OzCloggie

Just for a few recent days, I have had cause to dig around in a box full of old negatives and boxes full of slides as well as the odd photo album and scrapbook, to revive my memories of the City of Bourke, in North-western New South Wales, to which I was transferred as a young teacher, in 1967 and spent the resto that (school-) year and the next.
Please take a look here. Step into my time machine.
But wait!!!! There's more....... My little part in the Making of Modern Australia.
On April, 11, 1956, we left Amsterdam. The leaving of Amsterdam.
And the reunion? Please get an impression, HERE!

View my page on Maroubra Bay High School Reunion '09

... I was invited to join positivenews, on Ning where I'd had a look around before and it seemed a better site to set up as a virtual meeting place, for a possible 2009 MBHS reunion, than MBHS-Remembered was for the 2003 reunion. On positivenews, I've been telling how a number of us boys ended up being transferred to the new Maroubra Bay High School, from South Sydney Boys Junior High, in Randwick, in 1959. But you know all about that. From the 2003 Reunion, there are lots of pictures and other memorabilia in my computer. In this picture (above) we are sitting with Mr Tufnell, in the middle, was known as Tuffy which he wasn't (a toughy). He rode a bicycle to school. Now, in the Netherlands that may not be too unusual but in Sydney, you still take your life into your hands if you actually ride bike on the streets. (Tragically that as proved here recently.) And actually I do remember Mr Tufnell pedaling past me, in Maroubra Junction, on his way to school, in those years. He also had a standard way of concluding the lessons which was: See you on the ferry. He was supposed to be moonlighting, being a ticket-collector on the ferries, on Sydney Harbour. that seems a bit strange because, as a teacher, later-on, myself, I know that we, as public servants, were not allowed to have a second job. ... Of the boys, highlighted above, Jeffrey had been my friend in South Sydney Boys Junior High. My theory is that he enjoyed befriending a boy who needed help, not speaking much English yet. But, during the Maroubra Bay High School years my friendship with Terry Turner grew stronger and he was definitely my best mate, from then on.

The day the above grade photo was taken, Terry wasn't there. Here he is, on my bike, which, in the last year, at MBHS, he tended to borrow a bit, to sneak off from the squash games that we had chosen as our weekly sport. ... Jan (Jelle), Hans and I had arrived at S.S.B.J.H.S., straight from the Netherlands (in reverse order) and had come through the migrant reception centres, as this ex-army accommodation was known as, and our parents were friends and so we knew each other although we had different interests and friends, at school. ... Alex, lived in Coogee South and was the other Dutchie, at M.B.H.S.. He was involved with The Atlantics ... Contact has not been completely lost. I've received a number of emails from Alex. I had contact with Roland, via email, just before a friend, in the Netherlands sent me an attachment which mucked up my computer for a while.

Hans and I were farewelling that friend, from the Netherlands, together, at Sydney International Airport, not that long ago and a year or two back, I was invited by Berlio and Jan Steinfurth to their celebration of half a century in Australia, where, oncce again, the piano accordeon was useful, for helping the grandchildren learn Dutch songs and accompanied by a friend of their family we played the traditional Aussie folksongs, for everyone.

... (I've adapted this blog entry from what I wrote in positivenews. Doesn't run as well but didn't want to waste what I'd already written there.) POST SCRIPT: UPDATE: Ex-MBHS students (no matter when you attended) book now, (Go to mbhs59.ning.com) to join all your old school friends in the Shannon Room, Australian Jockey Club, Randwick, on Saturday March 7th, 2009. Free parking. Entertainment. Food. Old school friends. Good times .