No intentions to leave the lock

Towns

Categories

http://www.riverlandweekly.com.au/

By Emily Freetham

After 40 years in the trade, Jim Walker has no intentions of leaving his job of lock master, based at Lock 4, near Bookpurnong.

Back when SA Water was known as the E&WS, the law was that you had to be 21 to work, however, Jim Walker was 17 when he was employed in Robertstown in July 1969.

“I walked into the office and asked for a job, they asked for my age and I said I was 17, they told me to get out and then come back in, I had no idea why I was doing this,” Jim said.

“Luckily, there was a bloke outside who told me what I did wrong, so I walked back in and the same questions were asked, except this time I said I was 21.

“He said I could start on Monday.”

Whilst based in Robertstown, Kadina born Jim worked on the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline and then moved on to various projects throughout Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills.

During his work in Adelaide, he was offered the post at Lock 8 (Wentworth, NSW) and he took the job, seeing as not many lock master positions were on offer at the time.

He worked at Lock 8, living in what he called ‘The Jungle’.

“There were animals everywhere, you couldn’t even step outside without checking for snakes,” he laughed.

“One day we found a king brown (snake) lying beneath the car.

“From then on, my wife wouldn’t get into the car until I had backed it out into the driveway.”

After six years living in ‘The Jungle’, he was offered a job as lock master for Lock 4, a location at which he has been working for 22 years.

From living in ‘The Jungle’, to living closer to civilisation, the offer benefited Jim and his family hugely.

Working on the river for such a long time, Jim has had a lot of interesting and funny experiences.

“Once I saw a billy goat on a fold up dinghy, being towed 30 feet behind a houseboat and that’s not something you see everyday,” he said.

Mr Walker said the best part of the job is the people you meet.

“You meet a lot of great people on this job, however, it’s the guys wearing the captain’s had that worry me,” he said.

“They have no idea where they’re going half the time.

“Barry Jarman has become a regular visitor, bringing with him former Australian Test off spinner Ashley Mallett.

“We have actually become good friends.”

“We also have an Italian family who come through once a year.

“The woman known as ‘Mama’, talks to us through the toilet window because she isn’t a very big fan of the lock because she feels unsteady.”

Working on the locks is difficult, having to work is difficult, having to work 12 days straight and then only two days off.

“You get left behind working these shifts and after a while you don’t get invited anywhere because people expect you to be working,”

“The people I work with, we all have a great friendship, which is lucky because there aren’t too many people working out here.”

When asked if he would be retiring anytime soon, he laughed.

“It’s pretty hard job to retire from.”

Jim was recently recognised by SA Water for his service over 40 years, while his good friend and work mate Kym Drogelmuller also had his 35 years of employment acknowledged.

Riverland Weekly
Thursday August 13, 2009

No Feedback Yet