Forrest Memories
Read Memories of Forrest School from:
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Kay Adams (Trevillian) (1958-1963) |
Rebecca Horridge (1969 - 1975) |
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Stephen Hills (1958 - 1962) writes .... Return to Forrest Memories list
Adele Rosalky (née Hoffman) 1958-1961 writes: I attended Forrest School the day the brand new doors opened in 1958. I went into third grade with Miss Henderson, who I now realise was a very sweet, young, and probably newly graduated teacher. I progressed to fourth grade with Pixie Pringle, who married and became Eileen Grey, and to whom I will always hold a strong affection, as she heard a singing voice and plucked me out from the chorus! Fifth and sixth grades were with Mrs Wright, a stern teacher with a heart of gold. Mr Williams was the headmaster, who was universally loved. Every morning we assembled on the quadrangle, heard announcements, and marched into classes to the recorded strains of ‘Colonel Bogey’. At recess we sucked on flavoured straws to drink our warm milk, and lunch time meant wild games of high-cockylora, till too many uniforms were torn, and the game was banned. Fads of playground activities came in cycles: marbles, hopscotch, hoops and skipping. I took a trip to Pymble and shed tears as the train pulled out, and my mother disappeared further along the railway station. I loved Rum Barumsha (apologies for spelling!), a little boy from Indonesia, who is in my 5th grade school photo with a band-aid on his forehead. Best of all, I developed my great passion for the musical through the two productions we performed with Eileen Grey, Act 1 of ‘Pirates of Penzance’ followed the next year by ‘Iolanthe’. From this start, many years of singing and acting resulted, well into my adult life. As we became older and cocky, I remember being hauled up to stand outside Mr Williams’ office with a bunch of trembling friends, and subsequently punished for reducing the sewing teacher to tears with our wicked behaviour. She made us sew a pair of Bombay bloomers with flat-fell seams, which we all regarded as hysterical and useless. Ironically, today I love to sew and have had many years of joy as a quilt maker. Most of my cohort group went on to Telopea Park High School. We have remained quite a cohesive group, celebrating reunions and smaller events to this day, and keeping in touch with our closer friends. As I returned to the family home in Deakin in 1980, all three of my own children, Deena, Adam and Miriam, attended Forrest School. It wasn’t till 1986 when we went to live in Ottawa, Canada, that I realized how privileged we are living in Canberra and attending schools with beautiful ovals and generous space. With my first and last child spread six years apart, 1986 was to be the only year that they would all attend the same school. They went to a grand red brick school in the north American tradition, but I was amazed that it sat on a block of land where the footprint took up almost the entire space available. We relished our return to Forrest in 1988. Now, my daughter Miriam is doing a graduate diploma in education. Who knows, perhaps she will want to teach at Forrest School in the fullness of time and continue my family’s connection with the school. My children and I all speak of good times and happy memories at Forrest School. Return to Forrest Memories list Richard Treacy, 1960-1967 writes: Mr Williams was a great man. The founding school headmaster, he established our school motto, Thought With Action; he bravely chose the tune of the German Nation Anthem for the school song, quite a novelty so soon after the Second World War; he knew every child by Christian and Surname. As headmaster and as a person he was admired by all, and built a great school from scratch in no time, quickly attracting and coaching the very best teachers. I was honoured that for three years I was entrusted by him to post the school mail, school reports and all. As the region grew rapidly, we were often taught in the growing village of transportable classrooms erected to provide the student capacity needed. Along with many of the friends I met on the first day at Forrest School, I moved on to Telopea Park in 1968, where another German traditional tune coincidentally hosted the school song. Mr Williams retired from his brilliant career, and the school continued strongly but with slowly shrinking numbers of students. I visited Mr Williams for an evening in his twilight years, and he remembered astonishing details about everyone. The transportables went, and there were rumblings of closure. The NCDC was planning to rebuild the site as a Parliamentary residential and conference centre, so the concerned locals and dedicated teachers demanded a meeting with the relevant Federal minister in the school hall in 1974. The minister finally obliged, and put up a chart showing that there would be miniscule enrolments by 1978 and that the school must go. Although many adults’ children had since left the school, the hall was overflowing mainly with those people. This chart caused such an uproar, with piercing and challenging questions posed by many including my father, followed by extremely bad press, that the plans were dropped and the school survived. Finally the swamp, which was once intended as a second playing field before water springs appeared, was even drained. Naturally, as predicted by the locals who understood such things, the numbers stabilised as the local demographics evolved, and soon rose as a more mobile population from other regions was queuing in long waiting lists to enrol once the catchment rules were relaxed. Forrest School has always been multicultural, not only but also by virtue of the Embassies nearby. We usually had several diplomats’ children in our classes, and while the nation was still just embracing the concepts, we had an early start. With a rich past, the school has however always looked to the future. It is clearly highly tuned for a strong future, from the exceptional teachers to the smart colourful modern uniforms, those being a far cry from my blazers from DJs. My memories are almost all great, from the learning to the sport, although we did misbehave at times and took the consequences. As I grew up in our home opposite the school, I missed the raucous school bus rides, and was always shocked at the havoc and felt for the driver on the odd occasion I went to a friend’s home by school bus after school. The first day in Kindergarten was memorable, our names written on a card on the desk to be copied. Lunch seated in rows in the junior hall was quite a strange experience. There is too much to write about school as the years rolled by. Our 5th and 6th grade sports and social trips to Pymble were fantastic, and Sydney was fascinating at that age, We travelled either by train or by articulated busses from Trailer Tours Ltd, accompanied by those outstanding teachers. It was quite a responsibility for them to spend those days and weekends in charge of a bunch of excited children. I only hope that my seven year old daughter can spend at least some years at Forrest School and share our pride. Return to Forrest Memories list
G'day.I am Vijay Laxmi Tiwari nee Dabral. I studied from grade 1 to 4 at Forrest Primary School from 1967 to 1970. I belong to the Himalayan region of India. My father's posting to the Indian High Commission provided me an opportunity to study in Forrest PS. My younger sister Madhuri Dabral and Rajendra K. Dabral also studied at Forrest PS.We all cherish fond memories of our school. We lived in the nearby suburb of Forrest at 70 Franklin Street Forrest.
In February 2004 I had a chance to visit my school after 34 years with my 9 year old son Harshil and husband Vinod. During 2004 I was enrolled as a graduate student at the Australian National University Canberra. After successful completion of Masters degree in Environmental Management and Development I returned back to India during the end of December 2004. My sister Madhuri and brother Rajendra also visited Forrest PS during October 2004 during my stay in Canberra.
Ms Lynne Audsley Deputy Principal was kind enough to show me around the school. The exterior appearance of the school has not changed much. Even after the passage of more than three decades, I could reach the school from Manuka on my own. I also visited my old address to find that a new house was built in its place. The assembly hall has not changed much. I could still recognise the old bubblers outside the school. The school uniform has changed. We used to sport the red, gold and grey school tie. The front hall of our school had a glass case mounted on the wall with dolls dressed in costumes from all over the world. I remember gazing at them in fascination.
I remember the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and waved flags while standing along the road when her car passed along. Another unforgettable memory is the landing on the moon by Neil Armstrong which we saw on the black and white TV in the assembly hall.
Among the teachers I remember Mr Williams, the headmaster, Mrs Howie, Mrs Barry the school librarian, Mrs Woodrow who taught children in KG, Miss Duff who taught us in grade 2 and Miss Lois Webb our grade 4 teacher who had come from Broken Hill to join our school.
Some of my classmates were David Duthie, Brett Tanza, Angelique Gane, Nicholas Buckley and Mi Mi Tin Tun from Burma. I learnt English in first grade and remember my teacher making extra efforts to teach me. I am thankful to her for teaching me English within 3 months and bringing me at par with other kids. I owe my success to Forrest PS as the foundation of my education was laid here.
With best wishes.
John Ellicott (1969-73) writes: Forrest primary school is where I learnt to play soccer, learned to ran fast playing cocky laura, danced with girls from Indonesia/ Philippines, had my first bet on the Melbourne Cup (tails ran third), avoided the cane by rubbing my hands on the old heaters so the teacher Mrs Irwin thought I had been caned, drank lots of milk, got signed up to play in the Seagulls rugby league, fell in love with some girl called Roslyn Moore who never spoke to me, played marbles near the bike stand, played catch the tennis ball against the wall, learned the Pride of Erin, skipped school for one lesson and was so bored I came back to school, was elected school swim captain but couldn't swim because of a sore arm, watched Mr Watchman play our records, learned all about the world and Tasmania's mines and how early Britons built houses, wrote lots of compositions about vampires, played softball, had my leg sliced playing soccer, saw the tallest girl ever in a grade above me, brought a lump of snow for the principal when it snowed that had turned to an ice chunk by the time he got it, stood and waved as the Queen went by in the G-G's car, sausage rolls and sauce and singing Rockin' in the bosom of Abraham. Good times.
My first day of kindergarten was the first day Forrest School opened. The kindergarten rooms had grey/blue lino on the floor with two coloured concentric rings painted on it so that we could all sit in a circle. Every classroom in the Infants School had a toilet at the back of the room (these have now all been converted in order to create extra space) and every day we ate lunch in the Infants hall. I remember a large picture of Queen Elizabeth II wearing a yellow formal gown used to hang in the hall and crates of small bottles of milk were delivered every day for us to drink at playtime.
There was a large willow tree which grew at the bottom of the oval and in summer it was covered with ladybirds which we would catch and keep in matchboxes.
When I was in the Primary School everyone would assemble on the asphalt in the morning in two straight lines in class groups and march into school to music which was broadcast over the loud speaker or to music provided by the recorder band. I was a member of the recorder band and we also marched as we played.
Every Friday afternoon was sports afternoon and teams often competed against other schools. The boys played football and cricket while the girls played basketball or vigero. There was no such thing as mixed teams.
There were also film afternoons in the senior hall and Mr Childs would set up the old film projector for the whole school .
We had wooden desks with flip up lids and inkwells. The ink monitors would fill up the inkwells each morning as in 5th and 6th class we wrote with pens with changeable nibs and mopped up our splodges with blotting paper.
The teachers I remember are Mrs Barker ( who was the Infants Mistress), Mr Beech (who was only 21 when he taught me), Mrs Barry (who was the school librarian), Mr Childs, Mr Gunning (who was the deputy headmaster and gave me the cane for being out of my seat) and of course Mr Williams (who was the first headmaster of the school).
In later years I returned to the school as a student teacher and as an itinerant specialist teacher. Although many things have changed some things, such as the gold clock in the front foyer, remain the same.
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My Memories @ Forrest School, by Mary Imron (1984 - 1989) When I was still a student at Forrest School, the one class that I always look forward to was the ESL class. At that time, I was an international student from Indonesia with just limited vocabulary and always using the wrong tenses in my sentences. I remember how Mrs. Huang gave us different kinds of activities and exercises for us to do. It was a lot work but heaps of fun. The ESL class was an interesting class because it had students from all over the world. The cultural diversity at Forrest School was incredible. I had friends from India, China, Japan, Afghanistan, England and a lot of friends from Indonesia as well. I remember when the school stuck a huge map of the world on the wall just outside the canteen in front of the assembly hall entrance. They put pictures of all the international students there and connected their photos to their country of origin with a string. It pointed out the cultural diversity of the school. Up to this day, even though my English has improved over the years, I still miss my ESL class. I got 643 in my last TOEFL score… I guess I owe a big thanks to Mrs. Huang for establishing a solid foundation of English for me when I was still young. Thank you for doing a great job.
Dean Strautins (1975 - 1979), now living in Latvia, wrote: One of the things I liked about being a student at Forrest Primary was the family atmosphere. The feelings were that the teachers were genuinely interested in the students as opposed to thinking the school would be a good place without the students. Each class containing about 25 students was very close and we mostly hung out together at recess times. The boys more often would do boy things like play soccer and rugby. I remember on one occasion that we went to play rugby and we always tried to create two sides that were evenly matched. Of course this was always an issue when one of your better friends had to be on the opposition to create an even balance. The result of this balancing was that my best friend Stephen Thompson was always on the opposing team to me as we were both good rugby players. But there was one day when we managed to negotiate that Stephen and I played in the same team. The dilemma with this was that it was difficult to balance the teams so that each team had an equal chance of winning. The solution was that Stephen and I would be one team and all the others would be on the other team. A ridiculous situation considering that there were 15 people against two. I actually made a point of counting the opposition and determined that I was going to remember this situation for a long time. The reason I wanted to remember it and now tell you about it is because we won the game. Stephen and I worked as a team and won the game when the opposition were trying to play as 15 individuals. This experience showed me the power of teamwork and supported the saying that 'too many cooks spoil the broth'. We also lived by the old Forrest motto of 'Thought With Action' which I still check myself against. Dean Strautins |
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Susan Hussey(1970 - 1971) remembers:
I was in 5th and 6th grade in 1970/1971. I remember recess when the girls played jump-rope, elastics and hop-skotch like crazy. The boys always played football. We used to play "passing the fleas". One person was said to have the fleas and if they touched you it meant you had them and had to chase someone else until you could catch them and pass them on. We used to spend our whole recess running from the fleas but at least we exercised! I wonder what interests are now and how times have changed! I remember Mrs Hironymous (for her name!), Mrs Riddett who taught English, Mr Beech (who used to cane the boys when they behaved as boys do!) Miss Browning who was my fifth grade teacher and Mr Boon my sixth grade teacher. I remember Mrs Horn as I was on her hockey team. In those days the girls had needlework one afternoon a week. I remember the fifth and sixth grade socials when we brought delicious cakes and food to school to share in the evening and danced country dances. I remember the carnivals (sports day). The girls used to make delicious toffee sometimes out of sugar and water and pour it into paper cake cups and take it to school to sell to raise money for charity or something. It was delicious and we could be seen walking around holding our paper cake cups licking our toffees! I wonder how many teachers are still around. I remember we had library class once a week and all had to wash our hands before looking at books; I wonder if you still do. Each morning we used to line up on the asphalt playground in front of the principal who stood on the podium to order our lunch (sausage rolls (which we received in a brown lunch bag in the playground at lunch time). He used to say, "stand at ease, attention, quick march", and we would all march into school. And the Vietnamese kids could really march like soldiers. My sister and I were from England and used to giggle about it for months afterwards. I wonder if you still do that. Those are my memories. They are few but not bad for almost 40 years! It's been a pleasure sharing my memories. Congratulations Forrest, and if anyone, past student or teacher remember me, please feel free to email me. I would love to say Hi! and have missed my old friends. I returned to England and now live in /Colorado, USA. Love, to all, SUSAN HUSSEY.
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Lynn Nerdal (1961 - 1967) writes:
My name was and still is (after two marriages) Lynn Nerdal. I married
and had four children myself and have two grandchildren so far. I
have a small B&B in Gungahlin and have made a career of mothering and
volunteering for the past 28 years. I will be 52 in march.
When I was a child I lived in Stonehaven Crescent Deakin next door to
the Ewings (Mrs Ewing still lives there, I visit her every week) and
Mary Nikolis (now Mary Smith of Palmerston). I started at Forrest in
Kindergarten in 1961 with my neighbours and friends Mary Nikolis and
Andrew Ewing. Our teacher was Miss Story, how appropriate! We got the
bus from over the road from my house and Deakin was a very new area
back then. I have lots of photos to add to the site.
In Kindy I remember sitting around a big circle on the floor waiting
for the bus to come in the afternoon. Miss Story would read a chapter
of "Blinky Bill" while we were waiting. One day I was hungry so I
decided to sneakily eat an apple when Miss Story wasn't watching.
Unfortunately she caught me and suggested I either give everyone in
the class a bite or put it away in my bag. I put it away and remember
being very embarrased!!
Mr Williams was a saint of a head master and we all felt his warmth
and concern for us. The teachers names I remember are Miss Woods,
Miss Gunn, Mrs Riddett, Mrs Barry (famous for hitting me over my
crossed knees with a wooden ruler in front of the whole class) Mrs
Barrett and Mr Clark, the only male teacher I ever had at Forrest.
(oh, I think I have remembered them all, amazing!! it's only been....
45 years or so)
I remember the warm bottles of milk, the ink pots/nibbed pens on the
desks and that bratty Stephen Thearle putting my plaits into his ink
or writing notes to me on blotting paper and sticking them into my
ink pot!! Such is love in grade 5!!! I remember Roland Clark (Manning
and Dymphna's son) sitting up the back and being very quiet. I was
sitting up the back too, which was a pity cause it was discovered in
a routine Grade 6 medical check that my eye sight was terrible and I
hadn't been able to see the blackboard from there for years!!
Explained a lot to me!!
I remember Mum dragging me along to the school hall for a "mothers
and daughters" film evening in grade 4 or 5, the basics of the birds
and the bees which was quite useless as it went right over my young
head!! The woman in the movie was so stern and technical I doubt any
children learned a thing and most of the mothers would have just been
embarrased!!!
I remember school assemblies in the hall in the morning, (or maybe it
was only special occasions?)singing "God Save the Queen" with great
respect while facing her picture on the wall. I remember swimming
carnivals at Manuka Pool which I hated because I couldn't swim.
The canteen was another source of excitement during the day,
especially if your mother was on duty and you got a half a bread roll
with chocolate Quik/butter mixture on it for free!! Yum! Apricot
delights seemed to be invented around then too and were a real treat
from the canteen. Being asked to pick up the ordered lunches from the
canteen with the trolley was a big honour as well. In winter you
could sometimes buy pies or hot dogs from the canteen, but you had to
order them in advance. Sunny boy ice blocks were popular in summer.
(those funny triangular shaped ones)
Then there was the library. I loved Tin Tin books and Enid Blyton.
Especially the Secret Seven series.
In upper primary there was music, cooking and sewing lessons and of
course woodwork for the boys. We played some kind of sport each week,
I played Vigoro, which is like cricket only with a paddle instead of
a bat. I guess young ones these days have never heard of it! and we
played softball too.
I went on the school trip to Pymble in 5th and 6th class allegedly to
swim or play sport but I did neither so I just went to watch. We were
billeted out to Pymble students homes and I remember feeling out of
my depth in a "posh" house on both occasions and crying myself to
sleep. We went up on the rattly train which was wonderful and lots of
fun. I stayed with Louise in Telegraph Road the first trip and with
Hilary in Beechworth Road the second trip. I wrote to them both for a
few years afterwards, I had lots of pen-friends back then. Now I
prefer email!!
In Grade 5 and 6 I was in the school choir. We sang in the Canberra
Theatre at a choral festival there. (it must've been new back then) I
remember singing "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess and "Dominique". It
was a lot of fun and obviously no one cared that I couldn't sing!! I
still remember those songs!!
I loved school and thought nothing of having friends like Sophie from
Thailand, Margaret from Malaysia, Laura from the USA and Mary from
Vietnam. Now I see what a privilege that was and I totally took it
for granted, never thinking for a moment that every school was not
like that. I remember Laura's birthday party at the US Embassy, also
a "posh" affair. I remember twins called Sarah and Melissa who also
came from the USA, and also Gem and Gaye who were Aussie twins. And
then of course there way Gaby Geh. She grew to be 6'2" by age 12 and
stood out in any crowd! She was subject to teasing and bullying by
some of the children who shall remain nameless, and I took it upon
myself to be her protector, as only a child can do. Sadly, Gaby and
her sister Suzie died prematurely from Marfan Syndrome which affects
the heart. Sue represented Australia in basketball at the Olympic
games in Los Angeles in 1984. Sue has a street named after her in
Harcourt Hill, Gungahlin. Their mother Inge still lives in the old
family home in Deakin. RIP old Forrest students who have passed on.
On a lighter note I warmly remember the socials in the school hall.
The pretty dresses, the barn dance and the pride of erin, the huge
excitement over what boy would ask you to dance and you hopped it
wasn't the one with the sweaty palms! I seem to recall lots of
teachers and even more parents "supervising" but we always had a fun
night!!
So many memories, so many friends and somewhere along the line an
education as well! I haven't been back since 1967. I went on to
Deakin High and then Woden High and then we moved to Brisbane for
Grade 12 (6th form). Then I came back to nurse at the old Canberra
Hospital only to find my old Forrest friends Christine Robertson and
Kerry Maher in my nursing group!! Recently I was approached by Ruth
Johnson (now Ruth Lambert of Lambert's Vineyards) I wouldn't have
recognised Ruth so I was delighted she made herself known to me. A
few years back a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I
remembered him? Of course, I didn't. His name was Jack Doble (now
called Burl Doble) and I just recalled this little boy who was quiet
and unassuming, nothing like the well built man in front of me!! I
was so pleased he said hello. Jenny Dunn spoke to me once too, I am
hopeless with faces I'm afraid and yet I think mine hasn't changed
much over the years so I am easily recognizable. Never hesitate to
say if you remember me, I am always happy to be reminded of those
happy Forrest days!!
I am looking forward to the 50th Anniversary and coming back to my
old school. I hope many others will make the pilgrimage too, and
maybe we will recognise one another and maybe we will make some new
friends we don't remember but it has got to be a good day and a great
reason to celebrate!!
Thanks for the excellent web site and the opportunity to share the
memories that linger in the recesses of all our minds.
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Angelique (1969 - 1972)
I attended Forrest Primary from 3rd Grade in 1969 to 6th grade in 1972. Mr Williams and then Mr Howe were the Principals. My teachers were Miss Tucker, Miss Webb, Mr Watchman and Mr Woodhouse. I remember watching the first moon landing in 1969 on the tall TV sets in the school hall and lining up on National circuit to wave to the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Anne when they came to open the Captain Cook Waterjet in 1970. The girls used to have a sewing class each week and I still have some of the embroidery I did as well as the very fat exercise book with all my samples glued in! As a very multi-cultural school we used to celebrate United Nations Day on 24th October with many dressed in National costumes. Speech nights were held on the grassy slopes behind the portables and every year the Grade 6's did a square dance under the tuition of Mr Boon. We had four portable class rooms and played elastics, skipping, jacks, hoola hoops, dingbats, marbles, hopscotch and whatever else was in fashion at the time. The canteen sold sweet smelling erasers with pictures that we all collected. Ice creams were sold in summer as foil wrapped blocks we had to open into a square cone to eat. Soup in winter was a welcome addition! Movies were shown on a noisy projector upstairs. Each year Grade 6 and some Grade 5's would have an exchange visit with Pymble Primary School in Sydney. Some would take the train up and some would fly. I had many friends at Forrest, some of whom I still see occasionally as I still live in Canberra. It was a great school and from the comments I have read, still is. Embarrassingly, I still remember the words to the school song we sang at every assembly!
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Rebecca Horridge (1969 - 1975) remembers:
I remember waving our flags at the Queen as she drove past. I was allowed to do woodwork with Mr Boon: the only girl to do it!
I remember marble crazes, learning to play vigaro,and being in a Rock and Roll version of Romeo and Juliet. There is so much; the smell of those sticky seeds that fell off the play ground trees and the purple berries you can squeeze and shoot staining juice!
I virtually lived in the Adventure playground when it was happening and had my own house in its corner. Cheers Rebecca
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Innocent Inaye (1975 - 1978) writes:
It was 1978, Malcolm Fraser was PM and Mr. Twist was the Principal and I was in a 4th grade class that was symbolically called the 4B2 Monsters. Nice! My brothers and I were one of the diplomatic boys. I recall getting to school and having to do laps around the field prior to class. How can I forget the numerous blackeyes I took home after school while playing catcher at a game of crickett. I also remember going on a "learn to swim" trip and almost drowning after I jumped off a springboard only to realize, on hitting the water, that the ability to swim didn't come naturally. Thanks again to the chaps that rescued me. I am sure more memories would come to mind once I work hard at it. I remember my best friend at the time, Richard Shalls. Cheers buddy! Dean, I also remember you since you spent time at our house on Lynch Street. Thanks for the picture you fowarded. Mrs. Huang (Miss Wong), I remember you too! I have always wanted to go back to visit but New York is a hike from Canberra. Happy 50th Forrest! Not to worry, I turn 40 (eek!) in March so I am right behind you. Finally, to those kids that called me guilty, I remain Innocent (smile).
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Kay Adams (Trevillian) (1958 - 1963) remembers:
I went to Forrest Primary from first class in 1958 to sixth class in 1963. I’m 56 years old now. Our poor mum Audrey died in 1998 and our noisy dad Johnny resides in Jindalee aged 87. With dementia he talks loudly like a pirate or WC Fields so I pity the nurses and carers there.
My memories of Forrest School are the teachers I had and my friends. My twin sisters Lynnie and Annie started at Forrest in Kindergarten in 1958, actually before me. I was in Kindergarten at Griffith Primary and we transferred over to Forrest after the school opened, but I can’t remember the logistics.
Our brother Paul (still Paulie to us) must have started Kindergarten about 1962
Teachers
First class – Miss Tappington (couldn’t remember her but Karen Medbury reminded me. Still can’t remember her but I’ll dig out some photos)
Second Class – Mrs Bacon
Third Class – Miss Bridson of the full skirts with a rope petticoat and white stiletto shoes, she was so tiny, pretty and wore glasses. Her youngest sister Pamela was about five or six, young anyway, and I remember thinking that an oddity, having a teacher and her little sister in the same school
Fourth Class – Miss Pringle (Mrs Gray) who had a lovely singing voice and staged the Mikado and maybe another production
Terry Beech taught my sisters in fourth class and he was a fun teacher in the school
Fifth Class – Mr Mallyon – He used to raise his voice. He was a keen canoeist
Mr Childs taught Lynnie and Annie in fifth class and he was also lively and emphatic
Sixth Class – Mrs Wright – I think she lived near the school. She was old fashioned in appearance with a wiry hairdo and memorable teeth and an excellent teaching style. Many of her class went on to 1A at Telopea Park High
Mr Gunn was the other sixth class teacher, short in stature but I can remember hearing him run his class in an authoritarian way
The Principal Mr Williams, used to stroll around the playground at times. I remember him telling me I looked like a cow chewing its cud once when I was chewing chewing gum (probably Juicy Fruit).
Friends and classmates
In third class I was friends with Julie Snow, whose father Russell Snow managed the Hotel Canberra. Julie looked like a cupie doll and got dropped of to school each morning in a White Chrysler Royal.
In third or fourth class we had to do a project on Japan. We used to doorknock the embassies after school and ask for pamphlets for these projects. When I saw Julie’s glossy perfect project on probably gleaming white cardboard compared to my crummy pink (like recycled quality even though that didn’t exist then) effort, I rushed home and copied hers.
I was then friends with Anita Kouvelis, Caroline Reader and Elizabeth Haynod
We had international students at Forrest from the embassies and legations. I remember Sylvana … a French or Belgian girl with a long thick plait; Frank Hicks a tall blonde American boy; Sam Watson with curly brown hair; Jaya and Dekki from Indonesia and Win and Mai – Burmese unidentical twins.
Athene Gilchrist comes to mind, her family had been to Dar-es-Salaam or Tanganyika back then on a posting I think
Anne Pickering was a friend all through school, she read Greek classics at an early age. Anne’s younger sister was Sue and younger brother Ralph. Anne worked for the Government Solicitor and last year moved to France to a Monastery I believe.
We were always friends with the Slaters. Cathy was in my year.
I see Karen Medbury regularly in her Organic Shop at the Griffith Shops
In the last few years I ran into Brenda Watts also at the Griffith Shops
Michael Preston-Stanley was a good friend. I last saw him on George Street in Sydney in approx 2001 when he was working for DAS fleet in Canberra and up there on a conference or something
I remember the formal artwork in the corridors, the dreaded warm milk in crates, rallying assemblies with crackly Colonel Bogie marching us off into class and fun softball. I think the oval was dry with not a lot of grass from memory.
We caught the bus from Flinders Way or La Perouse Street when we were little and then we walked or rode our bikes to school
I remember Mrs Summerhayes in the tuckshop and bought lunches, brown paper bags and salad rolls, yum.
I went on the trip to Pymble and stayed with Marilyn … blonde and a bit snobby. I remember feeling very uncomfortable. Mum made me a new uniform for the trip, it was quite stiff and she didn’t have time to sew the buttons on so I didn’t take my jumper off the whole time. I think it was pretty hot. I can’t even remember why we went there. I thought it was horrible
They were dreamy, quiet and wonderful years at Forrest Primary and then we went to High School …
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Brian Wallis (1958- 1962)
My name is Brian Wallis and I am 57 years old. I was born in Canberra and have lived here all that time. I was born in the old Canberra hospital and grew up in Monaro Crescent in Griffith.
I started my schooling at Griffith Primary School in 1956 and transferred to Forrest Primary in 1958 which makes me a foundation student. I have fond memories of my years at Forrest before moving onto Telopea Park High School. I remember walking to school on most days passing through Collins Park and past the old Forrest bowling club which was a small wooden building in those days. I can also remember catching the bus at times, probably when the weather was bad. The very old Canberra buses with the driver sitting in a separate cabin out front and a conductor in the back trying to keep us rowdy kids quiet. We used to throw our bags in a rack next to the driver. The buses used to line up at the northern end near the infant school.
In those days all students would get a small bottle of milk each day and I can remember lining up in the quadrangle with a teacher handing it out.
Another memory I have and I am not sure what year it was, the burying of a time capsule not far from the quadrangle. It was a major event. I can also remember the planting of lawn seed on a small decline running off the quadrangle and the spraying of tar over the seed to keep it in place. A teacher at the time telling us that it was the first time this technique was used, very exciting.
Our headmaster was Mr Williams. I remember him as a big man with a very deep voice which I think all headmasters are to little kids.
I played cricket for the school and went on a trip to Sydney with the team which was a great adventure. I was billeted by a family at North Pymble and can’t remember whether we won or lost but we did have a great time. I also played football for Forrest and I think our coach was my fifth grade teacher Mr Beach. We played against a few other schools and I can remember playing many games at Yarralumla Primary School.
Another sporting event was the swimming carnivals at Manuka Swimming Pool. Mr Taverner (Snr) was always on hand and usually hosing out the change rooms and pool areas. My sixth grade teacher Mr Gunning was involved in most swimming events if my memory serves me well. My best friend at Forrest was a boy named ‘Boy’. His father was attached to the Indonesian Embassy. He had a brother named Yadi.
All in all I have a wonderful time at Forrest Primary. My two sisters and brother also followed me to Forrest and my brothers two children also went to Forrest in very recent years.
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Bettina Arndt (1958 - 1961) writes:
I unfortunately have a lousy memory so have only faint recollections of my time at Forest.But the highlights certainly included wild games of cockloras! I also clearly learnt left from right during this time because sometimes even now, when I have to work out which is my right hand I picture myself in a Forest classroom and then know right was the side without the window.
But my strongest memory concerned my spelling which was so appalling that even our headmaster, Mr Williams, became involved in trying to do something about it. In spelling tests we were marked out of 50 with three marks off for each spelling mistake. I don't think I ever made it out of the red and achieved a positive mark. Since my work in other subjects was pretty good, Mr Williams decided this glaring deficiency needed to be rectified. He took me out of our sewing classes where we were struggling over our bombay bloomers and every sewing lesson I spent sitting in his office trying to learn my spelling words. Sadly the only result of this brave endeavour was I never learnt to sew and my spelling remained as bad as ever. Thank God for spell-check!
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Elaine Robins (Miss Bridson 1958 - 1961) writes:
I was very fortunate in my first teaching position to be appointed to the new school at Forrest, which had a new beaut teacher’s cubby-room at the back of the classroom and was conveniently situated in the suburb where I lived – I could dive out of bed half an hour before I had to be at school. (However, I did stay behind every afternoon to complete the preparation for the next day!)
As an 18 year-old in 1958 I was faced with a Grade 3 class of 48 children, many of whom were almost as tall as I was; it was very daunting and certainly a challenge!
It is funny how you seem to remember all the embarrassing moments in life rather than all the ‘highs’. I shall recount a few:
We had been studying how to draw basic room and house plans and after some practice I asked the children to draw a plan of their house. One little girl drew a circle, so I told her to start again as I wanted a plan of her house. Once again, she drew a circle and once again I chided her – until the penny dropped. She lived in the newly built Round House, the latest innovation in house designs. How embarrassed was I!
Another instance was in an outdoor Phys Ed lesson, which the children in those days did in bare feet – no fancy Nikes or Reeboks. The day was hot and the ground particularly warm but I insisted we carry on with the lesson even though there were cries of, “my feet are burning”. One little girl ended up with foot blisters and I know had it been today I would have been sued.
Most of the children I taught were extremely bright and I remember Anne P, as an 8 year-old asking me to spell, ‘ethereal” for her composition. I’d never even heard the word let alone spell it!!!
In those days students were sent home with a report that listed the position they came in the class. In one particular class, the student who was last in the academic rating had an average of over 80 for all the tests. The poor parents were devastated as all they could see was that their child was ‘bottom of the class’. Who of us these days would not be thrilled at obtaining above 80 in all our exams!! Thankfully, this practice of showing ratings is no longer applied.
During my time at Forrest (1958–mid 1961) I was thrown in at the deep end with 2 sport coaching positions:
Having been a spectator and with no one else to take on the task I was given the job of Rugby League coach to Grade 3 boys. As I recall, there were about 40 boys and we had to walk to a nearby field as there was no available playing area at the school. I am forever indebted to Ken A as many a time he saved the day with his ‘authoritative persuasion’ that I blow the whistle as an infringement had occurred. His knowledge of the game was a lifesaver!
I was also allotted the position of the girls’ basketball coach; not a game I played but having been a school-mate and then college room-mate of Ruth Davies (Grace) I often watched a game. I knew you had to practise jumping skills etc and so my heart went into preparing a most enthusiastic group of girls for the inter-school competition which I think we actually won that year! It was extremely embarrassing, though, at the final when the young umpire ordered me to resist from screeching encouragement from the sideline.
Also, on the subject of sport I was asked to accompany the girls teams to Pymble School where we participated in sporting competitions and social events. We went by train and were billeted by school families. On the first visit we celebrated the opening of their new school swimming pool. It was an official occasion with the then Minister for Education doing the honours, so there was quite a bit of pomp and ceremony.
Among other sports, a swimming competition was held in the new pool.
I remember being utterly amazed that our ‘kids from the bush’ blitzed those children who were surrounded by water and the beaches of Sydney. It opened my eyes to the fact that people who live near beaches aren’t automatically good swimmers. The following year of course was a different story as they had their pool to practice in and we didn’t do so well.
I was one of a large and fairly poor family and during my own schooling often felt rather insignificant. I therefore, tried to seek out children who may have needed a boost to their self-esteem and endeavoured to give them constant encouragement. One parent was so grateful for the improvement in her child’s attitude and feeling of self-worth that she said to me: ‘If I had a million dollars I would give it to you’. I’m wondering if the family ever did make millions as I’m still around!
The staff at the school were a delight and so helpful to a new teacher. One couldn’t have asked for a better Headmaster and Deputy than Mr Williams and Mr Schumack .
Mrs Barry had been one of my teachers when I was in primary school and Mr McShane had been my Grade 5 teacher with 52 students in the class, both at Telopea Park. So I benefited from their advice and years of experience and the joy of working with teachers I admired..
Pixie Pringle (Gray) was brilliant at music and although my mother was written up as a child prodigy in the Canberra Times (1916),having passed all the relevant London College of Music exams at age 9, I didn’t have a musical bone in my body so Pixie was invaluable to me. However, I was trusted with the job of cataloguing the school’s collection of records for teachers’ use.
When I left the school I went to Western Australia and taught in Perth and Derby where I had Aboriginal children in the class. I then went to Papua New Guinea and had a One-teacher School on the island of Buka in Bougainville. There, I met my husband, a Patrol Officer; we had 2 children and after 15 years in PNG went to live in England for 2 and a half years. As I couldn’t stand the weather we returned to Australia and have lived on the Gold Coast for the last 28 years, most of which were spent teaching English as a Second Language to migrants at The Gold Coast Institute of TAFE. I retired at the end of 2005.
So you could say I started and ended my career in a multi-cultural environment, as Forrest Primary School was certainly that. I can recall I had students from Indonesia, India, South Africa, France, America and so on.
I am really looking forward to seeing past students and staff and hope to see many of you on 4th April.
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Yvonne Green (Briese) (1969 - 1971) remembers:
Along with my sister Julie Briese we came to Forrest Primary in 1969 from Queensland, swapping sunburn for frostbite ! I attended Grade 4 to Grade 6 (to 1971) before going on to Telopea Park High. My grade 5 teacher was Mrs Chapman; my grade 6 was Mr Beech. Julie had Mr Boon for grade 6 I believe. Julie celebrates her 50th this year also!
I too remember sitting on the cold assembly floor that historic July morn watching man’s first walk on the moon; and crowding the pavement to watch the Queen’s shiny black Rolls Royce pass by.
Other memories include the milk in small bottles delivered for recess – I always picked the ones caught by the sun as they were nice and warm; the fantastic food available from the canteen – heavenly iced finger buns for 5 cents, and a vegemite or peanut butter crust an inch thick (2.5cm to you) for 2 cents, and my all-time favourite: banana sandwich made especially to order. To any of your mums on canteen duty during my years at the school, they were all angels!
The end of year speech nights on the oval were special as we learnt dances. We girls dressed in red and white crepe paper skirts performing a Latin dance to “La Cucaracha”, I still remember some of the steps.
“Witch’s britches” were all the rage in winter as was the game elastics which made this quite a spectacle for the boys. Fund-raising days saw a frenzy of chocolate cup cakes and toffees exchanged in the quadrangle.
I remained in Canberra for 25 years, ending up in Melbourne, married to an academic and we have two adult daughters. I followed a career in the public service. Thank you to the teachers and staff of Forrest Primary for giving me such a wonderful start and many, many happy memories.
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