December 1951 School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

December, 1951

December, - 1951

B~ispa~e - Girls: Grammar School Magazine

1952-Passed Senior-highest pass in · Queensland-? A's- honours in Latin. 1953-Declined all offers of positions and went abroad. Visit- ed India-presented with Taj Mahal. 1954-Went to England- presented to their Majesties- Charm- ed with me~ave several suggestions to King on some of his problems. 1955-Flew over to Washington as President wanted my ad- vice on several matters. 1956-Returned in my helicopter via Northern Territory bought two cattle s tations. 1957-Went inland and found Lasseter's Lost Reef. 1958-Elected President of Board of Trustees of the B.G.G.S. -had a new gym (with no posts) built. Abolished Latin, Maths. I, Modern History. 1959-Received two offers this year- to be Headmistress at the Grammar School and to play for the Davis Cup. Ac- cepted first and declined second, as I wanted the other players to have some competition. 1960-Flew to England to produce some plays I had written. Accepted offer to play in Old_Vic Company with Sir Laurence Olivier. 1961-Returned to Brisbane-wanted peace and quiet after so many hectic years so became conductress on a trolley bus. · · N.C. & J.M., V. SHEEP TALE Now, all of you have read "Lambs' Tales", But this is one of sheep; It makes a <:;ertain face grow_ pale, A noiher, crimson deep. Up · from the tennis court they came, They pas£ed the laund ry room: A certain dog would -have his aame, A sheep in fro nt did loom.

HOP PICKING To many Londoners, particularly those living in the East End; their summer holiday, to which they greatly look for- W:<;rrd, i.s spent hop-picking for Kentish farmers. Many of these .families return to the same farm year after year, where they become well known. As early as May each y:ear the farmers begin contacting their old pickers and arranging for new ones where necessary. When the time comes, .special trains are run for the convenience of both pickers and farm- ers, · . ., · . The hop-picking season usually extends for about three weeks during August and September, at a period, when in normal seasons the weather is at its beF>t. This is very im- portant to the hop-pickers as the -living · quart€'rs ~rovided.· ._by the · 'farmers are only of camping standard. W_h1le workmg in -the fields, -each family is allotted a :bin. " A bin is a movable structure made of hessian, which ·the pickers move along with -them as they complete picking each row of hops. The hops, which are grown on wires, are picked wfth. _as few leaves as possible and placed in the bjn. Ai-'- intervals""throughout the day the measurer visits each ~in c:ind m~a'sures the hops into a bushel basket, and .they are then placed into a hop pocket or very large bag. The hops are taken direct from the hop garden to the farp:1 oast house which is such a feoture of the Kentish landscope. In the oast houses ' the pervading smell of hops, which are · there dried and pressed before being sold to the breweries, is ex- tremely pleasant and healthy. . -.. The tally of hops is entered onto each picker's card and at the end of the season they are paid accordingly. A good picker can earn as much as ten pounds a week, and .thus the families not only enjoy a free holiday in the country, but also make enough money to provide their living expenses for some weeks. Hops play a large part on most of the farms, and Kent would not be Kent, without the many, stately oast houses and the parallel rows of poles and wires-which character- ize the hop fields-stretching as far as the eye can see. -P. D .Hyland, IIIB THE NEXT' TEN YEARS . The girls at a Melbourne High School are asked to plan what they think will happen in the next ten years of their lives. With this in mind; I have made a plan of what might happen in- tho:t- period of my life.

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