President’s Report

JUNE 2021

President’s Report

2020 Mulgowie Muster Left to right: Christopher Johnstone (BID90), Simon Scott (MCK89), Lawrence Sehmish-Lahey (MCK13)

Mr Christopher Johnstone

OSA President DIX 79-82; BID 89-90

Welcome to the first edition of the OSA Review incorporated within this wonderful Band of Brothers publication.

To our members, I have for some time written about this impending change, driven by a variety of factors - principle among them being the cost of postage.

If we think back only a few years, it was almost inconceivable that the cost of sending a magazine might almost match the cost of producing it, yet this is what has happened. Coupled with that is the revolution in digital publishing which means that whilst portability of reading matter has increased exponentially, the flipside is the now rare pleasure to sit down with a physical publication.

It is therefore a good thing that we and the School have combined our publications into this single magazine, hopefully preserving the best of both worlds. To those who will miss the grander biannual stand-alone OSA Review, I am sorry, but we need to be agile in this day and age so that we can all move with the times.

And what an exciting time it is. Well, when I first wrote this that’s what I thought it was.

At that time I had written that “It’s not long until our biggest Old Boys’ Weekend ever with 10 class reunions to be held in and around the Annand Theatre. It will also be wonderful to welcome for the first time in the theatre our Older Old Boys for their annual return to the School.”

Alas, since then, we, in the Southeast of Queensland have endured two further lockdowns due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Consequently, we, with the School, were forced to make the difficult decision to postpone all that we had planned for the Old Boys’ Weekend. There were a multitude of reasons for this but principal amongst them was the risk to the School should the mass migration of Old Boys to the school cause some form of COVID-related issue and the fact that it is becoming clearer by the day that as a matter of law, what was planned with the number of people who would attend, would not have been permitted in any event.

But there are positives as well. We are continuing to work with the School towards a weekend in November where a series of exciting events might be held.

And the other and perhaps most important news from both the OSA’s perspective and for the School community, we on the OSA Council with the support of the School Council, the Headmaster, the Foundation and the rugby, football and cricket support groups, believe that by the end of Term 3, we will be in a position to commence construction of the Old Southportonians’ Pavilion on the northern end of the Village Green.

This multi-purpose facility will provide the boys and visiting teams with proper facilities for use during all seasons, whilst upstairs the possibilities for use are endless - a place for Old Boys to come together and for the various interest groups at the school to meet in a spectacular position enjoying the vista southwards to the Clocktower and the Chapel.

Even if we cannot celebrate our Old Boys this year, I think that the Old Southportonians’ Pavilion will fulfil its purpose from the start of 2022 and enable a rolling series of reunions and celebrations to be held there to ensure that no year group misses out on their reunion.

Of course, just at the moment, the Pavilion is not quite a done deal. Apart from the support I mentioned above, this project has been brought close to fruition by the seed-funds committed by us the OSA derived from the initial donations of Old Boys and their families to Hidden Creek, and by the generosity of a number of our Old Boys who have committed significant monies to the project.

All of these commitments recognise the inexorable link between the past and present within the life of TSS, and will be recognised for eternity within this building. Our push to raise the balance of the funds has just been launched, and we need a bit more from a lot of you - our members - to see this project to completion. This is a chance to be a part of something truly special, and I look forward to thanking each of you for your support when we can all meet together in our own place.