Lifestyle

Hard work, family and a few wild adventures: The legacy Jeff Dellow wants to leave

Emily Darlow

Sep 06, 2026

Jeff Dellow with his children.

Jeff Dellow has already done something many people spend years meaning to do: he has written down his life story.

It begins with one of his earliest memories, when his mother put him in the bath with his father and he was treated to an elaborate story about travelling by canoe through the Belgian Congo while people fired arrows at him.

The story was completely invented, but to a young Jeff it confirmed that his father was the most impressive man in the world.

“I thought, this father of mine, mate, he’s a fantastic bloke,” Jeff recalled.

In the final article in our four-part series inspired by Your Story, Dad, a guided keepsake journal published by Penguin, Jeff, 85, reflects on the stories, values and adventures he wants his children and grandchildren to remember.

Jeff, who lives at Woolooware Shores, was an only child and describes his parents as the most important influences in his life.

“My mother and father, in spots one, two and three most important,” he said. “They were bloody terrific.”

His father taught him to work, save his money and treat people with good manners. He also gave Jeff the childhood stories he now passes on to his own family.

“We went shooting together, we went fishing together, we stole fruit together,” he said. “We did everything. Truly, it was growing up at its best.”

As a teenager, Jeff had an idea for a part for a Holden motor car. He made the part, then began producing others as demand grew.

“They took off like you wouldn’t believe,” he said. “I just kept making them, working in the garage until late at night. I was keen.”

His business now manufactures 2,000 different automotive parts for vehicle brands including Holden, Ford, Jaguar and Mazda, which are sent to customers around the world.

Jeff’s three adult children – two daughters and a son, all work alongside him.

“They’re hard workers who I love having work with me,” he said.

Hard work is central to Jeff’s outlook, but so is his belief that children should understand the connection between effort and money.

As a father, he made sure his children could earn what they needed, but he did not simply hand money to them.

“I made sure they had plenty of money in their pocket, but I never gave them any money,” he said. “They worked for the money because I didn’t believe in pocket money.”

Jeff describes himself as a strict but fair father. He wanted his children to develop independence, good manners and the ability to support themselves, just as his parents had taught him.

The advice he continues to give younger people is practical: dress properly for a job interview, present yourself well and greet people with a firm handshake.

“My father said it’s one of the greatest signs of friendship,” he said.

He also wants his children and grandchildren to understand the importance of working hard, saving what they earn and setting a good example for their own children.

“Kids can only be as good as their parents teach them,” he said.

However, Jeff does not want to be remembered solely for work and financial discipline. Adventure has also been a large part of his family life.

He has taken his children around the world four times, accumulating stories involving foreign roads, jokes, pranks and a memorable encounter with a French cornfield.

“We were in France once, and there were some cornfields,” he said. “My youngest daughter says, ‘Hey, Dad, there’s some corn in there.’ I tell you what, we ate very well that night.”

Jeff also claims the family once outran the police in Mexico, although the details of that adventure remain unexplained.

“We’ve been through Central America. I couldn’t tell you everything, but they will remember me, and the adventures, the jokes and all the pranks,” he said.

When asked what he hopes his family will say about him in the future, Jeff’s answer returns to the values his parents taught him.

“That Jeff got us on our feet,” he said. “Jeff got us going, taught us to save and showed us how hard work pays off.”

Jeff has six grandchildren, who he says “all love their pop”, and he continues to tell them the stories of his own childhood.

“I’ve written everything out,” he said. “I’ve written a life story about myself, starting from the very first day I can remember.”

Recording those memories means his family will inherit more than a list of dates, jobs and achievements. They will know about the father he adored, the business that began in a garage, the family trips, the stolen fruit and the lessons he believed were worth passing on.

“Being a proud father is the greatest legacy that I’d leave,” Jeff said. “And they know it.”