Celebrating 80 years of baking bread, pies and cakes in Gloucester, Rotary visited Hebbys Bakery’s two story complex on Church Street under the guiding hand of third generation baker Colin Hebblewhite.
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The business has had various names, such as Brown and Witt in 1936, then Peerless Bakery until 1986, and finally Hebby’s. The original bakery was in King Street and in 1971 Colin's father Norm had the current premises constructed in Church Street, Gloucester.
The bakery operates six nights a week from 11pm, with seven local men under the supervision of Steven Hebblewhite working through the night. A fourth generation baker, Steven is the son of Vic Hebblewhite, Colin's older brother who operated the bakery business with Colin for many years until his retirement.
Every morning at 5am a truck arrives to take the load of bread, pies and cakes over to Taree for delivery to various shops and schools.
Hebby’s tries to use Australian products in their baking, sourcing flour from Dubbo and alternating their pie meat between the two local butchers. Sam de Witte tells of delivering 76kg bags of flour to the bakery until OH & S decided they were too heavy.
The Rotary club was treated to a scrumptious breakfast of croissants, raisin toast and coffee following the tour. All present admired Hebby’s strong family heritage and what they had contributed to the town. It really is the focal point of the main street.
Peter Markey
