‘In at the deep end…’ first teaching job brought Joan to Narrabri West Public

Nineteen-year-old Joan Beaumont stepped down from the North West Mail at Narrabri railway station at 6am in February 1959 ready to take up her duties as a teacher at Narrabri West Public School.

She later said it was a case of being ‘thrown in the deep end’ and learning on the job.

But everything worked out well for Joan and her pupils.

Just out of teacher’s college Narrabri West was her first teaching job in a strange town and she had no idea where she would be living.

“In 1959, I arrived at Narrabri West,” recalled Joan, nowadays Mrs Woods – she met her husband Barry (West Public pupil 1943-48) at a Narrabri Town Hall dance.

“We trainee teachers had finished our two years’ at Armidale Teachers College,” she told the audience at the Narrabri West Public School reunion dinner on the October long weekend.

“We patiently waited for the Education Department to notify us of our first appointment. First, I received a letter … Walgett Public School!

“But wait – then there was a change, a telegram to report to Narrabri West Public School. It’s the Western area, so an extra week of holidays because of the heat.

“My suitcases were packed with summer dresses with four yards of material and the rope petticoat.

“We girls didn’t wear slacks back then and stockings were a must.

“Dad had driven me from home to the Armidale/Grafton Road to catch the mail car to take me to Armidale to meet the train.

“I was on my way.

“I was all night on the train with a transfer at Werris Creek to arrive at the Narrabri Station at about six in the morning.

“No board was arranged, so my thought was ‘I’ll wait at the station for a while.’

“Mr Burt, the taxi driver came to my rescue, that is what happens in country towns.

“I’ll take you to Mrs Briggs, she takes lady boarders, and if she hasn’t room she will know of somewhere else,” he told me.

“My friend from college, Ros (now Ros Stanford) was already there, but there was no room for me.

“I ended up at Mrs Etheridge’s boarding house in Dangar Street.

“The young male teacher gave Pat Pollindine and myself a lift each day.

“My class was second-third class. There were 35 children in the class photo – I’m sure there were more than that in the composite class, perhaps 48 pupils.

“Back then, there were no text books or photo copiers to help us out.

“My classroom was next to Mr Smith, the headmaster. After all I was first year out, and lacking experience. He needed to make sure I was handling it.

“We had received our big blue curriculum which outlined what each primary class was to be taught, for every subject.

“We had a chalk board and chalk.

“We had a jelly pad for making carbon copies for the children’s books. This was made with gelatine in a slice tray.

“You would make a carbon copy, press it onto the jelly and then press each child’s book to the jelly pad, ready for tracing or colouring.

“It was reheated to absorb the carbon ready for the next use.

“There were readers for each class, but when you were in third class you received the school magazine and started ‘running writing.’

“I can’t remember that we had a library. Maybe there was a bookshelf in each room.

“The summers were hot, the winters were cold, but we had the wood stove.

“I remember the Tribe boys were early to school and would bring the wood in.

“Mrs Smith’s class was out in the weather shed, with a hessian bag on the open side to make it into a room.

“Pat, later Mrs Gett, had Kindergarten. She played the piano for our Assemblies.

“We had the weekly singing broadcast, with song books to sing along.

“I was in at the deep end, and you learn on the job. Some of you, were my guinea pigs – all of you did well.

“Then there were fun times in the playground. Shooting goals with the girls in the netball ring. I still have the photo of our vigoro team. Of course you had to be on the playground a lot of the time, with such a small staff.

“In the last term in 1961, I was transferred to Bathurst, where Barry already had a position with Corrective Services.

“After Narrabri, my teaching service took me to schools in Bathurst, Baulkham Hills, Rooty Hill and Seven Hills. Teaching continued, with breaks to have our children. Our family is two sons and their wives, five adult grandchildren and five gorgeous great grandchildren. In retirement, we’ve lived at Murwillumbah, Boambee East and now at a beautiful retirement village at Toormina.

“We are blessed to be still healthy and fairly fit – even though, we are supposed to be elderly.”