Principal's Notes

It was with great sadness that the school community learned of the passing of Mr Ion Whykes, on Thursday October 13.

Mr Whykes is the longest serving principal of Healesville High School, with 19 years at the helm but it would be folly to think that his longevity in the role was his major contribution- far from it!

I was greatly honoured to be asked to represent Healesville High School and speak at the service held last week to celebrate Ion’s life.

Below is some of what I said, which I hope may give readers a greater understanding of the enormous contributions Ion made to our local school.

Healesville High School was a large part of Ion’s life, and Ion has played an ENORMOUS part in the life of our local school.

He is the pivotal, most influential figure in the history of the school, from his commencement as Principal in 1974, through the subsequent 19 years of his leadership- and in the 30 years since he has remained a constant supporter.

Ion was a transformative principal. It was a time of immense growth under Ion’s leadership.

He transformed the school from a small, remote country school to a large, contemporary outer metropolitan school, with Ion’s educational approaches subsequently studied and adopted by schools across the state.

He was an innovative thinker.

Some of his approaches were quite simple- expecting boys to study cooking and typing and girls to enjoy woodwork and metalwork where most schools at that time had far more gender stereotypical approaches.

His vertical modular curriculum structure was far from simple. In fact, it was a revolutionary approach to teaching and learning. 

Ion had studied these methods on his Churchill Fellowship in the United States in 1970 and when introduced in 1975, our school became the first in Victoria to adopt such an approach.

Ion was later quoted as saying: ‘we aimed for every student to work within their ability and each student had a different timetable’. The school’s senior results and student career pathways were greatly improved.

Healesville High School was viewed under Ion’s leadership as an exemplar school and others came from far and wide to study his systems.

Ion made things happen. 

Under his leadership the ECA Centre was built, in line with his vision that school and community should be closely connected.

The Marriott Library, the automotive building and Ion’s greatest facilities triumph, the heated indoor pool came into being.

The pool was a massive undertaking, a partnership between Ion, representing the Education Department, the Rotary Club of Healesville and the local Shire Council.

The project was a triumph, but it did experience one huge setback. A scaffolding disaster seriously injured Ion, his deputy principal Denis Brown, and teachers Guenter Laengst and Rob Duke.

Ion’s dedication to the concept was, however, undiminished- he and Jack Hort were the drivers of the pool project and their efforts have meant the community of Healesville has enjoyed the benefits of the indoor pool for the past 30 years.

As the head of his school Ion was universally regarded as a strong leader, he ran a ‘tight ship’ as the saying goes. He always wore a suit and tie, and his leadership was clear – there were no ‘grey’ areas.

Recently, on social media, tributes from former students have confirmed that he did, indeed, run a tight ship but far more importantly did so with wisdom, compassion and care for students. 

One former student, Geoff Chandler said: ‘I reckon he worked me out on our first encounter’.

Another, Michelle Donkin mentioned: ‘the punishment always fitted the crime’, and she went on to say: ‘his efforts, guidance and wisdom got through to me eventually and I earned a Bachelors-Degree in the health system’.

Charlie Richards shared these very apt thoughts.

He said: ‘Ion was an honourable man and even when challenged by those students ready to test him in the school environment, he maintained his sense of what was right and what was wrong. Ion always looked for the opportunity to place a wayward youth on the correct path’.

Ion was strong, he could be stern, and his direction and vision were clear.

He was also the most generous and supportive principal for students and staff alike. The support he gave to disadvantaged students for example, both emotional and financial, was quite remarkable and always offered in a most unobtrusive way. 

Ion never sought acknowledgement for that help.

Early in my time at Healesville I saw that support myself. A teacher friend, Rob, gained a transfer to a school closer to his home and found this out on the preparation day in January, the day before students start the school year. 

Rob simply could not settle at his new school and lasted only a couple of days. Ion then moved heaven and earth to get Rob reinstated at Healesville. It was a massive task. The Education Department can be inflexible and once Rob’s initial transfer was in place it wasn’t going to be reversed.

Ion’s compassion for his staff shone through. 

Despite the department’s opposition, Ion persevered and succeeded. 

Rob spent the rest of his career happily, successfully teaching at our school. 

Beyond Healesville High, Ion was highly influential in education state-wide, serving as President of the Victorian High School’s Principals Association in 1986, as President of the Victorian Association of Secondary School Principals in 1987 and 1988 and as President of the Victorian Principals Federation from 1989 to 1991.

Following his retirement in 1992, Ion continued to support the school; financially, emotionally and by sharing his guidance and wisdom.

On a personal level Ion’s support for me, and the guidance he offered me in my current role is something for which I will always be grateful.

His financial support for the Performing Arts and music was constant, generous and virtually anonymous.

The funds were routinely used for the school’s Annual Production. For many years Ion and his wife Wilma have been its major sponsors. In addition, their contributions to the music program provided subsidised lessons to disadvantaged students, allowing access to music studies where access was otherwise not possible.

The school’s 250 seat Performing Arts Centre is named  the Ion Whykes Performing Arts Centre, in his honour.

Ion is THE key figure in the life and history of Healesville High School.

No higher praise may be offered to an educator than to say ‘they made a difference in the lives of their students’.

Ion made a profound difference to the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of the young people of Healesville.

Allan Rennick