40 years in Hamilton through Jenni’s eyes

"A lot has changed since then," she said. "There used to be five butcher shops and now there’s one; there were four fruit and veg shops, now there’s one."

When BHP closed almost two decades ago, long-standing customers suddenly had a lot of money from payouts. Many of them paid off their homes and life at the Hamilton branch changed dramatically. 

Memories of the 1989 earthquake that killed 13 people and injured 160 are also stuck firmly in Jenni’s mind.  

"I was here, on Beaumont Street, for the earthquake," she said. "A person died just across the street—which scared me. I thought it was like a war: all the smoke and screaming… we were trying to help people. How none of us (in the branch) were hurt, I’ll never know."

Following the earthquake, Beaumont Street facades were rebuilt and, heavily influenced by the neighbourhood’s links to Europe, the area was reborn as a thriving hub of outdoor dining, bars and boutique shops.  

Changes in finance and how people access their money have been equally as radical in Jenni’s time. When she first started, ‘tellers’ had a $40 float and couldn’t give more than $200 over the counter. Jenni said cash was kept in ‘tins’. Accounts were still managed on a computer in the 1980s but printing was done in a customer’s passbook and on their ledger card. Customers no longer come into the branch predominantly for cash and to pay bills. 

"My customers today are coming in for home loans, personal loans, to get insurance and to get their overseas money," Jenni said. "They still come in to see if ‘Jenni can do better’, which the majority of the time I can because our products are usually better than any other offer in the market."

It’s unusual to hear of someone staying with an organisation for a decade in this day and age, let alone four. But Jenni clearly loves her job.

"I don’t know how it happened, I really don’t," Jenni said. "I owe a lot to Newcastle Permanent. My first pay cheque was $75 in a tiny little envelope and I thought I’d won Lotto. Since that time I have paid off my home and I have been overseas many times. We have a really good team at our branch and I come to work because I love it."