Gerald Morton Shirtcliff[1] (born 1947) is a New Zealand convicted fraudster who supervised the construction of the CTV Building in the 1980s. This building collapsed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, killing 115. Whilst working for this company he identified with the name Will Fisher, which was an identity Shirtcliff stole from a former colleague.
Early life and education
editGerald Morton Shirtcliff was born in Wellington in 1945.[9] He was the third child in his family, as the first son. His father, Morton Shirtcliff, was a busniess executive, and was the manager of Shell Oil for the South Island at the end of his career. Shirtcliff attended Rongotai College, where he neither thrived nor did poorly academically. He left the college to work for a bank in Wellington, and later an insurance company. According to The Press, his coworkers of the time have said that Shirtcliff had a tendency to lie. He also became a bandsman in the Territorial Army and played the trumpet or clarinet.[2]
Need to move some of this to career
Career
editShirtcliff's early jobs did not work out for him, so he got a commercial pilot's licence at Wanganui Flying School, and was taught by his father. His father thought that overseas experience might be a good idea, and organised a job for him in South Africa. He worked there, at an engineering consultancy in Pretoria (Van Niekerk, Klein and Edwards, now as VKE), from 1968 to 1969 as a junior technician.[2][10] According to an associate of the time, Niek Diedericks, Shirtcliff told him that he was avoiding the draft for the Vietnam War, despite New Zealand not having one. Shirtcliff later left the company, which according to Diedericks, was because Shirtcliff allegedly forged a signature on a cheque and cashed it in.[2]
Shirtcliff moved to Sydney in late 1969, and according to Stuff, stole the identity of a former colleague in South Africa.[10] He stole the identity of the English engineer William Anthony Fisher, taking his birthplace, birthdate, and his Bachelor of Engineering from University of Sheffield. Using this degree, he applied for entrance to a masters programme at the University of New South Wales in 1971, and was given the Master of Engineerging Science in Highway Engineering in 1974.[9] The Press wrote in 2012 that "It is understood Shirtcliff was assisted in his thesis by his [father]."[11] In 1972 he applied to join the Australian Institute of Engineers.[9] After working for some time in the Sydney engineering company MacDonald, Wagner and Priddle (now named Aurecon), he moved back to New Zealand in the mid-1980s, describing himself as a "registered" engineer, and at one point "chartered".[9][2]
After moving back to New Zealand in the 1980s, Shirtcliff and Murray Cresswell, a commercial pilot he met at Christchurch Airport, decided to start a regional airline, Goldfields Air, which failed in 1986 after disagreements between Shirtcliff and Cresswell.[2]
In 2005, in attempt to sell a failing vehicle-service franchise, Shirtcliff provided Queenstown buyers with fake GST tax returns, making the business appear to be doing well.[10][9][12] As a result, the buyers lost about $300,000.[9][2] Consequently, Shirtcliff was convicted of tax fraud in 2005 and spent 20 months in prison. In Brisbane jail, Shirtcliff insisted that his name was Will Fisher for a week until admitting that his name is Gerald Shirtcliff.[10][9]
According to an investigation by Stuff's Martin van Beynen, Shirtcliff has spent most of his working life in Australia, and briefly worked in South Africa in the late 1960s.[10]
Shirtcliff has worked on the Kingsgate hotel in Kings Cross Centre in Sydney, mining, power stations, and the 80-metre tall flagpole on Parliament House in Canberra. Investigations have found that these structures have no issues.[10]
CTV Building
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In 1986 Shirtcliff started working for Williams Construction, which was building the CTV Building in Christchurch, the headquarters of Canterbury Television. There he was the construction manager to supervise the building during its construction in 1986–87.[9] His job there was to make sure the building "was built to comply with drawings and calculations".[13] The building collapsed in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, killing 115 people.[9][2] Shirtcliff said that he visited the construction site once a month "at most", while his boss thought Shirtcliff visited the site daily.[14] Shirtcliff's superior, Michael Brooks, has described Shirtcliff's work as disappointing, saying, "He just wasn't up to the job, it's as simple as that".[14][15] He was later fired from the construction company (better clarify that this was in the 1980s).[10] According to Brooks, who left before Shirtcliff left, Shirtcliff did not leave due to "technical incompetence".[14]
Allegations and investigations
editSome time in 2012 during the Royal Commission of Inquiry of the CTV Building, Shirtcliff refused to give evidence, which is when Shirtcliff first made the headlines.[12] Living in Australia during the time, he initially only communicated with investigators via email.[16] He later participated in the royal inquiry on 8 August through a video conversation with the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission which was investigating the collapse of the building where he was located in Brisbane.[13][17][18] Commission lawyers accused Shirtcliff of claiming that he had lower responsibility in the buildings construction than what he had.[12]
In 2009 Shirtcliff became a contractor for WorleyParsons, a Brisbane engineering consultancy company. After Fairfax provided WorleyParsons with their investigation, WorleyParsons terminated Shirtcliff and started investigating him. Shortly afterwards, Shirtcliff started contracting for Segman, another Brisbane engineering company. Sedgman also terminated Shirtcliff after hearing the allegations made against Shirtcliff. Engineers Australia and the University of New South Wales also started investigating him.[9] Engineers Australia came to the conclusion that Shirtcliff had stolen the identity of Fisher in October 2012,[12] and he was removed as a member from the organisation.[19] The University later also Shirtcliff of his degree (article is November 2012. I'm not sure if this is the month the degree was stripped).[12][11]
Something about Shirtcliff being investigated by police in Australia and New Zealand starting in October 2012.[18][6]
Featured on 60 Minutes in 2012.[18]
Royal Commission report about the CTV building released on 12 November 2012. Need to read about this.[20]
Something about being extradited.[10][17]
Something about a company Union Construction Ltd...[14][16]
(Possibly useful???) :: Threatened to sue Stuff (then known as Fairfax) if the company's allegations about him were published.[9] Also threatened The Press.[2] Note: The Press is half owned by Stuff so they may be referring to the same company
Other stuff to be organised
editIn 2014 Shirtcliff was fined $500,000 after pleading guilty to 146 charges brought by the Queensland Board of Professional Engineers in Magistrates Court. The charges were about making false or misleading statements, and working as an unqualified engineer.[10]
Still working in mid-60s.[2]
Personal life
editLives in Australia as of 2021[update].[10]
2012: "Spacious" Brisbane home and a $200,000 motor launch. "lived in Australia ... for more than 25 years".[9]
2012 something about saying that he lived in Australia with the name "Fisher" due to "family issues" lasting 40 years.[20][21] He said it was due to abuse from his father,[2] which was denied by his family.[11]
The Press described his house in 2012 as "spacious and comfortable". Coast of Cleveland, Australia, in 2012.[2]
He has a wife, Julie, and grandchildren. He met his wife around the 1970s in Australia when they both worked for MacDonald, Wagner and Priddle.[2]
Real Will Fisher
editWill Fisher was born in Hong Kong in 1946, and got his Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1967 at Sheffield University, and became a chartered engineer in 1974 in London. Fisher described Shirtcliff, from when they worked together in South Africa in the 1960s, as colourful, a bit mysterious, and as a person who told a lot of stories.[2] The two flatted together for about six to eight months. Fisher moved to England in 1969 to get married, and lost contact with Shirtcliff.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Bayer, Kurt (29 September 2012). "Quake building fraudster 'stole my idea'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "CTV builder's lies exposed". The Press. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024 – via PressReader.
- ^ Atfield, Cameron (10 August 2014). "Fake engineer worked on Queensland projects". Stuff. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Police: No case against CTV man". NZ Herald. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "How a fraudster engineered his past". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Timeline: CTV building collapse". RNZ. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Beynen, Martin Van (28 June 2012). "Builder rides out quake commission by the bay". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ "Fake engineer fined $500,000". RNZ. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Beynen, Martin Van (14 September 2012). "Fake engineer and a deadly building". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wright, Michael (16 February 2021). "Collapse: Revisiting the odd case of Gerald Shirtcliff, the fake CTV engineer". Stuff. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b c van Beynen, Martin (27 November 2012). "Fake engineer's qualification stripped". The Press. Retrieved 24 May 2024 – via Stuff.
- ^ a b c d e Bayer, Kurt (27 November 2012). "CTV fraudster has degree revoked". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b Bayer, Kurt (8 August 2012). "CTV construction manager not 'up to the job'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d Bayer, Kurt (21 September 2012). "CTV fraudster could be investigated". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "Commission hears CTV construction manager not 'up to job'". RNZ. 8 August 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b Wright, Michael (25 June 2012). "Survivor describes CTV collapse". The Press. Retrieved 23 April 2024 – via Stuff.
- ^ a b "Commission should consider Shirtcliff allegations - MP". RNZ. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "Shirtcliff linked to other building projects". RNZ. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Van Beynen, Martin (27 November 2012). "Fake engineer's qualification stripped". Stuff. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b Bayer, Kurt (21 September 2012). "CTV fraudster could be investigated". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
- ^ "CTV fraudster to be investigated". Otago Daily Times Online News. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2024.