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Jim Hatfield - A baker from Berowra
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DescriptionJim Hatfield worked for A R Kerslake of Berowra between January 1944 and June 1950. The business was located at the beginning of Berowra Waters Road near the Pacific Highway.
His wage was 1.10.0 per week and was 2/6 above the award. (A tradesman’s wage in 1948 was 7.11.0 & in 1950 9.13.0)
Jim assisted in making the dough between 7 & 8 pm. Mr Kerslake then prepared the dough about 2am. He then set the alarm for Jim to get up as he slept in a room on the adjacent house verandah. He would then prepare the dough and remove some from the trough ready for weighing and dividing for the tins.
Jim would then wake the boss about 3am.
They had a dough mixer and later a machine for dividing the dough when weighed and ready for placing into the tins for the oven.
Once the bread was baked in a wood fired oven and stacked on a racked trolly they would have breakfast.
The boss would load the van for deliveries and Jim would clean and grease the tins, and put a bag of flour in the mixer ready for that night. He would clean the firebox and cart wood in for the next morning’s baking.
They produced about 300 loaves of white and 50 of brown bread.
When Jim started work at the bakery they worked for 5 1/2 days. Later this was reduced to 5 days. Bread was 5 pence a loaf in 1943 and 51/2 pence about 1944.
Jim Hatfield"s memories.
Physical FormatBerowraDimensionsBerowra Living History
His wage was 1.10.0 per week and was 2/6 above the award. (A tradesman’s wage in 1948 was 7.11.0 & in 1950 9.13.0)
Jim assisted in making the dough between 7 & 8 pm. Mr Kerslake then prepared the dough about 2am. He then set the alarm for Jim to get up as he slept in a room on the adjacent house verandah. He would then prepare the dough and remove some from the trough ready for weighing and dividing for the tins.
Jim would then wake the boss about 3am.
They had a dough mixer and later a machine for dividing the dough when weighed and ready for placing into the tins for the oven.
Once the bread was baked in a wood fired oven and stacked on a racked trolly they would have breakfast.
The boss would load the van for deliveries and Jim would clean and grease the tins, and put a bag of flour in the mixer ready for that night. He would clean the firebox and cart wood in for the next morning’s baking.
They produced about 300 loaves of white and 50 of brown bread.
When Jim started work at the bakery they worked for 5 1/2 days. Later this was reduced to 5 days. Bread was 5 pence a loaf in 1943 and 51/2 pence about 1944.
Jim Hatfield"s memories.
Physical FormatBerowraDimensionsBerowra Living HistoryClick on the image to add
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Jim Hatfield - A baker from Berowra. Hornsby Shire, accessed 25/07/2026, https://hornsbyshire.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/4198