HE was the first film cameraman on the job at Faraday during the 1972 kidnapping saga, and watched as Macedon residents woke to find their town destroyed after Ash Wednesday.

He saw Killian’s Walk gutted by fire, waited on the roadside during the Kangaroo Flat siege, witnessed the opening of many Bendigo buildings that have since been demolished and attended more road fatalities than he cares to remember.

For almost every moment in central Victorian history during the past 40 years, Geoff Martin has been there.

As a television cameraman, Geoff has taken the events of Bendigo and surrounds into households across the world ... but those days are about to end.

Geoff will leave his position with WIN Television this month to take on a role with the thoroughbred racing channel, TVN.

Geoff’s television days started with BCV-8 in 1966, just three years after television came to Bendigo.

He can still recall hour by hour his first day on the job.

"It was a party," he recalled.

"I was overwhelmed because it had been a dream of mine since television first came to Australia.

"All I ever wanted to do was be a cameraman.

"My aim was that if I could make it to six months, I would have done very, very well because it is a volatile industry.

"So doing that 80 times is quite amazing."

Within 18 months, Geoff had worked in the film library, dispatch, photographic and graphic departments.

"We were multi-skilled like you wouldn’t believe, everyone had six or seven jobs," he said.

Multi-tasking and his ability to change with the times has ensured Geoff’s longevity in television.

His days at BCV-8 led to positions with TV-8, Southern Cross, VIC TV and WIN Television, where he has in recent years adopted the dual role of senior cameraman and bureau chief.

From the early days of wind-up cameras and black and white film to the modern disc camera and editing on computer, Geoff has witnessed every change in the industry.

"I saw the introduction of video tape, which was something quite amazing," he said.

But the most significant moments during the past 40 years were when Geoff attended news stories that were to become major events in the region’s history.

"The biggest story was Faraday, and being the first film cameraman at the kidnapping," he said.

"A lot of the stuff you still see is my stuff.

"I spent Ash Wednesday night in Macedon and that will stay in my mind forever.

"I was outside the hotel and there were people just sitting on the floor with looks on their faces I had never seen, and have probably never seen since.

"They were ultra-shocked ... they had gone into the pub as the fire was coming through and they walked out in first light to see their town gone."

However, there have been many occasions Geoff would rather forget.

"The worst jobs are car accidents and any that involved kids," he said.

"I hate doing car accidents and when I resigned, I said to my wife if I can get through my time period without getting one on the road I’d be really happy ... on Sunday night I was in Kerang (for a double fatality).

"When I’m doing it I look at it as a job and all I’m doing is working, the story has to be told and I try to do it compassionately and with a lot of feeling.

"But when I’m coming home I do a lot of thinking.

"Accidents have changed and the introduction of seatbelts has saved a lot of lives ... but accidents are something I will not miss."

He will however, miss many of his colleagues.

With regional television providing a sound training ground for Australian journalists and cameramen, Geoff has worked alongside many who have gone on to rewarding careers within the industry.

"There is a group of Melbourne journalists and cameramen who I’ve trained and my wife calls them my Melbourne family," he said.

Geoff is fast to credit his wife Cheryle for her support during the past 40 years.

"When Killian’s Walk went up, channel eight was servicing the Melbourne station and I got back from work at 7am and she said nine, 10 and seven are taking feeds at this time and that time," Geoff said.

"A lot of wives wouldn’t have put up with it, I think I was lucky."

Cheryle, however, will be celebrating when Geoff says goodbye to a device he has grown to love and hate – the scanner.

The device has been a constant in the family’s life throughout Geoff’s career, ensuring he never misses an event for the eveningn news.

"I told my wife that when I retire I will take the scanner and throw it into the lake ... but that can’t happen now."

Not one for going out with the traditional fanfare, Geoff will leave WIN quietly, some time around the middle of the month.

He expects that day will be a sad occasion ... but one that will leave him with 40 years of wonderful memories.

"I feel privileged to have grown as television grew, I believe I worked in the best years of TV."

nicole@bendigoweekly.com.au