Smith's Hill High teacher waves goodbye to record-breaking snow globe collection

Every wall, cabinet and shelf in the the room is lined with snow globes.

Upon close inspection, the little glass domes hail from dozens of countries, regions and tourist hot spots, featuring everything from the windmills of Amsterdam to a tiny Ned Kelly, ensconced in a shower of 24-carat gold 'snow' flakes.

Read more: Flinders woman cleared of buying $173k Mercedes with drug money

Mrs Doyle officially holds the Australian record for the largest snow globe collection - a feat she only realised she'd achieved last year when a student looked the record up online, and nominated her for the title.

The 505-strong snow globe empire began in 2006, when the teacher implemented a classroom rule that students travelling overseas must return with a snow globe gift.

The tradition has "snowballed" from there, Mrs Doyle said.

Since then, the rules have ballooned to accept a snow globe from any trip, and the collection has morphed into school legend.

"I don't have the rules on the wall anymore, but kids, siblings, cousins, daughters, even grandchildren of kids that I used to teach, still bring in snow globes," Mrs Doyle said.

"Over the years, I had parents of kids I didn't even teach come to the front office and say 'I've got a snow globe for Mrs Doyle'."

A snow globe sketch hangs on Mrs Doyle's wall at home, drawn by a talented student who forgot to bring back a globe from a trip to China, so she created the next best thing.

Each globe has a story, a student, and a memory attached to it for Mrs Doyle, and together, the globes form proof of the hundreds of young lives the teacher had a hand in shaping.

After 16 years building the collection and 38 years as a teacher at Smith's Hill High, Mrs Doyle is closing the chapter on her teaching career, and she's ready for her snow globes to find new homes.

Read more: Port Kembla shift to target renewables, defence hardware

While her original idea was to take students down to the local hospital and give globes out in the children's ward, COVID restrictions made the plan impossible.

The globes will be auctioned off to raise money for the Starlight Foundation, with an online auction for a handful of the unique snow globes and a stall to re-home the rest of the collection.

Reflecting on her 38-years at Smith's Hill High, filled with champion debating teams and Rock Eisteddfod crews, the history teacher said her favourite element of the job is still watching her students grow into magnificent adults at the end of the process.

Mrs Doyle retires in December, when she plans to fill her time with adventure.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.