A Penrhos family tree with strong roots

A Penrhos family tree with strong roots

Judith Munns - née Strapp St Anne's College 1946 - 1952, Penrhos College 1952 - 1956

My first memory of Penrhos College was back in 1952. I was standing on the College veranda wearing the brand new green and white check uniform, waiting to catch a glimpse of our new Head Mistress. In true style, Mrs Way walked through the front gate wearing a bright orange dress and brown lace-up shoes.

The students eagerly lined up for a uniform inspection. If our shoes were not up to scratch, we were given a tin of brown nugget and told to polish them. After the inspection, we all marched into assembly and stood according to our factions (I was in Troy). This happened at every assembly, as Mrs Way’s uniform standards were always very high. It became compulsory to wear gloves and hats to school - straw hats in summer and berets in winter. For special occasions such as College Sunday, we wore white dresses, straw hats, brown lace-up shoes and lisle stockings.

Mrs Way became my class teacher in Year 6, which was the last year of Junior School. In Secondary School she taught English, Maths, History and Literature to name but a few. Mrs Way was an extremely intelligent woman and we all looked up to her.

I remember an instance in Secondary School where my classmates and I were scribbling on the blackboard before class. When Mrs Way walked into the room, there was silence… you could have heard a pin drop. She didn't yell at us as we scurried back to our seats, but calmly picked up the duster and cleaned the board. She then picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the board “Where ignorance is bliss, folly is impertinent!”

In Year 10, our cohort only had 11 students, so nearly all my classes were combined with other years. During this period, we found many activities to keep us busy during lunch, including pulling onion grass from the front lawn. Each bundle of 20 earned us one house point. As Troy Captain I remember opening the lid of my desk and having to wade through bundles of onion grass to find my textbooks!

I have so many wonderful memories of my days at Penrhos College… from playing sport in the grounds of Perth Zoo, learning to swim in the Swan River, and being Captain and Dux of the College in my final year. With this rich history and fond memories, it was an easy decision to send my own daughter, Erin Munns (1986) to Penrhos.

Erin started Kindergarten at the College in 1974, which was the first year that Junior School students were educated at the Como grounds. In fact, it was so new that Erin’s classroom was a demountable building. Although the location of Penrhos had changed, the uniform she wore was the same as the one I wore in 1956.

I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering my time in many ways; from working in the School Canteen to the Uniform Shop. I held various positions, such as President of the Old Girls Alumni Association in 1960, and my husband was also heavily involved, even coordinating the final major school fete.

I was thrilled when my brother married an old girl, Susan Fuller (1965). Her death at a young age devastated our family. Susan’s wish was for her daughter to attend Penrhos College and continue her connection, so in 1985 Debbie Strapp (1990) joined our growing Penrhos family.

In Susan’s honour, a memorial book was placed in the Chapel, and to this day can still be found there. Members of the family were also thrilled to be at the commissioning of the Alumni Memorial Garden outside the Chapel, featuring a fountain in her name.

It has been incredibly gratifying to watch both mine and Susan’s granddaughters continue the legacy of girls’ education at Penrhos College. Grace Hirte (2018), Millie Hirte (2022) and Imogen Lysle (2025) will all complete their schooling at Penrhos College, graduating as Veterans, just as my daughter Erin did. I was also recently delighted when Grace shared with me that she is continuing her connection with Penrhos as an intern with the College Marketing Department.

The growing family tradition was strengthened when Debbie’s brother married a Penrhos Old Girl, Danielle Tasker (1992). Their eldest daughter, Luella Strapp (2025) joined the College in 2021 and they look forward to their other daughter, Ruby Strapp commencing in 2025.

With so much history at the College, we are passionate about our Houses and any Inter-House competition sees family loyalty tossed aside. As the matriarch of the family, I will go on record saying without a doubt, Troy is number one!

As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities Penrhos College offers my granddaughters and future family members. I truly believe that Penrhos inspires girls to become extraordinary women.