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In a very different manner the year 1941 has brought us another distinction, sad but at the same time proud: recorded elsewhere on these pages are the names of the first members of this school to lay down their lives in the service of their country. They have achieved the highest honour of which man is capable - to die in the service of his fellows. Not selfishly, but very proudly we claim a small share of that honour, for we think of them as boys whom we sent out into the world equipped to do a man's work, and who have done it past fear of reproach, beyond possibility of eclipse.
In the famous schools of which we read, much store is placed on tradition. Griffith High School, the youngest high school in the State, has through the deeds of these past students, already gained a tradition which, in quality, the oldest schools cannot surpass, for they have given to their country so much that no one can give more. If we fail to maintain the tradition that they have set for us, we betray a secret trust.
Yet it will be given to only a few to gain glory as these young men have done. How then are we all to live up to their example? It can only be done by giving in all we attempt, only of our best, by aiming at the highest even in little things, and by keeping in mind that, no matter what sacrifices we make at this time which calls for so much sacrifice, we shall still have achieved little in comparison with those who gave all.
There is a story of a young curate who was visiting a stone quarry. As he was being conducted from one part to another he paused to ask each workman what he was doing. From the first he received the somewhat curt answer: "Cuttin' rock." The second workman looked on the same process in an equally mundane though more subjective way, and answered: "Earnin' eight bob a day." Not yet abashed, the curate asked a third. His perseverance reaped its reward in the reply: "I'm doing the spade work on a cathedral."
Which answer most nearly fits your attitude to the job in hand, girls and boys?
Though our school life is only a short period of our lives, it is invertheeless a very important one. It is at school that we learn to co-operate, to form our opinions and to play a useful part in our readiness for the time when we must take our place in the world. We bear its stamp to the end of our lives. Its every school's aim that its pupila shouls remember with pleasure their school days. What better reminder can they have than such a magazine as this? To look back at some future time on the face of old school friends and to read over the class notes or sport items is surely the best way of keeping the memory of the school evergreen.
As this, the third issue of "Oasis," is being prepared for the press, the British Empire and its loyal allies are entering the third year of a asecond World War. We in Australia are not affected very much by this titanic struggle which will result in either liberty or slavery for the world. We are far from the fields of battle and there are long periods when we can forget the war altogether, just as there are times when we forget the drudgery and routine of school work. We laugh and there shout on carnival days with gay abandonment, wen jostle one another in friendly rivalry, we honour the champions of our school, the more sincerely perhaps becouse we have tried to compete with them and have been beaten. This very privilege of forgetting is a sign that our frontiers are well guarded, that all is yet well with us.
Let us hope that throughout the war and for many years after it this magazine will continue to be published, for its very appearance means that freedom and happiness are being preserved for us. Let us hope that in the years to come it will reflect a happy and progressive school. the symbol of a happy and peaceful world.
Dept of English and History: Miss R. Hales, Miss E. Paine, Miss J. Ralph, Miss D. Heffernan, Mr D. Bowra, Mr J. Harrison, Miss J. Binskin
Dept of Classics: Miss E. Howie, Miss J. Binskin
Dept of Modern Languages: Miss E. Hales, Miss E. Wilson
Dept of Mathematics: Mr R. A. Golding, Miss B. Burrell, Miss J. Ralph, Mr J. Harrison, Mr J. Edmunds, Mr G. Brown
Dept of Science: Mr W. Barnett, Miss J. Baldwin, Mr W. Tearle
Dept of Geography and Business Work: Miss J. Baldwin, Mr R. Brooks, Mr A. Spence, Miss J. Binskin
Dept of Agriculture: Miss J. Baldwin, Mr W. Tearle
Dept of Home Economics: Miss J. Wallace, Miss M. Fogarty
Dept of Music: Miss R. Hales, Miss J. Ralph, Miss J. Binskin
Dept of Manual Training: Mr R. Donnison
Art Work: Miss M. Fogarty
Needlework: Miss B. Jukes
Dept of Physical Training: Miss B. Burrell, Mr J. Harrison
Librarian: Miss D. Heffernan
Sports Mistress: Miss B. Burrell
Sports Master: Mr G. Brown
Careers Advisers: Miss E. Paine, Mr J. Edmunds
Front Row (from left): J. Southwell, R. McFadzean (C), Mr R. Golding, A. Fergusson (C), J. Meggitt
Back Row: D. Whiting, Z. Johnson, M. Southwell, U. Edge, D. Currie, E. McDonald, J. Kendall
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| ATHLETICS CHAMPIONS | BASKETBALL TEAM |
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| Front Row (from left): N. Forrester, A. Fergusson, E. Hillam Back Row: C. Dobson, H. Tilden, R. Comb, K. Gow |
Front Row (from left): Z. Johnson, Miss J. Ralph, P. McKissack Back Row: J. Connor, B. Starr, B. Gamble, M. Main, D. Coxon |
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| HOCKEY TEAM | 1ST GRADE LEAGUE TEAM |
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| Front Row (from left): M. Gallagher, A Fergusson, Miss B. Burrell, D. Currie, E. Bartram Back Row: N. Forrester, S. Grey, B. Procter, G. Ross, B. Neville, U. McDonough, S. Molesworth |
Front Row (from left): G. Centofanti, Mr A. Spence, A. Marino Second Row: K. Olliver, C. Cameron, E. Crawford (C), L. Turner Third Row: J. Kendall, M. McCulloch, F. Negrini, F. Saunders, K. Hudson Back Row: C. Dobson, R. Stevenson, R. McFadzean, J. Southwell, J. Bowsher |
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| 2ND GRADE LEAGUE TEAM | 3RD GRADE LEAGUE TEAM |
|---|---|
| Front Row (from left): A. Cameron Second Row: R. Wakley, D. Whiting (C), Mr D. Bowra, A. Martin, E. Shaw Third Row: S. McWilliam, S. McFadzean, N. Smith, K. Gow, P. Connor Back Row: Scott, E. Pratt, J. Southwell, D. Dossetor |
Front Row (from left): A. Cameron (C) Second Row: Harris, H. Tilden, Mr G. Brown, W. Trennery, P. Mallinson Third Row: P. Kendall, L. McFadzean, E. Lorenzi, J. Duchatel, R. Comb Back Row: T. McCarthy, I. McCulloch, H. Smith |
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| SWIMMING CHAMPIONS |
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| Front Row (from left): C. Dobson, E. McWilliam, E. Pratt Back Row: B. Proctor, A. Fergusson, E. Molesworth |
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WINTER
By John Duchatel (Yr 4)
Now Winter sets her icy hands, cold, bleak,
On verdant fields and stately growing trees,
Enwrapping many a rugged mountain peak
In shadow's freezing grip and biting breeze.
Now downward, like an endless avalanche,
Falls piercing sleet and thunder through the sky;
Now gaunt and bare sways every dismal branch,
And creaks defiance as the storm howls by.
STORMY SUNSET
By Estelle McDonald (Yr 4)
Apollo's flight was marked by flaming skies
And rapid banking cloud of crimson hue,
His passage now by yonder pine-clad rise
Is more majestic as he sinks from view.
Onward he slips and unobtrusively;
Between the somber banks of threatening cloud,
In silence guides his steeds; ashamed is he
He cannot overcome the gloomy crowd.
Below yon distant hill he sinks to rest
And leaves behind, concealed among the grey,
Patches of scarlet, gold and amethyst.
And so there closes in another day,
Another picture fades, as far away
The mountains lose themselves in evening mist.
FORGOTTEN DREAMS
By Joy Southwell (Yr 4)
Some precious thought, some dream of rainbow gold
Once filled our childhood with a rosy hue,
The world was always bright, the sky e'er blue
But now those dreams are gone, and we grow old.
Those dreams we loved, too precious to be told,
Unlocked the door to "What We'd Like to Do."
That land of hopes, too daring to be true,
Is barred, for now no more the key we hold.
But now those searching hands which held the key
To open up the land where dreams came true
Are stretched towards a greater world and new;
With Youth's bright eyes we would begin to see
The rougher path our eager feet must find,
For idle dreamers now are left behind.
AUSTRALIA
By Una Edge (Yr 5)
What joy it is to view this land, my home,
From on the summit of a ridge burnt bare
By recent fires, which jewlled the outline there
And lit the once dark sky. As here I roam
Or sit upon a rock, flung up on high
Into the freer air which fans my face,
I gaze upon the forest pines; black lace
They seem against the blue Australian sky.
I cannot look upon this country, grim
At times, yet blooming fresh each Spring,
But come inspiring whispers to my heart,
And vigour strengthening the flagging limb.
It makes me wish to do a noble thing,
Or play unfaltering my destined part.
THE HERMIT
By Jock Southwell (Yr 5)
I sit upon a mountain top; my thought
The only link with people far below.
I wonder why they always hasted so
While I contented dwell; by nature taught
The priceless things that men all seek to buy.
I live afar from haste or strife or foe
My feet unfettered, free to come and go.
I live at peace, beneath an open sky.
My simple needs the stream and woods supply.
For sordid gold I have no need to toil.
The forest creatures and the birds that fly,
Companions are. The rich and virgin soil
Supplies my need. The seasons saunter by;
While on the plains the fever'd millions moil.
Drawn by Joan Meggitt (Yr 5)
