You asked for it.....

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Al Shield visited the Virtual Tour site and wrote:

"It's brought back memories - that photo of room 206.

I remember it as my home room for the daily roll call and it was also my maths room in 96-97 I think. The only bad thing about the room was the weird smell - spending so much time in the back room, I always pegged the musty smell as coming from the strange cupboard behind me. The cupboard that I never ever saw opened.

Is it still there and is it still unopened? There's probably a rotting pirate complete with treasure in there, but nobody has opened it in years. If there is treasure in there, can I stake my claim? After all, I went through years of 'guess the smell in 206'.

No?

Well it was worth a try :)

Thanks for the memories though - I must come back and visit one day, so many old teachers and memories to catch up with.

Debs - Sorry, Al, but the room is now a staff room and the cupboard has gone.

Al replied:

"*Sniff* I don't recognize the place (room 206), they must have had the Room for Improvement team in while I was gone because it's completely unrecognisable.

And the illicit cigarettes - that brings back memories - the loos were a hotspot around 95 until they increased the checks. After that it was the back of the oval, usually with the non smoker of the group (9 times out of 10 I got lumped with that duty) looking out for teachers :)"

Debs - I bravely went into the boys' loo on the second floor to take these....I've had several letters from past (male) students bragging about sneaking a puff here....

"And speaking of memories - When I was in year 12 it was one of the science teachers, Robert Poyntz, who said 'In year 12, you'll have the best year of your life and you'll have the worst year of your life'

They should engrave that on a plaque I think, he was right on the money. At the end of the year I quit pulling my hair out, I quit ranting and raving after the long nights with little sleep attempting to study and I enjoyed the feeling of reaching the end of a journey before starting a completely new one."

Jon Newsome (CHS 1973 - 1976), wrote to me from his home in the states:

"The virtual tour is terrific!

The old place is just the same and very different at the same time. I laughed out loud at the picture of the door to the boys toilets. I and lots of others where "sprung" smoking in there on a regular basis. I was showing my daughter the pictures at the time. I think she thinks the old-man has completely lost it. The images of the stairs in the old building are particularly compelling. They evoked a rush of old (repressed?) memories, I could almost smell the place!

Caught your pictures of the Boys 'Dunny'. Yep that's the place. I recall a wide window sill above the sinks. We used to sit up there lording it up, convincing ourselves that we where beating the system. There had to be 10 to 15 guys in there at recess sneaking a smoke. God help anyone who needed to use the room for its designed function.

Debs - here's the window sill with a magnificent broken mirror!

In retrospect it had to be common knowledge that we where in there smoking and the token raids by junior male teachers (who smoked as much as us) where to flush us out (pun intended) before some more serious law enforcement happened by. I don't recall ever getting into any serious trouble over it, and I, then, smoked as much as any one. Everyone smoked in the 70's! I think my dog smoked in the 70's.

I also recall room 206 not for smells but for maths. Mrs. Tempest held court there. She attempted to beat calculus into my head in that room. Mrs. Tempest was an extraordinary teacher: she looked like and acted like a stereotypical 'little old lady' until she started to expound on differential calculus to the general confusion of all."