General News
11 January, 2024
Reunion for 404 Primary School
Fifty-nine years after graduating together, the class of 1965 from the historic Maryborough Primary School, known by most residents as 404, is set for a reunion this August. The school was opened on June 1, 1862 where it educated students and gave...
Fifty-nine years after graduating together, the class of 1965 from the historic Maryborough Primary School, known by most residents as 404, is set for a reunion this August.
The school was opened on June 1, 1862 where it educated students and gave them lifetime memories until its closure after 143 years on June 30, 2005 when multiple schools in the area merged to become the Maryborough Education Centre.
The school’s 1965 graduate Jennifer Fildes (formerly Floyd) recalls very fond memories from her time at primary school.
“I remember playing hopscotch in the playground and using the skipping ropes, I still have my swap cards that we used in the playground, I remember the monkey bars at the back of the classroom and the boys playing cricket and football,” she said.
“I rode a bike to school when I was four with no helmet trying to avoid the big trucks of hay going past that nearly tipped you over just from the draft.
“We were all young like everyone else — when you get to this age you realise how fast time travels, so it's great to get all of us back together because I think we had a pretty good school life.”
Mrs Fildes has organised two previous reunions in 2014 and 2019, a role she enjoys partaking in to reminisce about simpler times in her life.
“It was a great time back at 404 in those days, so much has happened in my life and this is a great event that I can plan and look forward to every half decade,” she said.
“During (2013) I kept thinking about my school friends, so I started trying to look for them and eventually I was able to reconnect with people I had lost contact with.
“For the first reunion, we were able to go inside and walk through the good old 404 and that was really special to walk into the classrooms that we used to attend.
“People have come from all over the place to be at these reunions, Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and we would love to have as many people from that class as possible.”
The 2024 reunion will be held at the Bull and Mouth on Friday, August 23 from noon.
If you wish to attend, you can contact Mrs Fildes at jen_loves_afl@hotmail.com