Family’s decades of motoring service recalled

Congratulations to RACQ on 100 years of providing roadside assistance.

My late parents, John and Corrie Koot, owned and operated the local garage, Tamborine Motor Works, in Tamborine Village from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.

They were agents for many products and brands, including BP fuel at the bowser and in bulk 44-gallon drums, kerosene, oil, tyres, and batteries, to name a few. They were also the local RACQ contractor and depot and operated the only tow truck in the area.

Dad built a couple of different tow trucks over the years by modifying and converting old trucks for towing. He manufactured what he needed in the garage – cranes, hook-ups, winches, and cables.

The winch was a two-speed hand winch geared by different-sized cogs. He would remove the winch handle from one position to another for control (there were no power winches back then).

The hook-up consisted of a steel plate with chains. The plate was attached to the hook, and there was a small stiff bar located between the truck and the vehicle being towed to hold it in the right position.

He used a timber bearer and car tyres in the hook-up system to minimise damage to the vehicle.

If the vehicle needed to be picked up and towed from the rear, he would use a piece of rope to tie the steering wheel straight, holding the front wheels in line for the tow home (there were no tilt trays back then).

At the time, towing operated under ‘Rafferty’s rules’, but the industry was later regulated, requiring registration and licensing to operate.

Dad met these requirements, and Mum was the first woman in Queensland to obtain a tow truck licence. Years later, I also obtained mine.

The RACQ contract was a one-man operation, running 24/7, 365 days a year.

The tow truck recovering a wrecked car.

Dad would often be called out in the middle of the night for breakdowns, mechanical repairs, and accidents.

If the accident was a fatality, Dad, the local police sergeant from Canungra’s two-man station, and the nearest ambulance crew, typically consisting of just a driver and one bearer with limited equipment, would attend.

There were no two-way radios, no mobile phones, no flashing lights, no fire trucks, no paramedics, and no helicopters – just four men doing a difficult job.

If a car went over the side of Tamborine Mountain, Dad would climb down with the hook and cable, attach it to the vehicle, climb back up, and winch it to the road by hand.

He would often have to chock the back wheels of the truck to stop it from sliding towards the edge. Sometimes, he would back the truck up to a tree or chain the front of the truck to a power pole or tree.

The village of Tamborine and the garage were located at the intersection of four major roads leading to Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Tamborine Mountain, and Beaudesert. In floods, the village would be cut off and isolated for days.

Part of Dad’s duties for RACQ included monitoring the river and surrounding water levels, road conditions, and closures and reporting this information back to Brisbane.

This was done via the old manual telephone exchange. A call to Brisbane was expensive and was known as a trunk call.

It was always a great adventure and fun for my brothers and me to accompany Dad in the old tow truck to check the flooded roads.

Learn more about RACQ's 100 years of roadside assitance