At 67, Douglas Cupitt of Mount Marrow has lived what he describes as “a working man’s life,” spanning factories, the military, prisons, and two decades of self-employment.
Now retired, he’s setting his sights on the open road and a long awaited chapter of freedom.
Douglas moved to Mount Marrow, just outside of Rosewood, in 1963.
“Everyone says I am too young to retire, but I have been working for a very long time,” he laughed.
Douglas began his working life in a furniture factory, a job that taught him discipline and the value of hard labour.
He enlisted in the army in 1977 and completed a trade.
He served for nine years as a vehicle mechanic, maintaining military equipment and learning skills that would stay with him for decades.
“They always told you, you were a soldier first and a mechanic second,” he said.
“I also worked as an armed security guard, doing mobile work at night.
“I did that for two years and when I left the army, I took that on full time.
“I was paid more as a mechanic in the army than an armed security guard, but I just didn’t like being in the army anymore.”
He said he enjoyed the freedom of driving around by himself at night until an evening’s event exposed him to serious risk.
“A lad broke into a shop at Goodna shopping centre and was in the process of robbing the store when I told him to stop what he was doing,” Douglas explained.
“He’d smashed into the glass and came at me with a carving knife, I apprehended him but he was bleeding badly and his blood got on me.”
Around a half an hour later the police told Douglas the crim was highly infectious with hepatitis B.
“I returned to the base two hours later covered in highly infectious blood,” he said.
“I day or two later I said to the boss that I couldn’t do this job anymore, and I quit.”
Seeking stability, Douglas later joined the prison service as Wacol Correctional Centre, where he worked for six years.
Wacol Correctional Centre is now called Wolston Correctional Centre.
“I joined the prison service because I had a young family and it offered job security,” he said.
“I worked as a first class correctional officer and that means I was hands on with the inmates.
“You just treat [the inmates] like anyone else to gain their respect.”
His last two years were spent managing the correctional centre’s nursery and helped to deliver horticulture courses to inmates to help them develop practical skills.
“I used to sell plants through Target stores and everything was produced by inmates,” he said.
“It ended up being one of the highest earners in Queensland when it came to profit.”
The profits went back into the corrective services commission.
“It was about giving people something useful,” he said.
“Something they could take with them when they got out.
“Some inmates phoned me after being paroled to thank me for what I did for them.”
After leaving the prison system, Douglas spent eight years doing plumbing and disability related work, before eventually launching his own handyman business.
For the past 20 years, he has worked for himself and built a reputation for reliability and versatility.
“I’ve always liked fixing things,” he said.
“Running my own business just made sense.”
Now, with work behind him, Douglas is looking forward to a different pace of life.
His retirement plans involve travelling around Australia in a caravan with a friend, a long held dream finally within reach.
“I’ve worked all my life,” he said.
“Now it’s time to see the country.”
For Douglas, retirement isn’t about slowing down, it’s about moving on, with decades of experience behind him and the road ahead wide open.
