Personality Profile November 2003

Walter Alteri

WALTER ALTERI arrived in Australia as a 15 year-old refugee from war-torn Europe almost 50 years ago and went on to develop a successful multi-million dollar printing business. Now, as GRAEME KELLY reports in this profile, Walter has turned his business acumen to the world of the thoroughbred and after a rocky start is finding success and contentment in his new endeavour.

MOST people are able to reflect on their life and find a point where they have made the right decision about their future or, sadly, the wrong one.
In Walter Alteri’s case this point came nearly 50 years ago when his father Arnold told him to become involved in the printing industry. The edict from his father became the first step in Walter’s rise to success in the business world.
“I had only just arrived in Australia with my father and mother, Anna,” Walter said. “I couldn’t speak English and my father realised I wasn’t going to be a lawyer or a doctor or anything like that so he told me to become a printer.
“In those days you didn’t ask for advice, you were told and I obeyed his instructions. My Dad must have had some special foresight or insight, because that turned out to be a great stroke of good fortune for me.”
At the time Walter was a 15 year-old migrant from the Italian city of Trieste, who could barely even understand English, but before long he realised he had a natural flair for the printing trade.
After establishing his own firm - Walter Alteri Printing in 1967 - he developed the company into a multi-million dollar enterprise with his clients including some leading international businesses. The success of this firm ensured his future was financially secure.
Then a minor interest Walter had in racing began gathering momentum in the mid-1990s when he had a heart operation, sold his printing house, and was seeking an alternative direction.
While his Newlands Thoroughbreds is making a significant impression on the breeding scene these days, his entry into the domain of the thoroughbred was, particularly by comparison to his business, quite disastrous. Walter’s first experience in racing came when he was enticed into becoming a part-owner of a racehorse he was led to believe had the ability and potential to win a Melbourne Cup.
As the horse was going through his preparation Walter heard reports about the colt’s progress which made his eyes sparkle. He was understandably stunned when the animal finished 20 lengths last at Echuca in northern Victoria at its debut.
That night the trainer rang the part-owners advising them to sell. However instead of being disenchanted with the industry Walter, with a background which was very much attuned to overcoming difficulties and obstacles, felt challenged.
“That made me very determined to try and beat the odds with the horses by doing things my way. That’s what I’ve done ever since.”
Fortunately, as far as the disappointments the racing industry can bring, Walter is no stranger to hardship for he was born near Trieste on the Adriatic Sea as the fighting in World War II was intensifying.
“It was a dreadful time and terrifying. After the war we stayed in Trieste which is near Venice, for a few years. I finished my schooling at 14, by then I had completed the basics.
“My Dad said there was no future there because border towns weren’t much good for anything, so then because we had refugee status, he applied for visas to enter Australia, Canada and the United States.
“After all the medicals and screenings for political attitudes - because of the communism factor - we were accepted for all three countries.
“My Dad always liked the English people and he eventually decided he, my mother and myself should go to Australia.”
Soon afterwards the Alteri family, and about 1000 other refugees from the Trieste region, boarded the ship Flaminia for the month-long voyage to Australia.
After arriving at Port Melbourne in August, 1955 Walter remembers that on disembarking everyone was immediately loaded on to a train and sent to the migrant camp at Bonegilla, near Wodonga in Victoria’s north-east.
“The first stop was Benalla where there were sandwiches and tea waiting for us. Being Italians we weren’t used to eating sandwiches and we didn’t drink tea, but it was a very nice gesture and made us feel welcome in our new land.
“Anyway we arrived at Bonegilla, and for people like me it was fantastic because we’d never seen so many trees and grass and natural beauty.
We stayed at Bonegilla for about three months to recuperate from the trip, which was quite severe for the older people, although not so bad for the younger ones.
“Then, because we had paid our way the government was committed to finding work for the head of the family, and with my father being a motor mechanic he was found a job with International Harvester at Geelong.
“From Bonegilla we went to a hostel at Belmont, near Geelong.”
After staying at International Harvester for a few months the Alteri family moved to Melbourne, along with some friends from Trieste.
It was at that stage Walter was accepted as an apprentice with the respected printing company Mason, Firth and McCutcheon, which had premises in Little Collins Street. He was employed, however, on the condition that he learn English by attending night school.
“To my luck I became a very good printer - like a duck to water,” he said. “I served my apprenticeship for six years and then they made me an assistant foreman.”
As this was happening and the 1960s were beginning to unfold, he met his wife to be, Kathleen. It was what Walter describes as “love at first sight”. They were married in 1966 and have two children, Deborah and Robert.
“When we decided to get married I didn’t have a dollar to my name. I began working overtime but that wasn’t enough so I tried to find an extra part-time job after the overtime.
“I applied for a job at a restaurant washing dishes but they wouldn’t hire me, because I didn’t have any experience. By then I had about £50 and I decided to buy a printing machine, which I set up in the chook shed behind my mother’s house.
“At lunchtime I would look around for orders and at night time I’d go home and do the printing, so I could make deliveries the next day.”
With the sideline showing promise Walter and Kathleen both gave notice to their employers soon after their marriage to work together in Walter Alteri Printing, which began operations in a small factory in the suburb of Moorabbin south of Melbourne.
“We tackled the job with vigour,” Walter said, “but after a while the work dried up. It became so bad that I was contemplating going back to my old job, but anyway I received a big order from a company called Sunnybrook Icecream.
“It was huge for me in those days and kept us going.”
As the years progressed WAP began printing for major concerns including Carlton and United Breweries, Schweppes Coca-Cola, Heinz, Campbell Soups and Uncle Ben’s as well as companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
As a result of this continuing expansion Walter was employing 180 people in the 1990s and Kathleen remained an integral part of the operation handling the accounts and paying the wages.
Along the way he had also begun to gather some knowledge and to indulge himself in racing.
“I wasn’t ever a racegoer or a punter, but when my son Robert went to Brighton Grammar some of the kids would have a bet,” Walter said. “I was worried to begin with, then I thought it wasn’t too bad.
“That was the first time I heard about horses. It was after that when my interest became more serious, unexpectedly, when my general manager asked me whether I would like to buy a leg of a good racehorse for $4000.
“When it ran so badly and we had to get rid of it after just one race I couldn’t believe it. It was one of the fastest decisions I’d ever known.”
He later bought a Marscay mare named Danescay in foal to Dr Grace, but she died giving birth.
At that point Walter started believing the situation could only improve, and he was right for his fortunes began changing when he purchased a yearling by Danehill (USA) from the Marscay mare Marionique.
Racing as Lady Marion she was prepared by Flemington trainer Dean Lawson to win the SAJC Marsh Classic-Gr.2 (1600m), VATC Tristarc Plate-Gr.3 (1400m) and MVRC Stocks Stakes-Gr.3 (1600m), VATC Matron Stakes-LR (1600m) and other races.
Walter’s deeper involvement in racing and breeding came about after an abrupt transformation in his life in 1995 when he was diagnosed with a severe heart problem.
“It was discovered by sheer chance, and when I went to see the specialist he said ‘if you don’t do something quickly you’ll be gone within a few weeks’,” he recalled.
“Anyway I decided to still go to an exhibition in Europe, which I had arranged to visit, and when I came back I had an operation.
“Until then I didn’t realise what damage a major operation can do to you. All of a sudden I found myself a vegetable, and I had to again learn to walk and to think and all that sort of thing.
“I also found to my amazement how vulnerable I was and how much I had to rely on other people. So with that in my mind, when an opportunity came up I sold the business.”
That led to Walter and Kathleen seeking an alternative interest, and in 1997 they purchased the property on the Goulburn River at Seymour - now operating as Newlands Thoroughbreds - and installed Richard Kerry as manager.
“We bought 250 acres and after that another 250 acres. It was run down and we pulled all the fences out and replaced them, as well as planting new pasture.
“I had an aerial shot taken, and working to scale we planned the farm from that, implementing ideas from American Joe Taylor’s book ‘A Complete Guide to Boarding and Raising Racehorses’.
“We were very fortunate that Richard Kerry heard what we were doing and rang up, looking for the job as manager.
“He’s a very good family man who has had experience at Arrowfield and we found we had a similar philosophy, and so Richard’s been with us ever since.”
Initially Newlands was established as an agistment and boarding farm for broodmares, but after a few years Walter realised this was not as financially viable as expected.
So, as the 21st century was opening he decided to begin seeking a stallion to stand, with the result that he and his son Robert made numerous visits to Kentucky and the United Kingdom looking for a horse.
“It was easy to get a stallion, but it wasn’t easy to get the right one because they are prohibitive to buy. After a while the word got around that we were after a stallion but still nothing happened.”
Walter decided to take the initiative and at the New Zealand Premier Yearling Sale at Karaka in February, 2002 he went to $NZ800,000 for the yearling by Danehill (USA) from Tristalove by Sir Tristram with the idea of “making” his own stallion.
Named Kempinsky and a recent winner, he is in training with Mick Price at Caulfield and there is no doubting he has the breeding to suggest he can develop into a successful sire.
After scoring over 1500m at Mornington at his third outing Kempsinky produced a slashing performance to finish third behind In Top Swing and Face Value in the MRC Caulfield Guineas-Gr.1 (1600m) and Price is expecting even more from him in the autumn.
As well as being by the breed-shaping stallion Danehill, his dam is a dual Gr.1 winner who was head of the 1992-93 New Zealand Two Year Old Free Handicap and joint top filly on the 1993-94 Australasian Three Year Old Classifications.
Tristalove is from Octagonal’s half-sister Diamond Lover, who in turn is from the incredible broodmare Eight Carat.
“He is a beautiful horse and I believe he has all the credentials necessary to make a sire for Newlands,” said Walter of Kempinsky.
“Time will tell, if I’m right.”
Spending up at that sale, he also purchased a colt by Tale of the Cat (USA) from the Nureyev mare Zorina (USA), who has been named Tchaikovsky and is already stakes-placed, as well as buying a filly by Seattle Slew (USA) from the Hermitage mare Fritzy (USA), who has raced as Lady Slew.
A few weeks later a Newlands Thoroughbreds-bred filly by Flying Spur from the At Talaq (USA) mare Queen Kathleen sold for $50,000 at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. Racing as Roedean she won this year’s running of the MRC Blue Diamond Stakes-Gr.1 (1200m) at Caulfield, only to lose the event on a disqualification.
However she still has the distinction of being a genuine stakes performer along with other Newlands sales graduates in Fuji Dancer, Dane Choice and Bluewin.
Earlier this year, while Kempinsky and Tchaikovsky are being allowed every opportunity to develop and mature, Walter was made aware that the classy Hong Kong performer Jeune King Prawn was obtainable for stud duties.
An Australian-bred by Danehill from the Western Symphony (USA) mare Western Chorus (NZ), racing in the ownership of Mr and Mrs Lau Sak Hong, he had won eight and had two Gr.1 placings in his 13 races in the Special Administrative Region of China.
These featured the HKJC Champions Mile-HKGr.1 (1600m) and HKJC Futurity Trophy-Gr.3 (1600m). He had also won over 1000m in 57.20 and 1400m in 1:21.90, so Walter was immediately attracted to the prospect of standing the horse.
“It’s an interesting story,” he said. “We met this lady called Marie Yoshida-Debeusscher who is a good friend of Let’s Elope’s owner Dennis Marks.
“Anyway she called in one day on her way to visit Dennis and his wife Margaret at Euroa, and she was very impressed with our farm.
“That was that, and then out of the blue a while later Marie rang up to say Jeune King Prawn was available. He sounded just the right horse for Newlands and she suggested I, along with others who had been approached and had expressed interest, should put in a proposal for standing rights.
“I did, and within a week she rang back to say the owner was ‘very interested’ in our proposal so with that I immediately flew to Hong Kong to inspect the horse.
“I met the owner Mr Lau who took me out to lunch, and we had the biggest king prawns you have ever seen. It was the time when the Hong Kong Jockey Club was farewelling the champion Fairy King Prawn who was also raced by Mr Lau, and I tagged along with him to all the celebrations and functions - which was beautiful.
“Anyway when I was leaving he said he would think about my proposal and that I could be ‘pleasantly surprised’, but a few days later I received a fax saying they had decided to go elsewhere, which was very disappointing.
“About a week after that I received a phone call saying there had been a re-think and I was asked whether I would I like to stand Jeune King Prawn - to which I agreed and the horse left Hong Kong two days later.
“He is a lovely, intelligent horse, a genetic masterpiece and just what we wanted.”
With some time on his hands in between his thoroughbred activities, Walter has also recently displayed his ingenuity by branching out into designing paddock feed bins and having them manufactured.
Octagonal in shape the feeders are made of virgin UV-treated medium density polythene, are self-draining, and are guaranteed.
“I wasn’t happy with the ones we were using at Newlands so I decided to design my own. They are proving very popular ,and with the orders coming in all the time I’ve gone into increased production.
“Of course its only a sideline to the running of the property and to developing the horse side of things, but it’s all good therapy.”
It is also comforting for Walter that son Robert is totally immersed in the horses and will one day take the helm at Newlands.