East Kew Primary School

At the same time Perry and I walked the Outer Circle, four days ago, we also took a little deviation at Kew to have a look at my old Primary School, which Perry was very keen to see. He probably imagined it as a bit like Doggy Day Care and he couldn't have been more accurate. 

On the way we went past the East Kew Baby Health Centre which was not my Baby Health Centre thank you very much* but it is a nice building extremely similar to the Heidelberg one. I note it was opened by the Countess of Stradbroke whoever she the hell was, a newspaper check reveals that she was forever opening baby health centres in the 1920s in the company of the Governor which suggests either that they were married or that she was, well, hanging around with him a lot. But by the time it got to opening the East Kew one the press were no longer interested and it was not reported. Shame, because I can't read the date on that foundation stone. 

I wonder what they did (do) when they have a very nice foundation stone all ready and then the person dies or takes a mental health day and the stone doesn't actually accurately record the event. Surely they just use it. 

This is St Anne's, the church opposite my school from 1969-72, there is also a school attached. But it's the catholic school not the government school. 

You may wonder what I am doing photographing this stupid building below. Well, it's a thing that has long interested me. When I was attending East Kew primary there was some kind of building which 'the caretaker and his wife' (I mean, I'm pretty sure they were both caretakers) used to spend their days in, with an incinerator or something. This is a child's memory and no doubt terribly inaccurate. I remember this couple as very, very old (they were probably IRL younger than I am now, though who knows) and I seem to remember that there was some kind of impression amongst the stupid kids in the schoolyard (of which I was one) that they lived in this building, but that of course is impossible. Anyway, I wanted to see this building and decide for myself, and this is where I thought it was, but if it was, this is now there instead. 

I actually think (going by the chimney) that if there was any kind of place with an incinerator in it, it was this (largely obscured by trees, as you can see) which is part of the actual junior school building. I mean my memory is of a standalone, very shabby structure but this has a chimney on it and it's also the right orientation towards the school building, so... 

I was thinking later, do I actually have any positive memories of this school? The only thing I remember enjoying was when Miss Chivers put a smiley face on our pies with sauce. That would happen when we were sitting at tables out the back of this building, which is the junior school. I would really like to see inside sometime not so much for nostalgia but because it's an intriguing design, schools like this, of which no doubt there are thousands around Victoria. Anyway, I don't overall remember East Kew as being a miserable place to be, although, christ, that warm school milk... so horrible. But I think I just remember the injustices/grievances. I could be wrong but I don't even think that's a quirk of mine, surely most people only remember things like that. 

This is the front of the building, which in my memory fifty years ago was a very formal area that no child would ever go to, but now it seems to be a play area. Which is the way it should be. 

And this? This is nothing. It's the back of an apartment building seen from a small park nearby. 

I just liked its sun room with a row of shabby chairs (you probably can't see those) and a picture on the wall and its very dwarfish hills hoist.

Bye East Kew, you're nothing special! You like it that way!