Berry’s Electronics has been a fixture in Oamaru since June 1971, when the then electrical retail and repair shop opened for business in Thames St.
Born in Milton, Mr Berry (81) moved to Oamaru at the age of 2 with his parents.
His father was a hairdresser and mother a schoolteacher.
At a young age he developed a love for radios and their inner workings, which would eventually lead to a long career in the industry.
"That’s what I wanted to do, really.
"My maternal grandfather had a farm at Five Forks and he knew all of the people around Five Forks. During the school holidays I would go out and drive tractors on a couple of farms for the Johnson family out there. One holidays my dad said would I want a job at Columbus Radio, because the owner had heard I loved radios. I was 16 years old."
While there he spent his time repairing valve radios, which would eventually be superceded by transistor radios.
After a stint of compulsory military training at the age of 18, Mr Berry found himself being transferred to Wellington when the lease on the business’ Oamaru premises ran out and another could not be found.
He worked in the capital for about two years, as a final tester on the company’s assembly line.
Mr Berry soon returned to the South Island.
"I remember it was election day in 1957 when I drove from Wellington because I was transferred to Dunedin, to be the serviceman-in-charge down there."
In addition to radios the company was a leading producer of intercom systems, which Mr Berry said accounted for the bulk of the company’s business at the time.
As technology changed and the company was impacted, he decided to move back to Oamaru in the late 1950s after he was recruited by Mark Blackie, who managed a small business.
In 1961 Mr Berry started with Colliers Refrigeration, where he entered a three-way partnership to run it.
After a decade there, he decided to go out on his own.
Berry’s Electronics sold and repaired various products from radios to components and while the retail arm no longer exists he is kept busy carrying out repairs, a job he still enjoys.
"I love the detective work. You have got to do to nut out the problem, really. Being able to do that is quite satisfying."
He considered the biggest changes he had seen in the industry to have been the reduction in the size of electrical components and their efficiency.
"It’s 10,000 times better."
Mr Berry had no firm plans to retire and was content in his work.
"I have no idea, really. I’ve been trying to retire for a number of years so I take on less now, I’m quite choosy with what I do."
- Daniel Birchfield
