Under the Auld Pump: Ian Matheson on his business and golfing pursuits

I was playing golf with Bill Fish. We were having a bet on each hole and out of the blue we got to the 13th hole and I got a hole-in-one.

Bill screamed out to me the ball had hit the flag and just dropped in.

There was a fair bit of jubilation from me as I won a few dollars off Bill for that performance and, from my memory, I won overall.

Ian, what career path did you go down after your schooling in Hawkesdale?

My dad Charles got a soldiers' settlement farm between Hawkesdale and Penshurst.

After my schooling I got a job with the National Bank in Penshurst. It would have been in 1972.

My job at Penshurst lasted nine months before I got a transfer to the bank in Coleraine.

My next move saw me get a transfer to the National Bank in Geelong. They had 38 staff working in the bank and I was rated as the fourth teller and general clerk.

Was sport high on your list of priorities when you moved to Geelong?

I played a fair bit of cricket in my younger years. I spent a fair bit of time playing cricket for Inverleigh before a mate from the bank and I purchased a little pub at Warrion.

My next big move was to Warrnambool in 1983 where we built the Tudor Motel on the corner of Raglan Parade and Banyan Street.

The old Dunlop tyre service used to be on that corner before we built the Tudor Motel. John McGrath had his tyre service just a bit further down.

It was a huge gamble at the time to build the 14-room motel. We ran it as a bed and breakfast motel.

The reason why we wanted to build a motel was accommodation in Warrnambool is full 100 days in the year with things like the Christmas and January school holiday period and other sporting events in the town.

We really enjoyed our time in the motel but then we purchased Dino's Pizza which used to be in Liebig Street.

It's a funny story how we got to buying Dino's Pizza.

We had gone to see our accountant in Warrnambool, Peter French, and he advised us one of the best businesses on his books had came onto the market and it was Dino's Pizza.

We purchased the Liebig Street pizza business and had it for three years before Bill and Dawn Clancey took over the site.

Ian, did you get involved in any other local businesses?

Yes. Our next adventure was into newspapers.

A small group of us purchased the Moyne Gazette, including Melville Proud from the late Charlie Keane and we decided to set up a free weekly newspaper in Warrnambool but it was not financially viable.

My wife Patricia was working up as a midwife at the Warrnambool Base Hospital and we took over Warrnambool's South West Travel from Dick Parkes.

I was playing golf at Warrnambool Golf Club and I started organising golf tours overseas. We went to places like Hawaii, Singapore and Fiji for the golf tours.

Ken Parker, Ron Patterson and Leon Jubb often made the trips. Chris Pannell, who was the golf professional at Warrnambool, also used to go.

We also had tours to the Holy Land through South West Travel.

Father Peter Hudson used to lead the tours. There would be between 30 to 40 locals who would make the trips to places like Jerusalem where Father Peter would say mass for the group.

They were very special times with wonderful people.

There were a lot of fantastic business opportunities in Warrnambool back in that era and we were very lucky that people were so friendly to us.

How many years ago did you leave Warrnambool?

It would be 32 years ago that we moved out of Warrnambool on a full-time basis but I've still got some great friendships there and my daughter Nicole and her husband Hugh Goldson are setting up a restaurant in Warrnambool as we speak.

They hope to have the business open in March or April next year after they have renovated the upstairs part of the shop.

Hugh has great credentials in the hospitality industry while Nicole has been in event management.

One of my great mates in Warrnambool is Ian Bolden and when I get down there I usually try and get out for a hit of golf with him and a few other local mates.

Where do you live now?

We live on the Gold Coast but have a few business interests including the Horsham International Hotel and restaurant.

We're usually in Horsham for a week and then head back to the Gold Coast or we go back down to Warrnambool to catch up with friends.

The hotel has 52 rooms. It was a bit rundown when we took it over in 2015 but things have really changed since we did major renovations.

Horsham is a very progressive city. There are numerous developments under way and there's a great vibe to it.

Who do you barrack for in the footy?

I barrack for the Brisbane Lions.

I was heavily involved with the club when they won the premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and still barrack for them today.

The players had a procession after their premiership wins and I was fortunate enough to drive one of the cars.

It was quite amazing to see the joy and happiness on the thousands of fans faces while I was driving the car in the procession.