Steven McGarry and Jack Iredale visit a primary school in the town of Cadoux, with a population of just 5 people.
3 hours and 180 kilometres northwest of Perth lies Cadoux; a town situated in the northeast Wheatbelt region of Western Australia and the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu.
The town is most widely recognised for its wheat-farming industry, and sustaining a 6.1 on the Richter Scale earthquake in 1979. The Cadoux earthquake was WA’s second most destructive earthquake in history; causing the equivalent of $3.9 million of damage in today’s terms.
Alongside Perth Glory Youth player Jack Iredale, Perth Glory Community’s Steven McGarry visited Cadoux Primary School and was amazed by the isolation of the town.
“We weren’t sure we were even there until we saw the sign,” said McGarry. “We actually drove through the town without realising we were there.”
“There was just the one shop, one train line right through the centre, a big recreation centre, a couple of houses and a school. That was about it.”
“It was a real eye-opener that a school could actually be in such a small town.”
Cadoux Primary School only has 19 students on its books – with kids ranging from pre-primary to year 7. It’s equally intriguing that none of the 19 kids that go to the school live in Cadoux. In fact, none of the kids had ever been to a soccer game, or had even seen the world game on TV. All the students could just recall Perth Glory played in purple.
So how did Cadoux Primary School react to the Sporting Schools program led by coach Steven McGarry?
“We received a really warm welcome, all the kids were waiting for us,” said McGarry. “It’s not often they get visitors, so the principal couldn’t believe Perth Glory visited her school.”
“The kids loved the program, they were really enthusiastic. The girls there mainly played tennis and hockey, the boys basketball and AFL, so it was something different for them.”
“They really enjoyed having a ball at their feet, especially for kids that had barely kicked a football in their lives.”
“We played heaps of fun games with the kids and saw plenty of smiling faces in Cadoux,” said McGarry.
“It was a fantastic experience for the kids, but also for the Community department finding a frontier previously unexplored.”
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