Looking Back at the Years Spent at Westleigh College

Many decades have passed since I was a pupil at Westleigh College.

After I left in 1960 I went to Canterbury Girls' High School, then to the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Teachers College.

That completed my formal education.

The informal education will stop when I do!

During the years I attended Westleigh I saw so many changes in the world that it would be impossible to enumerate them.

How can one explain that one remembers the baker driving a horse-drawn cart down one's street in order to deliver freshly baked bread?

Not only that but the garbage collector, and the ice-man who brought the ice for one's ice-box also used horse-power, literally.

However, once things began to change they changed rapidly. The 1960's were just beginning.

But before all that happened I had to explain to my class mates about the rye bread and salami sandwiches that were in my lunch box and other social and cutural differences.

This was, of course, just when Australia's large intake of European migrants following World War 2 had started.

None of my class mates had ever seen anything but square white bread before.

Conversely I had never seen or tasted a meat pie or a pastie until I started at Westleigh College.

Migrants back then assimilated. They wanted to be Aussies as soon as was humanly possibly. I even tried a meat pie!

The salami sandwiches were much better! The pasties were quite tolerable. I like them more now than I did back then.

Nowadays one can get such a wonderful variety of food in Melbourne and that is certainly due to immigration policies which helped create great dining experiences and more sophisticated palates.

I could list the changes in housing and architecture, cars, fashion, entertainment and values: all those social and cultural aspects which are apparent to people who have lived through them, but it would be a very long list indeed.

Without a doubt one of the most revolutionary changes has been the internet.

We live in a world of instant communication, 24/7 news, and the ability to research and learn whatever we want and when we want it.

It is the internet that has made this 'blog possible in many, many ways: finding information for starters, posting it, and sharing a piece of Westleigh College's history that was unfortunately destroyed by fire.

This is my recollection of the facts I knew about the school as well as my childhood experiences as a pupil there.

I am hoping that other fellow pupils, who became computer-literate at a somewhat mature age may find this 'blog.

And I am also hoping that anyone interested in the history of Northcote may also find this valuable.

Old Text Books - Part Three

Throughout the grades we used the Whitcombe Readers which sadly are no longer available.

I still remember some of the stories in them, especially the story of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses".

This story was, in fact, published by the Brothers Grimm, and there is another version of it here.

We also used the Victorian State Education Department's other publications for extra reading material.

These were generally known as "The John and Betty" readers.They are archived in the National Library. I still have one of these books - "Playmates".

It goes without saying that language is dynamic!

The first edition of "Playmates", the one I have, is dated 1952.

Old Text Books - Part Two

I still have my Grade 3 Arithemtic book. It was published in 1946!

This was a State School Department publication.

The State School Publishers also published readers and a monthy school paper which we also used as extra reading material.

I have found a reference to the readers, but nothing about the Arithemtic books.

Back then we still used pounds, shillings and pence and other Imperial measurements.

Old Text Books - Part One

The first school reader I can remember was the "Tiny Tot's Primer". It was part of a series of readers published by Whitcomes.

I still have it. I have only been able to find any references to it on sites relating to antique books or libraries. There isn't much around at all.

The design and illustrations are very typical of the 1950's. The readers we had were generally passed down by older siblings, or friends.

I don't recall being wasteful in those days. Consumerism was a word that hadn't come into existence yet.

Some of My Class Mates From 1960

There was no such thing as an official class photograph at Westleigh College when I was there, not even a professional photographer for Speech Night or any other function.

Unfortunately these are the only photographs I have, and it took me quite a long time to find them, even though I was certain they were still in my possession.

Thankfully I persisted with my search.

The photographs posted here are the ones I took with a Kodak Box Camera which I received as a birthday gift from my parents. I suppose I was in grade 5 then, because these pictures were taken in Grade 6.



This first picture (above) is of my friend, Carolyn Palmer who had beautiful curly red hair and a great sense of humour..

This is Jennifer Walker.

For a very short time we both went to the same ballet school. I didn't stay there very long: it was quite an ordeal going into the city of Melbourne from Northcote, and then traveling home to Hawthorn by public transport when it was dark.

Here is another picture showing Jennifer and Carolyn.

On the right is Elana Braianis who was a very talented dancer and singer.

Like myself, Elana had an older sister at Westleigh College.

This photograph shows Leonie Eastman, Jennifer and Elana.



Fortunately I had written all the names of the girls on the back of each photograph so I know that in the bottom row - seated - we have Leonie, Jennifer, Elana and Marilyn Richards.


The girls standing are Anna Hansen, Pauline Amos, Rosalyn "Pippa" Law and Carolyn Palmer.


Unfortunately I never handed the camera to any one of my classmates to get a photograph of myself!

I have no idea how I looked in my school uniform back then. That may be a good thing.

Most of these girls started when I did, in 1954, although a few came later.

I have not had any contact with any of these girls since 1960.

Perhaps I should register here and see if that helps?

Speech Night

Speech Night at Westleigh College was the grand climax of the school year.

It occurred just before we broke up for the Christmas holidays and it was always held at the Northcote Town Hall.

We always wore our usual school uniform with white socks, not tan socks.

It was the one time all the teachers dressed up, maybe had their hair done, and wore some makeup.

It was also a time when all the parents, including fathers, generally made an appearance.

The main purpose of Speech Night was, I think, to reward outstanding pupils in all the fields taught: both academic and sport.

As well as that it gave Miss Clarice a chance to give a review of the school to all involved.

Yes, there were actually speeches!

I don't recall Miss Lillian Everard or Matron ever giving a speech, however.

The speeches and award presentations happened at the end.

Before speech time the parents were treated to seeing their daughters sing the songs Madame Northcote had taught them, and also the routines Miss Vera Hopton had prepared the girls to do.

After a lot of rehearsals the standard was very high.

This was done on a class by class basic.

It was not uncommon for solo performances also. Since so many of the girls were ballet and dance students there were always a few of these routines as well.

Many of the girls attended the May Downs' school which used to be in Burke Street back then. It's still going to this day.

I think I enjoyed these the most.

When all the performances were over the stage was set for the speeches and awards.

As well as a speech from Miss Clarice we usually also heard a speech by the then Mayor of Northcote, who, as far as I can recall, was a Mr Batrouney.

Books were usually rewarded to whoever reached the highest academic level for each grade and small silver trophies were awarded to the athletes and swimmers who had shone that year.

The books had a a presentation certificate pasted inside the cover, as shown above.

This was signed by Miss Lillian Everard and Miss Clarice. A book with a certificate is still in my possession.

A large trophy was awarded to the winning House: either Westgarth or Thornton.

I recall Westgarth almost always won.

Considering the size of the school there was quite a lot of talent there!

Knitting, Sewing and Such - Part Three

                                                                   

I left Westleigh College when I completed grade 6. It seemed a good idea to start the high school levels from form 1.

My sister and I both left in 1960: by then she was already in the high school levels which possibly stopped at form 3, or maybe even 4.

Miss Clarice did not hide her displeasure when my mother informed her we would be leaving the school.

In fact, many of my original classmates had been leaving during my time there. The numbers were diminishing slowly as mentioned here.

This decision was also influenced by the fact that my family had moved from Preston to Hawthorn, and the commuting was not as easy as it had been when we lived closer to the school.

Fortunately there was another family who lived in Hawthorn and they were able to drive us to and from Westleigh most of the time.

One appreciates a good turn, but one doesn't often like to be beholden to anyone either.

Sometimes we went on public transport and that involved two trams and a bus. It seemed like an incredibly long trip!

I am quite sure Miss Clarice played a large role in organising this arrangement with the other family.

She really tried so hard to keep the school going and also to keep it relevant in such changing times. The '60's were fast approaching.

Possibly my biggest regret with regard to leaving was missing out on weaving, and not seeing my friends any more.

The school had several 4-shaft looms and this was something I was really looking forward to attempting.

I had seen the senior girls weave some very beautiful tartan scarves. This was not a very simple skill, but it was very rewarding as well as being an unusal craft in those days and it still is, although a lot of old crafts are enjoying a resurgence nowadays.

It also looked like a lot of fun to me!

I was very impressed with some of the efforts which were not unlike the one here.

My sister made a scarf on the loom. Her's was not exactly tartan but a plaid pattern of light blue and white. Many of the other girls also did a two-colour scarf, rather than a complicated tartan pattern.


Setting up the loom was time-consuming and very frustrating, especially if the yarn broke. I saw this happen several times. It makes one appreciate just how difficult, and expensive, a hand-woven item can be, and why it sometimes has knots in it.


Overall, in hindsight, I was lucky to have left when I did for quite a variety of reasons.

The video clip above shows a similar loom.

Knitting, Sewing and Such - Part Two

One of the things Matron taught us to do that I really enjoyed was simple tapestries.

These were generally small, and we used embroidery thread, not wool.


They were done with a single slanted stitch, but the more senior girls made a tapestry evening bag using the cross, or double, stitch.

These were then sent off to a finisher who added a gusset, and the frame with the clasp, although some people finished their own.

I think my sister still has her unfinished bag but we haven't found it as yet! It was too nice to get rid of.

Surprisingly I still have two tapestries I made and I think I was in grade 3 at the time.

(One of them is above).

They should have been placed in a picture frame but that never happened. Maybe, one day,,,,,

I still like doing tapestries, but have not done one for many years.

Knitting, Sewing and Such - Part One

Matron's main teaching task at Westleigh College was to teach us knitting, sewing and weaving.

Each grade knew what they would be doing each year as the tasks required progressed as we advanced through the levels. They were the same for all the years I spent there. Nothing changed much in the entire curriculum.


The very first thing we learned was how to make what Matron called a "pigtail" using a cotton reel.

This is technically called a Knitting Nancy. We started off with a reasonably sized cotton reel that had four nails hammered in at the top. Matron would cast on four stitches and do a couple of rows and then we would continue until she said we had done enough.

These were done with colour changes as well as it helped use up scraps of yarn. When they were long enough they were stitched onto a piece of felt, in a coil shape, and became a not-so-safe pot holder. I doubt any of them were ever used: at least not for holding pots!

In any case we enjoyed making them and certainly felt a sense of achievement.


Usually the next task was knitting a pair of bed socks which essentially amounted to using one knitting stitch to produce two squares, sew them up, and thread a draw-string near the top so that they could be tightened around the foot. Pom-poms were added to the draw-string as they looked a lot better with them.

This was simple enough for most of us to do and it paved the way for knitting more complex things like a baby's singlet, booties, a tea cosy and eventually a jumper. Many of the more complex items were finished by my mother or my aunt, thankfully.

I don't think I had very much success with any of the later tasks, but I still knit simple things.
I haven't made a "Knitting Nancy" item since way back then!

We also learned simple embroidery stitches and plain hand-sewing stitches like how to sew a hem. These were used to complete a tea-towel. The linen was bought by the yard, hemmed and then we embroidered a tea-cup motif on it.

As we improved we handled harder items like doylies. Most were simpler than the one pictured. I have made a few since then so I suppose Matron taught the basics well.


Of course it would be remiss of me to not mention the fact that some similar projects were tackled later when I went to High School.


We also used our embroidery and sewing skills to make a stuffed felt toy. The one pictured is a good example.

This was very definitely not my favourite project!

A Not - So -Typical Day

Historically the most a-typical day during my time at Westleigh College was when Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11, visited Australia.

She had had her Coronation on June 2nd, 1953 and then embarked on a tour of the Commonwealth.

This trip included places like Bermuda, Jamaica, Uganda, New Zealand and Australia to list just a few.

Her schedule included Melbourne and it also included tours down many suburban streets, including High Street Northcote, so that school children could see their new Sovereign.

It generated a lot of excitement as the only mass-media covering this event was radio, the press and newsreels that were shown at the cinema later. No television as yet!

For this occasion we had to look as perfect as possible as we were going to be lined up in High Street opposite the Northcote Town Hall.

We were asked to bring a pair of clean white socks to change into just minutes before the event: not the usual tan ones.

We were helped to get ready by our teachers and were also given a small plastic or paper Union Jack to wave as the Queen drove by.

We walked down James Street to High Street and took our places. A large black car drove by and stopped just a few feet away from where I was standing.

The Queen and Prince Philip got out of the car and our head-prefect curtseyed, and presented her with a bouquet of flowers that were bound by pink and green ribbons: our school colours. There were miniature silver school badges on each ribbon. A nice touch!

I recall vividly how the Queen looked. She wore emerald green. Her hat and coat were a perfect match. She seemed to be wearing a lot of face powder and pink lipstick. She looked very pretty and I think she made a huge impression on all of us! I suppose it had the same impact as a visit by Princess Diana would have several decades later.

The Royal Family was very big news then. There probably weren't many little girls who didn't have dolls dressed as the Queen, or as her daughter, Princess Anne.


Almost everyone I knew had a picture book relating to the Royal Family. I still have two of them. Sadly the dolls are no longer in my possession.

The pupils were all excited and happy and Miss Clarice really seemed delighted and proud of us all.


Queen Elizabeth II Becomes Britain's Longest-Serving Monarch

A Typical Day

Since I had an older sister I was at the school daily for two years before I actually became a pupil at Westleigh College.

My mother would take both of us and pick us up at the end of the day until she considered us old enough to go by ourselves.

In the very early fifties I recall there were still doubledecker buses that went along High Street from Preston, to Northcote and into the City of Melbourne.

They were green and yellow, as were the other buses and trams back then, and some still are!

I only recall one trip on a double-decker bus. I was quite disappointed when they took them out of service and replaced them with a single-decker bus, and then eventually with trams.

For a short time there were also "pram buses".These literally shadowed the other buses but not in the same ratio.

Since it was very much the era of the post-war baby boom it was necessary to have buses to accomodate all the young mothers with their prams.

Very few, if any young mothers drove cars back then so public transport was about the only option, and road traffic was light.

We would walk from our home near St George's Road in Preston to the bus stop in High Street. We passed through Croxton and Thornbury until we reached the closest stop to James Street, Northcote where the school was located.

Further historical information can be found here, and this link has an excellent map and additional information.

After a day of learning and social interaction with class mates we would go home with our mother.

Sometimes we would walk down to Separation Street, rather than catching the bus at the Northcote Townhall.

This was always a bit of a treat as we often went to the Junior Shop for additonal clothes and items of school uniform, or we were bought a cake or some sweets from the local cake shops or milk bars.

Cream horns and eclairs were very much a favourite from the Dutch bakery. Amazingly I am now friends with the daughter of the people who made these excellent treats!

The local newsagency was a great source of pens, pencils and other essential school stationery items. We often looked longlingly in the window at the box of 72 Derwent pencils until the day we were given them for our respective birthdays.

I recall there was a Woolworths shop on the corner of Separation Street and High Street, but it was nothing like any Woolworths store today. We still enjoyed going to it, and we also enjoyed going to the Coles shop in Preston which was located just where our bus stopped. Both shops sold just about everything from clothes to stationery and personal items like cosmetics.

There was no self-service, or check-outs back then. That was the main difference. Self-service supermarkets came into being in the later part of the 1950's.

Most of the cheaper items were made in Japan, not China like they are today.

Although we used the High Street buses for many years they were eventually replaced by trams that looked like this one.

When we arrived home we usually changed out of our uniform and went out to play with the other children in the street. No television as yet so we had to create our own entertainment.

Some of us had bikes, roller skates and scooters but generally we went to the park in St George's Road to use the swings, monkey bar and slide.

Needless to say very few of us were overweight from sitting too much!

This all began to change when the first neighbour got a television set in 1956, just in time for the Melbourne Olympic Games.

The temptation of a small black and white television set a few doors away was quite irresistible for both the neighbourhood kids and their parents.

I am quite sure the owners of the first television sets had a few regrets! No one ever wanted to go home.