State Highway 1 Stories

Collecting stories from ordinary people
and preserving our history forever

This is my Journey so far.

 

My name is Maxwell Kenneth Rose and I was born on the 16th June 1945 in Temuka. I am the eldest son of Kenneth and Isobel Rose who were farmers. I have 4 brothers and sisters John, Alison Janice and Graham. I went to Ruapuna and Hilton Primary Schools and I was a boarder at Timaru Boys High School between 1959 and 1962. I left school at age 16 and worked on a farm for 2 years. In 1964 I started as an apprentice electrician at the insulator works in Temuka.

I married Doreen Gibson at St Joseph Church Temuka on the 17th April 1971. We have 4 children Darren, Tania, Brendan and Janine.

My Career

In 1969 I worked for Edmund Electrical in Ashburton and in 1972 I opened a branch for them in Temuka. I was to become a partner in the firm but just before I signed the papers the owner of Edmund Electrical went bankrupt. In 1977 I started work for Sullivan & Spillane as an electrician and worked for them for 17 years. In 1994 I managed a Temuka branch for Aorangi Electric from Fairlie. The business did not work out for them so I bought the plant from Aorangi Electric in 1995 and started trading on my own account.

With the help of my wife Doreen we worked our electrical business from our home at 52 Gamack Street for 7 years. In 2002 we moved our business into 54 Maude Street which was the old Maude Street mini supermarket. In October 2003 we purchased the building and it is our business premises today. My wife Doreen and I are the directors of the electrical business and we employ 8 staff.

Our registered electricians are Col Miskelly and Craig Gerbich. At the time of writing Andrew Williams is also about to become a qualified electrician. We have 3 other young lads doing their apprenticeships with us. They are Stephen Barlow, Brendan Rose and Todd Welsh. Cheryl handles the accounts for us and is also in charge of our debtors ledger. Bryan Robertson is a retired electrician who comes in part time and does our handy man jobs.

Our Service

We cater for all electrical needs in the community. With the change in technology we now do a lot of work in rural areas with farm irrigators, cowsheds and a host of other farm electrical needs.

We service at least 60% of the businesses in Temuka. We service whiteware and sell a large range of second hand whiteware appliances. We service television sets, free to air systems and telephone installations. We do electrical repairs to caravans and issue with warrants. We provide a 24 hour service.

Satisfied Clients

Some of our major clients are, Prattley Engineering, Temuka Transport, Temuka Seed, Timaru District Council buildings and all the schools.

I am a registered electrician and a registered electrical inspector. I enjoy my work as an electrical contractor and I invite you to call and meet me and our friendly team at 54 Maude Street Temuka Phone us (03) 615 8300 mobile 0274 730 956