Gare Mouritz
With the full effect of the depression years being felt, and the motor repair business suffering severely, the directors of the Katanning Stock and Trading Co Ltd. offered to lease the garage and service station section of the business.
Gare and Mouritz was a company started by Mr Les Gare who formed a partnership with Mr Hugh Christian Mouritz and his son Mr Hugh John William Mouritz in June, 1931, to take on that lease. Each of the three partners contributed £50 making a total capital of only £150. Gare and Mouritz was servicing cars, supplying automotive parts, providing automotive engineering and had several vehicle franchises amongst other things.
Les Gare had been working with his father, Mr Frank Marshall Gare, who was the Manager of Katanning Stock & Trading Co Ltd. Mr H. C. Mouritz and his son Hughie, who had been apprenticed with H. J. and W. Mouritz, joined the Katanning Stock and Trading Co staff at the same time.
The partnership later purchased land in Clive Street from the estate of Katanning’s undertaker John Squiers in 1946 and opened their first building in 1947. In 1954 the company extended its modest workshop as the business continued to expand and prosper.
Today, the building and land is owned by the McFarland family and houses its Katanning Furnishings business.
Gare & Mouritz modernise their premises
Great Southern Herald
1 October, 1954
Styled in accordance with the latest architectural trends, the modern show rooms in Clive Street just completed for Gare and Mouritz provide a striking addition to the business premises in Katanning. Modernistic exterior design has been accompanied by soft pastel interior wall and ceiling treatments to present showroom and office facilities comparable with any similar business in either metropolitan or rural areas.
Strictly functional planning has produced a building which is not only attractive in appearance but combines showroom, office and spare parts department in such a manner as to ensure maximum working efficiency while placing all required facilities readily accessible to clients.
Provision was made when Gare and Mouritz constructed their original garage premises for the ultimate extension and provision of modern showroom facilities. Considerable care and much practical experience went into the planning of the additions just completed in order every facility should be available for clients, and complete co-ordination obtained between office, spare parts department and garage workshop.
The extensions are constructed on the northern end of the original garage and bring the building frontage right up to the footpath alignment. The main construction is of buttressed brick with a reinforced front supporting a 3 ft wide hood over the double span of plate glass show windows.
Steel trusses support the roof covering of corrugated asbestos. The ceiling is of flush-joined plasterboard. The main entrance from Clive Street is set in tapestry brick which tones well with the cream tiled stall wall on either side. Each section of show window is 22ft 6in wide by 8 ft deep and provides an uninterrupted view of vehicles and goods on display.
The trade name of Gare & Mouritz is figured in satin finished stainless steel and is set on the hood above the show windows, lending an air of distinction to the 60 ft wide building. Interior treatment has been carried out in soft pastel tonings. The ceiling colour is a light blue, while the rear wall has been finished in Peach Bloom. As a contrast, side walls remain in the natural white of hardwall plaster.
Offices and spare parts department have been placed across the full width of the building at the rear of the 2,400 square ft. showroom. Counter front and partitions have been painted in a soft blue satin finish enamel which blends delightfully with the other tonings. Dividing the offices from the spare parts department is a reinforced fireproof room which will be used to house the firm’s records.
Good lighting and effective ventilation, so essential in modern styling, have been fully provided. Ample window areas have been installed also on the western and eastern walls. The entire building is lighted by fluorescent tubes. It is a bold attempt to obtain metropolitan standards of lighting and display. The results are most gratifying and a beautifully clear and soft light shows the modem sleekness of today’s cars to the best advantage.
Vehicle access to the show rooms is gained by a large sliding door set in the eastern wall. There is also direct access between the office and garage workshop, and between spare parts department and garage. The office section provides accommodation for management, sales and clerical staff, while generous counter space is available for the public.
To cater for the comprehensive stock of spare parts and range bf accessories, the spare parts department will be well equipped with adequate bins and racks. This so essential section is maintained under the control of Mr V. Cook, an associate of the Institution of Automotive and Aeronautical Engineers, whose mechanical training will greatly assist clients in securing the correct parts with the minimum of delay. The increased area now available for the department will enable a far larger stock to be carried so providing an even better service for the increasing number of Austin and Dodge vehicles coming into the district.
ENTERPRISE HAS BACKED THE FIRM
Great Southern Herald
1 October, 1954
In the comparatively short period of time since June, 1931, and the present day, the firm of Gare and Mouritz has grown from a business capitalised at £150 to an organisation of considerable standing.
Its staff has increased from one to nineteen and its range of activities extended from the then simple servicing of cars to the current scope of automotive engineering and vehicle franchise which embraces a territory of approximately 6,000 square miles.
The rapid and considerable expansion of the firm has only been made possible through the enthusiasm and enterprise of the three partners. The senior partner of Gare and Mouritz, Mr Les Gare, received his introduction to the business world in 1920. In February of that year, he joined the staff of the Katanning Stock and Trading Co. Ltd., and served with the company for several years under the guidance of his father, Mr F. M. Gare, who was manager of the company until the time of his death in 1932.
During his early association with the Katanning Stock and Trading Co. Ltd., Mr Les Gare took an active part in the sales and service of Ford cars, trucks and tractors. He organised the first stock of Model T Ford parts to be carried in the district. In those days, spare parts, tyres and tubes were housed in a small room which measured only about 8ft by 4ft. The development of this section of the business continued steadily and the company built its present showroom and repair shop in 1926.
Mr H. C. Mouritz, who was Katanning’s mechanical wizard at that time, took charge of the repair shop. In 1924 his son Hughie had been apprenticed with H. J. and W. Mouritz, and joined the Katanning Stock and Trading Co staff at the same time as his father.
Shortly afterwards, the full effect of the depression years was felt, and the motor repair business suffered severely. The directors of the Katanning Stock and Trading Co Ltd. offered to lease the garage and service station section of the business.
Mr Les Gare formed a partnership with Mr H. C. Mouritz and his son Mr H. J. Mouritz, and they commenced trading on June 8, 1931. The business was launched with a capital account, limited to the £50 contributed by each partner, and they agreed to a weekly allowance of £3 each.
The doors were opened for business and the first customer was Mr A. H. T. Schultz, who brought in his Studebaker car.
The high-pressure service of films and fiction had nothing on the service given to that car and others which followed. Today, Gare and Mouritz still have the pleasure of servicing the vehicles of the Schultz family, and the partners are proud of their unbroken association with this and many other families throughout the district.
In 1933. Mr Mouritz Senior retired from the partnership to take up a vineyard, five miles north of Katanning, where he specialised in the growing of currants and sultanas.
Mr Vincent Cook, who had been an apprentice with the firm when it was formed, was admitted as a partner. The activities of the firm continued to expand until the outbreak of war. Then, with the staff considerably depleted and the introduction of gas producers, the servicing of motor vehicles lost all its glamour.
Six young men from the firm enlisted for service. They were Clifford Henry Kessell, Raymond Bruce Stronach, Lindsay Edmends Wells, N. DeHoghton, R. V. Marshall and Laurence Joseph Fitzgerald. Mr Bruce Stronach, a splendid young Australian, was killed in action at El Alamein on October 31, 1942. Mr Cook also was granted leave of absence from the business, and Mr Gare and Mr Mouritz carried on with the assistance of a small staff, maintaining the continuity of the business, pending the return of the other men on the cessation of hostilities.
It was during this period the firm realised the premises occupied would be insufficient to either accommodate employees returning from active service, or to properly handle the still expanding business. Agreement was reached between the partners that the firm should erect its own garage, and enquiries were made for suitable land.
In 1946, an extensive block in Clive Street was purchased from the estate late John Squires and preliminary planning commenced on the firm’s proposed premises. The new building was steel framed, with super asbestos wall and roof covering, and measured 100 ft by 60 ft. It was completed and occupied by Gare and Mouritz in 1947.
The rapid expansion of the motor trade in the years which followed proved the wisdom of the action taken by the partners. In 1947 also, Gare and Mouritz received the appointment as dealers for Winterbottom Motor Co. Ltd., for the Road Board districts of Katanning, Kojonup, Kent, Woodanilling, Broomehill and Tambellup. The franchise covered the distribution of Dodge, Austin and Albion motor vehicles, Case tractors and machinery.
The firm also accepted agencies for the Eagle Star Insurance Co. Ltd., and Southern Cross Windmill and Engine Co. Ltd., in addition to being appointed the district distributors of Cords piston rings. These various agencies, in association with the tremendously wide range of accessories carried, enables the firm to give complete service for the man on the land and for the general motoring public.
From the modest beginnings in 1931, the firm has grown to the stage where a staff of nine teen is employed in addition to the three partners. The majority of the staff were born in Katanning or the district and were trained with the firm. Their energy and loyalty have contributed largely to the success and expansion of Gare and Mouritz.
GARE & MOURITZ CONGRATULATED ON NEW PREMISES
Great Southern Herald
8 October, 1954
On Friday last, a gathering of people estimated to be between 250 and 300 attended the opening ceremony of the new showrooms erected in Clive Street by Gare and Mouritz. For the occasion, the new premises had been decorated by a lavish display of garden flowers which provided the finishing touches for showrooms already attractive with pastel interior treatment, highly polished floor and fluorescent lighting.
The formalities were opened by Mr Lea Gare who, on behalf of the partners, extended a welcome and expressed pleasure at such a splendid gathering being present. He considered the function should not be termed the opening of Gare and Mouritz showrooms, but of the Katanning showrooms as without the support given by the district the premises would not have been built.
The building of the extended premises had been made in order greater service could be rendered the public. Mr Gare also welcomed Mr C. D. Blythe, country sales manager of Winterbottom Motor Company Limited, and representatives of other firms with which the partnership had been dealing for many years. He expressed his thanks to staff members who had helped in every way with their workmanship and loyalty, and to business houses in Katanning which had always been most co-operative and helpful. Mr Gare then introduced the chairman of the Katanning Road Board, Mr S. Kemble.
Mr Kemble stated he was pleased to be associated with the function and commended Gare and Mouritz on the very fine addition to the town’s business premises. He stated when the partners had first built their garage; he had thought they had moved too far out or town. However, he had been proven wrong and it demonstrated if a firm gave service its customers would follow it.
The firm had started in a small way and had been built up by giving good service. It was pleasing to know the partners were all Katanning men. Mr Kemble expressed the opinion Katanning was one of the best towns and had some of the finest businessmen in the State.
The expansion made by Gare and Mouritz demonstrated their faith in the town, and he was pleased to be able to declare the premises open.
Winterbottom Motor Company country sales manager Mr Blythe stated it was not easy to obtain a franchise from his company. Gare and Mouritz, however, had fulfilled every requirement and the Winterbottom company was very proud of the record of the partnership. Mr Blythe said the new showrooms were a credit to the town and he considered them to be the best privately owned and unsubsidised premises in the State. He considered the showrooms a credit to any country town.
FILMS SHOWN
A film programme provided by Caltex Oil (Australia) Pty Ltd, was then screened in the garage workshop. Seating accommodation had been provided for nearly 200 visitors and the overflow stood around the sides or sat on the old display counter or on vehicles. During an intermission, supper was served after which further films, provided by Mr H. O. Wanke, were screened.
Refreshments were served immediately after the opening ceremony and the lubritorium bay had been transformed for the purpose. The hoist, covered by a trestle top; had been raised to the appropriate height and staff members were busily employed dispensing a different brand of lubricant.
Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz. Gare Mouritz.