Former Western Australian College of Agriculture (WACOA) - Denmark, students who attended the college between 1952-1956, reminisced at their 70th reunion recently.
About 60 people attended the reunion at the college's TAFE building in the annual event.
Every reunion has been organised by Don McCausland, outgoing chairman of the Denmark Old Collegians' Association.
The 87-year-old was a student and boarder in 1953 and 1954."(Boarding) is why we became so close and so bonded, we became like family - mates for life," Mr McCausland said.
All the farm work was done with his hands and feet and often required a horse and cart - and his favourite subject was veterinary science.
Mr McCausland returned to his parent's beef, dairy and orchard farm at Capel after completing school.
"I went from farming to the Dalgety stock firm, then I went back to dairying in Dardanup for a while, and then I went on to become a livestock transporter - I finished carting livestock the day I turned 81," he said.
WACOA - Denmark, principal Rebecca Kirkwood said after graduating, the students often returned to their family farms, went into a trade or started a business.
She was thrilled the college had contributed to such long-lasting friendships.
"Mr McCausland is very passionate about the school, he describes it as the best two years of his life," Ms Kirkwood said.
"And then he said he got married and now it's one of the best two years of his life."
The school was established in 1942 after Narrogin's agricultural school was closed during the war.
The Narrogin students moved to Denmark to continue their studies, however with no boarding facilities available until 1947, boarding students lived with local community members.
The TAFE building was the original boarding house.
The school was only open to young men and didn't have any farmland of its own, with learning taking place on government research properties.
"It's all turned into modern machinery, after I left school it progressed into tractors, there were international tractors coming onto the market," Mr McCausland said.
"It wasn't too many years after I left that it all started to change from horses and carts to machinery."
Ms Kirkwood said it was a fantastic tribute to the history of the college.
"It was wonderful to see the passion and energy in the room from people who attended our college 70 years earlier," she said.
"It was a testament to them that even though some of the men have passed, their wives now attend in their place.
"It's a fantastic example of mateship and we can only hope to replicate that among our students."
Mr McCausland said the reunion was a success.
"We're proud people, we're proud to have attended an agricultural school," he said.
"It's a unique record of continuous reunions.
"There's only 12 of us left out of 23, from our 1953 group."
Mr McCausland had some advice for students studying in agriculture and trades.
"I just say to the students 'learn all you can' because it's important for future life," he said.
"Have fun, and take it all in."
Perri Polson
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
