Former students from Campbell High School's graduating class of 1975 are returning to Canberra this weekend for a momentous 50-year reunion, bringing together classmates who witnessed one of Australia's most dramatic political events firsthand.
A Generation Shaped by History
For these students, the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on November 11, 1975 wasn't just something they watched on television - it unfolded in real time just down the road from their school. According to former girls' school captain Rosemary Tweedie (nee Barwick), many students directly experienced the constitutional crisis that gripped the nation.
"November 11th was our final HSC exam, and we emerged to hear about the dismissal," Rosemary recalled. "A number of us headed over to Parliament House, some even hurtling down Anzac Parade on bikes."
Celebrating Five Decades of Achievement
Now living in Perth as a retired PE teacher, Rosemary has organized the reunion at the urging of classmates including William Maley, who later became a professor of diplomacy at the Australian National University. The event has generated remarkable enthusiasm, with attendees travelling from across Australia and overseas.
"The school was an excellent foundation for us and from this base we went out into the world to be diplomats, professors, environmentalists, artists, crane drivers, teachers, GPs, parents and all-round great people," Rosemary said.
The reunion will see the class's exchange student from 1974/5 flying in from the United States, while other former students are making the journey from various parts of Australia. Some members from the classes of 1973 and 1974, who missed their own reunions, are also joining the celebrations.
Remembering School Days and Lasting Legacies
Rosemary fondly remembers Campbell High School as "a formidable school in the '70s" where staff encouraged excellence across multiple fields. "The staff encouraged us to great results on the sporting fields and athletic track, annual musical productions, with staff volunteering, winning interschool debates and, of course, a strong academic focus," she said.
The weekend festivities include a gathering at the Ainslie Football Club and a school tour on Monday. "We are keen to see how the trees that we planted on the morning of our last school day have fared," Rosemary noted, reflecting on the lasting physical legacy their class left behind.
The reunion coincides with Campbell High School's 60th anniversary celebrations this year, adding another layer of significance to the gathering.
In a remarkable footnote not mentioned by the modest former school captain, Rosemary once saved the life of a Canberra Grammar School student during a rowing mishap on Lake Burley Griffin in 1979. As a member of the ANU Women's Four rowing crew, she dove into the water when a storm capsized another team's shell and worked to resuscitate the student until water police arrived. Her bravery earned her a Bronze Medal from the Royal Humane Society.
