DURING the war a lot of us worked on the Hydro line.

We dug trenches up the mountain so steep you had to dig holes to put your feet in.

We’d walk down the pipeline just on daylight to start work.

Bill Stafford was ganger.

The men weren’t actually sacked but driven to the last inch.

We all camped in tents and most of us were in bed before dark.

Thank God I was recalled to the sawmill as big orders came in for the army and I was a key man.

Often when orders got short at the mill we would be sent to Wapengo to camp in tents, to fall mill logs.

Our tucker was mostly spuds, pumpkin, and a hunk of corned beef and the same bread all week.

We couldn’t afford to fall half rotten trees.

A good timber man could tell if the tree had a small pipe inside or a half rotten one by striking the tree with an axe six feet up from the ground and listening to the sound of his axe.

The insurance company barred smoking in the mill.

Dave Shaw, Freddy Carter and I were smokers, and I was on the breaking down saws and steam winch.

At a sign from them, I’d put the winch in neutral and turn the steam full on and we’d all light up a fag in the steam that would fog up the whole floor.

When in full swing, the noise and scream of the saws made talking impossible so we’d use sign language.

The winch I used, Dave Shaw and I pulled to pieces in the old gold mine at the back of Wolumla.

It was set up 50 yards in a tunnel and we dragged it out piece by piece with a truck on the outside.

I was scared the whole time the mine tunnel would cave in, as the whole mountain was on fire.

I can remember old Oscar Hanson had his ankles shot off in the First World War, and couldn’t walk backwards.

The boss chipped him one day for being slow walking and Bill Stafford flew at him, saying, “He got crippled fighting for bastards like you”.

I finally got a busted ulcer from heavy pushing and Dr Marshman put me in the old Bega Hospital where I was treated.