Paul finishes school and gets his first job

At the end of 1985 Paul finished school as he really wasn't achieving anything anyway.  He had already repeated year 11 at Katherine and did not do very well.  He wasn't really a bad behaved rude student or anything - he was just a day dreamer and didn't do his work.  Although he did muck around with other students a bit.  Because he was repeating year 11 he shared some classes with his younger brother Craig.

The family visited Darwin at the end of the year and Paul decided to stay on at his Aunty Kristine's house and not go back with the family to Katherine - which broke his mother's heart!

Fortunately he quickly got a job in Casuarina Shopping Square at Proud's Jewellers as a salesperson.  They must've thought he was ok as the boss called him into the office one day and asked him if he wanted to accept the position of a trainee manager.  He recalls the other girls in the shop being pretty cheesed off at this, because although they liked Paul, they thought they were much more deserving of such an offer.  Paul has no doubt that they were 100% correct!  His boss was male and this was most likely sexual discrimination Paul reckons.  Paul remembers the girls being very professional, experienced, hard working and efficient, and him being mostly quite the opposite!

At some time Paul moved in with Uncle Geoff (his mum's twin brother) as his uncle could use someone to help out with the rent in his flat just across from the shops.

During this time his cousin Peter would come and visit him in the shop and tell him that he should go buffalo catching with him which appealed to him much more than working in a jewellers shop!

Ivan (junior) is born

ShirleyAnne pulling faces with Ivan and Monica and a friend

Ivan Maurice Thomsen (junior) was born on Monday the 17th of June, 1985.   He was the first grandchild of his grandfather of the same name who would've been aged 46 at the time although he had died 11 years earlier.

His mother ShirleyAnne, Paul and Craig's older sister, was aged 20 at the time.  Paul was aged 16 when he first became an uncle.

Paul's family moves to Katherine

Paul and his family moved to Katherine at this time when he was aged 16.  Both he and Craig weren't too happy about it at the time because they were loving their fishing and hanging out with their mates John and Graham.  But their dad had got a transfer to look after the Katherine Fire Station so we had to go!

It turned out Katherine wasn't so bad - was lovely weather in the Dry Season and where we lived on Riverbank Drive it was a short walk to lovely Hot Springs.  Paul and Craig attended Katherine High School which was a bit of a rough joint - the girls were scarier than the boys!