They say you spend more time with your work colleagues than your family, and if you’re anything like Chris Harris or Daryl Pendlebury, you may have worked with some of those colleagues for 40 years!
Chris and Daryl both started work at Dandenong Hospital in 1982, and are celebrating their 40-year milestone at this year’s Length of Service Awards.
As we look forward to recognising and celebrating our long-serving employees at this year’s awards, we will bring you stories about our dedicated employees and their amazing contributions to our community.
Chris Harris – Leading Hand Fitter
Chris Harris hasn’t looked back since finishing his apprenticeship as a fitter and machinist at Dandenong Hospital. After a year working in the garden, Chris returned to the Engineering Department, where his friendly face has since become a permanent fixture.
He loves the security and variety of his job. The small team of tradies is close, and each shift is different. One day he might fix the wheel on the hospital trolley and the next he might find himself welding a frame together.
Now a leading hand fitter, Chris also enjoys talking to patients.
“They ask you questions while you’re fixing something in their room,” he says. “I’ve liked the job; it’s been great. It changes all the time. We don’t do the same thing day in, day out.”
Some things have changed over the years – like a stronger emphasis on safety – and some haven’t, like the tools Chris uses, such as welders, grinders, and lathes. “The basics are still the same,” he says.
Work isn’t usually too complicated, but Chris remembers a big blackout in the 1990s. He had to help co-ordinate efforts that saw full power returned after about four hours. “I just had to answer questions when the CEOs were ringing to see what was going on,” he says.
Chris, 59, has three children with his partner Janine Cruse and eventually Chris and Janine would like to retire to Paradise Beach in Gippsland.
When he’s not working, Chris loves tinkering in his garage. He’s the ultimate home handyman and in demand with friends and family.
“It’s what you do for friends,” he says.
Daryl Pendlebury – Senior Electrician
As a young tradie, Daryl Pendlebury thought he’d spend a couple of years at Dandenong Hospital and move on. Forty years later, the trusty electrician is still maintaining its electrical systems.
Now 64, Daryl saw his job advertised in The Dandenong Journal and quickly settled in, enjoying the family-like atmosphere.
“The people were really good and the management, they knew everybody,” he says. “It was just a good place to work. It’s still got that feeling.”
Every day is different in the Engineering Department, but some have stood out for Daryl, like meeting AFL star Gary Ablett senior, and the major 1990s blackout that he helped to fix.
When the famous Geelong forward came in for a procedure, he was up for a chat. Daryl, who follows Collingwood but admits Ablett was his favourite player, says the former footballer was happy to engage.
“He was a really friendly sort of bloke,” Daryl says. “He treated everybody like they were just as good as he was. I used to love watching him play. He was just a freak.”
The power outage was “not much fun” but Daryl and his colleagues managed to restore power while others kept patients safe. “It was a bit hairy at the time,” he says.
Over the years Daryl’s role has evolved and electrical standards have tightened. But he still enjoys it and has no plans to retire. He loves surfing and was a handy cricketer in his day with the Dandenong West and Dandenong Methodist cricket clubs.
Without doubt though, the highlight of Daryl’s 40 years is meeting his wife Jean, who has been a Patient Services Assistant at Dandenong for 18 years and with whom he shares two adult sons. They knew each other many years ago, but lost touch until Jean joined Monash Health.
“It feels like it was meant to be,” Daryl says.
Approved by Louise Kanis and Lisa Evans
Pictured: Chris Harris (L) and Daryl Pendlebury (R)