There are few people who have had such an influence on Melbourne as David Marriner.

He put his money where his mouth was when Melbourne was tired, dirty and broke. It was a time when then-premier Jeff Kennett described it as a rust bucket. Without Marriner, it is possible much of our theatre culture would have been lost.

He rebuilt and renovated the Princess, Forum and Comedy theatres and saved the Regent that was closed in 1970 and spent 25 years as a Melbourne embarrassment, locked, dilapidated and a home for rats.

He also built the adjacent Westin Hotel on what was another embarrassment that was the City Square, inhabited back then by drug dealers and bewildered backpackers.

David and his wife, Elaine, have lived in the city for 27 years. It is no longer the Melbourne they remember.

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