MY FAVOURITE PLACE : Dave Noel
by Greg Martin
An uncanny ability to mix roller skating and hockey skills enabled Dave Noel , fresh out of the learn ’ caper at Plumpton High , to take the first steps along to a successful career in business . That and a strong work ethic ! Dave is the friendly face for customers – and there ’ s plenty of ‘ em – who welcomes them to his North Richmond Tile Centre . That first step ? “ I was 15 and had been selected in
Tiles ? You want tiles ? One of Dave Noel ’ s favourite places is his North Richmond Tile Centre . the NSW junior roller hockey team and wore my tracksuit in tagging along with a mate who had a job interview at baking machine manufacture , Krause Engineering Australia ,” Dave explained .
“ My mate bolted just before the interview was to begin and left me standing like a shag on a rock when the owner , Brian McDonald , approached and asked if I was my mate .
“ I told Mr McDonald that I wasn ’ t and then he asked me was I looking for employment and I told him I was .
“ He noticed my state representative tracksuit and said it was obvious I was a dedicated sportsman , so I must be a dedicated worker and I was hired on the spot .”
Dave worked at Krause Engineering for 11 years , during which time he built his skills base , earning licenses in engineering and driving trucks , forklifts and cranes .
Krause Engineering relocated to Brisbane in 1988 and Dave and his partner ( at the time ) Karen , spent a year up north before the lure of friends and family resulted in their return to Sydney .
“ Of course , I needed to find a job and read an advert that GNS Ceramics at Prospect were looking to hire a truck driver , so I turned up to the interview with all my credentials and a glowing reference from Brian McDonald ,” Dave said .
The Human Resources fellow had a read of Dave ’ s resume and told him that he couldn ’ t risk giving him the job because his skills set indicated he wouldn ’ t stay on as a truck driver and would soon be looking for
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“ The next morning , I received a phone call from the HR bloke and he told me the driver they had put on didn ’ t turn up for work and was I interested in working a few days driving a delivery truck ,” Dave said .
“ I was at GNS the next morning , given my round and away I went , delivering to the allotted addresses and was back at lunchtime ready to be loaded again .
“ The dispatcher was gob smacked that I had completed my delivery round in such a short time and told me previous drivers would have taken all day .” Dave got the job full-time . He worked for six months behind the wheel , two years as dispatch manager and then spent 25 years as a sales representative for GNS , the biggest tile wholesaler in the country .
In 2016 , Dave decided to utilise all his knowledge about tiles and quit GNS to open his own business in the old Video Ezy store in North Richmond Shopping Village .
“ We opened the doors and within two days we were selling tiles ,” Dave said .
Business boomed and within months , Dave was forced to relocate to larger premises on the corner of Terrace Road and Bells Line of Road . An interesting man is our Dave Noel ! He is of Indian descent and is very proud of his heritage , especially for those forebears who came to Australia in the mid-19 th century searching for better lives .
Members of the family ventured into the then highly popular carnival circuit – both his mother , Gloria and father , Tony , and Tony ’ s cousin , Cass “ The Taipan Man ” Mahomet , were renowned “ carnies ”.
“ Mum worked the sideshows but Dad , who loved the boxing game , worked for the great Jimmy Sharman and his son , Jimmy junior , whose famous boxing tents were always one of the major attractions at carnivals all over Australia and New Zealand ,” Dave said .
Dave never went “ a round or two for a pound or two ” – his sporting passions were roller-hockey and rugby league .
He was introduced to roller-hockey in primary school , went on to become an elite player and represented NSW at both junior and senior levels .
Dave began coaching while still playing and was at the helm when the Windsor Ladies won a national title .
Such were his skills , in 1991 Dave was anointed the Australia Ladies coach and a year later took the team overseas to play in a Barcelona Olympics Exhibition Sport tournament .
“ The tournament was played in Germany and after 10 games the team , rated at number 24 in world rankings , played the host country for the bronze medal which we were most unlucky not to have won ,” Dave said .
Dave continued his involvement in roller-hockey until 2005 , always finding time in his busy work schedule and passion for another sport , rugby league .
He was pretty good at that caper too – a classy halfback throughout his career , Dave was good enough to be selected as halfback in Penrith Panthers ’ Jersey Flegg ( under 18 ) representative team .
“ I played two games and then this year younger bloke was given the nod to replace me ; it was Greg Alexander who , as we all know went on to become a Panthers legend and a Kangaroo ,” Dave said .
When not at the hard yakka earning a quid , Dave Noel has always spent deeply satisfying times at sporting venues , especially roller-hockey stadiums and rugby league fields . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .
Dave played A Grade league until he was 32 , pulling on jerseys for Mt Druitt City Tigers , St Mary ’ s and during that year working in Brisbane , Goodna , where he was named Player of the Year .
Dave also had the smarts at the rugby league coaching caper , kicking off by coaching the Mt Druitt Tigers under 8s through to their season in under 15s .
At senior level he coached Colyton Colts A Grade from 2007-2010 and the following season was at the helm when the club ’ s A Reserves won the premiership .
The following year , Dave linked with Windsor Wolves and over four seasons , coached the division 4 under 13s through to compete in division 1 as 17-year-olds .
“ When we opened our shop in North Richmond , we became involved with Hawkesbury Hawks Junior Rugby League Club , sponsoring the under 6s and in 2016 and the under 7s in 2017 ,” Dave said .
At the end of that season , one of the club officials learned that Dave had plenty of experience at the coaching game and sweet-talked him into taking on the A Grade coaching position for the 2018 season .
“ I ’ ll never forget the first night of training – not one player turned up ,” Dave laughed .
The following week , Dave spent countless hours on the phone , contacting his former charges from the Wolves under 17s who had parted from the game .
“ I rounded up 10 of them who were keen as mustard to return to footy and then a couple of old-timers like Mitchell Fitzpatrick and Sam Baynham , came out of retirement to help fill the ranks ,” Dave said .
The team struggled the first year playing in the Penrith DJRL second division but improved immensely to finish third in the following two seasons .
“ We were really firing last year and were in second place when COVID-19 put an early end to the season ,” Dave said .
Dave has stepped down from the A Grade coaching position and is now the club ’ s coaching coordinator .
On the home front , Dave is married to Karen , a schoolfriend from his time at Plumpton High , whom he met again at a 21st birthday party .
“ Karen asked me for a lift home , and it was a request I was never , ever going to refuse ,” Dave laughed .
The couple spent 12 years making certain they were “ made for each other ” before marrying in a ceremony at Windsor ’ s McQuade Park in 1992 .
They have two children , Jamie and Sharna , and two grandchildren .
Sharna has followed in her father ’ s footstep and is a highly respected medical trainer with the Penrith Panthers Ladies representative team which is aiming to compete in the National Rugby League Women ’ s competition in 2025 .
Such are her skills and devotion to league ; Sharna was recently named Penrith Junior Representative Club Person of the Year .
I ’ ve given up ! Can any of you determine which is Dave Noel ’ s favourite place ?
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