Balwyn High School 1957 to 1962 Reunion
  • Welcome
  • About our 50 year reunion
  • FEEDBACK on Get-together 27 October 2012
  • Photos from 2012 Reunion Dinner
  • Lost and Found
  • Vale
  • Students' Stories: What have you been doing for the past 50 years?"
    • Andy Blunden
    • Anne Hawker (Jubb)
    • Brian Stagoll
    • Diane Kerr (Davidson)
    • David Slater and Dorothy Fergusson
    • Carol Poon
    • Dorothy Vietz (Gibson)
    • Gerd Kratzer
    • Gisela Olbrich
    • Helen Vallack
    • Ian Priestly
    • Ian Stavely
    • John Sinclair
    • John Willis
    • Kath Semmel (McKay)
    • Lindsay Cook
    • Michael Alston
    • Otto Rehak
    • Pam Heath
    • Paul Barnard
    • Peter Barter
    • Peter Thomas
    • Peter Winford
    • Phyl Coath
    • Ray Walker
    • Robyn Dalziel
    • Roger Schnagl
    • Sue Foster (Jones)
    • Sylvia Garnham (Geddes)
    • Tim Green
    • Val Brooks (Bennett)
    • Warren Pill
  • A 1962 Teacher's Story
  • Photos and Memories of our time at BHS 1957 to 1962
    • Personal reminiscences >
      • Brian Stagoll Memories
      • Gerd Kratzer
      • Kath Semmel (McKay)
      • Lindsay Cook Memories
      • Michael Alston
      • Paul Barnard
      • Peter Barter - Nostalgic Memories
      • Peter Thomas reflections on BHS
      • Sylvia Garnham (Geddes)
      • Val Brooks (Bennett)
    • 1957 Group photos
    • 1958 Group Photos
    • 1959 Group photos
    • 1960 Group Photos
    • 1961 Group Photos
    • 1962 Group photos
    • 1963 Group Photo
    • 'Feeder' Primary Schools
    • Biology Field Trip
    • Broken Hill and Canberra Excursions 1961 and 1962
    • School Social May 1962
    • 1962 teachers
    • The Voice of the Three Per Cent
    • A student debate
    • Speech Night 1962 program
  • 1962 School Statistics
  • 'Organising mob' Contacts
  • Share your thoughts and comments Blog
  • Forum
  • 14 July 2013 gathering
  • 16 August 2014 Gathering
  • 11 November 2017 Gathering
  • 10 November 2018 Gathering

Ray Walker


It is quite a challenge to condense some fifty years of life experiences so here goes.

I enjoyed my time at Balwyn High School and afterwards went on to study Commerce at Melbourne Uni and became an accountant in various roles for over twenty years until I discovered ‘life.’ LOL. I blame ‘Pop’ Conlan for this.

In my mid twenties I lived abroad in London for three years with Tim Green. I had an absolute ball. It was also there that I realised just how insular and secure my life had been up to that point, recognising and experiencing first- hand the level of injustice, inequity and poverty, after hitching and travelling through Europe and Asia.

I left accounting after a lengthy period and ventured into marketing and ultimately into providing business advice and consulting services to small businesses. Part of that role involved giving back through teaching the NEIS program to help unemployed people develop a business.

It was during this time that sadly my first marriage broke up and after a period of reflection I married again to Verlie, my soul mate. We have three adult children from our previous marriages and three wonderful granddaughters. I feel truly blessed.

Later in our marriage Verlie developed a very debilitating illness. Nothing seemed to help until we discovered a natural product that not only provided a full recovery for her but enabled us to grow a large global business helping many others in the process. Through that we are on the Board of a charity that provides high quality nutritional support to malnourished children around the world.


Looking back it has been an eventful journey, some highs and lows, but there is still a lot that I want to do and contribute.

Reflecting back to my Balwyn High School days, as I said earlier I enjoyed my years there. We lived in a very stable, insular and disciplined environment so different to today. It was only “disturbed” by the fear and uncertainty of a potential world war three at the time, as a consequence of the Cuban Missile Crisis. A much larger issue at the time was the BHS “radical fringe” publication of the 3% newsletter! LOL. I reckon we should include here a blurb on this by the group.

For me the time was also about growing up, rock & roll, form parties, girls, sport, study,     ” bloody” maths and science, mucking about, holidays and boring school assemblies.

Thanks to the awesome ‘mob’ for a wonderful reunion. You look back and we had six years of close connectedness during our formative years, a bond that remarkably after all these years remains strong. In many ways the event was like coming home to a family reunion.
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