Dannevirke New World worker celebrates 30 years on the job: ‘If you have to work you may as well enjoy your job’

IIn 1994, Tararua woman Judy Brown needed a job.

She was working with her cousin in a coffee shop that was closing, and with two young children she needed money.

She applied for a job with New World in Dannevirke, to be the store’s only baker, for $6.50 an hour.

Thirty years later, she’s still there. If you’ve ever bought a baguette or donut in Dannevirke, chances are, she made it.

Brown would start work at 3.30am and work in a “tiny section in the corner of the deli” dedicated to the bakery, which she eventually went on to manage for 26 years.

Judy Brown (centre) said her time at the supermarket had gone fast as she enjoyed the work.

“I always used to say to the staff you never want to try and sell something you wouldn’t buy yourself - so you always aim to put out a high-quality product.”

Now 69, Brown works as a grocery assistant on the biscuit aisle and recently celebrated her three-decade milestone.

She said her time there “didn’t feel that long.

“I enjoy going to work, if you have to work you may as well enjoy your job - I like to be happy.”

Brown said her favourite part of the job was helping customers to find their grocery items.

She said the Dannevirke New World was a special workplace because of the people: ”Even the ones you don’t know are pretty friendly.

“I’m pretty well known out the back for my not-so-good singing voice, to give everybody a laugh.”

She had seen a lot of change over the 30 years and noted that people now calculated their shops, as prices had soared.

“Everything is so much smaller in the packets and the price certainly doesn’t get smaller.”

The only regret Brown had was she wished she kept a diary of all the people she had worked with.

As for the future, she had no plans to slow down and said she’d continue to work at the store as much as she could.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.