Light Blue - Semester 1 2020

ISSUE 106 SEMESTER 1, 2020

Editor Brendan McAloon Design Chloe Flemming Claire Robson

Thursday 13 February feels like a lifetime ago. A week beforehand, heavy rainfall had all but extinguished the smouldering remains of the Black Summer bushfires that had burnt Australia’s south-east to cinder. A few weeks afterwards, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic and Term 1 came to an early close at Geelong Grammar School.

Contributors Anson Cameron (M’78) Sophie Church Daniel Craig-McFeely Nick Sculley Rebecca Starford (Fr’01)

Thursday 13 February was wedged between these two defining moments. It was a balmy 30-degree day in Melbourne, with beachgoers stretched out across the sand at Brighton Beach. The School’s one-man video production unit, Nick Fletcher, had set up his audio recording equipment in Room 13 of the nearby Elanora Aged Care Home. Bill Charles (Ge’37) cleared his throat and began to read: “I see a place of inclusivity, where we work together to overcome challenges…”

Photography Susie Donald (The Hermitage ‘75) David Kelly Nick Fletcher Chas Mackinnon (M'04) Ivan Rizzo Drew Ryan Nick Sculley Ann Tyers (Fairley, The Hermitage ‘68) Website www.ggs.vic.edu.au Email lightblue@ggs.vic.edu.au

When 99-year-old Bill finished his audio recording about our School’s “unfinished history” to mark 165 years since foundation in 1855, tears were streaming down his cheeks. This felt like a defining moment too.

2020 has not been a year to celebrate. Our world, country and school community has been tested in new and unpredictable ways. It has been a year when our ability to “work together to overcome challenges” has never been more precious. It has also been a time to reflect. Reflecting on the efforts and endeavours of our predecessors – students, staff and supporters who have contributed positively to the evolution of our School – can inspire us, now and into the future.

Our celebration of the School’s 165th year has not been what we had planned. By the time we shared our video featuring Bill’s narration, Bill was no longer with us, our classrooms and playgrounds were empty. In the space between, as we grappled with remote learning and spatial distancing, Bill’s words (accompanied by Nick’s meticulous time lapses) struck a chord with our community. The video was shared widely on social media and, as the COVID-19 crisis threatened to overwhelm, Bill’s parting message of optimism continued to resonate: “The pages of our story are ours still to write.”

Brendan McAloon Director of Community Engagement

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

04

12

20

04 CHAIR OF COUNCIL

12 REMOTE LEARNING

20 VICE PRINCIPALS

06 FROM OUR PRINCIPAL

16 2020 SCHOOL CAPTAINS

22 HOUSE MUSIC

08 165 YEARS

18 YEAR 12 RESULTS

23 ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

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28

34

24 HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

28 HOUSE SWIMMING

34 FOUNDATION

26 HEAD OF TOORAK CAMPUS

30 DRAFT STARS

38 MAIL ROOM

32 COURTING SUCCESS

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PG Handbury, Timbertop, 1970

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

CHAIR OF COUNCIL

««:*

Life journeys rarely follow an easy path. Schooldays can be the crucible for creating a means to navigate the often uncertain road ahead. My life’s journey was formed this way, but arriving in the service of GGS was a far-distant likelihood.

I was raised in Melbourne until I was 14; a comfortable and privileged childhood attending Melbourne Grammar as a day student. I rode my pushbike across town, played cricket and footy in the street, rode with the milkman early on Saturday mornings, visited local milk bars, and sailed on Port Phillip Bay at weekends or went to the footy. I experienced a city life of great freedom.

I enjoyed junior/middle school, but at best was an average scholar. The Headmaster, Brian Hone, noticed I wasn’t among the academic cohort and deemed me destined for trouble. It became inevitable that my parents were advised GGS might be a “better fit” for me. And so to Timbertop I went.

— « Top left: by D. J. N. Crooks (16), in plastic. Top right and middle left: by P. G. Handbury (15), in plastic. Middle right: by P. A. McQuarrie (17), in oil. Bottom left:

by S. M. E. Haigh (12), in plastic. Bottom right: by J. M. Garfield (17), in plastic.

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My shock was real: dumped in the bush, stinking hot, flies everywhere, sleeping in a dorm with 13 other boys I didn’t know, having to collect and chop firewood for hot showers, and no milk bars.

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I spent the first month hatching escape plans. I found trouble early, and was caned as a result. I was told I was a reject from other schools, my view of GGS waned (I hasten to add I greatly enjoyed my weekend bushwalks with newfound friends). At Corio, I plugged on, enjoying my rowing and rugby, making new friendships. But the academic side remained tough. I had problems accepting authority and became a Principal’s nightmare.

In the company of down-to-earth country boys, I acquired a love for the land and my Housemaster, the wonderful Boz Parsons (M’36), convinced my parents it might be better if I went jackarooing.

Agreement was reached and I left at a sprint with the School waving me free. I had no contact with GGS for 22 years.

So, how did I become involved with the School’s governance, development and future? Living in the country, particularly in the 1970s, education opportunities for our children were limited. We chose boarding as the best option, and the only true boarding school at that time was GGS. My wife Helen (Godfrey, He’73) had five brothers attend GGS. When we arrived at Corio with our eldest, Robert, it was unsettling to be told by an ex-teacher of mine he’d seen Robert’s name and hoped he wasn’t a relation!

I watched my four children – Robert (M’98), Debbie (Fr’00), Christina (Fr’04) and Jack (M’06) – progress through the School.

Middling scholars, good at sports, they traversed the usual ups-and-downs of adolescence with great friends and staff to guide them. I witnessed the development of the Timbertop programme, with children encouraged to set meaningful goals, and then inspired by those around them to reach these goals; a programme in which each child was given the opportunity to explore their surrounds on hikes and outdoor activities. At Corio, the mentoring and support from House mistresses, masters and tutors undeniably helped most students to be their best, to achieve their aims.

I saw my children develop close friendships with their opposite genders. I was intimidated by the introduction of co-ed in my final year, so I’m delighted to see how today’s students interact, converse and show respect for one another. Tommy Garnett’s (Headmaster 1961-73) introduction of co-ed was as brave and inspiring as James Darling’s (Headmaster 1930-61) introduction of Timbertop to the curriculum.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

I also watched how our youngest, Jack, often asked to leave class for talking too much, overcame his learning disability. Two teachers took a special interest in him and his keen retention of what he heard – a skill developed to mask his inability to read.

They devised a learning plan, guiding him to a commendable Year 12 score; without their support this would otherwise have been an almost certain failure.

In short, I’d learned what a wonderful school GGS was, and is.

I was ready to reconnect. This came about via an approach to become Foundation Chair. I accepted the role because there was a major fundraising campaign under way to build a wellbeing centre to help students develop greater resilience. This evolved into Pos Ed, another inspirational step taken by the School.

Guiding students to approach life and its myriad difficulties with positive, respectful and thoughtful ways can do nothing but good.

I left the Council for a time, comfortable I’d run my race. I decided to undertake the Discovering Positive Education course three years ago, given that GGS was nearly a decade into the programme. I met others involved in education, including a woman from Western Australia. We talked and I explained I’d attended GGS as had my four children. I asked about her involvement and was quietly told she was the incoming principal!

I saw Rebecca Cody firsthand during the ensuing three days, witnessing a respectful, intelligent and thoughtful person. Shortly after the course Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), Chair of Council, invited me to re-join the Council. I let him swing for two days, but did so knowing I’d accept; I was keen to be on the journey with Rebecca. This triggered succession plans that Jeremy and I had discussed some years earlier.

Now, as Chair of Council, I’m not singularly clever enough to provide a vision for GGS in this, its proud 165th anniversary year. However, I do believe if we could fulfil our maxim of an Exceptional Education, have all campuses full, reach a 50:50 co-ed target and have the School financially sound, I would be immensely proud.

We have sound stewardship and leadership. We have a senior team of exceptional people committed to the Strategic Framework, the students and the School community at large.

I have seen them at work across an extremely challenging start to 2020 (from bushfires in the Alpine region to the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic): a committed, passionate, caring and practical team. They are supported by our vital teaching, managerial and operational staff who have displayed collaboration, creativity and flexibility in delivering meaningful learning opportunities for our students in these unprecedented times. It gives me – and should give you – immense confidence our School is in extremely good hands.

Paddy Handbury (M’72) Chair of Council

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SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

Worse was finding out, first by reputation and later by deed, the campus was run by a man called ‘Thrasher’ who’d taken over from ‘Basher’. I was alarmed! I still picture my parents heading home in a whirl of dust.

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE “I have seen the Geelong Grammar School at Corio and I have been wondering ever since whether there is its like in Australia. About the whole place there was a charm — an indefinable something — that has left a memory time cannot efface.

It was not alone the majestic pile of buildings, nor was it merely the ideal situation. These were contributory factors, but the ‘spirit’ of the school was its greatest attraction.”

– ‘A visitor’s impressions’, The Australasian, 1 Sept. 1923

These past six months have tested the Geelong Grammar School (GGS) spirit.

In a year intended to be enlivened by our milestone anniversary, celebration has been overtaken by relentless challenge.

Instead of joyous reflection and hopeful reimagining of our future, we’ve dwelt in uncertainty and developed endless risk mitigation matrixes. This was not the 2020 we anticipated.

In January, the scale of the nation’s bushfires began a devastating gyre of hardship and loss. Our Old Geelong Grammarians (OGGs) were not immune to this and for a couple of weeks our Timbertop campus was under threat and commencement of the year in jeopardy.

In parts of Australia floods followed fire, and then February brought the tragic loss of life at Corio with fierce grief and pain. Space for our community to heal was not available before the World Health Organisation’s declaration of a global pandemic in mid-March. We were compelled to begin new ways of thinking and being, and to bring an early close to Term 1. It wasn’t until government announcements in mid-May that our extensive scenario planning was activated to enable a staggered return of on-campus living and learning. The welcomed return was then jarred by another global shock – the senseless death of George Floyd triggering race riots.

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This is the second time in 165 years that GGS has experienced the ‘twenties’. With so much current attention brought to the language and state of ‘unprecedented’, it felt apt to wonder about the 1920s at our School; to contemplate the strength and wisdom from those who have gone before us. One hundred years ago the GGS decade opened with families still reeling from the fatalities of war. School life was pervaded by an acute awareness of the sacrifice and human cost of battle. In the years ahead this awareness influenced capital expenditure and donations to building funds. Commissioned from artist George Lambert, the war monument is a significant secular memorial within the School’s sacred precinct. Two weary soldiers carry the burden of a large bird of evil. The bird has been struck by the spirit of valour and justice, personified by a youth of similar age to those at school.

It was unveiled on Founders’ Day by the governor-general, Lord Stonehaven, who remarked: “What place is more fitting for a memorial than here at the headquarters of a great educational centre? Such memorials enrich not only the School, but the nation”. The Reverend Dr Francis Brown (Headmaster 1912–29) described it as “not only a memorial to honour sacrifice but an inspiration to others to perform their duty” (Corian 1927).

In keeping with the mood of the country, the dominant themes of heroism, noble sacrifice, triumph over evil, Christian values and the place of memory were prominent. Rather than dwelling on the horror, futility and suffering of war, GGS students were encouraged to draw inspiration from those who had sacrificed their lives for a higher purpose and to seek opportunities for public service.

The call to do so was answered by several OGGs who became prominent leaders: William Morgan (M’24) – engineer and mining magnate; Sir Alick Downer (Cu’27) – politician, diplomat; General Sir John Hackett (Cu’28) – military commander, university principal; and Sir John Gorton (P’30) – prime minister of Australia. All these men exemplified the ideals of public service and leadership that the School espoused. With his singular talent, Sir Russell Drysdale (P’30) too went on to serve the country through his magnificent artistry.

The aftermath of World War One influenced the culture at GGS in the 1920s and the choices of the young men educated during that era.

Another global turning point in 1918/1919 – the Spanish flu – had an impact too.

Constructed in 1924, the School’s new sanatorium (now the Languages building), reflected the latest design ideas for specialist health facilities.

Influenced by the flu and the treatments for tuberculosis in the pre-antibiotic era, it featured wide verandas onto which beds could be wheeled to allow patients to benefit from the health-giving properties of sunlight and fresh air. The interior featured isolation rooms and a large

↓

Within five years, another unexpected event represented further anxiety and difficulty. In 1925, Cuthbertson House was ravaged by fire during the night and left an empty shell (only the outer brickwork of the original 1913 building now remains).

The Reverend Dr Francis Brown: “That seventy boys had been burnt out of their house at two a.m. with little more than their night attire, and yet at a quarter past nine the same morning they were all present in chapel, properly clothed, bears testimony to the ability of my colleagues and the senior boys in dealing with a sudden and serious emergency” (Corian, 1925). Money for rebuilding (£8,000 on top of the insurance payout) was raised from OGGs and ticket sales to theatrical productions.

In these three snapshots from the 1920s at GGS, monuments, buildings and service reflect how the people of the time were custodians of the School’s traditions, as well as shapers of change. Whilst the fires, tragic losses of life and pandemic of 2020 have not replicated the experiences of a century past, our archives suggest that much resonates. Both periods have involved wrestling with complexities and living with uncertainty. Both speak to citizenship and curtailment. Both demand adaptation.

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Perhaps what remains unwavering across the 100 years are our endeavours, motivated by the infinite outcomes of an education for a meaningful life.

Such an education can only be actualised through the camaraderie and care of exceptional staff whose enterprising minds and compassionate hearts have adapted through the phases of crises: “emergency, regression and recovery” (Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg, 2020).

The spiritual and cognitive drains have been immense; so too has been the tremendous reawakening of our purpose.

In an attempt to meet the immediate needs of remote learning and then a hybrid model of on and off campus engagement, our roles have been reassessed and refreshed to reflect the necessities of effective practice. With an impressive nimbleness, teams assembled to focus on three distinct priorities: the initial provision of remote education; various scenario planning to return to campus; and the action research1 required to attend to current needs, and to plan for a future that optimises the benefits of the necessary changes, as well as safeguarding the best of the recent past.

Undeniably, the efforts of our educators and operations team have been uplifting and humbling. Indeed, schools all over the world have found themselves as providers of frontline services and essential workers of a different kind. A universal and unintended consequence seems to be a new-found appreciation for the teaching profession and its influence in raising a generation.

All of us at Geelong Grammar School extend our sympathies to those families and communities across the globe for whom 2020 has born hardship. We also respect and applaud the selfless and generous choices of the emergency services and courageous volunteers, as well as the medical experts, carers and cleaners who literally save lives. 2020 is proving not to be the year we expected but it is the year we’ve been dealt; how we choose to be and become across these next six months will be a defining reflection of our spirit.

Christus nobis factus sapientia Enabling Wisdom Rebecca Cody Principal

Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research that seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection.

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SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

central ward, painted white and devoid of unnecessary features, facilitating easy cleaning and fostering strong hygiene practices. The Spanish flu pandemic had brought these matters to the fore: at the beginning of the 1919 school year “many and strict were the precautions taken to keep influenza out of the school” and while the quarantine measures worked in Term 1, in Term 2 the flu spread rapidly “and for a month we had an anxious and difficult time” (Corian, May 1920).

In raising this generation, it is incumbent upon the adults in a young person’s life to lead. The leadership example with the greatest effect may well be what we model. Acknowledging that there will always be times in our life when plans are derailed, and we are called to reset, is fundamental to learning and growth. An insight into who we are and what we value is revealed through how we reset and the choices we make that go beyond our own needs and transcend the immediacy of today. Our readiness to change and seek not a reversion to “normal” but a quest for the “next normal” means conquering frustrations and working within constraints in the full knowledge that this is a fact of life; some moments are more constraining than others yet in any situation to think and behave without limits can be foolhardy at best, and harmful at worst. It is in the acts of accepting evolving protocols, practising patience and self-regulating to manage disappointment that we can demonstrate maturity and fulfil a civic duty. Indeed, Semester 1, 2020, has gifted a resurgence of community, care and cooperation; it has stirred a renewal of connections, communication and creativity, and required a courage within to withstand the turbulence of unpredictable contexts.

These have been the months that birthed intergenerational stories to follow.

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

Geelong Grammar School’s opening day, 1 October 1855, was marked with an advertisement in The Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer. An initiative of the Venerable Theodore Stretch, Archdeacon of Geelong, the School opened with an enrolment of 22 boys in two terraced houses in Villamanta Street before moving temporarily to Skene Street in 1856.

The foundation stone for a new school premises opposite Christ Church, Geelong was laid on 24 June 1857 by the governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkly. The School moved into the grand neo-Gothic buildings in 1858 but by June 1860 mounting debts forced the School to close. John Bracebridge Wilson held a nucleus of 40 boys together in rented accommodation until the School reopened with Wilson as headmaster in 1863.

OUR STORY

Australian rules football was played at GGS from about 1870. By 1875, the GGS team was top of the Victorian public schools league.

Other school sports originating in the 1870s were cricket, swimming, athletics, fives and rowing.

The death in office in 1895 of headmaster John Bracebridge Wilson, aged 67, brought to an end an era that had imbued the School with character and soul. Dearly loved by his pupils, Wilson was renowned for his genuine care for others and his devotion to the School. His death was greatly lamented.

The purchase of 262 acres of land overlooking Limeburners Bay at Corio in September 1911 was a farsighted venture by the School Council. On 3 April 1913, a large crowd gathered to witness the laying of the foundation stone beneath the clocktower by Governor-General, Lord Denman.

The School’s Golden Jubilee was marked in 1907, being 50 years from the laying of the foundation stone of the old School in Geelong.

The celebrations included a grand ball in the Bracebridge Wilson Hall and the planting of a ceremonial oak tree, which was replanted at Corio in 1914.

The Old Geelong Grammarians Association (OGGA) was formed in 1900, with foundation pupil Frederic Pincott as president. Old boys gathered each year in the Bracebridge Wilson Hall to commemorate Founders’ Day. The OGGA now has more than 13,000 members worldwide.

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↓ The 1913 First VIII rowing crew represents the personal sacrifices made by 444 Old Geelong Grammarians who enlisted in World War One, of whom 91 lost their lives.

Six members of the 1913 crew were killed in action, the cox died of illness shortly before joining the Australian Flying Corps, and the only two survivors, Robert Hunt and Charles Hawker, were severely wounded.

Geelong Grammar School opened in its new location on 10 February 1914, with classrooms and Perry House located in the Quadrangle, and Manifold, Cuthbertson and Junior houses arranged around a bare earth oval along with a smaller dining hall and a grand headmaster’s residence.

A Rifle Corps was formed in 1884, becoming a fully operational Cadet Corps a few years later.

It continued until 1983, its one hundredth year.

The headmastership of Sir James Darling (1930–61) represented an era of change, transformation and liberalism. Under his stewardship the school grew from 300 students to more than 1000 on four campuses. Considered to be one of Australia’s greatest educators, Darling’s focus was ‘the education of civilised man’.

The war memorial monument was commissioned from the artist George Lambert, shown here in his studio, and installed in 1927. It represents the triumph of good over evil.

GGS acquired the Geelong Church of England Grammar Preparatory School in 1933, renaming it Bostock House after Thomas E. Bostock, a benefactor of the School and council member. Located in Newtown until 1961, in moved to Highton in 1962 before closing for almost two decades from 1976-97.

It reopened in Noble Street, Newtown in 1998.

In early 1942, as the war in the Pacific escalated, schools made preparations for a possible Japanese invasion. At GGS, air raid shelters were constructed and trenches were dug, such as this one outside Francis Brown House.

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(Image: State Library of Victoria)

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↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

Glamorgan Preparatory School in Toorak already acted as feeder school for GGS when it was acquired

by James Darling in 1947, following the retirement of its headmistress and owner, Isabel McComas.

Boys arrive for school through the Lunan Gates, then located at the top of School Road.

The remote Timbertop campus opened in 1953, initially for Fourth Form boys, but later changed to Third Form (Year 9). Early students assisted with building huts and other facilities, and in 1966 HRH Prince Charles was a pupil.

CW Maxwell, record-winning weight-putter, shown here at APS sports in 1948. Maxwell was the model for ‘Sport’ on the Art School Gates.

The centenary of GGS was celebrated in 1957 with a service of thanksgiving and a new pageant play, Their Succeeding Race, written especially for the occasion by Michael Collins Persse. The play wove together the history of the School and the nation and was performed outdoors.

In 1969, the new Kennedy Medical Centre in Biddlecome Avenue replaced the 1920s sanatorium.

The Bracebridge Wilson Hall, built in 1896, housed the School museum. It was moved to Corio in 1914 and was relocated twice before being destroyed by fire in 1976.

Tommy Garnett (Headmaster 1961–73) oversaw the introduction of coeducation.

In 1982 the former headmaster’s residence became the third girls’ boarding house, Garnett House.

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Fraser House opened in 1965 for Junior students, following the introduction of Middle School in 1962. Middle School comprised First, Second and Third forms (Years 7–9) until 1976, when Third form moved to Timbertop.

A few girls began attending classes at Corio in 1970, but GGS officially became co-educational in 1972 with 33 girls in the Fifth and Sixth forms.

Female boarders mostly lodged in the homes of married staff, and a few lived in Perry. All were members of senior houses.

The first group ofLIGHT girlsBLUE to attend Timbertop, 1973.

- GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

The amalgamation of Clyde School and The Hermitage School with Geelong Grammar School in 1976 represented the School’s commitment to co-education.

Two new school houses were created, Clyde House and Jennings House, which was later renamed The Hermitage.

The 50th anniversary of the opening of the Music School was commemorated in 1988.

The 2008 champion girls’ First VIII.

With the introduction of Years 5 and 6 to Corio in 1998, Highton and Otway opened as Middle School day houses.

In 2008, the ‘founding father’ of Positive Psychology, Dr Martin Seligman, and his team at the University of Pennsylvania, collaborated with GGS teachers to develop Positive Education. The Handbury Centre for Wellbeing was opened in the same year.

The centenary of the Corio campus was celebrated in 2014 with a 'Back to Corio' festival, culminating in a brilliant fireworks display from the clocktower.

The opening in 2015 of the School for Performing Arts and Creative Education (the SPACE), thanks to the generosity of Ian Darling and other benefactors, provided an impressive new assembly and performance venue. The first musical production in the SPACE was ‘Legally Blonde’.

The commissioning of the twelfth Principal, Rebecca Cody, on 29 April 2018, represented the beginning of a new era in the history of Geelong Grammar School.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

In 2020, the global Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of all campuses for part of terms one and two. GGS responded by implementing Remote Learning, enabling all students to continue their studies at home facilitated by technology such as Zoom. Innovative approaches ensured that community connections were maintained across the country and the globe.

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Remote Learning Adjusting to Remote Learning

Staying Connected

“Learning at home has been a challenge due to distractions, such “I have been talking to friends and my unit on social media. as our devices. It has been hard but after about one week of online Unit time is also a good time to talk to your unit and Head of Unit.

Mr Bell has been also checking up and making sure we are all classes I got the hang of it.” talking outside of unit time.”

Angus Robinson (Yr9 C Unit) Angus Robinson (Yr9 C Unit) “I adjusted to remote learning quite well and enjoyed it a lot!

However, I did struggle to do my prep at times as I had three other “I have found the introduction of online learning coaches very siblings that I would rather spend time with. To help with some of beneficial. I’ve been lucky enough to have ‘Beaucho’ (Andy the schoolwork I stuck to the timetable which worked well for me.” Beauchamp) as my online learning coach, which is by far the best way to start the morning. He’s been very supportive over the last Mia Kirby (Yr10 He) couple of weeks, passing on his abundance of wisdom and humour, which has made being in isolation that little bit better.”

“I've liked having all the work there at the start of class and knowing what we have to get done by the end of the day; it has allowed me to manage my time quite well and has helped me not fall behind in work.”

Will McKay (Yr11 P)

Millie MacKirdy (Yr12 EM) “My mum does time keeping so I do not miss my Zoom meetings as sometimes there are quite a few meetings in a day.”

Sky Kumata (Yr6 Toorak Campus)

“Initially I found the change to online learning quite challenging, especially going from a very busy school schedule jam packed with sport and extra commitments, to a very simple timetable with what appears to be a lot of free time. This can be pretty challenging for the procrastinators as well as the more studious people. I have found setting up a separate study space and trying to stick to the regular school schedule has helped develop a routine, making it easier to adjust to remote learning. I have also been kindly assisted by the constant and enthusiastic nagging of family members to help me adjust to the new learning environment. Taking advantage of the extra time, which would usually be taken up by sport, has provided the much-needed opportunity to be able to focus on Year 12 work.”

“Social media has been quite good in allowing us to stay connected within our year group; we have a Facebook messenger group chat that has been quite active and has been a good way for everyone to keep in touch. The prefects earlier in the term also organised a house 8-ball pool comp, which is like an online game of pool, and it was a good way of getting the house together and keeping connected.”

Will McKay (Yr11 P)

Millie MacKirdy (Yr12 EM)

Far Right: Mia Kirby (Yr10 He) was runner-up in the Hirshfeld-Mack Club’s ISO-life 2020 photography competition for her self-portrait, entitled ‘Re(moo)te Learning’

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Favourite thing about Remote Learning/ favourite Project

Staying Active and Developing New Skills

“The Rainbow project.”

“I have been trying to learn the piano. Before remote learning I never had the time to learn it but, now that I have the time, it has also been a great way to unwind after looking at a computer all day.”

Dia Arpan-Roy (ELC4 Bostock House)

Evie Burns (Yr12 EM)

“I enjoyed seeing my teachers and friends every day.”

“We’ve been putting aside time to try and keep up our rapidly declining fitness by doing a few early morning mountain walks. My sister and I have taken up candle making, as a new hobby, along with taking care of our new kelpie puppy which is proving to be pretty time consuming.”

Ela Lokhande (Prep Toorak Campus) “I have enjoyed spending more time with my mum, dad and little brother Kurt while learning from home. Although mum has been very helpful in teaching me, I do prefer Mrs Kearney.”

Adele Szabo (Prep Bostock House)

Millie MacKirdy (Yr12 EM)

“The thing I enjoyed most about remote learning is using digital technology because I wouldn’t have a chance to use apps like Zoom and Discord if I am sitting in school.”

“I spent a lot of time on our trampoline at home learning new flips and tricks and out on the farm learning how to better handle the cattle that we run. I also went for weekly runs and bike rides to help keep my fitness up and wellbeing.”

Zihe Wang (Yr6 Toorak Campus)

Mia Kirby (Yr10 He)

“I enjoy my flexible schedule. I can do my work at my own speed and I also can decide when to start” Sky Kumata (Yr6 Toorak Campus)

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Timbertop:

Remote Learning

The transition to Remote Learning in 2020 provided a steep learning curve for teachers, students and parents alike across our four campuses. For our Timbertop staff, adapting to remote learning and the array of technology that came with it was perhaps akin to climbing Mt Bogong in your first week at Timbertop. “The irony was not lost on us that we ask our students to remove themselves from what is comfortable and ordinary all the time by getting them up into the mountains, so we didn’t have any choice but to get on board with remote learning,” Timbertop teacher Louise Larcombe said. “As a campus that has traditionally valued being removed from technology, remote learning has been a complete sidestep from ‘business as usual’.”

As Geelong Grammar School students spent almost three months learning from home, they needed to adopt a more autonomous approach to learning. “Students needed to take on increased responsibility to engage with their classwork and lessons, but also have more opportunities to be in charge of their own learning and monitor their progress throughout a unit of work,” Louise said.

Similarly, our teachers were simultaneously adapting to teaching online while also auditing their own teaching practices. “The silver lining of COVID-19 for myself as a teacher has been being able to cast a critical eye over my teaching programmes to re-evaluate how and why I teach in a particular way, and move my focus back to the learning outcomes that are important for students,” Louise said.

While all students had learning outcomes to work towards, the Timbertop cohort also needed to build their fitness with an eye on the return to campus in June for an early start to Term 3. “We have been assigned three runs each week and all are different,” Angus Robinson (Yr9 C Unit) said. “The running programme has been great and we have been using the Strava app to tracks our runs.”

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“I have been blown away by the students’ commitment to keep up with the running programme from home,” Louise said. “I have heard many stories of students getting out with family members or, now that social distancing requirements are lifting in some states, meeting up with their classmates to complete long runs.

One of the girls in my Unit has taken a novel approach to hill training in the flat NSW Riverina. Her dad drops a tyre and rope out on her planned route and, when she gets to it, she ties it around herself and drags it behind her for the last couple of km!”

Sophia Thomson (Yr9 P Unit) was able to combine the running and community service elements of Timbertop while she was learning from home to raise over $1,000 for So They Can communities in Kenya and Tanzania while running upwards of 20 kilometres each week. “Normally, if we were still at school, we would be spending our time this term camping at local farms and helping the farmers with odd jobs like chopping wood, fencing, and clearing land,” Sophia told So They Can’s website, a not-for-profit focused on educating and empowering children in East Africa. Sophia was inspired to support So They Can after visiting their communities in Kenya in 2019 and asked family and friends to sponsor her fundraising efforts. “I enjoyed our trip so much, and I felt a connection to the children there that I agreed it would be a good cause to support through the coronavirus pandemic.” Sophia’s donation is enough to fund one community hand washing station for an entire month, or cover the cost of making 400 face masks, which are distributed within vulnerable communities.

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84%

Remote Wellbeing

of year 3-6 students agreed with the statement

I like my school" “

During the period of Remote Learning, Geelong Grammar School maintained a proactive approach

87%

to student wellbeing, responding to the unique needs of our students and their families. This approach prioritised:

of secondary students were

exercising

- strategies which support community connection and belonging; - the provision of community resources which support health, wellbeing and learning; and - increased support for vulnerable students through our pastoral structures and counselling services.

The Institute of Positive Education extended this support beyond GGS, providing schools with free remote wellbeing resources, based on its popular Positive Education Enhanced Curriculum (PEEC), which is now being used by schools from 23 different countries. These supplementary resources incorporated a range of activities from PEEC, which were adapted for teachers to deliver wellbeing lessons online. The Institute also delivered a series of live online webinars entitled ‘Teaching Remotely, Learning Together’, which brought together leading educators from around the world to share key lessons learned from their school’s experience of delivering high-quality education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode three of the series featured the Institute’s Associate Director, David Bott, speaking with our new Vice Principal (Global Learning and Innovation), Chris McNamara, and Head of Positive Education, Rhiannon McGee. Chris and Rhiannon shared strategies, stories and lessons learned from the School’s response to COVID-19, with reference to wellbeing surveys GGS conducted to better understand how our students were coping with Remote Learning.

• Secondary students (Years 7-12) reported high levels (60-75%) of School Connectedness • Year 3-6 students reported levels of perseverance, connectedness and happiness “significantly higher” than students their age • Academic Buoyancy for secondary students (Years 7-12) dropped below the benchmark • The majority of Year 3-6 students indicated that their wellbeing would be better if they returned to school and/or could see their friends (with 23% reporting feeling lonely) • The majority of Year 7-12 students still felt connected despite learning remotely (which was “significantly above” the benchmark for relevant age groups)

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more than 30 minutes a day

88%

of Year 3-6 students agreed with the statement

“

teachers

care about me".

Secondary students reported

high levels of School Connectedness

Year 7-12 students were getting

8 hours sleep a night.

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL How have you settled into the role of School Captain?

2020

SCHOOL CAPTAINS We are delighted that Sunny Handy (Yr12 M) and Sarah Sutherland (Yr12 He) are representing our School as School Captains in 2020. Light Blue spoke to Sunny and Sarah about the year ahead.

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Sarah: The fulfilment that came with my first term as School Captain exceeded my expectations in every facet. I cannot overstate my gratitude for the support and guidance provided by the senior leadership group, such as Ms Cody, Mr Scudamore, Mr Church, Mr Hislop and Ms McGee, as I found my feet in the role. I thoroughly enjoy working with Sunny; he is always enthusiastic, kind, and generous with his time and the energy he invests into the role, making him a pleasure to work with.

Sunny: For me, the transition into the role went quite smoothly.

It could have been something that I struggled with, but the support from my peers and the staff around the School allowed me to feel more comfortable with the role from early on. There have been challenges, but together with Sarah I’ve done my best to start off the year well.

What do you think makes the School unique?

Sunny: The thing that immediately comes to mind is the separation from the ‘outside’ world. We really do feel like our own little world out here in Corio, so the vibrant personality and unique feel of the School is highlighted. I also think that the multicultural aspect of our community and the celebration of our differences really make us special.

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↓ Sarah: I felt an innate sense of belonging and support from the community. The Timbertop year is like no other and personally is one of my proudest achievements. For me it was a significant stepping stone to Corio and I felt I underwent deep personal development as I frequently ventured beyond my comfort zone. It is incredibly difficult to describe what exactly it is about Timbertop and how it does what it does; we may all know it brings out the best and worst of everyone in a way that brings you closer but I feel it is how the challenges are beautifully humbling – that no matter where you are from or who you are, everyone must do their part, run the runs, hike the hikes, chop the wood and so on. The year allowed me to discover and cement my core values and beliefs, fundamental preparations for the remainder of my school journey and role as School Captain.

When we survey students, staff and parents, ‘community’ is a word that comes back consistently as one of the School’s biggest strengths. Why do you think there is such a strong sense of community at GGS, and what role do you see that community spirit playing as we navigate an unusual Term 2 and beyond?

Sarah: I believe the strong sense of community is founded on a love for the School and a desire to be immersed in its spirit. There is no feeling quite like generations of Geelong Grammarians all chanting the Addidi in unison along the river bank, the humbling pause for silence in conversation as a group of friends walk through the cloisters, or the swell of pride and energy in every voice that amounts in the Chapel as soon as we hit the fourth verse of the Timbertop hymn; ‘Be our strength in hours of weakness…’

Sunny: I think people always come back to that word community because we really do feel like more than just a school.

Setting aside the fact that most students in Senior School are boarders, the sheer amount of time we spend together unites us past the point of strangers taking the same classes. The physical isolation of the School also makes us feel like we’re all on this journey together, and that these people around us are people we can trust. I think these factors accentuate the already present nature of people here at GGS to bond and create relationships, creating this idea of a true community. As we navigate the unpredictable times ahead, this community will be something that people rely on to keep their spirits high.

You both joined the School in Year 9. What were your early impressions of the School and how did your experience at Timbertop prepare you for the remainder of your GGS journey?

Sunny: My early impressions of the School were that the people here knew how to look after one another. From very early in my GGS experience, I could clearly see the strength of the relationships that people build in this environment and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. During my time at Timbertop I learnt about perseverance; how to push through struggle and come out better for it. The lessons that I learnt at Timbertop will stay with me forever, and certainly helped me make it through the rest of my schooling.

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The start of 2020 has been very challenging.

As a leader, how important have the support networks fostered by the School been; be it within the House, the Prefect group, Head of Campus, etc?

Sarah: As a leader, the support networks fostered by the School to assist us through such a challenging time were extraordinary. There wasn’t a moment I felt I had to deal with things on my own or had no one to talk things over with. I believe there exists an under recognised strength in asking for support, that ‘asking for help isn’t giving up… it’s refusing to give up’ (The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, Charlie Mackesy). The tough circumstances that we were faced with did in some ways bring out the best in our community. I had people I had never conversed with come and hug me, ask how I was doing, ask how they could support me and I know those individuals were not alone in this. Students and staff continuing to support one another through an unorthodox Term 2 and beyond has been terrific to see.

Do you have any goals you set out to achieve as School Captain?

Sarah: From the beginning I endeavoured to be a School Captain that is not only a good role model for the student body but is approachable and accessible for everyone. I feel my role is nothing unless the students feel comfortable sharing their feedback, ideas and concerns with me. I look forward to continuing to work with Sunny and the School Prefects to continue to break down any barriers in the School where there still exists intimidation or other limitations, and instead look to foster school spirit in everything we do.

Sunny: My goals as School Captain are relatively simple. I hope that after my time here, I’ll be confident in the image that I created as captain and that I was a role model for those students coming after my time ends. I also hope that I’ll leave here having helped the School be an even more comfortable place for all its students.

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Sarah: Living so closely with one another, we are always learning and developing meaningful connections. I don’t know many other schools where your Economics teacher works out in the gym alongside you, your Maths teacher is coaching your Netball team or the canteen lady knows your favourite meals!

Without a doubt, I feel that the staff and teachers at Geelong Grammar School are what make it unique. All of my teachers go above and beyond to make themselves accessible, available, approachable and adaptable to my learning needs. Not only this but the kitchen, facilities, cleaners, coaches, librarians, Kennedy, Handbury, ‘tech-wizzes’ at IT, matrons and Equestrian Centre staff are some of the most friendly and generous people in the School and enrich our spirit.

Typically, at this time of year, we could share a map of the world with markers to signify where the previous year’s cohort are studying. Our 2019 graduates know their tertiary destinations but, while we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, many are studying from home.

Frank Zhao (M’19)

Our 2019 Dux, Frank Zhao (M’19), has accepted an offer from Stanford University with a view to majoring in mathematics, computer and/or data science. “I applied as a math major, but majors are very flexible in the US so I haven’t really decided what to major in,” Frank said. Stanford’s Autumn quarter is due to start in mid-September and, at the time of writing, no one is quite sure what that will look like. “Stanford is either thinking about postponing the September start to early 2021, or start in September with fully online teaching, or something in between,” Frank said. For now, Frank is at home in China and has kept himself busy during lockdown. “I worked on a hands-on Chinese-learning app for foreign learners with some friends, which included 700 online lessons, an integrated AI system that assesses the accuracy of character writing, as well as several other features,” he explained.

Millie Ritchie (Cl’19)

Millie Ritchie (Cl’19), the School’s top VCE performer, started a double-degree, Bachelor of Veterinary Biology /Bachelor of Veterinary Science, at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in March. “I really enjoyed my first few weeks of uni life,” Millie said. “I was living in a hall of residence on campus which is a lot of fun and was really enjoying my course.

Unfortunately, when the pandemic broke out, the University closed and we all had to move out of the residences.” Millie was originally tossing up between CSU, the University of Adelaide and James Cook University, but chose CSU due in no small part to her love of horses. “I decided on CSU mainly because of the practical nature of the course, its focus on larger production animals… and it has an equestrian facility on campus.”

Millie represented Victoria in Equestrian last year and has been riding most days throughout the pandemic. The Equestrian The project allowed Frank to foster his community have found a way to conduct love of film-making, creating a promotional competitions remotely. “All (physical) video for the app. “I also finished a machine competitions are cancelled but there learning course on Coursera offered by has been plenty of virtual competitions Stanford.” The adage ‘if you want something going on, which involves videoing yourself done, ask a busy person’ reflects Frank’s riding and uploading it for the judges to approach to his schooling. He was coevaluate,” Millie said. While the interruption founder of the School’s maths club, made to tertiary study has been far from ideal, a number of short films with his production Millie has been able to gain some hands-on team lifEdit Productions (consisting of experience at home. “I am lucky because Frank and fellow 2019 leavers Ryan Su I live on a cattle and sheep property and (Cu’19), Yao Xiao (M’19) and Jacky Zhang therefore can gain experience and insight (M’19)), was captain of the 1st Table from the day-to-day workings on the Tennis team and competed in a variety property.” of academic competitions outside of the School curriculum, all while achieving a perfect IB score of 45. “I’ve always believed that being passionate about learning new knowledge is very important to academic success,” Frank said of his desire to take up a variety of opportunities to expand his learning throughout his time at GGS, which has carried on to Stanford.

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Boud Yoswichai (M’19)

Boud Yoswichai (M’19) is studying Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (Master of Engineering) at The University of Edinburgh and might be the new poster boy for Physics at GGS. “When I moved to Australia at the age of 15, I didn’t even know what physics was,” Boud recalled. “I found it interesting in Science class in Year 10 so I decided to take IB Physics (HL) in Year 11 and, eventually, wrote an Extended Essay in Physics last year.

When I think about how far I have come in three years, from not knowing who Newton was to becoming an engineering undergrad student, I have many good things to say about the School’s Physics department.”

Boud returned to Thailand in December last year and, on reflection, he misses the convenience of campus life at Corio and is looking forward to the move to Edinburgh post-COVID. “Want to see your friends? One-minute walk to their rooms. Want to go to the gym? Three minutes to Handbury. Feel like a bike ride? Just a short walk to the bike shed,” he said. Life in Boud’s province hasn’t been affected too dramatically by the pandemic and recently he has been developing what he would describe as an overdue skill. “Something I have been investing much more time into is cooking. The fact that my dad is chef makes it a little strange that I didn’t start to learn how to cook properly earlier but I guess it’s never too late to learn.”

Charlotte Roderick (He’19)

Charlotte Roderick (He’19) achieved an IB score of 42 and will complete a Bachelor of Arts at The University of Melbourne.

The transition to remote learning was a little bizarre, but she has adapted quickly. “I am finding more time in my day to study without the added pressure of other commitments and transport,” Charlotte said. “Although I am missing the interactive and practical aspects of university lectures.” It’s no surprise that Charlotte is missing the more intimate elements of university given how involved she was in school life at GGS. From the sporting field, where she captained the School’s 1st Hockey team and represented the APS, to the stage, where she featured in a variety of roles in Year 10 and 11 culminating in a leading role in last year's Senior School production of Chicago, Charlotte left no stone unturned in seeking the complete Geelong Grammar School experience. “I found that taking on opportunities, such as music tours across Europe and the parts in school musicals, created some of the best memories of my life, and I cannot be more grateful to have been presented with such great opportunities. They allowed me to meet some amazing people,” she said.

RESULTS & DESTINATIONS

Overseas 8 Interstate 2 9 Victoria 1 41

In 2019 the School had 137 VCE candidates and 71 IB candidates

– The median IB score for the cohort was 36, which equates to a median ATAR of 93.38.

– The median ATAR for VCE students was 68.7, slightly down from 72.3 in 2018.

– 12 IB students achieved an IB score of 40 or higher: Frank Zhao (M’19), Josie Happell (Cl’19), Charlotte Roderick (He’19), Nyah Furnari (EM’19), Nellie Worboys (A’19), Maddy Atkins (Cl’19), Mili Friday (He’19), Lulu Morton (Cl’19), Lucy Peddie (He’19), Tyler Southwick (FB’19), Mickey Stewart (Cl’19) and Laura Sunderland (EM’19).

– Four VCE students achieved an ATAR of 95 or higher: Millie Ritchie (Cl’19), Ginger Cordell (EM’19), Millie a’Beckett (Fr’19) and Charlie Gill (A’19).

Angus Flynn (Yr12 M) achieved a perfect study score of 50 in Business Management.

– Last year’s Dux, Frank Zhao (M’19), is set to attend Stanford University and is one of eight students set to complete their tertiary studies overseas. Destinations include University College London, NYU, Chulalongkorn University and University of Otago.

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9%

27%

3% 3% 5%

12% 18% University of Melbourne Monash University RMIT Deakin

18% ACU Swinburne University Latrobe University Other

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Charlie: You’ve got an interesting background and I wonder what attracted you to the School?

Chris: What attracted me was that it is

such a unique context. Geelong Grammar is unlike any other school in Australia. I’m always attracted to places that are interesting or are trying to do things differently.

Charlie: What have been your early impressions?

Chris: There are lots of things that are

outside my realm of experience. I went to a boarding school, but I wasn’t a boarder. I’ve worked in schools that have boarding students but nothing like this, with such a unique set-up and with each house having such a distinct character. I’ve come from a context that’s really evolved digital learning over the past 10 years to be at the forefront and GGS hasn’t had that focus, which is a big change.

Vice Principal:

Global Learning & Innovation Chris McNamara has spent the past 10 years at Melbourne Girls’ Grammar School (MGGS), most recently as Deputy Principal: Program Design and Development and as Director of the Centre for Educational Enterprise. Chris was responsible for the development of Year 5-8 Middle Years’ Programme at MGGS and the Teaching for Learning Framework. He also has leadership experience in an international school setting, leading the establishment of an international boarding school in Pune, India, and as Head of Primary at the Australian International School in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Prior to working overseas, Chris was Deputy Head of Primary at St Leonard’s College and IB PYP Coordinator at Wesley College.

Charlie: So has the response to COVID-19 and remote learning advanced the School a lot quicker than it might have otherwise?

Chris: Absolutely. It’s been extraordinary

the amount of work that has been done in developing a framework for digital learning. It is years of work that has been done within weeks.

It’s almost like we’ve leapfrogged a year ahead, so when we do have the infrastructure of an online Learning Management System, we’ll be ready to use it much quicker than we would have been.

Charlie: You spent Term 1 as Acting Head of Toorak Campus.

How was that experience?

Chris: I hadn’t been back working on a

primary campus for 10 or 11 years, so that was great because it’s just joy working on a primary campus. It was good to get to know that community and they were fantastic.

Schools don’t make sense until you know the kids – they connect you to what you do. It helps you understand what you need to do and who you’re doing it for. Term 1 at Toorak was great for that. At Corio, I’ve only had the opportunity as a remote learning coach for my group of eight Garnett girls, which has been terrific. I don’t know yet how I’m going to do it across every campus. I think it will be a matter of time and slowly building relationships. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s why you work in a school.

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↓

Culture & Community Charlie Scudamore joined Geelong Grammar School in 1990 and has held many positions within our community, including Head of Geography, Head of Perry House, Head of Timbertop, Head of Corio and Vice Principal. Charlie has played a leading role in the development of Positive Education, both at GGS and around the world. He has presented at countless conferences, shared the stage with the Dalai Lama, been invited to discuss Pos Ed with Finland’s Ministry of Education and advised UNESCO’s Happy Schools Framework. He was awarded the inaugural Positive Psychology Pioneer Award by Professor Martin Seligman at the 2013 Masters of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Summit at the University of Pennsylvania.

Chris: 10 years at one school seems a long time to me, it’s the longest I’ve stayed anywhere, but I look at your context Charlie, of 30 years at GGS. What keeps you here after such a long time?

Charlie: I think I’ve been very fortunate. It’s 30

years but it’s been blocks of time doing different things. To have Positive Education suddenly come along was something different and exciting. There were times that I was tempted to leave but part of me was holding on to know the next phase of where this would go to. More recently, I think there’s huge scope for Creative Education, but I don’t feel like I had enough understanding and knowledge of that like I did with the wellbeing and pastoral care, so it’s really exciting that you’ll be looking into that more.

Chris: From the outside, you can have perceptions and misconceptions about a place.

What do you think people don’t get or really understand about Geelong Grammar?

Charlie: I think it’s the diversity of the

community. We are one those schools that everyone knows of but I think what people don’t understand is the incredible diversity of the student body and the families that we have here; we have the wonderful interaction of boys and girls; we have kids from the country, from the city, from overseas. We have this fantastic scholarship programme, which enables us to support more than 300 kids who would never be here otherwise.

The Indigenous programme is really powerful because it’s not just about the education of 30 Indigenous kids, it’s about the education of every single person in this school. I think the diversity gives this place a special feel. You have students who go off and do apprenticeships and others who go off to Harvard, Oxford or Yale, and they stay friends for life. I think the other thing is that as a school, we know we haven’t always got everything right and we know that we need to progress and look at ways to do things better. In the time I’ve been here, we’ve never sat back, which is why we’ve introduced Positive Education and why we’re exploring creativity. From my perspective it’s not about the ATAR average, it’s about how we can engage so that we have young people who love learning and are passionate about learning, which will inevitably lead to better learning outcomes. I think there’s an incredible degree of excitement about where we could be in the next five years.

Chris: I get that sense too, that there are a lot of people excited about what’s next.

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Vice Principal:

↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Elisabeth Murdoch brought The Hermitage's recent House Music dominance to an end, collecting the House Song, Ensemble, Original Composition and Overall prizes at this year's competition. Cuthbertson conductor Jeffery Lam (Yr12 Cu) encouraged the audience to sing along with their rendition of John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads', which brought the curtain down on an emotion-charged House Music.

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VISITING ARTIST

We welcomed Melbourne-based artist Margaret McIntosh to Corio Campus as our Term 1 Artist-in-Residence. Margaret spent time working with our Middle School and Senior School students while also preparing a piece for the School's art collection. Margaret was thrilled by how engaged our students were, particularly Charlie Haigh (Yr6 Ot), who joined her at 6am to work in the studio on occasion during her stay. "Having the best time, never coming back..." she wrote on Instagram during her residence.

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HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

It has been wonderful to welcome back Graham Hislop and his family to GGS. Graham spent three years at Timbertop (2013-15), where he was a Head of Unit and taught Geography, Japanese and Positive Education. Most recently, he was Director of Curriculum and Head of House (Boarding) at Ballarat Grammar School. Originally from Queensland, Graham also spent seven years as a professional rugby player, representing the Queensland Reds, the Australian national sevens team and Tokyo Gas in Japan. School Prefects, Eja Collins (Yr12 Ga) and Aden Strong (Yr12 Cu), asked Graham some questions for Light Blue.

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↓ Eja:

How have you been finding you role so

far and what were your first impressions of the Senior School community?

My first impressions were of a community with vibrancy, immense diversity, great depth of kindness and a really overwhelming sense of collegiality. The first period of my time as Head of Senior School since January has been really great in so many ways but it’s been tough in a lot of ways too. The passing of Will Bowden (Yr12 Cu) was very, very difficult and continues to be difficult and we hold his family in our thoughts. The way we were able to absorb the loss and the way were able to be as a community, particularly at House Music; that was an amazing day to see everyone so willing to support each other and share each other’s talents and be so joyful. In that short period of time we experienced something very difficult but something incredibly rejuvenating.

Aden:

What has been the thing that has

surprised you the most or been the most unexpected thing about the Corio community?

I knew that the community was resilient, but I just didn’t know how resilient. To be able to go through this COVID period the way that we have has just been outstanding. We have so many people who are able to demonstrate joy and happiness and hope. The way our community has found ways to stay connected, I’ve really found that quite extraordinary. That for me was surprising but not so surprising at the same time. Coming from Timbertop, you know the depth of resilience of a cohort and the ability to pull yourself out of any kind of situation. I was really glad to come to Corio and be reminded of that spirit.

Eja:

That leads perfectly to the next

question. When did you first join the GGS community and what was your role?

I was at Timbertop in 2013, 2014 and 2015. I was Head of a Unit and I was also teaching Japanese and I was teaching Geography. I was fortunate to work in each cluster of the campus – I was Head of G Unit, I was Head of B and C Unit, and in my last year I was Head of E Unit. I really, really enjoyed it. The running, the hiking and all of the outdoor activity is something that I do miss. Actually, I don’t miss going hiking but I miss being on a hike. Your feet are aching, your back is aching from the pack… that’s not much fun.

But when you put the pack down and look around at the scenery and your hike group, that’s really great. So, I don’t really enjoy hiking, but I enjoy being on a hike.

Aden:

How did you hear about GGS and what

initially attracted you to the School?

When I was at university I did Outdoor Education as an elective in my final year, so I actually did a case study on Timbertop when I was at university; way, way back when I had hair and there was no electricity. I really fell in love with the concept and the idea of Timbertop. 20 years later I had an opportunity to work at Timbertop and I was absolutely blown away. Sometimes you can be underwhelmed by the reality of a situation, but Timbertop exceeded all my expectations. It was unreal.

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Eja:

When did you decide that you wanted to

be a teacher? Was it a specific moment or was it something you always wanted to do?

I decided to be a teacher when I was in primary school. My PE teacher was a lady who really inspired me and to have that kind of role model when I was very young planted the seed. So I studied teaching at university, completed my degree and started teaching.

I went away from teaching for a while to play rugby, but I came back and I’ve been able to teach in a lot of different places, which has been tremendous.

Aden:

What are you hoping to bring to GGS

through being a part of our community?

I hope to bring some of my experience from other places where I’ve taught and bring some new ideas. I hope to bring some familiarity and a link between Timbertop and Corio. As a father, I hope to bring a bit of perspective and empathy. Lastly, I hope that through working with wonderful students and wonderful staff, I can help us move forward together with our hopes and dreams and aspirations for the future of our School.

Eja:

Where do you find your inspiration – not

only as an educator but in your everyday life?

I find inspiration in the students that I teach and work with. I was really looking forward to having this conversation with you because really that is what life as a teacher is about – working with students. From my experience working in different places, with different people, in different schools, the one constant has been the students. That’s where I find my inspiration. It’s been difficult for me not having any students on campus. Despite the challenges and the hardships of Term 1, it’s the smiles and the conversations with students that drive me along. That’s what makes me tick.

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HEAD OF TOOR AK CAMPUS

We are delighted that Nicole Ginnane commenced as Head of Toorak Campus at the beginning of Term 2. Nicole comes to the role with 25 years of experience in a variety of educational settings, including significant expertise leading a junior campus, having fulfilled this role at MLC Sydney, Ruyton Girls’ School and St Michael’s Grammar School. She is also well versed in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB), having worked as an IB Workshop Leader in schools throughout the Asia Pacific region. Some of our Toorak learners asked Nicole some questions for Light Blue.

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↓ Jack (Year 6):

What do you do every day at school?

Why did you want to become Head of

Every day is different, and I am fortunate that it has a great deal of variety. It begins with welcoming our community on to the campus as we all start our day together and I love seeing the smiling faces of our students as they arrive at school. Once we have all the staff and students here ready to start the day, I feel a great sense of relief and excitement about what the day will bring. Whilst there is variety, there are some constants which underpin all that I do and they include a focus on ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of our community, which have been more important than ever over the past term.

Jimmy (Prep): Are you going to come and teach us ever?

Yes! I love teaching and I will be spending some time in each class over the next semester. I will also be involved in teaching extension English and Humanities in the Year 3-6 classes, which I am looking forward to.

Toorak Campus?

Many years ago, around 2002, I attended one of my first professional learning workshops at Toorak Campus, which was then known as Glamorgan. It was a workshop that has influenced me greatly; it was on Gifted Education and was led by an American academic who was working with the staff at Glamorgan at the time. I left that day completely amazed at the campus, its heritage and the ways in which it was embracing innovation whilst respecting its proud history. I was also impressed with the staff and students who I met on the day. I have re-visited the campus over the years to see the ELC and the Glamorgan Centre when it was first built. At that time, I would never have believed that I would have the privilege of this role and the opportunity to contribute to this dynamic community of learners.

Millie (Year 6): What’s your favourite place on the Toorak Campus?

Noah (Prep): Do you come from Australia or a different country?

I come from Australia. I was born on the South Coast of New South Wales but have lived most of my adult life in Victoria on the Mornington Peninsula.

Caia (Prep): Do you have any kids?

My favourite place is the Kitchen Garden and the front verandah.

I love being in nature and the garden is a peaceful place that is brought to life by the students who work with Ian and Mrs Reeves each Wednesday, and also the many students who enjoy some quiet play at recess and lunch times. I also love the ELC. It is a beautiful old building that is very warm and welcoming.

The Glamorgan Centre is an amazing learning environment that offers flexibility and nurtures creativity. The TWC is also amazing and I must admit I loved using the kitchen with Mr Gauci on Wacky Wednesdays. I can honestly say that I have never seen a better resourced school, with incredible facilities for teachers and students. I would have loved to attend a school like ours when I was in primary school.

I have three children. My daughter Jade is the oldest, followed by Zachary and Holly. They are all grown up now! Jade is a writer, Zachary makes beautiful wooden furniture and Holly is a florist.

Millie (Year 6): What are you going to do as Head of Campus?

It is a great privilege to be the Head of Toorak Campus, especially in the 165th year of Geelong Grammar School. I will be valuing the strengths of this amazing community and seeking to ensure that we stay focused on providing great, innovative learning opportunities whilst also caring for the wellbeing of all. I will spend the next year talking to students, teachers, staff and families to understand what we all value and also the opportunities that we collectively believe are important. I am particularly passionate about ensuring that learning is personalised and challenging for every learner and I can see that this passion is shared by many here at GGS, so it will be exciting to see how we can further develop in this area. The need for scientific thinking seems more important than ever as we face significant challenges as a global community. I am enthusiastic about further exploring the role of science and its place in learning so that we can provide a great foundation in scientific skill development and nurturing scientific thought through our inquiry programme.

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Head of Toorak Campus, Nicole Ginnane, with our Toorak Campus Year 6 student leaders (left to right): Hugo Dundee, Romy Agushi, Millie Kautzky and Jack Meinert.

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SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Jonathan (Prep):

↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

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LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

↓ House Swimming was a wonderful occasion for our Senior School, Middle School and Toorak Campus Year 5/6 students to enthusiastically display their house “spirit”. Francis Brown proved too strong for the third consecutive year in the Senior School boys’ competition and Elisabeth Murdoch followed their House Music triumph with victory in the pool. Toorak enjoyed a clean sweep of the Under 11/12 boys’ and girls’ divisions, Barwon won the Under 13/Open boys’ competition, Connewarre triumphed in the Under 13/Open girls’ events, whilst Highton finished runner-up in three of the four age groups.

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Left to right: Caleb Serong (Cu'19), Brodie Kemp (P'19) and Thomson Dow (P’19); Brodie in action against Brighton Grammar

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

DRAFT

stars

The 2019 AFL Draft saw three Geelong Grammar School students drafted in the first round for the second time in the School’s history (and the second time in three years). Caleb Serong (Cu’19) was the first selected, taken with pick 8 by the Fremantle Dockers. Brodie Kemp (P’19) joined Old Geelong Grammarians Paddy Dow (M’17) and Lochie O’Brien (P’17) at Carlton, drafted 17th by the Blues, before Thomson Dow (P’19) went to Richmond with the 21st and final pick of the first round.

“It was a dream come true,” Caleb said of draft night. “I’d worked towards this goal with both Brodie and Thomson over the past two years and to experience that night with those two was extremely special and something I will never forget. When I heard both Brodie and Thomson’s names called out, I nearly got more excited for them as I did myself!”

“We have spent nearly every day together for two years, so for Caleb and Thomson to be drafted in the first round as well made it even more special,” Brodie said.

“It was truly humbling to have my name called in the first round and it was even more exciting for the three of us, having been on this journey together for the past few years,” Thomson reiterated.

The trio are extremely close, having each joined the School as Sports Scholars at the beginning of Year 11; Brodie from Moama, Caleb from Warragul and Thomson from Swan Hill. Brodie and Thomson spent their GGS years residing in Perry House with Caleb next door in Cuthbertson. “We had built a relationship like brothers and it was special,” Caleb said. “In terms of training and working towards the point of getting drafted, it was huge for our development having each other to push one another through gym or running sessions.”

The boys didn’t just set an example for their teammates on the field, their commitment towards their studies was equally impressive. Brodie achieved an ATAR of 88.35 and will study a Business course through Open Universities in Semester 2. Caleb achieved an ATAR of 85.35 and has already commenced a Commerce degree at Curtin University. “Uni has been fantastic! Whilst I am only studying part-time it has given me a great insight into uni and escape from football at times, especially during the AFL shutdown period,” Caleb said. Thomson achieved an ATAR of 79.6 and will begin a Commerce degree at Deakin University in 2021.

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The Year 12 experience can be chaotic at the best of times and when you add what is effectively a year-long audition for the AFL to the mix, it can be overwhelming. The support network established at the School helps to guard against this. “I had a lot of help from all of my teachers, who were all very understanding as long as I was honest with them and let them know what my situation was,” Caleb said. “This assisted with the stress at times with an extra day here or there to complete prep. Another person that was a huge help was Damian Shanahan (the School’s Head of Sports Performance). Damian helped me with everything from speaking to my Head of House and organising recruiters, which personally took a lot of the pressure off me and allowed me to focus on school when I was doing school, and footy when I was doing footy.”

“I found that footy was a good distraction from our studies, and vice versa,” Thomson said. “They both seemed to balance each other out, which helped to relieve some of the stresses during difficult periods throughout the year. In addition, having the strict routine of boarding that GGS strongly fosters helped me to stay on track with both studies and footy.”

“Being a boarder helped so much because everyone around you is working so it almost becomes contagious sometimes to sit down and do work as well,” Brodie said.

With the start to the 2020 AFL season delayed, the boys have had plenty of time to reflect on their final year at GGS. While Brodie’s season ended early after suffering a torn ACL, he was still part of the School’s fifth-consecutive derby win over The Geelong College while also kicking the winning goal on the siren for Victoria Country against South Australia at the National Under 18 Championships. Thomson was named best-on-ground in the win over TGC in 2019. “Winning both derby days, at The Geelong College in 2018 and playing at GMHBA Stadium in 2019, are very fond memories I will remember forever,” Thomson said. For Caleb, the highlight was a win against all odds vs Brighton Grammar School. “Playing against Brighton Grammar away from home – a team the School hadn’t beaten in 25 years - the week after Brodie had done his ACL and Jack Fischer (FB’19) injured his shoulder,” Caleb recalled. “It was a physical, high scoring game and we came away with a one-point win. That was one of the best, if not the best game I have ever been a part of.”

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

COURTING

SUCCESS

A successful season for a GGS Boys’ 1st Tennis team has rarely been measured in pure wins and losses. A win against crosstown rivals, The Geelong College, was cause for celebration.

Winning more sets against Melbourne Grammar School or Haileybury than the year prior might warrant a paragraph in that year’s Corian. In terms of expectation, Tennis wasn’t high on the GGS Sport totem pole.

In the past couple of years, however, the gears have started to turn both on the court and off it – the 2018/19 Boys’ 1st team won one match but was highly competitive; the GGS Tennis Support Group was revived; one of the state’s leading youth tennis coaches, Andrew Cameron, was appointed as Boys’ 1st team coach in 2016/17 before being promoted to Head of Tennis Performance for the 2018/19 season.

“The most important thing to introduce was a holistic approach to the Tennis programme and identify the next wave of players coming through,” Andrew said. The 2018/19 Boys’ 1st team was very young and offered important experience to then Year 11 students Dirk Cappetti (Yr12 P), Sunny Handy (Yr12 M), Sunny Lu (Yr12 P), Florian Watters (Yr12 A), Laurenz Watters (Yr12 A) and Harry Wills (Yr12 FB). “Having that core group entering their last season of tennis in 2019/20 really motivated us to take pre-season seriously and a lot of us played a lot over winter, which helped us to start strong and maintain it throughout the season,” vice-captain Florian Watters said.

“One of the biggest things was getting the boys to believe in themselves,” Andrew said. “We were close in many matches last season but fell short. This season, winning early matches gave the boys confidence and the season grew from there.” The team won their opening match against Carey Grammar before losing to eventual premiers Haileybury the next week. From there, the boys won five of their next six matches to hold a record of six wins and two losses, and third place on the APS ladder when the curtain came down on the season one week early due to COVID-19.

Florian gives the coaches a lot of credit for positioning the team to be competitive week-in, week-out.

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“The coaches set a good winning culture, and from there everyone took training far more seriously than in previous years and we were all really enthusiastic to be there.”

Their success wasn’t built on star power but on depth of talent and hard work, evidenced by their most frequent margin of victory in 2019/20 being a grinding nine sets to seven. “The boys played for each other and had a great team first attitude,” Andrew said. “This is the culture we are trying to install in the programme at GGS across all teams.”

The re-launch of the GGS Tennis Support Group, the Frank Sedgman Club, was one of the highlights of the 2020 season.

The group’s membership has swelled to over 180 members and, according to team captain Sunny Handy, the support of parents and the Frank Sedgman Club was pivotal in the team’s success.

“A winning mentality is hard to maintain without support, and in this the parent group was invaluable to our success this season,” Sunny said. “Not only is it important for the 1st teams, but Tennis at Geelong Grammar School in general; helping to improve the spirit of our club and the play across all levels.”

For Sunny, leading the team during a season filled with both hope and success was a fulfilling way to end his three years as part of the Boys’ 1st team. “I couldn’t imagine a better way to finish my career at the School, knowing that we were able to help with the respectability of Tennis at GGS, and that we have left it in very capable hands.”

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↓

It wasn’t until February 2020 that Sally received a letter from Frank saying that he

FRANK SEDGMAN

CLUB

Slow down. One step at a time. That was the message from the School’s Director of Sport, Paul La Cava, to current parent Sally Wills as she took the baton from Tanny Sutton on the path to re-launching the GGS Tennis Support Group, which was first established as the Frank Sedgman Club in 1993 before falling dormant in 2003. Almost 60 Tennis parents attended a meeting on Family Day in 2019 to plan a family tennis tournament, rather than a re-launch of the Frank Sedgman Club.

“The School wanted us to prove we had the commitment and passion to re-launch in Mr Sedgman’s name, as this could be terribly embarrassing if the support group was to fold again,” Sally explained. “So, we prepared the spreads and sausage sizzles at the Bender Centre of a Saturday morning and put out invitations to an inaugural tennis tournament.”

Establishing traditions, like an annual tournament, a cocktail party for parents and an end-of-season break-up for players and coaches, was viewed by the fledgling committee as a way of giving GGS Tennis more substance whilst helping to convince the School that the support group was sustainable.

“We wanted to develop some pretty simple things and make them traditions, without making things too complicated or creating a lot of work,” Sally said. “If we did this, we believed the club would stay strong.”

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was “pleased that you have got the club going again” and that he and his wife Jean would accept the group’s invitation to attend the opening of the GGS Tennis season.

Formal invitations were sent for the re-launch of the Frank Sedgman Club the next day and, a little under a month later, approximately 90 guests attended a cocktail party at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club celebrating a recently dormant club now thriving with more than 180 members.

The School’s Head of Tennis Performance, Andrew Cameron, feels that the role of the Frank Sedgman Club in this season’s success cannot be overstated. “Having a strong support group lifts the profile of Tennis at GGS and gives it a strong voice,” Andrew said.

“I’m very thankful for all the work and support given by the parents to the Tennis programme.” For Sally, it wasn’t until she became involved with the support group that she understood the potential that it had. “Tennis is about participation, fun and giving it our best, on and off the court,” she said. “Now the team spirit is really evident when you look around the Bender Centre courts. Everyone is united and excited, whether it is the students playing on court or the spectators enjoying a cuppa on the sidelines.”

For more information about the Frank Sedgman Club and to become a lifetime member, www.ggs.vic.edu.au/Sedgman

Left to right: Guest of Honour, Frank Sedgman AO talks with Patrick Moore (M’62); Tanny Sutton with TIC of Tennis, Kirsty McCartney; Linda Marshall, Jean Sedgman and Sally Wills.

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SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

With every court packed for the inaugural tournament in March 2019, momentum began to build. By mid-October, the club had 120 members and a letter was written to Frank Sedgman asking for his permission for the GGS Tennis Support Group to once again use his name. While the Australian tennis great didn’t attend the School, he coached Tennis at GGS alongside Keith Rogers from 1955-60 following a glittering playing career, which featured five grand slam singles titles (including Wimbledon, the Australian and US Opens), 22 grand slam doubles titles, three Davis Cups and a stint as the top-ranked player in the world (in 1951). His impact on tennis at the School was profound and when the GGS Tennis Support Group was first established almost 30 years ago, it was named in his honour.

↓ SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

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↓ SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

FOUNDATION CHAIR

This year has been difficult for everyone. Now, as we are continuing to struggle with the personal, national and global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to stay connected. As a community we must and will continue to look after each other.

The impact of COVID-19 has been significant and our thoughts are with all those directly affected by the virus. Our School has been exposed to considerable financial stress and the Foundation has been able to assist thanks to our loyal and generous supporters. I would like to acknowledge my immense gratitude on behalf of the Foundation Board, for the support of all members of the Foundation. Without your generosity, so much would not have been possible.

The Foundation was established to assist the School Council to preserve the position and facilities of the School, and through the generosity of generations of our community, we have been able to provide assistance in a wide variety of ways. Most recently, we have supported the School in this time of acute financial stress by providing short-term loans from the Endowment Trust, enabling the School to continue to provide the Exceptional Education which is at the heart of our culture. We have also established a COVID-19 Relief Fund to support families experiencing financial hardship with the payment of school fees. The COVID-19 Relief Fund will help sustain the School’s means-tested COVID-19 Bursary initiative; supporting families in need who have lost jobs or business. The aim of the Relief Fund is to ensure that no family leaves our School as a result of financial strain caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

We acknowledge that the financial impact of COVID-19 will continue for some time. With this in mind, we decided not to proceed with Annual Giving initiatives this year, whilst the Geelong Grammar Foundation Annual General Meeting (AGM) was postponed until Wednesday 29 July. We were very fortunate to hold the Biddlecombe Society Bellarine Peninsula luncheon at the Barwon Heads Golf Club on Thursday 12 March, with new Chair of Council, Paddy Handbury (M’72), as guest speaker, but were forced to cancel the Adelaide luncheon on Thursday 14 May. The Biddlecombe Society is an important part of our community and we hope to reconnect with our esteemed members as we continue to adapt to the evolving demands of COVID-19.

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Going forward, we expect that there will be an even greater need for scholarships and endowments to ensure that a GGS education remains accessible to the greatest number of students possible.

We are delighted that we exceeded our initial target for the Australian Rural and Regional Scholarship (ARRS) and that the inaugural ARRS student will commence at the School in 2021. We have also been energised by the strong support for scholarships in development, including the Jonathan K Breadmore Scholarship, the Boz Parsons Scholarship and the Richard James Chester Guest Memorial Scholarship. We are indebted to those members of our community who have provided the vision, generosity and leadership to advance these scholarship campaigns, particularly Bas Seymour (FB’55) and James Guest (M’55).

As we mark 165 years since Geelong Grammar School was founded in 1855, we reflect on the importance of scholarships, which have and continue to be a vital ingredient in the lifeblood of our School. The Foundation funds more than 50 scholarships each year, ensuring diversity of our student community and providing assistance to children from a wide variety of backgrounds, especially those from Indigenous, remote, rural and regional families, as well as those families suffering financial hardship. We are only able to do this with your ongoing support, and I thank you once again for your generosity.

We know that these are challenging times and if there are ways in which we can help you, our community, through this COVID-19 crisis, please reach out and let us know. Similarly, if you are in a position to help the School now or in the future, we would love to hear from you. Donations to scholarships are tax-deductible and are even more valued at a time when so many of our families are struggling, whilst the GGS COVID-19 Relief Fund empowers our community to help each other; those who can give will reach those who are in need.

Best wishes, stay safe, and look after each other.

Penny McBain Chair, Geelong Grammar Foundation

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↓ SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

GROWING A LEGACY “Nothing is more remarkable about this School than the loyalty and affection which its past members have for it and the generosity with which many have supported it. But even this is common to other schools. What is less common is the right attitude to the past and the right ambitions for the future. I think that OGGs of every age are ready to feel that the best was not reached in their day, that even the best has not been reached, and that we are building not for the present, but for the future, and a future counted in centuries rather than decades.” – James R Darling (Headmaster 1930-61) There is a scene in the video that the School released to celebrate its 165th anniversary that gave Charlie Sutherland (P’86) goose bumps. Charlie’s grandfather, James Darling (Headmaster 1930-61), walks through the School’s War Memorial Cloisters, when (courtesy of the wonders of modern technology) he is joined by current Principal, Rebecca Cody – the pair walking side-by-side, yet filmed almost 90 years apart. “They both even had similar facial expressions,” Charlie said. “That really made me smile. It filled me with pride.”

Charlie readily admits that “Geelong Grammar is in my blood”.

“We’re all lucky to be part of this community and its welfare has been a constant source of interest over my lifetime.”

Consequently, Charlie was “deeply honoured” to become Chairman of the Biddlecombe Society in early 2019 and contribute to “the next exciting GGS chapter”. That the School’s bequest society shared its name with Corio’s main thoroughfare (both named after generous benefactors John and Janet Biddlecombe) was not lost on Charlie – Biddlecombe Avenue was centre stage for some of his earliest childhood memories.

“My GGS journey began at the Corio creche, on the corner of Biddlecombe Avenue and School Road; which is now the site of the School for Performing Arts and Creative Education (The SPACE). In the 70s, the creche was nestled behind Corio’s own touch of Wimbledon; some magical old grass tennis courts, which seemed to be overly protected from children by the scary PE master, Mr Weber, who was our neighbour on Biddlecombe Avenue.”

Charlie Sutherland

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Charlie’s first teacher was Miss (Nona) Eyre-Walker in the P1 at Bostock House, with Miss (Eleanor) Rudolph, Mrs (Vera) Frizzell and Mr (Dick) Weigall all following as very positive primary teaching influences. “I see Dick at our Biddlecombe Society events and thank him for his invaluable guidance with my handwriting,” Charlie said. “The Bostock House playground and vast sporting fields were our MCG. We played gang ‘chasey’, ‘brandy’, cricket, football in the mud and avoided being swooped by magpies in cross-country races across the campus. Stories of Dad’s classic catches in the father-son cricket match in 1979 on the top oval are still recalled today.” Charlie also remembers the daily bus ride between Corio and Highton; weaving through Geelong suburbs (Highton, Newtown, North Geelong via the Esplanade, North Shore to Corio). “It was a place to make friends, swap precious Scanlens footy cards, chew gum, listen to the older boys tell naughty jokes and learn about the Melbourne Cup sweep. In Grade 3, I drew Gold and Black, which won the Cup, and I collected a small fortune and became king of the bus for a day.”

Together with the other staff families of the 1970s, including the Sheahan, Lester, Happell, Hayward, Bedggood, Mackey, Marles, Pappas and Ritchie families, the Sutherland boys – James (P’82), Charlie and Nick (P’89) – enjoyed holidays at Corio with endless backyard cricket and football games on the iconic Barrabool lawn.

Tennis champions, John Newcombe and Tony Roche, joined in when coaching at holiday tennis camps. “They were happy childhood memories with space, adventure and the freedom to explore. Bikes were the mode of transport – no helmets of course – with tennis courts and the swimming pool on hot days, interspersed with picnics at Anakie or the You Yangs. The Corio cypress hedges were climbing frames and alleys of intrigue. With Dad’s help, we made a cubby house in the cypress tree at the back of Barrabool, which became a haven of fun.” Sport looms large in Charlie’s childhood memories. He recalled his parents giving him the day off school when Kerry Packer (P’56) directed the World Series Cricket teams to the School in 1978/79 for a match on Main Oval featuring Javed Miandad, Bob Woolmer, Garth Le Roux and Clive Rice. He also remembered Billy Goggin’s Geelong Cats training at Corio on the eve of the 1981 VFL Finals when Kardinia Park flooded.

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Together with his brothers, Charlie attended all four GGS campuses (Bostock House, Corio, Glamorgan/Toorak and Timbertop). All three were also given the honour to captain the 1st Cricket XI, working closely with friend and mentor, John Hendry (Staff 1980-2015). Nick led the 1st XI to an elusive APS premiership in 1990. “All the family were present, including my grandfather – all smiles in his 90s. He hadn’t seen a Cricket premiership since the School’s last one in 1961/62.” Charlie clearly loves the School and following the success of recent Biddlecombe Society events, including the Bellarine Peninsula luncheon at the Barwon Heads Golf Club on Thursday 12 March, feels even more optimistic about the future of the bequest society. “At its heart, it’s a kind group of people who love and care for the School and, through the bequest programme, have generously made commitments to the School in their future planning. For that kindness, we are extremely grateful.”

SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

Charlie’s GGS journey was set on course decades earlier by two sliding door moments. Firstly, when his grandfather, James Darling, left England to take up the appointment as Headmaster in 1930. Secondly, when his parents, Ivan and Liza Sutherland (Darling, He’47), met as teachers at Corio in the early 1960s.

They married in 1964 and Ivan was a teacher at GGS for 44 years, including 14 years as Master of Glamorgan (1980-93).

Both are now members of the Biddlecombe Society and Charlie readily identifies service to others as a value shared by his family and the School. “My grandfather, a committed Christian, would say our problems are only going to be solved by a change of heart in Australians, not by politicians or economists; all men and women should try to live to grow, to give and not to count the cost, to serve and not to look for any reward. Giving back now, to me, in a small, but meaningful way, seems quite a natural and normal thing to do. It’s a way to support a school we care deeply about.”

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The Biddlecombe Society was established in 2002 under the umbrella of the Geelong Grammar Foundation. It has become an important part of the School community, hosting regular events in Adelaide, Barwon Heads, Melbourne and Sydney, but Charlie has an ambitious vision and insists “its best days lie ahead”. “I liken the GGS bequest programme and Biddlecombe Society to a jigsaw puzzle. We all remember tackling puzzles – first the corners, then the sides, followed by the centre pieces. Together, all these different pieces make up the jigsaw puzzle, each as important as the other. Without all the pieces, the puzzle remains unfinished.”

Charlie’s wish is that the Biddlecombe Society continues to grow and provide opportunities to engage with the wider School community. “I love the fact that people are asking me about Biddlecombe. It’s an opportunity for anyone to engage with GGS in a meaningful way and become part of the School’s future. I simply want people to feel comfortable picking up a piece of the puzzle. Every piece will help complete the picture.”

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For further information about the Biddlecombe Society please contact Garry Pierson, Associate Director Advancement, on: +61 3 5273 9136 Pictured at the Biddlecombe Society Bellarine Peninsula luncheon at the Barwon Heads Golf Club on Thursday 12 March: 1. Barbara Parsons, Charlie Sutherland (P’86) and Boz Parsons (M’36) 2. Ivan Sutherland and James Calvert-Jones (Cu’85) 3. David Endean and Pam Stevenson 4. Jane Gray (Darling, The Hermitage ’46), Jane Caldwell (Newman, The Hermitage ’52), Sam Newman (P’63), Liza Sutherland (Darling, The Hermitage ’47) and Mary Wenzel (Newman, The Hermitage ’51) 5. Lorie Lie (FB’44) and Evan Ould (FB’74) 6. James Sutherland (P’82) and Penny McBain

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↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

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↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

AN ADVENTURE IN THE ARCHIVES If I had been asked six months ago how I would be spending

In May 1915, Ralph travelled to England to enlist and in his

my gap year, I probably wouldn’t have predicted that I

own words ‘did not get in the Flying Corps as it was full and

would be trawling through every available newspaper gossip

would have necessitated a long wait’, so instead joined the

column on the highly anticipated inaugural 1909 Miss

Royal Field Artillery, whose ‘scientific work’ Ralph found

Queensland contest. Unexpectedly, however, this is precisely

appealing. He became Commandant of a township near

what I found myself doing, nearly 17,000 km from home.

Arras in northern France before being dangerously wounded

Just to be clear, this was not the result of a peculiar penchant

in the chest on 3 May 1917. He was moved to Boulogne

of mine for historic beauty pageants, but rather one of many where he was joined by his wife, a writer for the Brisbane unanticipated directions in which an absorbing research

Courier who he had married in England, and was said to

project I have been undertaking for the School’s archives

be ‘better happy and bright when haemorrhage suddenly

team has been propelled. At the outset, the task seemed

attacked him’. Tragically, he died at the age of 27.

deceptively simple. A letter of unclear origin had surfaced in the archives and its provenance needed to be discerned.

Hopefully this account of the subsequent research process and some of its more compelling findings also functions as evidence that letting a ‘gappie’ loose in the school archives

Daisy Clifton, born in 1888, was not old enough to be the Sister Clifton of the letter, being only eight years old when it was written. Her mother, who was known to ‘descend on Melbourne every Cup time with six Saratogas and a fleet

can be a productive venture.

of hat-boxes’ was neither a nurse nor in England in 1897.

At first glance, the letter, written in smudged pencil on

to track down, giving me hope that my own unwieldy

yellowing paper, is underwhelming. It documents the

name, often an inconvenience, may yet prove its worth.

mourning of two nurses upon the death of a mutual friend,

Following training at the Nightingale School in London,

Sister Snodgrass, which, though moving, is unremarkable.

Edith Snodgrass worked at St Thomas’ Hospital, where she

The recipient is Sister Clifton and the accompanying

was known as the ‘best night superintendent’, at the Royal

post-marked envelope places her in Southport, England,

Military Infirmary in Dublin and in Cairo on foreign service

Sister Snodgrass’s more distinctive name made her easier

during March 1897. There is nothing to document the letter’s where she died suddenly. Using this information, Sister provenance except a small note that reads, ‘Presented by

Clifton was identified as Florence Clifton, who had trained

his sister in memory of Lieutenant Ralph Clifton RFA, who

with Snodgrass in London and worked alongside her in

died of wounds in France May 22nd 1917’. Nevertheless, this

Dublin. The intimacy of their friendship is highlighted by

letter is enormously historically significant — its author,

correspondence which indicates that Snodgrass nursed

whose name is signed in flowing hand on the letter’s reverse, Clifton when she fell ill with appendicitis in 1895. is Florence Nightingale, the legendary ‘Lady of the Lamp’, universally regarded as the founder of modern nursing.

Nightingale revolutionised public health and dramatically elevated the reputation of the nursing profession. Indeed, much of the successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to Nightingale’s nineteenth century

To connect the English and Australian stories, the final evidence was to be found in UK census data. Because they are only taken every 10 years, using censuses to construct an historical account often feels like trying to read a story by only consulting every tenth page. Nevertheless, the 1861

medical innovations.

census revealed that Florence was the sister of Lieutenant

To discover more about the letter, my first line of inquiry

Daisy Clifton had travelled from Queensland to live with her

was to identify the Clifton siblings mentioned in the note.

aunt Florence in Southport, suggesting a window in which

Ralph Clifton was born on 1 November 1890 in Queensland.

our letter might have ended up in Daisy’s possession.

From a pastoral background, Ralph attended the King’s School, Parramatta, and then Geelong Grammar School from 1904 to 1907, where he participated with success in drama, rowing and shooting, becoming the School’s champion rifle shot despite shooting from his left shoulder due to a slight affection of his right eye. His sister, Daisy,

Clifton’s father. In addition, the 1911 census indicated that

It further transpired that our letter had its own concealed relative. I discovered that the Museum of Nursing at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney also possesses a letter written by Nightingale to Clifton about Sister Snodgrass, dated June 1897. Amusingly, in this letter Nightingale,

won important ski races on Mount Kosciuszko and it was she evergreen in her wisdom, offers the historian a prescient lesson in source analysis: ‘The news that she was found who became the first Miss Queensland in 1909. “dead in her bed” seems only to have been taken from a newspaper. And we do not ideally look for authentic information out of a newspaper.’ Unless, of course, it concerns the 1909 Miss Queensland contest.

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↓ SECTION 04 — MAIL ROOM

1931

Hospital and President of the Royal Australasian College

Margaret Ganly (Burn,

at GGS from the age of 10 when his father’s wartime

The Hermitage’31), who was born on 7 July 1915 and died on 4 January 2020 at the age of 104, was a custodian of the Scammell House in Torquay and featured in the Australian Book of Records as the country’s oldest golfer. Margaret was the daughter of Nellie (née Pride) and Norman Burn, who served with the 14th Australian Infantry Battalion in World War 1 and died of wounds in France in February 1917 (he is buried in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery in Picardie, France). Margaret and her brother Harold were raised by a single mother, who was fortunate to receive land from the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA), now known as the RSL, whilst Margaret was gifted an education at The Hermitage by a Geelong Ladies’ Benevolent Society.

Margaret was also blessed with family; her uncle Bill Pride and his wife Aggie were a constant presence in her early years and there was an abundance of cousins. The glue that kept the family together was the beach house that Margaret’s grandfather, William Pride, built from the wreck of the Joseph H Scammell, a Canadian sailing ship that ran aground at Point Danger in 1891. Margaret would spend six weeks there each summer, swimming and catching waves on a homemade surfboard. The historical beach house stayed in the family for 129 years – Margaret and her husband John moved into the house in 1973 with their daughters Margaret and Carleen and made it a home, adding a modern kitchen and bathroom. Margaret was

of Surgeons. Bob grew up in North Adelaide and attended Sir Ivan’s alma mater, the Queen’s School, before boarding tuberculosis recurred. He came to love the School and formed lifelong friendships there, although his schooldays were not without incident – when World War 2 was declared, Bob and a schoolmate set out to make their own bomb in the School’s mechanic shop. It exploded prematurely in their faces and caused considerable damage.

“That was Dad – always an experimenter and a risktaker,” Bob’s son, novelist and playwright Nicholas Jose, explained.

It was no surprise that when Bob left GGS he immediately joined the RAAF. He was initially posted to 13 Squadron, based at Gove in Arnhem Land. After the defeat of the Japanese, he flew to Manila to bring back Australian POWs. Bob loved flying and his fascination for cloud formations led him to drawing and painting them all his life. After the war, Bob studied mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide, followed by further studies at Cambridge University. He flew home to Adelaide to marry Pamela (née Joynt) in 1951 before the couple returned by ship to the UK, where Bob was a management consultant with PA (Personnel Administration) Consulting Group. After their first child, Nicholas, was born they returned to Australia.

Bob had been a consultant for Adelaide optometrists Laubman & Pank and in 1970 he joined their offshoot, Sola Optical, which was attempting to commercialize a new plastic called CR-39. By 1983, CR-39 had replaced glass as the major material for ophthalmic lenses and Sola Optical had become arguably the biggest plastic lens manufacturer in the world – at its peak in 1999 it had operations in 40 countries, 18 manufacturing plants around the world, 8,000 employees and produced over 1.5 billion lenses. As Deputy Managing Director, Bob played a critical role in Sola’s growth, helping to take the South Australian

a prolific writer of poetry and short stories. She studied

company global; initially growing the business in Asia and

Chinese History, Australian Literature, Geography and

opening an office in Hong Kong. Europe and the Americas

Classical Studies as a mature age student; studying a

followed, with Bob hosting lavish meals and barbecues at

Classical Studies unit at Deakin University into her 70s. She

his Adelaide home, developing long-lasting business deals

first started playing golf at the Torquay Golf Club in 1947/48

and friendships. “We grew up in a house where handsome

(she was the Ladies C Grade Champion in 1982 at 67 years

Italians and Brazilians, exciting Japanese and Koreans, Brits

of age) and was celebrated for continuing to play into her

and Americans arrived at short notice,” Bob’s daughter,

100th year. Most of all, Margaret loved her daughters, the

Jane Jose, recalled. The family spent a year living in Rio de

bush and the wild ocean beaches beyond Cape Otway.

Janeiro, where Bob established the company in Brazil, and he worked closely with the South American business for

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the rest of his career. Bob and Pamela had three children together, Nicholas, Jane and Mary, before Pamela was diagnosed with cancer in 1983 and died the following year. The loss was devastating for Bob and changed his

Bob (Robert) Oswald Jose

life – he left Sola in 1985 but continued as a part-time

(Cu’42), who was born on 19

consultant until 1995. Later, he married Marion McGregor,

September 1924 and died on

affectionately known as ‘Squeaker’, and they enjoyed 35

23 January 2019, was a World

years together, living in North Adelaide and spending

War 2 pilot and Cambridge

time at Marion’s Mt Pleasant property, Lilybank, with

University graduate who

children and stepchildren. Two of Bob’s stepchildren, Iain

played a vital role in the rise

McGregor (M’84) and Anna Robinson (McGregor, Je’92),

of pioneering South Australian

attended GGS. Nicholas remembered his father as someone

eyewear manufacturer, Sola

who cared for others, never sought recognition and “just

Optical. Bob was the eldest son of Sir Ivan and Imogen

liked to see good things happen”. “He valued education,

‘Jean’ Jose (née Hawkes), followed by younger brother John

work, making things, keeping moving, laughing off the

(Cu’42). Sir Ivan was a legendary figure in Adelaide – he

frustrations of life. He loved a project. He greeted people

served with the 14th Field Ambulance in World War 1 and

with a smile.” Bob is survived by Marion, his children,

was awarded the Military Cross for evacuating casualties

stepchildren, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

while under fire at Ypres on the Western Front; returning home to become senior surgeon at the Royal Adelaide

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1954

Allan MacPherson Campbell (FB’43), who was born on 26

Denis Lisle Angelo Pym (FB’54), who was born on 3 May

July 1925 and died on 16 December 2019, was a pioneering

1936 and died on 21 May 2019, was a free thinker who

farmer who rebuilt the family homestead at Billaboola,

resigned from his position as Professor of Organisational

near Young in the South West Slopes region of New South

Behaviour at the London Business School (LBS) to run an

Wales, establishing a commercial rabbit farming operation

organic farm on the Essex/

before purchasing dairy farms on the NSW North Coast

Suffolk border. He joined

to grow avocado and macadamia. Allan was the eldest of

the School from Western

four children to Nancy (née Browne) and Eric Campbell

Australia in 1948 and was a

DSO, VC, an Australian army major and solicitor who

School Prefect, a member of

was the leader of the radical right-wing organisation, the

the 1st XI Cricket team and

New Guard. Allan’s mother was from one of New South

represented the School in

Wales’ most notable grazing families, Anglo-Indians

Athletics as one of “a talented

who had emigrated from Calcutta in 1809. His mother

group of athletes” that won

inherited Billaboola, which was part of Memagong Station,

the Combined APS Sports

and it proved to be an integral part of Allan’s life – both

in 1954, edging favourites

physically and emotionally. After early schooling at Knox

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1943

Scotch College in the final

Grammar School, Allan joined GGS in 1938 and was a

event of the day – Denis was a member of the 4x110 yards

Sub-Prefect, Cadet-Lieutenant and rowed in the number

relay team that won “by about ten yards in the record

3 seat of the undefeated 1943 1st VIII crew. He left school

time of 45 seconds” and featured Olympic hurdler John

to join the AIF, transferring to the Air Force and training

Chittick (FB’54). Denis studied Psychology and Political

bombardiers at Evans Head. At the end of World War 2,

Science at Melbourne University, where he was very active

Allan returned to Billaboola and set about rebuilding the

in student politics, becoming Secretary of the SRC. He

family homestead after a devastating fire, allegedly lit by

went on to do his PhD in Occupational Psychology at

political opponents of his father. He purchased the adjacent

Birkbeck College, University of London, before joining

property Fifield and started a shorthorn stud in addition

the academic staff as a lecturer. He was remembered by

to extensive cropping and sheep operations. Allan married

Birkbeck colleague Pat Shipley as “an inspiring teacher and

Dinah Fielding Jones in 1953 and together they had three

scholar”. “He challenged mainstream ideas. He wanted to

children, Kate, Allan and Archie, before divorcing in 1964.

influence education and working life for the better, and to

He married Shirley Brown in 1967 and moved to Sydney

contribute to a more humane society.” Denis researched

to start afresh, running an import/export business, before

large organisations such as IBM and Esso, worked for

establishing avocado and macadamia ventures on the north

the UK Air Ministry as an Occupational Psychologist,

coast of NSW, moving permanently to Ballina after Shirley’s

and taught at the London Business School (LBS) as part

death in 1981. Allan met his third wife, Pat, a widow from

of the Sloan Fellowship Program. He published The

Hawaii who also grew macadamias, at a dinner party in San

Employment Question & Other Essays (Freedom Press, 1986)

Francisco. They developed an organic farm near Lismore

and collaborated with John Hassard on The Theory and

before Pat contracted cancer and died in 2016. Allan is

Philosophy of Organizations: Critical Issues and New Perspectives

survived by his children and grandchildren, including

(Routledge, 1990). Denis was invited back by Birkbeck to

Olivia Campbell (He’10).

deliver the Alec Rodger Memorial Lecture, entitled ‘Beyond Rationality and Employment’, which was prescient about

1948 Cedric Lyle Carr (Ge’48) received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours for service to the community of Geelong and to accountancy.

As a founder of West Carr & Harvey Accountants and Business Consultants, Cedric’s business acumen and assistance were vital to the success of many Geelong businesses and charities. He was a founding member and treasurer (for 35 years) of Geelong’s first ever childcare centre, the Geelong and District Day Nursery, now known as Geelong Children’s Centre. Cedric volunteered his time on several boards and committees, and was President

the decline of secure employment, the rise of the socalled “gig economy”, digital technology and automation.

He resigned from LBS in 1990 to work on the family’s organic farm near the village of Polstead in East Anglia, which he had established with his French wife Paule. They bred prize-winning Suffolk rams and planted thousands of trees. Denis was active in the local community – he and his family were responsible for the band in the local pub (with Denis on ukulele), and his farm was opened once a year to display the work of local artists and craftsmen, especially furniture made out of local elm and oak. He was described as a “community-spirited anarchist” by local musician Ben Walker. “He encouraged people to live ‘off the grid’, independent of the state, outside consumerism (and) in doing so, sowed the seeds for a more fruitful, less barren, existence for many.” Denis died from Parkinson’s disease.

He is survived by his sister Christina Hayward (Pym, Cl’55), his wife Paule, their four children and eight grandchildren.

of Geelong West Rotary Club, Council President of Geelong West Technical School and a member of the Moorabool Housing Society.

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A

ustralia experienced its worst fire season in almost two decades last summer, with bushfires wreaking havoc across Victoria and New South Wales in particular. Communities banded together to first contain and extinguish the fires before turning their attention to rebuilding. Old Geelong Grammarians played their part across the fire season and beyond; from firefighters to first responders, fundraisers to local tourism advocates, we highlight some of their stories here.

Frankie Beggs (Fairbairn, Clyde’60)

Frankie Beggs has been a member of the Red Cross for more than 40 years and part of their emergency response team for much of that time.

She was part of the first Red Cross team deployed to the relief centre in Corryong in late-December 2019.

“We were responsible for registering those evacuating, or returning, for the Register. Find. Reunite. database, assisting them to apply for Red Cross grants and administering ‘psychological first aid’,” Frankie said. “Which is really just listening to people; allowing them to pour it all out.”

The importance of psychological first aid was emphasised by the obstacles faced in terms of technology. “It was quite a performance! Power in Corryong was supplied by a solitary generator, so residents couldn’t return until power was restored, while there was internet and phone outages, which made things a bit difficult when it came to data entry.”

The Red Cross continue to play a significant role in the recovery effort.

1,800 staff and volunteers were part of their bushfire response and the Red Cross raised almost $200 million in the first four months of 2020 which will assist bushfire-affected families and communities to get back on their feet.

Frankie travelled more than 650km from her home in Nareeb to Corryong and, later, to Mallacoota to help the recovery, a large portion of which as part of an SES convoy due to the volume of road closures in the region.

“I find it rewarding… giving support to people who are going through a terrible time,” Frankie said. “I’m lucky enough to be able to do that.”

David Breadmore (FB’80)

Frank Austin (Cu’58)

David Breadmore has 25 years of service to Victoria’s Country Fire Authority and is currently the deputy group officer for the Westernport Group of fire brigades; a group of 14 brigades in South-East Victoria which includes Red Hill, where David calls home. He has fought fires across the country, including as a strike team leader sent from Victoria to Tasmania to assist in 2016, but there were several factors which made last summer’s fires in Victoria and New South Wales uniquely damaging.

Captain Frank Austin received the NSW RFS Australian Fire Service Medal as part of this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours for almost 60 years of service to the NSW Rural Fire Service and his community. Frank joined the Mundarlo Fire Brigade in 1960, has been President since 2003 as well as being a Captain.

“The 20 or so fires started by dry lightning in mid-November 2019 all merged into effectively one big fire which stretched from our East Gippsland coast, over the North East Alpine area and onward beyond the NSW border to the North East and South East,” David explained.

“Three years of underlying drought in our east, fuel build-up and the lack of any significant ground moisture means that the ground and its fuels (ground litter) were tinder dry; this combination produced fire behaviour that was very unpredictable and by no means typical of what we have seen in the past.”

The lack of respite overnight made things particularly difficult for firefighters. “The fire continued to burn freely, often creating its own localised weather systems,” he said.

According to the NSW RFS, Frank has always endeavoured to respond to fire related calls and other incidents.

The Mundarlo Brigade is situated adjacent to the Hume Highway, south of Gundagai, and is a busy brigade responding to motor vehicle accidents.

He has worked tirelessly to ensure the Mundarlo RFB continues to have an active and motivated membership that is able to respond to needs of the community.

“Captain Austin’s commitment and dedication to the NSW RFS and community service is recognised by his peers both within and external to the agency,” the NSW RFS website states.

Frank remains an active member of the RFS and was one of more than 600 firefighters who attended the Dunns Road fire, which engulfed more than 300,000 hectares of land in January this year.

David spent significant time working to contain the fires in Gippsland this year, noting that his CFA counterparts in the area are always the first trucks to arrive to provide assistance whenever there have been fires on the Mornington Peninsula. This sense of community and mateship is something that has motivated David to support the CFA for more than two decades.

“My involvement has always been motivated by a strong sense of community and wanting to give something back,” he said. “Living in rural communities, the CFA provides this opportunity.”

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↓ Matt Long (M’10)

Empty Esky is a national tourism movement founded by Eleanor Baillieu and Erin Boutros encouraging Australians to embark on a road trip to fire-affected towns, supporting communities by filling an empty esky with local produce and goods from small businesses.

Matt Long grew up in Mansfield and attended Geelong Grammar School from Timbertop through to graduation.

He is a qualified builder and runs his own company, LVL Group Aus. Matt established a LVL Group GoFundMe page seeking not only cash donations, but also water, hay and transport to support fire-affected towns, in particular Corryong.

“We’re on a mission to contribute directly to the CFA in Corryong, who will be escorting us and the supplies into town, and then distributing them to help those in need,” Matt wrote on his GoFundMe page.

“We wanted to help boost the bushfire recovery and that’s how Empty Esky came about,” Eleanor said. “What’s more Australian than an esky and going on a road trip!”

Empty Esky’s website allows bushfireaffected businesses to register for their interactive map, which includes hundreds of places to eat, drink, stay, support and explore throughout Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. They have built a strong presence on social media, with almost 60,000 Instagram followers and a vibrant Facebook community who share their experiences and seek travel recommendations.

“I get goosebumps seeing how happy it makes people when visitors come back to their towns,” Eleanor told Royal Auto in a March interview. “I’ve been on social media for quite a while but this is the first time I’ve seen how it can make a real impact on people’s lives.”

The pair were invited to Canberra in February to visit Parliament and received bi-partisan support, with both the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, making the pledge to visit a fireaffected town with their empty esky.

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Eleanor Baillieu (He’11)

The GoFundMe received donations of more than $55,000 as well as over 70,000 litres of water, 16 semi-trailers loaded with hay and an assortment of gift packs for firefighters and local children, the overall value of which equates to more than $250,000.

“I felt really compelled to help because a few clients have homes up there, as well as friends from my time at GGS,” Matt said.

“Being in the building industry, we have great connections for transport. Without the small team we put together, none of it would have been possible.”

Matt had organised a group of around 50 people to travel to the Tintaldra Pub, camp in its backyard for the weekend and visit the pubs and restaurants in surrounding towns to help kickstart the economy, however COVID-19 restrictions have postponed the trip.

“The locals there haven’t seen the last of us though and it’s something we have planned for later in the year,” Matt said.

While a desire to do something to help with the recovery was the catalyst for Empty Esky, Eleanor hopes it will be a long-term project. “We want to be a leading change in domestic tourism and the way people think about holidaying in Australia.”

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1959 Angus Macneil AM (M’59) became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to primary industry and to the community. From his property at Green Park in Rand, Angus has served the Riverina district of New South Wales for more than 50 years in many and varied capacities, including as a member and president of the Rand Football Club, member and chair of the Rand School Council, member of the Rand Brigade of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, member and chair of the Rand Town Improvement Committee, and as a contributor to several other organisations. A member of the New South Wales Farmers Association since 1962, he has served in various capacities including as regional chairman on two occasions. Angus has also contributed significantly to Grain Producers Australia in a variety of roles including as Chairman of the Grain Committee for four years; Urana Shire Council as a councillor for 24 years and deputy president for ten; and Landcare New South Wales including as Chair of the Rand Walbundrie Billabong Creek Landcare group for five years.

1964 Ted (Edward) Baillieu (Glamorgan’64) was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Victoria, particularly as Premier, and to international engagement. Ted, who attended Glamorgan from 1957-64, was the 47th Premier of Victoria, winning the 2010 State election before resigning as Premier in 2013 and retiring from politics in 2014. He said he looked back on his time in office “very positively”, citing fiscal responsibility and investments in arts and rail infrastructure as headline achievements. Ted dedicated the Australia Day honour to his family, saying his wife Robyn was not only a supporter of his but a “great contributor” to the community herself, whilst daughters Martha (He’05) and Eleanor (He’11) both attended GGS.

1973 Rebecca Sturgis (Hossack, Li’73) has delivered an online lecture about Aboriginal art, Recording the Dreamtime, for London-based The Arts Society as part of its fortnightly COVID-19 lockdown outreach programme. Rebecca’s lecture tells the story of three paintings hanging in her home by three significant Aboriginal artists, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Emily Kame Kngwarreye and John Mawurndjul.

Rebecca tells the story of the paintings and the artists; each coming from a different language group and culture with a remarkably different approach and iconography. Rebecca is credited with introducing Aboriginal art to Europe. She

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relocated to the UK to study Law, followed by History of Art, leading to further study at Christie’s and at The Guggenheim in Venice. She set up her own gallery in London in 1988 and was the first art gallery in Europe to exhibit Aboriginal art, which she continues to promote through her regular Songlines seasons. Rebecca also curated important exhibitions from Africa, Papua New Guinea and India. She is now Director of four internationally-renowned galleries – two in London and two in the USA (Miami and New York).

She served as the Australian cultural attaché in London from 1993-97, initiating literary links between Australian and British writers and organising a series of exhibitions of Australian art in London. She has been a lecturer for The Arts Society, formerly known as the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), for 10 years.

1974 Rob de Fégely (FB’74) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for significant service to the forestry industry through business and advisory roles.

A former President of the Old Geelong Grammarians Association (2009-2011), Rob is passionate about conservation and forestry. He has been Co-Chair of the Australian Government’s Forest Industry Advisory Council (FIAC) since 2014 and is also Chairman of Sustainable Timber Tasmania; a Government Business Enterprise that manages the publicly owned forests in Tasmania. He has been involved with the Institute of Foresters of Australia (IFA) for many years and served as a Director from 20122018 and National President from 2012-2017. Rob started his forestry career working on a softwood plantation in the Bombala region of south-eastern New South Wales in the early 1980s and has since worked with National Parks and Wildlife Services, and as a consultant across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. He is Founding Director of Margules Groome Consulting, which acts as an independent consultant to the forestry, wood products, bio solutions, pulp/paper and agriculture sectors. Ross Hampton, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA), described Rob as a “moderate voice of reason in the sometimes less than reasonable forestry debates”. “Rob is a learned forester who has for decades displayed a strong public service ethic, taking leadership roles in important bodies and helping shape the future of Australia’s sustainable forest industries,” Mr Hampton said. In a recent interview with The Wimmera

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1978 Dr Adam Lewis (FB’78) was awarded a Public Service Medal (PSM) in the Australia Day Honours for outstanding public service through the application of geospatial information. Adam leads Geoscience Australia’s National Earth and Marine Observation Branch and played a critical role in the design and development of Digital Earth Australia; technology which provides government with the data to monitor the environment and increase productivity in the agricultural and mining industries. He led the development of the Australian Geoscience Data Cube, which won the 2016 Content Platform of the Year at the World Geospatial Forum in Hyderabad. The data cube is now a fully funded government programme called Digital Earth Australia, and there is a growing international community around the open source code-base (opendatacube.org), providing users with free access to technology and analysis platforms.

Adam was also part the Geoscience Australia involved in the search for the missing aircraft MH370, which was recognised with a Special Achievement in GIS Award in 2018. Before joining Geoscience Australia, Adam worked for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, where he led the spatial analysis team in the Representative Areas Program (RAP), which expanded the fully protected areas of the Park from 4% to 30%, set new international benchmarks for marine planning, and won Australia’s Banksia Environmental Award for Government Leading by Example. Adam is widely regarded as a pioneer in geospatial information. As a researcher at James Cook University, he developed the first depth and elevation model of the Great Barrier Reef. Adam also helped to establish one of the earliest Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) sites in Australia for the Victorian Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands.

His legacy includes spatially enabling Victoria’s first Forest Management Plan and establishing a Corporate Geospatial Data Library for the Department’s natural resources datasets.

Professor Damian Purcell (Fr’78) is involved in developing a COVID-19 vaccine as Group Leader in Viral Infectious Diseases at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, which is a joint venture between The University of Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital. After receiving a PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1987, Damian received a CJ Martin Fellowship from the National

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Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia’s largest health and medical research funding body, to work with world-leading molecular microbiologist Dr Malcolm Martin at the Laboratory for Molecular Microbiology of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) in Maryland, USA. He returned to Melbourne’s Burnet Institute in 1995 before moving to a teaching and research position at The University of Melbourne in 2001. Damian is the Virology Division Chair for the Australian Society of Microbiology, the immediate past President of the Australasian Virology Society, and Executive member of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology. He studies RNA (Ribonucleic acid) mediated control of retrovirus gene expression during the productive and latent phase of infection. He seeks to translate his insights into new antiviral drugs, vaccines and biomedical preventions. He spoke about the COVID-19 vaccine for the Australian Academy of Science website and co-authored an article about the vaccine for The Conversation website. Damian explained that vaccine development is usually a long process – it took more than 15 years to develop the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine – yet he was optimistic that a vaccine for COVID-19 might take 12-18 months. “A huge international infrastructure is mobilising to develop a vaccine at an unprecedented speed,” he said.

1981 Andrew Burgess (FB’81) is the Business Development Manager of Australia’s largest olive farmer and producer of extra virgin olive oil, Boundary Bend Olives, which produces 65% of Australia’s production of premium extra virgin olive oil through home-grown olive oil brands, Cobram Estate and Red Island. Boundary Bend’s founders, Rob McGavin and Paul Riordan, are both married to OGGs, Kate McGavin (Muller, Je’90) and Fiona Riordan (Rymill, Je’88) respectively, and the company has a tapestry of OGG connections. To navigate the challenges of COVID-19, the team at Boundary Bend went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the 2020 olive harvest could take place, despite the restrictions. 14 days before harvest began, more than 200 seasonal harvest staff were brought on site to isolate at Boundary Bend Estate, about 47 kilometres east of Robinvale, and also at their olive grove near Boort in central Victoria. It was a huge logistical undertaking, with a caravan park set up on-site (complete with electricity, internet, water and a sewage) as well as exclusive use of local caravan parks (where employees didn’t have to share bathroom or common facilities). More than 60 self-contained vans and mobile homes were hired, all meals were provided and a temporary medical centre was created (providing flu vaccines, COVID-19 testing and daily medical assessments) to facilitate a costly yet timely harvest.

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Mail Times, Rob expressed his concerns that local forests “are degrading in front of me”. “We have areas with no forests but a lot of scrub which builds up and explodes,” he said. “It’s happening because we don’t manage our forests. They are overstocked and suffering and not the home to wildlife that they should be. The two biggest threats to native wildlife are feral animals and fires, which I suspect is the bigger threat.

For 60,000 years, the Indigenous people managed the land with fire.” Rob is a strong advocate for “cool burning” and is a critic of “locking up” National Parks. “We don’t do ongoing monitoring and checking of National Parks. Let’s have a more dynamic management system. It’s about the whole landscape; we can't manage it for one species.”

↓

G

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eorgie Somerset (Robinson, Cl’82) was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year’s Australia Day Honours list. Georgie was recognised for her service to primary industries, women and the community. She recently discussed with her Timbertop unit-mate and current GGS Alumni Manager, Katie Rafferty (Spry, Ga’84), her Australia Day Honour and the importance of community in rural Australia, as well as reminiscing about life at GGS and her experience with “remote learning” in its original form.

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↓ more than you thought. You have to dig deep mentally to live with a group for the whole year, and that you can live without the ‘extra-curricular’ activities of life. It also provides that connection with nature and the rhythm of the seasons, which is so important for our developing brains and future development.

Georgie: The benefit of home school is the integration of learning across your whole life; discussions at the dinner table often were related back to something I was learning in class papers. Perhaps more of these conversations will take place now as parents are connected to their children’s subjects more closely.

Georgie: Boarding is a fundamentally formative experience; I don’t think you can explain it to those who’ve not experienced it, and I believe it does shape your life. There are the obvious elements of greater resilience and problem solving as you are ‘on your own’ but I think deeper elements are learning to cohabit with people you don’t know and might not choose to live with—a great life skill! In life, we often don’t get to choose who we work with, and learning how to co-exist and hopefully see the best in others, is very useful! I find it interesting how easy it is to pick up with fellow boarders many years later; the connections made and experiences shared are far stronger than we realise at the time.

Katie: Any downfalls?

Georgie: Definitely social skills—being on distance education for all my primary years, I had not had long-term friendships and so learning to be a friend day in, day out was a new skill. I had spent much of my last few primary years predominantly with adults, so there was also learning to be around people my own age!

Katie: When you arrived at GGS, your mother’s brother worked at the School. Given you were so far from home, was it a comfort to have your uncle Mick so close?

Georgie: I think having a sibling and an uncle on campus made me understand that this was an alternate ‘home’. I think any connections make a difference when you are settling in somewhere new. We all seek out something or someone we are familiar with and having a sister in Clyde was a reassurance, although I remember thinking how far it was to walk from Barrabool to Clyde!

Katie: I remember at least one visit to the dovecote with you for a cup of tea and a Tic Toc biscuit; I think it was the first and only GGS ‘manners’ experience for me! I found it amazing that your uncle Mick was a teacher when my dad was at school! Were you aware at that age of the roles your uncle, Michael Dudley de Burgh Collins Persse, had at the School and the relationships he had built over so many years? What do you hope his legacy at the School will be?

Georgie: I think I was always aware that he was part of the furniture at GGS (as he remained). I hope his legacy is his passion for history and literature, and yes, dovecote suppers and Tic Toc biscuits! He had such a deep interest in people and their interconnectedness - their personal history - and this has helped strengthen the connections at GGS as he wove people back to their forebears and history, while still being interested in their current activities. His memory for people and their place in time never ceased to amaze me— as a family, we had a living family encyclopaedia!

Katie: You and I headed off to Timbertop and found ourselves in J Unit together, in beds side by side – Robinson and Spry. Poor you! Did the experience at Timbertop impact your life when you reflect now?

Georgie: Timbertop was definitely my favourite year at GGS. I suspect now that it was simply being in the bush and being physically active… as well as living next to you! I was fascinated by the alpine country we were immersed in, and the long runs and hiking - also with you - are still highlights.

I think it’s a year when you understand your body can do

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Katie: How did the boarding experience overall impact your life?

Katie: You were made a Member of the Order of Australia in January. You are known for your role as AgForce's first female general president and a vocal advocate for the agricultural industry. What have been your most rewarding achievements for the agriculture industry during the time of your service?

Georgie: It is always rewarding to see policy change and investment made after years of advocacy. I have always been interested in people and believe they are our greatest resource, so I see one of my greatest achievements is collaborating with others to establish our local community foundation and, through that, the Red Earth Community Leadership Program in our South Burnett region. It means we can invest in a local capacity and, after seven years, I am seeing the impact of this strong regional leadership. I have benefitted from people investing in me, so I am keen to ensure I invest in others so they can create a positive impact.

Katie: Georgie, you are a magnificent networker. One of the many roles you have held was as President of the Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women's Network from 2009-2014. What do you see as the most important roles bush networks play for women in remote and regional areas?

Georgie: Our networks are critical and I learnt early on from our mother that women do weave our communities together; they work the triple shift of business/farm, community and family yet find time to check in on each other and bolster spirits. I gained much from wise women when I was a newlywed in a rural community, blithely carving my own path. They were generous in sharing their wisdom and experience, and I gained as much from listening as I did from their indomitable action. I believe our communities are built on networks. Networks don’t replace family but give you an alternate set of like-minded people; it may be around an interest like art, or agriculture, or a desire to improve a space or region, or the shared raising of children. These networks are critical for our mental and community health. I am grateful for the networks I have around me and I am now gaining so much wisdom from our fabulous younger generation, and work to pass on what I have learnt.

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Katie: Due to COVID-19, Australian schoolchildren have just experienced remote learning. Before you came to GGS in Year 7, you had only experienced remote learning; a mixture of Primary Correspondence and School of the Air, with your mother by your side the whole way.

You were so well-educated in fact that, by the end of one term of Year 7, you were put up to Year 8. What do you see as some of the major benefits from the way you were educated in the primary years?

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T

homas Andrew Long (M’85) was born on 3 August 1968 and died on 4 January 2020.

Viewing Tom Long’s feted career you become aware the most powerful tool in his repertoire as an actor is a perfect display of innocence, a transfixing guilelessness that makes the audience lean-in to protect the character he is playing.

It was no mere dramatic artifice; in life Tom was acutely aware of what he didn’t know, and it imbued him with humility, a belief that questions were as important as answers. It’s an artist’s mindset, and a means of exploration.

Tom’s brother Will (P’84) remembers in their family, though the third of four siblings, Tom was, annoyingly, the first to do everything. Whether kissing girls, filching their father’s whisky, discovering Bob Dylan or sex... ‘If there was a challenge to be had, he was at the front of the queue.’ Later in life, when being interviewed, Tom admitted to being, ‘drawn to anything that terrifies me.’

Tom Long came to Geelong Grammar in 1982 as a country boy who grew up outside Benalla, his father Michael (P’53) was a surgeon at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and in Benalla. He was no model student, more interested in adventure, and the widest of worlds. A school friend, when

accident was the catalyst that brought Rachael and Tom back together. ‘At a time like that, you just think about what is important to you... because these were the people I cared for.’ Rachael and Tom were married in 2008. Ari made an

asked if it was obvious Tom would have a storied future,

extraordinary recovery and is now in his second year at

replies, ‘Always knew Tom was going to be interesting.’ As if

NIDA. He and Tom were always very close.

to say, ‘Forget the fame, it was unavoidable, a mere adjunct of the person.’

Tom’s acting career is a reliquary of roles and performances that have become embedded in the national consciousness.

He didn’t have a noticeable passion for acting while at

Thrice nominated for AFI (Australian Film Institute) best

school, other than being the best Mick Jagger in an obsessive

actor awards, he is best remembered for his roles as Angus

field of wannabe Micks from Manifold. When he left, at

Kalbiri in the ABC hit SeaChange, and as Glenn Latham

the end of Year 11, he had no idea what he wanted to do.

in The Dish. Young Lions, Two Hands, The Postcard Bandit,

He became a jackaroo, horse breaker and shearer, before

The Book of Revelation, Doing Time for Patsy Cline, East of

travelling through India with Afghan refugees, becoming

Everything... the list goes on, showing in an industry peopled

a shepherd in England, moving to the US and working for

by the serially unemployed Tom Long was in constant

a wool company, and then riding a bike across the United

demand.

States and from Perth to Sydney... the full smorgasbord of wild-child irresolution before, well... deciding to become an

But he neither enjoyed nor sought glamour and celebrity,

actor. A palpable long shot. Just another grand imagining

seeing those elements of his career as distractions, and

from a free spirit given to dreams.

rejecting them. He never could move off the farm. ‘I’m not an actor who has to keep acting all the time,’ he told

But then, in 1992, he was accepted as a student at the

an interviewer. ‘I prefer to do one or two jobs a year. I

National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), one of a small

don’t have this need to continually act... For me, success is

cohort chosen from myriad hopefuls around the nation.

happiness and learning more about the world and myself.

Classmate Rachel Blake said he ‘quietly stole the show’ in

With space and silence on the farm you sort of come to

their graduating year of 1994. After graduation he was soon

yourself... You feel smaller and your ego has shrunk because

working as an actor, and while performing in The Tempest

you are dwarfed by nature.’ Tom’s peers agree that in an

with Bell Shakespeare he met actress Rachael Maza, they

industry based on artifice his performance and personality

had a relationship and a son, Ariel, born in 1998. Ariel was

contained none.

named after the spirit in that play. They co-parented Ari while living separately until, in 2005, Rachael and Ari were involved in a serious car accident in Arnhem Land. Ari sustained critical head and chest injuries, his life saved by a

In 2012, Tom was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and given two years to live. A few months later he collapsed on stage while performing in the play Coranderrk: We Will Show

doctor in Gove.

the Country at the Sydney Opera House. Against medical

Tom was at the Melbourne International Film Festival on

show. He stopped acting after that, his life consumed with

the red carpet. ‘I got the call as I was about to go in, and then

the Herculean daily task of trying to stay well, brave, happy,

I jumped in the car and ran every red light and Qantas held

happy for others, and open to the future. He read widely

the plane for me, and I beat them to Darwin hospital. I was

while ill; the Greek Classics, Carl Jung, Tolstoy, the Bible,

just standing there in my black tie with my credit card.’ The

Victor Frankl and others. He studied Buddhism. On his final

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advice, he returned the next day to perform in the final

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hospital admission he took with him a copy of Homer’s The Iliad. His large copy of Jung was placed on his coffin.

In the early years of his illness Tom met Rebecca Fleming through a friend and they fell in love. Late in the day he said, ‘She’s been by my side through it all, and my absolute rock through this.’ What Tom called ‘this’ was seven years of chemotherapy and the attendant daily degradations of terminal illness.

Crucially, Rebecca being by his side, the world still held light. They married in February 2019.

‘It sounds strange but cancer has made me a better person in that I am a lot more grateful for living,’ Tom said. ‘I have an enormous curiosity. I think that’s what keeps me going. Through the darkness if you can keep your curiosity, that helps. And a connectedness to family, friends, to community.’ It is notable that Tom remained close to an impressive cohort that came together in their Timbertop year. He sustained friendships with inordinate ease. His marriage to Rachael Maza ended before his illness began, but she remained a regular visitor throughout his final years.

1993 Katrina Lehman (Webb, Cl’93) teamed up with

In April 2019 Tom went to Seattle to have CAR T-cell

illustrator Sophie Beer to create a bright and energetic

therapy, a new form of immunotherapy, and for him

picture book, Izzy and Frank (Scribe, 2020). Katrina,

a last resort. The treatment was imminently successful

who also edits and mentors writers for the Australian

and on review in August 2019 there was no evidence

Society of Authors, had her first picture book, Wren,

of recurrence of the Myeloma. However, he soon

published by Scribe in July 2018. Both books are

developed symptoms of encephalitis, presumed to

for children aged 3-6 and have received wonderful

have been viral in aetiology. Gradually he became

reviews for Katrina’s fluid and rhythmic prose.

totally paralysed, bravely continuing to communicate with diminishing movement. Tom died on 4 January 2020.

We are dizzied by early death. The psychological paradox of simultaneously celebrating the life lived while lamenting the life lost. The shining fifty years and the missing forty play simultaneous and discordant tunes, dirge and anthem, requiem and rocker. Was the deceased cheated or blessed? It’s a question with no answer, posed by grief and gratitude perplexingly entwined.

The condolences from the giants of the dramatic arts were steeped in wonder at the unlikelihood of someone so lovely getting so far in their industry, being able to outpace, with equanimity, the striving solipsists of the dramatic arts... to be good enough to do that while still being the man Tom was... well, words

1994 Lizzie Corke (Timbertop 1994) received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Australia Day honours for service to conservation and the environment.

Lizzie and her husband Shayne founded the Conservation Ecology Centre (CEC) in 2000 to develop conservation solutions for Victoria’s Otway Ranges. They established the Great Ocean Ecolodge in 2004, which won the Victorian Tourism Award for best new development

failed them. Mostly they went with ‘a beautiful soul’.

and was recognised by National Geographic Traveller

Tom Long is survived by his mother Elizabeth, his

developed a substantial research programme in

father Michael (P’53), his sisters Kate (Cl’85) and Penny

partnership with universities, government and other

( Je’81), his brother Will (P’84), his son Ariel, his wife

stakeholders, establishing an ecological burning

Rebecca, her children Satchmo and Kit, and survives in

programme with the Country Fire Authority (CFA),

the collective consciousness of Australia. He is buried

restoring koala habitat by planting over 200,000

in the Bush Cemetery, Strathbogie, Victoria, a site he

trees on Cape Otway, and developing a network of

chose during a tour of cemeteries with his brother

researchers and land managers who share information

William.

and data across the region. Lizzie received the Banksia

Anson Cameron (M’78)

as one of the 25 best ecolodges in the world. CEC

Foundation 2005 Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year award and has previously served as a Director of Ecotourism Australia and as Chair of the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) Community Advisory Group.

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OGG PRESIDENT The challenging start to 2020, with the summer bushfires

OGG Connect

followed by the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, has

As an OGG community, we continue to look for ways

drawn our focus to overcoming adversity and supporting our communities. This was epitomised by Angus McKillop (Cu’16) and Nic Neeson (A’16), who rode from Melbourne to Sydney on a tandem bike to raise more than $15,000 for mental health not-for-profit, the Black Dog Institute. The pair completed their two-week, 1,230-kilometre cycling journey on Saturday 20 June by riding across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Nic said the charity ride would help the Black Dog Institute researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to continue their investigation of new and better ways to treat and prevent conditions like anxiety and depression. “It’s a stressful time right now, with everything going on – there will be some mental health repercussions as a result of the coronavirus for a lot of people,” Nic explained. “We wanted to do what we could to help.”

to help support the wellbeing of fellow past students. I encourage OGGs to reach out to old friends who may be vulnerable, particularly during these unusual and difficult times. Supporting OGG wellbeing can be as simple as calling or messaging a former classmate who you are concerned may be experiencing hardship or anxiety and just letting them know that you are thinking of them. The OGG committee continues to develop OGG Connect; an initiative that encourages OGGs to support other OGGs adversely affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods and fires. Under the banner of OGG Connect, we are hoping to create a ripple effect across our community by acknowledging and encouraging OGGs to reach out and connect with other OGGs in need. As is outlined in this issue of Light Blue, a number of OGGs volunteered during the Black Summer bushfires, which devastated areas of New South Wales and north-eastern Victoria. There were OGG volunteers with the CFA, the Red Cross and Blaze Aid, as well as those raising funds for communities impacted by the fires, including the notable efforts of younger OGGs, Eleanor Baillieu (He’11), Matthew Long (M’10) and Charlie Ranken (M’97).

165 Years This year, our School is marking 165 years since its foundation in 1855. Celebrating milestones might feel strange in these times, but we can and should be inspired by past endeavours and the history of our School. GGS began as a private Anglican diocesan school with just 14 boys (with 22 pupils attending the School during its first term) and over the past 165 years has grown into the School we know today – Australia’s largest coeducational boarding school with almost 1,600 students from every state and territory,

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↓ Business Lunches Similar video conferencing events have been held in place of the annual OGG Business Lunch. While those who joined the events did not have the pleasure of lunch at our usual venue, Florentino’s, the format had the advantage that OGGs from around the globe could join to hear our guest speakers, former OGG Vice President, communications specialist, Nina Anderson (Thomas, Cl’93) at the first of the Business Lunches and fund manager John Sevior (P’79) at the second.

The School produced a short video to mark the 165-year anniversary, which reached more than 8,000 people across Facebook and has been viewed more than 3,000 times on Vimeo. The video was narrated by a very proud and devoted OGG, Bill Charles (Ge’37), who passed away at the age of 99 on April 4, just a few weeks after recording his narration. Many of our community would know Bill from his annual reading of The Intercessions at the Tower Luncheon Chapel Service. He had a wonderful voice honed from his career as a radio, stage and television actor.

OGG Committee In an age where “disruption” has become a current buzzword, the last few months have seen things disrupted in an entirely new and significant way. The measures adopted to slow the spread of COVID-19 have caused us to approach our activities as an alumni association very differently. The restrictions on public gatherings mean that reunions and events have had to be postponed or redesigned. Indeed the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) was noteworthy for the fact that it was the first OGG AGM to be held exclusively by video conference.

Two new members joined the OGG Committee, Sophia Marsden-Smith (McQuillan, Fr’09) and James Robinson (FB’77), following the resignation of Lucinda Bordignon (Cl’03), initiator of the OGG Melbourne Informal Drinks.

Lucinda had also been involved in the OGG ACT Branch before returning to Melbourne when she joined the OGG Committee in 2018.

Also at the AGM, five members of Geelong Grammar School staff received Honorary OGG Life Membership awards following 20 years of service. We congratulate Pam Bennett from the Employee Engagement Team at Corio, Jane Marney, Teacher at Bostock House, Paul Seller, Resident Tutor in Cuthbertson House and Director of IT at Corio, Christine Walker, Alliance Catering Staff (Head of the Salad Bar!) at Corio, and Brad Walter (A’91), IT Projects at Corio.

Reunions One of the objectives of the OGG Association is to unite former students of GGS, the Hermitage and Clyde, and this is something we seem to do well. OGGs attend reunions at higher rates than most other alumni associations; a fact that is more remarkable given the national and global spread of our community. Aside from year group reunions, other OGG events attract good numbers across all age groups, so that there is always a nice mix of generations at the golf day, the business lunch, the interstate and overseas branch functions and the motoring event. While there is ongoing uncertainty about when this year’s decade reunions and other OGG gatherings can proceed, we do hope that these will be held later in the year. Until then, stay safe, and look after each other.

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In a Q&A session facilitated by OGG Committee member Andrew Burgess (FB’81), Nina spoke about steps to take following sudden job loss, leaving university with no work in your chosen field, and steps to take in developing a strong personal brand. At the second lunch, John spoke about his career in investing whilst providing an insight into the current and the future implications caused by COVID-19 for investment markets and the economy.

In total, around 400 OGGs registered for these lunches from 17 countries around the world, from every State and Territory in Australia and from every decade of OGGs, ranging in age from 19 to 93. The feedback was extremely positive, particularly from OGGs who would otherwise have been unable to attend, and from OGG outside the time zone of the events, who appreciated being able to watch the recordings when it suited them.

Ian Coltman (A’77) OGG President

2020 CALENDAR The COVID-19 situation has resulted in many OGG, COGA and HOGA Reunions and Events being postponed or cancelled for 2020. All dates are advertised on the Calendar of Events on the website www.ggs.vic.edu.au/oggevents and information will be posted there as it becomes available.

For any queries please email oggs@ggs.vic.edu.au or telephone Katie Rafferty, Alumni Manager on +61 3 5273 9338.

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as well as 16 overseas countries. From two semi-detached houses in Villamanta Street, Geelong West, the School is now spread across four campuses. During that time, the School and the OGGs have a proud history of community service and making a positive difference – from Sir James Darling (Headmaster 1930-62) sending boys out into the local community during the Great Depression to OGGs, Ewen Laird (P’24) and John Buchan (P’26), founding local community group Apex (built on the principle of “citizenship, fellowship and service”).

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I moved to Tangier two years ago following a year-long sabbatical in Paris. A short trip to Morocco saw me fall in love with Tangier: the small port city at the northernmost tip of Africa that I now call home. I write a weekly blog about my life here (pinningmywords.com) and have just launched a travel and homewares business (madeintangier.com.au) where people from all around the world can shop for beautiful homewares, designed by me and made on looms by our wonderful Tangier weavers. For generations, these talented artisans have worked in tiny studios located around a huge courtyard at the sprawling Funduq (Arabic for ‘hotel’); conveniently just five minutes from my flat in the centre of town.

Life in Tangier has changed dramatically since the outbreak of COVID-19. Moroccans are hugely social people and incredibly family-oriented – much of the population spend the better part of ‘all day’ outside in cafes and restaurants then return home late at night for the evening meal with family, friends and neighbours.

The borders to Morocco closed on 12 March which has seen all sea and air traffic suspended indefinitely. By 16 March, all non-essential services including Mosques, schools, gyms and cinemas, along with all restaurants, cafes and bars have been closed. Essential services are limited to food stores and pharmacies and, of course, hospitals. On 20 March, the country went into complete lockdown and since that day, we have had to carry paperwork each time we leave home. The paperwork is stamped by the local Moqadam (an official neighbourhood police figure) and fines are imposed if one should leave the house without this paperwork. The paperwork limits us to travel within the boundaries of our neighbourhood.

Some people have commented that the lockdown laws in Morocco sound ‘harsh’ but I have not felt this at all. With (quite literally) nothing open, there is very little reason to leave home other than to do the shopping, and I think this has been a sensible move by the Moroccan government. We have a good police presence on the streets and people can still move about freely within their postcode; we just can’t stop and dawdle in the streets or go for a run with friends. I am incredibly lucky to live alone during this time and I do feel for families who have structured their home life to suit their financial and cultural needs – and not with a pandemic in mind. I admire the way in which my neighbours and friends have adapted so quickly to these new living conditions, as uncomfortable and frustrating as they are at times for families of up to ten all living together. The desire of my Moroccan friends to return to work has become a reality as we enter our third month of lockdown. Whilst the Government has provided fiscal assistance to all households, it will be a relief for all when businesses begin to open. I feel incredibly safe in Morocco and humbled by the kindness shown to me as a foreigner living here during these strange times.

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The view towards the Rif Mountains from my bedroom

The single biggest impact on my life during our lockdown is the need to be incredibly organised, more than I was before.

We are also under curfew, which means we must be home by 6pm each night (the streets are bare at night and this curfew is strictly policed). The way that the essential shopping hours are structured are as follows: all fruit and vegetable markets must close at 2pm, all baqals (small grocery stores) and pharmacies must close at 5pm, and all people must be home before 6pm. It is very frustrating to arrive home and realise that I have forgotten a key ingredient for dinner as the clock strikes 5pm… oh well, there is always tomorrow! But I have quickly adapted to these ways and find myself out shopping quite early in the morning when the shops open (usually around 10am). Moroccans are slow risers (even more so during lockdown) so it is much easier to shop before the afternoon sets in and the crowds begin to appear, as people rush to have everything done in time for the evening curfew. And, of course, I miss seeing my friends and family - I have become very good at Zoom and FaceTime and this is so handy for keeping in touch with Australia (as always) but also friends who are in lockdown in Tangier; we have shifted cocktail hour from the roof terraces and sprawling, private north African gardens to Zoom calls!

I have been so fortunate in my move to Tangier to have been welcomed with open arms into both Moroccan and expatriate circles. We have already discussed the end of lockdown, albeit with caution, and the first thing we will do is drive out of Tangier to our favourite restaurant on the Atlantic Coast (20 minutes from town). It looks as though it could be months until our restaurants reopen, so in the meantime it might be a small gathering in one of those beautiful gardens, without the worry of an evening curfew and surrounded by trees and fresh air. That will be the most wonderful moment and it is one I can’t wait for - it will mean a lot after more than two months spent at my kitchen table!

Self-portrait at dusk from my kitchen balcony

Who knows what the future holds, but one thing is for sure- I will appreciate all those little things like a drink with friends and a walk along the beach which I had taken for granted before COVID-19.

Pin Affleck (Cl‘97)

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HOGA

1. The late Helen Brodie (Middleton, The Hermitage’49) and Lyn Mulligan (Bleakley, The Hermitage’49) organised a wonderful year group reunion last year.

The 2020 edition of The Hermitage Newsletter was made available online this year and mailed to those without an email address. This edition has an interesting array of Cooeegrams, including a gripping account of the Mallacoota bushfires from Louise Harrison (Stanbury, The Hermitage’67) and a fascinating account of her life in Australia from Eilene King (Dew, The

1

Hermitage’46), who was evacuated from Sumatra during WW2.

The HOGA Autumn Lunch, scheduled for Friday 3 April at the Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation.

Fortunately, those who had booked and paid were able to receive refunds.

Depending on how the COVID-19 situation evolves, we are considering adding a replacement Melbourne lunch in the spring, if this is possible.

2

Subject to COVID-19 restrictions, the following HOGA reunions and events are planned for 2020 and information will be sent out as the dates come closer if the events go ahead: • AGM and Old Girls’ Day Lunch, Saturday 5 September. Guest Speaker Angela Baldwin (The Hermitage’75) • 1977 Year Leavers (1975 Year 10 Girls), Saturday 5 September • Golf Day, Monday 28 September, Barwon Heads Golf Club

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• 1970 50 Year Reunion, Saturday 21 November • Christmas Concert & Lunch, Monday 7 December, All Saints Hall, Newtown Pictured at Old Girls’ Day last year: 2. Robyn Webster (Wilkinson, The Hermitage’59), Edmee Cudmore (Rushbrooke, The Hermitage’49) and Gail Arkins (Willis, The Hermitage’59) 4. Sue Smith (Cunningham, The Hermitage’60) and Gillian Spittle (Culhane, The Hermitage’67) 3. Rosemary Dupleix (Campbell, The Hermitage’46) and Priscilla Laird (Kyle, The Hermitage’60)

4

Trish Young

COGA The Clyde School baseball team in 1973, informal pose. Katrina Carr and Trish Young currently serve on the COGA Committee.

This photo was forwarded from the collection of Jill Broun (Finch, Clyde 1975 and Cl’77).

The Cluthan doubles as the COGA Annual Report and invitation to the COGA AGM. It will be mailed in early September and include a report from Clyde House. Since amalgamation in 1976, at least one third of all Clyde House students have been relations of Clyde Old Girls. Considering only 2,006 girls attended Clyde

Katrina Carr

School over 65 years, this shows great consistency in our ongoing connection with Geelong Grammar School.

which occupies the old Clyde School campus and buildings near Woodend, is also planned for the

A garden tour to Mt Macedon and

day. And maybe a picnic at Hanging

district is planned for 2021 to raise

Rock... As part of COGA’s ongoing

funds for the Isabel Henderson

support for the kindergarten, Jumble

Kindergarten in Fitzroy. COGA has supported the kinder, which is named after Clyde’s founder, since the 1920s. The one-day garden tour

Sale coordinator Jane Loughnan (Weatherly, Clyde’70) has initiated a crafts project to create rugs and shoe

and lunch will replace the annual

bags for the children. She is inviting

Clyde jumble sale. As well as local

Clyde Old Girls to contribute their

gardens, a visit to Braemar College,

knitting and sewing skills.

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A number of reunions have been postponed because of COVID-19.

The following events will be held if circumstances allow: • COGA Fun Cup Golf, Friday 11 September, Sorrento Golf Club • Women’s Interschool Golf Challenge, Monday 28 September, Sorrento Golf Club • COGA AGM & Luncheon, Sunday 11 October, Royal South Yarra Tennis Club. Guest speaker Di Whittakers (Moore, Clyde’63)

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T

ess Hadden Ley (née Williams, He’01), who was born on 18 April 1984 and died on 1 April 2019 at the age of 34, was a young woman who left an indelible impression on all who were fortunate enough to know her. In a world desperate for more empathy and compassion, Tess always sought to find the best in others, and had a genuine curiosity about different perspectives and experiences.

Tess was the youngest child of Sally Browne, a fashion designer, and Graeme Williams, an architect. Tess’s three older brothers Miles (Gl’94), Ollie and Billie (Gl’91) all doted on her – ‘Miss most loved’ was soon adopted as her nickname – and she had another brother, Antony, from Graeme’s first marriage, who tragically died in a car accident when Tess was 11.

Tess grew up in Toorak and attended Glamorgan from the age of three until 13. Tess had a sharp intellect and she enjoyed her time at school, particularly English and Drama, and was a strong swimmer. Tess was a popular student with many friends and was particularly passionate about writing, a creative pursuit she continued with great dexterity into her adult life. Tess had a brilliant sense of humour (no one could deliver one-liners quite like her) and she laughed easily, loudly and often, her unbridled giggling known for sounding like naughty angels singing! She loved animals, especially horses. She had a very close relationship to her Pa, Graeme’s father, and would visit him every Sunday evening for a roast lamb dinner.

In Year 9, Tess went away to Timbertop. This experience was formative for Tess: it enabled her to build on her foundation of personal strength and resilience that she would draw on in the years to come. She excelled in many activities, particularly hiking, and her natural leadership, honesty and openness meant she was admired and respected by her peers. From Timbertop, she went on to Corio, where she was a boarder in The Hermitage.

After school, Tess began an Arts degree at The University of Melbourne, but after boarding school she needed a break from institutions and wanted to learn a little more about herself. She went on to pursue her other passion – drama – and began a course at a performing arts academy. It was during this time, aged 18, that Tess met Jeremy Ley. It really was love at first sight: he was the man who would become her husband, and the father of her two sons, Frederick (Freddie) and Benedict (Ben Ben).

Tess loved Jeremy. He was her soul mate. Their values – family, creativity, fun and adventure – made them perfectly compatible. Tess found great stability in her life with Jeremy, and their love was founded on respect and enablement.

In 2007, Tess joined Victoria Police. In many ways, the police felt like the destined home for Tess: it was an organisation that valued dedication, a curious mind, hard work and had good sense and morality as its core principles, just as Tess did. All of her friends agreed that she looked amazing in uniform (though sadly she never let us try it on). She excelled in her first placement at Malvern Police Station, and then moved on to Prahran, where she worked on drug investigations. In 2012, after much study, she passed her detective exams, and her first job as detective constable (later sergeant) was in Security and Organised Crime Intelligence.

From there, she moved into Counter Terrorism, based in Spencer Street. Tess made significant contributions to many high-profile investigations during her time in these divisions. Her skills as a trusted communicator, a lateral thinker, an intermediary and listener were all invaluable assets in her role, and she was a respected member of the police community. She was proud of the important work she did and had hoped to continue climbing the ranks of the organisation.

Despite the stress of this career, Tess had a wonderful balance between work and home life. Her home really was her castle, a space she protected, cherished and took great pride in. You couldn’t drop by Tess and Jeremy’s without being treated to a traditional chai with honey and a tour of the garden. Tess loved being out there and tending to her vegetables and flowers. It provided much sanctuary from the pressures of her work. She loved entertaining friends and family at home too, and was always a warm and inviting host. Tess loved bringing people together, and her parties became infamous for their eclectic mix of friends!

Jeremy gave Tess confidence about all parts of herself, while

Motherhood was a transformational time in Tess’s life.

Tess provided great love and support to Jeremy, in particular

Freddie was a much-anticipated baby as she had always

early into their relationship when his mother, Aniek, passed

longed to be a mum. There were challenges, of course,

away. They shared in a passion for travel and the outdoors,

especially in the early months, but Tess was always honest

and were always laughing together. It was a joy to be in their

about the realities of parenting too, and displayed infinite

company. They married in November 2008 in Ripponlea

patience with her young sons. ‘Being a mum is the best,’

Gardens. Tess wore a Chantilly lace dress made and designed

she’d often say, and she was at her happiest in their

by her mother, Sally.

company, immersed in their own expanding imaginations.

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to your own entertainment system and she was constantly ensuring her little lovelies developed

2010

emotional fluency. Motherhood was a particular

Harry (P’10) and Victoria Wetherall (EM’12) used the

gift in bringing Tess and Sally even closer together.

disruption of COVID-19 to start a grocery delivery

Tess also spoke often about how meaningful the

business, The Flying Zucchinis. Harry was forced to

support from Jeremy’s father, Peter, and his partner

defer his Master’s studies at Oxford University, and

Jaz, had been, especially in helping out with the

Victoria was in the process of transitioning career paths

boys when she was sick.

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Tess joked that having children was like giving birth

when COVID-19 unfolded. However,

When Tess was first diagnosed with breast cancer,

with the skills and

she was optimistic – she was someone who could

knowledge they

find the palest glimmer of light in the darkest

learned at GGS

places. Even as her prognosis worsened, and

(resilience, critical

she became more and more ill, she remained

thinking and

energised, curious and interested in everything

creativity), they

– and everyone – around her. One of the great

founded a start-up

drivers in Tess’s life was her love of others: her

business delivering

family, her friends, her community.

fresh produce to inner-middle

Tess took great joy from the connections she made

Melbourne.

in Elwood where she lived for nearly 15 years. One of Tess’s greatest and most inspiring achievements during her cancer treatment was to embark on an adventure challenge which had her trekking, bushwalking and climbing in the great outdoors all around Australia. Tess documented this challenge on social media, and became an ambassador for Adventure Mamas, a group that advocates maternal wellness through adventure. This network provided much support, comfort and resilience for Tess

2016 Sam Seccombe (FB’16) has built on his GGS filmmaking efforts (Heads of the River hype videos and Senior School production trailers) to earn cinematic credits in big screen blockbusters; 1917, Enola Holmes and Fantastic Beasts: The

during her treatment.

Crimes of Grindelwald. “I moved to the UK in 2017 and

In December 2018, Tess’s small children Freddie (5)

and have jumped from job to job since, moving up as

and Ben Ben (2), along with more than 350 friends

I gained more experience and expanded my network,”

and family, gathered to celebrate Tess and Jem’s 10

Sam explained. “My role on set is based in the locations

years of marriage and them renewing their vows

department, which is quite hard to explain but basically we

of love for each other. Tess was radiant, sparkling

look after the shooting locations. If it’s a public street, we’re

and beautiful, and despite her breast cancer now

the ones who speak to the local council to close it down, as

manifesting in 27 brain tumours, lung cancer and

well as find parking for crew, nearby spaces for the actors

spine cancer, she claimed that this day – filled with

trailers, and then you’ve got to think about catering, hair

love, laughter, children, picnics, jazz, lawn games,

and make-up, what measures have to be taken to prevent

friends and family – was the happiest day of her

paparazzi… you get the idea!” Sam has also written and

life. It was a triumph of hope, of love and of joy.

directed two films of his own. The first, Unremarkable, was

It is a cruel task to write an obituary for one so young. Tess had so much life left to live, so much adventuring – for herself, and for her young

worked on the set of Fantastic Beasts for six months

released in 2018, and the second, A Fragile Life, has been entered in a number of film festivals and competitions across the world, with a wider release set for 2021.

family. She is desperately missed. But if there is any comfort in our grief, it is that she had a meaningful, rich and contented life. She found real love. She had two beautiful children. She achieved professional success. She built a home and a community. She always strove to be a good and fair person. She had a wicked sense of humour.

She was self-aware. She had an enormous heart and capacity for happiness, and she made those lucky enough to have been her friend feel like the world was a warmer, brighter place. That is a rare and treasured gift. Tess leaves behind her beloved husband, Jeremy, and her two beautiful boys, Frederick and Benedict, along with her parents, Sally and Graeme, and her brothers, Miles, Ollie and Billie.

Rebecca Starford (Fr’01)

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STAFF NEWS John Andrew Bedggood (Cu’52, Staff 1960–96), who was born on 16 November 1934 and died on 14 March 2020, was a member of staff for 37 years, teaching Latin, French, English, History, Mathematics and Information Technology.

He taught at Timbertop from 1964-66 and in

2019 Mia Gross (Fr’19) achieved an Under 20 World Championships qualifier for the 100-metre sprint at the ACT Track and Field Championships in January. Mia’s time of 11.74 seconds was onehundredth of a second inside the required qualifying time and she was one of two Australians to qualify for the 100m. Mia improved on this time at the Sydney Track Classic in February, running a Personal Best time of 11.70 seconds.

This year’s Under 20 World Championships were scheduled to be held in Kenya in July, but they have been postponed due to COVID-19. If they do proceed, it will be Mia’s second Under 20 World Championships, having contested the 100m in Tampere, Finland, in 2018.

1967 moved to Corio, where he was Head of Otway House for 14 years until 1980. Later, he was a tutor in Allen, Barwon and Clyde houses. Born in Melbourne, John spent his primary years at Camberwell Grammar School before becoming a 2nd Form boarder at Corio in 1947. He later studied at Mercer House and Deakin University and began his teaching career at Trinity Grammar in 1954. He taught at Bostock House in 1955 and 1956 before moving to the UK in 1957 to teach at The Dragon School, Oxford. He returned to Australia and taught at St Peter’s College in Adelaide in 1959, before coming to Corio in 1960, where he involved himself in many extra-curricular activities, including the string orchestra and brass band, photography, fishing rod building and fly-tying. In 1964, while he was a Unit Master at Timbertop, he introduced many students to the skills of fly-fishing and fly-tying, and pursued his passion for trout fishing on the Howqua and Delatite rivers. Back at Corio in 1967, John met his future wife, Robby, who was matron in Barwon and Otway houses. They were married in January 1969.

Following the introduction of girls to GGS, John and Robby were instrumental in the welcoming and settling in of the first girls to Connewarre-and-Otway House.

A true gentleman of deep faith, John was a caring and dedicated housemaster and was known for offering great support to those students who struggled in the boarding environment. In 1983, he became president of the Common Room Association and represented staff in the development of their superannuation strategies.

From 1987-94 he was master-in-charge of Tennis. In 1993, he became editor of The Corian and then later, in

Brodie Murray (M’19) featured in a two-minute Welcome to Country video clip at this year’s Australian Open. Fresh from a stint under the guidance of acclaimed Indigenous playwright, Declan Furber-Gillick, as part of the Melbourne Theatre Company’s First Peoples’ Programme, Brodie featured in a two-minute clip alongside Ash Barty and Evonne Goolagong Cawley which recognised the Indigenous contribution to tennis in Australia. Brodie has been accepted into the

partnership, of Light Blue. He thoroughly enjoyed this role and in retirement, he and Robby moved to Point Lonsdale where he set up a small publishing business.

As his friend and colleague Glen Bechly recalled, “John was a loyal though constructively critical and informed member of the Geelong Grammar School community, and his contribution to countless areas of school activity was selfless, effective and much appreciated”.

John is survived by his wife Robby and children Caroline (Ga’87) and John (Cu’92).

Aboriginal Performance course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2020.

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2013) received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honours for service to music, particularly brass bands. Wayne began his decorated music career with the Warracknabeal and District

scholarship and her generosity of spirit. Peg is survived by her daughters Kate and Anna, and her grandson Orlando. Peg’s family have decided, given the current situation, to delay any memorial service until a proper celebration of her life can take place. People can register their wish to be informed of this date through the funeral directors, Kings Funerals in Geelong, by emailing info@kingsfunerals.com.au

Band at the age of seven and went on to be an Australian champion on the euphonium (he won the Victorian title 19 times), perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, represent Australia at the Errol Mason Brass Musician of the Year competition, record with the BBC and perform at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. He was a skilled teacher and band leader, joining the many country, interstate and overseas tours made by GGS musicians in the 80s and 90s, and continues to share his love of music as a conductor and tutor at Gilson College in Melbourne’s north-west.

David Robert Wood (Staff 1975-1986), who was born on 6 February 1938 and died on 28 July 2019, was a teacher of History, English, Geography and Agricultural Science at Glamorgan and Corio from 1975-86. Born in Melbourne, Robert was the son of a nurseryman and grew up with a love for and deep knowledge of plants, flowers and all

Peg Cherry (née Mathieson, Staff 1989-2010), who was born on 1 May 1933 and died on 15 April 2020, arrived at Corio in 1988 after a varied and vibrant teaching career, both in Australia and overseas.

Born and raised in Geelong, she topped her final year at Geelong High School. She completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma of Educations from The University of Melbourne before being appointed teacher of Senior English at MacRobertson Girls High School, and as examiner and advisor in Matriculation English for The University of Melbourne. During this time Peg edited Poets and Poetry: Book 4 (Longmans, 1966), an anthology for secondary school students. In 1967, Peg and her husband Professor Walter ‘Wal’ Cherry – a noted theatre director and first Chair of Drama at Flinders University – moved to Adelaide with their two young daughters where Peg taught at Unley High School. In 1979, the family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Wal was Chairman of the Theatre Department at Temple University and Peg pursued her love of teaching English. She became a lecturer and Director of the Writing Centre at Swarthmore College, a prestigious liberal arts college. Peg travelled extensively throughout her life, and she taught in numerous and varied educational institutions overseas. She had a wonderfully open mind and was passionate about the importance of education. Following her husband’s death, Peg returned to Victoria and was appointed to an English teaching position at GGS. Her passion for literature, theatre and film was passed on to her students, with her interests ranging from Chaucer to Simone de Beauvoir, and Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett. So wide was her appreciation of the arts, she was unable to name a favourite book. In 1990, Peg was appointed Head of Clyde House, successfully leading her community of girls through a period of substantial building refurbishment and the opening of a Year 12 wing.

She stepped down as Head of Clyde in 1995 and retired in 1997, but later returned as a part-time tutor until 2010. Peg was admired by her colleagues for her genuine concern for her students, her ability to look for the positives in life, her

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things horticultural. A proud student and senior prefect of Melbourne High School, Robert earned a Bachelor of Education from La Trobe University as well as a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University. He taught Geography at Haileybury College from 1968-72 and was Coordinator of Studies (Middle School) at St Leonard’s College from 1973-75. He joined GGS in 1975 as Grade 6 teacher and assistant Boarding House Master at Glamorgan, working closely with Roger Morton and Edward Butler. Robert was responsible for the design and administration of Glamorgan’s academic curriculum, served as Sports Master, and was a great enthusiast of Music and the Performing Arts. He transferred to Corio in 1980 to take up the position as Housemaster of Connewarre. After a year working with John Bedggood, he took over John’s responsibilities in 1981, and supervised the transition of Connewarre into an all girls’ boarding house, remaining in that position until 1985. Robert had a passion for the Humanities and taught History, English and Geography at Corio as well as Agricultural Science. He introduced GGS students to the Beef Cattle Competition at The Royal Melbourne Show, where they proudly brought home ribbons and trophies for their prize-winning animals – the competition was always one of the highlights of Robert’s year. He coached Football and Cricket, played euphonium in the Concert Band, sang in the Chapel Choir and had cameo appearances in a number of school productions, including West Side Story and Oliver. Robert connected with many students, teachers, friends and family with his quick wit, passion for teaching, and unbridled enthusiasm to engage on a genuine level with anyone who came into his life. Robert is survived by his three children, Penny (Cl’81), Helen (Cl’83) and Cameron (Cu’84), his first wife Margot (Staff Glamorgan 1970-1980), and second wife Barbara.

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Wayne Bowden (Staff 1984-

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Births Annabel née Southey (Cl’02) [Staff 2010-12, 2017-current] and Dennis Bainger [Staff 2010-current] a son, Rupert Alexander, on 19 March 2020 Kathryn née Inkster (A'08) and Simon Close, a daughter, Alice Sarah, on 18 June 2020 Lucy née Speirs (He'03) and Patrick Cowper, a daughter, Sadie Grace, on 10 May 2017 Alexandra née Finlay (Cl'98) and Christopher Curtain (Highton'91), a daughter, Olive Alexandra, on 17 November 2018 Frances and Myles Gillespie (M'08), a daughter, Edwina Rose, on 24 December 2019 Emily and Alex Ivory (P'02), a son, Oscar David Stannard, on 17 July 2019 Melanie and Robert Ivory (P’99), a son, Harrison Clark, on 29 November 2019 Alice née Finlay (Cl'02) and Andrew Landale (P'01), a son, Louis Andrew, on 21 January 2020 Tamara Weston and Nick O'Hare (Fr'07), a son, Edward Foster, on 11 November 2018 Annabel and Robert Speirs (Cu'01), a daughter, Astrid Eliza, on 14 March 2019 Daisie née Reid (He’05) and Andrew Julian, a daughter, Annabel Phillipa, on 22 February 2019

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Marriages Zoe Blair-Holt (A’11) married Kieran Roberts on 7 March 2020 Marvin Khoo (FB’01) married Rachael Goh on 21 December 2019

Helen Botterill (Hermitage 1930-38) on 2 March 2020 William Oliver Bowden (2017-20) on 20 February 2020 Stephen Ernest Brockman (1947-60) on 28 May 2020

Jack McPherson (FB’07) married Sarah Gates on 17 January 2020

Helen Crossley Brodie née Middleton (Hermitage 1944-49) on 24 December 2019

Nick O’Hare (Fr’07) married Tamara Weston on 14 December 2019

Janet Alice Scott Brumley née Good (Hermitage 1929-38) on 17 June 2019

Daisie Reid (He’05) married Andrew Julian on 13 October 2018

Miles David Burt (1991-97) on 28 January 2020

Tessa van der Riet (Ga’03) married Farrah Tomazin on 23 March 2019

Deaths Robert Melvill Alliston (1960-66) on 20 November 2018 Anthony Kerry Archer (1945-48) on 24 November 2019 Richard Lawrence Baillieu (1948-52) on 6 January 2020 Anna Louise Baulch (Hermitage 1975; GGS 1976-78) on 1 November 2019 John Andrew Bedggood (1947-52; GGS Staff 1956, 1960-96) on 14 March 2020 Christopher Lindsay Biggins (1946-53) on 21 April 2020

Allan MacPherson Campbell (1938-43) on 16 December 2019 Christopher John Campbell (1952-59) on 26 March 2020 Gordon Campbell (Staff 1961-65) on 24 January 2020 Rev Jonathan Caleb Chambers (1968-69) on 15 May 2020 William Ernest Treyvaud (Bill) Charles (1930-37) on 4 April 2020 Marcel Lynette (Peg) Cherry née Mathieson (Staff 1989-2010) on 15 April 2020 Geoffrey Michael Collins (1964-70) on 27 January 2020 Richard Edward Cook (1956-67) on 19 December 2019 Pauline Constance Cowell née Kelly (Clyde 1935-41) on 5 December 2019

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↓ Ian Carstairs Kininmonth (1947-54) on 26 December 2019

David Rokeby Robinson (1943-45) on 27 February 2020

Prof Geoffrey Wyatt Dahlenburg (1945-50) on 21 May 2020

Christopher Charles (Chris) Levy (1967-71) on 24 October 2018

Timothy Kerslake (Tim) Robinson (1951-54) on 11 June 2018

Thomas Andrew Dangerfield (1948-52) on 8 January 2020

Peter Edgeworth Lillie (1948-56) on 1 January 2020

Petre Brent Rocka (1969-72) on 17 January 2020

Margaret Rosalie Ganly née Burn (Hermitage 1923-31) on 4 January 2020

Thomas Andrew (Tom) Long (1982-85) on 4 January 2020

Simon Chester William Schlicht (1970-76) on 30 December 2019

Sheila Lyall née McCallum (Clyde 1937-40) on 24 September 2019

Gillean Skye Scoble née MacLeod (Hermitage 1954-59) on 2 May 2020

Richard Falkiner (Rick) MacKinnon (1993-96) on 15 March 2020

Patricia Margaret (Pat) Seed née Arthur (Hermitage 1944-47) in March 2020

Robert Leck Grant (1947-51) on 15 January 2020 John Frederick Griffith (1936-42; 1945-47) on 24 January 2020 Arthur John Grimshaw (Staff 195961) on 6 September 2019 Flora Mary Grimwade née Whitton (Clyde 1941-43) on 1 May 2020

Peter Robert MacMorran (1947-49; 54-57) on 4 April 2020 Thomas Albert (Alby) Maxwell (1945-48) on 27 December 2019

David Kenwyn Sholl (1947-51) on 7 January 2020 Alan Neil Shugg (1946-51) on 23 May 2020

Andrew Sladen Gubbins (1944-52) on 27 May 2020

Helen Spencer Mayor née Nall (Hermitage 1926-39) on 20 February 2020

Bruce Reginald Ham (1961-68) on 5 June 2020

Dr Ian Gordon McWilliam AO (1946-51) on 9 May 2020

Kenneth James (Ken) Heal (1966-69) on 27 March 2020

Henrietta Mary Morgan (1975-79; 87-88) on 4 May 2020

Jennifer Jane (Jenny) Herringer (Staff 1988-2000) on 17 May 2020

John McDonald Morwood (1942-46) on 2 November 2019

Geoffrey Winter (Geoff) Howell (1949-60) on 22 January 2020

Richard Gerard Noall (1939-45) on 13 June 2019

Susan Elizabeth (Sue) Hutchinson née Keating (Hermitage 1953-58) on 28 July 2019

Prof Denis Lisle Angelo Pym (194854) on 21 May 2019

Heather Joan Weiss née Green (Hermitage 1948-52) on 10 January 2020

Sallie Elizabeth Ramsay née White (Hermitage 1945-56) on 19 December 2019

Robert Neil (Bob) Wilson (1951-58) on 4 April 2020

Robert Oswald (Bob) Jose (1935-42) on 23 January 2020

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Charles Edward (Charlie) Dahlenburg (2012-18) on 13 March 2020

Bernice Pauline Sizer née Vane (Hermitage 1946-50) on 6 January 2020 David Alexander Leslie Smith (1953-57) on 1 November 2019 Judith (Judy) Sweetnam née McMillan (Hermitage 1937-1944) on 25 February 2020 Robert Kellar Todd (1943-50) on 9 December 2019

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Our Treasures Our School is home to a remarkable collection of artefacts and ephemera that have been accumulated over the 165 years of our history. We are the custodians of maps and plans, sculptures and paintings, letters and diaries, silverware and bone china, medals and antiquities, memorials and plaques, curiosities and clothing — all of them contributing to the exceptional story of our School. Some are of intrinsic value and beauty, others are symbolic of inspiring people or places connected with all four campuses of Geelong Grammar.

Over the course of the year, these ‘Treasures’ are being retrieved from the archives and other places around the school and featured on our website for the whole community to enjoy. Some are well-loved objects, others have been hidden away for decades, and all are intriguing. At the end of the year, a selection of our Treasures will be exhibited at Corio where they can be inspected in person. Will your eye be drawn to solid gold or to a well-worn teddy bear?

To a humble scrap of wood or a souvenir of royalty?

View our Treasures at www.ggs.vic.edu.au/165 and look out for new exhibits via our social media channels.