Tarriaro district kids once had their own local school

Narrabri district was once dotted with small, one teacher schools where all the pupils, from kindergarten up, studied in one classroom.

Pupils came from properties in the local area and the teachers usually boarded at a nearby farm.

Tarriaro was one of the districts which had its own school, complete with horse paddock – many kids rode their horses to school.

The school was just a few hundred metres from the turn off at Tarriaro bridge.

The school proudly wore its Tarriaro identity.

“Kids at Tarriaro Public used to wear a purple t-shirt to athletics, emblazoned with a big ’T’ for Tarriaro,” recalled former Narrabri resident Bill Haire.

“And the Tarriaro kids used to do very well at athletics carnivals.”

Bill was in Narrabri recently to catch up with family and friends and undertake some research into the Tarriaro school.

“I am looking for any old Tarriaro school photos or memorabilia,” he said.

“I had a conversation with Carmel Kenniff, nee Smith, whose family’s property was ‘Tarriaro’ and she said that she didn’t have any old photos of those school days – could we try and track some down?

“Carmel mentioned that her late mother had lots of slides of school activities – but no-one knows where the slides are.

“We would really like to hear from anyone who has some Tarriaro school photos from the days of Carmel and Tony Smith and Bob and Richard Haire,” said Bill.

Tarriaro pupils proudly wearing their T for Tarriaro t-shirts at the PSSA sports day in Narrabri in 1953.

Bill’s siblings are Bob, the late Richard, Vince and Sue.

Unlike his brothers, Bill wasn’t a pupil at Tarriaro, he went to St Francis Xavier’s in Narrabri and later to St Joseph’s in Sydney.

After Bill left Narrabri he attended Armidale University, was a teacher in Sydney, and his journey took him to running his own fruit and flower kiosk business at Circular Quay for 30 years.

Bill met his wife Penny when he ran the fruit stall, later an expanded kiosk, at Circular Quay where he would see many familiar Narrabri faces over the years.

“Penny’s father was Ron Wherrett, the Tamworth-based radiologist,” said Bill.

“He was well-known in the region. He and his brother Sid flew and drove to x-ray patients across the north west.

“Ron was a friend of Dr Ted Buckley, and like Ted, had a flash car – a Rover. Ted variously had Jaguars and an Alfa Romeo.”

What takes a country boy to the city to run a fruit stall?

“I had a good friend, Vinnie Barrett from Goodooga who also went to St Joseph’s,” Bill recalled.

“One of his daughters, Beth, married South Sydney Rabbitohs (and later Eastern Suburbs and Canberra Raiders) winger Terry Fahey.

“Terry owned the fruit stall and I bought it from him in 1985.”

Bill met many Narrabri visitors over the 30 years at the Circular Quay kiosk, and made city friends including the late Sydney mayor Frank Sartor.

He finished up at the kiosk in July 2016.

Nowadays he keeps up his Narrabri connections and is one of the former Narrabri residents who meet regularly in the city.

Meanwhile, he is on the hunt for Tarriaro Public School photos of the era. Phone Bill, 0409 078 899 if you can help with any Tarriaro Public School photos.