Perth's eighth Reunion Dinner was held on 26th May 2016 at owner/chef Zaw Lay's small restaurant called The Hub Grill & Café located at suburban Shelley, south of Perth city. The whole restaurant was booked for our function and the gathering was well attended by twenty VI old students accompanied by fifteen spouses. A number are regulars at our Perth functions but on this occasion we were supported by six newcomers and five spouses.

* First time attending

The evening commenced with the traditional singing of the four verses of the School song with song sheets provided by Paul Nathan. Then MC Ron Liew Kon Swee welcomed all the participants and thanked everyone for making the evening a success. A warm welcome was also extended to the 11 people who were attending the VIOS Perth function for the first time. Ron made special mention of the three Head Girls at the gathering :

- Ee Paik Lian née Teh, 1st Head Girl of the School 1956, teacher 1962-1965
- Teh Pak Bee, 1962
- Rosemary Mintz née Jesudason, 1965

Rosemary Mintz, Lorraine Lim, Pak Bee & Paik Lian; Leslie & Antonia Chandrasegaran, Raja Ahmad, Dennis Ho and Louise Tiang.

After the rousing rendition of the school song, entree was served. Everyone enjoyed the succulent chilli mussels accompanied by garlic and herb toasted bread and spinach patties.

Before the main meal was served, Ron then called upon David Gan Kong Eng (our unofficial leader of Perth VIOS, School Vice-Captain 1962) to address the gathering. David also welcomed one and all to the dinner and said he was so glad to see new faces to the group which augered well for the future of the VIOS Perth chapter. He informed the gathering of the very successful VI@SG50 Grand Overseas Reunion (David was one of the main organisers) held from Oct 8 - 10, 2015 at Sentosa Island, Singapore with about 180 participants. He mentioned that Perth was represented at the VI@SG50 by Raja Ahmad & Yuet Mui, Susie Lim & Kevin Button, Ron & Hian Liew and David & Katherine Gan. He encouraged all at the gathering to attend future overseas reunions to renew old friendships, reminiscence of old times and have a great fun and enjoyable holiday. David also donated two batik shirts, and Ron donated an umbrella (items which was given to every participant in VI@SG50) to be drawn as a door prizes.

Maureen Teo, Maureen & Martin Lee, Katherine Gan & Susie Lim; Hian Liew, Jones & Irene Daniel, Jayanthi Nathan, Indy & Harch Singh, Wong Yuen-Kah

The MC then called upon the six VIOS who were attending the first time to introduced themselves and briefly tell the gathering what they had been up to after leaving VI. Interestingly, some old members of this group were in VI in the 50's whilst the Ho brothers, very juniors in our group, were in VI in the 80's.

The main meal was served during the speeches. Mains consisted of a choice of Spaghetti marinara (mixed seafood), Veal with mushroom in creamy sauce, grilled barramundi fish in white wine and lemon sauce with a dash of cream, or Pork belly with spicy squid. Everyone was delighted with their meal.

Justin Ho Chee San, Chin Tuck Meng, David Chelvanayagam & Baljit Sambhi; Prize draw - Batik shirt (note VI logo on the left pocket)

After the main meal, Ron called upon the three Head Girls to draw the door prizes. The winner of the batik shirts were Baljit Sambhi and Robert Lim. Wong Yuen-Kah won the umbrella.

Choice of tiramisu or banana & ricotta cake was served after the prize draw to complete the evening. All participants stayed back after dinner to catch up or meet with new friends. The restaurant proved to be so popular that a few participants returned after the event to taste other dishes on offer on the menu. The evening ended with some saying that we should have more of these gatherings whilst others are looking forward to the next one.

After this gathering, two VIOS (Jones Daniel and Swaran Ludher) found themselves reunited more than 50 years after leaving school.

Report by Ron Liew