1969…One small step for mankind, one huge step for a small group of motley, idealistic, bank clerks, drycleaners, missionaries, actors, insurance salesmen, cardsharps, bar workers, postal sorters, labourers and exotic dancers who came together, to be whetted and honed over the next two years under the zealous eyes of Mattes, Reynolds, Ford, Rowe, Whitaker, Newcombe, Barnes, Saxby, Pearce, Kelly, Vimlati, Wiley, Roper, Kershaw, Barnacote, Gunn, Cassim, Kaad and others, before bursting forth with a missionary zeal, their arms sagging with copious reference books, teaching aides, lesson notes, photographic slides, as well oiled teaching machines, armed with newfound skills and knowledge ….No longer, courtesy of Mr Vimlati and Malinofsky was the 'missionary position' a politically directed opinion of the church…a 'frongle' was certainly not a term to be taken lightly… drinking beer through a straw was not necessarily a reliable method of getting drunk cheaply…. 'Airconomix' was not an airconditioner patented by Vimlati…and Jack Mattes' red sports car didn't always spontaneously turn into a 'Queensland Blue' on a full moon.
Describing it as the most interesting and formative two years that would shape our lives forever would be an understatement …This is supported by the fact that several of the original 69/70 group are still involved in education…the rest alas have made a complete financial success of their lives and are either business consultants, financial advisers, musicians, choreographers, tax collectors, lawyers, wine connoisseurs or all of the above.
Our legacy was monumental…What other group can boast of taking out first prize at the Mayor of Mosman's Bicentennial Ball in 1970, dressed as the cargo of the Endeavour, wearing only potato sacks labelled 'limes' and 'spuds', while a couple of hundred Georgian gowned, wigged, stockinged and grimacing, powdered guests looked on in feigned amusement.
There was the legacy of surprise and enlightenment when two well respected and inebriated ASOPANs returned home one evening after dark from the Lochinvar, dressed in mandatory black duffle coats and taken by the briskness of the air and a general feeling of well being, decided to swing through the trees which lined the street of Mosman where they lived. Their elatedness was soon shattered when an elderly lady taking a breath of fresh air …and presumably a glass of sherry...began screaming for help as she was convinced that two large bears had escaped from the nearby Taronga Park Zoo!!
And of course who can forget the bubbler…What other group can boast of implementing the only improvement in the ASOPAN facilities over 30 years that would serve and refresh the parched throats of groups to follow.. two groups in fact..….Oh if only there had been more.
But the greatest legacy of all was the "Jeans revolt"…the equivalent of kicking the habit or ripping off the burqa and burning the bra. Our girls of 69/70 made a monumental stand. No more would they be dictated to regarding the wearing of the approved professional attire of the body concealing and aptly named 'slacksuit' and as sisters in arms, they wore on that happy day, their jeans hitched up and proud and not another word was said…as the 'sisters were doing it for themselves'!
Yet while we left our mark for others we also upheld traditions laid down diligently by those who came before…Choir practice at the Lochinvar Lounge and mandatory re-hydration sessions for nominated lectures after lunch…signing the absence sheet for those who had every intention of making the lecture but were still re-hydrating…the time honoured tradition of the passing down of assignments and the Masonic code of silence when the person who copied it got a higher mark than the original author…breaking the speed limit on army property and the time honoured tradition of running the boom gate…not forgetting fudging the official sprint times in intercollegiate athletics carnivals….And let us not forget the annual ASOPA Recreational Shield or ARS award, which to a casual observer may have been just a toilet seat, but to the ASOPAN science mob it was the equivalent of the Holy Grail of sport… Oh the memories come flooding back.
Of course there was also ample opportunity to develop our creative side, as one would expect from a college that produced teachers who were to be released into the wilds and isolation of the Northern Territory and Papua New Guinea. The PE staff introduced innovative lessons that incorporated a mixture of Maypole and Morris dancing…which presumably in later years became a more exotic form now seen in bars and clubs throughout the world.… We were given an opportunity to express ourselves intellectually and orally through activities such as debating and scrabble competitions held in the canteen at lunch time. Those involved were mostly jovial but were renown for aggressively defending their use and spelling of a particular word or anglo-saxonism with lies, bluff and verbal abuse. This of course was taken to another level following a 're-hydration' session by the chorus, of a college production of 'Calamity Jane', who were heard swearing at the audience and substituting their own words during a rendition of 'The Deadwood Stage is a rollin' on down the track…".
The thespian appeal of Mike Barnacoat's reviews gave us an opportunity to further express ourselves in a variety of costume, grease paint and items in poignant skits depicting the Gestapo, SS and a "Joe the gadget Man" look alike, endeavouring to sell ferocious salivating guard dogs with the sales pitch of "The new Kok and Burbles, fully amphibious, mini wonder canine protector…"
Linguistically we were challenged by Professor Elkin and the scales metaphorically fell from our eyes with the realisation that there was more than a subtle difference between a pek pek and a puk puk….a long long and a long nek…a lik lik wei and a long wei lik lik..
Madness, some may think...not at all… this was all part of our preparation - a progressive evolvement from infant to adult and from student to teacher which would enable us to cope with the challenges of unique educational situations in a new environment..
Numerous instances come to mind such as:
But finally it was Gavin S who, after the umpteenth arson attempt on his school in the Highlands, was surrounded by some very angry villagers who, after threatening to rearrange parts of his anatomy, had then threatened to burn the school to the ground. All those valuable years of ASOPAN education and training came to the fore. Gavin gave a calm and wry smile, casually kicked the dirt a couple of times, hitched up his pants and then looking the main aggressor directly in the eye, threw him a box of matches.
We were indeed a very special group to be reckoned with….
Peter Comerford and Vicki Walshe
On behalf of the ASOPA 69/70 group
http://www.asopa6970.com/Reunion%20speech.htm