After 58 years in practice, one of Queensland’s leading conveyancers retires

As a nervous 14-year-old teenager, Teresa Gageler stepped through the door of well-respected Brisbane law firm Delaney & Delaney for an interview as an office junior.

Fifty-eight years later, she stepped out the door as not only the longest-serving D&D staff member but as retiring Practice Manager, and according to firm Principal Solicitor Fiona Kennedy “the most experienced conveyancer in Queensland”.

Teresa confessed that it was daunting walking into a long-established city firm after being recommended to Partner Bill Delaney by a mutual acquaintance.

“When I got home I said to my mother, I was not sure I fit in,” she said. “You have to be really perfect at everything.”

Despite her initial doubts, on 19 February 1968, Teresa became the “office extra” and “they made sure I was busy”.

Her tasks included hands-on paralegal work such as court and office filing, visiting the Titles and Stamps office, and conducting searches in an age without electronic filing. But the most stressful job was not the attention to detail and accuracy but picking up morning tea for the then Practice Manager Phyllis Orr.

“The work was more labour intensive for us because we had manual typewriters and you had to have it perfect for the Court,” she said.

“At the beginning of the day, you do the filing – all the filing from the day before had to be done,” she recalled.

“Then morning tea time came, I had to get Phyllis’s. This was very daunting when she had the same morning tea every day – apple tea cake at Barry and Roberts, which was next door.

“Some mornings they didn’t have it. So I had to make a decision on what she would have for morning tea. And that was the most stressful part of the job.”

However, Teresa did find herself in a stressful work situation when she first started in the role involving researching plans and searches.

“I’d go to the titles and stamps, do the searching, get the books out, write out the searches,” she recalled of the time-consuming duties.

“So you had to get it right because it was your mistake if you missed something out of the books.

“And then you’d get the plans. You could actually get photocopies of plans.

“The copies of the plans came out with the original plans and Judy (Kugler – long-time colleague) didn’t tell me that the first time I’d picked up the plans.

“I bought the whole plan back, the original plan and the copy. She freaked out and she said, ‘You’ve stolen a plan from the Titles Office’.

“And I thought, Oh my God. So, the next day, I went back with my briefcase, with the plan underneath the briefcase, and I put it on the table, and then I picked up my briefcase and went home.

“Probably all those guys from the Titles Office have gone now but you got to know everyone.

“You knew everyone at Stamps, you knew everyone at Titles, so it was all a bit of fun as well.”

However, being the office extra, it was also decided that Teresa would deliver every city letter.

“So in between all filing and searches, I went around and delivered all the letters,” she said.

“Then I got back, gave it all to Judy, and then I did the washing up for the day, and then I went home. So I don’t think I typed for about three months.”

Teresa said technology had been the biggest change since she started working but in relation to the changes in the law, the commencement of the Family Law Act, which brought in no-fault divorce, and the Land Titles Act, which did away with title deeds, were “the standouts”.

Before the no-fault divorce, the naive Teresa had to type out reports from private investigators as clients sought to action divorce based on adultery.

“We had private eyes working for us to find out if there was adultery in all this,” she said.

“Here am I, by this time I was typing at about age 15, typing all this. Then I’d get to a bad part, and I’d write the initial, and then dot, dot, dot, dot.

“And then Kevin (Delaney) said, “Now Teresa, we have to type the whole thing.

“So there was all of that sort of fun.”

She worked closely with Judith Kugler for more than 50 years and took over the conveyancing from Judith when she moved into wills and estates.

“Although I have probably conveyed every type of property in Queensland what I am my proud of is training and managing the staff,” Teresa said.

“Choosing the right people for the team and mentoring and supporting lawyers as they transition to bigger and better things. Fostering a family environment and supporting staff with their family commitments. 

“Delaney and Delaney had flexible working hours for Judith and I when we had our children and this has always been something very important to me.  Mr Kevin Delaney gave Judith and I the opportunity to work part-time around our children which was not commonly done. Delaney and Delaney has quite a few staff that we have had for many years which is unusual today.”

D&D Associate Tricia Gilmor said Teresa’s colleagues were worried that she would be “too humble” to speak about “all her incredible qualities and what she has achieved over the span of her career”.

“Teresa has been the lifeblood of Delaney & Delaney as the Office Manager with her innate skills in selecting people who will fit into the firm,” she said.

“She fosters a wonderful environment of collegiality and family. When I nervously called up to ask for an additional 12 months’ leave at the end of my maternity leave, she did not skip a beat and said, ‘Of course. Enjoy your daughter.’

“Even before the advent of COVID, where the lines of home and work became blurred, this was occurring in the firm with Teresa leading the charge. She will tell you that this family support was provided to her from the original principal of the firm and she knew how important it was to provide it to others.

“Many a child was raised in the firm by Teresa. Stories of children being put to sleep in filing cabinets and bottle-fed whilst their mothers were in Court are often fondly recounted at staff events. Teresa regularly trains staff children in administration duties encouraging them to work in the firm when they are old enough.”

Teresa said she toyed with the idea of retiring when the COVID pandemic hit, and the firm moved conveyancing to the Wilston office.

“I thought, I don’t need to be around people. No one knew what was going to happen,” she said.

“Fiona said, “We’ll move the conveyancing out there. Do you want to go out there?’ So I did.

“And I loved that because I had more client contact again and I love that too. It was good for Em (Emily Prenzler) the new Practice Manager. I’m there if she needs me, but she took it over, so it was really good.”

Tricia said Teresa had an “amazing knack of managing relationships between staff, putting out fires and providing unwavering support to all staff”.

“If you look at the length of time that staff remain in the firm, the numbers of staff that leave and return to the firm and the staff who have left that continue to refer matters to the firm and stay in contact, this can, in a very big part, be attributable to Teresa,” she said.

“She is adored by current and previous staff members alike. Not to mention clients. She has an unbelievable recollection of matters and has demonstrated an amazing rapport with clients. The Wilston office becomes a hive of chatter when long-standing clients arrive and see Teresa.

“Teresa has continued to maintain a wicked sense of humour, sharp wit and intelligence, great sense of fun and is the go-to person for deciphering Queensland Land Titles Plans and calculating the area of lots when none of us can.

“She charms council officers, government and utilities staff and gets information from them that we could only dream of obtaining. Although her hands-on conveyancing days have finished, she continues to be an incredible asset.

“We have dreaded her retirement and many of us continue to be in denial. We are thrilled that you are writing this article and exposing a gem, who, although not a lawyer, could give us all a run for our money with her wealth of experience and knowledge of the law.”

Teresa jokingly says she won’t miss the people “because they ring me all the time and still ask me stuff” but quickly followed up with examples of staff pitching in when any personal issues affect colleagues with family sickness or loss.

“When something goes wrong in this firm, everyone steps up,” she said. “It’s more than a workplace.

“It’s a family and it’s very hard to leave your family. I did get offers along the way, but it wouldn’t have been like this.”

So why now?

“I’m 73 and my husband knows I’m never home. We have seven acres, so I’m going to get out and help. I need to be at home a bit more because I pick up grandkids a couple of times a week.

“But I wasn’t sure about stopping because they’re just such a good crew out there and I love property law because that’s what I’ve done. It’s been a special place and that’s why I’ve stayed.”

Principal Fiona Kennedy said when she returned to the firm in 2001 that Teresa, Judith Kugler and Bill Delaney were her mentors.

“Teresa was so giving, she provided the wisdom of years in the legal sector and the encouragement that I needed,” she said.

“She is so honest and caring and the most reassuring source of good common sense. We still rely on her nurturing spirit. Even as she goes into retirement, she is still with us.”

So after more than five decades, Teresa’s advice for new lawyers or support staff is “to try a few different areas of law before you decide which path to take in your career.”

Teresa’s path now leads to more travelling in retirement and more time for my garden “which I love and is a bit neglected”. No more apple tea cake deliveries but she’ll still be taking calls.