Starting as an apprentice in agricultural machinery, longwall larrikin Brenda Johnston has worked at Crinum and Oaky North and is currently working as the longwall mechanical engineer at the upcoming Carborough Downs longwall.
An interesting character, Brenda spent a stint in Germany but is now well settled into her longwall career.
A modest Brenda gave International Longwall News an insight into her longwall career.
How did you first get started working on longwalls?
I finished my apprenticeship in the farm machinery and then went overseas. Then I got offered a position at Crinum, I started in June 1995 as a diesel fitter – that was before the longwall began and before Crinum had brought the longwall. So I was a fitter there and when the longwall came along I went on to the longwall.
How was the transition from agricultural machinery to longwalls?
It was pretty different, yeah absolutely, it was very different but it wasn’t too bad. When I started there (Crinum) the mine had only just kicked off; it had only been going a year when I started there.
As you were new to the industry and new to the mine, how did you find it?
It was pretty good – I knew a lot of the fitters, as I had lived in Emerald for about 30 years, so I had gone to school with quite a few of the blokes who had already started there or had started at the same time as me. I had known them for quite some time.
Have you looked back from making that change from agricultural machinery to longwalls?
Not at all.
After Crinum, where did you go?
When Crinum started putting leading hands on, I became a leading hand fitter on the longwall. So I was at Crinum for 10 years and I got rung up and offered a position at Oaky North as the longwall mechanical coordinator. So changing from being on the floor to being a “staffy” (being on staff).
How long did you spend on Oaky?
Three years.
So how long have you been at Carborough Downs and what are you doing?
Not quite three months and I am the longwall mechanical engineer.
Is Carborough different to what you have worked on in the past?
It is. But at the moment it is hard to tell because we haven’t got the machine in the country yet. It doesn’t turn up until the end of January, so it is hard to tell.
I mean longwall mining is pretty basic, it is just the machines that are different but the concept of them is still the same. So not a lot is going to change, it is just the fact that we have bought some gear from a different country.
Throughout your 14-year longwall career, what has been the most exciting thing that you have come across underground?
I guess the opportunity to have input to what we end up with is satisfying.
When you work on a longwall there are always things that you can improve. When you go from longwall to longwall you try to improve them.
Can you give me an example of something you would try to improve?
I guess with the new designs that come out, the companies offer new designs of their equipment every year. And we try to make sure it is going to be reliable and perform the way you want it to.
What challenges have you come across in the industry?
I think being a woman in the industry has been a bit of a challenge. It has never been an issue for me really. I have always had the motto that you give as good as you get and don’t expect too much and just get on with your job.
Have you ever been tested underground?
Only the physical demands really, that is the biggest issue that I have faced. Otherwise not really, it is not that hard.
Okay, so do you know many other women in the longwall industry underground?
Not really. Now there seems to be a lot more geotech ladies, geologists underground and some lady surveyors. But I don’t know of too many female fitters that are underground. There is a lady here that is an electrician – she is a pretty good “leccy”, she has been around for quite a while.
Throughout your time have you ever come across any resentment from any of the guys you have been working with?
You always get some when you start somewhere new and I haven’t had any here yet. But when I first started at Oaky North I had some hesitance from the blokes to do what I asked them to do because they thought I didn’t know what I was talking about.
But there is only one way to overcome that and it is to get in and give them a hand and lead by example. And once that was done I never had any real issues at all actually.
