We love that our staff often have a varied career before they join our team — not only does it help them in their day-to-day here, it also gives them some great yarns! Like David (Arty) Shead, an operator at HydroVac. In earlier years, Arty had a great career as a professional league player.

He played for the France national rugby league team after spending over three years in France. He also played for Harbour League and represented Taranaki and New Zealand Māori.

We ran him through a quick Q&A to get to know him better:

Q. What do you enjoy about your role at HydroVac?
A. The variety of work and the crew we work with.

Q. What did you do before HydroVac?
A. I was a forklift operator in Australia.

Q. Favourite lunch/smoko meal?
A. Chicken salad sandwiches.

Q. Tell us about your home life…
A. Family is the priority, so I’m always with them.

Q. What will we find you doing outside work hours?
A. Gym and exercise.

Q. What would surprise us about you?
A. I’m an ex-international league player.