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Portrait of Tim Fairfax

Tim Fairfax

b. 1946

Australian philanthropist

Pastoral farmingPhilanthropist
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About Tim Fairfax

Born 1946. Tim Fairfax is a pastoral farming and philanthropist.

Timothy Vincent Fairfax is an Australian philanthropist, pastoralist and a member of the Fairfax family. He leads a charitable foundation called the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, created in 2008.

Biography Throughout his life, Fairfax has served in a variety of roles within a large number of organisations. This includes serving as president of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation, deputy chairman of the National Gallery of Australia, director of the Foundation of Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), council member of Australia Philanthropic Services, chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, deputy chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast and chairman of the University of the Sunshine Coast Foundation.

In 2008, Fairfax founded the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation in a bid to support people in rural and remote communities throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Fairfax revealed in 2014 that he believes he suffered from undiagnosed mental health issues in the early 1970s during a downturn in the cattle market and was using that experience to encourage people in remote areas to access funding, made available by his foundation for a program run by the FRRR, to help their mental wellbeing during difficult times.

In 2012, he was appointed chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology,

In 2017 he spoke at the second annual Queensland Philanthropy Showcase, encouraging arts philanthropy.

As a fifth generation member of the Fairfax family, Fairfax is a great-great-grandson of John Fairfax, and until 2008 was a shareholder in Fairfax Media. His grandmother was Ruth Fairfax, the inaugural president of the Queensland Country Women's Association.

Honours Fairfax received the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Leadership Award in 2011.

In the 2014 Australia Day Honours Fairfax was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia.

He was a national finalist in the Senior Australian of the Year category at the 2016 Australian of the Year awards but lost to Professor Gordian Fulde.

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Important facts

Born
1946
Birth century
Occupation
Pastoral farming, Philanthropist
Awards
Companion of the Order of Australia
Also known as
Timothy Vincent Fairfax

Family & relationships

Spouse
Gina Fairfax

People in Tim Fairfax's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Tim Fairfax's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tim Fairfax?

Australian philanthropist

When was Tim Fairfax born?

Tim Fairfax was born in 1946.

What is Tim Fairfax's occupation?

Tim Fairfax is a pastoral farming and philanthropist.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Tim Fairfax

· Wikidata: Q50379449

· DBpedia: Tim Fairfax

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tim Fairfax. https://biography.guide/tim-fairfax/

MLA: "Tim Fairfax." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tim-fairfax/.

Chicago: "Tim Fairfax." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tim-fairfax/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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