FOR fourth-generation Woolomin resident Mavis Cooper, yesterday was a big day – the pinnacle of her school years, in fact.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With special permission by the principal, Mrs Cooper finally got to ring the school bell!
It was about 78 years ago when the then Mavis Mills first entered the grounds of Woolomin Public School, with a population of about 40 students.
Her father, Colin Mills, started his school years in an old brick building south of the present school, and moved in when the new one was built in 1907.
“In all the years I was there I never had a chance to ring the bell,” Mrs Cooper said.
“It had always been a dream of mine. Even in the centenary year I didn’t get to do it then, either.
“It was lovely – a special thrill. The perfect ending to an era of my school life.”
It’s even more significant as that bell tolled the closing of another chapter for the Mills and Cooper families of Woolomin.
Mrs Cooper, 83, is in the process of packing her belongings and leaving the home she’s lived in for 60 years to move into town to a self-care unit, to be closer to medical services.
Her bell-ringing experience yesterday has left a lasting image of her years in Woolomin.