Notes#4In September 1889, Acting Head Teacher Rowe was provided with a handful of licensed teachers and pupil teachers to cope with the anticipated 300 enrolments at Princes Hill. In February 1890, Acting Head Teacher Moore’s request for another pupil teacher was refused: the school would not get extra staff, he was informed, until the student body numbered 300.1 The Department ignored the fact that enrolments at Princes Hill already exceeded that level. Russell, Robinson, Skewes, Sebire, Mylrea, Bryant, Hart and the Head Teachers who followed were all bedevilled by the responsibility of maintaining adequate staff levels: too few teachers were allocated by the Department, there was daily absenteeism, replacements were often inadequate or inexperienced. Too often, there were mass departures of both qualified teachers and trainees.2 The problem of staff turnover was exacerbated by the Education Department’s insistence that female teachers resign when they married. As a result, many experienced and able teachers were lost to the service just as they were coming into their prime.
...
In the Central School, Mr Mutimer’s teaching skill with form 2 maths was demanding but inspiring.95 Mr Pocock . was another brilliant teacher and excellent organiser, although he never bothered to complete his degree.9" 96 Some teachers became the objects of young infatuations, such as Miss Cook who taught grade 4 in the l940s,97 and Lois King who taught high school geography,98 and Tony Knight, the charismatic physical education teacher.
In the primary school, Emily Miller succeeded her close friend Marion Walker as Infant Mistress. She is described as using the football umpire’s whistle more effectively than the strap had been used in earlier days.99 John Chambers was another eccentric but inspiring teacher. In the late 1950s, he drove a racy sports car, played his yellow transistor during class and a wind instrument while children sat tests, taught grade 6 and coached the football team.100
The high school had its contingent of characters too. Tony Knight not only broke hearts but invigorated the school’s sporting reputation, and the fibre fibre of the school in general. His interests sparked off student activities in many fieldsfields, from the jazz club to the hiking enthusiasts. ‘O’ 101 John Ireland’s sensitivity and accessibility to whatever problems students had, whether academic or personal, endeared him to many. The hiking expeditions he organised with Tony Knight are fondly remembered, as are the ‘sex education’ talks he delivered.102 Peter Stapelton seemed fragile, but his resolve and humour were strong. Emile Hamer’s Dutch stubbornness exasperated his fellow teachers, but his love of scholarship and breadth of learning has inspired many students. Nancy Weiner and Billy Murdoch, an ex-student of Princes Hill High School, rejuvenated the school’s theatrical spirit. Murdoch’s revues, ‘Princes Hill is Burning Down’ and ‘Have a ’Wunderbar’’, helped students laugh through the bad days. John Thurgood, with his deep caring for children, was killed in an automobile accident on his way back to Melbourne from his beloved Mirimbah.
The Infant Room, Arnold Street, 1903. Children sat in forms which were arranged on ascending platforms
...