School crossing supervisor Chris Rix has ushered generations of children across Ballarat's roads but after the final bell of term three at Caledonian Primary School she has hung up her stop sign for good.
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Ms Rix has retired after 27 years as a school crossing supervisor, including the past 18 years on the busy Thompson Street crossing.
Before she became the permanent supervisor on Thompson Street, Ms Rix helped students cross safely at many Ballarat locations including Sutton Street, Ballarat High School, Water Street, Old Melbourne Road and Scott Parade.
On Ms Rix's last afternoon with a stop sign in hand, the children of Caledonian Primary School gave her a guard of honour, lots of hugs and she was the star of many group photos.
Many former students also returned to wish her well on her retirement.
"I've had kids I used to help cross come here with their own kids - it just keeps going around," she said.
"They are so polite these children, the parents, the camaraderie, everyone has just been so lovely, friendly and well-behaved. You meet them and know you know them forever now."
Ms Rix admits to shedding tears at the end of each year when the grade six students graduate because she has seen them almost daily since they started prep.
The big difference over 27 years of keeping children safe around school has been the number of cars, and the distraction of drivers.
"There's so much more traffic around now ... and distraction," she said.
"We have stupid people go through crossing when I'm standing in the middle of the road. I can't understand how they don't see me standing there wearing flourescents.
"I do report them and they have been fined for it.
"You have to be aware the whole time. You've got to be looking backward and forward, making sure you're ready to run and making sure the children do stop at the footpath and wait for me to blow the whistle."
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Ms Rix's biggest scare occurred early in her crossing supervisor career when she was stationed near the corner of Water Street and Scott Parade in Brown Hill, before the roundabout was installed.
"There never used to be a roundabout and you had three or four roads that all came in together," she said.
One car failed to give way to another at the intersection and the collision sent one car flying toward Ms Rix and another supervisor standing on a traffic island in the middle of the road.
"We were looking up and a car was coming toward us and it was like slow motion. She swerved to miss us and rain into the caravan park, spun around and was facing the road.
"No one was really hurt but that was the worst accident and that's when they decided to do something about that intersection."
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