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12 | HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| AUGUST 2012
INDUSTRY IN FOCUS
A pioneer of the hire industry in Australia
and a pivotal player in the development of
Kennards Hire, Neville Kennard has died at
the age of 74.
Neville died on June 3 after a short
illness. He is survived by his wife Gaby, the
celebrated solo around-the-world aviatrix,
three sons, Sam, Walt and Jim, his first wife
Roddy, and six grandchildren.
The eldest son of Walter and Theo and
brother to Joan and Andy, Neville, or Nev,
as he was known, was educated in public
schools before attending All Saints College,
Bathurst, and Shore School North Sydney.
Like most people in his day, Nev did not
receive tertiary education. He said this
was one reason for his success because
it allowed him a lifetime of learning
and intrigue without the restraints of
over-education.
While he had minimal formal business
training, he would say he had “a PhD
from UHK” (University of Hard Knocks).
He devoured books and ideas, exhibited
exceptional curiosity about what might
or might not work, and soaked up
information from conferences and personal
development courses.
Business is in the family’s DNA. His father
and uncles operated a wholesale hardware
company, Kennard Brothers, which Nev
joined upon leaving school, working as a
country salesman.
When this business was sold off, Nev
went to work for W Kennard & Co, which
his father started after moving to Bathurst
because the climate was better for his
asthma. It sold rural supplies and machinery,
was the Caltex agent and also sold Hillman
and Humber cars.
It was in Bathurst in 1948 Walter made
his first hire, continuing the idea when
the family moved to Sydney in 1951 and
operating from the garage of their Mosman
home. They also sold and hired car roof
racks which Walter began importing after
seeing them in England. During the surfing
craze in the 1960s, Kennard roof racks were
THE brand. This sideline was later sold.
In 1962, Nev, who was just 25, bought the
hire business from his father and, in 1964,
was joined by his younger brother Andy.
They were partners for 27 years. Together,
they built Kennards Hire into the largest
family-owned hire company in Australia.
In 1991, the brothers amicably separated
their business interests, with Nev taking the
specialist operations, including self-storage.
Nev, together with his son Sam, developed
Lasting legacy from industry great
VALE – Neville John Kennard
1937 – 2012
Kennards Self Storage into one of the
biggest operations of its kind in Australia
and New Zealand.
Nev was a trail-blazer in many ways.
In 1967, he founded and was the first
president of the Hire Association of NSW,
which aimed for a “progressive, profitable
and ethical hire industry” and grew into a
national body. Nev was honoured with life
membership.
Leading the way
He also pioneered self-storage in
Australia in 1974 by building the first units
on the Kennards Hire property at Moore-
bank. This grew into Kennards Self Storage,
in which Nev and his son Sam were part-
ners, with 70 locations in Australia and New
Zealand. In 1990, Nev was instrumental in
establishing what is today, the Self Storage
Association of Australasia. He served on its
board and was made a life member.
Nev was strongly independent, and
was passionate about the rights and
responsibilities of personal freedom and
property rights. In 1975, he stood for the
Senate, representing the Workers Party,
founded by businessman John Singleton.
Nev was also founding chairman of
the board of the Centre for Independent
Studies (CIS), which is now considered
the leading intellectual “think tank” on
freedom in Australia. He was an early
“greenie,” supporting Ian Kiernan when he
started Clean Up Australia and planted 100
acres of forestry in the 1970s.
An adventurer, Nev loved Australia’s open
spaces and joined Dick Smith, Peter Pigott
and Hans Tholstrup in several challenges.
He flew fixed wing planes and helicopters
around Australia, landed on Lake Eyre, rode
a motor cycle from Perth to the centre, and
drove across the Simpson Desert. He bought
and sank two amphibian aeroplanes, one in
the swamps of Louisiana and the other off
the coast of north western Australia.
A strong believer in fitness, he attempted
to climb Mt Aconcagua (7000 metres), was
a regular in the City to Surf and ocean
swims, kayaked around the islands of North
Queensland and sailed competitively in
small yachts (winning 20 races in a row in
Bluebirds) and Solings.
“Nev was the most wonderful brother
and business partner to me. I will miss him
terribly,” Andy said.
Nev will be remembered not only for
his achievements in hire and self-storage,
but also as a philosopher, political activist,
adventurer and one of Australia’s earliest
“greenies” who despised waste and
supported early environmental causes.
HR
Andy and Neville Kennard in the early days of Kennards Hire