A snap decision in the 1950s to move from the city to the bush and take up a life on the land near Collarenebri was the start of a Moree real-estate legacy that endures to this day.
Maybe it was a Banjo Paterson moment for John Atkins.
One minute, he was sitting in his dingy little office at a Sydney wool firm, and before he could say “in my wild erratic fancy”, he was on the road to the black-soil plains of north-western New South Wales.
And like Clancy, the bush had friends to meet him when John Atkins slipped on the dungarees and Akubra and settled down to farming life 100-odd miles west of Moree.
He found work jackerooing and that led to share-farming. It was a hard slog for the next 15 years, but he learned plenty, and he learned quickly.
Drought and some tough years were testing times for the Pitt Street pencil-pusher, but he knew the bush had more to offer – because bush life offers “pleasures that the townsfolk never know”.
The bush was also where he met his wife, June, who was nursing at Collarenebri Hospital when John was share-farming the district.
In the late 1960s, John and June began farming Inglewood, a property west of Moree, but a harsh 1969 frost all but wiped out their crop.
At the time, they were living in a caravan and surviving on a diet of mutton, more mutton, and fresh country air.
When an opportunity to join the staff of Moree stock and property agent Ronald Hunter came about in 1970, John and June were back on the road and heading east to artesian water country.
John and June’s daughter, Kelly, said drought again stalled her parents’ plans and ambitions – but helped them enormously as well.
“Dad was working for Ronald Hunter, and it was very tough, dry times in the early 1970s. As he was the newest employee, he was the first to be retrenched,” Kelly said.
But being stood down because of drought and tough times was a lesson in life John Atkins embraced – and the catalyst that convinced him to take the next step and nail up his own shingle.
“Dad figured if he could survive tough economic times, it would always stand him in good stead for the future,” Kelly said.
“I have the utmost respect for the beginnings of our family business and how it all came about.”
This year marks a milestone in the legacy John and June Atkins created – John S Atkins and Co.
In March, 1975, they swung back the doors to Moree’s newest stock and property agency in the Pastures Protection Board building on Balo Street.
Drought, and falling wheat, sheep and cattle prices weren’t the only challenges they encountered.
A bomb blast in the building caused significant damage to their tiny office space.
While John learned plenty about life on the land out Collarenebri way and the hardships that went with it, there was nothing in the hand-book about sticks of gelignite and a lease-holder who was a tad upset with the Pastures Protection Board.
But John and June Atkins cleaned up the mess and rebuilt a business that hadn’t been given a chance to find its legs.
John S Atkins and Co relocated around the corner to Albert Street and became Raine and Horne Moree when the company joined the real-estate franchise in 1988.
In 2012, the orders were to “keep calm and carry on”, when a fire swept through the Albert Street premises.
“It was an absolute nightmare cleaning and rebuilding the office although the team worked through despite the office being so disrupted,” Kelly recalled.
“We made do though, to ensure the wheels kept turning and to ‘keep calm and carry on’.”
This month, the Moree office celebrates 50 years in business, and Kelly Atkins is proud to blow out the candles on half-a-century of family enterprise and history.
In 2020, John and June Atkins passed away within six months of each other. But their legacy lives on.
Kelly is making sure of that.
“After both my parents passed, I decided it was time to place my stamp on the business,” Kelly said.
The premises underwent extensive renovations with considered, heartfelt tributes to the past.
“Each day, I sit at what was my mother’s desk, and that means so much to me,” Kelly said.
“I was so fortunate to have such good teachers. My parents wanted to share their knowledge with me. There are a lot of people in the workforce, or in their own business, who do not get that sort of opportunity. I’m very lucky,” she said.
Kelly was taught to act with integrity, embrace technology, and ensure there were good people around with sound advice.
“Mum and dad instilled in me to treat people the way you would like to be treated, and to always have a valued team of employees by your side,” she said.
And that’s exactly what Kelly has, with Brittany Madden, Karen Biggs, Brianna Harborne and recently-appointed Loren Burgmann sharing the workload.
“I’m very lucky to have such a great team,” Kelly said.
“Brittany, Brianna and Karen are licensed class 2 real estate agents. Karen and Brianna look after administration and property management, and Brittany helps me with property leasing, marketing and compliance.
“Loren has only just joined the Raine and Horne Moree team, and looks after administration.”
Kelly has been a licensed real-estate and stock and station agent since 1992, and her nearly 40 years of experience is unequalled in Moree.
“I finished Year 12 in 1985, decided on a gap year, and started in the family business the following year – and I’m still here 39 years later,” she smiled.
Kelly married Geoff Hatton in 2002, and soon after, sons Tom and Max joined the fold – and they learned all about real-estate from a young age.
“The boys literally grew up in the office from the time they were born,” Kelly smiled.
“Tom and Max were reared in the office from a porta cot. They played on the office floor and did their homework at the front desk.
“Their presence in the office was a constant from the moment they were born, and they were so lucky to have been able to spend so much time with their grandparents, and watch the daily business happen around them,” Kelly said.
Kelly has seen dramatic changes in the past four decades, especially the relentless march of technology.
“The way we now use mobile phones is phenomenal, and the computer software for operating the rent trust accounts and website are now AI-generated,” she said.
“Fundamentally, bringing sellers and buyers or landlords and tenants together remain the same, but technology makes this a different route from days gone by.”
After so many years in the game, every day is still a new day for Kelly – a new challenge.
“I can honestly say, I love what I do,” she said.
“I can relate to the various situations of a vendor and purchaser – the excitement of that first home, the stress and hard work of selling a home, finding the perfect forever home, being a landlord or packing up the family home after losing loved ones.
“Having been through all these situations myself, I can fully empathise and be a better agent as a result,” she said.
With a recent drop in interest rates offering a glimmer of hope for those entering the property market, Kelly has sound advice for first home-buyers.
“Save like mad for the deposit to get a foothold in the market, because after that, it’s like paying rent – often mortgage repayments are cheaper,” she said.
“But, most importantly, be realistic about expectations when looking for that first home – you need to crawl before you can walk.”
Words: Bill Poulos
Images: Supplied
