Here’s to you Mrs Robertson

by Barb Rees

With the 30th anniversary of the Rainbow Beach State School here, it is only fitting to have a chat with the lady that played a huge part in the school’s history…..Heather Robertson or Mrs Robbo as she was affectionately  called by the kids.

Mrs Robbo started as head of the school in 1989 with only one other teacher, one admin staff and one cleaner, with the daunting task of educating 50 kids, ranging in age from prep to Year 7!

“It was so funny, I had years 1, 2,6 and 7 all in the same class. I would be teaching the littlies nursery rhymes and reading them stories and the big kids would be laughing their heads off at me singing songs to the kids!” laughs Heather.

“It wasn’t easy at times, but it was a good atmosphere, the big kids were a good bunch, cheeky but good kids.

“At first there was just the admin building, the library was behind the office, we had to use what space we had. We had 53 students and then had three teachers and eventually got another demountable in. That gave us more space and we could move the library.

“The National Parks guys came and helped move all the books and desks. It was great,” remembers Heather. “Everybody got in and helped. Whenever we needed some heavy work done Parks usually helped, but the whole community got behind the school and supported it.

“We had a fantastic teaching staff over the years, some are still there today. By the time I retired in 2002 we had five full-time teachers, one part-time teacher/ librarian, three teachers’ aides and one administrator. It really grew over the years.”

I state that Mrs Robbo must have had a hand in educating most of the “kids” in Rainbow. She modestly admitted she had but added, “Education really needs to start at home. If we can keep the parents involved in their kids’ education it is much better for everyone, especially the kids. Family has a far bigger effect than we ever could.

“It was a bit different back then, we would have assembly and then I would make the kids do some sort of sport for 15 to 30 mins. Then they would come inside and you wouldn’t hear a peep out of them, they would sit and do all their work without a noise.

“I loved sport, especially ball games. We had the best teams. We would go into Gympie every Wednesday afternoon to play touch footy and knock the socks off St Pats. We loved that!” she laughs.

“The P&C were fantastic. Oh, the fundraisers we had. We had Todd River Races where we did a parade down the main street and race down on the beach. We had progressive dinners, beach parties, fishing comps, Sandshoe Balls and Footy Matches. The whole community got involved, and the yearly concerts were a highlight.”

Rumour has it Tina Turner entertained the crowds one year!

Remembering everything doesn’t always come easy, but what humble Mrs Robbo does remember very clearly is, “It was a great environment, an exciting time and you know what? Most of the kids turned out pretty good!”

Mrs Robbo you have a lot to be proud of, and we thank you for your time and dedication to our school and the kids fortunate enough to be educated by you.

Thank you!