Mechanic apprenticeship 1935

This was something that I had always wished for, and with my Grade 10 teacher's help I was apprenticed to my Uncle, Clarence Darwin Sweet at his small garage workshop in the back yard of his home at Morphett Road, Warradale South Australia. Small garages were common in those days, not even selling petrol, only oil and mechanical expertise. Clarrie had served his apprenticeship at the SA Railways workshops who also ran bus services and another large Adelaide company, Allcars.

He was a very respected tradesman who taught me well. He was very strict and being my favourite Uncle didn't help me in the least. There was another apprentice, Gordon Bourne, but he was quite a bit older than me. He was also a lot taller than both my uncle and I, at well over 6 feet! Clarrie's nickname was Shorty, and he was! But at 14 years of age, I was a mere midget at not much over four and a half feet. Part of my training was unusual in that one morning a week I did the firm's accounts and invoices all being written up in pen and ink. For this chore I had a small office, barely two metres square with a very small window to let in some light, it was actually an old ticket seller's booth from the Goodwood Showgrounds! The afternoon of this day meant a train trip to Adelaide where all suburban apprentices did about four hours of practical work, mostly in the realm of fitting and turning. One night a week was also spent at the same school but in the classrooms upstairs absorbing the theory of internal combustion engines and transmissions and associated motor vehicle construction and repair. This instruction was extremely basic by the standards of today – we were not parts replacers! Virtually everything was refitted and/or repaired in those days, even piston rings were removed and thoroughly cleaned and replaced rather than new ones fitted, of course engines were built to different standards in those early days.

There were no hydraulic hoists in general use then, all work underneath a car (and there was plenty of it!) was done from a pit in the floor of the workshop and access was by way of a ladder or steps, but sometimes not even that, an old packing case on the floor of the pit helping you to clamber up and down. No sockets and ring spanners in those days, just open ended spanners. I can vividly recall our wonder when a salesman showed us the first Chrome Vanadium Ring spanners – truly the wonder of the age!

The first real job that I was entrusted with was the grinding of the valves in a Bullnose Morris, it was also a Bullnose that broke my right wrist when I was starting it for a customer after I had filled him up with petrol, but this was some time later. Unfortunately my apprenticeship came to a stop just after I had completed my first year when I came top in the state motor mechanics exams and was presented with a cash voucher for one guinea as I recall from General Motors Holden, this to be used for tools of trade.

I did become involved in a major conversion of a luxury 'NASH Big Six' saloon from my father's market garden owner's family, into a medium sized truck. A new family car had been purchased, and as the company's old International solid tired truck had proved damaging in it's role as a carrier of ripe fruit, which were contained in what was then known as (wooden) 'half cases' on the terrible roads of those days, it was decided that the strongly constructed Nash would have the body 'chopped' and the chassis lengthened by 4 feet (1200mm), a new canvas covered 'double decked' timber tray built, and the front section of the body with all it's luxury of the times retained. The rear wheels were fitted with the largest new balloon tires available and all springs fitted with extra 'leaves' to increase the load carrying capacity. The chassis was cut through at a convenient place with an ordinary hacksaw – this job falling to me, consuming several hours and many broken hacksaw blades.

My Uncle then did the rounds of the Adelaide truck wreckers and found a chassis of the same dimensions and two 4 foot lengths and a cross member were taken from this. I proceeded to lengthen the chassis rails by bolting 'fish plates' on the sides at the 4 joints, all the chassis holes being bored with a hand operated 'gut buster' drill (no electric drills in those days!) which we jury rigged to the chassis rails with rope and a length of timber to provide drilling pressure. I drilled with the help of my uncle and the senior apprentice -- another long and very strength sapping exercise!

Holes in the plates and 4 foot chassis lengths were drilled on a hand operated bench mounted drilling machine -- still a long hard task! Eventually the whole thing was bolted together without the driver's section of the body which was being rebuilt. The bare chassis/wheels were towed several miles to the then newfangled arc welding shop, where all the metal joints were (to us) miraculously joined! I then had the job of bolting the extra chassis cross member into place together with an extra bearing to take the old drive shaft. A second hand truck drive shaft and universal joint was sourced from the truck wreckers and was shortened to approximately 4 feet to extend the drive. All this took several weeks of my time, but finally the rebuilt drivers cabin was refitted, and it was driven to the body builders to have a timber truck tray fitted, then to the canvas shop to have a cover custom fitted. The result was a powerful light truck with a luxury appointed cabin, that my father drove to the Adelaide 'East End' Fruit Market for several years.

For some time money had become increasingly harder to recover from almost penniless customers, and I spent a good amount of my time in my office composing and writing diplomatic letters to these people who were in most cases well known to me. There came a day when the business was closed down and uncle Clarrie took up employment in the quarrying industry, a path that I was to eventually follow a year after I was discharged from the RAAF, once more as Clarrie's apprentice!

At the closure of the business I was offered a job with the Royal Automobile Association as a patrol officer riding their yellow BSA service outfits, this was a plum opportunity and I passed the entry exams without any problems, but the instructors were within their rights when they decided that my puny size would not allow me to handle the BSAs safely. Even a job in the workshop was considered out of the question as workshop mechanics had to be capable of doing patrol duties, and so I searched in vain for another apprenticeship position. In those late depression times, no one would consider taking on an apprentice, but they were happy to take on a junior mechanic at a paltry wage to pump petrol and do odd jobs, and that is how I managed to find employment.

I was extremely lucky that the apprenticeship board allowed me to continue with my schooling, mostly because of my educational standard of the previous year. They even actively tried to find an apprenticeship position for me, but to no avail. It was a sad day for all concerned when I was called into the supervisor's office and sadly told that my apprenticeship days were over, but if I ever found a suitable position, my apprenticeship could be re-activated, but sadly this was never to happen.

Strangely some time later when I joined the RAAF (still undersized!) the year's apprenticeship helped me to gain entry at a higher level of pay, and I finished up back at my old apprenticeship school doing RAAF basic engine training. This all counted to the system where upon discharge I could apply for and receive a full apprenticeship certificate, but I never even bothered to fill in the appropriate papers. So in actual fact I have travelled through my working life without a single piece of paper of qualification – not that it seems to have mattered!