Twenty years on from the exit of Von Bibra Motors Group stores in Tasmania, a reunion for the state's staff members was held beside the Tamar River at the Rosevears Hotel over the course of Saturday and Sunday.
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The company - originally from Ulverstone - was created by Dudley Von Bibra in 1935 before his son Warren expanded the family business across Tasmania and nationwide.
When Warren, his wife Sally, and their children left for Queensland in 2002, they took the family company with them, leaving behind decades of motor history, countless memories, and plenty of nostalgia.
Those exact topics were discussed by more than 50 former employees and their partners who travelled from all over the state and the mainland for the event, which organiser and ex-employee of 35 years, Brendan O'Connor, called "a fantastic and sentimental outing."
"We used to do a whole lot of advertising back in the day on television and in the paper, so we had a slideshow that showed all of that, which lasted over an hour," he said.
"The event itself was something that a lot of the ex-employees had been wanting to try and organise for a couple of years now, but it was well worth the wait because it allowed former staff from various generations to come and share stories from their time at a company that really meant a lot to all of us."
Warren Von Bibra attended the event and said he was humbled to see the lasting impact the business had on so many people. He wished his father - who he called his best friend - could have lived even a decade longer to see the full success of the family business.
"I'm sure he was looking down on us very proudly the whole time anyway," he said.
"But the reunion really made me realise how proud I am of what we achieved too, because it was really quite incredible to see faces I hadn't come across since as far back as the '70s and to listen to them perfectly recollect key moments from the business's history - some of which I'd long since forgotten."
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Luke Miller
I am a council and general news reporter at the Examiner. If you have any issues or information regarding local government, please contact me via email at luke.miller@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
I am a council and general news reporter at the Examiner. If you have any issues or information regarding local government, please contact me via email at luke.miller@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
