Today’s SMH has the death notice of Beryl Frances Molloy, wife of Thomas Molloy.

Tom Molloy was OTC’s Director(Administration) from about 1959 to 1977.

Beryl was aged 100 years. Her funeral is at St Joseph’s Catholic Church Edgecliff at 10.30 am on Wednesday.

Thanks to David Richardson for circulating advice of her passing.

May She Rest In Peace although she had a very good innings.

I wonder at the changes that she had seen in her 100 years.

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.

From Daughter Christine:

My father is Alexander Griffiths, he started to work in AWA in 1942 as a telegraphist. His work took the family to Western Australia, Suva, and Fanning Island and he worked on the Apollo missions as well. He and I share many memories, although mine are as a child. Unfortunately Mum passed away in 2002.

Dad is now in a Nursing Home at Greystanes, just around the corner from me so I can also help care for him.

When he receives the OTVA Newsletter, I read the old memory stories that many people have supplied and although Dad’s short term memory is not so good, he remembers all the men, equipment and technical jargon etc that is mentioned.

I am hoping that your readers can supply more stories from the past, especially from where he has worked so I can continue to read to him.

Thanking you

Christine Murdoch (Mrs)

Brian’s son, Matthew Callaghan, advised Peter Feeley on Saturday that his father has passed away the previous night.

Funeral Details to follow.

May He Rest In Peace.

Sales Support Manager, Brian Callaghan, retired in 1988 after a 37-year career with OTC.

Well-liked and respected, Brian’s farewell function saw a throng of friends and colleagues from many areas of the business come to wish him well in his new career as a man of leisure.

Brian’s long years of dedicated service meant the presentation at his farewell was a high-profile affair. Managing Director, George Maltby, presented Brian with a gold watch and National Sales Manager, Jim  Culbertson, entertained guests with a visual biography of Brian’s time with OTC

Bill Jolly found this article.

David Richardson came across this notice in the Obituary section of the Sydney Morning Herald.

GERGELY, Greta

Passed Away Peacefully on May 16, 2016 – Aged 84 years

Loving wife of Peter.

Devoted Mother and Mother-In-Law of Wolfgang & Inga and Reinhold & Jutta.

Adored Omi of Pablo, Sara, Friedolin and Svanja.

Dear sister of Heidi and Walter.

Universally loved and respected

Family and friends are warmly invited to attend a Celebration of Greta’s life:

Where:                East Chapel

Northern Suburbs Crematorium,

199 Delhi Road, North Ryde

When:                  10.30am Tuesday May 24 2016

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Cancer Council Australia. Envelopes will be available at the chapel.

May She Rest In Peace

Bill Brown’s son, Gerry, has advised of Bill’s passing on 13 May 2016. If you have any photos or words of Tribute to Bill that you would like to share with others via the OTVA web site, please send them to me for review and possible upload to the web site.  

I have only one William Brown on the books of the OTVA and could only find one Bill Brown and William Brown both of whom retired as CRS Supervisor (CRS 2) so I can only assume that he was the one and only. Bill Brown started with OTC on 9 April 1951 and retired in October 1985. From April 1979 Transit:

May He Rest In Peace  

After 42 years’ working his way to the top of Australia’s most profitable public utility, Maltby, a career public servant was out on his ear.

Merry Christmas, George Maltby.

Below is a comment from one of our members:

It was interesting about the sacking of George Maltby.

The way we saw it was that George offered 2 years salary to the retrenched OTC workers. Bob Hawke who was PM at time refused as the guidelines for retrenchment in the Australian Public Service was 1 year and the government was retrenching a number of Australian government wharfies, if we got it he would have to pay them the same.

George pointed out that the OTC Act entitled OTC to fix the wages and guidelines therefore he was within his rights to offer two years, Hawke disagreed and got him sacked.

As far as I was concerned Hawke cost me 1 year’s wages. As I was 60 at the time I went out on the superannuation at a slightly reduced rate.

George Maltby was a very good General Manager who didn’t have the job very long. He was one of us having worked for OTC for many years.