When Denis Sullivan signed on with the railways he had not been encouraged to do so by his father. Even though his Dad and his brother were guards in Narrandera his Dad thought it would be better if Denis spread his wings elsewhere. But it was the railway which offered him the position of Junior Porter in 1963 and Denis was glad to accept. Forty years later he has no complaints.
Denis did not stay long in Narrandera cleaning brake vans and was soon off on his own journey with NSW Rail. He had travelled quite a bit on the 402 type rail motors, going from Narrandera to Hay, Tocumwal and Griffith as the need arose.
Before he signed-on he, like others, took the trip to Sydney to have his medical assessment and to sit his entrance examination. It seems the railway liked to be sure the reading, spelling and arithmetic was to its set standards. So, on Tuesday it was up to Sydney and then on the following Monday commenced employment at Narrandera as a Relief Junior Porter, soon relieving at wherever he was needed: Hay, Griffith, Albury, Finley, Narrandera, Tocumwal and Illabo. While based at Illabo Denis learned the importance of railway gardens. It was his job to keep the gardens weeded and watered.
He used watering cans so there were many trips back and forth from the tanks. The water was delivered to Illabo by train in half-moon shaped wagons and there was quite a bit of it to fill the tanks. There were lots of roses which also had to be pruned and the hand watering must have paid off as Illabo Station won the district Railway Garden Competition on several occasions.
Denis enjoyed those early years often working outside but a position in the Albury goods shed office came up and having passed the clerical exam, Denis took up the new opportunity. It wasn’t long before he moved to Leeton as a junior clerk, again working in the goods shed checking goods in and out. A lot of fruit passed through the Leeton Goods Shed from the Letona Cannery in those days. As a Relief Clerk Grade 6 (no longer a junior) Denis found himself in Junee working as a relief clerk in the booking office and also with the roster clerk. Denis was promoted to a Grade 5 Clerk also on relief at Junee. Like a good Railway Employee Denis was quite quickly working his way through the grades. Next it was to Port Kembla as the Guards’ Roster Clerk (Clerk Grade 4) and he spent nine years enjoying the delights of the beaches on offer in the Illawarra. A further promotion (now a grade 3) saw him become the Freight Manager of the Port Kembla steel works. As a strong union town there were quite a few challenges. But it was the next promotion that brought him back to the area he was most familiar with: Junee. His promotion to payroll and becoming principal time keeper saw him at Clerk Grade 2.
While he had been in Port Kembla, Denis had completed his Goods and Coaching Certificate at the Railways Institute as well as his payroll certificate. He remarked on the significance of the Railways Institute as the forerunner to the NSW TAFE system and how he enjoyed being with other railway fellows also doing additional training. He enjoyed the opportunity of continually bettering himself.
His return to Junee saw him working as Principal Payroll Officer in the “Pie Shop” he progressed to the HR Manager for a few years. He then became the Principal Clerk in the District Superintendent’s Office. He was required to check all correspondence and make sure the District Superintendent received whatever came in and out of the office. He was basically in charge of the whole office by this time.
Denis reflected on how work had changed over his time as a railway worker remembering that in 1963 Narrandera had just received its first switchboard and that followed the Morse Code which was still being used. The switch board as we know from a previous Roundup was a party line which allowed everyone to eaves drop if they so wished. The bells for each line were not too difficult to remember and Denis had enjoyed the time he was there.
When Regionalisation was first introduced Denis was promoted to Regional Administration Manager in the Regional Office in Wagga Wagga. This was followed by his promotion to the Regional Payroll Manager for track workers when Junee, Goulburn, Orange and Broken Hill etc. were all paid from Wagga Wagga. He recalled that the payroll was over $2 million a fortnight; a tidy sum for which Denis was accountable. He had a good team working with him and they enjoyed a Thursday lunch routine which went a long way in boosting morale. Christmas events were also remembered with fondness.
Denis retired in 2004 having travelled an interesting journey “working for the railways”.
His final job was a long way from cleaning the toilets with creosote as a junior porter.
He had an interesting and varied career and tells me he enjoyed every minute of it. He recalled the trips made on the rail cars and the smell of steam. At one stage he was catching the Leeton freight train every morning and was assisting with firing the engine and then returning back to Narrandera on the mail train after work. The work and training he did during his varied career has stood him in good stead for his retirement.
As a busy volunteer Denis uses his payroll and his computer skills as treasurer for the School Boys Football Carnival. He received the Junee Citizen of the Year Award in 2010 and believes that lifelong learning and starting at the bottom and working his way up has served him well. The importance of the social cohesion that shared experiences bring provides the all-important feeling of belonging.
Noelene Milliken in collaboration with Denis Sullivan
