Description2021 City Photographer, Helene Cochaud: During my time in Fairfield I frequently run into Nick on the streets, pushing his trolley stacked with cleaning equipment, constantly on the move.
"They call me Nick the Greek", responds Nick when I ask him his name and goes on to tell me he immigrated from Olympia, Greece, in 1974 with his parents. Although his parents decided to eventually return to live in Greece Nick was happy to stay on in Australia. Nick owned a shop in Penrith for close to thirty five years and had several staff working for him, prior to starting his job for the Council.
A friendly and sociable man, Nick enjoys his job, which he's had for the past five years. Walking besides him while he works I notice Nick is often interrupted with a brief wave or an amicable shout from a local shop owner or passer-by greeting him as he passes through on his daily round.
Nick tells me he 'absolutely' loves interacting with people whilst working in the Fairfield community and being outside in the fresh air. Although the job can be monotonous he likes to vary his route each day and prides himself in making the streets clean and tidy.
"I've dealt with the community my whole life, because I been in the shops for nearly thirty five years...I never had an issue with anybody - they can be angry sometimes but I just ignore it and I just keep going."
PhotographerHelene CochaudGeolocation[1] FairfiedNotesThese photographs are part of the 2021 City Photographer project.
Details
Image ColourColourTypeDigitalCopyrightPartial restriction. Please contact Fairfield City Heritage Services for image use.AcknowledgementHelene Cochaud, 2021 Fairfield City Photographer. Image courtesy of Fairfield City Heritage Collection.
