Guy Fothergill

Having spent 5 years in Malaysia have many memories of both the school and life in general. The most vivid recollections from my first trip are the oppresive heat that first hits when stepping off the plane, all the locals wanting to touch my sun bleached blonde hair for good luck (used to give me the willies), our amah wanting to bathe me at shower time, (no way!), rose flavoured slush balls, 4 to 5 hour bus trips every day to get to school, bus races down Gurney Drive (the white buses versus everyone else) and above all the cultural differences (not that I could even spell it back then). Returning in 1977 with a slightly more mature head on my shoulders one could appreciate both the school, the people and its surrounds a bit better. Here's a well condensed walk down memory lane.

Those bloody bus trips again (resided on Married Quarters both postings), a school with super teachers (Miss Berry, Mr Vermay, Stubbsie and Birssy just to mention a few), students who got along with each other(rarely saw any fights, except for the pineapple apple piece barrages at lunch time), School excursions to a myriad of places: temples, war relics, Penang Hill, the rock pools(both the local ones near the school and the ones with the big natural slippery dip....north of Butterworth I think), helping to start up the school radio that blared music thru the lunch breaks(later banned thanks to a few wallies) and helping to put the 1979 Austral together with Mr Cork....could go on forever.

Am sure we all have our own favourite recollections, some very private and others shared by many.

Other things that will stay with me forever are the Monday morning assemblies, all of us looking pretty swisho in our white uniforms, getting the cuts for a miriad of reasons (remember Mr Hayden getiing so angry with "Duck"...forget his real name...that he missed 6 shots in a row and stormed out....bloody funny), all the different sport venues we went to for swimming, hockey, footy, cricket etc...the mad rush to the few bubblers at school after sport so you could get the cold water instead of nice hot stuff. Am sure we all had a busy life out of school too, so much was on offer. Dolphins Swimming club, basketball(both mens and senior boys) being a junior announcer at Radio RAAF Butterworth, the newly formed Sea scouts and mucking around with some really good friends (sadly lost touch with all of them) all add up to a pretty amazing period in my life.

A quick run down of my life after repatriation in late 1979. Canberra for 2 years, quit school half way thru year 12 (you get that....that's after being straight "A"s in year 10), worked as milkman, salesman, barman, then started into the trades. Painter first then carpentry, am now working as a shopfitter/carpenter. Worked as far north as Townsville, out to Charters Towers and Blackall, Fox Studios in Sydney, and a myriad of jobs in Melbourne. As I've been building schools, hospitals, police stations, court houses, showrooms, pubs, clubs and resorts am sure a few of out there have seen some of my handywork. Spent 2 years in England 94-96 building showrooms and drinking too much, feel I'm due for another o'seas trip. Worst legacy of travelling with father all those years and packing up and starting again every 2 years is that I've never really settled myself.

Have just moved back up to Gladstone after a 2 year break, am single, no ankle-biters, and would dearly love to catch up with a few ex RAAFies.

R.I.P. Peter "Dodge" Nash.