David Palmer - Our Scroll Saw Wizard
David has been a member of WoSP for some 13 years. This makes him one of the longer serving members of the Club. Starting with turning for a couple of years (pens, couple of chess sets, lots of bowls) then he heard about the toy group, had a chat to John Parrent and voila – puzzle boxes, fully furnished dolls houses and cradles, jeeps (simpler than those he makes now) and he is still making toys. In fact, he has been making toys for ever – starting before his father passed away when he was 12 years old. Back in those days the toys tended to more the ’cowboys and Indians stuff’ like guns, etc. By 14 years old, David became more adventurous – a cubby house out of old packing cases…
All his life, he has been working with wood – finding this activity a pleasant break from the pressures of working for a living. But working with wood was never his livelihood – just a pastime. He admits that he enjoys disappearing into the workshop for sessions of many hours (what a very understanding wife….)
David is a Brunswick (Victoria that is) boy – well North Melbourne actually as that’s where the family hailed from at the time. Some 3 years later, the family moved to a house across the road from the Brunswick Fire Station in Burchett Street. From here, David attended the Brunswick Central Primary School. This school has gone – replaced by flats, etc. Then it was Moreland High School (by pedal power) through to Matric (that’s Higher School Certificate these days). Then followed a start to a Science Degree at Melbourne University. The science subjects were fine but the humanity subjects were not…. One year at Melbourne Uni was it. So, time to venture out into the big wide world starting as a clerk at Myers plus night school – 13 years later, David has a string of accounting qualifications.
During this time, David got married, moved to a flat in Fairfield, eventually moving to their own brand-new house in Nunawading. Two children followed, and then a move to another new home in Blackburn. Accounting Manager at Cummins Diesel in Ringwood, for 4 ½ years, where he installed and managed updated IT systems and improved accounts reporting cycles. He also learned the insides of diesel engines updating the costing and reporting systems for building them. Finance Manager at McIlwaith-Davey Pty Ltd – a role that involved frequent interstate travel.
Responsibilities here were looking after the financial and IT systems for 12 subsidiaries for about 5 years. Accounting Manager at Hawker Siddeley in Fairfield for 6 ½ years. Again, working with updating accounting, stock control, and other systems over 30 years old, bringing them up to date. With no increase in office staff, David managed a 1200% increase in transaction volumes, cut reporting time to 1/3rd, and managed the implementation of network word processing and computer systems without missing a single reporting deadline.
Throughout these jobs, David’s role included management of the IT aspects of the business – a role which tended to occupy a great deal of his time. Big J was a spin off from the failed Jennings Group – making and selling a range of home building products – doors, windows, etc. This company was taken over later and absorbed into other businesses. The 15-acre site was subdivided (Carbatec in Springvale are on part of the site). This was David’s last job as an Accountant.
From then on, it was a career in IT ending up at Computer Associates (CA) working on systems at clients like Electrolux, Loreal, Bosch, Unidrive, Simplot (Edgell, Yoplait, Plumrose…) and others before changing employers to a CA competitor – Business Planning and Control System (BPCS) who sold and supported another Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software product. While at BPCS, David, at short notice, spent nearly 3 months in Indonesia at some 6 Unilever sites across the country. Included in this work was the need to visit the cool rooms. When outside, it was plus 30 degrees and 100% humidity. Then to proceed inside, one had to tog up before entering the cool room at minus 40 degrees – always a shock to the system. Unilever were making ice cream in the jungle! On his way to Indonesia, David flew Garuda via Bali – and somewhere in this trip he picked up a ‘bug’ which persisted for the remainder of the trip. One wonders – was this ‘Bali Belly’??? Within a day or two of his return from Indonesia, David was called by a client from his CA days who was in ‘deep sneakers’ with big problems and very little time to get them fixed.
David resigned from BPCS and for the next 14 years, he worked as a free-lance consultant acting mainly as a trouble shooter on computer-based accounting, and ERP systems. Being self-employed, there was always the lingering doubt as to where the next job would come from – something that troubled his wife – even though this proved to be a very lucrative time of his career. At 55 years old, apart from moving to Dromana, David decided to ‘pull the pin’ (semi-retirement) – with a couple of health issues confirmed the decision to retire. However, a friend, General Manager of a very large aged care facility desperately needed a Finance Manager. David stayed at this facility for some two years sorting out issues with their computer and accounting systems.
After training his replacement, and retiring, he went back part-time when his replacement quit, and was sacked on the spot. Two attempts to leave over some 6 months, David finally did retire. But that was not quite the end of his ‘accounting’ work – clubs need Treasurers and, for four years, David filled that role at WoSP. Not to mention his role of Auditing the books of other clubs and with Church accounts. David has been active at the Dromana Life Saving Club, where he was Treasurer of 3 years.
For the last seven years, David and his wife have lived in the Village Glen – a place they are very happy with. David’s loves have been Church, family, music, woodwork and gardening. In retirement he has been able to devote much more time to each, enjoying both the challenge of each, as well as the joys. Three accidents in his youth left David with back problems all his life. But now technology has provided him a Nevro spinal cord implant and he enjoys relief from that.