Ho Ho Heinz

I was intending to post this last month but better late than never. Here I hark back to my childhood memory of one or more Heinz Christmas parties that the family attended while I was still in primary school. Santa Claus even makes an appearance.

Just south-east of Dandenong was a row of three huge manufacturing plants - International Harvester, Heinz and General Moters Holden. These characterized post-war Dandenong as an outer suburban industrial suburb and Dad worked at Heinz as a fitter-and-turner. I visited the factory a few times and the thing I remember best is the Christmas events the company would host for the families of workers.

Work Christmas parties have long been a thing. They can be large and extravagant but my impression is these days they are also somewhat restrictive. Staff can at best bring a partner for free food and entertainment in some swank reception centre. Things were different in the past. Heinz Christmas parties are an example of a more all-encompassing sense of community spirit that private corporations once exhibited (partly due to the pressure of labour unions and government standards). The whole family were welcome and they were huge as a result.

These events were held in the daytime - presumably on a hot sunny weekend. I remember they were centred on the staff cafateria. I cannot remember if we were simply given the usual canteen fare for free or whether they provided each family with a picnic hamper. There was plenty of seating both inside and outside on the expansive lawn in front of the factory. And let me stress that the factory comprised many separate structures. There were offices, processing lines, garages, workshops and warehouses.

It was to an empty warehouse that kids were sent for free gifts. I recall a long brick-walled space in which several tables were arrayed. Each table was tagged with 'boy' or 'girl' and an age (all the way up to twelve years). I can remember two different presents I got there at separate times. One was a sports set in plastic mesh packaging - maybe it was a baseball, bat and glove. Even for a non-sporting kid this was kinda cool. The other was a small toy version of a pachinko game (a sort of upright pin-ball machine popular in Japan). I barely played with it but its distinctiveness has stayed with me.

And then there was the entertainment. I expect there was more but the only thing I can recall for sure was Santa Claus arriving by helicopter. That character had done a similar thing at Parkmore but in a hot air balloon. Seeing him arrive in a modern machine however was a bit disillusioning. I must have still been pretty young.