Page 20 - The Outdoor Showman October-December 2023

After nearly 60 years in the Showbag Business, Mal Patrick is pulling
the pin! At 75 years old, the mind
is willing, but the body is not.
How it all started.........
Back in the 60’s Ray Patrick, Greg and Mal’s father owned and operated
the KG Milk Bar in Wangaratta. After selling that business they leased the Local Village Drive-In cafeteria as he had some spare time during the day. Before he had to be at the Drive-In, he made a deal with his confectionery supplier from Melbourne who back
in those days had what was called Cash Vans which supplied corner shops, milk bars, and take away shops with their confectionery, paper bags and various other lines.
Ray made a deal to buy all his
product lines at a distributor’s rate, and take over his run in north east Victoria, and in doing this various confectionery companies approached him to sell their Showbags at
country Agricultural Shows in the area. These bags included Colvan Chips, Sunny Boy, and Lifesavers.
Greg and Mal would go to some of these Shows to help him, mainly Benalla and Myrtleford. He didn’t take them to many as he reckoned, they cost him to much on Show food and rides.
Mal remembers going to Myrtleford Show and selling the Showbags for 2 Shillings and 2/6d (20 cents and 25cents) This was in the early 60’s.
Greg and Mal Perth takeover 1996
Ray also supplied some of the Showmen who had canteens with Frytol cooking oil, paper bags and cups etc. when they were in the area. One of the Show families that Mal remembers suppling was Emily and Tassie Pickett.
Mal and Greg both left school when they were 15 years old.
Greg was very good at sports and was a schoolboy champion when he was 14. He was also very good Aussie rules footballer until he did his knee in resulting in removing most of his cartilage. That was
the end of his sporting career.
Greg and Mal’s father Ray were also a Schoolboy Champion, as was Mal’s son Craig. Mal’s claim
to fame in the sporting arena was that at 14 he held the under 16 Shotput record (6lb Shot) for close to 20 years, before it was broken.
The only subject that Mal was any good at was art and received 99 out of 100 in his final year. His art teacher told him that the only reason he didn’t get 100 / 100 was because no one is perfect.
That artistic flair certainly helped
in later years with his Showbags designs and Showbag stand displays and presentations, winning many awards at Royal and country
Shows throughout Australia.
In March 1965 Greg, Mal and their mate Jack Peacock set off on their
trip around Australia, in a very reliable old Austin A90 that Greg had bought. The trip around Australia
is another story, which Mal hopes
to write in his retirement, as well as many other stories during their over 50 years in the Showbag business.
Mal started work with his father Ray in “Patricks Wholesale Confectionery “business in May 1966, one month before his 18th birthday as a Cash Van Salesman. Greg didn’t want to work as a Salesman, so he got a job at Murry Valley By Products, but after a while came to work in the family business as a truck driver and delivery man.
As mentioned earlier Ray Patrick
was asked to sell Showbags at local Shows by some of his suppliers which he did for a number of years. When Mal got his licence in 1966, he and Greg took over the Shows from their Dad. He was happy to play golf at a weekend and let them do the Shows, and he supplied them the product through his wholesale business and they packed and sold the Showbags.
The first Show they did for themselves was Narrandera Show in NSW about 2.5hr drive from Wangaratta. Because they were still working in the wholesale business, they had to leave early to get
to the Show. All they had back then was the Austin A90 car, a wooden trestle table, the back seat pulled out of the A90 and loaded with stock; the Showbags were packed as they went.
New stand Melbourne 1986
END OF AN ERA
18 THE OUTDOOR SHOWMAN
Vicki and Sahra Mildura 90’s