MY MEMORIES OF SCHOOL JUNE 2004

Name Judy

Dates: I started here in 1955 when I was 13 and finished at 16.

I didn’t want to go to school in Pine Creek with the white kids so I came here.

Subjects We learned English, Maths, Cooking, Science. I liked cooking and I liked night school. We did job experience helping our teachers in their homes, cleaning.

Teachers I remember I liked the teachers who used to show us how to sew clothes.

Culture was not taught at school

Discipline Oh, in those days it was realy hard. They would make us stand up if we used to be naughty. Not this running back to home. We used to get the cane. Everyone should hve discipline, it should come from everybody.

Friends I had lots of friends – Nancy McDonald, Sarah (at Beswick). We used to play basketball.

Clothes We had blue uniform and white singlet, white and blue. After school we wore old clothes, not shorts but long dresses.

Sports We used to go to the oval for sports. We used to go to the Highway and then by train with kids from Pine River. Katherine people used to come here.

Captain Andrews, my husband, was good at sport.

Excursions and Entertainment We went to Darwin for sport against children from all the other communities like Delissaville, Daly River. That was good fun. We would sleep at Lee Point. I remember we came second.

We would go camping out at Beswick Falls with Misson people for swimming and fishing.

Reflections We had a tin house in Mayili Camp. In those days there was no grog, just corroboree. We had a kitchen and an old lady made home-made bread.

We had our shower at the swimming pool in the river.

My parents didn’t worry about anything, they were really happy.

Now I worry about kids to go back to school and get more job experience. They are smoking, drinking and driving too early.