Dick teaching a science class
R. H. (Dick) Smith 20/7/22 - 14/7/99.
Katoomba High School 1950 to 1967
Dick taught at Katoomba HS from 1950 to 1967. Dick has allowed us to use chapters from his life story relating to his years at KHS.Turning up at the School
Katoomba High School
Confusion
Teaching and Classes
The Westerly Winds
The Walkers
Speech Days
School Duplicating
Sports Coaching
1954 Leaving Certificate Class
Florence and Linda Connor
Stage Manager
The Move to Martin Street
Science Stock
Concrete Mixer
The Rats
School Extensions
Note Books
The Wyndham Scheme
Text Books
The Move from Katoomba
The Katoomba Replacement
Later Changes at Katoomba High School
School Cadets
Top of Page
My three years Leave Without Pay to attend University extended to the end of 1949, i.e. to 31st December 1949. By then of course, schools were on vacation. The Dept. of Education did not like the idea of me (and others) commencing our return to full salary with four weeks' holiday. We had to report to Head Office, and we were employed as clerks for that period.
There were about 20 of us in this position, and none of us liked the idea. We loafed. We took very long lunch hours.
The Dept's phone bill increased because we did as much personal phoning as we could, especially when our University results came out. We were not restricted in any of our phoning.
I was placed in the statistical section, consolidating various statistical returns from schools for the previous year. We did do some work - when there was nothing else to do. I soon became quite proficient in adding columns of 2 or 3 digit figures in one swoop. I noticed later, within a few weeks of not doing it, that I had lost that skill. On the last day, three of us spoke to our immediate "boss", admitting that we had loafed and telling him why. He staggered us by saying that he "had got more work out of us than he got from his normal staff"!
During our last week there, we received our appointments, commencing the first day of school in 1950 - the Tuesday. I had applied for Katoomba High School, and I was fortunate in that a Science teacher there had applied for a transfer to the city. was appointed to Katoomba.
Seeing that I was in HQ, I went down to the Staffing Section to find out the names of some of the School Staff. As I was getting this information, a School Inspector came across and quite officiously pointed out that teachers "should not be coming in here, not wearing a coat". He noticed me looking at his lack of a coat, and said "It's all right for us. We work here." I bewildered him by answering "So do I", and walked out.
I received vouchers for two first-class train tickets to Katoomba. May and her mother used these on the Friday to go home with the two youngsters, and I think I followed next day.
Turning up at the SchoolTop of Page
I walked in the Parke Street entrance, and was immediately greeted by Joe Edmunds. After introductions, he took me straight down to the Science Staff Room (closed in verandah of the Science Laboratory), and introduced me to Eric Pidgeon, the Science Master. I was immediately put into the routine of the first day, together with my classes and timetable for the year.
Of course, there was a staff meeting soon in the day, and the staff met the new Headmaster, one Greg Bondietti. He was particularly busy, and I did not speak to him for several days. He was not pleased to find that I was also new to the School, and had not reported to him on arrival, as I should have done Hence I was not off to a good start with him.
During the first year, I had a class next to his office. On two occasions he came in and took over the class, presumably to show me how to teach. No doubt he knew his Science, but he did not handle the class well at all, and on both occasions he walked out and left me to get the class back in order. I don't think he ever forgot those occasions, but he never did it again.
He was School Headmaster for two years, before becoming a Secondary Science Inspector. For many years later, he was always in the team which did the Annual Inspection of Katoomba High School, and I never really recovered in his eyes, from his first impressions of me. The first time that another Science Inspector came to Katoomba High School, he remarked something to the effect that no other Science Inspector could get into the team for Katoomba High School, and so he had never met me before. I received my mark for List 2, i.e. Science Master qualification, in the next year.
It was a matter of interest for many years that there were only four Secondary Science Inspectors - Bilbe, Bondietti, Buggey and Barker - the 4 Bs.
Katoomba High SchoolAt this time, the High School was located in Parke Street, Katoomba, right beside the shopping area, with a much used lane into Katoomba Street. Later, when the High School moved down to Martin Street (near Echo Point), and all the "portable" rooms were removed, the main building became Katoomba Infants School.
A double "portable" in the southeast corner of the grounds, was the Science Laboratory and the Woodwork Room. Each end had a closed-in verandah as the relevant Staffroom. Each class had a double period in the Science Laboratory, and all other Science periods were held in the class's normal room. Smiths
There were 3 Smiths on the Staff - Alwyn and Barry were Manual Arts teachers, and were younger than me. I turned 28 that year, and no doubt looked a lot older. I soon became known as "old Mr. Smith". This was confirmed when I was talking to some boys while I was on playground duty, and the subject of Kingsford Smith came up. I remarked that I remembered him flying around. The response of one of them was "But he's history, Sir". I was Methuselah from then on.
ConfusionTop of Page
Florence Greenaway (Alf's fiancee at the time) was also new on the staff in 1950 - her first appointment (Physical Education teacher). Of course the youngsters saw that I was very friendly with her, and when she became Mrs. Smith, there was quite a bit of misunderstanding. I did not realise this until one little girl came up to me and said "But you're married already, Sir!". had to explain the exact situation to all school students.
Many years later, May and I attended a Lodge function in Young. We met a member of that Lodge who had left Katoomba High School at the end of 1951. He said to May "You wouldn't remember me, but you had me for PE in 3rd Year at Katoomba High in 1951. He had been under the wrong impression for about 18 years!
Teaching and ClassesFor the first three years, I taught Junior Science only (lst, 2nd & 3rd Years). Eric Pidgeon taught all senior classes (4th & 5th Years) their Combined Physics and Chemistry and Beryl ......... had the junior and senior Biology classes. Incidentally, when Florence married a Smith, Beryl married a Jones. After these three years, I was given the 4th Year Physics of the Combined Physics and Chemistry and took them through to the Leaving Certificate.
In 1950, I was given 1A Class, and carried on with 2A and 3A in 1951 & 1952. This was largely the group which went on to 4th & 5th Years, so I taught them for the first five straight years. I became very fond of them, and at their 25 Year Reunion, I had a marvelous time.
After Eric Pidgeon left for elsewhere, his replacement as Science Master, Arthur Brown, had the senior classes doing Physics and Chemistry as separate subjects, and from then on except for the first few years of the Wyndham Scheme, I had the responsibility senior Physics or senior Chemistry (sometimes 3 of the 4 senior classes) for the remainder of my teaching career. The Staff
The Katoomba High School Staff was a very happy staff, and I was rather a junior member of it for some time. Then in a 2 year period, when there was a lot of promotions, I found myself as one of the "old hands".
The Westerly WindsTop of Page
The buildings and most parts of the playground were much exposed to the strong westerly winds. I have seen heavy school cases blown across part of the bitumen playground which was in a sort of wind tunnel. Close nearby, Room 14 (a timber portable) had its blackboard secured to the western wall of the room. It was quite interesting to be writing on the blackboard and having that blackboard move in and out with the wind. Florence's 21st Birthday Party
The staff organised a surprise party for Florence on her 21st birthday. Just before the party, I roughed up a large wooden key, suspended it with a block and tackle system of pulleys (from Science stock) and hung the key as close as possible to the high ceiling. At the appropriate time, I tried to lower it but it did not work! It as rather embarrassing for me as a Science teacher.
I realised the trouble immediately, but there was no time to fix it. The key was not heavy and I was using two triple pulleys. Hence the tension in the cord was insufficient to keep the cord in the pulley grooves. An extra weight and/or less pulleys would have been the answer.
The making of this key reminds me of another matter. I put it together in the Woodwork Room, using some scrap wood, a blue stain and pale yellow kalsomine (Blue & Yellow were the School Colours). The standard of my craftsmanship appalled Fred Wegener, the Teacher-in-Charge. Fred was a perfectionist. He built his own house and in it, I know that all floorboards were screwed down instead of being nailed down. I add that Fred was a thoroughly nice gentleman.
The WalkersLooking out from the Science Staffroom one day, I saw Greg Bondietti and Bill Price walking together, away from where I was. That was something which stays in my memory. Greg Bondietti had been a prominent Rugby League player - Sydney University team in the days when Sydney University fielded a team in the Sydney Competition. He was close to International standard. Bill Price had been Australia's Soccer centre forward for quite some years. Hence I was looking at the "shoulder' walk of the Rugby League player right beside the "twinkle-toes" walk of the Soccer forward.
It is interesting to note that Bill Price taught May at Katoomba High School. Some years after this incident, he was promoted to English Master of Telopea Park High School in Canberra In those days, the NSW Dept. of Education staffed all A.C.T. schools. Many years later, there were some inter-school sporting visits between Cootamundra and Telopea Park, and on one occasion we boarded a Telopea Park girl. Bill was still the English Master there, and she was amazed when I told her that Mr. Price had played Soccer for Australia. I don't think she really believed me.
Speech DaysAfter Dick Searle transferred elsewhere at the end of 1954, I landed his task of Betty Armstrong's assistant for Speech Days, especially the task of organising the prizes on stage so that the prize-giving went smoothly and quickly. I did this job for the following 13 years. Betty was another teacher who had taught May at Katoomba High School. I understand that Katoomba High School was her first appointment as a teacher and she retired from Katoomba High School - quite a unique performance. I still keep in touch with her.
When I went on to Cootamundra High School, I took on the full job of the prizes for Speech Nights, including the procurement of all books. This was quite a job in itself, involving the personal wishes of each recipient. I did this job for the whole 17 years I was there.
School DuplicatingTop of Page
The one and only school duplicator (a Gestetner) was located in the Science Staffroom, and the job of doing most of the duplicating fell to me, especially at examination time - both half-yearly and yearly. It was an old machine and when others used it, it played up and I had to repair it. I became sick of this and before long, I was doing all the duplicating. It would be interesting to know how many times I turned that handle.
Eventually the School purchased an automatic machine - no turning of the handle for each copy. I was put in charge of this, and to avoid misuse by others, I had to keep a close eye on the users. I soon found that most teachers had no idea of what I call machine sympathy and made many mistakes in the use of the machine - so much so that I finished up doing 98% of all the duplicating, which had increased greatly by then
I always remember one incident in the early days, at an examination time. Somehow or other, a copy of a mathematics paper was seen by students before the examination, and this became known about half an hour before the examination was due to start that morning. Joe Edmunds cut a new wax stencil, compiling the new paper as he went along. The school was held on morning assembly, with all sorts of unnecessary announcements and short "speeches", while I ran off the required copies. I rushed them to the relevant examination rooms while the youngsters were moving off the assembly. All told, it was an efficiently done emergency job, and some of the examinees had a surprise.
Sports CoachingRugby League
Being a young member of the staff and being a qualified referee, it was almost automatic that I was given the responsibility of the First Grade Team. If I remember rightly, we lost more games than we won, especially at first. However, I think that I can say that the team improved with my coaching, and when other teachers such as John McGee and Bruce Chapman came along in later years, the standard was such that Katoomba High School had a competitive Rugby League team.
I think that the boys were suitably impressed by the fact that I stripped into my refereeing gear for most coaching sessions, and that I really did know a lot about the detail( of the game. I was most annoyed on one occasion, when there was criticism in the local)press about youngsters being forced to change into sports gear on cold wintry days while their teachers stayed rugged up against the cold. In many cases, this was quite correct, but certainly not in my case.
Cricket
Harold Went was the main cricket coach, and handled the First Grade Team. However, Harold was not a well man, and for some seasons I had this team. I put a full effort into the coaching job and I think that I did a bit of good for them. In the course of time, Bruce Chapman took over this job.
One incident involving Harold Went stays in my mind. In an annual Staff v. First Grade Team, I was batting with Harold. turned for a second run, to see him sprawled in the middle of the pitch. Harold had heart trouble and I immediately thought "heart attack". Fortunately, he had only tripped over the matting on the wicket. His glasses were broken, but he carried on - he could not see the bowler. but only needed to know who was bowling, and I called for all runs. Harold lasted for about three overs before getting out.
I add that this Staff v. Boys game was a certain function each year. On one occasion the Staff won easily and on another occasion the boys won easily. All other occasions were close games, the boys having an edge no doubt because of youth.
I well remember the season in which I was allotted to the Girls' Cricket Team. The girls were hopeless cricketers, but their enthusiasm was outstanding, and this made it a memorable season. They had not had anyone really coaching them, being in charge of women teachers who knew little about cricket
Most of them had difficulty in bowling, and I decided to teach them by holding their arms out while delivering the ball and so almost bowling for them. They got the hang of bowling properly. I think I improved their batting by standing in front of each one with a bat, giving them a "mirror image" of how to make various strokes. With these fundamentals reasonably straightened out, I was able to make some progress.
The season ended with a trip to Lithgow to play Lithgow High School. Lithgow was a stronghold for women's cricket and my girls were expecting to be defeated. When I saw that the game was to be played on a bare concrete pitch, I had an idea. I told my girls to bowl rather high in the air so that the ball bounced quite high. The Lithgow girls were accustomed to normal bowling and so they hit a lot of catches.
My girls dropped many, but caught enough to dismiss Lithgow for a fairly low total. My girls were no great batsmen, but they were able to total more. When my girls realised that they had beaten Lithgow, most of them burst out in tears of joy. I could not handle that, and had to walk away.
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Tennis
I remember having the girls' tennis one season. Now and then I borrowed a racquet and played with some of them. I had the fun of making my first service as fast as I could, making sure that it was a fault, and then making my second service a very easy one. They seemed to enjoy the fast one, although I made occasional mistakes - with both serves.
On the side, I did a bit of coaching of strokes, but there was not the opportunity for much of this. Nevertheless, I found that the women teachers who had taken them before, did not even do this!
Towards the end of my time at Katoomba, when the staff were mostly younger than me and so were allotted the normal sports, I landed the job of handling a bunch of nuisances who did not want to do any sport. I merely took them for a walk - down the Giant Stairway to the bottom of the cliff face in Jamieson Valley, and back up again. That took the sting out of them, and I noticed that the group became smaller each week. it wasn't long before I found a way to get some of them more interested - stops to point out and explain little matters of geological and biological interest. My ulterior motive was to have a rest myself, especially on the way UP- Having some School Cadets ambushing the walkers, added some interest. Cross
Country Run
Cross country running was introduced, and after some runs I remarked to the Sportscaster (I have forgotten which one) that it was more road running than cross country running. He suggested that I plan a course. I did - from Katoomba Showground, along Woodlands road, through the bush to Marmion Rd,(about 5 vehicle per year), across Queens Rd, down to and along Lindeman Rd (never used - blocked off), to Queens Rd and out along one of the tracks to Bruce's Walk (a faint track through bush with power lines overhead) to Minna-Ha-Ha Reserve, along First Avenue, then up along the valley to the Showground.
As it turned out, I was expecting too much of the boys, and I suppose that the Sportsmaster should have checked the route beforehand. I placed staff at appropriate places en route. All boys finished, but some took a very long time. None were lost but two staff became lost and I had to rescue them. My Cross country course was not used again.
General
All told, I found that youngsters really appreciated guidance in their sport, and this appreciation showed in their general conduct in class and playground, as far as I was concerned. I think that this appreciation extended to some extent to others whom I did not coach.
1954 Leaving Certificate ClassTop of Page
As mentioned previously, this was the first group of students whom I taught for the full five years. An unfortunate matter arose very shortly before the actual Leaving Certificate
Examination. One of the lads, Stan Riley, died over one week- end - I never did learn the actual circumstances. Although he had only come to the School in 4th Year, he was very popular, and the whole group learnt about it quickly. The effect on the whole Year was catastrophic. I shall never forget being the first teacher to have that class on the Monday morning and so face the difficult task of getting them working and thinking about the Examination. I think I made some progress along this line.
It was the following year that the mother of one of this class, one Valerie Kelso, made a donation to the School so that a permanent prize for Chemistry could be added to the Leaving Certificate Prizes. She told me personally that it was Valerie's wish, as a means of thanking me for what I had done for her.
Florence and Linda ConnorTop of Page
In 1950, Florence, on her first appointment as a teacher, was the first Physical Education teacher allotted to Katoomba High School. No male Phys. Ed. teacher was appointed, so Florence had to take both the boys and the girls. It must have been difficult. There was a male Phys. Ed. in the following year.
In 1950, Florence transferred to Parramatta High and Linda Connor came to handle the girls' Physical Education. It was an interesting sight to see Linda (close to retirement) demonstrating ballroom dancing with Dal Gold, a young first appointee. A situation loaded with pathos occurred on the day in 1956(?) when the big fire destroyed 187 homes in Leura. I was told that Linda was watching out of a top floor window of the school, and saw her home being destroyed. She remarked "There goes my retirement for some years".
Stage ManagerIt was a standard thing that each class put on a play of some kind for the school and public to watch. Apart from all the practising beforehand, this occupied two days and nights half the classes having a full dress rehearsal during the day, with the rest of the school watching, and the actual show that evening for the general public to watch.
In 1950, I did not want to be allotted to a class for this purpose, and I was able to avoid this by volunteering to assist Eric Pidgeon with the stage managing. The plays were performed in the Town Hall, Parke St - an old building with limited lighting backstage. In 1951, Eric Pidgeon seemed to disappear from the stage scene, and I became Stage Manager for the following 17 years at Katoomba High School.
When the school moved to the Martin Street location, the new School Hall was far better outfitted than the old Town Hall, and I was able to reduce my activities to being in charge of light and sound. This was a lot less trouble but it kept me busy - I had a maximum of 32 power points in use, 18 of them under dimmer control, these in three battens of three different colours of the lights.
On top of that, I rigged walkways above the whole stage, so that I could hang lights anywhere. Fortunately, the play days had finished by then, and the performances were school concerts, operettas, and that sort of thing. so that I was only a consultant for the changing stage managers (if they were needed).
The handling of the sound (we had microphones for the first time) was a bit of a problem for me, until I gained the assistance of Ivan Turner (Science Staff), who undertook to handle that. The Lights and Sound Console was at a raised level beside the stage, and I set up quite a little "kingdom", including a line-of-sight peephole and an independent phone line to the Hall entrance, and a direct line to 2KA Studio for when they wanted to record performances or put them into their program "live".
There were some funny incidents in the old Town Hall. In 1951, when periodic electrical blackouts were common occurrences, we received notice during an afternoon of rehearsals that there would be a blackout between 8 and 9 that night. I overcame this problem by rustling up about 6 kerosene pressure lamps, and after lighting them, suspended them from the rafters backstage. It must have been a considerable fire risk. One of the plays did not require full lighting, so I had the order of plays changed so that this one would be the first on the night.
We purposely delayed the start of the evening's proceedings by about 15 minutes, then put on this play (fortunately it took about 30 minutes), and then told Greg Bondietti (Headmaster) to get out on stage in front of the curtain and speak to the audience for 10 to 15 minutes. At 9 pm, the power came on, and everything went smoothly after that.
Greg Bondieti did not like this, but he could not suggest any alternative. He must have wondered greatly about me that night for this and for an additional reason. In my dustcoat, I carried a methylated spirits filler for lighting the kerosene pressure lamps. At an early stage, the spirits spilled out into my clothing. I had no time to do anything about it, so I stank of methylated spirits all evening.
In another year, one of my schoolboy back stage assistants dropped some item between the corrugated iron wall and the wall lining (there were many large holes in that lining). I did not have a torch, so I used matches to see where the item was - we were going to make another hole in the lining to get the item. A lad took over my matches to look further, and dropped a lighted match on to paper and other litter. This caught alight, and I had to dash into the boys' dressing room, find a dish, and carry water to the fire. I put the fire out and than carried on with the night's work.
Quite some years later, I mentioned this incident to the Mayor, Frank Walford. His only comment was "It was a pity that you didn't let the place burn down."
One year, a part of one play required a dim light while a "ghost" came on stage to say 4 words, then no lights. This was repeated for 7 different ghosts. The ghosts moved a bit quickly, and I got a step out with my timing of switching on half the footlights. I finally caught up, and then things proceeded normally. May was in the audience, and told me later that everyone was pleased that I was able to fix up the short-circuit so quickly!
Another time, with no notice to me, a teacher decided that there was to be an additional scene in her class's play. As Stage Manager, I learnt to cope with producers' whims like that. For example, five minutes before one teacher's class was to perform one night, she decided that for the opening scene she wanted a different backdrop - a blue one. I remembered that there was such a backdrop which must have been lying against the back wall of the stage for many years. I had my gang of assistants hook it up, then haul it up, and we were ready to go.
There was the common delay while the teacher fussed around at the start, and I ducked out to the main Hall as the curtain was going up. The dust backstage was quite thick and when the curtain was pulled aside, the dust rolled out in a cloud, into the audience. It was something like a bomb blast.
I remember another time, when Charlie Boland tried to test me by wanting a waterfall backstage. I worked out that an already existing backdrop could pass for a waterfall, if it was suspended upside-down,, and told him that I could give him his waterfall. That rocked him, and he backed away from the idea.
With all this backstage experience, especially with the great facilities backstage in Martin Street, I wondered what was in store for me at Cootamundra. I made no mention of this backstage experience, and made a point of discreetly looking at the backstage facilities at Cootamundra High School. They were not much better than in the old Town Hall in Katoomba, so I kept that experience a secret, and did not do any more backstage work.
There will be more about Katoomba High School (especially the old School), and hopefully, I shall add to the above.
The Move to Martin StreetTop of Page
This was done part way through a school year. It was achieved with Ist, 2nd & 3rd Years missing three teaching periods on a Friday afternoon and 4th & 5th Years mot missing a single period. I shall not go into details of how this was done, but the relevant work took a lot of free-period time and-out-of school time, mostly before the actual move.
To make it more difficult for the Science staff, all Science equipment and material was moved by the Science staff with the aid of a carrier using a small flat-top truck. To add to the difficulty, the move was from ONE Laboratory and storeroom (many glass fronted cupboards enabling one to see the contents) to FIVE main rooms and three Storage/Preparation rooms, all with many cupboards at floor level, having wooden doors, in which the contents could not be readily seen. In addition, there were many glass fronted cupboards on walls. I would estimate that our storage space was increased twenty-fold.
In order from the front school entrance, there was a Tech. Drawing Room and then the five Science Rooms. In the same order, there was a Demonstration Room, a Storeroom/Preparation Room/Darkroom combination, a small Laboratory without a teacher's front bench, (We designated this the Physics Laboratory), a large Laboratory (We made this the Biology Laboratory), a Storeroom/Preparation Room, a large, Laboratory (We made this the Chemistry Laboratory), a Storeroom/Preparation Room, and a Demonstration Room.
Science StockYearly stock supplies came near the end of the year, and we received a very large increase of supplies and equipment. A year or two previously, the ordering of supplies was a responsibility which I had taken on, and that in itself was a skill - to justify the necessity of all items ordered and so ensure getting them. This involved a full stocktake every year. I used the impending move to justify a very large order, and achieved about a 90% success. I add that the unpacking of stores and their distribution was part of the job.
With the large availability of storage space, it took the best part of a year to devise a satisfactory placement of all items of equipment and material, and this included the labeling of the wooden fronted cupboards. It must be remembered that there were no School Laboratory Assistants in those days.
I carried on with this task - stocktaking, ordering, receipt, unpacking, distribution, much maintaining and repairing, for the remainder of my time at Katoomba. and it meant a lot of work in my "free' time.
In those days, the ordering of Science stock was independent of the School Principal. A copy of the annual stocktake report went with the order to Science Inspectors, for them to approve before being sent on to the Stores Branch for implementation. My experience showed me various ways in which I could get more equipment for the School, and I made the most of it. I would say that, by the time I left, Katoomba was better stocked with Science equipment than most High Schools.
The Manual Arts and Home Science departments of a school have a moderate amount of stores work to do, but their stores task is far less than that of the Science department. The English/History, Mathematics, and Commerce department teachers never seemed to realise the extent of the non-teaching duties carried out by Science teachers. I must make out a list of non classroom tasks, which I have done in schools during my teaching career. I am sure that many people would be surprised, and that would include many teachers of non-practical subjects.
Concrete MixerThere was another problem in the first few months in the new school building. Some of the outside construction work was not finished when we moved in, and there was a very large noisy concrete mixer situated immediately outside the Biology Laboratory and close to the other Science rooms. It continued making concrete for quite some time.
This was probably longer than planned, as the Principal, Bill Magill, convinced the contractor to lay concrete between all the piles supporting the whole building, thus providing an extensive wet weather shelter, It meant a ceiling of only 7 or 8 feet, but that was really no trouble.
The RatsTop of Page
Marj Levy started some experimental work with live rats. The Biology Prep Room developed a distinct odour, although dissection work kept the rat population down. She had some schoolgirls as assistants looking after the rats, and at one stage the female rats had large litters. One of the girls asked the question "Shouldn't we separate them, Miss Levy?". Marj's reply was "No. There's plenty of time."
That was a mistake. When the next generation came, Marj made a point of separating the offspring very early, but made another mistake - she left a male with the females.
The whole matter culminated with an announcement on the school assembly. "Would anyone with a bird cage or anything else which can be converted to a rat cage, please bring it to Miss Levy. There has been a population explosion in the rat house". It took a little time to get the assembly in order again.
The requested help was forthcoming, and the situation arose whereby there were some hundreds of rats and the Christmas. vacation was coming up. The answer was a minor change in the Science programming in the school - almost all junior classes were given the opportunity to dissect a rat, one rat between three students. Hence only a small number of rats were kept for the next year.
I add that this dissection work has its dangers. One had to keep an eye out for the student who felt faint and needed some treatment. More danger comes to a teacher who is demonstrating a dissection - keeping his/her eye on the class at the same time as keeping one's fingers away from the scalpel.
School ExtensionsQuite some years later, an extension was added to the eastern end of the building - a large Library on the top floor, a Music Room plus Deputy's office etc. on the main floor and a Science Laboratory plus large Preparation Room, at ground level. Ray Dart was the Science Master at the time, and he intended to make that his Laboratory. When the time came to move in, the place smelled strongly of new paint and he could not stand that asthma troubles. Hence it became my Laboratory, and was used by no one else. I could drive in the back gate and park right near to the Lab.
This new Lab called for a lot of equipment, of course, and I made the most of the opportunity. Also, I had been asked to order all furnishings for the Lab, which I did. Apparently the contractor also ordered such furnishings, and the duplication was not noticed. Both orders were received, and I had quite a task to find spaces in all the Laboratories for the extra furniture mainly cupboards of all kinds. The new Preparation Room had cupboards on top of cupboards in places.
During a later visit from a Science Inspector, he said to me "You don't have to answer this, but how did you manage to get so many cupboards from the Stores Branch?" I explained willingly, adding that it was far less trouble to use them somewhere, than it was to send them back. He apparently had never seen Science rooms so well furnished.
Note BooksTop of Page
Going back a little, Arthur Brown and I had put together over a period of some years, a good set of Notes for both the Senior and Junior Science Courses. We started to look at having them published for the benefit of other teachers in other schools and so make a bit of money out of them. At this stage, the Wyndham Scheme was announced, and enough was said about it-to have us realise that there would be radical changes in the whole Science Syllabi. Printing Notes for the existing courses would be a fruitless exercise.
That same year, Arthur received a promotion to Deputy Principal at Cootamundra High School. Later, he went on to be Principal of Glen Innes High School, and he retired there in Glen Innes. I was quite high in seniority on the List of pending Science Masters, and would have been promoted to Science Master somewhere in the State, if I had applied. I had not contemplated moving (I would not move to the city), as Malcolm and Graham were at University in Sydney, and Katoomba was close enough for them to come home on weekends.
The Wyndham SchemeRay Dart was a few places ahead of me on that List, and he became Science Master at Katoomba. He ran into the introduction of the Wyndham Scheme. The main difficulty with this scheme initially, was that all teachers knew the overall plan, but no Science teacher (nor any other teacher, as far as I know) had been told anything at all about any detail of the new courses.
On the first day back at school, we received the full details in the mail - a book of about 50 pages! The students were due next day. It was a real mess, and it took a lot of effort by teachers, to actually launch this Wyndham Scheme in schools. This was especially so for Science teachers, because the new course in Science was radically different from the previous courses.
The powers-that-were had it well organised, with copious guidance notes and suggestions and everything was printed, but we teachers who had to put the scheme into effect, had not been told any details of the new courses!
I should detail the changes with which we had to cope, virtually without notice. Previously, the junior classes (lst, 2nd & 3rd Years) studied a Combined Physics and Chemistry course, the less able girls in 2nd & 3rd Year switched to Biology. The senior classes (4th & 5th Years) had a choice of Physics, or Chemistry or Biology, as separate subjects. Most boys took Physics or Chemistry, or both, and most of the girls did Biology.
The Wyndham Scheme made an extra year in the junior school (now nominated Years 7, 8, 9 & 10,, carrying on from 6 years of Primary school) finishing with an examination for the School Certificate. Years 11 & 12 carried on, finishing with the Higher School Certificate Examination.
The Wyndham Scheme Science Courses were radically changed. The subject was now SCIENCE, and the words "Physics",
"Chemistry", "Biology", etc. were not to be used. All junior classes took SCIENCE, which consisted of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology, with some Astronomy thrown in. A Science teacher had to teach the lot, and this was quite difficult for many teachers. Naturally, students suffered (although they did not know it) until their teachers became reasonably proficient in all the Sciences at junior level.
The same situation applied to the senior SCIENCE Course - a Core of Physics & Chemistry, plus Lobes of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology three Lobes to be studied. There were four Levels of study Level 1 (11 periods per week) - the Full Course plus extra work in one Lobe; Level 2 Full (9 periods per week an expanded Short Course; Level 2 Short (6 periods per week) the basic course for the majority of students, and Level 3 (6 periods per week) - a sort of General Science course, with emphasis on Biology & Geology.
It all made for headaches for the compiler of the School timetable, to fit them all in. This compilation of the School Time Table for the year is always a massive task. Comparatively few teachers can do it, as most teaching staff have little idea of the difficulties. I have done my share of it, but more about that at another time.
The senior courses were bigger headaches for most Science teachers, coping at this standard with Science disciplines with which they were quite unfamiliar. Most teachers of senior classes had specialised in Physics or Chemistry (sometime both), or Biology (Geology was taught in very few schools at this standard). So when they had to teach the lot, there were real difficulties
I was more fortunate than most - my Science Degree was as generalised a course in Science as I could make it. I knew more about Geology than the great majority of Science teachers. had done First Year Physics which covered most of the Physics of the new course. My Chemistry and Agricultural Chemistry gave me a wider picture of Chemistry than most University Chemistry courses, which go far deeper into the subject than is required for school Chemistry. I had a good grounding in Mathematics, and I even had the qualifications to teach Geography. However, I was lacking in Biology, which is, at school standard, more a mass of facts than of understanding.
It was interesting to notice that the few Science teachers who had printed Notebooks for the guidance of students, produced amended versions incorporating the new Geology. Not knowing this Science very well, their simplifications for the students were not good and sometimes just plain wrong. To simplify something without going wrong, one must know the subject matter well.
Text BooksTop of Page
Of course, there were no textbooks for the course at first, and the need for a text book of some kind was necessary, to help overcome deficiencies in teachers' knowledge of all the disciplines of Science. Teachers had to find their source material in a variety of ways. To produce a satisfactory textbook for the junior years, the well known Sydney University Professor of Physics, Harry Messel, got a team together to compile such a book. This was typical of Harry Messel - getting together a team, to do the detailed work, while he ostensibly headed the team and received the main credits.
The only trouble was that the team consisted of "died-in the-wool" Physics teachers, Chemistry teachers, Biology teachers and University Geology lecturers, all of whom seemed to consider that their Science was more important than any other Science, and so worked into the book more than a fair share of their own Science.
No attempt seemed to have been made to condense the total of what was compiled, and so the final book was massive. Messel himself, made a weak attempt to counter criticism, with the expression "strengthens their muscles as well as strengthening their minds". I suppose there are still some copies of this book around, and for the sake of the history of Science teaching, they should be preserved.
At about the same time, Messel (teams again) produced separate books for the senior Physics, Chemistry and Biology. They became known as the Yellow Peril (Physics), the Red Terror (Chemistry) and the Green Jungle (Biology). There was no Geology text in this group. As with the Junior book, each team consisted of specialists in the particular discipline of Science, dominated by University lecturers. A lot of the subject matter in these three books was much above senior school level, and this caused real difficulties for the teachers who had to do the actual teaching, and of course, for the students.
The increase from 5 to 6 years in High Schools, meant that there was no final examination in 1966. -This gave the teachers of senior science an extra year to get accustomed to the new senior courses, and this was much needed. However this did not apply to much of the junior course, and until Messel's book was printed (late in the year), Science teachers floundered.
There was another radical change - examinations were to be largely objective, i.e. longish questions with five given answers from which the student had to select one. The consequent size of an examination paper was a drain on school duplicating facilities and Departmental printing services. Devising such school examination papers was a very time-taking task.
In their enthusiasm for the new Scheme, the Higher School Certificate Examiners produced a detailed State-wide analysis of the Science results from the first HSC Examination - question by question, with no totaling of these figures. I did this totaling and shot ed that the average State raw mark was about 28% - only a bit better that the statistically average guesser! Perhaps others did the same, and word must have got back to the Examiners. In all following years, no such detailed analysis was promulgated to teachers.
One result of this first HSC Examination in Science, was that large slices of the initial course were deleted. This seemed to be a simple solution to the excessive workload, but it caused further problems to the teachers.
Example:- Portion D was cut out, portion E was not changed. But understanding Portion E depended on knowing material from portion D. Teachers "at the coal face" were left to overcome such problems as best they could. The "powers-that-were" considered that they had reduced the course, but teachers knew that in effect, the cut-down was much less than what it superficially appeared to be.
Enough about the Wyndham Scheme - I could go on for many pages about the deficiencies of our educational leaders.
The Move from KatoombaTop of Page
I mentioned earlier that the new Science Master, Ray Dart, was only a short way ahead of me in the List for promotions. Marj Levy was also well up the List for promotion to Science Mistress in a Girls' School. Hence Ray was able to get sound advice from both of us, and he needed it. A year or two after Ray came, the Department merged the two Lists, and Marj finished up ahead of me on the combined List.
Malcolm had done 3rd Year at University and Graham had gone to the National University in Canberra for his Forestry work. Hence I started to look at the matter of promotion to Science Master at some school. I decided at the start of 1967, to take a promotion at the start of 1968.
There was no point in applying for Katoomba High, as I did not expect Ray Dart to be moving, and even if he did, Marj Levy would get the job, being ahead of me on the List. I mention that Marj had never taught senior Physics or senior Chemistry. A lot of the women on the combined List were in a similar situation, but that did not deter the Department from promoting ,g them - they hoped that there would be others on each Science staff who could handle the Physics and Chemistry. Often this was not so, and senior students in many schools suffered accordingly.
As we had been living in Fourth Avenue for quite some years, the process of getting rid of accumulated and unwanted material started early in 1967, with runs to the Council Tip whenever the box trailer became full.
During 1967, Marj Levy died suddenly. That left Katoomba High open for me, when Ray Dart moved. I decided to carry on with a promotion to somewhere else. During Term 3, Ray Dart received a promotion to Deputy Principal at Yanco Agricultural
High School. I decided not to change my plans. I decided to move to Canberra, and specifically to Campbell High School. I contacted my local M.H.R., Tony Luchetti, about housing in Canberra, and he assured me in writing that a suitable house (I had told him of my specific requirements) had been set aside for me.
A Relieving Science Master (someone without the qualifications to be placed on the Promotions List) had been appointed to Campbell High School at the start of 1967. Relieving Masters had security of tenure for two years if they had to move house to take the post, but he had been on the Campbell High staff and had been living nearby. Hence I could take Campbell High.
Then I received a personal letter from the Principal of Cotamundra High School, asking me to consider being Science Master there. I did not know him, and his action was quite unique. I found later that he had spoken to someone who knew me and knew that I was planning to move. May had a WAAAF friend living in Coolac (near Cootamundra), so we made a trip one weekend, to stay with her, look over Cootamundra, and have a look at the school. As a result, we decided to change from Campbell High to Cootamundra High.
I had a good look at the Science Promotions List. There were two women and no men ahead of me. Those two women were located on the far North Coast, and they were what was known as sitters, i.e. no intention of moving. Hence I could have gone to any High School in the State, where there was a Science Master vacancy. In formally applying for Cootamundra, I knew that I would get it.
The Katoomba ReplacementTop of Page
It was interesting to learn later on, that no one applied for Katoomba High School - a prized location for teachers. Apparently everyone assumed that there was no point in applying for Katoomba, as I was certain to get the post. One of the existing staff (Roger Hilyard) was appointed Relieving Master for 1968, even though he was not on the verge of getting on the List.
I noticed in 1968, in the Education Gazette when promotions were gazetted, that I was the only new Science Master promoted that year, there being quite a few Acting Science Masters promoted (qualifications granted, but not yet placed on the List). The List was certainly very short at that time.
Later Changes at Katoomba High SchoolKatoomba High School must have grown considerably in size during the following years. May and I visited there many years later, for the School's 75th Anniversary activities. There is now a whole new Science Block, beautifully set up, and the Science Rooms which I knew so well, are used for other purposes or not at all. Also, the school grounds with so much natural bush is spoilt by the existence of many "portables".
School CadetsTop of Page
From 1950 to 1954, Bill Price was O.C. of the Katoomba High School Cadet Unit, with Dick Searle as his 2 i/c. I did not get involved. Towards the end of 1954, Bill received a promotion to English Master at Telopea Park High School in Canberra for the next year. Dick Searle was to become OC of the Unit, with a young Manual Arts teacher, Alwin Smith, becoming 2 i/c. I had decided to keep out of it, as I had joined the local Unit of the C.M.F.(Citizen Military Forces - now the Army Reserve).
On the last school day of 1954, Dick Searle received a transfer. Alwin Smith, who had no experience in Cadets or-the Army, would not take on the job of OC. No one else on the school staff was willing to take it on, so I did so, on the understanding that I would be OC for a year while Alwin "found his feet" therein, and then he would take over. At the end of that next year, Alwin received a transfer, and I had to carry on as OC, and had to convince someone on the staff to join and be the 2 i/c. I remained the OC of the Unit for 13 years! Some years later, I ran into Alwin in a Cadet Camp - he was OC of another High School Cadet Unit.
Quite some years later, there was a School Sporting Visit to Cootamundra High School, from Telopea Park High School, and we provided accommodation for one of the Telopea Park girls. found that she could not believe that her English Master had been Australia's Soccer centre forward. This reminds me now of a brief incident I saw at Katoomba High School. The Headmaster, Greg Bondietti, had been a prominent Rugby League player (good enough to be member of the Australian tour of England, if the war had not forced the cancellation of that tour). Looking out of the window of the Science staffroom, I saw Greg Bondietti and Bill Price walking together away from where I was. The style of walking stood out - the pigeon-toed walk of the Soccer player and the aggressive shoulder walk of the Rugby League player.
In those days, a high proportion of State High Schools had a School Cadet Unit, and the whole Cadet Organisation was strongly supported by the Army - clothing, equipment, overall administration, and instruction supervision. The smallest School Unit required an officer (mostly from the school staff) and 40 to 50 schoolboys as cadets, ranging from CUOs (Cadet Under Officers), through WO, S/Sgt. Sgts, Cpls, L/Cpls, to Cadets. Groups of about 10 School Units made up a Cadet Battalion whose staff consisted of permanent Army personnel - an officer and about 10 Warrant Officer or Sergeant Instructors.
The officers in a Cadet Unit carried the normal badges of rank of officers, but were Officers of Cadets and had no authority beyond their School Unit. The great majority of them were literally "schoolteachers in uniform", and lacked a knowledge of Army routines and the Army generally. Hence they were 'Putty" in the hands of the permanent Army staff. Such was not the case with me (past AMF & AIF experience and present CMF experience), and I was in a better Position that most OCs of Cadet Units to get things done to the better interests of my Cadets. Because of this, the Army staff tended to be somewhat wary of me at times, and this was "I more noticeable when I was commissioned in the CMF and later promoted to Captain - the same rank as most of the Cadet Battalion Commanders.
The School Cadet Unit held a Parade followed by some kind of training, once per week after school. The Cadets wore their uniform at school on those days. I conducted a week-end bivouac about twice per year, and there was an 8 or 9 day annual Camp once per year, usually in the May vacation for Katoomba High Unit. On the weekly Parades and the bivouacs, there was one of the permanent Army Instructors present - usually the same one. He was the link between Battalion and School for all matters administration, quarter mastering, and instruction. The Camps were bigger affairs, of course, with many schools in the same Camp. Most of the Katoomba Unit's Camps were in Old Holsworthy Camp, with one or two at Singleton Camp and one or two at Wallgrove Camp.
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Incidents Remembered
At this time, I could not list the various incidents which come to mind, in chronological sequence - my memory is not that accurate.
1. The fitting of uniforms early that first year (1955) involved difficulties for me. The fitting out was done at Battalion HQ at Villawood - a bus trip for the Cadets and I. As I was already in the CMF, the Bn Comdr first stated that I already had a uniform. On my objecting that I was not going to take off stripes and sew on officers "pips" and vice versa every week, he compromised by having me issued with all items involving rank. This meant that May often had to wash and iron trousers in a hurry. Fortunately, the Instructor coming to Katoomba each week agreed with my thoughts on the matter, and it was not long before I had all issues. In some of the following years, I seemed to have more military clothing in my wardrobe, than civilian clothing.
2. At one Holsworthy Camp, a cadet from another School had brought an air rifle into camp and was having shots from the bush nearby, into the tent lines. I was told of this by my cadets, so I had to act promptly. I took a risk and walked straight to where the cadet was in the bushes, and confiscated the air gun. I reported the matter to the Camp Comdr. and handed him the gun (unloaded, of course). I was disgusted with his reaction - one of only mild interest. I guess that the incident was one in which he did not know what to do, and so brushed off the matter. I obtained a more suitable reaction (and action) from the OC of the relevant School Unit.
The attitude of the Camp Comdr. (a Cadet Battalion Comdr) was an illustration of many incidents which occurred in Cadet Camps, and which formed in my mind a poor opinion of most Cadet Battalion Commanders. They were far from being of top quality, and I would suggest that such a posting was not to the liking of permanent Army officers.
3. Being in Holsworthy Camp was an advantage - it was a smaller and more attractive camp than Singleton, and so one fraternised with a smaller group of officers. Available training ground was larger than in Singleton. Holsworthy was a further advantage to me, in that the National Service Battalion was camped nearby. It was this N.S.BN which took in the men who were destined for the CMF Unit at Katoomba. I made a point of getting across to the N.S.BN several times during a Cadet Camp, and seeing the training. The officers made me welcome, and the men who were to
be under my command in the CMF, got to know me by sight, before they finished their initial training and joined the Katoomba Unit - a useful little point.
4. Singleton was a very large Camp in unattractive country. The Cadet Brigade Commander always attended this camp, and he was a proper "pain-in-the-neck". It was barely worth the trouble to walk a long distance to the only Mess where one could get some refreshment. One year I had to cut short my CMF Camp (CSTU)at Studleigh Park, Narellan (by one day), to join my Cadet Unit when they arrived at Singleton, under my 2 i/c. Coming directly from a Camp in which there were over a dozen Lieutenant Colonels, to a Camp in which the one Lieutenant Colonel was "the big boss", was an interesting experience. I am afraid that I could not look upon him with the deference he expected, and the situation was not harmonious. I remember that the Hunter River flooded during that Cadet Camp, and there was doubt about getting home from the camp. However, the roads cleared in time for the bus trip home.
5. One camp, there was a general exercise for all schools, called CONTACT. The idea was the schools formed patrols of platoon size. Half the patrols went (at intervals) in one direction around a long circuit and the other half went the other way around that circuit. When a patrol encountered another patrol, there was a standard drill of manoeuvre to be carried out as a form of offensive action. Officers of Cadets and Army Instructors acted as umpires for the encounters.
The Cadets had a lot of fun in this exercise, as they took things quite seriously. I remember one encounter in which both patrols saw each other at the same time and both swung left to get behind the other patrol. Both patrols swept a full circle, before I stepped in as umpire, called the contact a draw, and sent them on their way around the circuit.
6. One camp at Holsworthy was memorable because of the mud. There had been much rain before the camp commenced, and with so many boots trampling the ground near the tent lines, the mud (aided by some further showers) was very deep. There was no chance to have the boots shined. It wasn't until they were ready to go home, that we got the Unit on to some firm ground, and used up a lot of polish to get their boots to a respectable stage.
7. Officers of Cadets had their tents well away from the Unit tent lines, and I made it a practice at Holsworthy, after an evening in the Officers Mess, to go to my tent via the Unit lines. It was always after "Lights Out", and I put a stop to any talking when they should have been sleeping. I backed this up by getting up early, so that I could be in the tent lines (fully dressed) waking them up at "Reveille". I heard frequent remarks about me never going to bed.
8. There was another Holsworthy Camp which was memorable to me. The Honorary Colonel of the Cadet Corps, Brigadier Galleghan, was about to retire, and a full Camp Parade was to be held in his honour. I was the senior Officer of Cadets in the Camp, and was called upon to be in command of the Parade - the Permanent Army officers kept out of the way, but I had some assistance from the Warrant Officer Instructors in setting up the rehearsal on the previous day. The rehearsal went off OK, but towards the end of that rehearsal, a thunderstorm was threatening. It came up quickly and estimated that there would be insufficient time to get all the Cadets back to their tents in time, if correct procedures were adopted. Instead of ordering Schools to march off in a designated order, I stated in my loudest voice "The rain will start in three minutes. Get back to your tents as quickly as possible." "Parade, DISMISS".
The Warrant Officers were staggered by the order, but I was correct in my estimation of time. Very few Cadets got a soaking, and the Instructors had to admit that my unusual order was warranted.
The Parade next day went off perfectly, and I did all the right things. The Brigadier carried out a full inspection of all School Units, but he did it from a Jeep. I did not expect this, and when he clambered into the jeep, I had to act fast and climb into the back of the Jeep just as it was moving off - the driver was not going to wait for me, as he started to move almost as soon as the Brigadier sat in the front seat. For those who don't know it, the Parade Commander always accompanies the Inspecting Officer during any actual inspection.
9. At the Katoomba High School's 75th Anniversary celebrations, I realised that the School Archives had rather little information about the Cadet Unit, which had closed down two or three years after I left it. There was always a Cadet Report in the annual School Magazine, but apart from these Reports, the Archives had no Cadet Records, and there was a distinct lack of even these Magazines. Whoever closed down the Unit, had no sense of history, and I suppose that the records were destroyed.
I sent the School what Magazines I happen to have kept, and wrote out for them a sort of article trying to add what further information I could remember and attempting to tie those Magazine Reports together. I sent them what Cadet photos I possessed, asking for the return of some of them after copies had been made. This has been done.
In this writing for School Archives, I tried to list the staff who assisted me as Officers of Cadets. As far as I can remember now, they were :- (order somewhat uncertain) Alwin Smith (Manual Arts) - 1955 only John Bullus (Phys Ed) for one year, I think. Robin Matts (Commerce) for a few years Hugh Dolan (Art) - for some years Barry Mead (Maths) - for quite a few years Ted Harber (GA) - for some years up to 1967 & then after Roger Hilyard (Science) - a year or two up to 1967, then OC I may have forgotten someone.
10. The Cadet Band During the 13 years for which I was OC of the Unit, there was a gradual expansion is size of the Unit. About the eighth or ninth year, I was able to form a Cadet Band in the following year. This looked to be a bit of a problem, as the obvious leader of the Band was a lad who could cause me problems, seeing that my knowledge of bands and music was definitely limited. A new member of the school staff that year was Barry Mead - ex-Drum Major of the Sydney University Regiment Band. I had no difficulty in getting him to join the Unit and so look after the Band. He was a great asset in other aspects of Cadet work, and at one stage, I almost decided to drop out and have him become OC of the Unit.
11. The Unit held a Ceremonial Parade near the end of each school year. This was always a highlight of the school year, and was always a big occasion. I had the policy of the senior CUO being the Parade Commander, so I stayed in the background as much as possible. Each year, I was able to get a retired Lieutenant Colonel to be the Reviewing Officer
12. My Final Parade
Soon after moving to Cootamundra, I received the Efficiency Decoration (E.D.) for my CMF work and also the Cadet Forces Medal (CFM) for my Cadet work. These came at close to the same time, and I came up with the idea of having them formally presented to me on a Katoomba High School Cadet Unit Ceremonial Parade. This was approved, and I would reckon that it could have been the only occasion on which a CMF Decoration was presented on a Cadet Parade.
I knew Major General Broadbent (he had been CO of the 2/17th Battalion to whom I had been attached in New Guinea, and I knew him in Command and Staff Training Unit (CMF). I was able to get him to be the Reviewing Officer, and this caused a stir in the Cadet Battalion circles - a Major General reviewing Cadets was a rarity, so extra effort by Battalion Instructors had to go into preparations.
I obtained leave from Cootamundra High School, and May and I went up to Katoomba the previous night. That day, I had to struggle into my cadet uniform for the occasion, and it was really tight. I got that jacket off, as soon as I could, after the Parade. Everything went well, and it was quite a pleasant day. I learnt that the Cadet Unit was on the downgrade, and that the Parade livened up cadet activities. The Unit folded up altogether within a year or two.
13. This Cadet Forces Medal
Twelve years' service was required for this, so I made the application during my 13th year as OC of the Unit - my last year at Katoomba High School. Nothing happened, and I am confident that the Cadet Battalion Commander (a Captain Cooper) made a point of losing the application - he and I had been at loggerheads for some years. Soon after moving to Cootamundra, I applied again, this time direct to Brigade HQ. It came through readily. Captain Cooper was not at the Ceremonial Parade, as Cadet Battalion Commanders usually were.
14. The Signals Section
It was not long before the Unit was granted a Signals Section for the older cadets. They had some army radios, and on a couple of occasions, I had a cadet or two with a set, accompanying search parties (looking for lost walkers), while another station was set up in a convenient location on a cliff top. Such contact was useful to the search party and it was good training for the cadets.
15. Liaison - CMF & Cadets
Being OC of both, there was perfect liaison between the CMF Unit and the Cadet Unit, whenever the opportunity arose. Some equipment was interchanged, and the CMF provided some transport for the cadets on one occasion. From this experience, I compiled a set of guidance notes for similar liaison elsewhere, and submitted them to CMF Headquarters. I heard nothing of it, but years later, the OC of the CMF Unit at Cootamundra (I had been retired from the CMF, having reached the age of 47), showed me an instruction on the matter of liaison with Cadet Units. About 80% of it was exactly as per my submission.
There is no doubt in my opinion, that School Cadet Units were an asset to a School. They were also a great asset to any schoolboy who was involved. I make this observation, based on those 13 years of experience as an OC of Cadets.
The Whitlam Government reduced the Army assistance to the Cadet Movement so much that it virtually meant the disbandment of Cadet Units in the huge majority of State High Schools and in many of the smaller Independent Schools. In doing so, Whitlam used the fact that the Cadet Movement provided the Army with *too few recruits, and so it was not an economic proposition.
The matter of army recruitment was probably correct, although in my time, the Cadet Unit provided quite a few good officers for the Army, but to my knowledge, that was never the real purpose of School Cadets. The training of youth in the acceptance of discipline and the responsibility of leadership, was a far more important matter, and the Cadet Movement was an excellent medium for this.
The Fraser Government undertook to revive School Cadets, but their actions in this regard were insignificant. Only the larger schools (mostly Independent Schools) were able to carry on with their Cadets.
Since then, there has been a sort of revival of the Army Cadet Movement - in the form of Regional Cadet Units, associated with Army Reserve Units. This seems to have had a limited effect.
Richard Smith died in 1999
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