A year after our wedding at St Augustine’s, I was asked to assist with a fundraiser for the church.
I occupied an office in W.B. Hunter’s building; it was upstairs and, through the windows I looked over a large space, empty except for Bill Hunter’s office.
And, it was here that I got to know Bill — because, it was here people came for help.
Men who had lost their wives; how could they continue to look after their children and still hold on to their jobs?
Men who had lost their jobs and needed new opportunities.
Frequently, I saw Bill wrap his arms around men who had no hope.
More than once I needed to wipe away tears when I heard sobs.
They say we remember moments, and in this instance, I clearly remember many of them. It was 1963.
In one way or another, Bill Hunter found ways to help.
Shepparton’s gain
Bill grew up in Sydney, and then Horsham.
As a young man, he was employed by Permewan Wright as an accountant for its chain of stores.
Then there was war.
Bill served in the Middle East, New Guinea and Borneo as an artillery artificer.
He married Dorothy in December 1943.
David, Ian and Christine were their three children.
He returned to Permewan Wright, now in Shepparton — and in 1947 he began building his own business.
He had purchased the Egg Board in High St; so it began with the purchase, transportation and egg sales.
Initially, he carried goods for his own store, but later took on outside work.
Within 12 months, he moved to the Corio St site.
He delivered malt and barley to Carlton and United Breweries and a variety of freight to capital cities. Expansion followed quickly.
By the 1980s he had stores in six towns and 60 vehicles were in use.
And, by this time, children and grandchildren had become involved with managing the business, and Bill had more free time to work for the community and his beloved Lemnos Football Club.
The business continued to grow.
He was a councillor for 27 years and mayor from 1981 to 1984 and 1986 to 1988.
Bill strongly believed in good communication, between council and the community.
He was a frequent visitor to the newspaper office and, it was said, always with “a story in his pocket”.
He also worked for Community Aid Abroad and OxFam.
He was involved with state and federal politics for a while; I remember handing out ‘how to vote’ cards for him, and, at that time, I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t elected.
In 2004, he wrote that he wanted to keep our city as an undivided entity and not “degenerate into the old ward system”.
This would enable the City of Greater Shepparton to continue growth in hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, retail, agriculture and in all emerging sections.
He also wrote that our open channel system of irrigation should be progressively piped, and more use made by Goulburn River improvement.
Planning should extend into medium density housing instead of the traditional ¼ acre blocks.
Finally, he wrote, “A crematorium needs to be built to end the need for families to travel to other cities.” (From The Changing Scene 2004 — published by The Lions Club of Shepparton.)
By 2008, when Bill sold his trucking division, he had 100 trucks.
He was inducted into the National Road Transport Wall of Fame, in Alice Springs, in 2010.
“Mr Shepparton” passed away on May 25, 2012, and I’m finding it difficult to adequately explain what he did for this city — in so many ways.
However, I know I’m only one of many who remember him with respect, and gratitude. We were indeed fortunate that Bill chose us.
That’s it, for now. If you drive, take care of yourselves at the roundabouts, where some drivers fail to indicate their intentions.
And be aware of the new bumps in the streets.
Marnie
Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au
Phone: Text or call 0409 317187
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