A farmer, former Australian Champion Cyclist and Board member of the Port of Devonport Corporation, Frank Atkin has recently been recognised for the work he has done in his local community of Sheffield Tasmania.
Posted
21 June 2022
Former Australian cyclist Frank Atkins was recently awarded an Order of Australian medal for his service to the community and for making a significant contribution to Tasmania's regional ports.
Frank was nominated as the representative of the Kentish municipality to sit on the Devonport Marine Board 43-years-ago - a position he held for an impressive 27 years.
“Working with the port side workers or wharfies as they called themselves was a lot of fun,” Frank said.
“They had very tough jobs and would often work through the night.
“But from day one of working in regional ports to this very day the emphasis on positive work relationships has been outstanding.
“Everyone loved working here.
“Once a month we would hold a work event.
“We put on drinks and dinner and made a real night out of it - everyone had a ball.
“Our employees were everything to the company and making sure everyone was accounted for was key.”
When the Devonport Marine Board became the Port of Devonport in the mid 1990s, Frank continued on as a board member and later acted as Chairman – which he said provided him with some of his fondest memories.
Importantly, during his time as Chairman, Frank was involved in the implementation of the new loading ramp for the Spirit of Tasmania.
“This project was huge and really changed the game for the passenger ferry,” he said.
“It made turnaround times significantly quicker and made the passenger ferry a more desirable form of transport.
“The Port of Devonport, which merged into TasPorts, was such a large contributor to Tasmania’s financial security – it is the same today.
“We have to get our produce to Melbourne to either be railed or flown across the country or shipped overseas.
“My time with the Devonport port was so memorable and something I continue to look back on fondly.”