hiː hæd bɪɡˈʌn ɪnðə mˈeɪlɹuːm: ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi wˈʌn, ˈeɪdʒd sˈɛvəntˌiːn, hiː hæd lˈɛft skˈuːl ænd stˈɑːɹɾᵻd wˈɜːkɪŋ æɾ ˌaɪbˌiːˈɛm, mˈɛlbɚn, æz ðə mˈeɪlɹuːm klˈɜːk.
He had begun in the mailroom: in 1981, aged 17, he had left school and started working at IBM, Melbourne, as the mailroom clerk.