Tribes of the Territory: Alice Springs upholsterer, property empire head Andrew McGauchie the master of his own destiny

HIGHLY skilled upholsterer and property empire owner Andrew McGauchie has been a towering figure in Alice Springs for the past two decades.

Andrew McGauchie, second from right, with his four sons and his grandson Caelan. Picture: Supplied

ANDREW McGauchie has been a towering figure in Alice Springs for the past two decades – both metaphorically, and literally.

At 6-foot-4 tall, and with shoulders nearly as broad, he is a commanding presence.

But his spirit is even bigger.

In Aussie Rules football, they say a smart player is “always a kick ahead of the play”- they don’t worry about where the ball is, they worry about where it’s going to be.

Andrew McGauchie has spent life “a kick ahead of the play”.

One of the most highly skilled upholsterers by trade, Andrew and wife Glenyce have built a property empire across Australia.

From the trendiest areas of Melbourne through to sprawling properties in WA, industrial builds in regional Australia, and a huge rental footprint in Alice, the McGauchie’s embody the Australian property boom.

The foundation for that empire and for the man was laid by Andrew’s parents, Lois and Jack.

Andrew says he and brother Roger had “very loving parents.”

“We grew up on a two-and-a-half thousand acre farm called Bagshot, just outside of Bendigo,” he said.

“Both parents grew up during the Depression, and that had a very lasting effect, especially in mum. We kept five years supply of hay and grain.”

From a young age, Andrew realised “it’s powerful to have a picture of what you want in life, and it’s very powerful to have a picture of what you don’t want.”

Andrew went to Dookie Agriculture College, and later joined the Young Farmers, where he relished and dominated the debate stage, and became club president.

Andrew and Glenyce McGauchie on their wedding day in 1981. Picture: Supplied

The life-changing moment came when Andrew joined Rotaract – which is like Rotary for young people.

That’s where he met the love of his life, Glenyce.

They both played hard-to-get in the early stages, but love blossomed quite nicely one Christmas.

“I went to the jewellers and got Glenyce a diamond necklace. I put it under the passenger seat, and then went to pick her up,” he said.

“She got in the car, and gave me a Christmas card, it had ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Kiss, Kiss,’ and was all very romantic.

“Then I said, ‘If you just reach under the seat.’ Glenyce pulled out a black box, and pulled out the diamond pendant necklace.

“She took off the necklace she already had on, and replaced it with this one, she looked at me, I smiled at her, and then she did about 60 kilometres per hour jumping across the bench seat to my side!”

From a bench seat kiss to married bliss, the pair exchanged vows in 1981.

“People ask Glenyce, ‘How do you stay married for so long’, she just says, ‘Pick the right one,” he said.

“I’ve never been able to come up with a better answer than that. We balance one another. We respect each other’s strengths, and ignore each other’s weaknesses.

“We wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have, without Glenyce.

“If you want to go fast, go on your own.

“If you want to go a long way, go as a team.”

Andrew and Glenyce have four sons who they love and admire dearly- Lachlan, Hamish, Fergus and Callum.

“We are extremely tight as a family,” he said.

“Brent Williams runs development courses for teenagers. He said to me, ‘I’ve never met such a strong bonded family as you guys.’”

That closeness was built over “a lot of Sunday dinners and a lot of long chats in the loungeroom”.

Andrew and Glenyce also have their beloved grandkids Caelan and Astrid.

Andrew and Glenyce McGauchie and their grandson Caelan. Picture: Supplied

At age 17, Andrew decided the farmer’s life wasn’t for him.

“I was sick and tired of the weather. And sick and tired of other people’s manipulations of the market. Farmers are price takers, not price makers,” he said.

His mum suggested upholstery. Andrew replied, “What’s upholstery?” He soon found out.

Andrew did three years of upholstery at night school, and when the teacher Jimmy Watson had a heart attack, he recommended Andrew to take over the running of the class.

The business McGauchie Upholstery was born.

Over the decades Andrew has started 33 apprentices, and signed off on 22 as qualified tradespeople. Including three women.

As Andrew and Glenyce built their family in Bendigo, they also built their business empire in the town.

When the new Parliament House was built in Canberra in 1987, they had Andrew do the upholstery for one of the most important rooms.

He completed 16 grand chairs, and still has the prototype chair today.

In fact, Parliament House adopted Andrew’s design specifications as its gold standard template moving forward.

Then the business and the family went on the road for three years.

The McGauchie’s decked out a Silver Eagle Coach, hitched a nine-tonne work trailer to the back and travelled all of country.

The plan was to settle in Perth, but a brief trip to Alice turned in to a home for 20 years.

“We just saw there was so much opportunity in Alice!,” he said.

The business has become iconic in the town, and has diversified to also doing shade cloth and motor trim.

Andrew McGauchie working at his business, McGauchie Upholstery.

Andrew started buying property when he was 19.

“Wealthy people make money when they are asleep,” he said.

Andrew and Glenyce have built an outstanding property portfolio that stretches across the continent.

Andrew is also passionate about the power of the mind in shaping one’s reality.

Over the decades he has done many courses both at home and abroad to hone and sharpen his mental outlook.

He and Glenyce even walked on hot coals at a Tony Robbins seminar – and “It didn’t hurt!,” he said.

Andrew says it all starts with yourself, and the relationship you have with yourself.

“Set strict standards for yourself and for others you hang around with, and respect yourself,” he said.

“What is your ‘self-talk’ like? How do you talk to yourself? If someone else spoke to you like you speak to yourself, could you stand five minutes of it?,” he said.

“I do affirmations twice a day, and gratitudes twice a day. That is really powerful after 6-12 months. It changes your filters of how you see life.”

For many years, Andrew has been the ‘Water Boy’ for the Dingo Cubs in the local rugby union.

He even made a bandolier, which he wears over his shoulders and around his waist, carrying 15 water bottles, tape, vaseline and whatever the team might need.

Andrew became a global viral sensation during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Land Rover sponsored a TV feature on grassroots rugby, and the world’s biggest ‘water boy’, Andrew McGauchie, was centre stage!

Last year, Andrew was made a life member of the drags club, after many years of loyal service and voluntary work as a steward.

And he’s been a constant fixture at Finke, the Red Centre Nats, Speedway, and spent three years at the Dirt Karts.

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Andrew turns 67 next year, and five mornings a week still gets up at 5:15 and goes for a 1km swim. And he still works a power of hours on his upholstery.

Next year, Andrew and the family are moving to Perth.

They’re creating their dream home on beautiful land at Bedfordale.

Andrew says he is full of excitement about what comes next in life.

As always with Andrew McGauchie, the attitude is right, and so too the outcome will follow.