My starting salary was £5.13.06 ($11.35) p/w, after tax, hardly enough to find salubrious digs.  Mr Fisher suggested the YMCA on the corner of City Rd. and Sturt St., 20 mins walk from the studios. A shared room with public bathroom, cost £3.13.06 p/w, including breakfast. So I had $4.00 a week 
YMCA Melbourne
Arrow shows my room on the 3rd floor. I lived there for 2 years. In the foreground the Trocadero Ball Room and Wirth's permanent circus. Now the site of the Victorian arts centre. The YMCA was demolished a few years ago. 
left to pay for my food and other expenses. I was to work in the audio department and train to be an audio operator.
The First Day
Tues. Feb 2, 1960, I arrived at the studios at 9 am. I was introduced to staff chief Graham Foster, who took me to studio 2 where they were presenting "Cooking with Gas" with Jean Ford. Jean was a well know Herald food journalist.
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The cooking set in studio 2
I was introduced to audio operator, Lyle Hughes and boom operator, John Brennan. I was told to stay by the boom,
Lyle Huges
not speak, not make any noise and just watch. It was fascinating, I couldn't believe it.
The "Greasy Spoon"
Soon it was lunch time, off over the road from the studios to the RAAF canteen in a shed on the corner of Wells and Coventry St. Later this land was to be purchased by Channel 7, after many years of negotiation by Gerald Carrington. Studio 7 was build on the site.
The greasy spoon served pies,  and a variety of fried in lard goodies. They were only open on week days for lunch. Crews working week-ends or nights bought their own food to the studios or starved.
Live Commercials
Throughout the day live commercials were slotted in to the film programs.
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A live car commercial
In those days, with no networking commitments, commercials often went far longer than scheduled. 
Page 7 
Graham Foster
In charge of the technical staff and rostering was Graham Foster, known to the staff as Foz. He had the unenviable task of 
crewing all the shows as well as the other technical areas. His assistant Ron Coster did the staff rosters and did his best to arrange consecutive days off, so I could return to Leongatha each month or so. This was not easy as in those days it was not common for us to work a 70hr  week. Management preferring to pay overtime rather than hire more permanent staff. 
Click to enlarge
John meets Foz in 2003
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