It has taken her three years to stitch it all together: former Maldon resident Leigh Jacobs has meticulously compiled an album of photos and documents that tell the story of her father Keith Laity’s life.
The [Tarrangower] Times had the privilege of looking through Leigh’s tribute to her father last week, and spoke to her about what comes next. In an ideal world, what Leigh would like is someone who is willing to take up the challenge of writing an account of Keith’s life. He was a remarkable man, who was influential throughout the motor sport world as well as in his home town.
Here is a little of his story.
Keith Maldon Laity was born in Maldon in 1910. When Keith asked his mother where he had come from, she told him that he had been brought in Dr Gray’s little Renault car. It was from that date, according to Keith, that he became interested in cars!
As a teenager in the 1920s, Keith went to the city and worked as an apprentice mechanic in a garage in Malvern. In 1929, he competed in the first Tarrengower Hill Climb on a 1927 Indian Super Scout bike, and that was it. He was hooked on racing.
In the 1930s, Keith became a garage proprietor and set up shop in the building that now houses Robert Cox’s business. He married Myra Elliott and they had their honeymoon in Sydney. Keith and Myra had a long marriage and a close professional relationship. They had two daughters: Kaye and Leigh.
Throughout his life, Keith was a pioneer of motor sport and owned and raced cars in many events. In addition to running the garage, he and Myra owned a taxi business. “Or a hire car service, as it was known in those days,” Leigh said. “State politician Harry Grigg, who lived in Maldon, didn’t have a licence and so Dad was basically his driver. He took Harry all over, to Bendigo, Ballarat and Melbourne. I sometimes went along for the ride – I was Dad’s shadow. I enjoyed spending time with him.”
The 1940s, 1950s and 1960s continued to be productive years for Keith and Myra. Ever forward-looking and ever the businessman, Keith demolished the old bank building on the corner of High and Main Streets in the 1950s. He then built a new garage on the site, and according to Leigh he used the bricks salvaged from the bank building. His apprentices included Jock Kinross, Andy Bullen and Robert Cox.
The Laitys built the cream brick house on the north-east corner of High and Camp Streets, where the old Criterion Hotel once stood. He and Myra remained in that home for the rest of their lives.
Leigh remembers a busy family life with many holidays – all taken, of course, in a car. “He was still towing a caravan to Queensland at the age of 88,” she said, “and at that age liked to get behind the wheel of a racing car. Even though he could be tough, Dad would help anyone. If we were driving back from Melbourne and someone was broken down on the side of the road, he’d always stop. ‘I can get them going in five minutes,’ he’d say. And he did.”
Keith and Myra were fortunate enough to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary at the Maldon Golf Club in 1987 and their diamond wedding anniversary in 1997 at the Maldon Hotel. Keith’s 90th birthday party, held at the Maldon Hotel, was the last big milestone in his life. He died in 2001.
Keith Laity had a long and interesting life, and his story is very much intertwined with Maldon’s history as well as that of motor sport.
In demolishing the old building on Bank corner and building a new garage, Keith changed the face of Maldon forever. This action, however, should be looked at in the context of the times; it happened almost a decade before old buildings were considered in the light of heritage values. In those days, knocking down the old and building the new was considered to be progress.
If you enjoy writing and have an interest in the town’s history, this might be a project for you! Much of the information needed to write Keith’s story is contained in the album that Leigh has created. And a mine of information exists in the memories of Keith’s family and longtime Maldon residents. If you’d like to know more, feel free to get in touch with Leigh via the [Tarrangower] Times, by emailing us at editor@tarrangowertimes.com.au or ringing 5475 2256.
See all the pictures in the issue.
This article appeared in the Tarrangower Times, 12 April 2024.
