Jack Russell was the first staff member to be based at the School. During his time at Yarra, Jack came to know every teacher and student, and enjoyed the small knit of community at Yarra at the time. He was only the third member of staff, after Headmaster John Pascoe and Headmaster’s Secretary, Myrl Hoskin. Prior to this, he had been in charge of the Melbourne City Council’s Parks and Gardens works in Wandin, and moved with his wife Barbara and their four children close to the area. Always a helping hand, Jack was involved in many of the School’s early projects: the first Music Night, Speech Night, and Sports Day which coincided with a memorable tree planting. He was a regular at the Parent’s Association weekend activities, such as the annual cricket match, Parents V Staff.
In 1978 Jack became Maintenance Supervisor: additional grounds-staff were on board, and the grounds Jack had kept alone became the responsibility of a team. Jack’s responsibilities, meanwhile, grew and he was happy for the change from muddy ovals to maintenance and carpentry work on the buildings. He dug his hands into many sites we now see as familiar, such as the Chapel area which used to house a small theatre. Remarkably Jack worked until 1987 when he retired to a new home in Seville, to enjoy a quieter and happy life with his wife.
Service at its most valuable is always humble, honest and reaps benefit for the community as a whole. This rings true for the basis of Yarra’s ethos: the best things come about because of the hard work put in with the spirit of dedication, integrity, skill, and help. It echoes the traditional value of labour, and of education.
Prior to 1965 the school grounds were large and bare, a rugged paddock. A lone oak tree drew long shadows near the Kalinda Rd entrance. Blackberry bushes peppered the long fence line. There were no paved roads or footpaths. Thankfully, Jack Russell, appointed school groundsman in November 1965, was the one tasked with working with this land. This was no small feat. With limited funding, no storage facilities and his shovels, hoses etc. stored in his own station wagon, Jack took on the project with willing hands and a pioneering spirit. It was six months before Jack had a shed.
Down Jack Russell Drive still stands Jack’s shed. The School is constantly remodelled, a community growing and shifting in tune with the times. Despite this, some things stay the same. Some buildings remain unchanged. They pay homage to the original stories at the core of Yarra’s community and the work, grit and vision that built the School we know today. Jack’s shed celebrates its nominer, a friend and groundsman of Yarra since its beginning.
Jack’s grounds-work was an inspiring cross-hatch of the value of hardwork and the engagement with community. Trees, still flourishing today, on the oval bank and two Pin Oaks in the Junior School came from his own nursery. Students and parents helped him plant Eucalyptus trees along Foundation Drive. Jack worked here for over 20 years, from the years of harsh land and shoe-string resources, to the neighbourhood of buildings and grounds now, sown together by stories. Now, the School more than its former paddock, Jack Russell Drive and shed remain as tribute to the original caretaker and custodian of the School.
Jack’s shed began as necessity – six months into Jack taking on Yarra’s grounds did the tools in his own car shift into their new home, the shed. Overtime, regular extensions were added to the shed, along with extending the maintenance staff. Jack Russell Drive still leads down to the shed, now a sentimental reminder of the initial humble paddock the School was founded on.
True to its beginning, Jack’s shed remains home to the spare parts of the School: furniture, equipment, etc. Jack’s shed began as small but busy, host to Yarra’s bric-a-brac, broken or spare furniture, Fete material, tracked through by him and later further maintenance staff. This was helped by the boys in the School’s early days that followed the call when things needed storage – “take it down to Jack’s shed” – happy to take a breather from class.
