Noel Pugsley

In January 1948, in an office in Maples Department Store Mildura, sat a mother and her gangly fifteen- year-old son. They were seated before the store manager, Owen Keen. The teen was applying for his first job after finishing his education at Mildura Technical School. The interview progressed well, and the lad was hired to work for Maples as a trainee ticket writer and assistant window dresser. He was to start work on February 4, 1948. Owen Keen had just given William Noel Pugsley the wings which the young man would use with dedication and commitment to fly to the highest levels as Branch Supervisor and Executive Manager of the Maples chain of stores. Noel’s retail abilities saw him progress from the bottom rung of the Mildura store ladder to participation in Board Room decisions, opening branches in southeast Australia, and acting as general trouble-shooter and mentor for the Maples-Clark Rubber chains, before embarking on his own retail businesses.