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Once a month, I receive an update from the Kingston Historical Website, advertising the month’s new articles. I have written a number of articles for it over the years, about Mentone, Kilbreda and the nuns, and others about Cheltenham, Heatherton and my considerably large family. Two others have written more articles than I have; the Kingston historian and founder of the project, Dr Graham Whitehead, and a great hero of mine, Mr Leo Gamble. Leo was a teacher at St Bede’s when I was there. He would have been my Year 11 Coordinator, but took the year off to write “St Bede’s and its McCristal Origins”, released in 1982. Later, Leo penned “Mentone Through the Years”, released in 2003, to which I referred in my last article.

It is also happens that Leo’s daughter Jenny Fries, class of 1979, started teaching here with me 31 years ago, alongside current staff Jacinta Devlin and Maree Clark and CRTs Trish Ryan and Dawn Schurmann. Jenny joins us again this week, I believe, having spent 2009 until now at OLSH. A talented English, Maths, SOSE and RE teacher, she is also a handy table tennis player and I look forward to a rematch. Jenny was also a Year Level Coordinator on a number of occasions and the Careers Councillor.

Leo and his dear wife Margaret currently live in care in Mordialloc. Not so long ago, both would be seen regularly walking from their home on Como Parade West to ‘the Parade’ to shop, or for Leo to visit the Museum, where he was President of the local Historical Society for many years. In this capacity, he spoke about Mentone’s history to visiting groups of Year 7 students. It was Leo, who, when I was on the point of taking a job as Language Coordinator at St Bede’s some years ago, convinced me that Kilbreda was the place for me.

This month’s update contains an article announcing the Heritage Nomination of Kilbreda’s historic building. “The Mordialloc and District Historical Society has nominated the original part of Kilbreda College to Heritage Victoria for protection under State legislation. This part of the college was originally built by Matthew Davies 1887 for use as a coffee palace. In July 1904 the Sisters of St Brigid took over occupancy of the building and commenced educating local Catholic children. See: Damian Smith, The Sisters and Kilbreda, Kingston Local History Website Article No. 627.”1

Damian Smith

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1 Kingston Local History News - April 2020