In a corner of Herb Spilsbury's work shed in Townsville, there's a little pocket of Commission history – an original tool box with Commission tools and paintbrushes that would be at least 40 years old.
Herb Spilsbury, now in his 80s, was a leading hand-painter for the Commission's Garbutt Depot from April 1951 until he retired in 1988.
For 37 years, he painted the inside of thousands of Commission houses in and around Townsville.
To help him and his colleagues, Herb even invented special tools to make their jobs easier and more effective. He developed two slim-lined chisels to help remove glass panels from wooden doors. “These tools had a very thin blade and were used to separate the wooden beads from the door without causing too much damage,” Herb said.
Herb used other tools like a diamond point driver to insert sheets of glass into place and also has several hacking knives in his box of tricks – a widely used tool at the time.
“I've painted a lot of houses,” he said.
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