In 1946 I started my working life as a Technician in Training with the PMG's Department (now Telstra) and qualified in 1950. In 1954 I was promoted to Supervising Technician, Murrurundi. In the 1950's there was a shortage of Engineers in the PMG so from 1955 till 1961 I acted as an Engineer in Armidale. I liked the work so much that I decided to seek qualification for permanent appointment. So, in 1962 I started at UNSW as a mature-age student (Trainee Engineer). I was double the age of those students straight from school and had a wife and nine-year-old son! So began the association that led to the UNSW Class of '66.

After four years of hard work and with a lot of help from other mature-age students Ian Hagan, Bill Carroll and Jim Myers I managed to make it and returned to Armidale as a fully qualified Engineer. It was a great moment indeed but then started the long climb up the ladder, starting 14 years behind the normal graduate who was 22 years old. It was a slow start but, about 1971, the era of change began and I was able to ride the crest of the wave right up until I retired in 1992.

In 1992 I was promoted District Engineer in Tamworth where I spent five years. From there I moved to Canberra as the first District Telecommunications Manager but after a little over two very enjoyable years in Australia's best city, I was moved back to Sydney as the first Manager, Major Business Facilities, controlling the Sydney City District, Data (and Telegraphs in those days) provision and maintenance and the introduction of the new electronic private branch telephone exchanges. It was a very interesting job in the field of leading edge technology of the day.

Three years on, I was promoted to Regional Operations Manager, North ( Harbour Bridge to the Queensland border) and after another three years, I was promoted Chief Operations Manager, NSW with a staff of 22,000. Then, after yet another reorganisation, I was appointed to the position of General Manager, Residential, Sydney South Region, from which position I retired in 1992.

Throughout my working life, work was also my hobby, not a course I would recommend to anybody, so on retirement my wife, Betty, and I moved back to Armidale to be with my mother and my son, Alun (works for Telstra) and his wife Helena and son Stuart (my grandson) in an effort to plug something back into the family. I started playing golf (50 years too late) and Betty and I began overseas travel. Sadly, Betty died suddenly in 1997 and my mother passed away in 2003. I still try to play golf, mostly not very well, but I get the exercise and enjoy the company. Also, I still travel overseas every year and, in this regard, I am very fortunate that I have a very good lady friend and travelling companion, Pat Simpson who, incidentally, lives in Tamworth , 110km away.