Ian Darlington began working at 糖心传媒 in 1982 as a foundation staff member for the then newly established school, teaching physical education to a cohort of fewer than 100 students from Years 5 – 8. 鈥淲e [the teachers] all came from different backgrounds,鈥� Mr Darlington says. 鈥淪ome of us came from the education department, some from private schools鈥t was a mixture of men and women.鈥�
Prior to commencing his role with GVGS, Mr Darlington relocated to Shepparton in search of a 鈥榯ree-change鈥� after moving from the UK to Australia in 1977. 鈥淢y wife and I decided we鈥檇 rather live in the country than in the city,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 was lucky enough that [inaugural principal] Vic Ryall offered me a job.鈥�
Having previously worked in both Melbourne and Swan Hill, Mr Darlington stepped into his new role without any precedents. 鈥淰ic Ryall was really good and let us do our own thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淥bviously we had a curriculum to follow, but he allowed us a lot of freedom as well which was great.鈥�
Mr Darlington initially taught physical education classes to his students at a local football oval while all other classes were carried out from inside the adjacent club rooms, a far cry from the modern facilities we see today at the north end of Verney Road. 鈥淭he best part for me was when we first started and we were at Deakin Reserve,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t really was quite weird that we were teaching 90 students out of the clubrooms鈥hat was very different.鈥�
Mr Darlington recalls the early years of GVGS鈥� involvement in local interschool and weekend sporting activities and the initial struggles the teams faced. 鈥淲e only had 90 students and so we usually lost, but they always tried so hard,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ometimes they said they knew they were about to lose a game by eight goals, but they would still go out and give it their all regardless.鈥� He notes the importance of these losses and how each loss built resilience and character for the students. 鈥淭hey learned early on how to lose gracefully, and then they became gracious winners,鈥� he says. 鈥淓veryone always gave 100% regardless.鈥�
The inaugural group of students undertook classes from Deakin Reserve for approximately six months before relocating permanently to the current campus. 鈥淲hen we first got there it was just the basics,鈥� he says. 鈥淓verything was in that one area around the Copulos Area – that was the whole school.鈥�
Arguably, Mr Darlington鈥檚 biggest legacy is the annual GVGS Eisteddfod. Teaming up with colleague David Garwood, the two Welshman worked together to integrate the foreign festival into the school calendar. 鈥淲here I come from in Wales the Eisteddfods are a big thing in schools,鈥� Mr Darlington says. 鈥淭hey [the GVGS Eisteddfods] aren鈥檛 exactly the same as the traditional Eisteddfods in Wales, but they do follow the same lines鈥e modified it a bit to suit an Australia school.鈥� He fondly recalls that due to the small size of the school at the time everyone was 鈥榤ore than happy from the word go鈥� to be involved in the festivities of the yearly event. 鈥淚t鈥檚 become a part of the school now and everyone enjoys having it, which is great,鈥� he says.
After spending a decade developing teaching precedents and playing a key role in establishing the school traditions we still celebrate today at GVGS, Mr Darlington relocated to Saudi Arabia where he taught at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in Dhahran. He then moved back to Australia and spent time running a private business in Queensland for seven years. A keen traveller, Mr Darlington spent time teaching across the world and continent-hopping between Nigeria, Arnhem Land and Pakistan before settling back along the Gold Coast hinterland in 2017. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I came to Australia in the first place,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 really enjoy travelling and I鈥檝e got to see plenty of the world.鈥� Nowadays, Mr Darlington enjoys semi-retirement in North Tamborine, Queensland with his wife Val.
Looking back on his time at GVGS almost 40 years ago, Mr Darlington has many fond memories and is proud of how the school has progressed over the years, saying that the facilities available to students today are 鈥榖rilliant鈥�. 鈥淭he best thing about the school was that it was always a family school and everybody looked out for each other,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t really developed that way because that鈥檚 what we [the teachers] wanted.鈥�
Having taught all over the world throughout his long career as a physical education teacher, he proudly says that GVGS tops the list. 鈥淎s far as schools go 鈥� I鈥檝e worked in lots of different schools, in lots of different countries 鈥� GVGS is still the best one in my mind out of all the ones I鈥檝e worked at,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e got lots of happy memories of that place鈥he vast majority of students looked forward to coming to school every day and thought it was a pretty good place to be.鈥�
PICTURED: Mr Darlington is pictured with fellow foundation staff members. BACK ROW L-R: Mr Bob Buntine, Mr Alan Humphries, Mr Ian Darlington, Mr Paul Freeman, Mr David Garwood, Mr Geoff Shacklock and Mrs Barbie Gillett. FRONT ROW L-R: Mrs Bev Manson, Ms Peta Kinmond, Mr Vic Ryall, Mr John Kaye, Ms Gayle Joyce and Ms Carrie Michael.