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My First Job

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Letter from Harold Campbell, then editor of The Age, to the staff and proprietors of the Oamaru Mail

My Aunty Eleanor’s discovery exposed a surprising link between my first job and this one

When the message pinged on my phone I was immediately intrigued.

  • Mathew Dunckley

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Pigs on the farm seemed so much more keenly aware of the world than other animals.

As a city boy, taking a job at a farm changed my diet forever

My workmates were flabbergasted at how long it took me to blast mouldy cheese products off wooden pallets, and how much steel I could waste because I was afraid of the circular saw.

  • Tim Biggs

Inside the van sloshed 20 litres of champion. It was my job to clean it up

Some hopeful horse breeder had used a refrigerated canister to import the makings of a thoroughly good thoroughbred, but the canister had broken.

  • Chris Harrison
As a wannabe surfer girl, this was my dream job.

As a wannabe surfer girl, I couldn’t believe I landed my dream job

My stock uniform was Hot Tuna pants, Golden Breed T-shirt, a windcheater made from old chenille bedspreads or a multi-colour Jakpak from Bali.

  • Kerrie von Menge
A night race in 1991.

As a nepo-baby, I had all-areas access … at the greyhound track

At the age of 13 I was turnstile operator at the local dog track. The job introduced me to nepotism, betting and an eclectic cast of characters.

  • Billy Cantwell
Working at a luxury retirement village introduced me to a range of characters.

Dinner at 5pm and cats on leashes: Luxury retirement work had its perks

The diners at table three lodged an official complaint after I spent too long socialising with table four, and not enough time focusing on my work duties.

  • Sam White
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Working in a chicken shop doesn’t sound glamorous – and it certainly wasn’t.

Joe Cocker on repeat was torture. But suddenly, I could afford designer jeans

Working in a chicken shop doesn’t sound glamorous – and it wasn’t – but it was the music I had to listen to as I cleaned that really tipped me over the edge.

  • Carolyn Webb
My career as a plasterer lasted less than a week.

I wasn’t hired as a tradie on merit, but I was definitely fired for it

While some teenagers wrote profane things on desks, construction workers immortalised crude phrases on the frames of houses before covering them in plaster.

  • Simon Taylor
Not such a tasty spear.

By my third year, I’d made it. I was picking asparagus for the Japanese market

Without shopping centres or fast food chains to rely on for summer work, I headed to the farm on a school bus that left just after 6am.

  • Shane Wright
Working at McDonalds prepared me for adult life.

How being mooned in the drive-thru window prepared me for adulthood

As a teenager, my interests were simple: I needed cash to buy CDs and to spend time with my friends. Enter: working at McDonald’s and earning minimum wage.

  • Madeleine Heffernan

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/my-first-job-6gey