Our own Judith Eadon was recently asked to speak at the Box Hill Historical Society and she was invited to share her presentation with us.Judith was one of the first pupils at Kerrimuir Primary School when it opened in 1959. At the time, Box Hill North was developing from orchards into an outer suburb of Melbourne and children were mainly from an English-speaking background and from single-income families. In February 1959, the school already had 300 children but only 6 classrooms!
She grew up on the corner of Springfield Road and Kerrimuir Street Box Hill North in the ’50s to the echo of floor boards being nailed together, due to the post war housing boom. The eldest of four children, she attended Blackburn North Primary School for a year until Kerrimuir Primary School was built. Her parents, Peg and Frank, were pillars of the school community, being office bearers on the School Committee and Mothers’ Club for many years. Her Mum became the school secretary at Kerrimuir and worked until the early ’90s.
Judith reminded us about some of the experiences that children of our generation shared:
- Government-suppled milk in Tetra Paks that was sometimes left out in the sun
- School banking sponsored by the State Bank of Victoria (now defunct)
- Monday morning Assembly
- The standardised books for each year level
- The segregated play areas and the stereotypical roles for boy and girls
We are very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable local historian as a member of our Club.
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