Memories of NSW TAB in the New England Region

The first TAB outlet in what was the New England Region opened in Peel St. Tamworth in December 1964. Tamworth 101 was originally a Branch that converted to an Agency in 1971. Doug Musker was the original Branch Manager and Garry Collins Assistant Manager. Later managers of the branch were Garry Collins, Gerry Dawson and Pat Scott.

Bill Ashton was the first Regional Manager for the Region and Doug Musker became the Inspector: Area Supervisor. Bill returned to Sydney in 1971 where he became Agent at Frenchman’s Road, Randwick before retiring in 2008 as the longest serving person in TAB. Reg Allen moved from the Hunter Region to replace Bill and remained there until he retired and returned to Newcastle in 1983. Doug Musker returned to Sydney where he worked in Control Centre before leaving the TAB in 1975. He then became an Accountant for the NSW Ambulance Service and is now retired. Garry Collins was Area Supervisor, later Regional Manager and is now a TAB retiree.

The New England Region expanded at a steady pace in the next few years with a District Centre established in Tamworth. Some of the staff there included Beryl Beynon who became Agent at Werris Creek, Judy Dening who was appointed to an Agency on the Central Coast and Emy Stuart who is now deceased.

The Agency network was expanded to the larger centres of Armidale, Glen Innes, Inverell, Narrabri, Gunnedah, Moree, Muswellbrook, Coonabarabran and Scone. Some of the long term Agents at these locations were Elsie and John Carroll at Armidale who are now retired to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and Sid Stansbury from Muswellbrook who retired and still lives in Muswellbrook. Sadly Val Landkauf of Gunnedah and Wal Ward of Moree are both deceased. Pat Scott from West Tamworth managed the Leagues Club TAB and bottle shop after her Agency closed and recently retired in Tamworth. Coonabarabran’s Myra Devenish still lives in that town. Gerry Dawson was appointed to an Agency in Dubbo but has since moved on.

Smaller centres of population around 1,500 in New England, North West and Upper Hunter had Agencies and towns of 500/600 people had a service provided by Sub Agents who operated the TAB in conjunction with existing businesses. One of these Sub Agents was Tony Hassab at Boggabri who ran a mens and women’s clothing shop, which included a hairdressing salon. Tony was a wonderful character of Lebanese extraction who managed to avoid the 65-year retirement age because ‘he did not have a Birth Certificate and did not know how old he was’. Tony was still working in his shop in Boggabri in his 80s.

During the 90s the New England Region expanded to take in outlets in the Hunter Region as far south as Maitland and also the lower North Coast around Taree and Forster. In 1998 the Region comprised 21 Agencies, 24 Club TABs and 65 Pub TABs.

In 2008 there are now only three full time Agencies remaining in the original New England Region with South Tamworth dual service outlet having closed on the 19th May: Former Agent Leigh Murphy now works in the hotel’s TAB outlet. John Fuller who was Agent at Narrabri before going to Tamworth runs all the others at Tamworth, Armidale and Moree.