TED (Edward) Shanks was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated with his family to Australia in 1953, living in Warragul in Gippsland before a move to Dandenong three years later. He has lived in Rutherglen for 48 years.
Ted completed his secondary schooling in Dandenong before taking up a teacher training course at Melbourne Teacher’s College, Melbourne University and RMIT. He completed his training as a secondary art and craft teacher.
Ted and his wife Beth have been married for 52 years. Their son and a daughter grew up in Rutherglen where they completed their education.
What did you do workwise?
I taught art, metalcraft, and woodcraft firstly at Balmoral in Western Victoria, then at Rushworth, finally obtaining a promotion to Rutherglen High School in 1975. I was appointed as assistant principal in 1993 and continued in this role until I retired in 2003.
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What brought you to your role/career?
I started to think about a career early in my secondary schooling and transferred from Dandenong Technical School to Dandenong High School so I could gain a matriculation certificate to study teaching. I was influenced by great teachers along the way. Choosing secondary art/craft teaching allowed me to further my interest in practical art.
What did you love about teaching?
I enjoyed the positive interaction with young people. Teaching art and technology subjects also provided the opportunity to work in different ways with students, helping them to increase their skills and develop their interests in ways not always offered by other subjects. I also enjoyed the friendship and interaction with fellow staff members as well as sharing common goals and interests.
What do you do in the community?
I played a number of sports on the weekends where I got to know a wider cohort of community members and took up administrative positions in some of the clubs and coached some teams. I’ve been an Apex Club member and am an active Rotary Club member being a past president and a board member of both clubs.
I’ve been a Rutherglen Uniting Church member since we arrived in the town and am a member of the church council and worship team.
I have been a Rutherglen Community Men’s Shed member for the past 16 or so years. I was an inaugural member and joint coordinator and am the secretary.
We live in a great community enjoying many benefits and advantages that don’t just happen. I feel that I have an obligation to contribute in whatever way I can.
Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?
The ongoing issue of trucks and heavy vehicles in Main Street. Over the past 15 years, I have been a member of two committees that looked at this issue in depth, made recommendations to Indigo Council and Rural Roads Victoria but despite all this and the expenditure of well over a million dollars, nothing significant has happened. We still don’t have a heavy vehicle bypass and, given the recent Federal Government decision to cut any funding for this project, we are not likely to see anything changing in the foreseeable future,
What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?
More than one - climate change, pollution, war and I would love to see a more effective United Nations that pushes alternatives to armed conflict.
If the person you would most like to meet came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?
I would love to bring my father here. He died at age 50 when I was 19. I would like him to see how his decision to emigrate has affected his family. Two of his sons live in the Indigo Shire as did my mother. I think that he would be pleased to see what we made of the opportunities presented in our generation and the next.
What book are you reading?
‘The Shepherd’s Hut’ by Tim Winton.
