2 May 2019

Mother's Day in WA

Mother's Day in Bridgetown

For Hayley Thorpe, it’s a pleasure working everyday with her mum, Coleen, as owners of Bridgetown Newsagency. The mother-daughter duo say in the two years they’ve owned and operated the Lotterywest store they’ve had very few challenges spending so much time together and complement each other at work.

“We take ownership of different areas of the business so Mum does these amazing window displays and I take care of the social media side. We bounce ideas off each other regularly and get any differing opinions out in the open,” said Hayley.

They said the winners and the benefit to the community are what keeps them coming back to the Lotterywest counter each day.

“We love it when winners don’t know they’ve won and we get to tell them,” said Hayley.

“Just a few weeks ago we paid out a Super66 ticket of $6,666. The lady was over the moon as her daughter is getting married and she couldn’t help with the wedding before then.”

The mother-daughter team said they love evolving their business together and said this Mother’s Day they’ll be combining Lotto tickets and scratchie packs to make the perfect gift for Mum.

As for their Mother’s Day, they’ll be spending it on the family farm for a meal.

“There’s 12 of us, including the kids, so it’s a pretty noisy get together but always a lot of fun,” she said.

Mother's Day in Mundaring

We all try to spend Mother’s Day with our mums but for Lotterywest retailers Helen and Gareth Murgatroyd, nearly every day is spent together.

Helen and Phil Murgatroyd have owned and operated Mundaring Lottery Centre & News for the past 20 years. Their son, Gareth, came on board to help the family business 10 years ago, after finishing his university studies.

It’s here at their Mundaring store, that the mother-son duo spend the majority of their time together.

“Gareth and I enjoy being retailers because of the interaction with our customers. Each day is different and we hope when customers come into our store, their day gets brighter,” Helen said.

Mother’s Day is a particularly busy time in their store and popular gifts include Lotto tickets, scratchies, candles, frames, and cards.

So what are their tips for maintaining a good relationship at work and home?

”We work well together because we’re both easy going, think alike and like to laugh,” Helen said.

“We try not to talk about work after hours, so we get quality personal time together, sharing a love of cooking and a good action movie.

“Gareth brings new ideas and energy to the business and sharing the same personality type helps.”

Gareth said working with his mother gave him the opportunity to learn all aspects of the business.

“We rarely see things differently and always respect each other’s opinion,” he said.

They’ll be spending their Mother’s Day with family and of course with good food!