The period was extremely rich with outstanding people whose contribution to the progress of schooling in Queensland was remarkable. Memories of what they did will fade and their names will be forgotten. Some are fortunate that Ray Kelley was around for their special occasions. For a College re-union of 1947-48 students of the Queensland Teachers Training College, he honoured “Our Pastors and Masters” of those years: Rocks, Raddy, Thelma, Stan, Boxer, Fanny, Mac, Claire, J.C.Laing, Charlie, Greenie, Queenie, Jenny, Jeanie, Mollie and Cork.
When he was an 18-year-old student at College, he composed a poem about the lectures of those who controlled certain periods of the College day: Grace Davies, Fanny Ryland/Julius, Queenie Wendorf, Mina Laing, and Jack Corkery.
Of course Rona Joyner one of the great personalities of the Bjelke-Petersen era gets a jersey, with Ray’s admonition: “STOP! CARE!” as did Germaine Greer in “G.G., Ph.D.” for her influence on women’s issues at the time. Would either have foreseen their names honoured in the one sentence?
Bert Zagami features in “Zagami” because his Maths textbooks helped many teachers and pupils to conquer the mysteries of New Maths. Bert, Ray and Pat Hearn were all Principals of Moorooka State School at one stage or other, When Pat retired he received three cheery parodies. It could be said that they were connected…. “Pat the Free” “Led Astray” those who lacked “Staying Power”.
Ray’s penchant for taking the mickey out of the tall poppies is revealed in his ditty about George Fitzhardinge Berkeley, call “G.B., D.G.”
His appreciation and respect for officers in the Brisbane West Regional Office at Ipswich are revealed in his salutes to Graham Pringle in “Congratulating Graham“, to “Clive McDade“, to Noel Adsett in “Bravissimo Generalissimo” and to the problems of Ron Lester in an Ogden Nash-type poem, “Taking Leave“. He also turns back the clock to Ron’s time in the Central Region in “Lester We Forget”. The song mentions an MLA called Vince, also from the same area.
FINALLY….
We now take leave of Ray’s efforts but, lest we forget, the concluding two pages contain a challenge.
Perhaps unknown to some recipients [but not to a perspicacious Works Department official] he wrote two [or more?] letters to state officials that were disguised poems. One was in the form of a request from “West Kumagutsa State School” [Gympie West] requesting the enclosure of the residence veranda. This was printed in the ‘Queensland Teachers’ Journal’. The other was to an over-zealous official in Head Office who requested details of “Richlands East Pre-School” that did not exist.
His challenge to you is to mark with an oblique slash, the end of each rhyming line.
