b'Persistence pays in JapanMind your pennies In early 1950, after years of government restrictions, strikes and limited infrastructure in mining, the Victorian Governments desperate need for coal finally presented the Coleen Firmin started her forty-one- perfect opportunity for Thiess to expand its Queensland coal interests for export year career with Thiess as the officeinto other Australian states. But it proved to be yet another false start; with the girl in 1958. I was fifteen. I woreCommonwealth Government subsidising South African and Indian coal imports into shiny shoes and my socks pulledVictoria, Les product became too expensive. But persistence (and skilful lobbying) up. [The board] knew everythingfinally won the day, and by late 1951, coal from Thiess Callide Mine was being that was going on, right down tosuccessfully shipped to Victoria.the smallest detail. [In those early years] I could only get a new pencilBut interstate sales were not Les endgame. In 1960, while he took up an offerwhen I took my old one back andto export coal from Kianga (the companys first exported product) to Korea, he had showed them how small it was.a bigger fish on his mind: Japan. After several trips to Tokyo to land the deal, Les Even with all those jobs comingsucceeded. Meanwhile, Les had also been successfully negotiating in Japan to create in we didnt have a penny to blessthe Thiess-Toyota relationship. Leaning into that experience, he also was finally able ourselves. to secure steel mill clients in Japan for huge volumes of Kianga and soon-to-be Moura coal. The timing was perfect: Japans economy boomed in the 1960s, and the Kianga and Moura mines were there to fuel it. Soon, Peabody Coal Co. (from America) invested in the mines to facilitate expansion, as did the Japanese company Mitsui. Thiess links with Japan were secured and continue to this day.36'