25/08/2026
Thanks Belinda McCormack for posting this gem .
A Business That Refused to Disappear
Among the faded advertisements of another era, this small newspaper notice tells a surprisingly significant story.
“McCORMACK BROS., Auctioneers, Land & Commission Agents, Stock Salesmen, and Valuators, South Woodburn.” Richmond River Herald - March 1918
The advertisement goes on to announce regular cattle and pig sales at Woodburn and Coraki, clearing-out sales throughout the district, and even the provision of trust money to lend.
At first glance, it is simply an advertisement for a business that existed more than a century ago. But look a little closer, and it becomes a reminder of something quite remarkable: T & W McCormack Pty Ltd has survived through generations, changing with the times while remaining firmly connected to the community it serves.
At the beginning of the 1900s, McCormack Bros. operated in a community where land, livestock, property and finance were all closely connected. They were not simply selling property. They were helping people buy land, move livestock, settle estates, clear farms and make important financial decisions. Their business was woven into the everyday fabric of the district.
In many ways, that remains true today.
What makes the history of McCormack's particularly remarkable is that the business has endured through good times and difficult ones, while many others have come and gone. Over the years, the real estate industry has changed dramatically. Modern agencies can close under one franchise, reopen under another, change their branding, ownership or corporate affiliation, and present themselves as something entirely new.
But does changing the sign above the door necessarily change the business itself?
Is it genuine reinvention, or simply another strategy to meet corporate targets and KPIs?
Perhaps the better measure of a business is not the franchise name it operates under, but whether it continues to provide something of genuine value to the people and community it serves.
The advertisement for McCormack Bros. is a wonderful reminder that longevity in business is about far more than simply surviving financially. It is about building trust, maintaining relationships, understanding the local community and continuing to be there when people need you.
More than a century separates that little newspaper advertisement from the modern McCormack real estate office, yet the fundamental principle remains remarkably similar. Land still changes hands. People still buy and sell property. Estates still need to be managed. And people still want to deal with someone who understands their community.
Franchises may change. Logos may change. Business structures may change. But a business that continues through generations carries something that cannot simply be bought with a new brand — history, reputation, local knowledge and trust.
Many agencies never make it that far.
To continue operating, adapting and serving the community for more than a century is to become something greater than just another real estate business.
It is to become part of the history of the place you serve — and that is something McCormack's can be proud of.
