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John Gardiner MLA gave a brief reply. He expressed his gratitude at the large turnout, which had given the lie to those who claimed that a school at Princes Hill would be a ‘white elephant’. He thanked all those who had supported him in his campaign to have the school established. He was followed by Mr Leonard MLA, who echoed Robertson’s call for more truant officers. The official function over, fifty of the ‘gentlemen’ present were invited to lunch in the school building as guests of the Carlton Board of Advice.’ 1 The assembled children were let off for the rest of the day. No doubt many were grateful for the chance to go home and warm their hands by the fire.
Many things have changed since that day. The Arnold Street site, somewhat enlarged, now houses a secondary college rather than an elementary school, and no trace re- mains of the old red-brick building, which was destroyed by fire in 1970. To construct the new building, private architects Daryl Jackson and Evan Walker had an apparently simple brief: one million dollars; one acre of land; one year to complete the project.2 A second round of festivities marked the opening of that new building on Sunday 4 November 1973 by the Honourable Lindsay Thompson, Minister of Education under Rupert Hamer. Again, proud dignitaries delivered speeches of congratulation.
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