HE’S been on the job for four decades, but Eric Melsen still enjoys new challenges.
Mr Melsen last week brought up 40 years working for Devilee’s, where as a newly arrived Dutch immigrant he started as an apprentice before rising to senior electrician.
His journey to Mildura came about when the parents of his future wife — they were engaged at the time — moved here.
He decided to follow and on April 28, 1980, the Holland-qualified electrician began a three-year apprenticeship to gain his Australian qualifications.
In the time since, Mr Melsen has seen Mildura grow and, understandably given the climate, the region’s embrace of air-conditioning hasn’t cooled.
“It is a long time, but it runs a bit in the family,” he said.
“Both my brothers (in Holland) have been with the same bosses for a long time.”
The job has taken Mr Melsen to places as far as Broken Hill and even Alice Springs for projects.
Variety was one of the main appeals, he said.
“Every day is slightly different, that’s probably the main thing,” he said.
“It’s a bit more complex than the old days … everything used to be fairly simple and now it’s a lot more electronic and there’s connectivity on the systems and units.”
But he’s been more than happy to adapt.
“I’ve always been interested in technology and computers,” he said.
“(You) keep an open mind … you’ve got to keep up with the times, I think — if you don’t, you sort of get left behind.”
Devilee’s managing director Peter Devilee said Mr Melsen started out with limited English and has gone on to train at least 50 apprentice electricians for the company.
“He’s been an incredible tradesman and his knowledge is unbelievable,” Mr Devilee said.
“His work ethic has just been phenomenal over that time.”
Mr Melsen said he enjoyed seeing young apprentices he’s trained grow up and start families of their own.
Now 60, he might soon start to slow down.
“I’d like to see a bit more of Australia,” he said.
