SPORTS MAD

I am in second row on the right.

My last year at school was coming to an end.

I found it hard to concentrate on my studies as I was still keen to participate in every sporting event possible and I had also discovered boys. 

I attended the State High Schools Athletic Carnival. I enjoyed representing my school but I didn't win anything.

But our team won the shield.

Second back row, Fifth from left.

My favourite sport of all was hockey. I played in the school team but also for a club on the weekends. I played hockey from when I was 13 to 28. 

Port Hacking High School Hockey Team 1959. (Front row first on left)

 I had the best parents but I probably didn't appreciate them enough when I was a teenager. They had worked hard, lived in a tent, built a house and educated two kids. They had no extended family in Australia to give support.

Dad and I are studying the morning before an exam.

My dad had to leave school when he was very young. He missed out on getting a free scholarship for further education by one place. They only took the first placed boy, Dad came second.He got a job pulling a concrete roller over the local cricket pitch and earned sixpence a week which he gave to his parents. In 1959 after he had finished building the house he went to night school after work and studied to get his Leaving Certificate. It was the same year as I was doing it at school so we studied together and sat the exams on the same day. We both passed. He pursued a better position in the public service and I had qualified for Teacher's College.