El Arish State Faculty in north Queensland, Australia, lately celebrated its Centenary. It’s the college that my 3 siblings and I attended. Our dad and mom additionally went to the college, together with a number of uncles, all of our Williams cousins, lots of their youngsters, and a few of their grandchildren. Our grandfather first got here to the world as a soldier settler. He obtained a grant of land after WW1 which he became a cane farm. A few of our household proceed to stay and farm within the space, and at the moment are the fourth technology to take action. Being a descendant of one of many pioneering households offers me a powerful feeling of connection to the world, despite the fact that I haven’t lived there for 50 years. Attending the Centenary celebrations, and reconnecting with major college family and friends members additional augmented this sense.
The Centenary celebrations commenced with the disclosing of the honour board on the El Arish Diggers Museum. The board lists each scholar enrolled from 1922 to 2022, and each principal and instructor.
Celebrations continued on over on the college. Present college students sang ‘Wanting Ahead, Wanting Again’, a really apt Slim Dusty track which mirrored the sentiment of the event to perfection. (That track bought caught in my head for every week or 2!) There was a roll name of previous college students. We solely have one uncle remaining, and he enrolled on the college in 1935. It was terrific that he might be there, and that we might all hear his identify referred to as. We had college images taken, however by decade quite than by 12 months.
There have been alternatives to meet up with relations, college associates, and even previous academics. My Grade 1 instructor was there – how is it that we might simply recognise each other after 57 years? I couldn’t name her something however Miss Brown, although she stated she hadn’t been referred to as that for 55 years. My sister understood this completely, and referred to as her instructor ‘Sir’ for your complete weekend! I beloved having the ability to tour the college and the school rooms. Whiteboards have changed blackboards, there’s a pc on each desk, and the floorboards at the moment are coated with carpet. However the feeling of familiarity stays. 
Within the night there was a dinner dance on the RSL Memorial Corridor. The Corridor brings again fond recollections for me, and our household has a powerful historic connection to it. We held our annual college Fancy Costume Ball right here, and Dad would play the piano as we paraded by the Corridor in numerous sequences to point out off our costumes. It was the spotlight of the college social calendar!
I discovered solely lately {that a} farewell get together was held within the Corridor for Dad earlier than he left to combat in WW2. Grandma performed the piano for the occasion. Dad used to play the piano for dances held within the Corridor. And even sooner than that, our grandfather commonly attended El Arish Settlers Affiliation and Tramline Committee conferences within the Corridor. On account of lobbying from this Committee, a tramline between El Arish and Tully opened in 1937 to move cane to the mill.
Dad retired from farming on the finish of 1972 and we moved to the town. I solely lived in El Arish for 14 years, however nonetheless really feel an surprising sense of connectedness to the individuals and the world, nonetheless a lot of an outsider some could regard me to be! I really feel that we share a standard bond both by blood, college, our shared historical past and experiences throughout the neighborhood, or all of those. It’s connectedness and belonging born of historical past, place, and household, again by the generations.
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