Peter’s seen the news change

NEWS – without it we wouldn’t know what was going on in the world and for more than 40 years Peter Patrick has been bringing headlines to Gympie residents.

Peter is a Gympie man through and through. Picture: Contributed

NEWS - without it we wouldn't know what was going on in the world and for more than 40 years Peter Patrick has been bringing headlines to Gympie residents.

As I waited to interview Mr Patrick, I couldn't help but notice the chitchat between the old timer and his customers - I immediately felt like I was home.

And it is that familiarity which makes Mr Patrick so popular with generations of Gympie families.

But it is easy to forget the first chapter of his story did not begin behind the counter at Patrick's Casket and Newsagency.

"I was born in Gympie, at the Glandore Hospital," Mr Patrick said.

"We lived on top of what is now Tom Grady's, it was known as Patrick's Cafe and we used to have big weddings and receptions out the back; that's where I grew up for the first part of my life.

"Then Dad got out of that business and started another cafe at the other end of town and we used to sell fish and chips.

"It was very popular, it was through the war years and Dad had pipes pumping water up and down the glass - the fish and crabs were in the windows.

"A lot of people remember that."

Sadly, a fire left the business in ashes and a short time later, Mr Patrick took on an electrical apprenticeship.

"I was the youngest electrical inspector in Queensland at the time.

"I spent time working in Cooroy and Kenilworth and then the boss wanted me to go to Warwick but I didn't know anybody so I went to Sydney for work."

And it was a few years later he opened those newsagent doors.

"I came back to Gympie in 1965 and I ran my brother's cafe for three years.

"Then he got married and came back to Gympie and Mum said we should buy Lyon's Newsagency (now Patrick's Casket and Newsagency).

"So I bought the shop from them with Dad's help and I have been here ever since.

"On July 1st 1968 I walked into the shop for the first time."

The Mary St we know today was far different from those early years of Patrick's Newsagency.

"The bottom end of Mary St was always vibrant but the top end was very quiet," Mr Patrick said.

"There were a lot of shops down the bottom end and the farmers would come in once a week and they would get fish and chips."

For Mr Patrick, customers were not always frequent.

"It was very slow to begin with, there used to be four newsagents in Mary St," he said.

"Then we started selling a few first prizes with the caskets; we've probably sold tickets that have won millions of dollars over the years.

"The biggest amount was $500,000 and we often sell tickets that win a few thousand these days.

"I remember selling a ticket that won $30,000 to a fellow and he didn't have the phone on so I went and told him that he had won and he said 'Yes I thought I was going to win, I picked up a pin and I said my luck will be in'.

"I've been picking up pins ever since and I haven't won anything."

As business picked up, there were other battles to be faced.

In the year 2000, flames engulfed Patrick's Newsagency.

"The police rang me on New Year's Day," he said.

"It was devastating, it rocked the hell out of me; I had stuff stored upstairs and it all went up in smoke.

"I took three months to get back into action again and many of our customers drifted away."

Yet despite the tough years, Mr Patrick has continued to keep selling newspapers, fulfil magazine subscriptions and organise school supplies.

Technology has brought the biggest changes to business and today his daughter, Eleni, is by his side to help.

Now customers can even access Bpay and post parcels through Mr Patrick's newsagency.

"You just have to keep going; I was by myself here for a long time," he said.

"It's a hard life and people don't realise how hard it is.

"You have to be here for the public when they want you to be here."

For Mr Patrick, Gympie is home sweet home.

Gardening and a spot of fishing are how he likes to spend his time out of the shop.

"Down the coast it's all go, go, go but up here we still have a certain country lifestyle and I like that; that's what's kept me here," he said.

And though he admits he may have slowed down, he has no plans to stop selling residents their morning newspaper.

"I went to the Greek Islands for six weeks but I was pleased to be home because I missed the contact with the customers," Mr Patrick said.

"I have no plans for retirement, there is no need for it; every day is a different day."