Vale Robbie Heritage

In-depth

28 Sep

Written By Graham 'Kermie' Harsant

Yesterday a dear friend passed away. Robbie Heritage was a larger than life character, loved by all who knew him. I repost this story today in his memory.

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What does a funeral parlour have to do with trucking? Read on and all becomes clear.

In 1908 Victoria received a visit from Admiral Sperry on behalf of His Royal Majesty and the British Empire. This visit by the naval Armada was to reassure Australians that the Empire would crush the coming German uprising. At that time Mrs Heritage, a staunch royalist had just given birth to young Frank and in honour of the admiral, gave him the second name of Sperry. Frank was very quickly nicknamed Sprig or Spriggy. It is a moniker that has been passed onto his children and grandchildren and older Yarra Valley (V) residents refer to them all by this name.

Frank Heritage grew up and made his living as owner of the Healesville taxi service, ambulance and funeral parlour. Frank always said that he'd get them coming and going. It was a familiar sight back in the 50's, on the occasion of someone's passing, to see Frank - top hat held across his chest - walking down the main street in front of the hearse.

Frank and wife, Gwen spawned three children - Annette, Robbie and Keith.

This story is about Robbie.

"Me and Dado Brown and Laurie Darrington, we unbolted the end wall of the old portable school building. One day a strong wind comes along, the wall moves and there's bloody uproar! The teacher asks who did it and of course none of us are owning up. Teach lifts up my desk lid and there are all the bolts neatly lined up. Knew I should have gotten rid of the evidence. "You did this Heritage - who else was involved?"

"No one Sir."

Down comes the strap.

“Dado Sir…and Laurie Darrington, Sir!'

We all got the cuts big time and were sent home with a letter telling us not to come back.

“I started working for dad at the funeral parlour and he was to give me £2 a week with keep. He never did, so I started working for Ronnie Johnson, the plumber at 30 bob a day!”

**Robbie with Sean Denny (Photo: Sean Denny)**

“In my spare time I started spray painting log trucks. Rub 'em down and wash 'em on a Friday night. Saturday arvo I'd mask them up and spray them. On Sunday morning when they were dry I'd strip the masking off, silver paint the wheels and they were ready to go for Monday. I'd get 18-20 quid a job. That's how my money was made.

“Then Keith Pomeroy got onto me to service his sawmill of a weekend, because he knew I loved log trucks. He'd let me drive the trucks around the block as well. That grew and grew and as soon as I turned 18 he put me onto the jinkers. Those log trucks were the best thing in my life."

Family duty called and Robbie returned to the funeral game with Frank and Keith. Finally it was Frank's turn to take the ride, rather than walk, and Heritage & Sons was sold to Le Pine.

“I got out of the business for 8 years when we sold to Le Pine in 1986 and went back into the trucking/excavation game. Had a Mack R600 and some other trucks. The R600 was a good honest old girl. I had a quick-hitch tipper, low loader, pig trailer, 3x24 ton excavators, Cat grader, rollers and backhoe – I had a fair bit of gear.

“I started doing sub-division all over the place. Gavin, my son had stayed on at Le Pine but got out and worked with me in the trucking business. That business went arse up in the 'recession we had to have'.

**L-R Archie Bain, Robbie, son Gavin, daughter Annette, Gavin Spence (Photo: Sean Denny)**

“One day Gav said, 'Want to go back to funerals? Remember that Mack R600 you used to have? You never earned enough money out of it to cut the rust out, much less repaint and restore it. You did no good at all!'

"Jacky Bath, a fantastic bloke for whom I'd driven in the early days, lent me the money to buy some land. Perce Mould, from Wandin lent me £7,000 at 6.25% without any security. Then Jacky bought land at Croydon for Keith and I. That's how we got the funerals restarted."

Heritage & Heritage opened up for business at Wantirna in 1997 and - pardon the pun - business was healthy. So much so that Spriggy decided to open another in the Yarra Valley town of Woori Yallock.

This was to be more than your average funeral parlour however. Spriggy was determined to build a premises that reflected the importance of the logging and truck industries to the area.

**One of the many photos on the walls at Woori Yallock**

"Nearly everyone we know in the Yarra Valley has been affected in some way by, or derived income from the timber industry. That's when we decided to dedicate this chapel to that industry. Peter McConachy, from a long-time timber family sold me the Stump (the pulpit). Wouldn't give it to me as a gift, but that's McConachy - miserable bugger!" (Grins as he says this.)

“I had it sandblasted and Glen Harrison the plumber helped me put it in - his dad and grandfather drove timber jinkers. Gary Lay gutted it out for me with his Husqvarna and Stu and Richard Atkins did the stonework.

“That's how it started - with the Stump as a lectern and the pictures of all the log trucks of my era. I’ll have another area set up as a dedication to inter-staters and tippers. The interior waterfall is made of rocks from the area. Water is a tranquil thing for healing - apart from making little old ladies loosen their bladder!

“We call it the Heritage Pioneer Chapel rather than 'funeral' and now we've got people who want to use it for weddings, celebrations et al. The tea room will handle 300. But the (Spriggy’s) kids don't want drink on the premises - worried about someone having too much after a function and killing themselves on the way home.”

**Having a laugh with Larry Larkin (Photo: Sean Denny)**

“Before he passed on, Bobby Wettenhall (founder of Wettenhall Logistics with nephew, Scott) asked why we hadn’t got pics of decent (as in 'new') trucks. I said, “They're real pontzes who drive with airbags and sit their arse on an airbag all day.”

“Bobby knew me since I was 14. I sprayed an FX Holden for him in cream. Had a little bit of wax on it and it kept spreading with thinners. Hell of a job and the mongrel never paid me! He was a miserable tight-arse, that Bobby Wettenhall. I took huge delight in speaking at a Wettenhall do a few years back. Roasted the old bugger well and truly. He was a great bloke and a good operator, was Bobby.

In the Heritage Pioneer Chapel, Spriggy's life's work in two quite divergent industries have come together as a testament and memorial - not restricted to - but reflecting trucking history and its importance to the area.

Where does his heart lie? "If I wasn't too old I'd go and cart logs again now!"

The Stump: Dedicated to the memory of Keith 'Bones' Poynton and to all the other members of the timber industry in Victoria who are no longer with us. They provide such a rich history working under arduous conditions to support their families, to enrich our communities, and especially the timber towns which hold such an important place in Victoria's history.

The Stump is now also dedicated to the memory of Robbie Heritage