Founding family

Above photo: Henry J Oxley (Trustee and Treasurer)

In recent years, Prue Galley has visited BGS while researching her family history. Her family connections with the School stretch back to its founding years and through four generations. This article reveals some of the stories behind these connections, touches on her remarkable career and acknowledges a splendid gift to the BGS Archives.

Ms Galley gained international recognition as one of the leading advocates to change the status of the physiotherapy profession. The Australian Physiotherapists Association recounts that she wrote three seminal articles, including ‘Patient referral and the physiotherapist’ (1976), which presented a visionary model to allow physiotherapists to act as primary contact professionals.

Up to that point, the profession was bound by a self-regulated ethical code, meaning physiotherapists could not treat patients unless they were referred by a medical practitioner. Removing this barrier fundamentally changed the recognition and responsibilities of all physiotherapists.

Ms Galley’s brother, Robert Galley, arrived at BGS from Eagle Junction Primary School in 1961. His strong academic results in the Senior Public Exam of 1964 allowed him to study medicine at The University of Queensland. Their father, William Robert Galley, arrived at BGS in 1922, having won a state scholarship. He went on to win an extension scholarship and then further study at Gatton. William was a Lieutenant Colonel in the AIF and his name is on the BGS WWII Honour Board. He married Nellie Lawrence Griffith Oxley in 1940.

It is through Ms Galley’s mother, Nellie, that the BGS family connection goes deeper. She was the daughter of Edward Griffith Oxley, who attended the School from 1889 to 1893. Edward’s father was Henry James Oxley, a long-serving BGS Trustee and Treasurer from 1886 to 1908.

Henry’s financial acumen helped to steer the School through tough economic times in the 1890s. He is recognised in the BGS Annals for his valuable service over 22 years and his faithful support of his brother-in-law, Sir Samuel Griffith, in the ‘executive management of the institution’. Henry died in 1916, and his name was among the first installed on the Distinguished Service Honour Board in the BGS Great Hall in 1938.

Henry Oxley had married Sir Samuel Griffith’s sister, Alice, making her Ms Galley’s great grandmother. This remarkable union of the Griffith and Oxley families in the 1890s and early 1900s played a significant role in the development of BGS.

Sir Samuel Griffith is one of the titans of Australian history. Instrumental in steering the nation toward federation and eventually becoming the first Chief Justice of the High Court in 1903, Griffith was a passionate believer in the power of education. He drafted the Education Act (1875), which provided for free, compulsory and secular education.

Sir Samuel Griffith (Chairman of Trustees)

Griffith served two terms both as Premier of Queensland and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at BGS. He also wrote a translation of The Inferno of Dante Alighieri, an original copy of which has been generously donated to the School by Ms Galley from her collection.

The stories of Prue Galley’s family connections to Brisbane Grammar School reflect the themes of aspiration, hard work and excellence – words that aptly describe her distinguished career.

Below Images: Edward G Oxley and his son Henry James (Jim) Griffith Oxley pictured with Arthur and Charles Roe (the son and grandson of second headmaster R H Roe) in the Fathers vs Sons tennis fixture of 1935