Page 16 - Built on Integrity

Built on integrity

Pics: plans of Karnak
Street here and also
photo of the joinery
workshop at the back of
Gove St.

(mentioned in
manuscript)

Original drawings of one of the houses
AW built in Blaxland Road, Eastwood
during the 1930s.

Austin bought blocks of land, built brick cottages too good a job to make money at the prices he
and then lived in them with Peg for a short time quoted. Peg took an active part in the business
before selling and doing the same thing again. in the early days. She would spend a lot of time
After building and selling a few in Eastwood, on the telephone placing orders at night, while
at Lansdowne Street (1927) and Blaxland Road Austin worked on the jobs during daylight hours.
(1930), he and Peg were able to keep one in Grove A hard worker and tough boss, Austin was
Street, Eastwood. He built a small workshop at the fortunate when a life insurance policy of his father’s
back with the standard machinery of a chisel and a saw. came due and was reinvested at 10% interest.
Some of these early contracts lost money and Austin’s father offered him the same terms and
nearly finished the business off before Austin got this overdraft often smoothed out the erratic
started. It was widely considered that Austin did flow of money which came from building and

12