The Connection | October 2018 | Issue 62

THE CONNECTION O C TO B E R 2 018 ISSUE

Inside this issue P R I N C I P A L' S R E P O R T PSA PRESIDENT'S REPORT MOVING TO A NEW SCHOOL FA R E W ELL HUMBLE PILGR IM FOUNDATION DAY REUNION WEEKEND WEDDING FEVER HIT THE ROAD NAIDOC WEEK WONDER WALK 2019 REUNION WEEKEND

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Farewell Bishop Bill

M R I A N G A M A C K , D R RO B I N R AY, B I S H O P B I L L A N D M R P H I L I P A S K I N

Principal’s Report The School celebrated its 101st birthday with great joy and excitement on 20 July. It was a magnificent winter’s day in Townsville and hopefully all Old Girls and Past Students have had the chance to see some of the photos on the school’s Facebook, Instagram and Website.

We were very pleased to welcome Old Girl, Dr Bea Duffield, as our Foundation Day Speaker and her message to our current students of “just having a go” was warmly received by students of all ages. Looking back, Bea has been one of the most controversial of our Foundation Day speakers of recent times and she connected with all present by being very forthright on her views of Prefects, boys and the school’s iconic lagoon. Her comments were all supported by her very obvious admiration and love for her former school and its people, and her wonderful public speaking skills. Everyone will be pleased to know that we converted Bea on all aspects of her criticism when the male School Captain gave her some f lowers and she kissed him on the cheek; she saw three new Prefects get inducted as leaders (and she didn’t put a “hex” on them) and she saw the Past Students’ team win the Lagoon Dash later in the morning.

The Foundation Day service was also the opportunity to farewell the outgoing Bishop of North Queensland, The Right Reverend Bill Ray, who will be retiring from his role in September of this year. Bishop Bill and his wife Dr Robin Ray, have been great supporters of

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our school for the past 12 years and the love and care they have shown our school community will be sorely missed by us all. We wish them both well as they move into the next phase of their lives.

While there were not as many past students at this year’s reunion weekend, I thank those that came for their positive comments about our school - both the one they remember and the one they see today, and its people. It is tremendously pleasing to receive the inquiries about the staff they remember fondly, always with considered appreciation and an obvious respect. I sat next to a 1998 graduate, Daniel, at the reunion dinner and he asked me about his former maths and physics teacher, Frosty (Mr Bill Frost), someone who has had a significant impact on Daniel’s career pathway.

We didn’t ask Bishop Bill to dedicate a new building at this year’s Foundation Day service, but we will hopefully be asking our new Bishop (who has yet to be decided) to dedicate our new Sports Precinct, which is currently under construction. The structure is receiving many comments from members of the community due to its rather impressive size. It is scheduled to be completed in late October and so those past students who are planning for next year’s reunion weekend celebrations will need to pack their sports gear and tennis racquets.

IAN GAMACK

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PRINCIPAL

Past Students’ Association

President's Report This year we celebrate 60 years in our current location of Mundingburra and what foresight the sisters had to purchase a block of land out in the rural area of Townsville back in 1958. After 60 years look what this site has become - a bustling education environment catering for students from 6 weeks old to year 12. It’s home to 140 boarders and about 20 staff who call the beautiful grounds their home, I am lucky to be one of them and ref lect often how fortunate I am to live at this school with its beautiful lagoon and protective rain trees.

This year, reunion events were on a smaller scale than our centenary events last year, but we had a wonderful reunion weekend. The Foundation Day service with Bea Duffield as guest speaker was one to remember. Bea reminisced about her times at St Anne’s from cleaning out the lagoon to wearing stockings with the knee-length uniform.

This year’s Lagoon Dash team was made up from the best talent we have seen in a while. Our team consisted of Sam Warner, Keegan Sutton-Baker, Kyeshia Zaro and Jenifer Board. The Past Students’ team dashed across the finish line to take out first place with a very excited president waiting to congratulate them. I would like to thank the team for their efforts.

TONI L ANPHIER, TOM PORTER AND K AREN L ANE

The joint PSA and P&F Cocktail Night by the Lagoon was a huge success with over one hundred past students and current families attending.

Our annual school tour and reunion dinner was held on Saturday. The smaller numbers this year made for a more intimate dinner setting in the Rock Centre. Our Year 12 scholarship holder Chelsea Lillecrapp was our guest speaker talking about her time at The Cathedral School. We were also privileged to have Mary Gallagher speak to us about the move to Mundingburra 60 years ago. The church service on Sunday morning was well-attended by past students and had a great Cathedral School feel about it with our school band and choir being invited to play and staff and past students reading the prayers.

We have started collecting signed memorabilia from past students in the sporting field who have excelled in their sports. We are going to get each item framed and put on display. We are also working on extending our general school archives, so if you have any kind of memorabilia, from sporting to academic, please let me know.

We have decided to change our Annual General meeting to the first PSA meeting after reunion weekend. Previously it was held during the reunion weekend but last year we decided to make the change. On Monday the 20th August we held our AGM in the school’s boardroom.

OU R N E W PSA COM MIT T E E IS: President - Tom Porter Vice President - John Frizzell Secretary - Tristan Davey Treasurer - Val Carson Committee members - Karen Lane, Mary Gallagher, Annette Nelson, Claudia Power, Fiona Macdonald and Toni Lanphier (School Liaison) I would personally like to acknowledge Jo Richardson and Karen Lane as they are stepping down from their positions on the PSA. Their commitment and enthusiasm has been amazing, and I want to thank them both for their many years of support, not only to the PSA, but their support of me as President. We are always on the lookout for new committee members so please get in touch with me. My email is thomas.porter@cathedral.qld.edu.au TOM PORTER, PSA PRESIDENT

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1958 OPENING OF THE SCHOOL IN MUNDINGBURRA

Moving to the new school It is exactly 60 years since St Anne’s School was moved from its city premises to the new site in Mundingburra. It was a very bold move at the time, but hindsight shows what a wise move it was. Here is a reflection from one of the students at that time.

The sisters opened their school in 1917 in one old building in Wills Street. By the time I arrived in 1953 we were crowded into five very, very old and two newer buildings, Ravenswood and the Chapel, with only a garden stage, one basketball court and one tennis court to run off our energy. No wonder that every Saturday and Sunday unless we were actually having a cyclone, the boarders were lined up in threes and walked to the Strand, to sit demurely on the grass, often with knitting!

Although we hid whenever we could from Miss Davies who always made us pull up weeds and pick up papers, we made the best of our old grounds in the CBD. But even though we drank coca cola and had seen the first man-made Russian satellites pass overhead, we still lived in a mend-and-make-do, post-war, 1940s world.

But we had a “promised land” to look forward to, that we called “the new school ”. We all, children, parents, and friends of the school, raised money for the buildings, and had working bees to clear the land. There were dire predictions that no-one would send their darlings so far out of town, practically in the bush.

(That didn’t worry the boarders, who knew what the real bush was like -- and missed it deeply.)

The sisters and the bishop kept their nerve. An opening ceremony was held between rain showers in April 1958. We marched around the lagoon in the mud, singing “Oh that I had wings of angels, here to spread and heavenward f ly”—and really meaning the bit about the wings! But the grand move was planned for December 1958.

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However, it happened earlier than that! The deciding or perhaps the precipitating factor was when Sister Lois’s bathtub fell through the f loorboards. We believed Sister was in it at the time, but that may have been wishful thinking— as usual she made a good story of it, roaring with laughter. She gave the word, and in August 1958 an army of parents and supporters loaded the desks and chairs and beds onto trucks and headed for ‘the bush’.

In fact, it was the one time when the boarders weren't the conscripted labour force. We came back from our holidays to open spaces with wallabies hopping through the grass, and beautiful dormitory buildings painted in modern pastel colours, which made us feel we were special—and cared for. We could run off our energy in the grounds, swim in our new pool, then spread rugs on the grass on Saturday afternoons, suntan our legs in shorts, and listen to popular music like the fifties teenagers we were. Until our chapel followed us out, Archdeacon Hohenhouse conducted services under the beautiful raintree behind Heatley House.

I will always remember one of our “naughtiest” girls stopping a new girl from writing on a wall, “Don't you dare do that. You have NO IDEA how hard we all worked to get this lovely new school!”

That summed up how we felt about our new school. We had earned it. We owned it.

And we love seeing how beautiful you have made it now, but there’s one more thing needed. A chapel would make it perfect!

MARY GALL AGHER (CR AWSHAW)

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CLASS OF 1959

Farewell Humble Pilgrim

Toni Lanphier

MRS TONI L ANPHIER WITH GR ANDSONS COOPER & JACKSON

Dear Past Students I have the not so joyous task of announcing the imminent departure of one of our school’s greatest ever servants, Mrs Toni Lanphier. Since arriving as a student in 1967 and then returning as an English teacher in 1994 Toni has been the very embodiment of our school culture, and has served and involved herself in our school with the highest distinction as a student, a parent, a staff member, a past student, a grandmother, a friend, a mentor and importantly, a loyal and humble pilgrim.

Since 2001, Toni has held the position of School Registrar and while most of us can sign off for parts of the year when our “job is done”, Registrars like Toni are never happy that they have completed all that is needed to attract and enrol more students to their school. For schools like Cathedral, these enrolments are the reason we have continued to grow as a school over the past 20+ years and still have the best resources of any school in North Queensland. Whether in Townsville, locations across Queensland or in many parts of Asia she has spread the Cathedral word with enthusiasm, admiration, and great joy. Having travelled with her many times I know she is also able to go to any lengths to promote the school she knows so well.

Our school has benefited hugely from having many long serving, expert and passionate people throughout its history. They have been beacons for the rest of us to follow and learn from. They are the people who our first 100 years were founded and built around, and without them we would not be the school we are today. The qualities of these very important people, including Toni, are numerous and varied, but they each hold several traits in common. Besides a very high regard for our school and its people and the energy to commit wholeheartedly to

their role, they never settle for second best and possess the integrity and courage to make the difficult decisions needed to progress their school. Importantly, these qualities are all wrapped in good humour and a careful understanding that each individual they come across is worthy of their attention and service.

Old Girls and Past Students will know that one of Toni’s biggest legacies will be the celebration of our School’s Centenary Year and in particular the publication of our 100th Year Book, We Who Would Valiant Be. We are certainly very fortunate that she didn’t decide to retire in 2016!

I don’t think anyone will be surprised to know that Toni is not planning on putting her feet up anytime soon. She and Austin have trips and projects planned well into the future.

Happily, Toni has already highlighted her desire to continue on as a member of the Past Students Committee, and so we will be seeing her around the school for many years to come.

Please share with me in congratulating Toni on her incredible contribution to The Cathedral School and we wish her and her family well for the remainder of the year.

Warm regards IAN GAMACK

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BE A DUFFIELD (197 1)

Foundation Day Guest Speaker

PA S T S T U D EN T, B E A D U F F IEL D, DELIVERED A SPEECH ON FOUNDATION DAY TH AT RESOUNDED WITH PA ST AND PRESENT STUDENTS. TOO GOOD NOT TO SHARE FOR THOSE WHO W ER EN ’ T PR E SENT ON THE DAY !

ENJOY HER PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF LIFE AT S T A NNE’S .

I started at Cathedral School or St Anne’s as it was called then when I was 10 years old in grade 5 as a boarder. My sisters Margaret, who was 11, and Ailsa, the baby of the school at only 7 years old, and I all started together in 1964 as we lived on Thursday Island. I was a boarder for 2 years then my parents moved to Townsville so I was a day student until I graduated in 1971.

I then went on to JCU where I did an Honours degree in Science and later a PhD in Veterinary Microbiology.

The school looks really beautiful and has expanded a lot since my day. Some of the biggest differences for me are there were no boys, we had to wear thick stockings every day even in summer, we boarders were rostered to wash up all the dishes, pots and pans after our meals, and the nuns – Sisters of the Sacred Advent - who ran the school had regular checks to make sure we girls wore regulation knee length uniforms.

We were lined up and checked with a ruler to ensure our hem lengths were a modest – “just below the knee”. The rebels hitched up their uniforms to just above knee length – these were the “naughty” girls in the school - this was about the worse thing we ever did by the way.

MR IAN GAMACK WITH MS BEA DUFFIELD

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I also remember we all had to regularly clean out the lagoon in front of the school. A few times a year we got into our regulation Dawn Fraser navy speedos and had to get into the lagoon to clean out duckweed, waterlilies and toads.

Every time I have returned to St Anne’s as an adult, I cringed when I saw the lagoon.

I enjoyed my time at the Cathedral School and I was a normal student, nothing extraordinary.

I was good academically but never topped the class; I played a bit of netball but that was my limit in regards to sport; I had good friends but was not a natural leader.

19 69 B A SK E TB A LL TE A M - BE A IS FRONT ROW, R IGHT

But what I did do well and was encouraged to do by the Sisters and wonderful teachers like Mrs Nancy Armati and Mrs Joan Hopkins was to “have a go”.

I’ve always regarded Mrs Armati and Mrs Hopkins as mentors and I was so fortunate to have them.

For example, I am a stutterer which I now successfully control but was really bad when young. I could hardly speak. But Mrs Armati took a chance with me and gave me my first leadership opportunity - to be Chatham House Captain.

She told me to “have a go” and I did. I had to speak to House members every Friday, inspire them and get them motivated. Chatham House was always the last to finish the House Friday morning meeting (because of my stuttering…), but this opportunity gradually gave me confidence in myself.

In 1971 when I graduated I never thought I had the ability to do a Science degree and eventually be awarded a PhD, but Mrs Hopkins, St Anne’s wonderful science teacher in the 1970s, encouraged me to “have a go” at getting into university and doing Science and I’m ever grateful to her as it’s opened many doors for me including international consultancy work in Indonesia and China and managing international agricultural research projects throughout SE Asia and the Pacific.

Since then I have done some exciting work, lead numerous teams and held a number of executive management positions. Science led me to be part of Australia’s successful billion dollar cattle disease eradication program in the 1980s. In the early 2000s I was Project Director of Major Infrastructure having to lead a multi-discipline team to build $400m worth of infrastructure in Queensland as well as executive management positions in agriculture, fisheries, business and government.

Even through my sporting prowess at school was limited to netball – I was goalie by the way – back in the 1960s 160cm was regarded as tall – I was encouraged to have a go at swimming, diving and running. Actually as Chatham House captain I had to go in all these events at Inter-house Competitions because no one else would! – so much for my early skills in motivation! But I “had a go”. The best thing I can say is I finished all the events I went in! But since then I’ve trekked the foothills of the Himalayas and great wildernesses around the world, rafted and kayaked many rivers and run half marathons.

TO A LL YOU ST UDENTS, E N JOY L I F E , M A K E THE MOST OF I T, B E H U M B L E A N D BE THE BEST PERSON YOU C A N BE BEC AUSE I N T HE WOR DS OF T H AT GR E AT PHILOSOPHER ANON… "LIFE IS NOT A DRESS REHEARSAL, SO PUT ON YOUR GLAD R AGS AND HAV E A GO"

I wasn’t extraordinary at school – I was a normal kid but The Cathedral School gave me something special by continually encouraging me to “have a go”.

As well as this, St Anne’s taught me basic human values and standards by which to judge myself and others, and it helped me develop confidence in myself and a willingness to learn from others.

I firmly believe that the Cathedral School gave me the building blocks for what I am today. I approach life with confidence and am not afraid to say I am confident in my abilities to contribute to society, to make changes for the better. I am proud of what I have achieved, and am yet to achieve, both professionally and as a member of society.

CL A SS OF 197 1 – BE A IS FRONT ROW, 2ND FROM R IGHT

The Cathedral School’s slogan “educating for life long success” applies equally when I was at school as it does today.

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Cocktail Party and Reunion Dinner Past students joined current school community members to celebrate the school’s birthday. A large group from the Class of 1998 celebrated their 20 year reunion, below.

Reunion Weekend

Happy 101st Birthday!

Foundation Day Service The Foundation Day Service saw the school and wider community celebrate the 101st anniversary of the School’s foundation on 21 July 1917.

Dr Bea Duffield provided a presentation of her time at the school, the new School Leaders were inducted, Mrs Caroline Mcleod was presented with a plaque in recognition of her 20+ years of service and we bid farewell to the beloved Bishop Bill.

NEW SCHOOL AND HOUSE LEADERS INDUCTED AT THE FOUNDATION SERVICE

The Lagoon Dash As part of the annual Lagoon Dash current students, past students and teachers took to the track to vie for one of three coveted trophies.

MRS C AROLINE MCLEOD HA S SERVED 20 YE ARS A S AN E A R LY P R I M A R Y E D U C AT O R AT T H E C AT H E D R A L S C H O O L

L AGO ON DA SH – V IC TOR IOUS PA S T S T UDENT S’ TE A M

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CH AT H A M H O U S E WO N THE BOYS’ L AGOON DA SH

MORE HOUSE WON THE GIRLS’ L AGOON DASH

L A R I S S A A L L I N G H A M ( 2 0 1 0) M A R R I E D SHA NE SHEPHER D IN TOWNS VILLE ON 30 JUNE 2018.

S T U A R T F I T Z PAT R I C K ( 2 0 0 3 ) M A R R I E D N I C O L E R E I S E R I N F L A X T O N O N 1 1 M AY 2 0 1 8 .

Wedding Fever Hits Past Students There have been quite a few Past Students getting married recently and we thought we would share some pictures of recent nuptials.

Junior School Teacher, Christine Peters’ son Rhys Peters (2006) married Chantell Peters, with past students Courtney Campbell (2nd from left), Jackie Foley (3rd from left) and all the Groomsmen, Morgan Mackney, Blair Campbell and Nathan Matheson were in the bridal party.

Elizabeth Dawson (2007) married Sean Clarke, the couple were married by Father Tim Adkins and the music was played by Elizabeth’s violin teacher at The Cathedral School, Belinda Fairbank.

J A M E S G O U G H ( 2 0 1 1) M A R R I E D M O L LY R O WA N IN TOWNS VILLE ON 18 AUGUST 2018.

R H Y S P E T E R S ( 2 0 0 6) M A R R I E D C H A N T E L L P E T E R S I N B A L I O N 6 J U LY 2 0 1 8 .

E L I Z A B E T H D AW S O N ( 2 0 07 ) M A R R I E D S E A N C L A R K E I N T O W N S V I L L E O N 9 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7.

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Cathedral

Hits the Road Each year, Cathedral staff travel throughout north and western Queensland to visit the communities our boarders come from.

For many years we have been supporting regional shows and field days, driving boarders home for holidays and holding parent meetings in towns across the length and breadth of our catchment area.

JUL I A CR EEK S TAT E S CH O OL

This year has seen a new twist on some of these trips, providing a novel way for us to showcase the opportunities available at the school, and deliver real benefits to the children in the regional towns.

In May, we took a music experience to primary school students in Greenvale, Georgetown, Croydon and Karumba. Ms Nancy Watkinson, classroom music teacher, armed with a set of Boomwhackers and other untuned percussion instruments, led the students through an interactive process to get them involved in performing a short ostinato from a popular song, ‘Uptown Girl’. The students relished the opportunity to engage in music, as they have limited opportunities to develop these skills in their area.

S T FR A NCIS C ATHOLIC SCHOOL HUGHENDEN

The next trip took us west to Hughenden, Julia Creek and Cloncurry to deliver a STEM lesson to students in selected schools. Mr Ben Dallimore, eLearning Coordinator, taught students how to program a robot. With a set of our iPads and Sphero robots taken on the trip, the children were able to learn basic coding techniques and program their robot to complete a given course. Some students moved quickly to an advanced level and were able to race their robots three times around the course to win a prize! The teachers were just as engaged as their students, showing a real desire to improve their own understanding of the emerging technology.

It is great to be able to share our expertise with the regional schools, and hope that this cooperation will reap benefits for all.

THURSDAY 25 FRIDAY 26 SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER 2018 RIVERWAY ARTS CENTRE

THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOL

OF ST ANNE & ST JAMES PRESENTS

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NAIDOC Week 2018 The Cathedral School celebrated NAIDOC week in September. Students enjoyed learning the art of weaving, had their faces painted, devoured traditional fare while being entertained with performances from boarders and so much more.

2018 Wonder Walk The notion of wonder has been integrated into the Cathedral School classrooms with students and staff engaging in the challenge of ‘I Wonder’ over the past three terms. During this time, the ‘I Wonder’ challenge has been the common thread intentionally woven through the curriculum to promote natural curiosity and wonder in all learners.

Teachers have explicitly linked curriculum to individual students' learning in a variety of key learning areas including History, Geography, Science, English, Mathematics and Art. This allows deep personalised learning whilst developing a set of transferable skills that essentially allows students to learn how to learn; to think about learning; and to talk about their thinking. These skills are essential in developing the Attributes of a Cathedral Learner, which includes: Critical Thinker, Informed Learner, Active Participant, Effective Communicator, Self-Directed Learner, Creative Person and being Ref lective. These attributes set students up to be well-rounded, highly motivated and informed members of a future society.

Students had their own display (as a class, in partnership or individually) and eagerly shared their learning journey with visitors who stopped by their exhibit. The Wonder Walk provided students with a real life opportunity to practise their communication skills.

Past vs Present Students Netball & Touch Football Join in on the friendly rivalry between Past and Present Students with a game of netball or touch football!

DAT E : SUNDAY 28 O C TOB ER TIME: 3PM TO 5PM LO C ATION: RO CK CEN TR E THERE WILL BE A BBQ & SOFT DRINKS PROVIDED AFTER THE GAMES R E SERV E YOUR PL ACE W W W.TRY B O OK ING .COM/ Y K TJ THE CONNECTION

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Class of 1979

40 years

This is a shout out to any past student who was, or would have been (if you left school prior to Year 12), a Senior in 1979. Has it really been 40 years?

2019 Reunion

Weekend Friday 26 July, 2019

Class of 2014 - 5 Year Reunion 5.30pm to 6.30pm - Free event Cocktail Party by the Lagoon 6.30pm to 9pm - $20 per person This is a combined function for past and present members of the school community.

Canapés will be served as The Cathedral School's Music Department serenades all in attendance.

A cash bar will also be available.

Saturday 27 July, 2019 School Tour and Afternoon Tea 1.30pm - Free event Reunion Dinner 6pm for a 6.45pm start - $45 per person Canapes and a two course meal will be served and a cash bar will be available.

Bus drop off to city hotels - $10 per person

Sunday 28 July, 2019 Church service at St James’ Cathedral Free event Reserve your place www.trybooking.com/YFSQ

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We are having a reunion at the school during the 2019 Foundation Day weekend 26 July – 28 July. All events and booking details can be found at the bottom of this page. We would love to see as many ‘Old Girls’ there as possible. Caren Connor (de Witte) is co-ordinating the reunion and can be contacted via email carenconnor7@gmail.com Unfortunately, over the years we have lost contact with some of our classmates. If you have contact details for anyone please ask them to update their details (especially an email address) via the school website cathedral.qld.edu.au/paststudentupdate

Class of 1970

50 years in 2020 Were you in the class that did Year 10 in 1968 or Year 12 in 1970?

If so, we’d love to see you at a 50 year reunion in July 2020. It may seem a long way off, but it’s a milestone worth celebrating, and we hope that many of you will be keen to catch up after all this time.

At this stage, we are just trying to locate our former classmates and get contact details so we can start putting plans in place. If you are still in touch with friends from that time, please check with them that they are on our mailing list, and send any updated details so our records are accurate, and we can start getting things organised.

If you would like to help, please contact one of us: Roberta Michna (Warnock) themichnas@gmail.com Cath Luder (Hill) misscathyj@gmail.com Toni Lanphier (Parsons) toni.lanphier@bigpond.com