Throughout his high school years, a steady diet of British motorcycle magazines only intensified Joe’s desire to own a motorcycle, so in an effort to keep Joe’s mind on his final year studies, his parents stumped up the wherewithal to buy a BSA Bantam 125.
“The BSA taught me that to be a motorcyclist, you had to know how everything works so you could keep the darn thing running” says Joe. “In those days, magazines such as ‘The Motor Cycle’ – known as the blue one – and ‘Motorcycling’ – known as the green one – were full of technical articles on how to maintain your bike, soldering nipples on to cables and suchlike. At school I was studying English and History, intending to become an articled clerk and do Law, but I probably spent too much time studying a workshop manual and wielding a spanner.”
On leaving school, Joe joined the Customs and Excise Department, headquartered at Circular Quay, a decision he never regretted, remaining with Customs until retirement in 1999. In the days prior to containerisation, Sydney Harbour was a busy working port with finger wharves stretching from Walsh Bay, past Pyrmont to Darling Harbour. “I was still living in Dundas with my parents” recalls Joe “working at Customs House, checking invoices and tariff classifications for Import Duty. At that time, a Customs Officer was rostered for night duty seven days a week on every single wharf and I used to take a spare set of clothes,
