Talkabout July 2003 - Alumni

Volume 6 No 2 July 2003

The Scholarship Fund is over $36,000.A big thank you to all our contributers.

Our 2003 target was $35000 and we have exceeded it with six months still to go!! Well done toeveryone who helped us reach this milestone. This puts us nearly twelve months ahead ofschedule.

MUSEUM ARTIFACTS GROW

The appeal for artifacts and photographs for theWagga Wagga Teachers’ College Display in the

Museum of the Riverina at Wagga Wagga hasbrought forth some very interesting items and it ishoped to finalise the collection after the BathurstReunion in September for presentation to theMuseum.

The response with photographs has been good.John Riley has been responsible for categorising,enlarging and filing these and he is doing a wonderfuljob. If you have any photographs in your collectionthat you feel would be of historical value to theMuseum Display please forward same to John Riley,2 Woorak Crescent, MIRANDA. 2228.

Please make sure that your name and address andtitle are on the back of each photo so that they canbe returned to you. To make things easier for Johnplease list the names of those people in thephotographs so that they can be identified by theobserver.

In the Hall of Fame we wish to include Alumni whohave contributed in any way (most teachers have) :-sporting prowess and sportsmanship, communitywelfare, arts and culture, entertainment, or anythingthat should be acknowledged as a contribution toour society.

To date we have only a few nominations for the Hallof Fame and we know that there are many whoshould be included in this.

Geoff Skinner (48/50) has sent in three profiles forthe Hall of Fame and here is one as guide for futureprofiles. It contains all the salient facts.

JOHN MAXWELL STUCKINGS 1948/50

“THE RIVERINA EXPRESS”

“John played extremely successfully for Riverina atCountry Week and for Wagga in O’Farrell Cupintertown challenge cricket while at W. W. T. C.During a spectacular career, he played O’Farrell Cupcricket for various Riverina towns over an extendedperiod from 1949 until 1972. Upon his retirement, hehad taken a record number of over 400 wickets. Thisnumber is still a record today.John played successfully for New South Wales Coltsin 1949/50/51/53, for New South Wales Countryagainst Sydney (virtually the State side) in the years1959, 1962 and 1970. On one occasion, his large haulof wickets included Test batsman Sid Barnes in eachinnings.“Sluggo” played against three successive Englishtouring teams and recalls a number of England captainsamong his scalps.As a final tribute to his success and sportsmanship,he was awarded a Prime Ministers Citation inrecognition of his contributions to country cricket,in commemoration of the Centenary of Federation.”

The majority of my news during this lastperiod has come from emails or thetelephone.How lovely it is to receive long letterslike ones received from Betty Johnstone,a Pioneer Geography lecturer, Bev Veitchnee Donnelly (1954-55) and Judith andRobert Smyth from the 1960-61 sessionwho now live in Queensland. PrueKogler nee Fox (1969) also went toQueensland and she is still teaching. Hercontact was made by me on the SchoolFriends web-site. Suzanne Davies (1963)was another found in School Friends.This is a rather time consuming way ofcontacting. Is there anyone who is alreadya member who is willing to try and finddetails for our Data Base. Email anyone,tell them who you are and ask them dothey get Talkabout. If their answer is yes,then they are on the list. If their answer isno then ask them to contact me and I willfollow it through. It is good to contact theNEW ones on the list.I heard back from Yvonne Hough (1953-1954) who came out from England that asa result of sending on letters she managedto meet up with Bill and Wendy Poolenee Patrini and Joan Fletcher neeLimbert. She rang Barbara and JudyHeery. Yvonne has been in England forforty years. Ian Dinnerville wascontacted by Marion Davis.Don Talbot (1952) contacted me to see ifI could remember the P.E.lecturer’s name(Eric Hawcroft). Don is retired and iswriting a book He still travels overseas afew times a year.Peter Howard (1951)is still writingbooks. He said he moves often. AdrianHurley (1961) is another person whoadvised me that he is now retired. KerryPotts (1962) and Georgia are using someof his retirement by visiting CentralAustralia, Northern and WesternAustralia. Also enjoying part of herretirement time is Audrey Schaecken(1948-1950) by enrolling in a Tafe MathsCourse. Carmel Dobbie nee Hayes(1958-1959) is learning tap dancing.Judy Davis nee Grimmond (1962-1963) teaches Adult Literacy at a TafeCollege in Queensland.Les Sutherland (1962-63) is enjoyinglecturing at the University of Innsbrookin Austria. After a holiday he will begoing back in 2004. Jeanne Kellie

(1968-1970) went to San Francisco 24years ago on a ski holiday and met herhusband. She works in VideoProduction. Annette Sale (1967)currently lives in London and wouldlove to keep in touch. MurrayNorman (1962) wanted to contact Jimand Kay Johnson after he saw theirphoto in Talkabout. They taughttogether in Bourke in the 60’s. LynSinclair (1961) intends to keep herTalkabout for her children so that theywill know what teaching was like whentheir mother was teaching. PeterHennessy was trying to contact RalphSadler (both 1960-1961) to see if theycan organise a reunion. RobynCameron nee Morris (1971) is inJapan. John Riley (1948) caught upwith the news when he met JohnBiscaya (1948) in Miranda Westfield.Margaret Shanks (1955-1956) lovesthe wonderful stories in Talkabout.Marc Griffiths (1967-1968) lives onthe Central Coast. He left teaching, didIndustry and now is a laboratoryassistant in a High School. He wouldlike to contact his room mate SaulMotingwa. Alan Smith and BuddyLeonard both (1960-1961) play tennistogether each week.The following meet together abouttwice per year. They are StephanieBarlow nee Andre, Robyn Cook neeIngersole, Sue Reilly, GenevieveHook nee Keane and Ashlyn Milesnee Burgess. They are from the 1971intake (the last one before beingchanged to RCAE).Janet Porter nee Perry moved up tothe mountains to be near her daughter.“What a learning curve that was inmany ways.” Cliff Cudlippe (1951)Les Farey (1951) and StephenRossiter (1965), Ivan Caldwell(1966-1967) June Hadley (1950) RayOsmotherly (1967) and MalcolmHanratty (1951) all have newaddresses. Please remember to let meknow if you or any of your collegefriends have a different address. If yourTalkabout is returned to the Universityyou are automatically taken off theposting list.Congratulations to June Hadley(1948-1950) and Meredith Regan(1969-1971) for being awarded theOrder of Australia medals. June’s wasfor writing the history of View Clubsand Meredith’s for her contribution toeducation and the Darwin community.Leon Turley(1961-62) was the only

married student whose first child wasborn right at exam time. He made abassinet for him in craft as his majorproject and it is still being used for hisgrandson – tenth to use the bassinet andstill going strong. He is back teachingafter doing many things since he leftcollege. During 14 years in the navy helearnt Indonesian and this is what heteaches.Good wishes go to our friend CharlieFerris (1951-52) who has not been welllately. Lindsay Budd helps us all withour computer problems. How abouthearing again from some of our quiet E-group members.Thank you to those people who sentmemorabilia to me for inclusion in theCharles Sturt Archives, the WaggaWagga Museum or kept for reuniondisplay. I hope these people havereceived their note of thanks. Amongthe donors are Malcolm Hanratty,Fernanda Taylor, MargaretMcGowan, Mary Maurer, JoanStanyer, Peter and Wendy Dobson,Bob and Olga Collard, RobinMckinnon, Jenny Briggs, DorothyJudd, Elvi Cornell and MargaretGoulder and Hazel Mann .John Riley is organising the photos andhe is looking for any Historical Photosof the College. Can you help?Thank you for the early numbers of thepresent Talkabout series. I now have twobound copies for Wagga. John is alsointerested in receiving copies ofTalkabout from the years you were atcollege. Single copies or a number willbe gratefully received, as well as anymore MEMORABILIA.

ADDRESSESIf you sent me an address and thatperson did not receive Talkabout, pleasesend again.There have been so many “found” that itis possible some have missed beingentered. My apologies.

REST IN PEACESince our March Talkabout I have beeninformed of the following deaths:Neville Donald Davies (Pioneer) died6th March 2003.Helen Leaney nee James (1962-1963)died in December 1998.Dianne Hogan nee Goldthorpe (1970-1971) date unknown.Neil McPherson (1956-57) lost his dadAlec McPherson on 17th February 2003.

Ann Smith

From theSecretary’s Desk.

The 2003 Alumni scholarship has beenawarded to Blair O’Meara, a final yearstudent in the BEd Technology andApplied Studies course. All of the short-listed applicants were interviewed byHenry Gardiner (’53-’54) and Chairmanof the Riverina Trust of the UniversityFoundation), Jim Tweddle (’52-’53) andKaren Jamieson, Secretary of theRiverina Trust. Blair was considered bythe panel to be the most worthyrecipient of the WWTC AlumniScholarship for 2003.

Blair is a mature age student who hasrarely scored less than a HighDistinction for his subjects since he firstenrolled in 2000 and who has beenjudged an outstanding teacher by eachof his in-school supervisors. Prior toenrolling at Wagga, he worked inretailing, both in Australia and overseas.In 1999 he obtained the TAFE SmallBusiness Enterprise ManagementCertificate with Distinction, and alsoholds the TAFE Certificate ofProficiency, retail Operations (Sales)from his 1997 enrolment.

Since embarking on his teacherpreparation which will qualify him toteach secondary students in the newTechnology and Applied Studies, he hasconcurrently successfully undertaken aselection of TAFE trades courses inmanufacturing and engineering toenlarge his knowledge base for theteaching of VET subjects which arenow offered at many high Schools.Blair has also undertaken work in the

Rivcoll Union kitchen, which has givenhim industry experience towards theHospitality strands of VET. Last yearhe undertook the Certificate IV inWorkplace Training and Assessment. Heis also competent in basketball andsoccer, two popular school sportsalways in need of teacher-coaches andreferees.

At the same time as all of these extra-curricular activities, Blair has twicebeen placed on the prestigious Dean’sList for Outstanding AcademicPerformance in his university work. TheCourse Coordinator notes that thisstudent has often been seen in thecomputer labs in his own timeunobtrusively assisting other lesscomputer literate students and that he isusually the emergent leader in studentwork groups. In the unanimous opinionof the members of the ScholarshipsSelection Committee he should be aremarkable teacher when he enters theService and a pleasure to have on one’sstaff.

Unfortunately, during the period of theScholarships Awards Ceremonies inmid-May, Blair was stationed out atUrana School for his practicum and wasunable to be get back to Wagga Waggato join the over 110 other scholarshipand prize-winners and their families atthe official ceremony. (This year morethan 60 students shared the $149,000worth of University Foundationscholarships, of which the WaggaTeachers College Alumni’s $2,500 wasa not insignificant part.)

Henry Gardiner (1953-54)

2003 Wagga Teachers College AlumniScholarship Award

CONTACTSPresident: Bob Collard: 2 Louise Close, Ourimbah 2258 Phone 43622764.Secretary: Ann Smith: 24 Whitworth St, Westmead 2145 Phone 96350449

E-mail: [email protected]: Lindsay Budd: 4 Flemington Close, Casula 2170 Phone 96013003,

E-mail: [email protected] Editors:

Lindsay BuddLew Morrell: 25 Grandview Drive, Newport 2106,

Phone 99971506 E-mail: [email protected] Riley: 2 Woorak Cres, Miranda 2228

Phone 95255304 E-mail: [email protected] Office: Michelle Fawkes: The Alumni Office, Charles Sturt University,

Bathurst, 2795. Phone 63384629. E-mail: [email protected]

You’ll feel smarterafter you read this...

“If we don’t succeed, we run the risk offailure.” —Bill Clinton, President, USA

“We are ready for an unforeseen eventthat may or may not occur.” —Al Gore,Vice President, USA.

“Traditionally, most of Australia’simports come from overseas.” —KepEnderbery.

“Whenever I watch TV and see thosepoor starving kids all over the world, Ican’t help but cry. I mean I’d love to beskinny like that, but not with all thoseflies and death and stuff.” —MariahCarey.

“Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’velost a very important part of your life.”-Brooke Shields, during an interview tobecome spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.

“I’ve never had major knee surgery onany other part of my body.” —WinstonBennett, University of Kentuckybasketball forward.

“Outside of the killings, Washington hasone of the lowest crime rates in thecountry.” —Mayor Marion Barry,Washington, DC.

“It isn’t pollution that’s harming theenvironment. It’s the impurities in ourair and water that are doing it.” —AlGore, Vice President.

“We don’t necessarily discriminate. Wesimply exclude certain types ofpeople.”-Colonel Gerald Wellman,ROTC Instructor.

TEACHING MEMORIES (In the March Talkabout JohnRummery related his experiences afterreceiving his first appointment toEuabalong Public School. His storycontinues.....Ed)

FIRST APPOINTMENTS (Part 2)During the August holidays I receivedanother curt telegram, directing me tocommence duty as T/C Public SchoolPooncarie. No directions were given asto the school’s location or how onemight get there.A search of the road map of N.S.W.covering an area from the coast to westof the tablelands failed to revealPooncarie, until it was discovered halfway between Wentworth and Menindee,located on a bend of the Darling River.One could take the Broken Hill train toMenindee and (somehow) travel southfor about 70 miles, or reach Wentworthand (somehow) travel north.I chose the latter method and decided totake the train to Albury and travel theMurray Valley by coach. This latter waymeant that I could travel via Wagga andsee my fiancée at Wagga station for abrief few minutes.I digress here to relate an incident thathappened before taking the train toAlbury. I resolved to call at BridgeStreet, headquarters of “the Department”and complain about being so summarilytransferred. But who to see? I decided inmy naïve innocence to see the DirectorGeneral of Education, whom I knew tobe a Mr McKenzie. The sheer effronteryof such an action is still frightening, butfortune favours the brave (and thefoolish) and on finding where the D.G’sroom was I went there, knocked andwalked in.“Good morning” I said to a man seatedat a desk, “Are you Mr McKenzie?”“No” he replied, “I’m his assistant. CanI help you?” This said with a cold,controlled anger.“Yes” I answered. “I’ve been transferredto Pooncarie, and I don’t want to gothere”.“Pooncarie!” he replied, “that beautifulspot on the Darling River! I know itwell. Oh, how you’ll enjoy your timethere. And remember”, he added, risingfrom his desk “children in isolated areasdeserve the best teachers we canprovide. Well, good morning to you.”

I left, knowing that I had been conned,but knowing too, that I couldn’t changethe appointment.While waiting in Wentworth for the mailcar that ran through to Menindee, Icalled on the headmaster of the primaryschool. Hearing I was heading forPooncarie, he gave me a cane from acupboard. Seeing my look of surprise heremarked “You may need it, I hearthere’s been trouble there!”I boarded the mail coach with myluggage including a “parcel”, 70 cmslong, very thin, and wrapped in brownpaper. The trip of about 80 miles tookalmost 8 hours, and I disembarked at theTelegraph Hotel, Pooncarie, around 4p.m., was shown to the teacher’s room,and invited to come and have a beer. Ielected rather to have a “Snowy” a localsoft drink like carbonated cola. I hadresolved that here too I’d be a nondrinker of alcohol, not for any religiousor moral reasons, but rather as prudencedictated. I remembered that inWentworth they thought there had beensome trouble at Pooncarie. There was anofficial letter waiting for me, urgingcaution, and pointing out that someparents had made things difficult for theprevious teacher.The school building was a typical oneteacher school building from the 1880’s,had a wide verandah and a roomyclassroom with large windows.Unfortunately the appearance was thebest point of the building, as it wasriddled with white ants, and thecorrespondence file was thick withletters drawing the attention of theDepartment to this condition.The inside walls were paper thin, as wasthe ceiling, and white ants fell onchildren’s heads and books veryfrequently. There was one shade tree inthe playground which was less than twometres tall and very sparse of foliage.I called the roll, and was aware of atense excitement among the pupils whonumbered 27. When I called one name (Ishall refer to the pupil as X) one of theolder girls said “X isn’t here. X is inBroken Hill. You’ll be sorry when Xcomes back!”“Indeed?” I replied, “perhaps X will besorry!”The first day proceeded, until, justbefore lunch a 6th grade boy sang out

“There’s a fox on the river bank! Can wego and run him down?”I didn’t think they meant it, and said“Yes!” The whole 27 stampeded out ofthe room, and broke into three groups,headed the fox and ran him down inabout 10 minutes. The body was broughtback and placed on an ants’ nest near theschool steps. In less than a fortnight askeleton covered in mangy hair was allthat was left.The 5th/6th grade boys told me thatsince “Myxo” went through, foxes werein poor condition and quite easy to rundown. Some weeks later, when the dailytemperature reached 90o F+, I was awareof a commotion in the school ground asI walked down to school from the pub.As I hurried into the playground I sawthat the 3 senior girls had the smallchildren in a group in the middle of theyard and two senior boys were carefullywalking through a great heap of grassand weeds that grew along the schoolfence. “Snake!” said one of the boys,and handed me the school axe, pointingto where the snake was being tracked.“Do or Die”, I thought and dispatchedthe luckless snake who joined the fox’sremains on the ant nest.My respect for the self reliance andcommon sense of the children increasedconsiderably, and my trust in theircapabilities grew even moreAs I ran the school bank each week, Iwas aware that many pupils, especiallysenior boys and girls, had somehundreds of pounds to their credit fromrabbit trapping, fox skins, “dead” wool –i.e. wool plucked from the bodies ofdead sheep. Wool was selling for apound money for a pound weight, andthe Darling River which ran past theback of the school was full of Murraycod, and an enterprising local had alarge freezer, the size of a semi-trailerwhich stored frozen rabbit carcases,frozen fish and frozen mutton fordispatch to Melbourne markets.A great day came when I was aware of a“new” pupil at our morning assembly.This was pupil X, whose presencewould cause me sorrow. And indeed Xdid just that. X was a 13 year old, quitebig, with small unpleasant eyes, andspent time in school disrupting the workof the school. Remonstrances were awaste of time, and clearly things could

TEACHING MEMORIESnot continue. I took a bold step, andsuggested to X’s mother that X couldleave school and perhaps get a job or goto school in Broken Hill. To my delightand surprise, X’s mother agreed and Xdisappeared to Broken Hill.We were now mid way through term 3,and the problem of white ants appearedto grow worse. They cascaded downfrom the ceiling, and the inner wallswere only a coat of paint thick exceptfor the hardwood studs. One afternoonwhen the pupils had left, I made asquare of half a dozen desks, placingtwo desks on top and a chair on top ofthem, and then climbed up and lifted themanhole cover off. I immediately saw alarge lump of “dirt” which I grabbed andthrew to the floor. The lump was whatwas left of all the original schoolrecords, including the remains of theoriginal admissions register, the firstentry dated 1885. The white ants hadmade this whole heap of paper into anest and nothing could be salvaged.Thinking of the state of the building andthe number of years that successiveteachers had drawn attention to this, Iwrote directly to the departmentalofficer who had told me in Sydney whata beautiful place Pooncarie was, andhow children in isolated areas deservedthe best teachers. This officer’s nameappeared on some of the letters in thecorrespondence file as he had beenDistrict Inspector at Broken Hill.Bypassing the inspector’s office atBroken Hill I wrote a letter of complaintin very strong terms, ending byremarking that sending the best teachersto Pooncarie meant persuading reluctantteachers to go there, but did not meanproviding a proper classroom for themto teach. I posted the letter and awaitedthe inevitable explosion, but it nevercame.In the mid sixties I was a member ofstaff in a large primary school inCanberra, and the official to whom theletter had been sent visited the schoolprior to retirement, and was introducedto the staff. Introduced to me he held myeye for a moment and said: “MrRummery and I have met” and passedon.A note on the teacher’s room at theTelegraph Hotel:The room used by the teacher was large

and furnished with an excellent bed andother furnishings. The only catch wasthat it had been an extra tap roomleading off from the bar, but this hadbeen closed off and a light panel wallhad been put across the opening.The hotel had little bar trade during theday, but from 7 p.m. each night somedozens of patrons drifted in from thevillage and from local properties, and itwas frequently late at night beforetrading ceased. The proximity of the barto the teacher’s room did not make forearly nights, and I became adept at goingto sleep with the noisy bar and itspatrons only inches away through a thinpanel wall.

Social Life in the Isolated Far West:Nineteenth century stories are full ofshearers, fencers, rural workers comingto the shanty and spending all their hardearned cash in a few riotous weeks untiladvised that their cheque had cut out,and after a few days of sobering up, theyreturned to work.The Telegraph Hotel was not a shanty,but it regularly played host to fencersand rural workers who were determinedto go through their money whilst havinga glorious bender. They were generallyquiet but very determined drinkers,seldom argumentative and seldom anuisance. The hotel staff, mainly thepublican and his wife, insisted that everyfew days there would be a dry day, andfood had to be taken. This often meantthat I took my meals with some red eyedvery shaky people who were trying to“qualify” for the next few day’s bender!

During the summer holiday a violentwind storm swept up the river and shookthe school so severely that most of theceiling fell in. When this wasdiscovered, the parents’ patience wasfinally exhausted, and they announcedthat they would not send any children toschool until a new school was built. Ireturned to Pooncarie on the 5thFeb.,1952, and on the Tuesday morningI walked down to the school, puzzledthat there were no children in theplayground. No one told me the parentswere on strike. I rang the inspector atBroken Hill and broke the news to him.“Remain on duty!” was his advice.After a month, a room at the old police

station was made available, and inMarch school re-commenced.A builder came from Broken Hill toexamine the site for a new building andto remove, or dismantle the old building.A rope was tied to the point of the roofgable and one pull with a light truckbrought the whole building crashingdown! It had been as dangerous as theparents had feared.

The new building was occupied at thestart of term 3, 1952. It was half the sizeof the old school, had a narrow shortverandah, no fly screens and noprovision for heating in winter time, Iwas told that the plans were drawn up inSydney, and that “it is always hot in thefar west!”The two new tanks which were suppliedwere found to have punctured bases, andremained empty through the spring andsummer of 1952. The pupils broughtbottles full of river water which theystored under the verandah and there wasno other water at the school.A final note concerns the cane I hadbrought from Wentworth the previousyear. I had used it occasionally and oneboy, Edgar, had seemed to have beenpunished more than anyone else. On thevery last school day of 1952, I calledEdgar to the front of the class, andproduced the cane. “What’s that for?”asked Edgar, somewhat truculently. “It’syour turn today!” I said. “You can giveme six of the very best!” and I handedhim the cane, and held out my hand.Edgar certainly got his own back, andmanaged to sting me quite fiercely. Ithen gave him the cane to keep.

It was more than 30 years before I droveinto Pooncarie again, and found that apermanent water supply had been laidon, electricity was also laid on, theschool grounds were a mass of greentrees, an air conditioned caravan on acement slab was provided for the teacherand the town was full of lawns, gardensand sprinklers.

NOT LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS!

John Rummery 1949-50

TEACHING MEMORIESA PIECE OF CHALK TALK.

My first teaching appointment wasto Narrabeen Infants in 1952- thus

I joined the ranks of the high-heeled,hatted and gloved, teaching spinsters ofSydney. I had enjoyed a few trips toSydney up until that time, but this wasdifferent- I was really a part of the sceneand the fascination of actually living in abig city. It lasted but a short time, as theDepartment decided that a young ladyfrom the backblocks would be betterplaced in her hometown of Bourke. Thereason given was that another youngfemale teacher, boarding at thePresbyterian Manse, was causingconcern with late night and earlymorning entrances and exits. I wasrequired to take her place because Iwould be accommodated in my familyhome under the watchful eyes of myparents. At that time, Bourke was anIntermediate High School and I wasattached to one of the three infantsclasses for the remainder of the year.

A new school year arrived and there wasa large increase in enrolments. We werealready at 40+ so it was necessary toform another class. The decision wastaken to select a small group of 30 1A/2B pupils and place them in my charge.The immediate problem was that therewas no spare classroom, so a temporaryone was set up - in the weather shed.Weather shed? Well, when the deskswere arranged around the three sides ofthe shed’s built-in seats, my desk andme, and the chalkboard bore the brunt ofthe dust and the winds and theoccasional drift of rain, but we allshared the same searing heat when thesun beat down on the iron roof. Eachnew page of an exercise book soon boreevidence of dirty, sweaty hand marksand when a child was called to the frontof the “classroom”, one of the edge-to-edge desks had to be pushed out offormation to allow exit from thecramped quarters.

Then came the day we were all informedthat more suitable accommodation hadbeen found. The Headmaster’s residencewas on a corner block beside the school,and diagonally across from the residencewas the Methodist Church- the plannednew location for the class. It was abright sunny morning when we moved

in. We all watched the 6th Class boyscarry cupboard, chalkboard, desks andchairs to the new “classroom”. Igathered my charges into their hand-holding positions and ushered them outof the school gate. I then stood in themiddle of the road doing my firstpoliceman duty, stopping the bemusedmotorists. They were quite unused tobeing requested to “Wait there please”by a young teacher who was impedingtheir progress as they drove through thestreets of their small country town.

After safely crossing both roads, wewatched the boys push the pews forwardand place ourfurniture in positionas our “classroom”took shape. We wereglad there would beno wind, no rain, andno excessive heat tobother us. Anythingwould be better thanthe weather shed!

The next day brought new instructions.The church was used for a meeting eachWednesday evening, so on Wednesdayafternoons the “classroom” wasdismantled - furniture neatly stored atthe back of the church, pews returned totheir normal places and all books lockedin the cupboard. We reversed theprocedure on Thursday mornings.Church Service was held on Sundays, soanother double shift of furniture wasnecessary on Friday afternoons andMonday mornings. Tuesdays were as“normal’ as possible under thecircumstances. By this time, I found Iwas working part-time every day, but asthe full pay kept coming in, who was I tomention my missed lessons to otherproperly occupied staff? I still believedconditions were better than in theweather shed.

Mind you, there was still the odd hiccup.There were no toilet facilities at thechurch, so three times each day, afterclass assembly, I would line up mycharges and direct- “Girls to the left-boys to the right” to ensure they emptiedtheir small bladders before we crossedthe roads. Despite my precautions, asmall hand would inevitably be raised inclass-“Please Miss, I’ve GOT to go”. I

would walk with her to the churchyardgate to watch her safely across the roads,then wait for her return, darting inoccasionally to check on the others. Iguess my one benefit in watching was toprovide an eyewitness account shouldshe meet with misadventure whileattending to her needs. With that inmind, I developed my system of handsignals-Stop! Go! Wait! Look! Listen!We were all well-drilled in the safetyprocedure and passers-by soon learnedto ignore my antics out on the street.

Another problem was the cow. Rev.Southwell had a milking cow, and its

“home paddock” wasthe churchyard. I neverliked to share my spacewith a cow, as one hadhampered my playactivities when I was achild. The class and Ihad no real dislike ofher, but we would havepreferred to see a fence

separating us- as we had no protectionbetween the church gate and the porch. Ipaired off my charges- an “afraid” onewith a “brave” one. We would wait untilthe cow turned her back and ambled offin search of a green shoot. Being a local,I could have told her there were none tobe had, but her hopeful search meantthat, with me as a reluctant leader, wetook our chances to rush to the safety ofthe porch, until we were all reunited. Ialso found it necessary to appoint a cowspotter, just to keep tab on hermovements if anyone had to leave the“room”. He was a good monitor.

There was just one more inconvenience-maintaining discipline. My desk facedthe altar, the pulpit and church icons,and the fact that I was in a church wasalways uppermost in my mind.Sometimes, when teaching, there was aneed to dampen high spirits, and I wasreluctant to raise my voice to reprimandmischief-makers. Not only was itnecessary to devise hand signals forcrossing roads- I also had to practiseaccompanying facial expressions toshush any restless little body in mychurch classroom. However, we soondeveloped the habit of talking veryquietly -the acoustics were excellent-and it was seldom necessary to resort to

They were quite unused tobeing requested to “Waitthere please” by a youngteacher who was impedingtheir progress as they drovethrough the streets of theirsmall country town.

TEACHING MEMORIESa loud stage whisper, accompanied by alook of displeasure or a frown.

So, when I think on the sites of my“classrooms” that year, both had theirdrawbacks, but there was one importantdifference that gave preference to thechurch. As the rays of sunlight streamedthrough the stained glass windows, theybathed the books, the desks and theiroccupants with rainbow colours. I wouldwatch a small head lift and twosearching eyes try to assess how long itwould be until the slanting rays of thesun put their owner in the spotlight. Andmy charges would play games withoutstretched hands and arms as theyslipped through, or sought theirfavourite rainbow colour when it wastheir turn to be favoured by the sunlight.And the smiling eyes also admired thestreaks of colours on the clothes theyproudly wore. Thus, when the rain came,and the people of Bourke were thankfulfor the laying of the dust, my class and Ijust waited for the sun to shine again. 50years have not dimmed the memory ofthose different but special days!

Dawn Stewart (Andrews) 1950-51

LITTLE BOY LOSTDuring the 1960’s, the NSW StatePrimary Schools’ SwimmingChampionships at the North SydneyOlympic Pool was the busiestswimming carnival in Australia;completing more races in a two-daycarnival than any other in the country.The NSW Amateur SwimmingAssociation expressed concern that if astate, Australian, or even world, agerecord were to be broken at the carnival,it would not be recognized as we didnot have all qualified ASA officials whowould be needed to sign the recordform.This shortcoming was quicklyaddressed. Those of us who lacked thenecessary qualifications set about thetasks of sitting for the exams andpassing the practical tests to gainNSWASA qualifications for variouspositions. Two of us (including yourstruly) passed as official starters. Theonly positions which were lacking innumbers among teachers weretimekeepers (three per lane in thosedays before electronic timing) butvolunteer NSWASA timekeepers wereco-opted to make up this deficiency.From then on, until I departed toQueensland, I was one of the twoofficial starters. We needed two so thatone could be giving the obligatorybriefing to his next heat while the otherstarter had his heat on the blocks. Thesystem worked very well.One particular year, the swimmers frommy own school, Epping, had done verywell at the zone and I had a fair numberwho had made it through to the StateFinals. Also, Epping was billeting agroup of swimmers from one of thecountry zones. Our principal alsosuggested that the billetees should alsoattend the carnival to encourage theirbillets. As a few parents were takingtheir own kids to the carnival this left agroup just under the limit for oneteacher to accompany them. Frommemory, this was forty in those days.So that I could carry out my officialduties, it was agreed that I could leavethe kids in the stand to be supervised bythe afore-mentioned parents.That morning, I picked up my tribe fromthe school, walked them to Eppingstation, took them to the pool, left them

in the care of the parents in the stand,said a brief “hello” to Don Talbot(WWTC 1951-52) who, by that time,had forsaken teaching for a career as afull-time swimming coach and carriedout my duties as starter.At the end of the day’s races, I pickedup the kids from the stand and made aquick count of heads. As it had juststarted to rain, I gave them the order,“Follow me” and led them off toMilsons Point station.It wasn’t until we alighted from the trainat Epping that one of the young billetsapproached me and said, “Sir, I’ve lostmy billetee.”A wave of sheer panic swept over me.“Who is he?” I asked.“Adrian Wright,” came the answer.I knew Adrian, from Yr 4, who was avery quiet and unobtrusive lad - not thesort of boy one would miss in a hurry.After returning to the empty school, Ibraced myself for the next formidableduty - returning the solitary lad to histemporary home.It was with considerable trepidation thatI rang the doorbell.When Mrs Wright opened the door, all Icould blurt out was, “I’m sorry, MrsWright, but I’ve lost your little boy.”“That’s all right,” came the response.“We know where he is. He’s in theMater Hospital.”It was some weeks before I heard thefull story of what had occurred.Some time after my “Follow me” order,Adrian had realized that he had left hisjumper behind. In running down thestand to retrieve it, he had slipped onthe seats, then wet from the rain, andcracked his head open.By the time the remaining officials andorganisers learned that he was supposedto be with me, I had long gone.As I was well-known to them, they setabout attempting to save Mike Austin’sskin.Some took the boy to the Mater whileothers sought out Mr Wright from hisoffice in the city and accompanied himfirstly to the hospital and then to theRSL where they did an excellent job ofconvincing Mr Wright that Mike Austinis really a good bloke.I am ever grateful for the understandingparents and for the “rescue operation”of my fellow teachers that day.

Michael Austin 1950-51

Some copies are still available at acost of $20 including postage andmay be purchased by sending acheque to the Treasurer, LindsayBudd at:

4 Flemington CloseCASULA 2170

TEACHING MEMORIESBLOOPERS

The following “bloopers” were postedon the waggatc-alumni E-group. If youhave some similar incidents which maybe suitable for Talkabout, please feelfree to sent them to the Editor.

Blooper No 1:In my second week of teaching atQueanbeyan PS somebody mentionedthat there was a staff meeting thatafternoon, after school.I had been playing 1st Grade cricketsince I was 15 and knew how “teammeetings” after the match usually endedup:...following a few Cleansing Ales...mob of pie-eyed old codgers whingingabout the umpires, the captain, notgetting a bowl, batting too low down theorder etc.So I caught the bus home.Besides, I had preparation to do fortomorrow.Next day I had great difficulty inexplaining to the Principal that theynever told us about Staff Meetings atWagga Wagga. (not while I was awake,anyway).

Bill Atkinson 1957-58

Blooper No 2:In 1963 I was teaching Year 5 atCampbell PS.I was busy writing Problem No. 3 onthe blackboard, “If a farmer was ...”,when I felt a gentle tug on my shirt.There was Tanya, age 10, IQ over themoon.She whispered to me, “Mr A., when youbegin with ‘If’ you must use ‘were’, not‘was’.”I knew it was no use pulling the old “Iwas wondering who would be the firstto notice that” bit on Tanya, so Ithanked her very much and checked itout that evening. She was right. I musthave been asleep when my teachermentioned that.

Bill Atkinson 1957-58

Blooper No 3:In the 1960s I was sent to EastDenistone Infants. The Infants Mistresswas an old dragon who scared mewitless. That means that as soon as shetold me to do something it went rightout of my head.

Just before the school photos were to betaken she decided that all the classesshould have colour names. I went from1A (for Ayre, not because they werebright) to 1 Yellow.Photo day came and I followed thebarked orders and lined up the kids.“Class name?” asked the photographer.“1A”, I replied.“Click”. A couple of hours later thepenny dropped! Panic! My sin could notbe hidden. Recess came and the InfantsMistress came into the staffroom.Confession time! “Oh, Miss G, I havedone something terrible”. “What haveyou done now?” said she who must beobeyed. I told her. In her arms she had abundle of books which she let fall to thefloor before she walked out.A couple of weeks of stomach churning.When the photos came back, my classwas called 1 Yellow.The old cow (excuse the French) musthave rung the photographers and theydoctored the photo.

Gretel Ayre 1952-53ps. I got my ‘C’ list the next year at thatschool.

Blooper No 4:When I was teaching at MullumbimbyHigh it was traditional for the Principal,at the beginning of each year, to put ona “Get to know the new teachers” do atthe local golf club.As his wife used to be a professionalsinger, dancer in her young days, she,with her pianist friend, usuallycontributed to the entertainment at thesefunctions.On this particular evening, I happenedto be talking to the Principal and acouple of old stagers when we werejoined by a New Chum. We chatted fora while and found out where he hadcome from and what he was to teach.Meanwhile the Principal’s wife hadseated herself on the piano and began tosing “Somebody Stole My Gal”.We stopped talking and turned aroundto listen.The New Chum turned to us and said,“Who’s the silly old duck making a foolof herself on the piano?” There was a deathly silence and all Icould think of to say was “Can I get youfellows another drink?

Lindsay Budd 1950-51

Blooper No 5:I did my “home prac” at WarrawongPublic School. The school was a teachershort, so I was given the responsibilityof 6B, mostly without supervision. Iwas told to just let them draw a lot. Isuggested to the kids they could bring instuff for the Nature Table. One boybrought in a huge green frog in a box.As he opened the lid, it jumped out.Every girl in the class screamed andjumped up on the desks. “You won’t dothat again, will you?” said a bemusedheadmaster.

Norma Fowler 1960-61

Blooper No 6:My biggest blooper was with the DIwhen I was first appointed to a one-teacher school at Bangaroo Northoutside Canowindra-a school of 25 withlarge attached residence. We only had awood fuel stove in the kitchen so I putin a request for an electric stove.The DI wrote back and told me to goahead and order one, I think fromGovStores. This I did and the gleamingnew stove duly arrived, but it needed tobe wired in by an electrician, so I gotone out from Canowindra and heinformed me that the switchbox neededextensive rewiring to take the newappliance.I promptly said “Go ahead” and thework was done with alacrity and the Billpresented-85pounds! Then it dawned onme that I had not gained permissionfrom the DI for this work to be done.So, with heavy heart I penned a letter tothe DI admitting my crime.His letter back to me was a model ofpatient restraint: starting off: “MrBriggs, you have acted wrongly on thefollowing three points....”, which heproceeded to enumerate, and resignedlyreferring me to the appropriate clausesof the Handbook.But he paid the Bill!I was terrified that I would have beenleft with the Bill, as we weredesperately poor. The DI was JimDuncan, a really good bloke, and he didgive me my C List after this mostinauspicious start.

John Briggs 1953-54

TEACHING MEMORIESA FIRST APPOINTMENT

29th January, 1952 was my first day. AsI stood in the vestibule of the ForbesBoys’ Primary who should enter butMarshall Johnson. I was delighted tosee a familiar face. We fell on oneanother and were really pleased that wehad a friend from college with whom towork.I had booked in at the VandenburghHotel where I was ensconced in a plain,small room with a bed and not muchelse. However the grapevine must havebeen at work as shortly a fellow, oneJohn Walmsley, I think, was his namearrived and conveyed me and mybelongings to Mrs ‘Ockings boardinghouse in Battye Street, where I foundMarshall, Ian Hore and Gwen Millsstaying as well of course as John andthere may have been another. I must askMarshall as he may remember.The board was reasonable as Iremember and included breakfast anddinner and as I recall we had to find ourown lunch. Of course we had a cup oftea or something similar at eleven atschool and after school at four o’clockor perhaps a little later we wouldsojourn to one of the bars and take alittle light refreshment.Marshall and I met the owner of one ofthe milk bars, Larry O’Leary, actually Ithink it was his wife whose name nowescapes me who owned the place but itsuited Larry to sponge and as he alsooften took a little light refreshment hewas accepted by Marshall and me as afriend.Forbes is a small country town whereeveryone knows everyone else and as Ifound out everyone in the district formany miles around also knows everyoneelse. I also now know that this is thecase for all small towns and when astranger such as new school teachers,doctors, policemen or other publicservants arrive this is duly noted by thegrapevine.We didn’t know people in Forbes, or notmany anyhow, but you could bet yoursocks everyone knew us and our habitssuch as enjoying a small ale.They were the days of beer restrictionswhich had been operating in New Southfor many years. The beer came on atfour and went off at six o’clock when

the pub closed. It was known as the sixo’clock swill and in that time you drankas many beers as you could. I think weprobably managed four or six but wedidn’t buy bottled beer as that was inshort supply also.Mrs ’Ocking didn’t approve of ourdrinking but as we were still quite soberafter half a dozen we didn’t cause anytrouble at the boarding house. Wemanaged to enjoy mealtimes at dinneras it was a more leisurely meal than ourusually rushed breakfast, although Ithink we used to eat breakfast together.Mrs Hocking, whose name Marshallused to pronounce distinctly and clearlyas “Ockin”, pronounced the word“syrup” as “sirrp”, so when Marshallwas finished his formal meal which wasusually very tasty and wholesome hewould have a piece of bread, butter andsyrup. I think more than one piece wasfrowned on.Marshall would butter his bread andthen clearly ask whoever was nearest tothe commodity to pass the HONEY. MrsHocking bit every time.“Marshall”, she would say firmly, “youknow there is no honey. That is sirrp!”Being well mannered we didn’t guffawbut many of us could not suppress agrin as the poor lady made her usualpronunciation mistake, and Marshallhad bread and honey at the conclusionof most meals.I remember Mrs Hocking withaffection, as a wonderful, simple soulwhom I’m sure had our best interests atheart as far as accommodation went.When Gwen Mills and I went outtogether she seemed delighted. I alsoremember when we received a twoshilling rise in our wages, the boardwent up sixpence.

Malcolm Hanratty 1950-51

EDITOR’S NOTE:In those days board was considered tobe 25% of one’s salary.Mrs Hocking was one of the old school.

STANDARDS LIVEFOREVER

The NSW Standard railroad gauge(distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5inches. That’s an exceedingly oddnumber.

Why was that gauge used?

Because that’s the way they built themin England, and the NSW railways werebuilt by English engineers.

Why did the English people build themlike that? Because the first rail lineswere built by the same people who builtthe pre-railroad tramways, and that’s thegauge they used.

Why did “they” use that gauge then?Because the people who built thetramways used the same jigs and toolsthat they used for building wagons,which used that wheel spacing. Okay!Why did the wagons use that odd wheelspacing? Well, if they tried to use anyother spacing the wagons would breakon some of the old, long distance roads,because that’s the spacing of the oldwheel ruts.

So who built these old rutted roads?The first long distance roads in Europewere built by Imperial Rome for thebenefit of their legions. The roads havebeen used ever since. And the ruts? Theinitial ruts, which everyone else had tomatch for fear of destroying theirwagons, were first made by Roman warchariots. Since the chariots were madefor or by Imperial Rome they were allalike in the matter of wheel spacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the originalquestions. The New South Walesstandard railway gauge of 4 feet, 8.5inches derives from the originalspecification for an Imperial Romanarmy war chariot. Specs andBureaucracies live forever.

So, the next time you are handed aspecification and wonder what horse’sass came up with it, you may be exactlyright. Because the Imperial Romanchariots were made to be just wideenough to accommodate the back-endsof two war horses.

***************

COLLEGE MEMORIES

1972 - learning to walk on thegrass

Five very hot travellers arrived inWagga Wagga on 19 January 1972 andwere given the keys to the residence at22 Charleville Road, formerly occupiedby the Principal of Wagga WaggaTeachers’ College. I had been appointedto this newly-emergmg entity calledRiverina College of AdvancedEducation and given the amazing title,Master of College Halls ... what thattitle meant I was soon to discover!

We had arrived in the middle of a heat-wave. That first night the whole familycarried their mattresses into the back-yard in an attempt to find a cool place tosleep.

The next day my wife, Marie, anddaughters, Lynette, Merryn andBronwyn ... plus Candy the dog ... wereleft to attend to the setting-up of ournew home while I was given awhirlwind introduction to the campus.

“You can work from here,” said FredWylie, the Property Officer. “It used tobe the morgue in the old RAAFHospital days. At least it’s opposite theDining Room and the AdministrationBuilding. Let me know what furnitureyou’ll need.” Exit Fred.

A gentle knock on the door. “Hello. I’mJenny O’Donnell. I’m here to assistyou.” Jenny placed a tall pile of paperson the floor. “We’ve already receivedstacks of applications foraccommodation,” she said, “and thestudents will start arriving for classes infive weeks time. How do you want tohandle this?” Before I could answer, thephone began to ring with parent’s andstudent’s enquires ... and it didn’t ceaseringing for a couple of months!

A phone call from the Principal advisedme that he had recruited a person to beDeputy Master of College Halls, Mrs.Mona Ravenscroft. Mona arrivedshortly afterwards and took upresidence in one of the Warden’s Flats.

Mona was a graduate in Psychology andSociology, with extensive field workand hands-on experience. From themoment of her arrival, we clicked!

My stated responsibilities included totalorganisation of the Halls of Residence,placement of students within the Hallsof Residence, assistance for studentswho would be living off-campus, theCollege Kitchen and Dining Hallfacilities, the Student Union, studenthealth, extra-curricula activities.

My only qualifications for the job camefrom my experience training as aMethodist minister, then 1968-1971 as afull-time, fee-paying, married student atthe ANU, Canberra ... the year 1971spent as a staff-tutor in residence atBurgmann College (living in closeproximity with 300 students) in the firstyear of that College’s life.

The starting point, for me, was therecognition that a new and untriedinstitution (RCAE) ... in a new-age (the1970’s) ... was, by Government decree,located in a very self-consciouslyconservative inland City (WaggaWagga) ... and expected to supplant anexisting institution (WWTC) which, byall the accepted standards of previoustimes, was both highly regarded andwell-credentialled.

With this recognition came the need toaccept, as fact, that the new attitudesand practices were going to clash,powerfully, with former attitudes andpractices ... and the new things wouldprevail! There was no way to avoid thisimpact. It would affect students andtheir families, staff, and the entireWagga community,

The only question in my mind, given myareas of responsibility, was just howand when to acknowledge this change ...gradually or immediately?

Mona and I were very, very, fortunate tobe able to consult with and hearreactions to this question from, on theone hand, persons who had first-handexperience of WWTC e.g. threecontinuing students who gave upvacation time to meet with me; admin.staff like Edna Wilson and DawnStaines; the Catering Supervisor, MickDraculic; domestic staff in theresidences (wonder-women!); Cec, the

nightwatchman; Lyn Moodie, a Lecturerand Warden; Bill Rowlinson; formerDeputy Principal, Ray Wade; continuingstaff like Keith Swan, John Cosier,Arthur Trewin, Brian Cambourne andthe remarkable Sister Jean Hamilton,RN.

On the other hand, often in the staff-room, we tapped into the excitementand the keenness of the arriving staff...emotions which always surmounted anyquestions and confusions they carriedinside themselves. Mona and I sharedand discussed what we had heard,usually late at night, and often with awell-earned night-cap!

I made my decision to run with the newthing and to do so immediately. Therewould be no attempt at a gradualchange. In this I was supported by thePrincipal, Dr C.D. Blake.

Together with Jenny O’Donnell(replaced, a few months later, by PatKelly) I focussed upon the changes tobe made to the on-campusaccommodation. [Thanks to CharlieFerris and Henry Gardiner for thereprint of the ‘Rules and Regulations’(Talkabout, July 2002) from themidfifties.] Names like Buna-Marinyahgave way to A, B. C and W, X Blocks.Wardens were replaced by ResidentTutors. Four of the residential blockswere deemed mixed housing areas, withone male wing and one female wing andcommon use of the adjoining area. Asthere were many more students arrivingat RCAE than could ever beaccommodated in the on-campusbuildings, the allocation of rooms wasdetermined by ballot. The previousRules and Regulations, many of whichgoverned behaviour, were replaced by amininium number of Rules focussing onproperty and physical safety. ResidenceCommittees were expected to be thefocal point for determining the style oflife and domestic arrangements for eachresidential block.

The above changes were prompted by anumber of factors, some being the age /maturity of tertiary students in theseventies; the societal demand forincreased personal and socialresponsibility / accountability; thedifficulties facing any institution tryingto retain the loco parentis relationship

Don Affleck was appointed Master ofCollege Halls to the new RCAE in 1972.He relates his experiences which shouldbe interesting to those WWTC studentsof the 50’s and 60’s.EDITOR.

COLLEGE MEMORIESwith persons in their late teens and earlytwenties.

The changes made to the on-campusliving arrangements were important intheir own right, but they also acted as anindicator ... pointing to changesoccurring across the whole campus. Forinstance, the Dining Room sawtremendous changes, with formal mealarrangements altered to suit the needs ofscholarship/non-scholarship students ...and no pig-table; a lecture schedule forresidents which did not provide acommon meal break; no RCAEuniform, which made it hard for thelocals to play pick the student; newsubjects; new teaching locations; newpresentations of subject matter; appeals/articles/interviews with the media in aneffort to find sufficient suitable off-campus accommodation; the College“Revue”; plans already being drawn-upto re-locate the RCAE on another site;expanded Counselling and Medicalservices.

Stories better illustrate what washappening and, as well, give anopportunity to feel the changes.

I remember pleading with a group ofyoung women students: “go bra-lessand singletted on campus by all means,but please dress up for the city folk.”The advice was ignored ... until theyencountered abuse and actual physicalviolence from offended women inBaylis Street!

Don Boadle had a group of continuingstudents (2nd years) for history. A fewweeks into term and the studentscomplained to the Principal that Donwas refusing to teach them. Thesubsequent inquiry revealed that Donhad given his students an article to readfor the next class. When he arrived forthe said class Don asked who had readthe article. Silence. ‘Well, you’d betterbuzz off and come back to the nextclass, when you’ve read it.” ... and Donleft the room. Kindly but firmly, CliffBlake explained to the students that theywere now in a new situation and theywere being taught!

Many persons in Wagga found itdifficult to accept the new RCAE,especially those with strong connectionsand loyalties to the WWTC. To some ofthose persons an institution based on

principles of freedom and self-monitoring within the law wasabhorrent and morally dangerous. Inthose early months I was personallydenounced from the pulpit of twochurches in Wagga. Abusive phone callsto my home and office, complete withBiblical quotations, were a regularoccurrence. ‘Letters to the Editor’, inThe Daily Advertiser, was anothersafety-valve for those who needed tolet-off some moral steam on this issue.Finally, from those who either wouldnot or could not confront me, there wasthe occasional nocturnal salvo of rocksonto the iron roof of our cottage.

There were students who wereapprehensive about the changes theywere experiencing. The RCAE and theDepartment of Education had agreed onan upgraded three-year training programto replace the two years presentlyrequired ... but there was to be atransition period. The returning second-years were given the opportunity to optfor either the two-year or the three-yearprogram. The vast majority opted forthe two year deal. They were known(proudly) as the Two of Twos. Thiscaused a very obvious split in studentattitudes and behaviour on more thanone occasion.

Sadly, there were some students forwhom the changes were just too much... and they left after a short time.However, the majority of studentscontinued on to graduation and tosuccessful teaching careers. I like tothink that living and learning, even amidthe confusion and pain of that firstchange-over year, 1972, was a positiveperiod of growth for us all ... but, sinceno sound research has been done on thisperiod, it remains my dream like myreading of an incident which occurredon the first formal day of student-life atRCAE:

I hurried out of our cottage-by-the-front-gate at about 8.45 a.m. I had somepapers to drop-off at the BlakemoreBuilding, so I took the most directroute: I cut though the beautiful rosegardens and strode across the lawn.When I stepped on to the pavementaround the Blakemore Building I wasmet by a group of students wearingWWTC blazers. “Excuse me,” onestudent asked, politely, “but, can we

walk on the grass, now?” “Yes, youcan!”, I replied.

As I look back in memory, thirty-oneyears later, I can still see those studentsdeliberately stepping on to the grass andI am thankful to have been there, withthem, at that time.

Don Affleck 1972

On Friday 23rd May over fifty guests,including former College alumni andpartners, helped June Hadley (Robson)of the 1948-1950 session celebrate herinvestiture into the Order of AustraliaMedal, a ceremony that had taken placeat Government House earlier in themorning.Guests met in the second floor loungeof the Masonic Club in Sydney, beforeproceeding to the grand dining room ofthe Club for a two-course lunch.June was honoured for her contributionto activities of the VIEW Clubs ofAustralia for around forty years, duringwhich time she held a number ofoffices. The climax of her work camewith preparation of a history of theClubs in 1999-2000.Brief speeches of congratulationfollowed lunch, before June in turnexpressed thanks to those present whohad supported her in various ways.When the gathering began to disperse, itwas noticeable that former WWTCalumni were happy to take advantage ofanother opportunity to share memoriespast and present.Congratulations from us all, June.

John Riley (1948-50)

WWTC ALUMNUSHONOURED

1952 - 53 REUNION

Greg and Helene (Graham)Hodgekiss, Bruce and Fay (Boxsell)Taylor, Marion (Litchfield) and Jim Walliss.

Dear Editor,Please find enclosed a report on theGolden Jubilee Reunion of the 1952/53Session of WWTC.I have included a photograph takenwhen the reunion group congratulatedthree coupless who married after theircollege romances 1952/53 and who havelasted the distance.Helene Hotchkiss.

It was “Listen up, you guys”, as one saysthese days for “Eyes front, payattention!”

Twenty nine reunioneers participatedwholeheartedly in the 1952-53 SessionWWTC Golden Jubilee Reunion held atthe Arthur & Yvonne Boyd EducationCentre at Riversdale. The programallowed for both small group and wholegroup recollections, fun and festivities.Reminiscent of college days, thedormitory style accommodation (eachroom sleeping two with sliding doors tothe adjacent couple) provided anostalgic scenario. All rooms wereenhanced by the magnificent viewthrough their plate glass windows of theShoalhaven River and Arthur’s Hill, thescenes Arthur Boyd painted so often. Allwalls were hung with Arthur BoydOriginals.Facilities and catering services wereideal for the group’s needs and sunnyweather was perfect for bush-walking,viewing the art works, using the library

facilities, viewing relevant videos or forwandering the grounds of Riversdaleand the Bundanon homestead properties.The College Anthem “College of theRiverina” was sung with gusto at thereunion dinner and the following parodywas rendered to the delight of all.

“We retirees greet each other,We relate our own great fame.

Raising voices in competitionRe the coolest guy and dame.

Straining limbs to make this journeySpurring minds down “Memory

Lane”.We still find it worth the effort!

Joy is always what we gain.

By a river, in a city,Wheresoe’er we name the place

Friends re-met are great to be with.This will always be the case.

We return to dorm conditionsNo room service if you please!

And refreshed return to our homes,To recall new memories.

That’s sentimental (maybe bullshit?)Pop your teeth in – “shoot the

breeze”.Let’s drink too much and grab themoment.

Smokers cough and others wheeze.Fun forever is our motto,

All prepared to pay the price.Decorum was ne’er our forte.

Say it once and mean it twice.”

Very hearty thanks and subsequentlywarm letters of appreciation werereceived by the organizing committeewhich was encouraged to arrangeanother reunion event in two years time.

Helene Hotchkiss.(For the organizing committee.)

REUNION 1962-63

A reunion is being planned forthe group who attendedWWTC during 1962 and 1963to be held in Kiama on 21st &22nd February 2004.It will be a chance to catch upand look back on the past 40years. Unfortunately addressesare unknown for over 60 of ourgroup.For information contact:Leigh (Moore) Griggs

(02) 99778441

Jennie (Lambert) Coggan(02) 62737477

email:[email protected]

Elaine (Hardy) Saunders(02) 44417270

[email protected]

Dinah [email protected]

LETTERS PAGEDear Lew,Nita (Chidzey) Mitchell, 1947 Session,gave me a clipping from the Wagganewspaper – the report of the CollegeOpening.There was also a copy of Talkabout,July, 2002 with a section of the letterfrom Don Learmouth (1956-57)highlighted. Perhaps direct quoteswithout comment.Don Learmouth (1956-57) writes: “Therooms were Spartan, with brown lino onthe floors and a few mats. The onlyheating was a couple of coil heaters inthe corridor. On some winter nights Ican remember putting an overcoat ontop of the bed cover and then taking themat off the floor and putting it on top tokeep out the cold.”

The Wagga reporter writes (June, 1947):“A tour of inspection of the Collegeemphasised the claims that it was one ofthe most modernly equipped in the state.From the students to the domesticquarters, from the dormitories to theplaying fields, it appears that everydetail required for the comfort andmodern education has been included.One of the most impressive areas is thesleeping quarters. These rival the roomsof a first class hotel with every modernconvenience. Central heating has beeninstalled through the male and femaledormitories. All rooms have hot andcold water installed.The recreation and study rooms embodyevery comfort.The dining room resembles a similarset-up at a modern hotel with the latestof furniture and every necessaryfacility.”

No, I can’t resist a comment. What didthose later students do to the FIRSTCLASS HOTEL enjoyed by wePioneers in 1947?

Kevin Wilcox (1947-48)

A LETTER FROM APIONEER LECTURER

Dear Ann,I am sure that you, Ann, will rememberme. I was Betty Kilgour (PioneerGeography Lecturer) who was one ofthe six initial lecturers who lived-in atthe W.W.T.C., from its beginning inJune 1947. In 1948 I married myReturned Soldier and became Mrs .JackJohnstone. He taught at Wagga HighSchool until 1954. FollowingDepartmental rules I resigned in 1949,but in 1952 was seconded back toCollege to become Lecturer in Biology– Mr Gammage’s off-sider.I wrote to the Bathurst office when thebig move was made – that’s how I cameto receive Talkabout, I told about thepre-Wagga days of the Pioneer Staff.We were appointed at the beginning of1947, and lived a nomadic life inSydney.We had our first Staff Meetings inRepin’s Cafeteria in King Street –arranged we presumed by MrBlakemore! Following these meetingswe spent time in Sydney Teachers’College and Balmain and variousDemonstration Schools. We weredelighted at the thought of a permanenthome in Wagga, but shocked when wearrived a week or so ahead of studentsto find the state of things. The arrival of150 students in mid-winter, with no hotwater and the barest accommodationwas a further shock, and when all of thekitchen staff went on strike on the veryfirst day, we saw further disaster ahead.Mr. Blakemore, then oblivious of mostof our problems, sent off a wellremembered telegram to Head Officewhich read : “Wagga Teachers’ Collegeoff to a flying start”.All that is long since forgotten, Ann, butthere were a large number of home-sickstudents who we in-livers had toconsole in those early days.It wasn’t those early memories that Iwanted to write about, Ann. It wasseeing Barbara Lenny’s name in theobituary notice. (Her married name wasBarbara Holt).I remember her especially, in theCollege A Hockey Team. I simply putup a notice asking for hockey playerswith some idea of experience. When I

saw Goulburn H. S. alongside her name,I knew she was just the person weneeded. (Crookwell and Goulburn wererecognised first class hockey areas.)From those lists I made up 2 teamswhich we designated A and B, and theyplayed like that against Balmain in the1947 Intercollegiate.I might add that there was a rose-bowlfor the College which won, and, Mr.Blakemore made it very clear that hewanted that for W.W.T.C. Surprisingly,considering how short a time there hadbeen a W.W.T.C., our teams won theRose Bowl. All that early morningpractice proved worthwhile.I write about Barbara in the hope thatwhen a longer obituary is written abouther, someone will remember her abilityon the hockey field. She was adelightful person as were so many ofthose Pioneer Students.The Pioneer Lecturers weren’t so badeither! I am sad to say that so many ofthem have passed away, which is notsurprising in view of our age. I wouldhave been the youngest on the staff, andI am now over 80.Please excuse my writing Ann – blameold-age and arthritic joints – after all1947 is 56 years ago!Best wishes to all those keeping theTalkabout alive and to any who stillremember.Good wishes,Betty Johnstone (officially Catherine)

A GET TOGETHER OVER LUNCH

WHEN: Thursday, 21st August,2003; 11.40 for midday.WHERE: Masonic Club,Castlereagh St, Sydney.Meet at Lounge near Reception onGround Floor.COST: Approx. $25; drinks extra.CONTACT: Ann Smith at 96350449 or John Riley 9525 5304 forbookings at least a week inadvance.WHO: Anyone from WWTC,regardless of Session.

If you can’t make it this time, thenext lunch will be held on Friday,21st November, 2003.

IN MEMORIUM

WALTER ELI WILCOX.

Early students of Wagga WaggaTeachers’ College will be saddened tohear of the death on January 14th thisyear of the Pioneer Art Lecturer, WalterEli Wilcox.He came to Wagga Wagga Teachers’College from a position at Sydney Tech.High School to establish the Art andCraft Department. Two years later hemoved to Newcastle Teachers’ Collegewhere he established the same sectionin that College.This section he later expanded to thetraining of Manual Arts teachers forsecondary schools. He remained atNewcastle for thirty years and wasawarded an honorary degree inrecognition of his services.On retirement he moved with his wifeLorna to Sydney where he followed hisinterest in Spelling, Reading andWriting with publication of a book inthis area. He spent his final years in aRetirement Village in Sylvania where hedied in his 89th year.He is survived by his wife Lorna andson Ron and he was the adoringGrandad of seven grandchildren andseventeen great grandchildren.This tribute was given at the celebrationand thanksgiving service for his life :“A teacher who was ever ready to learn,A talker who spent more time listening,A thinker who always thought othersthought,And a doer who took his satisfactionfromA job well done rather than any praiseThat went with it.”

Kevin Wilcox (1947-49)

The death of Merv Armstrong occurredat home at “Cariginda” on the 28thDecember 2002.Merv was born at Dubbo in 1932 andwas the second eldest child of Bob andFlo Armstrong of Mogriguy.During his years at high school heboarded in Dubbo from Monday toFriday, riding his pushbike fromMogriguy to Dubbo. Merv revelled insport and was a member of the AstleyCup in rugby league and athletics.From late 1949 to June 1950 Mervworked as a sleeper cutter and fannerwith his father at Mogriguy, when hewas accepted to Wagga Wagga TeachersCollege.From June 1950 until the end of 1951Merv trained at Wagga Wagga TeachersCollege. Again Merv became involvedin the sports and represented the collegein Australian rules, soccer, rugby union,basketball, tennis and hockey, beingcaptain of the college hockey teampremiers. One of the highlights ofMerv’s time at college was when Mervand his mate Col Sims rode their bikesfrom Wagga to Mogriguy, sleepingunder bridges along the way. Col wasbest man at Merv and Jan’s weddingthree years later.After graduating Merv became teacherin charge at Balladoran Public School,from 1952 until May 1955. This wasone of the most significant times inMerv’s life when he met Jan and theywere married on August 28th 1954.When teaching at Balladoran hissporting interests were cricket, tennisand table tennis, building the tables and

starting a club. Later in life he enjoyedboating and teaching his children andtheir friends to water ski, and playedgolf until ill health prevented himplaying.In 1955 he left teaching and began towork at C.T.Whitemans and Sons inMiller Street for his father and motherin law, Cliff and Beryl Whiteman.It was as Holden dealer that mostpeople would associate Merv. Hebought the business after Cliff’s deathin 1966 and was managing director ofWhiteman’s Holden until 1991. Duringthat time he owned or was inpartnership in several associatedbusinesses, bought and sold between1966 and 2001.Many people worked with Merv inthese enterprises and knew him as anhonest and hardworking man whowanted to do the best for his employeesand their families, his customers and hisown family. Merv felt a commitment tothe youth of Gilgandra and was alwaysproud of the fact he trained manyapprentices who have become a part ofthe businesses in Gilgandra and furtherafield. He lived by the Rotary motto ofthe Pride of Workmanship. .. “Do itonce, do it well”.Some of Merv’s achievements duringthis time were: Founding member andfive times president of the GMHCountry dealer Council (NSW):Councillor and Vice President of theNSW Motor Traders Association(MTA): Chairman of the NSW AutoIndustry Training Committee and NSWrepresentative on the NationalCommittee; Time magazine QualityDealer of the Year, NSW 1984. Merv’sinvolvement in these associationsenabled him to visit every state inAustralia and also Asia, and this love oftravel led to he and Jan havingnumerous overseas trips.Merv’s love of teaching was evident inall areas of his life: his career, hisleadership, his staff, organisations andfamily. His grandchildren (andchildren!) would have a look ofresignation on their faces...Oh NO Notanother grandpa lecture.!!!!Merv lived out his life to the end withspirit and humour. He was obviouslyslowing down in recent months, but hewas totally impressed with all the

people in Gilgandra and their incrediblecompassion for a man “on his lastlegs”!!Merv is survived by his wife Jan, hisfour children Dianne, David, Virginiaand Greg, and their families withfourteen grandchildren, his two brothersand two sisters and their families.

Jan Armstrong

****************

MERVYN HENRY ARMSTRONG

COLLEGE MEMORIESon the back legs of the chair which cutholes in the flooring. I wonder howmany of us rocked back in our chairs inour new homes in later years and whodidn’t think back on those College days.I remember – “Miss B, – if you cannotcontrol yourself how do you expect tocontrol a class?”I remember the two hessian stripscarefully marked out in squares – 1 to15 and 16 to 30 – where our artmasterpieces were displayed. These Ispecially remember. Our section wasDrama Option and Art Option. Therewere 16 students in Drama and 14 inArt, and naturally arranged inalphabetical order in each optionSo as W =Wilcox, I was number 16 inDrama Option and 17 from Art Optionwas one Jack Ackhurst. Jack was thatgreat ex-service and ex-P.O.W studentwho had been a commercial artist. Nextto his work my poor efforts were justthat. I complained that my work shouldhave been displayed with those of theDrama Group and not highlighted nextto Jack’s. Didn’t get anywhere with theargument and continued to get myregular 50%.I sit now in my Seniors LeisureLearning Art Class and do landscapes inoils. My present Art teachercongratulates me on the excellentperspective I have incorporated in mypainting. I smile to myself and saysoftly and with great appreciation –“Thanks Wally”.

Winifred & Kevin Wilcox 1947/48

****************

HALL OF FAME

BARRY DESMOND JACKSON1948 - 50

Barry played Rugby League footballagainst France at Armidale in 1951.He played for North Sydney first gradefor three years, 1954/5/6 but retiredwith osteo in right leg.He was telephoned at school onemorning and told he had been placed onstandby for New South Wales to travelto Brisbane that same day, as areplacement for a player who had toundergo a fitness test. Unfortunately forBarry, the selected player passed thefitness test, and he was not phoned thesecond time. He, thus, so narrowly

Interested in havinga Reunion?

The Alumni TeamIs here to help you.

Just give us a call and we willbe able to advise and assist in

the organisation of yourspecial event.

Phone: (02) 63384629

SOME STUDENTMEMORIES:

There are many stories of WaggaCollege times that are exchangedwhenever old students get together.These are some of our memories. Whowill forget the Green Hornet? Not I. Itwas the transport to my first practiseteaching. Keith Willard and KevinQuinn were at Eunonyhareenha Schooland Lindsay Clifford and I were atExperiment Farm School, (ExperimentFarm is now Charles Sturt UniversityWagga Wagga Campus). The teacherwas Mr. Carl Dempsey, father of ourfellow student, Margaret.Wally Wilcox was our supervisor andpromptly at 8 a.m. each morning wewere picked up and transported via theGreen Hornet to our schools. NorthWagga was also on his list. Readers of“Teaching Memories” (compiled byJohn Riley) will be familiar with thestories of the Locusts and the car radio.My girlfriend (now wife of 52 years)had her first practise teaching at NorthWagga. At the end of the practice periodour supervisor met us all and spoke tous about our efforts and gave words ofencouragement. He sought Winifred andI out and made this very propheticpronouncement: “After watching overyou this period I have come to theconclusion that you will be good foreach other; he will bring you out of yourshell and you will make him pull hishorns in.”I remember the way craft material wasmeticulously measured and handed out.How I complained about the smallmeasure. When I arrived at my firstschool and received my first requisition– all the materials for my students forthe next year – I thanked him inretrospect for the lesson learned in theeconomical use of supplies.I don’t think I have met anyone whoorganised more completely everythingabout his craft room, materials, seating,organisation, work display – everything.A product of his times, a time of postwar shortages, learning how toappreciate what we had and how tomake them last in good condition formany to enjoy.I remember and I’m sure many of hisstudents do – how Mr. X and/or Miss Ywould be spoken to about rocking back

missed the opportunity to play for thestate.Barry was in a most controversial matchagainst the French touring team in 1951at Armidale when the referee abandonedthe match ten minutes before full time.In his own words Barry tells us:“Jackson rakes ball from underFrenchman’s foot, Frenchman attacksJackson and is sent off.Jackson has running argument with G.Delay, scrum in front of French goal,Delay boots Jackson in face, Jacksonrubs blood over face and Delay is sentoff, Ambo comes onto field, looks atcut, “Christ Barry he’s opened up theside of your cheek”, at this pointJackson panics, Ambo cleans face withwet cloth, 1/4 inch cut on Jackson’sface, Jackson is pacified.Fifteen minutes before full time bothteams brawl on field, Jackson isflattened but rises to his feet and shapesup again, ref blows his whistle (10minutes before full time) and walksfrom the field.”“Papers report French victory but I willgo to my grave believing that we couldhave won if we had played those lastten minutes.W.W.T.C. Drama Option improved myfootball skills no end!”

*****************

COLLEGE MEMORIESDo you remember these paintings?

A letter was received from DarrylWalker (1952-53)in which he says: “I have enclosed scans of twophotographs of the paintings done byDave Lyons, whose name has poppedup from time to time, and which hung inthe common room of the Kabi/Kumbumen’s dormitory from 1952 onwards.They may be of interest.”

Copies of the photos were sent to DavidLyons (1952-53)and the following replywas received.

Lindsay,Well fancy that! History raises its uglyhead again. Thanks for the snaps - Iguess they were black and whitephotos in those days as themurals were coloured. I didn’thave a camera at College.(Thank you Darryl). Certainlyuse them as part of the Collegehistory if you wish.

Yes I was the perpetrator of theKabi murals, there’s a DL in thebottom right corner of the first.As best I can remember it, fairlyearly in 1952 Greg Hotchkisswas elected to some committeeor other, I suspect it must havebeen associated with Kabidormitory. I think the sum oftwelve pounds had beenforcefully prised from the tight

fists of residents and Greg asked me todesign a couple of murals featuringKabi’s totem, the kangaroo.I don’t know how Greg overcame themore pragmatic outlook of Kabi’s soliddrinkers, smokers and gamblers butthese murals were commissioned. Iremember going with Greg on the bus toorder the masonite, timber and paint, mewith my head full of Jacky Sly at thetime.

Greg (and probably others) constructedand mounted the frames. Enamel paintwas used on primed masonite (noplastic paint in those days).The first wasa 6’ x 4’ panel from memory and it hung

on the northern wall of the Kabicommon room. There was a mildcontroversy about the secondwhich hung in the entry area andfeatured a bare breasted lubraholding up a water lily whilebeing perved upon by a Kabi, butI think the thing got by on thebasis that she was black and itwas “art”, so it didn’t mattermuch anyway. Such was theenlightened thinking in thosedays.

I remember a later exhibitionwhere my much ruder and nuder“Mauri Women” caught the eyeof George Blakemore whostudied the work in fine detail(salivating the whole time

according to Lionel Gailor’s version).That along with a heap of my ballet andother drawings were stolen from myroom by some short sighted fine artlover or pornophiliac.

I wonder if anyone took photos of thebackdrops I designed for the theatricalproductions such as “Ruddigore”,“Patience” and “Arms and The Man”etc. They were about 20' x 40' frommemory, and for me exciting projects towork upon.

David

Talkabout July 2003 - Alumni

Documents

Transcript of Talkabout July 2003 - Alumni