This article is brought to you by Evan Cunningham-Dunlop, CEO and Founder of an array of
businesses, including full-service digital marketing agency Living Online, specialist SEO agency Perth
SEO Studio, national property news publication The Property Tribune, and specialist web design and
development agency Perth Website Studio (soon to be launched).
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If I had my time again, I think I would become a Space Exploration Industrialist.
A job title that doesn’t seem to exist yet, but certainly should.
Exploration and industry are in my genes. My great grandfather, Major Charles James Alexander
Cunningham-Dunlop, was a mining exploration entrepreneur of some fame. He was the first to stake
the ground in the Red Lake District of Ontario, Canada, that after his untimely death, went on to
become the Dickenson Mine; an immense resource which in the years since has produced nearly 6
million ounces of gold and silver
The Major staked this ground in 1926. The remote location and limited transportation options of the
time necessitated that the journey to Red Lake be conducted by dog sled and canoe, through rugged
and inhospitable wilderness, with temperatures threatening to drop below −35 °C. Thinking about
this voyage certainly puts any grievances about my morning vehicular commute into perspective.
Although I come from a long line of mining explorers, my individual journey has so far deviated
substantially from the family tradition. I’ve become an explorer of a different type, preferring the
opportunities afforded by the internet, where I’ve forged enterprise through new media and
technology ventures.
Since first staking the ground for Living Online 14 years ago, the business has since prospered
through our relentless focus on rapid innovation and technological adventurism. This guiding
ideology – where we enthusiastically experiment with business process improvement – also
underpins the service delivery model for Perth SEO Studio, as well as the content production
processes for The Property Tribune, and more recently the creative ideation workflow that we’re
using to craft Perth Website Studio. Across all four of these businesses, we’re reimagining our
processes to leverage the advantages made possible through artificial intelligence.
Perhaps it’s the allure of venturing into the land of the unknown that unites me with my heritage.
As platinum supporters for the 2023 futureNOW Technology Series (fnTS), my team and I are looking
forward to attending the AICCWA’s upcoming “Space – The Final Frontier” event on the 27th of July.
The keynote by Mr Uri Oron, Director General of the Israeli Space Industry, and panel discussion
featuring Mr James Yuen and Dr Newton Campbell Jr, will undoubtedly be thought provoking and
inspiring.
While Western Australia is known for its abundant natural resources and world-leading mining
industry, we also have the ingredients required to develop enterprise in other areas of business. And
this certainly includes the fast-growing space industry.
Our most important and valuable resource, is of course, our people. When energised by a vision of
future possibility, humans become tremendous problem solvers. Resilient, adaptable, creative, and
persistent – we can build greatness out of nothing.
So, while it’s true that Western Australia is blessed with a natural landscape that can nurture a
vibrant space industry, and while it’s also true that the skills we’re developing in autonomous mining
have obvious transferable applications to the space industry, we also have the enterprising human
resources required to make it happen.
It seems to me that if our ancestors could achieve greatness when faced with impossible and
daunting odds, then we can build significant industrial success where none has stood before.
Particularly when we’re so well primed for creating this future.
Should we just dare to believe.
