DRESSED in a navy shirt, beige pants and sporting a black bush hat with matching sunglasses, it was easy to see how Paul Chambers had been able to endear himself to his adopted country.
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Mr Chambers has spent the better part of the last 30 years living in Arizona cultivating his business, Australian Outback Plantation.
The former Albury resident is the largest provider of eucalyptus leaves for zoos across America, including the San Diego Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanic Garden.
His is quite a story – and it all starts at the old Hume Weir racetrack.
“Initially I had nursery here in Albury in the early 70s, but after a while there wasn’t room for the three or four nurseries that were here at the time,” Mr Chambers said.
“On the weekends I spent my time racing with Frank Gardner, Allan Grice and Jim Richards, I was a weekend warrior.
“I was a director of the Hume Weir track, along with Brad Jones’ dad.
“Through that I learnt how to build Formula cars.”
When a change of government brought Malcolm Fraser to power, the wily entrepreneur decided it was time for a change of scenery.
He decided to drop everything, sold his nursery and went to Indiana for the Indianapolis 500.
“I flew to San Francisco, took an auto driveaway where you drive someone else’s car across the country for them, and went to Indiana,” he said.
Mr Chambers then bumped into Australian driver Vern Schuppan, and eventually wound up working for the team that finished third.
That led him to a job for a team based in Phoenix.
“As I was driving to Phoenix I saw a couple of big eucalyptus trees off in the distance,” Mr Chambers said.
“We went back to the Indy 500 the next year, but by that time immigration caught up to me, you’re a tourist and it’s time to go.
“The fella I was working for, bob Fletcher, owned these large citrus orchards in Phoenix.
“He said if you want to stay in the country I’ll sponsor you, and he gave me a bit of property behind his orchard.”
Bringing back a suitcase full of Australian seeds on his return to the U.S., Mr Chambers eventually turned that small piece of property into the largest plantation of eucalyptus and other Australian plants outside of Australia.
It's a story almost too good to be true – and Mr Chambers says he's never had bad day in business in the States.
“I've been able to create my own special niche, starting off as a backyard horticulturalist with a love of racing,” he said.
