Our
History
Poverty. Prosperity. Philanthropy.
Perron Group’s story is one of determination, enterprise and an enduring belief that success carries a responsibility to help those in need.
It begins in Western Australia’s Goldfields during the Great Depression, where Lloyd Stanley “Stan” Perron AC (1922–2018) grew up in modest conditions and resolved to build a better life for himself and his family.
Stan showed his entrepreneurial spirit from an early age, living in remote mining communities where he made and sold wooden fretwork to help support his family’s meagre income.
Despite limited access to formal education, he demonstrated strong academic ability but chose practical experience over further schooling, turning down an offer to attend one of Perth’s most prestigious schools in favour of work. Leaving his Goldfields school at just 14, he entered the workforce with relentless energy, ambition and a willingness to seize opportunity. With a sharp mind for numbers, he supplemented his income working as a bookies’ clerk at local horse racing tracks.
“We lived in a little hessian house, which was whitewashed and had no water, no light, a bare floor … it was a pretty rugged life.”
Stan Perron
Building the Foundations
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, Stan relocated to Darwin to take up a bookkeeping role. While there, he also worked in his brother’s plumbing business and took joint ownership of a truck — his first step into civil contracting.
Following the bombing of Darwin in 1942, Stan returned to Western Australia. After the war, he and his brother Keith operated two milk bars and a local taxi service. An early setback — a failed attempt to establish an ice-skating rink and cold storage business in central Perth — proved pivotal. Using the little capital they had left, the brothers purchased a second-hand bulldozer and surplus military equipment, repurposing it to clear land for farming and housing development.
By the early 1960s, Perron Brothers Earthmoving was solely owned and operated by Stan and had become Western Australia’s leading civil works contractor. The business benefited from the State’s post-war growth, contributing to many of Western Australia’s most significant civil and infrastructure projects — from dams and refineries to land subdivisions and agricultural development — laying strong foundations for future growth.
Pioneering Enterprise
Earthmoving naturally led to mining, with Perron Brothers supplying equipment to early operations across Western Australia. Stan Perron was a pioneer in ilmenite mining in the State’s south and tantalite mining in the Pilbara.
“And that £500 investment established us with $30 million a year.”
Stan Perron
His remarkable instinct for opportunity was most clearly demonstrated in the late 1950s, when he agreed to provide modest funding to enable mining entrepreneurs Lang Hancock and Peter Wright to peg iron ore leases in the Hamersley Ranges. An investment of just £500 secured rights to 15 per cent of royalties from all future mining on those leases — a decision that would ultimately translate into hundreds of millions of dollars over subsequent decades.
Defying Convention: Toyota WA
In the early 1960s, following the sale of Perron Brothers Earthmoving, Stan turned his attention to two new ventures — property and motor vehicles.
“Stan said: ‘They’ve offered me the Toyota agency for Western Australia. What do you think?’ And I said, ‘Oh Stan, you’d be absolutely mad to take that on …”
Advice from a friend in 1962
Against the advice of close friends and business associates, he accepted the rights to import and distribute vehicles from an unknown Japanese manufacturer: Toyota.
History proved otherwise. From selling just 293 vehicles in its first six months, Toyota WA flourished alongside Toyota’s rise to global automotive leadership. Today, Toyota WA distributes approximately one in every four new vehicles sold in Western Australia.
A Lasting Property Portfolio
Alongside Toyota WA, Stan Perron quietly built what would become one of Australia’s largest privately held property portfolios — beginning with land acquisitions along Perth’s Great Eastern Highway and expanding into landmark hotels, office towers, land developments and major retail shopping centres across Australia.
This disciplined, long-term approach to property investment became a cornerstone of Perron Group’s prosperity and stability.
From Success to Stewardship
Stan Perron was never motivated by personal extravagance. Shaped by childhood hardship, he believed deeply that those fortunate enough to succeed had a responsibility to help others. This conviction was reinforced through his lifetime involvement with Rotary and its guiding principle of service above self, which helped shape his approach to giving.
That belief ultimately led to the establishment of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation in 1978, creating a formal and enduring structure for his philanthropy.
Following Stan Perron’s passing in 2018, Perron Group held net assets of approximately $4.5 billion. In accordance with his wishes, the Group was restructured to operate as a permanent endowment for the Foundation — ensuring that business success would continue to benefit others, particularly children and families experiencing disadvantage.
A Legacy of Giving
Today, Perron Group continues to operate with the principles that guided its founder: integrity, discipline and responsibility. Stan Perron’s decision to use his success to improve the lives of others has since resulted in more than one billion dollars committed to community organisations, charities, health and medical research, and initiatives supporting Western Australian children and families in need.
Following her father’s passing, Elizabeth Perron AM became Executive Chair of the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, overseeing its governance and the assessment of hundreds of charitable requests each year.
“It is the sincere hope of the Foundation’s Board and staff that our strategic direction will continue to build upon my dad’s legacy of giving and help guide the Foundation’s philanthropic work for many years to come.”
Elizabeth Perron AM
Continuing the Story…
Perron Group’s story continues through the opportunities and impact that business success makes possible.
Operating as a permanent endowment for the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, the Group ensures the value created through its activities continues to support charitable giving well into the future.
What began as one man’s determination to build a better life has become a lasting commitment to helping others do the same. Guided by strong values and a long-term outlook, Perron Group continues to honour Stan Perron’s belief that true success is measured not only by what is achieved, but by the difference it makes — today and for generations to come.