Tony Redman hangs up his tools at Max Orman Toyota

Tony Redman put away his tools for one final time at Max Orman Toyota after the mechanic retired from the iconic Narrabri business.

After 40 years with the family-owned dealership, he decided he was ready to spend time working on his beloved motors at home.

He also has a 1968 Chamberlain Countryman 354 tractor to restore and is looking forward to playing bowls at Narrabri Sporties.

“It is taking some work,” he said of his tractor restoration project.

“I’ve got the motor out and stripped it and I’m chasing parts for it. I’ve got plenty to do.

Originally from Moree, Mr Redman completed his traineeship in his hometown before spending some time in Perth.

Mr Redman later moved to Narrabri where he met and married Marie Gray and settled in the town.

Mr Redman joined the Narrabri site on September 19, 1980, working under the then manager Fred Wangmann, now deceased.

Precisely 40 years later, he retired on September 19, 2020.

During his 40 years, he worked at the Wee Waa workshop, then run by Terry Orman, and he stayed for 21 years before returning to Narrabri in the early 2000s.

While in Wee Waa, he also worked for Brett Orman who was Mr Redman’s first apprentice. Brett would later take over the Wee Waa branch of the business.

Mr Redman reflected on his time at Orman’s fondly.

The Narrabri business is a company that treated and looked after its employees, he said. He said employees’ opinions were valued.

Technological advancements across the years changed his profession, as cars introduced more electronics and technology.

In the early days, mechanical work involved stripping down and rebuilding. Now, with technology and complicated components, it is a remove and replace way of working with modern cars, in addition to using diagnostic tools.

Dealer principal Justin Orman paid tribute to Mr Redman as a “good bloke”.

“He was old-school. He hardly had a sick day,” he said.

“Tony was a good gearbox reconditioner.”