Work is under way to acknowledge Myrtleford's historic involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

The tradition of the 12-month exchange began in Myrtleford in the late 1950s, largely due to the efforts of Rotarian Peter Barnett, and later with assistance from Wangaratta's Clive Schliebs.

A group has been formed to work on appropriately acknowledging Mr Barnett's role in the formation of the program, and it has issued a callout to past outgoing and incoming Myrtleford Rotary Exchange Program students, their families or friends to be part of the process.

John Rogers from Scottsbluff, Nebraska, USA was the first one-year Rotary exchange student, arriving in Myrtleford on 29 January, 1959 for his 12-month stay.

Then, in early 1959, Heidelberg's John Rutherford and Cobram's Norman Jordan left for their exchanges to the USA.

It was the realisation of Peter Barnett's idea for Rotary Youth Exchange, which emerged in 1949 as he and wife Audrey spent time cycling through war-ravaged parts of Europe, learning about other cultures and religions and making friends in the villages they visited.

They became passionately committed to the idea, and accepted the challenge of promoting international understanding, goodwill, peace and friendship through the power of person-to-person contact.

Peter's idea of sending male and female high school students on exchange met with some resistance at the time, as many believed the best ambassadors would be male university graduates, rather than teenagers.

His plans to offer exchange with Japan and Germany also met with strong resistance.

Peter was responsible for and very proud to offer the program to young women at a time when opportunities for girls were often very limited.

The first female Rotary exchange student was Marjorie Price from Myrtleford (1960), and the first female exchange student to Asia was Cathie Bianco from Myrtleford (1961), while Bill Ginnivan from Benalla was the first male student to go on exchange to Asia, in 1960.

These exchanges occurred when the White Australia policy, which placed restrictions on immigration, was still in place.

Rotarian Dr Allan Terrett, who is researching the early days of the program, said the exchange program may have contributed to the eventual elimination of the White Australia policy, by encouraging such cultural interchange, particularly with Asian countries.

Since its introduction, tens of thousands of Australians and hundreds of thousands of high school students worldwide (about 9000 each year) have enjoyed the opportunity of a lifetime by becoming Rotary exchange students.

If you are or know a former outgoing or incoming Myrtleford Rotary Exchange Program student, please contact Dr Allan Terrett via email allan.terrett8@gmail.com or on 0432 358 008 to share your experience.