Monthly Archives:July 2016

A short note to let you know that I am also retiring at the end of July having commenced with Uncle OTC at DCA Waverton in 1970 then various locations around Sydney with Eng Branch then Radio Services at OTC house then Doonside, Laperouse, Townsville and finally at Brisbane Radio. I then left and joined the Queensland Police as a Comms Tech. and then Calibration Tech. calibrating Speed Detection and Breath Alcohol equipment for the police and ended up as Manager of the NATA accredited Calibration Laboratory at the Police Complex at Alderley in Brisbane.

I recall many of those that you mentioned in Dave Solomon’s farewell testimonial.

Mick Callaghan was at the Hasler Gateway Telex exchange install at Broadway where I worked for about a year or so in 73-74, and I think  Lindsay Harradine, Bob Murray, Jeff Hatchman and Reg Spray were all Paddington boys.

I also would like to thank all the people in OTC who have helped me throughout my career, especially in the early days with Ray Baty, Dave Collister, Des Kinnersley and all the mates I have worked with over my 29 years in OTC.

I remember telling Raoul Velchic after he first started work at Doonside and there was a small altercation between Neil Yakalis and Keith Boyd and Raoul asked “Who the heck (it was a similar bit stronger word used) are these guys I have to work with” and I told him “The best bunch of bast……s you’ll ever work with” and I am sure he would agree with me now, as I am sure all the OTVA members would agree, We were the best Bs to ever work with.

Cheers,

John Burdinat (JPB to my close mates)

After many years of working at various satellite facilities, tomorrow, 1st July will be his last day with Optus.

Following his technician training in Sydney, he commenced at Carnarvon, Western Australia in May 1970, where he remained until he joined Aussat in 1983.

After working with the Hughes and Aussat teams at the Hughes facility in Torrance, California for 10 months, he returned to Belrose as Aussat prepared for its first satellite launch in 1985.

The TT&C work took him to four other TT&C sites in Australia, three sites in Singapore, and sites in Belgium, Britain, Turkey and Luxembourg.

His experiences over the years have been greatly enhanced by the working relationships that he shared with his Aussat and OTC colleagues.

He thanks all of those people for the positive impacts that it has on his life.

On page 16 of the Transit Magazine from July/Sept 1966:

TRAINEE TECHNICIANS

Transit extends a belated but nonetheless warm welcome to first year Technicians-in-Training Michael Callaghan, Ernest Chalker, Neil Emerson, Ross Gibson, Michael Game, Lindsay Harradine,

Jeffery Hatchman, Owen Lewis, Bill Perryman, Pat Ryan, David Solomon, Reg Spray, Gregory Taylor, Peter Watson, Peter Rexstraw, Robert Murray and John Schofield who are attending the

D.C.A. Regional Training School Marrickville.

Congratulations to Dave on a long and stellar career that all started through the opportunities that he was given when working with OTC.