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NOVEMBER 2016

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THE LAST 40 years slipped away for a group of 1976 Deloraine High School students who attended their 40th class reunion at the Empire Hotel in Deloraine on 7th October.

Glee and chatter filled the air as everyone hugged, tried to remember who was who and enjoyed a great buffet by the Empire’s helpful staff, under Mark and Amanda Flanigan’s direction.

Deidre Christie Triffitt of Dunorlan came up with the reunion’s concept a year ago and asked Greta Thayer Watson of Glen Huon, and employed at the Huon News in Franklin, to put it together.

A Facebook page spread news of the event.

Ex-classmates without social media accounts were contacted by the few who have kept in touch with them, and by those working in Woolworths spreading the news.

Thirty six people attended the Friday night reunion, including four partners of the Class of ’76, with two ex-students coming from Queensland and two from Victoria.

The rest arrived from within Tasmania, with the majority living in the state’s north.

On show at the function room were the PESH school magazine and snapshots of it, A3 size photos of those unable to attend, and shots of the 1976 Grade 10 Maria Island school camp.

As phones snapped away at the display attendees eagerly swapped stories in a laughter- filled atmosphere.

Saturday morning, a third of the group toured the Deloraine High School with Berice van der Aa, coordinator of its Trade Training Centre, and were amazed at its transformation and awed by the facilities and opportunities given to today’s students.

A handful of the reunion attendees concluded the weekend celebrations with lunch at the Deloraine Hotel.

Some wanted another reunion next year, but the general consensus was a 45th, in hope those unable to attend this year will in 2021.

[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Steve Walker