Peter Emmett

1942 – I think this was Mr Hilbig’s first year at Goodwood. He was only a small but energetic man with a high-pitched voice yet he was able to control and command the respect of most, if not all the teachers and students. These were the years during the World War II when class sizes were between 30 and 40 and resources were in short supply.

Mr Crowe was in charge of the metalworking department where the students turned sheets of tin-plated and galvanised steel into things like lunch boxes, pannikins, funnels, dippers and dustpans. Most of this work was done by hand without the aid of power tools. Copper kettles and other copper articles were made from old copper wash boilers and the best ones were sold through the Schools Patriotic Fund (SPF) to raise money for the war effort.

Mr Dunn was in charge of the woodwork department where students turned various types of timbers into many useful items like bread boards, laminated pot mats, round rulers – all items being designed to teach and test the ability of the student by using hand tools. I was fortunate to have such good trade teachers as Mr Crowe and Mr Dunn.

The now well known artist Jeffrey Smart was our art and music teacher during the time I was there. He incorporated music appreciation into the art lessons. I remember him playing records of the more popular classical music such as the Nut Cracker Suite. As we now realise he was very keen on teaching art as well as painting on his own account. He would have been one of the youngest members of the teaching staff (born in 1921) and as such was inclined sometimes to be one of the ‘lads’.

Mr Schuetz was the physical education teacher who had us doing all types of exercises to get and keep us fit. Mr Bone was a teacher who taught a number of subjects, among them geometrical drawing. He had a ‘Standard Tourer’ motor car with a gas producer mounted on the back which he had to light up before he could head off home as petrol was rationed at this time.

Mr Green was another teacher who also taught a number of subjects but specialised in science and chemistry. Mr MacLean’s main subject was English but, as it was with most teachers in those days, they were able to teach other subjects.

There were other teachers who I only vaguely remember such as Mr Hoare, Mr Ey, Mr Payne, Mr Hyde, Mr McConnell, Mr Phillips and Mr Williams.

During this time a large red brick building was built in the school grounds (since demolished). This was known as the Commonwealth Building and was used to train servicemen in an engineering trade for wartime duties.

As Japan ventured closer to Australia we were allocated to various houses around the district in case of an air raid. Considering the problems that the war years brought with teacher shortages, as young teachers had enlisted, and limited resources (for example, using old copper wash boilers instead of new copper sheet), we had quite a bit of respect for the headmaster and his teaching staff who enabled the school to turn out students at Intermediate Certificate level for a trade or at Leaving Certificate level for higher education. I received a credit for sheetmetal work in my final year.

Being a person who mainly works with his hands I think the schooling in a technical school gave me a good grounding for a career in the electrical engineering trade as I have spent most of my life working in this field.

Various trees were planted in the school grounds to complement the woodwork studies – they are still there today. There were gardening periods to help maintain the trees and planted areas. ‘Emu Parades’ to clean up the school grounds. Students were responsible for bringing in the firewood for the open fires in the class rooms during winter.

School sports’ days were held on the Unley Oval, with swimming at the Unley Crystal Pool in Maude Street. The combined Boys Technical Schools swimming carnivals were held in Adelaide at the City Baths, then behind Parliament House. We had to find our own way to these events by bicycle. walking or on the tram which ran through King William Street. Inter-school sports were held in football, tennis, hockey, lacrosse and baseball.

A ‘House system’ was started with the four houses being named for explorers who had some impact on South Australia – Sturt, Barker, Eyre and Flinders. From these the prefects were chosen. School assemblies were held in the school yard with ‘Saluting the Flag’ and a talk by a senior master. Speech night was held in the Australia Hall (now the Royalty Theatre), Angas Street, Adelaide.

A canteen was set up with access from the verandah from where there was a limited selection of rolls, sandwiches, milk and drinks. The wide verandah on the northern side of the school gave shade in the summer and shelter from the rain in winter. As access to class rooms during lunch and recess times was discouraged, in wet weather it became quite crowded.

Weekly ABC music broadcasts to schools were part of the music lessons. Religious instruction was compulsory for the majority of students taken by Anglican, Protestant, Roman Catholic chaplains or ministers. No foreign language classes were taught at the school. Library lessons were formal scheduled lessons. There was no continual access throughout the school day as there is now and there was no school librarian. Each Friday afternoon there were clubs – stamp collecting, chess, music, books, debating – each of which was supervised by a teacher.

I can’t remember any clerical support staff with most of the copying being done by the teachers with a Gestetner. They would often be seen with black ink on their hands. Apart from the class rooms there was a stationery/book room run by the school and staffed by a senior master for the sale of stationery items. Text books were, I think, loaned with a deposit which was refunded on return of the books in good condition. The sports store held sporting equipment including gym mats, hurdles and the ‘gym horse’.

At the end of each year a school magazine was produced with the highlights of the year’s activities, sports teams and photographs. The magazine was called ‘Arunga’. A school uniform (cap, blazer and badge) was available but not compulsory. The colours were brown and gold. The motto for the badge comprised a tree, a ruler and a calliper.

Now, in 1998, the main school building class rooms have been converted into 12 self-contained units, each with a mezzanine floor. The remaining buildings on the school grounds have been demolished and the area has been subdivided for small houses as part of the trend towards increasing the density of housing in near city suburbs. On the entrance wall to the housing estate, there is the Goodwood Technical School badge with ‘Arunga Close’ under it, so some memories of the school still remain.

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