Theirs was the first year to graduate without the spectre of a world war overhead, and that in itself is worth celebrating.
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So says Ken Howell, a classmate in the Wagga High School graduating class of 1946.
Now aged 89, Mr Howell has compiled a history of his final school year. Chronicling his fellow 22 classmates included a brief history of Joe Schipp, former Liberal state member for Wagga until 1999.
"It was Joe's idea to [write the history]," Mr Howell said.
"We met together at a wake, and he suggested someone take it on to record it. We'd all kept a lot of the old things from high school, so we put that all together."
It took three years to compile the stories. But having died in 2017, Mr Schipp did not survive long enough to watch his idea grow to term.
"He was the instigator of the whole thing, he sowed the seed that started us doing it," Mr Howell said.
"The saddest thing is that he won't see it. [His death] gave me more incentive to get it done, we could have let it die then and there."
With Mr Shipp now passed, it leaves only six surviving classmates - former Daily Advertiser cadet Alan Bent, Yvonne Warren nee Jones, John Lennon, Jack Manning, Valma Samuelson nee Ohlsen, and Mr Howell.
Travelling through archives and revisiting personal memories formed a journey through grief for Mr Howell.
"It was a shock to find out only six of us are still going, I think that was the hardest part about writing this history," Mr Howell said.
Had he not endeavoured to detail his school year, the memory of that moment would die with those who carried it.
Now, the surviving six mostly still residing in Wagga, Temora or surrounds, the six have formed a friendship that has now spanned 73 years.
"I couldn't tell you what's kept us together through all those years," Mr Howell said.
"It was just meant to be. We were all interested in how each other's lives were going so we kept in contact."
Initially, Mr Howell ordered only 50 copies of the class history to be printed. Following initial support, he is now considering doubling the release.
Having donated a copy of his book to Wagga High School library, he hopes to inspire others to chronicle their schoolyard memories.
"It wouldn't matter where or when you went to school, there are memories we'd all like to hold onto and share," Mr Howell said.