Memories of Balwyn High School 1957 – 60
by Michael Alston
I spent four years at Balwyn High School from 1957 to 1960 and was quite surprised to be contacted by Peter Barter whom I had not spoken to for over 50 years.
During Form 4 it must have been clear that I was not thriving and certainly not enjoying BHS and so after much debate I moved to Swinburne to the Diploma of Applied Chemistry which was a move I have never regretted. Applied Chemistry was a highly vocational 4 year course and whilst only two years tertiary gave access to a wide range of industrial work which became my career choice. It also provided an entry to the University of Melbourne later on.
Before 1957 I vaguely recall my parents discussing that a second High School was supposed to be built where Kew High now stands but it was quite clear in 1955-56 that no such facility would be available. Boys attending Deepdene Primary were destined to be divided between Box Hill Tech and Balwyn High if they were not going on to one of the independent schools.
Pupils at East Kew Central and Kew quite often went to Melbourne High on the basis of Zoning but there may have also been an academic assessment. Those at North Balwyn Primary mainly went to Balwyn High School as one would expect.
The resulting pressure on the existing schools was extreme and so buildings at Balwyn High School were still being constructed in 1957 after the accommodation was actually needed. A.V Jennings had many of the contracts for construction which consisted of a light timber frame with external facing horizontal stringers on which a cast concrete tile about 1 inch thick was hung via a rear hook. Each tile was glued with a mastic to adjacent tiles. It was clearly designed for rapid low cost fabrication. I think I spent some time watching this process in breaks.
Whilst the Woodwork Room at the western end of the northern section was equipped the Metalwork room next to it was not. All very different to the facilities now, but after all, houses in the early 1950’s were still restricted in size as a result of the shortages created by the War and schools had to be built within the resources available. The grounds were entirely undeveloped below the school and down to the creek but that did not stop people being occupied at lunchtime. Camberwell Council used the creek bed as a tip once the large drain which went down to Stradbroke Park was constructed and judging by the extreme odour in summer quite a deal of putrescible waste was dumped.
In 1957 the Prefects had been in their position for some years as they advanced up the school from its commencement, Peter Skilbeck being Head Boy. Classes of course were large up to Form 4, compared to the present, usually 36 to 40 students. Robert Fleming was a later Head Prefect.
By modern standards, the facilities were limited but I don’t ever recall thinking there was anything untoward in what we had. Very few homes or offices were air conditioned so the school was no different. I do not recall the heating situation. Assembly was of course open air between the Upper and Lower blocks.
Some anecdotes:
One of the great social divides of the time at the school was whether a family had television or not, as TV was very new with first test broadcasts being of the Melbourne Olympics in ’56. Those with TV would discuss what happened in whatever American import had been on the previous night and more than a few homework commitments were not made as a result. My mother, a teacher, refused to have television until I had completed secondary education.
As one would expect with teenage boys challenging the norms by some was an inbuilt response. Rock and Roll was the big thing with Elvis Presley as “The King” along with all the other US luminaries. This led to a set of fashion styles which were not in conformity with the requirements of the school eg. Some spectacular hair styles with lots of grease and luminescent socks which along with “those horrible shoes with claws on” were banned.
Some enterprising lads set up a group which I think was called “Johnny Crocker and his Rockers” which probably only survived playing at a single assembly as a result of the style of the piano player who had developed a technique as used by Jerry Lee Lewis. I remember Mr Brittain watching the performance with grim concern.
A song with the title “Don’t you rock me daddyo” was around at the time and received some focus because of the Senior Masters nickname, the origin of which was never clear to me.
Violence was not unknown in the yard between boys and a crowd would quickly gather at the call of “fight, fight, fight ..” and then some hapless teacher or prefect would be expected to intervene; not an easy task given the size and strength of some of the boys.
Unauthorised and sometimes quite dangerous ventures into chemical experiments were carried out, usually not on premises, but using knowledge gained at school. These are best not described in detail in these less forgiving times.
No doubt those who did Form 5 & 6 Chemistry would have used hydrogen sulphide for study of the reaction of Groups in the Periodic Table but I cant recall its misuse in my time at Balwyn High. Quite surprising given the “rotten egg gas” odour.
When the Koonung Creek was enclosed and the tip capped, some venturesome individuals rode bicycles up from Stradbroke Park, where the open section could be entered and their voices could be heard from one of the covers below the school. They had probably travelled about 1 km underground.
Teaching:
As others have observed the rapid expansion post WW2 resulted in a rapid expansion of the teaching service. A number stand out in my memory:
· Miss Macdonald taught German to our Form 1. A very proper, dignified lady, who however could become quite strident when given cause. A certain pupil, who may recognise this, inadvertently created such a cause was told “I’ll box your ears”. Said pupil, quite tall for his age towered a full head above Miss Macdonald. Miss Macdonald was later Head at Camberwell Girls High I believe.
· Mr. Prieditis (not sure of the spelling), also a teacher of German, who was a very kindly person and an effective teacher. He had a habit of referring to John Hawkins as Jim (Treasure Island) .
· Mr. McBurney, who as a History teacher, I can see in retrospect was quite innovative in discussing contemporary events in Asia and recommended we read the Current Affairs Bulletin, published the External Affairs Dept as it was then (now DFAT). This to Year 10! I liked that subject.
· Mr. Easterbrook, Woodwork, an excellent teacher. I think we only had two years and I would have happily had more. His teaching has stayed with me. The really skilled students (not me) were introduced to the wood lathe and Bruce Caldwell was one such, probably in Form 2. We made items such as Laundry Sticks, it still being the days of Coppers and also made a Broom Hanger. The material of choice was Ramin, often expressed as 7/8 inch Ramin. Who would use Ramin in a school now or anywhere for that matter? Unfortunately the Metalwork rooms not being available until around 1959 meant we did not get to learn Sheetmetal work.
· Miss Buchanan (not sure about the name) a Scot who managed to get unruly year 7 boys to sing and had a number of choirs. She wrote the School song; do they still sing about “the Royal names our houses bear, our Patrons famed and good”? What would that mean to the current generation? Talk about a different era!
· Mr.Norman , a lover of Shakespeare (“Willy Wagglestaff”) and disciplinarian, but as good a teacher of English as you could get. I am sure that is why I still like certain Shakespeare, namely the Tragedies and the History Plays. Julius Caesar, rather boring past Mark Anthony’s speech by my reckoning , was our Form Four play and whoever was reading the part of Brutus was given a strident demonstration of how to deliver “what Lucius, Ho” and made to repeat several times until the standard was met.
· English in Form 1 & 2. Did we have Treasure Island for one year and The Black Arrow for the other? Both R.L.Stevenson. I have scanned both again in recent years. In later years Alan Marshall “I can Jump Puddles” and John Buchan “The Necklace of Prester John” come to mind as the set texts. “Lad, A Dog” may also have been in the mix somewhere . It was still the norm to study classical poetry although mainly English and some Australian. We also studied the various metres.
· The long suffering Art teacher, whose name will not come, kept trying to develop my non existent talent but hit the spot with his history of art.
· Mr. Miller, a very good science teacher and our Form Master in Form 4. Borax beads and reduction on carbon block were techniques used to demonstrate reactions.
· Mathematics was my weak point at Balwyn High School, rectified later on. I can’t recall specifically who the teacher was in Form 4 but I do not think that he was the problem and I scraped through somehow.
Discipline:
This must surely have been the bane of most teachers lives. In Primary school it was the norm for boys to receive the strap for misdemeanours but I cannot recall it being used much if at all at Balwyn High. If it was it was probably restricted to a few authorised individuals. Others may recall. Being sent to the Head for talking to was all I can remember as an official punishment. Throwing rocks, of which there were plenty, at each other was definitely a matter for referral . Fair enough I guess. I can attest that there was still irregular corporal punishment applied by some staff.
Other Activities:
The two big external events were the Interschool Swimming Sports and Interschool Athletics held at the Swan St Olympic pool and Olympic Park respectively. In swimming the Harrowfield twins were a trump card with one swimming in age and one up an age group. Talking to one of the twins years later he commented that once they were in year 12 and reduced their training levels the Balwyn High School success rate dropped. The Olympic Pool trip was particularly exciting to a 12 year old in that time. Very tame by todays standards.
The only other external activities I can recall were a trip to a production of Julius Caesar somewhere in Canterbury and trip to the Museum when it was still in Latrobe Street.
We did have at least two Form 4C Parties which were very good and well organised by a couple of the families.
In Conclusion:
Saying you went to Balwyn High in the 1950’s did not necessarily draw a positive response. Nothing like the response elicited by attendance at Melbourne High or University High . That apparently is no longer the case and property in the Balwyn High School zone attracts a premium which I have seen estimated at 10% to 15%.
My wife points out to me on occasion that Balwyn High offered a curriculum that had aspects not offered in Queensland at that time. Art was one such area and even the limited music lessons which were of mainly about singing with some theory, instrumental education being a private responsibility.
Were we in any sense missing out by attending Balwyn High? By the standards of public education of the time, I do not think so.
Michael Alston,
September 2012
(Click on this link to read about what Michael did next)
by Michael Alston
I spent four years at Balwyn High School from 1957 to 1960 and was quite surprised to be contacted by Peter Barter whom I had not spoken to for over 50 years.
During Form 4 it must have been clear that I was not thriving and certainly not enjoying BHS and so after much debate I moved to Swinburne to the Diploma of Applied Chemistry which was a move I have never regretted. Applied Chemistry was a highly vocational 4 year course and whilst only two years tertiary gave access to a wide range of industrial work which became my career choice. It also provided an entry to the University of Melbourne later on.
Before 1957 I vaguely recall my parents discussing that a second High School was supposed to be built where Kew High now stands but it was quite clear in 1955-56 that no such facility would be available. Boys attending Deepdene Primary were destined to be divided between Box Hill Tech and Balwyn High if they were not going on to one of the independent schools.
Pupils at East Kew Central and Kew quite often went to Melbourne High on the basis of Zoning but there may have also been an academic assessment. Those at North Balwyn Primary mainly went to Balwyn High School as one would expect.
The resulting pressure on the existing schools was extreme and so buildings at Balwyn High School were still being constructed in 1957 after the accommodation was actually needed. A.V Jennings had many of the contracts for construction which consisted of a light timber frame with external facing horizontal stringers on which a cast concrete tile about 1 inch thick was hung via a rear hook. Each tile was glued with a mastic to adjacent tiles. It was clearly designed for rapid low cost fabrication. I think I spent some time watching this process in breaks.
Whilst the Woodwork Room at the western end of the northern section was equipped the Metalwork room next to it was not. All very different to the facilities now, but after all, houses in the early 1950’s were still restricted in size as a result of the shortages created by the War and schools had to be built within the resources available. The grounds were entirely undeveloped below the school and down to the creek but that did not stop people being occupied at lunchtime. Camberwell Council used the creek bed as a tip once the large drain which went down to Stradbroke Park was constructed and judging by the extreme odour in summer quite a deal of putrescible waste was dumped.
In 1957 the Prefects had been in their position for some years as they advanced up the school from its commencement, Peter Skilbeck being Head Boy. Classes of course were large up to Form 4, compared to the present, usually 36 to 40 students. Robert Fleming was a later Head Prefect.
By modern standards, the facilities were limited but I don’t ever recall thinking there was anything untoward in what we had. Very few homes or offices were air conditioned so the school was no different. I do not recall the heating situation. Assembly was of course open air between the Upper and Lower blocks.
Some anecdotes:
One of the great social divides of the time at the school was whether a family had television or not, as TV was very new with first test broadcasts being of the Melbourne Olympics in ’56. Those with TV would discuss what happened in whatever American import had been on the previous night and more than a few homework commitments were not made as a result. My mother, a teacher, refused to have television until I had completed secondary education.
As one would expect with teenage boys challenging the norms by some was an inbuilt response. Rock and Roll was the big thing with Elvis Presley as “The King” along with all the other US luminaries. This led to a set of fashion styles which were not in conformity with the requirements of the school eg. Some spectacular hair styles with lots of grease and luminescent socks which along with “those horrible shoes with claws on” were banned.
Some enterprising lads set up a group which I think was called “Johnny Crocker and his Rockers” which probably only survived playing at a single assembly as a result of the style of the piano player who had developed a technique as used by Jerry Lee Lewis. I remember Mr Brittain watching the performance with grim concern.
A song with the title “Don’t you rock me daddyo” was around at the time and received some focus because of the Senior Masters nickname, the origin of which was never clear to me.
Violence was not unknown in the yard between boys and a crowd would quickly gather at the call of “fight, fight, fight ..” and then some hapless teacher or prefect would be expected to intervene; not an easy task given the size and strength of some of the boys.
Unauthorised and sometimes quite dangerous ventures into chemical experiments were carried out, usually not on premises, but using knowledge gained at school. These are best not described in detail in these less forgiving times.
No doubt those who did Form 5 & 6 Chemistry would have used hydrogen sulphide for study of the reaction of Groups in the Periodic Table but I cant recall its misuse in my time at Balwyn High. Quite surprising given the “rotten egg gas” odour.
When the Koonung Creek was enclosed and the tip capped, some venturesome individuals rode bicycles up from Stradbroke Park, where the open section could be entered and their voices could be heard from one of the covers below the school. They had probably travelled about 1 km underground.
Teaching:
As others have observed the rapid expansion post WW2 resulted in a rapid expansion of the teaching service. A number stand out in my memory:
· Miss Macdonald taught German to our Form 1. A very proper, dignified lady, who however could become quite strident when given cause. A certain pupil, who may recognise this, inadvertently created such a cause was told “I’ll box your ears”. Said pupil, quite tall for his age towered a full head above Miss Macdonald. Miss Macdonald was later Head at Camberwell Girls High I believe.
· Mr. Prieditis (not sure of the spelling), also a teacher of German, who was a very kindly person and an effective teacher. He had a habit of referring to John Hawkins as Jim (Treasure Island) .
· Mr. McBurney, who as a History teacher, I can see in retrospect was quite innovative in discussing contemporary events in Asia and recommended we read the Current Affairs Bulletin, published the External Affairs Dept as it was then (now DFAT). This to Year 10! I liked that subject.
· Mr. Easterbrook, Woodwork, an excellent teacher. I think we only had two years and I would have happily had more. His teaching has stayed with me. The really skilled students (not me) were introduced to the wood lathe and Bruce Caldwell was one such, probably in Form 2. We made items such as Laundry Sticks, it still being the days of Coppers and also made a Broom Hanger. The material of choice was Ramin, often expressed as 7/8 inch Ramin. Who would use Ramin in a school now or anywhere for that matter? Unfortunately the Metalwork rooms not being available until around 1959 meant we did not get to learn Sheetmetal work.
· Miss Buchanan (not sure about the name) a Scot who managed to get unruly year 7 boys to sing and had a number of choirs. She wrote the School song; do they still sing about “the Royal names our houses bear, our Patrons famed and good”? What would that mean to the current generation? Talk about a different era!
· Mr.Norman , a lover of Shakespeare (“Willy Wagglestaff”) and disciplinarian, but as good a teacher of English as you could get. I am sure that is why I still like certain Shakespeare, namely the Tragedies and the History Plays. Julius Caesar, rather boring past Mark Anthony’s speech by my reckoning , was our Form Four play and whoever was reading the part of Brutus was given a strident demonstration of how to deliver “what Lucius, Ho” and made to repeat several times until the standard was met.
· English in Form 1 & 2. Did we have Treasure Island for one year and The Black Arrow for the other? Both R.L.Stevenson. I have scanned both again in recent years. In later years Alan Marshall “I can Jump Puddles” and John Buchan “The Necklace of Prester John” come to mind as the set texts. “Lad, A Dog” may also have been in the mix somewhere . It was still the norm to study classical poetry although mainly English and some Australian. We also studied the various metres.
· The long suffering Art teacher, whose name will not come, kept trying to develop my non existent talent but hit the spot with his history of art.
· Mr. Miller, a very good science teacher and our Form Master in Form 4. Borax beads and reduction on carbon block were techniques used to demonstrate reactions.
· Mathematics was my weak point at Balwyn High School, rectified later on. I can’t recall specifically who the teacher was in Form 4 but I do not think that he was the problem and I scraped through somehow.
Discipline:
This must surely have been the bane of most teachers lives. In Primary school it was the norm for boys to receive the strap for misdemeanours but I cannot recall it being used much if at all at Balwyn High. If it was it was probably restricted to a few authorised individuals. Others may recall. Being sent to the Head for talking to was all I can remember as an official punishment. Throwing rocks, of which there were plenty, at each other was definitely a matter for referral . Fair enough I guess. I can attest that there was still irregular corporal punishment applied by some staff.
Other Activities:
The two big external events were the Interschool Swimming Sports and Interschool Athletics held at the Swan St Olympic pool and Olympic Park respectively. In swimming the Harrowfield twins were a trump card with one swimming in age and one up an age group. Talking to one of the twins years later he commented that once they were in year 12 and reduced their training levels the Balwyn High School success rate dropped. The Olympic Pool trip was particularly exciting to a 12 year old in that time. Very tame by todays standards.
The only other external activities I can recall were a trip to a production of Julius Caesar somewhere in Canterbury and trip to the Museum when it was still in Latrobe Street.
We did have at least two Form 4C Parties which were very good and well organised by a couple of the families.
In Conclusion:
Saying you went to Balwyn High in the 1950’s did not necessarily draw a positive response. Nothing like the response elicited by attendance at Melbourne High or University High . That apparently is no longer the case and property in the Balwyn High School zone attracts a premium which I have seen estimated at 10% to 15%.
My wife points out to me on occasion that Balwyn High offered a curriculum that had aspects not offered in Queensland at that time. Art was one such area and even the limited music lessons which were of mainly about singing with some theory, instrumental education being a private responsibility.
Were we in any sense missing out by attending Balwyn High? By the standards of public education of the time, I do not think so.
Michael Alston,
September 2012
(Click on this link to read about what Michael did next)
