John MacPherson retires after 44 years with Gympie councils

The man who started Rainbow Beach’s rubbish collection and spent decades dealing with hoarders and health risks has called it a day after working 44 years and under seven CEOs at Gympie’s councils. VIDEO, PHOTOS.

When John MacPherson first joined a Gympie council he was the only health inspector on the job and the computer was large as his kitchen.

His last day on the job was spent in a climate with multiple co-workers and infinitely more computing power in his pocket.

Mr MacPherson retired from Gympie Regional Council after a 44-year run working in Local Government in which he said the only guarantee was “change”.

It was a stint which spanned four council organisations and seven CEOs, starting with the health inspector role at the Widgee Shire Council in 1978.

He was the only such inspector on the payroll at the time, which came with challenges.

“Just one person on their own can’t do a lot,” Mr MacPherson said.

One thing he did do was start a garbage service at Rainbow Beach.

“There’d been nothing there,” he explained

John MacPherson retired from Gympie Regional Council after 44 years, having started working in the region in 1978 with the Widgee Shire Council.

He pushed for the job to go to a local business man “who was just slightly dearer” but who he believed had the better track record.

Mr MacPherson said the council went the other way to save money “and I had a heck of a time trying to get this guy to do the job properly”.

“His garbage truck was a … Toyota transit van that had the back chopped off it.,” Mr MacPherson said.

But because he was trying to work with the situation “the council thought I was favouring him”.

“I knew it was going to be trouble from the word go.”

He moved across to the Gympie City Council for the same job two years later, and then stayed on through the amalgamations which produced the Cooloola Shire Council and Gympie Regional Council.

John MacPherson (right) with (2nd from left) Bob Weatherall, Mick Venardos (3rd from left) and the President of the Gympie City Council Social Club (Mr MacPherson was unable to recall the name) in 1985.

Mr MacPherson said legislation changes in 1993 on the back of the Fitzgerald inquiry loosened what was once a tight political grip councillors had behind the scenes.

This enshrined that councillors set policy but the CEO was in charge of operations and had a huge change on working in councils, he said.

“Prior to that … if you wanted to buy a bobby pin you just had about had to get council approval.

“There was nothing to stop the council coming in and telling you … do that.

“Basically because they were your political masters you had to do it.”

A career spent working to ensure people obeyed public health acts came with its share of memorable tales, too.

John MacPherson plans on spending time exploring his own backyard, and enjoying his hobbies.

Like one particular home not far from the Gympie courthouse.

“He was a hoarder; every square inch of that place had stuff on it,” Mr MacPherson said.

“We got a court order … it took 35 or 40 (of 7m cubic) truckloads away.”

He said workers used a posit rack to shift items onto the truck beds, but even then it was not a small task.

“It took us two days to do the job.”

He recalled another case at the Southside too, “an abandoned house where there was a swimming pool … the kids had thrown a whole stack of stuff into it, dead toads … it was a real mosquito breeder”.

Now, he is planning to spend time with Elizabeth, his wife of more than 30 years, and enjoy hobbies like working on and driving the classic Chevrolet Impala he owns.

“I think I’d just like to see a bit of my own backyard,” Mr MacPherson said.

He will miss the “camaraderie” with his colleagues

“It’s been great working with them.”