Macrob Girls Reflect On Classes In The Drawing Room
The Age
Saturday November 11, 2006
FORMER hospital matron Joan Wicks was at a nurses' function this year when she struck up a conversation with Jan de Kretser, wife of the new Victorian governor. "I asked her what did she think of her new home and she went into raptures about it, especially the ballroom."
Mrs Wicks then shared her own "bad memories" of the state ballroom during the 1930s when it served as a classroom. "I told her, 'I was caught talking (to a schoolmate) and the two of us had to go up and sing the Latin school song from the platform'."The 91-year-old's recollection of school days was one of many stories shared yesterday at Government House during the launch of a history of MacRobertson Girls High School, which traces its origins to Victoria's first state secondary school in 1905.Written by historian Pauline Parker, The Making of Women shares the experiences of "old girls" from the school's days as part of the co-educational Melbourne Continuation School in Spring Street - now home to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons - to its current home on Kings Way.The boys left the Spring Street building in 1927 for the Melbourne Boys High School in South Yarra, while the girls remained at the site in less than ideal conditions. After the building was condemned in 1930, the girls moved to Government House, which was vacant during the Depression. Marie Haines, 91, remembers English class in the drawing room, maths in the dining room and assemblies and socials in the ballroom. "We were senior girls in those days, and we had fun here."In launching the book, Victorian Governor David de Kretser said the Government was criticised for using "such a prestigious site" for a girls' school. He said prestige did not necessarily equal comfort.The school became MacRobertson Girls in 1934 after chocolate manufacturer and philanthropist Sir MacPherson Robertson donated #40,000 to build the school, the state's only selective state school for girls. It has a reputation for academic excellence, and past students include Family Court judge Sally Brown, and former Young Australian of the Year Tan Le.School captain Ellie Kulas says wherever you go, you'll bump into a old girl. One of her most memorable encounters was chatting to a woman at the train station, and discovering she attended the school 70 years ago and was even in the same house. "It's nice to see that there's continuity to the school and its traditions," the 18-year-old said. "There's sort of a sisterhood feeling - it's good to feel a part of something that's bigger than this year."LINK www.macrob.vic.edu.au
© 2006 The Age