I was feeling a bit of a fraud earlier this year. I had a ticket for SoilCon 2024 and it was sold out. One of my clients missed out and wanted to go. Here I was taking up an important seat at the event but I am genuinely interested. Let me explain why!
Handley Spreaders was my father’s business in Rural Australia. He was an agricultural contactor but principally he wanted to drive trucks and driving around paddocks spreading super fertiliser was his business. Originally, he as a sheep farmer so becoming the local "Super" Man was an easy step. Farmers trusted him to know which paddock to spread the fertiliser in and to remember to shut the gate. Australian soil is thin and low in nutrient and spreading “super” or “lime” would help the crops or grass grow. I even did a teaching support slide show about my dad “Super Man” when I did my environmental studies teaching degree. I tried following in my mum's and I can attest to everyone I am no teacher. But continue the enviro bit by working in landscaping.
The Super was superphosphate supplied by a company called Pivot, it was mined from a Guarno "Excrement of seabirds, cave-dwelling bats, pinnipeds, or birds more generally" deposit in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, an island called Nauru. This practice has now stopped and Nauru is one of Australia's detainee centres. There is a very tall office building in Melbourne called Nauru Tower which was built as compensation for the inhabitants of Nauru. The lime my "superman" dad spread was from a local quarry near Melbourne called Lilydale Lime. Lime is still in my blood but these days it is a MOT Type 1 Primary limestone.
I was thinking of my dad yesterday as I drove home having passed my CSCS refresher test and wondering why I am so inordinately proud of passing and getting on in the world of contractors. I suddenly realised I was trying to follow in his footsteps or work boots and yes I had mine in the back of the car.
Does anyone else have a "Super Man" dad?
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