Terry Heskey YHS 1955 Ex-Yallourn resident, Elsie Heskey, passed away on 20th May 2006 at Atherton, Queensland. I have enjoyed reading the YOGA Newsletters and the article from John Lewis in the June 2007 edition was of particular interest regarding the mid-1950s education system at the YHS. It is the first time I've seen any form of explanation to questions I had pondered since those school days - but it wasn't all bad.

Steve Gray YHS 1971 On yer bike! As a kid in Yallourn, I distinctly remember standing at the front gate of our house as a very young lad and at a set time each day, a few older guys would ride by on their bikes on their way to work, handle bars turned upwards for comfort and a slow pedalling motion got them there, but not in a hurry. One or two of them used to wave to me and say G’day; I know not who they were but their old bikes carried them forward with a gracefulness and ease I don’t often see these days.

Richard Bush YHS 1955 “Must be part of the uniform “ It’s well worn but in good shape. The badge is pinned proudly to the front. The stripes around the edge are as straight as the yellow band on Elaine Verey’s marching tunic. The lining is worn silky smooth - a sheen derived from years of coal dust and Brylcream (or was it Californian Poppy). The brand is “Tee Dee” – probably the initials of a small manufacturer from the days when clothing was made in Fitzroy or Collingwood. Inside it says “Size: six and seven eights” which was supposed to be a large size.

Marje Weston (Gray) YHS 1956 photo taken at mini reunion held at Bendigo last year. Left to right are: Annie Clark, Marje Weston (Gray), Jean Robinson (Humphreys), Margot Guzzardi (Teasdale) and Margaret Loft (Browitt) - all 1956ers.” Jean has been over from WA for several months firstly caring for her Mum, and after her death, finalising the estate, so they have taken the opportunity to catch up twice since the YOGA reunion dinner last March in Morwell. We have one more "meeting" planned before she returns to WA - lunch at Kyneton on July 31st.

Steve Gray YHS 1971….
Cubby huts and hidey-holes…
I guess Yallourn was blessed with practically every house having a shed of some kind and we were lucky as we had both a garage and a shed. For our family, the humble shed that was meant for wood and garden implements (after starting its life as an outside toilet) soon became the place to hang out. For us it was the cubby house, a place where stories were told, billy carts and bikes were stored, but more importantly - as a hidey hole for friends to gather.

Richard Bush YHS 1955 wrote:-
Fathers and Head Masters My father, Jim Bush, had a connection with Yallourn High School in the 1950s beyond his three children attending (aside from me, there was Elisa 1950 and Susan 1953). He was a member of the Advisory Council.

Olga Dunn (Tabaczynski) YHS 1958 - wrote “found some photos of my dad (Mikolay) & his mates who came out from Germany in 1949 together to work in The SEC Yallourn, a year ahead of their families to setup work & accommodation. Mum & I came out in 1950, must have been difficult for a wife to be left to wait for a year & then come out with children on a boat to an unknown country - a real movie maker!

Irene Coates (Prosinskas) YHS 1952 wrote: I was going through the YOGA Newsletters looking to see if any of the Yallourn Tech Boys wrote in or are even connected to YOGA, they were such a great part of our lives once a week going passed the High School to swimming, all the girls had a sore neck peering out the windows to check on the talent, and searching for boyfriends.

Iodine Tablets?? Judy Vise (Leech) YHS 1952 - wrote: I thoroughly enjoyed the book it brought back lots of memories. Coincidentally, my neighbour - Daryl George - saw it and attended Yallourn Tech at the same time. His father was a policeman in Yallourn. We were discussing the iodine tablets we used to take at school during the 50's. The Form captain administered them each Friday. Would like to know more information about the reasons and directives of this if anyone knows

Greg Wernert YHS 1956
Memories are Made of This Fifty years ago, a bunch of ragged (metaphorically speaking) kids late of Grade 6, East Newborough Primary School went on a character building journey to the glittering palace of secondary education, Yallourn High School. From memory, they were Effie Bridges (Carr), Ann Clark, Marilyn Kennedy, Gwenda Leverton, Linda Rendell (Reed), Judith Spackman, Margot Guzzardi (Teasdale), George Dibsdale, Bruce Garrett, Colin Nash, Derek Pym, Jeffrey Stearman, Rodney Thompson.