Hills District Independent August 2020 #62 August 2020 | Page 15

ADVERTORIAL
Fiddler fine-tune staff to preserve
history during COVID-19 closure
During the initial outbreak of the
novel coronavirus, when the government
ordered all restaurants and bars to close
their doors, The Fiddler in Rouse Hill was
quick to retrain their staff in order to keep
them working on keeping history alive.
Fiddler employees who previously
waited on customers, underwent
specialised training in antique restoration
under expert Allyson Adams from
Old2Bold.
Allyson educated staff in the historic
use of dozens of artifacts that the Fiddler
displays in their original Irish pub built in
1826.
Tara Bonser is General Manager of the
Fiddler and commented.
“We have all these beautiful artifacts
in this room which are so important” she
said, referring to the original pub called
The Mean Fiddler which was first built as
a halfway house and designed by Francis
Greenway for Cobb & Co.
The original façade has been retained
and the renovated restaurant is filled with
turn-of-the-century agricultural farming
equipment used by the early settlers.
“By us spending the time to clean
and detail and replace these items under
beautiful lights, we allow people to come
in and enjoy the heritage of this building
and its history,” said Tara.
The Fiddler also has a history of hiring
workers with disability, some of whom are
now responsible for taking care of these
treasured relics.
“Having an inclusive workforce is
super important for us,” Tara told The
Independent.
“It stimulates new ideas and creates a
vibrant culture of diverse people who have
different abilities.”
Tracey Evans Harvey is one of many of
the Fiddler’s inclusive workforce who have
been retrained and whom Tara considers a
‘vital part of the team’.
Old gramophone.
“Tracey’s position here has slightly
changed during this time. She’s cleaning
items here that have so much history and
I can see how passionate she is about this
job.” Tara commented.
“We have hired 9 people from NOVA
Employment over the last three years
and we currently still have six of those
employees working with us today.
“The staff we’ve hired through NOVA
are just like the rest of our staff, except
we don’t have as much turnover within
our business which is fantastic for the
Ornate cash register in mint condition.
hospitality industry.”
Their pre-pandemic roles were ‘just like
anybody else, such as food and beverage
attendants, kitchen staff, back of house’
explains Tara.
“But we wanted to ensure they still
have the routine they had prior to the
pandemic so, many are working on the
cleaning crew now.”
Tara did an amazing job with staff
retention - she managed to retain most of
them after the closure from the 23 March to
the 31 May.
Tracey welcomed the chance to add to
her skill set and was eager to be back after
spending six weeks in lockdown.
“It’s been so hard at home, just looking
at four walls all day,” she said.
“When I could go out, I saw all my
colleagues and managers just cleaning
things and it just feels nice. It feels human.”
If you have a disability or are an
employer looking for staff, contact NOVA
Employment Rouse Hill Manager, Wayne
Vumbaca on 0448 770 177 for this free
recruitment service.
THE HILLS INDEPENDENT www.hdinews.com.au ISSUE 62 // AUGUST 2020 15