50 years ago

AUTOMATION and rising costs will put Bluey the baker’s horse out of a job after he completes his 22-mile round of Hamilton streets tomorrow morning. Bluey who is 20 years old, has been doing the Kings bakery round for the past 10 years and his driver, Jimmy Barker, has been on the job for 14 years. Many ways of life have passed into history over the years, but probably most of them at a more civilised hour than this one. Imagine putting pen to paper at 4:30am to record the close of an era! Hamilton was sleeping at that hour, steady rain fell, Bluey didn’t want to be caught and the sky was as black as the ace of spades. But Jimmy didn’t seem to mind. He is as happy as a lark in his job. In days gone by, when cars were not so prevalent, this service would have been more valuable.