Paint the town

Photo: Earles Paints Maryborough.

Earles Paints

George and Ruby Earle moved to Maryborough as newlyweds and opened Maryborough Signs in 1936.  WWII took many men from the region, and the business closed but George reopened in 1942.  In 1949 George and Ruby took over the paint and wholesale portion of local retailer Corsers, ensuring work for Corsers staff.

Like others in Maryborough, George and Ruby were innovators. They had one of the first stores in Queensland to have an in-store colour centre to help co-ordinate colours for the whole house, and staff went to the customer’s home to do colour schemes that took advantage of the house’s features.

This approach was so successful that ensuing generations of the Earle family went on to open paint stores in Bundaberg, Rockhampton Hervey Bay, Yeppoon, North Rockhampton, Kingaroy, Emerald and North Rockhampton and in 2006 the family returned to their Brisbane roots to open a store at Underwood.