1973 School Magazine

We arrived in ldelbourne on Monday afternoon. It was like the big smoke to us Brisbane bushies and poor old {.Jncle Rodney got "bushed" about 20 times. After a bus tour of all the cultural ha-unts of Melbourne on Tuesday morning, we left for Tulla- marine airport where we boarded our plane and were reassured by life-jacket demonstrations-or nearly! The flight was good and we arrived in Launceston to be met by Rod's successor, "Alwin Watts!!" We all had a night on the town, that night, and the more enterprising of us saw David Frost, including Rod, who got a $2 schoolgirl reduction - which we managed to get through our typical Queensland charm. The next day Hobart was invaded by the Banana Benders (that's us) but not until three madder mem- bers of our company had attained the standard of icebergs by swimming, at Swansea. Of course those three adventurers didn't have togs, so they swam in jeans and had to wear their blankets, kilt-style, for the rest of the day (accidents did happen, didn't they .Tane? ! !). Thursday, our first day of real sightseeing was to have included a tour of Port Arthur but as arrange- ments were changed at the last minute, we all enjoyed a tour of Hobart including, snowfights in a quarter of an inch of snow on Mt. Wellington, seeing the Tudor Village and the 491 steps of the Shot Tower. trf anyone had any ideas about losing weight from their exercise they were sadly mistaken for in the afternoon we went to the Cadbury's factory where we all either ate or bought chocolate enough for several extra inches around the waist. On Thursday night we all went sightseeing to Wrest Point. The Casino proved to be very interesting but of course we 'sweet innocents' just looked and left the big winnings to Rod! Friday morning proved to be another trial for Al, who still wasn't used to our Queensland punctuality. We all enjoyed our day at Eagle Hawk Neck, and the tour of the ruins at Port Arthur, the Tessellated Pavement, the Blowhole, Devil's Kitchen and the Tasman Arch were, to many of us, the highlights of the trip. Next morning after another of our basic Tasmanian breakfasts and settling a little matter of laundry debts, we waved farewell to Hotel Beltana and to Hobart. Lunch at Derwent Bridge proved to be a real health hazard. It appears that Derwent Bridgians are not aware of what the basic hamburger looks like ! Another surprise awaited us when we reached Qqeenstown, Saturday nigbt's resting place. This mining town was surrounded by oompletely barren, yellow hills, but apparently vegetation is not the only thing missing in Queenstown. You wouldn't believe how fast the word of our arrival spread! The choice for the night's enter- tainment was limited to a tour of the mine with Al or seeing "Cabaret" at the local cinema. Poor old Al was disillusioned once more! Next day we were bound for Ulverstone and arrived, after passing through many a mining town

Wednesday ,A.fter being dropped in Sydney, we spent a free morning shopping. We were picked up in the early afternoon and started on our homeward track to Brisbane. At about 9.30 p.m., girls were pulling out sleeping bags and curling up in their seats or in the aislJ of the bus, and gradually the whole bus dropped' off to sleep with the exception ol a lew. Ttraursday We were joined early in the morning by Noel, who was taking over from Alan to give him a chance to sleep. After a short stop at Ballina we continued on our way and very soon we felt a...Bump and we were over the border and back in Queensland. As we passed through the familiar Gold Coast, we realised it would be only a matter of a few hours and the trip would be over. We were now at Mt. Gravatt with Alan back at the wheel and at 8.30 a.m. we pulled up in front of the school to see parents craning their necks to see their daughters. It was a very sad time unloading the bus to think that it was not an overnight stop, but that it was the end of a fantastic adventurous sixteen days full of fun and excitement. We waved Alan and Noel off and wished them a safe trip home, and then returned to sorting out luggage and so at 8.30 a.m. a memoratirle experience came to a close and we dispersed to catch up on our lost sleep. Our grateful thanks go to Alan, a fantastic bus driver, who never missed a bump: and also to Miss Listo and Miss Fischer for coping so adequately with us and for giving us an enjoyable holiday and we sincerely hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. Sandra Pollock 58, Dimity Radcliffe 5E and Heather Wilson 5D. At some unearthly hour on Saturday the 18th August, 39 yawning Grammar girls and 2 very game teachers, assembled at B.G.G.S., eagerly waiting for their bus and ready to make a dash for all the best seats. Finally our spanking new bus arrived with our never-to-be-forgotten bus driver, Rod (better known as Uncle Rodney). After fond farewells we set out on the lst day of this momentous trip; destination Tamworth. Our lst day was one of the coldest we experienced and we even had a very light snowfall. Our lst night's abode proved to be a luxurious showground pavilion that housed all the possums of the town, No holds were barred - the amenities were exquisite and some brave souls even ventured to have a freezing cold shower. The cold, damp, floorboards were found to be a never-experienced-before comfort in 3oC tem- peratures, but we survived and set off for Wagga only 45 minutes late. Wagga was slightly better than Tam- worth; the showers were hot and even had doors. The only thing that chilled our exuberant spirits was the temperature, a high 2oC above freezing. T,ASMAI{IA TR.IF -tsus 2-Teachers Miss Vernon and Miss Williams.

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