Preshil memories 

Some memories of Elizabeth (Libby) Shade née Grierson who attended Preshil from 1947 to 1953

When we were old enough, we caught the little green bus along Barkers Road from the Beehive (opposite Kew Tram Deport, corner of High Street South). This stopped outside Preshil.

Walking up the drive, which seemed very long, the main feature was the three pine trees on the eastern boundary. These were the 'big pine', the 'little pine' and one other. These were trees for climbing. I never mastered them but my sister Jennie did.

At the top of the driveway was the old cable tram which was used for climbing in and over. Then came some rooms (still on the eastern boundary) which would have held the youngest nursery school children and a music room. This was where Miss Pat (Lyttle) took us for regular music classes, she at the piano. The music was folk music from different countries, and singers such as Burl Ives; songs such as David of the White Rock, Foggy Foggy Dew and The Blue Tail Fly. A visit by Joan and Betty Rayner of the Australian Children's Theatre was enjoyed. 

Looking around the nursery school area, there was a large peppercorn tree on the northern side and a palm tree on the south side outside the library window; this had to be removed in the 1950s due to the spikes.

On the western side was the room for the older nursery school children with an open front when the doors were opened. There was also, nearby, a place for children to hang their bags, which always smelt of oranges. The only plaything that I can remember in that area was a large rocker but there was probably a sandpit as well.

Near the back door of the house were the toilets in a line along the path. The rooms at the back of the house to the left and right of the back door were utility rooms with sinks and the right hand one was where the little bottles of government milk were left so that they were quite warm by morning play time.

Going into the house, the kitchen on the right was where the staff talked and had their meals. Turning down the passage to the left, we were only allowed to go as far as the library because the rest of the rooms were private for "Miss Margaret" as she was always called. In the library under the window was a bookcase full of Little Golden Books. Other shelves had many exciting books to read such as Mary Poppins, The Young Detectives, Emil the Detective, and many others. There was also a radio for listening to the ABC regularly, and a record player. We also did craft (macrame and weaving) in the library. Along the western side of the room was a chest of drawers where the spare hankies were kept, and if anyone had a runny nose, they were sent to get one.

Reaching the main hall, the sitting room on the left and the dining room on the right were used by the children on special occasions such as watching a short movie. The sitting room remains much as it was. The dining room had a large dining table and a door through to a room beyond. Going through this door brought us to a classroom which I certainly attended when I was 7. I remember when we all worked together to create a class newspaper. Outside was a beautiful tree with many cicada holes nearby in the ground which the children cruelly filled with boiling water. Nearer to the fence from there was a large area of clover grass where we spent a lot of time looking for 4-leaf clovers. You could get round to the front lawn from there, which we were only allowed to play on at supervised times - doing physical education, or playing games such as 'what's the time Mr Wolf' or for very special occasions. It was all grassed over, with trees.

Returning to the cicada play area, the next building along was the new pre-fabricated building which was purchased from England and installed in 1950. For some years after the war, it was very hard to get building materials in Australia so this was a cheaper and quicker alternative. (This has been replaced.) Outside was a fantastic jungle gym or climbing frame, approximately where the hall is now. Virtually all of the playground from there to Mount Street and to the side fence was bushland with many trees and wooden huts, some on the ground and some up in the trees. (The Pines was not purchased until many years later.)

Going ahead towards Mount Street, outside the main classroom block, there was a large slide and a swing. I suspect there wasn't much care taken to soften the ground around them, and some fairly hair-raising play took place on them. Ball games or team games actually weren't encouraged by Miss Margaret but there was a lot of activity with skipping (for the girls) and running; I don't recall what physical activities the boys had but they really loved the huts. The girls played with swap cards and jacks, the boys with marbles.

The main classroom block consisted of three areas; these being (from the east side) the little ones, the biggest ones (grades 5 and 6) and the grade 4 class. Somehow we managed to do all our schoolwork and creative art and playmaking in those rooms. These rooms have been replaced but physically they are in the same position.

Those are some of my memories, I am sure others will come back!

Libby Shade