Mount Waverley Primary School

Stephen Spicer,
1968.

I attended Mount Waverley State School from 1963 to 1969.

In these years the school was one of the biggest in the state of Victoria, with total student numbers of around 1100 in the late 1960's. The bulge in students numbers was triggered by the post-war baby boom and the newly-established residential estates in Mount Waverley.

Extract From 1968 Report Card,
Signed J.V. Fleming.

Entrance to the school from Park Lane
(click for full-size images)

The south-side corridor.

The south side class rooms.

Bubs	1963	Miss Ryan	Miss Ryan ran a competition for Class King and Queen. Heather Goy was Queen,and I was King. We received a Freddo Frog each for being teacher's pets!
Grade 1	1964	Mrs McKenzie	Had a reputation as a good teacher
Grade 2	1965	Mrs O'Dea	Like a cuddly grandmother, but firm. She called me Spencer one day, later admitting that she had confused me with Spencer Tracy!
Grade 3	1966	Mrs Fairhall	I like her a lot, until she unfairly (I thought) told me off one day.
Grade 4	1967	Mrs Lawrence / Miss Castles	Mrs Lawrence was sought after as a teacher by the kids, but she was replaced due to ill-health by Mrs Castles who did not seem to connect with us kids.
Grade 5	1968	Mr Fleming	One of the old-style, excellent teachers. "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink" was one of his favourites. Smoked a pipe outdoors, and like sporty such as basketball. He lived in Coolgardie Ave, East Malvern.
Grade 6	1969	Mr Davidson	I enjoyed "Davo", he had a relaxed teaching style and won the respect from the class. Smoked and like sport. He walked to school as he lived in William St.

Mr Fleming,
Grade 5, 1968.

The main part of this web page is to present my class photos. The state education system has left us all with the wonderful legacy of class photos (the private secondary school I attended had no system in place for having class photos taken). I have tried to list out the names that I can remember.

Grade 1F, 1963 Grade 2A, 1965 Grade 3C, 1966

Grade 4B, 1967 Grade 5A, 1968 Grade 6C, 1969

See also this list of students that left in 1969.
Please help with any more names, as about one-quarter are missing.

Grade 2A photo, 1965

Class Rooms

Above: This site plan from 1969
shows several planned extensions.
The classrooms numbered 1 to 4
were constructed towards
the end of 1969.

Recent photos of our 1969 and 1968 class rooms - click for full size images.

Peter Ellis, 1968

Jennifer MacMillan

Two of my best friends from Mt Waverley Primary were:

Peter Ellis (now in Qld) and
Greg Baxter (now in Sydney).

Other "desk mates" were Craig Davies (I later did Engineering with him at Monash) and Geoff Kennedy. Peter Gome was also a class-mate until Grade 4, after which he went to Wesley College, Syndal. (Peter provided the scan of Grade 2A above.)

Girls in the class I remember were:

Jennifer MacMillan (I think I had a crush on her, but didn't realise it!)
Pam Passas - the class heart-throb
Sofie Bedelis - daughter of the Bedelis Pinewood Grocer store.
Kerry Hoskin - tantilisingly quiet.
Also, Jane Nancarrow - one of the most attractive girls, - I knew her name even though she was not in my class.

Miss Castles,
Grade 4, 1967

Morning assembly as Sir Rohan
Delecombe arrives. Oh - look how short
we are - I had not imagined that at all!

The Governor visits the school-library.

Sir Rohan in class. Click for full sized-images.

Sporting Teams - 1969

Softball Team 1969, Mr Liston (l) & Mr Davidson (r). Click for full size image and names.

Football Team, 1969, with Lance Perryman. Click for full size image and names.

.
Basketball team, 1969 with
Vern Fleming (l) and Mr Liston (r)

Mr Davidson, Grade 6,
1969. I was so fortunate
to meet Mr. Davidson in 2003. He was aged 88.
"I loved that place" he
said when remembering
his time at Mount
Waverley Primary.

Pam
Passas

Lance Perryman comments:
"I transferred from Mildura
down to the city.
After Mt Waverley
transferred to Brentwood
and then back up to the
North East of Victoria
where I stayed for
much of my teaching career. Now retired." I remember he drove a new white Ford Falcon.

In "bubs" Miss Fox was the head, and she seemed very daunting. This image was enhanced by the scary-black Morris Minor 850 that she drove. At this time Mr Skipworth was Headmaster. Later it was Mr Liston.

In 1963, the bubs play-ground was just plain dirt, unless it rained, when it turned to mud. After much parent outcry, and even an item on the TV, the play ground was asphalted (1964?). The toilets were located at the southern end of this yard which abutted Mr Marriot's vegetable farm. These toilets were very dilapidated and were a place that I avoided if I could "hang-on" until home time! By around 1965/66 a new toilet block had been built at the west-end of the bubs school block, adjacent to the Marriot's farm.

At the east end of the bub's play ground the "real" Park Lane was said to start, leading down a dirt track to the pedestrian crossing on Waverley Road. I never found out if this folklore was true.

The main oval for the "biggies" was established around 1967 - up until then it had been mounds of dirt where we played. The row of pine-trees adjacent to the oval was a good spot to play marbles in amongst the tree-roots.

Also at the edge of the main oval was the incinerator facilities. Students (boys) would collect the garbage bins and empty them at the incinerator. I seem to recall that students (boys) also loaded the operating incinerators - something that would not happen in these days of safety and litigation!

Monday mornings we had assembly on the basket ball courts, sang "God Save the Queen". I remember that David Myers operated the PA system and record player. I wished I was doing that!

By Grade 6 the hormones were kicking in inside some of us. We had our first Grade-Party at Pam Passes place on Waverley Road. It was held in the double garage under the house, and we played spin the bottle. I never got to kiss anyone - I can't imagine how I failed!

The 1960's was the time of the space race, so the USA landing on the moon was a big event. School was very informal that day, I can recall walking home to watch the moon walk on the AWA Deep Image TV, then walking back to school where not much formal teaching was happening, and then going home again.

The school fete's were enormous in those days. It was usually impossible to move at them, but were a much anticipated event. I can remember making cardboard lunar-module models (available as a cardboard-kit from Ampol service stations) to display at the school fete, complete with plaster-of-Paris moon-surface.

Miss Ryan, 1963

Remember listening to
children's radio-shows over these speakers?

Mr Clelland, 1968.
I recall his class sang a lot of music - Wim-oh-Weh etc.

See Photo:
Kindergarten, Sherwood Rd,
Mt Waverley, 1962

While this isn't really the place for it, I am also presenting here my class photo from Sherwood Road Kindergarten, 1962. The teacher was Jocelyn Cooper I think.

Care to email me? Have some class photos or memories to share?
Send email to kiewavly@werple.net.au