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RECOLLECTIONS

JOE WALKER

I started as messenger boy with Mount Lyell in December 1939 while waiting to start as an Electrical Apprentice in February 1940. This was a five year apprenticeship which included going to night school Monday to Wednesday from 7pm until 9pm and Thursday from 7pm until 10 pm. This was not a problem in the early years but the ten o’clock finish on Thursdays became a bit hard. for the last couple, with the pubs closing at the same time.

We all know about the "one for the road" and, "Hey Aub, what about my ten o’clocker". There were a number of blokes who would just stay until ten o’clock just to get the free drink. Folklore has a certain Bandmaster, one of the drinking fraternity who would stop the band practice at ten to ten and would arrive at Old Bills at ten past ten after having been to Jumbo's, the Empire, Bowers, Aub's and the Queenstown before arriving at the Gaiety and old Bill.

During my apprenticeship I had a 12 month stint at the Town Electrical Shop which was looked upon as a plum job. The transfer was normally for three months but it usually extended.

Ted Marlowe was the foreman with Ray Waxman, Lance Stevens and Len Wakeford. While overtime was the usual practice at West Lyell, around the 670 level it was unheard of. Ced Eaves tells the story that during his apprenticeship he was told that if he "played up again" he would be sent to West Lyell. Ced said if he had of known about the overtime available he would have volunteered to go to West Lyell.

How things change. I was shift electrician for 36 years and in the early day if there was an arse up in the Smelters or the Flotation everyone would lend a hand. But in the last 10/15 years it was more, bugger you mate, I’m okay. I worked with some good blokes – Jack and Joe Collins, Teague Sweeney, Trevor Bugg and George Bacon.

Sport was a big thing with interlevel competitions. The 670 level had four cricket teams with competition very keen. I remember one match, Ernie Coleman was the shift sampler this day and Eric Bricknell talked him into being Scorer for the cricket match. After the game it was down to Aub's (Hunters Hotel) for a few. Eric kept filling Ernie's glass up. At a quarter four Ernie said, Look at the time, Eric. We will be late for work (stating time 4pm). No worries, said Eric. We will get a taxi and they arrived at work at ten to four. It was then Ernie discovered he did not have his keys. He then ran from the Flotation to the Gaiety Hotel and returned in time to start work at four.

There is the story of Teddy Steele. No-one had two to Ted's one ( beers that is). Overtime, as previously stated was scarce and the Foreman Dick Sarsons had a rule that if you missed the Saturday you were rostered in for, you did not get another one for a month. Saturday arrived but Ted did not and on Monday Dick asked Ted why he had missed his overtime shift. "Well you won't believe me, Dick, but as you know I like a few and on Friday after I got home, I found that my brother Ron had brought home some visitors, which meant that I had lost my bed.

Ron said that I was to use the sleeping bag and not being used to sleeping in one of these bags I could not get the zipper open when the alarm went off next morning as you may well understand. I believe Ted was invited to work the following Saturday.

On the occasion when snow covered the slag dump, The Machine Shops attacked the 670 at morning tea break and it was agreed that the fight would continue at crib time which it did at midday and it did not go well for the 670 and it was not until reinforcements arrived from the 710 that we were able to defeat the Machine Shops.

REX POWELL

I was a nipper in the Smelters in 1944 and worked in most sections until the closure of the Smelters on 23 December1969. I remember once that my shift boss was also my father Oscar and he gave me the sack. I told him that he had better reconsider making his son unemployed as I would have to tell mum because I paid her my board. He thought about it and said, "You had better get back to work. What went through Oscar Powell’s mind when Rex gave him the ultimatum? Was it the lack of board or the thought of facing mum that ha Oscar change his mind?

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