Reunion Day, Canberra

Reunion activities started with a walk through of the school on Saturday afternoon. Rod picked us up in his rental car a bit ahead of time so we could visit a few familiar spots around town. Our first stop was the new medical school building at the Australian National University, where Gauss's father had worked. This was en route to the Australian Academy of Sciences, a building commonly referred to as the "Martian Embassy." Canberra has a reputation for cutting edge architecture, so we had to photograph the structure.


Curtin School of Medicine, Australian National University


The "Martian Embassy" did not disappoint—it screamed "Jetsons!"


And herewith, a shot of some of my favorite Martians. They look so normal.

Our next destination was more earthly in nature, the top of Mount Ainslie that rises behind Gauss and Rod's old neighborhood. As kids, they often climbed the rugged path to the top, but now a road has been built. Since we are not kids, we drove up and enjoyed the view.


The city of Canberra spread out below Mount Ainslie. Lake Burley Griffin cuts horizontally across the photo. The boulevard in the center points from the Anzac Memorial toward the Capitol. The Snowy Mountains form the backdrop.


The view north and east from the top of Mount Ainslie

Once back down the hill, we joined the school tour, guided by the current vice principal. There were perhaps 30 in attendance. It was fun to watch the graying former students reminisce as they moved from the woodworking room to the science labs to the English classrooms. Walking down a staircase, Brad Pillans chuckled as he told us how, on the last day of his senior year, he and a couple of friends gathered chairs from all over the building and filled the stairwell. In the room where they studied German, two distinguished gentlemen related how their young teacher was so beautiful, they spent the entire hour staring at her.

“We were good boys,” one said, “We didn't make a lot of noise, but I'm not sure we were really paying attention to the lesson.”

In the evening, we all cleaned up and headed for the Football Club where the reunion was held. Many of the same people were there, plus some others, a total of perhaps 100. It was a little stressful walking around the room reading name tags, trying to connect with folks Gauss hadn't seen in over 40 years. He left in 4th form, the equivalent of 10th grade, and a few people he recognized didn't remember him.


Left to right: Gauss, Helen Carne, Rod Campbell, and Ole Andersen

As the evening progressed, however, we settled in among those who had been his best friends. I sat with Allison Rowell (now a biologist and living nearby) and Jenny Longstaff, Gauss's high school girlfriend and now a New Zealander. Gauss chatted with Rod and one of the Helens from his Latin class.


Ole Andersen


Jenny and Gauss


Another classmate (a little help, please!) and Alison Rowell

I found a kindred spirit in Gauss's fellow immigrant Ole Andersen, who served as reunion photographer. In the formal remarks to the group, Gauss and I received a mention for having traveled the farthest to attend and Jenny got a shout out for having made the trek from New Zealand.

Rod offered to drive us back to the hostel, but first, we made another stop at the top of Mount Ainslie. Gauss said I had to see the southern sky—there are so many more stars visible than in the northern hemisphere. We had a beautiful view of the city lights, but the full moon was bright enough to cast shadows and to obscure the stars. I had hoped to complete my Australian trifecta—hold a koala, see a platypus, view the Southern Cross—but the last item will have to wait until my next visit.


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