Eric Thomas
Eric George Thomas was born 10th April 1911 in Fremantle, the oldest child of George and May Thomas. He passed away in Albany on 2nd July 1993. Eric married Katanning girl Joyce Butler on the 5th June 1937, at the Methodist church in Katanning. Eric and Joyce had four children; Janet, Alan, Ian and Linton.
Eric George Thomas
Alan is the only one still residing in Katanning, however the four siblings and respective partners meet once a year for a family get together. In October 2001 the family had a plaque placed in the wall in honour of their parents.
At the end of August 1925, a lad of 14 ½ joined the Katanning Stock and Trading Company as an office and shop junior for the sum of 10/- a week. Now managing director and on the verge of retirement Mr Eric Thomas recalls many of the trials and triumphs of the early days of merchandising in Katanning.
That he weathered the early days of the depression with the company is now history, but it is interesting to note that when many retrenchments were taking place he was one of the fortunate few who agreed to take reduced wages and work a four-day week to tide over the difficult years.
On his days off, Mr Thomas would travel many miles on a motorbike and sidecar selling company products at that stage included the newly acquired Ford dealership. The motorbike era survived only some 12 months before a serious accident caused him to look for safer transport. This came in the form of a company owned 1928 Ford A which he remembers with affection. Mr Thomas says that the present Ford products are probably the best vehicles he has handled in the entire Ford range, but the old Model A’s ere “very hard to beat in their type and class.”
Mr Thomas also remembers the first V engine car which for many years was synonymous with Ford. He said the first V8, Model 18, was very hard to sell in the district and only two were sold in the first year. However, the V8’s became very popular later in the 30’s.
An indication of the smoothness of the new motors was the performance of one very respected grazier of the district, who started out on a trip to Perth shortly after buying after buying one of the new V8’s early in 1936. He had been used to driving an old Dodge and it was not until he got as far as Williams that he discovered the car had a third gear. He had driven 76 miles in second.
Vehicles and machinery were in very short supply after the war and items were allocated to individual farmers who could present a deserving case. Mr Thomas recalls a farmer who was “dumped” on a war service land settlement block 15 miles east of Pingrup who had applied for and been allocated a new tractor. He had very little knowledge of farming or of handling machinery so asked Eric to drive the new tractor from the railhead to the farm, a journey of about 2 ½ hours – while he went ahead in the truck to prepare a “slap-up” tea to celebrate the new acquisition.
Toward the end of the journey, Mr Thomas came upon the truck bogged in the middle of the road and had to drive the tractor around it, in the process taking some of the boundary fencing. Arriving at the homestead just on dark, Eric found that the celebration tea consisted of boiled rabbit and blue boiler peas and no salt. Later he was allowed to the use of the sole bed in the home – a camp stretcher covered with wheat bags – while his host slept on the floor. Mr Thomas said that whenever he had occasion to visit the farm again, he made sure he took food and bedding.
Standing: Alan and Ian – Front: Linton and Janet
at the unveiling of the family plaque on the Pioneer Wall at Pioneer Park.
Milestones
Milestone’s in Mr Thomas’s career with Katanning Stock and Trading are becoming a shareholder in 1942 on the eve of his leaving for two and a half years of war service [2] with RAAF transport, and being appointed sales manager with the company on his return in 1945. He was appointed to be one of five directors in 1949, became general manager in 1954 and chairman of directors in 1972.
He is retiring to Emu Point in Albany where he intends to devote his time to his hobbies of fishing, bowls and gardening. He says, “you will probably find me down at the jetty more often than not, with former Katanning identity “Grassy” Haddleton who is now my brother-in-law”.