Ross Prestidge is hanging up his well-worn tools at Maungatapu Primary School, after serving as the caretaker for more than 31 years.

The 75-year-old first joined the school as a caretaker at age 44, and says that the friendly staff and children have kept him going for so long.

Ross was an active member of the Mangatapu school committee prior to being offered the job, and cleaned the swimming pool in his spare time.

'I live on the boundary of the school, and I was getting a quite a bit of rubbish thrown over. I started throwing rubbish back over the fence, and received a letter from the school committee complaining saying I ‘wasn't to do it'.

'I then decided to go to the Annual General Meeting, which held the following week, and when I came out of that meeting I'd ended up on the school committee,” Ross laughs.

Cranes and forklifts

'I was then offered the caretaker role after being made redundant at my job on the waterfront, where I drove cranes and forklifts for the Waterside Workers Union.

Ross says the redundancy came after working for 17 years during the 1989 waterfront industry reform.

'It all just fell into place, I thought: ‘I have my three kids there, and I live quite close to the school'.”

Ross enjoyed ride-on lawn mowing the most out of his caretaker duties, as he says it brought back fond memories of his days operating the heavy machinery on the waterfront.

One of Ross' favourite memories at the school was 25 years ago, when a school teacher raised some chickens at the school, three of which were gifted to Ross.

'Since then our amount of chickens has grown, and sometimes the kids come up and feed them.”

The school is holding a farewell for Ross in coming weeks. Ross says he's looking forward to spending more time with his five grandchildren, and getting more involved at Tauranga Rotary Club.

Rotary and grandkids

'I'm looking forward to getting a bit more involved now that I have the extra time.

'Three of my grandkids, Leonardo, Monet and Alexander, live nearby, so it will be great to spend more time with them.”

Ross' other two grandchildren, Samara and Annah, are in Australia, which he has not been able to meet yet due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Maungatapu Primary School staff say Ross has been a valued member of the school whānau for 'many years now”.

'On those cold frosty mornings in the middle of winter we would arrive at school to see Ross wearing his wooly balaclava with his transistor radio in his pocket listening to the talkback as he got the school ready for the day,” says a comment made on behalf of the staff.

'His trusty leaf blower greeted us too, and could be heard far and wide across the school. Ross did a great job of keeping our school pool clean and ready for those mid-summer swims.

'As he lives on our school boundary, the children were lucky enough to get regular visits from his roaming chickens. And as a member of the Rotary Club, Ross would offer their services to help out at many fundraising ventures across the school.

'Ross has three grandchildren who attend Maungatapu School. His plan was to retire once his oldest granddaughter started school. That was five years ago…but he just wasn't ready then!”