Gorokan High School

REUNION - 1970s students - first four years through

2013-04-04T01:47:00.000+11:00

Anyone going to Gorokan High ANY time in the 1970s is invited to two reunions, one on Saturday 30 Nov 2013 and the following Sunday 1 Dec.

**All details now are tentative and definitely subject to change. The DATES, however are set in stone**

Reunion is for anyone UP TO those starting in Year 7/1979 which = Year 10/1982 = Year 12/1984 (this makes it the first four years that started at GHS from Year7 / 1976-1979). This cutoff will NOT be strictly enforced.

All invitees can certainly bring at least one guest. If you want to bring more than one guest, this is probably going to be fine as many will just bring themselves. Just be aware the re-union is for re-uniting, so your guest might feel a bit out in the cold?

Please accept this invitation now if you have a better than 50% chance of attending. And if you're now looking at the events page on Facebook now - use the INVITE FRIENDS option up toward the top right to do just that!

You need to contact me at this email address or better still get on to Facebook and visit the Event at this link here You should definitely visit the Facebook link (ie http://www.facebook.com/events/627338137283173/ ) even if you are not a Facebook user.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

2013-04-02T12:13:00.000+11:00

I need help to get more material on this blog.

I particularly need more class photos. Just check to see if your classes are here by looking under the Calendar Year(s) applicable. See this post for info on the filing conventions. If you scan them in, PLEASE do them at 300 dots per inch (300 dpi) for archival purposes. They will never have to be re-scanned then. It will be a bit slower and will take longer to email to me, but worth it in the long run.

Anything can be emailed to me, the best address to use is peter_deane@bigpond.com

We also desperately need to get NAMES for the class photos that are online. Several have got lists of names, but so many do not even have a start. The longer we leave this, the harder it will get. You can use the COMMENTS section under each photo to jot down your suggestions as to who's where in the photo.

And please, if you read a post and you feel like doing so - MAKE A COMMENT. It's not hard, and when we look back on this site in another 20 years it will be magical for memories.

And don't forget: there are reactions after every post. Good, bad or indifferent. Takes as long as like-ing something on Facebook, but you do have three options here.

Blog Sorted!

2013-04-01T03:53:00.000+11:00

It should now be a lot easier to find things on the blog - all posts have been sorted into years. There ARE some entries made in 2012 and 2013 posted as normal posts, including the very first post on 7 June 2012

But say you are looking for a class photo of 10S1 in 1980. The key is we use the calendar year (in this case 1980) then the SCHOOL YEAR is specified in the month. So a Year 10 article would be under October - 10th month, you see. Then the class number is the date. So for 10S1 in 1980 you look for 1 Oct 1980. Which will land you here.

If you can't remember the exact year, you'll have to fish around the year it MIGHT be. Just remember general stories are usually in the months of January and February (the start of the year) and Class Photos start in July (7th Month for Year 7) and can range through to December (12th Month for Year 12). For example, Year 12 of 1982 (there was only one photo) is filed under 1 Dec 1982.

Essentially, you can find all the articles under the year they apply to. I use the months from January to June (1st to 6th months) for general posts from that year. Take a look and see what you can find.

GHS Walkaround 10 July 2012

2012-07-18T04:10:00.000+10:00

On 10 July 2012 I was lucky enough to be able to walk around the school with a camera; the first time I'd been back in the school for not quite thirty years. Here's a Picasa Web Page with 40-odd photos on it which will help you reminisce. (Not so relevant if you've recently been to Gorokan High!). Most things are still the same, although they've added a lot of rooves over things (eg Main Quadrangle, Art Courtyard, between the Woodwork and Metalwork rooms, to the side of the Canteen, etc).

Despite a few changes, you'd definitely recognise the place. And considering it was built in 1977 and 1978 it's endured the use it's had over the last 35 years. Click on the image below to visit Picasa. We'll still be here when you get back!

Misc Photo 2009 Dux of the Year

2012-07-15T05:56:00.000+10:00

One can see this honour board is going to last twice as long as the other two, with only one student added annually. It also is the oldest honour board with its initial entry in 1976. The first year 7 students had 6 chances to make it on to the board (Pam Byles and Michael Martin didn't repeat school years: Pam got it in Years 7 & 8 and Michael got it in Years 11 & 12).

I am impressed by Michael Martin's efforts. When he first enrolled at GHS he was in class 7E6. He rose up through the ranks and ended up achieving Dux of the Form once he got to his senior years. Top effort, Michael. Either that, or there was a terrible error putting you into 7E6 in the first place?

Misc Photo 2009 Sportspeople of the Year

2012-07-15T05:48:00.000+10:00

Likewise, this photo was taken 10 July 2012, but only info up to 2009 was sign-written. Looks like the signwriter is going to have some restoration work to do next time he/she comes around as well!

Misc Photo 2010 School Captains

2012-07-15T05:45:00.002+10:00

This photo was taken last week (ie 10 July 2012). It might have included another couple of years' worth of entires, one would think? However, it does hold pride of place in the Admin offices. See anyone you know?

Press: 2012 Peter Kelty

2012-07-12T04:14:00.002+10:00

One of our alumni, Peter Kelty, made it into the Express/Advocate yesterday (11 July 2012) for teaching Tony Abbott how to make a whizz-bin. Just how succesful Peter's teaching efforts were is unclear. If the subject was mathematics, then he could have taught Tony Abbott that if the Carbon Tax was going to add $188,000 to Sulo's electricity bills, then they must spend nearly $2 million annually on electricity, and so an extra $188,000 isn't going to really send the company broke.

Thanks to the eagle-eyed David Falconer for letting me know about this one. If you see any other news articles on any of our alumni, please let me know. Here's the story.

The Formative Years (by Paul Cahill)

2012-07-12T03:57:00.000+10:00

Many thanks to Paul Cahill, who was a General Activities teacher at Gorokan commencing in the demountables in 1976, and retiring in 1998. Paul, like me, has a profound interest in the history of the school. This is an article he wrote for the school archives that I came across the other day. It was handwriten in his incredibly neat printing. Mr Cahill will never make a doctor!

The Formative Years of a High School at Gorokan

Gorokan High first opened its doors to students at the start of Term I, 1976. The total student body consisted of 231 students in eight Year 7 classes. [See Separate Lists]. The school was staffed by the principal, Miss Gwen Foley, deputy principal George Owens, fourteen teachers and five ancillary staff.

The school was in Dudley Street, on the site currently occupied by Gorokan Primary School. It was not until a couple of weeks before the start of the 1976 school year that the earthworks began and portable buildings began arriving on the site. All school buildings, including the administration area, toilets, change rooms, canteen and assembly area were portables.

Staff spent their first couple of days at the school unpacking equipment, moving furniture and generally setting up classrooms and other areas of the school to be ready to receive students.

Paths and covered walkway were not constructed until after students arrived and the school was operational. Students and the school community generally, showed great pride in their new school. Many activities were conducted to equip and beautify it, such as rockeries and gardens planted and maintained by students.

There was an assembly every morning and a formal assembly once per week held in the shelter shed adjoining the canteen. Students were supplied with rubber cushions to sit on for this assembly as no chairs were available. Frequently these assemblies had to contend with the noise of the pump-out truck emptying the septic tanks. Sewer connection was not available to the school at that time.

Also during 1976, work commenced on Stage I of the permanent buildings for Gorokan High. Goobarabah Avenue, the address for the new buildings consisted only of a short narrow road which stopped at the driveway to the school site and a cleared grassed "road" running up to where the present western entry is to the bus bay. These buildings looked so big and so grand that Miss Foley regularly referred to it as the “Taj Mahal”.

At the end of the 1976 school year, staff had to pack up all the school’s equipment, books and furniture, ready for removalists who were to transport all to the new school site for the start of the next school year.

The 1977 school year saw Gorokan High at its permanent location and settle into Stage I of the development. During the year, stage II, consisting of the English/Social Science block, History and Language rooms and Science laboratories 3 & 4 was constructed. The number of students at the school doubled and consisted of Years 7 and 8.

The start of 1978 saw all the permanent buildings completed and available for the students which then expanded to Years 7, 8 and 9.

During these years and through the 1980s saw Gorokan High develop a reputation of high standing within the community. This period was punctuated by a number of significant cultural and community events within the school, such as the annual school fete (which was always a big occasion); Asian Festivals; lavish stage productions such as “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat”, “Dracula Spectacula”, ”The Boyfriend” and “Godspell”. Gorokan students gained great enjoyment in contributing to the development of their school and being involved in its activities.

Even though the basic establishment and major buildings have long been completed, a school like Gorokan High never stops developing and changing to meet the needs of the community and the students. Over its years of existence Gorokan High has developed an enviable reputation and ex-students have reached high levels of achievement in university studies, sporting activities and various sectors of employment.

It has been shown to be true, for Gorokan High students of the past, that the more they contributed to their school, and the more effort they put into their studies, the more enjoyable school life was and the better prepared to achieve in life after school. This is just as true for the present and future students of the school. May all students benefit from these lessons of the past: rejoice in the history of your school; become involved in its activities; benefit from and contribute to its good reputation.

- Paul Cahill (General Activities Teacher 1976-1998).

Future Reunion for the early years at GHS???

2012-06-28T22:10:00.000+10:00

Having put this blog up and actually making contact with quite a few people I haven't seen for years, I think it might well be time to organise another reunion for the early years at Gorokan - say the first four years through, making it Year 10s of 1979, 1980, 1981 & 1982 (let's not be strict about it).

Let's give ourselves plenty of time to rustle up attendees, so say maybe early next year?? What time best suits you?

And we really should have it at the Beachcomber. The reason for this is that there are plenty of breakout rooms people can go into - either the pub itself or the other function rooms on Level 1. People can even stay overnight onsite if they're really keen, and the hotel will offer a discount on accommodation for hirers of a function room.

What I found at the last reunion (2009) was that we were all wanting to sit around and chat, and the band was simply too loud to allow that. Maybe it's because we're now getting closer to 50 than 40 and our hearing is going.

That's probably all I need to post - over to you - comments please so we can start getting rid of all these question marks??

Oh, and please, spread the word. We can use this website as an electronic meeting place - the comments work really well if anyone's game enough to use them!

Press: 2010 Mark Williams at Coffs Harbour

2012-06-20T04:14:00.002+10:00

Following the policy of preserving newsworthy items and photos of our classmates, here's an article appearing in a Coffs Harbour newspaper in 2010 about Mark Williams:

Press: 2009 Peter Foley on the Ella Bache

2012-06-20T04:03:00.002+10:00

Peter Foley (Year 12, 1982) has landed himself a position with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and occasionally has to front the media to give details of non-air transport incidents.

He's spoken about Jessica Watson's collision with a container ship on her way from Brisbane to Sydney to start her famous around-the-world trip. Here's a news footage grab from 7 News on 20 Nov 2009:

He also appeared on national television when the Pasha Bulker ran aground at Nobby's Beach in July 2007. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get a recording going at that time (probably before I had a PVR anyway).

Comments (please!!!)

2012-06-17T01:30:00.000+10:00

Okay, Okay, Okay, I have finally figured out how to turn the comments on so you DON'T have to be a member of an obscure network in order to post a comment. Mind you, if you DO have a Google identity (perhaps you have a Gmail account or have actually joined Google+) then it's probably the easiest and most convenient way to post comments on to this blog.

However for the not insubstantial number of you without membership of Google, OpenID or the other options, I've now opened the blog to comments from two other types of users.

Firstly there is the Anonymous user. Obvious what happens, but gee, please don't use it unless you have a really good reason for hiding your identity. Alternatively post from Anonymous, but leave your name in the actual comment somewhere. However the other way of doing it is to use the Name/URL method. You can enter your name and then add a website you're related to (if any) and it will come up after your comments.

For now (and hopefully all time) I'm not moderating comments, which means they will appear on the blog instantly. I prefer this, but if objectionable content does get posted in the comments (eg excess profanity, racism, offensive material, etc) I'll be deleting them, and possibly turning on the moderation if it continues to excess. This will mean comments will have to wait for me to read them and okay them before publishing. But I most certainly don't ever want to resort to this.

Mind you, with live comments, a pair of you MIGHT get involved in a live slanging match - so please guys, it's only a hobby and take a step back if you should feel termpers fraying. (This is, of course, assuming ANY comments at all go on the blog).

Another thing I'm interested in is whether or not to allow Google ADVERTISEMENTS on the blog. I have turned them on at my other blog (ie Bustopher Said... ) so you can scroll down and take a look at what they might look like if we turn them on here. They come up between every third or fourth blog post, and at the column over on the right-hand side (down the bottom). They are supposed to be context sensitive (eg next to the blog entry about my Princess Cruise in March 2012, will probably appear an ad for a cruise liner).

Advertisements give the potential to raise a very small amount of revenue. So far, from Bustopher Said... I have raised 42c over about two and a half years. However we'd probably be getting more traffic on this blog, so it might accumulate faster. Incidentally, once the total hits $150.00 they'll send me a cheque. Mind you, I'll probably be over 350 years old before this happens...

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Ads, and please - just leave a comment to say hello and let me know the blog IS getting used - I need the feedback.

Aerial Photograph

2012-06-12T03:19:00.002+10:00

Here's a satellite image of the site from Google Maps.

Wikipedia link (& history)

2012-06-12T03:13:00.000+10:00

I suppose no site would be complete without a link to our entry on Wikipedia, which is here.

For those who can't remember the school opened in 1976 in fully demountable buildings in Dudley Street, Gorokan with only a single school year (year seven).

In 1977 the school moved to its permanent site in Goobarabah Avenue Gorokan (now technically Lake Haven) with a limited number of classrooms, but also a Science block, Hall, Industrial Arts rooms, Music Rooms, Special Purpose rooms (eg Art, Tech Drawing), Administration Building and Library. At this stage it had both Year 7 and Year 8 students.

In 1978 major additions were opened including a few more science laboratories and a lot more classrooms. The school is modelled on the US collegiate system of design which means there are large numbers of courtyards around which various classrooms are situated.

School Poem and Hymn

2012-06-12T03:04:00.002+10:00

Yep, formality was the order of the day with Miss Foley. She tried to instill a feeling of goodwill and community amongst us all. Whether it worked or not was a different matter! Here are the school's official Hymn and Poem as we used to hear frequently at assemblies and formal gatherings.

To open this up for search engines, here is the text of the above

School Hymn: Let there be peace on earth

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

Let there be peace on earth the peace that was meant to be.

With God as our father, brothers all are we.

Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me - let this be the moment now.

With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow:

To take each moment and live each moment in peace eternally.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

School Poem: All Beauteous Things

I love all beauteous things

I seek and adore them

God hath no better praise

And Man in his hasty days

Is honoured for them

I too will something make

And joy in the making

Although tomorrow it seem

Like the empty words of a dream

Remembered on waking

Absolutely incredible how non-secular, patriarchal and obsolete these things are. The current school motto is "Pathways to Learning"!! You'd probably get sued by people having this school poem and school hymn in this day and age.

Right... What now??

2012-06-12T02:16:00.001+10:00

...phew! As you may be aware I used to have a Gorokan High website up on my personal web space with my ISP IntergrityNet at Gosford (not a bad ISP - excellent service, but expensive). When I changed ISPs back to Telstra BigPond, then that website disappeared, and it has been down for a lot longer than I had hoped it would have been.

We are now back with a vengeance, and with the option to include a lot more data (unlimited - it's hosted by "Blogger", which is a service provided by Google, so one can assume they have a big hard drive or two to keep the data safe). My personal web space was limited to a mere ten megabytes, and at the time of it going offline, the thing was occupying 8.96 megs, so we didn't have far to go.

Putting the site on to a blog is going to be tricky, as the arrangement of the blog is primarily chronological. IE the articles will come up in order of when they are posted. However the hosting charges are nil and as mentioned we have unlimited space, so there are huge differences.

The old blog was restricted to just MY year at Gorokan High (Year 10/1980). There is no reason to limit this blog to any year at all. In the early days of the blog, my material will naturally come from the early years because that's what I've got, but if I come across anything else useful from future years (or the one before), I'll put it online.

- Yours truly.

In addition, Blogger allows user comments (and I want to see a lot of them, guys). So it has the chance to be alot more interactive than the old web site. Another big plus is that it doesn't just have to be me adding the blog posts. If anyone would like to become either an editor or blogger, and you have the IT skills to be able to do it properly, please send me a line by email. (Finding my email address on the blog might be your first challenge - although it IS very prominent)!

Okay, so away we go. What on earth am I going to make the first (substantive) post, I wonder...

Inaugural post

2012-06-07T01:51:00.001+10:00

Okay, this is EARLY days, but the old Gorokan High site I used to have up will be transferred here in a new format shortly. For now this blog is merely a placeholder. But don't panic, we will be placing MANY things here in the near future.

-Peter Deane (Year 12/1982) (Second year of GHS)

Reunion: 2009 for 40-ish year olds at Wyong Leagues Club at Kanwal

2009-10-10T19:30:00.000+11:00

This reunion was organised by Darlene Williams-Woodger. The message she posted on Facebook read:

If you are now 40-44 ish years old, we are having a Gorokan High School get together and hope you can join us.

VENUE - Wyong Rugby Leagues Club Auditorium
DATE - 10th of October 2009
TIME - 7pm
COST - $25 per person
PAYMENT DUE 22nd of Aug

You have to pre-pay for this event as TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. The cost includes venue, security, finger food and music. Partners are welcome.

This was quite a well-attended reunion. Naturally, I only hung out with a limited number of people from my school year. So if you attended this and have more pictures, I'd love you to send them to me and I'll add them to the blog. These pics were taken on Deahne Campbell's (nee Gray) camera - many thanks.

Deahne Campbell (Nee Gray) and Murray Howard

Sharon Deane (Woy Woy High) and Peter Deane (I did wake up later)

Doug Vincent and Deahne Campbell (Nee Gray)

Doug Vincent, Deahne Campbell (Nee Gray) and Murray Howard

Elizabeth Bell (Nee Jenkins) and Scot Nieass

Craig Hemers and ???

Press: 2009 Doug Carley

2009-03-01T00:27:00.000+11:00

Photo courtesy of the Newcastle Herald

Oh, how the mightly have fallen.

No Gorokan High School blog would be complete without a mention of Doug Carley. Remember him? He transferred to Gorokan High from Cardiff in early 1979 and taught in the English Department.

He was Canadian, and thus one of his hobbies was Ice-Hockey. He also participated in Basketball, Drama, Philosophy and was a general agitator for the common good. He transferred away from Gorokan High the next year, citing the fact that all the rest of the staff had ostracised him. This seemed to be a pattern with him, as his history shows him transferring to quite a number of high schools in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area.

He joined the ALP and went on to get preselection as a Lake Macquarie councillor, eventually progressing to become Mayor in 1991. I can remember a Lake Macquarie Post article of the time depicting his father coming out from Canada to proudly see his son receive the Mayoral chain and robes.

In Easter 1993 he went to Fiji with a 15-year old youth called Derryck who supposedly referred to Doug as a "Dutch Uncle" (whatever that is). After all the inuendo and speculation he resigned from the post of Mayor and went back to teaching. It was at this point that he separated from and became divorced from his wife Judith - they used to live just up the road from me at Caves Beach and attended the Swansea branch of the ALP when I was frequenting it.

In 1996 he was placed on a three year good behaviour bond after being charged and convicted of indecently assaulting a fifteen year old boy who he coached at basketball. Hopefully the education department came to their senses at this point and stopped hiring him as a teacher.

In the intervening years he must have hit the skids, as he's popped up living in Fowler Street, Hamilton South, an inner-southern suburb of Newcastle. For those who know Hamilton South it needs no repeating that it's an area of Public Housing - reasonably high density flats and villas, all occupied by people from a lower socio-economic status.

Well, just recently he's hit the newspapers again. In 2009 he pleaded guilty to the aggravated indecent assault of a 12-year-old boy whilst living in the Fowler Street area. I need type no further, for those of you interested in reading the links to the Newcastle Herald articles, here you go:

Former Mayor on Sex Charge (10 Jan 2009)
ex-Mayor guilty of indecent assault (25 Aug 2009)
Former Mayor Sorry for Abuse (3 Oct 2009)

From Lake Macquarie Council Collection

He's also mentioned in Jeff Corbett's blog (Housing Children - 24 Sep 2009), and made The Australian in 2006 as the start of a string of ex-ALP Lake Macquarie councillors who seem to be into sex crimes (Doug Carley and Milton Orkopoulos (who actually gave me a lift home from a Swansea ALP branch meeting one night)).

He'll be out of gaol at the current point in time, and he was mentioning his intent to return to Canada. I wonder whether they'll let him back in?

Misc Photo 2005 New School Gates

2005-07-20T03:27:00.000+10:00

Parents and friends noticed a severe lack of class with the school gates and main entrance. Essentially it was unchanged from the opening of the school in 1977. In 2002, P&C Manager0 Larene O'Neill started "Operation Facelift", a large Community Project to give Gorokan High School an environmental facelift. It began with the help of the Central Coast Express Advocate and a group of volunteer Gorokan High School Students from grades 7 - 12. Three years later, in 2005, assisted by a large donation from Delta Electricity it struck pay-dirt, resulting in new school gates and a couple of signs. Here are the photos (thanks to Larene O'Neill for the pictures)

Press: 2002 Reunion Class of 1979 & 80 at the Beachcomber

2002-10-05T19:10:00.000+10:00

On Saturday 5 October, 2002 a reunion for our year and the year before was held at the Beachcomber. It was organised by Darren Gates, Lisa Cook(nee Crawley), Deborah Swan, Ben Ratcliffe, Kim Salodine, Catrina Cowan, Cathy Crooks, Donna McMillan, Linda Cummings and Kerrie Gordon. (phew). It was a very successful night, with music from a couple of bands (Rockin' Horse and Quadravibe) in the "Underground" room of the Beachcomber, and we were able to breakout into the quiet area near the pool entrance (formerly called the Nautilus Bar) which allowed wistful conversations. There were a couple of newspaper articles on this re-union.

NB: if these images are a little too difficult to read, click on the image to get it up in a separate display. You can then download the image by right-clicking it and selecting "Save Picture As". You'll probably be able to see it better displayed on your own computer where you can scroll around and enlarge it with much more control than here on the blog.

Misc Photo 2001 Aboriginal Students

2001-01-01T05:28:00.000+11:00

Click on photo for full-size image, or right click and choose Save TARGET As... to download.

Gorokan High prides itself as being the centre for Aboriginal studies on the 'Coast, with a dedicated building being constructed for the purpose. Here are the students who identified themselves as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in 2001.

Staff Photo 2001 (all)

2001-01-01T03:04:00.000+11:00

Click on photo for full-size image, or right click and choose Save TARGET As... to download.

In this photo: (coming later)

Staff Photo 2000 (all)

2000-01-01T03:03:00.000+11:00

Click on photo for full-size image, or right click and choose Save TARGET As... to download.

In this photo: (coming later)