The below photo was supplied by Arthur Major.

Do you know any of the missing names? Are all of the names listed below correct?

Jann Kohlman, OTC Direct Connect Manager (Strategy) in 1992, passed away on the weekend from cancer. For those who know her, she is a great loss. She was a wonderful marketing professional and taken rather young in her fifties.

RIP Jann Kohlman

Jann is on the left side of the picture

Details for Jann’s funeral are:

1:30pm this Friday 1/8/14.

EASTERN SUBURBS MEMORIAL PARK, 12 Military Rd Matraville.

Please note that in lieu of sending flowers Jann’s express wishes are that you will make a donation to the NELUNE FOUNDATION. There will be envelopes at the chapel to do so as well as information about this wonderful charity which helps patients fight cancer with dignity. Jann had an active part in this charity.

Regarding speeches, please let me know the day before if you’re intending to speak. The numbers will need to be limited as we are expecting a large number of Jann’s friends on the day.
There will be a gathering after the ceremony for the CELEBRATION OF LIFE. The location TBC ASAP

Some of the old MOR staff will have memories of Charlie Carthew who ran the Telegraphists school. Some tended to deride Charlie but he really had at heart the interests of his students and also was very loyal to OTC. When you talk about mentors, I class Charlie as one of those. Everyone in his school worked hard and all had a good word to say about him.

At the time I was about half way through my Wireless Operator’s Cert. with the Marconi School which operated adjacent to the Telegraphists School. As a result I often passed Charlie and had a bit of a yarn. That was my mistake. The next thing I know Charlie says “Look, while you are doing your Certificate why not join us at OTC. and I will help you with your morse code and I’m sure I’ll be able to get you in as a telegraphist as well”. I didn’t bite the first few times but Charlie persisted and eventually I applied to join OTC and they started me filing “flimsies”.

Sure enough Charlie kept on pushing OTC and they let me join his school and in due course I went back to the Operating Room as a Telegraphist. Charlie continued taking an interest in my progress and when a position as Senior Technician came up at Fiskville I was offered the job (I think I was the only one locally available at the time who had the necessary technical qualifications). I was a bit hesitant to take it up as I had some idea of going to sea as a Wireless Op. but Charlie encouraged me and that was where I went – Best move I could have made.

Had a great time at Fiskville, terrific staff, all “spit and polish” – but we took great pride in our work and the older men always encouraged (sometimes with fairly strong language) the younger ones.

– From Denis Pickwell

Hi Peter,

Geof Hipwell sent me your application form. Geof and I worked together at Fiskville and he later became my brother-in-law. Small world.

I would have joined the OTC Veterans many years ago but my work took me to Sydney (initially with OTC) and since I retired I have been living in Brisbane. So the opportunity to join any activities in Melbourne was severely limited.

I have fond memories of my time with OTC. It was probably one of the happiest and most fulfilling times of my working life. We were at the forefront of technological development and yet, in retrospect, we were really pioneers as wireless communication was only beginning in the early 1900’s  and less than 50 years later I was privileged to be working on the premier transmitting station in Australia (Fiskville) and also had a close contact with the Melbourne Operating Room and Rockbank Receiving Station.

In later years I transferred as one of the first Technical Officers to Sydney Head Office. One day after I left OTC I chanced to be driving along a road in Paddington (Sydney) and went past the new OTC building which housed the new international cable terminal. I noticed a sign which said “OTC Museum” (or something similar). I decided to have a look. There – to my “horror” was displayed the high speed morse transmitters, Kleinschmidt tape punches, ink writers etc. which I used to operate. And around the corner were exhibits of the Coastal Radio Service (which was part of my domain in Sydney) and a “new” operating console which I had designed. It made me feel as though I must have been getting old when what had seemed so up to date was consigned to a museum!

Anyway, enough rambling.

My best regards to anyone who still happens to remember me.

– Denis

OVERSEAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS VETERANS ASSOCIATION 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

Meeting held at NSW Bowler’s Club on Friday, 13 June 2014

 Meeting Opened:             11:32am by the president

Members present:           Peter Bull, Will Whyte, Kevin O’Brien, Bernie White, Allan Hennessy, David Richardson, Peter Allan, Bob Dean, Neil Yakalis, John Phillips, Jim Simpson, Bill Jolly, Bob Lions, Robin Tuckfield, Ted Miles, Ray Hookway, Tony Lowther, Mick Callaghan, Ross Beaumont, Ted Bastow, John Hodgson, Les Ayers.

Apologies:                         Tony Stuart, Geoff Oldman, Bill Newman, Brian Collath, Jeff Bultitude , Colin Kelly, Peter Tuckwell, Mick Quinlan, Tony Bradney, Garry Hausfeld, Jim Hulme, Chris McMahon, Peter Burgess, Brian Hoschke, Trevor Pike, Jeff Hinwood, Roger Boyden, Guntis Berzins, Paul Black, M O’Connor, Fred Kannard, Dennis Grant, John Eades, Ben McGee, Greg Waller, Paul McCann, Michael Peck, Dean Veverka, Graham Hanigan, Gary Beaton, John Bennett, Kevan Bourke, Peter Lloyd, John McDermott, Brian Travis, Peter McInness, Tom Barker.

Welcome:                          The president welcomed those present thanking members for their attendance.

One minutes silence         was observed to remember those members who had passed away in the last year.

Minutes:                             The minutes from the 57^th Annual General Meeting held on Friday 14^th June 2013 were adopted.  

Presidents Address:        Peter Bull addressed the meeting highlighting the achievements and developments over the past year.  See below for the full text.                                          

Treasurer’s report:        Bernie White tabled a written report dated 30 April 2014 together with audited Balance Sheet and Statement of Income and Expenditure.  For the year ending 30 April 2014, we have an excess of income over expenditure of $3,746.56.  Our assets remain at a good level of $25,138.23

Life member nominations:           None received

Election of Office Bearers:

Mick Callaghan acted as Returning Officer. 

After declaring all positions vacant, the Returning Officer called for nominations and the Meeting resolved unanimously to make the following appointments:

President                             Peter Bull

Vice-President                   Kevin O’Brien

Secretary                            Will Whyte

Treasurer                            Bob Dean

Auditors:                            Ken Theaker and Tony Farrugia

Newsletter Editor            Peter Allan

Committee Members:    The above office bearers and

                                               Henry Cranfield

                                              Ray Hookway    

                                              Colin Kelly

                                               Allan Hennessy

                                              David Richardson

                                              Bernie White

Incoming President’s Address:   Peter Bull thanked the members for their support and invited them to provide suggestions to improve the association.

Contact & Transit Digitization:  Kevin O’Brien reported on the progress to digitize all Contact & Transit magazines.  To date, 296 Transits and 40 Contacts have been scanned and been processed with OCR software.  The plan is to distribute copies for free at our Christmas function at a cost to the association of about $2.10 each.  Mick Callaghan generously offered to donate $500 to cover the cost of production.

General Business:            Nil.

Meeting closed:                The meeting closed at 12:02 pm

I have just received the sad news of the passing of “Bill” Blemings who passed away peacefully on 6th July 2014. I was advised, tonight, by his wife, Wendy.

Bill will be remembered by those of us who worked at Central Operating Room, 47 York St., and at Sydney Operating Room, Spring St. during the 1947-Mid 50’s era as a telegraphist.

Bill, who became a very successful businessman after departing the “old Salt Mines” in the 50’s, would have been 89 years of age on 29th July. There will be, no doubt, some of us still around who knew Bill  and his dad before him, Jim.

Sorry to be the bearer of this sad news.

Trevor Thatcher

John Eades has just returned from Central Australia. While there he visited the Overland Telegraph Station at Alice Springs and was fascinated with the principle used for creating the battery power.

Some of the old hands might be able to answer how they maintained the battery voltage of 2.5 volts per cell. There were no generators avail on these many repeater stations that were required all the way up the line. John could only assume that they kept adding  to the chemical makeup of each cell.

I look forward to your comments.

Peter Bull

Graham Watts posted in ex-OTC Facebook web site

I think I took this shot sometime in 1963 at Bringelly while on field training. A helicopter was being used to assist in the erection of some 200 foot masts.

I seem to remember later that there was an accident when a rigger was killed and the helicopter crashed but have been unable to find any record of the event.

Can anyone help with info?

Graham Watts

grahamw@arach.net.au

 The photo here shows the the testing in progress L>R Roy Hunt, Roger Pugsley and Charlie Rudd.