Reunion - The Crunch

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Going Back to Portsea ...

The Officer Cadet School was never a place that attracted me back for sentimental visits. I think that I drove down once with the family when they were quite young, and turned away at the gates without going any further. I was glad to be overseas when it closed and was absorbed into the Royal Military College, Duntroon. That, at least, let me avoid avoid going back. Even then, I couldn't avoid begging letters from past graduates flogging this history or that limited edition sketch of the old buildings.

After the Officer Cadet School closed, the site was taken over by the the School of Army Health, and I visited it on several occasions in the early and mid-1990s. It had started to lose its horror, and become just another set of buildings set at the tip of a rather desolate and windswept peninsula.

Now, however, it was going to be repopulated with the ghosts of that strange year of my commissioning course, together for some with their current real incarnations. Four of our number can now only be here as ghosts. Some others had offered to be here in spirit, while the uncontactable undead remainder have not had the chance to select the form of their attendance.

I know that others feel differently about the whole event. Keith Frazer, whose efforts are behind this reunion, was just one who returned to serve on the staff of the Officer Cadet School. Tim Keane - current holder of the extra drill book, which was supposed to have been destroyed at the end of the junior term - is another who I know is looking forward to the reunion.

So Elaine and I have left it about as late as we possibly can to start out from Melbourne. I got up this morning, and walked from Brian and Helen's down to Sydney Road to get snacks for the trip down, the papers and some coffee, rolls and flavoured yoghurt for breakfast. It was raining, and I took an umbrella that Helen had been given at some medical conference or other years ago. It was advertising some product or other, but with little meaning to me. Helen keeps telling me that its no longer ethical for the drug companies to provide these give-aways, so this umbrella has survived remarkably well.

After breakfast, we packed up, and drove down to Sydney Road, this time to have a quick look at a couple of op-shops that Helen had recommended. They were great value. I found an old grey nylon raincoat to use in emergencies - I had forgotten to bring any of my own - and a fantastic pair of binoculars. Elaine found a jumper and a few other bits and pieces from good fashion houses that she liked. Finally, we had no more excuses, and in any case, we wanted to be checked into the hotel before the first of the formal reunion functions.

We arrived at the same time as Roy and Sharon Davies and Alison Swiderski. I recognised Roy, but did not recognise Sharon, who had been Roy's fiance when we were cadets. I didn't recognise Alison, and puzzled over whether she had been a friend of Peter when we were cadets, and had attended the parades and other graduation celebrations.

Once we were checked into our room, Elaine was determined to stay put and get ready for the cocktail party. I went downstairs to catch up with people. Tim and Jan Keane were finishing lunch with friends, so I sat with them. It was good to have at least one pair of familiar faces. Then it was into the fray. Tony Jewson was unrecognizable - until he spoke. Norm Cunningham was not much better and I succeeded in confusing Laurie Abrams with Derek Taylor (who was not attending). Fortunately, these were the worst, and most of the others were more identifiable, or less confusable.

It was good to catch up with the Kiwis, most of whom seemed not to have changed too much - or perhaps I was being generous to them!

Now it was time to change. Time to see whether they were just another set of old buildings, or they did indeed house some sad and repelling combination of remnant spirits, lingering to remind me of both bad and good times that were had while I was a cadet.

Getting Out of Melbourne

Op-Shop Queen

We finally got onto the road out of Melbourne about lunch-time. The day started with a walk to buy the papers, some nibbles for the trip down to Portsea, and breakfast treats. Then it was back to Brian and Helen's, and coffee, treats, etc, before packing the car. Even then, we had some other bits and pieces to do before getting underway.

Helen has always been the consummate op-shopper, and she had recommended we take a quick browse through one of her favourites on the Sydney Road, as well as some other places of interest. Now Sydney Road on a Saturday morning is not the most free flowing road you will see. My memories of it go back to the mid-1970s, when it seemed to carry all the traffic from the Hume Highway as well as the local traffic, and it was a real nightmare. Now it seem to carry mainly local traffic with a small amount of through traffic, and it is only at the level of a bad dream.

Finding a parking spot was our first challange. After a futile pass past where we wanted to be, we doubled back to try again. This time we were going to be less fussy about how close we could get to the shop we wanted to visit, and managed to park about three doors away!

An hour later we both had a suitable collection of shopping trophies, and we could properly get underway. Elaine had found a delightful designer jumper and some other clothes. My trophies included a nylon raincoat - I had forgotton to bring a rain-jacket - and a pair of binoculars. The raincoat is not quite old enough to be really retro, but is a dark gray 3/4 length nylon with large gray buttons shaped to look like those funny leather covered ones on good sports jackets. It also has silly epaulettes - they are upside down, with the button on the shoulder rather than near the neck. For $3, it was a bargain, and it actually works as a raincoat! The bino's were also a great find, and I have carried them on most of my walking trips since.

Arriving

The trip itself was relatively uneventful once we had navigated the city and southern suburbs, and we were soon trying to find a parking spot opposite the Portsea Pub. There was nothing close enough, and we opted for parking in the driveway to unload. As we walked in, there was Roy and Sharon Davies, and Alison Swiderski. It was going to be on now - Roy I would have recognised almost anywhere, but not Sharon or Alison.

Got the bags up to our room, and returned downstairs alone. Almost all the faces were recognisable, although Tony Jewson fooled me completely. Only some of the Kiwi contingent were downstairs, with the rest coming back about half an hour later. It was good to see Pete and Sue Speedy again, both much as I'd remembered them, Ants and Tom Jones, Keith Fraser and Phil Pearce. Too many to mention now, and so many questions held back.

Cocktails

Quick summary - happy sad to be back, and got mildly pissed.

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Photos

Cocktails on the BSM's Lawn
This is what 30 years does! See gallery for other photos.

Comments

[C.T. Lai, Singapore]

So happy to read that
Dear Fitzzi, I missed all of you since 1976. I read your log with tear, so many familiar names and so many wonderful memory. When is your next gathering? I am planning to join all of you.