old, spoke no English, and had no trade.

What he did have, however, was the desire to work hard, learn everything he could, and make a success of his life. A few days after his arrival, on December 13, he was hired by what is now known as the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks, and today he celebrated his fortieth anniversary there.

"It's my first and only job,'' he says proudly. "When I started I was paid 7 per week, and the only Bermudians were the garage mechanics. Hardly any Bermudians were gardeners.'' According to Mr. Moniz, you will not find December 13, 1960 on the department's records, however. That, he says, is because 16 was the minimum legal age for full-time employees in 1960, so he is listed as starting on June 1, 1961 when he was 16! First assigned to a gang tending citrus trees, which included "a bit of grafting'', Mr. Moniz soon seized the opportunity to join the Department's four-year apprenticeship scheme under then-Mr. Donald Moore.

"He was very smart. He always told me, `I know you don't speak English, so don't say `yes' if you don't understand what I'm saying. Tell me so I can explain it to you','' he relates.

Recalling his successful graduation, Mr. Moniz remembers his shining achievement with fondness.

"I got a certificate signed by then-director Mr. Gordon Groves, who told me I had the ability to become a leader some day, so I worked my way up, and now I am a first grade foreman at Tulo Valley Nursery, where I was sent after I graduated.'' Naturally, over four decades Mr. Moniz -- who now speaks excellent English -- has seen a lot of changes as people have come and gone, which he indicates has been both a positive and negative experience, but always accompanied by an expansion of his knowledge.

"I have been through seven managers, each with his own ideas,'' he says.

"Every time a new one comes along you have to learn new ideas, but since I have been with the department the longest of anyone I also know exactly how everything is run.'' At the sprawling Tulo Valley nursery, the Department grows all of the flowers, plants, shrubbery and trees used on Government-owned properties such as the Aquarium, the roundabouts, the Botanical Gardens, in parks and offices.

"That's thousands and thousands of seeds to be sown and then pricked out into little pots,'' he notes.

In addition, through a voucher issued by the Planning Department, all owners who build a new home are entitled to 50 plants at $3 each. These are grown to order by Mr. Moniz and his team.

With so many sources depending on the Tulo Valley team's expertise, the responsibility is huge. Indeed, the big cedar slat house and greenhouses are filled to capacity with seedlings and cuttings which are carefully nurtured in a temperature controlled environment, watered, fertilised, and sprayed for pests if necessary, until finally they are ready for transplanting.

The painstaking process, plus all the modern fertilisers and propagation techniques, are right up Mr. Moniz' alley, because he loves to experiment and improve his knowledge, so everything he does is a labour of love.

"You have to look out for a lot of things,'' he explains. "In summer, for example, if the electricity goes off over a weekend in the greenhouses, everything gets so hot it fries the plants. You also have to watch the amount of fertiliser you use in summer and winter.'' For most of the 40 years he has worked at Tulo Valley, Mr. Moniz and his family lived in the attached cottage -- "no transportation problems, no rush hours,'' he laughs -- and he grew to know just about everyone in the neighbourhood, and still does.

He speaks with affection of the area, and the reminders that Tulo Valley was once where food for Admiralty House was grown -- the little path where he surmises the gardeners must have wheelbarrowed the produce up to the tunnel that goes under the road to the former Admiral's headquarters is still visible.

Mr. Moniz also remembers how dark the tunnel was, and how the young apprentices would only venture into it as a group. Today, he notes, it is locked.

In terms of working conditions, the foreman says he originally worked a nine-hour week, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour for lunch, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

on Saturdays, and a half day on Thursdays. Today he works Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although he doesn't discuss his salary, it is a safe bet it is vastly improved.

A status Bermudian, Mr. Moniz now owns his own home in Warwick, where he lives with his wife Nizalda and two of his four children.

"I met my wife -- who is also from the Azores -- in Bermuda, and we have been married 30 years. Two of my children are married and I have two to go!'' he smiles.

Asked what he likes best about his work, the soft-spoken gentleman responds: "Working with plants. I like experimental things. If I see something that I like, I like to try it different ways. If things have been growing by cuttings, for example, I like to try grafting because maybe I will get better results.'' With this in mind, Mr. Moniz regrets that regulations forbid him from experimenting at Tulo Valley for his own use.

Given his busy job, one could be forgiven for thinking he would spend his leisure time with his feet up, but that's not in the nature of the man whose work ethic was instilled in childhood.

"When you own a house, you never get finished,'' he says. "There is always something to do, and of course the grounds to keep looking nice.'' As well, Mr. Moniz has a special customer whose grounds he has tended for over a quarter of a century on Saturdays, and he also cleans offices at night.

Looking back over his long career, he has a few regrets. One is that the award system for specific years of service has been abandoned -- he treasures those earned in the past -- and the other is that his academic life was not longer.

"Today, you need that piece of paper to get a job. I tell my children all the time education is important. Where once you didn't need that qualification on paper, today you do.'' Asked if he would recommend his career to young people today, the answer is an unreserved yes.

"It is a very interesting career. Every day you learn something new, and there is so much to learn, so much,'' he assures.