I want to begin by thanking all for this honour of School Captain of The Southport School. It is something I have thoroughly enjoyed and will cherish for the rest of my life. Who would have thought this day would come. I can tell you now I have feared it ever since I started at TSS. But for some that journey has been longer than mine. Some of you have been at this school for as long as 13 years. But no matter when you started at TSS, it’s fair to say we have all come together as brothers and completed a part of our life that will be cherished forever.
CHARLES WELLS
School Captain 2015
But what a journey it has been for the Red, White and Blue. A year full of colour, character and community has passed us in what many would describe as ‘the blink of an eye’. It doesn’t feel all that long ago I was on my way to TSS to live away from home for the first time. Six months before starting at TSS, boarding school was not even on the cards. And never did a 13-year-old off a cotton farm west of Moree dream of going to the school at the Gold Coast. I found out I was accepted to TSS just three days before Orientation Day. As you can imagine this was a shock to myself, and to the rest of the family. In these three days Mum and I spent one day getting items for school, one day packing and one travelling. Very confused and unaware of what was ahead of me, there was a feeling of eagerness brewing. One thing every TSS boy shares, no matter who we are, the School Captain, a Prefect, a Warden, even someone in Year 12 that has been here since Reception, we all had a first day and we didn’t know anyone, and our parents shared the same emotions. When we walk out of this theatre where we have sat hundreds of times before there will be tears and there will be more emotions. And as hard as it’ll be to walk out of this theatre, remember that each of us are starting a new chapter of our lives. Please don’t look upon this as a bad thing, because this terrific journey we have been on has just moulded and shaped the one we are about to begin. What we know as the ‘Big Scary World’ can’t be all too bad, because if I experience even half the memories out there that I’ve experienced here, I’d say it’s a pretty good life.
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THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL SOUTHPORTONIAN 2015
I’m not saying forget about the life we spent at Southport, but we do need to experience the life outside these grounds. I will be honest; I am extremely nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time. But as Fred Dorrough said this time last year, “You only get first experiences once. They don’t happen again, so treasure the time we are about to begin”.
A lot of our experiences at TSS cannot even be explained through actions or words, but merely feelings and emotions that have evolved throughout our time here. These feelings and emotions simply cannot be felt unless you have been a part of what we have. For example, words cannot describe looking on to the crowd at Rugby or Swimming. Feeling the Drumline force the hairs to stick up on the back of your neck, or the chill you get from chanting “Band of Brothers”. It’s purely indescribable. It’s a blessing to see with your own eyes a man pull on a TSS Rugby jersey knowing that it means everything to him and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with his mates and brothers in arms. Not many schools possess this sense of belonging, but TSS certainly does. Coming back at the start of Term Four was one of the most unusual and saddening things I have ever undergone. I knew in my mind that this would be my last time going back to TSS as a student of the school. Driving down Winchester Street and into Dixon Drive, staring out at the immaculately mowed lawns leading up to the 100year Clocktower was one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever felt. Because I knew it was somewhere I belonged, somewhere we all belonged. It caused me to reflect on the journey that has been and how it has impacted me. I reflected on the good times and the bad. We all have them, there’s no doubt about it. But
