Steve Mansley and Mark Unwin have been reminded of the special bond they share by a newspaper clipping from almost four decades ago.
The Sunshine Coast lads, now both 50, were in Year 7 at Buderim Mountain State School when asked to take part in an historic event.
It concerned the arrival of the school’s very first computer, which they thought was oddly named – Apple. They would have the honour of being the first students to experience it as part of a media opportunity.
Steve said the strange machine was plonked on a table, plugged in and they were given some prompts.
“We were told to put our fingers on the keyboard, look at the screen and pretend we knew what we were doing,” he recalled.
“Until that point we thought apples were something you ate.
“I remember the green lights flashing and strange noises. I probably pressed the delete button. We didn’t have a clue what to do.
“And we never got to use it again. Perhaps computers were just for the teachers at that stage.”
Steve’s mother Annette recently showed him the clipping she had kept.
“Mum was very proud. It was a big deal, but we didn’t realise how cool it was at the time.”
Steve said that despite being one of the first two kids to use a computer at the school, he had not continued the association.
“I’m more of a hands on person,” the Forest Glen plumber said. “I didn’t even send an email until 2011.”
Mark, on the other hand, embraced technology and used it to develop a career in aviation. He is currently a pilot with Virgin.
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The pair fondly remember their days at the school, when there was a uniform, but it was optional – and so was wearing shoes.
“Heaps of kids came in bare feet,” Steve said. “They were very carefree days. It was sometimes a bit dangerous though when we rode our bikes like little daredevils up and down the steep hills around Buderim.”
It seems 1982 was a big year for computing. It was also the first time the term Internet was first used to describe the international collection of networks communicating with each other.
Do you have an interesting school memory you would like to share? Email us at news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au
