David Cooke – YHS 1952 Although I wasn't born in Yallourn, I spent 10 years of my early youth there - attending both Yallourn Primary School and Yallourn High School. I now live in the Hawaii - having been in the US for 26 years now (as a university professor.)
I'm still very sentimental about my time in Yallourn. I lived with my parents and brother Robin (he was killed in New Guinea in 1979) in the house at 3 Maiden Street.
I found out in a rather traumatic way that the town had been removed. On a return to visit relatives during the early nineties I rented a car in Melbourne and drove along the Princes Highway intending to visit Yallourn. I vividly remember the building anticipation as I approached the town, only to find a huge hole in the ground where the town had been. There wasn't even enough left for me to get my bearings. It was quite shattering - one of those times where you don't know whether to laugh or cry.
(Photo attached)
YALLOURN CHURCH OF ENGLAND CHOIR
I can identify only a few of the other individuals here: Graham Lynch (1953) is the boy at the left hand end of the front row. Jennifer Reid (1953) - tall fair-haired girl second from the left hand end of the second row. The person to Jennifer's left is Noni Bollen (1953.) I think this is right - how could I have forgotten?! For some reason I'm not sure now that this is she. I seem too, to remember that she had longer frizzed hair (at least in one particular school photo of her.) Judith Wallace (1952) is the fourth from the left hand end of the second row. Jenny Scott (1953) is third from the right hand end of the second row. Leslie Lynch (1950) is the tall girl at the left hand end of the second row from the back. Rosemary ("Buddy") Wallace (1950) is second from the RH end of that same row...and choir master Mr. Bailey.
This photo essentially has been my only contact with Yallourn since I left there in 1955. Additional names that I remember from my class are: Tom Doxford (brother of Sandra Doxford, 1954), Peter Slingsby (who was from Morwell), John Sparrow, Wayne Atkins (killed in an accident in Hobart in the 60's or 70's), and Gordon Ekins