PART 5

Nina, (I don’t recall her surname) lived in St. Albans. She was a very attractive blonde and I think she was of Ukrainian parents. She was also with us for the change to decimal currency. She left us to do modelling. I remember many years later, I was at one of the windows facing Royal Arcade and saw a woman looking in. I thought I knew her face but wasn’t sure. She smiled and walked away. I realised later that it was Nina.

John Eade was an older man who worked in the office on the ground floor of Yule House, he came to us after Ray Stewart resigned. The front of the building had a business each side with a passage in between, Catanach’s rented the back half. They also rented all of the fourth floor and a third of the third floor. Looking back it would have been prudent for them to have purchased the building. John was the slowest eater I ever knew. We played cards at lunchtime so he always played cards and ate his lunch at the same time.

E H (Bert) Lamshed was a hand engraver who did work for Catanach’s the whole of the time I worked there and was rated as the best in Melbourne.  He and had an interest in an old French car (La Buire Roadster similar to the one shown here) that he completely restored. He had found it abandoned in Carrum in 1964 and purchased it for £250 now $500. It took him around two years to complete the work including painting it by hand with a brush giving it seven undercoats and four topcoats. I remember seeing the car many years ago and it looked brand new.

Bert was a very fussy workman and always did a top job except one time when it was my parent’s silver wedding anniversary and I got him to engrave an inscription on a large silver plated salver which was to be given to my parents by my brother, sister and myself. It was nearing the time when it was wanted and Bert said he would do it on Saturday morning. This was the day it was to be presented and when I collected it I found that he had put three D’s in Wedding.
Bert passed away on 20th February 2011 aged 87.

Owen Fowler known as Chook was an English man who was clever with figures and finances and looked after the monthly figures. He set targets for each department to achieve each month He was independent to the rest of the staff and spent all of his time in a room on the fourth floor which later, after he retired, became the watchmaker’s workroom. He published a few books in the early seventies, some of which are in libraries. He passed away in February 1982 aged 88 years.

Lorna Wafer was a Queenslander and wore her hair up in an unusual bun style. When I first began working, the shop opened at 9.30 am but after Blair started, about twelve months after me, he talked his father into opening at 9.05 am, which were normal business hours. Blair thought that opening then rather than giving everybody 25 minutes start was the way to go.

When we opened at 9.30 Lorna was never there before 9.40, 10 minutes late and got away with it so when we opened earlier she would arrive about.9.15, still ten minutes late, so Mr. Catanach told her that if she wasn’t ready to start at 9.05 she needn’t bother to take off her coat. The next morning, she stood in the doorway on time and  said “This will rock you” It was 9.00 am.

Another time she was late again, she walked in and Mr Catanach pointed out she was late. She said to him “do I start or not?”  He was lost for words, turned, and walked away. She was originally from Queensland and I think returned there.