Our History
Looking Back
Then called P.D Tonkin & Co., the world was a different place – television had been in Australia for only two years, the world watched as the USA and Russia raced to launch the first man into space, and P.D Tonkin & Co. had just one secretary, with Phil being the sole legal counsel.
Tonkin Drysdale Partners has now grown to a team of more than 35 legal experts and is spearheaded by its partners –Paul Tonkin, Paul Quinn, Lee Pawlak, Dominic Tonkin and Nick Fagan.
Despite the enormous social, economic, cultural and technological changes over the past six decades, Tonkin Drysdale Partners has remained a constant supporter of the Peninsula and wider Central Coast community, keeping up with changing needs and demands whilst maintaining the core values in which it was founded. Here’s a look back on our history through the years:
1958
Tonkin Drysdale Partners was simply a one man legal practice located in a corrugated iron building in Woy Woy. Images here show the original TDP offices and storage systems when we first started.
1960s
TDP joins in on community fundraising drives and we spark a long-term partnership with the local Surf Life Saving Club.
1989
P.D Tonkin Morrell & Drysdale changes to Tonkins Solicitors.
1992
Paul was admitted to the partnership in 1992 on the same day as the retirement of his father, the late Philip Tonkin who founded our firm in 1958.
2004
Tonkin Drysdale Partners appoints Paul Quinn as a new partner.
2008
The TDP team gets bigger and we celebrate 50 years in business.
2014
Tonkin Drysdale Partners appoints Lee Pawlak as a new partner.
2018
60 years has flown by and the partnership is just as strong as it was in 1958, with a few different faces along the way. TDP celebrates 60 years in business.
2019
Lee Pawlak appointed to the NSW Law Society's Family Law Specialist Accreditation Advisory Committee, a first on the Central Coast.
2021
60-year family tradition continues with the appointment of Dominic Tonkin as Partner. Dominic's appointment to Partner continues TDP's proud family legacy - Dominic's grandfather, Philip Tonkin, founded the firm 63 years ago and his father, Paul Tonkin, is the firm's Managing Partner.
2022
TDP and Lee Pawlak recognised as regional NSW's leading family lawyers in 2023 Doyle's Guide.
2024
Tonkin Drysdale Partners appoints Nick Fagan as a new partner cementing the firms growth in criminal law services.
