The property market had been belted during the war . Bank lending facilities were non-existent and businesses tightened up in a most remarkable way . It was now time for the post war rejuvenation and Alan White was soon to lead that and , during his leadership , create Brisbane ’ s strongest real estate business covering all activities including a significant commercial real estate presence .
As you can see from the photograph , Ray was there and ready to help . New premises were taken in Brisbane ’ s main thoroughfare , Queen Street . The world had now become optimistic and real estate , as usual , led the way to a recovery .
We still remember some words Ray told us back then . It ’ s amazing how some things stick with you indefinitely . He spoke of the need to get the best results for people selling their homes and was a great believer in the auction process . Those of you who have seen photographs of the original Shed will see the focus on auctioneering as part of the services being driven all those years ago .
So Alan had a good jumping off point . He was very successful in obtaining the agency for new land estates , and photographs show him standing on a stool auctioning blocks of land with us , his sons , being “ runners ” - taking sales sheets back to the administration area . to provide troops and other professionals for six to seven years ( makes the COVID-19 restrictions seem mild !)
A sales team covering Brisbane ’ s geography was established with all the performers based in the one Brisbane City office . ( In fact , Alan was immensely proud to be the first business owner to employ a female salesperson !) Traffic was nowhere near where it is today , as you can imagine and Brisbane , like most of the other Australian cities , was just one big market .
In due course , it was time for the next generation to step forward . But Alan maintained a strong interest in the business for the rest of his life . He was very supportive of the decisions to expand throughout Brisbane and , subsequently , into Queensland . It was this fantastic Queensland business that gave us the opportunity to go national at a later date .
People often ask of the contributions of the different generations of the White family and it is so easy to ignore the incredible impact of Alan ’ s career . Certainly a national expansion would have been impossible without his achievements .
The phrase we like to use is “ Alan created a springboard . Our job was to jump on it !”
It clearly was such a change from the terrible war years , when a whole nation had locked itself down
Brian White AO Joint Chairman
Paul White Joint Chairman
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