ABOUT US
1st generation John Robert Pattemore store in Central Tilba NSW IN THE 1870s
2nd generation Albert Aaron Pattemore store at Inglewood QLD in the 1920s
3rd generation Wallace Claude Pattemore store at bribie island QLD 1947
4TH generation Reginald Aaron Pattemore store at Rocklea Brisbane QLD 1970s
5th generation Daryl John Pattemore store at Alexandra Hills Brisbane QLD 1995
HISTORY
John Robert Pattemore arrived in australia from Somersetshire, England with his family in 1855. The family settled at Ulladulla, N.S.W. where his father, John, took up market gardening and carpentry. When he grew up, John Robert met another demand of the day, venturing into the butchering field in the 1870's at nearby central Tilba. His butcher shop still stands, identified as such, although now operating as craft shop.
John Robert's son, Albert Aaron Pattemore followed in the trade, working initially with his father, before moving to northern New South Wales where he established a business at Alstonville. In the 1920's, Albert Aaron introduced Pattemore's butchering to the Sunshine State where he set up a business at Inglewood, west of Warwick.
Albert's sons, Wally and Ken, subsequently followed in their father and grandfather's footsteps, having gained experience in the Inglewood business in their younger days. Albert was killed in a duck shooting accident in 1930 aged 52 years.
Wally left Inglewood in 1942 with wife, Dulcie (nee Short), for the city with his three small children, Genevieve, Reg and Bill. Their first home was an army tent at Hays Inlet at the end of the Hornibrook Bridge on the Clontarf side. Here, Wally tried his luck at professional net fishing. One night, in a bad storm, his boat and nets were washed away. He retrieved his boat but his nets were all tangled around the pylons of the Hornibrook Bridge - hence the end of his professional fishing venture.
Wally and Dulcie were given the chance to lease a butcher shop on Bribie Island in 1946. Wally left Dulcie and the three children in a house at Woody Point. He had to be sure he could make a go of a butcher shop on an island. With the absence of a bridge, fresh meat supplies had to be transported in by the Koopa Passenger Steam Ship, two days per week. This ship had no refrigeration on board. Under difficult times, Wally made a success of the Bribie shop. Dulcie and the family arrived three months later, renting a house next to the butcher shop. Reg and Bill started school on Bribie. Sister, Genevieve, started as the first border at the Bridgedeen Convent, St Bernadettes, Redcliffe in 1951. An order of nuns, she later joined, to carry out their work throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea.
In 1950, after four years on Bribie, Wally and Dulcie decided it was time to move to the city. The city would provide better opportunities for the children's education and more chances for Wally to carry out his dream of owning additional butcher shops, as well as the fact of him being able to go back to the country more regularly. His next stop was to rent a house at 49 Quay Street, Bulimba. Wally started casual work for the O'Briens Bros at Morningside and made life long friends with all the O'Brien brothers. At this stage in Wally's life, he was a regular visitor to the Cannon Hill Sales.
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Dulcie, now, was very keen for the family to purchase their own home with the money made from the Bribie shop. Wally's reply to Dulcie was - "you cannot support a family with a house - you buy a business first and a house second." With this idea, Wally and Dulcie purchased a butcher shop in Elmes Road, Rocklea in partnership with Ken and Joan Pattemore. At this time, Wally was a regular buyer at Cannon Hill. He would buy for the shop at the sales yards and have the stock slaughtered at the Brisbane Abbattoir under the brands C4 and K7. Ken and Wally later sold the Elmes Road shop and ken then went on to open a shop in Hale Street, Milton.
In 1952, Wally and Dulcie finally bought a family home at 81 Chaucer Street Moorooka. Wally also opened a new shop on the corner of Mortimer Road and Foote Street, Acacia Ridge. This was where his son, Bill, started his butchering career. With Bill working in the shop, Wally had more time available to him for cattle buying and travelling to sales throughout Queensland. Reg also started work in the Acacia Ridge shop and went on to do his Apprenticeship with Lex Derwood at Archerfield.
Wally's involvement in cattle dealing in the coming years increased. He eventually went into partnership with Matt Francey. Matt had a very large dairy farm at Rocklea, on the corner of Ipswich and Grindle Roads. Wally travelled Queensland, North and West, looking for cattle to hold on Matt's property, which he later wanted to resell at Cannon Hill. If the market was not right it was only a short trip back to the Rocklea Paddock. At the Thursday morning sales, if the market was good, they would book cattle into be sold at the end of that afternoon sale.
Wally went on to open a new shop up at Moorooka. This shop was one of Wally's most successful. Bill was given the job as Manager. By 1962 Wally, Reg and Bill had shops at Acacia Ridge, Moorooka, Holland Park West and Mt Gravatt Tram Terminus, Brisbane Market - Retail Section and Brisbane Market - Bulk Meats. Wally, was the Managing Director, with Bill and Reg as Shop Managers. Wally was the livestock buyer for his chain of Butcher shops (this being his dream job). Bill and Reg handled the seven shops plus all of the abattoir early morning buying - 4 a.m. starts - 5 days a week. The Mt. Gravatt shop, at the old tram terminus, can put its name to one of the first shops to advertise Lot Fed Meat.
In 1970 - the next big venture for the Pattemore butchers was the establishment of a store in the Garden City Shopping Centre. It was a big challenge, what with the high rent charged and fierce competition from big companies such as T.A.Fields and supermarkets, not forgetting all the new skills that needed to be learnt in meat display in order to keep up with the opposition. Before the shop was opened, Wally selected a young man who started with the Pattemore's as an apprentice on 25th June 1962, at Moorooka, Jim Bland. Jim was sent to live in Sydney to work for the company A.J.Bush. Jim's job with A.J.Bush saw him doing Meat Displays for their shopping centre stores. This plan of Wally's was certainly a masterstroke, as, with Jim's expertise, Pattemore's had the edge over any opposition. Garden City went on to become a great success. Jim Bland became a partner in Garden City with Colin King and Reg in its later years. The Garden City Pattemore's store survived on quality lot fed beef thanks again to Wally's association with Austin Biscoe. Jim Bland is still with Pattemore's, working in the Alexandra Hills store.
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Meanwhile, Reg, Bill and mother, Dulcie forged on in business. In 1973, their next venture was to lease the Tickles Warehouse at the Rocklea Markets. They ended up converting it into the largest Bulk Meat store in Queensland by combining a Butcher shop and Delicatessan supermarket which employed 30+ staff. At the time the company owned Moorooka, Garden City, Acacia Ridge and Retail Shop Brisbane Markets and Bulk Meat Shop Brisbane Markets. The tow shops at the markets were separated by a grocery store. The new bulk shop was planned for a February 1974 opening. The shop would have all new modern pre-pack cabinets, Freezer cabinets, a Delicatessan, the largest fresh meat display, as well as front and rear door check-outs.
But alas, disaster struck in 1974 with the January floods - ten foot of water went swirling through the shop. It was under water for five days. The existing two shops, the retail and bulk stores, never reopened. The shop was closed for seven months. Reg and Bill's time was taken up refinancing and refitting the store - an interest free loan from the government for flood relief got the company up and going again. No insurance was allowed because the market area was in a flood zone. The new supermarket store had its grand opening, after a one month trial trading period, on the 23rd September, 1974.
Initially, Daryl Pattemore began his career in the meat industry in November of 1979 at his father's Rocklea store. Here, he received extensive training in smallgoods manufacture and retail butchering. Daryl was managing the store at the Rocklea Markets for his family before becoming a partner in the family business at the Alexandra Hills store in 1992. Reg's youngest son, Ashley, also completed his Apprenticeship in Butchering a few years after Daryl.
Working side by side with his father Reg they started to transform the Alexandrahills store into a pleasant shopping experience as was the tradition of all Pattemores stores.
Pattemores Meats Alexandra Hills has been in its current location since 1979 and has been situated adjacent to a Woolworths supermarket since March 1993 and is currently the longest serving tenant in the shopping complex.
Early in 1997 Reg & Daryl and their staff had another long term employee Jim Bland who had started with the company in 1962 and been a business partner the very successful Garden City Store joined them as the person in charge of displaying the meat in their already very modern meat case and bring with him his very personalized service style.
2003 was the year that Reg & his wife Judith retired from business and in the following years Daryl and his team of qualified butchers also with the inclusion of a fully qualified Chef have continued to strive to please their customers.
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OUR STAFF
Jim Bland
 On the 25th june 1962 Jim Bland started working for Pattemore's Lot Fed meats Moorooka that was then owned by Wally Pattemore where he also worked alongside Bill & Reg Pattemore. In 1963 when Pattemore's opened a store at the Mt Gravatt tram terminus Jim worked in that store with Reg Pattemore until Wally opened another store at Acacia Ridge in 1967.
In 1970 Wally sent Jim to Sydney to live and work with the company A.J.Bush who at the time were the leaders in the art of static window displays a skill that would soon be required by the team at Pattemores because in October of 1970 Pattemores Lot Fed Meats opened in the brand new Garden City Shopping Centre working and managing the store with Bill & Reg that in time became a huge success that saw Jims window displays going head to head with the display of T.A.Feilds whom had a store no more than 4 Metres opposite the Pattemores store so competition was fierce.
In 1979 when Bill Pattemore wanted to concentrate on his hugely successfull store at Underwood aptly named Meat City Jim was offered Bills share in the Garden City store that was travelling along Quite nicely and continued to do so until August 1996 some 26 yrs after the store was opened Reg & Jim decided to close the store due to ever increasing rent and stiff competition from the supermarkets.
In 1997 Jim joined the team at Pattemores Meats at Alexandra Hills that was then managed by Reg's son Daryl and became an important link in a team that was transforming itself from selling Bulk Meat to selling a more superior grade of meat that would require Jim's skills in window dressing and tray display that are still quite evident today where Jim is a popular butcher within the store who still has some customers from early days at other Pattemores stores who make the trip to the store at Alexandra Hills just to be served by Jim as they would have been in the past some 46 yrs ago.
Ross Heynwood
 "Started butchering as an apprentice with William Land Pty Ltd, Sylvan Road Toowong on 18th September 1962. Stayed with Lands on finishing apprenticeship. In 1966 worked in all twelve of their shops until 1971.
Began with Mayfield Meats, Mayfield rd Moorooka. In 1971 and worked there until 1981 with Graham Roberts, then Phil Johnson. Moving from there to Billy Kiers shop at Greenmeadows, Mt Gravatt until 1983.
Began working at Strathland’s Meats Rochedale in 1983 with Trevor Barnes then Eric Purcell until 1992.
In May 1992 joined Pattemores Meats at Rocklea. After a short stint there, moved to the old centre at Alexandra Hills until December 1992. Then back to Rocklea until March 1993.
The new shop opened in March 1993 and have been there ever since."
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