Arthur Hart - Words of Wisdom

This week I caught up with the cheeky, yet very humble Arthur Hart. Arthur describes himself as a ‘happy bloke’ and by gee does he have a good memory. You can throw any situation from his life at him and he will recall the exact date for you.

Age: 93

Where and when were you born? Lithgow, 1925

What are the most important lessons you've learned in life? Keep your hands in your pockets, *laughs*, be nice to other people and look after your family too.

What big events were the most memorable while you were growing up? Getting married was a big one for me. I went out with a couple of other girls, but when Marion came along, I knew she was the one, I took her home one day and we were sitting down, I said oh well here we go *laughs* marry me? It was on the 1st of January 1949, my wife always said she was upset because I got married on the only Saturday that I wasn’t playing cricket *laughs* we had to work around the clock to find a day that was suitable. We were married in Lithgow.

What is your favourite childhood memory? We lived in Kings Street, Lithgow. We had a double block of land, and we used to play cricket in the backyard, it was very good fun. We also had a horizontal bar (two sleepers) and we used to do exercises on it.

What life advice would you pass along to your grandchildren? Don’t let anybody put anything over you, you’ve got to be pleasant, and you’ve got to respect everybody you come across.

What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be an Engineer, I started off as a fitter and turner at the Railway, when I finished that, I started a diploma course (because I only went to 3rd year at school). I had three years in Lithgow and then I transferred to Sydney to finish the last years of my trade. I got the Diploma and came back to Lithgow and worked in the Power Station after about six years I graduated as an Engineer.

I worked in the Power Station at Wallerawang and worked my way up until I became the Deputy Manager of the Power Station, so I was happy about that, but the day I turned 60 I said Hooray! *laughs* You can’t do that these days. It was a Thursday actually, and I wasn’t there on the Friday *laughs*they all knew I was going and not going back, and it’s been lovely. 1985 that was, a long while ago. We moved to Caves Beach where we had a house opposite the ocean there. We used to swim and go on trips all over the place, it was good fun.

What are you most proud of? I was proud of being an Engineer. But I’d say my family. It’s great to see all of my grandkids, you treat them properly and take them out to lunch when they come home, I buy them lunch. *laughs*

What did you get up to when you were young? Playing cricket in the back yard mostly. I captained the Lithgow team, I was never good enough for the first grade though, I played second grade, the most runs I ever got was about 140 or something. We also never had a car in those days, we would walk to Church every Sunday.

Who is the person who influenced your life the most? Why? My wife, Marion, she was a steady rock for me to lean on.

What is your favourite thing to do for fun now?
The exercises here at Gosling Creek are fun, I moved up here because my daughter and my grandchildren live here, they are fun… *smiles*