory role with the University of Ballarat (now Federation University). Their motto ‘learn to succeed’ sat well with Peter and many hours were spent driving the highway to get to meetings.
The local and wider community has also been privileged and enriched by Peter’s energetic involvement in such a wide range of organisations, benefiting each with his leadership and generosity of spirit. His commitment to the smooth transition of people from the Aradale Complex into the wider community, his enthusiastic support and effective advocacy for East Grampians Health Service in which he was bestowed a Life Governorship in 2004, his support to the Ararat Musical Comedy Society in which he was made Patron in 2019, his love of the Filipino Australia Community who now call Ararat home, his commitment to helping local youth and importantly, as a Vietnam Veteran his dedication to Ararat Legacy are just a few examples of the ‘generosity of spirit’ by Peter Carthew.
Peter Carthew AM enjoyed enormous respect, never sought recognition but ensured others were recognised – his philosophy was simple if not pragmatic “People Matter Most”. He leaves a proud legacy and his generosity of spirit will be everlasting.