Hey, Jim,
I can sympathise because my first job out of school was as a kitchen hand at a construction camp in Bathurst. It was down on the river near the old water works. Jennings were building houses for the decentralising Mapping Authority employees.
However, the food was pretty good, as the cook and his mate were ex army cooks who really knew their stuff, and to maintain industrial peace the blokes could eat as much as they wanted. If they could eat 4 or 5 t-bones they could have them!
By the time I worked there the camp was mainly down to painters and carpet layers. Some of the blokes used to knock off at three and go to the pub for 10 schooners or so, then back to camp for tea at 6:00. Then back to the pub or the club to play the pokies (none in pubs back then) and have another 10 or 15 and maybe more schooners. I've never seen blokes who could drink like them. Someone always used to drive back to camp, too.