At the age of 18, Jim Burrows thought he would try his luck at sneaking his muddied truck into the Stanhope Dairy Co-operative factory to give it a wash down.
Halfway through the job, Mr Burrows was sprung by the milk collection manager.
"All sorts of thoughts were running through my head," he said.
"I thought I was going to get a telling off."
READ MORE:
What he did not know was that he was about to get offered a job and it would be the start of a 43-year career as a driver for the Stanhope factory.
"I started work the next day - it was 1950 and milk was collected off farm in 12-gallon cans - that's roughly around 45 litres," he said.
He would visit about 15 farms a day and through spring, sometimes he could visit those properties twice a day.
"It was tiring - I drove out to the farms, and I had to lift the cans onto the back of the truck by myself," he said.
The truck could hold about 125 cans.
"When I arrived back at the factory after collection, I had to then unload the cans onto a belt, and the milk was tipped into a big vat," Mr Burrows said.
"The cans were then washed, and we would deliver them back out to farm so the farmer could use them again."
About 1963, farmers started installing refrigerated vats on their farms and milk was collected and delivered to the factory in bulk milk tankers.
Mr Burrows, along with his brother Philip who also worked at the Stanhope site, drove the very first bulk milk trucks for the factory.
He held many roles in the milk collection team right up until his retirement in 1993.
Today, milk collection looks a lot different, with bulk milk collected in tankers which can hold up to 45,000 litres, and pumps and hoses make it less labour intensive for the driver.
It comes as a centenary celebration for Fonterra's Stanhope factory is set to take place on June 26 at the Stanhope Town Hall from 11am-3pm.
Fonterra regional operations manager for northern Victoria Steve Taylor said part of the preparation for the centenary event was researching stories such as Mr Burrow's journey.
"When we delved deeper into Jim's story, we also found out that his family has over 200 years of combined service with the factory," Mr Taylor said.
"Jim's father, brother, wife, daughters, nephew, son-in-law, and grandchildren - and of course Jim himself - have all worked here.
"Although the tally might not be as high, I know there are many more family stories like this for the Stanhope factory."
The celebration will be a trip down memory lane for many as they look back at a hundred years of dairy history.
Fonterra will open its factory doors so people can look inside - and if people fancy it, they can also take a seat in a milk tanker.
There will also be a time capsule to mark the milestone - so if you have something you would like to put in it, a written memory of the factory or even a photo, take it along.
To RSVP for the event, email fonterraaustraliacommunications@fonterra.com.
