THE extraordinary life of beloved business identity Leslie Graham Gillies will be celebrated at a thanksgiving service in Bendigo on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The co-founder of the local institution Gillies Bros and Order of Australia medal recipient passed away peacefully last Friday, aged 86.
Born in Charlton on July 12, 1929, years of drought that gripped the western plains in the 1940s forced the Gillies family off their farm.
Mr Gillies left school at the completion of Year 8 at the age of just 14 years started work at Aunt Sally’s Milk Bar before starting a pastry cook apprenticeship.
He worked under Les McClure, founder of Four’n’Twenty pies, in Melbourne before leaving city life behind and moving to Bendigo.
In 1950, Mr Gillies and his two brothers, Alan and Norm, launched Gillies Bros Pty Ltd and purchased a bakery in Mitchell Street, opening the RoseBud Tea Rooms.
The following year, the trio expanded the business to the “Gillies Corner” site in Hargreaves Mall, where the shop successfully traded for 56 years.
It was during these early years that Mr Gillies met local 3CV radio announcer Yvonne Smith and, after several years of courtship, they married in 1954.
Their loving marriage, which ended with Mrs Gillies’ death in 2009, yielded three children, Sheryl, Wayne and Simon.
In 1955, the brothers opened a factory in Howard Street, installed a pie-making machine and were soon supplying the district and its surrounds.
Before the decade was out the business had grown to become a major provider of local jobs, employing up to 70 staff.
“The 1960s saw Gillies become a household name, supported by innovative advertising such as local football commentator Dick Turner’s catch line ‘That’s another Gillies goal’ or ‘The pie that fills but never kills’,” the family said.
As the business grew so too did Mr Gillies’ involvement in the community, with his contribution over many decades recognised with an OAM in 2003. Mr Gillies embraced diversity, employing a broad cross-section of people, including those with disabilities and offering wages and conditions unheard of at the time.
He served as an elder in the St Andrew’s Church and was an active member of the Lions Club for almost 50 years.
A diagnosis of the debilitating Gaucher’s disease in the 1990s did not stop Mr Gillies from living an active life with the assistance of walking sticks, crutches and eventually a wheelchair.
In 2007, after 60 years in business, his wife’s worsening health saw Mr Gillies sell the famous Hargreaves Mall shop and retire to a nursing home in Melbourne.
“Les will always be remembered for his passion and enthusiasm for life and the twinkle in his eye,” the family said.
A thanksgiving service will be held on Wednesday at St Andrew’s Uniting Church, Myers St, from 11.30am.