Thank you to all those Old Girls who take the time to send in information about items in our “Mystery Corner”. In an earlier post, I asked if we had any proof that Johnny Farnham had performed at St Margaret’s. I received so many emails about this, as Old Girls rushed to share their memories. But we had no hard evidence that he actually did perform. That is, until… this arrived in my inbox.

We now have proof that he did perform at St Margaret’s. There is now discussion as to whether he may have come to school during the day and sung in Eton Hall to advertise his concert.

Sometimes, we are unaware that we hold missing information. My recent call-out about school or house war-cries elicited some wonderful memories from girls, stirred by hearing the war cry as they were competing in interhouse events. But I did receive two delightful emails, one from someone whose mother was involved in the school war cry and one whose grandmother was involved. This occurred around 1919-1920. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you feel you have memories to share.

Recently, I had the pleasure of doing oral history interviews with Michelle May AM KC (’72), Judith Bell AM (’59, nee Hansen) and Pett Rayner (’41, nee Francis). Such interviews are so valuable to our archives. Irrespective of how many years you have been out of St Margaret’s, your memories are so valuable. So, if you would like to share, please contact me. I can come to your home, do it over the telephone (for those who are some distance from school) or you are welcome to come to the Archive Centre.

Our new mystery for this term involves two long-standing Speech and Drama teachers. St Margaret’s has been blessed to have many over the years, but I am presently interested to hear from any Old Girls who may have taken lessons with Miss Barbara Sisley or Miss Colleen Scott. Please email me if you have any news to share via msurtees@stmargarets.qld.edu.au or call (07) 3862 0816 and leave a message.

Per Volar Sunata

Mary Surtees
Archivist