The Lost Sheep

Indeed, every TSS student proudly wears the Good Shepherd on their chest as part of the school uniform

Mr Charles Martin

Old Boy MAU14

Situated on the south side of the St Alban’s Chapel, The Lost Sheep is one of the more recognisable sculptures students will pass by on their way around the Senior campus. Cast in bronze, it strikingly depicts the renowned Parable of the Lost Sheep, who was separated from its flock and eventually carried home by the Good Shepherd. As it reads in the Gospel of Luke (15:3-7):

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Jesus originally told the story in response to criticism from other religious leaders for “eating with sinners”. His intent was to remind them that God loves us all equally, no matter who we are or what we have done. Indeed, God rejoices when a lost soul is found.

The origins of The Lost Sheep’s construction, however, are less known.

In 1982, The Southport School held a section on sculpture, inviting local artists to compete to have their works selected and purchased by the St Alban’s Art Festival Committee. The model that won was The Lost Sheep, submitted by Queensland artists Kath and Len Shillam, who later went on to earn an Order of Australia in 1986 for their contribution to sculpting.

Due to financial limitations, there was much debate over whether The Sheep should be cast in the cheaper black concrete or the more expensive bronze. The issue was soon resolved, however, when the Committee instead chose to purchase another competition entry, The Boy and the Dove, which now stands proudly in the Chapel Close. Even so, the impact left by The Lost Sheep on some members of staff meant the sculpture was not forgotten. As the Reverend Stonier admitted, the original model of The Lost Sheep “…haunted us; it has always been in the school and every now and then we would look at it and I think everybody wished that we could possibly go ahead with it.” Consequently, it was eventually purchased by the School and unveiled in May 1990 by the Reverend, much to the delight of the school community.

Interestingly, despite its name, it is believed that the (now deceased) Shillam pair’s original intention was for it to depict the story of ‘the ram in the thicket’ found within the Old Testament:

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” (Genesis 22:13)

The Lost Sheep, therefore, represents a misappropriation on behalf of the school. Whether deliberate or unintended, it could be argued that the existing interpretation is far more fitting. Indeed, every TSS student proudly wears the Good Shepherd on their chest as part of the school uniform. The same story was also the inspiration behind the tradition of our Year 7 boys walking through the Arch of the Good Shepherd on their first day of Senior School and the Year 12 boys returning back through the Arch on the day of their final School Assembly.

Historically, The Lost Sheep provided the perfect setting for former Deputy Headmaster (2006-2015), Mr Alan Parsons, to meet with students serving a lunchtime detention: “I would arrange to meet with boys who may have strayed a little from the straight and narrow at The Lost Sheep because it symbolises that they are valued and we are wanting to bring them back into the flock. There might be things we need to do, consequences we need to face, but we still value them and welcome them back.”