COMMUNITY Grandmother and Grandson A RUYTON FAMILY STORY Doreen Dempster (McMillan, 1942) was ‘thrilled to bits’ to hear her grandson Rolly had accepted a teaching job at Ruyton. Having arrived at Selbourne Road as a boarder in 1938, Doreen has since seen her sister Jennifer Coller (McMillan, 1952), daughter Amanda Hannemann (Dempster, 1975) and nieces (Edwina 1979, Sarah 1982 and Abigail Coller 1986, Jill 1967, Kate 1970 and Rebecca McMillan 1980) educated at the School. Rolly’s appointment in 2020 has carried the family connection to Ruyton into another generation of her family tree. Bringing his 96-year-old grandmother back to School for a visit in early February, grandmother and grandson walked arm in arm as Rolly guided Doreen through the buildings and grounds. With a soft voice and a sharp mind, Doreen directed parts of the tour through the familiar and unchanged, briefly commenting that some rooms in Henty House seemed smaller than her childhood memory had recorded them. Stopping under the dappled shade of the fig tree with the chatter and noise of recess around them, Doreen looked across the oval and then up at Rolly with a big smile.
back to Ruyton for another week of learning. Playing basketball, baseball and a keen runner, Doreen was awarded colours on her blazer pocket for her contribution to Sport. She still holds that pocket in her possession today. Doreen has clear memory of her Principal Miss Daniell being a lovely lady, ‘incredibly kind and thoughtful… She was a really fine woman’. The students called her Dream behind her back, but never to her face. Doreen isn’t sure how this nickname came about – it just was. Miss Daniell had dinner with the boarders every night at 6pm in what is now the Reception Room. ‘We always had evening prayer and a student play on the piano. I was not a musician and used to choose “Peace, Perfect Peace” when my turn came as it was very slow and simple. I am still sure everybody cringed!’. Sitting at the head of the table, Miss Daniell would always carve the meat and pass each plate around to Miss Barnes to serve the vegetables, who would then pass each plate around the table until every girl was served. ‘I am sure our meal was cold by the time we ate, not that we minded at all… I thought the food was excellent’.
Doreen only remembers being ‘very, very happy’ at Ruyton. Her classmates were ‘a very fine bunch of girls’, many of whom she has kept in touch with through her adult life. Sleeping in ‘the nursery’ and at times on the balcony in white cast iron beds, her memories are of being cared for by the house matron Miss Barnes and teacher Miss Gregson (who would tap on the bedroom door at night when she heard the girls gossiping past lights out, ‘come on girls, it is time for sleep!’), academic classes and dancing lessons with the Trinity boys. Sundays were for church. Wearing tailored jackets, the boarders would walk in crocodile (pairs) to Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Kew, and then 22
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