Interview with Mike Smith – 1966 Mike was a day boy at St David’s and lived on a flower farm near Alexandra township. He remembered his first day in grade 1 in the old grades block, Miss Brick was his teacher and she used to rap the boys knuckles with her ... »
Interview with Mike Smith – 1966 Mike was a day boy at St David’s and lived on a flower farm near Alexandra township. He remembered his first day in grade 1 in the old grades block, Miss Brick was his teacher and she used to rap the boys knuckles with her ruler. He and his brother Alf used to arrive at the school early as their father used to drop them off on his way to market. Mike used to go and sit on the steps and could see the traffic cops who used to come inside the school grounds to do their speed trapping of cars on Rivonia Rd. He recalls that one morning Br Edwin the then principal called him and sent him to tell the police that they could get some coffee from the school kitchen. Mike was terrified of both the principal and the traffic cops so it was quite nerve wracking for him. Br Pius who had taught his father at Koch Street was at the school, although no longer teaching, his passion was the gardens and he used to give the boys sweets from his lucky packet. He remembered teachers such as Mrs Martin, Mrs Brophy, Mrs Green and Mrs Humphrey in whose class the last minutes were dedicated to reading time. The boys really enjoyed this and you could hear a pin drop during this time. Mike enjoyed playing cricket from the early days when he used to play with his brother. Throughout his school career there were always excellent cricketing coaches during the summer months including the likes of Ken Palmer ( played for England); Jack Bannister; Don Wilson and Poole. Mike had to choose between swimming or cricket and thoroughly enjoyed the coaching and practise sessions. The coaches added value to their cricketing performances which was quite good at the time. The cricket nets were next to where the new chapel now stands. The highlight of Mike’s school career occurred during the Michaelmass holidays, the school then had 4 terms, which was the Marist cricket week and all the Marist schools in the country competed against each other – St Patrick’s –Walmer; St Joseph’s – Cape Town; St Charle’s – Pietermaritzburg; St Henry’s – Durban and St David’s – Johannesburg. The week was rotated between the schools and Mike participated in 3 whilst in standard 8, 9 and 10. When the matches were completed a Marist cricket 11 was selected and all the players were given a special blazer, this was regarded as being especially prestigious. This team then played the old boys team. Mike was selected twice for this team and became the captain in his matric year and still has the badge given to him. During the week the food was good and the players were taken to see a movie and a social event together with the local convent school was organised. The Wilf Isaacs visiting cricket team was also a very special occasion and the Nuffield trials week when St David’s and Observatory had a combined team against the likes of KES and Parktown which gave the Marist schools a lot of credos. In those days the boys didn’t wear protective head gear and he recalls an Obs boy, Brian Norberry being hit by a ball between the eyes. He fortunately recovered from what was a potentially very dangerous injury. The school’s swimming team at the time was very good and has been ever since. Athletics was strong and regarded passionately by the boys and included such names as Terence Lavery, Chris Terreblanche who were very talented athletes. The inter-catholic high he recalls was held at a stadium. Rugby featured strongly and the tours were very popular. The rivalry between Observatory and St David’s was strong and became quite hectic at times. Academically Mike always did well being in the upper quotient of his year. He was amongst the first boys to be streamed and studied Maths, Physics and Chemistry, Biology, English and Afrikaans. The school put on a couple of plays and Mike was involved backstage but did not act. The brothers were amazing and real characters, Br Edwin, Br Anthony, Br Bosco (Mario) and Br Andrew who was Spanish. The brothers dining room was out of bounds but, through the occasional glimpse the boys could see that the food was good and that the brothers ate and drank well. Mike was caned on a daily basis, it was like an honour and not regarded as a problem. He recalls an incident when a rather ripe orange that was thrown and just missed Br Andrew (Drac) and all the boys were caned. The matric dance in those days was rather different and the matric boys themselves decorated the dining room, no huge sum of money was spent on the event and there was no before party. The boarders were a fantastic bunch and made the school to a large extent, coming from all over -Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique the Lowveld etc. He still remains in touch with Mike Beaumont, Bart Dorrestein, Peter Gerrard, Jannie Steyn and Eric Ambrosioni. There were many polio victims in the school at that time and he remembers Mike Nettman who was unable to play sport and now lives in New Zealand and was one of the “Four Jacks and a Jill” and has had a successful career as a musician. Mike organised the 40th reunion which was held at the top of the Michael Angelo Towers in Bart Dorrestein’s suite “The Cupola” in 2006 and with a braai on Sunday at St David’s high school paviliion During his matric year there was much talk about military service and Mike was called up. He remembers lining up for the medical exam in his school uniform in the drill hall. After completing his military service Mike went on to Wits University to study engineering and until recently ran his own construction company. His son Robert (2004) followed in the family tradition and was a pupil at St David’s and Mike’s father Cyprien, who is now 92 was a pupil at Koch Street and Observatory. JE March 2012
