Page 31 - Potted History 2017

1950s 1950 later that Bill had been a recruiting pocket. this respect was outstanding. I was
agent for the Australian Secret
always in awe of him, and tried
The gym master was ‘Sluggo’
Shields. He was short, florid and
Service (ASIO), but this never
hard to earn his respect. This I
really seemed possible to me.
extremely muscular, and was said
found impossible, especially after
Mind you, he did drive a Jaguar,
to wield the most powerful cane
one humiliating experience. As
one of the school prefects in 5th
in the school. Sluggo took us for
attend first nights at His Majesty’s
Rhodes Scholar: R Bruce Rosier (1945)
theatre and was the sort of person
to prefer his martinis stirred, not a physical education, a period of year, it came my turn to mount
the dais one morning and do the
which we had nearly every day.
shaken. PE might be in the gym one day, daily reading from the bible to the
where we worked out on the assembled school. The Monk was
1950 I was very luck to have Tom Hoar parallel bars or did vaults off a a very religious man; he chose the
passages to be read each day, and
as my ultimate maths teacher. He
springboard, or swung on rings;
The Korean war begins. was one of the most dedicated or it might be a game of baseball; listened carefully to the reading.
three masters who resided there. the masters marched out. We and accomplished teachers I ever or it might just be ‘physical jerks’, Unfortunately my biblical and
Roger Underwood, son of Professor Every morning at just before nine then filed off to our classrooms to knew, and I still give him credit where we stood in lines and scriptural knowledge was close to
Eric Underwood, attended Hale School o’clock, the bell would be rung begin the days schooling. We had for me passing the Leaving exam, touched our toes, swung our arms absolute zero, and when I came
between 1954 and 1958. His recollections and we would form up into our an assembly exactly like this every which in turn made the rest of my around or jumped on the spot, or to read the designated passage,
are recorded in his book Tree Climber. classes, each under the eye of the morning on every day for the five life possible. Mr. Hoar used to we might go for a long hard run which concerned someone called
school prefects. The Head Prefect years I attended Hale. hand back our corrected mid-term up into Kings Park and back. At Job, I pronounced it as ‘job’ as in
‘… My own school days were (or School Captain) would stand and end-term papers shuffled into the end of an hour of PE we would ‘he did a good job’, rather than
very different to those described on the steps and shout “School! Most of the masters had order of merit from the lowest to all troop back into the classroom, ‘jobe’ as required by religious
by Charles Dickens or George Attention” At this command we nicknames, some of which the highest marks. As the terms faces glowing, and settle back tradition. In this particular biblical
Orwell. Here I am talking about would lurch to attention, and then were affectionate or humorous, went by and I continued to profit down to conjugate Latin verbs or passage, old Job figured in
my secondary schooling, which I march off class by class into the and some cruel or reflecting from his teaching I moved higher parse sentences. nearly every sentence. After I
spent at Hale School from 1954 to school hall. An invariable ritual on the way the boys felt them. and higher up the class list, as returned to my seat, I could feel
1958. It is amazing how the shared then followed. Having again been Mr. Murphy was always known demonstrated by this simple Finally, a word on Monkey the Monk’s piercing eyes on me,
experiences of youth create bonds commanded to come to attention, as ‘Spud’. I recall ‘Monkey’ technique for rewarding students Marshall, my English and French and a strange feeling of guilt took
you hardly know exist until they we would stand while Mr Murphy, Marshall, ‘Turkey’ Altorfer, ‘Log’ without disclosing marks received. master in my Leaving year, and hold of me. I wasn’t sure how, but
surface at a change meeting or a the headmaster, led in a line of Davey, ‘Taffy’ Wall, ‘Duck’ Drake, Deputy Headmaster of the school. somehow I felt I had stuffed up.
social function decades later. masters. Each wore a grey suit ‘Keyhole’ Corr, ‘Straightshit’ Willie ‘Keyhole’ Corr was a tiny The Monk was a very influential I was right. In the first class that
and a shabby black academic Strahan, ‘Fizz’ Lutz and ‘Sluggo’ mouse-like chap, with a sad face, and a most feared figure in the morning The Monk swept into
There was an asphalt parade gown, and they marched in order Shields. In my first year we had rather like that of the doormouse Hale School of the 1950s. He the room and withered me with
ground in front of the school of seniority, the youngest or been taught art by Charlie in the illustrations in Alice in was a spare, stooped man, the a biting sarcasm. What made it
where we lined up in our classes newest man bringing up the rear. ‘Humbug’ Hamilton, whose son Wonderland.. It was said that very model of an old-fashioned worse was that his criticism of my
each morning before marching Up on the podium, Mr Murphy Charlie was a forester (I found he had been wounded in the Dickensian schoolmaster – biblical ignorance was directed
in to ‘assembly’. There were also would read a prayer, and one of out later), and taught me at the trenches in World War 1, and cold and humorless, a strict at my parents as well as me.
two small grassy fields where we the prefects would read from the Forestry School. had never recovered his spirits. I disciplinarian, and with piercing, Strangely enough, not one other
played and ate our lunches, and a bible. Then the congregation of liked him, and he hated the way unforgiving eyes. There was never student or master ever said a word
set of bitumen tennis courts down boys would rise again, and we Bill Altorfer was an amazing figure. some of the boys teased and took any question in anyone’s mind to me about it, and I eventually
on the lower road. would sing one of the standard Tall and angular, he dressed advantage of him. Apart from a that he was the School Enforcer. concluded they had not noticed
hymns of the day (‘Oh God, our immaculately in a reefer jacket stint in the army during the war, His nickname was apposite. In or did not care. Presumably 90%
Up on the hill and with help in ages past’ or ‘All things and striped trousers. He ran the Keyhole lived his whole life at both appearance and outlook, of them routinely switched their
magnificent views overlooking bright and beautiful’). The musical boarding house with an iron hand, the Hale School boarding house, there was indeed something of minds to other subjects when the
Parliament House and the suburbs accompaniment was provided by but managed to be popular (or where he had a tiny room off C the medieval monk about him. morning bible reading began,
away to the north, was the great the ancient German master (Herr at least well-respected) at the Dorm. Every Tuesday he would He had a fine line in sarcasm, and while the other 10% possibly
rabbit warren of the Boarding Lutz) on the even more ancient same time. He taught me English, drive off in his little Ford Anglia to could tear a boy to bits in front thought I had been taking the
House – a mysterious place to the piano. Mr. Murphy would make French and Latin for three years, a local bakery and come back with of the class. What he was very mickey.
dayboys, redolent with the aroma a couple of announcements and I regarded him with great a mountain of cream buns which good at, however, was teaching
of overcooked mutton and burnt and then turn and nod to the respect. He had an infectious he would give to the boarders for students so that they passed the A mysterious bit-player in school
rice budding, but ‘home’ to the School Captain who would again roar of laughter and always had a treat at suppertime. As far as I Leaving exams, and his record in affairs in my day was the émigré
eighty or so boarders and two or command us to attention while a twinkle in his eye. I heard years know he did this out of his own