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CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL MEMORIES OF MATER GRATIAE SCHOOL - 1961 TO 1967 Article written by Gerard Putland 2023 I am writing this story at 67 years of age with so many
years of memory behind me. Every time I look at the photos of Mater Gratiae
primary school the memories keep flooding back like waves. Luckily, the shore,
my brain, can still receive some of those waves! I am retired now and I thought
it was a good idea to recall and write down some of my experiences. Over time I
have reflected on my early school years with great joy and attending Mater
Gratiae School or Carilla Convent as we called it then was a special time in my
life. I remember my first day at school, it was early 1961
and I would turn six in July so I was entered into Grade one. It was summer and
I don’t recall travelling there but it would have been a car or bus trip from
Karragullen where we lived on an orchard like most locals. The first boy I
spoke to was Robert Tolomei who lived very close to the school. His father
owned the Mobil garage and I think the garage still stands with the old antique
metal signs. We sat on one of the swings just above the playground and talked
about John Di Marco who was running around. Of course, in those days we called
him ‘Johnny’ and he was a very energetic and cheeky boy. Not naughty in a bad
way, just full of energy. On that day we called him ‘Johnny Tomato’ for some
reason, such was the conversation of two 6 year old boys. |
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REMAINS OF TOLOMEI'S GARAGE AT PICKERING BROOK #1 |
The
school was on a government reserve on Merrivale Rd, that was set aside for the
Catholic church to use. The school itself was run by nuns, Ursuline
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart,
and they lived in the large house next to the school. At the rear was a stone
grotto with a statue of ‘Our Lady’, a place in nature that one could go to for
quiet prayer (refer to photo later in this article showing the grotto). The
nuns were all Italian and had been chased out of China during the Mao Zedong
communist era as foreign missionaries were purged. Many were brutally treated
and killed so they were the lucky ones. Most of the kids attending school were
Italian also and only a few of us had Australian/British lineage. My parents
were both born in Australia but with our grandparents being British/Irish on my
father’s side and Yugoslav (Croatian) on my mother’s side. When my grandparents
left Dalmatia it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and only became
Yugoslavia in 1918. We referred to ourselves as part Slav, English/Irish. As we
were Karragullen locals we fitted in without any issues as most locals were Italian.
I do remember some new kids who came to the school were called ‘Aussie Bamba’
but they mostly deserved it as they called some of the Italian boys’ dings or
dagoes. I remember Angelo Spiccia punching one of them, it was a good hit! |
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NUNS & PRIESTS The
Italian nuns were as follows: 1. Sister Carmel (Sr Carmela)
– looked after the residential house, non-teaching role. 2. Sister Stephanie (Sr
Stephania) – Junior primary grades 1-2 3. Sister Concetta – Grade
6-7. 4. Mother Filomena – 3,4,5
(She was the senior nun) The
priests were as follows: I remember these priests, Dwyer, Nanni, Dunlea and
Keane but in particular the about two of them I had the most to do with: 1. Father Dunlea (Irish)
– He was the priest there when I first started in 1961 and he drove the little
bus for bringing the kids from Karragullen. He gave us our first communion. 2. Father Keane (Irish)
– He was the next priest and I don’t recall exactly when he came but it was
perhaps about 1965. |
1967 COLLEEN & GERARD PUTLAND #2 |
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CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL 1967 GRADES 3 & 4 #13 Front Row 1 L - R: MIRELLA PERLI, AIDA ROSSI, ROBERT SCAFFIDI, NUNZIO BAELE, RONALD GEERLINGS |
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CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL 1967 GRADES 6 & 7 #3 DEBBIE DURKIN, MOTHER FILOMENA, SISTER CONCETTA, ROSEMARY SCAFFIDI, girl, ERICA MARTELLARO, FRANK GEERLINGS, (FAR RIGHT CLASSROOM WITH PARTITIONS BEHIND - SEE HINGES & HANDLES ON WALL) |
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FATHER KEANE WITH THE SCHOOL BUS #4 |
The
priests lived in a very small house not far from the Nun’s quarters. It was a
very frugal life but they were both good, honest men who I remember with great
admiration. Their job was to hold mass in Mater Gratiae and Karragullen (maybe
Lesmurdie too?), drive the school bus, visit people in need, coach sports and
give the boys sex education lessons. But there was only ‘one lesson’ (ha ha) when
you were in Grade 7 and ready to leave. I fondly remember all of us boys
huddled in his little house listening to him talk about the reproductive
process and use of medical and slang words. We couldn’t stop giggling and we
talked about it for weeks. Father Keane said that some words like ‘Dick’ were vulgar
and should not be used but we did not all come away with the same understandings.
I think it was my good friend Emilio Furfaro who upon leaving made a joke about
his ‘vulgar’ being itchy. We tried to explain it to him! |
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GRADE 1 & 2 Sister
Stephanie was our teacher for grades 1 to 2, junior primary. It was a single
room to the far left of the school (looking from the front) with a small set of
stairs going into it. The rear windows looked out into part of the rear
playground area. She was a very short woman, stocky build and I am not sure
which Italian region she was from. She taught us in all lessons and spoke very
good English. I think I received a very good grounding in all subjects from her
and she was a disciplinarian who brought order and good manners to her classes.
I have no complaints and we all grew up to be respectful children. She also
taught religious studies but as we were all Catholics anyway, it was the normal
thing to do. I remember her showing us ‘Holy Pictures’ of the saints, Jesus and
others sitting next to God, angels flying around. She also showed us pictures
of ‘Hell’ with bears, lions and snakes chasing people and lots of flames. That
was incentive enough for me, it sure made you want to lead a good life! (How
quickly we forget… he he) My
good friend Sam Rossi recalls writing the word ‘Rotten’ in one of Debbie
Durkins’ exercise books. Sister Stephanie was furious and asked the person to
come forward. No one saw Sam do it and he was too scared to own up. She was a
tough lady! The Durkin Family lived at Barton’s Mill low security prison as
their father worked there. GRADES 3, 4 & 5 The
next step was going into another room for grades 3, 4 and 5 that was separated
from grade 6 and 7 (far right) by a hinged partition wall that was collapsed
into the sides when we had events that required the whole school to attend. I recall on Fridays the partition went down
and we polished the jarrah floor boards with a wax mixed in saw dust that we
pushed around the floor with large brooms and lots of old rags. The walls were
adorned with maps of the world, holy pictures, children’s art work, lots of
small bookshelves full of interesting reading materials. My love of reading was
nurtured at that school. Every day we had free reading times and I loved all
the reading books that came out from the education department of the day and
donations. I
recall, a number of years ago, talking with some of the others who attended and
one of them said he thought the teachers were too hard and he didn’t like them.
I pondered on that as my experience was not like that at all. On reflection a
few days later, I realised that this boy was one of the naughty ones! He was
always in trouble and so his memories have erased that aspect or he didn’t
actually see his actions in that way (as all little boys do!). Any punishments we
got were truly deserved but I don’t remember any of significance. |
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CHILDREN ASSEMBLED IN GROUNDS AT CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL #5 |
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One
amusing punishment I do remember was related with the boys’ toilets. I don’t
remember the age but being boys, we found novel ways of competing with each
other. After one boy decided to piss above the urinal and up the wall (see
photos below), it suddenly dawned on those present that a competition could be
had. All you had to do was drink a lot of water and wait until morning tea or
lunch time with a full bladder. For those who are orchardists, a large reservoir
and a small pipe contributes to great pressure. Well…. we vied for honours in
this little competition and before long we had marks on the wall setting the
highest shooter. Girls will find all of this vile to read but you have to get
into the shoes of a primary school boy to fully understand it. We enjoyed it
immensely. |
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One
amusing punishment I do remember was related with the boys’ toilets. I don’t
remember the age but being boys, we found novel ways of competing with each
other. After one boy decided to piss above the urinal and up the wall (see
photos below), it suddenly dawned on those present that a competition could be
had. All you had to do was drink a lot of water and wait until morning tea or
lunch time with a full bladder. For those who are orchardists, a large reservoir
and a small pipe contributes to great pressure. Well…. we vied for honours in
this little competition and before long we had marks on the wall setting the
highest shooter. Girls will find all of this vile to read but you have to get
into the shoes of a primary school boy to fully understand it. We enjoyed it
immensely.
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SIGN FOR BOYS TOILET AT CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL #6 |
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HISTORICAL SITE OF THE "GREAT PISSING COMPETITION" #7 It
all came crashing down one day, not long into the competitions, when one boy
excelled himself and pissed high enough to reach the window above the urinal
(see photo). As bad luck would have it, it went out the window and fell
on a girl’s head who was playing on the outside. She reported us to the nuns
and we ended up scrubbing the walls of the boys’ toilets for a whole afternoon. |
BOYS URINAL AT CARILLA CATHOLIC SCHOOL #8 |
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Behind
the school was a small open shed where most of us sat to eat our lunches. It
had a concrete floor, wooden framing and tin sheet on the walls. Many years ago,
I went for a walk around the school, before it was rebuilt, and all the
scratchings we made on the tin walls were still there and small nails to hold
our cups and bags. Sadly, I did not take any photos and later it was
demolished. It was much smaller than I imagined. When you are under 12 years
old many things are envisioned as ‘large’. I felt sad when the school was
demolished, the new one just doesn’t do anything for me as nothing is
authentic. Same for the rear playground that was developed in 1966 or 1967,
once the original bush and old logs we used to play on were gone it was a bit
sterile and it lost a lot of its charm. In Europe they keep a lot of old
buildings but in Australia there is a tendency to push them over. Perhaps I am
nostalgic but travelling Europe is a great charm for me but seeing modern cities does not hold my
attention. The history has been erased. Lunchtimes
were the fun times at school. So many things to do and we had lots of
imagination: ·
Aussie
rules football in impromptu teams. ·
Running
up the ‘big tree’ – this involved running up the side of the large tree that
tilted just enough to enable you to run up the side a little and stretch out
your foot to make a mark. ·
Building
cubby houses, climbing trees and exploring in the bush up the back. ·
Playing
on the large swings that some parents built (44 Gallon drum halves as seats) ·
Sports
practice i.e. running, high jumps, long jumps. ·
Ball
games like ‘War’ on the small flat playground next to the school. This was
played with girls as well (we rarely played games with the girls…yeech). Behind
the lunch shed was a gravel oval, if you could call it that, a place to play Aussie
rules but no grass. It was on a slope so kicking downhill was seen as a great
advantage. There was a big flat rock in the middle that jutted out a little so
it acted as the centre bounce down area. One wonders how all our knees survived
as most of us were skinny kids in those days. There were trees at either end
which functioned as natural goal posts so it was ideal for a bunch of unruly
lunchtime boys. Some boys were very strong for their age and large as well so
it got kinda rough at times but we never complained. I always remember Mario Vinci
kicking for goal, he wasn’t that big but very strong and could kick the hell
out of that ball and land it high into the trees. Leo
Faranda who lived in Karragullen was big and very strong, his nickname was
‘Fathead’. His brother Terry was also a solid kid and had short curly hair so
he was called ‘Sheep’s head’. The Furfaro brothers Ray and Emilio were great
guys, small build Calabrian’s with a cheeky nature. Robert
Tolomei was a good friend and that continued when I went to Mazenod College in
Lesmurdie. A number of us boys ended up doing more schooling at Mazenod. Sam
Rossi was my best friend as he lived up the road in Karragullen. He was very
good academically and also a good athlete with lots of speed. I
remember one time we were preparing for an athletics competition with the
Pickering Brook State school over the road. It’s strange how two schools were
only a few hundred metres apart yet we knew so little about them and didn’t
know the kids. It was a divide between the Italian school community and the
rest. This competition was the only time I remember an interaction with them
and it was memorable. We went over there a few times to practice high jumps as
they had grass areas and sand pits while we only had gravel everywhere. It’s
hard to do high jumps on gravel. When
we were doing high jumps practice with them, a boy name Doug Grovener was jumping
with us but he wasn’t very good and Leo Faranda easily beat him. We were using
the scissors method of jumping and so was he. When the day of the sports
carnival came at the Pickering Brook Sports Club oval, Leo, Doug and I were the
last three to fight it out in our age group. It surprised us as Doug was now doing
the latest style from the Olympics called the ‘Stradle’. He never missed a jump
and nor did we but as the bar was raised, I eventually failed three times and
was out which left Leo and Doug. Leo failed at another height and after two
more attempts was out. Doug kept ‘sailing over the top’ and went higher. After
the carnival was over, he told us that he was demoralised when training with us
and decided to learn a new style which he mastered very quickly. I have to say
it was a very difficult style to learn so he was a talented boy. The lesson is
obvious, as we lamented going over to their school and revealing our skills. He
knew we were better but he adapted and beat us on the day. Such is life boo hoo
☹. |
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The
following is a list of names I remember attending the school: If
I have forgotten anyone it’s my brain failing. Karragullen Gerard
Putland Mary
Rossi Carmela Faranda Leo
Caccetta John
Agostinelli John
Tilborg Frank
Geerlings John
Di Marco Steven
Ghilarducci Elizabeth
Macri ………..Bormalini Maria
Vetta Ronald
Osborne Francis
Curie
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Pickering
Brook Tony
Della Polina Susan Della Franca Angelo Spiccia Nerino
Leotta Robert
Tolomei Mario
Vinci Nancy
Arasi Laurie
Giumelli Robert
Petrucci Nick
Muscara Robert Scaffidi Maria
Di Piazzi Josie Martellaro Carmela
Marchessano Maria
Mancuso Erica
Genetti Boris
Travicich |
Carmel Theresa Duxbury Frank Condo Angie Gullone Steven
Sala Tenna Barton's
Mill Debbie
Durkin
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The
Karragullen kids were picked up at the garage on the corner of Brookton Highway
and Canning Road. This meant that we all walked there in the morning or rode a
bike but it was 1-3km for most of us. The priest drove the small bus and somehow,
we all fitted in but on hot days it got a bit smelly and occasionally someone
would vomit (e.g Carlo Cacetta).
BENDALL'S STORE AT PICKERING BROOK #9 |
GIDDINGS BP GARAGE, PICKERING BROOK #10 Bendalls
Store
– this was located on Pickering Brook Road opposite the old entrance to the original
golf club, not far from Frank Giddings BP Garage. I remember buying lots
of lollies for pennies and especially black cat bubble gum. I can’t remember
who it was now, but one of us was chewing it in the classroom and decided to
blow a bubble while Sister Concetta was writing on the blackboard.
Unfortunately, it blew up and sticky black gum went all over his face, and, at
that very moment sister turned around…. bingo, busted and punished.
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Another
trick we played in the classroom was to chew bits of paper till they were soggy
and when the teacher wasn’t looking to flick it onto the ceiling with a ruler. It
stuck on the ceiling quite nicely! We built up quite a mosaic over a few days
and finally one day, sister caught one of us hurling it up. Looking up she was
quite shocked to see the ceiling covered with paper spit balls. Another job of
cleaning up for us boys! I
remember one day where we found out that a woman was murdered not far from the
school at about the time of our afternoon break. Of course, nobody knew at the
time but I recall it being very sad. Mavis Davies (nee Roads) was killed on 7 December 1964
in the old wooden house where they had a small orchard property on
Pickering Brook Road, just below the school. At the time of her death she was
Vice President of the Pickering Brook Sports Club and member of the Pickering
Brook Ladies Night Tennis Club. She was murdered by a young orchard worker
employed by them who had an argument with her the previous day. Tommy Trantom
was charged and convicted of her murder. Most of the school population was stable and I grew up with the same group of kids. Occasionally, new kids would attend school, mostly families that worked as seasonal fruit pickers in the area. I remember on Aboriginal family, the Slater family, who sent two boys to class. Murray was tall and strong and his much quieter brother Jimmy who was a very talented artist. He could draw anything very realistically, as art seemed to run in his veins. Martin
Johanssen attended for a while and lived in Karragullen in an old house between
the Tonuso and Roy Bovani houses. Basil
Nataro (Gaitano’s son). Basilio, who I
think was Sicilian, was very cheeky and funny. He was quite a character and had
a novel way of expressing things. CATHOLIC LIFE Receiving
the sacraments was a part of growing up in a Catholic family and the following
photos are from our First Communion in 1962 aged 7. |
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HOLY COMMUNION 1962 #11 |
HOLY COMMUNION 1962 #12 |
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I
have come to the end of my memory and will leave you with the words of a pop song
that captures my little adventure back down memory lane. You can find it on
Youtube and listen to it and maybe you will see what I mean. The last time I
was at Mater Gratiae was in 2018 and no one was there so I just wandered around
and soaked it all up. I can still hear the laughter of children, smell the bush
so close that was once behind the school and feel my childhood hanging over me
like an old comfortable jumper. ‘Somewhere only
we know’ - Keane I walked across an empty land
Gerard
(Gerry) Putland |
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Also see Carilla Church
References Article: Gerard Putland Images: Gerard Putland 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12
Copyright : Gordon Freegard 2008 - 2023
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