From the Archives: Ghosts of Unihigh Past #4
written by mason johns
First of all, thanks to Coach Varns, who kindly sent me this article. Coach Varns has also compiled all the wartime issues of The Record, a biannual (twice a year, as opposed to biennial, every two years) University High School magazine, which was established in 1910, far before Ubique, and ran until the 60s. The magazine offers a fascinating perspective on what life was like at Unihigh, and is definitely worth a read. They can be accessed here – The Record (December 1939 to December 1945).
Anyway, this week’s article is a summary of University High School from 1941 - 1951. It is not specifically from Ubique, but is certainly relevant to Ubique. Ubique was established in the wake of WW2 in 1946, in the middle of this period. Parallels can be drawn between this time and the current Unihigh era. In 1942, Unihigh lost its oval to the US army. This year, we lost the South wing. In 1942, due to the intake of Macrob students to Unihigh after their school was taken for military use, Year 7 and 8 were sent offsite, specifically to Princes Hill. This year, due to the fire, Year 8 and 9 were sent to the University of Melbourne. From 1939 to 1945, the world was grappling with a global crisis. We are fighting an issue of similar magnitude currently.
The camps of the US Army can be seen on our oval behind the newly built hospital.
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