A PERFORMANCE by AC/DC in their school hall in 1974 is one of the many fond memories Paisley High School foundation students will share at a 40-year reunion next month.
The iconic Australian band played on a small stage in the school hall in the third year of the school’s existence.
“They wouldn’t have been known back then but to us it meant a great deal. I remember kids dancing on the tables and getting right into it,” foundation student Carolyn Shanks recalls.
And there’s been quite a few laughs planning the reunion, with the committee poring over old year books.
“We were looking at an old canteen price list and in 1974 the most expensive item was a ham and salad sandwich for 20 cents,” Mrs Shanks says. “How times have changed.”
About 150 students arrived at the new school in Blenheim Road in Newport in 1972 when it comprised two portable classrooms and a toilet block.
There was no water, sewerage, power, telephone or furniture. Students had to attend on a rostered basis until infrastructure was completed.
They eventually settled into their new school under the leadership of principal David Collins.
Mrs Shanks said the interrupted start probably made the students more adaptable.
“Everyone survived quite well. People from that school have done quite well for themselves in lots of different fields, so it couldn’t have been too a negative impact on them. Maybe it was character building to go through that start.”
Paisley High School has since merged with two other schools to form Bayside P-12 College.
Milan Matejin, one of the foundation students, is principal at the Paisley campus, which caters for senior students.
The reunion is at the Customs House Hotel, 161 Nelson Place, Williamstown, on October 20. Cost: $10 per person. RSVP by October 5. Call 9397 2337 or email croc@iinet.net.au.
