User:Geremin

Page started on 1-sep-2005, by John+ GEREMIN.
Contact me via geremin @ iprimus . com . au

[Note a '+' indicates that a block of extra details follows later.]

          For a less-formal history see ...    http://home.iprimus.com.au/geremin/

GEREMIN Family History in Australia

Paternal Grandfather migrated from Russia (Kazan) to Australia, with his wife and two children. Two more were born in Australia. NB. I believe that the Russian name was (ie sounded like) 'Eremef' or 'Yeremef' but was changed upon arrival in [or on the way to] Australia. The family was:-

Leo+ GEREMIN (my paternal grandfather),

Antonina Grigarow? GEREMIN (my paternal grandmother, also spelling Antonia), born 1880, died 1957 at Parramatta, NSW. [Her father is shown as Gregory Peter in the NSW Death records; and her mother is shown as Eva Alexis.] Ref: Leontey Yagorov Geremin and Nena Geremin [Applications for Naturalisation]

Ivan GEREMIN, born in Russia - died at a very early age (before leaving Russia or before arriving in Australia).

Alexander GEREMIN (my father) born 1907 (Kazan, in Russia), died 1971. Not a lot of documented history available. The Sydney University Calendar archives shows a PETER NICOL RUSSELL SCHOLARSHIP FOR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING being awarded in 1931 to Geremin, A. - this would have been after father was an apprentice with the Railways. I gather that he played Rugby at Sydney University [a photo in another University Calendar].

Peter GEREMIN, (my uncle) born 1909, never married - died 5-jan-1988.

Apolina (Pauline) BROWN (nee Geremin) born Nov-1911 at Gympie, Qld, married Percival BROWN (in Sydney, then lived in Kingsgrove) and had Paul and Graham.

Mary PINN (nee Geremin) born 1920? at Cobar, NSW, married Alan Paul Pinn (b1915) and had Diane and Richard.

My father 'Alexander' (sometimes known as 'Alexander Leo') GEREMIN, married (1940 in Sydney) to Gladys Margaret BERNIE (born at Tingha, NSW on 1-Aug-1909, died 11-Jan-1985) and settled, and stayed at 32 Manning Avenue, ENFIELD, NSW, 2136, and had John and Rhonda. [See also BERNIE/BIRNEY ancestors from Ireland.]

John Alexander GEREMIN was born November, 1942. (more details below)

Rhonda Margaret GEREMIN was born August, 1946. We both started school at South Strathfield Public School (different years), and finished primary school at Enfield Public School in 'opportunity classes'. Dux at Strathfield Girls High School 1964. B.A. Sydney University, 1970.

Leontey Yagorow GEREMIN, (generally known as Leo as far as I know), was born 13-feb-1880, left Russia in about 1911 to escape the early uprisings of the Russian Revolution. His father was Yagor? Earemache? Geremin.

My recollection from many years ago is that grandfather worked in the Copper Mines at Cobar before coming to Sydney.

Information from his Naturalisation Certificate Application 26/03661 of 1926 (ref National Archives of Australia, http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/Items_listing.asp?S=1&F=1&O=0&T=I&C=2 ) shows :-

Family arrived in Brisbane, Queensland, on board the 'Nicko-Maru'? on 28-July-1911. [Shipping records show S.S. NIKKO MARU arrived Brisbane on 23-July-1911 with Russian Immigrants. Photo of ship at http://www.nykline.co.jp/english/seascope/200204/image/header.jpg ].
Occupation shown as Fruiterer (for 4 years) - not sure if that means growing or selling ('Uncle' Eli and 'Aunt' Mary had an orchard at Pendle Hill and a regular stall at the Sydney Markets at Haymarket in 1950s/60s).
Lived in Queensland for 2 years (presumably Gympie district) then moved to NSW.
Received? Alien Certificate No 12 at Cobar on 24-10-1916.
In 1926 was living in 72 Rose Street, DARLINGTON, NSW (within walking distance of Sydney University - but probably because it was close to the Everleigh Railway Workshops where father was apprenticed as a Boilermaker). Strangely enough, I (John) lived in Ivy Street, CHIPPENDALE from 1970 to 1984 and was not then aware of the family connection to the next suburb.

Later lived in Kennedy Avenue, BELMORE, NSW near where my mother's family lived in Yangoora Road, BELMORE, NSW in the 1920s/30s.

Me - John Alexander GEREMIN, born in 1942, 9 months after the bombing of Darwin. Father was an Air Raid Warden - no idea when that originated. No idea if the bombing of Darwin was on radio or in newspaper reports.

An alternate web site of mine is at in Australia.

Brief History.

Born in 1942, at the (then) new maternity King George V Hospital in Camperdown [close to RPAH].
Lived in Manning Avenue, ENFIELD, NSW until first marriage in 1965.
Driver's Licence, 29th February, 1960.
First marriage at Lindfield, 15th May, 1965 (with Opunka film crew in attendance, and with Des Knight holding shot-gun).
Lived in flat near Coogee for a short time.
Lived in a home unit in Kingsford for a short time.
Lived in Ivy Street, Chippendale, from 1970 to 1984.
Major spinal injury at University of NSW in 1976. Medically retired by UNSW in 1977.
Workers Compensation Commission redemption in 1978, with undertaking to buy a house for my long-term future requirements.
Second marriage in 1978 at Burrawang, NSW (to Margaret Anne Morton).
Purchased Victorian-style house in Strathfield, 1978, [W.Comp Undertaking].
I lived at Strathfield from 1984 to 2000.
Mother, Gladys Margaret Geremin (nee Bernie), died January, 1985.
1999, Anti-Family Court takes away my home and business premises. Bankruptcy pending since.
2007, Nominated by NCPP [Equal Parenting] for election to Senate (for NSW) in Federal Elections on 24-nov-2007. Not successful.

Education.

Attended Infants and Primary School at Strathfield South Public School (1948-52), and Enfield Public School (opportunity classes, 1953-54). During this time at Enfield we were encouraged to visit the local library branch where I first read about a computer. An article in 'Popular Mechanics' mentioned that a computer was being used to do many hundreds/thousands of calculations required to design a new zoom lens.
Secondary education at Homebush Boys (selective) High School, 1955 to 1959 - member of school Chess team. Also, one of the school 'electricians' in 1958. In 1958 and 1959 I visited Sydney University on Open Days and saw SILLIAC demonstrations by a young lady who was classified as a 'Librarian', there being no formal position of 'Computer Operator' in those days.
Tertiary education at University of NSW (Ultimo, Kensington and Randwick) and Sydney Technical College (Ultimo, St George and North Sydney Colleges).
Ongoing Professional Development through IREE and Australian Computer Society and many IT courses and conferences.

Academic Achievements.

1957, External Intermediate Certificate, awarded bursary for Leaving Certificate. [see:- Homebush Boys High, School Magazine, 1958, p11.]
1959, Leaving Certificate with Second Class Honours in Maths I and Maths II, and an 'A' in Physics. Commonwealth Scholarship to University of NSW. [Name on school Honours board, (twice).] I would have liked to do Physics Honours but the school policy had a limit of two.
1960, enrolled in Electrical Engineering at UNSW.
196?, Projectionist Certificate, University of NSW.
1967, Certificate in Electrical Engineering, "A.S.T.C.".
1969, Graduate Certificate in Traffic Planning & Control, School of Traffic Engineering, University of NSW.
1970, Qualified as a Full Member of the Australian Computer Society.
1971, Invited (maybe? directed) to attend Computing Science Honours Lectures by Professor Murray Allen at UNSW.
1991, Certification as 'Practising Computer Professional' by Australian Computer Society.

File:JAGpic2a.jpg

In DECUS gear, photo taken in kitchen
at 107 Homebush Road, Strathfield,
possibly NOP-SIG meeting, May, 2000.

Conferences.

196? - Assisted as projectionist at ANZAAS Conference, at University of NSW.
196?-198? - Attended some ACOFS Annual Conferences representing the Federation of NSW & Associated Film Societies.
1980 - Attended National HP3000 Users' Group Conference, Canterbury Racecourse, Sydney.
1984 - Attended Annual DECUS Conference in Sydney.
1989 - Attended Annual DECUS Conference in Adelaide. Got stuck there when the 'Airline Pilots Strike' happened. For some reason I got included in Air Force C-130 ('Hercules') trip back to Sydney. The C-130 is a cargo plane that happens to have a row of fold-up seats down each side. Not sure why - but I was invited to sit 'up-front' for part of the trip. The Pilot looked rather young and 'not real tall' and I wondered how he could see where we were going. Anyway - it was a very smooth landing at Mascot - all c/- the Federal Govt.
1990 - Annual DECUS Conference, Canberra, attended with display.
1994 - Annual DECUS Conference, Canberra, attended with display items.
1996, June 13th and 14th - CSIRAC 40th Anniversary Seminar, Melbourne University, unscheduled speaker.
1996-sep-04, IFIP Conference, Pioneers Session, Canberra - attended with Display of vintage items.
1999-Nov, Museum of Victoria visit, part of '50th Anniversary of CSIRAC' - found displaced test cabinets, etc.
2007-Jun, SPCA Annual Conference at Gosford, on behalf of Family Law Reform Association. [see also awards]
2008-Jun, SPCA Annual Conference at Terrigal, on behalf of Family Law Reform Association.

Employment.

1957 to 1960, casual work in Panel Beating workshop at Lakemba (Xmas break 1957), and Service Stations at Chullora and Flemington. Initial, Lakemba urgent task was to make an extension lead - the boss had already bought all the components. Other major tasks were getting lunch each day and keeping the watch-dog happy and well fed.
1960/61 Industrial Training, Johnson & Philips P/L (later ABB), Liverpool. Working as Electrical Fitter (with regular overtime). Worked on control boxes for the A I & S Steel Plate Rolling Mill at Port Kembla (now defunct). One very hot day (about 104 degrees F) I was outside painting red 'pyro-cable' with black bitumen paint.
1961/62 Industrial Training, Sydney Country Council (now Energy Aust). Worked as an Engineering Draughtsman in Design & Construction Section in the Queen Victoria Building, Sydney (see green roadside sub-station units Mk II). The suburban sub-station design group always used a 1:48 scale for all their drawings. (guess why)
1962/63 Industrial Training, Amalgamated Wireless Valve Co, Rydalmere. Working as Assistant Engineer in Power Valve section. Mainly responsible for testing of 20kW TV Transmitting Tubes (type 6166 glass tetrode, air-cooled), also 10KW type 809 power triodes [water cooled]. Secondary responsibility was repairing the test rig, which had been brought across from the old AWA site at Ashfield, and which was a rather old rig designed for 10KW maximum loads. Minor disasters included 'bursting' of hoses on the water cooled load units, and an old 'open frame' contactor welding one finger closed and spitting brass from the other fingers until an upstream circuit breaker could be located.
1963 Industrial Training at Electric Control & Engineering at Camperdown. Working in design section. The building was a bit old and was demolished when the Commonwealth Bank built a data processing centre on the site. As of 2006 the site is a Kennards Self Storage centre.
1963 to 1969 Laboratory Assistant, Institute of Highway and Traffic Research, University of NSW. [Transfer to Civil Engineering on 14th October, 1969 - no advance warning.] Separate web notes pending.
1968, Part-Time Demonstrator for School of Surveying, University of NSW.
1969, Part-time Lecturer for School of Surveying, University of NSW.
1969 to 1977 Laboratory Technician (or Technical Officer), School of Civil Engineering, University of NSW.
1978 to 1984 Senior Programmer, Renal Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. (see more details below)
Also Acting Manager of Computer Services Unit, RPAH from time to time, late 1978 to 1984.
1985 to 1988 Senior Associate, Business House Systems, [Macquarie Bank subsidiary], Sydney.

UNSW - Institute of Highway and Traffic Research, King Street, Randwick, 1964-1969. The IHTR was set up in the old tram foundry, a rather uninspiring concrete-rendered building. There were a number of outbuildings - some in a delapidated condition - very early I managed to scratch the right mudguard on the International ute whilst reversing into one of the garage/cages that had less than 100mm clearance on each side. My initial duties were in the 'soils' laboratory, crushing large rocks (10 - 20 Kgs) down to microscopic particles that stayed in suspension after overnight settling. They were then put on microscope slides for later analysis on X-Ray Spectrometer to determine various components. It was impossible to control the fine dust and I must have looked a mess at the end of the day. It was later determined by UNSW PERC that my lungs had been affected. A later - but more dangerous project - was the testing of various tendered (for the DMT) pedestrian crossing materials. Five different sites around Sydney, with varying heavy traffic usage. The tests involved myself of my assistant sitting on the road to operate a British Standard 'Skid Resistance' test instrument. We had very little safety equipment, one orange cone, one wooden lane closure barrier, and the International 30cwt ute. There were 25 samples at each site and it took about 3 hours after the morning peak hour to check a site. The bottom of Wylde Street in Wooloomooloo was good because we usually went and watched the Opera House foundation being constructed during our lunch breaks. I don't remember the IBM-1620 arriving, my first computer related duties were to clean the air conditioning filters in the computer room up on the first floor. After a couple of years, I was relocated upstairs in the Electronics Laboratory to work on the 'Traffic Analyser' project, and some smaller jobs. The Traffic Analyser project had been designed by Ron Keith (Senior Project Scientist ?) and Stan Yan (Professional Officer). I suspect that the construction was running behind schedule - so my early work was building 'shift-register/counter' modules. Initially the clock rate was 8KHz (using 2KHz tuning fork with 2 frequency doubling stages) which would have been OK when the road detectors were tape switches or pneumatic tubes wit a 10 or 20 foot spacing. Later Mr keith designed a detector with two P/E cells in a 6ft rubber arrow. I produced some simulated results on the computer and discovered that we could not get accurate results - so I was told to fix the problem - hence I decided to boost the clock rate - up to 400 or 800 KC/s. Problem solved. There were two instrument racks - one that went into the back of the Austin 1800 on slides; the other in a 6ft rack in the laboratory. Of course, nothing worked perfectly the first time - there was interference on the power and signal wiring, etc. All of this was fixable - just took time. The Electronics Laboratory was well equipped - one top-of-range Tektronix Oscilloscope, and a HP Oscilloscope (not as intuitive to use as the controls worked opposite to the Tektronix), Signal Generators, Counters, etc.

Dr Alan J Miller, was a statistician who worked on the Traffic Capacity Manual for the A.R.R.B. in Melbourne. This research involved traffic surveys in most Australian capital cities. I was the 'technical support' on most of these surveys and got to see a lot of Australia that I had never expected to see - mainly because we travelled to most cities (except Hobart) in the Commer van. We did not drive across the Nullabor, we went on the train instead - with the van coming later. Our Main Roads contact in Perth organised two 'spare' vehicles for us so that we could do some sight-seeing or whatever. For Hobart we flew down and stayed in the University College during a University vacation. In Brisbane an unusual signallised intersection was 'five-ways' a bit out of the city - it had a train track running across one side - and the trains had priority.

Some Contract Programming Assignments.

GE at North Ryde, working on MAXCIM package. I also worked on MAXCIM at another site.
ACT Schools Authority (using rare PDP-11/60 system).
Fujitsu, Chatswood, testing role for LISP utilities package. ('Trader Tom' from DEC sometomes gave me a lift to Chatswood.)

Major Consulting Projects.

At various times I had some one-man business names - 'Gremlin Film Services', 'Gremlin Data Services', 'Megatronics Electronics' and 'PDP-11 Support Services'. They all 'died' after the anti-Family Court ruined my life, and made sure that I was an ongoing expense to the Tax-payers of Australia.
1977-1978, Consultant/Manager to 'Daves Encore MovieHouse' at Mandarin Cinema, Sydney.
1989-1990, MPS, Leichhardt, dual PDP-11/70 upgrade project with RSTS/E.
1995?-1999, Woy Woy Abattoir, RSTS/E system upgrade/support, with PDP-11 in BA123 box.
199?-199?, Clinicom, On-Line Data capture software for VAX/VMS systems in hospital pathology laboratories.
1997 onwards, Chief Engineer, Burra Valley Railway, Track & Signal Division.

Publications/Articles.

1967-May, Junior Author of Report on the calibration of Radar Speed meters Nos 6324 and 6303, for Department of Motor Transport, NSW by the Institute of Highway and Traffic Research, University of NSW. [see also related article in Sydney Morning Herald newspaper of 16-oct-1967 by John Peel.] The equipment designed to do the actual speed measurements involved a split laser beam giving two narrow parallel beams 6ft apart, the sensors were silicon cells mounted on ex-surveyor theodolites. As designed by my boss the cells were at the focal point - but produced a very low output signal. I had to de-focus the theodolites in order to get a usable signal. Actually, the theodlites could ghave been eliminated for track widths up to 5 to 8 metres.
1967 Technical Review of Pocket Calculators, Tharunka, University of NSW.
1968 A.R.R.B. Bulletin No. 3. Acknowledgement in paper "The Capacity Of Signalised Intersections In Australia", by Dr A. J. MILLER. Re work done at IHTR, UNSW. The research for this project traffic counts at a range of busy intersections in most Australian capital cities. I got to see a lot of Australia (including across the Nullabor by train). The oddest intersection was probably '5-ways' in Brisbane that had a passenger steam train running across the intersection - naturally it had 'right-of-way'.
1968 A.R.R.B. Proceedings, Vol 4, Pt 1. Acknowledgement and image in paper 433, by R.J.Keith and S.T.Yan. "The Traffic Analyser: An Instrument for the Automatic Measurement of Traffic Parameters". Re work done at IHTR, UNSW. I had the responsibilty of constructing a bunch of 'shift-register/counter' modules. Later after my boss designed an optical detector [it had been noticed that drivers reacted when seeing rubber tubes acress road - thinking that they were speed traps), with 12-inch spacing I needed to redesignthe clocking circuit for the analyser. Actually, it was an enjoyable and interesting project - I got to write the specification for an Austin-1800 to be used as the field data collection vehicle. My main modification for the 1800 was reversing the passenger seat to make it easier to operate all the recording equipment mounted in the rear. I was never permitted to drive the 1800 on 'trips' (I guess that there was BIG insurance when it travelled on the back of a truck. However, I did get it up to 85mph at Schofields Airstrip early one day. At another time I did a specification for a BMC Mini-van with a high roof that could be used for traffic surveys with observers sitting in the back. It arrived with the 998cc engine - without me asking for it. It was also a nippy vehicle - I got it up the 70mph on the Warringah Expressway, on the first day that it was open for traffic, nobody else using the freeway at the time.
1969 A.R.R.B. Report "THE DESIGN AND OPERATION OF THE TRAFFIC ANALYSER" by R. J. KEITH. References to two computer programs. I was responsible for taking the paper-tape output from the Analyser, converting it to punch cards for the IBM-1620. I never got around to finding out what the special "SIO" box on the 1620 was intended to be used for. I actually took the lid off the "SIO" box one day and found a row of 8 big brass screw terminals. Later thoughts are that the IBM specification (possibly done by Prof Speedy who left the IHTR before I arrived) may have been intended for 'real-time' data input.
Oct-1969 Sub-editor for various articles in Tharunka [UNSW] re downfall of IHTR at Randwick.
1977, Proof-reader for Opunka Film Group handbook The Expert Projectionist by Patrick Matthew, ISBN 0 85823 061 5.
1985-Sep-Oct, Articles/Reports in CROSSTALK, journal of Hewlett-Packard Technical Computer User Groups (in Australia).
1991-Sept to 1995-Aug, monthly President's Reports in "The Pugilist" - the magazine of the Peugeot Car Club of NSW Inc.
1994, Lead article in ACMS Newsletter, Issue 1 - re my "Introduction to Computing", and . .
since, Reprinted in IEEE Annals of Computing History,
2004, "An Introduction to the Burra Valley Railway", NMRA Oz, Journal 'Mainline', vol 21, no 1 (March).
2004, "The Burra Valley Railroad goes Skywards", NMRA Oz, Journal 'Mainline', vol 21, no 2 (June).
2004, June 23, quoted in SMH article by John Huxley "Crash goes that Computer Museum".
2005, "The Burra Valley Railway (BVR) grows UP", NMRA Oz, Journal 'Mainline', vol 22, no 1 (March).
2005, "First Impressions of the Walthers 130ft Modern HO Turntable", NMRA Oz, Journal 'Mainline', vol 22, no 3 (Autumn).
2005, "The Burra Valley Railway (BVR) goes UPwards", [Pt 3.] NMRA Oz, Journal 'Mainline', vol 22, no 4 (Summer).
2009-Jul-16, Federal Government, Senate publishes my submission to the STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS, "Inquiry into Australia's judicial system and the role of judges".

See http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/judicial_system/submissions/sub31_namewithheld.pdf - with some identifying parts removed to protect the... . And the "Access to Justice" inquiry submission at https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions/comittees/viewdocument.aspx?id=e65b23fc-5401-4223-bf79-6201cc5b4105 see sub-65.

2010-2011, Various recommendations and submissions to Leichhardt Council re future of Callan Park site.
2011-Aug, credit in Barrie Pattison's book "I'VE BEEN IN SOME BIG TOWNS : The Life and Films of Anatole Litvak", for computing assistance. [available via Lulu.com -- search for "ive been in some big towns" ]
2013-Aug, credit in Barrie Pattison's book "THE MAN WHO ATE FILMS : The Life and Work of Michael Curtiz", for computing assistance. [available via Lulu.com] Ditto 2nd Edition, 2015.
2016, credit in Barrie Pattison's book "Script of Zombie Brigade from Lizard Gully".

Motor Vehicles owned.

1961, UH-010 Black 4-speed manual, Standard 14 sedan, vintage 1949 with soft aluminium head, Bendix mechanical brakes.
2 x Austin A-40 Somerset sedans. 4 cylinders (approx 1200cc), 4 speed manual with column gear shift, nice wide split seats in the front, but close enough for 'cuddling'. One green, later one beige. A friend and I "Finished" - or 'tried to' (without officially starting) in the 1964 Ampol Round-Australia Rally on 28th June 1964 in the A40, at Bondi Beach in Sydney. A member of the local constabulary wanted to book me for having a dirty vehicle; but gave up rapidly when photographers and a small crowd gathered around the Austin. Good details of the rally can be found at http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/trial_ampol_1964.htm - it is interesting to see from the images at the top of their page, that the organisers chose a Peugeot 403 as their Survey Car.
1967, Black Wolsley 4/44 sedan, with problematic electric fuel pump.
1968, Peugeot 404 sedan AOB-584, 1965 vintage. Bought from Roy McPhee at Concord. Later severely damaged (including a bent tailshaft] when rear-ended on Parramatta Road one night. It should have been written off but it was repaired, but was never the same afterwards. [Still the newest vehicle ever owned. See below for all the 'new' vehicles that I managed.]
1975 August, green Fiat 1100D [for M.Morton], drove to Tenterfield for land auction. Very nice when up to cruising speed.
1976 December, white Peugeot 404 sedan [for M.Morton] from R.W.Carter.
1977?, ERK-823 white Peugeot 404 wagon (10 years old, from John Tindall, Traffic Eng. UNSW), great on hills.
1983 September, Ford 100K Econovan, MLP-311 ex-Water Board CWA-897 $3,500, written off by unknown truck whilst parked 200 metres from roundabout on Homebush Road, in Nov, 1984.
1983 bright orange Renault 12 wagon, [for M.Morton]. My main usage was being taken to chiropractor in Summer Hill - lying flat on my stomach in the back. I got some funny looks crawling across the footpath on hands and knees.
1984 August, LCS-361, mustard Rover 2000-TC sedan $2,300, primarily used whilst contracting in Canberra, lots of commuting; sold July 1986.
1986 March, PDP-11S, Feb-1975 white Peugeot 504 break (ie commercial wagon, originally HSI-960, bought from Ron Woods of Epping for $3,500, and almost immediately set off for trip to Queensland for a DECUS Conference - with family); alias Wonder-Wagon-I. Slightly damaged in front yard at Strathfield. Retired to ?middle-east, December 2002.
1989 April, PUG-305 (originally OLU-835, imported (not by me) from South Africa via Qld) mustard coloured, 4-speed manual, 1980 Peugeot 305 sedan $6,000?, Front Wheel Drive, gearbox in sump. Damaged severely in front yard at Strathfield.
1997 June, WGN-504 (alias Wonder-Wagon-II) 1975/76 white french-built Peugeot 504 SRDT break $3,500; (ie fitted with 505 auto Turbo Diesel by P-504 services). Stolen by Margaret Morton.
2002 February, XUP-809 white, 3-speed auto, Peugeot 505 SRDt sedan, series I, 1983 vintage, over-heating hassles, too close to ground, sold to lady in ACT.
2002 December, RSD-175, (originally NHR-793) in 1985 (automatic 3-speed), mint-green? Peugeot 505 series I, familiale, comfortable but poor fuel economy.
2006 September, ALO-63U, a Peugeot 'Partner' disguised as a 2002 Citroen Berlingo, white 5-speed manual Van. Good economy of 13-15 Km/Litre. Stolen from railway car park at Macquarie Fields around Xmas, 2014.
2011-January, 1983 Peugeot 505 SR wagon, SXB-183, ex-Victorian vehicle. Previously converted to Diesel. Restoration work not proceeding, sold for parts/restoration in 2019.
2012, February, 1981 Peugeot 505 GR sedan, 34697-H, [ie Historic Registration], no power steering, 2.0L XN2 engine, needs some TLC. Retrieved from Armidale by Morrie and Paul. Minor hail damage on roof. Sold after a year.
2014-February. Bought a second Citroen Berlingo Van, BFY-28Z, 1999 vintage. Some odd differences when compared with ALO-63U, but good for highway touring to Canberra, etc. Sold after a few months.
2014-December. Bought another (they fit me) Berlingo Van, 2008, Series 2, BF-84-MM with sliding door on LHS, roof racks and tow bar. Many differences around dash, etc. Stolen Aug-2015 and written off in Cabramatta.
2015-August. Bought 2005 Citroen C5 Estate wagon, auto, very fancy, ATW-21P. Has roof racks, tyre pressure monitoring, fog lights, cruise control, 2.2L HDi engine. Still learning about the C5 after a year.
2018-November. Bought 2009 Peugeot 308 HDi (2.0 Litre), 7-seat wagon. 2 seats from 'boot' removed to make space for normal luggage, etc. Very sporty after new timing belt fitted. Most controls, etc, very similar to C5.

Motor Vehicles managed.

1964+, Fiat Tractor [local build], fitted with front-end loader, [required 'crane operator' permit], IHTR, Randwick. For many years, I wondered why the University had a Fiat (Italian) tractor, when the government preference was for Australian or British products - mystery solved many years later when I learned that Fiat tractors were actually assembled in Australian in the 1960s. About the same time as getting the "Crane Operator Permit", I was required to get a "Firearms Licence", it was never used in anger, or against any animals.
1964+, DOE-759, International model AB-110, 30-cwt light truck/utility, 4-speed manual (ordered as option), using Australian AGD-240 engine (brochure says 240c.u. 135HP/approx 100Kw), IHTR, Randwick.
1964+, Trailer fitted with Austin A-40 Motor and 240volt AC Alternator [about 20KW?] for field work.
1965+, Commer Van, used for traffic surveys, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth.
196?, BMC Minivan, high roof, with 998cc engine - for traffic surveys, IHTR, Randwick. I had the 2-way radio fitted upside-down on the B-pillar so the it could be operated by both front-seat drivers/passengers and also survey operators in the rear.
196?, Austin 1800 series I, fitted out with Traffic Analyser data collection equipment, IHTR, Randwick, [Ref: ARRB, Conference Proceedings, 1969]. As well as removing the rear seat and fitting slides for a mobile instrument rack, I turned the front passenger seat around for the survey equipment operator (usually me). Another feature of the 1800 was the great boot space which easily held our portable (2-man) 240v generator that was used to power the equipment rack.
197?, Electric [battery operated] Fork-Lift, Civil Engineering Structures Laboratory, Randwick.
2012+, Nissan X-Trail wagon belonging to Mrs Jones in Canberra. The 'cruise control' is OK when there is little traffic on the highway. Trade-in on Honda, June, 2018.
2018-June, Honda CRV wagon, lots of automation, interesting CVT transmission. Owner Manual says Speed Limiter may not work when going downhill ! ! ! Belongs to Mrs Jones.

Media Appearances.

1953 or 54, Selected to model school uniform in mannequin parade for Lowes Burwood, probably because our family was a 'deserving case' rather than me being excessively handsome/photogenic.
1963-jul-12, Candidate statement in Tharunka for Students Union elections.
1965, Husband in Opunka Film Group unfinished production "Thirteen Angry Feet"?.
1966-jan-25, Article in Hobart Mercury newspaper re Traffic Studies being conducted in Hobart and Launceston by Dr Alan Miller, Kim Tan and John Geremin.
1966 ?, Brisbane TV News, whilst working on traffic survey for IHTR and ARRB project with Dr Alan Miller.
1969, Extra and Technical Crew for Opunka Film Group production of "The Hard Word".
1969, Candidate statement in Tharunka for Students Union elections.
1984, Extra in ABC TV Production "Palace of Dreams" in scenes at The Great Synagogue, Sydney.
1984, Extra in Dr George Miller production of 'Mad Max III' [Beyond Thunderdome, 1985], partly filmed at the old brick-pits at Homebush Bay [pre Olympic games].
1991-1995, 2 or 3 interviews on 2SER-FM as President of the Peugeot Car Club of NSW.
2003-feb-27 Interviewed by John Huxley, Sydney Morning Herald for article re ACMS.
2003-mar-3 John Huxley, SMH article "Not Much Memory, but Plenty of Recollections". [reprinted in The Pugilist]
2003-mar-3 Interviewed live by Radio 2UE in Sydney re Computer Museum.
2003-mar-9 Followup telephone interview by Radio 2UE in Sydney.
2003, 3rd April, Interviewed by the Australian Centre for Public History, UTS, Sydney.
2003, 19th May, Gary Barker ?, The AGE, "Chips are Down for Computer Museum".
2003, 11th or 12th August, interviewed for, and quoted in Adam Turner's article in Sydney Morning Herald and The AGE, "Software's Twilight".
2003- ?? Interview on ABC Radio re Computer Museum.
In Santa cap, November 2005.
2004, 22nd June, John Huxley, SMH article "Crash Goes That Computer Museum".
2004-Jun-23?, Live breakfast interview 07:25, (Ashley Hall) on ABC 702 Local Radio from Computer Museum.
2004, December issue of The Pugilist, "Call in the Wagon Master" article with 2 photos.
2005-apr-21, 21:35 Interview with James O'Loughlin, ABC Local Radio re history of 'Time PIPS' on Radio Stations.
2005-may-15, 11:35 Call to ABC Radio Weekend Show, Simon Marnie and Paul Wallbank re Singer System TEN powering-up problem. Return call from Simon who wants to do formal interview (soon). Ref (nb case sensitive site at PC Rescue).
2005-june, Feedback to ABC Radio 702 Drive program, re competition for Set Top Boxes.
2005-jun-10, 10:10 Comment re child minding ages read out on ABC Radio 702 (Sally Loane).
2005-oct-27, Feedback to ABC TV 'New Inventors' program re old product being re-born - ie 'Surface Tension Guttering'.
2005-dec, Photo in The Pugilist taken at Xmas dinner wearing Santa cap.
2006-feb, small article in The Pugilist re coming event.
2006-mar, article in The Pugilist re visit to model railway.
2006-apr-23, Flagman at start of Peugeot ReRun at Parramatta Park (celebrating 50 years since a Peugeot 403 sedan won the 1956 Ampol Round Australia Trial). Many photos taken of my 'rear-end' as the vehicles departed - very short glimpses on the evening TV news (ABC, 7, 9, 10) in Sydney.
2006-may, group photos in Torque and The Pugilist from the 2006 Peugeot Easter Pageant in Canberra.
2007-apr-11, photo in 'The Age' and 'Sydney Morning Herald' p.22 - article "A bunch of old MUGs"
2007-nov, photo in The Pugilist, taken at Sydney International Motor Show, 18-oct-07.
2007-nov-05, 40 minutes, on-air interview, 2RDJ 88.1 FM, re technical achievements and Senate election campaign.
2007-nov-20, 45 minutes, panel discussion, 2GLF 89.3 FM, for 'Dads-On-The-Air' for Election Campaign.
2007-nov, photograph [taken in mid-1960s], in Issue 16 of UNSW Engineering.
2008-apr-01, Quoted in Sydney Morning Herald small article by Richard Macey 'Crashing blow for techies'.
2008-apr-09, Photograph re Minto ACMS relocation in Campbelltown Macarthur Advertiser.
2008, December issue of The Pugilist has two photos of me taken at the PCC November meeting.
2009, June issue of Pugilist, mentioned twice in historic references.
2009, July issue of Pugilist, one mention re my getting PDP-11 numberplate [it was actually PDP-11S].
2009, photo of Ross Legge and myself from mid 1960s published in "The History of the UNSW Faculty of Engineering 1949-2009" p180.
2011, identifiable in a couple of photos in the Draft Callan Park Master Plan, ref http://www.leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/Stage-5-Callan-Park-Draft-Master-Plan.html
2011-January, photo, page 3 of ACMS Inc newsletter.
2011-feb-7, two media interviews after State election candidates meeting at Leichhardt (probably not broadcast or published).
2011, October issue of Pugilist, mentioned twice in historic references (p24 re 1991).
2012-jul-24, spoke at funeral of Ken Kirkby (ACMS Committee member on Central Coast of NSW).
2012-aug-22, photo in THE TORCH, at opening of Bankstown Mens Shed at Birrong. (name not published)
2015-Sept, interviewed and photographed at Villawood for local newspaper, re ACMS activities.
2018-August, couple of ABC Radio interviews during 'PANIC' exit of Computer Museum from Villawood storage premises. Also a couple of glimpses in You-Tube videos taken during the exit.

Pre-1990s Computers Operated/Managed.

1965-1969, IBM 1620 (installed 1963?) at Institute of Highway and Traffic Research, Uni of NSW, (not an exact copy of the one in Chemical Engineering).
1969-1973?, IBM 360/50H in Computing Centre, University of NSW. Once I became confident with the IBM, I used John Webster's "PRIORITY" program to boost user throughput to about 85%, instrad of the normal 66%.

- Then when night-shifts became available on the IBM-360/50, I was the 'shift-manager' for many mid-night to dawn shifts on Saturday mornings in the Computer Services Unit on the third floor of the Electrical Engineering building. It was in the early 1970s, when a couple of us were sitting on the sorting table about 1am, the table and the whole building started to shake - I jumped off the table and hit the HALT button on the 360. It had taken a few seconds to realise that we had been subjected to an earthquake. Next steps - walk around the whole computer room listening for odd noises and checking all indicator lights on all peripherals, etc. A few minutes later - no abnormal indications - so pressed the GO button to continue processing. - Having studied some 'Computing Science', I considered my role as considerably more than just 'an operator', hence often did code corrections when programs failed with syntax errors, etc. One time, I was trying to fix a PL1 program - not my greatest expertise - the error was something like 'invalid instruction' at line XXX. Line XXX was a comment line with a starting /* and the */ at the end. Very simple - nothing wrong. Scratch head and start scanning backards through the code. Nothing looked unusual - then back about 20 lines or so of code there was * /. It had not been recognised as the end of a comment and the compiler had treated a whole bunch of code lines as comments. Easily fixed - difficult to diagnose. - Being in charge a million dollar computer was sometimes challenging - often very satisfying - it was the only time that I could tell a Professor 'what to do' (and have them not object). -- In Civil Engineering, I worked with a number of Senior Academics.

197?, WANG 700 series Programmable Calculator, School of Civil Engineering, University of NSW.
197?, WANG 3300, multi-user Mini-Computer, School of Civil Engineering, University of NSW. The four users were connected via ASR-33 Teletypes, with paper tape I/O. The CPU had an attached dual cassette recorder for secondary storage. My major contribution was writing a set of routines to use the cassette tapes as secondary memory for large matrix calculations. The Prof never told me that I was developing a 'Virtual Memory System'. I also did a 'cows and bulls' game program for Open Days (copy in my trophy cabinet).
197?, Cyber 72-26 in Computing Centre (replacing the IBM 360/50 system), [with remote batch input stations, PDP-11/40s], University of NSW.
1978, HP 2100S multi-user mini-computer belonged to the Renal Unit, RPA Hospital. After some instant training from my predecessor I became the System Manager, System programmer, etc - IE a one-man team. I later translated all the HP Fortran programs to Basic-Plus on the PDP-11/70 (so that the Renal Unit users could readily access other Medical Records data and BioChem results). The Renal Unit HP2100S was located in the corner of the Computer Services Unit in the basement of the Page Chest Pavillion on the corner of Salibury Road. There was a service contract with HP and the Service Technicians were usually very friendly. When service calls were due I usually started a 'backup' an hour or so earlier. One day the Technician told me that I culd save a couple of hours - of course I was interested. He just hit the POWER switch. Did the service check - filters, etc - then hit the POWER switch again - system back on-line. He then explained that the power supplies were designed with enough capacity to do an instant memory dump to disk when a power-fail was encountered (and a restore when power was restored).
1978, HP 3000 Series II, Computer Services Unit, RPA Hospital. Ward Oliver was the HP-3000 System Manager and I was his deputy. It had a nice Chess program. Main use developing a Pharmacy Data Base.
1979, PDP-11/70, Computer Services Unit, RPA Hospital. Initially about 48 terminals connected. One of the Systems Programmers - System Operators, later Network Manager. It was many months before I 'discovered' that there was an 'idle pattern on the CPU'.
1980, VAX-11/780, Computer Services Unit, RPA Hospital. System arrived about February and was extensively tested and commissioned in my 'spare' time. Official 'turn-on' was on 4th July, 1980, photo available.
198?, PDP-11/34, Personnel Office, RPA Hospital.
198?, PDP-11/34, Radiology Department, RPA Hospital.
198?, VAX-11/750, Radiology Department, RPA Hospital.
1989, PDP-11/70s, upgraded to matched pair by JAG, Macquarie Pathology Services (MPS), Leichhardt. [not quite identical - the system 'idle' patterns pointed to each other.]
1989, PDP-11/44 rebuilt by JAG, MPS, Leichhardt. I crammed it all into one cabinet to save space [not as recommended by DEC].
199?, PDP-11/73, upgraded/rebuilt into BA123 cabinet (ex-11/44+RK07 system) at Woy Woy abattoir.
1996-2000, PDP-11/84s, upgraded to dual (stand-by spare) system as part of Dept of Defence support contract - at Garden Island, Sydney. System was used for the FFG Trainer. Formally - I was supposed to be supervised at all times, but occasionally I was left alone. At my first visit I did a thorough CPU hardware check, did a few adjustments, then had no CPU hardware problems in 4 years.

Post-1990s Computers Operated/Managed.

1986-2000 (approx) HP150A then HP150-II (with 6 or 8 disk drives on the HP-IB bus) and LaserJet+ linked to uVAX-2000 and VAX-3100 and Jumbo-11/73 in home-office network for Megatronics, the DEC stuff was in the garage on the end of some 'thinwire'. At one time I had an 'IMPACT' brand laser printer that had some interesting features (eg variable slope for italic characters).
1990s, MicroVAX network at Clinicom at Miranda, (also PCs), main task was network set-up then writing 'device-drivers' for some laboratory analysers (a fairly simple task using a HP-150 with display functions).
1990s, ACMS MicroVAX and Micro-PDP-11 Network at Homebush, 4 systems in 'ZedNET' configuration. I had/have many PDP-11 Software Licences for my PDP-11 systems.
2001-> Other PCs mainly HP Vectras and Pavilions for home office network. Attempted to keep running Windows 2000, then Win-XP until 2018. Still using a HP DOS box for book-keeping - it does not forget the date/time.
2017, ACMS MacBook and PowerMac [operational donations].
2019, HP 'Spectre' laptop with Win-10. Sadly, hard disk is only 30GB, major percentage used by system. Same problem on similar 'Dell' laptop (IE - not enough disk space for a Win-10 update in 2019, and the update refuses to use an external USB drive as per the instructions - another MS failure).

Some Interesting Repair/Recovery Jobs

Sydney University Electron Microscope Unit, very random memory errors. I was consulted after a number of Field Service Technicians had failed to eliminate the problems. After getting as much history as possible from the User, I decided upon a thorough physical examination of the memory module. A very standard module - many chips soldered in - others socketed. So started with the socketed chips, expecting corrosion of the pins - no corrosion ! But instead small rings (5mm or 6mm) of carbon on the underside of many memory chips. Easy to remove. Re-assemble - test - all looked OK. Then to explain (in non-computing terms) that their environment was the problem - and the best solution would be to re-locate the computer as far away from the Electron Microscope as practical. This must have worked as I did not get a call-back. [Some times - it pays to have a good all-round scientific AND technical education.] Bonus points for the 'full' explanation.
Channel 9, Artamon, RSX restore after major disk failure, quoted $200/hr for Saturday. Restore took 30 hours over the weekend. I apologised for the $6K invoice - they were 'HAPPY', it was less than 1 minute of advertising time that could have been lost. I only saw 15 seconds of 'blank screen' on the Saturday night. I was not familiar with RSX, so I had to read the manual. I learned that RSX is an awkward system to install from scratch.
RPAH, some time after I was asked to resign - and leave the hospital. They wanted a system restore from PDP-11/70 backup tapes. The 'new' Operators [untrained by me] were restoring all the files into their operator account. New/cheap operators did not want to read the Backup System manual.

Honorary/Volunteer Positions.

1949?, odd job boy for headmistress of South Strathfield Infants School.
1951-52, Collector for 'bottle-drive' for South Strathfield Public School annual fetes.
1953, Gardening duties at Enfield Public School.
1954, 'Bin-Boy' at Enfield Public School.
1958, 'Electrician/Projectionist' at Homebush Boys High School. Also School Chess Team.
1963-1978 Committee Member, OPUNKA FILM GROUP at the University of NSW. Initially appointed as Transport Officer, then Vice-President for 3 years, then elected as Honorary Life Member and later seven years as Honorary Treasurer (in which position I developed a very good working relationship with Bruce Marsh while he was Senior Internal Auditor at the University of NSW). Opunka organised and hosted the First Australian Universities Film Society Convention in 1966 to coincide with the first NSW International Film Festival.
1962,1963,1964 Tharunka staff member - generally sub-editor - initial training by Michael Haines [Editor 1962?]
1963/64 to 1993/4? Committee member of The Federation of New South Wales and Associated Film Societies [Initially Fedn of NSW and QLD Film Societies] as delegate from Opunka Film Group. I printed many issues of 'FILM INFORMATION' in the Opunka Office for the Federation.
1964, December - elected as joint Publicity Officer, New South Wales Car Club. [Persuaded Professor W.R. Blunden (Head of Traffic Engineering, UNSW) to become club Patron.]
1964,1965 Member, Students' Union Council, University of NSW.
1965 Attendee at 'First Annual Film Society Convention' held at the Burlington Hotel, Katoomba, NSW from 15th to 17th October, 1965. Assisted as occasional projectionist. First met Margaret Morton this year, if I remember correctly.
1966 Opunka Delegate to '2nd Annual Film Society Convention' held at the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba, NSW from 5th to 7th August, 1966. Assisted with organisation (probably film or equipment transport) - mention in programme notes.
1966, Technical Committee, First NSW International Film Festival, held at University of NSW and Randwick Ritz Cinema from 12th to 22nd August, 1966. [copy of programme in personal archives], (This was the start of a friendship with Alan Pritchard at the Ritz where I helped out and saw a lot of Sunday-night double-features.)
1966, Honorary Secretary, New South Wales Car Club.
1969-Aug, Acting Honorary Treasurer, University of NSW Students' Union.
1969-Aug, Elected to CASOC Standing Committee, University of NSW Students' Union.
1969-Oct, Acting Chairman, University of NSW Students' Union.
1970-1977, Honorary Treasurer, Opunka Film Group, University of NSW.
1970-Oct, Assistant Returning Officer, University of NSW Students' Union. [And later Returning Officer for a few years - mainly because I was involved in writing the election regulations with Heinz Harant).]
197?, twice Chairman, University of NSW Students' Union.
1975-77, Board Member, University of NSW Union.
197?-Nov,1986, Member, NSW University Press Limited, initially representing the Students Union, later representing the University.
1978-79, Board Member, University of NSW Union.
197?, Deputy Chairman, Baranbali Co-op Housing Society.
198?, Volunteer Assistant at Petersham Saturday School of Community Languages.
1985-86, President, HP Technical Users Group (NSW).
1990, Organiser of DECUS PDP-11 Weekend Workshop (20th anniversary of PDP-11s).
1995, Organiser of 'PDP RE-UNION DINNER' on 21st August, in conjunction with the DECUS Australia Symposium.
1990-Sept to 1992-Aug, Merchandise Officer for Peugeot Car Club of NSW. Joined in July, 1988.
1991 - 1995, President of the Peugeot Car Club of NSW Incorporated for 4 consecutive years.
1994 - 2020, Foundation Treasurer then Honorary Treasurer of the Australian Computer Museum Society Incorporated, except for portion of one year. Also 'Honorary Curator' role.
2003 - 2012, Membership Secretary/Acting Secretary/Secretary of the Peugeot Car Club of NSW Inc. Retired August, 2012 to concentrate on Computer Museum repository and funding needs.
2003, Member of formation committee for ASHET, the Australian Society for History of Engineering and Technology.
2006 - 2017, Honorary Treasurer, Family Law Reform Association of NSW Inc.
2007, Consultant/Contributor to www.familylawwebguide.com.au project.
2007-April, promoted (without being asked) to 'Moderator' for Family Law Web Guide Portal.
2007-October, accepted nomination as Federal Senate candidate in NSW, for NCPP.

Trophy Cabinet.

1964, First (as Navigator in a VW), President's Trial, New South Wales Car Club.
1968, Clubman of the Year, New South Wales Car Club.
1970, 1st in Long Wheelbase class (in Peugeot 404), 1970 Group 9 Motorkhana no.1, New South Wales Car Club.
19??, ?? [trophy is 1913 Mercer Raceabout, Type 35J] - mounted on black porcelain ashtray.
1990, July, All-French Car Day, 1st 205/305 Class, [PUG-305 sedan].
1990, Sept, Citroen Car Club of NSW, Winner ECONOMY Run, 39.63 mpg, PDP-11S, Peugeot 504 Break.
1991, Sept, Penrith. C.V.V.T.M.C. Display Day, Peugeot ?? (probably PUG-305).
1992, Peugeot Easter Pageant, Stanthorpe QLD, 1st '504 Economy', PDP-11S Peugeot 504 Break.
1992, Peugeot Easter Pageant, Stanthorpe QLD, 1st 'Male Wagons Utilities & 604' Class Motorkhana, PDP-11S.
1992, Outright Sporting Award, Peugeot Car Club of NSW, 504 Break, PDP-11S. [NB. the 504 Break is the commercial wagon version. It has only 5 seats compared to the 7 in the Familiale. It also has a flat floor in the back. The rear seat can be folded up or completely removed for extra space. It has lower differential gearing for better hill-climbing with a load.]
1993, Peugeot Easter Pageant, Healesville, VIC, First Economy FWD class, PUG-305 sedan.
1993, Outright Sporting Award, Peugeot Car Club of NSW, (mainly with PUG-305).
2002, Chevallier Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to DECUS.
2002, Peugeot Easter Pageant, Beechworth, VIC, Motorkhana, 505 SRDT, auto diesel sedan.
2002, Adult Sporting Award, Peugeot Car Club of NSW, 505 SRDT, auto diesel sedan.
2006, Peugeot Easter Pageant, Canberra, Award for 3rd place (or was it 5th) in Observation Run with Ross Berghofer as Navigator and Observer.
2007, August, 'Outstanding Achievement Award' from Shared Parenting Council of Australia.
2008, November, awarded '20-Year Badge' by Peugeot Car Club of NSW Inc.
2010, January, National Model Railroad Association, Inc - Certificate Of Achievement (AUS-337), "Model Railroad Engineer - Electrical".
2012, November, "Congratulations" Certificate from local Federal MP, Chris Hayes.
2016, September, second 'Certificate of APPRECIATION' as the valued Treasurer of the ACMS, from the Commonwealth Bank 'Not-for-Profit Treasurers' Awards.
2019, awarded '30-year badge' for long term membership of the Peugeot Car Club of NSW.

Properties once owned.

1967? - 69, half-share of Unit 10 at 53-55 Forsyth Street, Kingsford - 2 blocks from University of NSW main campus.
1971-??, Terrace at 19 Vine Street, Chippendale - bought from Cass Morton, sold pre 1992.
197?, paid deposit on terrace at 25 Ivy Street, Chippendale (for M.Morton). Comm Bank took balance of purchase price from Workers Comp settlement.
May-1977, House at 83 Camden Street, Newtown, $23,500, sold pre-1992.
1978, Victorian house at 107 Homebush Road, Strathfield - purchased for $55,000 in accordance with Workers Compensation Court settlement undertaking - later taken away by the Anti-Family Court.
1985 - inherited half share of parents' house at 32 Manning Ave, Enfield - sold by Public Trustee.
1992 to 1998, Half-share of two Units at Meade Drive, Chipping Norton, sold.
1993 to 2001, TownHouse at Ernest Avenue, Chipping Norton - also taken away by the Anti-Family Court, leaving me homeless and financially ruined.

Some Unplanned Benefits.

Born late 1942, hence (for those who remember), I was too young for 'National Service' - and - too old for 'Conscription'. I have often wondered which Federal Politican's son was in the same age group.
In the 1970s, whilst working as a Laboratory Technician in Civil Engineering at UNSW, I got a telephone call from one of the Directors of the 'Senior Common Room Club' located on top of the nearby Electrical Engineering Building. They needed a new keg put online. This was not one of my normally publicised talents (or experiences) but I figured that I could do it. So I arrived and when I felt the current keg it seemed heavier than I remembered from a few years before. When I lifted it up it became obvious that it was NOT empty. So I gently loosened the spigot and pushed it down to the bottom of the keg. Problem solved a lot easier and quicker than I anticipated, and my reputation was suitably 'enhanced'.
About 1980, whilst employed as the Senior Programmer for the Renal Unit at RPA Hospital, and located in the Computer Room - the Director of Medical Services (with a B.E. and MBBS) had the habit of 'visiting' the Computer Room after 5pm to 'say hello' and maybe to see who was 'enthusiastic'. One day he asked me if I had seen the Operating Theatres and I sarcastically replied "I have not even seen the staff dining room". At the time only medical staff could use the Doctors Dining Room, and nurses had to use the Nurses Home facilities. A week later a memo went around the whole hospital to say that the Nurses Home dining room would be available for non-medical staff. And they did a very nice and economical breakfast, etc. This solved a financial problem as many senior nurses were choosing to live in private accomodation.
Another time whilst working at RPAH, I was sent (twice) on training courses at Digital at Chatswood. During the second time I managed to create "Interactive COBOL" on a PDP-11 'RSTS' system. I showed it to some interested lads from a VAX course in the next room during a coffee break. I gather that they later asked the VAX Instructor why the VAX could not do the same. I am not sure that I was 'popular' at Chatswood after that (I was supposwed to be there to 'learn', not to 'experiment'). And I did NOT implement it at RPAH - too much SERIOUS computing being done.

Some Awkard and/or Embarrassing Incidents.

  - Mainly in 1960s/1970s whilst at University of NSW, and usually when enrolled as a Part-Time student.

Foundation Day prank by some college students who 'borrowed' some old/large black-on-white railway station name signs. These had been collected late at night and were displayed on the library lawn. I was in the Students Union office when a telephone call came in from the University Administration. The Deputy Registrar (Student Services) wanted to see me in his office. I dutifully went up-the-hill to his office and introduced myself to his secretary. She 'buzzed' him and he came out and told me that he had two Railway Detectives in his office, and that I should agree with him ! He took me inside and intrduced me as the Vice-President of the Students Union. The Detectives wanted to know the names and addresses of the students involved. We explained that the prank had not been pre-registered - and that the list of students was the enrolment register of some 12,000 names. They were not happy. Then after some more questions the Deputy Registrar asked 'Can you organise a truck to come and collect the signs?' - they said yes. Then he said "Good - we should be able to stop the newspapers from mentioning the lack of public security/safety at the railway stations." I agreed on behalf of the Students Union. Problem solved - good lesson in PR.
Another time for a different Foundation Day - David and I were out after midnight 'borrowing' some service station flags. We would have had about 20 in the back of the A40 and were heading back home along Canterbury Road. Very little traffic after midnight those days, but I noticed a Ford Customline behind us. Then I turned left into Punchbowl Road, and it did too. I then realised that I needed to drop Dave at Bexley so did a U-turn. Then the siren came on from the Ford - instant decision NOT to try to make a run for it. So a brief chat the plain clothes police from the Ford. Told them that we had been collecting some flags for Foundation Day, etc. We must have sounded honest and were allowed to continue on our way. I later realised that there had been a kidnapping and they were not worried about our escapade. Honesty is often the best policy.