The Old Boys (and partners) from Hobart Junior Technical College met up in February to remember the ‘good old days’.
Grace Guerzoni was there and shares her thoughts.
Look at the photos and observe this group of men, meeting as they do twice a year at a local
pub to connect and share. They share a generational age – all in their early nineties – and all
the socio-cultural, historical influences which shaped their growing up. The greater
backdrop of their young lives was the end of World War 2, impacting on them though they
were far from battle scenes. Importantly, they share the same school experience at the
Junior Technical School in Bathurst Street and a rich anthology of stories, myths and
legends.
- John Goninon, Neil Mayne and Tom Ellison
On February 3, a Tuesday, the New Town High and Tech Old Scholars Association
hosted the group for a convivial trip down memory lane. Since the centenary celebrations of
New Town High School, the Bathurst Street Boys who attended the Junior Technical School
have welcomed committee members of the Old Scholars Association to join them at their
get togethers, generously including the two women on the committee who are not old
scholars but who do share in the significance of that very special fellowship. This is a ‘we
few, we happy few, we band of brothers’ and on this Tuesday afternoon all are quickly
enfolded in the warm glow that connecting brings.
- Robin Reeves, Don Prarie and Gerald Upchurch
Toasts are made to absent friends and it is on to telling stories – of teachers, each accorded
a nickname that only the acute observation of boys can come up with so aptly; of pranks
and sporting feats, of punishments which certainly outweigh the ‘crime’; of fellow students
who made a lasting impression with antics or heroics; of buildings, classrooms, workshops
and grounds which set the background for school days. Each story is told with a gentlemanly
panache and brings a twinkle to the eye and a hearty laughter or concurring. John Anderson
begins the show and tell, presenting a letter from the Education Department, Technical
Branch dated 17 January 1955. The letter concerns a matter of the greatest importance to
the young John, the outcome of his request for a remark and report on the Mathematics IV,
Part III examination. It transpired that the examiner ‘inadvertently’ noted a mark of 6 out of
20 for Question 6 when in fact John scored a 16 out of 20. Of course, the extra marks
ensured him a pass rather than failure. An even better outcome was that the Examiner
returned the 10 shilling note required for the review.
The stories and the laughs cover matters of import and fun, tall tales and true from John,
Gerald, Robin, Barry, Neil and all who speak. The ninety-year-olds are back to their teen
years reflecting on the particular classes taken by a young female teacher. What their
stories reveal is a genuine affection for the time spent at school, for the people who were
part of their lives there. These old scholars have lived up to the school motto – ‘we build for
the future’, and they meet Ralph Waldo Emerson’s mark for success – when they gather
they can laugh often, they have won the respect and affection of all who know them, they
make the world a better place in their work, family life and the care they have for the future
generations. The Tech Old Scholars are first in line with true generosity to support the young
students of today’s school; they are generous in acknowledging the contributions of their
peers and their peers’ children and grandchildren in every achievement of excellence; they
have faith in the possibilities of building for the future; they grow the greater good in a true
spirit of fellowship.
We join them in taking ‘a cup of kindness for auld lang syne’, feel the joy
and look forward to the next gathering.
