My mother had taught me quite a bit at home so I knew my alphabet and how to spell when I went to kindergarten in New South Wales. As kindergarten and first class were in the same room, my teacher would put me up to first class and the first class teacher would put me down to kindergarten, saying I was too young.
This happened more than once and I think it influenced my attitude from then on, because if I was bored I'd be naughty.
My primary school education was with the Sisters of Mercy Convent School, in Narrabri, northwest New South Wales. That was followed by my secondary education as a boarder at Santa Sabina, a Dominican school at Strathfield, a suburb of Sydney.
So all of my education, much of it being in the 1950s, was with nuns, who in those days wore the complete habit, covered from head to foot. The nuns in Narrabri were strict and rather humourless.
The Dominicans at Santa Sabina were an elite group of educators and instilled an attitude of strength and determination. They were very strict and forbidding, with much emphasis on religion and attending Mass every morning.
My favourite subject was the piano, which I started learning when I was five years old. One nun, Sister Gabriel, would whack me on the knuckles with a ruler on cold mornings if I made a mistake.
