Brisbane, QLD


Friday, January 3, 2014

COLLEGE GIRL

At long last I had been accepted into teacher's college in 1962 at ASOPA (Australian School of Pacific Administration) where we were trained to teach in the Territory of Papua/New Guinea or the Northern Territory. We studied the same subjects as the NSW teachers' colleges but with extra subjects to help us to understand about teaching native indigenous children and to understand their culture.
My First Year Class at ASOPA 1962


 I really enjoyed my time at college. One of the fun things we did was go skiing in the term holidays. It took about six hours to get from Sydney to Falls Creek Ski Resort camp. We hitched rides with the students who were lucky enough to have cars. Now I had bought a colour slide camera, which were all the rage for the next 10 years. So now I have boxes and boxes of slides to sort and scan. So here are some from our ski trip in 1962.
We stayed in the Bogong Ski Club Lodge


 In those days Falls Creek only had one T-Bar lift and one tow rope. Today it is a posh resort with many lifts and runs. Many students had never seen snow or skied before, which resulted in some hilarious moments. I could ski a little from the times I went with my high school. Not many of us had proper ski outfits and even those were nothing like today's high tech ski clothes.
 This is the view I had from outside the lodge overlooking the car park in the middle of the shot. We had to carry our bags from there up the hill to the lodge. I was glad that I had packed a light back pack.

Some days the weather wasn't too good but it didn't stop me.


Our PE lecturer took us tobogganing at night.


After cooking our own dinner in a communal kitchen we played games in front of the fire.

25 comments:

  1. well done on your story Diane; you've sure got a big project to work with and lucky you have all those slides

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  2. It looks like your college experience wasn't all study. The tobogganing looks like a lot of fun.

    Happy New Year!

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  3. If I look at the first picture of you all sitting together, it could have been taken here, same fashion, same hairdos,lol ! I never put my feet on a ski, I just hate snow. We once went to Italy in winter for skiing, but the only one who tried it was Dario ! The only thing I liked was to be able to take a sunbath in a bikini in the snow, lol ! Your pictures look great ! Just as if you had taken them yesterday !

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  4. Look at Gattina trying to steal the show with mental images of her in a bikini in the snow.

    The scenery is very picturesque. Slides seem to preserve images better than photos.

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  5. What fun you had, and are still having. The photos from your slides are of excellent quality. I look forward to the next installment

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  6. It is funny to see the first coloured pictures. Now you can see the differences with the recent photos. The colours are so blue and red. In those times we liked it a lot but things have improved a lot. Didn't know you had so much snow there in Australia to ski.

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  7. Diane, sounds like you had some wonderful fun times during your collage days. The slide photos are great. Thanks for sharing your story. Have a happy weekend!

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  8. these are really good photos and it looks like you really enjoyed your college years... it is true, photos are the pilot light of memory

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  9. You look just like Sonja in that group photo, Diane! What a fun time you had. Did you teach the children in their language or was it English? I'm so impressed at the good quality of your photos from slides. Here's to a wonderful 2014 for you and Bill. Jo

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  10. really an adventure. i just don't associate skiing with your continent.

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  11. Your story is so interesting. You must be delighted with the quality of the photos/slides you took back then.

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  12. Look at all those bright young faces, each one looking forward to all the adventures that the future would bring!

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  13. I, too, loved to ski when I was younger. I was never much good, but could get down an intermediate slope without killing myself or others, and that was enough for me. Your photos brought those days flooding back! Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

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  14. You're lucky your slides lasted the distance!! They're GREAT shots - I visited Bogong village in Autumn 2012 just before the first snow of the season, so it's interesting to see what it looks like with snow! Happy New Year!!

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  15. Gotta love that Kodachrome color! Fun times...we used to ski back in the late 60s, early 70s, and yeah, the clothes...

    I so admire you for putting together your story AND for taking time to sort through and scan those pictures. And I knew you in that group photo immediately ... the picture came up before the words...you are now famous and easily recognizable among your readers!

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  16. Such a beautiful smile!
    My slides from the early 70s are all discolored, tho they were beautiful colors years ago. It's nice that yours have kept so well. I enjoy reading about your life.

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  17. Wow- I don't think I've seen any of the slide-photos before! I'll bet that was a fun trip x

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  18. Your story continues to amaze me! And now in color! Wooohooo! ;)

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  19. 1962 was a great year, not that I remember it I wasn't born till November........lol

    I can't ski not that I have ever tried but I have a pretty good idea I would fall over if I did try.

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  20. What a lovely group of pics and memories! I still believe slides give a more vibrant image than photos, yours seem to prove that :-).

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  21. I bet you have some beautiful slides. Love the fun you had, great memories.

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  22. Those photographs have not only worn well, but they were excellently taken in the first place. Old photographs carry so many memories don't they.

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  23. It looks as if you had a great time on your ski trip. I hope you'll scan and share more of your slides with us.

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  24. It looks like an idyllic time in your life, Diane! I do like the vivid colors in your photo slides

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  25. Ah those were the days, you're so lucky to have so many great photos to look back on Diane .. Goodness me I was just reading your previous post, your girls are gorgeous, there's no question they're your daughters, they both look very much like you, its that fabulous smile I think!

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