Sorry but those are not PMG boys, until the mid 1940s the overseas telegraph companies (cable and beam wireless) had their own delivery boys in much flasher uniforms than PMG. Tom On Thu, 1 Oct 2009 09:07:15 +1000, Joanne Flack wrote: >Hi Paul > >Found this; > >Messenger Boys were employed at the age of14. Those who had their IntermediateCertificate were qualified for futureadvancement. Those that did not have thisqualification were required to attend theCompany's night school to pass an internalexamination. Those not qualified by the age of16 had their services terminated. Messengerswere given uniforms twice annually. Onewinter uniform and one summer. Winteruniforms were long trousers and jackets, navyblue with red piping. Buttons were silver withsilver numbers on the collars and BeamWireless on a red patch for each upper sleeve.They were also issued with a peaked cap. Bike boys had gaiters in the early days, butlater these were changed to breeches and long ... > >see the rest on >leggings. Summer uniforms were khaki shirts,khaki jackets, blue shorts, long blue socks andboots with a pith type helmet. Similar buttonsand numbers as winter uniform. Themessenger was required to wash his shirt andtrousers, but jackets were sent to a laundry bythe Company. Walking boys delivered to anarea bounded by the Quay, Elizabeth Street,Park Street and Sussex Street. Bike boyscovered an area bounded by Kings Cross,Surry Hills, Broadway and Pyrmont. To beselected as a bike boy was considered apromotions, as he not only received his salarybut was paid 7/6d per week for the hire of thebike. During the depression years this was afair sum as they could purchase a bike at 5/-per week on terms, and had the bike to ride towork and save fares. Also riding a bike was alot better than walking.Promotion from the Messenger service waseither to the operating room or to the generaloffice and accounts branch. If one went to theoperating room, he was expected to enrol atthe Company's! Marconi School of Wirelessand obt ain his Certificate of Proficiency for aFirst Class Marine Operator. This courseconsisted of radio and electrical theory, morsecode at 28 words per minute and typing.Morse code and typing skills he was expectedto obtain in the operating room by practiceduring any lull in traffic. The Marconi Schoolgave the student a concession on the fee cost.The course was initially by correspondencebut about half way through the correspondencesection, he was required to attend the schoolfor practical technical training. Being on shiftwork, one could not attend all technicallessons, found it hard to change shifts, andtherefore got behind in the course. When thishappened, and it was inevitable, one onlyreceived 2/6d of his next annual increment of7/6d. Result was that many were receivingsums of 2 pounds 50 shillings per weekinstead of 4 pounds 25 shillings per week.This was typical of the penny pinching attitudeof management.In later years, after OTC took over, theyabandoned the requirement ! for the RadioOfficers Certificate and opened their ownTelegraphist School.SATELLITE SNIPPETS(Dennis Grant)Saturation levels.Since Moree was the one and only Standard Aantenna built by Collins Radio, the gain atboth 4 Ghz and 6 Ghz had to be accuratelymeasured to pass qualification. To do this,Standard gain horns were fixed to the side ofthe main reflector and signal switched betweenthem for comparison. Naturally the TX powerhad to be dropped a lot when switched to themain antenna. After a whole night of testingand getting it right, the HPA engineer fromCollins miscued and switched some 3kw ofunmodulated carrier into the main antenna andin his words "Suddenly there was only onecarrier coming back from the satellite. (Intelsat2) Mine!" He was severely reprimanded forthis as he had saturated the satellite andsuppressed all the other carriers including thebeacons.Carnarvon's "Me too"Some years later Carnarvon had a problemwith their uplink power control. Not sure ofthe issue, but the effect was dramatic. Instead! of stabilizing the power level wit hin very closelimits (+/- 0.1 dB) the Auto Power Controldrove the HPA to max power, which was animpressive 13 Kw. Although the satellite(Intelsat III) had many more transponders, thereceivers were wideband and so the saturatedreceiver took down a lot of other carriers. Intelsat through the Jamesburg Californiaearth station contacted us at Moree after aboutthe 10th such incident, as for some reason theycould not contact Carnarvon direct and forwhat I think was the only time it occurred they"Instructed" us to "Instruct" Carnarvon to shutdown their transmitters until they got theproblem resolved.*****************************VALEWILF O'DONNELL - (16 January 1925 to 12July 2006)On 16 January 1925, Wilfred FrancisO'Donnell was born into a world quitedifferent to our present times. His life andvalues were to be shaped by the majorhistorical events of the 20th century. He was >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Page 10 >130one of 4 children. His father was a dairyfarmer on the north coast, who supplementedhis income by operating a small truckingbusiness. In the early 1930's the greatdepression struck. Although Wilf was aschoolboy, he helped his father as much as hecould, eventually leaving school to try andkeep the family business and farm operating. Unfortunately everything was lost, and thefamily sent Wilf to Sydney to try and give hima chance at a better life. Wartime Sydneymust have been a very confronting place for an17 year old boy from the country, however hequickly found a job as a messenger boy withAWA. His intention was to enlist when heturned 18.A few weeks after his 18th birthday, Wilfdiscovered that his application to join the AirForce had been rejected, as he was working ina protected industry (AWA at that time wasresponsibleforallinternationalcommunication). Much to the upset of hisfamily, he solved this problem by resigning hisjob and applying again. This time he wasaccepte! d. After basic training, he foundh imself, at the age of 19, stationed in Englandas part of an RAAF bomber crew, where lifeexpectancy was measured in months. His wardiaries contain an amazing account of his lifeat this time. He was in two plane crashes,bailed out once over England and flew manybombing missions. The diaries and letters tohis family also show a loving son, withcompassion for his fellow airmen who failedto return, and also compassion for innocentGerman civilians killed in bombing raids. After victory in Europe, he was to be sent tofight the Japanese in the Pacific, butfortunately the War ended and he was returnedhome.Wilf had developed an interest in radiocommunication and studied at the MarconiSchool of wireless, obtaining a radio operator'scertificate. He was able to persuade AWA totake him back and he worked there until itsfunctions were nationalised by the creation oftheOverseasTelecommunicationsCommission. Wilf married Isa on 15 October1949 and they had two children, Wendy andPaul. His expe! rience of seeing his father loseev erything in the depression had a majorimpact on his approach to his family. He andIsa worked and saved hard, the mortgage waspaid off and the children wanted for nothing. His capacity for hard work was recognised andhe was steadily promoted, retiring as aSuperintendent on 14 July 1986.Wilf thereafter entered the third stage of hislife where he was able to enjoy the results ofhis success. A holiday home was built on theSouth Coast and Wilf pursued his interest infishing and bowls. He softened considerablyand had great pleasure with the arrival of eachgrandchild. Unfortunately Wilf's wardisabilities were beginning to catch up withhim. Over the last two years before his death,he suffered a diminishing loss of lungcapacity. Each breath was a struggle, howeverhe suffered without complaint and was nursedby Isa until his death on 12 July 2006. He willalways be remembered as a loving husband,father, grandfather and friend. Vale, Wilfred Francis O'Donnell, your workon this earth is c! omplete, rest in peace.*********** *************Robert James Larkins(6 March 1926 to 11 August 2006 in EastBentleigh, Vic.)Bob joined AWA in 1941 in the MessengerService then later worked in the TechnicalWorkshop under Bert Lake. He left and joinedthe RAAF during the war. After the end of thewar he joined the Victoria Police Force wherehe enjoyed a successful career until hisretirement. His funeral was on 18/8/2006.**************************THE LAST WORDI hope you enjoyed this issue which has ablend of technical, operating and commercialstories. I am hoping to get more of these forfuture issues. Even the admin and publicityguys must have stories, some of which couldnow be told. .I hope you have enjoyed Denis Grant's"Satellite Snippets" which have been dottedthrough many of our recent newsletters. Ihave nearly run out. Surely others havesimilar short stories to tell!Let's have them! http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:D5yia40ytyUJ:www.otva.com/newsltrarch/2006_October.pdf+messenger+boys+pmg+aged+sydney&cd=5&h! l=en&ct=clnk > Cheers >Joanne