Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
What started as a love of gardening turned into a 50-year career for Raymond.
The ACT public service offers a wide range of career opportunities, but it’s not often you celebrate someone who has contributed 50 years of service.
Fifty years ago, Olivia Newton John dominated the music charts and Burger Rings hit the supermarket shelves.
Also at this time, a young man named Raymond Russell began working with what is now the ACT Government’s Transport Canberra and City Services directorate.
While he’s worn a variety of hats during his half-century, Raymond has been a mower operator for the past two decades.
He loves his job mowing across Canberra – even with the city’s often-changeable weather that can cause rapid grass growth or ground that can’t be mown after heavy rain.
“I love when we go out and people like to talk to you,” he said.
“I love talking to the public. I get a lot of compliments from them which is great. If they’ve got a dog, I talk about their dogs. And what’s going to go on in the future in their area. And they get quite excited sometimes. Some people, they just like to talk.”
A keen gardener, Raymond’s early years were grounded in horticulture.
“I loved gardening and I used to go out with my mother – she used to enter flower shows – and I used to go and help her a lot, so I decided to do gardening myself,” Raymond said.
Working in City Services turned out to be something of a family affair.
Raymond’s father used to work at the old Dickson depot and his eldest brother worked with the directorate too.
The mowing veteran has certainly seen some change over 50 years.
“When I first started off at one of the depots I was given a very small sit-on mower. It’s a lot better nowadays obviously.”
Raymond says he loves living and working in Canberra. And he takes great pride in his 50 years of service.
“I just absolutely love that I got this far. I never expected that when I started. Not many people can do it. I just want to stay here while I can. I’ll probably retire … soon!” he said.
Find out more about the mowing program and what Raymond and the rest of the crews work on at https://www.cityservices.act.gov.au/public-land/maintenance/grass-mowing.
Find out more about employment opportunities in the ACT public service at https://www.jobs.act.gov.au/home
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