I fondly remember my time at Austins Ferry, especially arriving on the first day on the special St Virgil's train from Hobart Railway Station...
Editor: I had the opportunity of showing Roy Chivers (SVC 1960-63) around the Austins Ferry Campus in late April. As usual I wanted to know his story. I thank Roy for this contribution.
I fondly remember my time at Austins Ferry, especially arriving on the first day on the special St Virgil's train from Hobart Railway Station. We disembarked at the special siding and excitedly walked up the hill to our new school. We were met by the Principal Br Clohesy and his staff of four. During my first year at Austins Ferry I was chosen to be one of several prefects (pictured below) and I was also the first drum major of the St Virgil's Band and the St Virgil Cadet Band (pictured above - Roy on left). I’m pretty sure Kevin Duigan made me the Drum Major after hearing me play the drums and bugle!!
I also managed to do a bit of learning in the classroom. Happy days.
The Campus Has Certainly Changed Since that First Day!
I really enjoyed looking around and especially visiting the College's History Centre. It was great to meet current principal Jon Franzin and discuss 'the good old days' with him. It seems St Virgil’s is in good hands.
You requested I send you a brief history of what happened to me after I left St Virgil's.
When I left St Virgil's I started working for radio station 7HT as a Panel Operator. I moved to ABT Channel 2 Outside Broadcast Department where I was trained up to be a camera operator. After several years I moved to Melbourne and worked for ATV Channel O (now TEN) in the camera department. Then moved to Perth and worked at TVW 7 as a camera operator, producer/director, before heading over to Sydney to work at TEN 10 as a camera operator.
Television stations in the 60s and 70s were very exciting and busy places to work; all channels had large production departments and produced many programs in house.
I was lucky enough to work on shows including Showcase, Uptight, Young Talent Time, Number 96, Mike Walsh Show, New Faces and AFL and NRL football. On 17 December 1967, I was the ATV0 news cameraman and a member of the first crew to cover the search for missing Prime Minister Harold Holt, at Cheviot Beach near Portsea in Victoria. I spent several days there covering the search, news conferences and interviewing members of the emergency services, family and public.
In 1975 I travelled to the UK in search of fame and fortune. I did not find either but was lucky enough to secure employment at ATV in Birmingham before moving to Thames Television in London. I was with Thames TV for many years working as a cameraman in the studios on programs such as Kenny Everett Show, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Bill, Morecombe and Wise Shows, Benny Hill Shows and many others. I eventually transferred to news and current affairs as a cameraman. Working for news provided opportunities for travel - I had many trips to European cities for major news events and sporting events. For my work I was lucky enough to meet Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and other members of the royal family including Princes Diana. I was involved in the coverage of Charles and Diana's wedding, and many other royal events of note over the years. I was also involved in coverage of Pope John Paul's visit to London in 1982, the IRA bombing campaign in mainland Britain, Royal Ascot and FA Cup Finals at Wembley Stadium. So many amazing news and sporting events during my time in the United Kingdom. I progressed at Thames to the position of Resource Manager News and Current Affairs.
I returned to Australia in 1993 having successfully applied for a position with the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in Sydney. I worked as Production Coordinator at SBS for several years before joining Sky Racing TV here in Sydney as Studio Manager.
It’s a family joke, I left Australia in 1975 as a backpacker to travel and hopefully obtain employment in UK Television - I returned to Australia 20 years later with a wife and two children and a lot more luggage than a backpack along with heaps of happy memories.
I consider myself to have been incredibly lucky over the years of my employment in radio and television, having met many fascinating people and made many friends.
Editor: I knew that the Chivers family had had an association with the Cascade Hotel in South Hobart and when ask about, I received the following:
My parents Max and Mary ran the Cascade Hotel for many years in the 60s and 70s. My brother, Mark, and his wife Gayle took over the hotel when our parents retired. Unfortunately, I was working overseas or interstate and was unable to perfect my skills as beer taster and quality controller – I did, however, make up for lost time during my visits to Hobart.
Many would remember Mark (SVC 1964-71) through his long association with basketball in Tasmania and Interstate. Mark’s son Jorrick (SVC 1993-96) has followed in his father’s footsteps and currently holds the role of Co-Chief Executive Officer at Tasmania JackJumpers.
