Update/more messages from no-shows :)

Hi folks, we now have 98 people paid up to attend, so it will be a good crowd. Still time to come along; pay $40 at the door! Here are a few more notes from people who sadly can't make it:

Hello Everyone,
Will be thinking of all of you this coming Saturday night. It's hard to believe that 30 years ago we were all dancing under the stars out on the jetty of Walton's Seaplane Base, and getting royally chastised for it (By Mr Walton himself!!!)!!!!
I was SO hoping to make it back to Sydney for the night but unfortunately work commitments didn't enable me to do so but I know that it will be one hell of a crazy evening.
As much as I have spent many of my post school years overseas, those years and the friends I made at Barrenjoey High still hold such strong, wonderful and life-changing memories for me.... and I wouldn't have changed one moment of it for anything.
It would have been wonderful to catch up with all of you, and hope to see many more familiar faces in Avalon when I return from New York to live on the Northern Beaches in the next year !!
I can't wait!
Have a great time Guys,
Di Sheppard

Hi all
I remember being terrified when I came to Barrenjoey in year 11 from Mater Maria. A good Catholic girl, I'd been told to expect drugs, sex etc. How wrong that all was - well most of it.
I remember laughing a lot with Sue Shearing and Louise Michelsen in French; sitting next to the sweet and kind Josefina Vergara in Miss Lynch's geography class; the fervent and passionate Di Armstrong trying to teach us about revolutionaries, and the hilariously dyslexic Mr Lowe in Biology who referred to the 'Specific Ocean'.
After year 12, I got to know Meredith, Nada, Louise and Julie pretty well, and Julie and I shared flats for many years. I spent time in Italy with Julie, and met up and traveled with Lisa Wells in France back in the 80s. Oh yeah, ran into Luke Menson when he came to inspect a house we were selling in Alexandria back in 1994!
I've been living in Melbourne for 11 years now with husband Kent and kids Nick 18, Oliver 16 and Chloe almost 14. We're having a 16th birthday party for 50+ kids on the night of the reunion so I need to be here at home. I hope you all have a great time, reminiscing about school life by the beach in the 70s. How lucky were we?? We'll toast good health to all of you at
the 'rissole' on the night. Mary-Anne Stuart (Vanderkley)

Will miss this event with real regret. There have been few times in my life as influential as the three years I spent at Barrenjoey. I arrived with a slight American accent and mild depression after doing early-adolescence in the US. The friendships and freedoms that I discovered at Barrenjoey changed everything. I wish I could be there with you all to remember who we were and share stories of who we've become.
My story, in brief, is that over the past ten years I finally finished a PhD project from which I emerged an anthropologist instead of a television producer. The nights of dancing with pure abandon of our teenage years now stand me in good stead in the Aboriginal ceremonies and basket-ball court discos I frequent these days as an anthropologist-videomaker in the Northern Territory. The date of the reunion unfortunately clashes with a prior project involving sitting in Arnhem Land for a month or two waiting for film a certain special pre-monsoonal cloud formation to appear as part of a film project about the joys and melancholy of Yolngu Christmas.
Have fun. I send my love. Jen Deger

Hello All,
With much regret due to work commitments I will not able to attend such an occasion which I know will be a memorable one. If you so choose you can email me at kblatch@bigpond.net.au .... I would love to hear from you.
Have a wonderful evening of catching up and a good time of laughter.
Greg Blatch
P.S. A big hello to Grant Goozee, Craig Finniss, Michael Ravenscroft, Peter Calleja and Jonathan Perrett

Please pay by Friday 25th September!

Hello reunioneers, things are well on track for the 30th reunion. We'd really like you to pay before the reunion, so we don't have to collect money at the door - we want to enjoy the reunion too! Please see below for payment details. Thanks!! Also - ignore the July 31 date below; I'm editing the post and it's up to date even if it doesn't change the date

Barrenjoey 30th 2009

Barrenjoey 30th Reunion; year 12 class of 1979; year 10 class of 1977; etc etc
Date: Saturday October 10, 2009
Time: 7 pm until 1am
Venue: Avalon RSL (upstairs)
Partners are welcome
Cost: $40 per person (includes venue, finger food, live band [feat. Milton Brown], booklet)
RSVP and payment deadline: Friday 18 September (see below for payment details)

We can't find these people! Please contact us if you know where they are!! email rohan.baker@anu.edu.au
Mark Blundell - Michael Brady - Katherine Branks - Lisa Branson - Debbie Bunce - Stephen Carrington - Nola Carroll - Sandi Cooper - Audrey Cozeijn - Glenn Evers - Mark Fletcher - Lu Lu Florez - Tom Franicevich - Christopher Greenfield - Bernie Hatton - Bruce Hancock - Linda Hillier - Beverly Holt - Jennifer Johns - Andrew Knowles - Mark Law - Jeff MacDonald - Rod Marlin - Lorraine Marsden - Todd Martin - Dominic Mathews - Malcolm McKenzie - David McNamara - Rod Newman - Andrew Romelse - Cassie Spedding - Kym Taylor - Cassandra Terry - Greg Thompson - Mitchel Tulau - Alex Villiers - Michelle Whitford - Amanda Wise - Murray Wallis - Cory Williams

The people below have been contacted already. Those in bold are definitely coming (some have even paid!!). Those with "*" reckon they are coming. Those with "#" can't make it, sadly.

Susan Abbey * - Joanne Andrews - Michelle Armstrong - Garry Armsworth - Julie Ashdown - Sharon Ayers# - Glen Babbici - Marjie Backer - Rohan Baker - Cathy Banks - Greg Barry# - Tim Bartle - Kerry Batcock - Narelle Beck# - Glen Beers - Angus Bell - Lloyd Bilton - Mark Bilton - Julie Blackwell - Greg Blatch - Janneke Boer - Karin Boer - Anne Bracey - John Brooks - Milton Brown - Meredith Burgess - Sue Ellen Burton# - Maureen Butler - Peter Calleja - Stephanie Carrington# - Roger Casey - Graham Cherry - Gillian Clay - Guy Coburn - Grant Coleman# - Michael Courtney - Heather Crutch - Martine Dalziel - Robert Davies - Paul Dekker - Jennifer Deger# - Michael Dick - Gay Dickensen# - Amanda Dunstan - Glenn Eiszele - Bronwyn Farrell - Debra Farrell - Glenn Farrell - Craig Finniss - Stephen Fitzmaurice - Sarah Fogarty - Craig Fogdan - Haddon Foley - Vicki Formston - Janette Fraser - Debra Frawley - David Freer# - Rodney Fryer - Vanessa Georgeson - Joanne Gerry - Grant Goozee - Stephen Green - Janet Grey# - Nicola Grieve - Sandra Hall - Glen Harffey - Kirrily Harrison - Neil Harrison - Meridith Hart - Tracey Hewitt - Philip Hill# - Paul Hindes - Peter Hoschke - Jon Hurrell - Les Hynes - Deborah Johnstone - Patricia Kapetanic# - Kathy Kasch - Jennifer Keane* - Debra Kelton - Sandra Kerr* - Stephen Kimmedy# - Brita Kingsbury - Catherine Kirk - Liz Kite# - Nick Lake - Hilton Langford - Mark Lawler# - Greg Lintern - Paul Loudon - Stephen Luciano - Peter MacAuslane - Judy Mackenzie - Fran Maher - Angela Marriott# - Jacky McCumsky# - Alex McDougal - Linda McKeone - Glen McKeown - Michael Meadows - Luke Menson - Louise Michaelsen - Adam Milgate - Bradley Miller - Chris Moody - Alan Moran - Amanda Murphy - Michael Newling# - Rodney Nielsen - Dirk Nierop - Erol Omer - Brian Orth - Chris Pearce - Mark Pearsall - Matthew Pemberton - Jonathan Perrett - Yvonne Pitchford - Michael Platt - Carol Player - Deirdre Pullen* - Rodger Pulton - Penny Quickenden - Andrew Ralph# - Michael Ravenscroft - Scott Raymond - Robyn Rex - Andrew Roberts - Amanda Robinson - Joy Rubie - Troy Russell - Peter Ryan - Nikki Shaw - Susan Shearing - Mark Shepherd* - Diana Sheppard# - Dany Siegenthaler - Kylie Smith - Robyn Smith - Susan Spence - Michael Squire - Michelle Standish# - Tim Storer - Tony Strang - Martin Stubbs Race - Leanne Stutsel - Paul Sullivan - Robyn Tarrant - Lynne Taylor - Brett Thom - Michael Twemlow - Samantha Tyler - Maryann Vanderkley# - Josefina Vergara# - Karen Voyzey - Ian Walter - Russell Walton - Kim Warburton - Lesley Ward - Lisa Wells - Su-Kim Wilson - Nada Windred - Peter Wright

for EFT payment details, contact: rohan.baker@anu.edu.au

To pay by cheque, make cheque out to: "Barrenjoey 30th 2009" and mail to: Rohan Baker, 24 Old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon NSW 2107. Include your (maiden) name so I know who has paid!

We need photos from our schooldays for the booklet!! Please scan (preferably at 300dpi) and email to Kerry at: kkerrigan4@bigpond.com

Hope to see you there!

The committee

Rohan Baker - Kerry Batcock - Neil Harrison - Paul Hindes - Carol Player

Any comments? Email: rohan.baker@anu.edu.au

Messages from those who can't make it..

Sadly I'm not going to make it. Really disappointed as would loved to have joined you all. Next time for sure! We'll be almost 60 then...
Have a wonderful evening and pass on my best to everyone and if ever you are in Singapore please call,
Angie (Angela Marriott)

Amazing that you guys are planning a 30 year reunion, scary how fast time goes. It will be a blast and I’d love to be there but unfortunately I won’t be able to make it back to Oz in October. Living / working in Huntington Beach, California for the past 8 years. Prior to that in living / working New York City for 10 years. Came to the USA on a 1 year work posting! I’m SLOWLY making my way back to Oz. Determined to get back there permanently, one day. I’m married with two young ones; daughter 12 and son 9. A big G’day to the class of ’79! My email address for anyone interested is Andrew@HuntingtonCottage.com
Best regards to all.
Andrew Ralph (Ralphie)

Thanks for the invite.
Unfortunately I won't be able to attend the reunion as I'm now living in San Francisco and can't make it back at that time.
Sorry to miss it; Have a great night!
All the best,
Mike Newling.

I was hoping to come over for this great reunion, but as you know I live in Chile, South America and it is a bit far away. Maybe I will be there for the 40th reunion. I have been back home ever since we left school, got married and had two kids, a girl 19 and a 15 year old boy. Went back to Australia to visit in 2002 and got together with a few of the old friends, went with my new family and really enjoyed it. Am still in touch with a few old friends but would of loved to have gone for this reunion, I can´t because I just came back from a trip to Europe. I work from time to time in a furnishing company with a friend of mine, doing some decorations and manufacturing different furniture, enjoy it when I can. Well, once again thanks for the invite, cant tell how much I would have loved to see everybody, but it will have to wait for the next time. Lots of love, Josefina Vergara

Sadly I'm unable to come, as I'll be on a long-planned cruise holiday. I would have loved to have been there partying with the others! I will be thinking of you all whilst on my cruise.
A special hi to Joy Rubie and Greg Lintern!
Liz Cullen (Kite)

I have been trying to re-schedule my work commitments so that I could be in Sydney for the reunion, alas to no avail!!
I am currently living and working on the mid-north coast, "Safety Beach" NSW. I am married (for the 2nd time) and all of my children have four paws! Please pass on my best to all and I wish you a fabulous night with lots of fun and laughter. Every time I read the list of names I have great memories from all those years ago ...... enjoy the night and hopefully there will be another opportunity to get together again.
Best Wishes
Michelle Armstrong

Unfortunately cannot make it, would have been good to catch up with everyone. As an update to those interested I am currently living in Melbourne with my wife (Samantha) and three children (Hugh 16, Isobel 13 and Fergus 10). Have been here for 5 years now since returning from Switzerland where we lived for 7 years. Have made a career working in Human Resources for large organisations which is why I have moved around a bit. Have just spent 3 months in Utah involved in downsizing a US subsidiary - not much fun, but great place if you like the outdoors. Hope you all have a great night!

Nick Lake