David Gilmour

"As always, David Gilmour was essential to Munk and the Fiji project. He was doing his bit around the world and I was doing my bit at home. Without David, Fiji wouldn't have gone. My part was more the formulation and the strategy. David did the outside work; he was not a strategist. David sometimes heard more about the difficulties than I because I was more hardedge to deal with. I was very pushy and very aggressive. It was very important to me. I had really thought about every aspect of Fiji, I knew it could be done, and I was very impatient."

"One of the things Adnan Khashoggi was famous for in those days was his fabulous parties. Peter Munk suggested to his new partner that, in the interests of SPP, Khashoggi might consider holding parties in Australia and New Zealand. Agreement was enthusiastic and immediate. The first party was in Auckland, New Zealand, on the evening of Thursday, November 18, 1976. Adnan arrived in Auckland in his Boeing 727 with his companion, Laura Biancalini, while Essam Khashoggi flew in in his smaller DC9. Travelling with Adnan were Peter and Melanie Munk as well as David Gilmour and his London model friend, Jill Sweeny, all of whom were central to the Khashoggi bash at the Shoreline Cabaret, ‘Takapuna. Two hundred guests drank Australian bubbly, ate splendidly, were entertained by a Maori concert party and danced to one of the best bands on the island."