Message from the President Events

Message

from thePresident

I am delighted to have been appointed as President of the Old Collegians Association.

Meg Black, the outgoing President, set the bar incredibly high with her leadership of the OCA. We are fortunate that Meg is remaining on the Executive and I look forward to working with her and the rest of the Executive in the years to come.

I have fond memories of my time at St Andrew’s College. In 2005, I was a shy, Year 9. I eventually went on to discover the world of rowing and competed at a high level. While at the College, I had excellent teachers and met some outstanding people, some of whom are my closest friends today. I thoroughly enjoyed the St Andrew’s sense of community and pursuit of excellence.

A number of years ago, I returned to Christchurch after studying in Dunedin and have enjoyed reconnecting with the College. My wife and I were fortunate enough to get married at the Centennial Chapel. I now practice as a litigation lawyer with Chapman Tripp and when I am not working, am a father, cyclist, and occasional Ironman competitor.

Since leaving the College in 2009, I have enjoyed following the success of students, Old Collegians, and the wider College community. I am in constant awe of the academic, sporting, and cultural achievements that are regularly reported in Regulus.

The St Andrew’s College spirit is alive and well within the Executive and the Old Collegians network. This was evident at the OCA Dinner in August, and more recently, the ‘30 Years of Girls’ reunion where 100 Old Collegians and their partners gathered in honour of 30 years of co-education.

I am honoured to serve the Old Collegians as President and look forward to connecting with as many of you as possible.

Sam Crosbie (2009) OCA President

Gentlemen’s

Luncheon

On Friday 14 October, 90 Old Collegians ranging in age from 74 to 99 attended the Gentlemen’s Luncheon, which was also a celebration of the Class of 1952’s 70 Years On reunion. After morning tea, the Old Boys enjoyed some wonderful performances in the Centennial Chapel by Music teacher and Honorary Old Collegian, Bryan Botting, Cindy Xiong (Year 13), and Pipe Band Director Richard Hawke (OC 1980).

Then it was back to the Strowan House dining room for a delicious lunch, when there were Toasts from two members of the 70 Years On group, John McCaskey and Don Davison (both 1956).

Rector Christine Leighton shared a special gift with the group, a pristine College Cap, from 1925, which was gifted to the College by William Southgate (1958) in honour of his uncle Gerald Oliphant Morrison (1927) who was a College Prefect in 1925, served on the Board of Governors, and was a President of the Old Collegians Association in the early 1940s. In her reply to the Toast to the College, Christine also gave an update on the recent successes at the College, including some outstanding results in sport, culture and academia at a national and international level.

Thank you again to all our Old Boys who came from across New Zealand to attend this very special, annual reunion.

Old Collegian Association

Annual Dinner

On Friday 12 August 2022, the Old Collegians Association hosted their Annual Dinner. A group of 110 guests, including Old Collegians ranging in peer years from 1949–2017, were treated to a fabulous night where three special Old Collegians were honoured and celebrated during the presentation of the OCA’s annual awards.

The Maginness Cup Sports Award was won by Charlotte Elley (2014) who is heading to the Splice Construction Magic to play netball in the 2023 ANZ Premiership after seven seasons with Canterbury’s Mainland Tactix. The Cockram Cultural Award went to Sandy McCutcheon (1964). Sandy was brought up in New Zealand and moved to Australia in the 1970s. Most of his working life was spent in either radio or theatre, as an actor and director. He has written 22 plays which have been professionally produced and is also a best-selling novelist, now based in Fez, Morocco. Marianne Hargreaves kindly accepted this award on Sandy’s behalf. The Alister Newton Service Award was won by Professor Ronald W Jones CNZM (1957). Ron was honoured for the contribution he has made to women’s health services both in Aotearoa and around the world. In 1984, Ron and two of his colleagues published a scientific paper that exposed the truth of New Zealand’s worst medical tragedy – the ‘unfortunate experiment’, where women who had a lesion of the cervix, were being observed rather than treated. Many women subsequently’ died of cervical cancer. Earlier this year, Ron was the first New Zealander to receive a prestigious award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Meg Black (2010) expertly emceed the evening and handed over her mantle to new OCA President, Sam Crosbie (2009). Rector, Christine Leighton, spoke about the parallels around the College in the sports, arts, and cultural areas that current students are excelling in. Jonathan Wells (1987) gave another wonderful Address to a Haggis, and Catering Manager, Russell Gray and his team delivered a superb meal. A great night was had by all.

OCA Annual

Golf Tournament

The annual OCA Golf Tournament was held at Waitikiri Golf Course on Friday 28 October, after being postponed in March due to COVID-19. A field of 76 golfers played in ideal conditions, and were treated to a barbeque before tee-off. A big thanks to Chris Timbs (1986) for the sausages and Charles Wiffen (1966) for the wine.

It was a great day for the Nicholls family, with Andrew Nicholls (2004) winning the Old Collegians Cup for the Best Round of the Day, and Janet Nicholls winning the Women’s Section.

Thank you to Mike Johnston (1974) for organising the prizes, and to the generous sponsors who donated around 100 prizes for the raffle. Special thanks to Paul McEwan (1967) who did another wonderful job of organising the event. He indicated this would be his last one, with Michael Simcock (2011) taking over the mantle for the 2023 tournament. This will be held on a date to be confirmed next March.