Old school ties part one: Where Victoria’s powerbrokers went to school
Does your education really shape your future? Do old school ties matter? We asked Victorian leaders where they went to school, which teachers inspired them most and about their memories.
Victoria
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MELBOURNE LORD MAYOR SALLY CAPP
1. Where did you go to school?
Wattle Park Primary School, Walnut Hills High School (in America) and Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC)
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
The thing I liked most about my education is that it encouraged me to try lots of different things, and that it really helped me work out where my talents were, and where they weren’t. I really appreciate that about my education, and that was across all three schools I attended.
3. Were you a good student?
I was a very good studenT . . . most of the time! I did wag a few times and things like that, but I was always very studious. I loved school and I was always the first person there in the morning. I felt very encouraged, both at home and at school, and that really motivated me.
But, I did have to front up to the principal every now and then. One time, I was involved in an experiment to see how many girls could fit in one toilet cubicle, and we may have broken the toilet in the process. That ended up in a trip to the Principal’s office.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school and why?
My most memorable teacher was Miss Montgomery, who was our headmistress at PLC. She was somebody that really made me, and the other students, feel that anything was possible and that we could do anything if we set our minds to it. I also had an art teacher at Walnut Hills who I really loved, because I’m hopeless at art, but he inspired me to have a go. Again, that was a teacher who encouraged me to do something that I didn’t think was in my repertoire, and I ended up really enjoying art because of him.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
One memory that stands out for me was when I was completely out of my comfort zone at Walnut Hills High. I was an Aussie going to high school in mid-western USA, and I thought that I would immediately have friends, that people would be interested in me. It actually ended up being the opposite, as everyone was of course involved in their own teenage lives that no one even noticed me. I really had to put myself out there, and it was the first test I had as an individual to step forward and take risks as to how I went about establishing friendships. I created my own experience in a completely unknown world. And that involved me having to go up to people, sometimes having to humiliate myself by saying “hello, I’m Sally”, to strangers, because otherwise I would be sitting in a corner by myself. I tried everything, from joining sports to the school newspaper, to create networks, find friends and make the most of the experience. It taught me a lot about myself, and about what’s possible.
VICTORIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY CEO PAUL GUERRA
1. Where did you go to school?
Primary school was Our Lady of Lourdes in Bayswater and high school at St Joseph’s Regional College in Ferntree Gully; eventually becoming vice-captain in Year 12.
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
The best thing about school was getting to meet and make the mates I did along the way, as well as all the sport I was able to play. I still have friends today from kindergarten, secondary school, and university.
3. Were you a good student?
I really enjoyed everything about school; it was a great time of my life. Being around people all the time, the friendships, the structure of the day, the nice balance of being able to play sport and study, and catching the train to and from school with mates was just great. We had a lot of fun.
I’m very lucky as I was a pretty good student, and a decent athlete. I played senior footy – being one of the few who played for the school firsts from year 10 through to year 12. I also won the senior school 100m sprint in both year 11 and year 12, which was a proud achievement. Was even better when I found out a teacher had won a side bet backing for both wins!
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school and why?
My most memorable teacher was Father Denis Handley; he was just a brilliant motivator and amazing man, and probably the most un-priest-like teacher I ever had, which was a nice change and important point of difference. Like me, he was into sports and education, and was a huge influence in shaping the person I am today.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
One of my favourite memories was one of my games of first 18s footy. The game started halfway through lunchtime and running out with the team in front of a packed school crowd – the biggest I’d ever played before – was a really special experience.
I was lucky to play with Darren Crocker who went on to play in the AFL, and we also had Damian Hardwick coming up a couple of years after us, so being able to watch them both play footy at that age and witness them coming through the ranks was pretty cool. One of my good mates was David Healy who was in the Australia under 18 soccer squad as well.
MELBOURNE FOOTBALL CLUB PRESIDENT KATE ROFFEY
1. Where did you go to school?
I grew up in Narrabri in country NSW and went to Narrabri Primary and high.
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
We were a really small town of only 7,100 people and I lived out on a property so going to school and playing school sports on the weekend was our main social gathering opportunity; so school was a much more important place than an educational institution for us. I didn’t much like the one hour plus bus trip along dirt roads to and from school each day though.
3. Were you a good student?
I would like to think I was cheekily charming. I’m not sure my teachers would agree though.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school and why?
I often remember two of my English teachers,Heather Noon who taught me how to do cryptic crosswords and said to me one day ‘you are a smart young lady, go to university and study’; and Carol Bell who gave me a copy of Anna Karenina to read when I was in year 9. That book inspired my desire to travel around the world. I went on to university and backpacked around the world for more than three years when I was younger; two things that have made me a much better person today.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
I always like to push the envelope and I recall a day our maths teacher - who used to throw chalk at our desks when we were bored and not paying attention - landing a chalk stick on my desk mid lesson. When she turned to continue writing on the blackboard I threw it back landing it a few centimetres from her nose. Somehow she knew it was me and without turning around she said ‘that was a good throw Kate’. As our basketball coach I’m sure she couldn’t help but feel a bit of pride in my accuracy and ‘spirit’ so I guess I got away with a bit more than most. I think I played in our starting five ever since that day, and I don’t think I did ever tell her I was aiming for the back of her head!
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF VICTORIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DANNI HUNTER
1. Where did you go to school?
I went to Luther College in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs until year 11 and then completed year 12 at Canterbury Girls Secondary College.
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
I loved school and was an enthusiastic learner. I especially loved history, politics and the arts and humanities. At school I was hungry to explore new ideas, concepts and theories, with a strong focus on people. I loved learning about political history and the people who changed our world.
3. Were you a good student?
While I loved school, I was impatient to embrace life after school and admittedly I had a fair dose of attitude which challenged my teachers on a daily basis. I was an passionate learner, but not a rigid follower of all the rules. This tenacity grew my confidence in challenging situations and my desire to improve the status quo.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school and why?
I had exceptional teachers throughout my secondary schooling and took great inspiration from their knowledge, patience and commitment to learning. I had an English teacher in year 11 who challenged me, and who I challenged. We would spar and debate and sometimes even argue, always respectfully and intellectually. He taught me not to just accept an answer if I didn’t agree, but to inform myself, and to craft an argument that can convince and influence my audience to understand my point of view. This skill still serves me well today.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
My favourite story from my school days requires a cup of tea and takes at least an hour to tell. I loved the friendships I formed, and the memories we had as we grew up together. Learning was so important, but so was the life experience, friendships and resilience I gained in spades in my school years.
WILLIAM DOHERTY, XAVIER COLLEGE PRINCIPAL
1. Where did you go to school?
Years five to ten-at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace (Brisbane) and years 11-12 at St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon (Central Queensland)
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
Both schools had wonderful school cultures. They offered broad, holistic curriculums that enabled me to participate and thrive in academic and co-curricular activities. As a smaller country boarding school, St Brendan’s was especially inclusive in its tone across all year levels.
3. Were you a good student?
I was a fairly reasonable student and pretty well behaved. Both schools had clear expectations and standards which made it pretty easy to understand both what was expected and why. When there is a strong values base founded upon moral principles and respect – for self, for others and for the school community – then the culture and habits of the school make sense. It’s as true now as it was then. When everybody follows this, and there is a clear commitment of the teaching staff to model and live out these values, then the call for students to act similarly is even more apparent. And when it is strongly supported in the family home, as was my valued experience, then the whole world seems to knit together.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school and why?
My memories stretch back to Mrs Webb as a year 1 teacher at my primary school St Agatha’s and Mr Maiddens who was my year 6 teacher at Gregory Terrace. It is interesting to note their similarities; both were experienced, were direct and had clear standards and an excellent grasp of content. They didn’t take nonsense and yet would take the time to care as much as any teacher with students who were willing and keen. Mrs Webb was outstanding as a teacher of literacy and Mr Maiddens was at the forefront of IT in that era, with his bank of Apple IIe computers, complete with green screens and floppy disks.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
I feel incredibly fortunate that my schools days are a jumbled collection of happy memories. They stretch from playing old fashioned handball not only on squares but, especially on cold Brisbane winter mornings, against the wall of old handball courts, through to endless afternoons playing touch footy in torrential rain in my first term as a boarder in the tropical climes of Yeppoon. I loved a variety of sports and many of these memories seem to revolve around these experiences. I’m also conscious of my fortune in having such happy memories, at school, in boarding and at home. I’m conscious that this is not always every child’s experience.
SALVATION ARMY MAJOR BRENDAN NOTTLE
1. Where did you go to school?
Westgarth Primary School, Northcote High School for two years and then Melbourne High School
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
What I liked most about Melbourne High School is that there was a strong sense of camaraderie among the boys. It sometimes felt that we were existing on another planet but that added to the fun of the experience. For example, all staff wore academic gowns and all 1200 boys were required to attend weekly singing rehearsals and weekly singing performances during the school assembly. So hearing 1200 boys whose voices were either breaking - or they deliberately decided to sing with a falsetto voice - is an experience I am still receiving therapy for, in an attempt to remove the sound of the song, Forty Years On being sung by 1200 boys with very strange voices.
3. Were you a good student?
Academically I was probably an average student because at that stage of my life I wasn’t connected into that part of my education but being connected into extra-curricular activities like drama and music was something I thoroughly enjoyed.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school? Why?
Probably Alwyn Mott. The reason for that was there was a group of boys, including me, who were wannabe musicians and we would hang out in the music department at any opportunity we had. One memorable occasion was Alwyn Mott swanning down the stairs of the music department with his academic robes flowing in the wind and bellowing: “I will not have a clique forming in my music department!” From that day on we became known as the ‘clique men’ and we still refer to each other as clique men 40 years on since completing year 12.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
It was the last day of school and the deputy principal Mr Duke, again in his flowing academic gown, was chasing Year 12 boys all around the school oval yelling at them that they would receive detention, even though it was our very last day at school. He was doing this because they didn’t have their top button done up and weren’t wearing their tie correctly!
MARK LITTLE, PRESIDENT OF MASTER BUILDERS VICTORIA
1. Where did you go to school?
Queenscliff High School
2. What did you like most, or like least about it?
Other than home time, and start time, it’s location. We used to spend a lot of time down the beach in summer. It also had great sporting programs and facilities.
3. Were you a good student?
I was average. I loved sport but really battled with subjects like maths. It wasn’t until I left school and began my apprenticeship that things like algebra clicked and fell into place because they were relatable to pitching a roof.
4. Who was your most memorable teacher at school?
Mrs Millis and Mr Ryan. They were more mentors who tried to guide me. I think that they saw something in me and tried very hard to try and get it out.
5. What’s your favourite story from your school days?
We used to break into each other’s lockers and put fire extinguishers in there. And then one day, someone put one in upside down and the pin must have fallen out. It was chaos like we’d never seen before. We’d also break into the indoor basketball court and set up the mini tramp and mattresses, so we could do trick shots and dunk.
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