Incoming St Joseph’s Parish School teacher Matthew Bakes says he chose Weipa as the community he wants to raise his family in, and fell in love with the town on his first visit. Photo: Supplied.
It’s not always easy to attract teachers to a remote community, but one teacher from Melbourne who wants to raise his young family in Weipa is chomping at the bit to join the St Joseph’s Parish School team this year.
Matthew Bakes will lead his new year 6 class to graduation in 2025, bringing with him years of experience and an unmatched enthusiasm to learn about life in Weipa.
Before making the decision, he said he researched many potential places to move to, but found Weipa was exactly what he, his wife and children needed.
“We’ve always wanted to live in a rural area, but we always found reasons not to do it, and we just decided if we don’t do it now, we’ll never do it,” Mr Bakes said.
“We found that Weipa was the remote community that we wanted to be a part of, but it still had all of the services that we need as a family with young kids.”
Having already gotten a small taste of the western Cape York town at the school’s transition day, Mr Bakes said he was excited to fully immerse his family into the community and get to know his students.
“I met a few of the kids at the transition day, and I loved that they were so enthusiastic about their community and school,” he said.
“I’d definitely like to learn from them about all the best spots to go fishing and exploring, and I’d like to bring my love of the Geelong Cats to them.”
Principal Kath Porter said the school was ecstatic to welcome a teacher of Mr Bakes’ calibre who planned to be there for the long haul.
“It’s very special that he chose Weipa specifically; usually, when we’re looking for teachers to move to a remote area, we struggle to find people who want to embrace the remoteness,” she explained.
“It seems that people often come for three years and then move on, so having someone stay long term builds the capacity in our school.
“Your first year is always difficult in any new town, because you’re learning so many new things, so it takes a good two to three years to be comfortable in the environment and reach capacity.”
Ms Porter said Mr Bakes was already looking to be a great fit for the school and the community.
“He’s all about relationships – relationships with the students, relationships with parents, and relationships with the community, and that’s really important,” she said.
“He’s also very keen to really learn about the lifestyle of Weipa, so I think that will help him with holding the interests of the students by having that as a conversation point and building that rapport.”
