The School Part 9

In summer we pupils went swimming scrambling down the cliff, where there are now steps, past the far shelter shed. I remember on one occasion Mione and me had no bathers and our mother told me to ask Mr. McDonald if it would be acceptable if we wore shorts and blouses, to which he replied, “I don’t mind if you come in the nude, as long as you go swimming!” When relating this to our Mother she wasn’t exactly pleased as she felt it was not an appropriate answer to give a child. I clearly recall the day when I pleaded with Mr. McDonald for Mione and me to be allowed go home instead of swimming. I could see a huge black cloud looming over towards the Narrows and with my intense fear of thunder storms, I imagined it to be a prelude to one. He finally relented and we were fortunate to arrive home not long before the bush fire which had been burning on Howe Range for weeks, ‘jumped the Narrows’ and completely burnt all the area where we had walked.