It was tough, I was on apprentice wages - around or nearly $7 a week.
But the years I worked on farms has had another totally unexpected benefit.
I'm nearly 80. Still go for walks and runs Raising and grafting citrus as a hobby Have outlasted most of my peers.
Arthritis is a big problem sometimes have to slow down.
Also amazingly got confidence of local immigrant farming community. Italians, Jugoslavs would bring in legal documents in English and ask me at 18 to read it to them. Naturally if they needed help, my phone would ring.
There was a mafia presence on the swamp in those days. They knew my address and where I worked.
One Friday, the phone at work rang and the boss was a bit taken back that the caller wanted to talk to the apprentice. I turned up at an address, there were some familiar faces, some not.
I had to read some legal documents. One bloke went to the boot and there were boxes of notes.
It was the sale of a farm in cash between parties who could not read English.
