Reflection - Gaining Employment

I am a Senior now, not an old man, not by a long shot but not young either. I look in the mirror and what do I see. No not that type of reflection. I want to reflect on my life, that sounds awful, some kind of critical analysis. No not that either, I just want to think about and record what I have done with my life so far. Dangerous? Maybe but I think not. Let me try Reflections 1, my chosen vocation.

Way back when I was about 15, many of my peers left school at that age, the Vocational Guidance Officer visited my school, Cessnock High. I do not have any clear recall of the process but I do remember that there was a report, it was intended to give you guidance as to what field you might you might seek to gain employment, your vocation. I was an average student, perhaps a little better than average, certainly not a top student. I was good at maths, physics and technical drawing, I was hopeless at English and history or anything else that was not precise. I should seek a job as a Structural Engineer at a Certificate level. No recommendation to seek to go to University or Teacher's College. It was Cessnock in the late 1950's after all we were the sons and daughters of Coal Miners in a declining town.

I loved to go to my Grandfather's farm, such freedom. That was after I had helped with the milking. My Grandmother would even pay me in the school holidays but I knew there was no prospect of my seeking to work there, the coal mines were out of the question. My mother believed that I should get as much education as I could. I think because she was denied it, how many times did she tell me "I didn't start school until I was eight and left when I was twelve" and she would add "to get up at 2.30 and milk cows".

I guess, no different to most households, at about that age the question of where I was going to get a job was raised. I knew of a cousin, a second cousin whom I did not know very well, worked at the BHP as an Electrical Engineer and he was well paid, so I understood. In response to this oft asked question I offered "I might be able to get a job at the Steelworks". "Well you had better get yourself down there and find out" was Mum's response.

School holidays, I had just turned 16 and somehow I found myself and my best friend's younger brother on the train to Newcastle, we had to change at Maitland and get off at Waratah. You see my best mate had already left school and was working for his father in "the bakehouse". He got up at 2.30 to cook pies. We, my best friend's young brother and I, got off the train and walked. We knew there were several industries at Mayfield, BHP, Stewart and Lloyds, Lysaghts and Rylands to name a few. Well we found BHP and the Employment Office, no appointment, we just walked in. We never did find Stewart and Lloyds or any other for that matter.

The man in the BHP employment office told me that they were accepting applications for traineeships and that I should make an application and even gave me a form on which to do so. They did not employ structural engineers as such but they did employ mechanical and electrical engineering trainees at both certificate and degree level. Pretty pleased with myself we set off to find Stewart and Lloyds, never did but somehow we eventually found our way back to Waratah railway station having never been to Mayfield before. Mum must have had some faith in me.

The last term of what was then called 4th Year, I had slipped from my place, usually 2nd or 3rd in Maths to near the bottom of the class in the half yearly exams. I lodged my application to BHP and they called me for an interview. Without a lot of confidence and having never applied for a job before let alone been interviewed, I set off once again for Mayfield and the BHP Employment Office. This time I got past the main gate and clock races where the employment office was located in an old cottage, I had to report to the Master Mechanics Office, it was some distance down David Baker Road, past what I was later to learn were rolling mills and dispatch warehouses, the Medical Centre on the opposite side to a neat little office, not so little in my experience at that time.

Once inside and having waited my turn I was called to the interview room. Three men sat behind an imposing desk, one from BHP itself, one from Comsteel and one from Rylands. Somehow they put me at ease, asked me questions about my school results, my interests and what else I had done. I don't know why but I told them about how I had reassembled an old motorbike and got it going again.

My father had bought a little old motorbike and stripped it apart to make a motorised lawn mower. This had failed so the motorbike parts were all disassembled in the shed and some were even gone, down at the second hand dealers or just missing. I had decided to get it going again, I was only thirteen at the time but managed to get the engine to start mounted in the vice on my father's bench. I retrieved parts from the second hand dealer and even found a similar motorbike but without an engine. It was a few houses down in a neighbours back yard could buy it. An old Scotsman, Mr Keirs, he would not give it to me even though it was virtually buried under long grass, somehow I talked 10 shillings from Mum to buy it. I got it all together by myself, even reassembled the gearbox which for some reason my father had disassembled. I had ridden this motorbike in the back lanes and the bush for a couple of years at this stage.

I must have impressed these three men, or at least one of them, I was told that if I did well enough at the Leaving Certificate to matriculate then they would offer me a Mechanical Engineering Trainee, I could go to University part time with day release. Wow! go to University! I had better get in and do a bit of study.

By this time my little motorbike had been exiled to my grandfather's farm. A mate had come around when no one was home and taken it for a ride. My father came home and caught him riding it on the street and since it was unregistered and my limits were the back laneways of Aberdare and the adjacent bushland, riding it in the yard around the house having already been banned as another mate consistently had ridden it through my mother's flower garden. My father put the motorbike in the trailer and took it to the farm, that was 10 miles away. The effect of that was to increase my desire to go to the farm for weekends and school holidays.

Christmas 1961 or was it early in the New Year of 1962, yes it was after New Year. I had completed my Leaving Certificate exams and the results would be published in the Cessnock Eagle, that was how you found out your results. I was out at the farm doing my usual thing, helping with the milking and fixing and sometimes riding my little motorbike.

I remember I was down at the milking bails helping with the afternoon milking when Grandma came in. The only time that I could remember Grandma coming to the milking bails was a couple of years earlier when one of my uncles was in hospital while the other was away on holidays and together with Ferdinand the farm hand, we two 15 year olds were doing the milking, Grandma would come and help or was that supervise. "Lindsay you are wanted on the phone." Wanted on the phone, nobody rang up for me! I hurried up to the house and picked up the phone, it was my mother "Your name is in the paper, you passed". I sensed excitement in her voice. "What are the results Mum?" "Well there are 6 numbers following your name, two with B's and four with A's" and she went on to read them out.

Beyond my wildest dreams, I had passed everything, four A's and two B's, I had passed English, a B but that was a pass without which there was no matriculation, I had an A in Maths 1, Physics, Chemistry and Technical Drawing and a B in Maths 2. What! a B in Maths 2 my best subject. Four A's and 2 B's I kept saying to myself. A's in Maths 1, Physics and Chemistry. I had hoped for an A in Technical Drawing, even expected it. Four A's and two B's wow! I wonder how the other kids went.

It was Tuesday, I was at the farm and no one would go to town until Friday, I would not see the paper until Friday night. I wonder how Pam went, Pam, my cousin, had repeated and done the Leaving Certificate a second time because she was not satisfied with the result. I wonder how Pam went.

A week later, the BHP would let me know if I was to be offered a Traineeship, I had not applied for any other job, I had not applied for a Teachers College Scholarship but I had applied for a Commonwealth Scholarship, just maybe I would do well enough. I had come home from the farm I had now to do something about a job. A telegram arrived, it was from BHP "Report to the Master Mechanics Office at 7.30 am on 15 January 1962" I was offered a Mechanical Engineering Traineeship, I would go to Newcastle University. My friend Ralph he had the same result as me four A's and two B's, he received a telegram the same day, he was going to be an Electrical Engineer at BHP.

On Sunday 14 January 1962 with my bags packed, new overalls and a weeks worth of other cloths, sister's boyfriend and she drove me to Newcastle, Section Street Mayfield, Lewis House a hostel for young men. BHP had arranged accommodation and I was to share a room with Ralph. The next morning Ralph and I walked the 2.5 km along Crebert Street Mayfield to the BHP main gate and down David Baker Road to the Master Mechanics Office.

There assembled about 40 young men, well boys really we were only 17, some still 16. There were also 2 girls, we were all starting Traineeships with BHP. Two days of induction, lunch provided in the dining room in that impressive Main Office and we were allocated to our work places. On the third day I was to report to the Machine Shop, Ralph to the Electrical Shop.

I had come from Cessnock, not that far away, it was a city of around 10,000 people. There were 10,000 people worked at the BHP. I had moved into a boarding house, well a hostel with about 50 young men. I had to report to work by 7.30 am, that was changed and at the workplace so it was necessary to leave the boarding house by 6.30 am so up at 6, eat breakfast, grab the prepared sandwiches and off.

A new life had started, there was six weeks until University started, a settling in period. Enrolment to complete etc. Etc. Before University started for the year I received a letter at home, I had been awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship. I was advised to take the letter to the Staff Training Officer. I would be given a Textbook allowance by BHP as the Commonwealth Scholarship would pay my University Fees. My appointment was upgraded to Student Cadet whatever that meant.

Forty years on and there was a School Reunion organised. We visited to old school on Saturday afternoon. This time we entered through the main entrance, past the Headmaster's Office and into the main corridor where the school honour roll was displayed. My wife Jan had never been in this school and started looking at the honour roll. "Your name is here Lindsay, you never told me that." "Well I did not know it was there." My friend Ralph was there also and another 11 names of those who had been awarded Commonwealth Scholarships at the start of 1962.

Lindsay Threadgate - September 2012