Keith Ivor Ward
Keith Ivor Ward
(1934 - )
Keith Ivor Ward was born 4 April 1934, at home in Edgecliff. NSW. He was one of six children. His mother raised and supported the children on her own as his father was an alcoholic WWI veteran who played no role in the family.
Ward attended primary school at Sacred Heart School, Darlinghurst, and secondary school Marist Brothers High School, Lidcombe until 2nd Year, when he left school aged 15 without finishing the Intermediate Certificate.
Ward made it a priority to leave school for work to help assist his mother and family. His first job was with Trip Travel Goods, Stanmore working the assembly line making Gladstone bags. He then worked shoemaking in Campsie. He spent two years as an apprentice motor mechanic at Stanmore also attending Ultimo Technical College. He withdrew from studies after 12 months, and worked as a builder's labourer.
In 1953, Ward started with the Department of Main Roads (DMR) working as a line marker servicing the entire state of NSW. In December, after six months travelling the state, he started working with asphalt. He worked primarily on the Armstrong Holland and Nivens mixing plants at the Central Asphalt Depot, Granville until their closure 12 months later.
In 1955, two new Armstrong Holland plants were commissioned at South Metropolitan plant, Unwin Street, Rozelle. With the construction of both freeways to Penrith and Campbelltown, Ward became a leading hand, then a ganger and finally senior operator of one of the Armstrong plants as production was stepped up. Along with Kenny Williams who operated the other, mixed asphalt for the whole of Sydney.
He pioneered the use of fly ash instead of lime in the mixing of asphalt, a process developed by an engineering analyst at DMR Rosehill. In 1974, the commissioning of American-made Barber Green plant had Ward supervise increased production to 3000 tons a day as the operation changed from manual to automatic mixing. The process was computerised in 1984.
Ward continued to be the senior operator after sale of the plant to CSR Ready mix in 1992 and later through the merger of the plant to CSR Emoleum in 1997.
He worked 39 years with the Department of Main Roads and the Roads and Traffic Authority and seven years with CSR and retired July 2,1999 age 65. His son was a supervisor at CSR Emoleum.
Prepared by Michelle Keatinge, January 2003 from oral history interview conducted on 5 July 1999.
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