KI panelbeating experience

This came about purely by chance, as I had no proper training in the trade, although I had attained a certain proficiency over the years because of my love of working metal. Plus when I built the three wheeled 'Holdon' I was forced to learn the art when I began to form the fenders of my creation! I started out with ordinary tradesman's hammers which I ground to suit my requirements. 'Dollys' were basically unknown to me, but I ground odd pieces of steel and cast iron that I found about the place to shapes that I needed.

When it was suggested by a local farmer, who had sort of adopted Barbara and I on Kangaroo Island shortly after we had arrived there, that I open a crash repair business – strangely I had no hesitation in doing so. Once started, I found that my basic skills in metal working and welding were all that I needed!
I needed some basic equipment, and so for the first time I found myself with a new set of professional panel beating tools, which I used to carry out my first job for a local transport company. I straightened out some minor truck damage in their workshop, using their welding and paint spraying equipment, and the profits from this were invested in a oxy welding set which I lacked.

I was also introduced to a local farmer of some influence and financial means, and he guaranteed me at the local bank for enough money to buy myself an air compressor and spray painting equipment.
Prior to this I decided that I would open a welding and general repair business, and invested 150 pounds to buy a new Lincoln 150J arc farm welding generator, which would normally have been driven from the farmer's tractor PTO which I set up on an old 'Rugby' car chassis, driven off the engine's flywheel. This almost exhausted my financial resources, but set up as a trailer mounted unit, it provided me with my first independent income, both in my humble 'open to the elements' workshop, and at distant places on the Island due to a sudden influx of welding jobs. Up till then it meant dismantling machinery and bringing the broken part into town, where any repairs were restricted by the simple fact that the Island had no proper power supply capable of running an arc welder in those days!

True there was a direct current supply from the local baker who had turned his talents to setting up a power supply company, and he had just upgraded to a new 240 volt alternating current system. But the power requirements of my basic welder was far in excess of what he could supply – even my new air compressor was rated at around 3 horsepower, and that was almost his highest available rated output, with the rest of the town on line. This was the reason I built my engine driven unit.

After only a short time and I found myself inundated with both welding repair jobs and crash repairs. I wasn't at all disturbed when a newcomer arrived on the Island and set himself up as a specialist welder, leaving the crash repairs to me. Though I still found myself in demand for out of the way welding jobs which the newcomer wasn't equipped to handle as his welder was not easily portable. Through this we became good friends, and for some time handled virtually all the Island's breakage problems.

It wasn't long before I found myself almost full time on panel beating repair work with the insurance companies happy to support me. At a later date, when a local house painter decided to try his hand at crash repair work, I was glad to pass the smaller jobs his way. Then some time later when I was contracted to the Harbours Board to carry out the welding on the roll-on roll-off ferry installation, which lasted almost a year, I was happy to close my shop and settle for a regular contract income. In any case, I had discovered that I had some sort of damage to my right hand and shoulder which was quite painful at times, this certainly from the continual panel beating. I was more than happy to say goodbye to crash repairs, although I still did the odd job, usually at the request of an insurance company, and I repaired cars for my own use.

Suddenly it was 1960, and circumstances dictated a move to the mainland, and we all sadly left for the lights of Melbourne.