I started teaching in 1977 at two NSW Department of Education schools in Sydney, Seven Hills High School and then Rooty Hills High School.  I began teaching Geography at Saint Ignatius College, Riverview (Sydney, Australia) in May 1977, and became Head of Geography in 1980.  Apart from the top panoramic image (which shows the College today) and some scans from the College’s annual journel “Our Alma Mater”, the images on this page are historical snapshots-in-time scanned from slides taken during my time there.  All images can be enlarged with a click.

Teacher of Geography, Asian Studies and Religious Education, then Head of Geography

Saint Ignatius College,

Riverview, Sydney, Australia

1977 - 1988

 I was appointed to teach Geography, Asian Studies and Religious Education at Saint Ignatius College Riverview in April 1977, having taught briefly in the New South Wales state system at Seven Hills High School and Rooty Hill High School.  I quickly advanced to the position of inaugural Head of Geography when the Social Sciences faculty was split into two in 1980 (the other part being Economics).  As Head of Geography, I raised the profile of Geography considerably in the school, establishing a dedicated teaching zone for the subject with an associated office and resource centre (the famous GRIC – Geography Resource Interaction Centre).  Student numbers expanded substantially and the results in external examinations soared.  As a strong advocate of fieldwork, I established a system of field trips for each year group in the College, culminating in the annual three-day Bega Valley field trip for senior students.  I expanded this concept further by initiating overseas field trips (study tours) for students – Papua New Guinea in 1983, Burma (via Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand) in 1984, and China (via Hong Kong) in 1985 and 1988.  While Head of Geography, I raised the College’s profile within geographical education circles through membership of the Councils of the Geography Teachers’ Association of New South Wales and the Geographical Society of New South Wales (including President of both organisations), through authorship of several very popular textbooks, by chairing the committee that set and administered the annual Catholic Secondary Schools Association trial Higher School Certificate examinations, and through my membership of the Geography Syllabus Committee of the New South Wales Board of Senior School Studies (re-named Board of Secondary Education in 1987 and Board of Studies in 1990).  For Co-curricular involvement at Riverview, I began by coaching the 13I Rugby Union team, advancing to coach the 15G Rugby team before being slotted into more suitable and successful roles coaching Tennis and Debating.