AFTER 41 years, retiring pastrycook Marko Bartur has earned the respect and affection of every department at Ferguson Plarre.
The interview with him had to be a “surprise”, said administration manager Steven Plarre, leading the way through a rabbit warren of corridors and steps into the bakehouse.
The stocky 64-year-old was a shy man whose actions betrayed the strength of his character more than his words.
“My grandfather employed Marko when he came from Italy in 1966. Marko had to join the Italian army to get permission to move away from Croatia,” head pastrycook Michael Plarre said.
“So he has worked for my grandfather, Ray, for my father, Ralph, and for the past 10-odd years for me.”
“He’s seen a lot of his friends retire and leave over the years,” Mr Plarre said.
“He’s still part of the older generation but he can mix with all the new generations and he’s just blended in so well.”
“It’s kind of a two way thing really,” said Michael and Steven’s father, Ralph Plarre.
“We’ve seen him on his journey … and he’s seen us through from my dad to me, to the amalgamation with the Fergusons, the expansion here to now working with Michael and Steven.”
“He’s a very conservative person coming from Croatia,” Ralph said.
“Marko is probably one of the last of the new-Australian-type people left with us. But in the ’50s and ’60s we had a lot of people from all over Europe … they appreciated stability, they appreciated a caring employer.
“That’s all they needed … that’s all Marko needed. He didn’t want more than that. He didn’t want to stand out,” he said.
“In the early days, being such a good tradesperson, I tried hard to get him further into the management. But he just clearly wasn’t interested. You could’ve paid him anything, it wouldn’t have made any difference,” Mr Plarre said.
“To me, loyalty would be one of the biggest words to describe Marko,” Michael said.
“He appreciated the opportunity, which he got from my grandfather in his employment, and he’s paid it back in gold a thousand times.”
And Mr Bartur has rarely missed a day in his 41 years working in the same room, on the same bench, at the Niddrie bakehouse.
“He comes in, does it perfectly on time, gets on well with everyone and goes home,” Michael said.
“Every one of our hot cross buns, baked cheesecakes, apple and apricot pies you’ve eaten for the past 30 years has been made by him, he said.
“He never takes days off, he doesn’t get sick. If he is sick, you just don’t know. He hides it or he beats it.
“Marko loves to talk about football, he follows Carlton. He loves to have a little joke. But that’s it, he never stops. He’ll just keep working. Make a comment, have a smile and keep working,” he said.
“We’ll really miss him because he’s been so good and so consistent … He’s part of the magnificent silent majority that keeps the world going,” Ralph said.
And despite the few words that Mr Bartur gave away, there was no way to hide his attachment to the bakehouse and his warm affection for the Plarre family.
“Young fella! Yeah I’m going to miss him,” Mr Bartur said, giving Michael a solid thump on the back.
And with a smile still on his face, he discreetly wiped away the tears that were welling up in his eyes.
