b'Resourceful innovationWhen the United States Army left the Pacific Islands after World War II, it leftmuch of its aging equipment behind. Papua New Guinea in particular was rumouredto have large quantities of heavy machinery in various states of disrepair, mostof it dismantled so that the retreating Japanese couldnt use it. The Australian Government (the administrator of PNG at the time) decided to auction some of it off and the brothers threw their hats in the ring, making the first of many flights to the country. And while it was Cecil who was the frontman in bidding for the big-ticket items, Les, Bert and some of their crew ventured further afield into the mountains and countryside, which was made easier when Les acquired his first plane for the company. Cecil turned his attention to shipping and logistics, and Thiess Bros became quite the fixture out of the Milne Bay marina and docks. In the early 1950s, Thiess Bros bolstered its plant and equipment while enhancing its reputation. The men who made those salvaging trips worked hard, but they also werent averse to a good time either.The repurposing concept was as ingenious as it was crafty, and the brothers had existing experience in this kind of thing. Back in the Great Depression years, they had acquired run-down equipment cheaply from people who needed to sell. The company then relied on the mechanical aptitude of those people to reboot the equipment. But this was a far cry from chatting with neighbours and acquaintances around the Darling Downs; this time they were flying into the wilds of PNG to see what could be shipped home. But that ingenuity, determination and self-confidence back in the 1930s set the foundations for a more complex version of the same idea in the 1950s, preparing the brothers to take on Australias burgeoning coal mining industry. And take it on they most certainly did.21'