Indooroopilly State School


	History > A Teacher's First few Days at Indooroopilly

	An extract from Ted Hyde's description of his first teaching appointment at Indooroopilly. But all was not smooth sailing. On my third lunch hour at the school into my room came one S..., great unco-ordinated local lump, who told me that S... the leader of the 'toughs' wanted to see me downstairs. When I asked why, he replied, " He wants to fight you." Now this was far from amusing. This character was certainly a year younger than I was, but he was just as tall and was heavier. He was the ne'er-do-well son of a western grazier and was very definitely the king of the kids. This challenge could not be ignored, but I was not so stupid as to go down to his territory.		So I told S... to bring him upstairs. I went out onto the verandah and there, at the foot of the stairs, were upwards, of a hundred, milling shouting boys, with the challenger at the front of the group. I called to .... to come up the stairs and this he did with alacrity, bounding up three stairs at a time with his fists at the ready. He had enough advantages already so I didn't wait till he reached the top, but as his head arrived at the right level, I hit him full bore on the nose and chin with an underhand right hand. He crashed down the stairs and lay motionless. Bill Hagen arrived on the scene and quickly diffused the situation. The boy in question became my greatest protagonist, particularly when I took over the cricket team and was able to help him with his great love, fast bowling.