Matthew Schneider

Last week, I attended the funeral of much-loved Gold Coast son Matthew Schneider, where over 2,000 people from his family, his church community and the Gold Coast community gathered at the Apostolic Church of Queensland in Hatton Vale to mourn his passing and celebrate his life achievements. On behalf of my community, I send deepest condolences to his family—his wife, Samantha, and his three children, Maggie and twins Oliver and Louie—and to so many who loved him so very much. I’d like to honour his life by outlining his legacy.

Matthew was a lion of a man with a big heart, and he lived by the words, ‘Be kind but be fierce,’ until the very end. Matthew was a passionate town planner. He joined Urbis in 2016 and led the Urbis Gold Coast office, highly respected in his field as a visionary. As well as his role at Urbis, he was a director at Placemakers* Gold Coast and held board positions at Griffith University, the Property Council of Australia, Study Gold Coast, Bond University and Top 100 Women in Construction. Most recently, he was the president at his beloved Southport Sharks footy club. His contribution across the Gold Coast is what earned him the nickname ‘Mr Everywhere’. He was also an integral part of the City Heart Taskforce, of which I’m chair and convener. He represented the Property Council and offered insight into many areas of our economy. His company was a key partner in the Reimagine forums that we held on the Gold Coast in 2020 and 2021, which set the tone for the future of jobs, skills and industry for our region. Matthew contributed greatly to the City Heart Taskforce meetings, always with an eye to the future and with vision, passion and dedication to our city that the members collectively loved so much. Matt said:

The Gold Coast motivates me. I never expected to get passionate about the city but I accidentally fell in love with it when I moved here.

Tragically, he was diagnosed in June 2022 with stage 4 cancer that spread throughout his body. Yet, in the face of adversity, his positivity shone through, and I’ve never before witnessed such fierce bravery, grace and dignity from one so young up against such adversity, in the months leading to his passing. From the community in Moncrieff and on behalf of the City Heart Taskforce—and if I can speak from the heart of the Gold Coast—we say: Matt, you will forever be in our hearts and minds. You were taken too soon at just 39. We honour your journey and your family. Your legacy will live on across our city for generations to come. Rest in peace, our very special friend, Matty Schneider—10 October 1983 to 27 January 2023.