Robbie Lehman - the last 40 years

Occupation/s? Tell us what you have been doing

Public Servant / Accountant / Business Analyst

What would you tell your 1977 self if you could send them a message now?

Do not be mates with Geelong supporters comes to mind, they are poor losers and even worse winners! Also, there is no such thing as too much travel.

What would you like to share about the last 40 years?

My twenties were variously spent living in Ulverstone, working at Social Security, travelling in Europe (with Craig Faulkner), getting married and drinking at either the River Arms or the RSL Club. Also, playing a decent level of golf and a pretty average standard of country football and cricket, hence my early retirement from both sports. The thirties were about moving to Hobart, going to Uni, working at Hydro, enduring an unwanted (at least it was at the time) divorce and moving to Sydney for a few years. There were no kids from the first marriage which in hindsight was a plus. The forties for me were a return to Hobart, meeting current partner and future wife Emma, working at Woolworths and Hydro (again), overseas holidays (Africa, Asia & Europe), plus plenty of wining and dining. By this stage I had moved from a very fussy 16yo eater who only had a range of about 8 foods to being game to try most things. This last period involved a move to Perth for 5 years, working for Wesfarmers, exploring WA and Bali, the birth of daughter Poppy, the end of our social life (at least temporarily) and a return to Hobart to finally build a house of our own. I now work at Tasracing and they are pretty flexible with hours which is handy having a 5yo starting kinder. I keep in touch with a few old class mates, in particular Craig Faulkner, Chris Bush, Andrew Lawson (brother in law!) and Paul Banks. Plus I run into a few others on the occasional trip to Ulverstone as the bulk of my family still live there.

What are you proudest of about your life? What have been your greatest achievements?

I would have liked to have enjoyed my job a bit more as you do it for a long time and Finance is not exactly the most exciting of careers. However, I have met some great friends and people through work and it has enabled me to provide a good home and periodic travel so it’s not something I dwell on, especially as I can see the finish line coming up in a few years.

Any regrets?

Like a lot of people, having a close and loving family unit is a key achievement. Other than that there are no specific work highlights but rather an overall sense of satisfaction that I have been willing to take up or create opportunities as they presented themselves, e.g. changing careers, moving to different states, travelling, etc. Not everything always worked out to plan but I had a crack and feel pretty lucky and privileged regarding how life has worked out so far.