A REUNION for former staff and students of Ringwood Technical School will be held for the first time next month, more than two decades after it closed and five years since being demolished.
Joan Pickford, of Croydon, said she'd decided to organise the event to gather information and to prevent the school from being forgotten.
"The school was bulldozed about five years ago and a wake was held at the site for past students and teachers.
"The demolishing of the school was a real blow to past students who felt that part of their history had been deleted.
"The Department of Education has no records and it was as if the school didn't exist.
"I was lucky enough to contact Jane King who was a teacher at RTS. She found a lot of memorabilia stored at Heathmont College and I have gathered some from ex-students as well."
The school began as an experiment in secondary education in 1958, being the first co-educational junior technical school to open in Victoria.
It closed in 1990 and became Eastern Secondary College in 1991. In 2003, all students moved to Heathmont College and in 2005 the former school buildings were demolished.
Ms Pickford, who attended the tech school from 1968-72, described it as a place people either loved or hated.
"I loved it, all of it. I loved making new friends and the choice of subjects helped. In my day, girls only had a limited choice of professions - secretary, teacher or nurse - so I became a nurse.
"I would have liked to be able to do metalwork or woodwork, but that was limited to boys only.
"Fitting and machining was known as 'F and M', technical drawing we called 'tech drag', and solid geometry was 'solid guts ache'."
Ms King, who worked at the school from 1986 and is still employed by Heathmont College, said the school's plays and productions were her most memorable times.
"There was much pride in this school and that's why it has been so difficult for students and staff to see the closure and subsequent demolition."
Ms King said her late husband, Ian, had been a dedicated teacher at RTS for about 28 years.
"With the help of a student, Mark Yendle, he created a memorabilia room which had everything in it from school uniforms, magazines, sporting trophies and photos to the school honour board.
"Sadly, much of this history has not been able to be found since the closure of the school."
The Ringwood Technical School reunion will include about 800 class photos, The Register of Corporal Punishment, school magazines and DVDs of stage productions held in later years.
The reunion is on March 27 at the York on Lilydale, corner York and Swansea roads, Mt Evelyn. Details: Joan Pickford (nee Dear) on 0417320713 or gvfirstaidtrainer s@bigpond.com
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