old man emu Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Anyone got a spare caravan they are not using. I'd like to get ot so I could apply for this dream job AIRFIELD CARETAKER REQUIRED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff13 Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Anyone got a spare caravan they are not using. I'd like to get ot so I could apply for this dream jobAIRFIELD CARETAKER REQUIRED. Could be a great job for someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winsor68 Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I reckon they are dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 "Need to be on a pension". Sounds to me, that should read, "Need to be on a pension so we can avoid paying them any more than $20 a week, while we ensure that we get a full weeks work out of them". I think winsor68 is pretty well right on the mark. No power, so right there is extra living costs, as they have to generate their own - or go without. I was brought up on a dairy farm with no power, only Aladdin kerosene lamps for light, and only a wood stove to cook on. It's a pretty spartan existence. Of course, we had no TV, all of Australia had no TV, back then. The nice island position wears a bit thin when there's only a couple of small local shops that charge exorbitant amounts for lifes necessities. So, I guess that means a ferry trip every week to the mainland to drag home some reasonably-priced supplies? Living in a caravan constantly wears pretty thin after a while, too. I've done more than my share of caravan living whilst working in remote areas. You get sick of the cramped conditions, and 'vans that get stinking hot during the day, and cold at night. No chance of running an airconditioner, unless you want to fork out about $2 - $3 an hr to run a genset. No I think the position may be vacant for a while yet - or if taken up, the caretakers will want out, within 6 mths. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 I was brought up on a dairy farm with no power, only Aladdin kerosene lamps for light, and only a wood stove to cook on. You Lucky Bastard. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Anyone got a spare caravan they are not using. I'd like to get ot so I could apply for this dream jobAIRFIELD CARETAKER REQUIRED. Awwwww. . .I would LURVE a job like that,. . . as long as the island has at least 3G internet coverage so that I could still $hitpost on various websites. . . . . what a wonderful job ! ! ! ! I knew a bloke who had a shack on Moreton Island when I lived in Brissy suburbs in the late seventies,. .. but that was only a weekend getaway. . . .He had a little TVO ( dual fuel) tractor, MF I think, to drag the boat up the beach a bit. . . Brill place though. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted February 18, 2018 Author Share Posted February 18, 2018 I was brought up on a dairy farm with no power, only Aladdin kerosene lamps for light, and only a wood stove to cook on. Lucky, lucky bastard! We only had a guttering candle stub for light and a stone-edged pit to cook on. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 A guttering candle stub? - Luxury. We had a drawing of a candle, which all 24 of us had to share, and it didn't work after dark. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil_S Posted February 18, 2018 Share Posted February 18, 2018 We used to dream about a drawing of a candle.... 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetrack Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 I can tell you this much about life on the dairy farm. When other people put their rubbish bins out - we took 'em in! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth lacey Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 the last caretaker didn't last long,chinese whisper is the owner can be a little demanding 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLA82 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Must be on a pension..... Cheapskate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Just spotted this thread. I totally agree with above. Please see my post about this and other Straddie matters on the related thread, "Straddie Aero Club closes" "...as long as the island has at least 3G internet." If you are with Telstra you won't get any reception at all - maybe occasionally one bar. The airfield is in a valley and the transmitter points to the town. Also, if you want water, it is bore water and must be pumped to a gravity tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I have re-posted my reply from another thread to here as it is more relevant to this thread: [From Old Man Emu and Aviation Trader] Airfield Caretaker Required at Dunwich, North Stradbroke Island, QLD Requirements: Need to be on a Pension, small amount paid fortnightly accordingly. Aviation knowledge preferred. General maintenance skills required. Able to use a tractor & ride on mower to maintain airstrip. A couple is preferred with own accommodation, ie: caravan. No power. Run on generator & solar power. Obviously this is an awful ad, highly discriminatory and all negative. Someone on the pension is supposed to be too ill or too old to do all this work - and there is a lot of daily manual labour in this job. In addition to his normal caretaker duties, the current and outgoing caretaker has just finished a complete rebuild of the tractor engine for no charge to the owner!This exact same ad was used last year when the previous caretakers advised the owner in April, of their intention to leave and foolishly told her that they would stay until she found a replacement. It took until September to find the current caretaker who is now also leaving. The previous caretakers became so desperate that they put a much more pleasantly worded ad in greynomadsjobs.com and in facebook as well, leaving out the requirement to be on the pension. I draw my own conclusions about why such an obnoxious ad would be placed that no-one in their right mind would answer. There is no mention about what a thoroughly pleasant and peaceful spot the airfield is or that there is a golf club 5 minutes drive away with stunning views that serves a better and bigger breakfast than what the aero club offers, and for $5 less. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Someone on the pension is supposed to be too ill or too old to do all this work - and there is a lot of daily manual labour in this job. Watchit Possum! Don't forget that many of us middle period Baby Boomers (1950 - 1955 crop) are still pretty fit, and are just looking for a new activity that is completely different from what we have done for the past 50 years. And this would not be a full-time job. Just run up and down the strip each morning to make sure that it was serviceable; run the mower over it when required, and possibly be there to put out landing flares in case of emergency. I don't know if fuel is available there, but if not, maybe you could hold a thousand litres or so for people wanting a top-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Physical fitness is one thing but mental problems, loneliness and the spartan, wearying life of living out of a caravan in the bush with no mains power, internet connection or town water have all been problems that previous caretakers have had to face here. The work duties may not be full time, but the owner requires their presence full time. With limited opportunities to get away from the situation and expensive options to get off the island and on to the mainland, we have had men lose heart pretty quickly here and stop looking after themselves in the way they should. The owner could easily have alleviated some of these problems by providing a demountable caretaker's cottage but unfortunately she is hell-bent on getting the maximum use out of an individual for the least cost before they walk. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnm Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravity Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 H [ATTACH=full]53969[/ATTACH] Hahaha, love that photo, kinda says it all! I remember the original add ages ago, thought at first sounded good but like they say if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Sounds like the owner is a follower of the London Slum Landlord, Peter Rachman Peter Rachman - Wikipedia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 The ad has been pulled from the Aviation Trader website yesterday 3 March 2018 - wonder if she had any takers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yenn Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 No mention of sandflies? I remember island living was sandflies, generator, water, mowing and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingVizsla Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Was talking to a hangar owner yesterday. He said she had come to a compromise with the previous caretaker and he had returned. The conversation was a bit vague, but he said he was one of four caretakers and she had finally relented and agreed to let him build a hangar, live there, and build his plane. He sounds like a resourceful guy who knows how to do things on the cheap and was helping out the other hangar owner who was getting his hangar live-able and solar. He said the airstrip (leasehold) is for sale. The conversation was a bit convoluted and long, so it might not all be Gospel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 She has relented because this is pretty much what she promised him in the first place to get him to take the job, then those promises evaporated once he had arrived. Previous occurrences of this sort of behaviour with previous caretakers were in 2011 and 2013 that I know about. The husband and wife caretakers are just relieving and will be leaving shortly and the other one is an occasional back-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum1 Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 No mention of sandflies?I remember island living was sandflies, generator, water, mowing and so on. The insects seem to take it in turns to bite people at Dunwich Airfield.Over the summer, the March flies have been in residence. I expect after this rain stops, the mosquitoes will move in and when the westerlies start later in the year and combine with a high tide, we will get visits from the sandflies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 The insects seem to take it in turns to bite people at Dunwich Airfield.Over the summer, the March flies have been in residence. I expect after this rain stops, the mosquitoes will move in and when the westerlies start later in the year and combine with a high tide, we will get visits from the sandflies! I want this job!! No blowflies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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