Margaret Reid YHES 1942 Margaret Reid YHES 1942 Margaret Reid YHES 1942 Margaret Reid YHES 1942 still keeps in contact with Barbara Baker and Ann Griffiths. She writes: "School Days in the 1940s - I commenced in Form 1 of Yallourn Higher Elementary School in 1942. At that time, I lived in Morwell and travelled by school bus to Yallourn. Japan had just entered the war and there was a real fear that Yallourn could be attacked from the air, with the Power Station being the prime target. The SEC arranged for air-raid shelters to be built in the school grounds. When they were completed, the Head Teacher - Mr D Lindsay - announced that we would have a practice evacuation. We were told that the signal would be an intermittent whistle. The signal was heard and we all trooped out to the shelters. Soon the "all clear" was heard and we all emerged once more and assembled in the quadrangle. Mr Lindsay praised us for our prompt response, but then went on to say that the "signal" we had heard was, in fact, the postman delivering the mail!! Because of clothing rationing, school uniform was not compulsory, although it was encouraged. In many cases, it was difficult or even impossible to obtain new text books, so we were most grateful for the second-hand book stall. In February 1944, soon after the summer holidays, a bushfire broke out near Yallourn township. It spread quickly through paddocks towards Morwell. There was a Flax Mill on the outskirts of the town and flax was spread out to dry in the paddocks. The fire literally flew through the dry flax. Several homes in the town were lost before the fire progressed towards the Jeeralang hills, taking several farm properties as it went. The Morwell students were fortunate as we were able to get home, but some of the others had to stay overnight at the school. The Open Cut caught fire and most of the workforce (including my father) from the Maryvale Paper Mill spent several days fighting the blaze. The Mill was closed as power was in short supply. June of the same year saw the D-Day landings in Normandy. All the students were marched off to the various churches throughout the town to pray for a successful outcome for the Allies. My final wartime memory concerns Victory in Europe in May 1945. We knew that the end of the war was imminent, but Term 1 exams went ahead as scheduled. By this time, I was in Form 4 doing Intermediate Certificate. That morning, we started the exam and not long afterwards, the outside world suddenly went crazy. Car horns honked, engines at the railways station tooted and the hooters at the Power Station and the Briquette Factory sounded. Nevertheless, we were expected to continue with that exam, although one of the teachers did write on the board that the war had ended! The school became a High School in 1945 and a new Head Teacher - Mr John E Menadue - was appointed. In 1947 I was in Form 6 and was appointed Senior Prefect, together with Stan Ostlund. Other prefects that year included Sheila Brooker, Ann Griffiths, Wilma Jackson, Fae Lawson, Claire Gretton, Bob Stevenson, John Barnes and Bob Selby-Hele. The Prefect group felt very privileged when we were given our own room in the Army Hut, which was placed on a block in a nearby street. the hut was mainly used as a classroom for Forms 5 & 6. Prior to the arrival of the hut, Form 6 in particular had classes in some rather unusual locations - one that I recall was in the locker room near the main office. I actually wrote an article for "The Pylon" that year, about a class there and used "Shakespearian" type quotes to illustrate the interruptions etc. We were a small group - 7 in total, so we could be placed in restricted spots, for our lessons. Princess Elizabeth (now our Queen) celebrated her 21st birthday in May that year. Stan Ostlund and I had the honour of representing the school at a tree planting ceremony at one of the town parks. Finally, December 16th was Speech Night and I had the privilege of becoming Dux of the School, as well as the winner of the Citizenship Prize. A wonderful ending to my six years at Yallourn High School. Life After Yallourn High School - In 1948, I joined the Education Department as a student teacher at Morwell Primary School. As part of my studies, I attended night school at Yallourn Technical School once a week during this year. 1949 and 1950 saw me at Melbourne Teachers' College, where I obtained my Trained Primary Teachers' Certificate and my Trained Infant Teachers' Certificate. After college, I taught at Yinnar and Traralgon Primary Schools before moving to Melbourne in 1955. I taught at five schools throughout the suburbs, gaining promotion along the way. In 1969, I became a Special Class Infant Mistress - this was the highest position that a woman teacher could be at that time. We had also finally been granted equal pay - prior to this time, we had 80% of the men's pay. However, the Women's Branch of the Victorian Teachers' Union was also working for women to be allowed to become Principals of Primary Schools. In 1972, the word came down - we could become Principals! I applied immediately and obtained the coveted mark "Suitable as a Special Class Principal". In 1973, five women were appointed as Special Class Principals. As I had
booked to go overseas that year, I deferred my application, so I took up my position as Principal at Templestowe Valley Primary School in Lower Templestowe in 1974. Women Principals had to work hard to gain acceptance and of course, many members of the public found it hard to grasp the fact that a woman could be senior to a man. This led to some very humorous situations - when I arrived at the school, a new canteen was being built and the contractor came up to the offices. My male Deputy Principal was chatting to me and the contractor immediately turned to him with all the details. When he paused for breath, my Deputy said to him - "now tell her, she's the Principal". The look on the contractor's face was priceless! I found working with the Templestowe Valley Community challenging but very rewarding. Enrolments increased during my time at the school and peaked at 752. I had 13 very happy years there, before taking early retirement in 1987. I am still in touch with the school and looking forward to taking part in 40th Birthday Celebrations later this year.
