Graeme’s journey with McKay began in 1955. At 15, on the verge of leaving boarding school, he realised that life on his father’s farm was not quite the path he wanted. His first encounter with electrical work came when the family’s water pump broke down and a local electrician, Mr Joe Faithfull, was called in to fix it.

Watching Joe at work sparked Graeme’s curiosity and after hanging around to watch him finish the job, he asked what it would take to do that kind of work. Joe simply told him to come by the workshop and start an apprenticeship. Coincidentally, the same year Graeme began his apprenticeship was the year Joe’s son, Lindsay Faithfull, was born – a running joke between the two as the years went on.

Back then, an electrical apprenticeship was a five-year journey, demanding 10,000 hours of hands-on experience. Maths did not come easily to Graeme, so he attended night school, determined to keep up. His hard work paid off: in just four years, he completed his apprenticeship and, by the age of 19, was a fully qualified electrician. His early days on the job saw him assembling washing machines and mixers in Dargaville.

Joe, Noel, and Graeme would travel together for work, often staying in local hotels while they carried out jobs in the area, converting houses that were still running on batteries. As a team, they each had defined roles: Noel handled the cabling, Joe took care of the switchboards, and Graeme worked on drilling holes and fitting switches. They got along exceptionally well and kept the rhythm of work going for many years.

When the team moved to Whangārei, these smaller jobs gradually expanded into larger projects. Aside from the refinery, other work included fishing fleets, the Whangārei wharf and power station, oil tankers from the Middle East, and the smelter. Graeme could see that Joe was always looking for a challenge and while Graeme managed the smaller contracts and service work, Joe looked after the smelter operations.

When asked how he thought McKay Electrical grew the way it did, Graeme said, “We sort of just jumped aboard – it was just bigger jobs, and everything took a step up every time. We just rode along on Joe’s coat-tails.” The work was very hands-on and fast-paced; they often had to ‘play it by ear’ and make things happen as they went. Labour shortages were common, so they regularly collaborated with a company from Sydney to bring electricians across the ditch to get the work done. During refinery maintenance shutdowns, they would request up to 30 electricians over Christmas from Australia just to complete the jobs.

Health and safety were not really part of the picture back then. Testing equipment was basic too: sometimes it was as rough as licking your fingers and touching the wire. They would stand on live floors, putting newspapers under their feet for insulation, and just get on with it. Everything was about getting the job done, no matter what. Safety belts? “What were they?” They did everything by hand, no power drills or specialised tools, just pure manual work.

By the mid-1970s, work was at its peak, and Graeme felt ready for a change. He headed across the ditch to Australia to work as a contractor, focusing on commissioning and moving around the country. Then, one day in 1999, he received a letter covered in stamps and redirections – ‘no longer here’, ‘try this address’. It was from Joe and Lindsay, asking if he could help with a new venture in Papua New Guinea. Graeme was between contracts at the time and thought it sounded like an adventure, so he met the two at the airport soon after and, together, they began planning their next projects.

Working in Papua New Guinea was very different. Due to the political climate at the time, he remembers dodging bullets and finding arrows in vehicles, sometimes getting caught in the crossfire. In 2000, he joined Noel Driver in Samoa to complete work on the airport there, having worked there after in Fiji and Rarotonga with Noel on other projects in the Pacific.

Another major project was the Japanese JNL job in Kaitaia, which Lindsay brought him back from the Pacific to design and build. He spent 12 months on the project, which moved at incredible speed. Ordering parts was challenging, and experienced electricians were in high demand and hard to find. Despite the pressure, the work was completed on time and on budget, as it always was. Then came another call from Lindsay: “I’ve got another job for you.” Graeme remembers replying, “Well, where is it this time?”

The project involved constructing around 700 buildings across the Ha’apai Islands in Tonga. Because of the remoteness, Graeme had very little connection with the McKay team – everything was left entirely up to him. He managed every part of the work, from processing claims and redesigning plans to organising local labour and coordinating supplies.

Getting to and from the different islands was a challenge in itself. Travel was often done on church boats, and Graeme quickly learned that if you did not pay the boat driver enough, they might take you out to the island but not return to pick you up – you came back when you came back. On one occasion, after thinking he had found a good shortcut through the islands, a cyclone came through and he had to sleep on a church floor before finding another boat, but that sort of thing was part of everyday life out there.

Most of the islands did not have wharves, roads, or electricity until the work was complete. Equipment and materials were moved using old World War II landing barges, which required perfect timing with the tides to load and unload safely. At times, travelling back and forth was too difficult, so they built their own accommodation, clearing coconut trees and making shelter from iron sheeting.

Despite the challenges, Graeme built a strong connection with the local community. He recalls being called ‘Fada’. Every Monday morning, there would be a line of people at his office door, sometimes even family members of contractors, seeking advice or help with something.

Graeme left Tonga in 2005, and that was enough. He retired, having worked every week since the age of 15. He went on to write three books and record five music albums, with three reaching number one on international charts. His music gained recognition across the UK, Australia, and Europe. In 2025, he received an award in Holland for his contributions to music.

When asked what lessons he could share with apprentices today, he said it would not apply to today’s standards of compliance. “Get it done at all costs” would not be acceptable now. “I’m not sure I could handle all the protocol – it’s a totally different way of working.”