    |
Norm (Nobby) Harris... exerts from his daily journal
A 36 year career with the Hydro beginning in January 1949 at Bronte Park, allowed Norm
Harris, better known as Nobby, to see not only the beginnings of many Hydro projects, but the
enormous growth of the power generation industry around the State. Before his retirement in
1985 his job would take him from Bronte Park, to Hilltop for the construction of the Poatina
Highway, Arthurs Lake, Poatina, Gowrie Park, Wayatinah/Lower Derwent, George H. Evans,
Bell Bay and Launceston, as well as relieving periods at Strathgordon and Tullah.
Settling his family into Poatina in 1960, Norm was posted to the Hilltop Camp to help establish
and maintain a single men's camp for some 120 workers whose job it was to construct the
southern end of the Poatina Highway until they met up with the road construction gang
heading north from Poatina. A huge undertaking in itself, starting it in the middle of winter
provided them with the extra challenge of adverse weather conditions.
"I had become familiar with the surrounding country many years before, fishing with a spinning
rod and a level wind reel which was all the go at the time, and local knowledge is a great
advantage at times. I had fished the Shannon Lagoon and the canals to the Penstock Lagoon,
played cricket several times on the ground opposite the Hilltop Camp and visited Waddamanna
before, and now it was a great feeling to see it all again, to sense it, to take it all in, to again
feel as one with the surrounding scenery. It was my kind of country."
The road into Hilltop had not had much traffic over it since the last snowfall, but fortunately
there were wheel ruts to follow and due to the Volkswagon having a metal plate under the
body they snow sledded most of the way to the camp. The camp was occupied by several
surveyors, and the Head Cook known as 'Happy' put some food on the stove and offered them
a drink of black tea, at the same apologising with "Sorry, there's no milk. Ya see, all our cows
are white ones and we can't find 'em in the snow."
Returning to Poatina the next day after compiling a list of goods, equipment and mess
requirements to cater for the incoming workforce proved to be no small task for Norm and his
accompanying Industrial Works Officer. The journey home by way of Deloraine came to a standstill
when they became snowbound, so an about turn via Bothwell and the Midland Highway seemed
the obvious solution. Little did they know they would yet have to encounter floodwaters and
gamble that the decking of the bridge underwater across the Lake River would hold for them to
make the crossing.
Three days later Norm was back at Hilltop Camp organising his office and requirements and
making sure all was in readiness to receive the workforce into the camp. The first 50 men
arrived with trucks, bulldozers and other necessary road building equipment. More men
arrived over the next few days and Norm somehow managed to get things organised and assist
the men to settle into the camp.
It was unfair to expect some minor problems initially, and after less than a week in camp the
cool room refrigeration motor broke down, putting the meat supply and other foodstuffs at risk.
A check of the grocery order also found that a carton of melon and lemon jam was missing. Norm
had a refrigeration mechanic despatched from Hobart without delay, who replaced the motor
successfully, and the melon and lemon jam were returned by a chap from Hobbs and Pilchers
at Waddamanna who said it had fallen off the truck and was found by a passing motorist.
It took just over a week to get everything in place to begin work on the southern end of the
Poatina Highway on August 3rd 1960. Because of the distance between Hilltop and Poatina,
staff from Poatina who were stationed at Hilltop were only able to return home one weekend in
three.
Things had settled down well in the camp but the road builders were doing it the hard way in
getting through the first marsh after leaving the Lake Highway. They were working through
very deep mud and slush and the dozers looked more like boats, half submerged, as they battled
on. Weeks turned into months and progress on the Highway continued in the desired manner
except for a few accidents along the way, such as when a driver lost a gravel laden truck over a
roadside bank.
There was always something to be attended to which appeared above and beyond the line of duty,
but to expect the unexpected, on top of the normal business of running camp matters and
keeping up with the book work, became part of the job. Because of our presence, the Miena
Hotel was appreciating the boost to their trading, but on occasions it caused a nuisance in the
camp. Several of our workers returned from time to time and caused a disturbance until the
early hours of the morning, and with the occasional petty theft around the camp, minor scraps
between workers and averting the start up of a gambling school, there was never a dull moment.
In mid November the retail store manager reported that the store had been broken into at the
weekend, and despite the fact that it had been bolted into a large block of concrete, the cash
safe had been stolen. Fortunately it had contained a small amount of money, but how it was
taken remains a mystery, as the thief or thieves had to get it across some four metres of old
weathered floorboards, and had not left even a scratch on them. "The main result of the robbery
was that the Personnel Superintendent told me I would have to stay in camp every weekend,
to which I laughed and told him what I thought of his idea."
In addition to his usual duties, Norm was given the task of caring for the Serpentine Track gang
who were working their way through forest, swamp and tangled undergrowth from Maydena
towards Lake Pedder. For several weeks, Norm and Gary, who had come into the Hilltop
Camp as the Timekeeper and Clerk, made the weekly sometimes hair raising treks along the
original almost impenetrable Adamsfield Track in a short wheel based landrover to handle the
gang's wages and related paperwork, job costing, mess requirements, outgoing mail and any
other needs. The 220km round trip to Maydena, plus the extra to locate the gang and finish
their business would take them 15 hours, so Norm was greatly relieved when the gang had
progressed on the track beyond the reach of regular vehicles, for they were then serviced by
helicopter.
Being able to concentrate fully once again on Hilltop and the task in hand of managing the
camp and road construction workers was much more to his liking. Snowfalls and frosts were
a common occurrence during the Winter as well as into the Spring months, but the road gangs
battled on, one from the north and one from the south, and work progressed steadily.
The men seemed to be fairly contented, and Norm always put that down to the fact they were
well fed with well prepared, good quality meals, concocted by very competent cookhouse
personnel. One of our "Specials" was Aubrey's syrup dumplings, "just like Mum made", that
would melt in your mouth, and then of course, there was always Happy's "Hilltop Pie", another
delicacy. The cookhouse was the "Boiler Room" of any construction camp, and if you had a good
"Boiler Room" then at least 80% of your troubles were eliminated.
To break the monotony of camp life, Norm and several friends spent any spare time fishing for
trout in the Blue Lake and the Penstock Canals, or spot lighting wallabies, some to be eaten by
workers and others to be quartered and taken home to Poatina on our visiting weekends. On
many mornings they fished from 4am to 7am and returned to camp in time for work. At other
times they practised cricket or played matches on the local ground.
By late November Norm was able to drive far enough along the new road to meet some of the
men working from the Poatina end. Less than a mile of clearing needed to be completed for the
roads to meet, with Norm estimating that within a week or so it would be possible to drive
right through. The push to complete the task was not without its dramas though.
Early one morning the watchman woke Norm from sleep and informed him that someone had
failed in an attempt to burn the men's Mess to the ground. The culprit had stacked newspapers
underneath the building and had set it on fire. Two days before, four plant operators had been
transferred to Hilltop in an effort to hasten the progress of the highway, and they were not
happy to forego their home comforts at Poatina. "I had a fair idea who had attempted to
destroy the building in the hope that he would then be sent back home. I let it be known I knew
who had attempted the arson and should it happen again I would inform the police. It was a
bluff, but it worked."
With only 3 miles of unmade road between the northbound and southbound gangs by the start
of December, the end was finally in sight. Mr Thomas, an engineer from Head Office, and Reg
Ballantyne, the Resident Engineer at Poatina, made the first official trip along the full length
of the Poatina Highway on December 14th, but a few days later with Christmas only a week
away there was still a mile of road remaining to be sealed. Five additional trucks were added to
the fleet and work was stepped up, resulting in celebrations as the men saw their months of
back breaking work pay off.
On Friday December 23rd most of the men left Hilltop Camp, making their way home for
Christmas, leaving many bunches of ale bottles scattered throughout the camp. "Two 18
gallon kegs of beer were put on for the road workers at the meeting place along the road as an
unofficial opening during the afternoon, but unfortunately I missed it all as I stayed back at
camp. The only signs of celebration I saw on the way home were two lonely looking beer barrels,
apparently very empty, on the roadside. I picked them up and returned them to the Poatina
Canteen."
On completion of the Poatina Highway and the closing of the Hilltop Camp, Norm was
transferred back to Poatina in early 1961, working at the Arthurs Lake dam site during the
completion of the road from the new Poatina Highway to the dam. It was quite enjoyable
during the Summer months and a real break from the pressure of work at Hilltop, although
being away from home for 11 hours each working day by the the time they had travelled to and
from the job.
As Winter approached it became more interesting, and with the snow and ice on the roads they
had their problems. In July the whole forests were completely frozen and stayed that way for
weeks on end. The trees were sparkling frost from the roots to the very top leaves, and it was
like driving through a huge refrigerator. How the forests survived was a mystery, but it seemed
the frosts had little or no effect on them.
Norm would see the completion of the Arthurs Lake dam and spillway, the combining of Blue Lake
and Green Lake into one, the construction of the pumping station and pipeline for the Arthurs
Lake catchment to be pumped into the Great Lake. With construction work on the Poatina
Power Station progressing to the point where men were soon to be transferred to the Mersey
Forth scheme at Gowrie Park, Norm and his family were once more on the move.
The cycle of coming in from the very start of a new project and seeing it through to the end was
about to begin all over again. From the Spring of 1963, as single men's huts and other
infrastructure began to be uprooted from Poatina and transferred to Gowrie Park, Norm was
back in the familiar role of helping establish yet another camp and village. In the context of
Norm's long career with the Hydro, his time at Poatina is but a short chapter, but one filled
with challenges, exploits, achievements and friendships which have provided him with lifelong
memories.
Go back to the "Back to Poatina" Page
Contact Di at Fusion Poatina to have your story included in the next website update!!!
Last Updated: Wednesday 5 May 2010
Webmaster: RJK - Poatina