It was 1960.
It happened in Subiaco, Western Australia.
St Joseph's Marist Brothers School
Imagine an all boys school with 400 Catholic boys aged between ten and seventeen. Imagine all fifteen teachers are male Marist Brothers. Imagine St Joseph's Church a stone's throw away with two Catholic priests. Imagine one boy has a camera.
Imagine what might happen when the Marist Brothers School employs a new Grade Four teacher. The new teacher is not a Marist Brother or priest. The new teacher belongs to no religious order at all. The new teacher is secular, single and sexy.
The new teacher is female.
Miss Horrock's arrival at Marist Brothers was as though the sun had burst through the grey clouds. If you listened hard enough you could hear Katrina and the Waves singing 'Walking on Sunshine' (except Katrina wasn't around yet). There was chatter and gossip; in the same league as if Pope Pius XII got caught reading Playboy. Miss Horrocks arrival did not go unnoticed ........ by anybody. There were stirrings in the ranks of both boys and brothers.
To make matters worse (better I thought!) Miss Horrocks was slightly shy and bashful and suffered from a delightfully bad case of blushing at the slightest attention. With over 400 rampant lads in the paddock suffering from a sacred dose of Catholcity Miss Horrocks received more than the occasional glance. She blushed quite a bit.
Build into this scenario that one fifteen year old lad had worked his butt off for eight weeks during Perth's searing summer to buy himself a Hanimex C35 camera.
Just like in the Agatha Christie novels there was motive and passion. Then opportunity came knocking. The Feast of Christ the King was a major celebration for Catholics worldwide - even in Subiaco. All the boys and brothers piled into buses headed for Aquinas College to join all the other Catholic schools and colleges for Mass and singing and marching.
My mind was somewhere else.
I was fifteen and had never asked a woman to pose for me (especially one I had never met formally). But armed with my new camera and a roll of film I felt brave. Not only did I have the confidence to ask Miss Horrocks to pose, I felt it my duty to do so.
Her cheeks flushed when I asked her but she sat on the wall and held her hat and smiled so gracefully. I focused and clicked the shutter. Just one shot.
I thought 'I really like this' and sat next to Miss Horrocks for the ride to Aquinas.
It was my Catholic duty.
It happened in Subiaco, Western Australia.
St Joseph's Marist Brothers School
Imagine an all boys school with 400 Catholic boys aged between ten and seventeen. Imagine all fifteen teachers are male Marist Brothers. Imagine St Joseph's Church a stone's throw away with two Catholic priests. Imagine one boy has a camera.
Imagine what might happen when the Marist Brothers School employs a new Grade Four teacher. The new teacher is not a Marist Brother or priest. The new teacher belongs to no religious order at all. The new teacher is secular, single and sexy.The new teacher is female.
Miss Horrock's arrival at Marist Brothers was as though the sun had burst through the grey clouds. If you listened hard enough you could hear Katrina and the Waves singing 'Walking on Sunshine' (except Katrina wasn't around yet). There was chatter and gossip; in the same league as if Pope Pius XII got caught reading Playboy. Miss Horrocks arrival did not go unnoticed ........ by anybody. There were stirrings in the ranks of both boys and brothers.
To make matters worse (better I thought!) Miss Horrocks was slightly shy and bashful and suffered from a delightfully bad case of blushing at the slightest attention. With over 400 rampant lads in the paddock suffering from a sacred dose of Catholcity Miss Horrocks received more than the occasional glance. She blushed quite a bit.
Build into this scenario that one fifteen year old lad had worked his butt off for eight weeks during Perth's searing summer to buy himself a Hanimex C35 camera.
Just like in the Agatha Christie novels there was motive and passion. Then opportunity came knocking. The Feast of Christ the King was a major celebration for Catholics worldwide - even in Subiaco. All the boys and brothers piled into buses headed for Aquinas College to join all the other Catholic schools and colleges for Mass and singing and marching.
My mind was somewhere else.
I was fifteen and had never asked a woman to pose for me (especially one I had never met formally). But armed with my new camera and a roll of film I felt brave. Not only did I have the confidence to ask Miss Horrocks to pose, I felt it my duty to do so.
Her cheeks flushed when I asked her but she sat on the wall and held her hat and smiled so gracefully. I focused and clicked the shutter. Just one shot.
I thought 'I really like this' and sat next to Miss Horrocks for the ride to Aquinas.
It was my Catholic duty.
Like this entry and your blog Dale. Nice memories as well as - of course. - great photos.
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