General News
1 November, 2024
Former students return to the classroom
FORMER students of Warrnambool’s Christian Brother’s College (CBC) returned to the classroom recently.
The group returned to Warrnambool over the weekend of October 18 and 19 to celebrate a 50 (plus) year reunion.
More than 80 boys began their secondary education at CBC in Warrnambool in 1969.
They continued all or part way through to form six in 1974, with more than 30 others joining this group in intervening years.
About 35 people attended all or some of the reunion events, representing over half of those who were able to be contacted.
While many former students who attended still live in the Warrnambool region, others travelled from other parts of Victoria or interstate, including Perth.
Informal drinks were held at the Warrnambool RSL on Friday night where a display of photos and a ‘homework’ activity helped jog people’s memories of the past.
Before the reunion ‘students’ were invited to submit a short description of their memories and experiences of their school years, along with a current photo.
The stories made for great reading and along with photos from the weekend, will be compiled into a souvenir booklet to be distributed at a later date.
Name tags came in handy during the evening as ‘Father Time’ meant no one quite looked like they did 50 plus years ago.
Despite many attendees not having seen or heard of one another for 50 years there was no shortage of good conversations.
A tour of the (former) CBC Campus in Canterbury Road and Emmanuel College was provided by Candice Hampstead (alumni coordinator at Emmanuel College) on Saturday morning.
Despite buildings and class rooms having undergone transformations over the decades, this walk down memory lane elicited vivid memories and animated conversations about all sorts of things great and small.
“One of the ‘boys’ was able to recall which seat each of the 20-odd students sat in for form six Science, despite the lab room being revamped significantly since then,” organiser David Earls said.
“Other memories included an exhibition in the schoolyard by the World Yo-Yo Champion from Mexico, epic games on the handball courts, tree planting at Tower Hill, playing ‘splits’ with pocket knives and marble runs in wooden desks.
“We also chatted about pea shooting with biro tubes, everyone playing the recorder really badly, quick dashes through the Botanic Gardens for a lunchtime pool swim on a hot day and mixing with the girls from St. Ann’s for classes in form five and six.”
According to Mr Earls, stories and recollections went on late into the night.
“Interesting things, as well as the necessary mundane stuff, happened in the days of our old school yard,” he said.
A Saturday evening dinner was held at the RSL and concluded the reunion celebrations.
“Many thanks to former student Brian Gleeson and his staff for exceptional service on both nights,” Mr Earls said.
“Conversations again were wide ranging and included lives and careers since leaving school, and remembering those former mates who had passed away.
“There was much talk about the various methods and unfairness of corporal punishment used by the teachers, but also the clever ways students were able to disrupt this. Despite these experiences it turned out quite a few boys had become teachers themselves.”
Another reunion is planned for two years’ time “when many of the old boys will turn 70.”
A special thanks to Candice Hampstead and her assistants from Emmanuel College who did much of the ‘heavy lifting’ to ensure the event was a success.
