Richard is currently producing a book on the Sullivan family and he would like to warmly invite any contributions to the hard copy publication. Please refer to Richard’s research ‘A Sullivan family history’ online at www.timothysullivan.com.au and please feel free to forward any contributions to PAC College Archivist kpulford@pac.edu.au
Enjoy reading this wonderful account from The Chronicle, September 1939, p. 456, "The Buffalo Trip, 1939".
"On 1st September our party embarked on the Melbourne express, together with students from M.L.C., St. Peter's Girls School, and Scotch College. Fond farewells over, the Melbourne express moved off, and we settled down to amuse ourselves until "bedtime." As the night advanced the moonlit countryside fled by monotonously, the train roared on, and we turned our thoughts towards sleep most of us with little success.
At Melbourne, our party was swollen to its complement of twenty-six by the boys who had gone on before with the football team. The morning of our stay in Melbourne was occupied by a sightseeing tour in the course of which we visited the Shrine of Remembrance, St. Kilda, and Captain Cook's cottage. After fine dinner at Carlyons we left for Porepunkah and Mt. Buffalo by train at 2.05 p.m. Owing to various delays, mainly on the bus trip from Porepunkah, some of us did not reach the Chalet until midnight instead of 9 p.m. as planned. That night, as the buses slowly twisted ever up and up, most of us had our first glimpse of falling snow, fluttering down in the glare of the headlights and whirling away into the shadows.
This year the snow was unusually thick, so thick, in fact, that while we were learning to regard skis as a help rather than a snare for the unwary, we confined our activities to the gentle slopes near the Chalet instead of following the experts to the regular ski-runs. However, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves for the snow was soft to fall on.
Until Wednesday the weather was unfavourable, falls of snow discouraging many less ardent beginners, and so reducing our ski-school, while sight-seeing was marred by low clouds and a murky atmosphere, which obscured the glorious views of distant mountains revealed in the sunshine of our last two days.
On Wednesday and Thursday buses took us to a point about a mile from the Cathedral run, further progress being prevented by the thick snow. Songs, war-cries, and snowballs were the striking features of these trips.
While we attempted turns and snowploughs in the classes or tried straight running on our own account, we kept an eye open for the brilliant skiing of Richard Werle, Austrian skiing expert. On Thursday, under Richard's supervision, the trials were held, but of our party only Brock succeeded in gaining the beginner certificate.
On the whole we all wished for at least another week on the skiing fields. It seemed a pity that we should have to leave the sport, some of us for many years, when we were just beginning to get our "ski-legs."
The whole trip was wonderfully organised by the Victorian Government Tourist Bureau. Our evenings were occupied by dancing, a picture show, an excellent stunt-night in which all schools took part, indoor sports, tournaments in which Dalwood, Jnr., was successful in the billiards, and, on the last night, a fancy dress ball and a supper, followed by presentation of prizes.
Friday morning saw us up at 4 a.m., and as the buses lumbered down in the dim grey morning light towards the cloud-banks that filled the valley, we could not help thinking rather Wistfully of the happy holiday that was over."
