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ReConnect Bathurst:
Clive Brabham
My father was a commercial traveller and he had always recommended Bathurst when he used to come here. He thought that Bathurst was a great town.
It wasn’t a boom town, but it was business stable.
So he and my mother opened up a hardware store in Bathurst. And in those days, there were about eight independent hardware stores in Bathurst.
There’s none now.
Of course, the Bunnings groups and all of these others put everybody out of business.
The multinationals always do the same — whether it’s supermarkets or other businesses.
I often think on our main street here, the highway that goes through town, which is Stewart Street. There used to be so many small businesses.
There would have been 8 or 10 corner stores.
And, of course, all of that is gone.
The supermarkets put them out of business.
We ended up with two hardware stores in town for quite a few years.
I left school and went straight into the family business which, in those days, a lot of kids did. And it sort of progressed from there. My father passed away in 1966. We kept the hardware stores going — my mum was a bit of an old tyrant.
I see some of the kids working these days and I often think, Jesus, if my mum was about, she’d be kicking a lot of asses.
We had established the small motor side of the business — chainsaws, pumps, motor mowers, all that sort of thing.
We were there for a few years and then I had a little bit of an altercation with a machine and chopped my arm off.
And our eldest son, who was in the motor trade, decided to come and give us a hand until I got sort of back on my feet.
And then he eventually decided to stay.
Clive shares more about how his family started a business in Bathurst:
What was your mum really particular about?
She hated people standing around doing nothing. If you had your hands in your pocket, you got a flogging.
And things like sweeping the floor, keeping things clean, all those sorts of things.
If she saw one of the staff standing around (and we didn’t have too many that would have done that), she’d be on the occasion real quick.
I did a bit of computer work when we first started to use computers in our business, but I hated them with a passion.
I couldn’t see the need to spend two or three hours staring at a screen. There are too many other things in life to do — I’d rather go fishing.
Do you have any advice for people who are thinking about working in a family business?
The only thing I could say that you need to, obviously, respect the other person. If they’ve got an opinion, even if you think it’s wrong, you probably should not say too much. You might be able to sort of get around a little bit, but just be respectful, and let things flow.
And it’s always going to be difficult because everybody’s different. There’s also the age difference, they like change, and they can adapt to change. I can’t.
I mean, there was times when business was very grim, especially when there are droughts and dry times. Our business relied a hell of a lot on the farmers. Farmers will always spend money, but when the government begins paying you to shoot your stock in the paddocks, things tighten up.
In those situations, things get really grim. It hasn’t been like that for a while, we’ve been very fortunate.
We were busy all through the pandemic, none of that made any difference.
I had a run-in with one of the machines. I lost my arm and that was a big learning curve for me.
I used to go backwards and forwards to Sydney and I’d go to these events where they’d have a whole heap of people that had a disability or something like that.
And it was so sad because some of the poor buggers were pretty badly knocked about.
And one young bloke, he was 18 years old, somebody laid him out on a railway line, one leg over one side of the line, his arm over the other.
And the train went over him, it chopped one leg and one arm off, and a couple of fingers off his other hand.
And he was 18 years old.
He’d been in a blue at a pub.
And other people like that.
It was just so sad.
If I was to give some financial advice to young families, I’d probably give them the same advice that my mum and dad gave to me.
If you want something and you’ve got the money, buy it. If you haven’t got the money, don’t buy it.
Be careful with the borrowings because there’s so much money out there borrowed, you’ve probably seen it all.
And it’s sad, because I don’t know how they’re ever gonna pay back what they owe. So if you’re half smart, you need to be watching that all the time.
I do notice that the decades are passing.
Probably more so than a lot of people because I see so many of my old customers have got a little thing in the obituary column, or I say to somebody something about so-and-so, and they’ll response, oh gee they died eight or 10 years ago.
I see that more probably than a lot of people would.
I mean, I’ve still got chidlren and their grandkids still doing business with us.
But it is a bit frightening.
Listen to Clive's thoughts on wisely managing finances:
Is there any advice that you’d give your younger self?
Do more fishing it’s so good for the soul.
This project is proudly funded through the State Government’s Local Government Social Cohesion Grant Program. ReConnect Bathurst is an And Then project delivered in partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.
Current: Clive Brabham
Next: Eddy Suttor
Uncle Bill Allen
Bev Cooney
Cheryl O’Brien
June Paton
Gus Gorton
Lonnie Edwards
Yvonne Morgan
Enn Muller
Jan Sheppard
Edgar Coello
Aunty Shirley Scott and Aunty Sandra Peckham
Mike Hardie
Frank Smith
Clive Brabham
Eddy Suttor
RECONNECT BATHURST PARTICIPANTS’ INDIVIDUAL STORYBANKS
PROJECT INFORMATION
WHEN
April – November 2022
WHERE
Bathurst, NSW
WHY
We believe that stories matter and that stories like those shared here hold power and significance.
The vision of the project is to use photo-storytelling and cultural preservation practices to develop social and creative connections and experiences with older people from the Bathurst area. This project celebrates the participants' lived experiences while encouraging dialogue around ageing, isolation and ageism.
Social-arts projects like this are important as they transform public spaces and help to build a sense of community. It’s been wonderful to reimagine Pedrottas Lane in Bathurst and to create an online representation of the physical exhibition with a project made with the community, for the community.
WHO
We were honoured to be invited by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery to create and facilitate ReConnect Bathurst.
16 older people from the Bathurst area. Many of the participants were nominated by local community organisations while others serendipitously came to be a part of the project. We’d like to thank The Bathurst Aboriginal Land Council, The Wiradjuri and Community Aboriginal Elders, The Neighbourhood Center, Bathurst Business Chamber, The Woodies, Bathurst RSL Sub Branch and the Country Women’s Association.
With special thanks to Dinawan Dyirribang (Uncle Bill Allen), Bev Cooney, Cheryl O’Brien, June Paton, Gus Gorton, Lonnie Edwards, Yvonne Morgan, Enn Muller, Frank Smith, Jan Shepard, Edgar Coello, Aunty Shirley Scott, Aunty Sandra Peckham, Mike Hardie, Clive Brabham and Eddy Suttor.
HOW
Our stories are a wonderful connection point. It’s through sharing them with each other that we make space for conversations that can inspire, that can expand our understanding and in some cases, leave us changed.
During this project, we spent time with each person, we talked, reflected on old photographs, made images together and worked through various ways of co-authoring. Socially-engaged practice empowers participants to participate in the creation of their stories, allowing them to represent themselves in the way that they choose.
We often leave a camera with participants and invite them to engage in their own image-making. There’s something raw and revealing about the images made this way, about seeing the world through the participants' eyes.
AND THEN
Through their stories, we see facets of vast lives lived. We witness the snapshots and threads that when woven together create a rich tapestry. Our hope is that as stories wash over us we’re able to make space to contemplate connection and the beauty of community.
This project is proudly funded through the State Government’s Local Government Social Cohesion Grant Program. ReConnect Bathurst is an And Then project delivered in partnership with Bathurst Regional Art Gallery.