Young & Green - Alexander 'Alec' Young - 19 Aug 1989 by UONCC

Interview by Tracie Thornberry in 1989 with Alexander 'Alec' Young about the history of Young & Green car sales business (1919 -1989). Alec attended Newcastle Boys High School at Waratah, during the 1940s he started working for his father mostly serving petrol out of bowsers. Before General Motors Holden dealership was established Alec's father was selling cars imported from America, Marcus Clarke's were importing cars and Young & Green acted as agents for them. The family also started the first tourist bureau in Newcastle, this was located opposite Newcastle railway station, in the park behind Customs House. The businesses expanded during the 1970s and 80s selling Holden, Mitsubishi , Honda, Isuzu, Mazda and Nissan vehicles and had six showrooms, these were at Raymond Terrace, Maitland, Hamilton, Newcastle, Belmont and Toronto. When the University of Newcastle was established Alex enrolled and completed Economics (Honours) and recalls being student "twenty one". Aled was also involved in many community and business organisations, he was Chair of the Hunter Development Board and Hunter Research Foundation. He reflects on the changing structure of industry in Australia and the importance of being responsible in terms of the economy.

The Margaret Henry Oral History Archive is a collection of audio tapes, transcripts, summaries and essays that were part of the Oral Histories Open Foundation Course (1986-1989). Margaret Henry was a history lecturer at the UON in the 1980s.

The oral history tapes have been digitised by Cultural Collections, UON Library and made freely available to the wider global research community thanks to the generosity of The Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.

The wider collection of Margaret Henry Oral History Archive – over 220 in total and with many stories of Newcastle, the Hunter Valley and its surrounds and records voices describing the Regions cultural, intellectual and social life. It is an incredible legacy to Margaret Henry.

The original audio tapes and written sources are held in Cultural Collections at the Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle (Australia).

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