Known for his loud shirts, love of music and as part of the furniture at Nowra High School, the man universally known as Murph retired after 32 years at the school.

Of course, in the early days he was also part of the well-known group of science teachers at the school who sported rather large, well-propagated beards.

It sees the end of 39 years of service to public education.

“It’s been a great ride,” he said. “I’ve loved every minute of it.

“I was here [at Nowra High] before the multi-purpose hall, before K Block, before the fence.

“I was here back in the day when you could buy liquorice at the canteen, buy apple turnovers with cream at the canteen. I’ve even been through the era of the P and C having a Coke machine in the canteen.

“I’ve seen some changes but kids are still pretty much kids.

“I’m lucky I love my job and if you love your job, you’re in front of the average person. I’ve been really lucky.”

He said Nowra High was a community.

“I’ve always seen Nowra High as a really good school, it’s a community,” he said.

“I love Nowra as a town. I grew up in a country town. I know Nowra has grown but it still has a country town heart.”

He said the science faculty had been a very supportive group.

“We all got on well, were very supportive and had some good times together,” he said.

Back when Murph graduated as a teacher, you had to fill out a form for the Department of Education as to where you would be willing to teach.

He would be a rarity today, saying he was willing to go anywhere other than the “big cities”.

“Being a country boy, I grew up at Harden and Murrumburrah, near Cootamundra, I said I’d go anywhere bar Sydney, Wollongong or Newcastle,” he said.

But he ended up in Canterbury, before relocating to Balranald for three years and then Ulladulla for another three years before finally transferring to Nowra.

“One thing I love about Nowra is, it is close enough to Sydney but far enough away,” he said.

“You can go up there for a couple of hours if you want but I don’t want to live there.”

He said his decision to become a science teacher was an easy one, fuelled by the space race.

“I was born in 1957 and grew up through the ’60s space race, it was exciting,” he said.

“That was the latest and greatest. We had no computers back then.

“At school I liked science, I loved doing the experiments. I just wanted to get into that field.”

He said “kids” were still engaging with the subject but there was a “lot more competition now in other areas”.

“Neither of my own kids did science in years 11-12 and in a sense I didn’t want to them too if they didn't have too,” he said.

“Neither of them needed it for their further careers.

“But if you are interested in it as a subject do it, if not don’t.

“And there is a lot of competition in subjects nowadays.”

He said regulations had also certainly changed, meaning some of the once approved activities and experiments were now not allowed.

“That’s the world today,” he said “go to a park these days and there is 10 foot of rubber matting under the swings. That's just the way society has gone.

“We don’t get to blow things up anymore. It was fun in a controlled environment.

“The Department of Education runs like a big business and they look at litigation and they say you have to do this or do that - these are the rules.

“Society has probably gone a bit over the top.”

He is a big supporter of public education.

“I’m proud to have taught in a public schools all my life,” he said.

“Both my kids went to public schools. I’m not saying anything bad about private schools but I think there is an important place for public schools.

“There always has been and always will be a battle for funding in any organisations that are getting money from the government.

“We have to fight for what we get.

“Public education has its place. Look at the HSC results - of the top students there were 46 from public schools and 46 from private schools.

“We’re still doing okay, we might not have as many resources as some schools but we deliver a quality education.”

As for the children, he doesn’t believe they have changed as much as parenting has changed.

“I’m not being negative about parents in general but things have changed,” he said.

“Most parents these days, both are working, some more than one job.

“Time is valuable to people these days.

“I think they are much busier today than what they were 20 to 30 years ago. It’s not just work, it’s getting kids to sporting activities both during the week and on weekend, which is so important. As well as everything else that is going on.

“Parents are also more willing to back their kids against the school. That happens more but that is also a social change. I’m not saying schools are always right either. At times we could all do things better.”

Probably the biggest change he has seen has been in technology.

“When I started we didn’t have computers,” he said.

“It is just a part of everyday life now. It has made some things easier - marking the roll for instance. In the old days they were paper rolls. Now it’s electronic and if a kid doesn’t turn up in my class I can easily check if they were in the previous lesson.”

And he has seen mobile phones infiltrate the school environment.

“The kids all have them nowadays,” he said.

“I have always prided myself that I had a dodgy phone and boasted I could leave it on any desk in the school, in any classroom, and no self respecting student would take it.

“Finally my rubbishy old phone died - I went to a local phone shop and said I just want an Nokia - and was promptly told that was ‘old school and they didn't carry them anymore’.

“I had to settle for a smartphone.

“So I was back in class teaching about solar panels and someone’s phone rang.

“‘Who’s got their phone on? I inquired ‘could you please turn it off now!’

“A student put up his hand and said ‘that's your phone sir!’

“I got the phone out and there was a voice coming from it talking about solar panels.

“I was told that was ‘Siri’  - what the hell’s that?

“I had to get someone to come up and turn it off for me.

“We have definitely come a long way.”

He was well-known as part of the science teachers’ group to sport the then trendy beards.

“Mine was well down my chest,” he said.

“At one stage a boy came to the science staffroom and said he was ‘in trouble’ and ‘had to see the teacher with the beard’.

“About six of us stood up and said which one.”

He said the interaction with students had been one of the highlights of the job.

“As teachers we all simply want to help the kids,” he said.

“All kids are different. I have always tried to look and treat kids not as they are today, but what they could be in five years time.

“Treat them like they are already that person.

“We have some kids that can be difficult - every school does -  sometimes I find it easier to treat the kids like that.

“And most of the time they seem to respond. It works for me.

“When I first started teaching I was living with my family - mum, dad and three sisters - we’d go on picnics as a family on weekend or go on holidays together.

“I quickly realised that certainly wasn’t the norm. That was my normal but in many cases it wasn’t the norm for the kids.  

“I tried to connect with those kids. I’ve had some success but you can’t win them all.

“I think an important thing as a school, maybe even more important than teaching science, is to walk along with the kids and guide them through the system.

“Sometimes as a male you might be the only male role model some kids have at that time.

“I have enjoyed those relationships I’ve had with kids - I’m all about relationships - it’s like in sport, you have to have relationships.

“I go into town and see some kids I taught 10 years ago or more and they have now got kids of their own.

“I’ll often get a ‘G’day Murph’ - that’s amazing - that’s how it has always been for me in Nowra - it’s pretty special.

“Teaching is a pretty special profession.There are not many jobs where every year you get a completely new start, with 150 different people you have never known before. Over that year you get to know some really well and some not so well. It’s a pretty big privilege to come into someone’s world.

“They get to know you too.

“You feel the love in the job.

Mr Murphy is well-known for his loud, colourful shirts.

“I’ve been wearing them as long as I can remember,” he said.

“I suppose they are a bit of a signature now.

“I have always used humour when I can and wearing loud shirts maybe lowered the barriers a little bit.

“There are often barriers between teachers and kids - there has to be in some cases - sometimes kids see teachers or police as the enemy.

“Loud shirts have lowered those barriers, maybe made kids feel this guy’s safe territory.

“And sometimes you want to be safe territory for kids.”

He is also a “obsessive” music collector.

He has been part of community radio for many years, presenting Off The Wall each Monday night.

“I have always been big about giving back to the community and have told the kids it’s a good thing to do,” he said.

“Give back, don’t just take from the community.”

His vinyl collection includes 7000 LPs, 5000 singles and 10,000 CDs.

“I have a wide range of music interests,” he said.

“I love Australian music, the ’70s and ’80s, rockabilly from the ’50s, bluegrass, blues.

“There is good music in every era.”

It is estimated if he listened to the music he has loaded for his show for 14 hours a day it would take him 200 years to listen to it all.

As for retirement, he’s got motorbike and a camping trailer and he’s set to hit the road with his wife.

He has never been overseas and that’s another adventure he would like to tackle.

And he hasn’t ruled out being drawn back in to do the occasional bit of casual teaching.

“You never know what’s around the corner,” he said. “You can’t rule anything out.

“This year I’ve taught Special Ed and it’s been great.

“To prepare for my retirement I’ve only worked seven days a fortnight but I’ve really enjoyed it.

“I’d maybe like to do a bit more of that on a casual basis - who knows.

“But first I’m going to take some time off, think about things and see where it takes me.”