Having Another Stab(b) At It By Penny Edmanson
The excitement was palpable and thanks to social media, news of the most talked about business in town soon spread – Stabby’s was reopening. Locals and holiday owners alike had waited impatiently as their beloved butchery underwent renovations and refurbishments. On 24 March, approvals were signed off and on Tuesday 30 March the doors opened to pretty much the same business with the same faces, but a different pecking order. Katrina Stabb is now in charge, with the “retired” Gordon giving a life of leisure a whole new perspective. He is still very much involved – helping Katrina and of course making those famous sausages. It’s clear to see that the two have an easy relationship, able to give each other the occasional ribbing (no pun intended) but also respectful of each other’s views. Stabb’s Butchery had been part of the Anglesea profile for over 30 years. Gordon purchased the business in 1986. He had no prior connection with Anglesea but was looking for a change and a bit of a challenge at the time it came on the market. Although Gordon didn’t come from a family of butchers, he did get a taste for the trade when he and his four siblings helped their parents out on their small farm in Moolap. His dad was a marine engineer wh\o worked on the tugs in the port of Geelong. Having a threeweek-on, one-week-off roster, and a wife from a farming background, Gordon’s dad used his time off to
The community has been thrilled to see Stabb’s Butchers re-open its doors under the management of Katrina Stabb, with help from her dad Gordon.
become an A-grade farmer, winning prizes for his fat lambs. He taught himself the art of home butchering – a skill that Gordon took to the next level – first apprenticed at 15 years of age in Leopold, where he stayed for 15 months, and then working for 10 years with Knights in West Geelong.
with her forebears the Pescud brothers selling the first meat on the goldfields in Ballarat. The tradition carried on through the generations, with Joy’s mother and brothers all in that line of work. An uncle, Harry Pescud, even built an early butcher’s shop in Torquay from mud brick.
In those days, Knights was a big enterprise, employing a large staff and having an active social club. It was there that romance blossomed, with Gordon meeting and subsequently marrying the young Joy Woods.
In 1976, Gordon and Joy took the leap and bought their first business in Garden Street, East Geelong. Gordon recalls that the community spirit in those days was very much like Anglesea is now, with people genuinely caring for and supporting each other.
What Gordon lacked in butchering heritage, Joy more than made up for,
After 10 years of building up a highly
Photos of the old Pescud Butchers in Geelong in the early 1900s (with Joy Stabb’s uncle on the horse). 12
NewsAngle | Publication of the Anglesea Community House | Community Houses are for Everyone
