A taste of the good life
z 1918 Francis Oswald ‘Ossie’ Stevenson starts to learn the baking trade at Tooraweenah
z 1923 Francis moves to Dubbo and opens Stevenson’s Bakery on Macquarie Street
z 1933 Francis moves Stevenson’s Bakery to Talbragar Street
z 1944 Francis sells bakery to his children, Robert and Audrey, and her husband Jack Goss
z 1947 Audrey and Jack buy out Robert’s share and trade under J.E. and A.L. Goss (commonly known as Goss’s Bakery). Audrey’s brothers Doug and John Stevenson work in the business
z 1960 John Stevenson falls in love with Christina Kosseris, daughter of another Dubbo baker, Nick Kosseris
z 1965 John and Christina marry and have three sons – Bill, Robert and John.
z 1982, January 2 – Bill, Robert and John’s grandfather Nick Kosseris, passes away
z 1982, December 26 – Bill, Robert and John’s father John Stevenson passes away (Bill is 16, Robert is 15 and John is 10)
z 1983 Bill Stevenson wins 1st & 2nd Year Apprentice Award at Manildra Bread Show
z 1990 Bill, Robert and John and their wives Carol, Wendy and Kelly purchase Village Hot Bake, Dubbo
z 1992 Supplied products to Queen Elizabeth II and entourage for luncheon on visit in 1992
z 1998 Open the city’s first bakery café
z 1999 Part of Dubbo’s 150 years celebration parade
z 2001 Earlyrise Baking Company to split retail and wholesale businesses
z 2003 Win Great Aussie Meat Pie competition
z 2005 First bakery to win Great Aussie Meat Pie competition twice z 1998 Gold Rhino Village Bakery Cafe
z 2003 Overall Champion – National Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition
z 2005 Overall Champion – National Great Aussie Meat Pie Competition
z 2007 Winner “That’s Life” Inaugural Great Aussie Pie Contest – customer choice
z 2008 Supplied products to Big Brother House when Pamela Anderson was starring
z 2011 TAFE Apprentice of the Year awards – Mark Bateup
z 2012 TAFE Apprentice of the Year awards – Tim Mawbey
z 2013 Gold Rhino Dubbo’s most outstanding business Earlyrise Baking Co
z 2013 Rhino Awards Employee of the Year – Bradley Wilshire
z 2013 Rhino Awards Apprentice of the Year – Rowan Barnes
z 2013 Rhino Awards Excellence in Product and Service
z 2013 Rhino Awards Employer of Choice
z 2014 NSW Business Chamber Employer of Choice – Earlyrise Baking Co.
z 2014 TAFE Apprentice of the Year awards – Rowan Barnes
z 2015 Office of Environment and Heritage Award for Sustainability (Energy Productivity in Action)
z 2018 Emile Serisier Roll of Honour Award, Dubbo Rhinos
z 1994 to present Won more than 200 national awards
z 1991-1995 John Stevenson won several Sydney Institute of Technology Awards for Bread Manufacturing
z Also over the years they’ve hosted Channel 7’s “Sunrise” breakfast show, and also hosted Tim Bailey on Channel 10 Weather WHEN Earlyrise Baking Company production manager Brad Wilshire was 15, he was getting into a lot of trouble at school.
“I walked out the back of Dubbo High one day and across Victoria Park onto Talbragar Street and I saw the Village Hot Bake sign and told myself I was going to get a job there. I went in and saw Bill Stevenson and he said, ‘You start tonight at 12 o’clock’,” Brad told Dubbo Photo News.
"I sliced bread for a few days and they offered me an apprenticeship. I have never looked back."
Just about every job at Earlyrise Baking Company is a roll-up-yoursleeves position and working his way up in the company from apprentice to Production Manager has rewarded Brad in many ways.
“I’ve made a lot of life-long friends. I like the teams and the team energy. I really get a lot out of that. We face some big days, weeks, even months and you get to the end of that, sit down together and you think to yourself, wow, we just did that.
“You get out of it what you put in though. It is hard work. It’s a fast-moving consumable product so it’s not easy, but it’s very rewarding,” Brad said.
In a production line that’s putting out thousands of products an hour, such as 400 pies every 15 minutes out of seven ovens, or monitoring the slicing of 75 loaves of bread a minute, his job keeps him on his toes.
“There’s always challenges. We always try to be positive and look for solutions. That’s the name of the game. If you let things that are going wrong get on top of you, you’re in trouble.”
Walking away from trouble as a 15-year-old set him on a path to success and Brad is sure it was meant to be.
“I spent some time in Trangie when MERRICK
I was a young kid and we lived next door to Henry’s Hot Bake, so I used to kick around with their son a bit, and I’d see inside the bakery and it intrigued me back then.
“As I grew up, my grandmother, Beryl Wilshire, ran a smoko van. She was very well known, and she was supplied from Goss’s Bakery and then later on from Village Hot Bake, so on school holidays, I’d be doing the smoko with my grandmother and
I’d see the bakery and all the baked products.
“I never really forgot it, so for destiny to lead me across the park that day, and see the bakery and tell myself I’m going to get a job there; I get a buzz out of that.
“I’m proud of my achievements. I’ve won some awards along the way. The company has won many awards. It seems it just keeps ticking boxes and it’s onwards and upwards. It’s a great feeling to be part of that team,” he said.