Life is Full of Ups & Downs - Part 1

A NEW LIFE

When I joined Arnold's at the beginning of 1964 I did so as a fresh-faced 18-year old apprentice Electrical Mechanic with Arnold Elevator Services.

I had been interviewed in January by none other than Mr. Gregory himself, after applying for the position of Electrical Fitter with Arnold Engineering & Lifts - the vacancy having been notified to me by the (then) Commonwealth Employment Service office in Taree (our home was at Kendall, about 33 miles north of Taree).

However, as things panned out, a week after returning to Kendall I received a letter from Mr. Gregory advising that the position with AE&L had been filled but that there was a position for an apprenticeship with AES, the service, repair and installation arm of the company and if I wanted to accept the spot to please advise by return mail. (I still have that letter, would you believe?!)

So without any hesitation I did so and a week or so later found myself on the North Coast Daylight Express heading south for Gosford, to take up temporary accommodation with my grandparents until I settled into the job and had time to find suitable digs in Sydney.

I've headed this chapter "A New Life" because it really was for me.

From January 1956 through December 1963 I had been a boarding-school student in Sydney in what was basically a protected and somewhat sheltered life. School holidays were spent in the coastal country of the north coast, so even though I lived in Sydney for those eight years, I didn't really "live" there, if you follow my drift.

So to be exposed to the real world at 18 years of age was a huge eye-opener and education for me.

Because I had completed the Leaving Certificate I was able to take advantage of a shorter apprenticeship than if I had started at fifteen. The normal term was five years but I had a three-year indenture and one reason for the shorter period was due to the fact that the first six-months consisted of full-time attendance at Sydney Technical College in Broadway.

For five days a week I was back at school, which was a real downer; I did not want to be "back at school" after just leaving it!

But we managed to struggle through it.

"We" includes a guy by the name of John Stimpson, who had nothing to do with Arnolds but who was part of the small group of full-time apprentices who regularly played pool in the

pool-hall in Railway Square after tech on Fridays.

Still there after 50 years. Photo taken in 2013.

After the six-months daily attendance at tech I became part of the regular AES workforce. Tech was now one day a week for the following eighteen months, so life became much more interesting.

I was initially assigned to Brian Baxter and his maintenance run in the city.......and suddenly life became not only interesting but also FUN!!

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