Simon White: Going with the flow

‘I could just sit and look out at that water all day long,’ Simon White enthuses. As managing director of Waternish, you could be forgiven for thinking he’s talking about another project completed by his water logistics company. But instead, it’s the ocean views from his Middleton home, which he shares with wife Kate White, that have captured his attention.

WHO WE ARE: Simon White Going with the flow

Story by Sam Marchetti. Photograph by Jason Porter.

While Waternish is now based a fortyminute drive away from Middleton in Lonsdale, its origins are much closer to home. After returning from World War I, Simon’s grandfather took up dairy farming on top of a hill in Victor Harbor.

‘It was called Waternish and it’s where my mum and uncle grew up,’ explains Simon. The farm is no longer in the family, but when Simon’s uncle, Lynn Fuller, started his own maintenance business in 1996, he sentimentally named it after the old family home.

Growing up in Sheidow Park, Simon learnt a ‘good work ethic’ from Lynn, labouring for him from an early age. Lynn and Simon’s dad worked full-time jobs, while also moonlighting together on the weekends working on extensions. Simon began joining them from around age ten. Under Lynn’s leadership, Waternish’s business and reputation grew, expanding from a maintenance business into opportunities to undertake larger projects for SA Water.

Simon attended the University of Adelaide, planning to gain experience away from the family business once he graduated. However in 2006, Lynn became unwell and Simon, aged just twentyfour, took over the running of Waternish. He describes their core business simply: making water run uphill and dirty water clean, but this explanation belies the complexity involved in their work.

‘We’re always looking to the future,’ he says. ‘As regional towns grow, so do our planning and delivery phases for the wastewater requirements they will need. We also focus on expanding and refurbishing existing water treatment plants to make them more sustainable by incorporating new and more efficient technologies, which also have an impact on cost effectiveness.’ Simon is also invested in exploring the use of hydrogen as a renewable energy, saying, ‘It’s an opportunity to diversify while still working with water and being involved in an emerging industry in South Australia.’ Simon and his team have delivered water design and construction projects nationally, while also focusing on long-term program partnerships in South Australia. The business now employs a dedicated team of over forty including labourers, engineers and management staff, all as integral to Waternish’s success as each other. ‘Our engineering director, Kevin Yerrell, has worked with Waternish for about eleven years now, after he and Lynn met when Lynn built Kevin’s home for him,’ says Simon. ‘My mum helped Lynn with the bookkeeping in the early days of the business and is still involved today. It’s important to me that we not only have a successful and sustainable business but also a fulfilling work environment for our people.’

Evidence of this commitment is obvious when you arrive at the Waternish facilities; there’s not only a staff vegetable patch, but also a large mural of Lynn – their founder and ongoing inspiration – painted by local Indigenous artist Thomas Readett. They plan to add another four murals to the site, each painted by a different artist. Continuing their support for the arts, Waternish now sponsor the resident artist program at the State Theatre Company South Australia and have renewed their support for the Adelaide Festival in 2022. They’re also involved with Mates in Construction, an organisation committed to raising the standard of mental health and wellbeing in the construction industry.

Describing these community commitments, Simon’s passion for the business is obvious. ‘I’ve made a lot of friends through Waternish and being a medium-sized family business, there are certain flexibilities and freedoms my job offers that wouldn’t be available in another role,’ he says. With Simon at the helm of this socially-minded local business, success keeps flowing.