By Dongyun Kwon
The founder of Stones of the Yarra Valley, Steve Frazer, died on Monday 25 March, at the age of 68.
His family, employees and the wider community are saddened by the unexpected death.
Steve’s eldest son David said his dad passed away from a heart attack.
“It was completely unexpected,” he said.
“It was a real sudden awful shock for everyone, he hadn’t had any health issues whatsoever and so that’s why the impact of his loss is felt so dramatically.
“He built an extraordinary business and his legacy will be felt for many many years.”
Steve and his wife Vonnie started the business in 2006 with a vision to create a wedding venue in Coldstream.
“The initial idea was a women’s chapel, there wasn’t a chapel in the Yarra Valley and nondenominational space anywhere that couples could get married, there were certain churches, but there weren’t for people who were not religious and wanted to have a lovely ceremony,” the son said.
“The idea started from that and then over the course of discussions, the team decided that not just build a chapel on the site but build a reception space as well somewhere can hold a function for up to 200 people.
“They went on and restored the old red brick stables at Stones and created a dining experience. Then, they went on to build the Meletos Cafe and the Farmhouse Hotel and it continued to grow opening No.7 Healesville which is a one-hatted restaurant.”
David said his dad was unstoppable.
“He kept building things and one of his great strengths was that he would just continue to come up with ideas and waste it over the things he wanted to do,” he said.
“There were a lot of ideas that had become unrealised but what he did and achieved over the course of his 68 years is quite extraordinary.”
Steve loved Yarra Valley during his lifetime.
His son said his family grew up in Yarra Valley as a family after they came out from Melbourne in the early 90s.
“There was a huge part of the community out there and a lot of philanthropic works which are my favourites,” David said.
“We supported the fundraising activity after the Black Saturday bushfires, nursed the business through the pandemic and tried to support employees.
“Yarra Valley is very special to Steve, Vonnie and my family. My brother still lives in Healesville.”
The business owner spent about 20 years in sports management and events before he opened his own business.
He started off his career as a tour manager and then went on to start to work in sports, managing international golfers and tennis players.
“He was heavily involved in basketball for quite a while and then went on to produce some very significant sporting events,” David said.
“He ran a motorsport team called Advantage Racing with a race car driver Peter Brock.
“He left that industry in 2001.”
The son remembered his dad as his “rock” who was a source of enormous strength for him and his siblings.
“He was enormously supportive of my career. I’m a festival promoter and he was incredibly proud of his three boys and what we’ve achieved,” the son said.
“He had a wonderful sense of humour and he was incredibly driven, a genuinely kind man and someone who cared deeply about the world around him.
“He’s left us in a wonderful position and we just want to support mum and each other and staff out there and get through this really challenging time.”
