The introduction in the mid-1920s of the super-primary system of education was a boon to many families at the time. High schools, the traditional next step after primary grade 7, were sparse and widely scattered and with an indifferent transport system, many families faced with the post World War I economic situation, found it difficult to provide the means for their children’s further education at those schools.

The new super-primary schools, to be known as central schools, overcame some of this problem as they were generally situated on main arterial roads. such as Goodwood on Goodwood Road, Nailsworth on Main North Road and Le Fevre’s Peninsula at Port Adelaide, Living at Colonel Light Gardens at the time it was most convenient for me as there was, in 1926, a reasonably adequate bus service, its route including the whole length of Goodwood Road. This transport service was later vastly improved by the extension of the electric tram service from the then Clarence Park terminus. While I was there the head teacher was Mr Walter Hutson.

The education system was generally an extension of the primary school’s curriculum with a higher standard of English, introducing studies of classic literary works, poetry and Shakespeare’s plays, and of arithmetic. The latter even into the third year did not reach the high school standard which led to the Intermediate and Leaving examinations. In the same time scale. history and geography were also included. But emphasis was placed on the artisan fields and consequently, for the boys, generous time was allocated for tuition in the trades of woodwork, sheetmetal work and various types of drawing, including geometry and show card lettering.

It was intended that these courses would provide an adequate groundwork for those who contemplated a career in those trades through an apprenticeship. The various instructors were very proficient having been especially recruited from their trades and those I recall were Mr W.W. Wiles in charge of metalwork classes, Mr Bill Fyfe was a competent instructor in woodwork and Mr Joe Choate was an experienced drawing teacher.

The courses were for a maximum three years, taking in grades 8, 9, and 10 and, as may be expected, the complement of grades 9 and 10 suffered by attrition for various reasons that included the necessity for economic reasons (we were on the brink of the Great Depression) for the early entry of the children into the work force. This happened in the case of my two brothers and a sister.

Many others had embarked on the course because they were constrained by the compulsory School Leaving Age Act of the time. Consequently they departed from the school system as soon as their age permitted it. The same proviso probably influenced the teaching staff in realising a certain futility in promoting intensive study in any subject as I cannot recall whether we had annual examinations – we probably did not. I believe my own experience was unique in that I had an ambition for which I received valuable encouragement and assistance from at least two teaching staff members.

This is not a condemnation of the staff of the time as its members were victims of circumstances and were responsible for imparting knowledge to classes of 40 students or more. I can attest to the fact that some facts and principles did filter through as my appreciation of English literature and grammar began in my three years at Goodwood. I remember we read several classics, for example Silas Marner, although I’m afraid many were left behind, and we also attempted some Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our main poetry authority was the Chilswell Anthology of English Poetry and I believe a copy is still with my family.

Geography lessons also had an impact on me which imbued in me a desire for world travel although I had to wait until late in life to accomplish this ambition. Coincident with this were the basic English history sessions which gave us an insight into the background of the forebears of most of us.

Arithmetic continued to be reasonably basic although we did get the fundamentals of algebra. But plane geometry (Euclid) was not known which was unfortunate, particularly in my case, as it was an essential adjunct to my burgeoning career.

The Student’s Report (Education Department No. /VG 2D), which catered for three years, included in its advice to parents that ‘During the second half of the second year course the student will be registered under the Vocational Guidance Scheme of the Education Department and …’ And ‘On the satisfactory completion of the Two-Year Course the student will be registered, if so desired, for Placement; or he/she may continue with a further course of study at the school.’

As I recall, the principle was that all students attended all the classes in Grades 8 and 9, but in Grade 10 they were permitted to specialise in one of the three artisan classes. These students were then able to spend as much as two and a half days a week in their chosen classes and, for my part, I elected to take drawing as my main subject having some latent ability in that field.

At the time I had in mind a career in architecture and to this end I had the assistance of the woodwork teacher (Mr W. Fyfe) who had the text books which he had used in a Building Drawing Certificate course which provided me with an introduction to architectural principles. But this was to be in vain as the conditions of an architectural cadetship required as a minimum the Intermediate Certificate which was not included in the curriculum of the central schools’ system.

Nevertheless, the early training received in this manner was of great assistance in my eventual career which commenced with an apprenticeship in fitting and turning with the South Australian Railways and, after only three years, I was transferred to the Locomotive Drawing Office. This culminated in 1951 with my appointment to the Commonwealth Railways (now known as Australian National) as its design engineer. I held this position for the last 22 years of my railway design involvement until my retirement in 1973 after 44 years. Perhaps the highlight of my career was the responsibility for the overall design and layout for the famous Indian-Pacific Passenger Train.

The central schools’ system also catered similarly for the girls and my wife was a student at the Nailsworth Girls Central School. The syllabus for the girls was arranged broadly into two sections, home science and commercial apart from the necessary fundamentals in English, history, geography, arithmetic and drawing. The specialist subjects in home science included hygiene, needlework, applied art, dressmaking, millinery, cookery, laundering and home management. The alternative commercial subjects were business practice, shorthand and typewriting. As a student at Nailsworth my wife in her first year attended regularly in eleven subjects. There were 42 students in the class.

Sports were not forgotten and all schools competed in football, cricket and soccer although facilities for practice were limited. The school buildings were originally designed for primary students and at Goodwood the whole school grounds were in a closely settled built-up area with no opportunity for extension. Lunch and recess time cricket practice was often conducted in the minimal space between the school building and the front fence of Goodwood Road – the school building has since been demolished. Otherwise play was confined to the Goodwood Oval and the South Parklands, neither in what could be called close proximity. Success came the way of Goodwood when its school team won the Central Schools Football Premiership in 1928 on the Adelaide Oval before 40,000 spectators – the game was the curtain-raiser to the SANFL Grand Final. In that year the captain of the State Schoolboys Football Team was a Goodwood student, Mr Arthur A. Radbone, and I was selected in the State Soccer Team.

Eventually the curriculum was extended and the schools became known as junior technical schools of which Thebarton was a forerunner. Adelaide Technical High School was different, being initially attached to the School of Mines – but the original central school scheme provided, for a time, a much-needed avenue for the continuance of the basic educational needs of adolescent children.

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