Ernest W. WRIDGWAY [3108]

  General Notes:

(Image Courtesy DJRose)

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Fri 7 May 1920
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
At the Northcote Court Yesterday morning, Ernest Wridgway, 12 Railway parade, Camberwell, was fined with £2/2/ costs, for permitting his horse to be worked with sore shoulders at Northcote on March 25. The driver, John Foster, was charged with using the horse while unfit, also with thrashing it, and was fined 10/ and £1 for these charges respecrively, with £1/1/ costs. Mr P.W. Ettelson conducted the cases on behalf of the Society for the Protection of Animals.

The Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) Friday 21 September 1923
STOP! YOU ARE CAUGHT
AN ALLEGED SHOP BREAKER ARRESTED AT REVOLVER POINT
''Stop! You are caught!" exclaimed Constable F.H.H. Taylor, as he pointed his revolver towards a man in Camberwell early on Tuesday morning (says the "Argus"). He had seen the man attempting to enter the premises of Air Ft. Wridgway, carrier, opposite the Camberwell railway station, by forcing a side window with a jemmy in Air Wridgway's premises large (quantities of furniture and carpets are stored. Within the last three weeks the premises have been entered three times, and carpets valued at £80 have been stolen.
Before going off duty late on Monday night Plainclothes-Constable Paul, of the Hawthorn police station, who has been investigating the robberies, telephoned to Constable Taylor, asking him to keep a keen lookout for anyone attempting to break into Mr. Wridgway store. At a quarter past 2 o'clock on Tuesday morning, when Constable Taylor was standing at the corner of Railway-parade and what is known as "Lovers' Walk." he saw a man alight from a bicycle and interfered with one of the side windows of the store.
Constable Taylor ran towards the man who seized his bicycle and was about to ride away when the constable flashed his torch at him. and covering him with a revolver, ordered him to surrender. After a slight struggle the man, who was wearing woollen gloves, was handcuffed and taken to the Camberwell Police Station. On the ledge of the window which the man had attempted to force were found a jemmy and a screwdriver. There were fresh jemmy marks on the window.
Later, Frederick Key, aged 26 years, driver, was charged with having attempted to enter the premises of Mr E. Wridgway with intent to steal with having been found in possession of house-breaking implements and with having insufficient lawful means of support.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Sat 8 Jun 1929
Death Notice:
WRIDGWAY-On the 6th June, 1929 (suddenly), Ernest Wridgway, of 12 Railway parade, Camberwell, the dearly loved husband of Lilly, and loved father of Edie (Mrs. C. H. Wing, Dunedin, N.Z.), Bert, Jim, Fred, and Jean, aged 57 years.

Funeral Notice:
WRIDGWAY - The Friends of the late ERNEST WRIDGWAY are invited to follow his remains to the Box Hill Cemetery. The funeral will leave his late residence, 12 Railway parade, Camberwell, THIS DAY (Saturday), June 8th, at 3 p.m. Le Pine and Son, Camberwell.

  Research Notes:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wridgways
. . .
The evolution from humble beginnings to a global relocation organisation:
1892 - Ernest Wridgway purchased a furniture horse and van in Camberwell which became involved in local and country removals. And so began Wridgways.
1914 - Ernest's son Bert began driving two horses. In this time first interstate removal completed by road. Melbourne to Brisbane. This took 6 weeks to return.
1918 - First to pioneer overland Melbourne to Perth by truck.
1926 - Continuing its pioneering spirit, Wridgways started the first known instance of sub-contracting in the transport industry when Bert Wridgway sub-contracted to his father.
1927 - The first international shipment took place, utilising a lift van and shipped on a door-to-door basis. This first occurred from Melbourne to San Francisco, USA.
1928 - Bert registered his own company known as Wridgways Bros and purchased a property in Auburn, Melbourne.
1934 - The first multi-storey furniture storage facility was built in Auburn, Melbourne.
1950 - Pioneered overland transport by truck to Darwin.
1961 - While the world was embracing free love, Wridgways was the first public company formed in Australia engaged solely in furniture removals.
1962 - The first palletised containers used for storage were introduced. These innovative storage packs invented by Wridgways were called 'homepacks' and that practice was adopted on a global scale.
1966 - The first removalists in the world to move furniture using containers.
1972 - Wridgways Received a takeover bid from Ansett Transport Industries Limited which was accepted, Wridgways The Removalists then became known as Ansett Wridgways.
1984 - First to use Rail / 20' container system across Australia.
1994 - Sold in 1994 to TNT Australia Limited and so the growth continued.
1997 - TNT Australia Limited agreed to a Management Buy Out (by key management and Venture Capital Firm Catalyst) led by Des Stickland.
1999 - First and only moving company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
2001 - Due to customers complaining about their creased clothing Wridgways responded and invented the now globally acclaimed and used Port-A-Robe carton.
2005 - First removalist to innovate the plasma carton for the protective packaging and safe transportation of large screen TVs.
2010 - Wridgways becomes part of London-based The Santa Fe Group.
2015 - Santa Fe Wridgways appointed new CEO Andrew Simpson. . . .

For our pioneering spirit:
We have come a long way since Mr Ernest Wridgway managed the company's first domestic project in 1892, and subsequently, the first international consignment 33 years later. Today we manage thousands of removals throughout Australia and across the globe annually for a multitude of domestic, corporate and government organisations.
http://www.wridgways.com.au/about.htm
Wridgways was first established in 1892 by Mr. Ernest Wridgways and has continuously operated since that date to become one of the largest operators in the Australian removals industry.
Ansett Australia acquired the company in 1972 and then TNT Australia Ltd then purchased it in 1994.
A management buy out was concluded in 1997, which resulted in fifty percent of the company being owned by its management team. In 1999 Wridgways Australia Limited was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange making Wridgways the first and only publicly listed removals company in the world.
Wridgways provides household and commercial removals, removals brokerage, packaging, high value/fragile transportation, storage, import and export services and caters to the needs of families and business in the private, corporate and government sectors.
In the year ended 30 June 2001, Wridgways carried out in excess of 35,000 relocation and serviced over 1400 businesses and government organisations.
The company has 22 offices with storage facilities Australia-wide and operates within a network of over 600 professional agents worldwide.
Wridgways is a founding member of the Australian Furniture Removers Association and a founding member of the Australian International Movers Association. The company is a long standing and respected member of many industry associations in other countries including the British Association of Removers, Household Good Forwarders Association of America (USA), Professional Movers Association (South Africa), FIDI Worldwide Moving (Brussels), Overseas Moving Network Incorporated (UK), as well as an accredited member of the International Air Transport Association.
http://www.movedynamics.com.au/aboutus.asp

  Other Records

• Camberwell & Waverly Australia 1857-1927: Rate Book, 1899, Railway Parade. (Image Courtesy of Ancestry.com)
Excelsior Bdg Society - House; Allotment No. 22; No. of Rooms 6; Nett Annual Value 14 pounds; Current Rate at 20 pence in Pound: one Pound three Shillings and four Pence (for 6 months).

• Camberwell & Waverly Australia 1857-1927: Rate Book, 1902, Railway Parade. (Image Courtesy of Ancestry.com)
Excelsior Bdg Society - House; Allotment No. 22; No. of Rooms 6; Wood; Nett Annual Value 19 pounds; Current Rate at 22 pence in Pound: one Pound fourteen Shillings and ten Pence (for 6 months).

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1909, Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1912, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1913, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1914, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1915, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1916, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1917, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1919, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1922, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1924, 3 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1927, 12 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Australian Electoral Roll 1903-1980: carrier, 1928, 12 Railway Par., Camberwell, Victoria.

• Ernest Wridgway: headstone, 1929, Box Hill Cemetery, Melbourne, Australia.

Ernest married Helen Lily GUNTER [784] [MRIN: 1020], daughter of Frederick GUNTER [757] and Jane TAYLOR [771], in 1896 in Victoria, Australia. (Helen Lily GUNTER [784] was born on 27 Nov 1876 in St Kilda, Dunedin, New Zealand and died in 1975 in Nunawading, Victoria, Australia.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Lily Wridgway: camping with family, 1960s, Bucklands Crossing, NZ.

  Marriage Notes:

1896 Victoria Australia Marriage 4912/1896