By Jess Baker
Allora State School will soon welcome alumni from the Year 10 classes of 1970 and 1971 back to campus to celebrate milestone anniversaries and reconnect with old friends.
The graduating class of 1970 was unable to host its 50-year reunion last year due to Covid-19, so will be celebrating with the class of 1971 in October.
Joanne Otto (nee Ellwood) is organising the 1971 class she graduated with, while Jill Weych (nee Cantwell) is organising the 1970 class.
Joanne was one of just 10 people in her graduating class who studied at Allora State School from Year 1 to 10.
She now lives at Withcott with her husband Tom, after leaving Allora to pursue a teaching degree at the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education in Toowoomba and a career beyond.
Joanne said planning the reunion had been a lovely experience in that it gave her a reason to reach out to friends she had lost touch with over the years.
“It’s just like 50 years hasn’t even been. You can pick up where you left off,” she said.
“Everyone you talk to has such fond memories of Allora. We all admit that we had the best time growing up in Allora and that we’re very fortunate to have spent our school years and our childhood there.”
She said she somehow remembered more from her earlier years at Allora State School than she did from her later years there, with memories of marching to Colonel Bogey and writing on slates using slate pencils some of the most vivid.
“We had the slates and little lead pencils. And the plasticine – you’d start off with nice colours then it would just be this grey matte at the end which was pretty disgusting,” Joanne said.
“(I remember) in Year 1 standing around the piano singing ‘Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day’, learning the alphabet with the old charts, (and) the old maps that used to be in the rooms.
“All of that’s changed so much now. We’ve got countries that no longer exist that used to be on those maps and other countries that have popped up.”
Joanne said she and her old classmates were lucky to have good teachers, great principals, and interested parents throughout school.
Joanne’s own father, Lex Ellwood – known in the community as ‘Mr Allora’ –, was very vocal in pushing for improved facilities for the children of Allora at the time.
“We always had nice ovals at school and the facilities were always there,” Joanne said.
“We were lucky in that we had teachers who genuinely cared about the kids, not just at school but outside.”
Allora State School’s Year 10 classes of 1970 and 1971 are invited to attend a combined 50th reunion on Saturday 23 October 2021.
Both groups will meet at the school’s new Performing Arts Hall at 1.30pm to tour the school, have a cup of tea, and mingle with old friends.
Later in the day, at about 5.30pm, the alumni will then visit Allora Sports Club for a barbeque dinner, where partners are welcome to join.
For more information about the upcoming reunion, or to RSVP, contact Joanne Otto on 0431 855 432 or Jill Weych on 0439 756 519.
