School & Sports

Jean Hattam wrote: there was great excitement when the Junior School opened after Easter in 1930. We all marched down to our new school – the headmistress was Miss Carol. From ‘bubs’ grade to 4th grade went to the new school and grades 5 & 6 remained at the Higher Elementary School, which later became High School after I left. Schools were closed twice – once for the Polio epidemic (there was a few lost lives) and teachers went around town, putting our school work in the letter boxes. The other time was the Diphtheria epidemic – all children had to have swabs taken and those positive were taken into emergency hospital (2 attic houses in Westbrook Ave I think). We were allowed to go and visit by standing around the fence, waving or pulling faces to the inmates, leaving books, sweets etc in a box on the verandah.
I learnt to swim in Latrobe River in kids area. I gained my “Herald Learn to Swim 25 yards” there – then the flood ended that! The mud hole, as we called the swimming pool in Yallourn, was great. Much later, the grand Olympic-size pool was built.