John Got His Start Delivering Ginger Nuts

• General News
• 7th February 2014

The TWU salutes 73 year old JOHN PRITCHARD who recently retired after 48 years as a TWU member

John Pritchard’s illustrious career in transport began in 1965 when he scored a job at the old Mills & Wares factory in South Fremantle.

To his credit the 73 year old stayed a loyal TWU member from the day he began delivering biscuits to the day he pulled the pin on driving.

That’s 48 years of unbroken membership which puts him among the TOP 10 long-term members.

Apart from ensuring WA kids of the sixties got their Milk Arrowroots and Ginger Nuts John also delivered publications for Gordon & Gotch.

Old blokes like me will remember how important magazines such as Pix, The Post and the Women’s Weekly were to us in those days. Not to mention all those wonderful comics.

Ah, the nostalgia washes over me.

But John only drove trucks for about six years before he got really lucky and scored a coach-drivers Job with Ansett Pioneer, part of Ansett Airlines.

John remembers the work with great affection. It took him all over Western Australia. He loved the bush and his passengers and had a great time.

“Back then a lot of the roads up North were rough dirt but the food in the roadhouses was much better than it is for truckies today.

“We always slept in a bed and were pretty well looked after – the passengers made the job good and it was a fun time.” he recalled

John also landed a stint in Tasmania on the Ansett buses and still regards that beautiful state with much affection. ‘It was a real eye-opener” he said.

He remembers the hair-raising experience of driving down the mountainous Elephant Pass Road with its hair-pin bends and spectacular views of the surrounding valleys.

Upon returning to Perth he met and married Julie, the love of his life, and settled into driving the Ansett shuttle bus from the airport to Perth and back.

When, that job came to an end he became part of Ansett’s ground staff where he became adept at getting people in wheelchairs on an off the planes.

Of course all good things came to an end and Ansett went out of business in 2002 putting its entire workforce out of jobs.

Not ready to put his boots up at this point John got a job running school charters for the Midland Bus Company until his recent retirement.

If ever a bloke deserved a rest it is John Pritchard and we thank him for his contribution to the community and his loyalty to our union.