For Roger Blacksell, his family auto repair shop is the site of a lifetime of memories.
But after six decades, the doors of Blacksell’s Smash Repairs in South Geelong will close for the last time today.
Mr Blacksell, who took on the business after his father Barry retired, said he had “mixed emotions” about saying goodbye to something that had been part of his whole life.
“I’ve been working here for 45 years… so for me to walk away, it’s emotional, but it’s not the end of the world,” he said.
The Dew Street site was already a functioning panel shop for Toyota dealer Greg Mitchell when young panel beater Barry Blacksell decided to strike out on his own and take on the business in 1965 – the year his son Roger was born.
“When we were little kids we used to come down here on a Saturday morning,” Mr Blacksell said.
“I’d be sweeping the floor or polishing a car or something, so yeah, it’s been a lifetime.”
School was not young Roger’s passion, and when he decided to start working at age 15 his father suggested a two-week stint at the shop while he looked for another job.
“Then when Dad asked me what I wanted to do, I said, well, I don’t know anything else,” Mr Blacksell said.
“And there was a great community here to look after – grandkids, mums and dads, grandpas – so it was an easy choice.”
The decision allowed Mr Blacksell to spend his working life alongside his father.
“I was very lucky… I was a panel beater and Dad was a spray painter, so we made a pretty good team,” he said.
The shop became the hub of its own community, centred in the streets of South Geelong but extending to sports clubs in Belmont and Highton.
“I had three kids playing footy, so almost every night of the week we were at South Barwon coaching kids,” Mr Blacksell said.
“We ended up running the Auskick program, we did junior committee, very active on the senior committee, then I became president (in 2017).
“I used to look around the workshop some days and every car was from the footy club, or the cricket club, or the bowls club. I love the people up there, it’s a good little community.”
Despite the sadness of closing the business, Mr Blacksell said he was “absolutely” looking forward to retirement.
“The hands can’t do another winter… being an old tradie’s no fun,” he said.
“(We’ve got) lots of plans; getting more involved with the footy club, playing golf, we’ve got travelling to do. We’ve got a weatherboard house in Belmont that probably needs another coat of paint.
“I don’t need to be here. I’ve got so much to fill my life.”
