AFTER working 53 and a half years at The Hamilton Spectator, Peter Weston is setting off to enjoy his well-deserved retirement.

Sitting down and listening to Peter (or ‘Westy’ as he is fondly referred to) describe his last 53 years was a privilege and it made apparent the reasons for which he is held in such high esteem amongst his friends and colleagues at the paper.

Listening to Westy’s recount has cast perspective onto the incredible number of things that he has seen and experienced during his time at The Spectator.

The first year that Westy began at the paper was the same year that man landed on the moon, and the last was in the reawakening of the world after a global pandemic. 

Westy has borne witness to new ages of technological, social, and economic revolutions.

He began working at The Spectator when the newspaper was being produced using a process of mechanical typesetting using linotypes.

Throughout the paper’s evolution in a modernising world, Westy has played an integral role in the development of The Spectator, from his commencement at work up until his retirement.

Westy was first hired into the paper by then production manager, Alex Macdonald, into a five-year linotype operator apprenticeship that he began by sweeping floors.

Just six months later he was asked by the head of the press department, Ted Hodges, to transfer from being a linotype operator to work on the rotary press, after the paper was rocked by the tragic death of their apprentice who previously worked on the flatbed rotary machine.

And so, Westy completed his five-year apprenticeship on the rotary press.

It was around the same time that The Spectator Publishing Group’s managing director and publisher, Richard Beks, begun investing into the paper, cultivating the next chapter of its evolution.

The role of production manager changed hands a few times after Alex Macdonald, with Darryl Ferguson and Richard Parfrey in the position before Westy started.

The new role meant that Westy was off the rotary press and would begin navigating the transition from manually orientated techniques of printing to computerised processes.

Although this connoted a significant difference in printing procedure and entailed a lot of learning, Westy wasn’t unhappy about the change.

“You’d go home a lot cleaner. When I first started, you’d go home covered in ink and I’d have to strip off at the back door before going into the house,” he said.

Another development that came along with the technological advancements was the rate of printing.

“The old press would take three hours to print, and we were only printing about 3000 papers,” Westy said.

“Whereas the press now prints 185 papers a minute. So, it’s a lot faster and a lot cleaner.”

The faster rate of printing didn’t come without challenges, however.

The faster rate meant that The Spectator could print more, which inevitably meant more paper was required.

“The paper reels weighing half a tonne to be unloaded with a hand winch,” Westy recalled.

“It would take three blokes half a day to unload a truck of paper reels.

“These days we can unload a semi of about 55 reels in around an hour thanks to the electronic hoist.”

The next major transition that the paper experienced was going from black and white to colour printing.

Friday, April 9, 1995, was the first time The Spectator printed in full colour from front to back.

As production manager, it was up to Westy to figure out how the CMYK colour model worked.

The engineer who installed the colour printing tower gave Westy an overview on how to work it, but Westy recalled the difficulty of the transition.

“A lot of blokes took up smoking because of the pressure (of changing from black and white to colour),” he said.

“It was pretty involved, and no one had ever worked with computers before.”

Although Westy and his colleagues were thrown a few curveballs over the years in terms of figuring out new computerised systems, he recalls his time at The Spectator very fondly.

“I’ve enjoyed working here. There are just good people around,” he said.

“Richard has been great to work for. Over the years, whatever I’ve wanted in terms of equipment, I’ve just asked him, and he’s always given us what we needed.”

Despite Westy’s good rapport with the team at The Spectator, he wasn’t able to persuade the editorial team from writing about the shenanigans of him and his friends.

Laughing, Westy recalled how in the past he has had mates ring him up after having a run in with the law, asking if he could get their stories out of the paper.

“I said to them, ‘no, that’s got nothing to do with me. That’s the editorial department. I just print it’,” he said.

“Even I’ve been in the paper for speeding, and I couldn’t even get that story out for myself!”

When he first started working at The Spectator, Westy never thought he’d make it to retirement, and now he’s made it to an incredible 53 and a half years.

“If I still lived in Hamilton, I’d probably keep working. I’ve enjoyed it [at The Spectator], and had good people to work for,” he said.

With his long service to such an integral pillar of Hamilton’s community, Westy is now looking forward to a fulfilling retirement.

He and his wife, Zoe, have built a house in St Leonards in a prime location.

“It’s a five-minute walk to the beach and a 10-minute walk to the pub,” Westy said.

Swimming, boating, fishing, seeing his family, and helping his wife with her sewing business are now the priorities on Westy’s agenda.

The Spectator thanks Westy for his time and dedication to the paper and wishes him and his family all the best in the next chapter of their adventures.