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Feature
Mark hamilton
Mark Hamilton moved his family from
Newcastle in 2003 to take up a teaching
position at Narrabri High School and now
after a very interesting 13 years he is
heading back.
At the time of print Mark is in Cambodia
with a group of year 10 students, his son
Alex is in New Zealand and his wife Jayne
and daughter Sarah are beginning to pack!
Interview by Craig Jollow
Leaving Newcastle and your extended
family to come to Narrabri H.S as an
industrial arts teacher must have been
daunting, especially after leaving your pre-
vious job as an electrician
.
Having just completed Teacher training at
Newcastle Uni, I was enthusiastic and work-
ing on a casual basis in the Hunter was not
an option for me. I had already done a four
week practicum at Narrabri the year before
and liked the feel of the place. The nearby
mountains and green river banks helped a
lot in our decision to come to Narrabri. My
previous occupation as an electrician had
allowed me to move around. Jayne had
moved to Australia from the UK eight years
earlier; we had each other, a two year old
and a 5 year old. With Alex starting Kinder-
garten and me starting a new career, five
hours up the road was more of an adventur-
ous experience than a daunting one.
You soon became very involved with your
children’s education and after only a few
years became president of the school’s
P&C. What were some of the highlights
and memories you’ll take with you?
My involvement in the Town School P&C was
very rewarding on many levels. Jayne and I
formed many relationships with the school
community; some of them have become
very good friends. Hearing firsthand about
the running of a school gave me a good
insight into the complexities involved and
helped me a lot as a beginning teacher.
Having young kids, we soon became
involved in junior soccer and scouts. Once
again, more friendships formed and more
importantly, a sense of belonging. Some of
my best memories are of selling raffle tickets
on Friday nights at the pub, having a few
beers with the others, who are now mates.
The back flat camping was always good fun-
especially the nature walks at night. Out-
doors and wilderness have always been my
passion and Narrabri has not disappointed
me. Many memories of sitting around a
fire. Yarrie Lake, Kaputar, Copeton Dam and
Warrabah are all favourites, with many nights
clocked up at each; friends, family, col-
leagues and lots of kids- these are the places
and things I will miss most.
After a few years as a casual teacher, Jayne
secured a permanent job at the high
school as a support teacher and shortly
after this you and the family were over to
England on an exchange program. How
did this evolve and what do you believe
were the benefits (aside from Sarah com-
ing back with a Pommie accent)?
Jayne secured her permanent job at the
High school in 2004 and quickly settled in.
It wasn’t until 2008 driving to Tamworth that
we decided to go to the UK for a year. We
had always talked about doing it; Jayne had
family and friends there, we both had British
citizenship and knew we could get work. We
thought it was probably the least disruptive
to the kids schooling then, so in 2009 we
rented our house to a friend, packed our
bags and left. Jayne had secured a job be-
fore we left and I started mine mid January.
The kids went to school and we soon settled
in. Teaching at a different school was cer-
tainly beneficial to me. Jayne taught maths at
her school and that ignited her enthusiasm
to continue teaching maths back here. Since
then she has retrained in maths and spends
many hours doing sums in preparation for
her classes.
For the kids, a new school, funny accents
and different ways was an eye opening
experience for them, both made friends and
both got involved. I think as a family our
tight bonds only grew stronger, we have al-
ways done things together. The kids, I think,
are more open to change and able to cope
with difficult situations. It is always good
to talk about some of the funny times and
experiences we had together. We recognised
an opportunity available to us, calculated
the risks and went for it, we were lucky to be
able to do it.
The industrial arts program at NHS is out-
standing with many of the HSC industrial
arts projects achieving the top grades dur-
ing your time. Can you recall some of the
amazing individual works that students
have produced?
Yes, I think Ryan McFetridge’s woodwork
bench was one of the best and one of my
favourites. Then comes the acoustic guitars,
dining room tables, pool tables, dressing
tables, carved boxes, cheval mirrors, desks
with secret compartments, bars and another
favourite of mine was a Tasmanian Oak
display cabinet with curved ends.
You have worked with some very talented
colleagues and no doubt learnt much
from them in your time at NHS. What are
some of the skills you will take to Waratah
Technology High School?
I was lucky to have worked with Fetro and
photo: chris jollow
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