Narrabri has marked the end of an era following the closure of Reg Gilbert Real Estate and the retirement of Rob Gilbert.
Reg Gilbert, who operated a panel beating shop between Max Orman Toyota and the Crossroads Hotel (then the Commercial Hotel) in the 1950s, added an insurance register to the business.
“From there on, he added on to it including real estate,” said son Rob Gilbert who took the reins of the family business in the 1980s.
After selling the panel beating business, Reg moved to a two-storey timber building at 115 Maitland Street where Jimmy Hennessy had two offices available.
The real estate business was located at that site until at least 1971, as Rob remembers lifting the office furniture off the floor during that year’s major flood.
The business moved again, to the current site of Blooms on Maitland, before making its final move in 2015 to the current Maitland Street office.
With Reg at the helm, and then Rob, it has always been a family business at heart initially with Reg and Clare and their children Diane and Rob.
Rob left school in 1972 and was doing some odd jobs when his dad, Reg, asked for a hand for a few months.
As it turns out, a few months turned into almost 53 years.
Reg and his wife Clare initially operated the business with Rob gradually taking a greater involvement.
Rob and his wife Pauline took greater responsibility for the business in his parents’ senior years.
Reg died in 1985, followed by Clare in 1995.
Reg still remains a well-known figure by those who had business or community dealings with him.
A staunch Rotarian, he had a penchant for whisky and rum.
Reg was also known for his love of the Narrabri Golf Club as a regular golfer and tree planter.
He was proudly involved in making Narrabri the first golf course outside of a metropolitan area to have watered fairways.
Such was his love for golf, that Reg’s advertisements in The Courier would feature the golf club’s phone number as his after-hours contact.
“He was a colourful bloke,” Rob said of his dad.
“He was an affable character with a colossal sense of humour.”
Rob recalls the years working alongside his dad as “very good times”.
“Our characters were probably very similar,” Rob said.
When the time came to carry on the Gilbert name, Rob made his own mark on the business.
In the mid 1980s, Rob reached a decision to concentrate more on the Narrabri township in terms of real estate shifting away from offering rural services.
“Pauline and I decided we were going to be a one-man band,” Rob said.
In the late 1990s, the winds of change would blow again when an opportunity came up for Rob and Pauline to buy a franchise for the Colonial State Bank.
They setup a counter with all the necessary technology and proudly boasted both real estate and banking services.
“It was quite successful,” Rob said.
The Commonwealth Bank took over the Colonial State Bank in the early 2000s bringing the Gilberts’ banking chapter to a close.
Rob remembers having a great team of staff operating their banking franchise.
In terms of real estate, it was primarily Rob and Pauline working side by side with some great supporters and staff along the way.
Following Pauline’s death in July 2024, Rob has continued his family’s involvement in real estate with the support of his children.
“Without them we couldn’t have made it,” Rob said of the support of their staff and children across the years.
As it was in the early days, under Rob and Pauline it still continued as a family business first with their children Taryn, Courtney, Peta and Nathan.
The grandchildren followed, now totalling 15, and then the great-grandchildren, now totalling two.
People would vividly remember Pauline pushing prams up Maitland Street.
“It’s always been a family business,” Rob said.
“We’ve always tried to keep it that way.”
Reflecting on his life in business, Rob has been grateful for the support he has received across the community.
“I will have fond memories of this business for the rest of my life,” he said.
After growing up in Narrabri, working alongside his dad and taking over the family business, Rob has no plans to go anywhere else.
He is proudly part of the community.
While Reg was a staunch Rotarian, Rob is a staunch Lion and he has been heavily involved in the Narrabri Lions Club for many years.
“I’ve been here all my life,” Rob said.
“I love Narrabri.
“It’s a great town.
“It’s somewhere I don’t ever want to move away from.”
At a farewell celebration held at One23 Café and Restaurant, Rob thanked landlords, former staff, tradespeople, close friends and family for their continued support.
Rob paid particular tribute to his three daughters Taryn, Courtney and Peta, all in attendance on the night, and his son Nathan who was unable to attend.
