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LOCAL LIFE
ONE OF THE HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ...
A relationship formed through netball and football matches created a perfect match for Vaughan and Janine Humphreys . Photo : Kathryn Johnston . by Greg Martin
When I told The Font of All Knowledge Hawkesbury , Paul “ Wally ” Wayling , that Vaughan Humphreys was to be my next subject in this series , he said , “ make sure you ask him about the John Farnham concert ”.
But I didn ’ t have to because Paul filled me in .
“ Our Windsor Country Club ( cricket ) first grade was playing a game , and Vaughan was batting and going great guns ,” Paul explained .
“ He had earlier told us he had a ticket to go to a John Farnham concert in the city and reckoned he had plenty of time to get home , change and get into town .
“ He chalked up his century , all the time thinking about getting dismissed so he could get home .
“ But he never looked like getting out , so he went the slog , but it wasn ’ t until he had added another eighty or so runs that he finally got out and was sprinting back to his car , shouting to us ‘ can ’ t miss the Farnham show ”.
Well , that ’ s something I didn ’ t have to enquire of this remarkable man , ‘ cause there ’ s many other chapters in his life story .
Revered schoolteacher is a greatly admired rugby league , rugby union , cricket player and sports administrator , mate to many , and a much-loved husband , father and grandfather .
The Vaughan Humphreys story begins with his birth at Paddington Women ’ s Hospital in 1951 – his early alma maters were Summer Hill Public and Dulwich Hill High .
“ After I finished school in 1969 I was keen
to study metallurgy but in the end opted to go into the teaching profession and spent three years doing so at Armidale Teachers College ,” Vaughan said .
“ My first posting was to the one-teacher Gunderman Public School which you could say was a great learning experience as I had to teach 17 children from kindergarten through to Year 6 .
“ I was thrown in the deep end , learning to teach across all seven years and for the first six months , living in in a very leaky and dilapidated old bus at the nearby Rosevale Ski Gardens .
“ The only time I had a department ( of education ) inspector visit me to offer any criticism or guidance was on my final day at the school !”
Vaughan was then off to the biggish smoke at Riverstone Primary where he taught from 1976-83 .
“ I loved working at Rivo where I earned the respect and , I suppose , love , of students and their parents ,” Vaughan said .
Over the ensuing years at his profession , Vaughan taught at Pitt Town PS ( 1983-87 ) and then Kenthurst PS for a year before taking long service leave and operating a contract cleaning business before returning to the blackboard in 1991 . His final career posting was to Kurmond Primary where he taught until retiring as assistant principal in 2009 . To say Vaughan loved being involved in sport is to say Brad Fittler could sidestep and Bradman could bat !
His first two loves were cricket ( of course ) and rugby Union .
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6 ISSUE 178 // MARCH 2025 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT