STAFF PHOTOS AND ARTICLES
Singleton High Staff 1965 Click on image to enlarge
Singleton High Staff 1967 Click on image to enlarge
Singleton High Staff 1968 Click on image to enlarge
Singleton High Staff 1969 Click on image to enlarge
Singleton High Staff 1970 Click on image to enlarge
And of course, Mr Gate never changed over all those years,
our very own Dorian Gray.
Allan Mackay (Click to Enlarge)
Jack Gate Smile (Click to Enlarge)
Deputy principal Frank Chattaway
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In our first three years at Singleton High School, 1965-1967, the deputy principal was Frank Chattaway. His son Ken was finishing high school as we began. Frank left Singleton at the end of 1967 to become principal of Goulburn High School. His successor at Singleton High, Tom Maguire, had a quite different style.
With teachers and students Frank was always an affable, friendly man and many did not know about his appalling experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during WWII. He believed in strong discipline and did not hesitate to use the cane, usually asking "Why were you sent to me?" AFTER the punishment had been administered; this aspect of his régime cost him the respect of a some students and teachers.
Frank was very active in the community, in both Singleton and Goulburn, and later in his life he was awarded an OAM for his contribution. He was also a keen golfer and in Singleton often played with teacher colleagues.
Frank Chattaway OAM died in Goulburn on 8 January 2013, just over a month shy of his 93rd birthday. His last year had been blighted by a tragedy; he knocked down and killed a pedestrian whom he did not see.
Tributes to him were published in the Goulburn Post (seehttp://www.goulburnpost.com.au/…/…/goulburn-farewells-frank/ ) and Sydney Morning Herald. (Article by Brian Knight)
With teachers and students Frank was always an affable, friendly man and many did not know about his appalling experiences as a Japanese prisoner of war during WWII. He believed in strong discipline and did not hesitate to use the cane, usually asking "Why were you sent to me?" AFTER the punishment had been administered; this aspect of his régime cost him the respect of a some students and teachers.
Frank was very active in the community, in both Singleton and Goulburn, and later in his life he was awarded an OAM for his contribution. He was also a keen golfer and in Singleton often played with teacher colleagues.
Frank Chattaway OAM died in Goulburn on 8 January 2013, just over a month shy of his 93rd birthday. His last year had been blighted by a tragedy; he knocked down and killed a pedestrian whom he did not see.
Tributes to him were published in the Goulburn Post (seehttp://www.goulburnpost.com.au/…/…/goulburn-farewells-frank/ ) and Sydney Morning Herald. (Article by Brian Knight)
Teacher Bob Moore
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In the 1960s Bob Moore taught technical drawing, woodwork and industrial arts at Singleton High School. In 1965 and 1966 he and Allan Mackay coached the school debating teams, a by-product of Bob’s extensive involvement in drama productions. As a teacher he was outgoing, colourful, popular, energetic and well-regarded. He also had a reportoire of great one-liners; for example, “If that’s a straight line, son, I’ll bump my backside against the moon”, and in woodworking he wanted the wood sanded until “it is as smooth as a baby’s bottom”.
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In the 1960s Bob Moore taught technical drawing, woodwork and industrial arts at Singleton High School. In 1965 and 1966 he and Allan Mackay coached the school debating teams, a by-product of Bob’s extensive involvement in drama productions. As a teacher he was outgoing, colourful, popular, energetic and well-regarded. He also had a reportoire of great one-liners; for example, “If that’s a straight line, son, I’ll bump my backside against the moon”, and in woodworking he wanted the wood sanded until “it is as smooth as a baby’s bottom”.
Bob Moore is a well-known figure around Singleton. He has always been involved in community activities, including the local drama club, which for many years used the Singleton High School hall. In 1986 the local council recognised Bob’s services by making him Singleton Citizen of the Year in the Australia Day awards, and in 2011 he was inducted into the Singleton Hall of Fame. Now in his 80s, he continues to be active in senior citizens’ activities.
Originally, Bob hailed from Cessnock. He trained as an industrial arts teacher and his teaching career began in 1954. He is one of the first group of university-trained industrial arts teachers; before that many industrial arts teachers came from trade backgrounds. His first teaching job was in the Riverina, where he did the rounds of three different schools (this peripatetic sharing arrangement was nicknamed ‘the milk run’).
Bob moved to a teaching post at Singleton High School in 1958. There he met his future wife Peg, who was a PE teacher at the school. He taught at SIngleton High until 1988, with a break of two years late in his teaching career when he was at Scone High School. At the end of his teaching career Bob had risen to the position of deputy principal; he decided against moving to the next level.
In 1988 Bob was attracted by and got the position of Economic Development Officer with Singleton Council and remained in that position until 1998, when he retired. He stayed in that job 5 years longer than he intended. Bob was instrumental in attracting new companies and industries to the Singleton area, he developed the town’s first Social Plan, and played a key role in designing and establishing youth centres around Singleton.
Though always outwardly cheery and happy, Bob’s family life has been blighted by tragedies. Their two daughters died from cystic fibrosis, one in childhood and Melinda in her early 20s, and his younger son Neil died in a car accident soon after finishing school. Bob’s surviving son has returned to the Singleton area and Bob and Peg are proud grandparents of son Greg’s three children. Their granddaughter is currently Girls School Captain at Singleton High School.
In discussions with students Bob was always a staunch defender of country-town life, and he argued vigorously against those who believed that life would be more fun or more fulfilling in a place like Sydney. Given that his own life has been spent happily in country towns, and the positive contributions he has made, it is easy to understand his view. (Article by Brian Knight)
Teachers Richard Horsfield and Helen Horsfield (née Bursill)
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Helen Horsfield (née Bursill) and her husband Richard taught at Singleton High School from 1966 to 1969. Helen was the Girls Sports Mistress and Richard taught science subjects but their activities were much broader than that. Each, in their different ways, left their mark on the school and the students they taught. Richard has provided a witty and informative account of their years in Singleton.
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Helen Horsfield (née Bursill) and her husband Richard taught at Singleton High School from 1966 to 1969. Helen was the Girls Sports Mistress and Richard taught science subjects but their activities were much broader than that. Each, in their different ways, left their mark on the school and the students they taught. Richard has provided a witty and informative account of their years in Singleton.
They both grew up and trained as teachers in Sydney; Singleton High School was their first posting as teachers. On Thursday 3rd March 1966 Richard received his appointment to Singleton High School, effective from Monday 7th March 1966; this was just 33 days after arriving in Kapooka expecting to spend 2 or more years doing National Service culminating in active service Vietnam.
Until they married later in 1966 Helen and Richard boarded separately in Singleton with local widows; Richard with Mrs Barry (who was very correct when Helen visited), and Helen with Mrs Rapp and Mrs Groves (a lovely lady, but she polished her linoleum floors every day). After they married they moved into a flat that had originally been Dr Jonas’s waiting and consulting rooms in George St, opposite Burdekin Park. They eventually bought their own home in Bathurst St. A couple of years after they married Richard and Helen’s first child, Wendy, was born. They eventually had four daughters and now have four granddaughters (the male gene seems to have disappeared!).
Richard taught science subjects under the Wyndham scheme, which had just been introduced. His classes were generally much larger than would be the norm today, and students were ‘streamed’ according to their ability in the subject. Richard was one of those teachers who wanted to be involved in extra-curricular activities with his students (e.g. cross country walks, overnight campouts); he coached the senior girls softball team (unbeaten under his leadership), introduced baseball for boys, and was active with the High School cadets. At the end of 1968 he and Helen hosted an end-of-year party for Richard’s 4A science students, who had just completed their NSW School Certificate. Away from school Richard and Helen were active members of Singleton Baptist Church congregation.
Helen loved teaching PE and was the Girls Sports Mistress. She was also given the 2E science class (one boy even learnt to spell ‘photosynthesis’, but did not understand what it meant!) and a General Activity (GA) class which she did not enjoy much. Helen set about modernising PE teaching and the girls sports uniform: she introduced shorts for the girls in place of the awful bloomers they had previously been required to wear, she taught the girls rhythmic gymnastics as well as sport skills, and, with the Boys’ Sports Master, organised the school swimming and athletics carnivals. Helen was noted for her very short PE skirt, somewhat shorter that Jean Shrimpton’s modest mini at the 1965 Melbourne Cup that had caused a sensation in the media (though not nearly as short as the miniskirts that came later in the 1960s).
In 1969 Richard applied for and got a lecturing position in the Science Education Unit at the University of NSW. He was reluctant to leave his students part way through their HSC but was persuaded that such opportunities needed to be grasped. Richard later wrote:
‘Without much doubt my favourite class over my time in Singleton was the group that was 3A in 1967, 4A in 1968 and finally 5A in 1969. There were of course many students in other classes that I remember with affection – and a few not so – but this group stands out in many ways as a particularly good group of kids.’
He is sad that he was not there to see this group through their HSC in 1970.
‘Without much doubt my favourite class over my time in Singleton was the group that was 3A in 1967, 4A in 1968 and finally 5A in 1969. There were of course many students in other classes that I remember with affection – and a few not so – but this group stands out in many ways as a particularly good group of kids.’
He is sad that he was not there to see this group through their HSC in 1970.
After 2 years at UNSW, Richard was appointed to the science staff of Hunters Hill High School and after a year there went to the Physics Department of Sydney Teachers’ College for 2 years, then 6 years at Cumberland College developing their physics and chemistry courses before returning once more to the secondary sector to teach senior physics at Barker College for 16 years. In 1996 he finished at Barker, and undertook 2 more years of postgraduate work, in environmental studies. Though now over 70 he continues to work, as a Visiting Fellow in the Graduate School of the Environment at Macquarie University.
The photo shows Richard and Helen visiting a community in Bitung that they support through Habitat for Humanity. (Article by Brian Knight)
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