While most 16-year-olds today are working part-time jobs at their local takeaway or supermarket, in 1975 Bernie Keast found himself in his first full-time job at an organisation he went on to serve for nearly five decades.
Back then, Mr Keast had just finished "fourth form" at Kempsey on the NSW Mid North Coast when he sat the NSW Railways exam.
To his surprise, a few days later he was employed.
"I didn't really want to go back to school, [and] my dad said there were junior staff being called on at the railways," Mr Keast said.
"Next thing you know, I caught the train from Kempsey to Newcastle and sat the exams and had my medical exam.
"They asked me when I would like to start work. I said, 'Maybe in the New Year', and they said, 'how about Wednesday', so I commenced duty on December 17, 1975."
Career spanning almost 50 years
Mr Keast recently completed his last shift as a NSW TrainLink customer service attendant at Kempsey railway station, 47 years after he started there.
In the early years Mr Keast worked at several other stations before returning to Kempsey in 1983, where he stayed for the rest of his career, becoming a local icon.
"I guess I've been part of the furniture at Kempsey station," Mr Keast said.
He said he had "mixed feelings" about finishing.
"I started as a 16-year-old 'skinny, young, long hair' and now I am finishing as a 'skinny, old grey hair'," Mr Keast said with a laugh.
"It feels a bit surreal that 47 years have passed by, and people have patted me on the back and said, 'job well done'.
"It's a bit humbling and gratifying at the same time."
Railway changes over the decades
Railway employment trends have changed a lot since that "skinny 16-year-old" first started out.
"There were probably about 60 people [employed] at Kempsey station when I first started and when I left there were two permanent and one part-time," Mr Keast said.
"When I first started there were no computers ... everything was done manually; bookwork and paperwork, all the signalling was done manually, all the trade and parcel movements were done manually.
"So, there were a lot of staff to look after all those activities."
Mr Keast said he started out as a junior station assistant, or "glorified roustabout".
"We assisted with parcels, station cleanliness, sweeping platforms, we were also expected to assist with the switchboard ... and with whatever the station master required us to do," he said.
"I looked after the premises from day one and I was still responsible for cleanliness right up until my last day."
Mr Keast recalled being quite happy with his fortnightly pay packet.
"A few of my mates who started various apprenticeships were earning about $40 a week, but my first pay was $135 for a fortnight," he said.
"I thought, 'This is pretty good money'. But the downside was I was working around-the-clock shift work, seven days a week."
Industry evolves in 1980s
Mr Keast said the rail industry started to change "quite dramatically" in the mid-1980s.
"Centralised signalling, with the coloured light signalling system, came in and wiped out lots of jobs in little outer-signal boxes," he said.
"There was the introduction of a computerised reservation system, then the XPT (express passenger train) was introduced in the early 1980s.
"So they phased out some services like the mail train, the Gold Coast Motorail and the Brisbane Limited."
No more 'checking the roster'
In retirement, Mr Keast plans to continue his interests in transport, spending more time on motor sports and travel, without being tied to a round-the-clock timetable.
"So, I will get on with life, without having to say, 'I'll just have to check the roster first'," he said.
NSW TrainLink chief operating officer Dale Merrrick said Mr Keast would be missed after his many years of service.
"That sort of commitment is very rare now,” Mr Merrick said.
"He has been a familiar sight at the Kempsey railway station for generations of customers and I know those customers will miss the care and attention he puts into the station.
"His passion for the customers will be very difficult to replace."
