The old Gunnedah based Department of Agriculture office recently caught up for a reunion on the Saturday, March 21, with friends old and new catching up for the first time since the changes had been made and the Department of Agriculture was phased out nearly 22 years ago.

The idea for a reunion was sparked when Ruth Riley and some other women from the old office came together and decided that a catch up with the old team was needed.

Held at Club Gunnedah, the reunion was a great success with 27, including partners, old members of Gunnedah Department of Ag office in attendance.

While most of those who used to work in the Gunnedah office moved away from town, a handful stayed including local Rod Browne.

Mr Browne looks back on his time with the Department of Ag fondly.

Through his years at the department, Mr Browne grew strong friendships, many of which he kept in contact with over the years.

“Gunnedah was a big office, the government office block opened in 1980 and it was the headquarters of the New England, Hunter and Metropolitan regions,” Mr Browne said.

“We had staff of at least 20, maybe up to towards 40 during our peak, then it started to wane in the 1990s and it was there until the [Local Land Services] LLS took over.

“A majority of these people I haven’t seen since I left the department in 1996 and moved into other departments and so it’s a great reunion…we had some great times in the 1980s, especially at AgQuip, they were good times.

“It was a great esprit de corps, you might say, a great camaraderie amongst extension workers back in those days.”

Mrs Riley agreed with Mr Browne, saying that the department were like family and it was so special to be able to reunite with them, even those she didn’t know.

“I love catching up with people and just re-engaging with people, so it is lovely [to catch up with everyone],” she said.

“It’s good to meet people that had left the department before I started, some of them we’ve run into over the years, but generally this is the first time I’ve seen them for probably 20, 30 years. It was so supportive, we all just got along so well. Admin staff supported the professional staff. It was just like a big family really.

“You work with all these people for years, they become a pretty important part of your life, don’t they?”