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Captain Charles Cousins, a popular Sydney radio announcer, now a prisoner of war in Japanese hands, was in the habit of saying, "We live in stirring times." Before he ceased broadcasting over three years ago, to join Australia's fighting forces, he said, "Were I given the choice of living my allotted span in any period of the world's history, these very years would be the ones I'd choose." Amongst those of us who heard his words, and could see only the bloodshed, deprivation and hardship of those dark days, there must have been very few who were ready to make the same assertion for themselves; but for those of us less imaginative than he was the "stirring times" are now being displayed like the open pages of a book for all to read.
Yet is was not only of military victories that Captain Cousins then spoke. His vision extended beyond that to the great work of reconstruction which is still to come. The victories with which the Allies have made 1943 so memorable will have been largely in vain, unless with the military peace they must eventually bring, they do not also bring a greater and more abiding peace - the deep-seated national peace that will create economic security for every individual throughout the empire, that will give every man and woman the opportunity to play the part for which he is best fitted in a progressive world, that will create equality of opportunity independent of wealth and social status. The attainment of such things as these, though far less spectacular than, say, the conquest of North Africa, is another aspect of Captain Cousin's "stirring times." Space will not allow the detailed tabulation of the many forms of social and economic progress which we can hope for as one of the fruits of victory. Let us limit the field, however, to education, where our own interests lie most closely. In the field of educational reconstruction these are some of the things that have been achieved in the past few years: the school leaving age has increased from fourteen to fifteen years; the curriculum has been altered to allow of "literary periods," "hobbies periods," music and handwork, as well as the academic subjects; an extension of physical training activities with specialist teachers aims to attain more nearly the ideal of "a sound mind in a sound body"; drastic alterations have been made in the examination system; systematic work in vocational guidance is undertaken by trained psychologists in all big schools. All these things are only pointers to the great field of educational reconstruction whose soil we have now only just begun to turn in readiness for a great post-war planting and harvest. Add to this the fields of industry, agriculture, water conservation, mining and many others, and some idea will be gained of the great work that will engage the minds of many thinkers when final victory has been won.
It will fall to the lot of some of the pupils of Griffith High School to take part in this great work of reconstruction. It will be the good fortune of all to enjoy its fruits. Let us see that we are worthy, both of the tasks and the benefits.
We feel that this, the fifth issue of "Oasis" is a particularly good one, and that we have all aimed at giving of our best, even if the contribution has been of the smallest. A school magazine is an important feature of school life, for in it are recorded most of our school activities, literery, sporting, social and academic. Since space is limited, let us consider the narrow field of debating and public speaking. From such humble beginnings as the school debate one of the best orators of the age may arise. Who knows but that one of us may even now be practising his eloquence on his fellows with the unrealised possibility of one day coming a future Prime Minister of Australia. The person who takes the oppertunity of speaking amongst his own school friends, later in his career will feel confident in addressing large gathering of strangers. With debates taking place in each class we feel sure that when the next occasion arises for pupils to address the whole school there will be keen competition to be among the chosen few.
In the world of sport we have many successful and happy trips to other schools to recored. We have had some hard fights, have lost some matches and won others, but we have always played the game and shown a generous spirit worthy of Griffth High School.
Many students, again showing school spirit, submitted much good work to be printed in their magazine. Some of these entries, unfortunatrly, could not be printed owing to war-time lack of paper, but each contributor, whether successful or not , helped to make our school worthy of its motto, "Postera Crescam Laude" (This school shall grow with praise ever freshly won).
In conclusion, it is our sincere hope that when the 1944 edition of "Oasis" is printed the world will once more be at peace.
Dept of English and History: Miss M. Barrett, Mrs K. Bowra, Mr D. Bowra, Miss J. Harris, Mr J. Harrison, Miss M. Miller
Dept of Classics: Miss E. Howie
Dept of Modern Languages: Miss R. Hales, Miss M. Miller
Dept of Mathematics: Mr R. A. Golding, Miss L. Blumfeldt, Mrs K. Bowra, Mr D. McKay, Mr I. Nay
Dept of Science: Mr W. Barnett, Mr W. Tearle
Dept of Geography and Business Work: Mr R. Brooks, Mr A. Spence
Dept of Agriculture: Mrs E. Powys, Mr W. Tearle
Dept of Home Science: Miss G. Fernance, Miss G. Guy, Mrs E. Powys
Dept of Music: Miss M. Barrett, Miss R. Hales
Dept of Manual Training: Mr S. Smith
Art Work: Mrs K. Bowra
Needlework: Miss B. Jukes
Handwork: Mrs E. Powys
Dept of Physical Training: Miss L. Blumfeldt, Mr D. Bowra, Mr J. Harrison, Mr D. McKay, Mr I. Nay, Mr A. Spence
Librarian: Miss J. Harris
Sports Mistress: Miss M. Miller
Sports Master: Mr A. Spence
Careers Advisers: Miss M. Miller, Mr D. McKay
THE MAN IN THE MOON
By Heather Bell (Yr 1A)
The Man in the Moon is a friend of mine,
He comes when the stars begin to shine;
I fancy he lights them one by one,
And never stops till the work is done.
Sometimes I do not see him at all,
And I think most likely he's gone to call
The naughty stars that would rather try
To play hide-and-seek in the cloudy sky.
SUNSET
By Shirley Mathews (Yr 1C)
The sun is slowly sinking,
Slipping to his rest;
Each bird is quickly making
Homward to his nest.
The sky is tinted yellow,
The clouds are lightest pink;
The sun he lags and lingers
As if he'll never sink.
The birds will soon be sleeping,
The light will fade away,
The moon is upward creeping
To take the place of day.
THE "DIGGERS"
By Rita Parker (Yr 3B)
In the distance I could hear them,
I could hear the tramp of feet,
I could hear our soldiers coming
As they marched along the street.
Then I saw the khaki uniforms,
As oft I had before,
As they strode along the highway
On their way to win the war.
Some looked cheerful, some looked weary,
But their hearts, I'm very sure,
Had in each the fighting spirit,
That was sure to win the war.
They would tread the burning desert,
They would bear the jungle heat,
They would swim through raging water,
They would stand in snow and sleet.
They would dare the greatest danger,
They would face the roaring gun;
They were going into battle,
And they'd fight till they had won.
THE SOLDIER
By Ruth Maegraith (Yr 4)
The great god Mars has called, and he must go
To lands abroad, far, far across the sea.
To many a foreign port and busy quay,
To burning desert sands and wastes of snow.
Through countless ages man has fought his foe,
And warred 'gainst famine, flood and enemy,
To keep his land inviolate and free.
He does not falter, seeming thus to show
That he is of the cast his fathers were,
When first they braved the dangers of this land,
And toiled and died upon the Western Plains.
You, future generations, honour her,
Your country; fight to save her from the hand
Of greed and hatred and dishonour's stains.
Drawn by
Rosamond Twigg (Yr 2B)
Drawn by
Marjorie Hicks (Yr 4)
