b'1927 1929First roadworks First damOn the Darling Downs, Les ThiessBert and Stan Thiessoperatingundertakes his first independentas Thiess Brotherssink their firstcontract for the Queensland small dam on the Darling Downs.Department of Transport andMain Roads.his wish. On Sunday afternoons, the motley Thiess crew would pack a weeks supply of corned meat and a bag of bread, and slow-drive their meagre equipment to local corn farms or to a property in need of a small dam. Theyd camp out on the property after a hard days work, often with the old corn husks as bedding and the sky as their ceiling.Working closely, Horn & ThiessIn 1927, Les bluffed his way into his first independent contract. The job was with and Thiess Bros made the mostQueenslands Department of Transport and Main Roads to move soil to a job site forof South East Queenslandsan hourly rate. Using his familys machinery, he and an eighteen-year-old neighbour called Fred Zimmerlewhod lost a hand in an incident with farm equipment (not post-Depression prosperity uncommon in those days)partnered up to get the job done. They worked frantically and continued to grow throughand their hard work did not go unnoticed. After a while, Les and Fred parted ways and, the late 1930s. in 1933, Les teamed up with the more experienced Henry Stumpy Horn to create Horn& Thiess, earning a bit of coin through small-scale land-clearing jobs. Soon after, another Downs man, Jack Corbett, completed the trio.Les younger brothers, Bert and Stan, were by this time running a similar contract business, Thiess Bros, registered in 1934, contract ploughing and sinking small dams with their 2-tonne tractor and scoop. Working closely, Horn & Thiess and Thiess Bros made the most of south-east Queenslands post-Depression prosperity and continued to grow through the late 1930s. Then, in 1940, the pivotal Heifer Creek job crystallised the business industry position and the two came together more formally. By this stage, Bert Thiess had married Stumpys daughter Vera, so Stumpy stepped aside to allow his now son-in-law into the bigger business. Les and Bert organised the new arrangement under Thiess Bros but would only fully incorporate the business in 1947. By then, their name had already earned a valuable reputation. With all the brothers and their families enjoying life on the roadand often contributing to the direct labour and success of projectsThiess foundation in family secured the companys future.10'