History of Robertson Gemini Ltd
ROBERTSON GEMINI LTD·TUESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2018·
Robertson Gemini was established in Dalbeattie in 1921 by William Robertson. Initially William, an Aberdonian, worked as a shoemaker in the town but in 1921 he setup the Robertson garage. The garage was was situated on the site of The Skeoch Utility Cyclecar company. These unique cars aimed to fill a gap in the marke
t for small, inexpensive cars. The building was destroyed by fire, and sadly no examples of the car exist today. William Robertson took over the site and opened his garage. The business passed to William’s son in the 1950s and continued to grow. As well as the business of car repairs and maintenance, it also provided taxis, cars, scaffy wagons and farm machinery. In the early 1960s it was passed to Stewart Robertson, a mere boy of 13, when his father passed away. The foreman ran the business while Stewart completed his education and served his apprenticeship at Penman’s in Dumfries. The businesses expanded with the opening of the Castle Douglas branch in 1993 – taking over the Thomas Corrie establishment (a well respected garage) at Morris House in Cotton Street. That same year also saw the Dalbeattie branch have a major refit, including a new forecourt, with extra fuel pumps, and a shop. By 1999 the majority of the business was transferred to the larger Castle Douglas premises, and the Dalbeattie operation became the Esso filling station, as it stands today. Robertsons was proud to be the only Rover franchise in Dumfries & Galloway at the time, and Stewart was appointed as a Rover 75 specialist. As well as a shrewd businessman and excellent mechanic, Stewart had a passion for rally driving. He often competed in the Galloway Hill Rally and other local challenges, but also further afield, including Brands Hatch, Donnington and Silverstone to name but a few. Not content with car rallying, he also took up mountain biking and founded the Dalbeattie Hard Rock Challenge; Robertson Gemini proudly continue to support the event. Tragically Stewart had an untimely death in 2010 while out mountain biking and the reins of the business were taken up by his wife Caroline. Robertson Gemini continues to thrive with Caroline at the helm, and her plan is to ultimately pass the family business on to the fourth generation of Robertson's – their twin boys. (The 'Gemini' was added to represent the twins)
