“My mother always wanted to be a teacher.”

Eric Roach, now 89 and with a lifetime of teaching experience behind him, casts his mind back to where it all began.

“She did very well at school, and she wanted to be a French teacher,” says Eric.

“But she was one of four children, and her mother was very ill.”

Summoned back home by her father, Eric’s mother had little choice but to abandon her dream. She dropped out of school to care for her family.

“So she never, ever got to be a teacher, but she really wanted to be,” Eric explains.

“And that's, I think, what I always wanted to do too.”

Eric Roach looking through photos
Eric reminiscing while looking through photographs from his time as a student at the Newcastle Teacher's College.

In 1953, a fresh-faced, 17-year-old Eric graduated from Newcastle Boys High School and took a scholarship to study at the newly formed Newcastle Teachers’ College.

Eric’s two years there were special. He still has his yearbook, which he pores over fondly, pointing out old mates with a chuckle. His time at the College launched a career that would span almost four decades, and instilled in him a passion for teaching that would transcend generations.

Opened by Griffith Duncan in 1949 with just 13 staff and 182 students, the Newcastle Teachers’ College would eventually merge to become the University of Newcastle’s School of Education. This year marks 75 years since the first cohort began their teaching journey, and the University has been providing excellence in teacher education to its regions ever since.

Into the deep end

“Good morrrrrning, Mr Roach.” The singsong greeting bounced off the walls of the old schoolhouse in Cumnock – a tiny town in Central West, NSW.

It was the heat of summer, 1955. Just 19 years old and a new graduate, Eric found himself fronting up to a class of 43 kids from Kindergarten to Year 3. One of two teachers at the school of 80 students, he’d been given just a week’s notice to pack up his things and relocate. New town, new job, new life.

“I didn't have a car, so my parents drove me out there. I’d never lived away from home. I had to arrange board. It was pretty tough at first, but I survived, and I really enjoyed my time there,” Eric says.

“After my first year, I had enough money to buy a car, which made life a bit better.”

Eric settled into country life. He made some good mates, and spent much of his spare time dedicated to local sports clubs.

“I've always been very involved with sports, so I got involved with cricket, tennis and football. I ended up being Secretary of the Cumnock Rugby League Club for two years,” he says.

After three years at Cumnock Primary School, Eric had fulfilled the requirements of his three-pound-a-week scholarship. Home was calling.

Teaching the Hunter

“I got a job teaching at Nelson Bay Central School for a year. Then I was moved to Raymond Terrace High School – when there was a shortage of high school teachers due to the war,” says Eric.

He taught high school Geography and PE for four years.

“Then I had to decide if I wanted to stay on as a secondary teacher or go back to primary, and I decided to go back to primary,” he says.

Eric married his wife, Fran, and took up a teaching position at Plattsburg Public School, and then New Lambton South. 

Fuelled by his love of sports, he accepted a three-year secondment as the Regional Sports Organiser for the Hunter, organising school sports for primary and secondary students in the region.

Then it was back to the classroom – a few years at Gateshead Primary School, before taking up the Assistant Principal position at Garden Suburbs Primary School, where he stayed until his retirement in 1993.

“I loved my job. I was very lucky that every school I was at I really enjoyed. I had good people to work with, good bosses, good kids,” Eric says.

“I've got lots of good memories, but probably one of the highlights of my career was when I was at Garden Suburb, we took the children every year to Lake Keepit, to the Sport and Rec camp up there.”

“We had some wonderful times up there, just wonderful,” he says.

Inspiring the next generation

Gathered around an outdoor table on Eric and Fran’s back patio, Eric, his daughter Julie, and granddaughter Hannah reminisce.

“Garden Suburb was a wonderful school. In fact, I taught some of Julie's best friends, and they're still good friends today,” says Eric.

“And he was their favourite teacher,” adds Julie warmly.

Not one, but two of Eric’s daughters have followed in his footsteps to become teachers through the University of Newcastle – Julie, who works in primary schools as an English as an Additional Language teacher, and her sister Vicki, a TAFE teacher. Hannah, Julie’s daughter, is rounding out her first year of a Bachelor of Education. Like her grandad and her mum, she’ll be a primary teacher.

“I really enjoyed my job, so I’m happy that two of my daughters have gone into teaching,” says Eric.

“And it's taken me seven grandchildren, but the youngest one has decided to become a teacher too,” he laughs.

Julie says seeing her dad in the classroom for so many years was a big influence on her decision to pursue a teaching career.

“I think it just felt like the natural thing, because I'd seen dad teaching, and I've always had a love of children. I could see already that I would be able to make a difference,” says Julie.

“And the holidays were certainly up there ,” she laughs.

A newspaper clipping
A newspaper clipping of Eric's daughters graduating from their teaching degree.

75 years of teacher education for our regions

Eric’s family’s story is special, but here in the Hunter, it’s not all that unique. You don’t have to look too far to find other families in the region with multi-generations of teachers, all educated right here at the University of Newcastle.

“The University is a wonderful asset. We're so lucky to have it here. The fact that our three daughters, and then our eight grandkids have all been there, or are there, it’s such a wonderful opportunity for them,” says Eric.

Julie agrees. “I think it's fantastic that we train teachers here in Newcastle, and they go out and work in the regions. A lot of younger people are choosing to do casual work and stay in the area. It’s so valuable,” she says.

Professor Susan Ledger, Head of the University of Newcastle’s School of Education, says you'll find graduates from the University in almost every school in the region.

“Since 1949, we’ve transformed the educational landscape, empowering educators who make a lasting impact across Australia and beyond,” she says.

Far from the early days of old classroom projectors, the University has developed a teacher education program that integrates emerging technologies like simulated and virtual classrooms into their programs.

“Our graduates embrace the Quality Teaching model, they exit with a strong literacy and numeracy foundation, we emphasise physical and mental well-being, inclusive practices are embedded in our programs, and we prepare graduates for modern educational challenges in and out of the classroom,” Professor Ledger says.

The University’s teacher education programs also champion equity and excellence at every stage.

“We have graduated more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers than any other Australian university, and have worked collaboratively to embed Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum,” Professor Ledger says.

“Our mission is to empower future teachers with the knowledge, values and skills to shape and inform the future citizens of the world.”

In the face of rising teacher shortages across the country, Professor Ledger says the importance of the University’s world-class education programs, offered right here in the Hunter, cannot be understated.

“Our alumni are the beating heart of our local schools, and we are so proud of their contribution to the region,” she says.

“And Eric, his daughters and his granddaughter are real-life examples of the University’s commitment to educating teachers for our region in generations past, and for generations to come.”

Teaching wasn’t always easy, but Eric says it was always worth it.

“I think, one of the best quotes I ever heard was ‘I would not be in the position I am today, if it wasn’t for a teacher’,” he says.

“And I think what we do for children is so important. It’s a very, very important position, and one that’s very rewarding, too.”