Megan Edmonds

Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security

Department of Lands, Planning and Environment I was on a trip around Australia in 1978 on my 1976 Triumph Bonneville Motorcycle with my beautiful dog Zeddy (on the bike), aged 22 years. After riding from Adelaide to Cairns and travelling across to the Barkly Highway, I rode into Darwin. I decided to stay for a while, planned to apply for jobs, and then keep travelling around Australia. As it so often happens in Darwin, as I have heard so many a times, I never left.

When I arrived in Darwin, I started working in private enterprise at Withnall and Everingham, Lawyers, and then in my early 30s applied for a position as a Legal Secretary in the Commercial Division of the Department of Law, which I was very happy to have been selected. At High School I learnt shorthand and typing which was on a manual typewriter, and at 16 years I was working as a shorthand typist for an insurance company in Hobart, Tasmania. At the Solicitor for the Northern Territory, the Olivetti electric typewriters, carbon paper, tipex, telex machines were all still being used, but were very close to being replaced forever, to computers, photocopiers, with collators, and facsimile machines.

During the 30 years of working in government, the majority of my public service years were at the Department of Law, Department of Justice, Attorney-General and Justice - Solicitor for the Northern Territory the use of the Dictaphone machine was very much relied on by the Solicitors in those times. The Dictaphone machines became very modern as time went by, and the cassette tapes were eventually phased out.

I was very fortunate, to have had the opportunity to be part of, and supported the work on some very important and interesting projects whilst I worked at the Solicitor for the Northern Territory. Some of those projects were the Australasia Railway Project, Kenbi Land Claim, the Darwin Waterfront Project, oil tank relocation in Stuart Park, and early Blue Mud Bay negotiations I have also been very fortunate enough to work at the Department of Business, Department of the Chief Minister, Department of Tourism, Sport and Culture, and the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment, where I currently work in Executive Support in the Environment Division of that Department.

Over my working career, I have experienced many changes to the way we work today, particularly in respect to technology. Darwin is a very unique place. I believe that working for the Northern Territory Government provides very unique opportunities in so many fields of work. I have many good working memories whilst working and living in Darwin, and have made life-time friends.