A group of women who attended Maitland Girls High School in the 1950's have reunited for their 70th anniversary reunion.
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Some women travelled far and wide to attend the milestone event, while others still call Maitland and the Hunter region home.
The women who are in their 80's started first form which is now equivalent to Year 7 in 1954.
They sat their final exam in fifth form in 1958, with a majority of the women going on to be teachers and nurses.
Maureen Newman was one of the women who went down the teaching pathway and said she believes about 22 of the women in their year group went on to be teachers.
Fellow classmate Barbara Williams went on to become a nurse and said a group of them went to Sydney together to study nursing.
Back in the day, Rowan Pope was the school captain at Maitland Girls High in 1958 and she said it's always an amazing day catching up with her old classmates.
"These are the best group of women and we're so lucky to still get together all these years later," she said.
"Every time we get together everyone is so pleased to see each other."
According to Wendy Cox not much has changed with the group, the women still enjoying a chat 70 years on.
"At recess and lunch at school we would take our suitcases and put them in a big circle and we'd sit there having a chatter," she said.
"Nowadays we're asking each other about one another's grandchildren."
The women first met at the tender ages of 11 and 12, with the majority of the group now 82-year-olds.
Classmate Heather Jupp said in all the years that have gone by their personalities have remained the same.
"When you've known someone since they were 12, you really know them," she said.
Their age isn't the only thing that has changed but the school itself which is now Maitland Grossmann High School.
"We used to wear hats, gloves and stockings to school," Mrs Pope said.
The women came together to celebrate their platinum anniversary reunion on April 10 at the cafe at Mortels and also previously gathered to celebrate their 50th, 60th and 65th anniversary reunions.
They now try to meet annually in Maitland and each time they like to try a new cafe for their lunch catch up.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
