Fellows,

 It’s we deep regret that I have to inform you of the passing of Paul Kerkin this morning.

L – R Laurie McIllree, Geoff Parr, Phil Murphy, Ron Becket, Ken Arnold, Eric Fielding-Smith, Phil Wall, Paul Kerkin, John Bracks.

 Paul joined OTC in approximately 1974 and retired from Reach in mid 2011.

 Paul had a melanoma removed several years ago and was given a clean bill of health but a medical check undertaken approximately six weeks ago showed that the cancer had returned. It was obviously a very aggressive cancer that must have spread very quickly.

 This information has been provided by Ken Arnold who still works at the Paddington terminal and knew Paul very well.

 I will update this blog once I have details of the funeral arrangements.

My Dad, Jeffrey Wayne Pace was born 18th February 1960, the third child of Joyce & Bill Pace and little brother to Susan and Gary. Sister Susan was particularly delighted to have a little doll to dress up and push around in her pram.

 While Jeffrey was a bit of a surprise to Joyce and Bill, he proved to be a special gift to them and being the last one left at home he developed a very close and devoted relationship with them which gave them great comfort in their old age. He shared many an afternoon watching the Balmain Tigers at Leichardt oval with his mum making sure he ate the salmon sandwiches and celery that she always packed.

 As Jeffrey grew up he developed some life lasting friendships through school – Punchbowl primary and high, Boys Brigade and his beloved rugby league, playing for Riverwood United initially and later the Greenacre Grasshoppers.

Not only was he sports minded, Jeffrey remained serious about his academic life, starting with a cadetship with OTC and later achieving a Bachelor of Science from Macquarie University. He was also conscientious with his savings, buying his first apartment in his early twenties.

The big question then was who would he share his flat with – his best mate, Mort or his new girlfriend, Sally? Sally won – after all, they fell in love the night they met. Sally and Jeff had met three months earlier in a nightclub in Campbelltown called Scandals. Their eyes locked from across the room and the rest is history.

3 months after Mort missed out on being Jeff’s flatmate, Dad decided to propose to his flatmate. They were married in the summer of 1985 and in June 1989, after a holiday to day dream island, they were blessed with their first daughter, Nerilee. Then, in June 1992 after Dad returned from a trip to New Zealand, Sally and Jeff were blessed with their second daughter, Nicola and then,  after a trip to Papua New Guinea, in February 1994, my mum & dad were blessed with a son – Steven. Dad was so proud to have a boy at long last – he thought his skill lied in creating girls.

After mum & dad decided that shift work didn’t suit the needs and wants of their growing family, Dad’s career took a change in direction from a technician to more of a managerial role. In 1996, on Nikki’s 4th birthday, Dad joined the Primus Team, a team which he stayed with for the rest of his working career.

Other than his family, Dads biggest love, as majority of us here would all know, was the Tigers. There was nothing Dad loved more than to sit on the hill at Leichardt oval and watch the Tigers play. One memory my mum has of her and my dad at Leichardt was the time she passed out on the hill. My dad was so worried that he took her to the nearest hospital – Callum Park. He didn’t realise that this was a mental hospital.

 Dad couldn’t wait for Steven to start playing Football. The year before Steven started, our dad would drive to Neptune Park and tell him excitedly “this is where you’re going to play football next year” – and he did. Many afternoons were spent at Neptune Park where he made many friends.

A funny memory of dad was the time the tigers beat the bulldogs. We were watching the game in the clubhouse. In drunken celebration my dad decided to execute a cartwheel which resulted in a broken finger.

It really didn’t take much to make my dad happy. He enjoyed many afternoons in the garden just listening to his radio, soaking up the sun or watering his babies. He also loved the beach. His love of the beach took us to many destinations up the east coast of Australia – Terrigal, Foster, Nelson’s Bay, Coffs Harbour, Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise to name a few.

We were also lucky to travel overseas as a family, enjoying a white Christmas in Boston, followed by a New Years in Times Square and then a trip to Disneyland. We also went on a cruise through Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand…we almost didn’t make that Holiday – Pilot Strikes in Sydney left us a narrow 5 minutes to board the boat in Singapore. Our last overseas trip as a family was in July 2009, to Fiji.

We were lucky to have a dad that wanted to take us with him around the world. In 2004 my dad was diagnosed with a heart problem known as Ventricular Tachycardia. It was a very big scare to us, and also to him. From this point my dad knew that life was a precious gift, hence why he took us on these amazing holidays. He arranged his affairs so that if anything were to happen to him again, we would all be okay.

In 2007 my dad hurt his neck. He was in a large degree of pain for many months & after several scans and tests, no doctor could tell my dad what was wrong with him.

Then, in 2009, just after our trip to Fiji, he started to have strange burning sensations in his legs and a feeling of nausea that just wouldn’t go away. Once again, after a series of scans and tests, no doctor could tell us what was wrong with him.

And then, it hit. On Friday the 13th August, 2010, my dad experienced his first seizure whilst at work. This time, after many scans and tests, the doctor could tell us what was wrong with him – my dad had a grade 2 brain tumour. After a round of radiation treatment things were looking up – you could live for 25 years with this type of tumour.

It wasn’t until April of this year that things took a turn. Dad was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis but was let out of hospital after a few days. About 3 days later, on 19th April, we woke up and something wasn’t quite right – Dad was acting very strange. After observation we decided it would be in his best interests to return to St Vincent’s. It was then discovered that Dad had fluid on the Brain & that the tumour had grown. A craniotomy revealed the tumour was now a grade 4.

Dad stayed in hospital for over a month. On the 31st May, we brought him home. It was the best decision we ever made. For weeks he improved, we got him walking again and the fact that he was at home was a big comfort to him.

The last weeks were hard but aided by the fact that his beloved Tigers were winning week after week. After the Tigers lost to the Warriors in the Semi final, my Dad faced an extremely rough night. We didn’t think he was going to make it through. But he did.

After 2 full days of sleep my dad woke up smiling and trying to speak – both behaviours we hadn’t seen him exhibit in weeks – even months. He was alert & happy, telling my mum that he was alright. He stayed like this for three days, and they were the most special 3 days we could ever ask for.

My dad gently passed away on Tuesday, September 27th at 5.30 in the afternoon. He was in a very relaxed state and that is all we could hope for given the circumstances.

We will miss our dad every day of our lives. He was not only our father but a friend, a role model and a teacher. My brother, sister and I understood the concept of tax from a young age. If you had a packed of chips, you had to pay tax by giving a chip to him. This went for any type of food we were eating.

Everything I’ve done in my life I did to make my dad proud, and that won’t change just because I can’t see him anymore. In some ways it is comforting to know that he is now no longer suffering.

We will ALWAYS miss him, we will ALWAYS love him & we will ALWAYS be able to look back and remember how lucky we were to have the best Dabby in the world.

Membership of the Overseas Telecommunications Veterans Association (OTVA) is open to anyone who has an interest in the history of communications in Australia.

The cost to becoming a member is $10 through an annual subscription fee for which the members can gain access to the OTVA Newsletter which is distributed every 4 months. The newsletter contains interesting stories submitted by members recalling their years working for OTC and other industry bodies such as Telecom Australia, PMG, AWA, etc.

Members can also have access to OTVA Newsletters that reach back to the first issue in 1972.

Members have a social gathering every 3 months at the Bowlers Club located at 95-97 York Street in Sydney at which there are always very interesting stories about those ‘good old days’ in telecommunications which generally relates to the era in Australia between 1960 & 1990.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a member should email treasurer@otva.com who will reply with the banking details to enable an electronic funds transfer and/or the postal address for the mailing of cheques for the payment of the annual subscription fee.

Any questions about the OTVA or its membership should be emailed to president@otva.com

OVERSEAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS VETERANS ASSOCIATION

 55^th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING MINUTES

 Meeting held at NSW Bowler’s Club on Friday 17 June, 2010 at 11am.

 Members present:              Ernie Anthoney, Tom Barker, Ross Beaumont, Peter Bull, Ross Craig, Alex Ebert, Bob Emanuel, Allan Hennessy, Jeff Hindwood, Ray Hookway, Brian Hoschke, Bill Jolly, Colin Kelly, Arthur Major, John McDermott, Ted Miles, Don Montgomery, Keith McCredden, Maurie O’Connor, Geoff Oldman, John Phillips, Trevor Pike, David Richardson, Jim Simpson, Tony Stuart, Cyril Vahtrick, Bernie White, Brian Woods, Neil Yakalis.

 Apologies:                           Chris Bull, Henry Cranfield, Bob Dentskevich, Joe Dingli, John Eades, Fred Kannard, Bob Lions, George Maltby, Noel Martin, John Mattes, Brian Nell, Doug Temperley, Ken Theaker, Brian Tudehope, Attilio Ventura, Will Whyte, Don Withers. 

 Opening and Welcome:    The president opened the meeting and welcomed those present.

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

Minutes:                                It was moved by Tom Barker and seconded by Bob Emanuel to confirm the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held 18 June 2010.

President’s Annual Report:

Welcome all to the 2011 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Overseas Telecommunications Veterans Association (OTVA)

Congratulations to the members of the outgoing Committee whose achievements in 2010-11 are:

• The organisation of the regular social events at which our members celebrate the camaraderie of the OTC family through our collective  memories; and
• the continuing cataloguing of OTC memorabilia stored in the Telstra Museum at Bankstown; and
• the ongoing engagement of our members to identify how our members want to be engaged and what you want from your Committee; and
• the progression of actions taken to change the method of delivery of the OTVA Newsletter to meet the requirements & expectations of the OTVA membership; and
• the enhancement of the OTVA Newsletter by bringing a different set of skills and perspective to the task of providing readers with interesting and topical stories that rekindle our memory and imagination; and
• the ongoing enhancement of the OTVA web site to provide members with greater access to communications with each other and access to information & stories considered vital to continuing to tell the story of OTC and the history of telecommunications in Australia in the 20^th century.

 Once again the membership of the OTVA fluctuated in 2010/11 with the passing of several of our members and its extended family and the introduction of several new members. The current membership of the OTVA stands at 219 with 95 financial, another 100 up for renewal this month and the remainder unfinancial for no more than 2 years.

 Please join with me for a minutes silence for our friends and colleagues that passed away in the last 12 months.

 I thank you the membership of the OTVA for the support that you have given to me and the other members of the OTVA Committee over the past 12 months. Your encouragement is what keeps the OTVA progressing forward.

 I thank my fellow Committee members for their support and energy in the last 12 months and look forward to continuing our good working relationship over the next 12 months.

 Treasurer’s Annual Report:            The Treasurer, Bernie White, reported that our funds were down by approximately $1,000 this year due to a fall in subscriptions, however were able to subsidize the annual Christmas reunion.  The Treasurer thanked Ken Theaker and Tony Farrugia for their assistance in auditing the accounts.  The President noted that Bernie has decided not to nominate for the position of Treasurer this year and thanked him for his many years of devoted service to the OTVA.

Life Membership               The President nominated Allan Hennessy for Life Membership of the OTVA and presented him with a framed certificate.  Tom Barker acknowledged Allan’s long contribution to the OTVA and the meeting agreed by acclamation.

Election of Office Bearers:

Tom Barker 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-Presidents                     Will Whyte and Henry Cranfield

Secretary                               Will Whyte

Treasurer                               Alex Ebert

 Committee Members:        The above office bearers and

John Eades

Bob Emanuel      

Colin Kelly

Allan Hennessy

Bernie White

Ray Hookway

David Richardson

Auditors:                                Ken Theaker and Tony Farrugia.

Incoming President’s Remarks:

I thank you, the membership of the OTVA, for electing me to the position of President of the OTVA once again.  In accepting the presidency of the OTVA I recognise that your support is a reflection of the excellent work performed by the Committee of the OTVA throughout 2010/11 and welcome the challenges that will confront us in the next 12 months.

I congratulate Bernie White for his 12 years of dedication to the Committee and the membership of the OTVA. I thank him for the excellent job that he has done in managing finances of the OTVA in the face of the GFC and its flow on effects within the financial environment in Australia. He has left the OTVA in excellent financial position.

I welcome aboard Alex Ebert, son of Tony Ebert, who has accepted the roles and responsibilities of the Treasurer of the OTVA for the next 12 months. It would be most difficult for the OTVA to continue to operate without an efficient and effective Treasurer. I look forward to working him in this capacity for the next 12 months and thank him for accepting this role.

I congratulate the other members who have been nominated and accepted positions on the Executive for year 2010/11.

I look forward to working with this team over the next 12 months to meet the challenges and deliver satisfactory outcomes to the membership of the OTVA.

In the next 12 months the Executive will continue to improve the flow of information to you, the members of the OTVA, and we commit to listen to you in relation to what you want to see as benefits from being members of the OTVA

We, your Committee, require you the members of the OTVA to tell us how you want the OTVA to evolve and grow over the next few years and what vision you have for the 5 year plan for the OTVA. To this end we will continue to seek your input.

Once again thank you for this opportunity

General Business:             

1.  It was agreed to grant free membership and newsletters to any remaining female OTVA members.

2.  There was some discussion about the archival and artifact materials stored at the Bankstown Telstra Museum.  The President expressed his concern about the difficulties of keeping the Asset Register up-to-date.

3.  It was noted that the Centenary of Telecommunications will be celebrated in 2013. Strong interest was expressed in OTVA being involved in this event.  This matter will be discussed in more detail at committee meetings, in future editions of the newsletter and on the OTVA website blog.

4.  It was agreed that Vales would no longer be included in Newsletters.  The President requested members to send him any interesting photos of themselves or of OTC activities that could be used to build a historical album.

 5.  In order to reduce the workload associated with distribution of the Newsletters, it was agreed to utilize electronic transfer more effectively.  It was pointed out that the newsletters are already posted on the OTVA website.  The President invited all members who are willing to receive a soft copy of the newsletter to send him their e-mail address.

6.  A motion of appreciation was moved for the amount of work that Chris Bull puts into maintaining and improving the OTVA website.

 Meeting closed:                   The meeting closed at 12:30pm after which most members stayed for an informal lunch.

Unfortunately Jeff lost his battle with cancer this week. 

Jeff joined OTC as a trainee technician in 1978 and worked in the Data Centre at Broadway for a number of years before moving to Head Office (231 Elizabeth Street). He joined iPrimus and held a senior position there until he took sick last year.

Jeff was diagnosed with a brain tumour and since then Jeff had been going through the usual radio and chemotherapy however he had a bit of a turn for the worse several weeks ago.  Of course, everyone remained hopeful that he would regain his health but alas he lost that battle this week.

Jeff had been hospitalised until his passing at the Sacred Heart Hospice, which is part of St Vincents Hospital in Darlinghurst.

Jeff is survived by his wife and teenage children.

Jeff’s funeral will be held on Tuesday 4 October at 2.15pm at the East Chapel in Rookwood Cemetery. It is an open funeral and everyone is most welcome to attend.

The wake will be held afterwards at the Panania East Hills RSL Club (Panania Diggers).

In 1964 when these pictures were taken John Grosbard worked in the ISTC at Paddington. They may remind you of him.

I remember John Grosbard very well. I worked with him in 1975 when I first joined the ITMC at Paddington until I was seconded to L M Ericsson for the development of the new AXE132 telephone exchange from August 1978 until mid 1981. It must have been during this time that John and Alf Culloden retired but I am not sure. May be some of the other guys who worked at Paddington during that time can update me. We shall see.

The pictures and a few words (below) were provided by his daughter, Susan Mirande-Grosbard, who now lives in Amsterdam.

These pictures were taken in Feb. 1964 – I was only 9 years old.

My Dad worked his entire life shift work… Something that had always made me still to this day walk around on tippy toes….

He sent these photos to his sister who lives in LA and I received them back a few years ago when she decided to clean up the family photos….

Allan Hennessy has advised that Brian Woods had a fall last Friday night and is in Gosford Hospital recovering from an operation that he had on his hip last Monday (19/9/11).

I will update this BLOG when I get more details on Brian’s condition.

Aircraft Detection Before Radar

Registered Address: 805/41 Meredith Street, Bankstown NSW 2200

NOTICE
OTVA COMING EVENTS 2011
OTVA NSW Spring Reunion.
To be held at 12 noon on Friday 23rd September, 2011 in the raised area of the Red Room on Level 1 of the Bowler’s Club, 95 York St Sydney

To enable the club to allocate and reserve space, please
RSVP by Tuesday 20th September to president@otva.com or call/SMS Peter on 0411 260 542

OTVA NSW Christmas Reunion
To be held at 12 noon on Friday 11th November, 2011 in the York Room on Level 2 of the Bowler’s Club, 95 York St Sydney
A Chinese Banquet will be arranged with anticipated cost per member of $35.
Doors will open at 11.15am with the banquet to commence at 12 noon.
A guest speaker is being arranged.

RSVP by Friday 4th November to president@otva.com or call/SMS
Peter on 0411 260 542

There will be an unavoidable delay in the distribution of our next newsletter while our editor recovers from a recent operation.

The OTVA Internet based web page contains all recent news and developments. Check it regularly.

This notice will be distributed by email and posted to some members as an introduction to the format to be adopted in future OTVA Newsletter distribution.

Please ensure that Peter is made aware of your current email address and advise him of any changes as they occur. His email address is president@otva.com

Yearly subscriptions are still outstanding by some members and these can be paid via Interbank transfers. You can email our Treasurer via treasurer@otva.com for all the necessary details.

Message from Kathy Palmer

My father Wessel Johannes Koeman passed away on the 28th of August, 2011 in Townsville.
He served with OTC his entire working life. He emigrated to Australia in the late 1950’s and I’m unsure as to exactly when he started with OTC.
He served in Melbourne at Cape Shanck, had two postings to Thursday Island and was posted to Townsville in 1975 where he remained until Telstra closed the station.

We have no details to provide yet for the funeral as we have opted for an autopsy which will take place in Brisbane. It’s all to do with the nature of the illness he suffered.

We “think” the funeral will be possibly two weeks away, no sooner than that so somewhere tentatively around the 16th of September.

The funeral will be a burial in Townsville and I am very happy to be contacted for any details should there be members that would like to pay their respects.
Everyone will be very welcome.

If anyone does want information please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0408 186531 or my email address: kathpalmer@gmail.com

Thank you for doing what you’re doing in circulating this note, I have no way of contacting people he knew and worked with from the OTC days so you’re help is immeasurable.