Some reminiscences of the January 2000 reunion at the Italo-Australian Club. by Beth Harris (Munroe)

An extract from Beth’s report on the last reunion from the previous web page at http://ellerman.id.au/whr/

… Balloons in the school colours added a festive touch. As people began to arrive the noise level grew louder. Those who hadn’t seen each other for 30 years started catching up. Name tags were a useful fashion accessory. It was certainly great to see everyone again, especially the teaching staff.

Photos of children were doing the rounds of the tables, and musical chairs and mingling were the order of the night. Giggling also made a comeback as memories long forgotten resurfaced with a little prompting.

Vicki and Yolanda (cheerleaders of yore) gave resounding versions of not only the WHS war cry but also that of Ku-Ring-Gai High!

I will reproduce ours here because it is unusual to say the least:

‘Aranda, Barada glubba glubba glot

Karumba, Pinjarra give it to them hot

Play the game, play the game, tackle them true

Red, white, aqua, blue

W-A-T-S-O-N, WATSON!’

Glubba glubba glot – I kid you not. Who thought up that one?!

It was interesting to read messages from Michael Penny, Pamela Bourke (Crooks), Shirley Brooks (Wind), Koby Boer, Chris Lumb, Debbie Van Voorst, Paul Kwaczynski and Grahame Niemann. They were much appreciated on the night and caused much interest. Some of the class photos did also – there are still some faces that no one can remember.

A good idea was to drift from group to group and catch strings of conversation. Guy Holden and Maurice Beatton shared memories of ‘six of the best’. Jan Watson bravely admitted to ‘being there’ when Erika Wymark’s school hat jumped train on the way to Ku-Ring-Gai High. Louise Blue revealed a much-loved piece of paper signed by teachers and staff of the very new school wishing her happiness in her upcoming nuptials. There were mutterings about the incident-packed science excursion to Gerroa near Kiama. Girls (and I say this unashamedly, because the years truly fell away) remembering what they wore to the Sixth Form Farewell (or ‘Formal’ in today’s parlance). Visits to Ku-Ring-Gai High and the billets we stayed with and the distance some of us had to travel by bus to reach our accommodation. Memories, too, of many and varied extra-curricular activities that took place in the classrooms, especially when the teachers were called out. And who can forget the saga of the mid-calf socks and too-short sports tunics?

There was also a consensus that Errol Sweaney was a man before his time.

All of the memories must have been good ones if the smiles and giggles and even uproarious laughter was anything by which to judge.

But it wasn’t only memories of our school years; there was much swapping of information on what has been happening in the intervening years – further education, jobs/careers, marriages, children, grandchildren, travels, hopes for the future. And through all this ran a common theme: ‘When is the next reunion?’ Some want it at 35 years, others at 40.

Well  it is now almost 40 years since many of us left school and since some of us have seen each other. Please try and come to this reunion, but if you can’t come, please write a contribution to the website and let us know your favourite memories, or what you have done or what you are up to now!