On Thursday August 28 2025, a lunch meeting was held at the Sunshine Beach Surf Club, Duke Street, Sunshine Beach to which were invited members of the Year 12 class at Bundaberg State High School of 1963. We have not attended previous such meetings, and there have been a few since I did not feel that I fitted in very well with most of the people who were listed as attending while at school and did not think that things would not have changed much in the ensuing sixty of so years.
We did go to the fifty year celebration that was held in a motel facility over the road from the Bundaberg train station and we did not feel very welcome at that function. Hence, in the past, we did not feel positive towards the three hour drive each way to Sunshine Beach Surf Club to attend a meeting where we were not particularly welcome.
However, curiosity got the better of me, and so wanting to see who had made it to eighty years of age (as some of them were) or within one year of that mark, took precedence over our not feeling welcome.
My name and email address was still on the mailing list and so when I received the invitation this year, I sent a positive response to Richie Wilkinson, who was doing the organisation of the function. Lorraine initially said she was not going to attend – she did not enjoy the fifty year function either. However as the date approached she changed her mind and agreed to go. Fortunately seating for the event was very flexible and that change could be accommodated.
The trip from Gayndah to Sunshine Beach was around three hours and we stopped in Gympie to charge to save doing on the way home. We assumed that the Sunshine Beach Surf Club would have adequate parking for a facility such as that. However there was no off street parking at all and it took us quite a while to drive around to find a park which not too far from the venue. From that point of view it was a most unsatisfactory facility for such a function as ours, or for the many other people who were there for the lunch.
We had to sign in and then try and find the group of people who we were looking for which was quite interesting because I did not know what any of them looked like. We asked a few questions as we went around and finally managed to find the correct group.
We were pleasantly surprised to spend the next couple of hours with people who seemed more interested in finding out about us and my brothers, sister and parents that we were about them. In fact they treated us much more cordially that they did in the past. Not sure why that was, maybe age doth mellow us all.
It was interesting that the Methodists were in good attendance at the lunch and all were interested in learning a little about Dad who ran the Sunday School at Barolin Street as well as what my brothers and sister had done in their life.
Ken Nixon told me an interesting story, interesting from a couple of perspectives. Ken had almost nothing to do with me while at school and treated us similarly at the fiftieth. However at this meeting he was most agreeable and told me that he remembered me as the most under-rated fast bowler at the school in our senior years but I didn’t get much opportunity at showing my worth because Richie Wilkinson, who was a good bowler, got all of the opportunities. I don’t remember it totally way but certainly being out bowled by Ritchie Wilkinson. But I will take it.
The food was mostly what one would expect at such a venue and so it was agreeable. We stayed there till close to three o’clock and then decided to go, hoping to make it home to Gayndah before the kangaroos came out. As it was we saw a couple on the road between Kilkivan and Tanzie but managed to slow down enough to let them cross the road.
All in all we quite enjoyed the day. I have to say having an electric car makes the driving somewhat more enjoyable. All in all, except for the parking, we felt positive about the whole exercise.
| Laurie Bell and Judith |
| Vivien Cowie |
| Sandra Buchbach and David |
| Pam Busby and Glen |
| Jean Cliffe |
| Liz Duncombe and Rob |
| Ken Nixon |
| Ken Reid and Diana |
| Lee Remmick |
| Rob Rowan |
| Geoff Theile |
| Geoff Walden and Lorraine |
| Rosslyn Walker and David |
| Richard Wilkinson |