A lot has changed since 1987.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It was the year Australia received its first mobile phone call. Bob Hawke had the keys to The Lodge and Canberra hosted its first Floriade.
It was also the year Gilmore Primary School opened its doors to students for the first time.
Three decades later, the Tuggeranong school is still going strong, with large birthday celebrations planned.
The school will be holding a fete to mark its 30th birthday on November 11 from 12 to 4pm.
P&C secretary Nina Downes said work on the fete has been under way for several months in preparation for the big day.
“We started talking about the fete last year, and we’ve spent the past six or seven months making all the plans,” she said.
“With the size of the community we have, we don’t run fetes that often. The last we held was in 2014.”
As well as stalls and rides, the fete will also include several performances from bands and dance groups.
Part of the fete is about keeping people connected with the school.
- Principal Vicki Lucas
The fete will conclude with a concert celebrating the last 30 years of music, as well as looking back at the school over the years.
A time capsule will also be buried during the event with memorabilia from 2017, to be dug up in 10 years.
Principal Vicki Lucas said the fete will also double as a school reunion for many returning students and teachers.
“Part of the fete is about keeping people connected with the school,” she said.
“That’s one of the lovely things about the school: it functions like a country school because people have so many connections, and there’s the inter-generational connection which we want to celebrate.”
Ms Lucas said the small community feel of the school has been one of the elements that’s remained the same at Gilmore, despite all the other changes that have taken place over the years.
Previously one of the first schools in the Tuggeranong area when it opened in 1987, Gilmore Primary School now has 120 students from pre-school to year 6.
“In its day, it used to have 734 students and had 112 kindergarten students, so things were very different then,” Ms Lucas said.
“But there's always been tight-knit community.”
Details: 12pm to 4pm, Saturday, November 11, Gilmore Primary School, Heagney Crescent, Gilmore.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
