The Grammarian - 2020 Winter Edition

Grammarian The

RGS PAST STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION WINTER EDITION 2020

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Meet your new President Graduating from The Rockhampton Grammar School in 2009, Tom Birkbeck has garnered an extensive and successful career in marketing, public relations, media and advertising.

Tom studied at Griffith University, Nathan campus in Brisbane, graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing.

He has also held positions on volunteer organisations such as Co-President of The Communication Council’s Queensland Youngbloods and Chairman of the Brisbane Central Young LNP.

Nick Johnson Treasurer

Robbie South Vice President Robert graduated from The Rockhampton Grammar School in 2009. He is a licensed stockbroker and financial adviser working with Morgans Financial and is currently undertaking further study towards attaining a Master of Financial Planning. Robert believes the Past Students’ Association should be assisting the school in the provision of facilities, student work experience and after school pathways.

Adrien Lang Committee Member

As the incoming President of the Past Students Association, Tom aims to continue the legacy of the Past Student Association as an integral part of the school community with a key focus on driving engagement with alumni from all years, facilitating the Association’s efforts in documenting historical materials and ultimately giving back to the school.

He is looking forward to working with key stakeholders to deliver on the Past Students Association’s aims and objectives.

Alison Payne Secretary

Nick attended RGS from 2005 until 2015.

RGS enabled him to secure a Collegiate Excellence Scholarship to Bond University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce. After graduating from Bond in 2018, Nick returned to Rockhampton and began his career in accounting, working in a boutique tax accounting firm. As a proud Grammar Alumni, Nick relished the opportunity to become involved with the Past Students’ Association, and to give back to a community that gave him so much opportunity. Nick has recently taken up an opportunity to advance his professional career with PKF Gold Coast, and will remain actively involved with the PSA as Treasurer.

Adrien graduated from RGS in 1993 and has had a long involvement with the RGS Past Students’ Association over past years. Adrien’s father Robert is also a RGS past student. Adrien keeps busy as the Proprietor at the Rockhampton-based business, ASK ME Technology Consultants, a business he has run since 2003.

Adrien is also a familiar face around the Rockhampton basketball scene and is a Queensland Basketball League Sub Committee Member.

Graduating from Grammar in 1985 as a Prefect with a top possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990, and co-curricular achievements in oratory, debating and music (piano, violin, theory), Alison continued to achieve outstanding levels of academic excellence, receiving a PhD in theoretical Computer Science from the University of Queensland at 25, supported by both government and industry scholarships. Over a career spanning 30 years, Alison has made contributions to international standardisation efforts, published academic research in telecommunications and agriculture, and delivered large scale corporate systems into international pharmaceutical companies and Telstra. In Alison’s current role at CQUniversity over the last 10 years, she has been the technical lead on many of the innovative technical platform delivery projects.

As a proud STEM professional, often working in environments with less than ten percent women, Alison encourages all young women at Grammar to consider the very rewarding path of a STEM career.

Thanks to the outgoing RGS PSA executive - from outgoing President Dr Alison Payne

Thanks to all the members of the 2019/2020 Committee. Good news that Adrien Lang and Nick Johnson will both be returning on the new committee. A special thanks to Ashleigh Harvey who is stepping down from the Committee this year.

Ashleigh has performed the role of Secretary with an enviable professionalism over the last two years. It has also been good to work with Ashleigh as a connection with the school community, as the joint implementor of our financial changes, and as the person who rounded up the Capricornus editions to send for digitisation. Thanks for your company and support.

The Grammarian

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Sky’s the limit for Luke Marlow

“One of my early mentor’s said race callers were born, not manufactured.”

Luke Marlow (RGS 2010) had always grown up around horses with his dad Jeff a local horse trainer.

The racing industry has since taken Luke to Sydney, Singapore and now back in Sydney.

Luke’s early race calling interest started in 2008 when he had a spell at home from school battling illness.

“I would sit at home and watch the horses on TV, pretending I was a race caller with the TV volume muted,’’ Luke said.

That same year Luke had his first opportunity to call his first live race at Yeppoon.

“It wasn’t planned,’’ said Luke, now based in Sydney with partner, jockey Alysha Collett.

“Tony McMahon (Rockhampton race caller) sprung it on me and asked if I wanted to call a race that dad’s horse was running in.

“I called the race, without any errors, and dad’s horse won the race.”

Luke had since come a long way from the 15-year-old who had to stand on a milk crate to call that Yeppoon race.

A career in the racing game became a reality for Luke in 2011 when the 18-years-old was awarded a John Tapp Sky Racing Scholarship for promising race callers.

“It was life-changing for me,’’ Luke said.

The one-year scholarship landed Luke in Sydney.

In his early years in the NSW racing industry, Luke made some casual calls at Randwick but was a more familiar voice at tracks including Warwick Farm, Newcastle, Wyong, Gosford and Musselbrook.

Over the years he has called thoroughbreds,

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trots and the dogs.

“In my early days I mostly called the dogs which are really different to call,’’ Luke said.

“The races are much faster and the colours change depending on what box the dogs draw.”

It is the colours which is a key study area for race callers.

And surprisingly it is a small window of opportunity where the final details are locked in for a race caller.

“For me it (preparation) starts the night before a meet,’’ Luke said.

“I go through the form and watch race replays.

“Once you’re in an area for a while you get to know the colours of the trainers silks and the horses are in your memory bank.

“On race day there’s a five minute period before the jockeys are on the horses which is the key time. That’s where you do your main colour learning then.”

Luke said it’s a skill of some sort with photographic memory being a part of it.

“It’s something that hasn’t required much effort from me,’’ Luke said.

“One of my early race caller mentor’s said race callers were born, not manufactured.”

It is this ease of race calling which landed Luke a job in the bustling Singapore racing industry in 2018.

“It’s a different style of racing in Singapore,’’ Luke said.

“The races themselves are no different, it’s just learning new names, jockeys and trainers.

“In Australia the racing experience is more of

the ‘salt of the earth’ type of people whereas in Singapore it’s not all about the social aspect and the love of horses, it’s more about hard core gambling.”

When COVID hit the Singapore region earlier this year, the country went into four weeks lockdown and then racing was put back six weeks. Luke and Alysha returned to Australia.

Once they returned to Australia they decided not to return to Singapore.

“I’ve since been lucky enough to start a new job with Sky Racing this month which involves both race calling and hosting radio programmes which include interviews and previewing the day’s racing,’’ Luke said.

“I’ll still call regularly.”

Luke said he was looking forward to returning to work.

“A lot of people have done it tough during this period but racing has been great for us,’’ Luke said.

* While the thoroughbred racing is the main focus for Luke these days he still keeps an interest in greyhound racing.

Luke and fellow RGS past student, and Rockhampton greyhound caller, Liam Mulry (RGS 2000) own a Rockhampton-based greyhound Over Time.

Over Time has 16 career wins at this stage.

Luke admits he has owned a few greyounds over the years, but not necessarily with his parents’ approval all the time.

Field of Dreams: When Tom Barwick (RGS 2008) realised his dreams of becoming a professional athlete weren’t on the cards he found a new way to follow his love of sport.

Tom is now the Cricket Operations Manager for Cricket Tasmania.

How did you find yourself working for Cricket Tasmania?

I went to study a double degree at Griffith University, majoring in Sport Management and International Business. One of the course requirements for the Sport Management degree was 250 hours work/ work experience in the field. At the time, I remember thinking what a chore but on reflection it was one of the most valuable components of the degree. I completed voluntary work with numerous organisations and events including Brisbane Broncos, University Sport and Valley District Cricket Club, a premier cricket club in Brisbane. I applied for god knows how many jobs following graduation and had almost forgotten I’d applied with Cricket Tasmania (CT) despite it probably being the role that I was best suited to. The degrees helped get an interview but the work experience, particularly with Valley’s, was what gave me the ability to get the job. I started with CT in June 2013, survived the winter and have been here ever since.

What does your role involve with the organisation?

I’ve been fortunate to have a number of roles within CT over the last almost 7 years. These days I am responsible for managing the strategy and operations of the Cricket Tasmania Premier League competition and support development of Premier Cricket clubs (Premier Cricket is the competition in each state that feeds players into the state teams); manage the Match Officials team responsible for developing officials across Tasmania and; manage Team Operations which coordinate all the requirements (travel, apparel, scheduling etc) for the state teams (Tasmanian Tigers/Hobart Hurricanes). I also support delivery of events such as Big Bash matches and Cricket Australia National Underage Championships.

What have been some of your most memorable opportunities during your time at Cricket Tasmania?

I’d love to say that it was celebrating a Sheffield Shield, One-Day Cup or Big Bash premiership but unfortunately we’ve missed out on a couple of occasions in my time. I’ve met a lot of great people both within Tasmanian Cricket and across Australian Cricket. I had the opportunity to support a series in Darwin which was great (held in July so got to escape winter), be team manager with Australian Under 16’s, Australia A and Hobart Hurricanes teams.

Any top level cricketers you have met over the past years who you particularly admire, and why?

I have been fortunate to meet a few, especially the Tasmanian players like George Bailey, Xavier Doherty and Tim Paine who are all good quality, genuine people. Tim’s story is quite remarkable. To go from being on the verge of retirement to the Australian Test Captain, it’s admirable how he has held himself through all the trials and tribulations.

We were also fortunate to have Drew Ginn (of the ‘Oarsome Foursome” Australian rowing crew) as a manager at CT, Drew’s a very inspiring person.

Were you always a fan of cricket and did you play a lot of cricket at school?

I’ve always been a fan of cricket and most other sports for as long as I can remember and sport played a big part of my life growing up in Middlemount. I played cricket through school, potentially one of the worst cricketers to have ever graced the bottom oval at RGS. I have been very mindful to not embarrass myself at CT despite many opportunities to play. Not sure I could show up for work if people knew how bad a cricketer I actually am!

After you finished school at RGS, what was your career aspirations at that time?

My passion for sport was always driving me to be involved in sport. I wanted to be a professional athlete as a kid but it became very obvious that wasn’t an option. I was considering physiotherapy but ultimately wanted to be an athlete manager/agent when I left school. Business, finance and economics were always points of interest as well. As I progressed through uni I shifted to be more sports administration, ideally within a professional, state or national sporting organisation.

Working in a sporting field is always a dream for students who enjoy their sport at school. What’s the key to breaking into that industry?

Gaining as much experience as possible in the off-field side of sport and it doesn’t have to be at an NRL or AFL club. Your local club, or through the school is equally if not more valuable. Learning how organisations run at the grassroots will hold you in good stead as ultimately through the varying levels of sport, the principles are similar, it’s the scale that changes. I still wish I’d done more of this.

Where do you see the future of cricket in Tasmania heading in the next few years? Any rising stars who might be the next Tasmanian wearing the Baggy Green?

We’re really committed to growing and refining female participation and it’s an area of real opportunity for us in Tasmania. We want to grow the female game but we want to make sure we’re growing it sustainably with equal focus on quality and quantity, which is also the case with male participation. In sport in general, we’re seeing a shift to more casual participation as opposed to organised sport. I think there will always be a place for clubs and organised sport as people want to join a club for the many social benefits that are derived from club membership but clubs will also need to become more flexible to accommodate people increasingly juggling time commitments.

As for future Australian stars, Riley Meredith’s name has been thrown around by better judges than me (ie Shane Warne) and for good reason. On a longer time frame, young female player Amy Smith in Tassie is doing very well.

The Grammarian

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Adventures outside RGS gates Henry Norman Armstrong (RGS 1924) followed education pursuits to the Torres Strait Islands after leaving school Researching the School’s past student records for family enquiries can lead to some fascinating stories.

Simply finding a record of a name and date of enrolment can lead to a treasure of photographic memories and fascinating stories from family members, both from that past student’s school days and their life beyond the gates of The Rockhampton Grammar School.

Henry “Norm” Norman Armstrong is one such past student.

A boarder from “Targinnie” Station, near Yarwun, Norm arrived at RGS on 19 July 1920 and finished school in December 1924.

Norm’s family had long connections to the Rockhampton region. His father, Henry Armstrong was head stockman on the station which was owned then by the Archer brothers from Gracemere. His grandfather, James Armstrong arrived in Rockhampton in 1864 on the “Bayswater” and worked for the Archer family for 44 years. He ran their dairy farm, “Matcham Farm”, for 28 years out of his 44 years service.

At School, Norm performed strongly both academically and in sport.

A School Prefect, Norm was also on the School Magazine committee and was captain of the Football Committee. In the sporting arena he was the stroke in rowing, captained the football team, was in cadets and the Rockhampton Miniature Rifle Club.

In 1923 Norm Armstrong was presented with the “Kingel Memorial Prize”. An article from The Morning Bulletin Friday 14 December 1923 explains the awards: “1923 will be remembered as the year in which two permanent prizes were established; one by Mrs Kingel as a memorial of her son Eric who gave his live in the Great War at Messines, France 1916 and the other by Old Boys, contemporary with John Denis Fryer, who died at Springsure early in this year as a result of gas poisoning during his war service the Fryer Prize.”

Norm was a member of the 42nd Battalion “11th Mixed Brigade” from 1924, as a Cadet, and then resigned in 1929 as a Lieutenant. Competing in the Rockhampton Miniature Rifle Club, his men’s team won the championship in 1927, his future wife won the ladies championship in 1929 and 1930.

Life after Rockhampton would lead Norm to the Torres Strait Islands.

He went to Saibai Island to work at the end of 1928, where he was the only white person on the island at the time, where Norm was an administrator/ teacher for the “Department of Native Affairs”.

During the Christmas break he would return to Rockhampton and catch up with friends and family. In July 1930 he moved from Saibai Island to Mua Island and worked at an old settlement

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called Poid (no longer there). He was again in charge of the school and administration.

He married Edna Dunning, from a Yarwun and Rockhampton family, on Thursday Island in September 1930. The family grew with three children being born in the Torres Straits. In 1936 the family moved to Brisbane.

Norm submitted an article to the RGS Capricornus Yearbook in 1929 outlining his experiences in the Torres Strait.

For years after attending The Rockhampton Grammar School he was still involved with the “Old Grammarians” when his family visited Rockhampton, he would attend luncheons held at Kirby’s Café. Henry “Norm” Norman Armstrong passed away on 26 June 1957 leaving behind a family of two boys and two girls.

Thank you to Michelle Wheeler, one of “Norm’s” granddaughters’, for providing this historical background on Henry Norman Armstrong.

RGS in Pictures - early 1920s

RGS joins National Redress Scheme

Clockwise from top left: Rowing on the Fitzroy River. Possibly the RGS rowing team in 1924. Other rowers unknown; RMRC - Rockhampton Miniature Rifle Club in 1927; Captain of RGS Football Team 1924. Other players unknown; RGS Rowing team. Possibly 1924. Other rowers unknown; Norman in his Cadet uniform; RGS students possibly in 1924. From left: Brady, Rickets, Unknown, Kenynon, Armstrong.

The Rockhampton Grammar School earlier this year made the important decision for the School to join the National Redress Scheme.

The National Redress Scheme was established from recommendations of the Federal Government’s Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Sexual Abuse. The scheme provides acknowledgement and support to people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse, and assists them to access counselling, a direct personal response, and a redress payment.

The Commonwealth, all State and Territory governments and 61 non-government organisations covering more than 41,200 sites including churches, schools, Children’s Homes, charities and community groups across Australia are currently participating in the scheme. The Scheme commenced on 1 July 2018 and a recent rule change communicated to the School on 17 December 2019 has now enabled Queensland Grammar Schools to join. he decision for our school to join the scheme was made after deep and careful consideration. This involved eflecting on the School’s core values, ensuring alignment between the School’s practice and the findings of the Royal Commission, and being aware of the important role that we can play in contributing to the healing of those affected by the trauma of childhood sexual abuse.

Our School’s number one priority is to ensure a safe environment for all students. We care deeply for the ellbeing of all our students, both past and present. We are committed to responding with care and ompassion and providing any Grammarian who may have experienced sexual abuse while at the School to an accessible, compassionate and confidential resolution process. Detailed information on the Scheme and how it can be accessed is available at https: I /www.nationalredress.gov.au, If you have any questions or concerns please contact RGS Headmaster Dr Phillip Moulds on (07) 49360615, or alternatively the National Redress Information Line on 1800 737 377.

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COVID-19: RGS past students share their experiences

Maddy Black RGS 2014

Jason Donald RGS 1994

Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

Shanghai China

Maddy (pictured right) has been a CrossFit Coach and Personal Trainer in Abu Dhabi for 1 year and 6 months.

Jason is General Manager, Sales and Marketing, for Ravensworth Agriculture Company in Shanghai.

The first case of COVID-19 in the UAE was January 29, 2020. Being one of the most popular and central travel destinations in the world, connecting people from all different countries, it didn’t take long for COVID-19 cases to increase. Initially, it wasn’t such a big deal, I even traveled to Sri Lanka mid February on a surfing trip and only had to complete a small questionnaire on any flu like symptoms. Things changed rapidly, by mid March, all non-essential businesses were forced to close, including gyms (my workplace).

Since mid-March we have had a strict curfew, meaning we cannot leave the house after 8pm or before 6am every day. We also have to wear a mask in every place we go, including in our own cars and when we go for a run, otherwise we will face major fines. What made this entire experience more interesting, is that we have just come to the end of the holy month of Ramadan. So the COVID-19 lockdown rules were even more challenging for most of the population here, given the festivities that often occur around this time of year. The situation is not really improving just yet, at the time of me writing this (late May) we have over 25,000 cases in the country (increasing about 800+ each day).

Like most people, my work has been directly effected. I shifted some of my work online, however the large part of my job (personal training) is not possible at this time in this country. Unlike Australia, we are unable to perform any personal training, even in parks (as they are closed) or people’s homes, due to the large number of cases we have here. It was difficult to decide whether I should fly home to Australia, but the UAE also feels like home to me and I feel very comfortable with my decision to stay. I hope soon, I can travel home to Australia once travel is safe again. It has now been over 2 months of gyms being closed. No one really knows what is going to happen, even tomorrow. So I am just staying positive, living each day as it comes and spending my time learning to read and write Arabic, and learning how to skateboard.

My first thoughts were probably similar to many others. COVID wasn’t going to be that bad (just a bad flu) and at worst it will be confined to Hubei province. We understood in a very short space of time how serious it was and that I would likely spread around the world. We probably didn’t fully appreciate the magnitude though.

As i work in international trade, all aspects of our North Asian business has been impacted in terms of logistics, demand and market volatility. As the pandemic reached different stages in each country we operate in, we had to manage the various forms of volatility that came with the changes in demand. From a team perspective we had been unable to go to the office for up to 8 weeks, but everyone in our business learnt very quickly how to manage through the situation without being in the office.

Shanghai hasn’t been as vibrant as it is has been known for since January. There has been severe restrictions on with constant monitoring of movement coupled with the mandatory temperature checks for entry into every buildings, supermarket – even where you live. All information is traced and recorded. At one stage we were getting temperature checked up to 20 times per day. However these restrictions and monitoring has allowed China to nearly eradicate the virus completely. My children haven’t been able attend school since January and they have been e learning all this time through Zoom calls. As Shanghai is an international city, the coordination of school e learning has been a challenge as most children are still spread across the world.

I think it has been the same for everyone all around the world.

Learning to live through a pandemic hasn’t been easy for anyone.

From our perspective, we certainly won’t be taking for granted the freedom of movement that we once had.

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Bridget Messer (nee Davidson) RGS 1996 London, UK

Bridet is an Executive Director at IG Group Holdings in London.

Bridget is married to Lang Messer (RGS 1996).

I am writing this from an Uber, on my way to the office for the first time in 20 weeks (early August). My driver and I are both wearing face masks. I’m wearing mine correctly... The City is showing small signs of life, although it’s still eerily quiet and a little unsettling. I wonder where I can a get my first decent coffee in almost 4 months and whether my favourite poké place will be open for lunch ( ... it was!).

My husband, Lang, and I graduated from RGS in 1996. We have called London home for the past 15 years. We live in South London with our two daughters, Lexie (8) and Aurora (5) and our dog, Zsa Zsa. Lang and I work in the financial markets. The companies we work for have been relatively untouched by the pandemic – if anything, we have both been busier than ever.

We launched into lockdown together in mid-March. Life changed comprehensively and fundamentally, literally overnight. It’s only now that I’m reflecting on the experience, that the enormity of it hits home.

The early days were an odd mix of fear and uncertainty juxtaposed with domestic calm and a return to a simple living. Work was a frantic scramble - grappling to make sense of the changes while trying to keep day to day operations going.

The work day got longer, although with no commute, we had more opportunity for balance during the day, making time for the odd yoga class or HIIT session. Home schooling was an experience we will never forget.

It was wonderful to have first-hand experience in the children’s education, but tough to balance with 8 hours of virtual work calls a day. Getting an online grocery delivery slot was the highlight of the week. We were blessed with

great weather and spent many happy hours walking around the local parks.

As lockdown went on (and on) we fell into a fairly relaxed routine. Lots of cooking, sour dough baking and far too many quarantinis! Balancing work and school and home care has been very challenging at times, and we have definitely had just as many bad days as good ones. But it has brought us closer together as a family and it has been an incredible experience that we will always remember.

As we slowly emerge from lock down I am quite fearful. Scared of a second wave. Scared that the pandemic has and will continue to increase social inequality, particularly for children with poor access to education. Scared of a deep global recession. But lockdown reminded me of the incredible creativity, resilience and kindness of people.

So, whilst fearful, I am also optimistic and hopeful that our society will emerge from this stronger and more sustainable.

Bridget and Lang are pictured with their daughters during a return visit to RGS in October last year.

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COVID-19: RGS past students share their experiences

Sasky Stewart RGS 2006

Kent Bray RGS 1981

Toronto, Canada

London, UK

Sasky is a Manager, Social Media at Central Station in Toronto I left my office on March 13 and while some of my co-workers said it wouldn’t be long, I took everything I could (keyboard and computer stand included) and told them I’d see them in June.

Ontario has been on lockdown since March 17 and while much of the province moves to Stage 2, as of today (June 22) Toronto is not. We’re in Stage 1 for the 97th day in the row. For me to return to Rockhampton it would take 3 weeks between flights and the quarantine hotel I would be assigned too. For that time, we have been restricted to our “bubble” those we share a household with. I live alone, so in the past 3 months I have seen only 2 or 3 people I know, only for a handful of minutes, and from a distance with facemasks. I celebrated my 31st birthday in my second home, the park across the road, an appropriate distance from my visitor. I’ve kept busy though, starting a community group called East for East that connected 200+ volunteers with vulnerable community members who needed support (groceries, medications, deliveries). Most stores aren’t open - just the essentials (thankfully the liquor store is one of those! I’ve stood in lines out the front of the grocery store, the hardware store for more than an hour to get the basics. I’m lucky though - more than 1K people have died in Toronto alone - that’s 10x the whole of Australia, and several of my friends have suffered through it. Right now though, the city is hitting stir crazy and we’re hoping in days we’ll shift to Stage 2 (which realistically changes little beyond opening internal malls, and outdoor food locations). There isn’t much more in my house to update - I’ve built an entire set of inbuilt shelves, painted an apartment, a desk and a bedside table, recovered a couch, sewed, cross stitched, signed up for a romance writing class, fixed several websites, took up the violin again, and watched every NASCAR race, German Football game and NRL match I can get my hands on. I’ve gone through double digits of books and amongst all of this, kept up 40+ weeks at an even busier now job. And I spoke to my mother for 98 days straight. The thing that’s made a lot of this hard, is my apartment. I love it, but, a thing Australia isn’t used to, is that it’s technically underground, a basement apartment with one proper window to daylight and no way to see the sky or more than a brick wall across with a permanent indoor temperate of fleece onesie weather.

I replaced a Eurovision party with Zoom, my parent’s 3 week trip to see me for the first time (and Europe) with a 60th birthday zoom for my mother, the laundromat with Home Depot buckets in my shower and rope in the yard (no laundry here) and I learnt to make both pie and Empanadas. The week lockdown started it snowed. Today, I can go running in shorts and a tanktop and it’s still too warm. I took up running too. And any PE Teacher that ever taught me at the Grammar can attest I am both useless at sport and hated being made to do it by them.

Guess that’s why they find it so funny I ended up in sport!

I will say that. It’s not all bad. for me not by a long shot. I’m lucky and I’ve had a lot of time to work on things I want to, and I think more importantly, I, and a lot of us, have learnt a lot about what was actually important, what we actually need and what mattered.

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Kent is the Company Director at KAB Management in London.

The COVID-19 situation here in the UK appears to have been a different experience to that endured by Australia.

The number of deaths in the UK sometimes exceeded 1000 per day. Therefore the fear, worry, concern and at times panic, seemed to far exceed that which was being felt in Australia.

I feel the fact England alone has 55 million people living in a relatively small space probably meant that infection transmitted at a far greater rate.

These are strange times. I believe many people have struggled psychologically to deal with drastic change of routine and structure and the accompanying concern and worry about finances, job security, health, schooling etc.

Empty cities and towns had a ghostly like feel to them. Weird is the word that comes to mind.

On the plus side, myself and my kids have used the time to explore woods and walkways so this has been an opportunity to reconnect with nature.

Worryingly I do believe the underlying fear has led to anger in some areas of society. The riots and protests have, at times, been ugly. Violence, conflict and confrontation appears to be an unfortunate by-product of COVID-19.

I think I can safely say, we are looking forward to a degree of normality in society over here in the UK.

Closer to home...

Julia Becker RGS 2017

Natasha Heffer RGS 2017

Brisbane Australia

Brisbane Australia

Julia is a third year Psychology student at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Natasha is a third year Biomedical Science student at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

I’ve been managing really great at home in Rockhampton. I’ve been working at Mum’s pharmacy and enjoying some beautiful parts of Rockhampton that are close by! The lovely weather has helped. I have managed really well with Uni! Being on a screen so often can be quite exhausting, but my grades have not been impacted and the Uni has been great through all of it.

When people became more aware of COVID in Australia, Brisbane felt like a ghost town. There was a very small handful of people at the airport, and coronation drive was the quietest I had ever seen it! It made it all feel very real, seeing such a busy, lively city change overnight. Psychology was the first course at The University of Queensland to transition to online, because there had been several cases of COVID-19 within my third year cohort. So I have been studying online since late March, and it was a strange start to the University year.

Life back at home is safe and comfortable. I am fortunate to have a safe home in Brisbane at The Women’s College, and in Rockhampton.

I really miss living at College, but home is a great place to be right now. I am supported, healthy and happy and I am grateful for that.

I’m planning to return to Brisbane at the end of July, when Semester two commences.

On the 1st of January I left Australia to participate in an exchange programme and study at the University of Glasgow in Scotland for one semester. In March COVID-19 made its appearance in Scotland, however cases in Glasgow remained low and the Uni strived to remain open and calm.

Within weeks everything had changed.

Uni converted to online classes and all the American exchange student returned to the US. Not long after, I made the decision to return home as restrictions were intensifying and borders were quickly closing.

All the remaining exchange students and friends I had made were frantically trying to get a flight home as soon as possible. On the 23th of March I went to the airport only to find out my flight had been cancelled and the entire airline I was travelling with had ceased flights. After hours on hold with airlines Plan B was organised. On the 24th, I was up at dawn and on a train to London. Thankfully Plan B was a success and 46 hours I arrived back in Rockhampton.

I then spent the next 14 days quarantined.

How many different countries are RGS alumni now working/living in?

The Rockhampton Grammar School would love to hear from our RGS past students living overseas. Please email paststudents@rgs.qld.edu.au to update your contact details.

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COVID-19:

RGS past students reflect on wellbeing opportunities

COVID-19 Unmasked:

Challenges facing families moving forward Dr Alexandra De Young (nee MacLeod, RGS 1999) is a Psychologist and Research Fellow at the Queensland Centre for Perintal and Infant Mental Health and University of Queensland in Brisbane.

Alex shares her insight into how COVID-19 is impacting families and how we can help moving forward.

Life in Australia and all over the world has changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Children and families have faced multiple challenges, big and small. We know that most children and adults will be resilient and bounce back as life gradually returns to normal, but some will develop posttraumatic stress reactions, anxiety or depression as a result of their experiences.

However, there is very little research available to help us understand how disruptive events, like pandemics and natural disasters, affect the mental health and emotional wellbeing of babies and young children. Early childhood is a critical time for social, emotional and cognitive development.

Therefore, a team of researchers, led by myself, from the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health, the University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, Griffith University and University of Melbourne have formed a collaboration to conduct the COVID-19 Unmasked online survey.

The aim of the COVID-19 Unmasked survey is to help build a picture of how COVID-19 and other recent disruptive events have affected young children (1 - 5 years), their parents, and family life.

Caregivers from throughout Australia are invited to complete an anonymous online survey four times over the next year (now, then 3, 6, and 12-months later). Findings will be used to help caregivers, educators

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and health professionals learn how to best support babies, preschoolers and families now and into the future.

More than 700 caregivers have already taken part.

So far, many have reported different stressors but some have also revealed positive changes – like more of an appreciation about what they have or an increased closeness in the family.

Early findings suggest that approximately 15% of children have been very worried about getting sick from coronavirus, are more scared of things, and are demonstrating more disruptive behaviors and sleeping difficulties.

Our team are also collaborating with researchers in the USA and UK to learn more about how families are coping in other countries. Some of the team are also conducting a similar project on the wellbeing of children aged six and over.

Survey links and access to the information sheet for each project can be found here: For parents of 1 - 5 year olds: is.gd/covid19_unmasked For parents of 6 - 17 year olds: https://rebrand.ly/covid19unmasked6up

Tess: A different perspective on life A CRISIS WILL REVEAL WHO YOU ARE

Tess Dowling (RGS 2012) is a Human Resources Officer at Thiess. Like many of us, Tess has taken this year to take stock and look at “The Simple Things in Life”.

‘I’m so busy’ is a phrase I am becoming far too used to hearing. These three little words are used constantly to overemphasise our daily schedules, decline invitations and remind those around us of our importance and value. Thinking out loud, it makes sense. Time is precious. Because unlike money, we can’t make more of it. We wear busyness as a badge of honour. ‘I’m busy therefore I am important’. As a HR professional, I’ve never heard someone say to me ‘I’m not busy’.

Come to think of it, if someone was to say ‘I’m not busy’ would this make me think less of them, or think they are of less value. Absolutely not! So why are we so addicted to being busy?

The world around has changed so quickly and unexpectedly as a result of COVID-19. Without realising, we’ve been given an opportunity to step back and appreciate the small things in life. Traffic is gone. Long queues are gone. Fuel is affordable and bills extended. The air seems cleaner and the world quieter. People are conscious about hygiene and health. Kids are home with their families.

Parents are at home taking care of their children.

Money doesn’t seem to make the world go round.

We now have time to finally stop and appreciate what’s right in front of us. It almost feels that COVID-19 is a reset button for humanity.

I’ve learnt three important lessons in this season that I wanted to share:

A wise philosopher once said, ‘When our souls are healthy, we change the environment the environment doesn’t change us’. I love this quote.

Nothing can prepare you for a crisis. When we are faced with uncertainty and unchartered waters, everyone responds and reacts differently. Some selflessly, others selfishly. However, when we are challenged and placed in a situation such as this, it reveals who we really are.

We’ve seen people rushing to buy supplies.

We’ve seen people helping others less fortunate.

We’ve see people losing their jobs. We’ve seen leaders rise and leaders fall. We’ve seen people bless those around them through random acts of kindness. And we’ve seen communities come together who were once distant. In the face of adversity, we’ve seen some amazing things come to fruition. How have you responded in this season?

If you have seen something come out of you in this season that you don’t like, change it. Take this opportunity to grow and refine who you are.

NO MATTER THE CONDITIONS, WE CAN RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

Have you ever been on a holiday that you planned months or even years in advance, and when you arrived it didn’t go to plan? The weather was terrible. It rained the whole time. Despite the poor weather, you make the decision to still enjoy your holiday and make the most of the opportunity despite the conditions not being ideal. This is the same concept we are facing in our world right now. No one would have chosen COVID-19 to take place. No one would have chosen the devastation and the life long impact this virus has had on millions of people around the world.

However, despite the devastation, we can’t waste this opportunity. We are no longer busy.

We have time. Whether it’s learning a new skill, gaining a new hobby, reaching out to friends you haven’t spoken to in years, starting a new side hustle, learning a new language, setting new goals or spending time with the people we love, we can complain about it, be frustrated with it or choose to use it as an opportunity. We can come out of this better than what we entered! Many are saying that 2020 is now a waste of time. For me I see it as a challenge and an opportunity to step up.

WHAT YOU SEEK, IS WHAT YOU’LL FIND

I read a study which stated that watching the news, and being faced with constant negativity can lead to greater stress and anxiety, causing fatigue and loss of sleep. I made a decision a five years ago to stop watching the news. Some may say this is naive. In saying that if something significant happens, I will eventually find out. But for me I choose to avoid any unnecessary negativity in my life. Rather than reading news during this period which is fear filled, I’ve sought out faith filled news which is still informative, but highlights the positive things people are doing around the world as a result of this virus. We cannot control what crisis we face in our lives. We cannot let this crisis steal our passion and our joy. We can resent what we can’t do, or we can control what we can do.

Time will continue to pass and life will slowly progress and eventually become ‘normal’. Despite the headache facing so many, COVID-19 has created opportunity for many to spend time during the week and on weekends to come back to what matters most - our health, and our relationships.

We consistently fill our lives with busy schedules, missing the opportunity to stop. My weekends have been an absolute blessing during this season. This photo is of me at sunset taking time to walk on the beach, intentionally taking time to stop. Personally, I’m using the time I have to redefine the direction I want to take my career, and shape the person that I want to become. I am determined to come out of this period better than how I entered. What about you? No matter what your life looks like right now, how are you going to influence this season of your life rather than let it influence you?

Tess Dowling on LinkedIn

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Red & Black Pride Lives On The momentum continues to build in the annual Rockhampton Grammar School versus St Brendan’s College rugby union old boys games.

St Brendan’s kicked off the new opportunity to return to rugby glory days in 2019, hosting game one.

RGS returned the favour in 2020, hosting St Brendan’s at Rugby Park in February.

Rupert Collins (pictured right: RGS 1999) is one of the RGS past students who has stepped up to rally the troops.

Rupert said the old boys games are a great way to catch up with old mates that sometimes they haven’t seen since our glory days.

“We may need looser jerseys, we may not have the acceleration or skills, and we may not have the fitness we did since last seeing one another but we still manage to enjoy a game of rugby and a great catch-up after the game,’’ Rupert said.

“We also get to re-ignite the rivalry with old mates from SBC which tends to bring out the competitive spirit in us all.”

Rupert said the next game, Game 3, was next planned for May 2021.

“This will align with the Beef Australia 2021 event so anyone interested has 11 months to fine tune their game day preparation,’’ Rupert said.

If you are keen for a run or want more information on Game 3 email paststudents@rgs.qld.edu.au Pictured below (from left): Cooper Nobbs (RGS 2007); Aaron Rigg (RGS 1999) and Craig Wilkes (RGS 1999); Glen Farrands (RGS 1992); Mitch McDouall (RGS 2002)

The Supporters (and sideline experts) From Left: Nick Tzoutzias (RGS 1985) and Brett Morrison (RGS 1985); Waterboy Dan Tyson (RGS 2013) Craig Wight (RGS 1988) and Todd Lynch (RGS 1990)

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Natalie’s new sports field Natalie Raborn (nee Ryan, RGS 1994) How did you get involved in mountain biking?

I spent 5 years in university in the USA utilising both a basketball scholarship and a track and field scholarship.

After I finished undergrad I was offered a position at Illinois State University doing Marketing for the athletic department as a Grad Assistant and I was able to get my MBA. After I was finished with all my schooling I returned to Colorado because I loved the outdoor activities that were at my doorstep. My knee was in bad shape after 5 years of basketball and running, so I started riding a bike to fuel my competitive spirit and because it was fun.

You’re a USA national champion?

In 2019 I was the USA Marathon Mountain Bike National Champion (40+). The race was held in Texas and it was 80km. (below is Natalie’s Instagram post after the event) “I am beyond stoked to share I am officially the 40+ USA Marathon (50miles/80km) Mountain Bike National Champion. I did not come by it easy. I went out hard, but felt good. I had had a very hard crash at the end of lap one in a big mud pile which landed me in a Cactus.

Thankfully bike and body was fine to continue. I lead the race for about 3h and 40 min and then heard the old ‘on your left...’ My competitor went by me and then it was ON. We raced HARD for about the last 25 minutes.

She was local and knew the lines and was trying to attack where she could. I still felt surprisingly strong and believed If could stay with her now, I could take her in a sprint finish. With about 150m to go I saw my opportunity and took off. It was a very hard way to end the day, but it allowed me to win by roughly 3 seconds.”

What’s the appeal of mountain bike competitions for you?

I love mountain biking because it more than just a test of physical fitness, you also have to have skill. Mountain biking can take you to some of the most spectacular places in the world scenery wise and that is a large part of why I love it. I also get scared riding on the road with cars and we have first class mountain bike trails here in Evergreen, Colorado that I have easy access to.

What’s next on the mountain bike competition schedule?

As I type this they are all being cancelled, but hopefully a 50 mile race in Dakota will still happen at the end of August What makes you still want to compete at a high level in sport?

Last year a meme went around the internet showing a young kid being very serious at sport while at primary school - and the caption was ‘We all had that one person in school that thought everyday was the Olympics’ sadly upon reflection I was that person. I still have that competitive streak but now it is also heavily focused on enjoyment, personal goals and it is something that I get to do with my husband, so it is just a way of life for us.

I now own and run www.HighRoadCoaching.com. Our mission is to help people (of all abilities, ages, fitness levels) achieve their health and fitness goals (both cycling and non cycling). I even have Australian clients, and because my business is 99% online I get to return home to Australia on a regular basis which is fantastic. natalie@highroadcoaching.com

Claire Mactaggart (nee Wyland, RGS 1992) talks about her passion for the land and the opportunities it has provided.

“I never take for granted where we live.”

That outlook on life continues to take Claire Mactaggart (nee Wyland, RGS 1992) towards new opportunities, her most recent being on the Board of Directors for Beef Australia 2021 (2 – 8 May).

Claire and her husband Andrew oversee beef properties in Central Queensland, along with their four daughters. Claire also continues on a 14-year journey as the Queensland contributing writer for Country Style magazine.

“You always make time for the things you love,’’ she said.

Claire was one of five children growing up at “Mona Vale”, north of Yaamba.

“I was a hands-on child. I grew up mustering, helping with any jobs on the property,’’ Claire adds.

She now calls “Balcomba” home, a cattle property 43km north of Duaringa which Andrew oversees along with their other breeding and backgrounding properties, “Angle Creek” which is north of “Balcomba” and “Wirranda”, over two-hours south of the family home.

The RGS connections are also close at hand.

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Past student Alistair Corr (RGS 1995) manages “Wirranda” while Emmeline Elder (RGS 2014) is a governess to Andrew and Claire’s youngest daughters, Sarah and Grace, who learn via distance education.

From her rural location, 150kms west of Rockhampton, Claire is able to contribute to the editorial team at Country Style, as well as other publications.

“It’s important to me to share with people all the great things about living in the country. I feel so lucky to have this off-farm job where I meet people from all over Australia. It’s about celebrating the diversity of regional life.”

Being part of Beef Australia is a chance for Claire to learn new skills and contribute to showcasing the wider beef industry.

“Everyone at Beef Australia has been very supportive and I am enjoying the process of working together in the lead-up to the ’21 event. It’s a big collaboration, made possible by the time and dedication of all those involved.”

Beef Australia events are always massive to organise, let alone having to deal with worldwide COVID-19

challenges. Claire said despite the challenges they are “proceeding with confidence”.

“The event is on track. As always, there’s a lot of good will and a big desire to make it a success. A lot of people come together and feel ownership of being a part of the Beef Australia celebration.”

Claire has attended the events since its inception in 1988 and in 2018 joined the Property Tours committee, headed by another RGS past student Scott McCartney (RGS 1979).

“They are a popular part of the Beef Australia programme and sell out quite quickly. I gained an insight at 2018 how that all worked,’’ said Claire, who is still involved in the 2021 property tours, working alongside various committee members including Rockhampton Regional Council Tourism Co-ordinator Zac Garven (RGS 2001).

“People generously host the property tours, allowing others to visit and ask questions about their business, land and management. It’s a great way to learn from others and experience another production system.”

“Even if you’re not directly associated with the beef industry you can come along to the event in Rockhampton, learn about the industry and make a connection with the people who help grow our food. We want the local community to be involved and for people to come to Rockhampton and have a great experience.”

Being a part of Beef Australia has also allowed Claire, who studied Agribusiness at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus, then later post graduate studies in business administration, to continue her learning journey of life on the land.

“I’ve learnt so much being a part of this family beef business. We have a great team and are using regenerative grazing principles to improve our land and beef enterprise,’’ Claire said.

“I never take for granted where we live. Every time when I’m out in the paddock I think wow this is our home.

Everything about it is beautiful. You can see change and be part of it, which is really wonderful.”

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Staying Connected RGS past students are staying connected to help build their young business interests.

When you’re studying at university and also training with a state league rugby league why wouldn’t you want to start your own clothing business.

Rockhampton’s Blake Moore (RGS 2017) (pictured right, on left) and his touch football mate Malcolm Kenny started joking around late last year about starting their own small clothing business.

On 29 June this year the clothing label “For the Record” was launched – a brand name that came about after a discussion about old records which turned into a saying between the mates.

Blake describes the fashion label as simple clothing that is appropriate for a wide range of customers.

“Malcolm and I decided it would go well as a brand and from there we developed a few logos through Promotial – Digital Marketing (a Rockhampton business owned by RGS past students, twin brothers, Tyler and Brandon Barnes (RGS 2014),’’ Blake said.

“All four of us have known each other for quite a while. I knew the Barnes boys from school and Malcolm played sport with them so that’s how the connection started. They have had their business for a little while now but just recently started to get bigger. Brandon and Tyler have both been a big help with the creation of logos, our website and teaching us a lot about social media.”

“We went through different suppliers to find different samples and after a period of time we finally designed a few pieces of clothing that we are happy with.

“We are starting small and hopefully developing into something a little bigger, but for now a few different t-shirts and accessories like socks and hats to get us started.”

It was a promising start for the young entrepreneurs – selling out after their launch.

However, the project has not been without its challenges.

“The main challenge was working out what the set up costs were going to be including website, samples and then the stock for collection one,’’ Blake said.

“We were unsure how much stock to get for collection one, so deciding on numbers for different sizes was a lengthy discussion until we decided what we thought was going to be the most popular sizes. The fashion industry is huge and is constantly changing. So trying to be unique, but also understand the current trends is important for us both to keep up with.”

For The Record

PromotialAU

fortherecordco

promotial_au

www.fortherecordco.com

www.promotial.com.au

RGS Past Students Photo Gallery

RGS Race Day: (Left) Steve Deaves (RGS 1987) with Donna Earl (wife of Brett Morrison, RGS 1985); (Right) Ed Mosby (right, RGS 1994) with RGS parent David Bell

Karis Edwards (RGS 2018) and Julia Becker (RGS 2017) talk all things UQ Women’s College with RGS Year 12 students Arnika, Maddi, Eliza and Freya.

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2018 graduates Pooja Arumugam and Veronica Lim back from university holidays.

RGS Director of Co-Curriculum Todd Wells (RGS 1995) catches up with Lucy Blair (2015)

Nick creates solutions Nick Dyer (RGS 2002) was getting frustrated with delivery services in the region so he took matters into his own hands.

Living on the family cattle property in Central West Queensland with his wife and three daughters, Nick set about developing an app that could facilitate a peer-to-peer economy.

Essentially our two primary objectives are: 1. Turn the flow of traffic on our highways (grey nomads included) into a parcel conveyor and give regional Australia and primary producers access to a fast and efficient, 24/7, on demand delivery service.

2. Allow people to subsidise their cost of travel by earning money from making a delivery while they travel, tourists included.

Nick said technically he had two primary problems that needed to be solved: 1. The app (marketplace) had to be two-sided - so a user could both create a request and accept a delivery.

2. Develop a process where anyone could deliver for anyone securely.

Nick said following this, they engaged a software development agency in Sydney.

“After learning that most agencies were outsourcing their work to developers abroad, to cut costs, we too engaged freelancer developers in the Ukraine to build the app,’’ Nick said.

“On Australia Day this year, we launched Fluxx into a geo fenced area in Central and Central Western Queensland.

“The point of this was to closely monitor the performance of the app and rectify any problems that were not revealed during testing.

“After experiencing a significant number of downloads and successfully facilitating a number of deliveries, we were negatively impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the travel restrictions, and for legal reasons, we have had to bring the Fluxx engine back to an idle.”

Nick said moving forward, as the COVID restrictions are lifted they will get back to marketing Fluxx and get things back on the road.

“In time, once we have profiled a large number of users our intention is to expand Fluxx into a long range ride share to give tourists and people in general a low cost method of travelling to and throughout the regions.

“Please give Fluxx a go and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us through Facebook.”

For more information please visit our website: www.fluxxit.com.au

Nick’s eldest daughter Ivy has big hugs for her dad and his innovative enterprise.

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Always remembered: On 10 June 60 years ago nine RGS students lost their lives in a plane crash off Mackay.

On 10 June 1960, nine RGS students excitedly boarded the Fokker Friendship “Abel Tasman” Flight 538 at the Rockhampton Airport bound for Mackay.

The students, all boarders, were going home for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

Taking a flight rather than the train or drive was an exciting adventure.

In fact, it was the first time the Mackay boarders had chosen to fly home for weekend leave.

However, as history now marks, tragically our students never made it home. The “Abel Tasman” crashed into the sea off the coast of Mackay on the night of 10 June 1960.

The plane had flown to Rockhampton from Brisbane via Maryborough, arriving at the Rockhampton Airport at 7:12 pm, where the crew received the weather forecast for Mackay, predicting shallow fog patches. The plane was refuelled to give sufficient range to continue on to Townsville if fog made it impossible to land in Mackay. Adding to the nine passengers already aboard, seven adults and our nine schoolboys joined the flight at Rockhampton.

The flight departed from Rockhampton at 7:52 pm. At 8:17 pm, Mackay air traffic control reported that fog had rolled in and temporarily closed Mackay Airport. A few minutes later, having come to the spot where he would start descending, the Captain told the tower controller he would hold over Mackay in case visibility improved.

At 8:40 pm, only 48 minutes after leaving Rockhampton, he reported they were over

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the airport. By all accounts, it was a bright moonlit night with a completely calm sea.

Two approaches were aborted due to a low layer of cloud on the coastline obscuring the sight of the strip on final approach.

By 10 pm, the fog at Mackay was thinning.

Air traffic control reported this to the flight and Captain Pollard said they would begin an approach to the airport. Several communications continued between the pilot and air traffic control regarding airport conditions.

At 10:05pm, air traffic control lost contact with the Captain. At 10:10 pm, Air Traffic Control started the procedure for launching a search and rescue operation.

Five hours after contact was lost, at about 3 am on the morning of Saturday, 11 June 1960, items of wreckage, including damaged passenger seats, clothing and cabin furnishings, were found floating on the ocean five nautical miles east of Mackay Airport.

While the formal inquiry did not determine a particular cause of the crash, it did recommend that flight data recorders (black boxes) be installed on all aircraft. As a result, Australia became the first country to mandate the carriage of cockpit voice recorders on civil transport aircraft.

Headmaster Jardine personally visited each of the families in Mackay the day following the crash.

Never morning wore To evening, but some hearts did break Tennyson

from the

Archives The RGS Headmaster who cracked the code Frederick William Wheatley was Headmaster at The Rockhampton Grammar School from 1907 to 1912.

The second Headmaster at RGS, Mr Wheatley was a popular figure – increasing student numbers from 47 boys to 105 students by 1910.

One of 70 applicants for the position of Headmaster at that time, Mr Wheatley had a broad knowledge of education. Over a 15-year period he had taught mathematics, bookkeeping, singing, elocution, science, German, drawing, history along with many other areas. He had a passion for the field of science.

Mr Wheatley had gained a Bachelor of Science (1890) and Bachelor of Arts (1905) from the University of Adelaide. He also held a diploma of the South Australian School of Mines in the department of Metallurgy, with first classes in assaying, machine design, and fitting and turning.

In the book, History of The Rockhampton Grammar School. Centenary 1881 – 1980, it mentioned Mr Wheatley demanded academic excellence from his students and in every endeavour, whether involving praise or disciplinary action, Mr Wheatley inspired his students.

Mr Wheatley parted ways with the school in 1912.

It was after this time that Mr Wheatley enrolled at Lincoln College, Oxford, in England where he studied the ionisation of gases and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1913.

Before returning to Australia he visited Germany

where he improved his knowledge of the language and, by his own account, had conversations with admiral von Tirpitz and General von Hindenburg.

On the outbreak of World War I Mr Wheatley was seconded to Navy Office Melbourne and was placed in charge of intercepted enemy radio messages.

In 1914 the German steamer Sydlitz left Sydney hurriedly and Naval authorities were convinced that she intended to warn German vessels on their way to Australia to turn back, as many would not yet know that a state of war existed between Britain and Germany.

Another German liner Hobart, docked in Melbourne from Perth, and was boarded by Australian Naval officials disguised as quarantine officials. They initially searched the ship and found nothing but later discovered crew members forcing open a panel under a desk.

A search revealed a hidden safe containing among other papers a copy of the German Mercantile Code Book and it’s cipher key.

These were passed onto Mr Wheatley for translation.

Mr Wheatley worked out the cipher key used to encrypt messages sent by Vice Admiral Graf von Spee’s Pacific Squadron. Wheatley’s brilliant work earned him the thanks of the Admiralty.

You can read more about Mr Wheatley’s Naval achievements in the James Phelps book, Australian Code Breakers.

Wartime leads to life-long career Edward John Dibdin was born in Rockhampton on 4 January 1886.

He attended The Rockhampton Grammar School and after school became an accountant at Mt Morgan Mines.

In 1904 he joined the 15th Light Horse as a trooper and was commissioned in 1908. He took up soldiering full-time in 1912 and joined the AIF in April 1916 as the Adjutant of the 42nd Battalion.

He saw action at Armentieres and Plogsteert. He was in hospital in June 1917 and missed the Battle of Messines.

Returning to the 42nd Battalion he again saw action in the long series of battles for Passchendaele in late 1917. He was promoted to Major on 10 May 1918 and commanded the 42nd Battalion in the Battles of Hamel and Amiens. From

late August to 9 September he commanded the 41st Battalion.

Dibdin returned to Australia in mid-1919 and resumed service with the militia.

He took a paid position of Federal Secretary of the RSL in Melbourne in 1924. Dibdin lived out his life as an advocate for returned servicemen, being one of the founders of the 42nd Battalion Association.

He died in Melbourne on 19 August 1963 aged 77. There is a street in Wandal named Dibdin St. Information sourced from the 42nd Battalion Memorial Swimming Pool, North Rockhampton.

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RGS in 2020 New Deputy Welcome to Mr Bill Weigall Education needs to be “broad, flexible and agile”, a philosophy The Rockhampton Grammar School’s new Deputy Headmaster Mr Bill Weigall is looking to continue at the school.

Mr Weigall arrives at RGS from Radford College in Canberra, where he held the position of Assistant Principal: Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting.

Working in Central Queensland expands on Mr Weigall’s education journey which started as an English teacher at Toowoomba Grammar School before spending three years as a Boarding Housemaster at Strathallan School in Scotland and then heading to Canberra Girls Grammar School – during that time he was Head of Glebe House, Head of English, ESL and Media, Head of Student Engagement and coached an 3 time Australian Champion Dragon Boat Team.

Mr Weigall also has a passion for coaching cricket and rugby, and ran the navy section of a cadet corps, teaching scuba diving.

“I’ve enjoyed all my previous roles for different reasons and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with those parts of school life,’’ Mr Weigall said.

“At RGS I have the opportunity to pull the strings of my various school roles back together and further refine my skills, learning from expert practitioners at RGS.” “It’s a wonderful opportunity to work at a school that extends from Kindy to Year 12, has a strong academic programme, strong co-curricular programme, strong boarding programme and a strong agriculture programme.”

Mr Weigall said schools must be responsive to the needs of people, and context is everything.

“Schools need to provide solid education foundations and adapt to challenges of the future,’’ Mr Weigall said.

“It’s about preparing people for life beyond school and schools need to identify what universities and employers are looking for now as well as what they will require in the future.

“Your role (in education) is similar to that of a parent: it’s to become redundant. You want your students to be able to thrive in a world beyond school when that time comes.

“RGS has students with a range of needs and goals in life which requires a broad, flexible and

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agile approach to education.”

The arrival at The Rockhampton Grammar School also provides a welcome return to boarding schools for Mr Weigall.

“The life of a boarding school is so rich and valuable to the development of young people, said Mr Weigall, who boarded in Year 11 and Year 12 at Toowoomba Grammar School.

“Working in boarding was like being a parent rather than just a teacher. Making a contribution to all facets of the lives of young people is really important work.”

Growing up on cattle properties at Charleville, Texas and then Proserpine, Mr Weigall still remembers starting his boarding experience.

“I was old enough to appreciate the difference being offered in education, but it was still a challenge establishing new friendships with so many already established from starting boarding at a younger age,’’ Mr Weigall said.

“However, I was fortunate to reconnect with many family connections from the Toowoomba region.

“It was at Toowoomba Grammar School that I developed an interest and enthusiasm for boarding and I’ve worked in boarding for a lot of my life.”

Mr Weigall also understands the importance of striking the right balance between boarding and day school communities.

Education has long struck a chord with Mr Weigall whose mum was an early childhood teacher.

“Education allows you to have a wonderful variety of work tasks and to engage with people in a powerful way.”

Mr Weigall said his initial days at Rockhampton Grammar School will involve familiarising himself with his new school and the community.

“I’m here to listen and learn.”

RGS Student Leaders of 2020 The Rockhampton Grammar School Student Leaders of 2020 have faced a time like no other.

It’s an honour to lead the School at many events, whether that be ANZAC Day Services or Formal Assemblies. This also includes joining fellow Year 12 and Year 6 students in events that you have long looked forward to in your final year of either Secondary or Primary School.

Some of these events will not become reality for many of these students, while they continue to live in hope of other events continuing in the remainder of the school year.

Nothing can take away from this group of students that they are the School’s elected student representatives for 2020 and The Rockhampton Grammar School congratulates these students, and their families, on their leadership appointments.

RGS Secondary School School Captains: Natalie Marks and Nicholas Storey School Vice Captains: Lillie Bain and Sansuka De Silva Prefects: Najwa Adams Patrick Chay Timothy Cookson Ethan Geall Angelina Hendrie Abbey Miers Olivia Offord Lara Roopnarinesingh Isabella Shute Keeley Tzoutzias.

RGS Primary Shool Student Leaders: Tosi Adegbija Layne Hodgetts Madeleine Green Darcy Malone Libby McDonald George Pentecost Patrick Robertson Electra Cox

Weddings Vera and Shane Vera Greeley (nee Fordyce, RGS 2010) We were meant to get married on 18 April 2020 in Mackay QLD. As we got closer to the date the government restrictions were introduced. 23/3/18 Mum posted back my wedding dress and shoes via Aust Post from Moranbah because they didn’t think they would come.

That night after Mum went to town to drop off the dress at the post office, Mum and Dad decided to jump in the car and came down before the borders closed. They drove over 2000km in two days and hobbled out of the car when they arrived here Wednesday night.

We were so frightened they were going to cancel weddings all together. It had gone from limits of 100 to 10 to 5 in the space of a week.

After the huge effort Mum and Dad put in to drive down we brought the wedding date forward to 29 March 2020 but we were still waiting on the dress - it was touch and go there on Friday before. We had all the girls in the Leongatha Post Office on the job and as soon as I got the message we raced into

town and picked it up. All the girls in the post office rallied behind me so that was super special.

On the morning of the wedding it was just a normal day. We had two decks of bullocks that needed loading and by the time we did that the hairdresser arrived, that’s when the nerves started to kick it! I just can’t believe how nervous I got and it was a tiny wedding.

I probably would have fainted if I had to do the real thing.

We got married in the Leongatha Catholic Church. Our photographer stood out the back looking through the window.

All our South Gippy friends were waiting outside of the church across the road in their cars when we walked out and they honked their horns like a bunch of loonys as our neighbours threw rose petals from their garden and the priest locked the door and got out of there before he got in trouble I suspect. It was lots of fun.

And to celebrate we came back to our little farm ‘Kilbar’ and drank champagne and ate homemade pies.

Sasha and Carolyn Sasha Belonogoff (RGS 2007) Our wedding was originally planned for July 11, 2020 with guest from interstate and overseas celebrating the both of us in Rockhampton. COVID threw a spanner in the works of that original plan.

With Carolyn being American, originally from Detroit, we knew that we would be unable to have a wedding involving her family for the foreseeable future. So instead we decided to bring our wedding forward to May 23, 2020. The date was picked purely because she was told her wedding dress would come end of April and that would give us enough time to reorganise with our vendors to see if they were available. Carolyn’s wedding dress ended up arriving only 24 hours before we headed off to Rockhampton, adding a bit of extra suspense leading up to the wedding.

From day one, we had our heart set on an outdoor ceremony, and considering we were no longer able to use third party properties, we had to think outside the box. Last year, Carolyn and I stumbled upon Hedlow Creek on our way from Byfield to Rockhampton one afternoon. We were so taken by the beauty of the creek with its dark water, eucalypt-lined banks and the backdrop of volcanic plugs. We knew it’d be a perfect place for a small wedding ceremony. On May 23, restrictions allowed up to 10 guests at a wedding, meaning that the Belonogoff Tribe, our celebrant and good friend, Zac and our photographer, Jess could be in attendance.

It rained all of Friday night, and all of Saturday morning and at 2pm on Saturday, one hour before our ceremony, the rain stopped and the clouds began to clear.

The ceremony was intimate and beautiful. Sasha’s

brother, Nik paired with our puppy, Dolly to form the bridal party, and Sasha’s sister, Ellie sang one of our favourite Bob Dylan songs while Carolyn walked down the grassy aisle. As we were getting some newlywed photos, the sun burst through the clouds and lit up the sky in the most amazing, fire-like sunset either of us had ever seen. It was as if the weather gods were rewarding us for committing to the record-lowtemperature, and the love gods were rewarding us for committing to each other!

At sunset, we moved back to the warmth of the Belonogoff Home and had an amazing dinner showcasing local Rockhampton produce, we listened to speeches both live and recorded and we video linked with Carolyn’s family. It was the perfect end to a perfect wedding day, and an incredible way to start our life together as Husband and Wife.

The Grammarian

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Births, Vale BIRTH

BIRTH

VALE

Ashleigh Harvey (nee Norford, RGS 2005) and Tyron Harvey

Meg Speed (nee Wilson, RGS 2005) and Jack Speed (RGS 2008)

Francis James Cross RGS 1949 - 1952

Meg and Jack welcomed Roxy Kate Speed on 5 May. Roxy weighed 8lb 7.05 oz. Roxy is a sister for two-yearold Mia.

Brigadier Francis James Cross (retired) passed away on 9 May 2020.

Born on 12 August 1934 in Sarina, Frank was a boarder at The Rockhampton Grammar School from 1949 - 1952.

Frank was a Prefect in 1952, and also on the Library and Recreation Room committees along with holding the rank of Lieutenant in the RGS Cadets.

The RGS Cadets sparked an early interest in military for Frank. At a training course in Brisbane he was successful in passing his Officers’ Course.

Frank was also a handy athlete on the sports field, representing the school in cricket, football, tennis, swimming, and athletics, including the Archer Cup and Headmaster’s Cup which is still contested today.

This outstanding athletic prowess earned Frank the Sylvia Dixon Trophy for athletic proficiency and physical development in the 1952 school prizes.

Academically, Frank also excelled at RGS recepting the John Wheatcroft

Ashleigh and Tyron welcomed Gus Lawrence on 26 May. Gus weighed 7lb 8oz and is the first child for Ashleigh and Tyron. Ashleigh is the outgoing secretary of the RGS Past Students’ Association and work’s in the School’s Marketing team while Tyron works in RGS Boys Boarding.

Congratulations also to first-time grandparents, Stewart and Tania Norford. Stewart is the Director of Boarding at RGS while Tania is Head of Mathematics (Years 7 - 10)

VALE

Speaking to The Grammarian in 2016, Ian said, “Looking back I’ve had a lot of luck with my music.”

Ian Bloxsom RGS 1949 - 1956 Ian’s passion for music led to a position in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra over a 30 year period.

He was also a member of the band “Crossfire” which was an Australian jazz-fusion band active from 1974 to 1991, recording five studio albums. Ian played percussion and glockenspiel.

Ian, based in Sydney, also continued to share his love of music with students, tutoring music at Sydney Grammar School for many years.

In his schooldays at RGS, Ian formed the original Cadets Drum and Fife Band and he also played front row in the victorious 1956 RGS rugby league team.

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Ian enjoyed his time in the percussion section of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra - ““It’s fun and rowdy up the back of the orchestra so there’s a bit of laughter going on.’’

On tutoring students, Ian said, “’m not trying to train professional musicians. I just want them to enjoy their music and it’s also good for your mental health. I’m better at it (music) because I made an effort – it’s up to you to make the effort to improve.’’

Ian Bloxsom: 11/12/1938 12/12/2019

The Grammarian

Cup for the best exemplar of the school motto (Mact Virtute et Litteris), which he shared with W. J. Jones in 1952.

After passing his Senior, Frank enrolled at the Royal Military College in Canberra. He commanded the Passing Out Parade at Duntroon with his foot in a plaster cast. The Korean War was still in progress at that time before a cease fire was called on 27 July 1953.

The young men at Duntroon had to refocus on other military pursuits.

Frank would serve with the Royal Australian Engineers, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal and Mention in Dispatches.

Frank Cross: 12/8/1934 - 9/5/2020

Listen to an interview with Frank Cross in 2005. Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

The Rockhampton Grammar School Archer Street, Rockhampton Qld 4700 P 07 4936 0600 | W www.rgs.qld.edu.au | E paststudents@rgs.qld.edu.au CRICOS Provider No. 00507F