Whitehorse News - September 2022

Friendly faces across the road

Many of us have fond memories of greeting our local school crossing supervisor when commuting to school or dropping our kids off in the morning.

It was a chance encounter with the supervisor at her own children’s school crossing that set Bette Benjamin on the path to become one herself. 41 years later, she is still holding the bat with no plans of retiring any time soon.

“I was taking the kids to school one morning and the supervisor told me that her colleague around the corner was retiring. She asked me if I would be interested in the job,” Bette recalled.

“I thought, will I or won’t I? It was my eldest son who told me, ‘go for it Mum!’”.

And so she did, operating the crossing on Woodhouse Grove in Box Hill North near Kerrimuir Primary School. She eventually moved nearby to Molbray Street where she still works to this day.

“I thoroughly enjoy it, the kids and parents are absolutely fantastic,” said Bette.

“I treat the children as if they’re my own. They greet me every morning and I make sure to say hello to every one of them. They’re absolutely great.”

The Box Hill North community in which she has lived and worked for more than 50 years thinks just as highly of Bette.

“I went on holiday about 20 years ago and when I returned, the kids came running around the corner screaming ‘Bette’s back!’.”

“Sometimes I’ll be out in the shopping centre, I hear my name mentioned, turn around and its one of the students saying hi. It’s a lovely feeling,” she said.

“Some parents whose children are now at university still come and say hi. I think, I must be doing something right, otherwise they wouldn’t bother.” 

Bette has a wealth of heart-warming and funny anecdotes from her many years as a school crossing supervisor, including a time 10 years into her role when she turned up to work only to notice a beehive hovering over her crossing.

“That was when we wore those white coats and I thought, oh no, white attracts bees – what am I going to do!”

Bette said she continued to work, only realising later when reporting back that the crossing could have been moved away from the beehive. Fortunately, neither she nor any kids got stung that day. 

Bette’s passion for her work is clear.

“I joke that I’m staying on for another 25 years – I’ll be in the triple figures by then!”

“Why would I want to leave? I would recommend this job to anybody.”

For those interesting in taking up the stop bat, her advice is simple.

“You’re engaging with the community every day, so just be nice to them and they’ll be nice to you.”

“Also – never turn your back on the traffic!”

If you’re interested in becoming a school crossing supervisor, view details and apply now.