100 years of Developing Australia

Next year marks a major milestone for Frasers Property – a centenary of developing Australia that extends all the way back to the days of T.M.Burke in 1924.


16 March 2023

Next year marks a major historical milestone for Frasers Property – a centenary of developing Australia that extends all the way back to the days of T.M Burke in 1924.

One of the first national property development companies, T.M Burke’s expansive holdings were acquired by Hooker Corporation in the middle part of the twentieth century. That business would go on to be bought by Australand in the early 1990s, eventually to be merged with global property brand Frasers Property to become Frasers Property Australia in 2015.

In those 100 years, huge swathes of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth—not to mention regional centres and towns all over the country—have been developed by these well-known names. Places like Sunshine Beach, Peregian, and the Centenary suburbs of Brisbane; Freshwater Place and Botanica Park in Melbourne’s CBD; King Street Wharf and Killarney Heights in Sydney; as well as Queens Riverside and The Maltings in Perth.

As we look to the next 100 years, our passion and vision for the ongoing development of Australia’s neighbourhoods means exploring and understanding what it takes to create stronger, smarter, happier communities that provide more opportunities for more people.

It means asking ourselves some big questions.

How can we create neighbourhoods that encourage a greater sense of belonging and social connection? How can we create more diversity of housing choice and affordability? What must we do to ensure we leave a lighter footprint on the earth? The answers aren’t always easy, and we know we can’t do it on our own. That’s why we partnered with realestate.com.au to examine the issues in their Development of Australia series.

In this information-rich, yet snack-size series, a range of experts dissect the way developments shape communities and change the makeup of our cities. Covering everything from community development, urban design and architecture to affordability, apartment living, and sustainability, The Development of Australia explores what the future holds for our streets, cities, and the nation. All 8 episodes of Development of Australia are now online and with each coming in at under 3 minutes, they’re both easy and entertaining to watch.


Episode 1: Building connection.

Episode 3: Affording the dream.

Episode 5: Reinventing apartment living.

Episode 7: The growth of green spaces.

Episode 2: How to plan a community.

Episode 4: Designing the Aussie home.

Episode 6: Building a sustainable future.

Episode 8: The lifestyle evolution.

See more articles on