Stories

1939 to 1943

Dad was determined I should go into the bank or something with book-work.  I was against this move even though he had already lined up a job with the New South Wales Bank (now Westpac) if my exam results were OK.  After several arguments when I made it plain I wanted to do plumbing or woodwork. He sent me off to Sydney to do a vocational guidance course test (I don’t know where we went) but results were No 1 Woodwork and No 2 Business work. So I came back and an apprenticeship was secured with the firm of Alf Stephens and Son of Bowral. I commenced work a month before my 15th Birthday.

The firm of Alf Stephens was a large concern carrying around 60 staff consisting of carpenters-joiners, painters, bricklayers and labourers plus storemen, yardmen, and office staff.  In addition they were carrying out construction of numbers of houses in Canberra employing another 80 staff.  There were about 10 apprentices in Bowral. The firm was run by the two sons Alf and Norrice. Alf was a small wiry man very keen and also very mean always willing to take advantage of his men. Norrice a tall solid built man on the other hand was a very fair man in his dealings an always approachable even with junior staff. 

I purchased a red coloured bike called a Reliance from Mr Rhodes of the Reliance Garage in Moss Vale for the sum of 5 pounds-10 shillings.  It was a heavy red bike but transported me for years to and from Bowral, a 1/2 hour ride each way in normal weather but took a little longer when westerlies blew hard and strong.  I left home at 6:35 and as we worked till 5pm it was often a dark ride both ways. We would arrive at Stephens’ yard in Boolwey Street by 7am and were then transported by open truck to the job.  It was always good when a job came to Moss Vale or beyond as I could pick the truck up in Moss Vale as it came through. I worked on large housing on top of the Gib through the district to Exeter.

The transport truck usually was a cut-down Chevy car with a small tray fitted. By the time I joined at Moss Vale it would have up to 15 or 16 men on board.  I usually sat on the front mudguard near the bonnet.  I don’t think it would be allowed these days and further, firms do not carry such complete staff these days.

I thoroughly enjoyed my start to being a carpenter and further the pay of 17 shillings and threepence ($1.73) seemed like a fortune.  I was paying off tools at 6 Shillings per week and paying some board to mum.  I cannot remember what I was paying to mum. 

It was an afternoon in August when Bill Hamber, the truck driver, brought a load to the job on top of the Gib and in a hushed tone of voice that we were involved in war.  I can still remember Bill’s frightened voice as he told us.

Within a month things changed as Stephens bought up truck loads of Oregon pine, Maple and other rare timber and stacked all his storage sheds to capacity.  He must have had a fortune when war ended as these timbers were unavailable.  We were stacking timber one afternoon (3 apprentices) when it came to 5 O’clock Alf rushed out of the office and said stay back and finish the job and I’ll pay your overtime.  We finished the job and in Friday’s pay packet there was threepence extra for our 1/2 hour’s work.

He also bought two deep sided utility loads of paint brushes which by the time war finished were worth about 5 times as much.

Within a few months we felt justice for his exploitation was done when the army turned up and commandeered his two utilities for war service.  After about six months the two 6-ton trucks were also engaged in carting gravel from Kangaloon to the air strip they were building at Mittagong.  All available trucks were pressed into service, at one stage it was reported 140 trucks were on the job. As they only carried 5 or 6 yards each it was a mammoth job to shift so much material as most of them were loaded with the Berryman loader device fitted to side of truck which scooped up gravel pulled it up the side track and dumped it.  

In 1940 several of the tradesmen were called up for service in the Commonwealth Construction Service [CCC].  Several men joined the A.I.F. and unfortunately 3 who did were among the first casualties in the Middle East; Sammy Shearer, Snow Lenholm and Scotty McDonald.

Along with several carpenters and labourers we were detailed to the old railway tunnel between Bowral and Mittagong.  We had the job of lining the roof of the tunnel with curved iron and fitting doors at each end and bin construction. It was a dirty, grimy and damp job and the winter winds made it very cold. When completed it was filled with ammunition and small bombs.  This took some time to complete. 

After several minor jobs we moved to the Raleigh Guest House at Robertson, replacing floors, installing new kitchen fittings and general repairs.  We had the job of removing the 4 steel square tanks from stands at the end of the building 3 storeys high.  We climbed up the ladders attached to the stands and plumbers detached all the pipes.  We then climbed on to the roof removed some tiles to get something to stand on and then with aide of levers we were able to work them to the edge of stand and allow them to free fall to ground. Not much left to pick up after the fall.  One incident I remember was a plumber having a blackout about 30’ above the ground.  Fortunately for him 1 arm and 1 leg slipped through treads of the steel ladder fixed to the side of the stand. We managed to fix a rope to him and then manipulated him down to the ground. He was admitted to Waaf sick bay on site but as soon as he really came to he took off when he found out where he was.

Several of the apprentices including myself were really browned off for as soon as we received a call up for the services Alf Stephens always blocked it by signing a statement we were on defence work but often we were only working on private work. Another apprentice Ernie Harradine and myself received call up in February 1943 and as Alf was busy trying to keep some of his carpenters out of the C.C.C. we said nothing went for our medical, passed and departed 3 days later to join Services.  We told Alf the afternoon before leaving and he promptly said he could do nothing to stop us in the time available to which we replied we did not desire any interference on his part.