Our Early History
Tom McArthur had an active interest in plants and reptiles from early childhood. At age 17 he joined the British Army and was posted to Malaya for two and a half years. This posting regularly took him into the jungle on patrols. As part of his basic survival training he was told to observe monkeys, as humans can survive by eating and drinking the same plants and plant extracts. This led him to an interesting observation; one day he watched a monkey carefully selecting various leaves and berries, chewing those it had selected, spitting the resulting mixture into its hands and rubbing it onto the back of an injured baby monkey. Tom also learnt from the local villagers about their use of fruits and vegetables for cooking and medicinal purposes. These early experiences kindled an interest in the healing properties of natural products. During his time in Malaya, he experimented with the use of various fruits and vegetables on his own body, to good effect. Tom discovered that pawpaws were particularly effective in preventing fungal infections of the feet, which were a major problem for his unit, as he and his fellow platoon members often spent up to 14 days in the jungle without taking their boots off.
Tom left the Army soon after returning to England and in 1969 he and his wife Lynda emigrated to Australia. He continued his experimentation with fruits and vegetables in an attempt to unlock what he considered to be their natural healing powers over the ensuing years, many of which were spent working in the mining industry. Tom’s career culminated with 12 months at a copper mine in Myanmar (Burma), during which time he was able to further his botanical education from the villagers living in the remote location of the mine.
The McArthurs left Myanmar in 1999 and retired to Hervey Bay in Queensland, where they opened a cafe. After establishing the new business, Tom set about a serious program to develop medicinal and cosmetic products from fruits and vegetables. By 2001 he had finalised the OPAL process.
Tom believed that the process and the products derived from its application had significant commercial potential. He realised that he needed assistance to bring these therapeutic and cosmetic products to the marketplace. In September 2001, he approached Mark Richardson, a former colleague from his mining days and someone whom Tom believed had the appropriate business skills to manage the commercialisation of the OPAL products. After 9 months of research and discussion with Tom, Mark agreed to commit to that challenge. The first step was the creation of Phoenix Eagle Company Pty Ltd in June 2002; very shortly after that the provisional patent application protecting the OPAL process and the products created by the process was filed. Tom assigned the intellectual property he had created and any future intellectual property relating to natural products that he might create to Phoenix Eagle, in return for shares in the Company.
The name Phoenix Eagle was derived from Lynda’s suggestion of Phoenix (rejuvenation) and Mark’s suggestion to combine it with Eagle, as it was at Eagle Mining’s Nimary gold mine where Tom and Mark first worked together from 1995 to 1997.
Sadly, Lynda passed away in July 2010 after a short illness. Tom no longer retains an active role in Phoenix Eagle. He does however remain the largest shareholder in the Company.