Thanks for joining us to celebrate the
50th Anniversary of Latham Primary School.
Take a scroll through Latham Primary’s history and see how much our school has grown over the past 50 years.
After you’ve made your way through the exhibition, head on over to the fete!
Take a scroll through Latham Primary’s history and see how much our school has grown over the past 50 years.
After you’ve made your way through the exhibition, head on over to the fete!
Canteen Opening Permission Form (1972)
A Word Spelling List (Undated)
A Merit Award (1981)
Latham Primary School Song (1991)
Written by David Raff
Lyrics by Robina Jeffs
School Newsletter Fete Advertisement (1990s)
John Greig Latham was born on 26th August 1877 at Ascot Vale in Melbourne, the eldest of five children. He was educated at George Street State School in Fitzroy, Scotch College & the University of Melbourne graduating a Bachelor of Arts in 1896.
In 1899, Latham returned to university to study law. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904. He supplemented his income by teaching & journalism (in the first six months as a barrister he earned just one guinea) & in 1908 he became the Australian correspondent for the London Standard Newspaper.
A keen Lacrosse player, Latham was Victorian captain & also represented Australia in 1908 against a visiting Canadian team.
In 1922, Latham entered Federal Parliament as the Independent Liberal Union Member for the seat of Kooyong. He joined the National Party in 1925 and was appointed Attorney General on the 18th December.
Three years later on 10th December, Latham become the Minister for Industry. After the general election in 1929 at which James Scullin (ALP) became Prime Minister, John Latham became Leader of the Opposition, a position he held for 18 months.
During the early 1930's he served as Attorney General, Minister for External Affairs & Deputy Prime Minister in the United Australia Party Government of Joe Lyons.
John Latham was succeeded in his Kooyong electorate by Robert Gordon Menzies (a future Australian Prime Minister) when he was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court on the 11th October 1935. He retired from the High Court in 1952.
"When the school opened its doors in 1972, Latham was ready with a basic supply of equipment, mostly from N.S.W., but augmented with electronic and audio-visual equipment from the Commonwealth.
The completed building sat empty throughout 1971-72 Christmas holidays awaiting its first pupils and teachers. Higgins Primary + School was the "holding" school for children already living in Latham. Many parents and children took the opportunity to wander around the building looking forward to its opening.
The Commonwealth Government built and maintained the schools in the A.C.T., but the N.S.W. Department of Education supplied the teachers and paid their salaries. It also supplied the basic equipment such as chalk, books, pens and pencils as well as a basic issue of books to establish a library.
I was notified of my successful application for the position of Principal in September 1971. Immediately I requisitioned the necessary supplies for a school of 200 pupils. By the end of the first school week in 1972 our enrolment hardly reached 100 while the other three A.C.T. opening schools in Weston were overwhelmed with hundreds of children in unfinished buildings and playgrounds. We quickly decided to have the infants section of the building closed and used four classrooms in the primary section of the building.
Because principals were expected to teach full time as well as run the school, taught a 5/6 class in a room nearest to the first office, Mr Clive Ellison had a 3/4 class in a double classroom while a 1/ 2 class used a single classroom and the K/T used the other double room. Over the ensuing months the enrolments grew slowly but it wasn't until 1973 that the infants was utilised.
Where the suburbs of Charnwood, Flynn and Melba now stand there were virtually no buildings, only one large construction site, a huge dust bowl in the dry summer months. By the third term 1972 Latham was the "holding" school for 20 children waiting for Melba School to open.
The first few weeks were exciting and busy at times as the telephone wasn't connected at first, so all telephoning had to be left and done from home. Even though had a full time teaching role there was always someone visiting the school wanting my presence, personnel from the Building Branch, the schools architect or N.C.D.C. staff. Most of this was done during my lunch breaks, although no matter how hard one tried my class was often left to work alone, but most no matter seemed to survive and went on to high school and success in later life.
During these first few months everyone, teachers, parents and pupils were agog with enthusiasm ready to turn this empty edifice into a living vibrant school. The interest of the Latham parents, who came from all walks of life and from all states of Australia was overwhelming. Even before the school opened there was always someone looking at 'their school.' This enthusiasm culminated in the first meeting to help the library, then almost every family was represented, one of the biggest attendances at a school meeting even after the enrolments grew to over 520 in 1978."
