A carpenter by trade, Colin 'Chalky' Rice got a job in the maintenance department at Moree Hospital during the drought of the 1970s when work was quiet.
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He'd planned to stay only six months. Forty years later and he still hasn't left.
"I worked four years with Assef's Menswear back when the drought was on in '70s," Chalky explained.
"I was just married and we were working for ourselves and things got quiet. The lady that owned my flat was on the hospital board and told me a job was going down here if I wanted it.
"I thought I'd only do six months here and stayed 40 years.
"The same thing happened with Assef's - I went to work at Assef's for a few weeks and stayed four years," he laughed.
Chalky started as a carpenter on the maintenance department at Moree Hospital on December 10, 1979, and on Tuesday, December 10, 2019 he celebrated his 40th anniversary in the same job.
However, he says the job is very different today than what it was when he first started.
"Years ago we used to make everything, from furniture to the carpets. We'd do tables and chairs and fit-out everything," he said.
"When they had the day care unit here, we used to invent things for people to use in their recovery, like a special teapot holder and a knitting needle screwed to a table and chair for a lady who only had the use of one arm. All that stuff is gone now.
"Now, we're really just maintenance. Ongoing repairs and maintenance.
"When I first started there were 14 on maintenance. Now there's three tradesmen and two handymen/gardeners."
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There's also been plenty of changes at the hospital over that time, mostly as a result of the increase in technology available - "When I first started if you had knee cartilage damage from playing football you'd spend three months in hospital. Now they replace the whole knee and have you out that day".
Chalky spoke fondly of the days of when the hospital was run by a board, long before the days of Hunter New England Health.
He said the best part about his job, and one of the biggest reasons he's stayed so long, is the people he meets and works with.
"I've met some amazing people over the 40 years," he said.
"It's just the variety of people you meet and the characters."
On Tuesday, Chalky's colleagues organised a special morning tea to celebrate his milestone anniversary.
"I'd like to thank the girls from the kitchen department for putting it on and the maintenance boys for their cake and presents," Chalky said.
