NSW Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing

This is where I worked for the whole time I was in Sydney. The NSW Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing no longer exists in that form and the horse racing and gambling elements were separated from the Sport bits I think. I was running the system test for a system that was used by the Totalizator Agency Board (TAB). I've no idea whether the system was a success or not as I moved on before it went live. Many IT contractors seem to make a living moving on before any of their systems go live!

Cameron Berkman (PW) - My fellow system tester

As it turned out, my time at this dysfunctional NSW government agency changed my life. On day one I sat next to Sarah Verbe, a young Northern English lass. "I hear you worked for PW in the UK". Do you know Darren Brooke?" She said. "He was my flatmate at Uni and he joined PW". PW only employed about 50,000 people in UK and Sarah and Darren were younger than me. "Actually we've just worked on the same project for the last 6 months" I replied. A small world style icebreaker and Sarah and I were soon swapping stories. She was living with (and engaged to I recall) "Sergeant Major" Dave and was living in a flat on the water's edge at Kirribilli directly opposite the Opera House. Nice. Sarah had been in Sydney a little while and had lots of friends. One of them I married (more of this later).

Sarah's Birthday dinner at the Lord Dudley

Me and the Seargant Major

I joined the Dept's Wed lunch time touch footy team and a year on from my back operation I was finally getting fit and running freely again. The touch footy I loved as I got to use my speed and (rusty) rugby skills without getting clattered.


My diary lists hordes of people from this project most of which I only have a vague recollection of. My photos help particularly of the Christmas lunch at North Sydney Oval. Afterwards we carried on drinking and Brad (PW) downed about 10 Sambuccas after Katrina (Dept) rejected his advances. 

Christmas lunch at N Sydney Oval

I also remember that the whole office closed down on Melbourne Cup day so that we could all indulge in a range of illegal gambling activities. I knew they were illegal as this was the department that policed all forms of racing related gambling!

Katrina, Tania, Les

Brad, Cameron, Sean, me, Sarah

Me and Sarah

I was also invited along to a Maori BBQ by Steve (Dept) and witnessed a (dead) lamb being baked in a hole in the back garden. I'm pretty sure I had my first ever mango at this party as well. Not the sort of fruit that was in common supply in the north of England. I think my first experience of Jackson's on George Street was with the Dept crew as was my first experience of the Victoria Cross Bar in North Sydney (to later become a big part of Dileep's life but that's another story altogether).


p.s. Sarah didn't marry Dave but she now lives with a lovely Boro supporting Teessider called Rich and works for Microsoft in UK. Dave lives round the corner from us in Roseville Chase (at least he used to) though I've only run into him once since 1992.

Dave at Healthlands Gym in North Sydney in 1991