Logie Onslow:
My name is Logie EnsOnslow, and I'm currently a visiting teacher in Northern Mallee based in Mildura. And I believe my family history goes back to 1878 to my great grandfather Clement John Colston Baker, who started at 16 and a half as a student teacher and there's been a descendant of his in the education department ever since, so almost the 150 years of public education in Victoria.
My great-grandfather started at Beeac Primary School. Clement actually taught his children as well. Quite amazing. Fred Clem, Percy and Bert all became teachers within the Education Department. His first teaching report said that he wasn't really a very good teacher, but he certainly matured into the role and exonerated himself in his later career.
This is my Great Uncle Clem, who was the head teacher and obviously the only teacher with eight students at Mallacoota Primary school in 1910. You can see from the photograph that the school was bark hut and the slabs didn't meet, so it must have been very uncomfortable in the winter particularly. At one time he fitted a boat called The Wanderer with three sets of oars and most of his pupils proceeded to school each day per The Wanderer. It is reported that they made good time too.
Going to tell you a little about my grandfather, Percy Baker. He had started teaching when he was 17 as well in 1907. I don't know all the schools that he taught at, but certainly obviously in East Gippsland. I know he was at Dana Street in Ballarat when he was quite young and then was head teacher at Moorilim, which is near Murchison East. And then they moved to Baddaginnie, and my mother started school at Baddaginnie at the age of three.
My grandfather drank from a stream and contracted hydatids and was superannuated out at that point because he lost his voice. He certainly had it in later life, so I don't know what the rules were, but he didn't go back to formal teaching. But he was a teacher all his life, always finding something to tell you about, what was happening in the world. My grandfather also sent postcards to his mother from Wangarabell and included lots of shots from around Mallacoota, which is where The Wanderer would've been. I'm wondering even if the three oared boat in this postcard is actually The Wanderer, but no one will ever know. Amazing to have these postcards with the beautiful old copper plate writing on the back, so a treasure.
My Great-Uncle Bert's daughter, Nancy became a teacher in 1929. She obviously enjoyed her career, but she got married in 1935 and back then women had to leave teaching if they got married. She was called back in strangely enough when there was a shortage during the war and started work in 1941 and worked to 1943. And then obviously they didn't have a need for Nancy. They had men who could do the job and she was a married woman, so out she went again or maybe she started to have children. Her husband died early, so in 1968 she resumed her teaching career. Quite amazing for her to, after all those years, 20 plus years, to be able to resume a career that she had had to abandon, and that shows how much she loved teaching I believe. She didn't retire until 1976.
My Uncle Walt taught me at Mildura Central in grade three and he had an amazing program. He did differentiate the curriculum and we had fun. He played the piano accordion and had jokes. That's when I thought, "Yes, I really would like to be a teacher." From grade three, I think I had quite decided I was going to be a teacher.
I'm holding a photograph of myself round about year 10 at Mildura High School. And at that stage I was definitely going to become a teacher if I was able to get a place. And so I had chosen subjects that would suit that. In the applied and calculus subject there were 59 students in the classes, so it's quite different times, but good grounding at Mildura High School for my career.
I went to teacher's college in 1970 and as we were bonded back then, that was actually the start of my time with the Education Department because we were Education Department employees right from the very start. It makes me feel very proud and obviously there's a teaching gift in the family and that has been able to be used. My advice to anyone who's thinking of becoming a teacher is to absolutely go for it. If you love people and you love learning, you must become a teacher. It's the most rewarding career on the planet I believe. Every day you'll have something to be thankful for. You'll know that you have made a positive influence in the lives of people, and that is something that I don't believe any other profession will give you that. If you are thinking about it, please think about it very deeply and become a teacher and you won't be sorry.
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