Reunion: Old scholar Luigi Rossi looks forward to inaugural gathering

Luigi Rossi was responsible for developing some of Adelaide’s biggest transport landmarks, including the Heysen Tunnels, the South Road Superway and the Northern Expressway. But all roads lead back to Blackfriars.

Mr Rossi (BPS’74) is among dozens of old scholars due attend Blackfriars’ inaugural 50-plus-year reunion this Friday.

“We just had very, very good years here. Always very good memories,” said Mr Rossi, who came to Blackfriars in 1969.

“I was a very reliable, steady student. At the end of the day, I mean, we all had our moments!

“But it was an honour to be selected as Prefect in my final year. So, that was the start of the leadership that has been, I suppose, the backbone of my career.

“The discipline that started at Blackfriars really has helped me throughout the years.”

Mr Rossi went on to spend almost 40 years with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, including as Executive Director, Public Transport Strategic Projects.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who made a career in construction, Mr Rossi remembered the work of former headmaster Father John Neill OP in developing the Blackfriars environment.

“I saw the school grow over the time I was here, under Fr Neill, he really took the school forward,” Mr Rossi said.

During his long tenure at Blackfriars, Fr Neill – who would also go on to officiate Mr Rossi’s wedding – oversaw significant development of the school campus, leading to him being known as “the building headmaster”.

But more than the physical environment, Mr Rossi, the son of a northern suburbs market gardener, said Blackfriars nurtured his interest in physics and mathematics – interests that would go on to shape his career.

After graduating from Blackfriars in 1974, Mr Rossi went on to study Civil Engineering.

“I’d always had an interest in building and I’d always had an interest in the Highways Department,” Mr Rossi said of his early career days.

“As a child, we were very passionate about soccer and we’d follow Juventus. We’d drive past the Highways Department every Sunday to go to watch Juventus back then, and so I was always fascinated by the Highways Department.

“So, when I got out (of university), I was able to score a position with the Highways Department, working on the Swanport Bridge at Murray Bridge … the biggest road bridge in South Australia.

“I did feel like a dream come true. It was very exciting.”

That big bridge was just the start of a big career that would see Mr Rossi linked to some of the most significant infrastructure projects in the state.

“So, I went from the bridge at Murray Bridge to road design, to planning, advanced strategic planning and then moved into materials investigation and design of pavements.

“Obviously, roads are a big issue for the department, so designing the roads and the road pavement. And then from that, I then moved, in ’86, into construction and I stayed in construction ever since, in terms of project management of major projects. Since then, I’ve done projects all over the state.”

Those projects included the Heysen Tunnels – “probably still one of my highlights of my career” – the South Road Superway and the Northern Expressway.

“You put your heart and soul into these jobs because they all affect people,” Mr Rossi said.

“You’ve got to deliver this project to the best of your ability. You’re very conscious of leaving the community an asset which they can be proud of.”

In the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Mr Rossi was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding work in developing and implementing major infrastructure projects.

That same year, he was named SA Professional Engineer of the Year by Engineers Australia.

“The accolades are really a reflection of the team, because you’re not an island,” he said. “I didn’t do it on my own. So, while I was honoured and blessed to be recognised, it was a reflection of the contribution of the whole team.”

After leaving his government job in 2016, Mr Rossi started his own consultancy business, Luigi Rossi & Associates.

Recently, he has worked with Queensland’s Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) to determine venue locations and transport logistics ahead of the 2032 Olympics.

But among the continued busyness of his day-to-day life, Mr Rossi was looking forward to taking some time out and returning to Blackfriars on Friday to catch up with friends – some of whom he had not seen for decades.

“I just really enjoyed the period of time that I was here.”

• Blackfriars 50+ Reunion, Friday 10 October, 10am-1pm. Register here.