Gosford High School Reunion

The Moxons Family PhotoIts been a “roller coaster”! Two weddings, the Kombi is about to go, there is another baby on the way, the caravan is waiting (to the left) for us to go into the sunset.

Still lots to do to finish the house reno, recovered from medical setback but we are living with old age joints, busy as usual. Trying to insert a few outings between

Church work, casual employment, and complaining about the mess. Been down the Murray and along the Great Ocean Rd., Honolulu, and a few 3 day getaways.

The “book” is still in the edit stage.

A Happy and Blessed Christmas wish from all of us.

Photo left of the Moxon family James, Christie & Ellie (insert), Jillian, Hayley, Dale (insert), Fay, Ted, David (Brindie) Lesley and Jason

David and Maries Tent Earlier this year, it became apparent that, after about 25 years of loyal service, our tent was in need of replacement. Having purchased ourselves a new, you-beaut model, Marie and I obviously had to try it out. Since my days at Gosford High, I’ve been keen on birdwatching.

Our campsite was beside a lagoon, and quite a few different bird species spent their days there. Morning and evening the beautiful pink Major Mitchell Cockatoos came in to drink.

There Marie and I really enjoyed chatting to another couple called Jill and Tom Dalton. Imagine our surprise to discover that Jill – nee Innes – was another Gosford High graduate – she did her Leaving in 1957, and even remembered that my father had taught her sister. It is indeed a small world.

David Niland

You can see David’s full story here.

Roslyn Lorraine and Wendy 1958 My husband Doug and I were in Albury recently and I contacted an old GHS friend Lorraine Bowyer-Smythe (Campbell). We had not seen each other since we were 18!

Yes a few transformations had occurred and Lorraine no longer had her beautiful curly red hair! Did we recognise each other? Well if we had chanced to be in the same coffee shop with time to percolate, probably yes.

They have lived in Albury for quite a few years but are considering moving to sunny Queensland to be nearer their son. Lorraine also has a daughter living in Canada. We do intend to keep in contact now.

Noelene Jeffs (Burke)

Photo was taken in 1958 3B/C Gosford High School
Lorraine is in good company. L to R Roslyn Oag, Lorraine Campbell, Wendy Biggs

Alison Ros & Helen @ ManlyTrying to keep fit with National Parks walks more recently the Blue Mountains and Heathcote N.P. (have lost 15kg)

Mountain bike riding locally or the South Coast with Coalcliff to Wollongong return, the latest cycling venture.
Still doing a spot of tutoring at college and teaching when called up. (keeps the brain active)
Regularly visiting my 99 year old mum and helping out at the Retirement Village. (many of them think I’m a resident!)
Meeting up with long lost cousins from Melbourne and tracking down some old “Oag family” haunts dating back to the 1890s.

Photo to the right is of Ros with Melbourne cousins taking a well earned coffee break at Manly on the Corso.

Doug Allan at the Wheel of a Beneteau 40 – a Bit Bigger than the VJ!

Doug at the WheelDoug Allen who is doing his bit to prop up the ailing Greek economy reports briefly on his latest exploits.

Hi all – just continuing my love of sailing at GHS (Dougie D will recall the VJ) … spent the last week on a 40′ Beneteau sailing the Greek Islands -great! Now off to Rome …
Regards, Doug Allen

Russ King Reports In

Not a lot happening on the home front. Had a lot of visitors during the winter months which filled the time & destroyed a few more liver cells.

Visited Sis in NZ in early year and also had a Hawkesbury reunion at Thredbo. Going to Mauritius next Jan to get away from “the wet” for a while. Am anxiously awaiting finalised house plans so building can start.

Still haven’t won lotto and anxiously looking forward to the next GHS get together.
Russ K.

Some Notes From the Busy Diary of Tony Haslip

Sunday, beautiful day. Jumped on the Triumph Tiger and rode to Central Coast.
Magic.

On the Monday, a panic call from the Premier’s office booked and cancelled too fast for my conscience to record a fee, then on to the CEO of Telstra for 2pm.
On arrival at 400 George Street, cancelled.
Fee will apply. Invoice sent.
Survival of the witless strikes again..!

A few days ago, Maxeen Frewin appeared in a dream of mine.
Is that wrong? I welcome a Hugh Veness opinion.

It has come to our notice that one of our former GHS colleagues passed away at Avalon on July 13th 2011.

Many of you will remember Robert Howes….he was tall, good looking, had a roving eye for the girls, a great sense of humour and was a top A Grade Rugby player,

On completing the L.C. Robert went to Newcastle Teacher’s College and trained as a primary teacher. His first school was Gulargambone Central where he met his future wife Sandra.They had three children. He then moved on and had two years at Boorowa Central teaching alongside Christine Brodie (ex GHS L.C. 1959) and her future husband Daryl Hyslop.
From there he moved to the Bilgola Plateau area where a change in career path saw him working at the ABC. He later attended new England Uni at Armidale and completed a B.A. majoring in English. Robert taught at various High Schools around the Northern beaches namely Pittwater High where he met up with another ex GHS person, John Smith. (married to Sue Haron, Girls’ captain1959)

Sadly Robert succumbed to lung cancer. His colleagues from Gosford High 1956-1960 extend their sympathy to his family and friends.

Information supplied by Christine Hyslop (nee Brodie)

Recollections of Howsie by Russ King

The following recollections are from Rus King. Russ clearly has retained a very good memory for detail

Robert HowesThe Big Fight
The year would have been 1956, first year at GHS. for some, including a tallish,gangly pasty looking kid with big ears called Bob Howes.
He used to alight from “The Entrance Bus” and walk past the “music room” entrance into school grounds and find his way to his own “group”..
Best mates Mick Stratford and Russ King used to heckle him {as half smart little bastards do when they are 2:1} with words like “P..f…a ” and “Softie” et al. as he walked past with total ignore.
However this day changed it all.

Round 1
Apparently there had been some “agro” on The Entrance bus on the way to school.
As the pupils walked into the school grounds it exploded into a fight between ‘Howsie’ and one other, possibly Ray Salmon.
This 30 second fracas was sufficient to draw the usual crowd with accompanying chant of FIGHT…FIGHT…FIGHT…etc etc.
Within that short time span, ‘Howsie’ managed to demolish his opponent, tear his shirt, rip his buttons off and push him against the garden retaining wall.
Stratford & King took a backward step.

Round 2
As Bob was usually one of the first from the bus, some 45 seconds later followed his sister.(Anne)??
She being four years his senior and possibly a Prefect, had the responsibility to see all were safely alighted before herself.
Responsibility lay heavily upon the shoulders of one whose father was “Shire Clerk” of Gosford Shire Council.
She came upon the melee. She recognised her ‘little brother’. She grabbed him by the hair or ear. She scolded him and used words unbeknown to Stratford & King, like “Shameful, disgraceful, unbecoming” etc. etc. and led him upstairs inside the building.
Bob’s moment of glory suddenly turned to mud.
Stratford & King never bothered him again.

The Next Meeting
Approx 1964. Bob was teaching at a small community near Canberra. We bumped into each other at the Canberra Civic Centre shopping centre one Friday night. Had a good chat and caught up on old past times/girlfriends/experiences. Great memories.

From Hugo & Wendy Ferguson

We are in the U.S. at the moment visiting our daughter but will be back 6th December.

Yes it was very sad to hear of Bob Howe’s passing. He and I used to “hang out” …. In those days I think we would have said “knock around together”. I was always disappointed that we lost contact over the years.

Muriel Oag Turns 99Now talking of “oldies’….here’s one who does qualify! Ros Mort’s Mum Muriel Oag turned 99 on August 26th. Can anyone beat that???

Grandma Oag celebrated in style with a picnic lunch at Lane Cove National Park with Roslyn and grand – daughter Belinda.

The dear little birthday cake was an orange cake made by Belinda. It was just like the ones she used to make years ago with the Lisarow oranges fresh from the farm.We had trouble fitting on the 99 candles! After lunch we adjourned for coffee at Eden Gardens.

Ros Mort reports that she has found Bernie Goddard. Bernie on the other hand never realised that he was lost.

Bernie is now living in W.A. Having retired he is enjoying working outdoors in the capacity of Head Gardener (Gardening Guru) in an aged care home. He says that he gets a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from talking to the oldies and listening to their problems and helping them. Note none of us are yet counted as “oldies”.

Alongside is a photo of Bernie which Ros took a few weeks ago when Bernie was back in Sydney visiting his extended family. He looks in pretty good shape for an apprentice “oldie”.

Sadly on Friday April 15th 2011, our Gosford High colleague , Ray Fairbairn lost his battle with cancer. Ray was only diagnosed in February this year and although he fought a brave battle, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he passed away last Friday, surrounded by his family.

For those of you who were fortunate enough to attend the 50 year reunion in November 2010, you will remember Ray and Gwenda at that special function. Ray was in top form, chatting, laughing and thoroughly enjoying himself. I look back now and realise that we were privileged to be able to share that time with him, totally unaware that time was running out.

The Funeral Service was held at the Hillside Chapel – Palmdale Memorial Park on Thursday April 21st. Present were family and many friends with a large contingent from the Gosford Sailing Club, Ray’s second home! Gosford High School was represented by Kevin Phillips, Ian Littlemore, Ken Quodling, John Floyd, Greg Needham, Noelene Jeffs, Maxeen & Colin Langlois and Ros Mort.
The service was a very fitting tribute to Ray. The Eulogies gave insight into his early life as a teenager and the antics he used to get up to with his mates. His passion for sailing has pervaded his life and this passion will continue on through his sons Michael and Graeme. Overall he was a top sportsman with rugby league high on his list of great loves. In later life Ray was depicted as a loving husband, father and a Pa to his granddaughter. He was strict but fair and he believed that if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

At the conclusion of the service, friends and relatives adjourned to the Gosford Sailing Club for refreshments.

A sympathy card from all of us with photos of Ray’s class mates from his final year, at GHS, 1960 was given to Gwenda. Enclosed with the card was a two page list of condolences from twenty of Ray’s GHS colleagues as emailed to Ros. Mort. You can see the card and messages here.

Our dear colleague Ian Gross passed away on Tuesday March 9th from a massive heart attack. Grossy was liked and admired at school for his sense of fun, his willingness to contribute and the sheer pleasure of being in his company. A very fine guy was Ian Gross.

Ian’s funeral service was held on Tuesday March 16th. It was held at the Greenway Chapel at Green Point, a very beautiful setting.

The chapel was filled to the back. There was a very large contingent of friends, business people & golfing mates from four different clubs. There were six GHS colleagues who were able to attend on the day and represent their year group.

The service was a very fitting tribute to Ian. He was depicted as a caring, compassionate person, a person with an incredible sense of humour and wit and a family man. He was a special person to many. You can see the Funeral Order of Service here.

You can see Ros Mort’s eulogy for Ian here and Ians’s brief profile here.

Monty’s LunchA group of Noelene Hutchinson’s GHS friends met for lunch last Wednesday January 19th. The day dawned dull and cloudy in Sydney and an early call from Les heralded the news that it was “pouring” on the Central Coast! (I had told her to pray for good weather!!!) So much for the “outdoor” luncheon on the grass!

A few hours later the rain stopped as we congregated around the picnic tables near Monty’s Seafoods. Then the heavens opened and down came the rain again so we made a hasty retreat to the shelter of Monty’s. Luckily for us the weather took a turn for the better and we were able to set ourselves up outside, under Monty’s large umbrella and later enjoy the sunshine.

It was a memorable occasion, much eating, talking catching up, reminiscing. It was wonderful that Brett (Fitzpatrick), Noelene’s eldest son was able to join us along with Ron Davis (Noelene’s brother in law). Noelene’s daughter Joanne sent her apologies. Brett has lived in Ireland for 10 years at a little place called Tipperary.(yes it is a long way!) I do recall some of the interesting tales Noelene passed on after her visits to Ireland.
Further reminiscing …….eating and drinking. We were pleased to meet Brett’s wife Maria and their two children Sarah and Ronan nearer the end of the afternoon. A BIG THANKS to the Fitzpatricks for making an appearance…much appreciated.

In the photo above from the left are Maxeen, Ros, Brett Fitzpatrick (Noelene’s son), Pat, Ron Davis, Hugo, Wendy, Les, Liz (standing).

A pleasant day was had by all in memory of our dear friend Noelene.

Very sad news…..Our dear colleague Noelene Hutchinson passed away in hospital on 31st December 2010. 

Many of you may not have realised that Noelene had been battling cancer for a number of years. During that period she displayed a most positive attitude, courage and determination to beat it. Sadly this was not to be.

The funeral service for Noelene was held on Friday January 7th at Northern Suburbs Crematorium , South Chapel North Ryde.

The chapel was filled to the back with all standing room taken. Present were family, friends,volunteers from the Bushfire Regeneration and Conservation groups and former work mates. There were 5 Gosford High colleagues who attended on the day and represented their year group: Ros. Mort, Pat Meyers, Hugo & Wendy Ferguson and John Floyd.

The Order of Service booklet here had the photo (taken at the Nov 6 reunion) of Noelene displaying her award for “The Most Positive Attitude” on the front.

The service was a very fitting tribute to Noelene. Her passion for the environment, conservation, bush regeneration and gardening pervaded the tributes. Family life was very important to her and she was very proud being a grandmother. Noelene was depicted as a caring, compassionate kind hearted person, a person who showed strength, courage, determination and always carried a smile. She was a special person to many.

There were tributes by family members and then friends. Ros Mort presented a tribute on behalf of the Gosford High colleagues. You can see Ros’ tribute to Noelene here.

A sympathy card from all of us with suitable inscription and photos included, was posted to the family.
Pat Meyers had compiled a photo album with a selection of photos and appropriate quotes and this was handed to Joanne, Noelene’s daughter, at the service. This was a beautiful

Ros and Ros (Mort and Wheeler that is) have organsised a lunch to celebrate our survival 50 years beyond completion of High School (seems like just yesterday really!).

All ex students from the 1956-1960 cohort are invited to attend. It is not necessary that you actually continued through to the L.C. As long as you belonged to this special GHS group you (and your partner) are very welcome.

A brief outline:
DATE Saturday November 6 2010
TIME 11-30am to 3-30pm
VENUE Iggy’s at Iguanas Waterfront, 12 Dane Drive, Gosford

COST $55-$60 per person, (includes a drink on arrival, main course, fruit and cheese platter, tea and coffee and a booking fee etc.)

The date and venue have been booked and booking fee paid. Please mark this special event on your social calendar if you have not already done so!

At this stage we are not asking for any up front payment but will have to do so by Sept-Oct. An email will be sent around then with details about how you can make payment in advance. We have had to guarantee a minimum number of 50 attendees.

You can see Ros Mort’s notice on the event here.

Ros and Ros (Mort and Wheeler that is) have organsised a lunch to celebrate our survival 50 years beyond completion of High School (seems like just yesterday really!).
All ex students from the 1956-1960 cohort are invited to attend. It is not necessary that you actually continued through to the L.C. As long as you belonged to this special GHS group you (and your partner) are very welcome.
A brief outline:

DATE       Saturday November 6  2010
TIME      11-30am to 3-30pm
VENUE   Iggy’s at Iguanas Waterfront, 12 Dane Drive, Gosford
COST      $55-$60 per person, (includes a drink on arrival, main course, fruit and cheese platter, tea  and coffee and a booking fee etc.)

The date and venue have been booked and booking fee paid. Please mark this special event on your social calendar if you have not already done so!

At this stage we are not asking for any up front payment but will have to do so by Sept-Oct. An email will be sent around then with details about how you can make payment in advance. We have had to guarantee a minimum number of 50 attendees.
You can see Ros Mort’s notice on the event here.

On Wednesday May 2nd a group of our ex colleagues braved it “back to school”. In attendance were Ian Carroll, Lesley Gregory, Barbara Stratford, Ros. Mort, Lynn Dornan,Tom Korevaar and Noelene Jeffs.
We were met by the present school captains, Patrick McGrath and Jade Fennell, the Deputy (Management) Paul Campbell and the new Principal Lynne Searle. (the first female Principal for Gosford High)
The first task was for the local Photographer to take some group happy snaps so we all tried to hide the wrinkles,smile and show our best features!

Our next port of call was the school assembly where we were welcomed as special guests belonging to the 1960 Leaving Certificate cohort. (that made us feel a little prehistoric!)
Our pleasant duty today was to present two beautifully fashioned flags to the school as a gift from our year group. Ian Carroll made a very fitting speech and was warmly applauded. He made mention of the importance of the school’s Latin motto spectemur agendo as depicted on the flag …..”you are judged by your actions” or “judge me by what I do”. He also made a passing reference to his recent trip with UNICEF to Cambodia and Laos and the importance placed on education in these under developed countries. How fortunate we are in Australia.

The school captains then escorted us to the staff common room where we were treated to a sumptious morning tea. The new Principal Lynne Searle and Paul Campbell joined us. It was interesting to hear Lynne’s hopes and aspirations for the future of Gosford High School. I think it will be in safe hands with Lynne at the helm!

Special mention and thanks are in order for Ian Carroll who was responsible for organising the making of the flags (and everything associated with that) and also to Tom Korevaar for his generous donation of one of the flags to Gosford High School. Thank you both. To see Central Coast News article click here.