A Brief History

Shacks was first established in 1922 as a small automotive shop by a young and ambitious Andy Shack. It has stood the test of time throught the recession and war years and kept up to date with the latest technology and product advancements. A year after it was open, Shacks was appointed the Fremantle agent for Willys-Overland and later moved to a newer and bigger premises at Queen Victoria St. Andy Shack originally serviced Willys-Overlands, T-Models, Hupmobiles and many other brand names now long forgotten except by vintage car enthusiasts. With the help of an assistant, Andy supplied petrol from the first petrol pump installed in Fremantle. The petrol was purchased in 4 gallon tins and emptied by hand into and underground petrol tank.

The company progressed steadily until 1930, when the effects of the Great Depressions were severely felt and thus fought hard to survive. Two years later, Shacks became the Fremantle sub dealer for Chevrolet. Pat Kerr joined Andy Shack as a business partner in 1934 and for the next few years, the company experienced improvement until the beginning of the second world war in 1939. The motor industry was declared a 'protected industry' and Shacks carried out maintainence of large fleets of essential service trucks due to wartime shortage of parts and manpower.

After the war the business expanded with Shacks being appointed a General Motors dealer. With the advent of the first Holden vehicle, Shacks was accredited as a Holden dealer and the company became know as Shacks Holden.