There are number of must-have qualities needed to be a personal chauffeur to a foreign diplomat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Discretion is first and foremost. Patience would come a close second.
A clean driving record, a good knowledge of Canberra, an understanding of diplomatic protocols and a helpful disposition are also all high on the list of selection criteria and required job qualifications.
Long-time Canberra resident Andrew H. Harding has all of the above qualities, plus a little bit extra.
That little bit extra is what defines him and what makes him somewhat unique in diplomatic circles.
Besides being a hard worker, Harding is a bit of a card - a likeable larrikin.
Dressed for work each day in his black trilby, Blues Brothers shades worn over prescription glasses, bling on his fingers and pierced through his ear, Harding - at 60 - is one very cool driver.
And he is easy to spot among a huddle of chauffeurs outside any number of Canberra buildings, waiting for their bosses.
Harding is at the beck and call of South Korean ambassador Taeyong Cho and boasts that he loves his job.
"You don't know what you're going to be doing from day to day," he says. "Normally you get a schedule on the Friday and that tells you what's planned to go down the next week, but that could change quite a bit if the ambassador decides not to go to a particular place, or if something else comes up.
"If it's not a busy day I will help in the embassy garden or help out moving things around in the residence. I even help some [staff] with personal letters because [they] don't have the best English. So they'll write a letter and then they come and ask me to look over it and correct it.
"But my official title is chauffeur to the ambassador and he comes first. Everything else is second."
Ambassador Cho has been in the role a little over a year, representing the Republic of Korea in the Australian capital.
Harding says he couldn't ask for a better boss.
"He is absolutely brilliant - a very friendly man," he says. "He's very independent and always has a smile on his face and is a very considerate person."
Harding drives the ambassador all over Canberra - to other embassies, to Parliament House, government departments, restaurants, theatre, shops, golf, and the airport.
"We recently went out to the RAAF base to say good-bye to Governor-General Quentin Bryce. She was representing Australia over in South Korea for the inauguration of the new president there," Harding says.
"Sometimes when it's a long meeting, or a long reception, or a long lunch, I won't hang around. I'll go and have lunch myself or a coffee somewhere in the close vicinity of where he is.
"We drivers all know each other well. And I'm a real stirrer. I like to make fun of them, but not in a nasty way. It's all in fun and jest. I'm just a bit of a character.
"I don't wear a full suit. When I drive the ambassador I wear a shirt and tie and jacket. I'm the only one who wears a hat.
"The ambassador loves it and the other ambassadors from other countries talk about it, too.
''The previous Korean ambassador said I was a different character, not your run-of-the-mill chauffeur, and that it suits my personality. He said I was well known back in the foreign office in Korea.
"The other chauffeurs call me Mr Casual because most of them wear suits. You have some embassies that have them wear those really nice floral shirts, like they do in the countries the diplomats are from.
"Some of the other drivers call me the Godfather because I'm one of the oldest guys there. I've been driving for embassies for about 15 years now. We all know each other. It's a close- knit family."
The Godfather and Mr Casual might be two names other drivers call Harding, but he has two other nicknames that are completely unrelated to his day job.
After discovering more than 20 years ago that he could get a half- decent sound out of blowing through a vacuum cleaner hose, Harding thought he would see what he could do with a didgeridoo.
On a 1989 trip to Alice Springs he bought one, and found he was somewhat of a natural.
Back home in Canberra his brother gave him the moniker Didgie-Drew, playing on his first name, Andrew.
He soon became known simply as Didge, and has performed as a backing or feature artist in concerts and on CDs.
Harding can sometimes be seen playing on weekends at his local haunt, the Beyond Q bookshop cafe in Curtin.
Harding's brother also calls him Delta Drew, because of his prowess on the blues harp.
"I just love music in all its forms, whether playing or listening to it," he says.
"I got divorced last year and I'm in a bit of a transitional stage, so music has become even more important to me. It's a real escape.
"I like to read, drink coffee with friends, take long walks and travel and all that.
''But I work a lot, as it can be a demanding job as far as hours go.
"But you know, I was in the public service for quite a few years and I eventually had enough of the bureaucracy and decided that I'd leave and do something totally different.
"After a few odd jobs here and there I found a job at the Zimbabwe High Commission driving and gardening. Then I left that and went to the Saudi Arabian mission to drive the ambassador - didn't do any gardening there - and then I went to the UAE and drove their ambassador.
"Then I went to the Korean embassy and have been there six years. I've been to Korea twice. When I got divorced last year I travelled a bit and went to see my daughter in England, and I visited Korea a couple of times.
"I had a great time and I plan to go back next year. Korea is a wonderful country."
Harding has lived in Canberra since 1964 - "almost 50 years" - after arriving in Adelaide as a child with his family - ten pound poms - in 1957 and moving around regional towns before settling in the nation's capital.
"The first five years of my childhood were in England then the rest of it was spent living in the Australian bush," he says.
"I love it. I have three grown-up kids that I'm really proud of, some good friends, and a job I enjoy doing.
"I find the job's easier if you're friendly and you talk. I respect all the ambassadors who I have driven, but I don't treat them as if they're gods.
''I treat them as people with a title and who just happen to be very important. I find them easy to talk to that way."