 |
| First Holy Communion Class 1947 - Yours Truly second from left front row Brien Dryden on my left, Billy Cowan on my right, Cyril Spencer on his right The great Father Con Donovan at the Centre - God Bless him. |
.
I had not gone to Kindergarten, and so commenced my Primary Schooling in First Class.This was something of a minor disadvantage, because I found that very many of the boys knew one another, whereas the only boy I knew was my best friend Brien Dryden who lived across the street.
The Church/School I have described earlier. It stood at the Western end of the large Parish site that had been accumulated running from the top of the hill on Kingsland Road in the East down to Regent Street(which led directly into Regents Park - all of these Royal word associations were entirely lost on me) Our Irish Parish Priest Father Con Donovan regularly reminded us of the great Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig, an Irishman of course, who had built most of his churches on hilltop sites around Brisbane, that fabled city in exotic Queensland.So Father Donovan had also chosen a hilltop location for our future church.
This first morning at School was bewildering with hundreds of children ,boys and girls, swirling around and eagerly chattering. Then games started forming up and another boy, Brian Edwards from a more senior class,who appeared to be regarded as rather worldly wise, took me under his wing and we ended up joining a game called "Cocky Lorum"( I have been unable to find any Web references to it.) . It involved forming into two large groups of about thirty each, facing one another at a distance of about 25 metres, then someone would yell "Cocky Lorum"' and each group would charge toward and through the other. There was no ball involved as far as I can remember, and my opinion then was that it all seemed rather pointless.I am not sure if anyone got "out" or otherwise penalised - utterly pointless. If anyone could ever enlighten me about some detail I had missed, I would be very grateful.
I think it was on that first day some boy whose face or name I can't remember started some petty bit of bullying which was promptly terminated when Billy Cowan a stocky pleasant faced little bloke with curly hair intervened and warned the bully off. Amazing the things we remember.
We were in Sister Alan's Class. The School was staffed entirely by the Sisters of Saint Joseph founded by the recently canonised Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Saint Mary would have been proud of them. The Principal ( we always said Head Nun) was Sister Austin ( which you will probably know is a contracted form of Augustine) who was Irish and always very kind to me over the years, I loved her lilting voice and the way she used to call me "Ant'ny".Sister Alan was really good with us littlies, kind and motherly, whilst steering us through the very basics and getting us used to Class discipline.Rewards for good performance consisted of Rubber Stamp impressions on one's exercise book, whether varying animals or, if your achievement was exceptional, the Map of Australia about 7inches by three inches with ink from a violet pad! ( I never got it ! Scarred for life? No.)
It was in Primary School that I noticed my strong interest in stationery. I have since then always been attracted by the rich texture and subtle colours of paper stocks as well as by all the paraphernalia of pen and ink, Fountain Pens ( no one ever tells you that their ink bladders wear out), Propelling Pencils, Biros - not to mention the humble lead pencil and its sharpener.
School Fees in First Class were Sixpence a Week ( 5 Cents), which Sister marked off in a special record book. A Year or so later Class fees went to one shilling ( 10cents) a week.
Discipline was mild in First Class with Boys sometimes being sent outside the Class for 5/10 minutes.In Third and Fourth Class there was talk of "the Strap"but I don't recall ever seeing it used.
As I moved through Primary School , I came to love the first days of each New Year for the experience of getting new Textbooks, often published by BROOKS BROTHERS (I think it was) Their emblem was a Shield with books & other schoolish things on its four quartered front. I particularly remember in Second or Third Class a History Book, and as I quickly explored "it, my eye was caught by a painting of the First Fleet coming through the Sydney Heads. The ships were PURPLE! Enough to turn one off the British for keeps!
We always brought our lunch, Brien Dryden and I and with all the other children ate it sitting in , or around the "Shed", a fairly primitive sun shade in the middle of the Parish land. We often swapped lunches just for a change - I always ended up worse off. Apart from the Church/School, the only other buildings on the site were, up on Kingsland Road, the Convent - an 1880s solid brick building with a colonial style front verandah, and the old wooden Parish Hall ( the former Church School) .It had long ago been moved up the Hill from Fourth Avenue where it had sat on land over the back fence from Grandma Dixon's house at 34 Third Avenue, Berala, as I mentioned earlier.
There were two ways home - the long way down Kingsland Road, right into Walters Road down the hill until the left hand turn into Second avenue and home. However, the SHORT way led across the street from the Convent and diagonally across vacant land resumed by the State Government for a State School that was never to be built, and then quickly onto Walters Road and down the hill etc. There was from time to time, a problem with a sharp faced runty English bully a nasty piece of work we thought - though he just menaced, but never did anything. Often we took the "risk", but after a while we gave it away and found great advantages in visiting Ma Brearley's shop on Kingsland Road, to buy lollies, the occasional Sherbert (sucked from its paper package by means of a licorice straw. Favourite lollies were Musk Sticks - sickly- and grey Pastille sticks - aniseed flavour. But on hot days Ma B. was tops with her own "home made" ICE BLOCKS about 7 inches long and square in section, eaten from their long white paper bags. Life can be great!
Children's crazes for collecting cards were very strong before the War, and I had seen plenty of examples.Now they are back in fashion. But in those days I can't recall any. However we had great fun collecting Cigarette Packets which were carefully folded in on themselves to show the front off to advantage. Very many people smoked then - far more than now it seems, and there were few restrictions on smoking , except on trains which had certain designated Non-Smoking carriages.The Cigarette Packets were great pieces of Commercial design. My prized possessions were Players with a Naval theme, Garrick I think it was, which were bright green - actually, I thought they all looked pretty good. The craze never inclined me to smoking which I always thought was a disgusting habit .
I really did enjoy my time at the Convent School where I went through to the end of Fourth Class in 1949.
It was there in 1947 that I made my First Holy Communion with the rest of the Class. We were carefully and prayerfully prepared by the Sisters who were truly Faith - filled women. Then we were examined by Father Con Donovan and, having proved ourselves, made our First Confessions and a few days later, our First Holy Communion. There followed a Breakfast in the old Parish Hall catered by the Parish ladies , which for some reason brings to my mind brilliant red jelly!
Well, it was not the Breakfast, no. But from that day Our Lord had won my heart and mind and soul totally, and at 71 that dedication has never wavered. Sure, I have let Him down from time to time, but He has never let me down .He is always the first to offer His Hand. And I always know He is the Way and in the Catholic Church and in Holy Communion, I am one with Him. Way to go!( As our American cousins would say!)
Last detail - I almost forgot- our uniform was Navy Blue Shorts, White Shirt and a Black Boucle Tie with pairs of Gold Stripes horizontally across it. I could rabbit on about the other boys and their characteristics and nicknames for a bit, but is it fair to name "x" who was called ""taps"because he would burst into tears regularly and at the slightest provocation - I think not.
Next, I was to follow in my brother's footsteps and go to Marist Brothers'School Lidcombe. That would be in 1950 and I would be 10 years old.
No comments:
Post a Comment