August 9, 2013
When Chris Seng began work as a “bag boy” at the ripe old age of 16 at the then-Peanut Marketing Board in Kingaroy, he was told he had six weeks’ work.
Forty-two years later, Chris is finally calling it quits at the now Peanut Company of Australia after a career which saw him promoted through the ranks to Raw Plant Manager (and finding a wife, Ann, along the way).
His last day was today …
Chris admitted he was feeling sad to walk away from a job that he has loved so much, but he wanted to retire while he still had good health.
His wife Ann, who formerly worked at PCA on the picking lines, also resigned last week from her job at the Pioneer Motel; the couple now plan to “do Australia” pulling a caravan.
Chris’ first job was to count the bags full of peanuts as they were pulled down from the stacks. He was part of the “de-stacking gang”.
And he was petrified …
“Dad got me the job here,” he said.
“He was working in the old cleaning plant and he heard that they needed some people for the de-stacking gang.
“I had an interview with Lance Andrews who was the Works Manager. I remember walking into his office. I was petrified.”
Chris said that when he got the job, his nerves were even worse.
“I had never worked with a big group of men before. They were so strong and I was so small and weedy,” he said.
“My first supervisor was Ray Baker and he helped me through it. I was sick for two days but I kept on working.
“I actually chucked up from the nerves but the group took me under their wings. They were tough, hard-working men but they really looked after me.”
From the de-stacking gang, Chris then became a “relief” sheller operator, then shifted to the cleaning gang, before being shifted back as a full-time sheller operator, a job he did for 12 years.
“I loved that job,” he said. “It’s the best job here!”
He was made foreman in 1980 and then appointed Raw Plant Manager in 1989.
Apart from a few months of fencing work and other farming work in the Burrandowan area, Chris has worked at PCA since leaving school.
And it’s not all been about peanuts. He’s been chairman of the company’s Social Club for 15 years, taken part in Thrasher Pull teams and for many years captained the company’s indoor cricket team, the “Aussie Nuts”.
And he’s seen a lot of changes in the peanut industry over the years.
Of course these days, the peanuts no longer arrive in bags from the farms and there’s no stacks. Modern technology has also changed the face of the industry.
“The picking room used to be a sea of pickers. There were 8 to 10 pickers per belt and nine belts,” he said.
But Chris only had eyes for one of those faces in the picking room, Ann.
“She was on Belt 5,” he said.
“I can remember getting caught by the foreman having a chat to her.”
The couple have now been married for almost 36 years.
Although he’s sad to be retiring, Chris is looking forward to his new life as a “grey nomad”.
“We’re going to have no set timetable to be anywhere at any time,” he said.
