Florence Moore Short Story Competition

Adversity - Encouragement - Success

Florence was a pupil at Cunderdin School over 60 years ago. She faced adversity in her young life, an accident leaving her with one leg amputated. Florence only attended school for a short time in Cunderdin as the family moved to a property named ‘Rimalin’ 20 miles from town, ……… “and the children of the family did not leave that property for at least three years”.

Florence went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Melbourne, spent many years living overseas in a successful career and was presented at court.

In 1970 Florence Moore made contact with the headmaster of the day Mr Brian Courtney, with a proposal to donate prizes or cash for the ‘best essay or story written by a girl’ and the ‘best essay or story written by a boy’.

Excerpt from Florence Moore’s letter written to Mr Brian Courtney:
...... “I was about 11 when I started school in Cunderdin. A Miss Walker taught me for a few weeks. Another teacher was a Mr Holmes, and after him I vividly remember we had a relief teacher named Mr Hetherington, who was very good at drawing. To Mr Hetherington I owe more than I can ever record.

Not having mixed with other children I was intolerably shy and awkward. I was a big lanky girl, on crutches, a dunce who knew nothing. I had looked forward to going to school, but conditions disillusioned me, so that I would willingly, if possible, have fled from every thought of school. Then Mr Hetherington appeared on the scene.

After the lapse of years, I now think he too was shy. But it was this teacher who gave me encouragement, took an interest in me, spoke to my parents, and then before he left gave me an incentive by telling me of someone who like me had triumphed and was then a teacher.”

..........“sometimes it has occurred to me to wonder what my lot might have been had it not been for the encouragement of that young relief teacher.”

It wasn’t for another 30 years that Principal Ron Alexander received notice from State Trustees that a legacy of $30,000 had been left to the Cunderdin District High School in accordance with the Will of the late Miss Florence A. Moore. In her will Florence made provision for an annual prize to go to a boy and a girl for a short story competition.

The inaugural competition was held in 2001. The winners to date are:

2001	Jessica "Believe In Yourself"	Scott "Gramp's Story"
2002	Annabelle "A Dog's Dinner"	Joseph "7"
2003	Stella “Not So Bad After All”	Scott “The Book”
2004	Rebecca “It Doesn’t Always Turn Out For The Best”	Ryan “The War Of Hamuli”
2005	Kate “Terror In Paradise”	Edward “Lost In The Sahara”
2006	Indigo “Edith Archer”	Kyle “Diary Of Luke White”
2007	Jessica “A Best Friend”	Jack “The Treasure”
2008	Kira-Lee "A Girls Dream"	Thomas "The Day of Tremors"
2009	Kira-Lee "Roxy Ridge"	Nicholas "The Adventures of Smithy"
2010	Taylor "The View from Cunderdin Hill"	Nicholas "The Shakey Long Weekend"
2011	Jessica "As the Season's Change"	Damian "My Life on the Farm"

Each year students at Cunderdin District High are encouraged to enter the Florence Moore Short Story Competition.