Richard Sullivan YHS 1956 29/7/05 - I was born in Yallourn; my family lived at 29 Strzelecki Rd. After spending my professional life in Education, I am now working as a printmaker. One of my current projects is to do series of prints of my memories of growing up & living in Yallourn. I felt so dismayed & annoyed when I stood recently at the observation site at (what is now) the bottom of Coach Rd trying to imagine the place I know (?) as Yallourn & realising (as Meredith Fletcher points out in her book) that there is no commemoration of Yallourn at this site (or anywhere in the area). Rather, there is a plaque noting where Herne's Oak was! Anyway, I am seeking photos of the Works & the township. I am particularly interested in the statue that was at the 'picture theatre/Church of England end of the town square - the shape on the face of this piece of (what I remember as) pinkish marble has stayed with me for years, & I think I want to make it a central part of one of my prints. So I would appreciate it if you point me in the direction of finding out more about this piece of public sculpture. I need a photo which shows the relief figures on the faces. I went to YHS from 1956 to 62 after attending YPS. I remember walking past Jimmy Carlisle's house on my way to school. I was in the era of George Ellis & his successor who came from Mornington HS. I, like Peter Wallace & others (eg Geoff Hannon, Greg Wernert), have very fond memories of Val Pyers & his cohort (eg. Jim Dooley, Johnny Tremain) & Dizzy Dyall. I met Val earlier this year at a performance of Sculthorpe's Requiem in Castlemaine for the first time since leaving school. I (too) thanked him for introducing me to music & theatre. He brushed these thanks aside with what I remember as his typical modesty. I remember being in the chorus of three G&S operas (Mikado, The Yeomen of the Guard & Iolanthe), Toad of Toad Hall, various choirs & the Mixed Ensemble that competed at the Dandenong competitions. One of my earliest memories of YHS is going with the school to the Olympic games at the MCG in 1956 and seeing Betty Cuthbert win. As well as these fond memories I recall the culture of the school as being typical of the times (ie tending to be structured & authoritarian) and, indeed, a preview of what many of my colleagues in education thought was a 'good' school in the latter part of the 20th & the early part of the 21st century. I'm very interested in the idea of 'place' & the culture of the place (Yallourn) as I and others remember it (it seems to me that there are many interpretations here) & how this culture is related to our personal worldviews as we get older.
Ah, the vagaries of memory - I think, upon reflection, that it should have been 'Princess Ida' rather than 'Yeomen of the Guard' that I remember being in the chorus of - 'tan-tan-ta-ra' and all that. My correspondence with you has activated further memories of teachers at YHS; Graeme Bartle in Y8 playing a scratchy record of Peer Gynt (In the Hall of the Mountain King) - his enthusiasm leading me into the magic of the connection between the music & his narrative. Likewise, the feisty Jack Collins in Y11 Literature working at us to extend our imaginations and our concepts of what it means to be human. Chris Worrell for modelling ways that people could deal with each other outside rigid structures while nevertheless operating within them. I spent my professional life involved in mathematics education and school curriculum - I find myself reflecting on how my teachers at YPS & YHS have influenced my beliefs and values about teaching and learning - for instance, 'Polly' Parsons with her emphasis on rigour and the structure of mathematics would be highly valued in the academic schools of today, while Dizzy Dyall had, I think, great insights into how youngsters might learn mathematics. I don't mind you using my vague reminiscences in your newsletter. Greg Wernert’s story would be an interesting one to share with your readers - how a CSIRO chemist became a composer of publicly performed music in the later part of his life. I wonder how much the 'coal dust' of Yallourn has and is affecting us as we mature? Richard Sullivan