Howard draper not retiring yet

ICONIC Howard retailer Trevor Whitby plans to do it his way when it comes to retirement after 52 years behind the counter.

Trevor Whitby is Howard’s longest-serving retailer. . Picture: Toni McRae

ICONIC Howard retailer Trevor Whitby plans to do it his way when it comes to retirement after 52 years behind the counter.

“I can’t see myself retiring any time soon,” the proprietor of the crammed, quaint and legendary Van Cooten’s Drapery told the Chronicle yesterday.

“My wife, Ivy, wants me to leave work behind but I still enjoy the trade so much and we have no children so I can’t see myself going, just yet anyway.”

Mr Whitby’s is a remarkable success story. He was born in Maryborough Hospital 67 years ago but never left Howard after that, except to travel overseas and latterly set up a beach house with Ivy in Toogoom.

“My dad, Charles, was born in Howard and my mother, also Ivy, came there from Gympie when she was young.

“We lived at 38 Watkins Street, not far from Australia’s first prime minister, Andrew Fraser’s home. Both houses are still there.

“I went to Howard primary school.”

Trevor began working in Van Cooten’s Drapery when he was 15. He bought it 35 years ago and in between also worked in the hardware and grocery store along the road in Steley Street – which he now also owns.

“Then a few years back we renovated the Old Bakehouse and turned that into a full-on fabric store.”

Today he is arguably the best known draper in Australia.

“Ivy and I do craft and patchwork shows all over Qld; we’ve done about six in recent weeks and there’s another this weekend. So we meet hundreds of people and many of them come into Howard to visit our shop.

“We do rely heavily on the tourist trade here.”

Trevor knows how to please his customers. When they book in and arrive in busloads he usually serves them morning tea or lunch on the grass beside the shop.

“I believe in the personal touch whenever I can because having lived all my life in Howard and spending half a century here in the store I feel very bonded to the business.”

He says he thought he might have to leave town when the powerhouse and the mines shut down but tourists seeking out the quaint old store got him and Ivy through.

“Howard is friendly and so accessible. Land has gone from zero value to real value now. We have a new respite centre being built along the road, the Tilt Train stops at the station and local businesses do quite well, including ours of course.

“If I do retire we’ll probably move into Toogoom but that’s still close enough to Howard to keep our connection.”

Originally published as Howard draper not retiring yet