This week we said our final goodbyes to Rick Wolany, OAM, a legend in his own lifetime.
How do you do justice to his 70 years on earth? Rick was a lad who was the product of growing up in the 1960s in the wild west of Melbourne.
He loved the hurly burly of the western suburbs and, as they say, ‘you can take the boy out of the west, but you can’t take the west out of the boy’.
Rick was a self-starter and what we would call now a ‘triple threat’ – physically, mentally and financially strong.
Rick was a champion boxer in the 1960s and into the early 1970s, ultimately fighting for an Australian championship.
He was unsuccessful in that fight, however by his own admission he should’ve trained harder. He was a regular on the then TV Ringside which aired on Monday nights directly from Festival Hall on Channel 7, where he fought under the name ‘Ricky Datsun’.
Rick commenced work in the motor car industry in the late 1960s as a car detailer, however he had bigger plans for himself.
He asked his boss at the time could he please be a salesman. His bemused boss promptly said no! Rick kept at him until he agreed that if Rick could sell a specific number of cars within the next few days he could have the role of a salesman. Rick achieved his sales target and, as they say, the rest is history.
He continued to work hard, culminating with the purchase of his first motor car dealership on the April 1,1989 – Rick Wolany Toyota – in the fast-developing City of Werribee, now the City of Wyndham.
Rick was ahead of his time and created the most successful Toyota dealership in Australia’s history, winning the Metropolitan Toyota Dealer of the Year for a record straight 10 years as well as the coveted Toyota President’s Award, also for 10 consecutive years – a record that will never be broken!
He created a strong work family and employed hundreds of local residents over the years. Rick was a philanthropist who pumped millions of dollars into Wyndham sporting and community organisations over almost two decades and also supported the community in many ways not known by most. He was a man of compassion, who never forgot his roots.
Rick’s trademark was his bow tie and braces, a tradition that started when he was first selling cars, so customers would remember who he was when they returned to buy their car.
It’s ironic that over the last few weeks, Toyota ceased manufacturing in Australia, his beloved former Werribee Street dealership yard was pulled down and made into a council carpark and Rick passed away.
RIP Rick Wolany OAM, you will be sadly missed by all your family and friends.
The funeral service will be conducted at W.D. Rose Funerals, 139 Marriage Road, Brighton East tomorrow, November 1, at 2.30pm.
– Shane Bourke is a five time former mayor of Wyndham and close friend of Rick Wolany.
