My Australian Adventure.

[John]

I left the UK in August of 1979 to start a new life, I'd been accepted for my visa on a job I'd secured at Renison Bell Tin Mine in Tasmania as an electrician. I still had a job offer in NSW with Joy Manufacturing as a stand by.
My flight arrived in Brisbane for re fueling and we were allowed off for an hour or so, then boarded and started on for Sydney where a spare engine we were carrying for Quantas was off loaded from the wing!! Yep we had five engines, three on one wing, two on the other! Apparently quite normal!
Next stop was Tullamarine in Melbourne, then I had to change to an internal flight to Tassie, stay overnight and catch a bus down to Renison Bell's tin mine down the coast.
I booked into a hotel for the night, took a bath to freshen up after the long couple of days flying from the UK to Oz, then went downstairs and had me a counter dinner and a few cold beers!
Then it was off to bed after checking on the bus arrival time for the following day.
Next morning was as cold as hell, winter down under and trying to snow outside. I had breakfast and then found where I was to catch the bus to my new job.
The bus was an old rattler, the heater was having a job just keeping the frost off us and stpped about everywhere along it's route. The driver doubled up as postman and parcel deliverer, plus dropped off supplise to the shops at all the small towns we went through.
Late morning we arrived at Renison Bell, and as he had some parcels for the mine, drove right up to the office block.

To be continued.

[John]

I went through to the Personnel Officer and introduced myself and he said "I didn't think you were coming". Next was some papers I had to fill in and sign, then to the bathroom/changing room for a dirty and clean locker, stores for overalls and boots and then off to the single mens quarters to be set up with a room and the operating system, meal times, mail, tv and games rooms etc, etc.
I'd have to check, but I'm sure this was a Friday, so gave me time to make acquaintances, work starts Monday morning!
Monday comes around, breakfast then catch the works bus which stops and waits outside the SMQ's gates. After getting changed into work clothes I make my way to the workshops to introduce myself to the elec foreman, he introduced me to the workshop staff I'll be working with, then gets me a box of tools I have to sign for and a tool cupboard and lock.
The shop steward introduced himself to me and I gave him my letter of introduction from the UK Elec Union. More forms to fill out!
My stay with Renison Bell was brief, I left in the November heading north, but not without making many friends down there!


Wollongong New South Wales.

On my way north I stopped off to see some cousins I'd not seen in years, that wasted about three or four weeks, gave me some time to see some of Victoria and the ACT, then finally arriving at Dapto, where I turned off for Albion Park Rail to meet up with an old workmate I'd worked with at Cleveland Potash in the UK.
He was the Undermanager in Charge at AI&S's Wongawilli Colliery, just a few miles up the road.
After a couple of days at his place, he told me he'd arranged a visit to Wongawilli for me and the Engineer wanted a chat with me before we went underground. Couple of days later I arrived at the main office block as arranged, wow!!! talk about a steep driveway!!! It seemed almost vertical, my car was in bottom gear going up!
I caught Jerry, my mate in the pit yard, he gave me a quick tour of the area then told me he'd got some paperwork to do before we went underground and left me at the Elec Engineers office. John, don't recall his last name now, the engineer were chatting away and he said Jerry has been saying some good things about you, I responded saying "yeh, well Jerry was always a good at bullshitting!, we both laughed. John then asked me if I wanted a job as an electrician at Wongawilli, I said that I was on my way to Sydney to Joy Manufacturing, BUT, would keep my options open.
Chat finished when Jerry walked in and said he was ready to go underground, I got changed in the office changing rooms and off we set to the surface transport area where a diesel powered track mounted personnel carrier was waiting for us. The visit took a couple of hours where I saw some of the most ancient elec equipment in over twenty years in mining!
The mine at that time comprised of a couple of bord and pillar panels producing coal for the steelworks at Port Kembla a few miles away. Although a small mine, it was highly productive, one of the oldest collieries in the AI&S southern group.
To be continued.