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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.

PIONEERS OF MOE, YALLOURN AND MORWELL

Doug Farley YHS 1953 - wrote - “When I started school at Yallourn High in 1953, I had no idea that my great, great grandfather, William Robert Farley, originally owned all of our school site. In fact, he was the squatter on the old Merton Rush Run which was approx 24,000 acres and its borders were the LaTrobe River, the Narracan River, the Morwell River and the Wilderness Creek towards Yinnar and therefore took in all of Yallourn. So when I started at Yallourn it was exactly 101 years since he acquired the run.

Beanland Families in Yallourn 1932 to 1965

Barbara Godfrey (Comber) YHS 1942 - recently returned from Portschach, Austria where she played in the International team for over 75-year old tennis players in the "Friendship Cup", which is played against a team from America. Barbara writes: "The International team were from Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Mexico & New Zealand. We had to play 3 set matches, singles and doubles. It was fantastic tennis as I discovered all of the American team members and 5 of our team members play all year singles and doubles every month all over the world and they go to a gym 4-5 times a week.

Arthur Hugh Bland I’ll try to be brief for, at 78, I am inclined to ramble, especially about the old days. My deep interests are not always entertaining to others. To begin at the beginning is always a good place….so Strzelecki Road is the place to start. My Aunts, Eunice Herbert and Muriel Herbert had a house there – I think number 3 from the corner. It was right at the top of the town and backed onto the bush. The neighbours were Mr & Mrs Law on the left, and Mr & Mrs Rainbow on the right. Mrs Rainbow just passed away recently at the age of 101.

Alex McAllister (YHS 1935) came all the way over from WA for the reunion last March at Woorabinda.

He wrote: "I tried to catch your eye at the reunion but every time I looked, you were completely surrounded and appeared extremely involved. I was the only male of my year there, but I did meet with Myrtle O'Neill (Hattam) and her sister Jean Fox (Hattam), Eileen Mitchell (Kerr), Marg Ebsworth who was in the year below and Enid Mills, who was in the year above.

Yvonne Spencer (Spratling) YHS 1942 - I was born in the Morwell Hospital as the Yallourn Hospital had not been built. I was also in the Sale Hospital with Scarlet Fever when there was an epidemic. We lived in The Angles and later in Fairfield Ave. My father worked with the SEC, my two older sisters Beryl & Coral Spratling also went to YHS. We were good friends of Albert & Mona Law. I remember swimming in the Latrobe River and visiting friends in the Haunted Hills. I was too small to remember their names. I remember Dr Anderson and the lovely town.

Valda (Toots) Krueger (YHS 1956) and husband, Hasso, had sold their house in Dandenong and with their 4WD and caravan went up north NSW to buy - but finally realised that family and friends were more important than position and now live back in Melbourne...they'll still be heading off north for the winters. Valda previously wrote some memories about the house swimming sports at school and just how good they were in Mawson (that's only Valda's opinion folks), especially with Lois Gust on their team. Valda goes on to say "one carnival at the old pool - it was freezing cold.

Steve Gray YHS 1970 - Dear YOGA Members, I have received a few copies of the newsletters now and delight in some of the stories, especially when I can relate to the places, events and 'things' people remember. One of the stories recently mentioned the fruit trees in back yards. This sent my memory bank into overload and the further mention of 'sore tummies' really clinched it!

Stefan Tomasz YHS 1957 - I was interested by a contribution from Robin Bavinton (Class of '58) in the June Newsletter. He struck a chord with me over two of his memories. The first was the rough and tumble game he called "Donkey". For years and years I always remembered it has "Horse and Jockey". Certainly, in this political correct era, schools could no longer allow such a "game" to take place. As I remember it, the event did take place near the incinerators (mainly at lunch time).

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).

Peter Hutchinson YHS 1969 - Brigadier Peter Hutchinson was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in the Queen's Birthday Honors in June 05. His award was for distinguished command and leadership in the Middle-East Area of Operations as the Commander, Joint Task Force 633 during Operation Catalyst in 2004. Peter joined the army at Duntroon Military College 30 years ago after graduating from YHS in 1974. He is currently director General Infrastructure Asset Development for the Dept of Defence based in Canberra.

Graeme Kitney YHS 1950: I particularly liked the article submitted by Peter Wallace, an old class mate, as it was only a couple of months ago that we were wondering what had happened to him. I was saddened to read in his article that both Don Munro and John Sundquist had died as they were close friends while we were at school. On a brighter note, I phoned May Hill last week, who I think is our "Senior Member". May has been back home for some time now after spending around 18 months at her daughter's house in Canberra, recovering from a broken hip.

Geoff Esler YHS 1944 - Even when I was a child on a Closer Settlement Block at Callignee Sth, I was aware of the existence of Yallourn, the lights of which were visible from many places in the hills. Of course, I did not then dream of my future association of the place the district children then referred to as "You Learn at Yallourn". Living in an area that depended on kerosene lamps and wood-burning stoves, I had no inkling of the dependence of most of the country on electric power.

Ernie Jeffrey YHS 1949 Wrote: I transferred from Devonport State High School in Tasmania to Yallourn High School in October 1949 as my father, an excavator driver, followed his work to Morwell at the start of the Open Cut Coal Mine. Devonport High School was very similar to English Grammar Schools with the rules and regulations of dress code, manner, and how you presented yourself in the school ground and public places. My mother enrolled me at YHS with the Principle, who I think was Mr Pullen, whilst Mr Finlayson was the Head Master.

Betty Jenkin (Veitch) YHS 1953 Congratulations once again on an excellent YOGA Newsletter. I did enjoy it. Could you please pass on two messages for me: 1. To - Judith Dolan (Dickson) on Page 6. Dear Judith, I was delighted to see the photo of the YHS Choir. I never had that one. However, I am in the back row, third from the left, just behind Jenny Scott. My name was Betty Veitch. The first of the G&S shows that we did was "The Pirates of Penzance". I was in the Chorus. I was in third form at the time.

Lachlan McPherson YHS 1962 : We get the Swimming Pool. My family moved to Yallourn in 1955, after spending the preceding years in leafy Kew in Melbourne's inner east. It was here that I first found out that I couldn't swim. At the ripe age of three, I thought I could, and jumped into the deep end of the Kew pool. Dragged out by lifesavers. (Pity, some would say, could've saved us a lot of bother later). To Yallourn. Beck's Bridge on the Latrobe. Yep, straight in again. Hauled out again. (Pity, again). It happened on a regular basis. (Pity again and again).