Solid Firm Positioned For Growth With Suburb
Newcastle Herald
Saturday July 15, 2006
IN January 1960, Don "Mr Mac" McIntyre bought a two-acre parcel of land in Warners Bay for #450.
Two months later, he opened a timber yard on the King Street site and with one employee, sold hardwood. Most of the business's clientele were northern European migrants buying timber to build their homes. Mr McIntyre, 80, described the business's first years as "tough", saying it took a while before he broke even. Forty-six years later, the multimillion-dollar business still stands on the same spot. Mac's Home Timber and Hardware has an extra store at Elermore Vale and has a staff of 44. Mr McIntyre, who has lived in Sweet Street, Warners Bay, since 1963, said the suburb had changed dramatically over the years. He said when he opened the business, King Street was a little-used gravel road. It is now a busy thoroughfare with two sets of traffic lights, two roundabouts, two pedestrian crossings and four lanes. "There was no Myles Avenue, Hillsborough, or a high school . . . up the hill was a pig farm," Mr McIntyre said. Mr McIntyre described Warners Bay as "the best bloody spot in the country" and said he "wouldn't want to go anywhere else". Mac's Home Timber and Hardware is featured in a book People of Warners Bay and Beyond, written by Warners Bay resident of 60 years Shirley Gleghorn. The book celebrates the history of founding families and businesses. Other businesses featured in the book include Cowan Manufacturing and Thermaline Pty Ltd, which designed the ring of fire featured in the 2000 Sydney Olympics opening ceremony. The book will be launched today at Warners Bay Performing Arts Centre at 10.30am.
© 2006 Newcastle Herald