Toni Hume

I am a firm believer in the adage that if you work hard and have a positive attitude, then good things will come your way.
Since I was about 12 years old I have had a job of some description. My first task was cutting the mastheads o the newspapers and magazines for a local service station. I have always loved to go to work – I guess it was both the feeling of achievement and the social interaction that I have always enjoyed. When I finished High School, I secured a job at a Specialist Doctors’ Practice; it was very busy and highly stressful for a 17-year-old, but I loved it.

In 1990 Steve and I were married and he joined the RAAF. He was posted to Amberley and we were thrilled. We were not too far away from our families and really enjoyed our time in Ipswich – we made lifelong friends and built our first home. Almost immediately I gained employment at a Specialists’ Clinic and life was going along very well.

Unfortunately, as is often the case in life, just when you think you have it all worked out, you are thrown a curve ball. Steve was in an accident on the way to work one morning and as a result, had to have his leg amputated. Luckily for us, our family and friends were always there for support and Steve was up and about in no time. However, this hump in the road made us realize that, when we had children, we wanted them to grow up among our families and for this reason, we moved from Ipswich to Hervey Bay in 1995. Steve quit the RAAF and we purchased our first business, a courier franchise. Once again, I was working for a Doctor, while also helping Steve with the business when I could.

In 1998 our first daughter, Rachel, was born. I was having a few months o work and looking forward to it. Unfortunately, fate stepped in again and just a few weeks after Rachel was born, Steve had to have an operation on his back. He was out of action for about 2 or 3 months, so it was up to me to keep the business going. We managed somehow, once more with the help of our family and friends.

In 2001, our second daughter, Chloe, was born and we decided that the courier business had to go and we started looking around for another business to buy, hopefully, something a little bit easier on Steve! Not long after, during a visit to my parent’s home in Bauple, we started talking about the Rural Supplies business in Tiaro being on the market. At the time, mum and dad had a Livestock Carrying Business which they ran for 7 days a week and somehow we all came up with the idea of going into partnership to purchase the Rural Supplies business. Steve and I sold the courier business and our house in Hervey Bay and moved to Tiaro.

It took quite a few months and lots of sleepless nights to make it happen, but eventually, in March 2002, we took over Tiaro Rural Supplies and turned it into B & H Rural.

At this stage, Chloe had just turned 1 and Rachel was 3. Life was very tiring for the first twelve months and sometimes I think we all wondered what we had done to ourselves. What a learning curve we have all had and I often think about how far we have come in the last ve years.