The Hirsute and the Hopeful: The forever young from 40 years past
HIRSUTE AND HOPEFUL
A few fading photographs have surfaced from the mid-70s. I count myself lucky to have attended school with the people in these pics. They were a supportive group to grow up with.
We were the second year-group in a new, public high school in a regional NSW town. This was the post-Vietnam war era with a change of government from decades of conservative rule to a reforming labor government of the remarkable Gough Whitlam. Many of the people (including me) in these pics would be the first in their family to go onto tertiary education thanks to the big changes to higher education introduced by the Whitlam Government. They were heady days with a lot of social and economic change which has had long lasting benefits to Australians.
The previous generation had been through the Great Depression and World War II, whereas we finished school in an era of expanding choice and opportunity. So we were the lucky lot.
You can see this in photos. There we are bright-eyed, full of hope and very hirsute.
The reunion will enable us to share a few stories about the affects the intervening forty years have had.
My guess is that we will all be less hirsute but no less hopeful! There something about my school friends which makes them seem forever young.
The New England region representative basketball team which I was selected for and played in New South Wales state titles. I was in there to represent short people and play point guard.In the 70's, cycling wasn't a sport or activity many people did in the region. Team sports, especially rugby league and cricket were very popular and well supported by school and community.Smiling in team photos was strongly discouraged.
My final high school year English class. We had to study English even if we had no intention of travelling to England.Smiling was encouraged in class photos.
Photo credit: Anton Maerz. A few of my closest school friends in the senior students' common room in 1974. We've managed to contact most of them and about half of the group will be at the reunion.
Photo credit: Anton Maerz. I rarely cycled during my school years. Basketball was my sport of choice in an era and area where rugby league and cricket were the most popular sports.
Photo credit: Anton Maerz. A rare moment of focus and concentration as we finally beat Tamworth High School in something.Number 7 from THS is Steve Fishenden who went on to play for Australia in rugby league. My team-mate number 10 is Rod Ambrose who is clearly surprised that I haven't fumbled the ball like I usually did.Observant readers will see that it was through basketball that I learned how to lean into corners on my touring bicycle.And for those of you who are wondering, the shorts I was wearing are red satin. Red shorts go faster. Same physics as bikes.
