Rockhampton Regional Council turns to Ted for special key job

Published on 06 December 2016

When Rockhampton Regional Council had a special job to be done for a very special lady it turned to Ted Woodford.

Mr Woodford, who runs his one-man business Better Machining Service out of a small shop on Elphinstone St, was tasked with building the Key that will be presented to cycling great Anna Meares on Friday night.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow will present the Key to the City to the recently-retired Olympian, widely regarded as the greatest female track cyclist of all time.

It’s the Region’s first Key to the City ceremony in decades.

The Key in this case is 260mm long, weighs 491 grams and is made from solid brass.

It was made in three separate sections – handle, shaft and plate – before being joined together.

Ted, who specialises in making unique pieces, said it took almost three days to make.

“I do a lot of odd jobs in machinery,” Ted said.

“Certainly I’m happy with how this one turned out.”

Despite the rarity of making specialised keys for such ceremonies, it’s not Ted’s first.

He said he made “a much simpler” one about 15 years ago for one of the Shire Councils in Western Queensland.

Then the Key was presented to a former Mayor of the Shire.

Meanwhile, Ted said it had been a busy period for his operation with requests for his service lifting noticeably in recent months.

Hopefully his key project will open the door to many new opportunities in the future.

The Key will be presented in a specially-crafted wooden box, also produced locally.