Australian Dictionary of Biography

Stanley Frederick Utz (1898-1974), sharebroker, businessman and Liberal Party official, was born on 17 May 1898 in Sydney, eighth child of John Frederick Utz, a storekeeper from Germany, and his native-born wife Ellen, née Bruhn. John had established the Sunlight Flour Mill at Glen Innes in 1881 and was mayor of the municipality in 1883. Stan was educated at Sydney Grammar School. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 28 October 1918, shortly before the Armistice, and was discharged on 11 March 1919. Over the next eight years he worked his way up to become manager of MacRae Knitting Mills Ltd.

Turning to stockbroking, Utz went into partnership with L. G. I. Bode, son of his old schoolmaster. Utz & Bode began trading in 1927. After Sam Hordern joined the partnership in 1938, Hordern, Utz & Bode developed into one of Sydney's leading stockbroking firms. Utz travelled extensively and established worldwide contacts. At the Congregational Church, Pitt Street, Sydney, on 19 September 1935 he married Janet Cuthbertson Saxton (d.1952).

From the 1930s Utz was a director of various tin-mining and dredging operations in Siam (Thailand) and Malaya, including Burma-Malay Tin Ltd, until local interests bought out the Australian and other foreign shareholders in the early 1950s. A founder and councillor of the State branch of the Institute of Directors in Australia, Utz chaired several companies in the 1960s, among them Babcock & Wilcox Australia Ltd, Hannam's Pty Ltd and Wright Heaton & Co. Ltd. He was also a director of Bailey Meters & Controls Pty Ltd. In 1967, with the Rothschilds, he helped to establish the investment and merchant banking house International Pacific Corporation Ltd, of which he was a foundation director.

As Federal treasurer (1956-62) of the Liberal Party of Australia, Utz used his wide-ranging business connexions to raise money for the party, particularly during Federal election campaigns. Involved in various charities, he served (1967-73) on the New South Wales State Cancer Council, and, privately, gave generously to cancer research. He belonged to the Australian, American National and New South Wales clubs, the Sydney Cricket Ground, and the Australian Jockey, Australian Golf and Elanora Country clubs.

A keen golfer, Utz often brought his own gardener with him when he played at Elanora. While he was on the links, the gardener changed the flowerbeds to ensure that the borders were colourful—all at Utz's expense. In 1964 Utz presented Elanora with the gateway which now forms a striking entrance to the club. A plaque was later placed on one of the pillars in memory of his generosity. In later life he lived with his two sisters at Bellevue Hill and remained active on the Sydney Stock Exchange. He died on 6 May 1974 at St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, and was cremated with Anglican rites. Childless, he left the bulk of his estate, sworn for probate at $725,706, to the State Cancer Council.