The right job for Mr Wright

SEAROAD Ferries has become a staple of transport for residents on the Bellarine and also the Mornington Peninsula with more than 20 years of help from one of its longest serving employees.

Mount Duneed resident Ted Wright completed his apprenticeship in ship repair back in 1978, which is where his career with ships began.

“I’ve always wanted to work on ships,” Mr Wright said.

“As a kid getting the train into Melbourne, I used to see all the ships coming into the city and it was just something that always caught my eye.

“So, from there I worked for Australian National Line before working on the floating hotel up in Townsville on John Brewer reef for a couple years.

“I then moved back to Melbourne where I met my wife and worked in the engineering department at Melbourne University, then went to the real estate sector looking after commercial buildings as an engineer before coming here.”

A mate of Mr Wright’s, who he had known since his apprenticeship was an engineer on Searoad Ferries’ Sorrento vessel (one of three active ships with a fourth on the way), said the company was looking for work.

Mr Wright then made the trip down to Queenscliff where he was asked to start the next Thursday by Searoad’s former CEO. The father of two did not hesitate to accept the role.

Ted and his family were able to quickly adjust to life down the M1 as Ted’s family frequented Torquay on a consistent basis prior to moving there.

“One of the main reasons for moving to the coast was just the lifestyle not just for myself and my wife, but as well for the kids,” Mr Wright said.

“Today, my kids who now live in Geelong and Torquay, said it’s the best thing we ever did as a family.”

Mr Wright was back at sea doing 12-hour days, seven days on at a time, then seven days off. A wonderful arrangement for the engineer at the time as it allowed for seven straight days doing whatever he or his children wanted.

Twenty years later, Mr Wright serves in more of an administrative role as a technical services manager for Searoad Ferries working the regular nine-to-five shifts from Monday to Friday.

Mr Wright’s primary role now is looking after the engineering requirements of the company and dealing with the lower-level management tasks for current CEO Matt McDonald.

“Occasionally I still get my hands dirty on the ships, whether there’s an engineer that is sick or something similar, but I try to avoid that as best as I can,” Mr Wright said.

Money has never been a motivator for Mr Wright, stating his work has always been his passion in life, as well as the people that he meets, which is by far his favourite part.

“We just moved 25,000 people in about a week or two and I think there were maybe one or two customers that were either a bit grumpy or upset,” he said.

“With everyone else you can just have a laugh with them in the car park or even do a little dance, everyone just has a smile on their face, and it makes working at Searoad an absolute joy.”

Searoad’s original vessel, the MV Peninsula Princess, ranks as Mr Wright’s favourite out of the three active ships and remains functional at 30 years of age.