Former Busselton businessman John Fennessy, better known as Jack by his family and friends, was born in Victoria and one of eleven siblings.
In 1926 aged 22 years, Jack was a salesperson with CML Insurance in Melbourne. He became unsettled in his occupation selling insurance during difficult times.
He had heard good things about Western Australia and the opportunities that were available on the West Coast. With that in mind he decided to head west and put his trust in the labour force.
His first job was on a wheat and sheep farm in the Trayning area of WA's Wheatbelt. After a few years he decided to see what Perth had to offer.
As luck would have it, Jack reconnected with CML insurance and he became chief superintendent of rural WA. He later moved to Bunbury and worked for Rural Motors Ford Dealership.
In 1935, Jack married Bunbury woman Eileen Martin, a union which produced seven children.
Jack covered the Bubury and Busselton areas representing Rural Motors Ford Dealership. During his time in Busselton he met Eric Allen who ran a vehicle repair business.
Eric would pass on information to Jack of anyone he knew who was interested in a vehicle.
Eric and Jack got on well together and overtime they talked about a business partnership selling and servicing used vehicles.
However, the idea never eventuated but it did sow a seed in Jack's mind about the possibility of starting a Ford dealership in Busselton. He decided to go ahead and lodged an application with the Ford Motor Company at their Leighton office.
Jack's application was accepted by Ford's state manager Mr Kendall who went onto say, Jack you are now officially Busselton's first Ford dealer.
In July 1945 an excited Mr Fennessy arrived in Busselton to live with his wife Eileen and his family of four.
Initially because of the war, new vehicles were difficult to acquire. Jack would purchase and sell recycled ex-Army vehicles from Ford which he sold from his rented premises on Albert Street (where Hungry Jack's is now located).
In 1947 he moved from the original property and built a new premises, which also included a service station, on the corner of West Street and Bussell Highway.
A neon sign proudly stood out illuminating the sky with 'Fennessy's For Ford.'
Sadly, Jack passed away from heart failure in 1956 aged 52 years.
Jack achieved a huge amount in his short time as a businessman in those 11 years. He doubled the size of the original building, built a house behind the dealership and was deeply involved in the community.
According to Jack's obituary published in the South West Times on August 2, 1956, 'Death of Prominent Busselton Citizen', he was a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture Society, St John's Ambulance, the Rotary Club of Busselton and was president of the Local Spastic Council.
His two eldest sons Peter and Michael, aged 18 and 16 years at the time, were employed at the business. They took the reigns and for the next six years went through a challenging time without their father's influence at the helm, but little did they know what was around the corner.
As time passed, John Donavan, who represented General Motors, visited Peter and Michael suggesting they should consider leaving Ford and take on a GM Holden franchise. Without a doubt this was a unique opportunity for the brothers to significantly increase sales throughout the coming years.
After five months of negotiations with Mr Donavan, Peter (24) and Michael (22) were convinced the correct decision for the future of the family business was to go with General Motors Holden.
The final decision for the brothers was a difficult one on several fronts, but in the end the brothers said to be successful in business you need to have a range of popular products everyone wants or needs. So they moved to Holden.
The brothers kept a watchful eye on their finances to ensure the company was always in a position to expand their service and customer facilities. Looking back it was a good decision, the Fennessy's started selling GMH products as of December 12, 1962. The brothers excelled in sales and customer satisfaction.
Through their individual efforts Peter, Michael and Dick won many awards between them for their outstanding sales selling Holden vehicles, quality service and with John doing an exemplary job managing the parts department. The real bonus for the family was an opportunity for siblings Dick and John to join Peter and Michael at the dealership.
Eventually, they added Nissan to their range, which soon became an important part of the business offering customers another choice in passenger and commercial vehicles, again winning many awards for their sales and service.
In 1992, they built a new dealership which still stands today on the same site.
The four brothers have now retired and sold their business and feel comfortable that their father would be happy to see four of his sons worked together up until their retirement in 1997.
Ironically, since the new owners purchased Fennessy's Holden Nissan in 1997, they have now moved onto selling Ford products from the same property where Jack was appointed Busselton's first Ford dealer.
Sadly, after 75 years of the Fennessy name being synonymous with the automobile industry in Busselton and surrounding areas the trading name is about to be changed.
Peter, Michael, Dick and John have fond memories of their time at the company which was founded by their father Jack in 1945.
They also have fond memories of the many loyal customers and staff who supported their business over the years.
When asked where the Fennessy's saw the motor industry heading into the future, they all agreed that because manufacturing had ceased in Australia, the franchise system was virtually the same as it was back in the 1970's.
"The industry is heading into significant changes in the way vehicles will be marketed and serviced in the future," they said.
