Cherished crossing lady Carmel Black set to say farewell to Yarra Road Primary School after 44 years of service

For more than 44 years, a familiar sight has greeted kids and parents at a crossing at a Croydon school. But that’s all set to come to an end.

Carmel Black says farewell to Yarra Road Primary School after more than four decades as a beloved crossing lady. Image: supplied.

A beloved crossing lady from Melbourne’s east who has spent five decades making sure kids and parents have safely crossed the road is hanging up the lollipop for the final time

Carmel Black said the “wonderful children” of Yarra Road Primary School in Croydon inspired her to keep going long after her own children had graduated from the local school.

“It’s such a great community, the principal, the staff, students and parents are all just wonderful,” she said.

“I’ve got lots of memories of the children from over the years, I should have written it all down to write a book.”

Ms Black said she started as a volunteer when the crossing was first put in.

“When the crossing was first opened, we got a call at the mother’s club (now the parents association), saying they needed a volunteer, so I put my hand up,” she said.

“It was a job I did so that I could take my children to school, and so I didn’t need a babysitter on the holidays.”

Carmel Black has decided to retire after 44 years of service as the Yarra Road Primary School's beloved crossing lady. Image: supplied.

Forty-four years later, Ms Black said it was time to put down the stop sign.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of years, but the heat of last summer and Covid really made me realise I needed to go,” she said.

Ms Black said the isolation rules and length of the lockdowns had been a catalyst.

“They put off all the older supervisors at the beginning (of the pandemic), because we were more susceptible and we didn’t have the vaccine yet,” she said.

“Then during the big lockdowns we couldn’t travel between metro and regional, and all my family is regional.”

Ms Black said not having to watch the clock would be a nice change.

“If I go out for lunch I don’t have to watch the clock to make sure I’ll be back in time,” she said.

“I can just go and do what I want to do, if I want to sleep in I can, if I want to read a book all day, I can.”

“I was going to finish up at the end of this year, but last summer was really quite hot, so I’ve decided to finish up at the end of the financial year instead.”

Ms Black will be sorely missed by the school community

“When I told the office girls, they thought I was joking,” she said.

“But once the announcement had been put into last week’s newsletter, I got about 15 phone calls from parents that night.”

Ms Black said she would look back on her time as the crossing lady with nothing but fondness.

“It’s a great job, it’s really been a joy,” she said.

“I’ve had great joy knowing I’ve put so many children across the road safely.”

Ms Black said this was not goodbye, but farewell.

“I’ll still be volunteering to read to the preppies, so it’s not the complete end,” she said.

“It’s been a really lovely job I’ve really enjoyed doing it.”

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