From canvas roofs to cars: Woodley's celebrates 100 years in the drivers seat

Little did he know that 100 years later, the Woodley's name would be plastered across the city, on buildings lining the highway, on the back of cars and even across its airwaves ('Woodley's mega, Woodley's megayard').

From those humble beginnings, the family business now stretches 1500-square-metres across two sides of a highway on multiple blocks, with 450 cars under its roof at any one time.

Owners Mark Woodley and John Riolo say the business has come a long way from fixing canvas hoods, but the innovation and vision shown by Harry Woodley when he founded the company has always remained.

The Woodley's moved to Australia from Cornwell, the rugged southwestern tip of England, and settled in Nundle in the 1850s.

But Harry saw potential down the hill in Tamworth and set out with nothing but an an old industrial sewing machine and few hand tools.

"The English canvas and the Australia sun didn't mix," Mr Woodley said.

Mr Woodley said Harry, his great-grandather, was known for his sense of humour, coining the phrase "Let Woodley's put one over you" on joke cards.

"He was a practical joker and he didn't have a lot of money, so his way of advertising was to hand out little cards out with jokes on them about the business," Mr Woodley said

Harry's son Neville joined his father in the 1920s as a car trimmer, before taking over the business and moving it to a prime piece of real estate on Peel Street, opposite the current council chambers, in the 1930s.

During that time, Neville expanded into metal hoods, mats, internal trimmings and spay painting.

His son Warren Woodley continued the innovation shown by his predecessors. When seat belts were introdcued in the '60s, people were sceptical. So Warren hung a car from a power pole in Peel Street with nothing but its seat belt.

"People didn't believe that the seat belt material was strong," his son Mark said.

"When they thought of material, they thought of the stuff your shirt was made out of. They could not comprehend how something flexible and soft could actually stop you in a car crash."

When Warren took over the business in 1968, he dreamed of turning the panel beaters to car yard. He started with a "single car Volvo showroom".

"He drove to Sydney, picked up the Volvo and up drove it back," Mr Woodley said.

"Dad parked it on the floor of the workshop as a new car to sell."

In 1971, the Volvo showroom was soon to followed by Honda.

By the mid-1980s, Warren was looking to expand.

He made the enterprising decision to move from Peel Street to the corner of Marius and Hill street, where the business still resides today.

"Warren had the vision to come up here on Marius Street," Mr Riolo said.

"Even 20 years ago when I got here, people weren't sure if it was the right move."

Unbeknown to Warren, that block of land was the very same block that was bought by Fred Woodley - his great-grandfather - when the Woodley's first relocated to Australia more than a century ago.

When Warren handed the reigns over to his son and Mr Riolo in 2000, the business sold five car brands - including Hyundai, Mazda and Jeep - and employed 35 people.

"Our goal was to stop people buying out of town, or going to Sydney to get a new car, and get them to buy local instead," Mr Woodley said.

Mr Riolo said when the pair bought the business, it was one of the smallest dealerships in Tamworth. Now, it's the biggest in the North West.

"It feels fantastic when you see a car go by with a Woodley's sticker on the back," he said. Mr Riolo relocated from the beaches of Sydney and admits at the beginning, he questioned whether he made the right decision.

"It worked out pretty well," he said, with a chuckle.

"I saw the potential of the town. Warren took me up to the Oxley Lookout - I remember it like it was yesterday - and though 'wow, there are a few people that live here'."

In the past two decades, those "few people" have nearly doubled in number. And has Tamworth grew, so too did Woodleys.

"It's very difficult to get dealerships this close, with this much land on four corners like this, it's unheard of," Mr Riolo said.

"It gives us a strong base. People can come here and look at 12 brands at once."

Mr Woodley and Mr Riolo, together with fellow directors Brad Wilson and Tim Stebbings, have grown the buisness exponentially.

"We turned around a few years ago a thought 'my gosh'," Mr Woodley said.

"When we took over it was around 35 people. We have more than 100 people employed now. It's a big machine."

Just like any machine, there is a lot under the hood that keeps the engine running.

"People think we are just a car yard, but we have a whole administration team, a finance section, warehouse section for spare parts," Mr Woodley said. Along with promoting people to shop locally, there's another key pillar to the Woodley's motto.

"Our focus is always trying to keep the customer happy," Mr Woodley said.

"In a big metro, the odd upset customer doesn't matter, but the only way to get repeated business in a country town is to treat the customers well."