A recent reunion of school students from Mt Buller’s first primary school saw about eight original children and one former teacher gather for the ‘almost 60-year’ get-together.
Attending the reunion dinner held in St Kilda, Melbourne were the Forras children, the Duffs, along with their first full-time teacher Helen Headon (now Williams).
“Unfortunately Ken, the Duffs the Steiners and Barney Smith could not make it this reunion but hopefully the next one,” Marika Forras explained.
Mt Buller School No. 4959 opened on July 19, 1996 under the guidance of its first teacher, Miss J Nelson. The Mt Buller community had funded the employment of Miss Nelson before the Education Department declared an official school and full time teacher. In 1965 a teacher, Robyn Williams, had been teaching the children in makeshift classrooms prior to the education department forming an official school.
Classes were held in a variety of locations including, the first, in a room at the Forras brothers’ Bull Run Canteen, the lounge room of the flat attached to Bill Duff’s ski hire, another room at the basement of the ABOM and another in the Kooroora then owned by the Forras family. It is now housed in the Alpine Central, Level 2 with about 23 students enrolled this year – a smaller than usual number attributed to lack of housing for families who work on Buller during the winter season. Many of the workers and their families now find accommodation off mountain.
Marika Forras said: “Our respective parents lived and bought us up on the mountain so organized our first (full time) teacher back in 1965 the lovely Helen Hayden.
“In our first year the school was held in our family kitchen at Grey Rocks, Kooroora Chalet. And in ensuing years we also had school at the A- Bomb restaurant and at the Duff ski hire. Eventually the first Mt Buller primary school was built at the back of Malony's Ski Hire,” Marika recalled.
Talking with Helen Williams following the reunion she said she loved Buller and the school and the kids.
She could remember when electricity was brought up the mountain – great celebrations. Up until that time generators were used for power.
Helen said she also remembered when the
Grimus chair lift was built and then expanding to the triple chair.
In her later years she returned to the mountain but not as a teacher but for a season managed SkiLib – “and had a ball” she recalled.
She kept going on up to Buller – for skiing – and up until eight years ago was still skiing – loved it, she said.
The Buller History Book quotes the Department of Education erected a 20ft by 20ft (six metres by six metres) insulated portable school near the Post Office, behind the old Auski Ski Hire. The primary school moved to the La Trobe University building when it was built and the school building became a police station.
Sue Roberts and Andy ‘Spook’ Kelly put their two children, Emma and Jason through the Mt Buller primary school, giving them the unique experience of attending school above the snowline.
Moving the school into the university building transformed the size into two rooms within that building and facilities such as the sports hall were available for the students. In 1998 there were 16 children enrolled and by 2007 numbers had grown to 40 pupils.
“We had our school concerts at Kooroora chalet in the early years as well.
“The early school students in those days were Peter and Gina Forras, myself Marika and younger sister Susie Forras, Nikki and Tracey Duff, Ken Hedin, Emma and Barney Smith, Johnny Weichman and Tony Aslangul. Later the two Steiner children, Katie and Sally, joined us as well.
“I remember they did a story on the first school in the snow and was in the Herald Sun in 1966 and had pictures of us going to and from school with skis on our shoulders and having skiing lessons,” Marika said.
“I believe Mt Buller primary became very popular in later years and schooled quite a few children from the residents that lived on the mountain.”
Watch for the next issue of Buller News when we visit the Mt Buller Primary School as it is today - an annexe of the Mansfield Primary School with teacher Sue Speils.
