Alan’s lifetime of adventures
• Alan Cassidy looks back on an eventful life.
By Daisy Baker,
September 02, 2020
Anyone who knows Alan ‘Cass’ Cassidy would know that he is quick-witted, sharing jokes and spreading smiles wherever he goes.
His sense of humour and community spirit have followed him through his 78 years of life, many of which have been lived in the North-East.
Mr Cassidy was raised in West Scottsdale and attended the local school at the crossroads, until that closed and after that he had to walk a mile to and from the bus each day.
His working career began at 14, with some work on the farm before he went dozer driving for Basil Lethborg who had a sawmill at South Springfield.
“I had three years with Basil and then in the early 60s I went to Legerwood and worked on the railway, helping reconstruct the railway from Legerwood to Tonganah, which is now the Rail Trail,” he said.
During the two years he worked on the line they camped at Legerwood.
“The blokes I worked with who I remember were Ray Whelan who was the boss, Champ Davey and a bloke called George Baradarkis who worked on the railway but he was a watchmaker and he used to repair people’s watches after work of a night.”
After a stint working for Frank Bardenhagen at the sawmill, which is where the fuel depot is now, he went to work at Comalco.
“Around that time I went to a dance one Saturday night at Windmill Hill where I met Nola my first wife,” he said.
“We were married in the early 60s and out of that came three lovely children, Vicki, Darren ‘Tex’ and Sharee.”
At that stage they lived at Rocherlea and Mr Cassidy would rise at 3am each morning to do a bread round, before spending the day working at Clements and Marshall.
His weekends were spent in the North-East growing potatoes and carrots.
“The three of us boys we grew a paddock of spuds for Mum to buy her first ever fridge,” he said.
“We put in seven acres of spuds to buy mum this fridge and out of that seven acres we got seven tonnes.
“We got enough money all but 50 pound which Dad said he’d put in. She got a huge old Admiral fridge, she was overwhelmed. Until then we used to hang the meat in a tin in the chestnut tree.”
Mr Cassidy later worked for the Shell Company and a butter factory in Launceston, before coming back to Scottsdale where he worked in the pines.
“We used to cut pulp wood. I used to drag out 40 tonne a day. That was the hardest job I ever had,” he recalled, shaking his head.
“Bob Richman when I was with him, he bought the first log skidder to come to Northern Tasmania called a timber jack.
“They bought a bloke from New Zealand to teach us to drive it and I was lucky enough to drive that.”
After various jobs, including helping with an expansion at TEMCO, in 1974 a job came up with Pioneer Concreting which is now Hanson at Bell Bay.
“The boss asked me to take a load of concrete to Scottsdale because they were putting in a concrete plant so I bought the first load of pre-mixed concrete into the area,” he said.
“I love concrete trucks – I’d go back tomorrow if I could,” he said as a concrete truck drove by the house.
The loud and distinct sound of his old petrol V8 International quickly became associated with ‘Cass’ throughout the district.
During his 40 years with the company, he worked on Cape Grim, Cape Barren, poured curb and guttering for Lade’s estate and helped pour some of the 3,600 cubic metres of concrete into the base of the Bowen Bridge.
He was well known for being the gamest driver who would go anywhere, and steep and windy terrain was no match for him.
“In later years I poured the power line from Nunamara to Derby and down this side of the Sideling, you’d start at the top and drive down one and reverse one, drive one and reverse one.
“It was only just a track they’d put in – it was so steep.”
Mr Cassidy later got remarried to his current wife Brenda who he met at the concrete plant.
With a mutual interest in mining, Mr Cassidy and friend Tas Rainbow frequented mines around the region.
“One day in 1981 we were out at Kamona in Hayes’ old mine down the bottom of the lease that is there now, and Tas saw a hill he thought was sand,” he said.
“We went up and we dug down six foot with shovels and found pure white sand.
“He said, ‘what’ve we got Cass?’ and I said ‘a bloody fortune if there’s enough here’.
We proved up 50 million tonnes and it’s got very big now.”
They worked it for a long time, producing sand for Launceston City Council for making hot mix.
Mr Cassidy sold out his part in 1995, and it is now owned by Baker group.
In 2005, Mr Cassidy was delivering a load of concrete up Mutual Road at Derby, when the front of the wheel sank into the soft edging of the road.
“The road slipped out from underneath me, I knew where I was going,” he said.
“When it stopped rolling, I shook myself and said, ‘I’m still alive.’
“I looked up and the cab was down level with the seat and I was on the floor. I just saw a small gap, and managed to squeeze myself out of it.”
The motor was still running and fuel was dripping out of the vehicle.
Michael Croll who he was delivering to heard the crash, and came to help him get up to the road.
He was transported to the LGH for an operation on his ear and was left bruised and battered but thankful to be alive.
Hanson took the cab of the International Loadstar, around every plant in Australia on a tandem trailer and to show people that seatbelts save lives.
Mr Cassidy said once recovered he continued concreting until retiring eight years ago.
Amidst a busy work and social life, Mr Cassidy found time to give back to the community, as a member of the RSL committee, Rotary Club for 15 years and Lions Club for a further 12 years, as well as catering for events with a spit roast.
He was one of the drivers behind establishing the Rhododendron Drive, and did a lot of work at Northeast Park and at the Ringarooma Swimming Pool.
His daughter Sharee Forsyth continues the legacy and is now the President of the Ringarooma Swimming Pool.
Since retiring he’s turned his attention to the Lietinna Hall where he is president of the committee.
During this time, they’ve developed the facility, most recently putting on a new roof on the hall and establishing the market.
Mr Cassidy takes great pride in growing and selling vegetables at the regular markets.
The constant throughout his long and diverse working career was a strong work ethic which he says he is proud to have instilled into each of his children.