Unsung heroes still toiling on Christmas Day
For many, Christmas Day will be another work day as they put out fires, save our lives, empty our bins and prepare feasts to remember. We chat to four unsung heroes about working on December 25.
Moreton Life
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FOR many, Christmas Day will be another work day as they put out fires, save our lives, empty our bins and prepare feasts to remember. We chat with four unsung heroes about working on December 25.
‘GARBOLOGIST’ TIM WAITE
Tim Waite remembers meeting his dad on his Christmas Day garbage run and having something to eat with him on the side of road, so for him working on December 25 is not a big deal.
The third generation “garbologist” or side lift operator will continue the tradition this year with his wife, Eliza, and their 10-month-old daughter, Charlie.
“(When I was a kid) we’d always have a barbecue either the weekend prior to Christmas or if it was Thursday or Friday, we’d have it on the weekend just after Christmas,” Tim recalls.
“We’d always open a present on Christmas Eve and then nine times out of 10 Mum would put us all in the car, me and three older brothers, and drive us out to wherever dad was working.”
“Back in the day people gave the driver gifts so Mum would take the station wagon out and we’d unload all the goodies.”
Tim has been with Cleanaway for three years, but has worked in the industry in the Moreton Bay Region for about 10 years.
He says while the pace of work is faster than it was in his dad’s day, and the opportunity to meet residents has diminished, people still leave a present out in the lead-up to Christmas.
“A lot of people leave them on the bin if they’re working and they’re not home. But the kids want to bring the stuff out,” he says.
“So if the kids don’t get to see you because they’re at school, as soon as school holidays start, they’re the first ones out there waiting with their mum with a gift for the garbo.
“I did the same run on Bribie for two years, the residents know your name then and you get cards with your name in them and that’s pretty special,” he says
So, what’s the Christmas Day shift like?
“The traffic is a lot less, plus you’re amped up — it’s just a great … I leave the yard here feeling really good,” Tim says.
When asked for a funny anecdote from a Christmas shift, Tim at first questions the wisdom of sharing this one but goes on …
“I was emptying a bin with a marquee out the front and everyone was watching.
“I’ve hit the bin as they’re all looking and waving… and I literally dropped the whole load of rubbish straight onto my lifter.
“Everyone’s cheering and clapping,” he says, laughing.
“It’s always the way, I empty 1500 bins a day and it’s always that one when there’s someone standing there watching or waving.”
Tim reckons he’s covered the whole region in his 10 years, but he will be emptying bins in the Frenchs Forest area this Christmas and has a message for residents.
“For me on the road day in day out, whether it’s Christmas Day or not, it’s just patience. It only takes us 15 seconds to empty your bin and get out of your way, just breathe and be patient,” he says.
“Just remember the unsung heroes of the day. If we didn’t empty your bin, those prawns would be smelly the next day.”
FIREFIGHTER JUSTIN TYSON
Working on Christmas Day can be tough on firefighters’ families, but the crew rostered on at Petrie Fire Station makes the best of it.
Senior firefighter Justin Tyson will be among those working this Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
“Generally we’ll have a nice lunch and sometimes our families will call in and we’ll lunch with them,” Justin says.
“The old Petrie station used to have a pool and one day we had the families around for lunch and we had the kids in the pool.
“Just as they got in the pool we got called out to a house fire. We had to pack everyone up and quickly take off. It was great for the kids because they got to see us getting ready.”
There’s no doubt Justin would rather be at home with his wife and two young daughters on Christmas Day, but they’ll celebrate the week before and he’ll try to get home when he can to watch them open their presents.
“(The toughest part) for me personally is missing that Christmas morning when the kids wake up,” he says.
“Last year, my kids had to wait there with all their presents in front of them until I got home from work.
“A lot of guys here, who don’t have kids, will come in early on Christmas Day so you can go but that’s the one that hurts me the most,” he says.
But it’s not all bad, with a strong sense of camaraderie uniting the team on Christmas Day.
“We’re all mates here, so if you can’t be with your family on a day like that you want to be with your good friends,” Justin says. “Normally most stations will have a really good lunch, a roast lunch or seafood.”
So, who does the cooking?
“We’ve got a kitchen at the station and we do all our own cooking and hope that we don’t get called out,” Justin says.
“Christmas is a bit of busy time of year for us. We seem to have a lot more car accidents and we get house fires with Christmas lights. When we go out to a job, people are having a really bad day and if that happens to be Christmas Day it makes it even worse.
“One thing we do notice around Christmas time is the community gets behind us, dropping hampers off, so it is a time that we feel in touch with everyone.”
In saying that, Justin hopes he doesn’t have to meet too many grateful residents on Christmas Day.
His Christmas message: “Pay attention on the road. We don’t want to see you, basically. If we don’t have to see you, it’s a good Christmas”.
NURSE HAYLEY WHITE
With all of her family in Hobart, Hayley White is happy to spend Christmas Day with her work family and the patients she cares for in Redcliffe Hospital’s emergency department.
Hayley, 32, has worked eight of the nine years she has been nursing.
“I’ve only had one off. It was annual leave. That was a Christmas and New Year’s off so that was a treat,” Hayley says.
“I usually work a day shift. It’s quite a nice day because you come in and everyone’s very excited and it’s a day with your ‘family’.
“All of us bring in usually someone’s favourite dish or something for Christmas Day, and we’re usually supplied food from the hospital as well.”
Hayley says it can be a hectic day but often Boxing Day is even busier.
“I don’t know whether potentially it could be that people just hold out for that one special day and have to come in the next day. Unfortunately it is usually the busier day,” she says.
So are there many injuries from Christmas toys? “Yes, a lot of that the next day and on Christmas Day as well. A lot of parents trying out their kids’ toys — they’ve used their child’s scooter or went on the trampoline … things like that,” she says.
For children who have to visit the emergency department on Christmas Day, there are presents to ease the pain but Hayley says this is no reason to “stop by”.
“We’re given a donation of presents and the present will say a child age range roughly on it. You give it to them either at triage or if they have to come into the department,” she says. “It’s a nice little pick-me-up for their sad day.
“Most people are very grateful for the help on the day and that we’ve be able to help them out on what can be a pretty bad or sad day depending on what’s happening,” she says.
So if Hayley could give a Christmas message to her community, what would it be? “Have fun but stay safe.”
CHEF TIM STANTON
If Tim Stanton wasn’t cooking for hundreds of people on Christmas Day, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.
And the head chef at Mon Komo Hotel will be doing just that with 500 expected at the venue for Christmas lunch this year.
He and his team will be working hard in the kitchen from before dawn to ensure everything is perfect.
“It’s pretty full on, so usually a 4am start ‘til about 3pm. Christmas Eve is not much better … a big day as well. Usually minimal sleep,” Tim says.
It’s a routine he’s familiar with.
“From 12 onwards I was working in my family’s cafe and started my chef’s apprenticeship when I was 16. I’m 27 now, so 10 years later … still cooking, still working on Christmas Day,” Tim says.
“We’re going to be doing buffets, so your standard Christmas lunches — lots of lamb, pork, turkey, beef with some local Moreton Bay seafood. Lots of Bay prawns and stuff like that.”
So, does the menu reflect what he would like to eat on Christmas Day?
“110 per cent. Keep it as classic as you can,” he says with a smile.
And his favourite roast?
“It’s got to be pork belly. You can’t beat pork belly, slow cooked with lots of crackle. It’s a winner,” he says.
Diners, keen to avoid cooking and cleaning up on Christmas Day, appreciate someone else doing the hard work for them.
But on Boxing Day when Tim finally gets the chance to enjoy the festivities, you will find him in the kitchen doing what he does best but at a slower pace.
“I can guarantee I’ll be doing the cooking. I can’t get away with that one,” he says.
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