Light Blue - December 2008 by Geelong Grammar School

Issue number 76 December 2008

Contents From the Editor

From the Chairman

From the Principal

4-5

Resilience

Primed Art Exhibition

MIddle School Elizabeth Pont Director of Community Relations

It is a great honour and privilege that I write this welcome as the new GGS Director of Community Relations. My first impression of Geelong Grammar School was the vastness of the Corio Campus. Horses grazing alongside School Road, the striking row of Plane trees on Biddlecombe Avenue, and the magnificent high hedges framing the Chapel of All Saints were slightly overshadowed by the expanse of ovals, the Clock Tower building, the Handbury Centre for Wellbeing and Corio Bay casting a distinctive backdrop – a school campus to envy. As impressive as the Corio Campus appeared, it was not the physical infrastructure or the idyllic surrounds which influenced my decision to become a member of the GGS community, rather the warmth and friendliness of the students and staff that cemented my decision. Adolescent girls and boys who smiled and acknowledged my presence, the young man who confidently asked the Principal if he had had an opportunity of reading his email and the gentleman working on the oval who tipped his hat as I walked past. My first impressions of Geelong Grammar School have been reinforced tenfold over the past couple of months and I would like to

Timbertop

take this opportunity to thank you all for your sincere and warm welcome. Geelong Grammar School is as diverse in its community as it is in its delivery of curriculum, sporting opportunities, boarding options, location and offerings at each of its campuses. As you read through this edition of Light Blue you will gain an insight into the many and varied ways GGS deﬁnes diversity. From the youngest members of the community at our Early Learning Centres at Bostock and Toorak, through to our OGG events including the 10 Year Reunion and the Tower Lunch we are embraced by diversity of cultures, age, professions, and geographical locations. Geelong Grammar School is truly a unique environment surrounded by gifted, happy and well adjusted girls and boys lead by caring, committed and talented teachers. I trust you enjoy reading this edition of Light Blue which covers the diversity and depth of a truly unique community, a truly exceptional School. I look forward to meeting many of you during 2009 and wish you all a safe and restful summer holiday. Elizabeth Pont Director of Community Relations

a student and boarder in Manifold House (M‘32). Dick was an Australian war hero who had been awarded the Military Cross, and then went on to found Brown Gouge Dry Cleaning and Trathowan’s Men’s Wear in Melbourne. Dick died in May this year.

An amazing gift to the Fisher Library

Bettye’s collection of books reﬂects her life, her travels and particularly her work. Bettye was the Australian Manager for Sportscraft and then went on to become the General Manager for Norma Tullo, Trent Nathan and Prue Acton.

The Fisher Library has recently welcomed a unique collection of books on Art, Fashion, Design and Biographies to its shelves. Bettye Harrison donated her personal collection of books to the School in memory of her partner of 20 years, Richard Glass, known as Dick. An Old Geelong Grammarian, he was

Bettye has recently returned to live in Australia, after living in the UK for many years. Mr John Begg (a current GGS parent) has known Bettye for some years and must be acknowledged as he orchestrated the relationship between Bettye and Geelong Grammar School.

8-9 10-11

Bostock House

Toorak Campus

Senior School Chaplain

Indigenous Education

Speech Day

Barwon International Dinner

Old Geelong Football Club

GGS Polo

Rowing Regatta

From the Foundation Chairman

From the OGG President

OGG Reunions

22-25

OGG Branch Functions

26-27

Tower Luncheon

OGG Link

From the Curator

30-33

HOGA

COGA

Achievements

Front cover: Alexandra Louey (Year 2 Bostock House) performing as part of the Bostock House Stringlets an ensemble for all students who play violin or cello. This music ensemble is supported each year by the Hermitage Old Girls, who kindly provide a generous donation to purchase new instruments

Jenny Leonard, the daughter of Dick Glass accompanied Bettye to the School recently to view the collection on display in the Fisher Library and visit Manifold House where her father had resided many years ago. During lunch held in the Hawker Library, to thank Bettye for her generous gift to the School, two of our Year 11 Design and Technology students Annabelle Wass (Cl Yr11) and Olivia Ramsay (He Yr11) had the privilege of discussing Bettye’s career and listening to her wonderful words of advice on fashion today. Thank you Bettye - your collection will be appreciated by students and the wider community for years to come. Jennifer Wraight Fundraising Manager

Jeremy Kirkwood Chairman of Council

One of the strong memories I have of my time as a student at GGS is the variety of places from which we all came. Having spent my early years at Benalla East Primary School I was used to having all my school friends either live around the corner or on nearby farms. It was therefore a real eye opener when I arrived at GGS to ﬁnd students from not only all over Victoria but interstate and overseas. In later life I reﬂected that even though I had gone from a school where my friends and fellow students lived nearby, I went to a school (GGS) where my friends and fellow students came from all over the world but where we actually lived more closely together. A more diverse group became a tighter community. It is this diversity in the make up of our student body that, I believe, critically differentiates GGS from other schools. We are able to offer a protected learning environment and an outward global looking curriculum for an international student body that is still essentially Australian. The charts below illustrate the diversity of our student base.

Geelong Grammar School total Overseas Student numbers and origin.

Where students come from, however, only addresses geographical and cultural diversity. As a Council, we believe it is important to maintain and promote diversity across a range of characteristics including social, academic, sporting and other interests. Achieving this in a context of a high fee school is challenging. Ultimately we are reliant on the use of scholarships and bursaries to maintain as much diversity amongst our student body as we are able. This requires careful implementation and continual balancing of the competing objectives of diversity, financial outcome and level of fees. We aim to spread our “spend” on scholarships and bursaries as wide as possible. Currently there are 284 students on scholarships and bursaries at the School on which the school spends approximately $3.5M or 7% of its revenue. Clearly this is a significant investment in maintaining the advantage of diversity. At our last meeting, Council approved the commissioning of a new girls boarding house. In recognition of her significant contribution to Australia and as one of our most treasured former students, the Council asked Dame Elisabeth Murdoch if she would allow the new house to be named after her. We are delighted she accepted and Elisabeth Murdoch House will commence in 2009 with Year 10 students and will fully open in 2010 on a new location near Clyde House. This decision is a clear demonstration of Council’s desire to build our girl/boy ratio towards 50%, a key characteristic of true diversity. Commitment to diversity starts at the top and although we have some way to go in reaching the ideal, the School Council’s membership reflects a balanced range of backgrounds, skills, sex and association with the School. Of our current membership of twelve, five currently have children at the School, four are female, five are OGG’s and three are from Geelong. We have one from interstate and no one from overseas. Addressing these

CAPTION New GGS Boarding House for girls is to be named after Dame Elisabeth Murdoch AC, DBE (Cl’26)

imbalances is not without its challenges but are aspects we will consider in future Council composition. As we approach the end of the year I am deeply aware of the difficult economic and financial circumstances which prevail. Our enrolments are very strong (hence the new girls boarding house) at present and we appreciate the sacrifice parents make to send their children to GGS. I hope this economic downturn proves not to be as serious as many are predicting and I ask that anyone who is finding circumstances difficult to contact the School before resorting to withdrawal of their child/children. To all our Year 12 students I wish them a well earned summer break and hope their study results reflect the hard work and effort they have put in over the past two years. On behalf of the Council may I wish all our Community a Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2009. Jeremy Kirkwood (FB/L’80) Chairman of Council

Number and location of Timbertop and Corio students as at February 2008.

Stephen Meek Principal

In the last six days I have been to all four of our campuses for various meetings or events. Even though I am now in my ﬁfth year as Principal of Geelong Grammar School, I am still struck by the enormous diversity which exists within our School – a diversity which exists between the campuses and within them. Yet we are one School, united by a common set of values, a common educational philosophy, a common faith, a common ethos and a common uniform - even at Timbertop where I was attending formal Chapel and thus the students were wearing School uniform. Positive Education has also provided an additional uniting theme across the campuses. Staff from each campus have worked together to map out the scope and sequence for the teaching of Positive Education in 2009. Sharing ideas, working together, devising interesting courses with material which will help students to change their lives, has been wonderfully invigorating for all the staff involved and has been a constant reminder to me that we are one School. Yet the diversity comes back into focus wherever one looks and it is an enormous strength of the School. Diversity breeds a range of interests, interests make interesting people and this School is full of interesting people. This has not happened by chance. For the School has taken the view, over the course of its development, that students will shine most when they are engaged, will be engaged when they are interested and will have different interests. To limit the offering is to limit the student and to limit the horizons. We are diverse in so many ways and the pages which follow make that so clear. We have students from every state and territory in Australia and they come from the country and the cities. We have students from 26 countries, bringing different perspectives on the world and encouraging our students to look outwards beyond Australia and to understand the interconnections and the opportunities which exist. We have boys and girls, giving our students the opportunity to understand and to respect the opposite gender. We have boarders, day boarders 4

and day students, with different hours, but common needs, met through Heads of Houses, Heads of Units and Form teachers. The excellent pastoral care which our students receive remains a constant in a changing landscape.

perspective with which to enrich the lives of the students.

Our academic programme provides different opportunities. At Bostock House, the emphasis is on the Spalding method, while at the Toorak Campus it is on the Emilio Reggio in the ELC and the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) for the other students. I was hugely impressed this term with the Year 6 Exhibition, which focused on benevolence and what it offers to those who give and receive. It was very powerful and so obvious just how much the students had got from doing their research. In the Senior School students also have a choice, between the IB and the VCE, ensuring that they all can ﬁnd the courses which most appeal to, and stimulate, them. While, where but at Timbertop can you hear a staff member announce to the students that he is aware that not everyone could attend the sheep dissection which took place last week, so that he would do another dissection that afternoon if there was enough interest. We have so many staff, fulﬁlling different roles and bringing their own perspective and wisdom to the students. Our teachers undertake a variety of roles at all campuses and thus the students see them with different eyes. All teaching staff have a classroom role, but they will also undertake extra-curricular roles with sport and activities, as well as pastoral care roles, enabling the students and staff to get to know each other in a much stronger way. At Corio and Timbertop, the fact that staff families live on the campus means that the family life of the staff is shared with the students, so that the joy of new babies is appreciated by all. Moreover, the students also engage with so many of our non-teaching staff, whether it be the Assistants in the Houses, the catering staff in the dining halls or the gardeners and maintenance staff going about their work. Each of them brings a warmth and a different

The range of sports and activities is impressive – from sailing to skiing, from ﬁves to football, from aerobics to athletics, the list goes on. Chess and debating, moot courts and public speaking all play their part in the diversity of experience which is available. The Vineyard and the Ag Centre at Timbertop and the Equestrian Centre and the Wellbeing Centre at Corio, provide remarkable opportunities. Where but at Geelong Grammar School would a student want to organise (and the School allow) a Polo Exhibition match on the playing ﬁelds, with players drawn from current and past students? Harry Mann did remarkably well to arrange such a great event this term and the School was the richer for it (refer to page 18). The Creative Arts are not to be outdone. The incredible range of art work on display in the Year 12 Art Exhibition (Primed) this term was astonishing, but so too was the work from this year’s Design students, with works ranging from incredibly heavy outdoor tables to delicate clothes and bags. The music performed by the students at a large number of Concerts on all campuses has also been very diverse, especially when so many students compose their own pieces. Drama has examined innumerable themes in ELC plays at Bostock and Toorak, other year group productions, the wonderfully dynamic Middle School Play, drama at Timbertop and the Senior School plays and monologues. Creativity, by its very name, has called forth diversity. Finally, our three Chaplains have presented a great variety of themes and presentations in their regular services. I have been impressed by so many sermons and talks this year, which I have heard them give. We are blessed with the work of David Jones at Timbertop and Father Hugh Kempster and Father Howard Parkinson at Bostock, Toorak and Corio. We have diversity of churchmanship, but unity of faith. We also have diversity of chapels with the

wonderful brick chapel of All Saints at Corio and the beautiful wooded chapel of Saint John the Baptist at Timbertop. It was a great pleasure to welcome the Archbishop of Melbourne, the Most Reverend Dr Philip Freier to Timbertop this term for the special service to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the consecration of the Chapel in 1958. The simple, but incredibly effective, Chapel was made possible in 1958 by the generosity of Miss Margaret McWhae who gave money in memory of her father, Sir John McWhae, her brother, John Wilson McWhae and her nephew John Henty McWhae and by the labour of many students who helped to build the Chapel. Talk about diversity of opportunity! The service was a powerful moment for the current Timbertop students and staff, chaplains and former chaplains and a few of those who had helped to build the chapel in 1958.

This edition of Light Blue is a celebration of the diversity, opportunity and interest which has made the School what it is and has enabled generations of students to ﬁnd, and to nurture, a broad range of skills and interests. Long may that continue! Stephen Meek Principal

7 CAPTIONS 1. Senior student hard at study in the library 2. Netball is just one of the many sporting activities on offer for our girls at GGS 3. Our choir practices for one of their many yearly musical performances 4. Our Toorak Campus boys learn the skills of AFL football on the new synthetic turf 5. Middle School students enjoy a day at the 2008 Athletics Carnival 6. Our students during their drama performance of ‘Through the Glass Madly’ 7. Our Timbertop students enjoy a day on the slopes 8. Bostock House students enjoying their recess time

A Pro-active Approach to

Resilience

“What every parent wants desperately is for their children to transcend whatever difficulties they will inevitably confront in life and thrive.” To thrive one must generate a positive to negative emotion ratio of at least three to one (for individuals). Problems will be faced in every aspect of life by children, young adults and adults. To move from being dependent on others (usually adults) to partial dependence, to independence to interdependence as the child grows to adulthood requires an equivalent resilient set development. The capacity to move confidently from the dependent stage of human and social existence through to the “complex to manage” interdependent stage is established intrinsically by each individual. Extrinsic influences exist; however, the capacity to cope is very much a personal (intrinsic) thing. The establishment of this confidence to make positive decisions is really what resilience is about. There are times when survival is an essential and important goal for such ‘survival skills’ present as the base for the positive beliefs tied essentially and eventually to thriving. Reflection, living in the moment rather than trying today to live tomorrow, is an important realisation in establishing the wherewithal to lead a positive and empowered future. The search for identity is at the essence of being human, and it is within this search that the true skills parents want their children to possess (to manage the tribulations life presents) are discovered, considered, learned, developed and woven into a ‘life strategy’ to do better than cope, to thrive. Ancient and learned cultures describe, and recognise one important aspect of this maturation process as ‘a rite of passage’ and have constructed ‘markers’ on this passage where public celebration and recognition is given to boost the confidence of the learner. These events mark for each individual a step in confidence. This confidence establishes a positive belief in capacity, a positive mental attitude nurtured by supporters through acknowledgement of effort and progress towards interdependence, the end goal. It is necessary, in this journey, to recognise and appreciate the darker sides of life, the more challenging aspects of this progress path. The main negative emotions of fear and anxiety focus attention on discovering the nuances and complexities of the challenges; however, once these are acknowledged and understood it is then necessary to establish a positive and strategic approach (a resilient 6

approach) to these challenges, to leave ‘the negative emotions’ behind. The way forward to a positive future where one can take charge in the context as it presents, and thrive, is directly tied to character strengths and the positive emotions which inform the individual that all is possible to manage and it is possible to thrive. One critical element to this is ‘to keep all in perspective’, to live in the real rather than the fanciful world. The real living context must be understood and it is this understanding that provides opportunity to develop skills and strategies to take one beyond the existing context to what may be a more desired context, if such is the want. The aim is to become interdependent, to move from the “I” to the “We”. Humans live in families and these are found in the family, in the School, in the workplace, in clubs and in social settings. ‘Families’ are deﬁned by belonging. The sense of belonging, or attachment, to a family or a number of families is essential. Such attachments are based upon trust. Trust is based upon respect, kindness, forgiveness and an unconditional purpose of giving to others. The worth of the contribution is critical for the “We” rather than “I” determines the honour of the relationship and the security found therein. Trust in others and their trust in you underpins positive human existence. The actual universal values found in each person’s character strengths should guarantee a conﬁdent and positive journey through dependence, independence and on into interdependence. John Hendry Director, Student Welfare CAPTION GGS students of all ages are learning about resiliency and how to manage complex situations

Primed, the annual Year 12 IB & VCE Visual Arts & Design exhibition celebrated the artistic achievements of our 2008 students with style and gusto on October 21 in The Sinclaire Centre. The exhibition was opened by Mr Roger Nelson, Principal of NH Architecture and one of Australia’s pre - eminent urban design and retail architects who spoke about his professional life and the design industry, and the importance of embracing new ideas and creative solutions for constantly changing consumer trends and demands.

The exhibition presented an impressive display of work reﬂecting strength in diversity of media, technical skill and imagination. Visual Arts students selected two works from their studio work to exhibit and the Visual Communication & Design students presented their completed folios. Primed, as the name suggests alludes to notions of being primed or ready. The high quality work exhibited revealed a conﬁdence and tenacity in manipulating ideas and techniques to establish powerful imagery, challenging and presenting new ways of seeing and responding to contemporary life.

The emerging styles evident indicated ﬂuency in articulating ideas visually and the capacity as young artists to venture into the unknown. Having primed many canvases, wrestled with the tensions that ignite the creative process and maintained the integrity which commits idea to reality, our students are indeed Primed and ready to engage in a visual arts experience post schooling with conﬁdence and maturity, whether in the context of artistic practice or cultural appreciation, they are well endowed with the skills to go forth. Congratulations to all exhibitors and thank you to Wilba Simson (Cu Yr12) for designing the 2008 invitation and to Mr Martin Beaver and Ms Trudy Burney for their expertise and consistent input in nurturing and developing creative pathways for our Yr 12 students.

Margot Anwar Head of Art/Head of Arts Faculty CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Rachel Lock (He Yr12), Nam Nuttasophon (He Yr12), Hayley Sanders (He Yr12), Grace Park (A Yr12) Examples of Artworks from Primed Exhibition (Top to Bottom): 2. Hamish Sheehan (M Yr12) 3. Leah Garnett (Ga Yr12) 4. Gus Geddes (Cu Yr12)

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Students will often understand diversity to mean that there are lots of different kinds of things. Just as there are lots of different styles of jeans, haircuts, motor cars, and plants, so too is there diversity among school students. Diversity is not just about looking different. Where we are born in the world and where we go to school in the world add significantly to this diversity. Students at Geelong Grammar School come from backgrounds that encompass different: languages, religions, beliefs, cultural traditions, types of houses, foods, community expectations, and schools. At Geelong Grammar School you do not have to look far to find this diversity; we embrace it within our daily lives and it significantly adds to the richness of our own School culture. The great thing about diversity is that it makes our School a more interesting place to be; full of interesting and different people. Imagine what your favourite pizza would be like if half the ingredients were missing. Each country, each neighbourhood, each school, even each class is like the best ‘pizza’, because of the diversity of people who are in them. Geelong Grammar School’s Middle School comprises of students from many different walks of life: different cultures, different countries, different environments, and different lifestyles. Tony Inkster Head of Middle School Here are a few personal stories which highlight just how diverse our Middle School is: Esther Lee from South Korea My name is Esther Lee and I came to GGS this year from South Korea. I was home sick when I began because I missed my family so much and it was the first time I had been to another country to study. But after a week, I started to make friends in Connewarre and I became really happy. The Year 7 Camp in Term 1 was the best, because after that camp I got to know all of the Year 7 students. After camp, I started to smile and say “hi” to everyone. I was quite brave and my English 8

improved a lot too. I made lots and lots of Middle School friends and now I love Geelong Grammar School and I love Connewarre!

manager of a cattle station and I am very proud of him. My teacher told me about the scholarship to Geelong Grammar School and I decided that I should apply. When my father told me that I had been awarded a scholarship I was very proud of myself and my grandmother was proud of me too. Geelong Grammar School is the most wonderful school I ever experienced in my whole life.

William Holmes from Oman in the Middle East I actually live in the centre of the city called MQ in Muscat, which is the capital of Oman right next to Dubai or the UAE. My father works for a petroleum company and my mother sells jewellery. I went to the British School in Oman. It was different to GGS as there was no sport, only soccer at lunchtimes. GGS has many more facilities and is much bigger. GGS is great. I like all the sport and being able to do things with friends whenever I want to. In Oman I would start school at 7.00am and finish at 1.50 pm as it is really hot at that time, around 40 degrees. Alisa Santikarn from Bangkok, Thailand I’m from Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. I went to the New International School of Thailand. Classes started at 7.30am and finished at 2.30pm. We had 9 classes a day. We didn’t have two weeks break like we do at GGS and there was no compulsory sport. If you wanted to get on a team, you had to try out. My school in Bangkok was only about half the size of GGS. It was really different coming to school here, having only 6 classes a day and switching between Week A and Week B. We never had to change between winter and summer uniforms in Bangkok either. We wore our hair down, wore whatever shoes we wanted, came to school in our own shorts/skirts, painted our nails, no hats and wore massive earrings. It took a while getting used to all the rules here, but I did eventually! Roddy-Anne Joshua from Minyerri My name is Roddy-Anne Joshua and I come from Minyerri which is in the Northern Territory. My father wanted me to go to a school where I could get a good education. It was very difficult for me to come down here and get to know everybody and also to get used to everything, but I really appreciate that I am doing my schooling at Geelong Grammar School. I’m getting used to the weather because it is very different from ours. When I am old enough I am thinking about working with my father who is the

Kathy-Anne Wunta from Minyerri My name is Kathy-Anne Wunta and I come from a community called Minyerri or sometimes we call it Hodgson Downs. Our community is very nice and when it gets really hot we go swimming in the billabong or at the springs. The elders named Minyerri after the goanna dreaming in the billabong. When it’s the dry season everyone goes fishing, hunting or camping. Our culture is about marrying the right man that we call right skin or promise. We are not allowed to call our brothers or cousins names. We don’t go near our brothers or cousins and we have to give them space to walk, and not go beside them. Our brothers and cousins have to do the same to us. When we have a ceremony all the girls have to do a special dance. All the boys have to do a special dance too just like the girls, except better. And we have to learn our traditional language which we call Alawa. Sarah Fleetwood from the Western District of Victoria When I first came to Geelong Grammar School I took a little time to settle in. It was hard not knowing anyone or your way around. But after a few weeks I started to feel more comfortable. I come from a town down the bottom of Victoria, in the Western District, called Hamilton. I live on a farm about 20 kilometres out. Every day I travelled by bus to my school of about 300 people, with my brother. When I left, it was hard because I had to leave everything and everyone behind and start all over again. Everything was completely different at Geelong Grammar School. I woke up in the morning already at my school and had to share everything with 48 other girls. I never, ever had time to be on my own. At first I didn’t like it, but once I started to get to know the girls in

visit our website: www.ggs.vic.edu.au for the latest Middle School News

Connewarre, I began to change my mind. It turned out that coming to this school was one of the best decisions I’ve made and I don’t regret anything. The friends I have made are some of the best friends I’ve ever had. Ki Yoon Nam from Korea My name is Ki Yoon Nam. I live in Seoul, Korea. I arrived at Geelong Grammar School at the beginning of Term 4, last year, when I was in Year 6. My ﬁrst couple of days were pretty scary, because I could not speak English that well and many people were speaking too fast. However, a lot of new friends were very kind to me. Ben really helped me to do my homework and to understand what Mrs Murray wanted me to do in class.

In Korea, my school was different. There weren’t any languages to learn except Chinese. There was only one teacher to teach thirty students. My favourite subject was Korean, because we read Korean stories. Mathematics was really hard in Korea. School started at 9.00am and ﬁnished sometimes at 12.00 noon, sometimes 2.30pm and sometimes 4.00pm. We didn’t participate in school sport like here at GGS. I like Australia because you can play more sport and you can stay with your friends in the Boarding House.

CAPTIONS 1. Esther Lee (Cn Yr8) proudly displaying her bandannas to raise money for CANTEEN (Teenage Cancer) 2. The Middle School Band provided students with an opportunity to showcase their many musical talents 3. The Middle School Play ‘High School Spoof-ical’ was a vibrant, funny and sensational production involving over 100 Middle School Students 4. Congratulations to Will Beasley (Bb Yr8) who was recently placed 1st in his fencing competition. 5. The Years 5/6 Football team played-off in the ﬁnal of the Lightning Premiership 6. We welcomed Mr Collins Persse to Middle School where he spent time taking morning tea with Year 5 and then sampling the Year 6 ‘Smoothies’ 7. Harry Colley (Hi Yr5) and Oliver Presser (Hi Yr5) creating their own pottery pieces 8. Our students thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful House Athletics Carnival

visit our website: www.ggs.vic.edu.au for the latest Middle School News

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Timbertop:

50 Year Anniversary of the Chapel Fifty years ago, after the dedication of the Timbertop Chapel of St John the Baptist, the Mansfield Courier wrote: “Here is a striking example of modern architecture, yet it gives the impression of being as old as the very mountains out of which it could have grown. Nor can any word, picture or photograph, no matter how vivid, bring into focus a picture of such magnitude, for not only the Chapel itself but the entire landscape which provides its background must be seen to appreciate the courage and vision of the architect in adopting its unique design.” And indeed, the Chapel is unique not just for its impressive and unusual A-frame “tent” design but for the fact that it is the very heart and soul of Timbertop. Every student that has attended Timbertop since 1958 has paused a while in this magnificent building: they have prayed; they have gazed out beyond the glass windows and reflected on their lives; they have lustily sung hymns, they have taken Communion, they have probably been comforted in times of sadness within the Chapel’s wooden walls and they have gathered as a community in this special place. Testimony to the importance of the Chapel is the time the entire campus was being evacuated in the space of three hours during the 2006 bushfires. In this short time, almost every student snatched a moment amongst frantically packing up their belongings to run up to the Chapel to say “goodbye” to it, just in case the unspeakable was to happen and the Chapel went up in flames. Of course, this did not happen and on November 15 this year, our current students joined past Principals of GGS, Heads of Timbertop and Chaplains to happily celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the Chapel with the Most Reverend Dr Philip Freier, 10

Archbishop of Melbourne, presiding over the commemorative service. More than fifty years ago, Geelong Grammar School students and staff were hard at work. A gift from Mrs Margaret McWhae from Elingerrin in the Western District, the Chapel was at long last a dream being realised. It was built in several stages. First, 60 tons of gravel was laid down using wheelbarrows and by June 30, 1958, the site was completely levelled. After this, concrete was poured, large trusses were cut and fitted for the frame and the six “principles” or beams were put up. Later the boarding-up was done and the stone walls for the vestry and the Lady Chapel were built. Impressively, the materials for the Chapel, with the exception of the six imported Oregon principles, were obtained in the Mansfield district. This includes the sand and gravel coming from the Delatite River, the stone for the wing walls and the main altar taken from the School property and the stone paving in the Sanctuary originating from the Lovick’s property facing Timbertop Creek. Originally, the roof was covered with stones which was taken from the Delatite River and Rutherglen which, according to the Mansfield Courier, gave the effect of “a mighty crag of rock rising out of the mountainside”. The stone and tar roof was replaced with corrugated iron and eventually with Colorbond in 1993. All electrical work, painting and flooring was done by local contractors but, most importantly, the actual building of the Chapel was done by staff and students both from Timbertop and Corio. At the approach to the Chapel, there is a small plain cross. This was preserved from the very first chapel service at Timbertop on Good Friday, 1952.

On the day of the Dedication Service in 1958, the School staff, choir, clergy, Archbishop and Headmaster entered the Chapel in a procession with the hymn, “Praise my Soul the King of Heaven” playing. This is a favourite hymn even today as is, of course, the “Timbertop Hymn”, Hymn 510. Today, the Chapel stands proud and tall and is very much the centre of Timbertop life. As Montgomery and Darling reﬂected in their book, Timbertop: An Innovation in Australian Education, it is indeed rather a comforting sight to see the Chapel at night with its triangle of light spilling through the huge glass windows with its rough-hewn cross. The Chapel has seen much in its 50 years and, no doubt, as the years pass it will continue to play an inspiring and pivotal part in the lives of Timbertop staff and students. Roger Herbert Head of Timbertop CAPTIONS 1. L to R: David Jones (Timbertop Chaplain), Stephen Meek (Principal) The Rev. Dr. Philip Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne, Roger Herbert (Head of Timbertop) and Hugh Kempster (Senior Chaplain, GGS) outside the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist 2. Gerhard “Garry” Bernhardt, who adzed the cross on the front of the Chapel, with Mrs Sue Pappas 3. Stephen Meek with OGGs Vivienne and Robert Ritchie (P’49) 4. Thorry Gunnersen (FB’58), Leif Koren (H Unit), The Archbishop and Joanne Gunnersen 5. Mrs Joy Freier, the Archbishop’s wife with Roger Herbert 6. The Chapel under construction in 1957 7. The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist in the heart of the campus

visit our website: www.ggs.vic.edu.au for the latest Timbertop News

At Bostock House we take pride in creating an environment in which all people are valued for their skills and attributes and are encouraged to participate and contribute to all facets of School life.

of intelligences; their own history, interests, experiences and knowledge. The children then come together and join in a circle to greet each other and every other person present. In doing so, we are all linked. Each individual, a representation of diversity within, comes to a circle of union, joining together and belonging to the ELC community. Within this circle children are encouraged to listen to each other; to share ideas, feelings and thoughts; to laugh; to ask questions of each other and to engage in conversation. We encourage the children to listen to each other with respect and appreciation. We observe similarities and we appreciate difference. We can laugh at ourselves, show compassion and understanding to others and marvel at the strengths of all. Each day is a new beginning.

Our children demonstrate great diversity in their interests and passions. Some are gripped by sport whether it is football, cricket, soccer, netball or snow skiing. Others are infatuated with the making and appreciation of art, or totally absorbed by all types of music, be it performing or the simple act of listening. Some get excited working with numbers, while others can become completely engrossed in reading or writing, being totally captivated by the beauty of words. Others are fascinated by why things are, as they are, and love science. Many are very socially aware and just love interacting with those around them. The wonderful thing about our campus is that the children are allowed to be themselves and feel comfortable and accepted in doing so. There is negligible peer group pressure for an individual to pursue or not pursue a certain interest or to appear to be something that they are not. Bostock is a very accepting community more so than merely a tolerant one; our children accept an individual for who they are, rather than just tolerate them. The staff at Bostock House are also a diverse group. Each member of our ancillary and academic staff brings something very special to what is a unique and effective mix. The mixture of different personalities, outlooks and talents makes for a wonderful and diverse learning experience and environment for all our children. Daryl Moorfoot Head of Bostock House

Early Learning Centre Diversity at our ELC at Bostock House can be seen each morning as the children arrive. They come from diverse ethnic backgrounds; they come with their unique set of skills and talents; their own style of learning and set 12

Lynne Byatt Director of ELC

Multicultural Week 2008 is the UN International Year of Languages. We have marked the occasion by celebrating the diversity of languages and cultures in our community at Bostock House. We have African, Austrian, Chinese, Croatian, German, Italian, Iraqi, Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Polish families represented. Within some of these families, languages other than English are used for communication. When they come to School, these children speak English all day and often manage to maintain two languages. Australia is lucky enough to have many nationalities and our lives have been enriched by such diversity. By celebrating Multicultural Week, we are being mindful of the rich cultural heritage that comes with speaking another language. The activities have mainly involved parents and grandparents, telling their stories of migration and experiences learning English. We compared Chinese characters with Japanese characters, learned Chinese counting and songs. Children made fresh pasta with instructions in Italian. Although no-one purported to understand Italian, by the end of the session, we had picked

4 CAPTIONS 1. Learning is fun at Bostock House with a huge variety of subjects to learn 2. Auskick (part of the after school sport programme) attracts many children as they learn football skills and play games against each other 3. Learning the ﬁne arts of painting allows the children to capture their own thoughts and feelings 4. Multicultural week proved to be a huge success at Bostock House as the students discovered many interesting facts about numerous countries

up many words and phrases, and frantic gesturing made up for what we didn’t understand! Some children auditioned for “Bozopera” and practised being opera singers to the Toreodor song from Carmen. Then “Auslan” or sign language was presented. The children quickly picked up some ways of communicating with deaf people. Stories were read in Polish and Arabic by different parents. Other activities included making Austrian pancakes, German folk dancing and singing, watching a DVD made by our Korean family speaking Korean at home. Many international dishes were served at the “degustation”: Indian curry, Croatian cabbage rolls, Japanese sushi, German soup and bread, Chinese dim sims and homemade spaghetti, all made by the children themselves with parent help. We held an Assembly at which there were presentations on the experiences of the week culminating in everyone singing: “We are one, but we are many. And from all the lands on earth we come. We share a dream and sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian”. Debbie West Japanese Teacher

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The diversity of the Toorak Campus can be seen in the environments, programmes and individuals that make up our community. The Primary Years Programme educates for diversity. Its innovative and stimulating structure builds opportunities to promote integrity, respect and tolerance. When children’s education identifies the importance of cultures, internationalism, differentiation and learning styles, it brings out personal strengths that create a purposeful sense of identity. The richness of our community, both in culture and application allows everyone to have possession of their learning. As a result, our children engage in a rigorous and challenging programme of international education which is diverse by its very existence. They emerge happier, more balanced and confident as a result. Our concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. We understand that each individual is unique, and we recognise individual differences. This incorporates dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies. Students explore these differences in a safe, positive, and nurturing environment. Our community understands each other and moves beyond simple tolerance to embrace and celebrate the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each individual. At the Toorak Campus in Years 3-6, diversity is celebrated and valued by students, teachers and families. The many and varied interests, talents and learning styles of the students are welcomed, nurtured and respected. Our International curriculum model promotes “International Mindedness” which allows students to be responsible caring citizens who have confidence in their capacity to make a difference.

In Years 3-6 we have students from various backgrounds and cultures. We encourage our students to share their beliefs and experiences which makes them unique. We have selected a group of students to explain how they celebrate their individual uniqueness with you. Here are some of their responses. Sherry Zhang - Both of my parents are Chinese and we celebrate our culture by inviting people to our home for dinner. We also celebrate the Chinese New Year by decorating our house with some Chinese lanterns. At School I feel like l am the same as everybody else I never see myself different even though I am Chinese. Hugo Klempfer - I am from a Jewish background. We celebrate most of the Jewish festivals by going to the synagogue. At the synagogue we sometimes dress up for Purim. My mother is Christian so we sometimes celebrate Christmas and Easter. I feel I am lucky because I get to experience the two different religions. At School we always get the opportunity to share who we are through some of our Inquiry projects. Mackenzie Leyden - My background is Australian. I am friends with lots of different students who have different backgrounds. I think its great sharing different cultures, beliefs and having various backgrounds in the classroom because you learn from each other. I enjoy travelling and learning about how different countries celebrate different calendar events. Siena Duchini - Every second year we travel to Italy to visit all our relatives on my dads side. We eat lots of different Italian food and share stories in Italian. My mum and dad feel it is important for me to learn about our family history by travelling to Italy. I ﬁnd it pretty cool to know that I am Australian and I am able to speak another language and have knowledge of the Italian culture.

‘Peace begins with me’ During Term 3 the children in Year One were part of a Unit of Inquiry ‘Peace Begins With Me’. Throughout this inquiry the children explored the diversity of emotions within their community. They looked closely at how people work together, their responsibility towards others, how to respect their peers and finally ways to cope with conflict when it arises. To begin the inquiry the children were asked to build a city using boxes in five minutes. In doing this they explored the concepts of cooperation, peace, conflict, construction and destruction. To build the city the children needed to listen to the voice of their peers, respect the ideas of others, and appreciate the range of ideas, feelings and approaches taken to build a city. This process exposed the children to the diversity of emotions, ideas and beliefs within their immediate community. With support, they discussed the process they went through, how they felt and what strategies they could employ when they are faced with conflict. Over the weeks of the inquiry they children became more attuned to the diversity within their community. They came to appreciate that not all people approach tasks in the same way and that not all people feel the same emotions when they are working through a problem. It was empowering for the children to develop a deeper respect for their peers and learn that when resolving conflict we need to listen and value a sometimes diverse range of ideas, feeling and emotions. Garry Pierson Head of Toorak Campus CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Hugo Klempfner, Siena Duchini, Mackenzie Leyden and Sherry Zanhg 2. The students build a city out of cardboard in five minutes. L to R: Sam Ridder, Charlotte Sorger, Faith Adams, Leo Morrison and Jack Jowett.

“School is a system of relationships, the best part is the quality of the life of the children.” Tiziana Filippini

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Rev’d Hugh Kempster Senior Chaplain

Diary of our

Senior Chaplain

It was one of those “do you remember what you were doing when…” moments. I was in the car, going to pick my daughter up from school, when John McCain’s concession speech came on the radio. I have to confess to shedding a tear or two as I listened to the gracious words of defeat; it was indeed an historic day. Only forty years earlier Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated for daring to voice his dream of equality for African Americans. When I got home and turned on the television our whole family was transﬁxed as Barrack Obama and his family came onto the stage in Chicago to accept his election as the next President of the United States: “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.” (http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/17106. html) It was deeply moving to see such a diverse nation as the United States coming together so convincingly to vote for change. What a huge job the president-elect and his team now have. As our School year draws to a close, another great event is looming that will touch the lives of 2 billion or more people around the world. Work will stop, families and friends will gather, gifts will be exchanged, and churches will be ﬁlled for Midnight Mass and Christmas Day services. Even with all the chaos of exams and the end of term, our School choirs have been working hard to learn the Advent hymns and Christmas carols, and pageants are being performed across our campuses. With a volunteer network more impressive even than Obama’s Democrats, the Christian church around the world is mobilising once again to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But why do we bother? Why do we make all this effort? There is no-one to elect. Most 14

2 of us know this ancient story, and those who don’t could be brought up to speed pretty quickly. And yet something profoundly touching is encapsulated in this simple story of a child’s birth in a Bethlehem manger, if only we are open to it. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:76-79) Barak Obama might be able to make a difference in America, and even in the world, but he is not the Messiah. He will make his own mistakes, and in four or eight years another great leader will move into the White House. The world’s troubles, and indeed my own needs and the needs of those around me, cannot ultimately be met by political leaders however smart they are.

CAPTIONS 1. Senior Chaplain Rev’d Hugh Kempster and Principal, Stephen Meek reﬂect at a GGS Chapel Service 2. GGS students congregate in the Chapel to celebrate the closing of the School year

It is the birth of the Christ child that speaks deeply into the world I experience on a day to day basis. It is the mysterious reality of God that addresses the really big life questions we all face: why am I here, what purpose is there to life, why do bad things happen to good people? So, as we once again prepare to enter into the Christmas story, may we catch a fresh glimpse of the faith and hope and love that our world so needs. And may we be so inspired as to take that faith and hope and love into our everyday reality, and make a difference for good in the world. Rev’d Hugh Kempster Senior Chaplain

Our Commitment to Indigenous

Education

Geelong Grammar School has over the years had a number of Indigenous students attend the School, usually privately sponsored and not as part of a formal programme. Recently we have developed our GGS Indigenous Education Policy and have taken Indigenous students into boarding positions, assisted by several scholarship programmes. In 2006 GGS was selected as one of nine (now 40) Education Providers for the Federal Government’s Indigenous Youth Leadership Programme (IYLP), currently administered by The Foundation for Young Australians. In that year, we took one Indigenous scholar from Broken Hill into Middle School, Year 7 at Corio. This programme is about providing opportunity for Indigenous students who show ‘leadership potential’, with particular emphasis on children from remote Indigenous communities. Selection is based on general aptitude and an ability to contribute to the GGS community and gain from it, rather than relying entirely on academic potential and is not based on sporting ability. In 2007 we developed an agreement with Yalari, a private foundation established by Waverley Stanley, providing Rosemary Bishop Scholarships to Indigenous students to enable them to attend high performing boarding schools for their secondary education. Yalari will have 70 students on Rosemary Bishop Scholarships at 17 Partnership Schools for 2009, 5 students being at GGS. In 2008 we took two students on Yalari Rosemary Bishop Scholarships and ﬁve on IYLP Scholarships. 2009 should see a total of 17 Indigenous scholars (12 IYLP and 5 Yalari) from Years 7 to 10. With the rapid increase in the number of Indigenous students, particularly those from remote communities like Minyerri at Hodgson Downs (NT), there is a need to broaden our support base to enable these students to beneﬁt maximally from their time at GGS.

1 approximately $15,000, and covers the cost of commencement and end of term travel, accommodation, travel costs for interviews, orientation and emergency travel. The School currently covers the signiﬁcant gap between costs and funds provided externally. Some of our Alumni have offered to make signiﬁcant contributions towards a GGS Indigenous Student Support Fund, through the GGS Foundation. One example of a need which could be met by such a fund would be to assist a parent from a remote community to visit their children and have them (plus nieces and nephews) in Geelong for midterm exeat. Other members of the GGS community have indicated that they would be pleased to act as support families, or guardians, or to have some of the students out for occasional weekend visits during term time. This provides invaluable support for our Indigenous students. Another suggestion has been to assist students from Minyerri by providing additional Literacy and Numeracy tuition at Minyerri, to lessen the gap to be bridged on their arrival at Corio.

If you are interested in becoming involved in any of the ways suggested above, or if you have other suggestions, please make contact with the Community Relations Ofﬁce or Jonathan Apted, Director of Planning. Much has been achieved in a short space of time and many staff at GGS have taken a very positive and helpful role in the implementation of this particular project. There are many important considerations, and there is a lot of learning as we move forward. What has been wonderful to see is the difference made already in the lives of our Indigenous students who have joined us through our scholarship programme. This has also had major beneﬁts for our community as a whole. Jonathan (Jon) Apted Director of Planning

3 CAPTIONS 1. Kathy-Ann Wunta (Cn Yr8) (left) and Roddy-Anne Joshua (Cn Yr8) (both from Minyerri community near Mataranka, NT) with Mrs Kay Long, their Head of House, at the Connewarre House Dinner 2. Roddy-Anne and Kathy-Ann enjoy some time out at Middle School 3. The girls enjoy a quiet moment before their athletics

On the ﬁnancial side, Yalari and IYLP provide approximately $15,000 for each student annually and also cover the cost of laptops, uniforms and some incidentals. Centrelink (through Abstudy) provides 15

Speech

Day

The celebrations of the 2008 Year 12 cohort were as varied and outstanding as the individuals who made up the group. The weeks on either side of Speech Day were full of a range of activities that reﬂected the enormous contribution made by so many students as we celebrated their wonderful achievements. The Art Exhibition Primed displayed both IB and VCE student work of the highest calibre; the Scholars’ Concert for our Music Scholars was inspirational - where talent and skill combined with commitment in their ﬁnal School performances. The Year 12 Chapel service on Friday morning was a highlight as many Year 12 students contributed in different ways during the service, with a wonderful rendition at the end of the service by a female ensemble that left many eyes rather damp. Valedictory Dinners for each House were occasions for acknowledging the accomplishments and contributions of each House group.

Speech Day itself commenced with a beautiful Leavers’ Service in the Chapel. The choir were situated in the balcony as they sang the choral mass for two organs. Stephen Meek delivered a sermon that helped all to focus on the past, the present and the future. Exhibitions around the School in the Design Technology and Art buildings showcased a range of works and products from students in VCE Visual Communication and Design, IB Visual Arts, VCE Studio Arts, VCE and IB Design Technology. The works ranged from beautiful large wooden tables, high fashion, sculptures, to various paintings and posters on safe parties. Lunch followed in both the Darling and Dining Halls and staff, students, parents and guardians shared the meal with good camaraderie and fellowship. Both of the School Captains, Caroline Tlhaselo (Cl Yr12) and Julian Sherwin (Fr Yr12), delivered speeches from the heart that highlighted their journey through the School – the highs and the lows. There was a genuine sharing of their personal growth as they each described the rich experiences and humour of their time with the School. Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), our Chairman of Council, encouraged Year 12s to pursue their dreams with integrity and energy. He thanked all of the staff for the dedication and commitment that gives students the opportunities to reach their potential. He also thanked the students‘ families as they share with the School the responsibility of their children and young adults. Stephen Meek spoke brieﬂy highlighting some of the work done at the school in Positive Education. He acknowledged the work done by Maria Hamilton during her time with the School and in particular, the fundraising for the two major projects completed at Toorak and Corio.

4 Christine Nixon, the Chief Commissioner of Victorian Police gave a heart-warming and humorous speech directed at the Year 12 group as they leave School and embrace their future. Prize winners were numerous and it is always wonderful to acknowledge the achievements in each academic subject as well as in the other vibrant areas of the School such as Sport and Service. Fiona Ratcliffe, President of the OGGs, briefly welcomed the Year 12 cohort into the OGGs. At the end of the proceedings, each Year 12 student received a gift from the School as they came up and shook hands with Christine Nixon, Fiona Ratcliffe and Stephen Meek. As the final official action, Father Hugh Kempster blessed the group and then everyone mingled and enjoyed afternoon tea in the Darling Hall with the jazz groups contributing to the celebratory finale of the afternoon. It was a very happy day for all who shared in the celebration. Debbie Clingeleffer-Woodford Director of Learning

CAPTIONS 1. Director of Learning, Debbie Clingeleffer-Woodford, Dr James Swan, Member of School Council 2. 2008 School Captain Julian Sherwin (Fr Yr12) (Middle) with his family. L to R: mother Martina, grandmother Joy, father Chris and brother Cameron (Fr Yr11) 3. L to R: Principal, Stephen Meek, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon and Chairman of Council, Jeremy Kirkwood 4. 2008 School Captain Caroline Tlhaselo, with mother Annah and Rob and Jan Hosie, Caroline’s guardians

Barwon International

Dinner

In 1995, Mechai Viravaidya (P’59) was invited to be the Guest Speaker at the first Barwon House Dinner. So impressed was he by the positive manner in which boys from a wide range of cultures worked together to create a memorable evening of speeches, music and general ambience, that he decided to launch the International Awards, which were to be presented annually to the boys seen as those most embodying the spirit of bridging gaps between cultures. Since 1995, Mechai has sponsored the Awards, and the event has become known as the Barwon House International Dinner, in which we celebrate our fortunate opportunity to enjoy such a blend of multicultural experience, and the end of the Middle School journey for our Year 8 students. For the first time in many years, the Prep Room was transformed into a Dining Room, a stage brought in, and tables set by Janet Boucher and her team of boys. 110 parents, guardians and boys and their guests sat at tables. Our guest speaker, Dr Simon Horne (Cu’86) treated us to his reflections on his own experiences through School and beyond, and held the boys’

1 focussed interest with many humorous and more serious anecdotes. MC’s Alex Sutton and Corey Ton tried hard to maintain a steady ﬂow of musical items and speeches; musical highlights were Andrew Lim’s voice solo, Marvin Lai’s violin solo and the music of the band which consisted of Bos Chinburi, Jasper Lai, Ben Nandabhiwat, Ukrit Rojanasena, Oscar Sach-Haber and Edward Yang. Entertaining speeches were made by Tyson Arif, Tim Austin, Rob Connell, Andrew Davey, Will Evans, Guy Moore, Henry Nevile, Tan Nuntileepong, Kasimir Rantzau, Ukrit Rojanasena, Greg Toth and Sam Turner. Simon Horne announced the International Award winners for 2008, and presented the top awards to Ukrit Rojanasena and Hamish Dye, and the Special Commendation Award to Edward Yang; all announcements were

CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Ben Nandabhiwat (O Unit), Kasimir Rantzau (Bw Yr8) 2. Barwon boys dressed up for dinner. L to R: Tan Nuntileepong (Bw Yr7), Ben Nandabhiwat (O Unit), Charlie Felton (Bw Yr7), Oscar Sach-Haber (Bw Yr8), Jordie Taylor (Bw Yr7) Sam Turner (Bw Yr8), Ki Yoon Nam (Bw Yr7)

greeted with rapturous applause. The Barwon 2008 DVD, so painstakingly and skilfully put together by Sam Cohen and Ben Nandabhiwat, was a hugely enjoyable ﬁnale to the evening. Parents, grandparents and friends came from everywhere. We thank them all for helping to make this, yet again, such a special and memorable occasion. Tom Ashton and Shem Fitzgerald

Old Geelong

Footy Club The Old Geelong Football Club (OGS) is made up primarily of former Geelong Grammar and Geelong College students, and plays home games out of the picturesque Como Park in South Yarra, Melbourne. It fields four sides, and competes in the highly respected Victorian Amateur Football Association. OGS enjoyed a very successful 2008 season. The year ended with both the senior and reserve sides making the Grand Final, and although neither team was able to salute on the day, the fact that the seniors finished in the top two has meant the Club will be promoted to C Section of the VAFA for 2009, and everyone at the Club is looking forward to meeting the challenge of stepping up to meet a higher standard of football. Although disappointed at falling just 12 points short of a premiership, the senior side (captained by Steve Lansdell (Fr’98) needs to be congratulated for getting so close, as they only scraped into the final four, before winning knockout finals against Old Mentone and then North Old Boys, before going down to Bullee-Templestowe in the Grand Final. Congratulations to Tom Lyons (M’02) who took out the seniors’ best and fairest.

1 The reserves also enjoyed a great season, and under the strong leadership of playingcoach Mark Leslie (M’99), were able to finish the year on top of the ladder. Unfortunately North Old Boys were clearly the better side in the Grand Final, however the team deserves great applause for making its 6th straight Grand Final. Another highlight of 2008 was the reintroduction of an under 19 side, which was captained by Ben Long (Fr’07). While just missing the finals, the team enjoyed a great year, and now provides an excellent option for young school leavers looking to play with and against people of a similar age. The Club XVIII, again coached by Henry “Moose” Edgar (P’91), provided great depth to the Club, and finished a respectable 6th.

2 CAPTIONS 1. Ed Bayles (FB‘01) and James Paul (Cu’97) in the ﬁrst Semi-Final 2. Steve Lansdell (Fr’98) in the Grand Final

OGS would also like to thank Mark Avery (FB’97) for his efforts, as he steps down from the Presidency after three busy years. 2009 already promises to be a great year, and new players are always welcome. For more information please check out www.oldgeelong.com.au or call Alex Southey on 0403 328 218. Alex Southey (M’01)

GGS

Polo A touch of England hit Geelong Grammar School when Polo arrived at Corio. The event was staged by Old Geelong Grammarians who play professionally and was supported by the Victorian Polo Association. It was a dream of Year 12 GGS student Harry Mann (P’08) that one day a Polo tournament would be played at Corio before he departed the School. His dream was realised at 3.00pm on Saturday 8th November when the ﬁrst ever ‘Chukka’ commenced.

Biddlecombe Oval was the venue. Due to its dimensions the number of horses per team was reduced from the normal four to three. Four teams lined up consisting of: Darriwill Team: Harry Mann (P’08), Stephen Mitchell (FB’81) and Sam Baillieu (Cu’91); Vectrix: Louise (Cl’99)/Charles Mann (P’02), Arthur Yencken (M’70) and Matt Leary; Hexham: Angus Wilkinson (M’08), Anthony Blakeley (M’77) and Mark Mackinnon (M’85) and La Martina: Myles Gillespie (M’08), Steve Sprague (M’83) and Rob Abbott (M’92). The crowds came, sausages sizzled, each team played against each other, Harry Mann fell off his horse, goals were scored and a tremendously festive atmosphere was the order of the day.

Michael Collins Persse wrote a booklet titled ‘Geelong Grammarians and Polo’ for the occasion. Michael detailed the remarkable involvement Old Geelong Grammarians have had in the evolution of Australia’s commitment to Polo (refer to page 30). The School thanks Harry Mann for his vision, persistence, organisational skills and preparedness to engage such a diverse range of interesting parties. Myles Gillespie (M’08) gave him great support along with David and Marina Oman. It was a very special day. Harry has already contacted the Head of Corio, Mr Scudamore, to see if he can meet to discuss the future of Polo at Corio. Perhaps this event is the start of something bigger.

For the record Winning Team: Darriwill. Best Horse/Rider: Angus Wilkinson (M’08). CAPTIONS 1. Darriwill (Blue) vs Hexham (Red) on Biddlecombe Avenue 2. Harry Mann (P’08) 3. L to R: Miles Gillespie (M’08) and Harry Mann (P’08) 4. Post Match 5. L to R: Stephen Mitchell (FB’81) and Sam Baillieu (Cu’91)

5 18

Rowing

Regatta This year’s House Regatta was a great success. The weather, whilst a little cold, behaved, and the students really enjoyed rowing for their Houses. For the ﬁrst time in many years, the Middle School also took part – with Barrabool winning the Boys Quad Scull and Connewarre – the Girls Quad Scull. The Senior School results were as follows:

• Edwina Kolomanski (Ga) won the A Single Scull (The Old Geelong Grammarians Trophy) • Olivia Ramsay (He) won the B Single Scull • Clyde won the Double Scull • Clyde won the Four • The Hermitage won the Girls Eight (The Ladies Trophy) • Clyde and The Hermitage shared The Gilder Cup (6 months each) for overall points • Edward Levy (M) won the A Single Scull (The Andrew “Buddah” McArthur Trophy) • Nicholas Pembroke (Cu) won the B Single Scull

• Cuthbertson won the Double Scull • Cuthbertson won the Four • Cuthbertson won the Boys Eight (The Fairbairn Cup) • Cuthbertson won the overall points trophy (The Robertson Cup) Overall, the racing was exciting and I am always pleased with how well the students approach this regatta in terms of looking after the equipment and enjoying a day off hard training for a bit of House rivalry. The presentations of trophies followed and then we had the Blessing of the Fleet for the upcoming season by Father Hugh Kempster and the Christening of three new rowing shells. Selwyn Owen taught at Geelong Grammar School and coached rowing for many years. His service to the School was rewarded with the naming of a new racing four and it was a pleasure to listen to Geoff Hunter speak about Selwyn’s contribution to GGS rowing and to have Selwyn present at the ceremony to which the boat was named in his honour. Ralph Wilson recently stepped down as President of the WH Pincott Club and after Four years of magniﬁcent service to both, the WH Pincott Club and the GGS Boat Club, the school saw ﬁt to name another new four in his honour. Kim Baker, the current Secretary of the WH Pincott Club spoke colourfully about Ralph’s old days as a Scotch College boy and how he has seen the light (blue!) since becoming a father with all of his

children having been a part of the GGS Boat Club over the last few years. The new Eight oared shell was donated through the estate of Douglas Craig. Douglas was a Cuthbertson boy who left the School in 1928. He had been a great supporter of Geelong Grammar School over the years and had given many donations in the past to the School. A new racing Eight, however, is a great asset to our Boatshed and the boys who will row in it are very grateful indeed for this wonderful opportunity to be at the cutting edge in terms of rowing technology. The day was not complete until the presentation of the oars to the Girls’ First Eight for winning the 2008 APS Head of the River. I am sure they will go straight to the pool room!

Tony Green Director of Rowing CAPTIONS 1. Principal, Stephen Meek congratulating Edward Levy (M) on winning the A Single Scull (The Andrew “Buddah” McArthur Trophy) 2. Girls’ First VIII – winners of the 2008 APS Head of the River, Nagambie 3. Ralph Wilson, Past President of WH Pincott Club christening the “Ralph Wilson” racing four 4. Selwyn Owen, past GGS staff member and rowing coach christening the “Selwyn Owen” racing four

4 19

Bill Ranken Chairman Geelong Grammar Foundation

What is the Geelong Grammar Foundation and how does it assist GGS? I suspect, based on discussions at the recent Foundation Board Strategy Day, that the answers to these questions will be about as diverse as the number of people one asks! Outlined below are some answers which may begin to answer the questions and stimulate discussion. “Everything at GGS has been made possible by those who came before, and just as we have enjoyed the benefits of their philanthropy, we also aim to help build an even better School for future generations.” “The Foundation has a long history of fostering a well connected School community, promoting a culture of philanthropy and providing outstanding financial support to help the School advance with confidence”. “All of the donor’s names on all the major School Buildings and Scholarships, and all the names of each individual donor, no matter how large or small, in our Annual Reports over the years show just how much we all have benefited from the extraordinary generosity of those who have gone before. Names such as Manifold, Austin, Churnside, Nicholas Webb, Whittingham, Darling, Baillieu, Myer, Southey, Kuok, Tan, Lim, Handbury and many, many others come to mind for providing leadership and inspiration” (with sincere apologies to those generous people not mentioned here). “Our aim is to encourage the entire School community to help leave the School in better shape than when we arrived, and to have a lot of fun doing it!” These and other aspects were discussed at the excellent Strategy Day in the Handbury Centre during October. Your Board, some Council members and staff members covered a broad agenda. Some Board Members prepared papers in advance which were most helpful, and the Executive organised a very worthwhile day.

Elizabeth Pont, our new Executive Director and Jennifer Wraight our new Fundraising Manager now have a terrific range of ideas and suggestions to digest. They will be coming back to the Board with specific action plans over the next twelve months. Our Agenda was diverse. Some of the subjects discussed included: 1. A questionnaire, which was completed in advance by those who attended. Some stimulating and confidential answers were received. For example, a. Why would you send your son, daughter or grandchildren to GGS? b. What is the role of the Foundation? c. Why would you consider making a donation or bequest to GGS? 2. Making sure the Foundation is well understood amongst our community and is well understood and its role more widely promoted 3. Helping to better connect the School community, particularly new and past parents 4. Building our culture of philanthropy to include more and more members of our community 5. Revising and refreshing our communications 6. Scholarships, as one of the priorities to build access for those who could not otherwise attend the School, enhance the diversity at the School and add enduring financial strength – thank you to all those Annual Givers who have supported the Scholarship funds 7. Positive Education sponsorship for teacher training 8. Timbertop Unit replacement programme to secure the opportunity for the next 50 years of students, we already have had some wonderful support for the new Units for which we extend our many thanks 9. Cricket and Equestrian Centres’ and the longer term plans for a new Performing Arts Centre

CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Jeff O’Hare (Past Chaplain of Timbertop), Grace Wong (P Unit), Liv O’Hare (P Unit), Sachiko Shin (Timbertop Assistant) 2. L to R: Foundation Chairman, Bill Ranken (M’72) and Commercial Director, Andrew Moore

10. Bequests – our consultant John Lewis told us that American Schools receive over 50% of their donated funds from bequests. We will be investing much more effort here and would welcome any suggestions on how to explore this sensitive subject in the most respectful and courteous way. If you have suggestions for the Foundation in relation to any of these matters please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth or Jennifer. Those who follow investment markets will know times have been challenging. We have beneﬁtted from a decision last year to allocate more funds to cash and have subsequently suffered a bit less than we may have. We are now reinvesting some of that money. We are gradually buying what we believe are quality investments. This does involve a element of risk - but we anticipate it will provide good long term returns, and we have made these decisions notwithstanding that the near term performance could be disappointing. I would like to thank sincerely all those who have supported the Foundation’s objectives this year; whether by joining us at drinks for parents and others, or by helping with ideas, donations or bequests. Your contributions are all highly valued and we are most appreciative – thank you. Please accept my very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. Bill Ranken (M’72) Geelong Grammar School Foundation Chairman

Fiona Ratcliffe President, Old Geelong Grammarians

1 The theme of this edition of Light Blue is diversity. The issue of diversity has also been raised at OGG committee meetings as we are aware that the OGGs are an extraordinarily diverse group spanning almost eight decades, men and women, living in a multitude of countries and hence representing many different cultures. How, as an organisation, do we meet the needs of such diverse groups? Is what we have done in the past appropriate for the future? In recent times we have started to utilise SMS messaging as a technique to communicate with younger OGGs when organising functions. The advent of the new OGG portal and an upgraded e-communication platform will enable all OGGs to communicate via social networking sites e.g. Facebook or LinkedIn, create an OGG Wiki and even record speeches such as that given by Michael Collins Persse at the JR Darling Oration, as a podcast. In order for us to communicate better with our overseas OGG Branches and Contacts we will be introducing an OGG Blog from the President (given that I have no idea how to blog please be kind if I muck the first one up). At the other end of the scale we have re-introduced the OGG Diary for those older members who prefer to write things down! Diversity is also influencing the sort of events that the OGGs run. On Monday 27 October we held the inaugural OGG Women’s Lunch at the Alexandra Club in Melbourne. We were delighted that Ali Moore (Je’82) agreed to be our speaker and were thrilled when we were overwhelmed with responses. We cut off at 100 women with a waiting list. The intention was that Ali would speak for 20-25 minutes and take questions for 15 minutes or so. One and a half hours later she sat down! Her speech was both an insight into her career in journalism, the world of being a radio and TV presenter and highly entertaining tips on how to cope with difficult callers. Due to the success of the lunch we will see if two a year work and also look at doing one in Sydney. Penny Walker (A’83), a Committee member, has also been working with Peter Lemon (FB’64) of Peregrine Travel to see if we can establish OGG Travel. Often when we consider going on an organised tour we are

a little nervous as to whether we will ﬁt in with the other members of the group. Also if you are travelling alone, you may feel it is going to be full of couples and hence a little isolating. The Committee thought it would be great to offer trips to places such as Antarctica (our idea for 2009) where you know that the trip will have a group of OGGs on board. Even if you don’t know them, at least you will all have something in common. Our role is purely as facilitators using the OGG website to promote the tour and provide a link to the Peregrine website. If the concept works we can offer all sorts of tours that cater to our diverse group of members.

Finally, I am delighted to announce that the OGG Fellow for 2008 has been awarded to Dr John Court AO. Many of you will be aware that the John Court Café in the Handbury Centre for Wellbeing honours Dr Court’s contribution to helping shape the preventative-health and pastoral-care programme at the School. Fiona Ratcliffe (Archer, Je’77) President, Old Geelong Grammarians

4 CAPTIONS 1. Back L to R: Viola Myers (Meeks Cl’54), Jennifer Yencken (Watson, Cl’57), Penny Dawson (A’83) and Joan Mackenzie (Bloomﬁeld, Cl’52) Front L to R: Sandra Finlay (Bayne, Cl’56), Beverly Mason (Cl’54) and Sally Salter (Stevenson, Cl’51) 2. Georgie Cox (Je’84), Ro Kennon (Grace, He’57), Juliette Williams (Long, Cl’84), Charlotte Duckett (Ga’85) and Bec Cooney (Ga’85)

3. Ali Moore (Je’82), Mandy Catanach (Je’80) and Mary Hayward (Je’82) 4. Back L to R: Sally Teh (Hodgson, He’72), Sarah Tallent (He’72), Jennie McKenzie (Hutchinson, P’73), Pin Afﬂeck (Cl’97), Anna Afﬂeck (Durham, Cl’71) and Ros Adams (Ritchie, Cl’76). Front L to R: Alice Brettingham-Moore (Knox, Cl’70), Annie Austin (Cl’69), Louise Morris (Clarke, Cl’70) and Barbara Lemon (Ga’98)

1998: 10 Year Reunion Ten years on and the Class of ’98 was back in force again, bigger and better than ever. Although some came from Canada, some from Broome, some from the city of dreams, while others from just around the corner, it was soon all back to the good old days with the stories ﬂowing thick and fast. With a tasty BBQ lunch on offer, it was soon time to tuck in. Although gone are the days of having to wait outside the dining hall on the brick wall before being allowed to eat, it was a familiar sight with many volunteering for “slush” duty after lunch. As they say, you can take the kid out of GGS, but you can’t take GGS out of the kid.

With a nice, relaxed arvo spent rolling a few bowls down or bopping away to DJ Kato Lucas and Bernie Gates’ beats, it was testament to the group that no one complained (or realised) when the sunshine had turned to rain. As the sun went down we then headed off to Veludo’s bar to put the feet up and see if we could kick through til dawn. The true sign of a good day out and about is sore cheeks from smiling and a sore stomach from laughing. I certainly had both and want to thank everyone for making that the case.

Steve Lansdell (Fr’98) CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Sarah Latreille, Rodney Morgan, Rachel Bugg, George Macneil, Anna Wilson and Sarah Bullock 2. L to R: Jeff Begg, Nathan McElhinney, Andy Brockman, Sol Collins and Hunter de Crespigny 3. Back L to R: Kate Mitchell, Jacqui McMullen, Julia North and Johnny Cattanach. Front L to R: Simone Fitzgerald and Caitlin Williams 4. Steve Lansdell was the main organiser, assisted by Kate Lucas and George Macneil (pictured) 5. L to R: James Crooke, Ali McGregor, Adit Witjaksono and Eka Nirapathpongporn

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1988: 20 Year Reunion There was much laughing and reminiscing on Saturday 16 August at 16 Ellis Street, South Yarra when a record 110 OGGs gathered together to celebrate their 20 year reunion. Although life has dispersed the 1988 school leavers across the globe, those who were able to attend had a fantastic night. A continuous photographic slide show operated at the function, depicting over 300 photographs of people from the year group at varying stages of their school life. A copy of the slide show will be available from Katie Rafferty at GGS which will also include photographs taken on the night of the function. A signiﬁcant number of people stayed at The Como, South Yarra which enabled many to catch up before and after the function. An exciting extension of the reunion was the gathering of a small group of people who couldn’t attend the Melbourne reunion, who met on Friday 15 August at Bar Red in Soho, London. On the Sunday after the reunion, a smaller, but equally vibrant group gathered at the Royal Botanic Gardens for another catch up opportunity with partners and children attending as well. The reunion was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with peers and to hear of people’s life journeys since leaving school.

Alex Page-Walker (Fr’88) CAPTIONS 1. The main organising Committee Front L to R: Steph Fry (Backhouse), Amy Hill (Curnow), Alex Page-Walker (Walker), Tim Page-Walker (Page) and Jamie Pescott were ably assisted by representatives from each house: (back) Serena Gleeson (Bromell), John Handbury, Mark Muller, Peter Law 2. L to R: Zoe Cameron (Chambers), Emily Williams (Cardell), Jodie Hollands (Foreman), Ruth Buzzard 3. L to R: Annabelle Rigby (Merrin), Skye Brown (Wilson), Sarah Hannagan (McLeish), Justine McLaren and James Porteous 4. At the London Reunion were L to R: Angus Rigby, James Neville-Smith, Angus MacGowan, James Lee and Angus McDougall

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1978: 30 Year Reunion The class of 1978 held its 30 year reunion on 18 October at the trendy ‘16 Ellis Street’ venue in South Yarra. Around 85 attended the event, with many travelling from interstate and overseas. For quite a few in our year level, this was their ﬁrst reunion since leaving the School in 1978, which meant a number of the conversations involved catching up on 30 years of news.

The noise level generated by the many animated conversations grew louder as the evening wore on, showing how quickly friendships are renewed. The end of the evening arrived far too soon. Not surprisingly many lingered until well after the designated ﬁnish time to carry on conversations and make plans for further catching-up. Linda Morgan (Fr’78) CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Linda Morgan (Frizzell), Greg Kemp, Fiona Prince (Murphy) and Stephen Good 2. L to R: Fionn Lindsay-Field, Nanette Ashkanasy (Jaques), Vivien Anderson, Grant Ashkanasy and Mark Willett 3. L to R: Rebecca Barnard, Will Wilson, Ro Milburn and Fionn Lindsay-Field

4. L to R: Jessica Jasper (Billson), Dominique Teague and Lindy Elliott

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1958: Timbertop Reunion

The highlight of the 50th anniversary reunion for Timbertop class of 1958 was when Peter Crowley called out at the end of the Chapel service, “Wait, you can’t go - we have to sing ‘Jerusalem the Golden’. And sing ‘Jerusalem the Golden’ we grandparents did, with the gusto of the 14 year old boys we used to be when we built that chapel 50 years earlier; and it made us feel 14 all over again. The class of ‘58 keeps coming back and back like clockwork for regular five year reunions and this year was invigorated by the fresh blood of four first timers; Crowley, Michael Saffin, Peter McCallum and the enthusiastic Rick Wraight. There were also 15 of the faithful who have attended all reunions since 1998; Mike Fraser read names of the fallen with great respect; Mud Rutter gave nick-name based apologies with much less respect; Cam Smith introduced our dinner speaker the indefatigable Michael Persse; Michael entranced us with a memory that put any elephant to shame; old boys shared memories; Mort March hosted a barbeque. Our thanks go to: OGGs, Head of Timbertop, Roger Herbert, Rev David Jones; Chef Gerald Losa and our wonderful long-suffering women.

2 CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Peter Mirams (M’61), Cam Smith (FB’62), Mick Hood (FB’60) and Peter Crowley (Ge’60) pictured at the 1958 Timbertop Reunion

2. Members of the 1958 Timbertop group who attended the reunion at Timbertop with the main organiser, Jonathan King (M’60) pictured at right

Jonathan King (M’60)

1955: Timbertop Reunion Friday evening 7 November was a night to remember, reﬂect and reminisce for the Year of 1955 at Timbertop. Fifty-one OGGs met at the Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club for an enjoyable reunion dinner which was, from all accounts, an outstanding success. Of the one hundred and twenty in the year, ﬁfteen who have passed away were remembered by those who were in their Units.

Personal contact was achieved with more than ninety percent of the year through follow-up action by a team of willing helpers. In this process several ‘lost’ OGGs were found including Tom Harris who is living in Queensland, Barry Prescott and Jonathan Sinclair. Gerald Hughes travelled from Brisbane, Peter Pratten from Perth and John Gray from New Zealand; others who sent apologies from overseas were Barney Jewell, Richard Southby, Charles Ho and Mike EliottLockhart. Despite a late night, the following day many with their partners attended the Tower Lunch at Corio ending two days of celebration. Peter Lancaster (FB’57)

2 CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Simon Guest (M’58), David Morton (P’58), Jim Manifold (M’58), Ian Carnegie (Cu’58) and Murray Ingpen (M’58) 2. L to R: Neville Vise (P’57), Geoff Davidson (M’57), Ivan Saxton (Cu’57) and John McInnes (Cu’58)

OGG Branch Gatherings

Brisbane Function

Young OGG, older OGG and the exchange between current and future parents at the combined OGG and School gatherings in Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Launceston were superb occasions for OGG to share memories of School days while exchanging their experiences of GGS with current and future parents. The Queensland Club was the chosen location for our Brisbane function on Saturday 11 October where 65 OGGs, present, past and future parents attended. The effervescence between young and older OGGs as they recalled their time at School was both enlightening and entertaining. It was wonderful to see father and daughter Ariella Webb (Cl’01) and John Webb (M’55) both attending the function together. The two Herme Girls Lizzie Garrard (He’06) and Belinda Blake (He’68) were pictured both reminiscing their days in Hermitage. SA Branch President Hugh MacLachlan (P’52) and Secretary John Tunbridge (M’56) organised an outstanding evening at the Adelaide Oval for over 60 Old Grammarians and current, past and future parents on Saturday 17 October. One would have thought with the high level of frivolity the room was ﬁlled with a younger set however, the evening attracted a majority of those who left in the earlier years. Our thanks go to John Tunbridge (M’56) and to Hugh MacLachlan (P’52) who for many years have been the custodians of the OGG SA Branch. They have now both let go of the reins and handed over to Bill Sepplelt (M’64) and Ruth Vagnarelli (Hickinbotham, Cl’82) who we know will do a superb job of carrying on the great work of John and Hugh.

Canberra Function

Canberra greeted its OGG guests on Saturday 22 November with a very chilly ten degrees. However, the temperature certainly didn’t dampen the spirit of the evening at the Onred Restaurant at Red Hill Lookout. Another superbly organised evening was enjoyed by a broad spectrum of OGG and current and past parents. The Class of ’69 was well represented some of whom had not seen each other since leaving Corio. Peter Crowley (Ge’60) and Claire Sullivan (Ga’93) the organisers of the evening certainly ensured that hospitality and enjoyment was the key to the success of the evening. The ﬁnal 2008 interstate gathering was held at The Old Apothecary in Longford Tasmania on Saturday 29 November. Superb venue, superb cuisine and splendid OGG, parents past, present and future enjoyed friendship and memories. Christine and Stephen Meek attended all functions and their enthusiasm and commitment is greatly appreciated. The diversity and enthusiasm of our OGG and the interest and support of our parent community all combine in making GGS what it is – an outstanding School in every sense. 26 18

2 BRISBANE CAPTIONS

CANBERRA CAPTIONS

1. L to R: Lizzie Garrard (He’06), Margaret Quane, Wayne and Janice Densley

1. Back Row L to R: Cameron Colquhoun (FB’69), Andrew Baulch (FB’69), Chris McKeown (FB’70), Louis Sheather (P’69), Frank Keighley (FB’69), Stephen Dobbyn (M’69). Front Row L to R: Priscilla Wadham, Janey Baulch, Vivienne Potts, Rosaland Rice, Rosemary Oram

2. L to R: Jamie Whalley (P’83), Melinda O’Leary, Tim Rogers at the South Australian Function 3. L to R: Ariella Webb (Cl’01) and John Webb (M’55)

2. L to R: Lachie MacKinnon (M’93), Gus Sullivan, Sophie MacKinnon, Lisa Keeling (A’96)

South Australia Function

Tasmania Function SOUTH AUSTRALIA CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Bill Wills (Cu’39), Pat Legoe, Tom Legoe (M’43), Robert Hesketh (Cu’54), John Tunbridge (M’56) and Shirley Hesketh 2. Fiona Godfrey , Tim Jackson (P’72) 3. L to R: Marcia Dahlenberg, Geoffrey Dahlenberg (M’50), Hugh MacLachlan (P’52) and Fiona MacLachlan 4. Dennis Godfrey (M’77) and Penny Gale

TASMANIA CAPTIONS 1. L to R: Scott Ashton-Jones (M’71), Antony Gunn (P’79)

2. L to R: Marcus Archer (P’78), Heidi Archer, Fiona Ratcliffe (née Archer Je’77), Prue Archer, Robin Archer 3. L to R: Christine Meek, Kate O’Connor, Philippa Rofe, Roderic O’Connor (P’74), Stephen Meek

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Tower

Luncheon 170 of our 50 Year Out OGGs celebrated their connection with GGS at the Ninth Tower Lunch held on Saturday 8 November. The day commenced with morning tea in the Hawker Library followed by a memorable Chapel Service held in The Chapel of All Saints. Dr Peter Pratten (FB’57) not only entertained guests during lunch in the Dining Hall with his reminisces of his days at GGS, he also most generously donated all the wine for lunch from his vineyard in WA Capel Vale Wines.

2009 Reunions and OGG Events

OGGAsia Reunion: NOW POSTPONED: Bangkok, Thailand 1999 10 Year Reunion: Saturday 28 March 2009, South Yarra, Melbourne Anzac Day Service: Friday 24 April 2009, Corio Campus OGG AGM: Tuesday 26 May 2009, Corio

1989 20 Year Reunion: Date and venue to be confirmed 1979 30 Year Reunion: Date and venue to be confirmed 50 Year Reunion (1956 Timbertop Year): Friday 13 November 2009, (Date to be confirmed) OGG Tower Luncheon: Saturday 14 November 2009 Deniliquin Branch OGG Function: Sunday 14 June 2009, Deniliquin Riverina/North East Branch OGG Function: Saturday 13 June 2009, Holbrook NSW Branch OGG Function: Wednesday 6 May 2009, Sydney WA Branch OGG Function: Friday 30 October 2009, Perth UK Branch OGG Dinner: Thursday, 25 June, 2009, Pall Mall, Guest Speaker: Richard Morgan AM (P’54) For more information about OGG events please contact Katie Rafferty, Acting Alumni Manager, tel: +61 3 5273 9338 or email: katier@ggs.vic.edu.au Photographs from 2008 reunions can be found on the Photo Board of the OGG Directory. Go to www.ggs.vic.edu.au/oggs and use the ‘first time’ option if you have not logged on before.

OGG Golf Day On AFL Grand Final Eve, an uncharacteristic gentle zephyr greeted the 60 players in this year’s Old Geelong Grammarians Golf Day as they prepared to take on the usually more windy Barwon Heads GC layout. We were honoured to have Boz Parsons (M’36) in the ﬁeld, who, at the newly reached milestone of 90 years of age, acquitted himself better than most of the ﬁeld. Refreshments and presentations took place in the ageless Clubhouse, where shot by shot descriptions of well played rounds were heard from a few, and grumbles of less than expected performances from many who have promised greater things next time out. The perpetual trophies were hard fought and Boz, with Lachlan Stevens (M’96) being presented with the Boz Parsons Trophy for men and Prue Webb (Spittle He’70) with the Tommy Garnett Trophy for women. Many other prizes were awarded for Nearest the Pins, Longest Drives, NTP second shot and 4BBB for men and women for which the very generous prize donors must be thanked. News about next year’s event will be posted soon and we look forward to more players being encouraged to join what is a fantastic day of golf and OGG camaraderie. Andrew Ramsay (Cu’69)

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4 CAPTIONS 1. Attending the Tower Luncheon were several OGG and HOGA members who have joined the distinguished ranks of the ‘Over 90’s Club’. L to R: Boz Parsons (M’36), Aurel Smith (Ge’34), George Lansell (P’32), Audrey Selway (He’33), Harold Boddy (M’29) and Margaret Ganley (He’31). Not photographed but also in his 90’s was Frank de Crespigny (P’35) 2. L to R: Laurie Lie (FB’44), Marie Gowrie-Smith, Susie Finlay, Bruce Gowrie-Smith (FB’57), Rolf Lie (FB’52) and Steve Finlay (P’62), Secretary of the OGG Riverina Branch pictured at the Tower Luncheon 3. L to R: Corinne Robin (He’53), Tim Gale (FB’57), Elaine Gale and Heather Olden (He’51) met at the Tower Lunch 4. L to R: Lachie Stevens (M’96), Boz Parsons (M’36) and Prue Webb (Spittle He’70) were trophy winners at the OGG Golf Day

Dr John Court AM (Cu’47) I graduated in Medicine at Melbourne University in 1953, later gaining paediatric physician (FRACP). I was responsible for the paediatric course in Medicine at the University of Melbourne and became interested in the relationship of medicine and education, later establishing a Department of Developmental Paediatrics at the Hospital. Having appointments at the Royal Children’s Hospital as a general physician and endocrinologist, I established a formal adolescent service at the hospital. As Director of Adolescent Medicine at the RCH, I was asked by John Lewis, then Head Master of GGS, to consult on health care and health services at GGS and I was later appointed Senior Medical Officer. When Nicholas Sampson was Principal, I became involved in developing the concept of what led to the Handbury Centre. The concept was to adopt a positive approach to health and to integrate health care with physical activities and education, incorporating the Kennedy Centre within the Handbury Centre. My other interests have included Editor in Chief of an international journal, The Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, for 25 years, in publishing several books on adolescence and medical topics, and editing and contributing to formal textbooks in Medicine. I am a consultant Physician in Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine in private practice in Melbourne, continue as Senior Medical Officer for GGS, direct a service for Eating disorders in association with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and am Chairman of the Scientific committee for an International Biotech company, Living Cell Technology. My wife and I have three children and five grandchildren. Tim Tyler OBE (P’53) (Pictured center) President, United Kingdom Branch of the Old Geelong Grammarians After leaving GGS I managed a scholarship to Trinity College, Melbourne where I continued to push my luck with Virgil and Aeschylus rounding up my friends to act in Greek plays. A stint in International House followed, interspersed with a student attachment to the High Court in Papua New Guinea. The Shell Company sent me on a scholarship to St John’s College, Cambridge where I read Social Anthropology under Sir Edmund Leach. After Cambridge I successfully took the British Foreign Office exam and spent 10 happy years, dealing first with Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf States, and then at Dakar in Senegal where I was briefly Chargé d’Affaires. Back in London I was responsible for Cyprus with its British Sovereign Bases, and the constant threat of Greek or Turkish invasion.

I decided to expand my horizons in finance, working briefly in Lazards, and then in Morgan Guaranty Trust Company in New York, where I was taught American-style accountancy by Professor Burton at Columbia. The banks then shipped me back to Australia where l Iived, first next door to my older brother, Ewen, in South Yarra, and then on a small holding at Macedon. When Clyde School merged with GGS I became Secretary of a Steering Committee which created Braemar College at the former Clyde School site. I returned to Britain and the UK Treasury in 1977, working on Margaret Thatcher’s tough early budgets. Later I went to the Department for Education to help bring in the National Curriculum. Despite my dilettantelike career HM the Queen graciously pinned an O.B.E. on my lapel when I retired. My wife and I have had a small publishing company for the last seventeen years bringing out one or two titles a year. I took over as President of the London Branch in 2007 from my close friend the late Roger Day. UK OGGs are an amazingly diverse group and the Branch will give visiting OGGs a warm welcome. Bill Seppelt (M’64) Incoming President, South Australian Branch of the Old Geelong Grammarians I joined Seppelt Wines after school graduating from the South Australian Institute of Technology in Industrial Microbiology. I spent 40 years with the company during its transitions from family to public through Southcorp to Fosters, retiring in 2005. For the last 15 years I held the position of Packaging Development Manager for the Group. In retirement a friend and I have formed a company which has 2 patents pending on wine pack innovations with our first order on the way. I am currently Senior Judge of the Australian Packaging Awards and on the Committee of the Adelaide Wine Show. A large part of my retirement has been learning video production and making DVDs of trips to Egypt, Ireland, NTA, Asia and Europe. I am married to Jacqui and have a son and 2 daughters. Ruth Vagnarelli née Hickinbotham (Cl’82) Incoming Secretary, South Australian Branch of the Old Geelong Grammarians After school I studied a Bachelor of Arts at Adelaide University, a civilisation course at Grenoble University in France, and interior design. I worked as a journalist for Murdoch and Packer publications. I now work for the Hickinbotham Group, a family-owned home building and development company which is the largest in the State, as design director with my father Alan (a former GGS teacher) and brother Michael Hickinbotham (P’80). I work closely with architects to

offer new housing ranges as well as setting up new divisions including environmentally sustainable housing. Married to John, I have three children - Lilli (10), Edward (12) and Jack (15). Lachie Stevens (M’96) OGG Committee Member After completing an Agricultural Science degree at Melbourne University in 2000 I moved into the workforce as an analyst for an Agricultural Commodity Trading firm, where I stayed for 7 years working through various trading roles. During the past year I have started my own agricultural commodity trading consulting business, joined the OGG Committee and, most importantly, with my wife of 3 years and former Clyde girl, Skye MacKinnon, watched our first child, Archie, grow. Since my school days I have also been lucky enough to be involved with the Old Geelong Football Club (Geelong Grammar and College old boys among others), based out of Como Park in South Yarra, and now watch with excitement as the club makes its assault to qualify for a position in the A & B Grade amateur football competition in Melbourne and encourage all those footballers and netballers looking for a game in a wonderful social and sporting environment, to wander down to Como Park and help the club reach its rightful place in the top two Melbourne amateur grades. Visit www.oldgeelong.com.au Lilli Morgan (Fr’06) I am currently studying International Studies at RMIT. On July 18 2009, three other OGGs and I begin The Mongol Rally. It involves travelling in a 1 litre engine car (rally rules) a third of the way around the world starting in London’s Hyde Park and finishing in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaan Baatar, while raising as much money and awareness for our chosen charity, Mercy Corps Mongolia, as possible. ‘Mercy Corps’ works to support rural communities, to mobilise resources to meet their economic and social needs and thus to provide a better quality of life for rural residents. Our team members are Rinchen Choegyal (Cu’06), who is studying Economics and South Asian Studies in London, William Cook (Cu’06) who is studying Arts Law at Melbourne Uni and Sam Scanlan (Cu’06) who has just finished a real estate course at RMIT. Visit our blog http://web.mac.com/morganlilli/ or sponsor our team by visiting our online fundraising page www.justgiving.com/ lillimorgan. We hope to raise between $25 000 to $50 000 by July next year.

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Michael Collins Persse

1. The Honourable Sir John Young AC, KCMG (FB’37) 2. David Chipp (FB’44) 3. Thomas Payne (M’55) with his portrait by Paul Fitzgerald 4. Dougal Ranken (M Yr12) with his parents, Helen née Urquhart (Cl’76) and Nick (M’73) and grandparents, Cynthia and Jack Ranken (M’35), and a table made by him

The playing of an exhibition polo match at the School on 8 November has excited interest in a long connection between Geelong Grammarians and the game. Harry Mann (P Yr12) asked me if I would write about it, and what follows is a preliminary article that I hope will elicit more information about players, breeders, and patrons, both past and present. I am grateful for information provided by the writings of Chris Ashton, author of Geebung: The Story of Australian Polo (1993); and by the anonymous author of the programme – given to the School Archives by William (Bobby) Mann (P’86) – for the Centenary Tournament of the Hexham Polo Club at Terang in 1984, when James Weatherly (M’59) was president.

Geelong Grammarians and Polo If there is a sport, apart from rowing and athletics, in which Geelong Grammarians have been prominent, it is surely polo. OGGs have been playing it since the game reached England from India in 1871, and Australia in 1874 – the year in which the Hurlingham Polo Club was formed, shortly before the first English rules were drawn up by the Hurlingham Polo Association. (Soldiers and tea-planters had for some time played it in India, and it had long existed in other parts of Asia: a match between Persians and Turkomans was described by the Persian poet Firdausi as long ago as 600BC; indeed, it is probably the oldest recorded game of all. The word “polo” came from the willow-root, pulu, from which polo-balls were made in Tibet.) The Western District of Victoria has produced many outstanding players, most of whom have been Geelong Grammarians. The 1901 Victorian team which toured New Zealand, winning eight of its ten matches, consisted of R.A.D.Hood (Old School 1881) as captain, R.A.Affleck (OS1884), Colin Robertson (OS1896), George Robertson (OS1895), and Edward Manifold (OS1882). In 1905 another all-OGG Victorian team, consisting of Hood, Affleck, E.R.de Little (OS1884), W.T.Manifold (OS1879), and J.C.Manifold (OS1882), defeated the New South Wales champions 17-2 at Quirindi, and convincingly won all their other matches in that State – in which polo-playing OGGs have included Harry Macartney (OS1898), a founder of the Goulburn Polo Club (made famous by the Ashton brothers) and great-uncle of Roger Robinson (Cu’47), who played for Victoria. There is a continuity from the Mortlake Polo Club, formed in 1884, through the Caramut 30

Polo Club with which it amalgamated in 1894, to the renamed Hexham Polo Club of the years since 1946. Its fortunes and occasional recesses (particularly in wartime and during the Depression of the early 1930s) reflect the social history of successive eras: but at all times of activity Geelong Grammarians have been prominent. Its current president is E.A.(Ted) Mann (P’66), who has been in twelve teams that have won the Hexham A-grade championship trophy, the Urquhart Cup, successor since World War Two to the Cumming Cup. Ted’s family is not untypical: his grandfather S.F.(Barney) Mann (OS1886) was a keen player; his uncle J.E.F.(Jim) Mann (P’23) formed a legendary duo for Hexham and Caramut with Jack de Little (M’21) from the 1920s to the 1950s; and his daughters Louise (Cl’99) and Clementine (Cl’01) and sons, Charlie (P’02) and Harry (P’08), are keen young players – Harry, in fact, providing in the course of his last year at the School much of the energy and enthusiasm leading to what is probably the first polo played on a School ground. Some other outstanding players in the Caramut-Hexham Club before the present generation (whom, like those elsewhere, with little exception, it would be invidious to name, though all information from and about them will be welcome) include W.R.Cumming (OS’03), R.W.Urquhart (OS’05) (who is on our Roll of Honour from the Great War), A.K.Urquhart (OS’07), J.A.deL.Affleck (Cu’16) (who was in the Victorian team which in 1926 won the Australian championship and the Stradbroke Cup), C.R.Kelly (M’39), J.W.(John) Kelly (M’43), W.Weatherly (M’33), J.A.(Jim) Kelly (M’44), A.W.Officer (FB’44), K.W.Urquhart (P’46), W.J.T. (Jim) Clarke (Cu’58), J.F.Weatherly (M’59), and A.J.Baillieu (M’67). Two OGGs played in Adelaide teams that several times won the Urquhart Cup, Hugh MacLachlan (P’52) and Alan McGregor (P’55). There are at least six OGGs whose importance to polo merits special mention. Before all others is the greatest player so far produced by Australia, C.R.(Bob) Skene (M’30), who for eighteen years on the American circuit, 1950-68, held a tengoal handicap (the maximum), a record perhaps never surpassed unless in Argentina, home of most of the world’s best polo (Sinclair Hill, an Old Boy of The King’s School, Parramatta, and also a legendary Australian player, was on ten goals for eight years). To his lasting regret Bob, who came from a Western District family, had to leave Australia to make a living from polo. He

3 died in 1997, and during a visit to the School by his widow, Elizabeth, and son, Curtis, I was told that Bob held the School in great affection – “it made me” – and it was a sorrow to him that he could not send Curtis to us. In an obituary Chris Ashton described him as “courteous, grave, and understated” (qualities shared with many other OGG players) and said that “Australia has produced no one else in polo …. to match him”: his “physical and mental discipline” took him to “the pinnacles of US polo”. Another (with rather similar personal qualities) who has made an important polo career in America – both North and South – is Nick Manifold (M’86), a son of Clive (M’56), himself a player. In 1987, on the introduction of Antony Baillieu, he went to Argentina to work for Hector Barrantes, who became an important mentor. In 1991 he went to White Birch Farm, a major force in US polo, and since 1996 he has managed it for Peter Brant. This involves the care of about 100 international-standard ponies, with as many as 80 in work during the season in Florida, and ten full-time and several seasonal grooms. Nick has a five-goal handicap and, among many tournaments, played in the White Birch team that won the 30-goal World Cup in 1995. With Mariano Aguerre, he has also built up a business in rural Argentina for the breeding of horses for polo, today running about 450 and doing most of the breeding by embryo-transfer. They have a 44-stall barn in a polo club near Buenos Aires and some fields nearby. Their successes include Best Playing Pony in the final of the Argentine Open, twice winning Best String of Horses in the same competition, and many polo-pony prizes in the United States. Ted Mann’s importance to polo in Victoria, as inspiration and mentor, is very great. Early in his career he worked for Sinclair Hill in Australia, and a little later in England for Prince Charles (T/Cu’66), himself a fine player who has represented England (and played in many charity matches), and whose admiration for Australian polo and enjoyment of playing it at Lilydale and Scone during his schooldays are evident in his foreword to Geebung. Patrons are important to polo, and it was in this role, after playing the game for a short time in his fifties, that Kerry Packer (P’56), in the words of Chris Ashton, “bestrode the world polo community in the 1990s”. On Ellerston, his station near Scone (and near Belltrees where another OGG, Michael White [M’46], and his family have been of great importance to polo), seven polo grounds, stabling for 200 ponies,

4 and a clubhouse and other amenities were built; and 15-, 18-, and 26-goal tournaments were held there from February to April, the last including some of the world’s best players, mostly from Argentina, flown in by Kerry. Ashton describes him as “a patron with a passion for the game, allied to a fortune which allowed him to establish new benchmarks of excellence in the management of players, teams, ponies, grounds, and tournaments”. With Gonzalo Pieres – who developed for Ellerston, as he had for White Birch, winning combinations of players and ponies – Kerry founded Ellerstina, a counterpart for Ellerston, in Argentina in 1992. In 1994 Pieres led Ellerstina to win the Triple Crown – the high-goal Tortugas, Hurlingham, and Open trophies. Also of international importance is John (Ruki) Baillieu (M’94), in recent times Australia’s top player with an eight-goal (for a time nine-goal) handicap. A son of Antony, from whom and his mother he has had heartfelt and generous support, he maintains about 120 ponies and divides his year between Australia, Argentina, and England. Playing for Australia at Windsor Great Park in 2005, he scored the winning goal against England in the first match in which Australia had been invited to play England for the Coronation Cup, established in 1911 to mark the Coronation of King George V. Ruki has, as it were, inherited polo genes not only paternally but also, like another keen player his first-cousin Robert Abbott (M’92), son of Anne (Cl’65), through a Barr Smith mother, Sybil (Cl’68): it was a Barr Smith who in 1883, as president of the Adelaide Polo Club, presented the solidgold miniature polo-stick trophies for the first intercolonial match, played in Adelaide and won by Warrnambool. The Barr Smith Cup, incidentally, was won in 1977 by a strong team which thrice won the Urquhart Cup, and which consisted of three OGGs – Jim Kelly, Ted Mann, and James Weatherly – and John Goold, the father of two more whose mother, Joanna Baillieu (Cl’64), is a sister of Antony. Elephant polo has been played by at least two young OGGs, Rinchen Choegyal (Cu’06) having led a team that also included William Cook (Cu’06) to a world championship in Nepal only weeks after they both left GGS. Finally (and reverting to the sources of polo), it should be acknowledged that the country where most polo has been played is India. Geelong Grammarians such as Wallscourt Kelly (M’15) and Ian Chauvel (Cu’23) were keen players

there in the Army during the days of the British raj, something of whose ethos survives still in the rules and spirit of polo as it has been played and enjoyed by many past and present Geelong Grammarians. Marjory Duff Taylor née Newman (Cl’29), who died at Mornington in August at 97, in the words of her daughter Joan Cocker née Taylor (Cl’56), “spent her final school years at Clyde where she excelled and was very happy, making and keeping many friends from those days. Mum was a prefect, school pianist, and interpreter for the French schoolmistress who spoke no English. She also played golf, tennis, and hockey well.” Arthur Firth (Ge’36), who died in August, was organist and choirmaster from 1958 to 1993 at Christ Church, Geelong (the parish church of GGS from 1858 to 1913), after earlier service as organist at St David’s Presbyterian Church in the same city. With the 1st Australian Armoured Division Provost Company during World War Two, he served in Western Australia, Queensland, and Morotai, and finally as Orderly Room Sergeant at Leyte. A certified chartered accountant, he was with Rope and Cordage for 28 years and JB Robinson and Sons for ten, secretary of the Geelong chapter of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries for ten years, and generous in his community service. His wife, Pamela née Dix (He’39), survives him, as do four of their five children – Barry (Ge’65), Roslyn (He’67; GGS Staff 1980-82; wife of John Claringbold [Ge’66; Staff 1979-86]), Malcolm (Ge’71), and Janet; their daughter Elizabeth Kus (Fr’77) died in 2003. Arthur was a pupil at GGS of Sir William McKie MVO (Director of Music 193438), as was John Brockman OAM (Ge’38), who also has long enriched the musical life of Geelong, notably as organist and choirmaster at St Paul’s Church (the School’s original parish church from 1855), so far for some 65 years – thereby surpassing the composer Widor’s record of 64 years’ service as organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. The Honourable Sir John Young AC, KCMG (FB’37; GGS Council 1974), who was Chief Justice of Victoria from 1974-91 and Lieutenant-Governor of the State from 197495 (occasionally acting as Governor), and who died in October, was accorded a State Memorial Service in St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, at which Michael Collins Persse (Staff 1955-) spoke of his kindness and exceptional goodness as a man, and the Honourable Clive Tadgell (a former judicial colleague, and once his pupil) of his distinction as a lawyer and public figure. A

School Prefect in 1937, the first year of Francis Brown House (to which John had moved from Perry), he went on to read Law at Brasenose College, Oxford, and – after war service with the Scots Guards (rising to the rank of Captain) – at Melbourne University. Admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1948, he was Associate that year to Sir Owen Dixon (widely esteemed as the greatest jurist of his generation in the English-speaking world), Honorary Secretary of the Victorian Bar Council (1950-60), a lecturer in Company Law at the University of Melbourne (195761), QC from 1961, and – among many other appointments – Chancellor of the Priory of the Order of St John in Australia (1982-91), Chief Scout of Australia (1989-96), Chairman of the Police Board of Victoria (1992-98), Honorary Colonel of the 4th/19th Prince of Wales’ Light Horse (1978-97), and Honorary Colonel of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps (1986-97). Brasenose elected him an Honorary Fellow of the College, and Oxford a Distinguished Friend of the University (for his services to it in Australia). He was also – with three other OGGs, the Honourable Sir Alexander Downer (Cu’27), General Sir John Hackett (Cu’28), and Sir Vincent Fairfax (M’28) – a Vice-President of the Oxford Society. Married in 1951 to Elisabeth Twining, John Young was widowed in 2006 and is survived by their three children, Jenny Dawes, Tim (FB/L’74; GGS Council 1999-2007), and Trish (Cl’75). He was a most devoted as well as a very distinguished Old Geelong Grammarian, and a truly great Australian. Kenneth Myer AC, DSC (FB’38), who also moved in 1937 from Perry to the new House of Francis Brown, and who died in an aircraft accident in 1992, is the subject of a biography by Sue Ebury, The Many Lives of Ken Myer, published this year by Melbourne University Press under their Miegunyah imprint. The “many lives” include the influence of his mingled Baevski/Myer and Baillieu heredity and upbringing, his years (1931-38) at GGS, his wartime naval service, his work for Myer’s (founded by his father, Sidney Myer, formerly Baevski, who had died in 1934), his great services as philanthropist and patron of the arts, and his personal and family life. The author is Countess of Wilton and mother of Lady Georgina Grosvenor (Gl’84), who was a talented viola player and who died in 2003. David Chipp (FB’44), who died in September, was an outstanding figure among news-agency journalists – “a breed apart” as Michael Leapman wrote in his obituary (one of many in the London press) in The Independent: “Far from sharing the reputation for bias, irresponsibility, and manipulation commonly attributed to their newspaper and broadcasting colleagues, they are seen as models of fairness, restraint, and sound judgement”. David’s professional life was spent with Britain’s two leading agencies – Reuters for foreign and the Press Association for home news – and he became successively manager (1960-68) and editor (1968-69) of Reuters and editor-in-chief (1969-86) of PA, having earlier (1956-60) been Reuters’ correspondent in Beijing, the first noncommunist reporter accredited there after the revolution, and the first allowed to interview the then imprisoned Pu Yi, the last (1908-12) Emperor of China. He also interviewed Mao Zedong, although it was not their only encounter (one meeting was accidental, as recorded in the title of his book The Day I Stepped on Mao’s Toes: Mao, fortunately, was amused). David’s 31

charm, warmth, ebullience, and loyalty (not least to GGS, to which he had come from Malaya in 1940) were the delight of many colleagues and a circle of friends that spanned the globe. Rhonda (Plum) Haet née Rutherford (Cl’44), who is living in California, has had an adventurous life including service as a sergeant in the Burmese Army and as a secretary – for a time to Ava Gardner – in Melbourne, London, Rome, and Hong Kong. She married an American in Las Vegas, had two children, and was widowed. Having been refused entry to the University of Melbourne, she is now enrolled at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. David Roche (Cu’48) has built up, over some 60 years, what has been described as “one of the greatest decorative arts collections in private hands in Australia”, 150 works from which are the subject of Empires & Splendour: The David Roche Collection, by Christopher Menz and Robert Reason (with eight other contributing authors), published by the Art Gallery of South Australia for The David Roche Foundation on the occasion of the exhibition of the same title in his home city of Adelaide in June-July 2008. In his foreword to this magnificent book, David modestly says that he was hesitant about setting up a Foundation and needed much persuasion that his collection was good enough to do more than give him pleasure: but, once convinced, “I set out as never before to upgrade the collection to the point where I was happy and not reticent about sharing what I had assembled. The joy I have experienced could now be shared with many people.” Its focus is particularly on European neoclassical design of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Foundation was established in 1999 to maintain and preserve the Collection so that future generations might enjoy, study, and learn from it; and a lecture programme began in 2002, so far on Fabergé and 18th- and 19th-century decorative arts and furniture, porcelain, and painting. At GGS he was taught by Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack (Art Master 1942-57), and inspired also by J. R. Darling (Headmaster 1930-61). In addition, David is a distinguished dog-breeder and since 1952 has judged dogs in more than 25 countries: in 1969 he was the first non-British resident to judge for the Best in Show at Crufts in London, the world’s premier dog show. Thomas Payne (M’55), who died in September, was the fourth of that name in his family – the first having arrived in the Port Phillip settlement in the 1840s, as did his Crooke ancestors of The Holey Plain near Rosedale – and a thirdgeneration Geelong Grammarian. Born in 1938, he was three when the family house, Leura, in Toorak was handed over to the Commonwealth for wartime military use (the family carriages being rolled out and chopped up to make space). At their country property, Woodburn, near Kilmore, there was work that fascinated and increasingly engaged him – the more so for the persistent drought of his early years – and he quickly showed a mechanical bent. From Glamorgan he went to Corio, where he was active in sailing, the Sea Cadets, and the Mechanics Shop; and he was proud to be a foundation member of Timbertop in the first half of 1953. He went on to the London Academy and then followed his interest in mechanical engineering by working with Thorneycroft’s at Basingstoke, with further studies in London in mathematics and engineering. During his 32

years in England, where he made many friends and was very happy, he took up flying with the Biggin Hill aero club, and flying remained a great interest after his return to Woodburn in 1971, when he settled down to devote himself to farming with a particular emphasis on machinery, with which he was adroit – and generous in help given also to neighbours. Thomas’s gentle nature, charm, rather Edwardian elegance, wide knowledge, and recondite conversation were a delight to his friends. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary; his mother and stepfather, Rene and Quintin Pollard; his brothers Douglas (M’59) and Adrian (M’68); and Douglas’s family including John (M’04) and Sarah (He’07). Gerald Wilson (Cu’57) was inadvertently omitted from the list in Timbertop: Celebrating 50 Years of those who attended Timbertop in 1955. James (Bim) Affleck (Cu’67) writes: “Kokoda holds a fascination for all Australians, and I was privileged to walk the track in both 2007 and 2008. Last year a group of us decided to attempt it: Sandy Maconochie (M’68), Clive Manifold (M’56), Jonno Manifold (M’88), Will Ritchie (Old Geelong Collegian), Doug Craig and Vic Carroll (both Old Melburnians), Charlie Cay, and myself. We walked up hill and down dale, sweated profusely and swore just as profusely, but trudged on, completing the walk in eight days, with all its history and rich stories. On my return, so many people said they were disappointed not to be included in the group that I decided to put another one together this year. So, accompanied – among others – by Bill Weatherly (M’66) and his son-in-law Bobby Mann (P’86), Knox Paton (M’85), Bill Blackwell (P’62) and Celia Blackwell (Cl’64), my sister Janet Gordon (Cl’64), her son Charles (OGC), Lachie Beer (P’99) and his father Michael and sister Shelley, Gary French (OGC) and his sons Andrew (OGC) and Tim, John Butler and his son Richie (OGC), Mike Philip and his brother Robert (both OGCs), we set out in August. I had been told last year that a friend of mine was a nephew of Private Bruce Kingsbury, who won a posthumous Victoria Cross at Isurava, so I was determined that he should accompany us as well – which he did with his daughter on what for them was a very emotional journey. Gary French’s father, Bevan, was OC B Company 39 Bn at Isurava, the much maligned B Company, the ‘chocos’, who were so valiant in that battle and subsequently at Buna and Gona. John Butler’s father, Charlie, was an officer in the 2/14th Bn, and one of the group of wounded who made their way out of the battlefield area and, some six weeks later, found American lines. He later lost an eye in the fighting at BunaGona and himself became ‘lost’ in the American hospital system. By the time he returned to Australia, having been reported ‘Missing, Presumed Dead’, the Melbourne Cricket Club had inadvertently included his name on their Roll of Honour: the MCC decided it was cheaper to leave it there, so every time Charlie attended the MCG to follow his beloved Demons he would pause by the Roll and salute his name. Our time at the Isurava Memorial, with its four stone pillars bearing the words Sacrifice, Courage, Endurance, and Mateship, were among the most precious we shared. We were indeed walking ‘in the footsteps of legends’. Clare Maconochie, wife of Sandy, penned what was to become our Kokoda anthem, and this has been recorded by Alex (Axel) Whitehead (Cu’98).”

Bill Bleakley (Ge’69), who died in September, was the third child of Tom and Joy (daughter of William Wallace Anderson, a distinguished artist whose works include the sculptures of Simpson and his Donkey by the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and of King George V in Geelong). After GGS, where he was captain of Geelong House and of Sailing, he studied Economics at Monash University and was a cadet with BP. Work followed with Brown & Dureau, an international trading house representing BP, as an agent in several countries including Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; and he was with the Gulf Steel group for a time before joining the international trading division of BHP, pioneering it into trade with agricultural products. Later he ran his own agriproducts trading operation, involved mainly in trade with Asian countries. He is survived by Diana, whom he married in 1977; their sons Thomas, Jonathan, and Willie (FB’08); and his father, sisters Judy and Jenny (Library Staff), and brother Roger (Ge’66). Peter Lie (FB’69) described Bill, at his funeral in Christ Church, South Yarra, as “a very strong man” (through much intermittent illness) and as “very gentle and thoughtful”. He leaves also a host of friends. Andrew Liu (P’72), whose marriage (in Hong Kong) is recorded below, is a vice-president in the Mergers and Acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley in New York. His wife was formerly with the corresponding department of Oppenheimer & Co in that city. Bill Perry (A’80), after a 14-year career with Ready Mix, has been with Fulton Hogan, for a year as General Manager Corporate Services in Australia and now as their Chief Executive Officer in New Zealand. William Ricker (P/L’80), after work in Melbourne as a real-estate agent, has become what The Age describes as a “London culinary tycoon, with five hugely successful ventures including Cicada, Eight Over Eight, Great Eastern Dining Room, and ‘achingly fashionable’ celebrity favourite E&O”. His latest restaurant there is XO. Brooke Yates née MacLachlan (Cl’86) and her husband, Simon, in February 2008 moved from Melbourne to the Adelaide Hills with their three daughters, Saffron (now 4), Quimby (3), and Aisha (2), and their son, Mungo (born last New Year’s Eve). Myke Mollard (P’89) has had a new book published in November 2008 by alto books, Melbourne, An A-Z of Australian Bush Creatures, of which (as with On a Monster’s Doorstep in 2007) he is both author and illustrator. Kirsten Anderson-Llewellyn née Llewellyn (He’95), whose marriage is recorded below, graduated BA, LLB from the University of Melbourne, is a senior associate in a City law firm, and recently completed a Master of Law course. Islay Young (M’07) is captain of the Under 21 Victorian Polocrosse team.

Births Prue and Nick Agar (A’96), a daughter, Millicent Louise, on 3 November 2008 Jessica and Mark Barr Smith (M’87), a daughter, Molly, in December 2007 Anna and Stephen Bhogal (Fr’85; Staff 200207), a son, Olivier Aman Singh, on 5 November 2008

Claire née McCulloch (Cl’94) and Michael Bull, a son, Charles Harry Samuel, on 10 September 2008

Fiona née Murphy (A’78) and Miles Prince (Fr’77), two daughters, Sophie on 23 February 1995 and Nina on 2 June 1997

Emma and Hamish Cameron (FB’94), a daughter, Isabella Marie, on 12 November 2007

Cate née Vautier (Ga’93) and Simon Robertson, a daughter, Charlotte Bonny, on 7 October 2008

Alexandra née Vasey (Je’82) and Bruce Campbell, a son, Jack, on 18 May 1999, and two daughters, Annaliese on 4 November 2000 and Lucinda on 14 June 2004

Danielle and Harry Ross (Bl’80), a son, Flynn Alexander, on 6 November 2008

Georgie née Searle (Cl’93) and Thomas Campbell, a daughter, Chloe Rose, on 18 September 2008 Tabitha and Geoff Carlisle (Staff 2002-), a son, Thomas Michael, on 29 October 2008 Kylie and Andrew Carnegie (Cu’82), a son, Fergus Alastair, on 15 May 2008

Sarah and Osmond Smyth (P’87), a daughter, Romy Elizabeth Violet, on 18 October 2008. Skye née MacKinnon (Cl’97) and Lachie Stevens (M’96), a son, Archibald Kidman McKay, on 23 September 2008 Kiera Grant and Mark Tallis (M’80), a son, Peter Grant, on 25 March 2008 Kate Mackey (Cl’84) and Peter Thompson, a son, Fred David, on 23 September 2008

Susanna née Jamieson (Cl’88) and Rick Fleetwood (P’71), a son, Darcy Thomas Richard, on 15 August 2008

Georgina née Brown (Cl’88) and Robin Turton, a daughter, Christina Tatiana, on 26 May 2008

Marnie and Robert Gilder (M’81), a daughter, Annabelle Louise, on 30 September 2008

Penny née Cashinella (Fr’94) and Nick Walker, a daughter, Spencer Stella Adelena, on 20 August 2008

Amy née Wilson (He’97) and Craig Guest, a daughter, Sophie Kathleen Mackay, on 1 October 2008

Michelle and Andrew C Mc B Wallace (P’93), a son, Henry Peter, on 16 November 2008

Fleur Johns (Cl’88) and Peter Hammond, a son, Claude (Johns-Hammond), on 6 May 2008

Atalanta née Fitzwilliams Hyde (Ga’90) and David Woodward, a son, Arthur Alexander, on 6 March 2007

Caroline and Peter Hawker (M’92), a son, Charles, on 18 February 2007, and a daughter, Phillippa, on 24 September 2008

Brooke née MacLachlan (Cl’86) and Simon Yates, a son, Mungo, on 31 December 2007

Sally and Jonathan Hutchings (Cu’91), a daughter, Claudia Rose, on 18 September 2008 Laura Bird (He’94) and Adrian Kelleher, a daughter, Kesia (Kelleher-Bird), on 10 June 2008 Kate née Lillie (Ga’89) and Kenneth Khamly, a daughter, Isobel Hannah Lillie, on 10 September 2008 Liza and Michael Kirby (M’84), three daughters, Amy Sarah on 3 May 1999, Chloe Alice on 8 May 2001, Mia Nan on 13 May 2004, and a son, Charles Robert, on 3 April 2006 Jane and Jonathan Manifold (M/L’89), a daughter, Willow Henrietta, on 11 September 2008 Eliza née Bartholomew (Cl’96) and Jeremy Mantello (M’84), a son, James Jeremy, on 18 June 2008 Kate née Lindblade (Ga’94) and Dougal McIntyre, a daughter, Georgie Jane, on 8 November 2008 Vanessa Vincent (Fr’97) and Steve McNamee, a son, William Parker, on 26 September 2008 Edwina (Missy) née Baillieu (Cl’96) and George Morgan, a son, Harry Jon George, on 6 January 2008

Marriages Claire Armytage (Cl’94) married Hamish Cormack on 10 November 2007 Edwina (Missy) Baillieu (Cl’96) married George Morgan on 24 February 2007 Edward Crossley (Cu’01) married Rachael Hudson on 9 August 2008

Portrait of the Hon. David Hawker MHR (M’67), Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2007 by Jiawei Shen (1948-) Courtesy of the Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Collection, Department of Parliamentary Services, Canberra, A.C.T. (David was Speaker from 2004 - 07.)

Philip Rousseaux (A’73) married Jill Mottram on 14 January 2008 Nicholas Smithwick (P’99) married Kate Knight on 28 June 2008 Marshall Yencken (P’87) married Sophie Stuart (Timbertop staff 1997-99) on 29 March 2008

Deaths William Wallace Bleakley (1965-69) on 26 September 2008 Carmen Sandra (Lady) Carnegie née Clarke (Clyde 1950-56) on 1 November 2008 David Chipp (1940-44) on 9 September 2008

Richard Edgar (FB’95) married Sarah Bennett on 11 October 2008

Jess Cole née Learmonth (Clyde 1958-65) on 9 November 2008

Andrew Farran (P’56) married Roslyn Jones on 11 October 2008

Alexander Rutledge Hamilton (1932-35) on 8 December 2007

Annabelle Finlay (Cl;’96) married James McDonald on 4 October 2008

Edward William (Ted) Harrison (1935-37) on 25 July 2008

Robert Gilder (M’81) married Marnie Wark on 8 December 2007

Waldemar Robert (Bob) Hawkes (1946-49) in October 2008

Sante Granata (A’97) married Anna Shorokova on 29 April 2007 (Sante was wrongly spelt in our last issue: many apologies)

Michael Raoul Lempriere (1947-53) on 1 October 2008

Tim Holmes (Cu’90) married Abby Dowling on 23 August 2008 Michael Kirby (M’84) married Liza Nan Rivaz on 4 January 1997 Andrew Liu (P’72) married Jacqueline Alee Leung on 27 August 2008

Amanda and William Morgan (P’85), a daughter, Chloe Sara Elizabeth, on 15 April 2004, and two sons, Peter Douglas Matheson on 11 April 2006 and Oliver Matheson on 11 October 2008

David Mercer (M’74) married Virginia Farley on 12 July 2008

Fleur and Harry Osborne (M’81), a daughter, Cleo, on 19 January 2008

Harry Moore (FB’94) married Amanda Williams on 22 November 2008

Jacqui and Andrew Peake (P’81), a daughter, Molly Rose, on 3 April 2008

Caroline Ranicar (T’89) married Ferruccio Ferrara on 5 April 2008

Lyndal and Jeffrey Phillips (Cu’89), a daughter, Imogen Mary, on 11 August 2008

Nicholas Ranicar (M’88) married Karena Thieme on 21 October 2006

Kirsten Llewellyn (He’95) married Dean Anderson on 17 February 2007

John Louis Loder (1946-48) on 24 October 2008 Dorothy Macdonald née Gabbé (The Hermitage until 1958) on 6 October 2008 George Arthur Manktelow (Music Staff 198087) on 25 October 2008 Peter Ramsden Cockburn Mercer (1933-39) on 13 September 2008 Thomas Dale Payne (Glamorgan from 1946; 1947-55) on 21 September 2008 Marjory Duff Taylor née Newman (Clyde 192629) on 17 August 2008 Robert Alan Vasey (1943-50) on 21 September 2008 The Honourable Sir John McIntosh Young AC, KCMG (1930-37) on 6 October 2008 33

Old Girls’ Day The short service we start with evokes many fond memories as we have our Sanctuary in the Darling Hall, with those familiar panelled doors being opened by two Old Girls. The table, chairs and carved lectern we all remember are brought from The Hermitage House for the occasion. The AGM follows with brief annual reports, with the opportunity to ask questions.

An unusually mild day for early Spring enabled us to enjoy pre-lunch drinks outside in the sunshine, while a mini-bus took some of our number to tour the new Handbury Centre. Lunch followed, and our guest speaker was Penny Dawson, a current member of the Old Grammarians Committee. Penny was at The Hermitage at Amalgamation, continuing her education at the Grammar School, and has children at the School. She spoke of the wonderful experiences the School offers.

Old Girls’ Day is no longer the formal “Hat and Gloves” affair it was once, but a friendly relaxed occasion.

Golf Day This was the second year that the HOGA golf day has been held at the Barwon Heads Golf Club. Thirty nine of the ninety three Old Girls who came played golf in beautiful sunshine on an immaculate course. The Club provided a delicious lunch which was served with a glass of wine, and a great day was had by all. The individual Stableford competition was won by Sara Manifold (Hope) (44 points) with runner up Ginny Palmer (Carty) (38 points) on a count back from Prue Webb (Spittle). The team event was won by Prue Ingham (Malcolm), Jan Vincent, Bev Callan (McCann) and Rosemary Mitchelhill with an average score of 33 points. N.T.P’s were won by Sally Ellis (Scott), Ginny Palmer (Carty)and Sarah Tallent – well done girls! Please all come again and bring a friend to the next HOGA Golf Day at Barwon Heads on Monday 19 October, 2009.

4 Linda had prepared a delicious lunch, and Rosemary Buckle (Harris) brought albums ﬁlled with photos, invitations and wonderful memories. Jane Barlow (Sedgwick) was ofﬁcial photographer and discs have been sent to everyone. Linda and I are planning another reunion within two years, making a weekend of it! Lovely correspondence was received from many girls, and it is nice to know that “The Hermitage good manners” are still alive. Heatherlea Crawford (MacDonald).

Remember it is the people that make the day, so put it in your diary NOW.

2009 Reunions

30 Year Reunion

Preparations are in hand for next year’s reunions as follows:

In August Linda Morgan (Frizzell) generously opened her home in Highton to 25 Old Girls to celebrate. After Amalgamation some girls attended Geelong College while others remained at Geelong Grammar School. This meant that some girls had not made contact since 1975.

1949 Lyn Mulligan (Bleakley) tel: 61 3 5255 2638 (if an assistant volunteers)

It was a wonderful day. Linda had decorated the dining table in House colours of red (Volum), purple (Morres), blue (Austin) and yellow (School). As each girl walked down the long drive, there was such excitement as school friends were recognised. 34

1959 Helen Walsgott (Cummings) tel: 61 3 5331 3277 2009 is the Centenary of the formation of the Old Girls’ Association by Miss Morres, so a sub-committee has been formed to plan a special Old Girls’ Day celebration of this milestone.

CAPTIONS 1. Back L to R: Margaret Morphy (Deacon), Ro Little, Corinne Robin (McHarry), Lynette James (McDonald), Jill White (Baker). Front L to R: Heather Olden (Seiffert), Shirley Whitaker (Lamb), Beth Delany (Philip) 2. Natalie Gash, Deidre Grifﬁths 3. L to R: Jane Davidson (Browne), Leah Jones (Rinaldi), Bo Bayles (Ryan) 4. L to R: Rosie Garner (Langlands), Ceal Gubbins (Dennis), Sue Riley (West), Joan Young (Carty)

Diary Dates 2009 Thursday 2 April Picnic at Balyang Sanctuary. BYO chair and thermos. 12 noon. Enquiries Jenny Jordan tel: 61 3 5244 0145. Saturday 5 September Old Girls’ Day at Darling Hall, G.G.S. Bookings Jenny Jordan tel: 61 3 5244 0145 Monday 19 October Golf Day at Barwon Heads. Bookings Lib Nicholson (Calvert) tel: 0419 398 067 Monday 7 December Christmas Morning Coffee at All Saints’ Hall, Noble Street, Newtown. Enquiries Jenny Jordan tel: 61 3 5244 0145.

Old Girls’ Day & AGM On Sunday 12 October a large group of Old Girls gathered at Clyde House for a brief AGM and lunch, and to enjoy a talk by guest speaker Elizabeth Landy (Manifold) about the ancient secrets of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Elizabeth presented her information beautifully with slides showing her rugged treks into the wilderness area and images of startling rock art ﬁgures from signiﬁcant eras in pre-Aboriginal history. Most Australians rarely stop to think about the people who inhabited this land before us, and the mysteries of the Kimberley are grand and thought-provoking. Thank you to Elizabeth for enlightening us about the sensitive research work being undertaken in this region.

The AGM proceedings were capably organised by COGA President Joan Mackenzie (Bloomﬁeld) and Secretary Cathie Mahar. As retiring President, Joan was thanked for her wonderful contribution to the revitalization of COGA and the publishing of the school history. She was presented with gifts including a potted Wollemi pine tree, a rare, ancient and resilient species (sounds like us!) only recently propagated commercially. A full report of the day will be provided in The Cluthan 2009.

COGA Committee 2009 President: Margie Gillett (Cordner) Treasurer: Peta Gillespie Secretary: Cathie Mahar Vice Presidents: Trish Young, Fern Henderson (Welsh) Committee Members: Katrina Carr (Moore), Sue Hamilton, Jackie Mackinnon (Kelly), Cate Robinson (Richardson), Annette Webb, Joan Mackenzie (Bloomﬁeld).

COGA Western District Garden Tour 2008 From 29-31 October, a busload of very fortunate garden enthusiasts from the COGA/GGS community enjoyed a beautiful garden tour organized by Anna Afﬂeck in the Western District of Victoria, particularly in the Grampians area. Not just a garden tour, the itinerary covered a wide range of properties, offering a valuable insight into innovative rural land management practices and agricultural enterprises, as property owners adapt to a drier climate and socio-economic changes. The Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld provided dinner, bed and breakfast for two nights, while local community organisations such as the Balmoral Red Cross group and Rokewood Kindergarten were able to raise useful funds by providing lunch and refreshments. The travelers marveled at the historic bluestone buildings of the Taylors’ Warrambeen in Rokewood, the serene seclusion of magniﬁcent Trawalla at Beaufort, the audacious spring artistry of the Kimptons’

4 CAPTIONS 1. Enjoying the ﬂourishing spring beauty of Cass Kimpton’s garden at ‘Toora West’ in Glenthompson were L to R: Fern Henderson (Welsh, Cl’59), Elizabeth Landy (Manifold, Cl’59) and current Clyde House parent Jan Embling (Bell, He’71) 2. Strolling round the glorious grounds of Bill and Judy Mackinnon’s ‘Langi Willi’ at Skipton during the recent COGA Garden Tour were L to R: Rosemary Weatherly (Russell, Cl’45), Frankie Beggs (Fairbairn, Cl’60) and Prue Plowman (Manifold, Cl’63)

Toora West garden in Glenthompson, the whimsical wildness of the Weatherlys’ retreat at Mirranawarra in Victoria Valley, the fragrant rows of cultivated rosemary at the Hindhaugh’s Engleﬁeld Rosemary Farm at Balmoral, the green and glorious grandeur of the Mackinnon’s Langi Willi in Skipton, the exuberant native parklands of the Myers’ garden in Dunkeld, and the elegant perfection of the Gibbs’ beautiful Toolang near Coleraine. We were in awe of the passionate sustained work put into the maintenance of these remarkable properties, and felt very grateful for the opportunity to visit private domains, some of which are rarely, if ever, opened to the public. A huge thank-you to organiser Anna Afﬂeck, and to landowners Ian and Trish Taylor, Bill and Judy Mackinnon, Charles and Cas Kimpton, Richard and Jenny Weatherly, Chris and Petee Hindhaugh, David and Fleur Gibbs, Allan and Maria Myers, Roger and Caroline Pescott, and to their helpers and employees who all gave a warm and generous welcome. Proceeds from the COGA Garden Tour will be donated to the GGS Scholarship Fund.

5 3. At Clyde House for the AGM and Old Girls Day, some of the members of the COGA Committee for 2009. L to R: Margie Gillett (Cordner, Cl’71); Annette Webb (Cl’62); Katrina Carr (Moore, Cl’75); Jackie Mackinnon (Kelly, Cl’69); Cate Robinson (Richardson, Cl’75), Joan Mackenzie (Bloomﬁeld, Cl’52), Trish Young (Cl’75) and Cathie Mahar (Cl’66) 4. Catching up at Clyde House before the AGM were L to R: Sue Horne (Maberly Smith, Cl’56); Ailsa Simmie (Mason, Cl’64); Judy Emerson (Shaw, Cl’57); Meg Hornabrook (Cl’57) and Rosy Grant (Hallowes, Cl’52) 5. Enjoying Elizabeth Landy’s talk on Old Girls Day were L to R: Annie Hamilton (Coy, Cl’58) and Susie Sutherland (Finlay, Cl’59)

Diary Dates 2009 Monday 30 March Inter-School Golf Challenge, Southern Golf Club. Monday 19 October Fun Cup Golf Day, Barwon Heads Golf Club. For further details on both golf comps, please contact Anna Tucker (Kimpton) on tel (03) 9509-0952, or mob 0408540252, email: annatucker@odcg.com.au Thursday 25 June COGA Annual Jumble Sale St John’s Church Hall, Cnr Orrong & Toorak Rds, Toorak. Enquiries to Sally Hudson (Mercer) on tel: (03) 9529 6435 35

Administration, Senior & Middle School 50 Biddlecombe Avenue Corio Victoria Australia 3214 Tel: +61 3 5273 9200 Fax: +61 3 5274 1695 Timbertop Campus Timbertop Private Bag Mansﬁeld Victoria Australia 3722 Tel: +61 3 5733 6777 Fax: +61 3 5777 5772 Toorak Campus 14 Douglas Street Toorak Victoria Australia 3142 Tel: +61 3 9829 1444 Fax: +61 3 9826 2829 Bostock House Campus 139 Noble Street Newtown Victoria Australia 3220 Tel: +61 3 5221 7760 Fax: +61 3 5221 7602 Website: www.ggs.vic.edu.au Email: lightblue@ggs.vic.edu.au Editor: Elizabeth Pont Photography: Darren Apps Michael Collins Persse Richard Cumnick (M’68) Gavin Dowling Tony Inkster Tanya Lazzaro James McEwan James Neville-Smith Elizabeth Pont Katie Rafferty Rowan Swaney Jennifer Wraight Layout & Page Design: Creative Force Printing: Adams Print CRICOS No. 00143G

Mae

Alex

Mae Craig is an icon at Geelong Grammar School’s Corio Campus. Mae was recently surprised with a morning tea held in her honour to celebrate her 70th birthday. Mae who says she loves the students at Geelong Grammar because “lots of them have a great sense of humour” and describes herself as a prankster was startled to ﬁnd the tables had been turned on her. A large number of staff from all departments joined in to let Mae know how much she is appreciated by the School community. An emotional Mae was praised by her peers for providing inspiration to others with her “can do” approach to all tasks.

Alex Graham (Cu Yr11) has been selected to play in the U 17 Victorian Cricket Team for two weeks in a carnival in Perth in January 2009.

Mae was born in Glasgow, Scotland and it was there in The Dunn Robin Restaurant that as a teenager Mae commenced her knowledge of silver service and all other issues associated with dining. Mae spent seven years in London before moving to Australia and living in “red dust and total shock” in Whyalla. Mae and her family decided to make Geelong home after visiting friends who lived in Geelong.

David Oman Estate Manager, TIC Cricket

Craig

Graham Alex has been playing for the Geelong Cricket Club in the 2nds and 3rds and is in the GGS 1st XI. Team mates, Corey Walter (Fr Yr11) and Sam Herbison (A Yr10), have also played in the 3rds and 4ths for Geelong. Both boys are very excited having been very recently selected for the Barwon Rockets team to play in the Dowling Shield Competition held in the second week of January.

Mae commenced working at the School in 1982 in the Catering department. Asked about the School and Mae says “I love the atmosphere, the camaraderie of the students and the staff. Over the years the School is continually improving, I love the community, I consider it my School”. Mae played badminton for many years and believes “you don’t have to smash to win games, just play smart”. Mae tried playing volleyball however in her words “I was a little bit little for volleyball”. Since giving away badminton and knocking back a potential career in volleyball Mae has turned her relaxation time to watching the Australian Open. Mae attends the tennis with friends and family making the annual event a priority.

Parents Golf

Day 2008

Mae, thanks for all you do, always with a smile, you are truly appreciated. Steve Radojevic Manager, Finance and Administration

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information printed in this edition of Light Blue. If an error has occurred, please accept our apologies and contact the Community Relations Ofﬁce on tel: +61 3 5273 9349

Under clear blue skies, GGS parents from all campuses competed in this years parents’ golf day at the Barwon Heads Golf Club. Anne Roberston and Andrew Fried took out the 18 hole women and men’s trophies, while Jon and Carrie Felton, Fiona Christianakis and Michael Sewell won the ambrose 8 hole event.