TGS - A Celebration of its sesquicentenary: 1875-2025 (Vol. 2)

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Vol. 2 TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR SCHOOL A Celebration of its Sesquicentenary 1875- 2025

Volume 2

A Celebration of its Sesquicentenary 1875 - 2025

Peter B. Hauser

Written and Compiled by the 15th Headmaster

Peter B. Hauser


TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR SCHOOL: A CELEBRATION OF ITS SESQUICENTENARY, 1875-2025, VOLUME 2 Preface – Background and Acknowledgements ................................................................................. 406 Background to the Foundation of the School, 1860 - 1874 ................................................................ 412 1951 .................................................................................................................................................... 414 1952 .................................................................................................................................................... 418 1953 .................................................................................................................................................... 423 1954 .................................................................................................................................................... 429 1955 .................................................................................................................................................... 434 1956 .................................................................................................................................................... 439 1957 .................................................................................................................................................... 445 1958 .................................................................................................................................................... 451 1959 .................................................................................................................................................... 457 1960 .................................................................................................................................................... 464 1961 .................................................................................................................................................... 470 1962 .................................................................................................................................................... 476 1963 .................................................................................................................................................... 482 1964 .................................................................................................................................................... 488 1965 .................................................................................................................................................... 495 1966 .................................................................................................................................................... 501 1967 .................................................................................................................................................... 506 1968 .................................................................................................................................................... 511 1969 .................................................................................................................................................... 517 1970 .................................................................................................................................................... 524 1971 .................................................................................................................................................... 530 1972 .................................................................................................................................................... 536 1973 .................................................................................................................................................... 542 1974 .................................................................................................................................................... 549 1975 .................................................................................................................................................... 555 1976 .................................................................................................................................................... 563 1977 .................................................................................................................................................... 570 1978 .................................................................................................................................................... 576 Page | 403


1979 .................................................................................................................................................... 582 1980 .................................................................................................................................................... 589 1981 .................................................................................................................................................... 595 1982 .................................................................................................................................................... 601 1983 .................................................................................................................................................... 608 1984 .................................................................................................................................................... 614 1985 .................................................................................................................................................... 623 1986 .................................................................................................................................................... 630 1987 .................................................................................................................................................... 638 1988 .................................................................................................................................................... 649 1989 .................................................................................................................................................... 657 1990 .................................................................................................................................................... 664 1991 .................................................................................................................................................... 672 1992 .................................................................................................................................................... 680 1993 .................................................................................................................................................... 688 1994 .................................................................................................................................................... 696 1995 .................................................................................................................................................... 703 1996 .................................................................................................................................................... 711 1997 .................................................................................................................................................... 719 1998 .................................................................................................................................................... 727 1999 .................................................................................................................................................... 735 2000 .................................................................................................................................................... 742 2001 .................................................................................................................................................... 750 2002 .................................................................................................................................................... 757 2003 .................................................................................................................................................... 765 2004 .................................................................................................................................................... 774 2005 .................................................................................................................................................... 782 2006 .................................................................................................................................................... 791 2007 .................................................................................................................................................... 801 2008 .................................................................................................................................................... 810 2009 .................................................................................................................................................... 819 2010 .................................................................................................................................................... 829 2011 .................................................................................................................................................... 838 2012 .................................................................................................................................................... 848 2013 .................................................................................................................................................... 858

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2014 .................................................................................................................................................... 869 2015 .................................................................................................................................................... 877 2016 .................................................................................................................................................... 887 2017 .................................................................................................................................................... 898 2018 .................................................................................................................................................... 908 2019 .................................................................................................................................................... 919 2020 .................................................................................................................................................... 929 2021 .................................................................................................................................................... 938 2022 .................................................................................................................................................... 946 2023 .................................................................................................................................................... 955 2024 .................................................................................................................................................... 965 2025 .................................................................................................................................................... 971 Appendix One: A Tribute to John Keeble Winn (1941-2015).............................................................. 976 Appendix Two: Trustees’ Honour Boards ........................................................................................... 979 Appendix Three: Staff Honour Boards ................................................................................................ 980 Appendix Four: Student Honour Boards in Old Hall and Other Locations.......................................... 981 Appendix Five: Index ........................................................................................................................... 994

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Preface – Background and Acknowledgements In compiling this book I have used a variety of sources. Many books and their authors are listed below which provided useful information. Most interesting knowledge, and an illustration of key matters relevant to the School’s governing body, the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Board of Trustees, came from reading all Minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings from the late 1880s to 2020. The School’s seven-person Board of Trustees holds monthly meetings for both the full Board and for its various smaller sub-committees. Detailed Minutes of each meeting are recorded. Illustrated in the photographs at the end of the 1958-year entry is a book containing the Minutes of every Board of Trustee meeting over the period 1938-1958. The Minutes of each meeting were typed and then attached to this large book. At the end of 1958 a new book was used to record the minutes and nowadays all records are computer based. Other sources of information used in compiling this edition of the School’s history came from all School Magazines from 1904, other school publications such as Omnibus and Balliwanga, newspaper and magazine articles, family papers, audio recordings from Old Boys, written correspondence to the School and more. An early book referring to some aspects of the School’s history appeared through the authorship of T.Max Hawkins titled The Queensland Great Public Schools: A History published by the Jacaranda Press in 1965. The author of the first official history book of Toowoomba Grammar School was Dr Rupert Goodman, an employee of The University of Queensland. Dr Goodman was invited by the School to write Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875 – 1975: A Centenary History. In the preface of this book, published in 1976, the author, Rupert Goodman, wrote: ”To be invited to write a school history is a great honour, but it is also an exciting and challenging task. Tracing the records of a hundred years leads the researcher, far afield, even beyond the boundaries of Queensland. Trustees’ Minutes, school documents, newspaper records, family papers, school magazines provide abundant material. The historian’s task is to piece this mosaic together, to explain the sequence of events that has brought the school to its first centenary. Of course, in the space of educational time, measured by the establishment of the Great Public Schools of England, such as Winchester (1382) and Eton (1440), a century is but yesterday. Yet it is important that the records be gathered together now, before they are lost or destroyed.” I wish to acknowledge the research and efforts of Dr Goodman in writing Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875-1975: A Centenary History. Dr Goodman’s authorship resulted from the foresight of the School’s then Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Ian Gibson, fellow Trustees at that time, and the then Headmaster of the School, Mr W.M. Dent. The author of the second official history book of Toowoomba Grammar School was Mr John Winn, a former teacher at the School for thirty-five years (1963-1997) and later part-time School Historian. A tribute to Mr John Keeble Winn is to be found in Appendix One. John Winn’s book on the history of the School from 1875 to 2000 represents an incredibly comprehensive and well-researched tome of 598 pages. John Winn’s book Still Playing the Game (A History of Toowoomba Grammar School, 18752000) is a vital historical record of the development of our wonderful school over its first 125 years. A significant part of this third history book on the School, Toowoomba Grammar School: A Celebration of its Sesquicentenary Years, 1875-2025, has been taken directly from John Winn’s research and often in his own written words, particularly the content relating to the biographies of those Old Boys profiled on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Page | 406


The authors of the first and second official school history books were invited to write the 100 years (centenary) and 125 years by the School’s Board of Trustees. My own work on the history of the School, 1875-2025, was not by invitation. Rather, I suggested the project to the School’s Board of Trustees in November 2016 requesting their permission to commence this undertaking. The project received the fullest support from the then Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, and Deputy Chairman, Mr John Handley, and the other four Trustees of the School at the time, namely Mr Chris Wicks, Dr Russell Domrow, Dr Nicola Hulme-Peake and Mrs Kym Murray (the seventh member of the Board of Trustees, Mr Russ Johnson, had passed away earlier in this year but was also fully supportive of the initial concept). The Trustees of the School agreed that some of my forthcoming sabbatical leave (one term in 2017) be devoted to commencing such research. My retirement from the School in December 2020 has provided me with ample opportunity to continue, and complete, this task. Over the 150 years of the School’s history there have been many other people contributing their knowledge and understanding of the life of the School. The School Magazine Volume XVI, November 1926, No.2, was the “Jubilee Number” and contained a worthwhile historical account of the School, compiled mainly by Mr Cameron of The Toowoomba Chronicle. Another most useful source of information was contained in the School Magazine of 1961 with a review of the history of various sports. A major historical undertaking was completed in 1995 by long-serving member of Staff, Mr Graeme Ainsbury. Mr Ainsbury was employed by the School from 1959-1961 and then from 19631995. During this time he was the Senior Master (1975-1992) and then School Registrar (1992-1995). In the 1990’s Headmaster Hugh Rose deemed it important that the School begin to compile a Register of the boys who had attended Toowoomba Grammar School since 1877. Mr Ainsbury enthusiastically agreed to such a task and his book, Toowoomba Grammar School Register 1877-1995, was published in 1995. Not only did this book contain the names of all Toowoomba Grammarians and their years of schooling but also statistical information on the members of the School’s Board of Trustees, Staff, the Old Boys’ Association, Guest Speakers at Speech Day, War Honour Rolls, General Honour Rolls, House Captains, Sporting Captains and more. Mr Ivan Board who attended the School from 1961-1964 spent three years (2018-2020) in his retirement to research, write and subsequently publish an exhaustive account of the history of Cricket played by Toowoomba Grammar School boys from 1877-2020. His work was superbly researched and included details of every 1st XI cricket match played, scores and player details since 1877. Ivan Board’s book titled The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School (1877-2020) is in two volumes. The first volume (1877-1979) contains 594 pages and the second volume (1980-2020) has a further 609 pages of information. This research also allowed him to provide the School with a player number for every member of the 1st XI cricket team since 1877. Ivan’s research also enabled him to share such information with other member schools of the Great Public Schools (GPS) Association of Queensland and a further six books have been published subsequently. These include books, all co-authored by Ivan Board, for Brisbane Grammar School, Anglican Church Grammar School (‘Churchie’), Brisbane Boys’ College, St Joseph’s Nudgee College, The Southport School and Ipswich Grammar School outlining their respective school’s involvement playing cricket against Toowoomba Grammar School over more than one century. I thank Mr Ivan Board for compiling the incredible detail he has obtained relating to the history of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School and for enabling me to include his research in my book. Mrs Ann Hallam was an employee at the School from 2006-2019 in her role as a Cadet Officer (and the parent of two TGS Old Boys). Her historical research into the School’s Cadet Corps and the military involvement of the School’s Old Boys has been particularly significant. Ann was responsible for Page | 407


compiling the TGS Old Boys’ Commemorative website which can be accessed through the Old Boys’ Association portal of the School’s website. Ann’s research over many years has centred on identifying the names of all Old Boys who have served their country. This included rank, postings on discharge, status, date and cause of death where applicable, age, parents etc. Ann Hallam’s research on the Old Boys of the School and their military involvement is highly regarded and most valuable. The School’s Museum was officially opened on 31 May 2009. This facility is housed in the Old Boys’ Building and originated via the conversion of the 1924 “Old Chem Lab” or, in more recent times, the Cadet Q store. A clear indication of the extent to which people value the School and what it stands for may be seen through the ongoing work of the Curator of the Museum and the team of Volunteers. The Curator, Mrs Denise Miller, from the commencement of the Museum to the time of writing (2024) was a former member of the administrative staff of the School for forty years (1967-2006). Denise is the mother of a TGS Old Boy and has the title of Honorary Old Boy bestowed upon her by the TGS Old Boys’ Association. She has enthusiastically and most capably led her team of volunteers. These volunteers have amassed an amazing number of voluntary hours assisting with the archival records documenting the history of the School. One of these key volunteers, Mrs Judy Gillies, is the longestserving employee in the School’s history for 54 years (from 1958-July 2012) and has continued her assistance in the Museum in a part-time volunteer capacity from 2013 to the time of writing (2024), amounting to a staggering 66 years of contribution to Toowoomba Grammar School. Judy is the mother of two TGS Old Boys. No one is better qualified than Judy Gillies, herself a TGS Honorary Old Boy, to assist in caring for the School’s history and the lives of all Old Boys and current students. One of the inaugural (and still in 2024) part-time volunteers in the Museum is Mr John Handley, a former Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, past President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association and the father of two Old Boys (see 1957). Another inaugural volunteer in the Museum from 2009-2016 was Mr Don Trenerry (1949-1952) who is a former Trustee of the School, former President of the Old Boys’ Association (OBA), Honorary Life Member of the OBA and the father of two Old Boys (see 1952). All other inaugural volunteers working in the Museum are acknowledged in the 2009-year entry. A further part-time volunteer in the Museum from 2013 to the time of writing (2024) is Mrs Lin O’Sullivan who is a former member of the TGS Library and Administrative staff and the mother of a TGS Old Boy. Also having a significant role in recording the life of the School is the School’s former (now retired) Director of Enrolments and Honorary TGS Old Boy, Mr Rob Mitchell. Rob spent countless hours researching the military involvement of past students and arranged for the initial scanning of all school magazines from 1904. Another former member of staff and also an Honorary TGS Old Boy, Mrs Ellen Morosini, who worked in the Enrolments and Old Boys’ Office from 2003-2012, also made a major contribution to the School’s archival records. Another former member of staff from 1993-2020, mother of two TGS Old Boys and also an Honorary TGS Old Boy, Mrs Jennifer Fordyce, also made a significant contribution to recording the history of the School. Well prior to the opening of the School Museum in 2009, Mrs Tessa Tamvakis (nee Dent), the daughter of the School’s 13 th Headmaster, Mr Bill Dent and Mrs Marion Dent, worked in the Library and Archives from 1983-1990 and her work also made a highly worthwhile contribution to the quality of recording of the School’s archival storage. The School Museum provides a superb resource for the current students, staff, Old Boys, parents and the wider community. Personally, I find it crucial that our boys appreciate the history and development of their School over a period of nearly 150 years. To do so will enable them to comprehend with greater clarity the School’s fundamental values and our future direction.

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Many Old Boys have also assisted in providing me with information relating to their years at the School. I acknowledge the Old Boys’ Association and its Presidents over the years and particularly the assistance from Old Boys, Mr Glen McCracken (TGS 1970-1974), Mr John Handley (1954-1957), Mr Don Trenerry (1949-1952) and Mr Ian Dumigan (1962-1965). In the early years of my Headmastership I welcomed the mentoring and friendship shown by some esteemed Old Boys including Sir Bruce Watson (see 1945), Dr George Fielding (see 1948) and Mr Jack Doyle (see 1934) before their passing. Throughout my years at the School I have also appreciated the valued input and thoughts of Mr Graham Hobbs (see 1952), Mr Ivan Board (see 1964) and many more Old Boys. The support of Mr Hugh Rose, a former Headmaster of the School (1992-2002), and the current Headmaster, Dr John Kinniburgh (2021-present), are also acknowledged together with the interest shown by Mrs Marion Dent, the wife of the former Headmaster of the School, the late Mr Bill Dent (1970-1991). I have compiled this book as an expression of my thanks to the School for enabling me to be its Headmaster for eighteen years (2003-2020), living on the school grounds for seventeen of these years, seeing the life of the School from a parent’s perspective (with son Mitchell attending the School from 2003-2005) and with the constant support of my wife Thérèse. I wish all the Toowoomba Grammar School families, both current and former, all the very best and may we all join together in wishing the School continued success over the next century.

Peter B. Hauser Headmaster, Toowoomba Grammar School, 2003-2020

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With thanks to all Old Boys of Toowoomba Grammar School •

As at June 2024 there have been 18,746 student names entered into the School’s hand-written Register of Admission. The original book contained the names of the 14,861 boys who studied at this School from February 1877 to 2007 (see photographs in the 1877-year entry). The second volume of this Admissions Register replicates the first volume in that it is a magnificent leatherbound book and continues the tradition of entering by hand the names of every student who has enrolled in this School. These two volumes are stored in the School’s Museum. On the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement, located on the School grounds, are over one hundred bronze plaques representing students who have advanced to have national recognition in their fields of endeavour. An alphabetical list of the names of all men whose success has been acknowledged on the Wall of Achievement is contained in the index of this book. Also featured on this Wall of Achievement is perhaps the most significant plaque of all, in that it acknowledges all Toowoomba Grammarians who have made commendable, yet perhaps somewhat anonymous, although productive contributions to society in all walks of life. These thousands of Old Boys have continued to live their lives demonstrating the qualities of integrity, loyalty, honesty, hard work, respect for others, service to others and kindness. A photograph of this bronze plaque on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement is included below.

At the Sydney Branch of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ annual dinner in October 1963, Old Boy Alexander McPhie (1914-1915), ex-Chief Inspector, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, proposed a Toast to the School. His words most appropriately express the thanks of all for the contributions made by so many Old Boys of Toowoomba Grammar School. “Tonight, Your Excellency and Gentlemen, I do not intend to refer in detail to the atmosphere of tradition that is manifesting itself increasingly about the School, but I do ask you to remember the many great Old Boys of bygone days - those who have passed to the other side - those who have died in battle on the land, in the skies, and on the oceans of the world, those who have given and continue to give, in legacies of learning and achievement, outstanding public and professional service to Australia and to the world at large - eminent members of the Forces, doctors, dentists, engineers, scholars, journalists, captains of industry, commerce and finance, great men of the law, and not by any means least the pastoralists, farmers, and mining men who have forced our earth to yield her agricultural riches and her mineral wealth for the benefit of mankind throughout the world. Please remember, too, those who have done their duty nobly and well in less conspicuous, and perhaps in less competent, but not in less worthy ways. At the same time, I ask you not to forget those, who, often through no faults of their own, have baulked at life's hurdles - those Old Boys who may be sick and ailing, on the brink of Eternity. I ask you to bring to mind the lengthening of illustrious Headmasters and other Masters, who have contributed so much to the development of the School, which, I feel, is most unique in character, and which continues to train not only good, true and brave Australians - men worthy in every way of their pioneering forbears, but also young people from other lands, who are attending the School because those responsible for their education believe that those boys will assimilate knowledge and scholarship that is worthwhile, receiving at the same time a training of character that is worth even more. ......”. (Source – Toowoomba Grammar School Annual Magazine 1963, pg.49).

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Similarly, another tribute to the quality of Toowoomba Grammar Old Boys over the years was superbly summarised by Old Boy, Brigadier J.E.G. Martin (1917-1921) when proposing the Toast to the School at the Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner in Brisbane in September 1958. Brigadier Martin referred to the School’s 82nd year existence and noted: “In this short span the world has moved from the era of the horse and buggy and the paraffin lamp and great social distinctions to a brave, exciting, and, incidentally, very dangerous new age of supersonic flight, nuclear energy, automation, anti-biotics and plastic surgery, the mechanised home and the welfare state. … Not all who pass through the School can achieve great eminence in their chosen careers. I suggest that the prime function of the School is to produce men – men of goodwill with a sense of both private and public responsibility; men who are not automatons but are trained to think and to evaluate. If they have these qualities, it will not be long before they find their natural place in the stream of community life. The School can be proud that its Old Boys answer the roll call in all grades of leadership in every section of business and professional life in the community. A State Governor, University Professors, Headmasters of Great Public Schools, Members of Parliament, men who have attained eminence in the various branches of pure and applied science, technologists, leaders of social and philanthropic activities, men who serve with distinction in the Services, all of these add lustre to the history of the School. But TGS should be no less proud of all those who, though nameless to the general public, are carrying on the traditions of the School in their various vocations, and, though they do not get their names in the daily Press, are respected for the dignity of their labours and for their philanthropic and community service in their own suburbs and villages. Among all those who served their country in the wars, those who achieved no particular eminence or distinction, but always did a good job - not because it was an exciting or glamorous enterprise, but because the spirit of the old School urged, "There's a job to be done, you ought to be in it!" - these constituted the great majority on which the fate of battles ultimately depended.” (Source – Toowoomba Grammar School Annual Magazine 1958).

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Background to the Foundation of the School, 1860 - 1874 •

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In 1860 The Grammar Schools Act was decreed by the Queensland Colonial Government allowing for the establishment of Grammar Schools. The Act stated that if a sum of at least one thousand pounds was raised by donation or subscription in any district for the purpose of establishing a public grammar school then a corresponding sum of money not exceeding twice the amount that had been raised shall be provided by the colonial government to the erection of suitable buildings for the said school. In 1874 a local Toowoomba resident and businessman named Mr Samuel George Stephens sought government approval for the establishment of a Grammar School in Toowoomba. A copy of the handwritten request to the colonial government is now housed in the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Museum. In Mr Stephens’ letter to the Colonial Secretary’s Office he stated that he was confident that the required sum of money would be raised and listed the names of twenty people together with the sum of money that they had agreed to donate. Mr Stephens had agreed to donate a sum of fifty pounds together with others. A most significant pledge of funds was made by the Hon. James Taylor, MLC to the extent of one hundred and five pounds. The reply to Mr Stephens letter to the Colonial Secretary regarding the proposed establishment of a Grammar School in Toowoomba was written on 16 January, 1874. The letter stated: To: Mr S.G. Stephens, Sir – “With reference to the requisition signed by the Hon. James Taylor and other gentlemen residing in the town and district in Toowoomba, forwarded under cover of your letter of 6th inst,.relating to the establishment of a Grammar School in Toowoomba, I am directed to inform you that as soon as the sum of £1000 raised by donation or subscription has been lodged in some bank to the credit of the Building Fund, the Government will be prepared to advise the payment of £2000 in addition, to be applied in manner provided by the Grammar Schools Act of 1860, and I am to request that you will advise Mr Taylor and the other requisitionists accordingly. I have (etc) H.H. Massie”. Two Grammar Schools had already been established in the colony. The first was Ipswich Grammar School founded in 1863 followed by Brisbane Grammar School in 1867. The Grammar Schools Act required that seven people would be necessary to serve as Trustees of the School – four of whom nominated and appointed by the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council and three people elected by the majority of the people subscribing to the establishment of the proposed new school. In 1864, prior to the establishment of Toowoomba Grammar School, The Grammar Schools Act was amended to increase the initial sum of money to be raised by public subscription to be two thousand pounds, not one thousand pounds as initially stated. A public meeting was called for 8:00pm on Wednesday, 4 February 1874 at Hooper’s Commercial Hotel so that interested citizens could discuss plans for the establishment of a Grammar School in Toowoomba. The Acting Chairman was the Hon. James Taylor, MLC and he said that he hoped that every resident in the district would render assistance to the campaign. The Acting Secretary, Mr Samuel Stephens, was then requested to state the amount of subscriptions already collected. At the meeting it was unanimously agreed that the Hon. James Taylor be Treasurer and that Mr Samuel Stephens be Honorary Secretary.

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On the same evening, 4 February, Ashton’s British and American Circus supported the fundraising effort by staging a complementary benefit in aid of the Toowoomba Grammar School fund. “Grand fashionable entertainment” was advertised, along with a programme which included “the boneless boy in his puzzling contortions, daring feats on horseback, comicalities, witticisms and puns”. The circus also included acrobatic effects on the trapeze, trick performing ponies, and a splendid Brass Band. It was reported that “a very nice sum was realised”. In May a meeting was held to appoint the three people from the list of financial subscribers to form part of the required Board of Trustees. The Chairman declared that Messrs William Graham, George H. Davenport and Samuel G. Stephens were duly elected. At the meeting a motion was proposed and seconded to determine whether provision could be made for the education of girls in the proposed Grammar School. After discussion the motion was put and lost. Mr Stephens as Honorary Secretary of the provisional committee was formally thanked by the Hon. James Taylor for his determined efforts to establish the Grammar School. The Board of Trustees

Later, the Government appointed its four nominees to the Foundation Board of Trustees of the Toowoomba Grammar School. The first official meeting of the newly constituted Board was subsequently held on Friday, 27 June 1874 at the office of Mr George Davenport. The Government nominees included the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, The Honourable James Taylor, MLC; The Honourable John F. McDougall, MLC, and Messrs Gilbert Elliot and Charles J. Anderson, MD. The Subscribers’ elected nominees were William Graham, MLA, George H. Davenport and the Secretary (as elected by the Trustees) was Samuel George Stephens. The Site for the School

On Saturday, 28 June 1874 the Trustees inspected all of the sites the Provisional Committee had recommended as being the most eligible for the School. The eventual preferred site, although referred to by some as being “too far out of town”, was the heavily timbered Old Queen’s Park. Thirteen acres of portion 67 were granted by the Government, with the balance of 37 acres secured by the Trustees as part of the endowment. By early October 1874 a decision had been made as to where the school building was to be erected.

The Proposed School Building A competition for the best building design was announced including specific conditions: • • • • • • •

The building was not to exceed 5,000 pounds in cost, There must be one large schoolroom for 160 pupils and dormitories for 30-40 pupils, Quarters must be provided for the Headmaster and his family, Servants quarters were to be included, Provision for lavatories and bathrooms, A terrace in front of the facade, and The provision for extensions at a later date.

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1951 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 7th year)

Headmaster: Mr Robert L. Mills (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Len’ T. Heenan (in his 14th year)

Senior Prefect: Adrian P. Vorpagel Dux of Year: Colin J. Harris

Total School Enrolment: 246 Number of Dayboys: 83 Number of Boarders: 163

Staffing: •

In addition to the Headmaster there were eleven teachers – Messrs Wright, Harding-Jones, Hills, Honor, Whybird, Reath, Scott, Heenan, Hatherell, White and Poulsen. A photograph of the teaching staff is included in this year’s entry. William J. ‘King’ Renwick concluded his coaching of the School’s Rugby teams, an activity he commenced in 1903 and left to live in Brisbane. ‘King’ Renwick was a non-teaching Resident Master and was a ‘legend’ at the School (see 1903 and 1963). Old Boy, William H.H. (‘Bill’) Wright (1919-1922) was appointed as Master-in-Charge of the Primary Division of the School. He remained teaching at the School until the Primary section was closed due to the abolition of the Scholarship Examination at the end of 1963.

Students: • • •

The School Prefects were Adrian Vorpagel, Frank Barlow, Max Bice, Barrymore Buchester, Colin Harris, Graham Kimmins, Arthur Newbould, Malcolm Powell, Darcy Stevens and Peter Tweedy. Malcolm Powell was awarded the Belford Prize in his final year at the School. Neville R. Vines (later Rev.Vines) was granted an ecumenical scholarship to undertake postgraduate study in divinity at the Baptist Andover-Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, USA. In the early 1950s, girls were allowed to study Physics and Chemistry at the School (temporarily) (see 1955).

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Events: •

• •

An outbreak of poliomyelitis spread across the country. The boys kept fit by planting the pine forest along Herries Street. In this year the School had three very mild ‘polio’ cases with all boys making a quick and complete recovery. Most secondary schools in south-east Queensland changed to a three-term school year to replace the previous four-term year. This year marked the 50th year of Federal Parliament and Australia becoming a Commonwealth. Two Cadets represented the School at the Commonwealth Celebrations in Canberra, Alan Newsome and Ronald Thiel. Former Headmaster, Mr Barbour, passed away in September in Sydney, aged 84 years (see 1954 and 1955). Mr Barbour was the longest-serving Headmaster in the School’s history (1910-1935). A proposal to name the oval bounded by Mary and Margaret Streets after him was supported. An appeal was launched so that the necessary upgrading could be carried out. Consequently the old grandstand/pavilion was demolished (which was in poor repair due to white ant infestation); a basalt wall was built along Mary Street; earthworks and levelling were implemented; and a fence was constructed around the oval (see ‘Events’, 1954). Of interest, in 2013 the grand-daughter of Mr Barbour, Miss Jennifer Carmichael, visited the School. She is the daughter of Old Boy Ken M. Carmichael (1920-1925 and Senior Prefect in 1924 and 1925: see ‘Students’ 1925) and his wife Freda Barbour. The bushfires, drought and poliomyelitis epidemic in this year caused some boys to leave school earlier than was intended and also caused the cancellation of a number of enrolments for the following year. An advertisement in this year’s School Magazine featured a new electric ‘Simpson’ washer. A photograph of the advertisement is included in this year’s entry.

Co-curricular Activities: • • • • • •

In Athletics, the squad did not have the all-round strength and depth necessary for success in Brisbane. Gregory Terrace won the Championships with BGS in 2nd place. In Boxing, the first school boxing tournament was held. In the following year a new more permanent boxing ring was donated to the School. In Cricket, the 1st XI won only two games in the GPS cricket season (against CEGS – ‘Churchie’ and IGS). The team scored the highest innings score in the 1950’s decade, scoring 257 runs in the game against CEGS. Neville Sondergeld took 5 wickets in two 1st XI matches this year – against BSHS and IGS. TGS bowler Don Trenerry took 7 for 36 against IGS. In Rugby, the TGS 1st XV team, captained by Arthur Newbould, was a relatively young one and with a significant injury list. The team defeated BSHS with a comfortable win, 37-6 and had an 8all draw against BGS. The other GPS games were defeats including a very close losing match against NC (11-16), regarded as one of the best played by the team all season. Further losses were to IGS in a close game (9-11), BBC (4-11), and the Premiers ‘Churchie’ (3-20). With 5 of the original TGS 15 players injured on the sideline, GT had an easy win, 31-3. Mr H. Whybird took over as Coach of the 1st XV from W. ‘King’ Renwick and coached the team this year and in 1952 and 1953. Page | 415


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• • • •

• •

In Swimming, the sport was severely restricted due to the outbreak of poliomyelitis across the country. All public swimming pools were closed and the GPS Swimming Championships were cancelled. In the School Magazine of 1951 in an article titled ’25 Years of Swimming’ (pp.30-31) the author(s) nominated the most famous names in TGS Swimming to date. The article included the following: “For better or worse we will quote a few names. Don Trenerry, our present champion, must rank as one of the best, if not the best swimmer, the school has had. His deeds in GPS and in State age championships have been fully recorded in recent issues of the magazine. His brother, Martin, was a tower of strength to TGS swimming. Of late years then the Trenerrys and the Colberts have been outstanding. Rivett, who swam his last race for the school in 1939 swam times well up to the best we have had in the open. The Bernays, the Moreton Brothers and Macalpine gave great service to TGS swimming. M. Wright was an excellent competitor, while T. Muller, of 1935, has the distinction of being the only senior to win three events at the GPS.” In Tennis, the Captain of Tennis, Mervyn ‘Merv’ D. Gaydon (1949-1952) was the second of three Gaydon Captains of Tennis (see 1946 and 1954). Also in the team this year was Merv’s younger brother, Graham, who was to captain the team in 1954. At IGS this year was Roy S. Emerson, later one of the world’s all-time great tennis players. He won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles. Indicative of the tennis ability of Merv Gaydon, the TGS Captain, was the fact that he defeated Emerson 2-6, 6-2, and 6-3. Only four GPS matches were played this year and one was a wash-out. The reduced number of matches was apparently due to the various schools being divided into groups. Of the games played, the 1st IV defeated IGS (5 rubbers to 3) and NC (5-3) but was defeated by BGS (3-5). The match against GT was a draw with the courts unplayable. In Cadets, the School’s annual Cadet Camp was cancelled due to the incidence of poliomyelitis in Brisbane. In Drama, the School Play was Richard of Bordeaux, with three performances in June in the Town Hall and one performance at Warwick. The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper, in its review stated: “ ‘Richard of Bordeaux,' which was presented by the Toowoomba Grammar School Dramatic Society in the Town Hall, is a play which would tax the full facilities of a major theatrical company, and in their ambitious attempt, the members of this amateur society gave a satisfying and meritorious performance.” The reviewer in The Toowoomba Chronicle also acknowledged the performance of George Roubicek in the role of Richard II. The reviewer noted: “George Roubicek… is a natural actor and made good use of gesture and inflexion. I think it might be said that this was the best performance to date of a TGS actor.” In the large cast of 29 students, major performances were by George Roubicek, Neville Vines, Colin Harding, Ronald Thiel, Barry Aspinall, Michael Hopkins, Richard Davies, James Sim, Neil Lister, Fred Barlow, Robert Martin, Ronald McDonald, Barry Custance and Graham Kimmins. The females’ roles were headed by Michael Brown. A profit of 130 pounds from the play was given to the War Memorial Fund, equalling that of the previous year.

Downlands Competition: • •

The School’s 1st XV played Downlands College in rugby on two occasions this year and won both games – 6-0 and 18-11. The latter result related to a trial game and the 6-0 victory related to the official game. The School was victorious in cricket by 16 runs on first innings, 133 – 117.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Frederick J. Schonell, University of Queensland Page | 416


1951

The Teaching Staff

Old Boys’ Memorial Oval

Advertisement in School Magazine

Page | 417


1952 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 8th year)

Headmaster: Mr Robert L. Mills (in his 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Len’ T. Heenan (in his 15th year) Senior Prefect: Ronald E. Thiel Senior Boarder Prefect: Neville Sondergeld Dux of Year: Robert V. Martin (the son of the late Mr T.V. Martin (Master at TGS, 1928-1948). Total School Enrolment: 223 Junior School Total: There were 49 students in two primary classes. These primary classes continued to operate until the end of 1963.

Number of Dayboys: 66 Number of Boarders: 157 Staffing: •

At the end of the year, two staff were informed by the Trustees of their impending retrenchment due to the anticipated decreasing enrolments for 1953 – Mr J.L. Reath (nine years’ service) and Mr ‘Bill’ Hatherell, a long-serving member of staff (1924-1952; see 1962).

Students: •

• •

The School Prefects were Ronald Thiel, Neville Sondergeld, Don Trenerry, Richard Davies, John Andrews, Graham Hobbs, Ian Johnson, Robert Hill, John Tait, David Ross, James Pidgeon and Peter Morwood. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. The photograph features Don Trenerry and Graham Hobbs, later to be honoured by the TGS Old Boys’ Association as Life Members. Robert Martin (Dux) and Peter Morwood were placed third and tenth on the list of Open Scholarship winners in Queensland. Ronald ‘Ron’ E. Thiel (1949-1952), Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize this year. He graduated in medicine at the University of Queensland and became the first Anaesthetic Fellowship holder to venture north of Brisbane into the provincial hospitals. He also maintained his interest in the Australian Army, whereupon he did some peace time service, with the rank of Captain, in the Army Reserve Medical Corps. Interestingly, Dr Thiel’s final career move was an anaesthetist in a private practice in Cairns with fellow Old Boy, Dr Emile Brands (TGS 1960-1965). Don Trenerry (1949-1952), School Prefect and Captain of Groom House and Cadet Officer, was also in the 1st XI Cricket team, Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team in 1952 and also Captain of Swimming in 1951 and 1952 (see 1951). In this year Don was appointed Captain of the GPS XV Page | 418


• •

and previously had been awarded two Telegraph Blue awards – this award which only five other Toowoomba Grammarians have won, was in recognition of being seen as the best sportsman at GPS Championship events. The other five Telegraph Blue award recipients were ‘Perc’ Gaydon (Tennis, 1946); ‘Ian’ Hatherell (Rugby, 1948), ‘Merv’ Gaydon (Tennis, 1952), Graham Gaydon (Tennis, 1954) and Ray Swan (Rugby, 1956), until the award was discontinued in the 1980s. After school Don Trenerry joined the legal profession. He was President of the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Association from 1971-1976, was elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association in 1980 and was a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from 1976 to1988. Don Trenerry’s involvement as a Trustee followed that of his father, Dr Frederick Trenerry, who was a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from 1966 to 1972. In 1967 Dr Trenerry was given the title of ‘Honorary Old Boy’ by the Old Boys’ Association of the School. This was the first time such an honour had been presented and, as at 2024, only seventeen people had been bestowed such a title by the Old Boys’ Association. The Trenerry family was honoured with the naming of the School’s Trenerry Gymnasium (in 2001). A photograph of Don Trenerry’s colours blazer pocket is included in this year’s entry together with that belonging to George Corones (see 1936). Graham M. Jorgensen (1951-1952) is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement after being awarded the Stanhope Gold Medal for Bravery by the Royal Humane Society England and the Clarke Medal (the highest award in Australia). This was as a result of going to the assistance of two people being attacked by a shark at Lambert Beach, Mackay in Queensland in 1961. Graham C. Hobbs (1949-1952) was a most active member of the TGS Old Boys’ Association. He was the President of the Brisbane Branch of the Old Boys’ Association in 1971-1972 and Treasurer for a number of years. He was also a leading volunteer adviser in the renovation to Old Hall (1973) in his professional role as an Architect and donated a set of superb stained-glass windows (the Margery Hobbs Memorial stained-glass windows) to be placed in Old Hall in 2006. Photographs of these windows in Old Hall are included in the 2006-year entry. In 2016 Graham Hobbs was honoured as an Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association. Alan Newsome (Dr) (1949-1952) was a scientist who had a long career with the CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems working in some of the most arid areas of Australia. He lived for the desert and its rare, threatened creatures and built up an extensive knowledge of native flora and fauna. With the help of an Aboriginal tracker, he found a number of small desert mammals and marsupials which were thought to be extinct. Terrance ‘Terry’ Hampson (1951-1952) was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday 2006 Honours List. Terry’s award was official recognition for services to conservation and the environment, particularly through his efforts to preserve the natural habitat of Fraser Island (K’gari); to local government and politics in Queensland; and to the community. Colin W. Dodd (1951-1952) trained as a teacher (Dip.Ed.) after gaining a B.A. Honours degree at the University of Queensland. Colin received the Order of Australia medal (OAM) for his services to the local community (Warwick) and education. Ian Johnson (1949-1952) travelled from the United Kingdom to attend his 60-year school reunion in 2012.

Events: •

The boys were informed of the passing of the King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, King George VI, on February 6. The King passed away at the age of 56. King George VI had been the King since December 1936. Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne at 25 years of age but her coronation took place in 1953, when she was 27 (see ‘Events’ in 2022). Page | 419


The ‘Hollows’ disappeared – Old Boys’ Memorial Oval and Mills Ovals were created in this year. The Reverend Canon Warner Shand dedicated the new Athletic Oval to the memory of those Old Boys who gave their lives in the service of their country. The service was held on the oval on April 24 and an address was given by the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr. Leslie A. Boyce. The Oval was used for the first time on September 13 for the annual athletic sports. It was noted that the high banks around the oval formed a natural grandstand from which spectators could obtain a good view of the various events. Sir James Bisset, former Commodore of the Fleet of the Cunard-White Star line and the war-time Captain of the ‘Queen Elizabeth’ and the ‘Queen Mary’, visited the School and spoke to the boys. It was reported that his address was “… veritably the treat of the year. Never have we heard such a natural and gifted speaker and most certainly not for a long time do we expect to hear such an interesting talk.” Of interest, Sir James was present at the rescue of the few survivors of the ‘Titanic’ iceberg disaster of 1912 and he transported Australian soldiers to Europe in both world wars. A photograph is included in this year’s entry of a group of the 1952 school leavers attending the Old Boys’ reunion dinner in 2012 – celebrating 60 years after leaving the School. Included in the photograph are two Honorary Life Members of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Don Trenerry (back row, far right) and Mr Graham Hobbs (front row, third from left). Also in attendance was Mr Ian Johnson who had flown from the United Kingdom for the occasion. He is pictured in the front row, far right. Also included in the photographs in this year’s entry is the newly constructed Headmaster’s residence. One can identify the students’ bicycle racks in the foreground. Another photograph is of the School’s swimming pool at this time which was built in 1927 (excellent aerial views of the School campus are included in the photographs at the end of the 1964 and 1967-year entries). Advertising in the annual School Magazine was common at this time. A photograph of one such advertisement from this year’s School Magazine is of Holden ‘ute’ for the interest of some readers.

Co-curricular Activities: • • • • •

• • • • •

In Athletics, the School Magazine of 1952 contained a most interesting historical account of TGS Athletics from 1927-1951. At the GPS Athletics Championships, the TGS runners encountered strong opposition with boys who ran regularly with athletic clubs. The School Magazine described the GPS Athletics day: “We went down to Brisbane in high spirits, and with the hope that we were going to cause a few surprises. However, that was not to be. Perhaps we were the ones to be surprised.” In Chess, a school Chess Club was established. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team was one of the more successful teams in this period. The 1st XI may, like in 1947, have created a record in that they went through the GPS season with an unbeaten record yet failed to be premiers. Their season included two washouts (vs NC and BBC) and a draw against the eventual premiers, GT, in a game which was abandoned due to heavy rain. In the cricket match against BGS, the TGS 1st XI scored 223 runs, defeating BGS by 84 runs. In the match against BSHS, TGS secured a win by just one run. TGS bowler Frank Snelling took 7 wickets for 52 runs in the 1st XI match against IGS. The School Magazine of 1952 contained a most interesting historical account of 25 years of TGS Cricket. In Gymnastics, both the School’s Senior and Junior teams came 3rd at the GPS Gymnastics titles. Old Boy Colin Morwood provided much support and encouragement to the gymnasts with regular travel from Brisbane to conduct coaching sessions and supplying specialist equipment. Page | 420


• • • • •

• • • •

In Rugby, the 1st XV rugby match against Brisbane Grammar School was played on the Exhibition Oval as a curtain-raiser to the Queensland versus Fijians game. (BGS 6 defeated TGS 3). Wins for the 1st XV were against IGS (17-9), TSS (16-0), and GT (9-3). The 1st XV team was defeated by CEGS, NC, BSHS and BGS. In the rugby match against TSS, due to a misunderstanding, this match was played on the Gregory Terrace Oval instead of the BGS oval. It was reported that in future the travelling team would make the complete trip to the other school. In Shooting, the Shooting team won the GPS Premiership, the Stephenson Cup, which was last held by the School in 1948. A photograph of the winning team is included in this year’s entry. In Swimming, at the GPS Swimming Championships the school squad was placed 5th beating BGS narrowly. The result was an improvement on last year. Nine records were broken at the competition by other swimmers with the standard of swimming seeming to rise every year. For TGS, Don Trenerry was the most successful swimmer. In Tennis, the School’s 1st IV Tennis team won the GPS Tennis Premiership (captained by Merv Gaydon for the second year). Others in the team were Merv’s younger brother, Graham Gaydon; David Cockburn and Max Wright. During the GPS season the team won a total of 36 rubbers to 3. In Cadets, approximately 200 boys were in the School’s Cadet Unit, comprising 11 Officers, 30 NCO’s and 159 Cadets. In Drama, the TGS Dramatic Society performed The Miser to Toowoomba audiences on 23-26 May at the Town Hall and at the All Saints’ Hall in Brisbane on 11 July. The School Magazine report on the performance noted that: “George Roubicek continues to show great promise” (see 1953). This was the Society’s fifth full-length drama presentation, its initial public performance being in 1948. For this year’s production, the Toowoomba Chronicle critic spoke thus: "A good deal of the well-deserved praise of this successfully presented, joyous play, must go to the Society's initiative in bringing to Toowoomba something of theatrical quality. It is a distinctly first-rate contribution to the theatre in this city, and one that should not be missed. . . . What a wealth of experience there is in performing and producing a play like 'The Miser'." Similarly,The Bulletin critic wrote: "The Toowoomba Grammar School Dramatic Society's performance missed none of the many laughs in "The Miser," and added a few because of their need to return to the Elizabethan custom of boys in the female roles. The main cause for success was young George Roubicek's understanding and mastery of the title role . . .He used gesture and voice with an intelligence many a more adult player might well envy." The producer of the school play was, once again, Mr Edgar White. The cast with major roles included George Roubicek, Adrian L’Armand, Richard Davies, Robert O’Neill, Ronald Thiel, Robert Budd, Donald Litster, Robert Martin, Peter Morwood, Colin Harding, James Sim and Michael Brown. A photograph of some of the cast of the play is included in this year’s entry together with the play’s program. At this time boys portrayed any female roles in the drama productions. In later years the girls from Fairholme College and The Glennie School were invited to join the cast of the productions.

Downlands Competition: • •

Downlands was successful against the 1st XV in Rugby in the O’Callaghan Cup, with TGS losing 1216. Downlands defeated TGS in a 1st XI Cricket game.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Roland J. Lavers (for two years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Honourable Jack E. Duggan – QLD Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport. A photograph of Headmaster Mills and four senior prize winners is included in this year’s entry. Page | 421


1952 1952

Headmaster’s Residence and Bike Shed

60 Year Reunion

Speech Day on the lawn

Headmaster’s Residence and Bike Shed

60 Year Reunion

Speech Day on the lawn

School’s Dramatic Society’s Play School’s Dramatic Society’s Play

The outdoor swimming pool, built in 1927 The outdoor swimming pool, built in 1927

School Prefects School Prefects

Colour Blazer Pockets, George Corones and Don Trenerry Colour Blazer Pockets, George Corones and Don Trenerry Advertisement in School Magazine Advertisement in School Magazine

The Cadet Corps The Cadet Corps

TGS Shooting team TGS Shooting team

Page | 422


1953 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 9th year)

Headmaster: Mr Robert L. Mills (in his 6th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Les’ T. Heenan (in his 16th year)

Senior Prefect: Colin Harding (who in the following year joined the teaching staff: from 1954 - February 1957, see below) Senior Boarder Prefect: Alan Morwood Dux of Year: Alan D. Morwood (see below) whose father, James Eric, was also Dux of the School in 1918. This was the first time in the School’s history that a son had equalled his father’s record as Dux of the School (and both were Open Scholarship recipients). A photograph of Alan Morwood and his father, James, is included in this year’s entry. Total School Enrolment: 190 (having dropped from 295 in 1948) Senior School Enrolment: 150 Junior School Enrolment: 40 pupils, of these 6 were dayboys Number of Dayboys: 53 Number of Boarders: 137

Staffing: •

Including the Headmaster, Mr Mills, there were fourteen teachers on the staff.

Students: • • •

The School Prefects were Colin Harding, Alan Morwood, Robert Budd, Leonard Bridges, Norman Fisher, Robin Humphries, Nicholas Wilson, George Roubicek and Donald Litster. A photograph of Senior Prefect Colin Harding’s colour blazer pocket is included in this year’s entry together with him visiting the School Museum in 2020 (and wearing his colours blazer). Alan Morwood (1950-1953) was Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team and a member of the School’s 1st XV and Athletics teams. In his final year he was a School Prefect, Dux of the School, and won an Open University Scholarship (14th in Queensland). Alan later commenced as a Science Master at Toowoomba Grammar School in 1963. Still later he was appointed the Deputy Headmaster of the School from 1970-1975. He went on to be appointed the Principal of Townsville Grammar School, a position he held from 1976-1992 (see 1963 and 1970). Page | 423


• •

• •

A photograph of Alan Morwood (above) as Dux of the School, together with his father, Mr James Morwood (Dux of the School in 1918), is included in this year’s entry. The photograph was taken at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. George K. Roubicek (1950-1953) in the early 1950s was a leading player of the School Dramatic Society who later became an accomplished actor. In 1953 he was a Prefect, member of the 1st XV and 1st XI and President of the School’s Dramatic Society. In 1954 he was awarded an overseas scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London. He played extensively in English Repertory, on television, in films, in numerous Agatha Christie plays and in many productions at West End. George Roubicek attended a Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Reunion held in London in June 2015 and was asked by TGS young Old Boy Nicholas Gabbett (2010-2014) if he would know any of the films in which George had appeared. Mr Roubicek replied to Nick that he may have heard of the war movie The Dirty Dozen. For the rest of the night Nick wanted to hear more of George Roubicek’s acting career (see the Drama entries in 1951,1952 and this year). Norman ‘Ken’ Fisher (1950-1953) joined the teaching staff of the School, commencing in 1959 and resigning in 1968. Ray Swan (1953-1956) in his first year at the School took 8 wickets for 38 runs in the 1st XI Cricket match against Brisbane Grammar School. Ray went on to be the Captain of the 1st XI team in 1955 and 1956 (see 1956) (and later returned to teach at Toowoomba Grammar School from 1961 to August 1963). Alan Morwood was selected for the combined GPS Cricket XI and was awarded the Belford Prize. Colin Harding and Jim Beresford gained places in the combined First GPS XV. Colin was the Captain of Rugby in this year and Jim was Captain of the 1st XV in the following year. Colin’s experiences with the School as both a teacher and 1st XV rugby coach are outlined in the ‘Co-curricular – Rugby' section below. Neil Geddes (1951-1954) and John Schweikert (1952-1953) won their divisions in the Queensland Amateur Boxing Championships. Neil Geddes went on to become a State Open amateur champion and years later devoted much of his time to the coaching of the sport at the School, particularly during the Headmastership of William M. Dent. Neil Geddes (above) did not compete in the 1956 Olympic Games due to an unfortunate accident. In 2016 Neil was honoured to be inducted into the Queensland Boxing Hall of Fame. For many years Neil was also a member of the Old Boys’ Association Management Committee. Peter D. McKay (1951-1953) went on to have a distinguished naval career attaining the rank of Commodore. He graduated as Dux at the Royal Australian Naval College in 1955. He proceeded to the United Kingdom for further training in HMS Triumph and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Peter had many appointments during his 39 years in the RAN. For three years Peter was Director-General, Naval Equipment Projects, which involved the management oversight of major acquisitions such as Harpoon missiles and Seahawk helicopters. At retirement in 1992 Peter was the Commandant of the Australian Joint Services Staff College in Canberra. With the rank of Commodore, Peter McKay, RAN (Ret’d) is acknowledged on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. An obituary for Commodore McKay was printed in the Omnibus school publication, vol.26, no.3, November 2016 on page 25. Ian Brimblecombe (1951-1953) recalled his school days and commented that his father drove him from Jimbour to the School along black soil roads. On the first day when Ian arrived at the School it was foggy, wet and cold. Ian said to himself that if he was to have any sons in the future then he would not leave them at this school. Ian ended up sending his four sons to TGS based on his very positive experience of schooldays – Fraser Brimblecombe (1978-1980), Ross (1979-1983), Craig (1981-1985) and Scott (1985-1989). Four grandsons have also attended TGS. Ian recalled that students used to smoke cigarettes at School whilst being out of sight in the newly planted pine forest along the School’s boundary on Herries Street. Page | 424


Events: • •

• • •

In June the boys of the School joined with the people of Toowoomba in pledging their loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II and in celebrating the occasion of her Coronation. During this time, some girls from Fairholme College attended Toowoomba Grammar School for Science lessons. One of the Fairholme girls studying Physics at TGS, Maureen Kistle, was in two years’ time to be crowned Miss Australia. The surface of the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was ‘worked on’ in preparation for the 1954 football and athletics seasons. For the first time, the Old Boys entered a crew in the GPS Old Boys’ race at the Head of the River Regatta. The Sydney Branch of the TGS OBA dined together at the GPS Schools’ Club in October. The guest of honour was Old Boy, Professor Bruce Mayes (1917-1921), Professor of Obstetrics at Sydney University. He had just been awarded the Sims-Black Professorship at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, United Kingdom for 1954. Professor Mayes was later to be acknowledged on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement (see 1921). Ian Brimblecombe (above) represented the School in the 1st XV team which played the first rugby game on the School’s new oval – Old Boys’ Memorial Oval – in this year (see below). Prior to this Ian remembered that he and other students had to pick up stones and rocks as the oval was being developed. On game days Ian recalled the ground as being like a gravel pit and said that all players in the team covered themselves in vaseline to protect their skins from gravel rash.

Co-curricular Activities: • • • •

• • • •

In Athletics, the TGS team secured only thirteen and a half points in the GPS Championships but was not disgraced. In Boxing, six boxers represented the School in the Queensland All Schools’ Boxing Tournament in March and were runners-up in the State competition. In Cricket, the 1st XI won only one game this year (against GT) and lost six. See Ray Swan in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. He was one of only ten TGS boys in the history of the School who took eight wickets in a 1st XI cricket innings in a GPS match. The next time this was achieved was two years later. In cricket, also see Alan Morwood in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. In the game against BSHS their bowler Peter Allan took 3 TGS wickets for 15 runs. In later years, Peter Allan opened the bowling in the First Test in Brisbane in the 1965-66 Ashes series. In Rugby, the 1st XV won four of the eight matches played, including BSHS (9-6), IGS (6-3), GT (156) and BGS (8-0). The two largest defeats were from NC (5-19) and TSS (8-17). GPS Rugby matches at TGS this year were played on the new Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The first rugby match to be played on this oval was against the King’s School, Parramatta, losing to them 12-17. The Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team was the School’s Senior Prefect, Colin Harding. He was in the 1st XV for three years, 1951, 1952 and 1953. Colin was also selected in the combined GPS XV team. Writing to the then TGS Headmaster, Mr Peter Hauser, in 2017 Colin recalled the Headmaster during his time, Mr R.L. (‘Bidge’) Mills as being a fine gentleman, fair and firm and Page | 425


• • •

• •

• •

said that he had great respect for him. Colin Harding was invited by Headmaster Mills to join the teaching staff of the School at the end of his sixth form year and to coach the 1st XV rugby team. Colin Harding attended the Old Boys’ Reunion in 2023 and was congratulated on having some poetry published and released internationally in this year. In Swimming, the School Magazine swimming entry commented that it was a fairly sound team but “our hopes of doing satisfactorily were rudely shattered”. The team could manage only one point with the lowest place yet recorded in the history of TGS swimming. All boys tried hard and congratulated the GT swimmers on their fine win. In Tennis, the 1st IV Tennis team reached the final but was defeated by BGS. The practice of zoning tennis matches in the GPS was described as short-sighted and was discontinued after this year. This year under the zoning scheme, TGS won all four matches and then proceeded to the final. The winning matches were against IGS (8 rubbers to nil), GT (8-0), TSS (5-3), and CEGS (6-2). Overall in the GPS season, the TGS 1st IV won 28 rubbers to 12. In Cadets, corps strength in the Cadet Unit was 168. In Drama, the Dramatic Society had a success with its play The Kingmaker. It was noted that the Toowoomba City Hall, as usual, was cold; Toowoomba audiences brought hot water bottles. The final curtain of the play performed at the Toowoomba City Hall dropped at 11:30pm. The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper critic praised the cast on their splendid performance and George Roubicek “giving an outstanding portrayal of Richard Neville (the Kingmaker), displaying masterly control of all scenes, placing him on a plane of accomplishment usually reserved for more experienced actors.” Other major roles were delivered by Morris Williams, Lewis Eves, Don Lister, Robert Budd, Francis Burfein, Peter Fegan, Colin Harding, Alex Barlow and many others in the cast of 42. The School Magazine reported: “Dances with Glennie and Fairholme have given us great social pleasure; these took place during Show Week and on the eve of Coronation Day.”

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The Rugby game was played mid-week at the end of the season. DC 19 d TGS 11. Downlands defeated TGS in Athletics. The 1st XI Cricket team defeated Downlands, 109-82. In Swimming, TGS defeated Downlands College (54 points to 42½ points) in the Downs Secondary Schools’ carnival held at the City Baths. The swimming carnival v Downlands in March was most exciting with a one point win to TGS (53-52 points). In Tennis, TGS won 8 rubbers to nil.

General: In the School Museum is an audio recording of a conversation between former Master, Mr John K. Winn, and Mr Colin Harding (Senior Prefect in 1953) which took place in May 2006. When asked about Old Hall, Mr ‘Col’ Harding said: “The Old Hall is now quite different from when I was a boy. We had wooden seats in here and just outside the door was the dayboys’ locker room. Old Hall was used for such interesting things like card playing for matches on the weekend. If you lost a whole box of matches, you were up for the equivalent of two cents.” Regarding sport, Mr Harding recalled: “Our 1st XI cricket matches were Page | 426


played on Barbour Oval. We had an old pavilion on the western side. The pitch was pretty good until it rained, then it became very swampy. It stayed like this all the way through the rugby season when everyone was gravel rashed as we were tackled on the pitch. In cricket we went by train to Brisbane and stayed at the Old Canberra. We went down on the Friday night, stayed at the Canberra, played our match and then came back by train. With rugby, we always went by bus. We stopped at Grantham to buy oranges. In terms of rugby, the 1948 team was possibly the best side the School has ever produced. The Headmaster, Bidge Mills, was a marvellous man. He was a man’s man. He was very direct and you knew exactly where you stood with him. We had great admiration for him. We had some great characters on staff. Mr Heenan was a great bloke. As a Physics teacher he had no equal in Queensland.” Mr Harding recalled that in sub-junior he contracted polio during a polio epidemic. In ‘Senior’ and following daily physiotherapy, he was appointed as Captain of the School’s 1st XV and Vice-Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team. The next year Col Harding joined the teaching staff and he said in the recorded interview: “As a Master at TGS I worked under ‘Pud’ Heenan. He was not a people person the way that Bidge Mills was. He was a great academic; I really don’t think he wanted to be the Headmaster but was very happy being the Second Master and back in his Physics lab teaching students.” In 2006 Mr Colin Harding donated his colour blazer to the School.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Old Boy, (1924-1925) The Honourable Sir Reginald W. Swartz MP – Liberal Member for the Darling Downs and later Federal Minister in a variety of portfolios. A photograph of the ceremony is included in this year’s entry.

Page | 427


1953

First pruning of Pine Plantation

Colin Harding visiting the School in 2020

Senior Prefect Colin Harding’s colour blazer pocket

Speech Day

Page | 428


1954 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 10th year)

Headmaster: Mr Robert L. Mills (in his 7th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Len’ T. Heenan (in his 17th year)

Senior Prefect: James ‘Jim’ G. Beresford Senior Boarder Prefect: Robin Humphries Dux of Year: David McAdam

Total School Enrolment: 199 Senior School Total: 154 Junior School Total : 45 Number of Dayboys: 60 Number of Boarders: 139

Students: • •

• • •

The School Prefects were James ‘Jim’ Beresford, Robin Humphries, James Fry, Ronald Bearkley, Geoffrey Copeland, Colin Dowzer, Raymond Ferguson and Mervyn Holz. David McAdam was placed first in the State in the Senior Public Examination (University Scholarship winner), the fifth occasion on which our School has gained this honour. The five University Scholarship winners placed top in the State from its inception in 1912 until its conclusion in 1971 were – James ‘Jim’ A. Pollock (1924); Lister G. Hopkins (1927); John ‘Bob’ C. Rivett (1939); Norman ‘Alan’ A. Walker (1946) and David G. McAdam (1954). The names of these five top of the State University Scholarship winners are recorded on the Ralph Kell Dowse Memorial Honour Board in the School’s Old Hall. Graham Gaydon (Captain of Tennis) won the Telegraph Blue for the most outstanding player in the GPS. His older brothers ‘Perc’ and ‘Merv’ were also Captains of Tennis (in 1946 and 1952 respectively) and also won the Telegraph Blue. Geoffrey N. ‘Tom’ Copeland (1951-1954) was to later teach Chemistry at the School for two years, 1957-1958. Ronald Bearkley was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Leslie ‘Graham’ Peters was selected as the leading Queensland Cadet for 1954 and was awarded the General Glasgow Prize (see ‘Students’ 1955).

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Victor ‘Gerry’ Collins (1953-1954) was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008 for his contribution to eco-tourism and remote communities. ‘Gerry’ founded the outback tourism attraction, Undara Experience, in the late 1980’s - the underground volcanic lava tubes on his then Rosella Plains Station at Mt Surprise in 1989. He was also a founding father of the Cattle Council of Australia and a past President of this Association. The School Magazine of this year (page 26) contained a reprint of an essay written this year by student Garfield Prowse (1953-1956) which won the Brigadier-General Robertson essay prize. The essay was written two years before the black and white television began transmission in Australia in 1956. Garfield commenced his essay by explaining what a television was, stating: “Television, that form of advanced radio using a screen, must certainly come to Australia. If so, we must not make the mistakes that are made in America or England.......” A photograph of the boys in the Primary Section of the School (Junior School boys) is included in this year’s entry. At this time the boys in the Primary Section included Year 8 students.

Events: • •

• •

Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, during her tour of Australia, visited Toowoomba and her limousine drove past the School. The first meeting of the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association was held in October. It was founded by the Headmaster, Mr Mills (Headmaster 1948 – January 1956). The P& F Association discussed how to raise funds, hold fetes and purchase equipment for the School. Included in next year’s entry is a photograph of an Honour Board located in the School’s Pavilion recognising all Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers of the P&F Association from 1954 to 2022. It is appropriate here to acknowledge the incredible voluntary efforts of so many Parents and Friends of the School in so many diverse ways. A clear strength of the School over its 150 years has been the support of the parent body in fund-raising, friendship-raising, community service, in music, theatre, cadets, fetes, art shows, community events, all sporting events, mentoring, supporting boarders and so many other ways. The pine forest received its first pruning. An aerial photograph of the pine trees is included in this year’s entry and in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1975. The annual cross-country race attracted 149 boys. Short cuts for the boys were unavailable due to houses being erected along Tourist Road. Further difficulties were encountered this year between Picnic Point and the old Toll Bar as paddocks had been fenced and placed under cultivation. Old Boy Cricket legend, Tom Allen (1927-1929: see 1929) died this year in March, at the early age of 41. A eulogy reported the following: “Tom always played cricket with charm, grace and artistry, and those cricket virtues were excelled only by the charm and grace of his sportsmanship. He always accepted defeat with a happy smile, and took victory with a gracious modesty that won the hearts of opponents and spectators alike.” A eulogy for Tom Allen was featured in the School Magazine of 1954 on page 63. When the proposal came to name the School’s ‘Bottom Oval’ after the former Headmaster Mr Barbour (1910-1935), the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr L.A. Boyce stated: “We couldn’t do better than to make a cricket field in memorial to him. His feats on the cricket field, together with the fact that he was a Chairman of the Australian Board of Control, made him a leading figure in cricket at that time.” Mr Boyce reminded the gathering that the oval that was to Page | 430


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serve as a memorial to Mr Barbour was built in Mr Barbour’s time as Headmaster at the School and so it seemed quite natural that the field should bear his name. “If called ‘Barbour Field’, every time cricket is played on this oval, memory of the grand old Headmaster will be brought back to the players,” continued the speaker (see 1955). Cadet John Klose had the honour of attending the opening of Parliament in Canberra by Her Majesty the Queen in February. The annual Old Boys’ dinner was held at the Queen’s Park kiosk with excellent attendance and a Sydney Branch dinner was also held this year. The Old Boys organised a Christmas Tree party in Old Hall in December with presents distributed to children. The boys were pleased to see backs were attached to the rows of seats in Old Hall which “made Assemblies much more congenial”.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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• •

In Athletics, for the first time since 1946 the School’s athletes won first place in the aggregate for all grades in the 11th Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships, held on the Athletic Oval in Toowoomba. Despite the School’s success in the Darling Downs Athletics meeting, the squad faced a much fiercer competition at the GPS Championships. In Boxing, the School’s Boxing team won the Championship Cup at the Secondary Schools tournament held in Brisbane. Forty boys received instruction in Boxing. In Cricket, the 1st XI won only two matches in the GPS cricket season (BBC and IGS). There were three 1st XI matches washed out during the season. The 1st XI was humbled against GT, scoring 50 runs to GT 7/270. In this match the TGS team lost all wickets (totalling 50 runs) in one hour from 10:00am. GT declared at 7 for 270 at 1:00pm. After half an hour for lunch, the TGS team began its second innings at 1:30pm scoring only 23 runs in total in just 25 minutes. The match was over before 2:00pm and it is known that the boys were watching a movie at 3:00pm at the Regent Street theatre in Queen Street in the heart of the city and at 6:00pm were at Roma Street train station boarding a train for Toowoomba. In Gymnastics, Old Boy Colin Morwood continued to devote much time to coaching the School’s gymnasts. In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV Rugby team was Co-Premiers in the GPS competition, sharing this honour with three other teams (Nudgee, BBC and CEGS – ‘Churchie’). It won six matches to three and scored 94 points to 72. This was the first time in the history of the GPS competition that four schools had shared the premiership. A photograph of the Co-Premiers team is included in this year’s entry. In the first match of the rugby season, the 1st XV defeated the visiting team from Sydney Grammar School (12-11). Two days later the 1st XV played Scots College (Warwick) and won this game 323. Similarly, the 1st XV defeated the Slade School (Warwick), 42-3. In the GPS competition the 1st XV defeated the teams representing BGS (9-3), BSHS (8-6), IGS (236), TSS (14-11), BBC (25-16) and GT (9-6). The 1st XV only suffered two losses – to CEGS ‘Churchie’ (6-16) and NC (0-8).

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The coach of the 1st XV was Colin Harding who was the School’s Senior Prefect in the previous year. Mr Duncan Thompson also provided invaluable assistance to mould the team. The Captain of the School’s 1st XV in this year was James (‘Jim’) G. Beresford. In Swimming, this year's swimming season was not as successful as it had been in past years. Owing to the short training period and bad weather, some swimmers had not reached top form for the carnivals. In March the School’s swimmers travelled to Brisbane to contest the GPS Carnival at the City Baths. Our swimmers were, once again, outclassed by the other teams and scored only three points. In Tennis, the Tennis team performed well and lost only two matches, each by one set – NC and CEGS. The tennis matches against BSHS produced the remarkable result of equal rubbers, sets and games. BSHS went on to win the GPS Tennis Premiership. In Tennis, see Graham Gaydon in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. In Cadets, the School Cadet Corps formed a spectacular Guard of Honour as the Queen and the Duke entered Toowoomba’s Athletic Oval. In Drama, the School Play was The Doctor’s Delight, performed over three nights in May at the Toowoomba City Hall and with a special performance in Brisbane (at All Saint’s Hall). The play, a satire on the medical profession of a bygone century, had major roles performed by Peter Fegan, Lewis Eves, Morris Williams, Hartley Newnham, Graham Goodall and A. Thomas and a photograph of some of the cast is included in this year’s entry. Dances were held in Old Hall with the girls from Fairholme College and The Glennie School.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XV was defeated by Downlands, 6-15.A photograph of the match is included in this year’s entry. Competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy in Cricket for the first time (see 1929), the 1st XI was defeated by Downlands College. In the annual swimming competition between the two schools, Downlands College was successful in winning the baton (and continued to do so for the next five years).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Ern. A. Gibson (for two years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Lavarack

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His Excellency The Governor, Sir John


1954

1st XV Rugby team, GPS Premiers (aeq)

Rugby game, TGS v Downlands College

School’s Dramatic Society’s play

Primary Section of the School

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1955 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 11th year)

Trustees: Messrs. Mervyn W. Baynes, Hector G. Jones, Cliff E.J. Richards, Rowland J. Dunn, Francis J. Hopkins and Hon. Jack E. Duggan.

Headmaster: Mr Robert L. Mills (in his 8th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Len’ T. Heenan (in his 18th year)

Senior Prefect: Robert Noel Walmsley Dux of Year: Murray R. Player

Total School Enrolment: 230 Senior School Total: 188 Junior School Total: 42 (in Grades VIII, VII and VI) Number of Dayboys: 74 Number of Boarders: 156 (the highest number that had been accommodated within the School buildings to date)

Students: •

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• •

The School Prefects were Robert Walmsley, Morris Williams, Anthony Wilson, Nelson Skoien, Murray Player, George Cossart, Edwin ‘John’ Thompson, Alastair Grant and Clyde Braithwaite. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Morris B. Williams (1952-1955) was awarded an Open University Scholarship. Edwin Thompson was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Ross Allen (1954-1955) later represented Queensland in Cricket as an opening bowler. His father, a TGS Old Boy, Mr Tom Allen, also had a distinguished cricket career (see 1929) and the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (for the annual cricket fixture against Downlands College) was named after him. Ross Allen was invited back to the School by Headmaster Hauser to present the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy after an annual cricket match between TGS and Downlands College. Ross remained a strong supporter of the School and the Old Boys’ Association. Kenneth W. Bade (1953-1955) later graduated from Royal Military College, Duntroon. In 1966 Captain Bade was killed in an attack on a Viet-Cong stronghold in Ho Bo forest near Saigon. During the 1950s the School had a number of boys from Papua New Guinea under a Commonwealth Government Scholarship Scheme. Page | 434


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The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team was Ray Swan and again in 1956 (see 1953). He was later to teach at the School (1961- August 1963). Leslie ‘Graham’ Peters (1952-1955) was presented with the Sir William Glasgow Prize being selected as the leading Queensland Cadet for the previous year. He graduated from Royal Military College, Duntroon, and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and later was a Senior Executive Officer in the Defence Department. Nelson Anthony ‘Tony’ Skoien (1952-1955) was appointed a District Court Judge in 1982. He was the guest speaker at the TGS OBA annual dinner in 1984. Max Hardy (1954-1955) took up the position of Executive Chairman of the Northern Territory Port Authority in 1981. Murray R. Player (1952-1955) was sponsored by CSR to complete an Honours degree in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Queensland and later it also sponsored his studies for a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan in the United States. In 1985 he was appointed Chief Technologist, Sugar Division and, in 1988, to this duty was added that of Manager, Central Laboratory which he held until his retirement in 1999. John N. Stubbs (1952-1955) settled on journalism as a career. He wrote three published books and won the 1995 Walkley Award for journalism. His work was published in numerous newspapers such as The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), The Brisbane Telegraph, The Straits Times (Malaysia) and the Fairfax network in London. Graham A. Brown (1952-1955) earned a B.Sc. (WA) and a M.Sc. (Melbourne) in Geology. Eventually he became General Manager of 11 mining and oil exploration companies, during which time he became recognised as a world authority in marine minerals. In 1970 he became Australia’s first independent environmental consultant.

Buildings: •

The grandstand (constructed in 1928) on what is now Barbour Oval was demolished around this time.

Events: •

On 30 November the G.P. Barbour Memorial Oval plaque was unveiled, thus naming the oval that former Headmaster George P. Barbour had actually constructed during his Headmastership. The plaque is located at the intersection of Mary and Margaret Streets and was unveiled by Old Boy, Dr Thomas M. Lloyd (1909-1915). A photograph of this plaque is included in this year’s entry. Mr Barbour was the School’s longest-serving Headmaster in its history (1910-1935). The plaque and naming the oval was four years after the passing of Mr Barbour who died in Sydney in September 1951. In a magnanimous gesture, Old Boy, Neville Lilley Palmer (1953-1954), presented to the School the original silver trowel used by his great-grandfather, His Honour Mr Justice Lilley, to tap the blank foundation stone of the School on 5 August, 1875. Justice Lilley was representing His Excellency the Governor on this occasion. Today the original silver trowel is housed in the School’s museum and a photograph of the trowel is included in the 1875-year entry. Page | 435


• • • • •

The School was informed that the late Miss A.M.L. Chauvel made provisions in her will for the establishment of a Scholarship at the School to perpetuate the memory of her brother, General Sir Harry Chauvel, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. The Parents and Friends’ Association raised sufficient money to purchase a new Bell and Howell Filmosound Recorder and a President-Tasma Radiogram. The Dramatic Society also purchased an Elcon Tape Recorder which was seen to be a valuable asset to the English Masters and to the Dramatic Society. Also, the School purchased a Strip Film Projector and about two hundred strip films which were to serve as useful teaching aids. The School Magazine of 1955 continued: “Until television becomes available we now have most of the modern aids to education.” At the Old Boys’ Annual Dinner, held at the Queen’s Park Kiosk, in attendance was the Indian High Commissioner to Australia (General K.M. Cariappa), guest of Mr R.W. Swartz, MHR. As the night progressed, the war cry and school song were given voice with much gusto, with the older Old Boys again complaining that the ‘new brigade’ did not chant the war cry correctly. Similar comments by older Old Boys were made regarding the younger Old Boys in the 2000’s. The Old Boys’ Christmas Party was held in Old Hall and about 50 children were presented with presents. The familiar old ‘corner shop’ was demolished during the second term, i.e. Mrs Fleming’s tuck shop. The old steps near Old Hall leading down to the drive were replaced by a ramp. Steps were later built to replace the ramp in December 2020. The Old Boys’ Association combined with the School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association in running a fete in the school grounds. The Headmaster, Mr Mills, in his Headmaster’s Report congratulated Fairholme College on its success in producing the winner of the 1955 Miss Australia contest. Mr Mills continued: “We were particularly interested because Miss Kistle attended Toowoomba Grammar School for instructions in Physics and I am sure this ordeal gave her added confidence.”

Co-curricular Activities: •

• •

In Athletics, the TGS squad scored a total of 19 points in the GPS Athletics Championships. This was an improved result on the previous year. The School Magazine summarised the team’s performance: “…In the main our team, though running up to form, was not able to provide the Brisbane schools with much competition.” In Boxing, the Boxing team retained the Queensland All Schools’ Boxing Championship Cup and a photograph of the team is included in this year’s entry. Colours were awarded to R. Dowling, B. Lee, B. Pidgeon, B. Williams and J. Stubbs. In Cricket, the 1st XI tied one match (TSS) and lost four with three washed out. The tied game against TSS was the first time in TGS’ cricket history. 1st XI cricketer Brian Pidgeon took 8 wickets for 11 runs in the match played against The Southport School and 7 for 20 against the same school in the following year. He was one of only ten TGS boys in the history of the School who took eight wickets in a 1st XI cricket innings in a GPS match. The next time this feat was achieved was in 1968. A photograph of Brian Pidgeon and the 1st XI team is included in this year’s entry. In Rugby, in the period 1955-1961 the School, for the first time since 1920, lost more Rugby games than it had won.

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• • • •

• • • • •

The 1st XV Rugby team this year was not as successful as last year’s team. The first game for the season was against the visiting King’s School from Sydney which defeated TGS 14-0. The 1st XV lost its first four GPS games against GT (0-9), BGS (8-9), NC (3-14) and to the eventual Premiers, ‘Churchie’ (0-22). The team then had four decisive wins in a row – IGS (19-14), BSHS (19-0), TSS (34-9) and BBC (269). In Shooting, the School’s Shooting team won the Stephenson Cup for GPS shooting. In further competition the team was placed first in Australia, and tenth in the British Empire, in the Earl Roberts competition. In Swimming, this year’s swimming showed a great improvement on the previous year. The standard of swimming at the GPS Championships was, as usual, very high and the TGS swimmers were commended on obtaining a 7th position. In Tennis, the 1st IV had mixed success through the season. After a scratchy first half, the team played good tennis in the second half. The Tennis team won four matches, against BSHS (7 rubbers -1 rubber), IGS (7-1), TSS (6-2) and BBC (5-3) and suffered defeats by BGS (1-7), CEGS (0-8), NC (3-5) and GT (3-5). Errol Morrow defeated the BGS Captain in singles but the overall result went to BGS (1-7). A notable match was against the eventual Tennis Premiers, GT, where the TGS 1st IV performed very well, though losing 3 rubbers to 5. In Drama, the School Play by the Dramatic Society was Socrates performed at the City Hall. The lead role of Socrates was taken by Morris Williams and another noteworthy performance was given by James Dalgleish. Other cast members included Graham Peters, Graham Brown, Peter Dixon, David Brilliant, Clyde Braithwaite, Bill Taylor, Ken Bade, Garfield Prowse, Tony Williams, John Geck and Alan Jones. Mr White was the producer of the play. A photograph of some cast members is included in this year’s entry,

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team was defeated by Downlands College in the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy game in a rain-affected match: DC (54 not out) d TGS (49). The 1st XV defeated Downlands, 26-13. Downlands College defeated TGS in the annual swimming competition.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Edward C.D. Ringrose, Director of External Studies, The University of Queensland At one of the School’s Speech Days under Mr Mills’ Headmastership he said: “We do endeavour to set as our ideal the Christian way of life, and to inculcate a respect for our fellowmen, tolerance, unselfishness, industry, regard for the rights of minority groups, aversion to cruelty and any other vice that would become a menace to this community.” The Headmaster was to pass away suddenly on 27 January in the following year with heart failure. In what was to be the Headmaster’s final Speech Day address prior to his passing, Mr Mills expressed a cautionary comment that would be used by many Headmasters to follow. He said: “I appeal to parents to give stricter attention to the social activities of their children, and to have the courage when necessary to give the blunt ‘no’ as an answer, even though it may cause some temporary heartaches.”

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1955 1955

The naming of Barbour Oval

Mr Heenan teaching Physics

Dramatic Society play ‘Socrates’

The naming of Barbour Oval

Mr Heenan teaching Physics

Dramatic Society play ‘Socrates’

1st XV Rugby team

1st XI Cricket team

1st XV Rugby team

1st XI Cricket team

1st IV Tennis team 1st IV Tennis team

TGS team winners of QLD All Schools’ Boxing Championships

Parents and Friends’ Association Officers

TGS team winners of QLD All Schools’ Boxing Championships

Parents and Friends’ Association Officers

1st XV Rugby team tour to NSW 1st XV Rugby team tour to NSW The School Prefects The School Prefects

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1956 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 12th year)

Trustees: Messrs Leslie A.G. Boyce; Cliff E.J. Richards; Mervyn W. Baynes; Rowland J. (‘Rowley’) Dunn; Francis J. Hopkins; the Honourable John E. (‘Jack’) Duggan, MLA; and Dr Hector G. Jones Headmaster: On 27 January the Headmaster, Mr Mills, passed away from heart failure at about 3:00am in the Headmaster’s Residence at the School. He had suffered from a serious heart complaint for at least a year but this never interfered with his attention to duty and his enthusiasm for his work. Mr Mills was aged 54 years and he was laid to rest in the Toowoomba Cemetery. A few months later the Trustees perpetuated his name at the School by naming Mills Oval. An Obituary for Mr R.L. Mills featured in the School Magazine 1956 on page 5. Mr Mills had been the Headmaster of the School from 1948-1956. The Board of Trustees endorsed Senior Master (Deputy Headmaster), Leonard (Len) Heenan, as Acting Headmaster until the appointment of a successor. Later Mr Heenan was appointed as the School’s 11 th Headmaster. Mr Heenan had the nickname amongst the boys ‘Pud’ and he had been the School’s Deputy Headmaster for eighteen years. Second Master: Edgar G. White (in his 1st year)

Senior Prefect: Alastair R.G. Grant Dux of Year: John Knowles

Total School Enrolment: 241 Senior School Total: 186 Junior School Total: 55

Number of Dayboys: 70 Number of Boarders: 171

Staffing: •

At the end of the year, teacher Mr Colin Harding (Old Boy 1950-1953 and Senior Prefect 1953) resigned to join the Fleet Air Arm.

Students: • •

The School Prefects were Alastair Grant, Ray Swan, Brian Pidgeon, Neville Cooke, William Taylor, Marc Newman, John Knowles, Colin Wyse, John Provan, Peter Klose and Joseph Gartner. John Knowles (Dux) was placed 5th in the Open Scholarship list in Queensland. Page | 439


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Joseph A. Gartner (1955-1956) completed his Doctorate in the United Kingdom at Reading before moving to Rome where he became Senior International Agriculturalist for Rural Development (Rome and South East Asia) for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation). Dr Gartner is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Academically, the School gained the greatest number of A’s in its history to date. Ray Swan was captain of three Open 1sts teams – Rugby (co-Premiers), Cricket and Athletics (see below in the Cricket and Rugby sections). William L. (‘Bill’) Taylor (1953-1956) was awarded the Belford Prize in his final year at the School. Later he entered the Royal Australian Naval College and rose to the rank of Commodore and Director-General of Supply in the Navy. He resigned early in 1988 to contest the federal seat of Groom which he won and held until he retired from politics in 1998. He was then appointed Administrator of the Christmas and Keeling Islands (1999–2003). Commodore Taylor was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 1990. He is also acknowledged on the Toowoomba Grammar School Wall of Achievement and on the Australia Day Honours List as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘significant service to national and international public administration, to the Parliament of Australia and to the community’. Ross Miller (1955-1956) was later to be appointed as the Mayor of the Toowoomba City Council (1993-1997). Robert ‘Bob’ Johnson (1953-1956) qualified as a Pharmacist in Brisbane and from 1986-1988 was President of the Queensland Game Fishing Association. R. ‘Bob’ C. Jones (1952-1956) was President of the Science Teachers’ Association of Queensland, was an Acting Deputy Principal of Brisbane State High School, and Secretary to the Queensland Great Public Schools (GPS) Association. Nicknames were all in fashion for the “squirts” – Podgy, Chook, Pinky, Grandma, Spike, Spud, Bung, Roody, Lucerne (surname Hay), Moo-cow, Amber and Bullfrog. The School enrolled four boys from overseas under an Australian Government Plan, in conjunction with the New Guinea Department of Public Instruction, whereby under a bursary scheme selected students could enter Australian boarding schools on three-year scholarships to Junior standard, after which the term could be extended for a further two years if there were extenuating circumstances.

Buildings: •

The School’s Kitchen was situated where the Accounts Office was later located. Even later, from 2013, this area was to become the Sport and Activities general office. In 2023 the ground floor of School House was remodelled and the Deputy Headmaster’s Secretary and other administrative support staff were located in this area.

Events: •

The Headmaster, Mr Robert Leslie (‘Bidge’) Mills, attended an evening meeting of the School’s Board of Trustees on 26 January (the Board’s first meeting for the new year). Afterwards he returned home to the Headmaster’s Residence where he died suddenly during the early hours of the morning. A Memorial Service was held on the lawn of the School in front of the main building. Here in this location, just a few months earlier, Mr Mills had led the 1955 School’s Speech Day proceedings. Page | 440


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The Olympic Games were held in Melbourne this year, the first time the Olympics had been hosted in Australia and the first Olympiad to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. Mainstream television in black and white transmission was launched in September in Sydney. Colour television was later introduced in 1975. The departing Sixth Form presented a large (one metre in diameter) clock to the School. It was originally hung on the wooden wall of the old tuck-shop, locker-room, laboratory complex which was later demolished to make way for the Centenary Hall (boarders’ dining room). The clock was then put in storage for many years. Underneath the clock was the word ‘exiverunt’ 1956, meaning ‘they left in 1956’ (see ‘Events’ 2006). ‘Town leave’ for Boarders was allowed only on Saturday morning and weekend leave was restricted to one weekend per term. The Old Boys’ Christmas Tree celebration was held again this year. Old Boy Col Harding was dressed as Father Christmas and presented gifts to nearly 50 children. This year heralded the successful arrival and consolidation of a strong Papua New Guinea contingent to the School due to a bursary scheme introduced this year by the Australian Government in conjunction with the New Guinea Department of Public Instruction. A photograph of the School’s pine plantation along its Herries Street boundary is included in this year’s entry. The Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees and Old Boy, Mr ‘Bob’ Partridge, features in the foreground of this photograph. The trees were first planted in 1950.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

The year was a most successful one in the sporting arena with a shared GPS Premiership in Rugby and a 2nd place in GPS 1st XI Cricket. In Athletics, at the School’s annual athletic meeting held on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval, Ross Trevethan equalled the long-standing record of 10.2 seconds for the 100 yards, set by ‘Singy’ Myles in 1925 and equalled by A.M. ‘Bill’ Brunckhorst in 1937. In Boxing, the School retained the Queensland Boxing Championship Cup, winning this Cup three times in the last eight years. It was thought that this was a Queensland and Australian record performance. A photograph of the boxing team is included in this year’s entry. In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI Cricket team was runners-up in the GPS competition to Brisbane Grammar School (second by one point). The team had three victories (BGS, IGS and NC), two draws and three matches were washed out. Brian Pidgeon had a good game against The Southport School with bowling figures of 7 wickets for 20 runs. Brian was a School Prefect, member of the 1st XI and 1st XV, Captain of Swimming and Captain of Boxing. Sadly, he lost his life in a car accident at a Warwick level-crossing only a few years after leaving the School. In 1960 a sports trophy was named in his honour – the ‘Brian Pidgeon Memorial Trophy for 880 yards’ with the first prize awarded to John N. McDonald. This trophy was awarded until 2006. Ray Swan captained the 1st XI Cricket team (as well as in the previous year) and was also Captain of the School’s Athletics team and Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team. Ray Swan was later a teacher at the School from 1961 to August 1963. A photograph of Ray Swan is included in this year’s entry together with a photograph of his Colours Blazer pocket. On 13 October, 1956, the 1st XI played its first match on the Mills Memorial Oval at TGS. The oval became the School’s main cricket ground from that date.

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In Rugby, the 1st XV Rugby team shared the GPS Rugby Premiership with two other schools (BGS and GT). It won six matches and lost two, scoring 184 points to 91 against. The six winning matches were against: BBC (31-5), GT (14-13), CEGS ‘Churchie’ (11-3), BSHS (31-13), IGS (42-6) and TSS (33-6 and played at GT). The two losses were to BGS (17-19) and NC (5-26). A photograph of the GPS Premiership winning 1st XV team is included in this year’s entry. The total points scored by the 1st XV in this GPS season was 184 points, representing the fourth highest points total in the history of TGS 1st XV rugby (with 91 points scored against). The 184 points scored in this year was only surpassed by the 2015 team (243 points), 1940 team (207 points) and the 1945 team (192 points). The Captain of the 1st XV was Ray Swan (see above in ‘Cricket’) who won the Telegraph Blue for the best player in the GPS. He was also the Vice-Captain of the combined GPS XV. Mr Swan was interviewed by the School’s Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, in 2013. Mr Farrell asked Mr Swan to describe what it was like to win a premiership for the School. He replied: “While excitement was high in the School following our 1954 win, there was no special function for the team to celebrate. However, after the 1956 win, our Supporters organised a dance and ceremonial cake to mark the occasion. From a player’s point of view I can say we were thrilled at being joint Premiers.” Regarding coaching, Mr Swan commented: “We were coached by Mr Col Harding, a young teacher on staff. He was Captain of the 1953 TGS team and had a great knowledge of the game and instilled confidence in the boys. We were lucky to have Duncan Thompson as assistant and Duncan was widely recognised as the best coach of his era. Senior players from all over Australia came to Toowoomba to be coached by him.” A 1st XV Rugby tour to New South Wales took place, the first trip to NSW since 1948. The boys travelled by bus to NSW with games against The Armidale School (a draw-14 all), Knox Grammar School (a loss, 6-8) and Barker College (a win,19-11). Some of the boys had never travelled interstate before. The School Magazine of 1956 recorded one boy’s thoughts: “Arriving in Sydney was like arriving into dreamland.” A photograph of the tour group is included in this year’s entry. In Shooting, the School’s Shooting team won the Stevenson GPS Cup and again in 1958. In Swimming, the School Magazine reported: “The GPS Carnival was held on March 10th. Our team, though not strong, and weakened by illness, carried itself well and showed an admirable spirit throughout the day.” In Tennis, the 1st IV had a good season with three wins: against NC (8 rubbers to nil), IGS (7-1), and BSHS (7-1). The team was defeated on two occasions: to the eventual Premiers, TSS (1-7) and to CEGS (2-6). The tennis match against GT ended in a draw because of a late start due to the previous night’s rain. Another draw during the season was to BGS (TGS was leading 2 rubbers to nil when play ceased due to rain). In Cadets, the Cadet Unit had a unit strength of 185. In Drama, the School Play by the Dramatic Society was Charley’s Aunt with “three successful nights of hilarious entertainment” in June. Lead roles were performed by James Dalgleish and Joe Gartner, Ian Rose, Hartley Newnham, Les Thompson, Ian Maitland, John Kennon, Ross Miller, Edward Beningfield and Alan Jones. Mr E. White was the producer. A photograph of some members of the cast is included in this year’s entry.

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Downlands Competition: • • • •

The sporting competition and rivalry against Downlands College appeared more intense than in later years in that Downlands, at the time, was an all-boys’ school and so in direct competition. The School’s 1st XV Rugby team defeated Downlands, 21-11. The 1st XI Cricket team was defeated by Downlands. Downlands College defeated TGS in the annual swimming competition.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Noel Askin (for two years) and also in 1961-1962. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Hugh C. Webster, Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Queensland

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1956

Cast in School Play

1st XV Rugby team GPS Rugby Premiers (aeq)

Blazer Pocket of Ray Swan

Ray Swan, student and School Master

School Boxing team

School’s Pine Plantation along Herries Street

School Fete, Father & Son pillow fight

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1957 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Leslie A.G. Boyce (in his 13th year) and then Mr Mervyn W. Baynes was appointed Chairman. Mr Baynes was Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1957 to 1973. Trustees: Three Trustees departed from the Board at the end of the year: Messrs Leslie A. Boyce; John ‘Jack’ E. Duggan and Cliff E.J. Richards. Mr Leslie Boyce passed away in April 1988. The School’s then Headmaster, Mr ‘Bill’ Dent, provided the eulogy which was reprinted in the School Magazine 1988 on pages 188-189.

Headmaster: Mr Leonard (Len) Heenan (in his 2nd year). Second Master: Mr Edgar G. White (in his 2nd year)

Senior Prefect: Keith S. McLaren Dux of Year: Alan K. Patterson

Total School Enrolment: 223 Senior School Total: 176 Junior School Total: 47 (boys could enter the School when eight years of age) Number of Dayboys: 66 Number of Boarders: 157

Staffing: •

Mr Leslie W.A. Scott (“Scotty”) retired after 36 years on the teaching staff, commencing in 1916 upon his discharge from the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) during World War One. Mr Scott was in the Gallipoli landing. He re-enlisted in March 1917 (4th Pioneers) and returned to the Staff in 1919. After some time at Rockhampton Grammar School (1921-1924) and The Armidale School (for six months), he returned to TGS in July 1925. He was a member of the Resident Staff for 24 years, with an interval of the Second World War years, during which he served with the Garrison Battalion (see 1916 and 1958). He was also for some years the Officer Commanding of the School’s Cadet Unit (1935-1939) and fostered its training and tradition thoroughly. Mr Scott is remembered as being an integral part of the School. Mr Scott’s 36 years on staff placed him as one of the longest-serving teachers in the School’s history (his 36 years was matched by Mr Graeme Ainsbury: see 1995). Headmaster Heenan said in a tribute: “Mr Scott’s attitude and bearing have been most impressive. And he ranks as one of the most powerful and incisive Page | 445


• •

teachers the School has had. For Old Boys, ‘Scottie’ is one who has helped to make TGS great." Whilst Mr Scott officially retired this year, he returned to the staff in a brief part-time capacity in the following year to teach French. In addition to the Headmaster and the Second Master, there were nine Masters on the teaching staff. The Headmaster, Mr Heenan, suffered a coronary thrombosis on Christmas Eve 1957 and was hospitalised. He had leave of absence until late in April 1958 and during his leave the Trustees empowered Mr Edgar G. White to act as Acting Headmaster. One of his first actions was to reemploy ‘Scotty’ Scott as a fill-in teacher for most of 1958.

Students:

• • •

• •

The School Prefects were Keith McLaren, Donald Petty, Graham Hobbs, Ross Trevethan, Ian Dougal, John Handley and George Pethard. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. The Dux of the School, Alan K. Patterson (1954-1957), was awarded an Open University Scholarship. No further student won an Open University Scholarship for the top twenty-five students in Queensland based on their Senior Public Examination until 1963 (P.J. Cameron). S. ‘John’ Handley (1954-1957) was one of the seven School Prefects and House Captain of Mackintosh House. He was also the recipient of the Chauvel Scholarship (as was his younger brother, Richard, in 1959). In later years John Handley was to be appointed President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (2004-2006) and a Trustee on the Board of Trustees (1996-2017) and Deputy Chairman of the Board (from 2005-2017). John Handley was also elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association in 2005 (see 2005 and the ‘Buildings’ section of 2018). John Handley’s father, Joseph ‘Joe’ Stewart Handley, also attended the School (1913-1916) as did John’s two sons (Benjamin, 1989-1993 and Lachlan,1991-1995). A subject prize is presented at the School’s annual Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in recognition of the contribution to the School by the Handley family – the Handley Family Prize for Economics. Some reminiscences of John Handley’s school days in the 1950s are recorded below in the ‘General’ section. John Handley features in the photograph of the Prefects this year and also at the end of this year’s entry. Alan Belford Jones (1955-1958) in the Fifth Form was the number one player in the School’s 1st Tennis team and was undefeated in the GPS singles during the season. During the year he won the Queensland Under 17 Close Title and was runner-up in the Queensland Under 16 Age Title. Alan Jones also won the School’s Fifth Form public speaking competition (see 1958). Keith McLaren was awarded the Belford Prize this year. The School enrolled a further four Papuan students under the 1956 bursary scheme between the Australian Government and the New Guinea Department of Public Instruction. Jonathan H. (‘Jerry’) Skerman (1954-1957) became Professor of Anaesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Louisiana State University Medical Centre and has been honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Hartley R. Newnham (1954-1957) became a singer and pianist of international repute. John Corfe (1954-1957) was the great grandson of Charles C. Corfe (Headmaster of TGS, 18901900) and grandson of Edgar M. Corfe (1892-1900). Page | 446


Eean Thorne (1953-1957) was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of 2014. Eean’s OAM was awarded for his extensive work with the Rotary Club and Probus Club. Jon Sheppard (1955-1957) was later in his career residing in London and was the Director of the Political Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat of CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting).

Events: •

In August, a Toowoomba Grammar School Public Building Fund was registered under the Charitable Collections Act. This meant that all individual contributions made became allowable deductions for income tax purposes, and, secondly, that any money from the fund spent on approved building purposes would be entitled to Government subsidy. Twenty-four Cadets were in a serious road accident, but none fatally, involving an army truck which was returning some of the cadets from their annual 1957 cadet camp. The laden vehicle had overturned on the Spring Creek Road. As in previous years, the Old Boys’ Association and the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association combined to organise the annual fete held in September. The fete was followed by a barbecue tea at the School and a school dance in the Indoor Bowls Hall. A most successful Old Boys’ reunion dinner was held at the Middle Ridge Golf Club with over 100 in attendance. The guest of honour and guest speaker was Professor Mark Oliphant, Director, Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University (ANU). Old Boy (1911-1916) His Excellency, Lieutenant- General Eric W. Woodward, Governor of New South Wales, was the Guest of Honour at this year’s annual reunion dinner of the TGS Old Boys’ Sydney Branch.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• •

In Athletics, fresh from the success of the squad in the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Sports, the TGS athletes faced a much more strenuous contest at the GPS competition. The squad was placed in last position scoring 20.5 points, an improvement on recent performances. In Boxing, thirteen students competed in the Queensland Schoolboy Boxing Championships. The boxers were narrowly defeated in the overall championship by Church of England Grammar School (CEGS – ‘Churchie’). In Cricket, the Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team and School Prefect was Ross Trevethan. His father, Tom, was captain of both Cricket and Rugby (League was played at the School at this time) in 1924. In addition to being Captain of Cricket, Ross also captained the Open 1st teams in Tennis and Athletics. Tragically Ross died prematurely in 1964 as a result of a car accident. The 1st XI team won only one match this year (against TSS) losing the other seven. Some massive losses were recorded such as BBC 6-243 d TGS 26; BGS 7-203 d TGS 41; and NC 230 d TGS 90. The 1st XI scored the equal lowest innings batting total for the 1950s decade, with only 21 runs scored against IGS.

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In Rugby, the 1st XV was not as successful as last year’s team, with only two wins recorded – against IGS (12-9) and a memorable win against BSHS (45-3). The rugby match against TSS was the main curtain-raiser to the Australia v New Zealand Test in Brisbane (with a loss to TGS, 6-11). Other losses were to BBC (6-14), GT (11-14), BGS (0-6), and CEGS as eventual Premiers (5-24). The rugby match against NC was a thriller with a score of nil all with about ten minutes of play to go. The TGS team got rattled and, in a few minutes, NC were 16 points up to win the game. The coach of the 1st XV was Mr A. Frost for this year and the next. In Swimming, the season was a more encouraging one for TGS with a greater commitment to the sport shown by all swimmers. Despite this, the School remained in 9th position at the GPS Swimming Carnival. In Tennis, the School’s 1st Tennis team shared the GPS Tennis Premiership, tying with Church of England Grammar School (now ‘Churchie’). The match against CEGS was the only one in which the TGS 1st IV was defeated (3 rubbers to 5). A photograph of the Premiership winning tennis team is included in this year’s entry. Playing against BBC, the School won by the narrow margin of just six games and this was also the winning margin in the1st IV victory over IGS. Other victories included playing against GT (7 rubbers to 1), BGS (6 rubbers to 2), NC (7 rubbers to 1), and BSHS (6 rubbers to 2). TGS had to defeat TSS to tie for the Premiership with CEGS and did so in fine fashion, winning 6 rubbers to 2. The Captain of the 1st IV Tennis team was Ross G. Trevethan and the tennis report in the School Magazine described Alan Jones as “outstanding in singles”. This was clearly apparent in that, playing as the number one, Alan Jones was undefeated throughout the season in GPS 1st IV singles and also in the following year (and as the Captain of the 1st IV). In Cadets, Cadet Under Officer H. Jonathan Skerman (1954-1957) was one of only ten Queensland Cadets of secondary schools to participate in an organised tour of the Royal Military College at Duntroon. The students travelled to Canberra and back by aeroplane. A report of his trip to Duntroon appeared in the School Magazine 1957 on pages 30-31. Jonathan wore his TGS blazer and this attracted the attention of the chief artillery instructor at Duntroon, Major Paley, because he was an Old Boy of TGS. In Drama, the Dramatic Society maintained its high standard with a fine performance of The Winslow Boy. This two-act play was presented in the City Hall on 31 May and 1 June. The boys performed the female roles in the play. Major roles in the play produced by Mr White were held by Peter Wickham, John Ryan, James Dalgleish and Neil Anderson. The profit from the play in the vicinity of 100 pounds was used to purchase a piano for the School.

• •

• • •

.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The School won the O’Callaghan Cup in the 1st XV Rugby match, 14-3. Downlands College won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy in cricket on the first innings by 56 runs. Downlands College defeated TGS in the annual swimming competition.

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General: •

John Handley (see above in ‘Students’) attended the School between 1954-1957 as a boarder although the family’s subsistence dairy farm was in Murphy’s Creek, now only 20 minutes from the School. However, in the 1950s at least half of the road was unsealed and, in wet weather, was impassable. John remembered that a trip to Toowoomba in the old family car was an adventure with often a stop at the ‘saddle’ on the range to check the radiator etc. before the slow climb up the single lane each way, the ‘Toll Bar’ as it was called. On each upward trip there was always a vehicle or two stationary with radiators boiling from the climb. John described the ‘squirt’ system in boarding which existed at that time where all new boys in boarding had to sing unaccompanied at a concert on the first Saturday of the term. Some of the Masters of the School attended. Boys who were very good, or very bad, were asked to continue for some time while those who were ‘average’ were dismissed rapidly with cries of ‘rhubarb, rhubarb’. Initiations took place and appeared not to be restricted by the School authorities. The cardinal sin for a boy was to ‘dob someone in’ and the code of silence was expected. To break this rule resulted in severe peer punishment in the form of being thrown into the pool, fully dressed and in silence, and witnessed by most of the students. Serious disputes between boys were sorted out by the bike shed with boxing gloves worn by the protagonists. John recalled the boys having official boxing rounds during the School’s Fete. Various stalls were erected on the day and the Seniors organised a boxing tent. John remembered that attendance at church was compulsory every Sunday. Religious instruction periods were also held regularly as part of the school day. John said that dances with the girls attending Fairholme College were attended and the TGS boys wore formal school uniform to the dance. Boys also faced a standard of dress much more formal than today with ties always being worn. John thought that today’s TGS boarders still enjoy the comradery and life-long friendships from their schooling as he experienced in the 1950s. Because town leave was allowed only on Saturday morning and weekend leave was restricted to one weekend per term, the boarders spent a lot of time together which encouraged a very close family environment. John also recalled that most of the Sixth Form went to an unofficial ‘Schoolies’ at the Gold Coast following the Formal and Speech Day. ‘Schoolies’ was not recognised formally until 1980. Certainly, alcohol was not as significant an issue as the drinking age was 21 and the students were only 17-18 (the minimum drinking age in Queensland was reduced from 21 years to 18 years in February 1974). There were certainly no drugs. Most of the time at ‘Schoolies’ was spent at the beach. Further information relating to John Handley’s experience at TGS in school and post-school years is included in an article titled ‘Reminiscences’ printed in Omnibus vol.27, no.3. November 2017, pp.25-26. An aerial photograph of the School’s campus is included in this year’s entry. The pine plantation has a prominent exposure.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Noel Askin Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Neil T.M. Yeates, Professor of Animal Husbandry, University of New England (and Old Boy 1929-35)

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1957

The School Prefects

Old Boy Mr John Handley, former Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees and President of the OBA

1st IV GPS Premiership Tennis winning team (aeq)

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1958 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W Baynes (in his 2nd year)

Old Boy, Mr Harry R. (‘Copper’) Kent (in his 1st year)

Trustees: Three new Trustees joined the Board: Mr Henry (‘Harry’) Ronald (‘Roy’) Kent (known as ‘Copper’ Kent); Mr Walter H. Wippell (from 1958 to 1960); and the Hon. Gordon W. Chalk, MLA. Dr Hector G. Jones retired from the Board.

Headmaster: Mr Leonard (Len) Heenan (in his 3rd year). Mr Heenan was absent in Term One suffering from illness and Mr Edgar (‘Blue’) White was Acting Headmaster Second Master: Mr Edgar G. White transferred from Toowoomba Grammar School at the end of the year to become the fourth Headmaster of the Church of England Boys’ School (Toowoomba Preparatory School). Mr White remained in this role until his retirement in 1973. Mr White had been at TGS from May 1939 to November 1958 (with the interruption of war service in 1940 where he fought at the Battle of Milne Bay with the 25th Battalion). He returned to the School in 1945 and was appointed Senior Master in 1956. A Tribute to Mr Edgar Gerald ‘Blue’ White, who passed away in August 1991, appeared in the TGS School Magazine of 1991 on page 184.

Senior Prefect: Brian P. White (the son of the Acting Headmaster in Term One) Senior Boarder Prefect: Alan B. Jones Dux of Year: Arthur M. Beresford

Total School Enrolment: 233 Senior School Total: 182 Junior School Total: 51 Number of Dayboys: 75 Number of Boarders: 158

Staffing: •

The year was characterised by significant staff turnover. At the end of the 1958 school year virtually half of the teaching staff had resigned, namely Messrs E.G. White, A.J. Frost, C.A. Foggan, L.W.A. Scott and Old Boy, Graham C. Copeland. Miss Judith ‘Judy’ Magarry joined the School as an Office Assistant. She was only 15 years of age and remained on staff to become the longest-serving employee in the School’s history, retiring in July 2012 (and then continued as a volunteer in the School Museum for well over a decade). The Page | 451


School had only one telephone line at this time and the ‘phone number was 29 Toowoomba. Miss Magarry also had responsibility for ringing the school bell (which was done by pulling on the chain nearby – where it is still situated) to designate lesson changes. The original School Bell was, years later, again rung by the then Mrs Judy Gillies on the occasion of her final day as an employee of the School in 2012 (also refer to 1986, 2008 and 2012). A photograph of Judy Gillies taken on the day of her retirement and ringing the School Bell is included in the 1878-year entry. Mr Scott came out of retirement to assist with the teaching of French.

Students: • • •

• •

The School Prefects were Brian White, Alan Jones, David Phillips, Trevor Lovell, David Brilliant and Arthur Beresford. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Brian White was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Alan B. Jones (1955-1958) was the Senior Boarder Prefect, House Captain of Stephens House and for the second year in succession in the 1st IV did not lose a tennis match. He was Captain of Tennis this year. He also won the Championship event in the School’s Cross-Country race. After initially teaching at Brisbane Grammar School and The Kings School he became a speech writer and senior adviser to the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser. In 1981 he was appointed Executive Director of the Employers’ Federation of Australia. In 1984 Alan was appointed Australian Rugby Union Coach and he coached Australia, until early 1988, to 89 victories in 102 matches. His teams won 23 tests out of 30, and 4 of those losses were by only a point. In 1984 he coached Australia’s national team, the Wallabies, to their now-famous Grand Slam victories over England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In December 1985 he was selected by the Confederation of Australian Sport as Australia’s Coach of the Year and the following year he coached the Wallabies to an Australian Bledisloe Cup victory in New Zealand, the first time such a victory had been achieved in 39 years. Alan Jones also became regarded by many as one of Australia’s most gifted public speakers and secured the largest radio audience in Australia. On many occasions Alan Jones AO returned to the School to assist with major events including fund-raising occasions, Old Boy reunion dinners, major school anniversaries and Guest Speaker at the annual Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony (in 1986). He has been elected to the Australian Sports Hall of Fame and is on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Arthur Beresford was awarded an Open University Scholarship and Douglas Garner obtained 7 A’s in the Senior. Ronald L. Lawson (1957-1958) became Professor of Sociology in the Department of Urban Studies at Queens College, one of the campuses of the City University of New York. (and a church musician). At the school he was known commonly as ‘Liberace’ because of his piano-playing skills. Whilst completing a Ph.D in Sociology and History at the University of Queensland, Ronald also studied music at the State Conservatorium. He was also an organist at Emmanuel College. David H. Brilliant (1955-1958), following his tenure at Albury Grammar School as a resident Housemaster, joined the staff of Brisbane Grammar School in 1969. He was to serve BGS admirably for 38 ½ years teaching Senior Chemistry, Junior Science and Technology Studies and was also heavily involved in the co-curricular areas of the School. The Mrs. Mary Brilliant Prize for Year 12 Art was endowed by David’s mother to honour her family’s name at the School.

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Buildings: • •

Taylor Boarding House was under construction during the year. The three classroom blocks were all parallel to one another and were named North, Middle and South blocks. North and Middle blocks were ex Air Force buildings that came to the School after the war. They had been bricked up. South block was a wooden building on stumps with three classrooms and a storeroom at the end (see 1959 and 1981). North, Middle and South classroom blocks each contained three classrooms. ‘Prep’ for the boarders was held in one of the classrooms in Middle Block.

Events: • •

• • •

The School’s fees in this year were 18 pounds and 18 shillings per term (a three-term year at this time) and an additional 60 pounds per term payable for boarding. A Branch of the Old Boys’ Association was formed in Canberra this year. Twelve Old Boys, accompanied by their wives and friends, attended the inaugural dinner and meeting held at Motel Canberra in September. Dr Gordon Grant (1918-1920) explained the purpose of the meeting. Old Boy Frank E. Bischof (1918-1919), Queensland’s Police Commissioner, opened the School Fete in September. The Olympic-sized Milne Bay swimming pool in Toowoomba was opened this year. At the Old Boys’ Dinner held at the Toowoomba Golf Couse Club House, Middle Ridge, the President of the OBA, Mr Ian Gibson, noted: “Other speakers included Dr Bob Jackson from Armidale and quite a few younger Old Boys who made themselves heard from the far end of the room.” The Toast to the School at this year’s Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner in Brisbane in September was proposed by Old Boy, Brigadier J.E.G. Martin (1917-1921). Brigadier Martin referred to the School’s 82nd year existence and noted: “In this short span the world has moved from the era of the horse and buggy and the paraffin lamp and great social distinctions to a brave, exciting, and, incidentally, very dangerous new age of supersonic flight, nuclear energy, automation, anti-biotics and plastic surgery, the mechanised home and the welfare state. … Not all who pass through the School can achieve great eminence in their chosen careers. I suggest that the prime function of the School is to produce men – men of goodwill with a sense of both private and public responsibility; men who are not automatons but are trained to think and to evaluate. If they have these qualities, it will not be long before they find their natural place in the stream of community life. The School can be proud that its Old Boys answer the roll call in all grades of leadership in every section of business and professional life in the community. A State Governor, University Professors, Headmasters of Great Public Schools, Members of Parliament, men who have attained eminence in the various branches of pure and applied science, technologists, leaders of social and philanthropic activities, men who serve with distinction in the Services, all of these add lustre to the history of the School. But TGS should be no less proud of all those who, though nameless to the general public, are carrying on the traditions of the School in their various vocations, and, though they do not get their names in the daily Press, are respected for the dignity of their labours and for their philanthropic and community service in their own suburbs and villages. Among all those who served their country in the wars, those who achieved no particular eminence or distinction, but always did a good job - not because it was an exciting or glamorous enterprise, but because the spirit of the old School urged, "There's a job to be done, you ought to be in it!" these constituted the great majority on which the fate of battles ultimately depended.” Page | 453


Co-curricular Activities: • • •

• • •

• •

• • •

• • •

In Athletics, the School’s athletics squad competed in the GPS Athletics Championships in October and finished last with 16 points. In Boxing, the School’s team won the State Schoolboys’ Championships (making it their fourth title in five years). A photograph of the highly successful team is included in this year’s entry. In Cricket, the 1st XI won only two matches in the GPS cricket season (against GT and NC). Somewhat surprisingly, in the winning match against NC, the TGS 1st XI scored 229 runs (to NC, 84). TGS bowler Harry Barlow took 6 for 68 against TSS and 5 for 31 against NC. He also had two fivewicket hauls in the following year. The 1st XI scored the equal lowest innings batting total for the 1950’s decade with only 21 runs scored against BGS. In Rugby, The King’s School, Parramatta, visited the School this year and the match played on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval drew a large crowd. Playing their best match of the season, the TGS 1 st XV won narrowly 6-5. In addition to playing full fixtures in the GPS competition, the 1st XV team also competed against Toowoomba State High School, the 25th Battalion and Gatton College Under 20 team. This year’s 1st XV team won only one game, against St Joseph's College Gregory Terrace (GT) with a score 21-11. The record of the TGS 1st XV never losing a 1st XV match in Toowoomba against GT remained. The losing matches were to IGS (12-27), TSS (3-11 and played at BGS), BBC (11-31), BSHS (3-11), NC (8-23), CEGS (8-15) and BGS, the eventual Premiers (6-26). The Captain of the TGS 1st XV, Trevor Lovell, was selected in the combined GPS team. The Headmaster’s Report to the School’s Board of Trustees in June 1958 referred to a number of rugby teams playing according to weight restrictions. In 1958 the rugby teams were the 1sts, 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, under 15A, under 15B, under 8 st 7lbs, under 7 st 7lbs, and under 6 st 7lbs. In Shooting, the School’s team won the GPS Premiership (the Stephenson Cup). In Soccer, the Headmaster in his Annual Report referred to “a soccer ball being purchased to give some boys from Malaya etc an interest”. In Swimming, at the GPS Swimming Championships, the School’s squad was relegated to 9th and last place with only one point registered. The same position and same points score occurred in the following year. The swimming report in the School Magazine stated: “Probably no other place in the School provides such universal and unalloyed enjoyment as does the School baths. During the season, boys from the lowest primary grade to the grave and reverend Sixth Form are to be found there week-days and week-ends, swimming, splashing, playing "tig", or just enjoying the sun.” The swimming report continued: “Unfortunately swimming is something of a poor relation by comparison with other school sporting activities, and any training for competitive swimming must be fitted in after all the other demands of school sports have been satisfied. This state of affairs is, to a certain extent, inevitable in a school of the size of TGS. But while swimming remains the Cinderella of sport, no measure of success can be hoped for in competitions or carnivals.” In Tennis, the 1st IV Tennis team came 2nd in the GPS Premiership, losing only to the eventual Premiers, CEGS (‘Churchie’) by only one set in this away match. The 1st IV achieved victories over BGS, NC, BBC, BSHS and IGS. The games against TSS and GT were cancelled due to rain. The Captain of the 1st IV Tennis team was Alan Jones who was undefeated in 1st IV singles for the second successive year and was selected in the combined GPS representative team. Page | 454


• • • • •

With three of last year's First IV – Alan Jones, Trevor Lindenberg, and Ian Agnew - and Maxwell Maguire, last year's reserve, the TGS team was strong. The Headmaster in his Annual Report stated: “Five tennis teams were fielded every Saturday. Deck quoits were played on an area of asphalt.” In Cadets, the Unit strength was 160. The Cadet Guard of Honour formed for the Governor-General Sir William Slim, at Crow’s Nest, evoked from him the comment: “One of the finest schoolboy guards I have seen!” Brigadier James E.G. Martin, an Old Boy of the School (1917-1921), was the Reviewing Officer for the Cadet Ceremonial Parade. He also proposed the toast to the School at the Old Boys’ dinner in Brisbane in September. In Drama, the Dramatic Society performed three one-act plays with success at the City Hall in September.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for the first time since the Trophy’s inception in 1954. After holding the O’Callaghan Cup for three years, the School lost it to Downlands 8-14. The Athletics team was successful in winning the Darling Downs Carnival by a narrow margin from Downlands. Downlands College defeated TGS in the annual swimming competition for the fifth successive year (and also in the following year).

General: •

In this year the Headmaster wrote about modern youth in his Headmaster’s Report published in the School Magazine (1958, page 7). Perhaps it was a prophecy of modern youth 50, 60 or more years hence. Headmaster Heenan wrote: “Much has been said about the problems confronting modern youth. The age is certainly a restless one and there are presented to the public various types of pseudo-entertainments. Even sporting events must be made more glamorous, more exciting. The mental outlook that all this creates in the minds of some is that they must be entertained or amused, at all costs, and the immoral tendency it entrains is to indulge in the whim of the moment in the hope of discovering some new self gratification.” The School’s governing body, the Board of Trustees, holds monthly meetings for both the full Board and for its various smaller sub-committees. Detailed minutes of each meeting are recorded. Illustrated in the photographs at the end of this year’s entry is a book containing the minutes of every Board of Trustee meeting over the period 1938-1958. The minutes of each meeting were typed and then attached to this large book. At the end of this year a new book was used to record the minutes. Reference to the minutes of the Board of Trustees’ meetings is made in the Preface of this publication.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Dr Ian Gibson (for 1 year) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor R.H. Greenwood, Professor of Geography, University of Queensland Page | 455


1958

Minutes of the School’s Board of Trustees Meetings, 1938-1958

School Grounds and Pine Plantation

TGS Boxing team, State Champions

The School Prefects

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1959 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Mervyn W Baynes (in his 3rd year)

Deputy Chairman: Mr Harry R (‘Copper’) Kent (in his 2nd year) Headmaster: Mr Leonard (Len) Heenan (in his 5th year) Second Master: Mr Anthony (Tony) J. Rae (in his 1st year) from Scots College, Sydney Senior Prefect: Richard W. Forster (his father, Neil, was Senior Prefect in 1923 and his uncle Leslie in 1920) Dux of Year: Desmond Wimberley Total School Enrolment: 253 Senior School Total: 199 Junior School Total: 54 (the highest on record to date) Number of Dayboys: 88 Number of Boarders: 165 Staffing: •

• •

• •

Mr ‘Bob’ Partridge, the School’s Secretary to the Board of Trustees and an Old Boy, was appointed as the first Resident Master of Taylor House, the new boarding facility. A photograph of Mr Partridge and his family, in front of the newly constructed Taylor Boarding House, is included in this year’s entry. Mr ‘Russ’ Gillies was appointed to the teaching staff and was to become the longest-serving member of the teaching staff in the entire School’s history. In December 1962 he married a member of the administration staff, Miss Judith (Judy) Magarry. Mr Gillies retired in 1998 representing 40 years of teaching service at the School (see ‘Staffing’ 1998). There were twelve teachers catering for the enrolment of 253 boys. Of these twelve, six new staff members joined in this year. One of the other ‘new’ staff members was Mr Anthony J. Rae (who later was appointed as the Headmaster of Newington College in Sydney). ‘Tony’ Rae had a clever nickname as ‘Stinger’ and he was promoted as the Senior Master of Toowoomba Grammar School, a position now associated with that of Deputy Headmaster. Mr Graeme Ainsbury (see below) also joined the staff and completed his teaching career at TGS in 1995 (with a one-year interval in England in 1962). Another teacher commencing in this year was Mr Hugh Mackay who stayed only this year and then relocated to Sydney to join the staff of the ABC. He became a very well-known author and social commentator. Mr Mackay was later to be the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2005. A summary of Hugh Mackay’s wonderful speech is printed in Omnibus, vol.25, no.1, April 2015, pp. 1-2. Page | 457


Old Boy Mr Norman (‘Ken’) Fisher (1950-1953) (Chemistry) and Old Boy Mr Reginald ‘Graham’ Skerman (1927-1928) (Physics and Mathematics) joined the teaching staff. Mr Skerman held an M.A. degree, was a registered psychologist and was formerly tutor at Emmanuel, King’s and the Women’s University Colleges in Mental and Moral Philosophy to Honours standard. He was also a Padre for three and a half years in the R.A.A.F. In the School Museum is an audio recording of an interview with Mr Graeme Ainsbury who became one of the longest serving teachers in the School’s history (36 years of service – see the ‘Staffing’ section in the 1995 entry). From 1975-1986 Mr Ainsbury was the Head of the Geography Department, Senior Master from 1975-1992, and School Registrar from 1992-1996. The recorded interview took place in September 2004 and Mr Ainsbury stated: “I came to TGS to teach in the Primary School in 1959. It was a small primary school with two classes. Year 8 was still in the primary school. Mr Bill Wright who was the Head of the Junior School taught the Year 8 class and I had a multiple class of Years 5, 6 and 7. The classroom for the Primary School students was in South classroom block. It was a wooden block of three classrooms and was located near where the Manual Arts/Arts building is (the building to which Mr Ainsbury refers was demolished in 2017 to create the land area space for the new McCracken Sports Centre which opened in 2018). In my class of around 36 boys, there would have only been about 6 dayboys; most of them were boarders. The older boarders lived in a dormitory above the administration staff Common Room in Mackintosh House (then and now called School House). The younger boarders lived in a dormitory which was the Headmaster’s original study on the second floor opposite what used to be the Sick Bay.” (Also see ‘Staffing’ 1995.)

Students: • •

• •

• •

The School Prefects were Richard Forster, Harold Barlow, John Davis, John Gundry, Roderick McLennan, Norman Morwood, Bruce Simpson, Leslie Thompson and John Wittkopp. The Dux of Vth Form, Neville J. Little, sadly passed away due to illness in January of 1960 as he was to enter Senior (sixth form/year 12). Neville was too ill to attend the Speech Day ceremony to receive his prize as Dux of Vth Form. In the Vth Form, Neville won his Colours for Rugby and at his funeral in Dalby members of the First XV, in Colour Blazers, acted as pall-bearers. Norman Morwood was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Ross A. Livermore (1958-1959) became a rugby league administrator, Chairman of the Australian Rugby League (1983), and Managing Director of Queensland Rugby League (1981-2011). His name is honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. A photograph taken in 2012 of Ross Livermore together with Brisbane Bronco player Petero Civoniceva and TGS student Joshua Robinson is included in the 2012-year entry. Joshua Robinson, as a Year 11 student, was part of the photograph after winning three gold medals at the National Track and Field titles and being named the National NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year (see 2013). Brian Amini (1957-1959), from Papua New Guinea, was later appointed High Commissioner and Ambassador to New Zealand and Indonesia respectively. He was a Director of the Board of the PNG Power Ltd until his passing. Harold D. Hopkins (1958-1959) and his twin brother John (1958-1960) were both admitted to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) graduating in 1967. Harold’s professional acting career proved to be both noteworthy and ongoing until his death in 2011 aged 67 years (due to the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma traced back to his brief foray into the building industry as an apprentice carpenter). Harold Hopkins’ acting included appearances in live theatre performed at the Sydney Opera House, major roles in 16 feature films which included Age of Consent, Gallipoli, Don’s Party, The Club, The Year My Voice Broke et al, and his appearance in some 160 episodes of various television series such as Barrier Reef, Homicide, Underbelly and many others. Page | 458


• •

Kevin ‘Peter’ Hauritz (1956-1959) was one of the survivors from the Danish freighter ‘Margit’ which caught fire in the mid Pacific and had to be abandoned. Peter and his companions were rescued after ten hours’ drifting in a lifeboat kept afloat with a pump handle in place of the allimportant but missing boat plug. In May 2009 a summary of the post-school lives (up to 2009) of 23 of the Class of 1959 was provided to the School and published. The document is now housed in the School Museum. A photograph of the Junior School students (including the Grade VIII boys) is included in this year’s entry. The 58 Junior School boys, in addition to their studies, kept busy with playing sport and hobbies. Football (Rugby) was the favourite sport and two teams of boys (a 5 stone, 7 pound team and a 6 stone, 7 pound team) enjoyed weekly competitive games against Church of England Boys’ School (later to be known as Toowoomba Prep and, later still, Toowoomba Anglican School) and Downlands College. Tennis was also a very popular game in the Junior School. Some of the older boys in Grade VIII played in older age group sporting teams. Gymnastics was another very popular sport and very good use by the Junior School boys was made of the open air gymnasium on the School grounds. To encourage the smaller boys to keep out of mischief, the Assistant Boarding Master, Mr Graham Ainsbury, instituted a garden competition with four boys to each plot. This created quite an interest. Playing marbles was also a popular game, even when played in mud and water. Ian Mathieson (1956-1959) in 2015 was part of a team that spent some weeks filming on the Somme in northern France around a village called Villers-Bretonneux where the Australian National War Memorial is situated. The project resulted in a one-hour documentary called Never Forget Australia, focussing on six World War One stories that all relate to Villers-Bretonneux and its immediate area. For further references to Villers-Bretonneux and TGS Old Boys, refer to 2007, 2009 and 2011. Ian Mathieson (above) wrote to the School in 2020 fondly recollecting his school years between 1956-1959. In part he recounted: “A wonderful set of memories clusters around Froggy French who, paradoxically, was my English teacher. He was my French teacher as well; perhaps not unsurprisingly. His real name, I found out years later, was Emile du Pret. But he was universally known as Mr French with a non de plume (see, my lessons weren’t entirely wasted); even known by the other teachers as ‘Frenchy’. His French lessons were terrific. He smoked a pipe during class – didn’t everyone then? In the occasional happy coincidence of him running low on pipe tobacco and me putting in a decent attempt at an assignment, I’d be issued with a ten-shilling note and allowed to enjoy the class by meandering into town to buy him a new plug. His English lessons were even better than his French. For a Froggie – a term he’d use with reference to himself – he had a massive knowledge of English literature. I recall the bell for end of class tolled through the School. ‘Mr French’ told the class – ‘Hark, is that the tintinnabulation of the bells, bells, bells that I hear? Well, some of us have done something to advance mankind today – only a few, I might add – so we might as well Edgar Allan Poe off’. On my final Speech Day, Froggie caught up with me. ‘Oh, and Mathieson. When you go to Paris, as I’d imagine you shall, of course you’ll visit Notre Dame and the rest of the interesting things about the city, but you will not see beauty and feel the depths of its spirit until you sit quietly in Sainte-Chapelle. And I trust that, when you do, you will remember me kindly’. I did visit Paris, I did visit Notre Dame, and I did sit quietly in Sainte-Chapelle. And, well over sixty years later, I certainly do remember him with great affection.”

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Buildings: •

• •

Taylor Boarding House was opened, named after the Honourable James Taylor. He was a member of the Legislative Council and the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees in 1876, a position he held until 1882. The building was opened by Sir Alan Mansfield, Chief Justice of Queensland, whose two brothers, one a Senior Prefect in 1909, attended TGS. Mr Bob Partridge, the Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees, was the Housemaster and Mr Graeme Ainsbury was his Assistant. An aerial photograph of the School campus is included in this year’s entry. Another aerial photograph appears in the year entries for 1964, 1975 and 2006. The School’s pine plantation on the School grounds alongside the Herries Street boundary is clearly visible in the aerial photographs. At this time in the School’s history, Old Hall was used as the venue for School Assemblies. The room was uncarpeted and had an open wood fire and fireplace. The fireplace remains but in the mid 2000s the open wood fire was replaced with a simulated log burning gas fire heater. Old Hall was used as the venue for School Assemblies until mid 1964. The boarders’ lunch was served in the Dining Room where the current Front Office Reception is located on the ground floor of School House. ‘Rec’ (Recreation) Block was a large building (now demolished) on the school campus which housed some primary students’ classes, a recreation area for the boarders, and two Boarding Resident Masters’ accommodation. Old Boy John Handley (1954-1957), former President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association and former Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees (see 1957), was a Boarding Resident Master in 1959 and his accommodation was situated at the end of ‘Rec Block’. The Sixth Formers (Year 12s) had their classroom where the current Centenary Dining Hall is located.

Events: • • •

• • •

• • •

1959 was Queensland’s centenary year. The boys used ink pens at this time for biros were still a few years away. The Senior Formals at this time were held in Old Hall, just prior to the commencement of the external Senior Public Examinations. Mrs Judy Gillies remembers the 1959 Senior Formal as having a string quartet playing for the boys and their partners danced on the then exposed polished wooden floor. When the Headmaster visited Duntroon in May, the greatest Old Boy representation at an Open Night in the Officers’ Mess to meet various Headmasters came from TGS. Old Boys’ Weekend was reinstituted this year, the first time since the war. The Old Boys’ Dinner was held at the Toowoomba Golf Club. A new event this year was the combined GPS Old Boys’ Dinner held on 17 September at which His Excellency the Governor was Guest of Honour. Mr Heenan had the honour of responding to the toast to the Great Public Schools, proposed by His Excellency. Of interest was the fact that TGS had greatest representation of all schools at this function. ‘King’ Renwick, aged 77 years, was a regular spectator, and critic, at sporting functions. In July, snow/sleet was recorded in the Granite Belt. A mumps epidemic occurred during August followed by a measles epidemic in November. Page | 460


The usual well-attended ‘Christmas Tree and Party’ was held in the School Hall (now known as Old Hall) in early December. This year approximately 45 children enjoyed the hospitality of the Old Boys’ Association with presents from ‘Santa’. At around this time the grass on the ovals was still cut by a horse-drawn mower as it was in 1945 (and presumably earlier). The Groundsman was nicknamed ‘Ben Hur’ because of the chariot-like cart which was used for carrying the mown grass. A photograph of the horse-drawn mower is included in this year’s entry.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

• • •

• • •

• •

• •

In Athletics, the season was marked by a lack of general success but there was pleasing enthusiasm and progress on the part of some boys. The athletics team was placed last in the GPS competition. Also, after holding the Pigott Cup (for aggregate points in the Darling Downs athletics competition) for a number of years, TGS lost it this year to Downlands College and CBC (St.Mary’s). In Boxing, the team, comprising fourteen TGS contestants, came second in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Boxing Championship. In Cricket, the Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team was ‘Rod’ McLennan for the second successive year. In the team was Ian Agnew, one of the School’s great all-rounders. He accumulated 349 runs in cricket during this year and was appointed Captain of the 1st XI in the following year. In the cricket match against GT, Ian took 5 wickets for 8 runs. In addition to being an excellent cricketer, Ian Agnew was in his third year of the GPS 1st IV tennis and was to be the School’s Senior Prefect in 1960. The 1st XI won only two matches in the GPS cricket season (against BBC and TSS). In Rugby, the School fielded a total of twelve teams: five "open" teams, three under-fifteen teams, and four under-weight teams. The new tackling pit proved a great success. The Firsts were helped during the season by advice from Mr. Duncan Thompson and the coach was Mr ‘Russ’ Gillies. The 1st XV had three wins in the season, against IGS (16-6), TSS (14-9), and GT (8-3) and with a drawn game against BBC (6-6). The three losses were by quite substantial margins – NC (6-41), CEGS (0-27), and BGS (6-24). Mr Gillies continued coaching the 1st XV until the 1965 season. In Shooting, the School’s Shooting team was placed 2nd in the GPS Competition. In Swimming, the School’s performance at the GPS Carnival was handicapped by the School’s better competitors unable to take part owing to an epidemic of influenza. Still, TGS was hopelessly outclassed by the Brisbane schools, which each year kept getting better and better. Only one point was secured by TGS (in an Under 14 event). In Tennis, in the eight GPS fixture matches, TGS won two (NC and IGS, both 6 rubbers to 2), three were lost, and three were classified as drawn because of rain. In all matches, most rubbers were gained by the School’s very reliable doubles combinations. In Cadets, this year the Cadet Unit strength was at the maximum of 160. The Reviewing Officer of the Cadets’ Ceremonial Parade was Old Boy, Brigadier J.E.G. Martin. The new Officer Commanding of the TGS Army Cadet Unit was Captain (AAC) N.K. ‘Ken’ Fisher who held this position from 1959-1968. The position this year became vacant following the resignation of Mr Edgar White at the end of the previous year to become the Headmaster of

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Church of England Boys’ School (later known as Toowoomba Preparatory School and then Toowoomba Anglican School). In Drama, the School Play was The Admirable Crichton performed over two nights in the City Hall. The play was very well received by large and responsive audiences. Twenty-five boys performed in the play in both male and female roles. Some of the main actors included Ian Morris, Emmanuel Cominos, Robin Howells, Peter McPhie, Graham Sheridan, William Zemek, John Roubicek, Rod Brilliant, Barclay Millar and Brian Blinco. Regular clubs included the Dramatic and Debating Societies, the Public Speaking, Camera and Hobbies Clubs and the Library Committee. During 1959 a Senior Choir was formed and a Chess Club boasting 48 regular players was introduced. In Music, during the second term, when volunteers were sought to form a School Choir, it was discovered that the only interest in such a venture was among the senior boys. Accordingly, a senior choir numbering fifteen was formed. A general lack of choral experience among the members limited the type of music selected. However, enthusiasm was shown in such folk tunes as "Ilkla Moor bar t'at", and the traditional students' song, "Gaudeamus Igitur". A photograph of members of the School Choir is included in this year’s entry.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (in the match Ian Agnew scored a century). Downlands won the O’Callaghan Cup in the 1st XV Rugby match, 14-6. This game was played at TGS on the Wednesday between the ‘Churchie’ and NC games. Downlands College defeated TGS in the annual swimming competition for the sixth successive year (but TGS won in 1960).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Garnet ‘Neil’ Ellis (for 2 years)

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Thomas G.H. Jones, Professor of Chemistry, University of Queensland. Professor Jones and Mrs Jones were the guests of honour at the pre-Speech Day luncheon, arranged by the Trustees at the Queen’s Park Kiosk. During the Headmaster’s Address at Speech Day, Mr Heenan referred to the attributes of a GPS boy. He stated: “The traits of a GPS man it would be impossible to enumerate but we could underline a few, such as a quiet confidence, a sense of proportion, an abhorrence of exhibitionism, and a ready acceptance of responsibility.” Until the Assembly Hall was opened in 1964, the School’s Speech Day was held on the front lawn outside School House. During inclement weather, Old Hall was used for the function but in general terms proved to be an inadequate venue for the size of the audience. Later, during the Headmastership of Mr Dent, the Assembly Hall also became inappropriate, even with a marquee and later the Parents and Friends’ Cover outside. It was not until the 1990s that a new venue was used for the Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony, namely Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre (and it has been used ever since).

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1959 1959

The new Taylor Boarding House with Mr ‘Bob’ The new Taylor Partridge & Boarding House Family with Mr ‘Bob’ Partridge & Family

School Choir School Choir

Ben Hur Ben Hur

Junior School Students Junior School Students

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1960 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W Baynes (in his 4th year)

Mr Harry R. Kent (in his 3rd year)

Trustees: Mr Mervyn W. Baynes; Mr Harry R. Kent; The Hon. Gordon W. Chalk, MLA; Mr Rowland J. Dunn; Mr Francis J. Hopkins; Dr Ian Gibson; Mr Alex B. Yeates (from August); (Secretary: Mr Robert ‘Bob’ B. Partridge). Trustee Mr Walter Wippell died during the year. The erection of the bluestone steps to Mills Oval was organised by his wife as a memorial and a plaque in this location recognises his name.

Headmaster: Mr Leonard (Len) Heenan (in his 6th year) Second Master: Mr Anthony (Tony) J. Rae (in his 2nd year)

Senior Prefect: Ian M. Agnew (who was also Captain of the School’s 1st teams in Cricket, Rugby, Tennis and Shooting); (see ‘Cricket’ section, 1959) Dux of Year: Cecil G. Murray

Total School Enrolment: 288 Senior School Total: 230 Junior School Total: 58 Number of Dayboys: 100 Number of Boarders: 188

Staffing: •

• •

In addition to the Headmaster, the number on the teaching staff totalled 13 with two visiting staff. The teaching staff comprised Messrs. L. Heenan, G. Ainsbury, N. Fisher, R. Gillies, B. Gilmour, J. Hanrahan, E. Jones, D. Lelong, W. Poulsen, A. Rae, J. Shilliday, R. Skerman and W. Wright. Ten years later the teaching staff at the School totalled 22. Mrs McCutcheon who taught Latin in the School resigned and the subject was then taught by the Headmaster, Mr Heenan. At the end of Term One, Mr E. Harding-Jones retired after being a teacher at the School for seventeen years (1944-1960). In the School Assembly, the Senior Prefect supported the Headmaster’s remarks and asked Mr Harding-Jones to accept the gift of an electric razor.

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Students: • • • •

• •

The School Prefects were Ian Agnew, Douglas Bauer and Keith Bimrose. During these years not all students progressed to study Sixth Form (Year 12). In this year there were only twenty-two students in the Sixth Form. Keith Bimrose was awarded the Belford Prize this year. John Norman (‘Cracker’) McDonald (1958-1960) went on to play Rugby League for Australia from 1966-1970 and captained the Sydney club side Manly. In an Australian Rugby League team that defeated New Zealand, John scored 18 of Australia’s 35 points. In addition to being an outstanding footballer, ‘Cracker’ also broke records on the professional running circuit. He jointly holds (in perpetuity now that the distance has been changed to metric), with Herb McKinlay of Jamaica, the World Record of 46.7 seconds for the 440 yards. As a highly respected Rugby League Administrator, John McDonald became the Chairman of the Australian Rugby League and in 1998 was named Queensland’s Sports Administrator of the Year. He also received a Member in the General Division (AM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for service to sport, particularly rugby league football as an administrator, and to the community. John was also Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland for twenty years, retiring in 2016. John ‘Cracker’ McDonald is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Ian Moore, Captain of Athletics in both this year and in 1961, broke the GPS record at the GPS Athletics championships in the Open shot-put with a throw of 50ft 11½ in. He was the first Queensland GPS athlete to record more than 50 feet in this event and later set Australian junior and schoolboy records. In addition to being the Captain of Athletics, Ian Moore was also in the 1st XI cricket team (and selected in the combined representative GPS 1st XI) and 1st XV. Gregory G.W. Chalk (1957-1960), later Dr Gregory Chalk, was the son of Sir Gordon Chalk, former State Treasurer and also a Trustee of the School from 1958-1963. Gregory was killed in a tragic road accident and his father presented to the School the ‘Dr Gregory Chalk Memorial Prize’ from 1980. This prize was initially for Poetry (1980-1994) and then for Music in Year 11 (1995-2005 and onwards from 2014) and French (1995 onwards). In May 2022 Old Boy Ian B. Morris (1957-1960) donated a Bible to the School which belonged to the first enrolled student at TGS, Alfred G. Stephens. A photograph of the bible belonging to Alfred Stephens is included in the 1877-year entry. John Hopkins (1958-1960) performed on tour with the Young Elizabethan Players. Ian Lord (1960-1963: see ‘Students’ 1963) recalled that in 1960 and 1961 the Headmaster conducted his morning Assemblies outdoors, outside Old Hall and that Religious Education (RE) was taught at the School. Ian also remembered that the Headmaster, Mr Heenan, would always conclude his morning assembly with the words taken from a poem The Three Fishers, a ballad written in 1851 by the poet, novelist and Anglican priest Charles Kingsley. The poem tells the story of three fishermen who sailed out to sea and lost their lives during a storm. It tells of the tragic loss of the fishermen’s lives to their family. Daily, Headmaster Heenan in his morning assembly quoted the words from this poem to the boys: “Men must work – Women must weep – The sooner it’s over – the sooner we sleep”.

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Buildings: •

The only buildings to remain on campus today from this year are School House including Old Hall, the School Museum (formerly the Jubilee Chemistry Laboratory and later the Cadet Q store in the mid 2000s) and the Headmaster’s Residence. All other buildings in operation at this time have been demolished. These outbuildings were typically quite austere. The classroom blocks, for example, were old World War II huts which had come originally from the Oakey Air Force base and used as the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) camp facilities near Barbour Oval before being purchased by the School. It was very cold in these rooms in winter and each classroom was required to have a fireside kerosene heater. At this time the boys wore navy blue duffle coats as a compulsory winter uniform to keep warm. A photograph of buildings at the rear of School House and Old Hall is included in this year’s entry. The Sixth Form classroom, for example, was where the Centenary Dining Hall is now situated. Adjacent to the classroom was a locker room which had a distinct aroma of shoe polish. The Tuckshop, which was then run by Mr and Mrs ‘Mac’, was also in this wooden building, approximately where the Tuckshop was previously located prior to its relocation to the northeastern side of the Glen McCracken Sports Centre building in the early 2020s. A building program described as “massive” occurred in the 1960s. There were many fine new buildings opened in this decade, sometimes at the rate of one new building each year, with a capital expenditure of in excess of a half a million dollars. These buildings included the new Science Laboratories (1962), Groom Boarding House (1964, now part of Corfe House), the Assembly Hall (1964), the extension to the Science Laboratories (1965), the Deputy Headmaster’s residence (1965), the Annex to the Taylor Boarding House (1967) and the L.A. Boyce Boarding House (1968-69).

Events: • • •

• •

The population of Toowoomba at the commencement of the new decade was approximately 50,000 residents. The population grew to approximately 60,000 at the start of the 1970’s decade. Mr Kent, a Trustee, stated that there was a need for a concrete wicket in the “top hollow” in front of Taylor House (Margaret and Mackenzie Streets) for use by the Primary School. In the Headmaster’s Report of November 1960, Mr Heenan stated that the School had been unfortunate in having more sickness than usual with a measles epidemic and a new infection having affected over 60 boys. Fluorescent lighting was installed in many rooms. In November, an afternoon function was arranged for about eighty Old Boys to welcome (TGS Old Boy, 1911-1916) His Excellency The Governor of NSW, Lieutenant-General Sir Eric Woodward on his first official visit to Queensland. Sir Eric expressed his very great pleasure in having been able to meet so many of his contemporaries as well as so many of a younger generation. The Annual General Meeting of the Canberra Branch of the OBA took the form of a buffet dinner at the home of the President, Mr I.R. Alexander, in October. The Secretary/Treasurer of the Branch was Dr Norman H. Fisher (1923-1927) who was President of the Geological Society of Australia. The School Magazine for this year was delayed in its publication. In early December all the ‘copy’ was neatly bundled in its various sections, ready to be sent to the printers the following day. Unfortunately, someone mistook it for rubbish and consigned it to the school incinerator where it was destroyed by fire. Many people had to redraft their original material. Page | 466


Co-curricular Activities: • • • • •

• • •

• • • • •

In Athletics, whilst the School’s position in the GPS ladder remained in last place, this year saw an in increase in points awarded to TGS. This year it was noted that there was a marked improvement in enthusiasm amongst the School’s athletes, mainly with the younger boys. The Captain of Athletics, Ian Moore, won the Open shot put event and broke the GPS Record (see ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry and also in 1961). In Cricket, twelve teams took part in regular competition. The Captain of the 1st XI was Ian M. Agnew for this year and the next. The decade of the 1960s was to record that the School won a mere 29.7% of 1 st XI GPS Cricket games played. Sadly, the 1960’s decade proved to be the low point of the School’s cricket history to this time. In the 1930s the winning percentage was 58.6%; 1940s – 54.4%; 1950s – 36.5%. The 1st XI won only one match this year (BBC), lost five, drew one and with one washout. The first cricket match of the year was against Newington College, Sydney, with a win to Newington by ten runs. In Rugby, in the School Magazine during these years, in the Rugby review of the season there was a subheading “Criticism of Players” with every member of the 1st XV being assessed on strengths and weaknesses. Written comments included for example: “a very patchy player, brilliant on his day, very poor on his off-day” (this was describing the Captain of the 1st XV, Ian Agnew). Comments for other players in the 1st XV included: “His disadvantages are a lack of confidence in himself and a lack of sustained speed”; “He should continue to develop”; “His game was marred somewhat by a weakness in tackling”. The 1st XV rugby team described themselves in the School Magazine as follows: “With only three of last year's team returning, prospects looked very dim. However, a young and energetic team was built around these players and, for a start, prospects improved. We were unlucky to lose three of our best players for most of the season and the morale of the team slipped badly, so that we received some severe drubbings.” The “severe drubbings” referred to above were indeed severe. They included: NC (3-43), IGS (334), TSS (0-42), BBC (0-47) and, to a lesser extent, the losses to BGS (11-14) and ‘Churchie’ (1116). Playing against Gregory Terrace at TGS, GT won their 1st XV match for the first time ever on TGS soil (12-0). The match against BSHS ended in a draw. The King’s School 1st XV visited TGS during this year and the rugby match was played under poor conditions with fog obscuring much of the game. TGS was defeated in this encounter, 11-16. In Swimming, the TGS squad gained six points at the GPS Swimming Championships, three times as many as the previous year, but still a long way short of the standard of the other GPS schools. In Tennis, the 1st IV Tennis team completed a successful season and came 3rd in the GPS competition. The Captain of Tennis (and also the Captain of three other sports, namely the 1st XI Cricket, 1st XV Rugby and Shooting), Ian Agnew, was playing his fourth year in the 1st IV and was selected in the 1st GPS IV representative team.

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The team won six out of the eight matches played during the season. The winning games were against IGS (7 rubbers – 1), TSS (5-3), GT (5-3), BBC (5-3), BGS (5-3), and NC (8-0). The two matches lost were to the eventual Premiers, CEGS (0-8) and BSHS (equal on rubbers and losing by one set). In Drama, the Dramatic Society made history by taking its annual play, George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (produced by Second Master, Mr ‘Tony’ Rae) on a tour of Southern Queensland. Two highly successful performances to a packed City Hall in May were followed in August by performances in Dalby, Pittsworth, Gatton, Roma, Tara and Brisbane. The audience at the Roma production numbered 620. The production involved forty boys with major roles performed by Peter McPhie (Eliza Doolittle), Robin Howells (Professor Higgins), Ian Morris (Colonel Pickering), Emmanuel Cominos (Mrs Higgins) and John Feros (Alfred Doolittle).

Downlands Competition: • • •

Fourteen teams competed on the Grammar-Downlands Day. The 1st XV defeated Downlands with the score 8-3. The School’s 1st XI Cricket team drew in the Tom Allen Trophy game but as current winners retained the trophy. The School defeated Downlands in Swimming for the first time since 1953 (67 points - 59).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency Lieut.General Sir Eric Woodward, Governor of New South Wales (and Old Boy 1911-1916: see 1916). The function was held, as usual, on the School lawn and, in spite of a half-hour interruption when a storm broke, everything went very smoothly. The weather forced the Headmaster to make a rapid precis of his speech. Sir Eric also attended an Old Boys’ reunion in Brisbane during the year. It appears that one TGS Old Boy, a late comer, went up to another Old Boy, who had arrived right on time and, full of bon homie, said “What’s your name?”. “Eric Woodward” was the reply. “When were you at school?” Came next, “19111916”. “Gee, I was there from 1911 to 15 and I can’t remember you,” he said. Then he marched off to see if he could find someone who was at school 1911-1915 whom he could remember. Later in the evening there was a very red-faced Old Boy stammering out an apology to a very amused other Old Boy (His Excellency, the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Eric Woodward). In the Headmaster’s Written Report Mr Heenan stated: “People have often wondered why I remained here (at the School) for so long. The answer is simple. It is impossible to be associated with TGS for long without feeling part of it. The School has a reputation which has gone beyond the limits of Australia and it is rich in tradition. Always it moves with the times but jealously does it guard its standards. That the moral tone of the vast majority here is high is the most satisfying and the outstanding fact that we record in this report.” Also in the Headmaster’s Written Report Mr Heenan expressed his views on Latin in the curriculum of the School. He stated: “Many years ago it was the fashion for all to study Latin. It has since been realised that many have no flair for it and that it would be cruel to make them study it. Let us learn a lesson therefrom.” Of interest, the Headmaster was teaching Latin in the School at this time.

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1960

Behind the Main School Building

School Prefects

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1961 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 5th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Mr Francis J. Hopkins resigned from the Board and was replaced by Mr Robert N. Elliott. Headmaster: Mr Len Heenan (in his 7th year as Headmaster) resigned in November following 35 years of service to the School (see 1926 and ‘Staffing’ 1980). When leaving he said to the boys that he hoped to enjoy some of the private life that in his office as Headmaster had been so long denied him. He subsequently accepted a position as Senior Physics Master at Brisbane State High School, a position he held until his retirement in 1972. Mr Heenan was also to earn widespread commendation for his work and in 1962 was awarded the Gold Medal of the Australian Industries Development Association for his contributions to Science. Hundreds of Old Boys are familiar with his illustrious record as a teacher of Physics, Mathematics and French, and as a coach of tennis and swimming. A Tribute to Mr Heenan was included in the School Magazine of this year, page 3. Second Master: Mr Anthony (Tony) J. Rae (in his 3rd year)

Senior Prefect: William N. Shand Dux of Year: Ross E. Green

Total School Enrolment: 315 Senior School Total: 280 Junior School Total: 35 (18 in Grade VIII, and the other 17 in Grades VII and VI) Number of Dayboys: 117 Number of Boarders: 198

Staffing: •

Old Boy Ray Swan (1953-1955), the Captain of the 1st XI for two years, returned to the School as a teacher (until August 1963).

Students: • • •

The School Prefects were William Shand, Eric Bauer, Stanley Collins, J. Thomas Dare, John Edgar, Ronald McNeilly and Ian Moore. Three students shared the Belford Prize this year – Thomas Dare, Ronald McNeilly and Stanley ‘Bruce’ Collins. Ross Allen (1954-1955) opened the bowling for the Queensland State team in this year.

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• •

• •

The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team, Ian McKenzie Moore (1958-1961), was elected captain of the Queensland GPS combined 1st XI. He was also Captain of Athletics for the second year in a row and broke the GPS record he created at the GPS Track and Field Championships last year in the Open shot-put – this year with a throw of 55ft 3 ½ in. This GPS record was to stand for nearly 40 years and was broken by another Toowoomba Grammarian, Rhys Jones, in 1998. Ian Moore played in the School’s 1st XI cricket team for four years (also see Ian Moore’s entry in the ‘Students’ section of 1960). In 2017 Old Boy Ian Moore (above) and his wife located a TGS badged silver tea-set held by an antique dealer in Toowoon Bay on the mid-NSW coast. The three-piece set had the inscription: “From the Boys 28.11.47”. This tea-set was donated to the School by the Moores and is now displayed in the School Museum. It is thought that the tea-set was a gift from the School to Mr Griffiths, the Headmaster of the School for one year (1947). Ronald J. McNeilly (1958-1961) was later to be acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement for his contribution to commerce in Australia. At school he was a Prefect, Captain of Stephens House, a member of both the 1st XV and 1st XI and was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Sport and Leadership (aeq). He became the Chief Executive Officer of BHP Steel (1991-1997) and the Chief Operations Officer and Director of BHP. He was the guest speaker at the TGS OBA annual dinner in 1986. Greg Chamberlin (1959-1961) was the guest of honour at the TGS OBA reunion dinner in his capacity as Editor of the Courier Mail. It is of interest to note that the last two editors of the Courier Mail, Mr David Smith and Mr Greg Chamberlin, were both TGS Old Boys. Bruce Collins (1955-1961) as Mayor of Winton received an OAM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June 2009 for services to local government and the community of Winton. The Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team was Rod Hard. He was unable to purchase an honour sports blazer in this year due to financial constraints and had to borrow one when, with the team, he visited Sydney to play some practice games. Over fifty years later, in October 2017, Mr Hard was invited back to the School and travelled to Toowoomba from Sydney. Unbeknown to him, one of his colleagues in the 1958-1961 era, Mick Storrs (TGS Old Boys’ Association Honorary Life Member in 2010), had organised for a TGS Colours Pocket in Rugby to be embroidered. Together with a photograph of Rod in his playing days, the Honours Pocket was beautifully framed. In a moving ceremony the Headmaster at the time, Mr Peter Hauser, presented the excellent work organised by Mick Storrs to a very surprised Rod Hard, particularly when this presentation was done in the presence of eleven of his school mates from 1958-1961, including Duncan Trott who had flown from New Zealand specifically for the function. A photograph of Rod Hard taken in 2017 by Mick Storrs at the presentation of Rod’s Colours Pocket in Rugby, and eleven of his class mates from 1961, is included in this year’s entry. Another experience relevant to Rod Hard occurred when he was touring North Queensland in 2017 and had taken a tour of the Chillagoe Caves. Rod’s surname was mentioned and another person on the tour said: “I went to school with a chap with that name... a blond headed chap who played football.” It was Old Boy Greg Banks (1959-1961) who had been on the tour but he and Rod had not recognised each other after 56 years. They had a pleasant evening catching up. Gary S. Lane (1958-1961) was the Reviewing Officer at the School’s 1988 Cadet Ceremonial Parade in his capacity as a Lieutenant-Colonel. In the 1961 Public Examinations, subjects studied included English, French, Modern History, Economics, Maths I, Maths II, Chemistry, Physics, Logic and Art.

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Buildings: •

• •

The ground floor of School House at this time appeared as follows. As you opened the main doors to School House on the immediate right-hand side, beyond the original School Bell, was an office attended by Miss Judy Magarry (later Gillies) on the switchboard. Walking in a southerly direction the next room was, at this time, the Staff Common Room. Next to the Staff Common Room was the Headmaster’s Office. Opposite the Staff Common Room in the 1960s was a Library and Careers Information Centre. It was later a staff sitting area, classroom and Accounts Office. The School Dining Room was situated to the left of the main entrance to School House, as was the School Kitchen. Along the entire eastern wall of the ground floor of School House were a number of rooms which were the bedrooms of those single girls and women who were employed as ‘maids’ or members of the Kitchen Staff. Today, administrative offices occupy this site.

Events: •

• • •

In the 1960 Speech Day address, Sir Eric Woodward, Governor of New South Wales and an Old Boy of Toowoomba Grammar School, invited the 1961 1st XV Rugby team to visit Government House, Sydney, as his personal guests. The team played three schools: The King’s School, The Cranbrook School and The Scots College during their ten-day stay in Sydney. A large group gathered at Oakey Airport to farewell the boys who flew in a Fokker Friendship ‘plane. Many of the boys had never been in a ‘plane before. A photograph of the boys preparing to board their flight to Sydney is included in this year’s entry: (Back Row) - John Aney, Richard Higgins, John Bushell (Next Row) - Brian Amini, Richard Handley, Rodney Spies (Next Row) - John Mills, Ron McNeilly, Ian Flegler, Ian Moore, Bob Pack (Next Row) - Mr Bob Partridge, Mr Tony Rae, John Edgar, John Campbell, Tony Martin, Jim Heron, Rod Hard, Mr Russell Gillies (Kneeling) - Tom Dare, Bruce Collins, Geoff Burcham, Neil Shand and Brian Flanagan. A photograph of the boys alongside the aeroplane is included in this year’s entry. A death notice appeared in the Press on July 19 advising of the passing of Mr Richard A. Howell, possibly the last surviving foundation member of the School (1877). The school leaving age in Queensland was raised from 14 to 15 years, thus requiring, in effect, that all students have three years of secondary education. The School’s swimming pool benefited from the installation of a new filtration plant. In addition, the pool was drained, repainted and re-edged.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, despite early hopes for success, the athletics season was a disappointing one. The athletes in the open division performed well but a number of the under-age competitors did not measure up to the high standard required to win events in the present day. The GPS Athletics championships were postponed on two occasions due to rain. They were finally held at the Brisbane Cricket Ground on 12 October. Here the TGS team gained places in seven events and relegated Nudgee College to the honourable position of last place in the competition.

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• •

• • •

• •

• •

The Captain of Athletics, Ian Moore, once again set another new GPS (and Queensland) record in the shot put (see ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). A triangular athletics carnival, one of the first to be held in Toowoomba for some years, was conducted at TGS in September. The three competing schools were TGS (244 points), Toowoomba High School (135 points), and Harristown High School (120 points). In Boxing, on 22 September the School Boxing Championships were held. Many boys entered in this annual contest. In Cricket, the 1st XI won two games (GT and TSS), lost four (CEGS, IGS, BBC, and BGS) and there were two washed out (NC and BSHS). The 1961 1st XI scored the lowest batting total in an innings throughout the 1960’s decade with only 27 runs being made against CEGS. In the IGS 1st XI match, no TGS batsmen made double figures. The Captain of the 1st XI was Ian Moore who was in the 1st XI for four years – see the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. Bowler John H. Campbell was in the 1st XI for three years. He achieved the rare distinction of taking at least 20 wickets in each of the three seasons in which he played. Two others achieved this feat; Rodney (Rod) Monaghan (Captain 1965) and Ron Buchholz (who did so in four years, 1976-1979). In Rugby, the School Magazine of this year contained a detailed and very informative review of TGS Rugby from 1900-1961 written by Bob Chester. In the period 1915-1961, the School had played 45 games against the 1st XV of St. Joseph’s Nudgee College. Of these 45 games, TGS had lost 37, drew 3 and won only 5. Interestingly, in the same time period, our 1st XV had lost only 6 games (winning 29) against BBC and lost only 3 games (winning 22) against BSHS. Against the other GPS schools TGS had the following rugby results from 1915-1961 – against BGS, winning and losing the same number of games (21 each); IGS – TGS winning 27 games and losing 14; against GT, TGS winning 21 games and losing 8; TSS – TGS winning 24 games and losing 11; and CEGS (now ‘Churchie’) – TGS winning 14 games and losing 16. The rugby trip to Sydney made TGS history in being the first team from the School to make the trip to Sydney and back by air and also receiving a personal tour of Government House by The Governor himself (TGS Old Boy, Sir Eric Woodward). (See the ‘Events’ section and the photograph of the touring group in this year’s entry.) The rugby players and staff flew out from Oakey Airport in a ‘Fokker’ aeroplane. Mr Gillies, Mr Rae and Mr Partridge accompanied the tour group. In the Sydney tour, results included a loss to The King’s School (Parramatta) 0-18 and to Scots College (11-21). A winning match was against Cranbrook (13-8). The match report of the Scots game included reference to a most enjoyable after match dinner being treated by the Scots boys in the School’s dining hall – including half a chicken each to the TGS boys! In this GPS rugby season, the TGS 1st XV scored two wins (TSS, played at GT, 12-10) and BGS (2214). The losses included to ‘Churchie’ (8-11), NC (0-14), IGS (0-22), BBC (9-16) and GT (8-14). The match against BSHS was a draw, 3-all. A photograph of the 1st XV team is included in this year’s entry. In Swimming, the School’s Swimming team travelled to Dalby on several occasions when they had training sessions in the Dalby pool. The GPS carnival was held at the Valley Baths, Brisbane, and the TGS team was placed 8th in the aggregate points list, showing improvement on previous years. In Tennis, the 1st IV was not as successful as in previous years but still represented the School well. Mr Heenan coached the team. Page | 473


The 1st IV won two GPS matches: IGS (5 rubbers to 3) and TSS playing on GT courts (5 rubbers to 3). The team lost the remaining six matches with the more significant losses being to CEGS and BSHS with both of these schools winning 8 rubbers to nil. In Drama, the School play this year was Arms and the Man. All boys in the play performed well above expectations. The cast included Ross Green, David Carpenter, John Feros, Don Helmrich, John Roubicek, Chris Howard, Rodney Johnson and Bill Killinger. Mr Rae and Mr Shilliday were codirectors of the play. A photograph of the front cover of the play’s program is included in this year’s entry.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team was defeated by Downlands College which won the Tom Allen Memorial trophy (DC 128, TGS 56). The 1st XI Rugby team retained the O’Callaghan Cup, 17-12. The School’s Swimming team defeated Downlands College in the annual carnival (85-44) retaining the Swimming Baton which the School also won in the previous year.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Noel Askin (for two years) and also in 1956-57 Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency The Governor, Sir Henry Abel Smith. At the ceremony, the Headmaster referred to “… meeting in this time-honoured setting under these old trees, we reflect with pride on the tradition of this Great Public School, one which has given to the country two State Governors, some of the highest-ranking officers in the Services in two world wars, and many citizens who have been distinguished in judicial, literary, scientific, commercial, and sporting spheres.” The Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony was held somewhat early this year, in October, prior to the external examinations. There was no inkling given then of the Headmaster’s impending resignation. This came later, at the Trustees’ meeting of 23 November, when the Chairman announced that Headmaster Heenan’s retirement “was accepted with very great regret”. His resignation ended 35 years service to the School. This year the School fell into line with the majority of Queensland schools and held its Speech Day a week or two before the Public Examinations (October 30th), instead of on the last day of the school year.

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1961

1st Rugby XV team

Rugby tour to NSW

Rod Hard, Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team being presented Full Rugby Colours in 2017

School Dramatic Society Production

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1962 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 6th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 5th year)

Headmaster: The Senior Master, Mr Anthony J. Rae was appointed as Acting Headmaster of the School from January 1 following Mr Heenan’s resignation in December 1961. In May 1962, Mr Charles Olsen commenced as Headmaster. In previous years Mr Olsen had been the Acting Headmaster of The Slade School, Headmaster of Ipswich Grammar School (1953-1958) and later had taught Science at The Southport School. Senior Master: Mr Anthony J. Rae

Senior Prefect: J.E. Tim Heron Senior Dayboy Prefect: Deputy Senior Prefect, John C. Bushell A boarder from Papua, Koavea Karukuru, was selected as one of the ten Prefects. Dux of Year: Brian E. Blinco

Total School Enrolment: 297 Senior School Total: 261 Junior School Total: 36 – The Trustees reluctantly decided to close the primary section of the School from 1963. A Junior School was later opened in 1997. Number of Dayboys: 121 Number of Boarders: 176

Staffing: • •

There were thirteen Masters on the teaching staff including the Headmaster. When retired staff member and ex-rugby coach, William H (‘Bill’) Hatherell, died in this year, a group of Old Boys set up a Memorial Trust Fund so that his name could be perpetually honoured at the School. The decision was made to donate a Rugby Prize which was to be presented on Old Boys’ Day of each year. The student Trevor Green in the 1st XV won this inaugural award for playing the game in the Hatherell tradition of “toughness” and “never-say-die” spirit. Teacher Mr Russell Gillies married a member of the administration staff, Miss Judith (Judy) Magarry, in December. Mrs Gillies was later to become the longest serving employee in the history of the School (from March 1958-July 2012) (see 2012). Mr Roy W. Jackson commenced at the School and concluded his service in 1991. Page | 476


Students: • •

• • • • • •

• •

The School Prefects were J.E. ‘Tim’ Heron, John Bushell, Brian Blinco, Geoffrey Burcham, Richard Higgins, Koavea Karukuru, William Killinger, John Mills, Geoffrey Morgan and Robert Smith. James D. Bain (1961-1962) was taken seriously ill early in this year and spent the rest of the year in hospital subsequently passing away in January 1963. A scholarship to Gatton Agricultural College was created in 1969 by his parents in his memory. This is known as the James and Rita Bain Scholarship and is still presented to this day at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. Two students shared the Belford Prize this year – Brian Blinco and John Bushell. Brian Blinco (1959-1962) was later a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Energex. Ken Skerman (1960-1962) was to be selected in the Queensland Rugby Union side in 1965. John E. Bee (1961-1962) was the first boy to qualify for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Medal Award offered at the School. Ian B. Murray (1959-1962) was later to assist Mr Lindesay Jones with the training of athletics. Ian went on to win 18 State titles for distance events. Mick Storrs (1959-1962) joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1968. He was on the staff of the Director of Naval Force Development in Canberra spending time in the United Kingdom undergoing courses at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. His rank was Lieutenant Commander. Mick Storrs was made a TGS Old Boys’ Association Honorary Life Member in 2010. Over many years Mick had been heavily involved in numerous activities promoting the School and the Old Boys. Two illustrations of such activities were the commissioning of a framed Honours pocket to Rod Hard (see ‘Students’ section in last year’s entry) and a framed painting to the Commander of HMAS Toowoomba II (see ‘Events’ section, 2005). In this latter activity, Mick encouraged 50 Old Boys, widows of Old Boys and former staff members to contribute to the presentation of the painting of HMAS Toowoomba I to the new HMAS Toowoomba II. William ‘Bill’ Killinger (1959-1962) was awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Australia Day Awards for service to railway engineering through the construction and development of freight and passenger transport systems internationally and in Australia, to professional organisations, to the mining sector and to the community. Included in the photographs in this year’s entry is one showing some sixth formers enjoying the School’s outdoor swimming pool. Some of the school leavers from this year attended their 50th year reunion after leaving school and a photograph of this occasion is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: • •

The 50,000 pounds Building Fund Appeal was launched. This figure was reached at the beginning of Term Two (see below). The new Science Laboratories were opened. The decision was made that the new building would be given no particular name but that the Physics Room would be known as the ‘L.T. Heenan Room’ and the Chemistry room as the ‘Hans Hassler Room’. The building was opened on Speech Day, 2 November, by Sir Mark Oliphant. A photograph of the plaque commemorating this occasion is included in this year’s entry. This building was extended in 1965 with two new laboratories and this was officially opened on Speech Day. School Assemblies were held in Old Hall but it could accommodate only two-thirds of the enrolment. Two immediate priorities for the School were a new Science Block (achieved this year) and a new Assembly Hall (which eventuated with the new Assembly Hall being opened in April 1964).

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Events: •

• •

• • •

• • •

• •

From 1962-1973 Australia was part of an allied force led by the USA in the Vietnam War. In 1964 the National Service Scheme (conscription) was introduced in Australia to boost our country’s military forces (see 1964). The external Scholarship Examination was abolished from1962. The Scholarship Examination was abolished but the State agreed to pay each child at secondary level, thus ushering in a new policy of state aid to private schools. The School published a newsletter titled Blue and Gold with its first issue dated January 1962. It was published four times a year (in January, March, July and November) between 1962 and 1972. Attending the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Dinner, the new Headmaster, Mr Olsen, admitted that he faced the distinguished gathering with some trepidation: for the first time he knew what it felt like to be a Toowoomba Grammar School “squirt”. In order to finance two television sets, one in Taylor Boarding House and one for Old Hall, it was necessary to levy each boarder one pound per year for three years. It was decided to introduce a Prefects’ Blazer and Tie. The minutes of a Board of Trustees meeting in this year referred to the grounds of the School and it was noted: “Now that the horses have been sold and the unsightly fences around the horse paddock have been removed, the appearance of the grounds should improve.” The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association presented the School with a “mixmaster” for use in the kitchen and Mrs Fenner presented an electric toaster to the School. Over 100 guests attended the Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner, including Max Muller (1895). Old Boy and Rhodes Scholar, Dr Lister Hopkins (1923-1927), was this year elected to the position of President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association (OBA) Canberra Branch. Dr Hopkins is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement and worked with the Bureau of Census and Statistics in the Public Service (see 2006). On the first Friday of Term Two, the new Headmaster addressing the School Assembly, announced that the School was only a few pounds short of a Fund-Raising building appeal goal of 50,000 pounds. Mr Olsen said that if sufficient money arrived during the morning, he would arrange for the School bell to ring fifty times. The boys had barely got to their classrooms when the ringing began. Cheering broke out everywhere and one or two enthusiastic war-cries shattered the academic calm of Middle Block. The fund-raising target had been reached. The Headmaster’s Report to the Board of Trustees in October 1962 noted: “During the last weekend, the School was raided by some boys from Downlands and some damage was done to property. This was a reprisal for a raid on Downlands last year. I have had the full co-operation of Father Mooney in taking action to stop this stupid rivalry between the two schools.” The Headmaster in his 1962 Report said it was planned to put a turf wicket on the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. This did not eventuate at the time. In this year a trip overseas to England took four weeks by ship.

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Co-curricular Activities: • •

• •

• •

• •

In Athletics, this year the School won the Darling Downs Athletics Carnival with possibly the highest number of points secured by any one school since the championships began in 1941. At the GPS Athletics Championships, the TGS athletes scored 22 points which was higher than that of last year but were still placed in 9th position. The GPS Track and Field Athletics Championships were televised this year. In Cricket, the 1st XI won 3 games (GT by 12 runs, IGS by 46 runs, and NC by 2 runs), lost 4 (CEGS, BSHS, TSS and BBC), and there was one drawn game (BGS). Of the losses, the most significant was to BBC with an outright. Geoffrey Burcham took 7 for 34 against NC this year, including a ‘hat -trick’ (only the third hattrick taken by a TGS 1st XI bowler in GPS cricket to this date). Also Geoffrey took 5 for 56 against TSS. In the 1st XI this year and also in 1963 and 1964 (as Vice-Captain) was Ivan M. Board who in 2021 had his two-volume set (over 1,200 pages) of The History of Cricket at TGS (1875-2020) published. (See the ‘Students’ section in the 1964 entry). In the game against ‘Churchie’ was the CEGS bowler ‘Tony’ Dell who later played for Australia in two Tests, one in 1970-71 (opening the bowling with Dennis Lillee) and the other in 1973-74. In the match against TGS, Tony Dell took 4 wickets for 12 runs and TGS was dismissed for 59. ‘Churchie’ shared the GPS Cricket Premiership with BBC in this year and were undefeated in the following year. Teacher (and later Deputy Headmaster), Mr Alan D. Morwood, who was the Captain of the TGS 1953 1st XI, commenced as coach of the 1st XI in Term Three. He remained as the 1st XI coach for a decade. (See the comment made by student Peter Jephson Cameron in next year’s ‘Students’ entry.) In Rugby, the 1st XV team finished 3rd in the GPS Rugby competition. The team had most pleasing wins against five GPS schools during the season: BSHS (6-3), IGS (9-6), BBC (11-9), GT (16-0), and BGS (12-6). Only two matches were lost: to NC (6-14) and to TSS played at BGS (13-17). The match against ‘Churchie’ was a draw, 11-11. Ten school Rugby teams were fielded this year but only three played GPS fixtures and the remainder played locally against the Darling Downs Sports Association member schools. It was a long bus trip of three hours’ duration to Brisbane in those days and longer still to Nudgee College, with fixtures against The Southport School played on neutral ground at another GPS member school’s venue in Brisbane city. Coaches always dressed somewhat formally too, wearing suits, ties and dress hats. In Swimming, the School’s swimming carnival was held at the Milne Bay Pool for the first time. The swimming team experienced, in general, a much more successful season than previous teams of recent years. The TGS swimmers won the Darling Downs Carnival with 40 points. Downlands College was placed in 8th position with 19 points. At the GPS Swimming Carnival, the TGS swimmers were placed 8th, defeating IGS. In Tennis, the 1st IV won only one match, against TSS (4 rubbers all, won by 2 sets) and drew against IGS (2-2) due to rain. The losses were as follows: GT (0-5), BBC (0-8), BGS (1-7), CEGS (08), NC (3-5) and BSHS (2-6). The 1st Tennis team competed against The Southport School by playing on the St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace courts. The School Magazine described the 1st IV tennis season as: “We did not do very well this year, but we maintained our sportsmanship throughout, even while being pushed hard by superior players.” Page | 479


In Drama, the School’s Dramatic Club performed Ned Kelly at the Toowoomba City Hall. The production of the School Play was taken over by two boys, Brian Blinco and Max Hay, both of whom had four years’ experience in the School’s Dramatic Society. Bob Smith had the lead role as Ned Kelly, supported by Robert Rooks, Graham Sheridan and Peter Vidgen in a large cast. In Music, when the idea of re-forming the choir was raised, it was felt that lack of support and practice time would be a great handicap. The most convenient time to meet seemed to be Sunday night, after the boys’ evening service, when Mrs. Shilliday volunteered to take those interested in community singing. Much to everyone's surprise, over seventy boys turned up and community singing became a regular part of the boys’ Sunday night routine.

Downlands competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket game for the Tom Allen Memorial trophy was won easily by DC (199-60). In the 1st XV Rugby game, the O’Callaghan Cup was won convincingly by Downlands 21-8. TGS won the Swimming, 71½ points to 54½.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Noel A. Askin

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Sir Mark Oliphant, Director, Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University

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1962

Year 12, 50 Year Reunion

TGS Swimmers and 6th formers

Page | 481


1963 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Chairman in February. Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 7th year). Mr H.R. Kent became

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 6th year)

Headmaster: Mr Charles Olsen (in his 2nd year) Senior Master: Mr Anthony J. Rae resigned this year.

Senior Prefect: John H. Campbell (and captain of the 1st XV Rugby team and in the 1st XI cricket team for three years)

Dux of Year: Peter Jephson Cameron (and Captain of Athletics) who was later awarded a Rhodes Scholarship (see below and also 1968). His father, Jephson, was also Dux of the School in 1929 as was his Great Uncle, Ewen B. Cameron, in 1907.

Total School Enrolment: 347 Senior School Total: 347 Junior School Total: This year saw the conclusion of the primary school classes. Number of Dayboys: 127 Number of Boarders: 220: Barrymount Hostel was leased to accommodate 60 boys whilst a new Boarding House was being built (see 1964).

Staffing: •

• •

Mr Anthony J. Rae resigned from the School to accept a position as Senior Housemaster at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney. Later he was to become the Headmaster of Albury Grammar School and Newington College. In 1994 he was the Guest Speaker at the TGS Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. Mr John K. Winn commenced as a Master. He served 35 years with the School, retiring in 1997. Later he continued as a part-time School Historian. Mr Alan D. Morwood was appointed as a Senior Physics and Mathematics Master. He was an Old Boy of the School, Dux in 1953 and won an Open Scholarship to the University. He was appointed Deputy Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School in 1970. The W.J. ‘King’ Renwick Trophy was first presented in this year, only several years prior to the passing of Mr Renwick in February 1966. The Trophy was instigated for the Best and Fairest Player of the 1st XV. Page | 482


Students: •

The School Prefects were John Campbell, Rodney Yeates, David Chester, Ian Smith, Sidney Plant, Malcolm Stevenson, Trevor Green and Kenneth Skerman. In addition to the eight Prefects were seven ‘Sub Prefects’. Peter Jephson Cameron (1960-1963), later a Rhodes Scholar, was an Open Scholarship recipient and ranked 5th in Queensland this year. He was also awarded the University Medal for Mathematics and Science, achieving 100% for Maths I, Maths II and Physics and 97% for Chemistry. After completing a doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Oxford, he later became Professor of Mathematics at Queen Mary, University of London. Professor Cameron visited the School in 2004 and 2017 and attended the TGS Old Boys’ Association’s London Reunion in June 2011. In the School Museum is an audio recording of a conversation between former Master Mr John K. Winn and Peter Cameron. When asked about the appearance of the School years after he left for England, Peter replied: “The place looks so nice. It really does look like a place that people care for and look after. It is really splendid. I see a lot of new buildings have gone up but it still has not made the place too cluttered. It still has a very nice spacious feel about it … I did admire the teachers. We got to know the teachers better as there were fewer of them. Perhaps the teacher who helped me the most was Mr Alan Morwood.” Malcolm Stevenson was a boarder from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and was Proximae Accessit in his final year, Captain of Gymnastics and a record holder in athletics (880 yards). Malcolm was also awarded the Belford Prize this year. After school, Malcolm studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland and was a research chemist in paint and plastics. He later took an MBA at RMIT in Melbourne and his impressive professional career involved him being the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of various international businesses. Geoffrey G. Saba (1960-1963) became a professional international concert pianist, based in London. Geoffrey was invited back to Australia from London to give two recitals at the 1988 Festival of Sydney. He also visited the School and gave recitals in 2007 and attended a Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Reunion in London in 2008. Geoffrey Saba is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement and a photograph of him on one of his return visits to the School is included in this year’s entry. Peter G. Scott-Hunter (1960-1963) was remembered as just about everybody’s idea of a “good bloke”. He was always cheerful, always ready to help a “mate”, and he always had a deep sense of loyalty to the School. Peter was tragically killed in a car accident in September 1965 and every year the School awards the “Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to TGS” in memory of him. This Prize is awarded to a Year 12 student who has made an outstanding contribution to the School. The boy must have actively participated in at least three activities, at least one of which should be associated with sport. This Prize was first presented in 1966. Sidney ‘Sid’ A. Plant (1960-1963) was invited by the United Nations World Meteorological Organisation in 2010 to speak at an international climate change conference addressing the livelihood crisis of farmers. Ian Lord (1960-1963) after school gained a Bachelor of Engineering degree and a Bachelor of Theology. He was ordained as a Minister with the Uniting Church in 1987 and was a Minister in approximately eight churches in metropolitan and regional Queensland during his career in the ministry.

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Buildings: •

In August the contract for the erection of the new Assembly Hall (with its unusual octagonal shape) was signed by the Trustees. Photographs of an architect’s sketch of the proposed Assembly Hall and a stage in its subsequent construction are included in this year’s entry. In October, construction had commenced and the new Assembly Hall was opened in June 1964.

Events: • •

• • • •

• •

This year marked the centenary of Secondary Education in Queensland. The final year for the two Toowoomba Grammar School primary classes was 1963. This resulted from the new arrangements for secondary education in Queensland stemming from the recommendations of the 1961 Watkin Committee Report. Due to the abolition of the external Scholarship Examination from 1962, this changed the starting age for transfer into Secondary School and resulted in Year 8 being part of the Secondary Section of the School, where previously it had been part of the Primary Section. Consequently, the primary department of Toowoomba Grammar School was closed at the end of the 1963 school year. Old Boy, Sir Eric Woodward (TGS 1911-1916), the Governor of New South Wales, attended a TGS Old Boys’ Reunion in Sydney in October. At this reunion, Old Boy Alex McPhie (ex-Chief Inspector, Commonwealth Bank of Australia) spoke of the writings of Old Boy Eric Partridge (1908-1910) and his description of the death of former Science Master at TGS, Mr Thomas Hewitt, during World War I (see 1916). The Guest of Honour and Guest Speaker at the annual dinner of the TGS OBA in Toowoomba was Brigadier James ‘Eric’ Martin (TGS, 1917-1921). It was decided that as it was not practical to transport the boarders to Brisbane to see the Queen, the holiday should be added to the Easter holiday. The Headmaster, Mr Olsen, extended an invitation to all Old Boys to gather at his residence after all sporting functions. This invitation was also offered in the following year. At the Old Boys’ Reunion Weekend in October, the Old Boys organised sporting matches against the current boys in cricket and tennis. A similar event commenced in 2006 in which the 1st XI Cricket team played against the 1st XI team of 20 years ago. This annual match continues to this day and represents the occasion when the 1st XI boys receive their caps. The Headmaster, Mr Olsen, mandated that the boys undertake certain compulsory activities which were not always supported. Membership of the School’s Cadet Unit was made compulsory between 1963 – 1970 and this year saw the inauguration of an ‘Auxiliary Cadet Unit’. Similarly, Mr Olsen required all boys to play rugby for the School unless they were medically unfit and could produce a doctor’s certificate. In addition, Year 9 boarders who were in a horizontal boarding system were obliged to attend week-day prep sessions before school (after breakfast), week-day evening sessions, and Sunday afternoon swot periods including a Sunday evening home letter writing task. Of the current 1963 enrolment, one in six were sons of Old Boys. Corporal punishment of the boys was commonplace and sometimes for what was regarded as trivial offences such as not wearing slippers in the dormitory or whispering after lights-out. Miss Judy Magarry (later Mrs Judy Gillies, the longest-serving employee in the School’s history) recalled that around the early 1960’s whilst working at the front reception office she was at times visited by boys seeking her assistance in a matter. The boys asked Miss Magarry whether she had any spare magazines such as Women’s Day or New Idea in the office and she enquired as to the purpose of the magazines as it appeared they were not for the boys’ general reading pleasure. Page | 484


The boys replied that they would wear the magazines around their backsides in preparation for a ‘caning’ by the Headmaster or Senior Master. Following the caning some boys then proceeded to the horse water trough and sat in it for relief. Generally, the caning was administered for offences such as smoking and general misbehaviour. Old Boy John Handley (1954-1957), later President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association and Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, recalled the Headmaster or Senior Master calling out specific boys’ names at the conclusion of the evening meal for boarders in the Dining Room. These boys were to report to his office for caning, typically three strokes of the cane on the backside of the boys’ trousers and mainly for the offence of smoking cigarettes.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• • • •

• •

• •

In Athletics, the School won the Pigott Cup for the most points scored at the Darling Downs Athletics Carnival. The boys narrowly beat Toowoomba High School by 5 points and Downlands College by 18 points. The TGS athletes were outclassed by the Brisbane schools but most of the TGS runners demonstrated very creditable performances. Gordon Findlay was placed first in the Open high jump (the first first-place in this event for a TGS athlete since 1948). The School was placed last in the placings in the GPS Athletics competition. In Basketball, two outdoor basketball courts were prepared. In Cricket, the School Magazine of this year contained a detailed and informative review of TGS Cricket from 1900-1963 written by Bob Chester. John Campbell (Senior Prefect) was in his third year in the 1st XI Cricket team. In these three years he took 21, 25 and 29 wickets, one of the few TGS bowlers to have ever taken more than 20 wickets in a year on three occasions. This year he took five wickets in three innings including 6 for 40 against the Premiers CEGS (‘Churchie’). The 1st XI won 3 matches (BBC by 73 runs, GT by 121 runs, and TSS by 69 runs), lost 4 (BGS by 90 runs, CEGS by 10 wickets, NC by 70 runs, and IGS by 10 runs) and one was washed out (BSHS). In Rugby, the 1st XV Rugby team, captained by the Senior Prefect John Campbell, defeated St Joseph’s College, Nudgee (14-9) for the first time in 15 years (see 1973, 1982 and 2004). A member of the 1st XV in this year, and to be the Captain of the team in 1964, was Ian R. Cook (1962-1964). In 2014 he was interviewed by the School’s Director of Rugby, Mr Jono Farrell. He recalled: “The coach of the team was Mr Gillies who was passionate about the game and did his very best with the team. We didn’t do weights or strength training; all training was done on the ovals. In-season we would train most afternoons during the week, but not all sessions had the same intensity and some were very light sessions. The main thing that I recall about our teams between 1962-1964 is that we were very confident in our own ability. We believed that we were as good as anyone else. Our teams had a certain aura about them and were full of school leaders, prefects in particular, so we had strong leadership in the group.” Mr Cook’s advice to the TGS boys for the 2014 year was: “The boys must maintain a balance between sport and study – train and play hard, but don’t neglect your studies as you will need a pathway once you finish playing sport.” (Source – TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014, pp. 48-49). In addition to the win against NC (14-9), the TGS 1st XV defeated BGS (6-3) and BBC (15-12). The team was defeated by five GPS schools: by ‘Churchie’ (the eventual Premiers, 3-13), BSHS (311), IGS (6-12), TSS (0-3) and the largest defeat of the season, by GT (3-20). Page | 485


• •

• • • •

The Captain of TGS Rugby, John Campbell, unfortunately missed most of the season through illness. A Rugby trip to Sydney took place. After a rather long and frustrating wait at the airlines office in Toowoomba, the boys set off by bus for Oakey Airport. The boys were again disappointed there, for they had to wait for about an hour and a half more before the plane finally took off. The boys and staff were told that the plane had developed engine trouble - this did nothing to relieve the fears of the members of the team who had not flown before. The team experienced losses to Scots College and to The King’s School (3-19). The boys then travelled to Canberra by train to play the Duntroon Colts with a loss to TGS, 14-16. The team then toured the Snowy Mountains. In Swimming, the team experienced a relatively unsuccessful season. The TGS swimmers came second in the Darling Downs Carnival (with 68 points and being defeated by Downlands College, with 84 points). The GPS Swimming Carnival was held at the Valley Pool. CEGS won the Premiership and TGS was placed last in the swimming competition. In Tennis, the 1st IV had only one win, over IGS (equal on rubbers and a win on sets). The remaining GPS matches were all lost, with the most significant loss being to CEGS (8 rubbers to nil). In Cadets, the Cadet Camp was held again at Murphy’s Creek. Reviewing Officer at the School Cadets’ Passing Out Parade was Old Boy (1917-1921), Brigadier James ‘Eric’ Martin. In Drama, the Dramatic Society performed three one-act plays which were produced by the boys (Grigor McPhie, Peter Vidgen, Ian Lord and Oliver Knight) under the guidance of Mr Rae. Players consisted of Rodney Johnson, Errol Morrison, Chris Howard, Bryan Lynn, Hugh Dickson and Ian Johnson and many others. In Music, refer to Geoffrey Saba in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won back the Tom Allen Memorial trophy and continued to win the trophy from 1963-1968 with a drawn game in 1969. The 1st XV Rugby team lost to Downlands, 5-11. DC won the Swimming carnival, 80-60.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Henry ‘Roy’ (‘Copper’) Kent (for 2 years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency, Sir Henry Abel Smith, Governor of Queensland. The presentation of prizes occurred on the front lawn of the School.

Page | 486


1963

Teaching Staff

Architect’s Sketch of Proposed Assembly Hall

Construction of Assembly Hall

Old Boy Mr Geoffrey Saba returning to the School TGS Swimming team

Page | 487


1964 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 8th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 7th year)

Headmaster: Mr Charles Olsen (in his 3rd year)

Senior Prefect: David C. Chester Dux of Year: Roderick Chamberlin

Total School Enrolment: 389 (an all-time record to date; the previous highest total was 376 in 1945) Senior School Total: 389 Junior School Total: No primary boys Number of Dayboys: 140 Number of Boarders: 249

Staffing: •

Mr. W.Len Poulsen was appointed as Senior Master, a position he held for ten years (see next year’s entry in the ‘Staffing’ section).

Students: •

• • • •

The School Prefects were David Chester, Keith Blinco, S. Gordon Butler, Ian Cook, Ronald Daniel, Teio Ila, Ian Jackson, Michael Klose, Burnett Schulte, Desmond Thompson, Errol Wildman and Christopher Yeates. No student won an Open Scholarship to attend the University of Queensland in this year. Of the 61 ‘Seniors’ this year, 20 proceeded to do a wide number of tertiary courses from Arts to Veterinary Science, either full or part-time. Keith Blinco was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Peter C. Wicks (1963-1964) was the inaugural winner of the 1964 National “Lions Youth of the Year Quest”. He won the title from nine other finalists chosen from 3500 entrants across Australia and his main prize was a two months’ tour of the United States. Ivan M. Board (1961-1964) represented the School for three successive years in the 1st XI cricket team. In the School Magazine of 1963 it was written: “Ivan Board is to be congratulated on taking out the fielding prize in the 1st XI. Some of his catches taken in his pet position, leg slip, were absolutely brilliant, showing wonderful anticipation.” In 2004 he was made an Honorary Life Member of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association and a photograph of this Page | 488


event is included in this year’s entry. He served as Secretary of the Brisbane Branch of the TGS Old Boys’ Association from 1991-2006. Over many years Ivan Board generously donated to the School numerous items relating to cricket. These included many books and, in 2019, a signed Bradman bat. A photograph of this presentation is included in this year's entry. From 2018-2021 Ivan Board (above) completed over 4,000 hours voluntarily researching the history of cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875-2020, in a highly commendable and thorough piece of scholarly research. The two-volume set of books was launched in March 2021 and the work consisted of 1,204 pages of cricket history at TGS. A photograph of Ivan taken at the launch of his books on The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School in 2021 is included in this year’s entry. In addition to Ivan Board’s authorship of the two-volume set of books on the history of cricket at TGS he collated his research into additional books. These were books specialising on the history of cricket between Toowoomba Grammar School and a number of the member schools of the GPS Association. Ivan’s additional six books included separate books focussing on the history of cricket beween Toowoomba Grammar School and BGS, ACGS, BBC, NC, TSS and IGS. A photograph of these six books plus the two-volume original set The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School is included in this year’s entry. Rodney N. Metcalfe (1961-1964) was made an Honorary Life Member of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (OBA) in 2005. He had also been the President of the Brisbane Branch of the OBA from 1993-1997. David C. Chester (1960-1964) became the Managing Director of the Magic Millions International Thoroughbred Auction House and the recipient of the Australian Export Hero Award (2012). He is honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. David ‘Geoff’ Stevenson (1959-1964) in 1990 was appointed to the position of Director-General of the Queensland Department of Transport for a term of five years. He was also Chairman of the Brisbane Authority. Teio ‘Tom’ Raka Ila (1959-1964) was a Prefect who had entered the School’s Primary Section as a Year 7 student from Papua New Guinea. He settled in quickly by contributing to all aspects of school life, excelling particularly in all sports. Teio was an all-rounder and in his final year at the School he was a Prefect, an Officer in the Auxiliary Cadet Corps, a member of the 1 st XI and a member of the 1st XV. Teio devoted his professional life to the education of his people in Papua New Guinea. His son Geoffrey Ila also attended the School (1982-1986).

Buildings: •

The new Assembly Hall was opened on 6 June by the Premier, The Hon. F.R. Nicklin. In his address to a crowd estimated at more than 1000 overflowing the new Assembly Hall, the Premier congratulated the School on the acquisition of such a fine building. Mr Nicklin said that the new hall was a magnificent structure and the best design of its type that he had ever seen. In the School publication Blue and Gold, May 1964, it was written: “The new Hall is nearing completion and everyone is impressed with the magnificence of the building. The octagonal-shaped structure fits in admirably with the other School buildings. Its position ensures that it will be the centre of School activities…. Special furniture has been designed for the stage so that it will combine with the general interior design. There will be a special Headmaster’s chair…The main entrance from the drive is most impressive. The old garage is to be removed and this area landscaped. The Hall and the new Science block will look very fine as one drives into the School from the Margaret Street entrance.” A photograph of the invitation to attend the opening of the new Assembly Hall is included in this year’s entry. Page | 489


• • • • •

Prior to the construction of the new Assembly Hall, the School’s Assemblies were held in Old Hall. With the construction of the new Assembly Hall, Old Hall was used as “a magazine and newspaper reading-room, the Library, a recreation room for games such as chess and draughts, and as a music and television room”. The Headmaster also decided that the Vocational Guidance section would be set up in ‘the Big School Room’ (Old Hall). At around this time there were three classroom blocks – North Block, Middle Block and South Block. These buildings are clearly visible in the aerial photograph of the School included in this year’s entry. Middle Block was in later removed in 1974 to make way for the Purves Classroom Block. To the left (east) of South Block in the photograph one can identify two cement water tanks. The South Block was later removed to provide the space for the construction of the new Arts Building (manual art and art) in 1982 (still later to be demolished in 2017 to make land available for the construction of the Glen McCracken Sports Centre). To the right (west) of South Block is the outdoor swimming pool, described then with its water being an ugly green opaque colour due to the lack of filtration equipment. Built in 1927, this outdoor swimming pool was demolished in 2009 and filled in. In the foreground of the photograph the new Assembly Hall with its interesting octagonal shape is visible. The Headmaster’s residence is still in the same location in 2024 as shown in this picture. The School’s pine plantation on the Herries Street border of the campus is certainly highlighted in the photograph. The plantation or ‘pine forest’ shown in the photograph is where the Aquatic Centre, Junior School and Groom and Stephens Boarding Houses are now located. Groom Boarding House was opened on 5 September with accommodation available for 55 boys. The building was opened by the State Minister for Transport and member of the TGS Board of Trustees, The Hon. Gordon Chalk. The opening took place during an interval in the School Athletics Carnival held that afternoon. The new Boarding House was named after the late Sir Littleton Groom, an Old Boy of the School (1879). This Boarding House was later to be referred to as ‘Corfe Boarding House’ and Groom Boarding House was in the combined Boarding House, Groom and Stephens. When it became apparent that the new Groom Boarding House would not be ready for the start of the year, the Trustees decided to lease the Barrymount Hostel. This building was owned by the Masonic Lodge of Queensland and was used as a hostel for country boys attending secondary schools in Toowoomba. Thirty-five senior boys were to be accommodated there. The boys left by bus at 7:20 a.m. for breakfast at the School and returned at 6:30pm after the evening meal. With the naming of ‘Groom’ Boarding House, it was decided to change the name of the ‘Groom’ Sporting House to that of ‘Barbour’ Sporting House. The old Assembly Hall (‘Old Hall’) was converted into a Library. The Trustees also decided to name the top oval by Mackenzie Street the Kent Oval after Old Boy and Trustee, Mr H.R. ‘Copper’ Kent. A Science building was erected incorporating the L.T. Heenan Physics Room and the Hans Hassler Chemistry Room. The School’s miniature rifle range near the pine plantation was in the process of being rebuilt by the Parents and Friends’ Association.

Page | 490


Events: •

• •

• •

This year the National Service Scheme (conscription) was introduced in Australia to boost our country’s military forces during the Vietnam War. The conscription involved a certain number of 20-year-old Australian men to be chosen to serve in the Australian Army. The process involved ballot balls (numbered marbles) similar to a lottery which were numbered representing a day of the year and taken from a barrel. If the number picked corresponded to the day of the year on which a person was born, they were required to present themselves for national service. Men chosen by this ballot had to perform two years of continuous full-time service in the Australian Army which could include overseas service. In the late 1960s and early 1970s there was huge opposition by the younger generation to conscription (see 1966 and 1968). The 1964 Education Act created the Board of Senior Secondary School Studies with responsibility for advising the Minister of Education on all aspects of secondary education. This included courses of study, examinations and the issue of certificates. The University ceased to have a dominant role in this field. Year 8s entered the Senior School in this year as occurred throughout Queensland when all of the Year 8 students had moved from the primary to the secondary schools. Mr Russ Gillies, being quoted in the J.K. Winn book Toowoomba Grammar School: The Gillies Connection (Toowoomba Grammar School, 2013, page 46) described the School’s swimming pool in 1964 as: “It was 25 yards in length, unfiltered and the water was an ugly green opaque colour. I can recall well-known swimming coach, Mr Laurie Lawrence (later the renowned Olympic coach) who was a Resident Master at the time, occasionally washing his socks in the pool.” Ron Daniel (1961-1964) in years to come took great delight in describing the antics the boys would get up to on “Bodgy Day”. He was able to break into the chemistry lab and acquire the ingredients for ‘touch powder’ (giving off a small explosion when it makes an impact). So on Bodgy Day he implanted the powder into a drilled hole down the middle of a stick of chalk, wiped it across the blackboard duster and put it in several spots on the floor and desk. The excitement was uncovered by an unsuspecting maths teacher (possibly Mr Alan Morwood) who had a habit of tapping the chalk hard against the blackboard and this gave off a large explosion which was followed by the explosion given off by the duster and then when he picked up his books and stormed out of the room, his footsteps too created small explosions. In this year the School started a collection of antiques. These included a silver cup won in 1892, a copy of the first atlas of Queensland (published in 1878) which belonged to Mr Stephenson, a former Headmaster of TGS, a copy of the works of Shakespeare which was given as a prize last century and a photograph of a TGS football (rugby) team taken about 1884. A successful innovation this year was the introduction of a formal dinner to take the place of the ‘High Tea’ of previous years. The Assembly Hall was converted into a large banquet hall with tables laid to cater for nearly 400 boys plus members of staff. The annual Fete this year had 39 stalls and entertainment providing fun for all and a profit of over 500 pounds which was of considerable assistance in paying for Assembly Hall furniture. In October, seventy Old Boys gathered for the annual dinner at Picnic Point. Members ranged from Charles Fortescue (TGS 1907-1909, and not looking a day over forty) to Barry Black (1963).

Page | 491


Co-curricular Activities: • • • •

• • •

• • • •

• •

• • •

The Chelmsford Cup competition against Ipswich Grammar School (which started in 1907) was revived this year with a win to TGS. The Cup was not presented from 1941–1963. In Athletics, the School had its most successful year (4th place) since 1945 when the School won its first GPS Athletics championship. The Athletics squad had a narrow win in the Darling Downs Sports against the fiercest competition in years. The fourth place in the GPS Athletics Championships was behind CEGS, BGS and BSHS and was to the delight of many TGS Old Boy supporters who had become accustomed to seeing TGS win the ‘wooden spoon’ for years. In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI team came 4th in the GPS competition in spite of its five wins, one draw and only two losses. During the season the TGS 1st XI defeated both the eventual Premiers (Nudgee College) and the runners-up (‘Churchie’). This was the first win in 1st XI cricket against ‘Churchie’ in twelve years. The five winning GPS matches for the 1st XI were GT (by 139 runs), BGS (by 78 runs) CEGS (by 50 runs), NC (by 27 runs) and BBC (by 68 runs). The game against BSHS was a draw due to rain. The two losses were to IGS (by 17 runs) and TSS (by 8 runs). The 4th placing for the 1st XI cricket team of this year represented the best result in the 1960’s decade. The Captain of the 1st XI cricket team was David C. Chester (1960-1964) whose father, Robert ‘Bob’, also captained the 1st XI in the 1932 GPS Premiership side. The Past v Present cricket match developed into a titanic struggle as rival Captains, Bob Chester (Past) and son David Chester (Present) both strove to maintain their records as successful TGS 1st XI Cricket Captains. In the end, honour was satisfied to both with match scores level and a drawn result. The Cricket Captain, David Chester, reached a total of 534 runs in his 1st XI career, being the first batsman in eight years to achieve this feat. The School’s opening bowlers, Rodney Monaghan and Ian Jackson, were selected in the Combined GPS 1st XI to play Ceylon Schoolboys. In Cricket, see Ivan Board in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. In Gymnastics, the School was fortunate to receive a visit from Olympic gymnasts, Graham Bond (the Australian team captain) and Barry Cheales, accompanied by State gymnast, Bob Dobson, and Queensland gymnastics president (and TGS Old Boy), Mr. Colin Morwood. As well as instructional advice, the three gymnasts gave a brilliant display, which included some of the Olympic sequences. In the GPS Gymnastics competition, the School was able to enter a Junior as well as a Senior team in the competition. Both the Juniors and the Senior team gained a creditable 4th placing. In Rugby, the School’s rugby team had a tour to Sydney and Jervis Bay. The boys played teams representing The King’s School (a loss,11-16), Trinity Grammar School (a win, 20-14) and the Royal Australian Naval College (a loss, 0-20). Most boys travelled in private cars to Sydney. Around the NC match, upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), or common cold, swept through the School and the School could field only four of the fourteen competition teams. Of the eight GPS rugby matches played during the season, four were won – wins over GT (27-8), BGS (15-0), IGS (22-9) and TSS playing on BGS oval (17-5). The four losses during the season were to CEGS (6-8), NC (3-19), BSHS (3-11) and BBC (0-8).

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• • •

• • • • • • •

An interview with the Captain of the 1st XV, Ian Cook (1962-1964), featured in the TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014 on pages 48-49. In Shooting, the School’s team came 2nd in the GPS Shooting Competition (the Stephenson Cup) by seven points. In Swimming, although the team this year had a relatively unsuccessful season, the period was marked with a general improvement in the standard of swimming in the School which was no doubt of a higher standard than last year. In the Darling Downs Swimming Carnival, CBC St Mary’s College won convincingly, with Downlands College second and TGS third. The Downlands Swimming Carnival was very exciting with the points scored for both TGS and DC being even. In the GPS Swimming Championships, the TGS squad was placed last, with the Premiership going to ‘Churchie’, followed closely by NC. In Tennis, the 1st IV finished in 7th position on the GPS ladder. There were five defeats during the season, by NC, BSHS, TSS, BGS and CEGS. The 1st IV secured a win over GT in an extremely close match (4 rubbers all and winning 9 sets to 8). The tennis matches against BBC and IGS were both washed out. In Cadets, the Cadet Camp was held at Tallebudgera with more than 200 boys in attendance. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme this year the first awards under the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme were made to boys in the School. In June, the Governor presented Silver Awards to four boys. In Drama, only days after the opening of the new Assembly Hall, the School Play ‘Our Town’ was presented on 8th and 9th June. For the first time girls from The Glennie Memorial School were invited to play the female roles. Errol Morrison, Bryan Lynn, Rodney Johnson, and Chris Cameron were amongst the large cast. This year saw the Dramatic Society present five separate performances.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The TGS 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial trophy with an impressive performance, winning by 103 runs. 1st XV Rugby team regained the O’Callaghan Cup, 11-3. The annual swimming contest between the two schools resulted in a tie.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr H.R. “Copper” Kent was voted as President for a second term. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Speech Day was held in the new Assembly Hall in October. The guest speaker was Sir Herbert G. Watkin, the Director-General of Education, Queensland. After the official ceremony, afternoon tea was served in the School’s dining-room and on the front lawn of School House. The use of the Assembly Hall as the venue for the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony continued from this year until 2000 when the venue changed to the Empire Theatre.

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1964 1964

Mr Ivan Board, Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association Mr Ivan Board, Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association

New Assembly Hall New Assembly Hall

Ivan Board’s Presentation of a Signed Bradman bat in 2019 Ivan Board’s Presentation of a Signed Bradman bat in 2019

A Collection of Mr Ivan Board’s books written on the Cricket History at TGS A Collection of Mr Ivan Board’s books written on the Cricket History at TGS

One of Mr Ivan Board’s books on the History of TGS Cricket One of Mr Ivan Board’s books on the History of TGS Cricket

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1965 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 9th year)

Mr H.R (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 8th year)

Trustees: Mr Alex B. Yeates (Old Boy 1927-1929) departed at the beginning of the year due to his appointment as Deputy Surveyor-General. Dr John W.P. Henderson (Old Boy 1932-1936) was welcomed as the new Trustee. The other Trustees were Messrs. Roland J. Dunn, Robert N. Elliott, Dr Ian Gibson and the Hon. Gordon W.W. Chalk.

Headmaster: Mr Charles Olsen (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr ‘Bill’ Dent commenced in January as a member of the teaching staff (and Housemaster of School House) and in July was appointed as Senior Resident Master to replace Mr John Shilliday who left at the end of the previous year to go to Camberwell Grammar School in Melbourne. Prior to this time there was no title of Deputy Headmaster but rather Second Master or Senior Master. Mr Dent was appointed Deputy Headmaster at the beginning of the third term in 1965.

Senior Prefect: Buri Kidu (later to be Sir Buri Kidu, Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. Sir Buri’s son, Andrew, was to become Senior Boarder Prefect in 1997). Sir Buri was also the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 1980. Dux of Year: Earl V. Dudley

Total School Enrolment: 390 Number of Dayboys: 154 Number of Boarders: 236

Staffing: • •

• •

Mr Laurie Lawrence (an ex-Wallaby and later the acclaimed Olympic Games Swimming Coach) assisted the School in sports training. At the end of the year, Mr W.Len Poulsen completed 25 years’ service at the School. His teaching consisted mainly of Mathematics and Physics. In recent years he had been the Master-in-Charge of Administration, which included the highly complex task of drawing up teaching and student timetables. Mr Graham R. Sampford joined the teaching staff and retired in 1998. Mr Lindesay Jones commenced as the School’s first full-time Physical Education Master. He was a former State sprint champion and promoted a resurgence in the School’s performance in Athletics. He resigned in 1981.

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Students: •

The School Prefects were Buri Kidu, Ian Allison, Ross Blinco, Emile Brands, John Deighton, William Derrick, Ian Doyle, Earl Dudley, Ross Jones, Johannes Kup, Rodney Monaghan, Rhoderick Skerman, Desmond Thompson and Errol Wildman. Earl V. Dudley (Dux) was an Open Scholarship winner with a ranking of 9th in Queensland. Earl graduated from the Australian National University (ANU) with first-class honours in Science. He then received a three-year scholarship at the University of Washington in Seattle studying towards his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mathematics. Following this, Earl pursued a career in academia and the Australian Public Service. He had been the Australian Fulbright Alumni Association’s Public Officer since 2012 and contributed actively to this Association. Dr Dudley passed away in 2021. Buri Kidu (1960-1965) was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Buri then took a law degree at the University of Queensland after leaving school. He became Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea from 1980 until his death in 1994, dying prematurely from a heart attack aged 48 years. Buri presented to the School a Story Book in November 1980 when he was Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea and the TGS Speech Day Guest Speaker in that year. The Story Book is displayed in the School’s Museum and a photograph of it is included in this year’s entry. Ian Dumigan (1962-1965) later became President of the Old Boys’ Association in 1998 following his excellent involvement since 1981 and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Association in 2002. He coached rugby at the School from 1990 until 1998 and continues as a most active member of the Old Boys’ Association. On frequent occasions, Ian Dumigan conducts school history tours for the current students around the campus and assists as a volunteer in the School Museum. David Smith (1962-1965) was the Guest Speaker at the 1981 Old Boys’ Association reunion dinner held at the School. David spoke about his career as a journalist which had taken him to many parts of the world. David was the Editor of the Brisbane Telegraph. In 1991 he was appointed General Manager of the Mirror Australian Telegraph publications. He was formerly Editor of the Courier Mail and Managing Director of the Adelaide Advertiser. Ross McDonald (1960-1965) attended the TGS Old Boys’ Reunion in Sydney in 2012 held at St. Paul’s College, University of Sydney. Here he met with Old Boy, Barry Jackson (1974-1978), a fellow international pilot, also flying with Qantas,

Buildings: •

The construction of the Deputy Headmaster’s residence commenced in November. The house was later used by the Boyce Boarding Housemaster and his family but was demolished in 2012 to enable space for the construction of the new Mackintosh Boarding House. The extension to the Science Block, comprising two new laboratories, was completed and officially opened on Speech Day. This extension represented the fourth new building completed in the last three years. The Headmaster’s study became the Secretary to the Board of Trustees’ office. The staff room became the Headmaster’s study, with accommodation for the Head’s secretary; the staff room was moved to the old library.

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Events: • • • • • • • • • •

Thirty typewriters were purchased for the Typing Room for the boys. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association made improvements to the miniature rifle range in the School grounds. As a result of a complaint, it was recommended that the boys be instructed to bring back three serviettes next term, together with a serviette ring. On the morning of the School Fete, a youthful Old Boys’ XV competed against the current 1st XV who won the game 17-16. This activity continued for several years. Vocational guidance sessions were arranged for the senior students. 330 students participated in the annual cross-country race held early in Term Three. Social events of note were the annual Christmas Tree, the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) dinner dance at Picnic Point, the Old Boys’ dinner and the annual fete. The tuition fees per term (a three-term year) were twenty-four pounds. The boarding fee was eighty pounds per year. In July, light snow was reported over a wide area including the Darling Downs. On 29th October, the Assembly Hall again transformed into a vast "banquet hall", to allow over four hundred boys and staff to enjoy the Second Annual Dinner. The "Loyal Toast", the National Anthem, and a minute's silence in memory of former TGS boys now deceased, opened proceedings. The toast to "The School" was proposed by the Senior Prefect, Buri Kidu, and replied to by the Headmaster. Earl Dudley, the Dux of the School, proposed the toast to ‘The Staff’, the reply being made by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr. Dent. Hugh Donaldson, Dux of VA, proposed, and Ian Allison, football captain and winner of the Mills Prize for Manliness, replied to the toast to the ‘Boys Leaving’. A pleasing innovation was the interspersing of musical items throughout the evening. Mrs. Jackson, Robert Hardy, the Papua-New Guinea boys, and the Grade VIII choral group all contributed to help the occasion pass most enjoyably. The staff and boys of the School used this occasion to honour Mr. W. L. Poulsen on his twenty-five years' teaching at TGS. Mr. A. D. Morwood, a former pupil and now common-room colleague of Mr. Poulsen's, presented him with a pair of binoculars to mark his service over a quarter of a century to the School. The sports trophies were presented by Mrs. C. E. Olsen, the School Song was sung, and the War Cry roared to complete a most successful evening. The School Magazine of this year (pg.46) referred to the recent criticism of the faster tempo of the School war-cry by the boys of today. The Speech Day Visitor and Guest Speaker, Old Boy Sir John Row (1919-1923), Federal Minister for Primary Industry, delighted the large gathering with his solo ‘on stage’ version of the war-cry as he knew it – with a slower, more deliberate version than that used by the current students.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, the School’s team came 2nd in the GPS Track and Field Championships (second to the Premiers ‘Churchie’). Although Churchie’s win was most impressive, the performance by the TGS athletes was outstanding given that, at the time, TGS had the smallest enrolment of all the nine schools in the GPS Association. As was the practice in those days, the entire GPS athletics meeting had been televised live by the ABC. The School’s second placing was the best athletics season since the 1942-45 era. Many of the athletics squad returned to the School four days prior to the commencement of Term Three for further training.

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• •

• •

• • • • •

• • •

• •

Monggah Orow won the Open 110 yards hurdles (15.4 secs.) and the 440 yards (50.4 secs.) at the GPS Track and Field Championships. Douglas Blinco was placed second in the Open 100 yards at this competition. The next TGS athlete to win the GPS Open 400 metre event was in 1994. At the GPS Athletics Championships, the TGS athletes achieved one of the first three placings in 21 of the 41 events. In Cricket, the 1st XI won 2 games (winning against GT by an innings and 17 runs) and TSS (winning by 23 runs) in the GPS cricket season, lost 3 and there were 3 drawn games (CEGS, BSHS, and IGS). The three losses were defeats by BBC (by 51 runs), BGS, the eventual Premiers, (by 14 runs) and NC (by 26 runs). The TGS 1st XI cricket team was placed 5th in the GPS competition. Rod Monaghan, the 1st XI Captain, took 5 for 63 in the match against BSHS. He also made 360 runs with an average of 40 and this total was the most runs scored in a single season by a TGS batsman since 1948. This year, for the first time, a TGS 2nd XI was entered in the GPS cricket competition (and with many misgivings). It was thought by many that the GPS competition was too tough for a second TGS open side. Previously the Open 2nd XI cricket team played in the local competitions. In the following year the TGS 2nd XI was undefeated in the GPS competition and the 2nd XI continued to represent the School at the GPS level. In Gymnastics, the School entered both a Junior and Senior team in the GPS Gymnastics competition. In Rugby, the 1st XV had only limited success this season. The match against the eventual Premiers, Nudgee College, was a very close one and it wasn’t until the closing stages that the match was lost (6-20). The TGS 1st XV Rugby match against The Southport School played at Lang Park on Saturday, 26 June was one of the curtain-raisers to the Second Test between Australia and the touring Springboks. TSS defeated TGS, 15-3. Other losses in the GPS matches included to BBC (6-17), GT (9-12), and NC (6-20). The three winning matches for the 1st XV were CEGS (TGS won 15-11), BSHS (17-8) and IGS (1712). The match against BGS was a draw (9-9). It was in the 1960s that Rugby was a compulsory sport for all boys unless they could be excused by producing a doctor’s certificate. Five of the 1st XV Rugby team were boys from Papua New Guinea. The coach of the 1st XV was Mr Graham Sampford who joined the teaching staff this year. Mr Sampford had a strong rugby union background including the Captaincy of Teachers’ A Grade Premiers side and also representing Queensland. Mr Sampford continued coaching the 1st XV to 1970 inc. The Old Boys’ 1st XV team was defeated by the current 1st XV by one point, 16-17. In Shooting, the School’s team tied with Nudgee College for 2nd place in the GPS Stephenson Cup Shooting competition. In Swimming, the overall standard of TGS swimming continued to rise this year and, while the squad did not meet with great success in the GPS Carnival, its Under 13 Champion, Kent McGregor, recorded the School's first win for many years, and this in record time. In Tennis, the standard was rather low this year and the 1st IV experienced little success, despite the players’ best efforts. The 1st IV did not win a GPS match during the season. A number of the losses were defeats by 8 rubbers to nil. These major losses included to ‘Churchie’, TSS, BBC and BGS. Furthermore, NC and IGS both won their matches against TGS, 7 rubbers to one. The closest game was a loss to BSHS by four games. Page | 498


In Cadets, the School Magazine of this year published on page 49 a list of TGS Old Boys who had graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, to this date. They were: C. Clowes (19071911), N. Clowes (1909-1910), W. Hilless (1911-1915), E. Woodward (1911-1916), T. Foott (1919), G. Godsall (1931-1934), L. Trout (1942), J. Williamson (1940-1943), E. Smith (1939-1941), A. Preece (1940-1943), D. Weir (1941-1944), K. Outridge (1942-1944), W. Hatton (1940-1944), N. Miles (1942-1947), L. Peters (1952-1955) and K. Bade (1953-1956).

In Drama, the Dramatic Society performed ‘Lady Precious Stream’ in the Assembly Hall. The play was produced by Mr May and involved a cast of more than 30 boys. The principal actors included Earl Dudley, John Vidgen, Stephen Corones, Doug Palmer, Doug Wilson, Ross Blinco, Arthur Jones, Hugh Dickson and Russell MacDiarmid. A number of cultural performances were held in the Assembly Hall including the production of ‘Juno and the Paycock’ by the Brisbane Arts Theatre. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, three boys were successful in gaining the Silver Award. A Pipe Band was formed with 18 boys receiving lessons.

• • •

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (won by 115 runs and John Paliau’s bowling figures were 6 for 7). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 11-19. Downlands College won the “baton” in Swimming which was held in the Milne Bay pool (93 points to TGS 75).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr William M. ‘Bill’ Jones (for four years) and former Trustee from July 1958 – January 1960. ‘Bill’ was the son of former Trustee Dr Hector G. Jones, a member of the Board of Trustees from May 1937 – June 1958.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Hon. Mr John Row, MLA, The Minister for Primary Industries, (and Old Boy 1919-1920) made the presentation in the School’s Assembly Hall (see 1920). Following the ceremony and the official opening of the new extensions to the School Science Block, afternoon tea was served in the School dining-room and in the Library.

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1965

Presented to the School by Sir Buri Kidu in 1980

Shooting Team

School Prefects

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1966 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 10th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 9th year)

Trustees: Mr R.N. Elliott resigned from the Board and was replaced by Dr Frederick ‘Fred’ Trenerry. Trustee the Hon. Gordon W.W. Chalk, M.L.A. was also the Deputy Premier of Queensland. Headmaster: Mr Charles Olsen (in his 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Bill Dent (in his 2nd year)

Senior Prefect: R. Hugh Donaldson Senior Dayboy Prefect: G.N. Anderson Senior Boarder Prefect: L.F. Dore Before this year the School did not acknowledge a Senior Dayboy Prefect and Senior Boarder Prefect. Dux of Year: Alistair D. Henderson (whose father was Dux of the School in 1936)

Total School Enrolment: 411 (the first time in the School’s history that enrolments exceeded 400) Number of Dayboys: 142 Number of Boarders: 269 (there were massive problems with overcrowding in the Boarding Houses)

Staffing: •

In February, William James ‘King’ Renwick died. For many years he was a Resident Master at the School. He was coach of the School’s 1st XV team intermittently from 1903-1952. His memory is perpetuated by the ‘King’ Renwick trophy (the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association Rugby Award) for the Best and Fairest Player of the 1st XV. This Trophy was first presented in 1963. A photograph of the teaching staff is included in this year’s entry.

Students: •

The School Prefects were R. Hugh Donaldson, Peter Allen, Gregory Anderson, John Derrick, Douglas Dickson, Lawrence Dore, Douglas Hutchison, John Paliau, Roger Thompson and Graham Turner. No student won an Open Scholarship to attend the University of Queensland in this year.

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• •

Graham F. (‘Scroo’) Turner (1965-1966) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Later, he became the Founder and Managing Director of the very successful travel company ‘Flight Centre’. After leaving school ‘Scroo’ gained an Honours degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Queensland and worked as a veterinarian in the United Kingdom. Whilst there he turned a London bus tour operation into a travel empire. Many people enquire as to the origins of Graham’s nickname ‘Scroo’. It is derived from the nickname originally given to a non-teaching Resident Master of that era, Mr John Turner. The nickname may also have been reinforced because of a popular and famous brand of screwdrivers called Turner screw drivers. ‘Scroo’ and his wife Jude also own their Spicers Clovelly Estate luxury collection of boutique properties. One of the more recent properties is a French provincial styled property in Montville with a ten-suite guesthouse surrounded by impressive grounds. They also opened a new wildlife conservation centre in 2017 at Grandchester which includes Spicers Retreat. Graham Turner is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Robert ‘Hugh’ Donaldson, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize this year. Mark Robb (1963-1966) had a very colourful career since leaving TGS including a year in Hong Kong working with the YMCA and then in Israel in a Kibbutz on the Lebanese border – just in time for the Yom Kippur war. He then moved on to the USA where he worked in the Australian Embassy. In the United Kingdom he joined the Naval reserve and served on mine hunters for six months before the Falkland Islands war. Robert ‘Bob’ Wharton (1963-1966) received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2019 recognising his services to the community, particularly through sport (Queensland Swimming Association and Queensland Rugby Union Club). John W. Gildea (1963-1966) was awarded membership of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to international relations, particularly in the field of overseas aid.

Buildings: •

The Deputy Headmaster’s residence was completed on the slope between Taylor House and the new Science block. Later, in 1978, it was used for the Senior Resident Master (Mr Jack Burnie) and later still as the residence of the Boarding Housemaster of Boyce Boarding House. In 2012 this building was demolished to provide the site for the new Mackintosh Boarding House.

Events: •

As previously stated, Australia was involved in the Vietnam War at this time (see 1962). On 8 January of this year TGS Old Boy Captain Kenneth William Bade paid the ultimate sacrifice. He was killed in action, aged only 28 years. Seventy-four TGS Old Boys served in Vietnam. An Honour Board in Old Hall to acknowledge the Old Boys who served in Vietnam was erected in 1990. On 14 February, Australia introduced decimal notes and coins, marking the end of its British-style currency system based on pounds, shillings and pence. The metric system also introduced the Celsius temperature scale rather than the Fahrenheit scale. It was recommended this year that a multi-coin telephone be installed at the School for the use of the boarders and this was acted upon in 1968. Up until this time the boys had to go to the shops to make a ‘phone call.

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• •

• • • •

On the Sunday following the Old Boys’ Association annual dinner and Grammar-Downlands Rugby fixture, a shooting competition took place on the school grounds on the miniature .22 calibre rifle range (which used to be located in the pine-tree forest which bordered Herries Street). More often than not, the Old Boys’ teams were successful in their competition against the current boys. The Trustees agreed to award the ‘Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize’ recognising the passing of this Old Boy at the School (from 1960-1963) who was tragically killed in a car accident in September 1965. The School’s Interact Club was established through the Headmaster’s involvement with the Rotary Club of Toowoomba South. The annual fete was held and most of the funds raised by the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association went to the outfitting of the School’s Pipe Band. An addressograph was also presented to the School Office. The Ladies Auxiliary provided funds to finance the steps up to Kent Oval. This year saw the completion of the first three years of the new ‘Junior’ course. Nearly 100 Old Boys attended the OBA annual dinner. The Guest of Honour was Old Boy, Sir Eric Woodward, ex-Governor of NSW. Sir Eric Woodward on Speech Day referred to the fact that of 25 people who had risen to the substantive rank of Lieutenant-General, four were from Toowoomba Grammar School. He said no other school in Australia could claim four Lieutenant-Generals as Old Boys.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• • • • •

• •

• •

In Athletics, The School was successful in winning the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ aggregate as well as the Open, Under 16 and Under 14 trophies. This was the twelfth time the School had won this championship (and for the fifth year in succession). The interest, enthusiasm, and knowledge displayed by the Coach, Mr L. Jones, played a large part in the School’s athletics success. At the GPS Track and Field Championships, the Premiership went to BSHS with NC 2nd, Churchie 3rd and TGS in 4th place. The TGS athletes scored six wins and a thrilling dead heat – three of them in record time. No first placings went to an Open age runner but Russell Alley was 2nd in the 880 yards and 4th in the mile. In the House Athletics competition, Hugh Donaldson equalled the existing record of 10.2 seconds for the Open 100 yards event. (see 1968) In Cricket, the 1st XI won 2 games, lost 3 (BBC, BSHS, and IGS), there were 2 drawn games and one washed out. The 1st XI finished in the middle of the GPS table. The two 1st XI games won included defeating GT by an innings and 85 runs and ‘Churchie’ (TGS winning by 55 runs). The three losses were inflicted by BBC, BSHS and IGS and the three drawn matches were TSS, BGS and NC. in the 1st XI Cricket game against BBC, Johnny Paliau achieved bowling figures of 5 for 12 and 6 for 7 against St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace (see 1967). In Rugby, overall, the 1st XV met with limited success this year, winning only one GPS match (against GT, 14-6). Despite this, some of the scores were very close. These included a one-point loss to the eventual Premiers, NC (8-9) and a two-point loss to TSS (9-11). Other losing results were BBC (3-14), BGS (16-27), CEGS (6-22), BSHS (8-18) and IGS (3-19). In Shooting, the School’s team had the most successful year of the decade winning the GPS Stephenson Cup (and again in 1973).

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• •

• • • •

In Swimming, this year marked the beginning of a new era in GPS Swimming as the annual Carnival in Brisbane was abolished at the end of last year. A number of ‘no points’ as well as official carnivals were held as replacement events. These included a triangular meet between TGS, IGS and Downlands College on a ‘no points’ basis. Another swimming event was against IGS as part of the Chelmsford Cup competition which had been revived after a lapse of some years. The Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Carnival was the School’s second swimming competition during the year for points and trophies. The TGS swimmers successfully won the Pigott Cup for the aggregate (77 points) from St. Mary’s (67 points) and Downlands College (48 points). The final event of the season was a TGS Invitation Swim, held at the Milne Bay Pool, on March 12th, with the assistance of the T.D.A.S.A. officials. Competing schools were The Southport School, Brisbane Grammar, Nudgee College, St. Laurence's, St. Columban's, St. Mary's, Downlands and Toowoomba Grammar School. This was a "no points" Carnival, but the swimming was at a high level. In Tennis, although the 1st IV won no GPS matches this year, certain individuals scored wins and some sets were close. The match against IGS was a draw and the most convincing losses were to BGS and BSHS with both schools winning 8 rubbers to nil. In Cadets, training took place on Friday mornings from 8:15 – 10:00am. The Ceremonial Parade of the Cadet Unit held in October included, for the first time, the full participation by the Auxiliary Cadet Unit i.e. the entire Senior School. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Jeff Martin gained a Gold Award. The next TGS Gold Award recipient in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was Tim Watson in 1973. In Drama, the Dramatic Society staged ‘The Lady’s Not For Burning’ to an appreciative audience. More significant roles were performed by Robert Caffyn, Arthur Jones, Paul Warren, Hugh Dickson, Graeme Vaughan, Stephen Corones and Peter Adams.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for the fourth successive year, TGS 9 for 215 dec. d DC 68. The 1st XV Rugby team regained the O’Callaghan Cup, 11-8. The School’s Swimming team won the annual competition, held at Milne Bay Pool in March, 96 points to 72 in a 24-event programme. The School continued to win this swimming carnival against Downlands College for the next eight years.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: At the Annual General Meeting of the Association, Mr Bill Jones was re-elected for a second term. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir Eric Woodward, Governor of New South Wales (Old Boy, 1911-1916) In his address, Sir Eric remarked upon that TGS was the only Australian school to have produced two State Governors. He referred to himself and Lord Huntingfield, one-time Governor of Victoria. He also added that Toowoomba Grammar School was the only school to have produced four of only 25 LieutenantGenerals in the Australian Forces.

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1966

Teaching Staff

Page | 505


1967 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr M.W. Baynes (in his 11th year)

Mr H.R. Kent (in his 10th year)

Headmaster: Mr Charles E. Olsen (in his 6th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 3rd year)

Senior Prefect: Alan S. Jones (Alan was the first Senior Prefect and Dux of the School since 1932) (see below) Senior Boarder Prefect: Norman Jackson (this was only the first time the School Magazine acknowledged a Senior Boarder Prefect) Dux of Year: Alan S. Jones

Total School Enrolment: 427 (a record enrolment at the time) Number of Dayboys: 152 Number of Boarders: 275

Staffing: •

Mrs Denise Miller commenced her employment with the School as Secretary to the Secretary to the Board of Trustees (later referred to as the Chief Financial Officer). She was made an Honorary Old Boy of Toowoomba Grammar School in 1986 and retired at the end of 2006 after forty years of service. When Mrs Miller commenced at TGS all the financial reporting of the School was completed by hand. It was a time before the first business computers were in operation. In addition to her day-to-day duties as an Executive Secretary, Mrs Miller was also heavily involved with the TGS Dramatic Society for many years. In addition, she had also been the Treasurer of the TGS Staff Association and her son, Andrew, was a student at the School (1987-1991). Mrs Miller continued working at the School in a part-time capacity as the Curator of the School’s Museum, from its inception in May 2009 to the present (2024).

Students: • •

The School Prefects were Alan Jones, Hugh Dickson, Norman Jackson, Colin Kofoed. Arnold Lavers, Derek Leslie, Rowland Moody, Monggah Orow, John Paliau, Noel Schofield and Alwyn Stower. Senior Prefect and Dux of the School, Alan S. Jones (1964-1967) was also awarded the Belford Prize this year. Alan was awarded an Open Scholarship to the University and was placed 5th in Queensland.

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• •

Colin Kofoed was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Derek P. Leslie (1963-1967) was later to be the Reviewing Officer at the School’s annual Ceremonial Cadet Parade. This was in his capacity as Lieutenant-Colonel and the Commandant of the Land Warfare Centre at Canungra. Peter Scudamore-Smith (1966-1967) is a Master of Wine and was a senior judge at the Royal Queensland Wine Show.

Buildings: • •

• •

The Annex to the former Taylor Boarding House (now Industrial Technology and Design) was built. The School’s ‘Dog Box’ (see 1906) was used around this time as the bookstore run by the McDonald family. A photograph of the ‘Dog Box’ is included in this year’s entry. Later, in 2000, the building was sold by the School and purchased by Old Boy Robert Smiley (1976-1980) who has used it as an office for his house removal and real estate business in Dalby. The School’s Old Hall was used as the Library around this time. It was not until 1971 that the M.W. Baynes Library was opened (later to be used as Music classroom and rehearsal rooms). An excellent aerial photograph of the School grounds is included in this year’s entry.

Events: • •

• • •

The School’s tuition and boarding fees were $54 and $170 a term respectively for a three-term year (see 1975 and 1977). The Darling Downs campus of the Queensland Institute of Technology (the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education) was established in 1967. This Darling Downs campus was later to be known as the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. Prior to this name, the campus was known as the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education. At the annual fete, the School’s 1st XV played a pre-season match against the Old Boys. The Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner was held at the Picnic Point Kiosk (with 57 Old Boys in attendance). The following day, the Old Boys’ Day, involved participation in various activities such as bowls, cricket, shooting and tennis. Often these games were against the current students of the School. The students continued to express dissatisfaction with the discipline in the School and the leadership of the Headmaster. Mr Russell Gillies, the School’s longest serving teacher in its history, described the Olsen years when he recounted: “… these years as very unpleasant ones for both boys and staff alike. Headmaster Olsen, whilst being an outstanding organiser and administrator, certainly had no common touch. He was happiest when he had something that he could hold over both staff and boys alike. Consequently, he was universally disliked by all members of the School, for his people-skills left much to be desired.” (as quoted in J.K. Winn’s book Toowoomba Grammar School: The Gillies Connection (published by Toowoomba Grammar School, 2013, page 42-43). The Cadet Passing-Out Parade was washed out. The TGS OBA annual dinner attracted 57 Old Boys to the Picnic Point kiosk in October. The School acknowledged the passing of Mrs Fleming (who ran the ‘tuck shop’ in the corner shop at the Margaret and Mary Streets intersection for over 30 years, from the early 1910s to 1943) with a simple ceremony at a Cadet Parade. A group of TGS Old Boys and the Senior Prefect, Alan Jones, formed the pall bearers at Mrs Fleming’s funeral. Page | 507


Co-curricular Activities: • •

• •

• •

• •

• •

In the Chelmsford Cup, the School regained the Cup from Ipswich Grammar School (last won in its revival year of 1964). In Athletics, the squad again enjoyed a successful season, although hopes for the GPS Carnival were dashed because of the uncommonly large number of injuries to many of the School’s better performers. At the GPS Athletics Championships, the Senior Prefect, Alan S. Jones, won the Under 17, 440 yards and Peter J. Allen (1966-1967) won the Under 17, 100 yards (a record of 10.3 sec.). In Cricket, the 1967 1st XI team won only one match this season (GT), lost six and there was no match against NC due to heavy rain. This year’s 1st XI was a very strong bowling side but lacked strength in batting. In many matches, the team dismissed strong opposition for a moderate total but then could not capitalise on this with the batting. In the 1st XI game against BBC, Johnny Paliau achieved bowling figures of 5 for 23. The winning match was against GT, with TGS winning by 61 runs. Of the defeats, two were lost by narrow margins – BBC (lost by 16 runs) and BSHS (lost by 10 runs). The worst defeat was against BGS with the TGS 1st XI losing outright by 6 wickets. In Cross Country, the School’s Cross Country competition still used a route first designed around 1938 (see 1938). The Headmaster always applied for a police permit and staff were stationed at intersections with red flags to control the vehicular traffic. Headmaster Olsen was known to become most upset when boys knowingly reduced the race distance by taking short cuts and behaving poorly by interfering with the serious runners. In Rugby, a Rugby tour to Sydney took place with games played against The King’s School (draw 12 all), Barker College (loss 9-21) and Trinity Grammar School (won 19-9). Later in the season, The King’s School visited Toowoomba and the TGS 1st XV won this game (11-8). In the GPS competition, the TGS 1st XV had four good wins – against IGS (25-12), GT (25-16), BSHS (17-13), and BGS (17-9). The 1st XV’s memorable win against Brisbane Grammar School (17-9) was to be the last time TGS would beat BGS in 1st XV Rugby until 1986. In contrast, in 2009 the School defeated BGS in Rugby with the score 50-5. The losing GPS matches in the season were to TSS (3-14), NC (9-11), and to the eventual Premiers, CEGS ‘Churchie’ (6-17). In Swimming, the season continued with numerous carnivals but, like last year, no overall GPS Swimming Championship. Each Saturday saw the swimming team engage in a carnival with another school and most were conducted on a ‘no points’ basis. The swimming carnivals included the three-way carnival against Downlands College and IGS; the House carnival held in the School’s pool; the CBC St. Mary’s and Toowoomba State High School carnival; the Chelmsford Cup carnival (defeating IGS); the Downs Secondary Schools’ carnival held at the Warwick Olympic pool (with TGS winning the overall aggregate Pigott Cup); a BBC carnival (swimming against BBC, BGS and BSHS); Downlands Day; and an invitation carnival held at Milne Bay and hosted by TGS for seven other competing schools including NC, TSS, BGS, St. Columban’s College (Brisbane), St. Laurence’s College (Brisbane), and two Toowoomba schools – St. Mary’s and Downlands College. No points were awarded in this carnival but St. Laurence’s dominated and the TGS swimmers recorded some wins and many good places. In Tennis, for the first time, TGS entered the maximum four teams in the GPS competition.

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• • • •

In the match against GT, the TGS 1st IV came from 3 rubbers to 1 down after the doubles to win 3 of the singles and the match. The only other winning match for the 1st IV was against IGS (winning 5 rubbers to 3). There was no tennis match against BBC and decisive losses were to the other GPS schools. In Cadets, the Auxiliary Cadet Unit totalled 250 members. In the Pipe Band, a creditable standard was reached. In Drama, the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Dent, was the producer of the major School Play, The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew. Large audiences received the play with sustained applause. The acting was of a high standard, notably by Arthur Jones, John Davidson, Frank DiMuro, David Hamilton and Hugh Dickson.

Downlands Competition: •

• •

This year saw the first Father Graham Memorial Athletics meeting with Downlands College, held at TGS on Wednesday, 20 September. The trophy was introduced to honour the memory of Downlands College’s long-serving Sportsmaster, Father W.J. Graham, who lost his life in a car accident in the previous year. To enable as many boys as possible to compete, each school had three competitors in Track events and two competitors in Field games. TGS won the Trophy with a comfortable points margin. This competition ceased in 2005 and the holder of the trophy, TGS, returned it to Downlands College. The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy by 24 runs. The TGS victory meant that both schools had now gained the Trophy the same number of times since its inception in 1954. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup, 11 – 9. The School’s swimmers were successful in the Carnival with TGS winning 92 points to Downlands 76.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Bill Jones was re-elected.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency, the Hon. Sir Alan Mansfield, Governor of Queensland

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1967

The ‘Dog Box’ (from 1906 & removed in 2000)

The ‘Dog Box’

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1968 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr M.W. Baynes (in his 12th year)

Mr H.R. Kent (in his 11th year)

Headmaster: Mr Charles E. Olsen

(in his 7th year)

Deputy Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ Dent (in his 4th year) Senior Prefect: Arthur L. Jones (Captain of Cricket and the son of Dux of 1935, William ‘Bill’ Jones, who was also the President of the Old Boys’ Association). Arthur’s son, Dane, at school from 1992-1996, was also a Prefect, representing three generations of School Prefects in the Jones family. Dux of Year: John H. Davidson (see below). John’s younger brother, Campbell, was to become Dux two years’ later. Total School Enrolment: 456 (a record enrolment) Number of Dayboys: 158 Number of Boarders: 298

Staffing: •

Mr E. (‘Ted’) W. Brambleby joined the staff as a teacher of Biological Science and Zoology. The School was later to honour Mr Brambleby in a Prize awarded annually at the Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony – the E.W. Brambleby Prize for Biology (see 1972, 1984, 1996 and the ‘Events’ section in 2018 and 2019). Mr Brambleby was on the staff from 1968-1996.

Students: • • •

The School Prefects were Arthur Jones, Trevor Anderson, Ian Brunckhorst, Ewart Challis, John Davidson, William Horsfall, Malara Maso, John Quang, David Stevenson and Colin Watters. No student won an Open Scholarship to attend the University of Queensland in this year. Peter Jephsen Cameron (see 1963) was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship (the first for Toowoomba Grammar School in 35 years and the third in its history up to 1968; with Andreas Heger also winning it in 2006). Nearly fifty Old Boys farewelled him at a function at Queen’s Park Kiosk on the evening of the School Fete. On display was the Rhodes Cup, a magnificent hand-carved pure gold cup which was held by the School from which the Rhodes Scholar hailed. Peter sailed to England to attend the University of Oxford on 16 July. A photograph of Peter Cameron at this celebratory function with the Rhodes Cup is included in this year’s entry. Also featured in the photograph is Headmaster Olsen and Peter’s father, Mr ‘Jeph’ Cameron, also an Old Boy of TGS, who was Dux of the School in 1929 and ranked second in Queensland in the Senior Examination of that year.

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• •

John Davidson (1964-1968) was awarded the Belford Prize this year. John was a School Prefect and he also received Colours in four major sports, namely athletics, cricket, rugby and tennis of which he was Captain. In addition, John was Dux of the School in this year. David Stevenson was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Warren Wruck (1965-1968) became the co-owner of Turf Monthly which was the highest circulation thoroughbred magazine in Australia and New Zealand.

Buildings: •

The L.A. Boyce Boarding House was completed to accommodate 84 boys. The official opening of this building was on 19 July the following year and a photograph of this new building is included in the 1969-year entry. In 2016/2017 this building was converted to teaching and learning spaces for Art and Drama and renamed the ‘J.W.P. Henderson Art and Drama Centre’. The Boyce name was retained as a Boarding House with the Boyce/Taylor Boarding House building being constructed in 2015.

Events: • •

• • •

• • • •

In March, a decision was made to install a public telephone at the School for the use of the boys. The School’s Interact Club initiated an appeal to raise money to provide something for the School. Fifty-four boys took part in a relay run to Dalby and back (54 miles) and completed the run in 7.5 hours. $500 was raised to contribute to the financing of a dark brick entrance to the School at Herries Street (corner of Mary Street). The Tenth Decade Development Plan was launched, superseding the Langer Plan which had served the School well for some twenty years. The Trustees agreed to limit the size of the School to about 500 to retain a personal atmosphere. The record enrolments created the problem of a lack of classrooms. The “Dog Box” and the Old Chem Lab were used as Form Rooms. In October, the fifth annual School Dinner was held for nearly 500 boys and members of staff. A photograph of the dinner card with some student signatures is included in this year’s entry. In many schools throughout Australia, authority was being questioned along with the more traditional aspects of the education system such as school uniforms, the Prefect system, school discipline and punishments. Protest demonstrations and street marches from the public were mainly related to the Vietnam War and conscription. Balliwanga, the School’s own newspaper, was introduced when the Interact Club published its first edition. It was produced until 2001. The Old Boys’ annual Reunion Dinner was held at the North Toowoomba Bowls Club in October. The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association agreed to provide four overhead projectors, a spirit duplicator and a Fordifax Master Making machine to the value of $1,100. In July 1968 the Association of Independent Secondary Schools of Queensland (AISSQ) was formed. Fifty years on, Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) is the peak state body for the independent schooling sector. This was the last year that the Belford Prize was awarded only to a Year 12 student. In the following year the Prize became known as the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership and Sport and was awarded to a student in every form (see 1934 and 1984). Page | 512


• •

At the annual Fete there were 35 stalls and entertainment areas generating a profit of $600. The Old Boys’ Association in Toowoomba selected a new site for the annual reunion dinner – the banquet room of the North Toowoomba Bowls Club. The Guest Speaker was Jeff Jordan (19271928) who related some interesting reminiscences of boarding school life in the 1920s.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• •

• •

• • •

• •

• • •

Bus Trips to Brisbane - In the late 1960s and early 1970s the bus trips to Brisbane for GPS sporting competition took up to three hours. The buses for GPS sporting events departed the School very early and arrived back late. A tea stop was made on the way home at either the Marburg Café, the Rocklea Truck Stop, or one of the Brassall (Blacksoil) service stations. The School retained the Chelmsford Cup against Ipswich Grammar School. In Athletics, in the House Carnival, Craig Brunckhorst ran the 100 yards Open in 10.2 seconds, equalling a record by ‘Singy’ Myles in the 1920’s (see 1925). This record was equalled by Bill Brunckhorst (Craig’s uncle) in 1937, Ross Trevethan in 1956 and by Hugh Donaldson in 1966. At the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ carnival, TGS won five of the six cups and the overall points aggregate (the Pigott Cup). At the GPS Athletics carnival in Brisbane, the TGS team was placed a pleasing 4th – to BSHS, ‘Churchie’ and Nudgee. The team scored two first places in younger age divisions, eleven second placings and seven third placings. A photograph of the front cover of this 51st GPS Annual Sports Meeting held at Lang Park is included in this year’s entry. The Captain of the Athletics team, Craig Brunckhorst, came second in the Open 220 yards event and third in the Open 100 yards sprint events. In Cricket, the 1st XI won 2 games (BGS and GT), lost 5 and one was drawn (BSHS). The match against BGS was a most exciting one with a one run win to TGS (also this year the 1 st XI had a one run victory over a visiting Trinity Grammar School from Sydney). The only other GPS 1st XI win this year was over GT, winning by 35 runs. The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team, Arthur L. Jones, scored the first GPS Cricket century for the School for twenty years. Arthur scored 146 runs not out against Brisbane State High School in the first fixture of the year. Despite such an achievement, the match resulted in a draw. Next year, 1969, Arthur Jones also reached a century with 149 runs against BBC (and was again the Captain of the 1st XI). In this year Arthur Jones also took two five wicket hauls – against GT and CEGS (‘Churchie’). Bruce Stevenson took 8 wickets for 24 runs in the 1st XI match against IGS. He was one of only ten TGS boys in the history of the School who took eight wickets in a 1st XI cricket innings in a GPS match. The next time this feat was to be achieved was in 1973. The 1st XI match against TSS was played at TSS for the first time since the 1927-28 season with all matches prior to this time being played at GT’s ground in Victoria Park, or BGS, or at the Exhibition Ground (see 1969). The worst performance during the cricket season was the TGS 1st XI scoring only 28 runs (first innings) and 51 (second innings) against CEGS. TGS lost outright by an innings and 92 runs. Arthur Jones (Captain), Don Stallman and Trevor Anderson (12th man) played for the Combined Downs XI against the All-India Schoolboys’ team later in the year. The decision was made by the GPS Association to play cricket only in Term One. Previously, from 1963-67, cricket was split between Terms One and Three.

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• •

• • •

• •

• • • •

In Rugby, the School fielded 17 Rugby teams in all age divisions, from Under 13 to Open. Prior to the start of the GPS season, a football camp was held on the last three days of the May holidays. The 1st XV then played Marist Brothers, Ashgrove, and won this match 22-16. In other trial games, the 1st XV lost a fast, open match against the Old Boys (14-15, the first win for the Old Boys in some years) and convincingly defeated St.Columban’s, 34-0. The 1st XV had an excellent year with five GPS wins – BSHS (14-3), IGS (17-16), TSS (23-6), BBC (123), and CEGS (8-6). The three losing matches were to GT (3-8), BGS (3-8) and NC (14-22). In the GT team was Chris Handy who was later to play prop for both Australia and Queensland, including six internationals between 1978 and 1980. The hope of sharing a GPS Rugby Premiership was dashed in the first fifteen minutes of play against Nudgee College. In the 1st XV this year were three brothers – Sevesoa (‘Sev’) Maso, Malara Maso, and Sari Maso – who boarded from Konedobu, PNG. This year saw all The Southport School teams travel to Toowoomba for the first time. Previously both schools played on neutral grounds in Brisbane. For the 1st XV rugby match, the Southport team stayed overnight at TGS. In the following year the Toowoomba Grammar School Rugby teams travelled to The Southport School for the fixture. In Swimming, the GPS Swimming carnival was revived after two years and was held at the Valley Pool. Graham Sanders (to be Captain of Swimming in 1971) won the GPS Under 14, 50 metres backstroke event. Brett McGregor (to be Captain of Swimming in 1970) won the Under 15, 200 metres freestyle and his brother Kent McGregor (to be Captain of Swimming in 1969) won the Under 16, 50 metres backstroke. This was the forty-fifth GPS carnival and TGS finished in 6th place, considerably better than performances over recent years. The Captain of TGS Swimming, Paliau Lukas, was placed second in the Open breaststroke event. In Tennis, it was recommended that the School’s four tennis courts be covered with hot mix. In the GPS competition, the 1st IV played sound tennis, producing the best result for some years. Captained by John Davidson, the 1st IV had three GPS wins over the season – over BSHS (8 rubbers to nil), NC (6-2), and TSS (5-3). The team lost five GPS matches and, of these, both the teams representing CEGS (1-7) and BGS (0-8) proved to be extremely capable. In Cadets, the Reviewing Officer for this year’s Cadet Passing-Out Parade was Old Boy, Col Charles Fortescue (TGS 1907-1909). The new Officer Commanding (OC) of the TGS Army Cadet Unit was Major (AAC) Graeme Ainsbury who succeeded Mr Ken Fisher. Mr Ainsbury was OC of the School’s Cadet Unit from 1968-1983. In Drama, Mr Dent produced the Dramatic Society’s play, Wild Goose Chase, which involved ten boys. The lead role was played by Graeme Vaughan, supported by David Collins, Peter Ross, Robert Minchin, Alan Parkinson, Chris Hoey, Bill Hauritz, Ian Dudley, Ross Bernays and Mark Wager.

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Downlands Competition: • • • •

The School won the second annual Father Graham Memorial Trophy for Athletics. The TGS athletes won 35 of the 47 events, winning all but 4 track events. The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy. In this match, the Downlands College team was dismissed for 52 runs. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup, 14-3, for the third successive year. In the annual swimming competition for the "Baton", TGS’s greater depth of strength enabled the School to defeat Downlands by probably the widest margin for some years -119 points to 49. Downlands, however, was successful in the Diving competition.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Bill Jones was elected to office for a fourth term. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Brigadier James E.G. Martin (Old Boy 19171921)

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1968

Rhodes Scholar Peter Cameron

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1969 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 13th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 12th year)

Headmaster: Mr Charles Olsen (in his 8th year) – up to December (see ‘Events’ below) Deputy Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ Dent (in his 5th year)

Senior Prefect: Robert L. Eisemann Dux of Year: Robert S. Minchin

Total School Enrolment: 480 (a record enrolment to date) Number of Dayboys: 159 Number of Boarders: 321

Staffing: •

Mr John Perry, a teacher of English and History and later Boyce House Boarding Housemaster, commenced his 25-year period of employment at the School. Mr Perry retired in 1993.

Students: •

• • • •

The School Prefects were Robert Eisemann, Ross Bernays, Rodney Brightman, Ian Brunckhorst, John Davies, David Dunn, Allan Jackson, Arthur Jones, Donald Macgregor, Sari Maso, Robert Minchin, Martin Seeto and Graeme Vaughan. Robert Eisemann, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Peter Agar was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Robert S. Minchin was ranked 11th in Queensland in the Senior Public Examination and was awarded an Open University Scholarship. William (Bill) M. Hauritz (1965-1969) was awarded a prestigious Smithsonian Institute Fellowship to undertake research at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC for three months in 2004. Bill’s study with the Institute focussed on folk life and cultural heritage. He is honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. He reconstituted the Queensland Folk Federation in 1985 and was the Founder and Festival Director of the Woodford Folk Festival (which began in 1987 as the Maleny Folk Festival). This Festival has become one of the largest events of its kind in the world and is acclaimed internationally. Bill Hauritz is also honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the community, particularly through the establishment of the Woodford Festival and his contribution to the promotion of cross-cultural and artistic awareness. Page | 517


Bill Hauritz AM was guest speaker at the Old Boys’ Association annual dinner held at the Tattersall’s Club in July 2005. Colin Hewitt (1967-1969) of Hewitt Cattle Australia, together with Ben Hewitt (1991-1995) and Mick Hewitt (1993-1997) have made some major cattle station purchases. Hewitt Cattle Australia, backed by a Canadian pension fund, in 2022 bought 1.1 million hectares in the Northern Territory for nearly $100 million. The aggregation of cattle stations is said to represent one of the largest organically certified land parcels in the world (see ‘Students’ in the 1995-year entry). Greg Biddle (1966-1969) has not worked in Australia since 1975 when he went to the Philippines and has been in Peru for over 30 years. His business involves heavy equipment and trucks catering to oil companies involved in civil construction, pipelines, roads, drilling locations, logistics and transportation work. Greg travelled from Lima, Peru, for the 1971 Year Group reunion held in Toowoomba in 2011. Arthur L. Jones (1966-1969), in later years residing and working in Papua New Guinea, received an Order of the British Empire (OBE). In June 2024 Arthur was knighted by the Monach of the United Kingdom when he was awarded the title of Knight Batchelor. This honour was for services to business and to the community in Papua New Guinea.

Buildings: •

The L.A. Boyce Boarding House was opened on 19 July by Mr Mervyn W. Baynes, Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees. A photograph of this new building is included in this year’s entry. The Boarding House was named after Mr L.A. Boyce, an Old Boy of the School (1911-1914) and a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr Boyce initiated “the Karl Langer Plan” – a long range, flexible plan for the overall development of the School, about 20 years prior to this date. Karl Langer was an architect, town planner and landscape architect who was one of the most influential Queensland architects of the 1950s. The four dormitories of the L.A. Boyce Boarding House were named after Old Boys who had achieved fame and distinction in the Australian Army: Lieutenant-General Sir Eric Woodward who was Governor of New South Wales for many years and Administrator of the Commonwealth for some months in 1964; Brigadier-General James Campbell Robertson; Colonel Charles Fortescue, the first Queenslander decorated in World War I (he was awarded the Military Cross during the Gallipoli campaign) and Lieutenant-General Cyril Albert Clowes. Referring to the new Boyce Boarding House, the Headmaster in his Headmaster’s Annual Report stated: “The design, as well as being very functional, incorporates many distinctive architectural features which give it an atmosphere of luxury not usually associated with a school dormitory.” The School publication Blue and Gold (October 1969) showed a photograph of the interior of one of the Masters’ Rooms in the new Boyce Boarding House. The article read: “The accommodation could best be described as a luxury flat. The rooms have wall-to-wall carpeting, a feature wall of fine-grained timber and a tiled bathroom.” The various Boarding Houses were managed on a horizontal, year-group basis. The Form 2 boys were accommodated in Groom House and the Form 3 boys in Taylor House. The whole of the top floor of the School House building was reserved for Form 4. The Year 11 and Year 12 boys were based in the new Boyce House building.

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Events: •

• • •

• •

• •

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon. Mission Commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin, both American, landed the lunar module ‘Eagle’ on July 20. The boys watched the landing on the moon on a black and white television set in Old Hall. In March, it was recommended to the Trustees that consideration be given to purchasing an electric typewriter for the School. After discussion, it was resolved to defer further consideration to a later date. A new subject was introduced into the Senior Curriculum – Geology. Mr John Landy, MBE, the second man to break the four-minute mile, visited the School in April. A new trophy was presented this year – the ‘Singy’ Myles trophy for the Most Outstanding Sportsman of the Year. The trophy was presented by Mrs Graham Myles and her daughter, Annette, in memory of her late husband, ‘Singy’ Myles. Graham B. (‘Singy’) Myles was a student at the School in the mid to late 1920s and won the GPS Open 220 yards event at the GPS Track and Field Championships for the third successive year in 1927 (see 1927). He also won the Open 100 yards sprint. In later years the School’s eleventh Headmaster, Mr Heenan (1956-1961), is allegedly to have said that Graham (‘Singy’) Miles was the School’s best athlete ever in the School’s history. A photograph of the ‘Singy’ Myles trophy is included in this year’s entry and a photograph of ‘Singy’ Myles is included in the 1927-year entry. The Governor’s Challenge Cup known as the Chelmsford Cup was first presented in 1907 for sporting competition between Toowoomba Grammar School and Ipswich Grammar School (see 1907 and 1964). The last inscription on the Chelmsford Cup was in this year. As the Cup was won by TGS in this final year, the School held the Cup in perpetuity and it is on display in the School’s Museum. A photograph of the Cup is included in this year’s entry. The problem with finding dining-room space for 340 Masters and boys was solved by taking over the library (now Old Hall) for a short period each day as a Form VI dining room. The 1969 School Magazine referred to the growing list of classroom aids available to staff and students. These included overhead projectors, record players, a tape-recorder, wireless, ink duplicator, spirit duplicator, thermofax copier, slide projector, film strip projectors, 16mm movie projector and television sets. The Ladies Auxiliary was thanked for the provision of strip heaters in the classrooms. The James and Rita Bain Scholarship was created to enable an annual scholarship to be granted to a TGS student (tenable at the Queensland Agricultural College for three years) - refer to James Bain in the ‘Students’ section of the 1962-year entry. The first residential conference of the Queensland Chapter of the Australian College of Education was held at the School during the third term free weekend. Over seventy delegates attended, coming from many regions of Queensland and New South Wales. A country tour was undertaken by a small party consisting of the Headmaster (Mr Charles Olsen), Jack McGill (OBA President) and Bert Yeates (P&F President). Functions were held in Roma, St George and Goondiwindi. Throughout the year and particularly in October there were increasing problems with student behaviour. One such example was the continual painting of offensive slogans on a daily basis on the large and particularly highly visible (from the St Vincent’s Hospital, Mackenzie Street area) new cement tanks which were located on the south-western corner of Kent Oval. Headmaster Olsen was given the nickname ‘Sad Sack’ by the boys and before long this nickname or just ‘Sad’ would appear on various buildings (as graffiti) around the School. Page | 519


Mr John K. Winn in his book Toowoomba Grammar School, the Gillies Connection quotes the recollection of the School’s longest-serving teacher, Mr Russell Gillies, regarding this time. On page 53 Mr Gillies recalled: “The Olsen era was all destined to end in December 1969 for eventually some of the boys revolted against Headmaster Olsen, barricading themselves in one of the dormitories in School House and they refused to let the Headmaster enter. He responded by calling the police. The Trustees took a dim view of this action and dismissed the Headmaster. Virtually all the staff and boys breathed a huge sigh of relief. To the delight of everyone, the Trustees saw fit to later elevate Deputy Headmaster W.M. Dent to the position of Headmaster, a position he was to hold for some 20 years until his retirement due to cancer.” In the book Toowoomba Grammar School: The Gillies Connection the author, John Winn, goes into considerable detail documenting the numerous instances of Headmaster Olsen’s decisions as not sitting comfortably with the entire School community and the feeling of discontent amongst both the staff and students (pp.40-45). The barricade erected by the boys preventing the Headmaster from entering the dorm in School House (later known by some as ‘the 1969 revolt’) was the culmination of earlier ill-disciplined (though some would say justifiable) behaviour by the boys. One morning there was a large sign on Margaret Street at the entrance to the School that read “For Sale 45 Acres Apply Within”. There was another morning when logs from the forestry were deposited in the Assembly Hall. There was a morning when the Headmaster’s chair on stage in the Assembly Hall was replaced with a garbage bin and the Headmaster’s chair was deposited on the top of the shed by Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. There was a morning when many metal chairs were left in the swimming pool and another morning when the PA system speakers were cut. The ‘revolt’ occurred during the night before the boys sat their last 1969 Junior Certificate public exam. The boys were in bed and then a call was made by some seniors to start the barricade. Boys pushed all the lockers up against the door in the locker room to prevent entry. Beds were also pushed against the door to the staircase so that East Dorm of School House was securely locked off. There were no lights operating in School House as all the fuses had been removed. One boy recalled: “It was like a release of two years of being a number, the fear and just having had enough." In the months prior to the ‘revolt’ it was said that boys were being caned in the boarding house for what they thought was little or no reason. During the ‘revolt’ the Police were called by Headmaster Olsen and they smashed louvers to get into the East Dorm. The Police did not say much. The boys were told to go down to the old library and were eventually sent to bed at around 1:00am – with their last exam just hours away at 9:00am. “As soon as the last exam was over we could not wait to leave the school as quickly as possible,” said one of the boys involved. The boy continued: “When returning to the School for Term One in 1970 it was one of great apprehension and you wondered what was going to happen to you. You waited and waited to be summoned but it never eventuated. Bill ‘Moof’ Dent was installed as Acting Headmaster. There is no doubt that the revolt of 1969 was a defining moment in the School’s history and changed the School’s fibre for the better. Students were allowed an opinion whereas under the rule in 1969 and earlier you were not allowed a view.” In December a termination of employment agreement was written for Mr Olsen. Mr Olsen made his dismissal public by contacting the local newspaper The Chronicle on 16 December stating: “This has wrecked my career.” Mr Olsen later spent many years as the Deputy Principal of Miami State High School. He died on 10 May 1986, having never once returned to Toowoomba Grammar School after his departure in January 1970.

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Co-curricular Activities: •

• • • •

• •

• • • •

In Athletics, the GPS Championships were held at Lang Park and the TGS team finished in a commendable 4th place (only being narrowly defeated for 3rd by 4 points by BSHS). NC won the GPS Athletics Premiership and BGS was placed 2nd . At the GPS Athletics Championships, Sevesoa Maso (1965-1969), a boarder from PNG, won the Open Broad Jump (long jump) of 23 feet and 3 and one quarter inches. His jump was the secondlongest jump in the 51 years of the GPS Carnival. His first place in the GPS Championships long jump event was the first for a TGS athlete since 1918 and 1919 (and the next time was in 1973). ‘Sev’ Maso won the inaugural Graham ‘Singy’ Myles Trophy to recognise the most outstanding Sportsman of the Year in the School. The Captain of TGS Athletics, Ross Bernays, ran 1 min.59.3 secs. in the 800 metres event at the Downlands College meet to be the first Downs schoolboy to break the two-minute barrier for this event. He was placed 3rd in a fast, Open 800 metres event at the GPS Championships. At the School Carnival, for the first time events were run over metric distances in accordance with the change made by the GPS Association this year. All fit boys participated in the Sports, and a record four hundred competitors ran the handicap ‘mile’ - a judges' nightmare. The School won its eighth consecutive title at the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships. In Cricket, this year the School fielded fifteen teams in the GPS Cricket competition and local fixtures. The 1st XI won only one game (BBC, by 56 runs) this year, lost five and there were two draws (GT and TSS). Despite a TGS bowler, ‘Sev’ Maso, dismissing four early NC batsmen for ‘ducks’, NC still won the game by 31 runs. Other losses were to Churchie (by 81 runs), BSHS (by 46 runs), and the matches against IGS and BGS were lost outright. Representing BGS in the match against TGS was David Ogilvie who later played in five Tests for Australia from 1977-78. The draw against TSS was described as a ‘cliff hanger’, with the drawn result even after TGS earlier dismissed the first six TSS batsmen for only 39 runs. The TSS match was played for the first time in forty years at TGS. Previously the games were played at GT, BGS or the Exhibition Ground (see 1968). For the second year in succession, Arthur Jones scored a century in the 1st XI cricket team – 149 runs against Brisbane Boys’ College. These were the first centuries scored for the School in GPS cricket matches in twenty years. The 1969 1st XI cricket team scored the highest batting innings for the 1960’s decade with 266 runs being scored against BBC. All GPS Cricket games were played in Term One (and the School Magazine stated this was a most unsatisfactory arrangement). In Rugby, this year the School fielded twenty teams in the GPS Rugby competition and local fixtures. Altogether, a total of about thirty boys played in the 1st XV Rugby team at some stage during the season. The 1st XV had a disappointing season with no GPS games won. The worst loss was to NC (3-23) and a number of games were reasonably close viz. IGS (14-18), TSS (3-6), GT (8-11), and BGS (8-14)

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• • •

• • • •

There was a most enjoyable rugby tour to Sydney for the 1st XV incorporating a three-match schedule, with games against The King’s School (TGS lost, 0-36), Trinity Grammar School (TGS lost, 0-19) and Sydney Grammar School (draw, 0-0). The Past Grammars Rugby Union Club was re-formed after a lapse of some fifteen years. In Swimming, in an exciting finish, at the Valley pool, Brisbane, TGS was placed 8th, only one point behind Nudgee. Many fine performances were recorded in the various divisions. The Captain of Swimming, Kent P. McGregor, won the Open GPS 100 metres backstroke in 66.9 seconds and was also placed 3rd in the Open 100 metres freestyle. The next time a TGS swimmer won this event was in 1973. In Tennis, the 1st IV won two GPS matches during the season, both in close games. The 1st IV defeated GT, 9 sets to 8 and NC, 10 sets to 9. Disappointingly, a number of the other GPS tennis matches were lost eight rubbers to nil, including TSS, BGS, IGS and CEGS. In Cadets, the Cadet Unit conducted five camps this year despite the measles epidemic. The Reviewing Officer at the Cadet Unit’s annual Ceremonial Parade was Old Boy, Group-Captain Alan ‘Gordon’ Grant (TGS 1918-1920). He said that the Cadet Unit was continuing to carry out the School’s great military traditions. Approximately 480 Cadets took part in the Parade, including 170 Army Cadets and 310 Auxiliary Cadets. In Drama, the Dramatic Society presented ‘Post Horn Gallop’ (also performed by the School in 1979). A reviewer writing in The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper stated: “Bruce Milner’s portrayal of Ada was outstanding. Mark Wager gave a very good account of himself.” Others acknowledged included Graeme Vaughan, Christopher Hoey, Bruce McMahon, David Collins, Frank Walsh, Michael Glover, Ralph Bazley and Peter Ross.

Downlands Competition: • •

• •

The School defeated Downlands College in the Downlands Swimming Carnival, winning 19 of the 24 swimming events (109½ points to 60½ points). The 1st XI Cricket team had a drawn result in the Tom Allen Trophy game due to rain. The TGS team was three runs short of a certain victory when rain cancelled play. As TGS was the current holder of the trophy, the School retained possession for the eighth year in succession. In the game, TGS student, Richard Brice, took 4 wickets with 5 balls (including a ‘hat-trick’). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 6-17. The TGS Athletics team had a massive win, 370 points to 146.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr John R.’Jack’ McGill (for two years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Bruce T Mayes, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Sydney (Old Boy 1917-1921: See ‘Students’ section in the 1921 entry).

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1969

The Governor’s Cup

‘Singy’ Myles trophy for Most Outstanding Sportsman of the Year

New Boyce Boarding House

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1970 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 14th year)

Mr H.R. (‘Roy’ or ‘Copper’) Kent (in his 13th year)

Trustees: Mr Mervyn W. Baynes; Mr H.R ‘Roy’ Kent; Hon. Gordon W.W. Chalk, MLA (Deputy State Premier and Treasurer); Mr Rowland J. Dunn; Dr Ian Gibson; Dr John W.P Henderson; Dr Frederick M. Trenerry.

Headmaster: In January Mr W. ‘Bill’ M. Dent was appointed as Acting Headmaster. In March, Mr Dent was appointed as the School’s thirteenth Headmaster at the age of 36 years. He had been the Deputy Headmaster of the School since 1965 and was Acting Headmaster prior to his appointment as Headmaster. After graduating in 1954, he joined the staff of Thornburgh College, Charters Towers where he remained for ten years. He was then appointed to the staff of Toowoomba Grammar School as Housemaster of School House and then as Senior Resident Master (see ‘Events’ below).

Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan D. Morwood (an Old Boy of the School, 1950-1953, and Senior Boarder Prefect in his final year) was appointed to the position of Deputy Headmaster. He was the Dux of the School in 1953 and a member of the 1st XI Cricket team, (as Captain), 1st XV, and GPS Athletics team (TGS cross country champion in 1952). Alan Morwood was also the 1953 recipient of the Belford Prize for scholarship, leadership and sport and was placed 14th in the State in the Senior Public Examination. In 1963 Mr Morwood accepted the position of Senior Physics and Mathematics Master at Toowoomba Grammar School. He is the first Old Boy to become Deputy Headmaster of TGS. Alan Morwood resigned from Toowoomba Grammar School at the end of 1975 to commence as Principal of Townsville Grammar School from 1976-1992. Years later, in 2017, another Deputy Headmaster of TGS, Mr Timothy Kelly, resigned following his appointment as Principal of Townsville Grammar School commencing in 2018.

Senior Prefect: Andrew W. Rankine Senior Boarder Prefect: Vai Reva (from Papua New Guinea) Dux of Year: Campbell W. Davidson (whose brother, John, was Dux two years prior) - see below.

Total School Enrolment: 488 Number of Dayboys: 149 Number of Boarders: 339

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Staffing: •

The number of academic staff at the School totalled 22 and more than doubled ten years later. The teaching staff comprised G. Ainsbury, E. Brambleby, Miss J. Buckley, E. Desmarchelier, R. Gillies, R. Jackson, L. Jones, P. Long, R. McLaren, Mrs L. Madden, B. Manning, F. Millett, W. Murphy, J. Perry, W. Poulsen, G. Sampford, H. Sorenson, J. Sullivan, K. Tuxworth and J. Winn. Mr Wilton L. ‘Len’ Poulsen completed 30 years of service at the School. In January at a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees, it was agreed that the Deputy Headmaster, Mr William M. Dent, be appointed as Acting Headmaster as from 1 January. Mr ‘Len’ Poulsen was appointed by the Trustees to the position of Assistant to the Acting Headmaster. The position of Deputy Headmaster was advertised with applications closing on 30 May and Old Boy, Mr Alan D. Morwood, was appointed to the position in July. In boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr K. Tuxworth and the Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr G. Sampford (Groom, replacing Mr Tuxworth), Mr W. Murphy (School) and Mr J.K. Winn (Taylor).

Students: •

• • • •

• • •

The School Prefects were Andrew Rankine, Archer Avery, Ian Bynon, Campbell Davidson, Michael Francis, John Franks, Michael Glover, William Hood, Neal Jones, John Leith, Robert McDonald, Donald McInnes and Vai Reva. The Dux of the School, Campbell W.R. Davidson (1966-1970), was placed 14th in the State in the 1970 Senior Public Examination to secure an Open Scholarship to the University. Neal Jones was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Andrew Breckenridge was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Geoffrey ‘Benny’ Pike (1968-1970) became Captain of the Queensland boxing team and represented Australia in the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow. He was also a Commonwealth Games representative in boxing in 1978 (Edmonton, Canada) and 1982 (Brisbane). ‘Benny’ is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Richard Gore (1967-1970), later Sir Richard Ralph St George Gore, was the 13th Baronet of the Gore Baronetcy of Magherabegg, created in the County of Donegal, Ireland, in 1622. He is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Bruce McMahon (1967-1970), as a motoring journalist with the Courier Mail, was road testing a new Holden Monaro out west during hot weather when the air-conditioning malfunctioned. Another Old Boy, Phil Halpin (1977) of Halpin Motors, St George, came to the rescue and repaired the problem promptly. Graham John (‘Buck’) Buckley (1965-1970) was sworn in as a Queensland Magistrate in 2006 serving at Maroochydore, Gladstone and Kingaroy following fifteen years in a successful general legal practice in Laidley and numerous Clerk of Courts appointments in regional Queensland. It was noted that the majority of the University of Queensland graduates from the Class of 1970 were from the Faculty of Engineering. A photograph of students at the School Dance is included in this year’s entry. A photograph of some of this year’s school leavers enjoying their 30-year reunion celebration since leaving school is included in this year’s entry.

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Buildings: •

The Headmaster’s residence was renovated in January and was further extended in February 1972.

Events: • •

• •

• • • •

There were four Boarding Houses at this time – Boyce; Groom; School; and Taylor. On 24 March 1970 a Special Assembly was convened at the School by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr Mervyn Baynes. He informed those present of the Trustees’ decision to appoint Mr Dent as Headmaster. It proved to be an extremely popular announcement, made even more so by Mr Baynes’ instant decision to declare the remaining afternoon a holiday. In an unprecedented move, the entire staff spontaneously whisked the Headmaster-elect off to the Southern Hotel for a celebratory luncheon. The population of Toowoomba at the commencement of the new decade was approximately 60,000 residents. Former Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, Dr H.E. Roberts (1935-1946), retired as Headmaster of ‘Churchie’. Dr Roberts was the guest speaker at this year’s Old Boys’ annual dinner in Brisbane and the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. A photograph of the two TGS Headmasters at different times, Dr ‘Harry’ Roberts and Mr ‘Bill’ Dent, together with this year’s Dux of the School, Campbell Davidson, is included in this year’s entry. The Trustees decided to permit girls from Fairholme College and The Glennie School to join senior Science classes as these schools were temporarily unable to obtain qualified Science teachers (see ‘Events’ 1953). A Student Council was established, giving the students a voice in the decision-making process affecting them. The last external Junior Public examination was conducted in Queensland. The entire School participated in the seventh annual School Dinner held in the Assembly Hall. The School Fete which was conducted by the Old Boys’ Association in conjunction with the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association, was most successful and a record was obtained with a profit of $770. The Past Grammars Rugby Union Club was re-formed under the Presidency of Bert Yeates after a hiatus of approximately twenty years. Both the Past Grammar Rugby Union Club and the Past Grammar Cricket Club were both successful this year. In this year a new O’Callaghan Cup (TGS v Downlands College – annual Rugby 1st XV game) was made and has been used ever since. A photograph of the new O’Callaghan Cup is included in this year’s entry.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

Playing sport was not mandatory but all boys were encouraged to do so. In Athletics, the 1970’s decade was seen as a dominant one for the School. At the GPS Track and Field Championships the School’s teams came 4th in 1970 and 1979; 3rd in 1975, 1976 and 1977; 2nd in 1973, 1974 and 1978; and won the GPS Championship in 1971 and 1972. Much of the credit for such performance was attributed to athletics coach and Physical Education teacher, Mr Lindesay Jones, appointed to the staff in 1964. Many years later, delivering the eulogy at the Page | 526


• • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • •

funeral service of Lindesay Jones, TGS Old Boy Steve Haddan (1971-1975) said: “Anyone who knew Lindesay, as we all do today, knows what a richly textured character he was. The enthusiasm, the humour, highly intelligent, a man of infinite contradictions; a friend, a mentor, seemingly disorganised yet acutely systematic. Lindesay’s influence was spread across thousands of lives. I was one of Lindesay’s athletes at Toowoomba Grammar School where he worked his magic as coach and phys-ed master for 18 years. As a teenager, Lindesay taught me that you have to put in the effort to get the results. “Big L” as he was known, could make young men soar. What a marvellous gift…. Around him Lindesay gathered an army of off-siders who helped in the preparation of the team – sports master John Winn, a terrific organiser and ally, pro-champion John McDonald in the sprints, Ian Murray for the distance events, John Perry the hurdles, Russ Gillies the long jump and the list went on…. Lindesay showed us how to do things well. How lucky was I to spin into Lindesay Jones’s orbit back in 1971. He had an enormous impact on my life.” The Athletics season began with a six-day athletics camp and the team finished a most encouraging 4th in the GPS Athletics Championships, only 9½ points behind BGS. NC won its second successive title, with Churchie runners-up. Michael Schilling won the Under 15 1500 metre event in a GPS Record time. At the Father Graham Memorial Trophy competition against Downlands College, TGS won 35 of the 47 events and achieved 329 points (DC, 168 points). The School took its ninth successive title at the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships. In Chess, a student club was formed this year. In Cricket, the School fielded 15 teams. The 1st XI Cricket team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition (and Paul Smith played for the Queensland Schoolboys’ XI). The 1st XI finished the season with four consecutive victories including BBC (a win by 9 runs), BGS (TGS won by 47 runs), GT (a win by 32 runs) and NC (a win by 30 runs). TGS bowler Bill Hood took an impressive number of wickets during the 1st XI cricket season (34 wickets). These included taking 7 wickets for 12 runs in the 1st XI match against GT; 5 for 39 against IGS; and 6 for 42 against BBC. Bill Hood was the Vice-Captain of the 1st XI in 1970. Peter Cook in Year 10 took 27 wickets in his first season of 1st XI cricket. His five wicket hauls included 5 for 22 (BSHS); 6 for 31 (TSS); and 5 for 20 (BGS). In the winning match against NC, TGS bowler Ronald Kofoed took 3 wickets for 2 runs in one over. In the cricket match against Downlands College competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, Peter Cook took 10 wickets for 51 runs over two innings (see below). In the GPS fixtures, the TGS 1st XI lost four games. One was lost outright (against TSS), CEGS defeated TGS by 56 runs, BSHS (by 34 runs), and IGS (by 97 runs). In Gymnastics, the 1970s saw great success in this sport. In Rugby, the 1970s decade saw some disappointing results in Rugby which, overall, averaged out at about 30% of wins during the entire period. This year the School fielded 19 teams and the 1st XV team was coached by Mr ‘Russ’ Gillies both this year and the following year. The 1st XV Rugby team played the visiting King’s School, Sydney, with a win to King’s (11-6) and the Old Boys in pre-season matches. The 1st XV won one GPS game in the season (GT, 16-3) and the result was a draw (3-all) against TSS. All other GPS matches were lost and the largest margin was by NC (0-24). In the GT 1st XV was Tony Shaw who was later to captain the Australian Wallabies from 19781981. Page | 527


• • • • • • •

The School Magazine commended the 1st XV by stating: “Despite the results of the season, the 1st XV is to be congratulated on giving a wonderful display of tenacity in the face of almost overwhelming odds.” In Swimming, the GPS Championships were held at the Valley Pool and GT won the Championship. The TGS swimmers gained 8th place. In Tennis, the School had ten teams. The School’s four tennis courts were deemed to be barely adequate to cope with the number of tennis players. In Cadets, throughout the entire decade of the seventies, Mr Graeme Ainsbury commanded the School Cadet Unit (with the exception of 1978 when he was on Long Service Leave). Grade 8 boys ceased to be members of the Auxiliary Cadet Unit and this time on a Friday was used for cultural subjects. An Old Boy reviewed the Cadet Passing-Out Parade, Lt-Colonel William ‘Bill’ Hatton, (TGS 19401944), the newly appointed Commanding Officer of Cadets in Queensland. In Drama, the Fifth Form performed the play Smokey Pass. In Music, a School Choir was in its infancy, with seventeen members. The Choir made its debut at the Goethe Society Concert, singing two German songs. There had been several attempts to form a School Choir in the past and this year’s Choir was initiated by Mr B. Manning. The Head Chorister was Gary Fagg and Leading Chorister was Jeremy Wilkinson. A Music Club was formed in July. Dance music formed an important part of the repertoire and the boys played for some of the school dances. The President of the inaugural Music Club was Andrew Cairns. A Stamp Club was formed this year.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, by 42 runs (107 to 65). The School’s Athletics team won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy, 329-168. The 1st XV Rugby team competing for the O’Callaghan Cup was defeated, 5-17. In this year a new O’Callaghan Cup (TGS v Downlands College – annual Rugby 1st XV game) was made to replace the old Cup (since 1950) and has been used ever since. A photograph of the Cup features below. The School’s swimmers continued to win the annual swimming carnival against DC.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr ‘Harry’ E. Roberts, MA (UQ), Ph.D. Former Headmaster, Toowoomba Grammar School (1935-1946) and Headmaster of Anglican Church Grammar School ‘Churchie’ In Dr Robert’s address at the Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony he spoke about the boys of TGS. His words are very much relevant today when he said: “I doubt if any school is more fortunate in its boys. The School’s traditions, for which generations of boys are largely responsible, are essentially sound. The surface veneers, such as affectation and insincerity, find no place in their scheme, whilst the solid virtues of courage, good behaviour, hard work at lessons and games, sincerity, co-operation, and pride in the School are dominant. If a job is to be done, it is done as well as possible. I have never met with recriminations after a defeat, or foolish pride in the hour of success. I cannot say more. Theirs is the School and they have been, and still are, completely worthy of their great trust. May they be as good citizens as they have been schoolboys.” (Source – Omnibus, vol.30, no.2, August 2020, pg1) Page | 528


1970

School Dance

L-R, Campbell Davidson (Dux), former Headmaster Roberts, current Headmaster Dent

Year 12, 1970, 40 Year Reunion in 2010

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1971 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn Baynes (in his 15th year)

Mr H.R. ’Copper’ Kent (resigned in June due to ill-health)

Trustees: Old Boy Mr Patrick (Pat) J. Byrne (1944-1945) joined the Trustees in October, replacing Mr H.R. Kent. Mr Burnett Ian Parkinson was a further new appointee on the Board replacing Mr Rowley J. Dunn who resigned in July.

Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ Dent (in his 2nd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan D. Morwood (in his 2nd year)

Senior Prefect: Michael T. Coughlin Dux of Year: Dugald J. Henderson (his brother, Alastair, was Dux in 1966 as was his father, John W.P Henderson in 1936). This significant achievement of father and son both achieving the honour of being Dux of the School and an Open Scholarship winner had only occurred twice previously in the history of the School (see 1953 and 1963). The offer of Open Scholarships to attend University lapsed when the Labor Commonwealth Government abolished all university fees from the beginning of 1974.

Total School Enrolment: 483 Number of Dayboys: 154 Number of Boarders: 329

Staffing: • •

• •

There were more than 30 members on the teaching staff. A Staff Association was formed and a staff contributory Superannuation Fund was established. Dr Frank Nothling commenced at the School and taught German until his resignation in 1980. The boys were somewhat amused that Dr Nothling who had some vision impairment was assisting with cricket coaching including the 1st XI from 1974-1980 inc. The Foundation Librarian was Miss Joan Buckley who was on staff from 1970-1974. In boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr K. Tuxworth. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr G. Sampford (Groom), Mr W. Murphy (School) and Mr J. Winn (Taylor).

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Students: •

• • •

• •

The School Prefects were Michael Coughlin, Peter Barlow, Gregory Byrne, Andrew Billsborough, Geoffrey Buckler, Peter Cook, James Ferguson, Robert Hatton, Dugald Henderson, Rodney Kofoed, Ian Morris, Murray Pearce, Peter Raka, Graham Sanders and Paul Smith. Dugald J. Henderson was placed 17th in the State and was an Open Scholarship winner to the University. This was the last year in which Open Scholarships to the University of Queensland based on performance in the Senior Public Examination were awarded. Eleven senior boys were awarded Commonwealth Scholarships. They were William Backhouse, Peter Barlow, Gregory Byrne, David Collins, James Ferguson, Dugald Henderson (Dux), Ronald Kofoed, Christopher Loveday, Cameron Sterling, Mark Wager and Colin Yeates. Ronald Kofoed was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Andrew Billsborough was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Ross Bates (to captain the 1st XI in 1972) and Peter Cook played for the Queensland Schoolboys’ Cricket XI. Peter also captained the School’s 1st XV rugby team and his son, Nathan, was later to captain the 1st XI Cricket and 1st XV Rugby teams in 2008. Peter Raka played for the Queensland Secondary Schoolboys’ Rugby team against New South Wales and was also Captain of Athletics (GPS Premiers) for the School. Rod Frain (1968-1971) was awarded the Valour Medal in 1995. As a Police Officer he was shot during a siege at Gympie in 1995. Senior Sergeant Rod Frain was later appointed as Noosa’s new Police Chief in 2007. Paul Smith represented the State in rugby from 1974-1978 on ten occasions.

Buildings: •

The new Roberts classroom block was opened in April. Dr H.E. Roberts, the School’s former Headmaster (1935-1946), attended the ceremony. Audio-visual wiring, a video-tape machine and three television sets were added by the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association. The building was constructed by Mr A. Campiutti whose son, Edward (Eddi), later served the School as a teacher for 38 years, commencing in 1983 and retiring in 2020. Photographs of the new Roberts classroom block and its commemorative plaque are included in this year’s entry. The M.W. Baynes Library was opened in October by the Honourable Sir Reginald W.C. Swartz MP, Minister of State for National Development and Leader of the House of Representatives. It is now the Baynes Music Rooms. Prior to this time, the Library was housed in the School’s Old Hall. The M.W. Baynes Library was funded by the Commonwealth Libraries Programme and was named for the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Photographs of the new M.W. Baynes Library and its commemorative plaque are included in this year’s entry.

Events: •

Independent schools in Queensland received per capita grants of $25.00 from the State Government and $50.00 from the Commonwealth. The question of Government aid to independent schools became a major political issue.

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The Darling Downs campus of the Queensland Institute of Technology became known as the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (now the University of Southern Queensland – see 1992 and 2022). Old Boy, David Rowbotham (1939-1940), was guest speaker at the Old Boys’ Brisbane Branch annual dinner. The ‘streaming’ of classes on the basis of supposed academic ability was discontinued in Year 8 (Form II) and Year 11 (Form V). Instead, the division of the form into classes was done alphabetically according to surnames. Boys in the Fifth Form could select to study two out of three electives offered – Aesthetics, Media and Typewriting. In Third Form, elective subjects were introduced on a six-month or semester basis. Boys could choose two of four elective subjects – Art, Environmental Studies, Sociology and Mechanics.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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• •

In Athletics, the School won the GPS Track and Field Championship (for the second time in the School’s history, with the first Premiership being achieved in 1945); a Premiership repeated in 1972. The team was captained by Peter Raka and the Coach was Mr Lindesay Jones. The coach was described in the School Magazine by the Captain of Athletics, Peter Raka, as: “Á man who adopted the most suitable training methods who taught us the meaning of a big heart, and a man who had the power to instil in all members confidence in themselves.” Thanks were also expressed to Mr Gillies and Mr Perry. A photograph of the School’s athletics team as winners of the GPS Championship is included in this year’s entry. Another photograph is of four highly talented athletes pictured with Mr L. Jones (coach) and Mr W. Dent (Headmaster). The athletes are from left, Peter Raka, Peter Searle, Vaso George and Mark Farrelly. The TGS athletes won the GPS Track and Field Championships in a sound manner, scoring 324 points with the runners-up, NC, scoring 264½ points. TSS was in 9th place with 130½ points. In the GPS competition, the squad achieved 14 wins, 10 seconds, 10 thirds and finished in the first five places in all but eight of the 48 events contested. Several GPS records were broken by the TGS athletes. These included Vaso George setting a new GPS Record in the Under 15 high jump (5ft.8in.) and equalled the GPS Record in the 80 metre hurdles (11.8 sec.). Another GPS Record-breaking performance was the Under 15 relay of Vaso George, John Lavers, Gregory Woodcock and Lee Togatia. In the Open division in the last event of the day, the School’s 4x100m relay team gained first place – James Derrick, Philip Morrow, Peter Raka and John Noble (43.6s). In addition to winning the GPS Athletics Premiership, the TGS athletes won the Father Graham Memorial carnival against Downlands College with the score 367 to 150 points. In September the team travelled to Warwick to compete in the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships. The team won every age group Cup, plus the aggregate trophy. The School finished no less than third in all but two events. In Cricket, the 1st XI team achieved two wins; BBC (TGS winning by 25 runs), and GT (TGS winning by 117 runs) and suffered some narrow losses – one run to BSHS, three runs to TSS and 6 runs to Downlands College. Some matches were affected by rain with the NC match abandoned and a drawn result against IGS. The 1st XI was placed in 6th position on the GPS cricket ladder. Ross D. Bates and Peter S. Cook were selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ XI.

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In the 1st XI winning match against GT, the TGS Captain and spin bowler, Paul Smith, took 5 wickets for only 18 runs. In Gymnastics, the School re-entered the GPS Gymnastics competition after a lapse of several years and finished 3rd . In Rugby, the pre-season included a tour to Sydney. The TGS players defeated the team representing Trinity Grammar School (31-0) but lost to The King’s School (6-24) and to Sydney Grammar School (8-12). The coach of the 1st XV in this year was Mr. ‘Russ’ Gillies. In the GPS competition, the 1st XV won only two games in the season – against CEGS ‘Churchie’ (13-6) and GT (8-0) but all games were keenly contested and close. There were two drawn games, namely BGS (12-12) and IGS (3-3). The team finished in 6th position in the GPS rugby ladder, scoring 82 points with 81 against. The game against NC was a close one with the score of 6-6 at half-time. The final score was a win to Nudgee, 18-11. The 1st XV lost three very close games – to BSHS (10-14), BBC (17-19) and TSS (8-9). Peter Raka played for the Queensland Secondary Schoolboys’ Rugby team against New South Wales and was also Captain of Athletics (GPS Premiers) for the School. Paul McLean represented NC in rugby this year. He later played 31 Rugby Union Test matches for Australia. He is the greatest point scorer in the history of Australian Rugby Union. Also representing NC in the GPS Rugby competition was Mark Loane. Mark played 29 Tests for the Wallabies. In Swimming, on Saturday, March 14th, the GPS Swimming Carnival was held at the Valley Pool, in Brisbane. This Carnival is always of a very high standard, and the majority of GPS winners are Queensland champions. It is, therefore, not surprising to see TGS having few wins and finishing 8th in the final placings. The Carnival resulted in a victory for Brisbane Grammar School, closely followed by Gregory Terrace. A highlight of the GPS Swimming Championships was the first place awarded to James G. Ferguson in the Open 100 metres breaststroke event. This event was next won by a TGS swimmer in 1977, Craig Seawright. For the sixth year in succession, TGS won the Pigott Cup for the highest aggregate points amongst the Darling Downs secondary schools with 250- 35 ahead of Downlands College. The Cadet Unit had some 270 officers and cadets. Membership of the School’s Cadet Unit was made completely voluntary this year. The Pipe Band wore Highland Dress for the first time this year (at the Ceremonial Parade). The tartan chosen was the Mackintosh in honour of the School’s first Headmaster. A photograph of the Pipe Band is included in this year’s entry. In Drama, the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Mikado was produced under the direction of the Headmaster and Mr Manning. This was the second time the School combined with The Glennie School on a major production (see 1964) and it was the first time the School produced a musical. A photograph of some of the cast is included in this year’s entry. The players included David Blackman as the Mikado, John Offner as Nanki-Poo and Malcolm Cox. The reviewer for The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper stated that Bruce Milner as Ko-Ko (Lord High Executioner of Titipu) and John Lamb as Pooh-Bah (Lord High Everything Else) excelled in comedy, and John Lamb had the best male singing voice. Sir Gordon and Lady Chalk and Madame Matsumura, the wife of the Japanese Consul-General, were among the distinguished guests present among the audience. A Diving Club began operating towards the end of the year (see the ‘Co-Curricular’ section in next year’s entry). Page | 533


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A Photography Club was formed with the dark room hidden in Middle Block. Middle Block was later removed to make way for Purves Block. A Scout Troop was formed at the School with the investiture ceremony taking place in the School Assembly Hall in June. The inaugural TGS Scout Leader was Mr John Winn.

Downlands Competition: • • • • •

The School’s Athletics team won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy, 367 points to 150. The 1st XI Cricket team lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy by six runs (126 to 132). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 8-15. Our swimmers won by a margin of seven points. The first co-educational classes at Downlands College occurred in this year. The girls from St Ursula’s College travelled to Downlands College daily in a double decker McCafferty’s bus. Previously Downlands College had been an all-boys’ school.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Don Trenerry (for six years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Sir Gordon W.W. Chalk – Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland, Member of the Toowoomba Grammar School Board of Trustees

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1971

The School Cadet Pipe Band

M.W. Baynes Library

Roberts Classroms

Athletics Champions Peter Raka, Peter Searle, Vaso George, Mark Farrelly with Mr L. Jones & Headmaster Dent

H.E. Roberts classrooms

GPS Track & Field Champions

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‘The Mikado’ together with The Glennie School


1972 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 16th year)

Dr Ian Gibson

Trustees: Mr B. Ian Parkinson joined in January; Dr. Fred Trenerry passed away in October. Mr Dunn also resigned from the Board. Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 3rd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan D. Morwood (in his 3rd year) Senior Prefect: Allan D. Sheridan (and Dux) Dux of Year: Allan D. Sheridan Total School Enrolment: 489 Number of Dayboys: 154 Number of Boarders: 335 Staffing: • •

There were 25 full-time teaching staff producing a very satisfactory staff/student ratio. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr W. Murphy. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr G. Sampford (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr J. Kennedy (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Allan Sheridan, Ross Bates, Leon Clothier, Peter Cook, Allan Douglas, Richard Duke, Terry Fitch, Norman Hamilton, Harley Jackman, David McDonald, Paul McDonald, Gary Partridge, Alexander Poulsen, John Robertson, Drew Speight, Henry Stephenson and Peter Stuart. Allan Sheridan, Senior Prefect and Dux, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities this year. Douglas Hauff (1968-1972) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Doug played in the 1st XV and was later to coach the Queensland Country Rugby team which, in 1990, recorded its first victory against NSW in 25 years. The Captain of Gymnastics (1972 and 1973) was John ‘Mac’ Stirling (at TGS 1970-1973) who won the GPS all-round individual title in gymnastics in 1973 (see 1973). Ashley Adams (1978-72) is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement for representing Australia and winning gold medals in shooting at the Atlanta Paralympics in 1996. He broke his back in a motorbike accident in 1982. In 1994 he won The Queensland Country Life Inventor of the Year Award for his gate latch. In the previous year he secured the Westech Field Day Inventors’ Award for his Poly-Joina (a hand-held tool for joining polythene pipe). In addition to Page | 536


• • •

ongoing successes in both his shooting and inventing interests, Ashley continued to run his Blackall property, Darracourt, as a viable commercial concern until his untimely death as the result of a quad bike accident in 2015. Lance Clarke (1968-1972) proceeded to become a Piano Teacher, Accompanist and Composer after studying at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music from 1973-1977. Lance participated in an international Beethoven piano competition in Vienna and played in a rock-soul band performing in the 1980s in the British Isles, Europe and America. Ross D. Godden (1971-1972) was to later teach Science at the School (1980-1982). Richard G. Duke (1970-1972) was to be elected President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association for the years 1999-2000. Some of the School Leavers in this year joined together to celebrate their 40-year reunion after leaving school. A photograph of the event is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

A multi-purpose Junior Physics and Chemistry laboratory was added to the Science Block.

Events: • •

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In January the wearing of seat belts became compulsory throughout Australia. In December, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) was voted to Federal Government office for the first time since 1949. The new 21st Prime Minister of Australia (serving from 1972 to 1975) was Mr Gough Whitlam replacing Mr William McMahon. This was the last year in which Sixth Form (Year 12) students in Queensland sat for external examinations (the Senior Public Examination). This was in response to the implementation of the Radford Report and the newly appointed Board of Secondary School Studies (BSSS). During a brief interim period, tertiary entrance was then based on a student’s aggregate scores of subjects over four semesters but by 1975 all tertiary institutions were making use of a new BSSS order of merit system known as the TE (Tertiary Entrance) Score based on the results of school-based assessment and the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test (ASAT). Until 1972, the funding of tertiary education was a State responsibility. Since 1972, the Commonwealth Government has been responsible for the financing of tertiary education. The Old Boys’ Association, under the Presidency of Mr Don Trenerry, launched an appeal to restore Old Hall. The necessary plans were provided voluntarily by Old Boy and architect, Mr Graham Hobbs (1949-1952). Old Hall was completely restored and refurbished by the end of the 1973 school year. The Interact Club raised funds by providing a carpark on Barbour Oval on the Carnival of Flowers weekend. The Church of England Boys’ School (later to be called ‘Toowoomba Prep’ and later still, Toowoomba Anglican Church and Preparatory School, TACAPS and then the Toowoomba Anglican School) introduced co-education (see 1911).

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Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, the School won the GPS Track and Field championship (as it did in the previous year); the third GPS Athletics Premiership in the School’s history. The Premiership winning athletics squad was captained by Peter Stuart and coached by Mr L.G.B. Jones. A photograph of the GPS Track and Field championship team is included in this year’s entry. At the GPS Athletics Championships, a number of first placings were achieved by the TGS athletes. Robin Brearley (1967-1972) easily won the Open high jump by clearing 6ft.2in. In an earlier competition in the Darling Downs, Robin also won with a jump of 6ft.3in.. Not only was it the best ever on the Downs but Robin was the first Downs high jumper to break the 6 ft.barrier. Garf Bonga, a boarder from PNG, broke the GPS Record in the Under 15 hurdles in a brilliant run. Mark Farrelly won the GPS Under 16 hurdles being one-tenth of a second outside the GPS Record. In Cricket, the 1st XI was placed 2nd in GPS Cricket championships (to TSS). The captain of the side was Ross Bates. The 1st XI lost only two games, to TSS (by 38 runs) and IGS (by 97 runs), won five matches very comfortably and one game was washed out (‘Churchie’). The School (and TSS) were fortunate to have their bye coincide on a weekend in which the other schools were unable to play due to rain. The TGS opening bowlers, Wayne Farrelly (35 wickets in the season) and Paul McDonald (32 wickets), had a very successful season. Some fine bowling performances were displayed by Paul McDonald with two five wicket hauls and Wayne Farrelly with 6 for 22 (BSHS) and 6 for 34 (BBC). The 1st XI scored only 48 runs in the match against BGS on a damp pitch but still defeated BGS scoring 39 runs. The 1st XI travelled to The Southport School, Gold Coast, on a Friday afternoon and stayed overnight at TSS in preparation for Saturday’s game. As stated above, the 1st XI came 2nd in the GPS competition, whilst the 2nd XI came 1st in their GPS division. In Gymnastics, the School’s gymnasts were placed 3rd in the GPS competition (to BGS and TSS) among the five competing schools. The competition was held at the new YMCA building in Brisbane. The Captain of Gymnastics, Mac Stirling, won the parallel bars and tied for first for floor exercise. (see the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry). In Rugby, the 1st XV played Scots College and Newington College during a tour to Sydney and were defeated in both games. When commenting about the TGS v Nudgee College rugby match this season, the School Magazine referred to it as “a black day for TGS”. The comment followed: ”We (the 1st XV) were determined to put up a good show against this Nudgee side, but after only a few minutes of play victory was on their side.” The 1st XV Rugby season was mixed with victory and defeat. The 1st XV players were successful in their encounters with IGS (10-4), TSS (21-9), BBC (12-11) and GT (18-0). Of the four losses, the game against BGS was very close, being 7 points all at half-time and the final score 7-14. BSHS displayed talent with a 27-9 defeat over TGS. Substantial defeats were also inflicted by the teams representing NC and CEGS. The 1st XV finished the GPS rugby season in equal 4th position. Wayne Farrelly (1970-1972), a boarder from Lae, Papua New Guinea, represented the School in the 1st XV whilst in Year 10 and played three seasons with the team. His two younger brothers also had outstanding achievements in schoolboy rugby and were both Captains of the School’s 1st XV – Mark Farrelly (see 1974) and Keith Farrelly (see 1976). The coach of the 1st XV this year was Old Boy, Mr Graham Sampford, who had previously coached the team from 1965-1969. Page | 538


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In Swimming, the TGS swimmers knew that they were facing stiff competition against the swimmers from the other GPS schools. One such swimmer was a BGS swimmer, Neil Martin who, while still in Year 12, represented Australia at the 1972 Olympic Games held in Munich. He was placed seventh in the 200m backstroke finals in the Olympics. In the GPS Swimming Championships, the TGS team showed spirit and determination and was placed equal 7th (with BBC). A total of nine secondary schools competed in the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Swimming Championships. The TGS swimmers were congratulated on winning the Aggregate Cup. In this competition a Cup (the Father Graham Memorial Trophy) was awarded to the most outstanding swimmer of the day. This year the Trophy was presented to TGS swimmer Des McGovern, later to become a member of the teaching staff of TGS in the Physical Education Department. (see ‘Students’ section in next year’s entry). In Tennis, the 1st IV was placed 6th in the GPS competition, with all players to return in the following year. The team played very good tennis to win three matches, each with the score 7 rubbers to 1. The wins were against GT, NC and IGS. In the four matches lost, the BBC team won on sets after the score being 4 rubbers all. The other losses were more convincing: BSHS (1-7), BGS (0-5) and TSS (2-6). The match against ‘Churchie’ was forfeited by TGS due to it being a free weekend for the School. In Cadets, the annual Cadet Camp was cancelled by the Army due to an oil industry strike. The annual Passing-Out Parade could also not be held due to rain, but an address was given in the Assembly Hall. In the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Scheme, in August a group of six students set out on a fourday (68 mile/110 km) Duke of Edinburgh Gold Hike. The boys were Ashley Adams, Richard (Dick) Cameron, Leon Clothier, David Hacker, Keith Venton and Tim Watson. On the 19th April 2017 (45 years later) three of the original Gold Hikers, Dick Cameron, Leon Clothier and David Hacker, gathered to re-enact part of the hike. Tim Watson and Keith Venton were unable to attend. The Hike was also a tribute to one of their school mates, Ashley Adams, who had passed away. Ashley’s name is recognised on the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement for representing Australia and winning gold medals in shooting at the Atlanta Paralympics in 1996. The Scout Troop increased in numbers to a total of 28 Scouts. The Boxing Club had 11 members. In Drama, the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera Iolanthe was performed to audiences over 2,000 over a three-night season. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was the producer and director and the production involved forty-three boys and girls (from the Glennie Memorial School). The play was regarded as an outstanding success. Some of the notable cast members included Bruce Milner, John Lamb, Robert Wheeler, Geoff Johnson and Ross Godden. In Music, the School’s Orchestra was formed and numbered 32: one ‘cello, nine violins, two violas, one tenor horn, one trombone, one clarinet, one flute, one saxophone, one on timpani, eight recorders, one snare drummer, one tuba, one piano, one trumpet and two percussion.

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The Diving Club (TGURAC) was now in its second year. Founded by Biology teacher, Mr Ted Brambleby, this club was to be known as TGURAC (Toowoomba Grammar School Underwater Research and Adventure Club). It was a combined snorkel diving and school zoology excursion to Hastings Point (northern NSW) and investigated the rocky shore, mangroves, sea grass, estuarine communities as well as sand dune succession and wallum heathland ecology. The Club operated under Mr Brambleby’s leadership from 1971 to the year of his resignation from the School in 1996. By 1996 the Club was recognised as the biggest and most comprehensive dive club in the Southern Hemisphere. A member of the Diving Club (TGURAC) was Lenny Coombs (1971-1972). He recalled: “The dive club gave us another outlet from the sports that were considered important at school. It picked up those whose interests lay elsewhere”. Another member’s recollections are stated in the 1982year entry.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy. The 1st XV lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 4-16. The Athletics team won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The Swimming team was victorious by only 16 points; the seventh successive win.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency The Governor, Sir Colin Hannah, KCMG KCVO KBE CB

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1972

Successive GPS Track & Field Champions

Year 12, 40 Year Reunion

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1973 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Mervyn W. Baynes (in his 17th year) retired as Chairman after being the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1957 to 1973 and a Trustee for 32 years. He was also an Old Boy (1915-1919) and a former President of the Old Boys’ Association and continued to remain on the Board of Trustees. The Chairmanship was transferred to Dr Ian Gibson (Old Boy, 1928-1935) in April. Former Deputy Chairman, Mr H.Roy (‘Copper’) Kent, passed away in June. Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (until April) then Dr John W.P. Henderson

Trustees: Mr Bill B. Robinson (Old Boy, 1937-1939) joined the Board

Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan D. Morwood (in his 4th year)

Senior Prefect: Alan McClymont Senior Boarder Prefect: Geoffrey E. Johnson Dux of Year: Philip H. Cooke and Ian A. Scott (aeq)

Total School Enrolment: 527 (reaching its stated maximum capacity) Number of Dayboys: 169 Number of Boarders: 358 (boarder enrolments were closed in July)

Staffing: •

Mr Frank Millett left at the end of Term 2 to become the Principal of Blackheath and Thornburgh College, Charters Towers (from 1973 to 1978). Mr Millett was on the staff at Toowoomba Grammar School as a Science teacher from January 1966 to July 1973. This was not the first connection between Toowoomba Grammar School and Blackheath and Thornburgh College. A former Classics Master at TGS, Mr Charles A. Foggon, teaching between 1954 to 1958, was previously in his career (1933) the Headmaster of Thornburgh College in Charters Towers. Furthermore, Headmaster Dent was educated at Thornburgh College and returned to teach at this school for a period of ten years following his tertiary studies. During this time he met his future wife, Marion, who taught at Blackheath College, Thornburgh’s sister school. Similarly, Mr Jack Burnie, Senior Resident Master for 22 years at TGS was also a former staff member of Thornburgh College working with Mr Dent. Also, the Deputy Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School from 2018, Mr John Anderson, was appointed to TGS in 2005 following his period as Acting Principal of Blackheath and Thornburgh College in the previous year. Another connection between the two schools was when a teacher at Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr Page | 542


Brian Hewitt, resigned to take up an appointment as Principal of Blackheath and Thornburgh College in 2006. The connection between the two schools was further strengthened when the former 14th Headmaster of TGS, Mr Hugh Rose, undertook a short-term intermittent contract of one year as Acting Head of Blackheath and Thornburgh College in 2003, the first year following his resignation from TGS. Also relevant to Charters Towers, Toowoomba Grammar School’s tenth Headmaster, Mr R.L. Mills, was previously the Headmaster of All Souls’ School, Charters Towers, prior to his appointment in 1948. Mr. John K. Winn held the position of Sportsmaster from August 1973 to 1989. The position was then abolished and a new School Executive role was created, that of Director of Sport and Activities. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr W. Murphy. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr G. Sampford (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr J. Kennedy (Taylor).

Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Alan McClymont, John Atkins, William ‘Bill’ Barrett, Andrew Buchanan, Gary Chalmers, Phillip Cooke, Grainger Elijah, John Fleming, Glen Gray, Norman Hamilton, Geoffrey Johnson, Desmond McGovern, Peter Searle, John ‘Mac’ Stirling, Richard Thomson and William Tomlinson. Phillip Cooke was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Richard Thomson was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. GPS champion gymnast ‘Mac’ Stirling (1970-73) later represented Australia in the Commonwealth Games. ‘Mac’ was Captain of Gymnastics in 1972 and 1973 and was the architect for some of the buildings of TGS in future years. By 1977 he was the State Gymnastics Champion and the following year he was a member of the Australian team which contested the World Championships in Strasburg, France and in two World Championships held at Fort Worth, Texas, USA and also in Moscow, USSR. Between 1983 and 1986 he was an internationally accredited Olympic Games gymnastics judge. Later, ‘Mac’ was one of the key architects involved in the redevelopment of the old Lang Park sporting ground as Suncorp Stadium. In 2017 ‘Mac’ was guest speaker at a TGS Old Boys’ Business Breakfast where he spoke of exciting infrastructure development in Toowoomba based on his experience as the Managing Director of Highfields Developers, Lauder Pty.Ltd. Mac has also been appointed Chairman of Toowoomba Cycling Development to ensure that all forms of cycling flourish in Toowoomba (see ‘Students’ section in the previous year’s entry). Mac is acknowledged on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Mac Stirling (above) as an architect was involved in developing design plans for the construction of the new Heenan Science building on the School’s campus. The design incorporated a traditional brick banding and an arched theme consistent with some earlier school buildings. As a new young Director with the architectural firm he drove up to the School from Brisbane to make a presentation to the School’s Board of Trustees. There were six display boards on show for the Trustees prior to the meeting. The then Headmaster, Mr ‘Bill’ Dent, welcomed Mac to the Trustees meeting and proceeded to walk towards the display boards and examine each display. Mr Dent said nothing but study the presentation. He then turned to Mac Stirling and said with a smile, “Stirling, I notice that your spelling has not improved!” noting that Mac had included a typographical error in the spelling of the word ‘laboratory’ on each of the six architectural display boards. Page | 543


Des McGovern (1972-1973) was later to teach Health and Physical Education at the School (from 1979-2013) and as a Head of Department. He won the Open 100 metres backstroke event at the 1973 GPS Swimming Championships. Later, he was the recipient of one Gold and two Silver medals at the Third Masters’ Games held in Brisbane in 1991. Senior Boarder Prefect and Proxime Accessit, Geoffrey E. Johnson (1969-1973), was later to teach at the School (1978-1981) in the subject areas of Mathematics and Science. He was a member of the 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket teams and a cast member in the School’s production of this year, The Pirates of Penzance. Geoff resigned from the teaching staff of TGS in 1981 to farm at Theodore. He later served as a member of the Australian Wheat Board and a Board Member of the Grain Research Development Corporation. Geoff died in 2004 from a brain tumour. His son, Richard H. Johnson, was a boarder at the School from 1996-2000. William ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (1969-1973) was made an Honorary Life Member of the TGS Old Boys’ Association in 2006. He was a Trustee of the School from 1997 to 2005 and held the position of Chair of the Finance Committee. In Year 12, ‘Bill’ was a School Prefect and Captain of Swimming. Ian Scott (1969-1973) is now the Director of Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and a Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. Dr Scott is a Past President of the Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand. Peter Bennett (1968-1973) set a new record in 2001 in the Australian 50-kilometre walking-race event with a time of 4 hrs, 49 mins and 28 secs.

Buildings: •

Old Hall was restored during the year and completed in 1974. Originally known as “the big schoolroom” this room has, over the years, served as the Assembly Hall, as classrooms and as the School Library. The Old Hall renovation project was carried out by the Old Boys’ Association with the assistance of the Parents and Friends’ Association, the Ladies Auxiliary and the Board of Trustees. The restoration committee comprised Messrs D. Trenerry (President, OBA), A.D. Morwood (Secretary, OBA), J.G. Lloyd, B. McDonald, G. Simon, A. Muller, the Architect, Mr G.C. Hobbs (Brisbane Branch, OBA), and the Headmaster, Mr Dent. Photographs of the restoration process of Old Hall and the finished result are included in this year’s entry.

Events: • •

• •

The external examinations of 2-3 hours duration, conducted at the end of the two-year Senior course, were abolished. With the ever-increasing boarder enrolments, the School’s Housekeeper and her staff were operating under the extremely difficult arrangement of servicing two dining rooms for two sittings for each meal session. In September of the following year a public meeting was held to launch a Building Fund for the construction of a new dining room and kitchen complex (the Centenary Dining Hall). The GPS Sportsmasters’ Association opted for a split season with the cricket games taking place in first and third terms instead of all games being played in Term I. The Headmaster of the Church of England Boys’ School (later to be known as ‘Toowoomba Prep’ and, later still, Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School, TACAPS and then Page | 544


Toowoomba Anglican School), Mr E.G. White, retired at the end of the year after fifteen years as Head. Mr White had been a member of the TGS staff for almost twenty years before he transferred to ‘Prep’. The Headmaster and Mrs Dent had their fifth child (a daughter Camilla) born in August. A halfday holiday for the School occurred in September as celebration as it did when Mr and Mrs Roberts had their two sons (John, 1937 and Peter, 1941) born during his Headship. The Old Boys’ reunion dinner was held in the newly renovated Old Hall. The guest speaker was Ron Leahy (1933-1934), Director of Sport for the Queensland Government. Special guests were Mr Mervyn Baynes, the recently retired Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees and Mr Edgar ‘Blue’ White who retired at the end of this year as Headmaster of ‘Prep’. The Commonwealth Government funded $104 per boy per annum, $110 per student in 1974 and $140 per student in 1975.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• • • •

In Athletics, the School’s athletes came 2nd in the GPS Athletics championships, held at Lang Park, Brisbane (only 24 points short of a ‘hat-trick’ GPS Premiership). Graham Hall (1971-1973) tied for first place in the Open high jump at the GPS Championships; Grainger Elijah (1969-1973) won the Open long jump; and the Open 3200 metre relay team (4 x 800 metres – a new event) also won their event. The record-breaking GPS 4 x 800 metres Open Relay team - Maxwell Thomas, Paul Crosbie, Richard Thomson and Glen Gray – won the event in 8 minutes 4.8 seconds on grass at Lang Park. A photograph of the winning relay team is included in this year’s entry. The 4 x 800 metres relay event ceased to be offered by the GPS Association after 1980. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team came 2nd (for the second year in succession to TSS), losing only one game (against BSHS). In the last match of the season, against BBC, the 1st XI scored 295 runs; one of the highest number of runs ever scored by a TGS 1st XI in a competition fixture. The total batting innings of 295 represented the highest innings total for a TGS 1 st XI team in the 1970’s decade. TGS 1st XI Captain and bowler Phillip Cooke took 6 wickets for 83 against BBC and 8 wickets for 51 runs in the 1st XI match against TSS. He was one of only ten TGS boys in the history of the School who took eight wickets in a 1st XI cricket innings in a GPS match. The next time this feat was achieved was in 1988. David Gaar, as opening bowler, took 6 for 22 against GT and 5 for 41 against NC. The 1973 cricket season reverted to a split across terms 1 and 3. In Gymnastics, this sport was growing in popularity at the School. The Captain of the TGS Gymnastics team was ‘Mac’ Stirling for the second successive year (see the ‘Students’ section in the 1972 entry and this year’s). The GPS competition was held at Brisbane Grammar School gymnasium. As TGS only had two gymnasts in the senior team (‘Mac’ Stirling and Ralph Loveday) and with the ‘best three’ scores to count, TGS could not win a team’s event in this competition. Despite this, ‘Mac’ Stirling won the GPS all-round individual title and Ralph Loveday came fifth overall. A photograph of ‘Mac’ Stirling is included in this year’s entry. Although the gymnastics apparatus at the School was not greatly conducive to hard training, adequate tumbling space in the Assembly Hall enabled the team to train at the School twice a week. Other days of the week, and a single day at weekends, were taken up by training at the Police Youth Club. At both venues Mr. Jim Whipps was the instructor. In Rugby, this season proved to be a most successful one for the 1st XV, finishing the season in 4th place. The team was only defeated by three GPS schools, all in close games. The joint Premiers Page | 545


• • •

• •

• • • • •

• • • •

this season were BGS and BSHS and these teams scored only narrow wins against TGS: BGS (winning by 3 points, 9-6) and BSHS (also by 3 points, 3-0). The victory for the CEGS ‘Churchie’ team was 17-15, after leading TGS 17-3 at the interval. Two GPS matches ended in a draw – GT (3 all) and TSS (16 all). The 1st XV team defeated Nudgee College (10-0) at TGS for the first time in eleven years (see 1963) and before that in 1948. Other wins included against IGS (9-3) and BBC (10-7). The Coach of the 1st XV this year and next was Mr Lindesay Jones. In Shooting, the School’s shooting teams fired on the 25-metre range at Cabarlah using the .303 rifle. Cadets who qualified on this range went to Toowoomba’s open range and fired over distances of 200 and 300 metres. The School’s A team won the GPS Stephenson Cup as Premiers (as it did in 1966). The shooting team proved to be the most successful shooting team in the School’s history having been placed first in Australia (and 7th in the British Commonwealth) in the Earl Roberts competition. The team comprised David Poulsen, Geoffrey Bradshaw, John Gilmour, Paul Davis, Peter Davis and Richard Webb. In Swimming, the TGS swimmers won the 22nd annual Darling Downs swimming meet with nine schools competing. At the GPS Swimming Championships, TGS was placed in 7th position, defeating TSS and NC. Swimming training for the team was difficult this year with the School’s pool having numerous problems with the filtration equipment. Des McGovern won the Open 100 metres backstroke event at the GPS Swimming Championships. The next time this event was to be won by a TGS swimmer was in 1996. In Tennis, the GPS rounds were played over two terms – three matches were played in Term One and the remaining matches played in Term Three. The 1st IV, captained by Glen Gray, had a successful season, winning four matches: against NC (8 rubbers to nil), IGS (6-2), GT (5-3) and BBC (7-1). The match against ‘Churchie’ was washed out. The three matches lost were to BSHS (0-8), TSS (2-6) and BGS (0-8). In the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Timothy Watson (1968-1973) was presented with the Gold Award of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme by the Duke himself when he visited Brisbane in October. The presentation was made in the Civic Square. The previous Gold Medallist in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme was Jeff Martin in 1966. The Diving Club (also known as the Toowoomba Grammar Underwater Research and Adventure Club) undertook six excursions during the year. Two of these were to Mooloolaba and the others were to Cook Island and Kirra Reef. In the Christmas holidays, members of the Diving Club went to Heron Island and the Great Barrier Reef for seven days. A Golf Club, which had been newly formed (playing on Tuesday and Friday afternoons), entered a team in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Championships at Brisbane. The Squash Club had almost 50 members in Term Three and played two afternoons per week at the squash centre. In Drama, a Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera was performed with The Glennie School, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ and the Producer was the Headmaster. Each performance was enjoyed by a capacity house. Principals in the cast included Peter Leeson, Bruce Milner, Geoffrey Johnson, James Symes and Gary Fagg. In Music, the Orchestra attracted fifty boys as members. The Orchestra went to Alexandra Headlands for a four-day camp in October. A photograph of the School’s Pipe Band is included in this year’s entry. Page | 546


Downlands Competition: • •

The swimmers won the annual competition for the eighth successive year. The Downlands College 1st XI had a most impressive win competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy. On a sticky wicket DC bowled the TGS team out for only 12 runs on the first innings (the lowest score by a TGS 1st XI against DC in the decade of the 1970s) and they responded with a batting score of 75. The School regained the O’Callaghan Cup in Rugby, 21-4.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor F. John Willett – Vice Chancellor, Griffith University

Page | 547


1973

Old Hall Renovations

Old Hall

Cadet Pipe Band

School Gymnasts

School Gymnasts

GPS 4 x 800m winning relay team

Page | 548


1974 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (in his 2nd year)

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 2nd year)

Headmaster: William ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan D. Morwood (in his 5th year)

Senior Prefect: David J. Elder Senior Dayboy Prefect: Glen W. McCracken (later to be on the School’s Board of Trustees from 1990 2020 and Chairman from 1999 - 2019) Senior Boarder Prefect: Donald Bates Dux of Year: Stephen B. Ainsworth

Total School Enrolment: 539 Number of Dayboys: 182 Number of Boarders: 357

Staffing: •

• •

Mr W. ‘Len’ Poulsen retired after 34 years of service (1941-1974). He was a teacher of Senior Mathematics and held the position of Senior Master in the School from 1964-1974 (and was succeeded by Mr Graeme Ainsbury who held the role from 1975-1992 when the position was abolished). An interesting article was written in the School Magazine of this year titled Mr Poulsen Reminisces (pp.70-71), referring to his 34 years on the staff of the School. Mr Colin ‘Dave’ Sams commenced on the teaching staff. He was promoted to Head of the Science Department in 1986 and retired in 1998. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Kennedy. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr J. Finlayson (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr K. Treschman (Taylor).

Students: •

The School Prefects were David Elder, Glen McCracken, Donald Bates, Stephen Ainsworth, Robert ‘John’ Barrett, David Billsborough, William Davidson, Mark Edwards, Mark Farrelly, John Gilmour, Christopher Jones, Cameron Makim, Bruce Milner, Richard Webb and Christopher Whisson. Only three of the fifteen School Prefects were dayboys – R. Barrett, B. Milner and G. McCracken. Page | 549


• • • •

• •

• •

In this year, of the sixth form (Year 12) cohort of 87 students, there were only 24 dayboys. David Elder, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities this year. Christopher Jones was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Glen W. McCracken, Senior Dayboy Prefect, was later a solicitor and was invited to join the School’s Board of Trustees in 1990 as its youngest ever member. He continued to serve the School as a Trustee for thirty years (resigning in September 2020) and was the Chairman of the Board from 1999–2019. The Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team, Mark Farrelly, was selected in both the Queensland (for the second year in succession) and the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby team. Mark was Captain of three sports this year: Rugby, Swimming and Track and Field Athletics (see below). Lachlan King (1972-1974), later Commander, Royal Australian Navy, received a commendation for distinguished service from Governor General, Major General, Michael Jeffrey AC, MC in Canberra in 2004. Lachlan left the School after completing Form IV (Year 10) this year following his acceptance for junior entry, RAN Jervis Bay. R. ‘John’ Barrett (1970-1974) competed at the Masters’ Swimming World Championships in San Francisco in 2006. Ian Lilley (1973-1974) completed a Master of Arts at the University of Queensland and a Ph.D. at the Australian National University (ANU). He became an archaeologist and heritage practitioner and was a Professor at the University of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit where he led the Unit’s academic program for 25 years. Ian has also been an Honorary Professor at the University of Southern Queensland where he has provided strategic advice in the Centre for Heritage and Culture. Ross Jurgs (1972-1974) assisted as a part-time volunteer in the School’s Museum from 2009-2012. David Billsborough has displayed his School loyalty with personalised number plates on his car – TGS1974. One wonders whether he has gone to the extreme of TGS tattoos as displayed by Justin Stower (see photograph, 1986).

Buildings: •

• •

The W.A. Purves Classroom block, containing eight classrooms, was built and was available for use after the beginning of the 1975 school year. The building was named after a former Headmaster during the years 1901-1910 and a photograph of the Purves Classroom block is included in this year’s entry. A ‘modern’ Sports Amenities building was constructed on the bank of Old Boys’ Memorial Oval to replace the demolished ‘Woodford’s Shed’ (constructed in 1947 and later demolished in 1963). Later this building was also to be referred to as Woodford’s Shed. A retaining wall was constructed by Kent Oval. A public meeting was held in September to launch a Building Fund for the construction of a new dining room and kitchen complex. The Fund was nominated the TGS Centenary Public Building Fund whilst the project name was registered as The Centenary Hall (nowadays the Centenary Dining Hall). A photograph of the old School Tuck Shop is included in this year’s entry. This building was demolished to make way for the new Centenary Hall (nowadays the Centenary Dining Hall). Prior to the old Tuck Shop the site was originally the School stables and a shed for buggies. Page | 550


Events: • •

• •

• • •

In January, a flood occurred in Brisbane after three weeks of continual rain. The flood caused 16 deaths, injured 300 people and destroyed 8,000 homes. In March, the sixty members of the Interact Club set out to walk to Brisbane. At the end of the second day’s walking all but a few, who had been compelled by exhaustion to withdraw, arrived at their journey’s end. The offer of Open Scholarships to attend University lapsed after the Labor Commonwealth Government abolished all university fees from the beginning of this year. In the mid 1970s the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association formed a Rugby Supporters’ Group. Rostered parent doctors were in attendance for all home and away games. In addition, the Ladies Auxiliary convened home game lunch-time barbecues on the “loop” between the main building (School House) and Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. Members of the Old Boys’ Association worked in the hot chips van. To avoid confusion between Boarding Houses and Sporting Houses with the same name, Taylor became Barbour and Groom became Chauvel. The four Sporting Houses were now Barbour, Chauvel, Mackintosh and Stephens and the four Boarding Houses were Boyce, Groom, School and Taylor. A Wednesday afternoon elective programme was introduced. Boys could select one of 25 activities, including electronics, computer programming, sketching, defensive driving, consumer education and many others. This year’s Interact Club was the largest ever recorded at the School with a membership of 87 boys. In February the minimum drinking age for alcohol consumption was reduced from 21 years to 18 years in Queensland. The former Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr H.R. ‘Copper’ Kent, after whom the School’s Kent Oval was named, passed away last year. In this year’s School Magazine, a Tribute to Mr Kent, written by Old Boy Steve Haddan (1971-1975), was printed on page 69. In his 13th year as Headmaster in 1982, Mr Dent wrote in his Annual Report: “I do not profess to know a great deal about the art of headmastering – the longer I survive the less certain I am. I remember with horrified, even incredulous shame, some of the decisions I made so surely and arrogantly when I was a new Headmaster.”

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, the School’s team came 2nd in the GPS Track and Field Championships (by only six points to ‘Churchie’), the second successive year of second placing. Lee Togatia won the Open 100 metres event (11.0 s), a TGS win in the 100 metres for the first time since 1944 when ‘John’ Trousdell won the event. A photograph of Lee’s brilliant win in defeating the hot favourite, Paul Taylor, from NC is included in this year’s entry (Lee also ran second in the Open 200 metre event). The 100 metres sprint event was also won by a Toowoomba Grammar School student, John Cox, in the following year (see 1975). In this year’s GPS Track and Field Championships, Robby Turner won the Under 16 400 metres event to equal the GPS record.

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• • • •

In Cricket, the 1st XI had 3 wins in the season (BBC, GT and NC) with a 6th placing. The team was comprehensively beaten by the Premiership winning TSS side (97-245) despite Lindsay Welsh taking 6 wickets for 56 runs. Senior Prefect, David Elder, won the 1st XI bowling prize with some fine bowling performances. He was well supported with some very good bowling coming from John Cox which included his 7 for 13 against Nudgee College and Lindsay Welsh with a five wicket haul (5/24) against IGS. The most successful cricket match for TGS was against Gregory Terrace (156 dec. d GT, 66) and the team also enjoyed a win against BBC (105-56). The Captain of the 1st XI, Don R.F. Bates, was one of the top 30 finest batsmen who ever attended TGS. This year he scored 326 runs. A teacher, Dr Frank Nothling, coached the 1st XI for the next eight years. In Rugby, the 1st XV had a rather depressing season. Two schools defeated the TGS 1st XV by one point – BBC (12-13) and GT (3-4) and in some games the team suffered sound defeats (eg. TSS, 636 and BSHS, 15-33). Other losing matches included BGS (4-19), ‘Churchie’ (3-16), NC (3-23) and IGS (3-13). The Captain of Rugby, Swimming and Athletics was Mark T. Farrelly (1970-1974), a boarder from Lae, PNG. Interviewed by the School’s Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, in 2014, he recalled: “The GPS was a very strong competition in the 70s. The dominant rugby schools were BGS and BSHS. We were coached by Lindesay Jones. He believed strongly in being the fittest team in the competition, so we did a lot of running. I essentially went from playing 16B’s to playing 1st XV as Captain and representing Queensland in 1973. In terms of games, my best memory was our game against BSHS (1973 GPS Premiers) at Gold Park as a curtain raiser to a rep game. We gave everything we had that day and held them to 0-3. Even though we lost we earned their respect that day.” (Source – TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014, pg.50). This year Mark Farrelly was also selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby team. He is also acknowledged in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. Mark’s younger brother, Keith, was Captain of the 1st XV two years’ later and a champion athlete (see 1976). The Captain of the 1st XV, Mark Farrelly (above), reflected on the 1974 season and not winning a game. Mark commented: “We played with courage. We didn’t really have any superstars, just a bunch of guys who played their hearts out each and every week for the School in what was a very strong competition.” A photograph of the 1st XV is included in this year’s entry. In Swimming, the GPS Championships were held in the Valley Pool. The TGS swimmers were described as a “team of out-and-out triers”. The School Magazine reported: “The swimming team trained and swam hard. Apart, however, from some good individual efforts, the season overall was not a triumphant one … ending as a humble but definite ninth.” The TGS swimmers were competing against quality opposition such as Mark Tonelli representing GT. At the GPS Swimming Championships, Mark Tonelli won the Open 50 metres freestyle event (25.4). Mark later won a Gold Medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games in the 4x100 metres relay. Similarly, in this year Stephen Holland swam for ‘Churchie’. Later Stephen won a Gold Medal in the 1500m freestyle event at the World Championships (1973, Belgrade, Yugoslavia) and a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974. Stephen also won a Bronze Medal at the 1976 Olympic Games held in Montreal, Canada. In Tennis, the 1st IV, captained by Peter Steel, finished a commendable 4th in the GPS competition, the best result over the last six years. This year Peter Steel was in his third year as a member of the 1st IV. The 1st IV won five matches, namely CEGS ‘Churchie’ (5 rubbers to 3), NC (8-0), IGS (5-3), GT (5-1) and BSHS (5-3). The three losses were to TSS (1-7), BBC (2-6) and BGS (0-8). Page | 552


• • • •

The Cadet Unit numbered 185 Cadets and the Reviewing Officer, Brigadier Dodd, spoke in very favourable terms about the standard of the Unit’s drill and marching. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Steve Ainsworth gained a Gold Award. The Pipe Band was acknowledged for its success as was the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. In Drama, two Gilbert and Sullivan operettas were performed with The Glennie School – Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore. This was the fourth year of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas being presented by the School. In HMS Pinafore the leads included Bruce Milner, Peter Leeson, Russell Garbutt and Stephen Haddan. Trial by Jury featured Geoff Bradshaw, Peter Leeson and Bruce Milner. In Music, the Orchestra increased in size and number, totalling sixty boys.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The School’s Athletics team won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The Open 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 13-27. The Open 1st XI Cricket team narrowly lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy by six runs (87-93). The Swimming team won the annual swimming competition for the Swimming ‘Baton’ for the ninth successive year but was unable to continue this winning form in the following year.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Emeritus Professor Eric G. Saint – Professor of Medicine, The University of Queensland

Page | 553


1974 1974

1st XV Rugby team 1st XV Rugby team

The Tuck Shop

The Purves Classrooms

The Tuck Shop

The Purves Classrooms

Purves classrooms Lee Togatia winning GPS Open 100m sprint Purves classrooms Lee Togatia winning GPS Open 100m sprint

Sign of School Spirit

Page | 554

Sign of School Spirit


1975 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (in his 3rd year)

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 3rd year)

Trustees: The Hon. Gordon W.W. Chalk (Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland), Messrs Mervyn W. Baynes, Ian Parkinson, Bill B. Robinson and Pat J. Byrne. Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 6th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Alan Morwood (in his 6th year, to leave at the end of the year to become Headmaster of Townsville Grammar School)

Senior Prefect: Philip J. Cockerill Senior Dayboy Prefect: Roderick L.S. Saal Senior Boarder Prefect: John L. Cox Dux of Year: Robert W. Hall

Total School Enrolment: 548 (a record total at the time) Number of Dayboys: 196 Number of Boarders: 352

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the teaching staff is included in this year’s entry. The Deputy Headmaster, Mr Alan Morwood (1970-1975), resigned at the end of the year to become the Principal of Townsville Grammar School. Mr Morwood was the first (and only) Old Boy (1950-1953) to have ever been appointed Deputy Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School. As a student at TGS, Mr Morwood was Dux, Senior Boarder Prefect, Cadet Under Officer, Captain of Cricket, a member of the First XV and the School’s Athletics team. Mr Morwood was a teacher of Senior Science and Senior Mathematics at the School from 1963 to 1975. Mr Morwood was not the only teacher from Toowoomba Grammar School to be appointed as Principal of Townsville Grammar School. At the end of 1997 the School’s Director of Studies, Mr Richard Fairley, resigned to become the Principal of Townsville Grammar School and served in this capacity for twenty years from 1998 to 2017 inclusive. The close association between the two Grammar Schools continued when, in July of 2017, it was announced that Mr Fairley’s successor as Principal of Townsville Grammar School for 2018 was to be the then Deputy Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr Timothy Kelly. Another connection to Townsville Grammar School was that the sixth Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr William A. Purves, had earlier in his career taught at this school (see 1901). Page | 555


• • •

Mr Graeme Ainsbury was appointed as the new Senior Master, which he held until 1992 when the position was abolished. He was then appointed to a new position, that of Registrar (19921996). Mr Russell Gillies, later to become the School’s longest-serving teacher in the history of the School (from 1959-1998 inc.) held the position of the Head of the Commerce and Economics Department from 1975-1994. Mr James ‘Jock’ Finlayson was appointed as Head of the History Department and held this position from 1975-1994 (and was succeeded by Mr Bradley Greer who was Head of this Department from 1995-2003). The School welcomed its first full-time Director of Music, Mr M.S. Carbone. A short history of the Toowoomba Grammar School teaching staff appeared in the 1975 School Magazine. Whilst there had been Masters-in-Charge of subjects since the opening of the School, the formal appointment of Heads of Department resulted from a change in the Teachers’ Award this year. The Heads of Department appointed this year were Mr K. Tuxworth (English), Mr H. Sorensen (Mathematics), Mr A. Morwood (Science), Mr E. Desmarchelier (Languages), Mr J. Finlayson (History), Mr G. Ainsbury (Geography) and Mr R. Gillies (Commerce). In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Kennedy. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr J. Finlayson (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr K. Treschman (Taylor).

Students: •

• •

The School Prefects were Philip Cockerill, Roderick Saal, John Cox, Ian Copeland, Stuart Grant, Robert Hall, Vernon Holcombe, Peter Hood, Kerry Milne, Graham Pechey, Graham Rankine, John Robertson, Ashley Seawright, Russell Scott, Robert Singh, Andrew Taylor, Guy Williams, Paul White, Jeremy Wilkinson and Ivan Wolski. By 1975 all tertiary institutions were making use of a new BSSS order of merit system known as the TE (Tertiary Entrance) Score based on the results of school-based assessment and the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test (ASAT). This system was in place during the years 1975-1991. Five students gained the maximum Tertiary Entrance score of 990 points. The academic winners were James Barton, Robert Hall, Kerry Milne, Ashley Seawright and Russell Scott. The Captain of Athletics, John Cox, ran a 21.4 seconds 200 metres run – at the time the fastest ever recorded over that distance by a Queensland schoolboy athlete. This followed his earlier victory in the Open 100 metres in the record time of 10.8 seconds. He also won the Under 17 years 100 and 200 metres sprint in the previous year at the GPS Track and Field Championships. John Cox was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. The 1975 GPS Track and Field Championships competition took place at QE2, at that time with the only infrastructure being the original grandstand. Mr and Mrs Russell and Judy Gillies, as members of the TGS Staff, were present at this event. As a spectator, Mrs Gillies was sitting on a picnic rug on which there was an esky containing food and soft drink. John Cox came up to Mrs Gillies and politely asked her would she have room in her esky for a bottle of champagne. Mrs Gillies replied yes and John explained that if he was to win the 100 and 200 metres sprints events then a celebration with the champagne could occur. After John’s victories in the Open 100 and 200 metres events later that day the TGS staff and supporters went to the athletes’ tent and Mrs Gillies and others enjoyed a thimble-sized cup of champagne to congratulate John’s success. A photograph of John Cox is included in this year’s entry.

Page | 556


• •

• • • •

John Cox (above) was a boarder from 1971-1975 and travelled to the School from Proserpine, over a distance of some 1000 kilometres. This involved a number of plane, bus and taxi trips. In later years, John’s son, Clancy, also attended the School (2009-2013). Selwyn Maller was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Stephen Haddan, a member of the First XV and GPS athlete, was later to be a successful commentator, entertainer, television host, stage and screen actor, and public speaker. He was a most accomplished actor in his school years. Steve Haddan continued to assist the School in future years, for example as Guest Speaker at an Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner in 1990, various Sports Dinners, and an Old Boys’ Business Breakfast in 2015. He also delivered the eulogy for former TGS Physical Education Master and Athletics Coach, Mr Lindesay Jones, in 2017. In 1991 he addressed an audience of 300 guests at a TGS Sports Dinner in support of the UK and USA Cricket Tour. The School Magazine of 1991 reported: “All the decorum, standards and politeness of the evening were then lost with the invitation to the microphone of School Old Boy and comedian, Steve Haddan. None were safe from the brilliant wit of Mr Haddan.” Jim Van Fleet won the National Under 19 years shot put Championship title. He also won the Open shot put at the GPS Track and Field Championships both this year and in the following year. A photograph of Jim is included in this year’s entry. Second Form (Year 8) student Ron Buchholz won the School’s Inter-House Athletics Championship events in the U13 200 metres (25.0 sec.) and 400 metres (57.20 sec.) These records were still standing in 2023 together with Ron’s U14 400 metres record (53.50 sec.) set in 1976 (see 1976 and 1979). Stephen Hallahan was awarded the Queen’s Scout Badge, presented to him at Government House. Ian Stirling (1972-1975) became a successful farmer and grazier and served as a Trustee on the School’s Board of Trustees from September 2000 – June 2010. Kerry Milne (1970-1975) qualified and worked as a highly respected Dental Surgeon and served as a Trustee on the School’s Board of Trustees from April 1998 – May 2007. Andrew Everett (1971-1975) returned to the School in 2015 to deliver an address at the Scholars’ Assembly. Andrew had served on the Executive of the Old Boys’ Association Brisbane Branch in the 1980s and 1990s. He spoke to the boys in his capacity as Director of UQ International at The University of Queensland. In 2017 Andrew was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global Strategy and Advancement) at Charles Darwin University in Darwin. Russ Scott (1971-1975) has been working as a Forensic Psychiatrist at Queensland Health for over 15 years. He is a former President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (Queensland Branch). Rod Saal (1974-1975) was awarded an Order of Australia (OAM) medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2010. Rod’s award recognised his service to primary industry and the rural community of Queensland. Corporal punishment, detentions and gating were still used by some of the teaching staff as deterrents to those boys who continued to misbehave.

Page | 557


Buildings: •

• •

On 5 August, the Centenary Hall (now known as the Centenary Dining Hall) was opened by the Governor, Sir Colin Hannah. This was exactly one hundred years to the day of the School’s original foundation stone laying by Mr Justice Lilley on 5 August 1875. The same silver trowel which was used in 1875 was used to tap the foundation stone (this trowel is now on permanent display in the School Museum). The old School Tuck Shop was demolished on this site to allow for the construction of the Centenary Hall. Prior to the old Tuck Shop the site was originally the School stables and a shed for buggies. Plaques recognising these events are included in this year’s entry. One plaque refers to the demolition of the tuckshop and gymnasium. The gymnasium referred to was not a physical building but rather a set of outdoor gymnastics equipment and some timber structures. The Centenary Hall contained the boarders’ Dining Room and Kitchen, the Tuckshop and a large Recreation Room known as the Day Room. Of interest, the foundation stone tapped by The Governor using the 1875 silver trowel incorporated a time capsule with the strict instructions of not to be opened until 5 August, 2025. Photographs of the Centenary Hall foundation stone and the time capsule are included in this year’s entry.

Events: • • • • •

• • • • •

• • •

The School’s tuition and boarding fees were $230 and $360 a term respectively for a three-term year. 1975 was the School’s centenary year. Dr Rupert Goodman, then Senior Lecturer in Education at The University of Queensland, wrote the School’s official history titled A Centenary History. The Centenary Ball was held at the Toowoomba Indoor Bowls Hall on Friday, 1 August, and was attended by 768 people. A celebratory dinner was held in the Assembly Hall for all current students and staff. Prior to the Centenary Week in August, the Centenary School Dinner was held in the Assembly Hall for 585 people including the Governor of Queensland. The toast to the School was proposed by Mr Rob Barbour, the son of the longest-serving former Headmaster G.P. Barbour, and the School’s first Rhodes Scholar. A special centenary year calendar was produced featuring fifteen photographs illustrating a wide range of school activities. The 1975 School Magazine was the Centenary Edition. In the magazine was an interesting article titled ‘A Short History of the Teaching Staff’ (pg.84). The 1975 School Magazine included an article ‘100 Years of Football’ (Rugby) on pages 89-93, written by Bob Chester. A tree planting ceremony was held on Monday, 4 August when 100 trees were planted in the grounds by the boys of the School to honour the Centenary of the School. A Service of Thanksgiving conducted by the Archbishop of Brisbane, Dr Arnott, with the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland, the Reverend Mr Walker, was held at St Luke’s Church on Sunday, 3 August and was attended by a congregation of over 800 people. The Old Boys’ barbecue was held on Saturday, 2 August attracting over 500. Indonesian was introduced into the curriculum of the School. Three boys, Philip Cockerill (Senior Prefect), Geoffrey Beatty, and Alan Jackson, ran a distance of 350 kilometres or 875 laps of Old Boys’ Memorial Oval in a time of 35 hours and 18 minutes. This Page | 558


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achievement was featured in the Guiness Book of Records. Robert Turner was forced to withdraw during the event. The runners raised approximately $600 from this venture. Of this, $300 went to the School Building Fund, $150 to Austcare and $150 to Life Line. A number of Honour Boards were erected in Old Hall including those to recognise the Old Boys who fought in World War Two. Photographs of the two World War Two Honour Boards are included in this year’s entry. In March, colour television broadcasts first commenced in Australia. In Cadets, the Commonwealth Government made the decision to disband the entire network of the Australian Cadet Corps. The School’s Unit continued to operate. Early in the year the Cadet Unit’s .303 rifles were withdrawn under the recommendations of the Miller Report. In the following year a new incoming government pledged its support to the Cadet movement, so by 1978 the Unit’s strength stood at a very healthy 200. The School held its annual Fete in April. At the fete, Form 4D raised the most money with a dual effort of “guess the weight of the sheep” and darts. The major fund-raising of the Interact Club was a ‘Tandem-a-thon’. Fifty members of the Club, working in relays, rode the tandem bicycles to Goondiwindi, via Dalby and Moonie on the Saturday and returned via Inglewood and Cambooya on the Sunday. Approximately $1,000 was raised for various charities. An aerial photograph of the School grounds is included in this year’s entry. The School’s pine plantation is still highly visible. In this year Griffith University admitted its first undergraduates.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, the GPS Athletics team was placed 3rd , a mere 35 points from the Premiership winning BSHS. The competition was held at the new sporting complex, the QEII, which was under construction at Mt Gravatt. In addition to John Cox’s stunning double in the Open sprint events (see above), Jim Van Fleet won the Open shot put; Keith Farrelly won the Open 110 metres hurdles (15 sec.); and the Open Relay runners won the 4 x 400 metres relay (Steve Haddan, Graham Pechey, Keith Farrelly and John Cox); and 4 x 100 metres relay (Guy Williams, Keith Farrelly, Graham Pechey, and John Cox). A photograph of Keith Farrelly hurdling is included in this year’s entry together with one of the successful Open relay teams. By winning both the Open 100 and 200 sprint events, John Cox carved his name into the School's athletics record books as only the third person from the School to this year to have ever taken out the GPS Open sprints double. The most successful sprinters over the 100 and 200 metres were Graham ‘Singy’ Myles (1929 GPS Athletics Championships), ‘John’ Trousdell (1944) and John Cox (1975). In later years, TGS winners of the GPS sprints double were Luke Hearnden (1992), Joshua Robinson (2013) and Jai Gordon (2020). To win the GPS Open shot put event, Jim Van Fleet had to throw 30 cm beyond his previous best and a photograph of Jim is included in this year’s entry. In Athletics, refer to John Cox, Jim Van Fleet and Ron Buchholz in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. Ian ‘Andrew’ Doyle (1974-1978) is recorded in GPS athletics history as the boy who won the first track event ever contested at the QEII Sporting Complex, Nathan, Brisbane, now known as the Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre (QSAC). The tartan track had just been laid in preparation for the Commonwealth Games. He won the 90 metres hurdles Under 13, after having already won an earlier event, the Under 13 high jump. Page | 559


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In Cricket, after two years of cricket split between first and third terms, the GPS competition was now back to the full first-term schedule. Despite being placed 2nd in the Queensland Country Cricket Association Carnival in Brisbane, the 1st XI commenced their first GPS encounter with a massive loss against TSS (57-259). During the season the team enjoyed two wins against GT (184-93) and CEGS (‘Churchie’) (240-193) and lost four matches and drew two. The team was placed 6th in the GPS cricket competition. In Cross Country, in the 1970’s the course of the School Cross Country race changed from the Old Toll Bar run of the Roberts and Olsen eras. It changed to a Picnic Point street course and was later modified to a School perimeter run (a 9,000-metre course) upon the Police Department’s insistence (they refused to issue a permit) when it became too dangerous on the busy city streets. Eventually, the course was progressively switched to other venues such as Horn Park, the Toowoomba Showgrounds and Queen’s Park. In Gymnastics, the Senior team came 2nd in the GPS competition (and again in the following year). In Rugby, the 1st XV experienced a disappointing season with only one win (against BBC: 6-0) and finishing ahead of only this school on the GPS points ladder. The performance of the 1st XV seemed to improve when playing against the top rugby teams such as BSHS, BGS and NC. Unfortunately, the team suffered a number of very close losses – TSS (4-6), GT (0-7), BGS (0-3), and CEGS ‘Churchie’ (0-4). The 1st XV game against Nudgee College was regarded as the “one that got away”. At one stage TGS was 12-3 but in the second half Nudgee posted three tries in the space of seven minutes, finishing 15-22. The Coach of the 1st XV this year and for a further three years was Mr. K. Treschman. A sign of the athleticism and future sporting success of a TGS student was illustrated this year by a player in the Under 13A rugby team. Ron Buchholz scored a massive 96 points during the rugby season for the 13 As. The 1975 School Magazine included an article ‘100 Years of Football’ (Rugby) on pages 89-93, written by Bob Chester. In Swimming, the Captain of the Swimming team was Ashley Seawright whose younger brother, Craig, was also appointed to this leadership position in 1977. The team came 8th in the GPS Championships, beating IGS and being beaten narrowly by NC. The Nudgee College Invitation Swimming Carnival involved eight schools at Brisbane's Valley Pool. The competition showed the fantastic grade of Brisbane swimming. Australian record holders were present, and, as a matter of course, our own team's best fell to these champions. In Tennis, four of the five players to represent the 1st IV team were in the Fifth Form and all were playing their first season in the Firsts. The first match of the season was against BGS and their tennis players soundly defeated the TGS 1st IV, 8 rubbers to nil. The team had good wins against NC (7-1), IGS (5-3) and GT (5-3). The losses at the 1st IV level were to ‘Churchie’ (0-8), BGS (0-8), BSHS (1-7), TSS (0-8) and BBC (71). In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Kerry Milne and Ian Copeland gained a Gold Award. In Drama, no Dramatic Society production occurred this year, presumably due to the multitude of other events during the Centenary Year. In Music, girls from Fairholme College were invited to join the School Orchestra. Mr M. Carbone took up his appointment as the School’s first full-time Director of Music.

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Downlands Competition: • •

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The annual Father Graham Memorial clash in Athletics was washed out. The School lost the O’Callaghan Cup in Rugby, 0-36. This losing margin represented the largest loss for a TGS 1st XV against Downlands College since the introduction of the O’Callaghan Cup in 1950. The highest winning margin for TGS over DC in the O’Callaghan Cup was in 2014 with Downlands College facing a 69 point defeat (TGS 69 d DC 0). Other major winning margins by TGS were in 1997 (TGS 38 d DC 5), 2018 (TGS 50 d DC 16) and 2012 (TGS 40 d DC 8). Downlands College won swimming for the first time in nearly a decade, winning by a narrow margin of only 12 points. No result was recorded in the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy competition for Cricket due to an afternoon washout. Downlands College retained the Trophy as winners in the previous year.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr Maurice Sainsbury AM – Psychiatrist, Academic, and Administrator (Old Boy 1942-1945 and Senior Prefect, 1945)

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1975

Teaching Staff

Construction of Centenary Hall

New Honour Boards acknowledging the Old Boys in WW2

Time Capsule

Plaque on the western side of Centenary Hall

School Athletics team

John Cox, GPS Open sprint double champion

GPS Athletics winners

Centenary (Dining) Hall, pictured in 2024

Keith Farrelly, GPS Open 110m Hurdles champion Jim Van Fleet, GPS Open Shot Put winner

Page | 562


1976 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (in his 4th year)

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Mr Mervyn W. Baynes retired from the Board of Trustees in June. He was a member of the Board for 32 years and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association in 1974. Mr Baynes was a student at the School during the World War One period, from 1915 to 1919. Mr Baynes was succeeded as a Trustee by Old Boy (1949-1952) and President of the Old Boys’ Association (1971-1976), Mr Donald (Don) Trenerry, the son of past Trustee Dr Fred Trenerry.

Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 7th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron Bourne commenced his first year as Deputy Headmaster having transferred from The Southport School (as Master of the Intermediate School and Sportsmaster). His appointment followed the resignation of Mr Morwood in December 1975. Mr Bourne was Captain of Ipswich Grammar School in his final year and his tertiary education included a Master of Education with Honours.

Senior Prefect: Russell E. Bach Senior Dayboy Prefect: Andrew E.F. Metcalfe (see below). Senior Boarder Prefect: Robert B. Turner Dux of Year: Andrew E.F. Metcalfe

Total School Enrolment: 564 Number of Dayboys: 201 (This was the first time in the School’s history that dayboy numbers exceeded 200). Number of Boarders: 363

Staffing: •

A new administrative position was created, namely the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees, and Mr Darrell J. Pierpoint was appointed. Previously Mr Pierpoint had been at the School supervising the construction of the Centenary Hall (now known as the Centenary Dining Hall) with Allen Contractors Pty Ltd. Later, in 1985, Mr Pierpoint was appointed to the position of Secretary to the Board of Trustees following the retirement of Mr Bob Partridge in 1984 (who commenced in this role in 1950). Staff crowding was alleviated with the construction of the Centenary Hall in the previous year. The old Kitchen was situated off the main corridor of School House and the student ‘Big Dining Hall’ was located in the area now devoted to the front office Reception. Beyond the eastern rear Page | 563


of the Deputy Headmaster’s office was a small kitchen area with stairs going to the first floor to the students’ Sick Bay (the Headmaster’s study from 2013-2023). With the construction of the Centenary Hall, the old kitchen in the main School House building was then used for Staff workspaces. The Staff Common Room was later, in the 1990s to 2023, used as the Trustees’ Board Room. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr P. Barbour. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr J. Finlayson (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr K. Treschman (Term 1-2) and Mr J. Galton (Term 3-4) (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Russell Bach, Andrew Metcalfe, Robert Turner, Scott Barkla, Geoffrey Beatty, David Brennan, Garth Cooper, Shane Devenish, Keith Farrelly, Timothy Glover, David Goodman, Paul Hill, A. Michael Huelin, Allan Jackson, Tony Jenkinson, Donald Lemon, Anthony Sharman, Glenn Van Eyle and Lucas Wyatt. Five boys in Year 12 achieved the maximum Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Russell Bach, Michael Huelin, Andrew Metcalfe, Adrian Tuxworth and Peter Zerk. Russell Bach, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Andrew Metcalfe (1972-1976), the Senior Dayboy Prefect and Dux, was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. In later years Andrew Metcalfe was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony in 2006 and is acknowledged on the School’s Wall of Achievement for his career achievements in the Australian Public Service including being appointed by the Prime Minister to the position of Secretary (Chief Executive Officer) of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship from 2005. Later Andrew was appointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Andrew was previously Deputy Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Andrew Metcalfe was one of only 22 people in Australia in 2012 awarded an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Australia Day Honours. Two students completed their Gold Awards in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme – Andrew Metcalfe and Len Hewitt. Keith Farrelly (1972-1976) was Captain of both the 1st XI Cricket team and the 1st XV and was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Rugby Union team and the GPS Representative XI. His elder brother, Mark, was Captain of Rugby, Swimming and Athletics, two years earlier. E. Brodie Bassingthwaighte (1975-1976) was to join the teaching staff of the School in 1984. He retired in 2019 after accruing 35 years of teaching service to the School and contributing in numerous areas. His significant service to the School included six years as Housemaster of Taylor Boarding House (1996-2001), Day Housemaster of Mackintosh House for eight years (2012-2019) and Officer Commanding of the School’s Cadet Unit on two different occasions (1997-2000 and 2004-2005) (see ‘Staffing’ 2019). Peter Zerk (1972-1976) played in the School’s Pipe Band and took up playing again just before he turned 40. Since then, he has been playing in and around Canberra with Canberra City Pipes and Drums. The band went on a ‘cultural exchange’ to China in 2002 and later the international tattoo tour circuit playing in Moscow, Edinburgh Tattoo, Basel Tattoo in Switzerland, Pacific Tattoo in Canada and the Avalon Tattoo in Sydney each year since 2011.

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Hugh Taylor (1974-1976) was on the Board of Directors of Arboriculture Australia and had 17 years as Vice President of the National Arborist Association of Australia. His clients have included the Governor General of Australia (Government House, Canberra and Admiralty House, Sydney), two resorts in Fiji, eight Queensland University campuses and many more. Third Form student, Ron Buchholz, was selected to play in the School’s Open 1 st XI Cricket team. Later he was to be the Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team for two years, 1978 and 1979, and Captain of Athletics in 1979. He was also appointed Senior Prefect for 1979 (see 1979). Jim Van Fleet was a member of the Queensland Schoolboys’ Athletics team and was the Australian Junior shot put champion.

Events: • •

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School fees did not increase this year and it was acknowledged that few independent schools’ fees were as low as those charged by TGS. On 10 January 1976 a freak hailstorm devastated the whole eastern sector of Toowoomba. All of the School’s buildings were damaged including 550 broken windows and every building in the School was affected to some extent. Both the roof and ceiling of the Assembly Hall and Old Hall had to be replaced. A photograph of the damage and repair to the roof of School House caused by the hailstorm is included in this year’s entry. The boys enjoyed an extra week’s holiday at the start of the year whilst repairs were undertaken. The work of repair and restoration took the whole year. Interestingly, on the same day, 10 January, but in the year 2011, the centre of the city of Toowoomba was inundated by major flooding. This resulted in tragic loss of life and devastating property damage. Another disaster during the year was the inundation of Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The heavy rains at the start of the year, following those of the previous two or three years, resulted in the reappearance of seepage and numerous springs. Large areas of the surface of the oval remained submerged for several months. Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was thus not available to the boys for rugby, athletics or any other purpose. The School Fete also was not held this year. An additional 300 pine trees were planted in the School’s forestry plot on Herries Street. A granite wall, suitably inscribed with the School’s name and Crest, was erected at the Margaret Street entrance. This wall was donated by Mr Ross Miller, an Old Boy (1955-1956) who was later to be appointed as the Mayor of the Toowoomba City Council (1993-1997). The granite sign was removed in 2012 when the new, tall brick front entrance walls on Margaret Street were erected. A photograph of the granite sign is included in the 1978-year entry with Interact Club volunteers with trotting gigs. With the construction of the new Centenary Hall (now Centenary Dining Hall), the Old Boys’ Association held their annual dinner in this new venue. In later years, the decision was made to move this annual function beyond the School to larger venues such as Laguna, the Cathedral Centre, the Toowoomba Showgrounds Pavilion, Picnic Point Restaurant and Rumours International in Toowoomba. The Old Boys’ reunion dinner was always scheduled according to the annual rugby fixture against Downlands College (that is, during the GPS Rugby bye). Parent-teacher afternoon interviews were introduced this year. A survey plan for a new oval adjacent to Herries and Mackenzie Streets (which was to eventually become the Trustees Oval) was commenced. The School’s inaugural Open Day was held in October.

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• • •

The Ladies Auxiliary set up a Book Pool and by 1978 the Book Pool was written into the constitution as a subcommittee of the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association. One of the Brisbane television channels approached the GPS Association seeking permission to televise some of the GPS rugby matches. It was resolved that the application be refused. The highlight of the Interact Club was a ‘gigathon’ which involved boys pulling two trotting gigs to Millmerran and back over a weekend in Term One. This event is illustrated in a photograph included in this year’s entry. The Trustees purchased a computer to assist in the teaching of Mathematics and Computer Programming. The computer purchased was a WANG PCS model with 16K of RAM and 42.5K of ROM. Also included in the purchase of $11,000 was a high-speed 9x7 matrix printer.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

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In Athletics, the School’s squad was placed 3rd in the GPS Athletics (by one point). In the Open division, Jim Van Fleet proved an outstanding competitor again this year. At the GPS Championships, Jim gained first place with a record shot-put throw of 16.62m., bettering his own record of 15.29m. At the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships, he took out a double of the Discus and Shot Put. In the Discus, Jim bettered the record of 37.40m. with a throw of 39.65m. In the Shot Put, he also broke the record of 14.33m. with a put of 16.02m. Another TGS athlete won first place in an Open event, Peter Mason in the Open high jump. Peter had never previously competed in the GPS Carnival. He showed tremendous application for eighteen months prior to the Carnival, working on all aspects of his jumping. In his excellent performance at the GPS Championships he scaled the equivalent of 6ft. without missing a single jump and then went 2in. higher to win the event. Basketball grew in popularity having been introduced earlier in this decade but was not an official sport within the GPS competition (see 1985-1986). In this year the Open basketball team played the Staff and it was reported in the Annual Magazine: “The Masters faced up to the might of the TGS team and were demoralizingly thrashed, 37-13.” During the Basketball season, the School played Centenary Heights High School, with a win to TGS, 24-22. BBC hosted a round of games on one day. The TGS team played four games, two being won (BSHS, 39-15 and NC, 47-26). This gave the TGS team a 5th placing on the day. The Captain of the team on this day was Philip Presdee and Ian McGregor, in the last game against NC, scored 22 individual points which was the highest personal total of any player for any of the 32 games played on the day. Boxing training and self-defence lessons commenced, delivered by Old Boy, Mr Neil Geddes (1951-1953). In Cricket, the 1st XI was placed 3rd in the Christmas Carnival in Brisbane organised by the Queensland Country Cricket Association. The team stayed at St John’s College at the University of Queensland. The players in the 1st XI thought they were in a favourable position bowling Ipswich Grammar School out for a mere 94 runs in the GPS competition. Unfortunately, the TGS batsmen were all out for 21 runs with a top score of seven runs to Gary Jones. The batting total of 21 runs represented the lowest innings score for a TGS 1st XI team throughout the decade of the 1970s. The 1st XI defeated three of the eight remaining GPS schools with one washout (GT). The winning scores were: BBC (196-114), TSS (120-88) and NC (168-56).

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• • •

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In the 1st XI games, five wicket ‘hauls’ were achieved by Ron Buchholz against TSS (7 for 23) and IGS (5 for 16) and Jim Van Fleet (5 for 14) against NC. Ron Buchholz’s five wickets for just 16 runs against IGS in February was achieved when, aged 14 years, he was playing only his second game in the 1st XI. In Gymnastics, the Senior team came 2nd in the GPS competition for the second successive year and was beaten by only 2.8 points by BGS for the Premiership. The Captain of the Gymnastics team for this year was John Lofthouse. In Rugby, the 1st XV was placed 4th in the GPS competition; a significant improvement on the 9th place in 1974 and the 8th place of 1975. The Captain of the 1st XV was Keith Farrelly (see the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry). A pre-season rugby tour to the New England region provided effective preparation for the GPS season and the boys also enjoyed sightseeing in Sydney. The 1st XV had success over IGS (6-0), BBC (24-0), CEGS (‘Churchie’) (18-10) and GT (12-6). The match against TSS resulted in a draw. The team played Downlands College in a drawn game (3-3) as a curtain raiser for the Fijian v Queensland Country game and defeated DC on the actual Grammar-Downlands day one week later, 24-13. The GPS 1st XV matches lost included BGS (6-13), NC (0-26) and BSHS (6-16). Around the timing of the NC game, influenza took its toll on many of the TGS players. Only five of the team were at the same peak of fitness as previously. The School Magazine reported that “Nudgee provided a thrashing to a sluggish Toowoomba side”. In Swimming it was recorded: “Unfortunately we were unable to match the 8th placing gained by last year’s team.” In Tennis, four teams played in the GPS competition this year – the Firsts, Seconds, and an Under 15 and Under 14 team. The Captain of the 1st IV was John Sommerfield for the second successive year. The 1st IV had one GPS win this season against NC, winning 8 rubbers to nil. There were three wet weather draws (BGS, BSHS and GT) and four losses – BBC (0-8), CEGS (1-7), IGS (2-6) and TSS (08). In Cadets, the annual Parade was cancelled due to rain. In Scouts, 40 boys formed this year’s troop, a record enrolment since the troop’s inception in 1970. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme continued to be a popular activity for the boys. Two boys gained their Gold Awards: Andrew Metcalfe and Len Hewitt. In Drama, the School Play, Charley’s Aunt, was performed in conjunction with The Glennie Memorial School after the lapse of a year. The play was a comedy of three acts and involved actors John Taylor, Peter Swarbrick, John Rush, Ken Batchelor, Russell Bach and Kevin Brumpton, with four girls from The Glennie School. The producer was Mr T. Ryan, Master-in-Charge of Drama, and the play was performed to capacity audiences for three nights. In Music, the School Choir consisted of 40 voices and there were approximately 40 musicians in the School Orchestra. The School invited musicians from other independent schools to join the Orchestra, including at least one member from each of the following schools – Fairholme College, The Glennie Memorial School, Concordia College, St. Ursula’s College, and Downlands College. The School’s Musical Director was Mr M. Carbone. Nine members of the Orchestra combined to form a chamber orchestra. A jazz ensemble was also formed. The School Choir singing unaccompanied achieved two first places in the Dalby Eisteddfod. Page | 567


Downlands Competition: • • •

The School won the Swimming Carnival by a 24-point margin and also won the O’Callaghan Cup in Rugby (24-13). The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, 109 runs to 47. The TGS 1st XI defeated DC in cricket in the years 1976-1979. The senior Basketball team won, 20-14.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr John G. Lloyd (for six years). In 1976 Honorary Life Membership of the TGS OBA was bestowed upon J.G. Lloyd (1942-1944), Dr G. Grant (1918-1920) and K.M. Carmichael (1920-1925). Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Honourable Sir Gordon W.W. Chalk – Deputy Premier of Queensland, Member of the Toowoomba Grammar School Board of Trustees (1958-1963)

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1976

Hail Storm, Barbour Oval Granite sign at Margaret Street entrance

Before the Parents’ Cover Outside Assembly Hall

New Roof for School House Following Hail Storm

Interact Club ‘ Gigathon’

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1977 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (in his 5th year)

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 5th year)

Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 8th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 2nd year)

Senior Prefect: David R. Thomson Senior Dayboy Prefect: David R. Wolf Senior Boarder Prefect: Charles D. Hogan Dux of Year: Russell J. Bourne

Total School Enrolment: 570 Number of Dayboys: 210 – the highest dayboy enrolment in the School’s history to date Number of Boarders: 360

Staffing: •

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The Teaching Staff numbered 32 of whom only two were women - Mrs Pauline Peters (nee Bray), taught Typing and Commercial subjects, on staff between 1973-1983; and the Teacher/ Librarian was Mrs Eileen Rintel (from 1975-1988). Every member of staff gave voluntary service in the coaching of sport or other activities such as plays, choirs, debating and so on. It was only in 1998 (and revised in 2008) that staff received additional financial allowances for their involvement in the co-curricular programme of the School. Mr Burnie returned to the School from BBC having previously taught at TGS from 1964-1968. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr P. Barbour. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr P. Long (Boyce), Mr J. Finlayson (Term 1-2) and Mr A. Warren (Term 3-4) (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr J. Williams (Term 1-2) and Mr A. Curry (Term 3-4) (Taylor). Mr Colin Thorburn joined the Staff as the School’s first teacher of Manual Arts. In 1983 he moved into residence as Boarding Housemaster of Taylor House (see 1987). He was the Head of the Manual Arts Department from 1982-1986 to be succeeded by Mr. B.J. Wilson in 1987.

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Students: •

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The School Prefects were David Thomson, David Wolf, Charles Hogan, James Blaikie, Murray Brumpton, Duncan Buchanan, Michael Burge, Ross Gilmour, Ralph Green, Graeme Jones, Kenneth Mackay, John McKinstry, Craig Seawright, Timothy Sherwin, Paul Sweeney, John Taylor, William Thornely and John Trousdell. Three of the Year 12 boys achieved the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Russell Bourne, John Dashwood, and Ian Williams. David Thomson, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Mark Hamilton was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. At the ten-year reunion of the Class of 1977 apologies were received from a number of Old Boys, some with very remote addresses – Rick Green (Peru), Roger Kirkwood (Antarctica), John Rush and Duncan Buchanan (New Guinea) and Brett Rush (Denmark). Mark Creedon (Year 12) went on to have a very active involvement in the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Association, including President from 2009-2011 and also in 2021-2023 and was recognised as an Honorary Life Member of the OBA in 2014. (Only 25 Old Boys had received such recognition between 1972 and 2017.) Christopher Hamilton (1973-1977), later Brigadier Hamilton, was to be honoured on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. In 1992, he became a recipient of the Prince of Wales Award. During his resulting overseas Service attachment he served with the British Army joining the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and the 5th Airborne Brigade (UK) based in Aldershot. Brigadier Hamilton’s extensive military career has included Assistant Commander of the 1st Division, Royal Australian Infantry Corps and Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General. Craig Seawright (Captain of Swimming) won the Open 100 metres GPS breaststroke event at the GPS Swimming Championships. His older brother, Ashley, was Captain of the Swimming team in 1975. Graham Copeland (1973-1977) later coached the School’s 1st V Basketball team from 1984-1986 with the boys being placed 2nd in the GPS Championships in both 1985 (an unofficial competition) and 1986 (the inaugural year of Basketball in the GPS sporting calendar). Rob Scott (1973-1977) has been a Project Director with over 25 years international experience across four continents, specialising in design, construction and project implementation. He has worked in Bahrain in the Middle East, Doha in Qatar, the West Indies, the Philippines, Indonesia and more. Tom Siddins (1973-1977) in 2002 was a Director of Cubbie Station and in 2006 was elected Deputy Chair of the Board of Cotton Australia. Terry Sharp (1976-1977) was a former President of AgForce Grains.

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Events: • • •

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In August, the Senior Resident Master, Mr P. Barbour, led a tour of 27 students through the Canadian Rockies and the Western States of the USA. The P&F held a dinner in September. The Interact Club held a Wheelbarrow-a-thon to Cunningham’s Gap and back in April, in which some sixty members of the club pushed two wheelbarrows, each containing a passenger, over two days. A photograph of boys training for this event is included in this year’s entry: Murray Brumpton, David Thomson, Charles Hogan and Charlie Green, with Mark Creedon and Ranald Neal in wheelbarrows. The Interact Club had over 100 members this year. The tuition fees per term (3 terms per year) were $290 ($870 per annum). The boarding and laundry fees were $430 per term (($1,290 per annum). (See 1967 and 1975.) The subject Agricultural Science was introduced to third-year students (Grade 9) as a Junior Board subject and would continue on to Grade 10 in 1978. In the Electives programme of the curriculum, a new elective was introduced for some senior boys. It was known as ‘Preparation for Bachelorhood’ and in this short course the boys were introduced to pursuits such as cooking, washing, ironing, sewing and general etiquette. At the TGS OBA reunion dinner held in Old Hall, the oldest Old Boy in attendance was Roy Alexander (1909-1911). For the Old Boys’ Reunion Weekend matches were played by the Old Boys against the current boys in cricket, tennis and they also competed in rifle shooting. The OBA reunion dinner in Brisbane was held at Ballymore Park.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, the School’s Track and Field team was placed 3rd in the GPS Athletics championships (behind BSHS and CEGS, ‘Churchie’). In the last decade, under the supervision of Mr Jones, the School had dominated the top places with excellent wins in 1972 and 1973 and major placings since. The School maintained a third place, or better, in GPS Athletics since 1972. This year the Open 4x800 metres relay team won their event and the team comprised John O’Shea, Steve Mullinger, Ian Walker and Mark Creedon. A photograph of these successful athletes is included in this year’s entry. The School’s athletes remained unbeaten for the fourteenth successive year at the annual Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships. In Cricket, the 1st XI won two GPS matches (IGS and NC), lost four and drew one. The 1st XI had a huge win against IGS (253-82) and a pleasing win against NC. Peter Maughan (batsman) and Stewart Green (wicket keeper) both gained selection in the GPS Representative Cricket XI. Stewart Green was also selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ cricket team which played in New Zealand. Bad weather adversely affected some 1st XI cricket results with a draw against BBC and a washedout game against GT. In the 1st XI some bowlers celebrated five wicket hauls – Russell Dennis as a 16 year old (7 for 43 against BSHS), Wayne Woollett (6 for 27 against IGS) and Ron Buchholz (7 for 39 against CEGS ‘Churchie’) and 7 for 36 against Downlands. In the 1st XI match against BSHS, ‘sundries’ were the highest score on the TGS scoresheet (TGS was bowled out for 85 runs). In this match TGS champion fast bowler Ron Buchholz (in Year 10) was carted around the oval for 55 runs by Wally Lewis of Rugby League fame (see ‘Rugby’ below). In Cross Country, the team came equal 3rd in the GPS Cross Country championships. Page | 572


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In Gymnastics, the Senior team captained by Ken Lavers came 2nd in the GPS competition for the third successive year. Ken Lavers was also to captain the team in the following year. A photograph of the captain of Gymnastics (and later to be a highly regarded, long serving member of the TGS teaching staff, Ken Lavers, is included in this year’s entry). In Rugby, The Headmaster in his Annual Report stated that: “The Rugby season was a glum experience for us.” Similarly, in the School Magazine it was quoted: “The 1977 1st XV displayed but a few patches of brilliance in an otherwise unhappy year.” The 1st XV had one win during the year (IGS: 17-6) and a memorable game was against Nudgee College. NC were 28-0 but, by the end of the game, the final score was NC 28 d TGS 22. The 1st XV Captain, John Trousdell (1973-1977), scored two individual tries in each of the GPS fixture games against IGS, ‘Churchie’ and Nudgee College. In the BSHS 1st XV for the third year was the Captain of the team, Wally Lewis. Wally later captained Australia in Rugby League 23 times. Twenty-five rugby players, mostly from the Open division, toured New South Wales in April. Games were played against All Saints College (Bathurst) 4-9, Sydney Grammar School (0-19), Chevalier College (Bowral) 12-18 and HMAS Nirimba (13-4). In Swimming, at the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Swimming Championships, Geoffrey Seawright set new times in the Under 15 50 metres backstroke, 50m butterfly, 100m freestyle and equalled the 50m breaststroke record. Geoffrey was awarded the Father Graham Memorial Trophy for the best individual performance at the Championships. Geoffrey’s brother, Craig Seawright, set a new record time in the Open 100m breaststroke at this event. The TGS swimming team finished in 7th place at the GPS Swimming Championships and some fine swimming was displayed. The Captain of Swimming, Craig Seawright, won the Open 100 metres breaststroke. This GPS event had not been won by another TGS swimmer since this time until 2018. In Tennis, seven players represented the School at various times in the 1st IV team. The 1st IV won two GPS matches – against NC (7 rubbers -1) and IGS (7 rubbers -1) and the match against BSHS was washed out. The 1st IV lost five GPS matches but two of these were equal on rubbers and lost by only one set (CEGS and TSS). Both BBC and BGS defeated the 1st IV by 8 rubbers to nil and GT had a 7-1 win over the TGS team. In the Duke of Edinburgh programme, two parties of boys travelled eighty kilometres down the Brisbane River in canoes. In Cadets, the Unit numbered some 200 officers and cadets despite being almost an entirely voluntary organisation. In Drama, the School Play this year was the comedy, The Happiest Days of Your Life, produced in conjunction with The Glennie Memorial School. The play involved the actors Peter Rush, Ewen Jones, Peter Swarbrick, John Rush, Stuart Bazley, Steven Aderman and Mark Creedon and was performed over four nights to capacity crowds. The producers were Mr Ryan and Mr Hopkins.

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Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team was successful in retaining the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 120 – TGS 7/122) with Ron Buchholz taking 7 wickets for 36 runs. In the 1st XV Rugby game against Downlands, the half-time score was 13-0 in favour of the opposition. Through sustained effort, the team rallied to finish with a drawn game 13-13. The School lost to Downlands College in the annual swimming carnival by ten points.

General: In the Headmaster’s Annual Report, Mr Dent summarised his aim for the School as: “We want, then, that this School should be a happy, lively and active place, where each boy is well taught, and where he progresses in scholarship as far as his intellect allows him; where he accepts good discipline and where he learns the value of self-discipline; where he knows he is cared for; where he knows that he, as an individual, is important and respected.” President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr John G. Lloyd (for six years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Brigadier Donald D. Weir OBE, NM – (Old Boy 1941-1944) At the Speech Day, Old Boy Brigadier Weir stated: “My presence here today represents two firsts. This is the first occasion since leaving TGS that I have been able to return to my old school, as my duties and travels have precluded it until now. The other first, and I wish my old Headmaster, Mr Harry Roberts, was here to see it, is that Weir, for once, is early for a School Assembly.”

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1977

Interact Club ‘Wheelbarrow-a-thon’

Student Ken Lavers, Captain of Gymnastics & later TGS School Master

GPS Athletics winners

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1978 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr Ian Gibson (in his 6th year)

Dr John W. P. Henderson (in his 6th year)

Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 9th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 3rd year)

Senior Prefect: Warren D. Hobbs Senior Dayboy Prefect: Peter J. Abernethy Senior Boarder Prefect: Neville A. ’Ross’ Peoples Dux of Year: Geoffrey R. Seawright

Total School Enrolment: 584 Number of Dayboys: 226 Number of Boarders: 358

Staffing: • • • •

Three members of staff joined this year who were to have long and successful careers at the School – Mr Jack Burnie (1964-68 and 1978-94), Mr Clint Howitt (to 2003), and Mr Lester Goodman (to 1992). Mr Jack Burnie held the position of Senior Resident Master at the School from 1978-1994 when the position was abolished. Mr Lester Goodman held the position of Head of the English Department from 1980-1987 and then Director of Studies from 1987-1992. Mr A. ‘Tony’ Curry who had commenced teaching French and Latin at the School in 1977 was promoted to the position of Head of Languages, succeeding Mr E. Desmarchelier. Mr Curry was to continue in the role of Head of Languages until the end of 2000 and was succeeded by Mrs Lynne Yeabsley. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr A. Warren (Groom), Mr J. Coonan (School), and Mr A. Curry (Taylor).

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Students: •

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The School Prefects were Warren Hobbs, Peter Abernethy, Neville ‘Ross’ Peoples, Scott Bach, Peter Buchanan, Neville Crook, Alan Dashwood, Ian Doyle, Cameron Halfpenny, Barry Jackson, Kenneth Lavers, Jeffrey McMahon, David McWilliam, Brett Moore, Trevor Rissman, Geoffrey Seawright, Brett Winter and David Wolf. Seven members of the Sixth Form gained the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 – Warren Hobbs, Gregory Jones, Jonathon Kelley, Brett Moore, Trevor Rissman, Geoffrey Seawright and Bruce Thomson. Warren Hobbs, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Graham Tischark was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Brett Winter won the Open 800, 1500 and 3000 metres events at the GPS Athletics championships, clearly an outstanding achievement. Brett’s win in the Open 400m event was in a GPS Record time. He also won the GPS Open 3000m event in the following year (see 1979 and a photograph of Brett). Brett also won the Open division of the GPS Cross Country championships both this year and in the following year. Peter Buchanan was appointed a Senior Cadet Under Officer (CUO) of the School’s Cadet Unit. He followed in his father’s footsteps in holding this position (see 1947 and 2007). Ken E. Lavers (1974-1978) was Captain of Gymnastics for two years, 1977 and this year. He was later to become a teacher at the School including a Boarding Housemaster and Head of the Science Department (see 1990). He was to teach at the School from 1990 to December 2020. In addition to his promoted positions of responsibility, Ken Lavers was very active in sports coaching and contributing significantly to the School’s Adventure Club. Milton B. Bazley (1974-1978) taught at the School for one term in 1985 replacing Mr John Winn who was on Long Service Leave. Bruce Victor (1974-1978), the Commanding Officer of HMAS Adelaide, officially opened the School’s Memories of Wartime Exhibition held in Old Hall in April 2005. Richard Sharman (1977-1978) became one of Australia’s most well-known and respected Arabian horse trainers. John Pascoe achieved the Queen’s Scout Award. Barry Jackson (1974-1978) attended the TGS Old Boys’ Reunion in Sydney in 2012 held at St. Paul’s College, University of Sydney. Here he met with a fellow international pilot also flying with Qantas, Old Boy Ross McDonald (1960-1965).

Buildings: •

In the mid-year, renovations to the first and second floors of the original School Building – School House – were completed at a total cost of $200,000. As a result, it was reported by the Headmaster in his Annual Report: “The School now has boarding accommodation, throughout each of its four Houses, equal in standard to that which may be found in any other school in the State or, indeed, in the country.”

Events: •

The School offered a number of Elective Subjects around this time. Each boy was required, each Semester, to take one of some thirty elective subjects, ranging from Advanced Computer Studies, Electronics, Media Studies, Video Film Making, to Work Orientation Experiences, Gourmet Cooking, and Defensive Driving. Page | 577


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The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association financed the installation of a colour audio-visual system controlled from a central point in the School Library. The School continued to make plans for a new oval at the corner of Mackenzie and Herries Streets. One of the problems relating to this project had been the reluctance of any commercial sawmillers becoming interested in removing the pine trees from the area where the new oval was to be located. A French and Geography student tour to New Caledonia took place in May. The old faithful WANG computer was upgraded from 18k of RAM memory to 24k. A polished granite sign for the School at the Margaret Street entrance was erected. Funds from the Interact Club assisted the financing of this project. The Interact Club held a “buggy-a-thon” from Roma to Toowoomba. The members of the Club pulled two Shetland Pony buggies, each with its passenger, to Toowoomba. A photograph of the training for this event is included in this year’s entry. In this year’s entry is a photograph of a notebook titled ‘Smokers’ on the front cover of an Australian Army notebook. The notebook, now housed in the archives of the School Museum, contains handwritten entries of students’ names who had received detentions for smoking from 1978-1983. In the photograph of the first page of this booklet containing the 1978 offenders, the student names have been hidden to avoid later embarrassment by Old Boys! Over the six years of the notebook recording the names of the students receiving detentions for smoking, the statistics are as follows: 51 offenders and detentions issued in 1978, 46 in 1979, 46 in 1980, 69 in 1981, 54 in 1982 and, in a pleasing trend, 19 in 1983.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

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In Athletics, on the return from the August holidays, approximately 150 boys formed the Athletics squad and training began in earnest. The School’s Track and Field team was placed 2nd in the GPS Athletics competition (to BSHS). In the past nine years the School had twice won the GPS title, been second on three occasions and third on another three. The Co-Captains of the Athletics team this year were Peter Abernethy and Brett Winter. Brett Winter was selected as a member of the Queensland Schoolboys’ Athletics team which competed at the Australian titles. At the GPS Track and Field Championships, Brett won the Open 800, 1500 and 3000 metres events. During a pre-GPS meet, Brett became the first student in the GPS to break four minutes for the 1500m (3.57.1) (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). At the GPS Athletics Championships, in the Open division, the boys gained an excellent second place in the 4 x 800 metres relay. The team comprised Andrew Campbell, Barry Jackson, Cameron Halfpenny and Peter Abernethy. For the seventeenth successive year, the School’s Athletics team won the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Championships. In Basketball, at this stage it was not an official GPS sport. The GPS schools, nevertheless, competed in a round-robin day of competition at ‘Churchie’ in October. TGS was placed 3rd in this competition, the TGS side being captained by Warren Hobbs. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team finished the GPS season in 3rd place. Three of the School’s 1st XI players, Ronald Buchholz, Donald Smith and Donald Thrupp, were chosen as members of the Queensland Under 19 Schoolboys’ Cricket XI. The 1st XI had wins over BSHS (209-119), NC (153-112), CEGS (184-168), BBC (195-184) and a draw due to time with IGS. The game against GT was cancelled for the second successive year due to wet weather. Ron Buchholz was considered the fastest and most capable bowler in GPS Cricket this year. He took five or more wickets in four 1st XI Cricket games this year. These five wicket hauls included: Page | 578


• • • • • • • •

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a 6 for 64 (against TSS), 5 for 64 (IGS), another 5 for 64 (NC) and 5 for 54 (BBC). Ron Buchholz was Captain of the School’s 1st XI both this year and next (and also Senior Prefect in 1979). In the 1st XI was Don Smith, one of TGS’ greatest batsmen in the School’s history. Don Smith scored 134 in the 1st XI Cricket match against BSHS. His century was the first by a TGS 1st XI member since Arthur Jones scored 149 against BBC in 1969. Don Smith went on to score three 70’s and amassed a then TGS record of 488 runs in this GPS cricket season. Fourteen cricket teams entered in the GPS competition and the School won or drew some seventy per cent. In Cross Country, the School’s team came a creditable 4th place in the GPS Championships and won the Darling Downs Schools’ Championships. Brett Winter won the Open division of the GPS Cross Country Championships (and also in the following year). In Gymnastics, the senior team in Gymnastics, captained once again by Ken Lavers, was placed 3rd in the GPS competition (to BGS and CEGS). During the season, Ken Lavers compiled 49.95 points out of a possible 60 over the six apparatus (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). In Rugby, a total of 22 teams were fielded. Although the 1978 1st XV had a rather unsuccessful season in terms of results, the overall spirit and determination of the team was excellent. In terms of GPS results, the First XV was placed 8th in the competition, ahead of IGS. The 1st XV won only one GPS game, against IGS (14-7). Several fixtures were very close, losing narrowly, including a 4-7 loss to NC. Heavy defeats were also inflicted on TGS by BSHS (0-36), TSS (0-27) and GT (8-42). Towards the end of April, a touring team of twenty-nine members left for NSW for a week's tour. The touring team lost games to All Saints College, Bathurst (7-12); Chauvalier College, Bowral (712); and Newington College, Sydney (7-14). In the last game, TGS defeated H.M.A.S. Nirimba U/19 First XV (9-4). In Swimming, the School’s squad came 2nd to Downlands College in the Darling Downs Schools’ competition and Geoff Seawright (winning numerous events and some record times) won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy for the third successive year. The TGS swimming squad was placed equal 7th in the GPS Swimming Championships, finding the competition far too strong. In Tennis, 16 teams were entered in the local summer competition and 15 in the winter competition. Five teams were involved with the GPS fixtures and the 1st IV had a rather mixed season. After a disappointing start to the season, the 1st IV played excellent tennis to win their last two matches, finishing the season in 7th place in the GPS competition. The winning matches were against NC (6 rubbers to 2) and BBC (5-3). The Captain of the 1st IV Tennis team was Cameron Orford. In the match against BSHS, Cameron won his singles, 6-1, 6-0. The Interact Club, the Pipe Band, the Scout Troop, the Orchestra, the Jazz Ensemble and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme all continued to operate. In Drama, the annual play was Wild Goose Chase, a situation comedy, with assistance from girls from The Glennie School. The play was directed by Mr Dent, the Headmaster, with actors including Steven Adermann, Peter Rush, Hunter McKerrow, Nicholas Brant and William Dent.

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Downlands Competition: •

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The 1st XI Cricket team had a drawn result due to rain. Captain Ron Buchholz took 4 wickets for 5 runs in the match against Downlands. TGS declared at 6 for 248 and the Downlands side was 8 for 45 before rain cancelled the match and a draw resulted. TGS batsman Don Smith scored 99 runs in this game. The 1st XV had an unsuccessful campaign in the O’Callaghan Cup with a 12-16 loss. The Swimming team was defeated by Downlands College. The 1st IV Tennis team defeated DC, 57 games to 34.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency The Governor Sir James Ramsay

General: In the 1978 School Magazine the Headmaster, Mr Dent, wrote a passage on the importance of Pastoral care. The School’s fifteenth Headmaster, Mr Peter Hauser, read this and thought it worthy of being printed in this publication. It follows: “At the very heart of a schoolmaster’s life is the relationship that exists between him and the boys in his charge. Teaching is an intensely personal vocation: its responsibilities are heavy, and its rewards are great. A good teacher will pass on to his pupils more than mere learning; he will communicate to them a love of learning, an eagerness to search out the truth, a desire to learn and to go on learning when schooldays and schoolmasters are left far behind. He will do more than this: he will, if he is a true schoolmaster, address himself to the whole development of his pupils; he will know every boy as an individual who demands individual attention; he will know his responsibilities for each boy extend far beyond the classrooms and playing fields. So, he will concern himself with the intellectual and physical growth of his boys, and, as well, with their moral, social, and spiritual development. He will know that every boy can do something well: he will help each boy to discover what that thing is, and to excel in it, and he will share in the joy that accompanies achievement. The good schoolmaster will want each boy to know that he is valued for himself, that he is not seen simply as a member of a school, or a class, or a team. He will want his boys to grow, each to his full stature, in personality, in character, and in spirit.” (1978 School Magazine, page 6)

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1978

Student Detention Lists for Smoking

Smoking Offenders

Interact Club ‘Buggy-a-thon’

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1979 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: In 1979 Dr Ian Gibson relinquished the Chairmanship of the Board of Trustees (but remained on the Board) to be succeeded by Old Boy Dr John W.P. Henderson (1932-1936) who had previously held the position of Deputy Chairman. Mr Ian Parkinson became the new Deputy Chairman. Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 1st year)

Headmaster: Mr William ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 10th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 4th year)

Senior Prefect: Ron G. Buchholz Senior Dayboy Prefect: Tarun K. Sen Gupta Senior Boarder Prefect: David J. Huskisson Dux of Year: Nicholas Brant and Michael Scott (aeq) – only the third time in the School’s history to this time that two boys had tied as Duces.

Total School Enrolment: 591 Number of Dayboys: 222 Number of Boarders: 369 – the School was now the largest Boarding School for boys in Queensland and among the largest Boarding Schools in Australia.

Staffing: •

Old Boy, Desmond V. McGovern (1972-1973), joined the School as a teacher. He was later, in 1986, to be appointed the Head of the Health and Physical Education Department and remained in this role until he resigned in 2013. Staff were seeking to discuss with the Board of Trustees over a seven-year period their provisions for Long Service Leave. As this did not eventuate, a subsequent meeting of the Staff Association resulted in a majority decision to withdraw all voluntary participation for the staffing of Open Day and Sports Day on 29 and 30 September. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, together with his wife, Marion, had five children all of whom grew up on the school grounds (three daughters and two sons). Their second daughter, Mina (Minnie) was born here when Mr Dent was the Deputy Headmaster and their third, Camilla, was born when he was Headmaster. This was only the third time a TGS Headmaster had a child born during his Headmastership. The first two such occasions were to Mr Harry Roberts and his wife whose two sons, John and Peter, were born during his Headmastership in 1937 and 1941. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr A. Warren (Groom), Mr G. Johnson (School), and Mr A. Curry (Taylor). Page | 582


Students: •

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The School Prefects were Ron Buchholz, Tarun Sen Gupta, David Huskisson, Richard Benjamin, Colin Boyce, Nicholas Brant, Harvey Campbell, Shaun Cox, Guy Devenish, Shane Groves, Rohan Halfpenny, Michael Jones, Lachlan Kent, Leonard King, Hunter McKerrow, Richard Moore, Ian Nielsen, Cameron Orford, Damon O’Shea, Andrew Rogerson, Douglas Scott, Michael Scott, Ross Switzer, Jon Williams and Brett Winter. Six boys received the highest possible score of 990 points in the Tertiary Entrance Scores – Nicholas Brant, Stephen Hart, Leonard King, Michael Scott, Tarun Sen Gupta, and William Syme. Leonard King was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Hunter McKerrow was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Mark Kratzman (at school 1979) had success in the Toowoomba Tennis Association’s championships. Whilst only being in Form 2 and under 13 years, he played number 3 in the Open 1st IV team. The School Magazine described Mark: “He is a left-handed player, highly gifted, and with a great future ahead of him.” At the end of 1979 Mark left the School to take up a scholarship to Barker College, Sydney, where ‘Operation Tennis’ was being conducted by tennis greats John Newcombe and Tony Roche. Mark Kratzman was the Junior Doubles Tennis Champion at Wimbledon in 1983 and first played tennis for Australia in the Davis Cup team in 1990. He is acknowledged on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. The Captain of Tennis, Cameron Orford, represented the School for four years in the Open 1st IV. In 2004 Cameron was Head Golf Pro at a club in the Alps outside Munich, Germany. Brett Winter won the Open 3000m event at the GPS Athletics Championships and later was awarded an Athletics Scholarship to Baylor University in Texas. Also refer to Brett Winter’s incredible athletics success acknowledged in the previous year’s entry. A photograph of Brett is included in this year’s entry. Nicholas Brant was one of five Queensland students selected to attend the International Science School for high school students, organised by the Science Foundation for Physics within the University of Sydney. Cleave Rogan, Ranald Shields, David Travers and Brett Winter were selected as members of the Queensland Schoolboys’ Athletics team. Senior Prefect and Captain of Cricket and Athletics, Ronald Buchholz, was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Cricket XI (see 1975,1976 and 1978). He was one of only two TGS bowlers who has taken 100 plus wickets in GPS cricket, making him one of the two finest bowlers ever to play for the School in its history. The Southport School (TSS) magazine, The Southportonian, in its 1979 edition recorded the following praise regarding Ron Buchholz: “… our boys had to face probably the fastest bowler ever to play GPS Cricket.” A very moving Tribute to Ron Buchholz was written by the 1979 Senior Boarder Prefect, David Huskisson. The Tribute was printed in Omnibus vol.30, no.2, August 2019, pp. 19-20. The article is not only a Tribute to Ron Buchholz but also a Tribute to friendship. An Obituary on Ronald Buchholz was also published in the School’s Omnibus, vol.29, no.1, April 2019, pg.27. A photograph of Ron Buchholz’s colour blazer with the amazing number of seventeen sporting achievements embroidered on the blazer pocket is included in this year’s entry. Craig R. Dennis (1976-1979) was later to be appointed as President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (2012-2014) and an Honorary Life Member of that Association (awarded in 2017).

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Tarun Sen Gupta (1975-1979), Senior Dayboy Prefect, later qualified as a doctor and worked in rural medicine. He is now a Professor of Health Professional Education and Head of the Townsville Clinical School at the James Cook University College of Medicine and Dentistry, North Queensland. In addition to his medical qualifications Tarun also holds a Ph.D in medical education (focussing on problem-based learning) which he completed in 2005. Tarun is a Past President of the Rural Doctors’ Association of Queensland (2014-2015), has been active in the TGS Old Boys’ Association and a mentor for Old Boys studying medicine. Matthew McCord (1978-1979) was to later win the prestigious Tattersall’s Club Prize for one of his art works. Bill Dent (1974-1979) was, during his career at some stage, the Manager, International Security Risk, with Qantas. Colin Boyce (1975-1979) as a Member of Parliament (Member for Callide) gave his maiden speech in Queensland Parliament in 2018. In 2022 Colin was voted as the Federal Member of Parliament for Flynn. Simon McCord (1975-1979) began the Shop-A-Docket advertising empire by selling his idea of advertisements on cash register rolls to his local supermarket in 1986. Shop-A-Docket now distributes to 1500 supermarkets throughout Australia.

Buildings: •

The School established a Careers Room this year in a small but adequate room near the School Offices.

Events: •

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This year the Toowoomba City Council agreed to fell the pine trees near the corner of Mackenzie and Herries Streets to allow for the preparation of a new oval (Trustees Oval). The Council was to use the felled trees in their parks and gardens projects. The School introduced the Tutor Group system with Tutor Masters to replace the former system of Forms with their Form Masters. Each Tutor Master had a group of approximately sixteen to eighteen boys, composed of members of each of the five Form or Year groups. The intention was for a boy to remain in that Tutor Group throughout his time at the School. A major project for the P&F Association with substantial assistance from the Old Boys’ Association was the lighting of the School drive from Margaret Street through to Herries Street. The turf wickets on Mills Oval were relaid. The Pipe Band consisting of fifteen players performed at a large number of School functions and community events including St.Vincent’s fete, the Glennie fete, the Fairholme fete, the TGS fete, ANZAC parade, the Passing-Out parade, and the TGS Anniversary Ball. The Pipe Band was under the direction for the second successive year of Andrew Douglas with Bruce Hutton as Pipe Major. Mr McDiarmid continued to assist the School as Band Master. Numerous camps were organised and conducted by the Cadet Unit, the Scout Troup, the Venturer Scouts and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme programme. The Governor of Queensland was guest speaker at the Old Boys’ Association (Brisbane Branch) reunion dinner and also the School’s annual Reunion Dinner in Toowoomba where the School’s Pipe Band escorted His Excellency from his car to the Centenary Dining Hall. An informal social group of Past Toowoomba Grammar School Mothers met following Mrs Mary Campbell getting in touch with as many past parents as she could to retain links with the School. The group initially met for morning tea in a home with a luncheon and short excursion away at the end of the year. The first meeting was in Mary Campbell’s home. This initiative led to the Page | 584


formation of the Toowoomba Grammar School Past Mothers’ Group. In 2019 the TGS Past Mothers’ Group celebrated its 40-year anniversary with a luncheon held at the School. The School received six seedlings from the original Lone Pine at Gallipoli. The seedlings were donated by the Gallipoli Memorial Fountains of Honour Committee. These seedlings were planted on ANZAC Day in a grove in front of Groom House. In 2013 these six pine trees were felled to make way for the extension to Corfe House (i.e. the original Groom House) to occur in 2014. At that time the pine trees were scrappy and dying. The Interact Club’s fund-raising venture was to hire themselves out as workers in Toowoomba and nearby country areas. In this way they raised over $1,500. The School Newspaper ‘Balliwanga’ was an Interact Club activity. In the Boarding Houses, School House had 109 boarders comprising 43 Sixth Formers and 57 Fourth Formers. Groom House accommodated 76 Form Two boarders. Taylor House had 90 boarders – 63 from Third Form and 27 from Fourth Form. Eighty-five boarders (the Fifth Form) were in Boyce House. At the School Fete this year people could pay a sum of money to demolish a car. A photograph of this activity is included in this year’s entry.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

• • • • •

In Athletics, a squad of almost 200 boys was involved in the Athletics season. There was obvious disappointment at being relegated to 4th placing at this year's GPS Track and Field Championships, after having maintained a top three placing since 1972. This year’s top place getters were BSHS, BGS and CEGS ‘Churchie’. Two first places were achieved in the Open Division of the GPS Track and Field championships; the 4 x 800 metres Open relay team and Brett Winter in the 3000 metres (see the ‘Students’ section and photographs in this year’s entry). The successful relay team comprised Brett Winter, Ron Buchholz, Leonard King and Lachlan Kent. This relay team broke the existing GPS record for the 4x800m by 13.1 seconds. The time of 7 minutes, 51.7 seconds was one second inside the women’s world record for a similar event. A photograph of this GPS record breaking 4x800m relay team, with coach Mr L. Jones, is included in this year’s entry. David Travers became the first hurdler for TGS to win four GPS hurdles titles in consecutive years – Under 13, Under 14, Under 15 (in record time) and Under 16. In David’s attempt for a fifth successive title in the following year, he had to be content with second place to a brilliant run by a BSHS athlete. In Basketball, the unofficial GPS Basketball Tournament was cancelled this year. In Cricket, limited-over cricket was introduced in all grades except 1st and 2nd XI’s on a trial basis. The Captain of the 1st XI was Ron Buchholz for the second successive year (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). The 1st XI travelled to Sydney by bus in February and defeated the side representing Sydney Church of England Grammar School, Trinity Grammar School and Chevalier College. The 1st XI finished the season in 5th place on the GPS ladder, beating two of the teams ahead of it, including the competition winners, Brisbane State High School. It won three (NC, GT and BSHS) and drew two (BGS and CEGS) of its seven GPS matches, as well as enjoying success in Country Week, the Southern Tour, and various social matches; and it retained the Tom Allen Trophy for its win against Downlands College. In the 1st XI cricket game against Gregory Terrace, Don McLeish took 5 wickets for 28 runs.

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• • • • • •

In Cross Country, Brett Winter won the GPS open cross country event for the second successive year, slicing 14 seconds off his old record to finish in 15 minutes and 6 seconds. The next TGS winner of the Open division of the GPS cross country championship was Hugh Bridle in 1994. In Gymnastics, the School’s senior team was placed 4th overall, only five points separating the boys from second place. In Hockey, this sport was introduced as an alternative winter sport (but not a GPS sport) and the School’s inaugural two teams played in the local club fixtures. This was the first time in its 104 years’ history that Toowoomba Grammar School had entered the Toowoomba Hockey Association competition. In Rugby in April, the 1st XV team travelled to NSW by plane, departing from Oakey on East-West Airlines. The games were against All Saints’ College (Bathurst), and Chevalier College (Bowral), with no wins recorded. The 1st XV in the GPS Rugby season secured only one win, against BBC (18-16). The School had limited success in the games against TSS (4-42) and GT (3-38). Other losses were to BSHS (7-19), IGS (10-34), NC (7-11) and BGS (8-36, with accompaniment of the BGS orchestra on the hill). The Coach of the 1st XV both this year and next was Mr J. Galton. In Swimming, on March 3rd, 50 members of the TGS swimming squad travelled to the Valley Pool, in Brisbane, for the most prestigious event of the swimming year – the GPS competition. The team was prepared as well as possible, though its members realised they had little chance of gaining a place with the obvious stiff opposition provided. The team was placed 9th (last) in this competition. Competing against TGS in the GPS Swimming Championships was a swimmer representing IGS, D.R. ‘Dick’ Orbell. ‘Dick’ later represented Australia in backstroke at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, USA. He was also later to be employed by Toowoomba Grammar School as its inaugural Head Swim Coach, commencing in October 2009 in preparation for the School’s new indoor Aquatic Centre. Mr Orbell resigned from this position at the end of Term 3, 2013. A new swimming trophy this year, donated by the Seawright family, and awarded to the swimmer gaining the most individual points at the Downlands College meet, was presented by Mrs, Seawright to Theodore Karydis, who amassed 17 points during the event. At the Darling Downs Swimming Carnival, TGS was placed 2nd to Toowoomba State High School. In Tennis, see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry. The 1st IV won only two GPS matches this year – BBC (7 rubbers to 1) and GT (6-2). Debating and Public Speaking remained popular activities. The Diving Club organised a diving tour in the Solomon Islands for nineteen students in the August holidays. In Drama, the School Play was Post Horn Gallop with The Glennie School which was previously performed by the School in 1969. The producer of the show was Mr Dent, the Headmaster. The School Magazine described the play as “three nights of riotous, side-splitting comedy”. TGS actors included Nicholas Brant, Hunter McKerrow, Philip Amos and Ben Healy. Also, in October, a large and enthusiastic cast of actors, singers and dancers from Glennie and TGS entertained capacity audiences in the rock opera Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat. The producer was the School’s Musical Director, Mr Kershaw. Approximately 120 people were involved in the production with Douglas McKinstry starring as Joseph and Steven McKinstry as Jacob.

Page | 586


Downlands Competition: • • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy: TGS 9/201 and DC 107. Captain Ron Buchholz took 6 wickets for 26 runs. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup 15-11. The School’s Swimming team defeated Downlands and continued to do so for the next three years. In Athletics, the School won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy at the Downlands Carnival. The School’s Basketball team had a fine win against Downlands, 40-8.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr Leslie A. Boyce – Former Chairman (1945-1957) and Member of the School’s Board of Trustees Dr Boyce was an Old Boy of the School (1911-1914). At 82 years of age as Guest Speaker at the Speech Day, Dr Boyce’s speech was eloquent, witty, full of good sense and good advice, carefully constructed and delivered entirely without notes.

Page | 587


1979 1979

GPS Open 4x800m Winners School Fete, Smashing the Car

GPS Open 4x800m Winners

School Fete, Smashing the Car

Some of the School’s Sprinters Some of the School’s Sprinters

Brett Winter, GPS Open 3000m Champion Brett Winter, GPS Open 3000m Champion

Colours Blazer belonging to Senior Prefect, Ron Buchholz Colours Blazer belonging to Senior Prefect, Ron Buchholz

Ron Buchholz as part of the GPS Open 4x800m Record Breaking Relay Team Ron Buchholz as part of the GPS Open 4x800m Record Breaking Relay Team

Page | 588


1980 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 2nd year) (see 1936)

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: Dr John W.P. Henderson; Mr B. Ian Parkinson; The Honourable Sir Gordon Chalk; Mr Pat J. Byrne; Dr Ian Gibson; Mr Bill B. Robinson; Mr Don Trenerry; (Secretary to the Board, Mr R. ’Bob’. Partridge) Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 11th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 5th year) Senior Prefect: Benjamin B. Healy Senior Dayboy Prefect: Michael D. Kirton (and Dux) Senior Boarder Prefect: Ian S. Jerdan Dux of Year: Michael D. Kirton Total School Enrolment: 618 Number of Dayboys: 229 Number of Boarders: 389 – no vacancies remained for boarders Staffing: • •

The number of academic staff at the School totalled 46 (it was 22 in 1970). A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. The funeral service of Mr Leonard Thomas Heenan (the School’s eleventh Headmaster, 19561961 and on the teaching staff since 1927) was held on 12 August. Mr Heenan had taught under four Headmasters of Toowoomba Grammar School: Mr G.P. Barbour (1927-1935), Mr H.E. Roberts (1935-1946), Mr D.C. Griffiths (1947) and Mr R.L. Mills (1948-1956). Upon the death of Mr Mills in 1956, Mr Heenan was appointed as Headmaster (1956-1961). In 1993 the Trustees of Toowoomba Grammar School honoured him by naming the School’s new science building the LT Heenan Science and Technology Building. An Obituary for Mr Leonard Heenan was included in the 1980 School Magazine, page 89. The Trustees advised the staff that Long Service Leave provisions would be similar to those that applied to the State Teaching Service. This issue had been a matter of some staff discontent since 1972. Toowoomba Grammar School was only the second non-government school in Queensland to change the Long Service Leave conditions to reflect those offered in the Government schools. The Heads of Department were Mr L. Goodman (English), Mr H. Sorensen (Mathematics), Mr K. Treschman (Science), Mr A. Curry (Languages), Mr J. Finlayson (History), Mr G. Ainsbury (Geography) and Mr R. Gillies (Commerce). In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr A. Warren (Groom), Mr G. Johnson (School), and Mr A. Curry (Taylor). Page | 589


Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Benjamin Healy, Michael Kirton, Ian Jerdan, Douglas Bates, William Chalk, Barry Crook, Scott Filshie, Anthony Gardner, Kenneth Grant, Geoffrey Hadwen, Bruce Hutton, David Lavers, Ross Leamon, Cleave Rogan, Stephen Sweeney, Nigel Uebergang and Jon Williams. Four boys gained the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Ben Healy, Michael Kirton, Anthony Thorpe and Mark Williams. Michael Kirton was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Anthony ‘Tony’ Gardner was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. He was elected President of the Brisbane Branch of the TGS Old Boys’ Association from 1998-2004. Cleave Rogan (1976-1980) was the recipient of ‘the service to industry’ award’ at the 2015 Australian Cotton Industry Awards. A photograph of Cleave Rogan and family members taken in 2018 is included in this year’s entry. Vernon A. Ezzy (1979-1980) lost his right leg in an accident which occurred in December 1978. This did not prevent him, however, from participating in sports such as shooting and swimming whilst at school, nor did it prevent him from managing the 1st XV and Athletics team in 1980. In 1984 Vern won a Gold Medal representing Australia in the Paralympic Games in New York in Track and Field Athletics. He was also the Queensland delegate on the Australian Amputee Sporting Association Executive from 1984 to 1992. Vern spoke about the Paralympics at a TGS Old Boys’ reunion in Townsville in 2016 (see ‘Events’, 2016). Vern Ezzy is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Andrew C. Dent (1976-1980) was the son of the Headmaster, Mr W. ‘Bill’ Dent. Andrew’s two sons subsequently also attended the School – Jack W. Dent (2013-2017) and Max G. Dent (20132018). Steve Sweeney (1978-1980) won the Open long-jump at the GPS Track and Field championships. He was also Captain of the School’s 1st XV (three years in the team) and later returned to the School to coach Rugby for the 2nds and 16A teams for five years, 2008-2012. He also taught at the School for one year in 1990. Sadly, Steve lost his life in July 2012 and the School named two Rugby Awards in his memory - the Steve Sweeney Memorial Trophy for the 2nd XV Best and Fairest and the Steve Sweeney Memorial Award Rugby Coach of the Year. A photograph of a young boy of Indigenous heritage, Waverley Stanley (1980-1984), is included in this year’s entry. The photograph was taken this year in Waverley’s first year at the School. Further information about Waverley Stanley is included in the 1984-year entry when he completed Year 12 including how he was acknowledged on the Toowoomba Grammar School Wall of Achievement. Some of the school leavers of this year joined in a 30-year reunion since leaving school. A photograph of the celebration is included in this year’s entry.

Page | 590


Buildings: •

The construction of a new classroom block commenced in May and was ready for use at the beginning of the 1981 school year. Now known as the Barbour Classroom Block (after the Headmaster from 1910-1935) it was originally named the Mackintosh Classrooms after the School’s first Headmaster (from 1876-1879). It was renamed the Barbour Classroom Block when it was decided to name one of the Boarding Houses after the School’s inaugural Headmaster. The new building relieved the pressure on the Purves and Roberts classrooms. It was built between Purves Block and the old South Block on the site where the bike racks used to be situated.

Events: • •

• •

• • •

• •

The population of Toowoomba at the commencement of the new decade was approximately 73,000 residents. By the middle of this year, a further three rows of pine trees had been cut down in preparation for the removal of the topsoil, whilst filling from the Toowoomba foundry was still being delivered. This was in preparation for the new oval at the corner of Mackenzie and Herries Streets. By July 1983 the site was ready for levelling. Several associations of teachers in Australia refused to administer in their schools a nationwide testing program of literacy and numeracy, devised by the Australian Council for Educational Research. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was supportive of the testing program. The Interact Club’s major fund-raising venture was a 72 hour marathon run, held at the School in July, during which the boys established a new record for the run of 100 miles by 100 runners. In all, running in relays, they covered 500.8 miles and raised $1200. The boys ran in groups of two for 15 minutes each. The old record, set by an American Athletics Club, was 7 hours 56 minutes and our boys took some 30 minutes off this time. The School’s tennis courts were resurfaced with a synthetic finish. In August, a committee comprising Trustees, Parents and Old Boys organised a Ball to celebrate the One Hundred and Fifth Anniversary of the Foundation of the School with several hundred people present. The inaugural Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association Theatre-Restaurant was held involving mainly staff and parents (and successfully repeated in the following year with 350 tickets sold). At the 55th anniversary dinner of the Brisbane Branch of the TGS Old Boys’ Association were two foundation members of the Branch in 1925 – Ken Carmichael and Roy Alexander. The School’s boarders at this time were housed in four Boarding Houses: School House for the 65 sixth formers and 39 fourth formers and 11 third formers – the other fourth formers were in Boyce; Boyce House for the Form V and a large number of the Fourth Form; Taylor for the Third Formers and Groom for the Second Form boarders and some, mostly new, Third Formers. The School acquired a new computer to be used by the students. It was an OHIO and was used along with the existing WANG computer. The new computer had a greater memory storage capacity of 48k. It was programmed in BASIC as was the WANG. The new computer had a mark sense card reader which meant that it could be programmed with cards. The new computer also used colour graphics (which the older computer did not) with a choice of 16 colours for the screen. The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association donated $6,000 to enable the purchase of a large range of woodwind and brass musical instruments. Crowds at this year’s Open Day were the largest to date. Page | 591


• • • •

After a lapse of several years, classes in ballroom dancing were arranged with the girls from The Glennie School and Fairholme College. Over 100 boys participated in the various dancing courses. The Olympic Games were held in Moscow. Old Boy ‘Benny’ Pike (1968-1970) represented Australia in Boxing. ‘Schoolies Week’ formally began for the first time on the Gold Coast at the end of the final examinations. The TGS OBA Brisbane Branch reunion dinner was held at the United Service Club, Brisbane, in July. As with many reunion dinners in the past, the ‘Kindred Associations’ were represented. These included, at this function, a representative from each of the following GPS schools - BGS, GT, TSS, NC, BSHS, ‘Churchie’ and the NSW GPS Association. The guest speaker was Malcolm Wright (TGS 1925-1930) and Senior Prefect in 1930. He spoke of his experience as a Navy Officer who transferred to the Coast Watching organisation. He landed by submarine with two officers and four indigenous men on the coast of New Britain. Six years after the end of the war he left New Guinea, joined the Commonwealth Government and his Embassy assignments included Rome, Cologne and Belgrade. He wrote five books, two of them published.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• • •

• •

• • •

In Athletics, the Track and Field team came 2nd in the GPS Athletics Championships (with up to 300 boys attending training at the beginning of the season). The competition was held at the QEII Jubilee Sports Centre. The team was led by Athletics Captain, Michael Kirton. Nineteen years later, in 1999, the School achieved a commendable 3rd placing and in 2012 was placed 2nd. The aim of the GPS training programme from the outset was to produce competitors on the day who ran no worse than fifth in any event. To this end the coaches implemented an extremely strenuous training schedule. The team finished in 2nd place due to the depth of the squad and their efforts. On the day only eight events were won. One GPS Record was broken by Ranald Shields with his leap of 6.50 metres in the Under 16 years long-jump. In the Open Division, Danny Sinclair’s performance in the highjump was also noteworthy. He cleared 1.925 metres, only to lose the event on a countback. Steve Sweeney (1978-1980) won the Open long-jump at the GPS Track and Field championships and no TGS long jumper has won this Open GPS event since this time (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). Also in the Open Division, John Morwood finished second in the 400 metre hurdles. In Cricket, the 1980’s teams secured 34 wins and a tie, 46.6% of the 75 matches played. An extremely interesting account of TGS cricket in the decade of the 1980s was written by former Deputy Headmaster Mr Ron Bourne, and printed in Ivan Board’s book The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, 1877-2020 in the second volume, pages 598-600. The 1st XI toured NSW in February with a win against the Armidale School, a draw with Trinity Grammar School, and a loss against Sydney Church of England Grammar School. The 1st XI won two games during the GPS season to finish 7th on the GPS table. The winning games were against GT by 78 runs and CEGS ‘Churchie’. The defeat of Churchie (6/208–173) represented the side’s best performance of the season as Churchie was the competition leader at this stage. The match against BBC resulted in a draw but the TGS 1st XI produced its best batting of the season to declare at 9 for 251. Rain denied TGS a victory. The worst loss during the season was to BGS, with the TGS 1st XI losing by 124 runs. In Hockey, three teams played in the local club competition. Page | 592


• •

• •

In Rugby, the 1st XV had a bad day in the first GPS match of the season against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace, losing 0-68, and against TSS (8-35). The team, often plagued by injuries, did not secure a win during the GPS season but defeated Downlands College in the annual fixture (14-4). In Swimming, approximately 50 boys travelled to the Valley Pool in Brisbane to compete in the annual GPS Swimming Championships. The opposition was strong, as always. The TGS team came 8th in the competition but with 12 more points would have come 6th in front of CEGS ‘Churchie’ and IGS. In Tennis, three of the 1st IV were players in their first year in the Firsts with the team captained by D. Bruce Armstrong. During the season the team won one fixture, against TSS (5 rubbers to 3). The match against BBC was even on rubbers but TGS lost the match, 8 sets to 9. There were no matches against CEGS or BGS due to rain. In Cadets, the Cadet Unit commenced the new decade with a full complement of 200 which it maintained until 1984.Thirty boys attended the Cadet Promotion Course held at Oakey in January. In the Diving Club, members of TGURAC enjoyed many and varied dive expeditions to Kirra, Cook Island off Fingal, Hastings Point and to Heron Island. Teacher Mr Brambleby became an instructor in SCUBA Diving through the American-based National Association of Underwater Instructors. In Scouts, forty boys were members of the Scout Troop this year. In Drama, the major production of the year was the rock opera Man of Steel produced in conjunction with the girls from The Glennie School and involving a cast of approximately seventy students. The cast presented a professional performance under the guidance of producer and musical director, Mr Stephen Kershaw. Douglas McKinstry played the role of Clark Kent, supported by Anthony Gardner and Phillip Robinson. Other actors were Paul Edwards, Tim Brewster, Campbell Cooney and Simon and Michael Paton.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The Swimmers defeated Downlands College in the annual competition (106 points – 62). The School’s athletes convincingly won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The 1st XI Cricket team lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy by three wickets (TGS all out for 55 – DC 5/69). The 1st XV Rugby team defeated Downlands College to retain the O’Callaghan Cup (14-4). It was the only rugby game won by the 1sts during the season. The win against Downlands College was even more impressive given that the TGS Captain (Steve Sweeney) and Vice Captain (Cleave Rogan) were unable to play due to rugby injuries sustained the previous week. For the first time ever, TGS competed against Downlands in a Chess competition and won.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr John Lloyd (Toowoomba) and Mr Alex Yeates (Brisbane) In 1980 Mr Donald Trenerry (1949-1952) was made an Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association. He was also a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from 1976 to 1988. Also honoured as an Honorary Life Member of the OBA in this year was Mr Alex B. Yeates (1927-1929). Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Sir Buri Kidu, Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea and Old Boy (1960-1965). Sir Buri presented to the Headmaster a Papuan story-board at the Speech Day ceremony which in later years was to be displayed in the School Museum.

Page | 593


1980

Teaching Staff

Year 12, 30 Year Reunion

Cleave Rogan with 3 Sons & Mr Robert Coward

Waverley Stanley having fun, later to be on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement.

Page | 594


1981 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr John W.P. Henderson (in his 3rd year)

Dr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 3rd year)

Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 12th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 6th year)

Senior Prefect: Robert I. Nichol Senior Dayboy Prefect: Richard W. Hall Senior Boarder Prefect: A.B.R.’Bruce’ Wilson Dux of Year: Gregory Delforce

Total School Enrolment: 645 Number of Dayboys: 247 Number of Boarders: 398 – At this time the School was the largest boarding school for boys in Queensland. It was also the fourth largest boarding school in Australia after St Joseph’s College, Hunter’s Hill; The King’s School, Parramatta; and Geelong Grammar School in Victoria. The importance of boarding is described by the Headmaster at the end of this year’s account to be found below.

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. Mr Lindesay Jones resigned in November having spent eighteen years at the School. He requested the Trustees to give consideration to paying him pro-rata Long Service Leave for the three years that he was not entitled to under the Award (i.e. 13 weeks for 15 years’ service and pro-rata after the next 5). This request was not accepted. Mr Jones subsequently submitted a demand for $3419.81 for the extra time worked during the last 12 months (see 1982). Lindesay Jones was acknowledged in an article written by John K. Winn in the 1981 School Magazine on page 56. Lindesay Jones died in 2018. A Tribute to him written by Old Boy Steve Haddan (1971-1975), was published in the School’s Omnibus magazine, vol.28, no.1, April 2018, pp.23-24. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr A. Warren (Groom), Mr G. Johnson (School), and Mr J. Franklin (Taylor).

Page | 595


Students: • •

• • • •

• • • •

A photograph of Robert Nichol (Senior Prefect), Bruce Wilson (Senior Boarder Prefect) and Richard Hall (Senior Dayboy Prefect) is included in this year’s entry. The School Preects were Robert Nichol, Richard Hall, Bruce Wilson, Jeffrey Cairns, John Calcino, Richard Crook, Gregory Delforce, Murray Dowling, Barry Geaney, Kenneth Grant, Mark Green, Wayne Halfpenny, Robert Hemming, Ross Hickey, Ian Jerdan, Timothy Longwill, Christopher Love, Douglas McKinstry, Grant Peacey, Michael Pickard and Ranald Shields. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Four boys achieved the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Gregory Delforce, Mark Green, Richard Hall and Daniel Williams. Andrew ‘Bruce’ Wilson was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Noel Kelly and Darren Hannah were the recipients of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Richard Hall, Senior Dayboy Prefect and Captain of Debating, won the Australian final of the Jaycees’ Youth Speaks for Australia Competition. Richard won a trip to London as a result of winning the national competition. Craig W. Green (1979-1981) taught Physical Education part-time at the School in 1989. The Senior Prefect, Robert (‘Bob’) Nicol, was the elder son of Mr Ian Nicol who was the Vice Captain of the School’s GPS Premiership winning Rugby 1st XV in 1948. John Rafter (1977-1981) competed in six Hawaii ironman events. Richard Fletcher (1978-1981), after spending some time in the Army and the mining industry, returned to studies at Sydney University gaining a Ph.D in Classical Archaeology. He also studied Chinese language and culture at Zhejiang University in the People’s Republic of China where he took a Masters degree in 1999. He then worked largely in the Mediterranean as an archaeologist for the Italian Ministry of Culture from 2001-2006. Richard then lectured in Classical Archaeology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel whilst also doing excavations in Israel and Turkey. In 2009 Richard was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Alberta in Canada but also ran archaeological projects each year in Greece and Italy. He has presented archaeological papers in numerous countries.

Buildings: •

The new Art and Manual Arts building was constructed (it was demolished in January 2017 to prepare for the construction of the new Sports Centre in the same year). The construction of the new Art and Manual Arts building necessitated the removal of the South Classroom Block.

Events: • • •

$50,000 was used to purchase an administration computer for the School. Manual Arts was introduced into the School’s curriculum for the first time. All Second Form students attended Music and Drama classes twice a week for a semester each. Page | 596


• •

• • •

• •

This was the first year of the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association Art Show. It initially ran for five years. One hundred members of the Interact Club, working in relays, rode three tandem bicycles to Goondiwindi and back, travelling out via Dalby and Moonie, and home via Inglewood and Millmerran. During the September holidays, a group of boys travelled to Mt Hotham ski resort in northern Victoria for a ski trip. Twenty-six Form V and Form VI students of French and Geography undertook a trip to New Caledonia. This was the third time this trip had been arranged for the students. The annual reunion dinner of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association was held in Old Hall and was a well-attended function. The guest speaker was Old Boy David Smith (19621965) who was Editor of the Courier Mail newspaper at the time. The guest speaker at the Brisbane Branch of the OBA reunion dinner was John McDonald AM (1958-1960) who spoke of fitness in sport. The four-term year was reintroduced to Australian schools and the existing three-term year superseded.

Co-curricular Activities: • • • • •

In Athletics, disappointingly the School lost at the Toowoomba Schools’ Athletics Championships for the first time in nineteen years. In the following year the School reclaimed this title. Douglas McKinstry won the Open shot put at the GPS Track and Field Championships with a throw of 14.47 metres. In Chess, the Senior Chess team won the Toowoomba Inter-School Chess Championships for the first time since its inception in 1972. They won again in 1982, 1986, 1987 and 1988. In Cricket, this year there were 18 teams playing competitive GPS fixtures and collectively these teams won or drew 61% of all games played. The School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Ron Bourne, took over the 1 st XI coaching role this year (to 1987 inc.) from Dr Frank Nothling. As a student at IGS, Ron Bourne was regarded as one of the great fast bowlers of GPS cricket (playing in 1957 and 1958). During the GPS Cricket season, only three of the eight GPS games were unaffected by rain. There was no play against Nudgee College or BBC, half a game was played in cyclone-like conditions against Gregory Terrace, little more than half a game was played against State High and the Southport game had to be played on their Village Green. The wet weather conditions were unusual in this year given that throughout the 1980’s decade only five matches were washed out. Drawn games resulted with GT, BSHS, and CEGS ‘Churchie’ and the team lost to IGS and TSS. Only once did the team play to its potential with an exciting win against Brisbane Grammar School (6/209-91). The BSHS 1st XI team this year (and their 1st XV) included Ian Healy, later to be an Australian cricketer. He played for Australia in cricket as the wicket keeper/batsman for more than ten years. The match against TGS was affected by rain with a drawn result. In this game Ian Healy scored 47 runs. Another GPS cricketer, Craig McDermott, representing IGS this year and next was later to be an Australian cricketer. Between 1984 and 1996 he played 71 Tests for Australia, taking 291 wickets. In the match against TGS, Craig McDermott took 4 for 30. Page | 597


• •

• •

• • • • •

In Gymnastics, the School’s team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition, a splendid result since TGS was the only school in the competition still without a gymnasium. In Rugby, out of the eight GPS games played, the 1st XV won two. The first was a fine win against IGS (35-4) and the second win was a very close encounter against TSS (13-10). Out of a total of thirteen games played overall, the team won seven (including a win against Downlands College: 26-0). The Coach of the 1st XV this year and next was Mr Jack Burnie. The most punishing game on the scoreboard was against Brisbane Grammar School with a defeat of 3-45. GT was also a strong competitor with players such as Michael Lynagh in the team. Michael represented Australia in Rugby Union from 1984-1995 and was Captain of the Australian team from 1993-1995. Old Boy Graham Hobbs addressed a large gathering of present boys, Old Boys, Staff, parents and friends in the Assembly Hall before presenting the Rugby trophies donated by the OBA in memory of ‘King’ Renwick and Bill Hatherell. In Swimming, the Swimming team enjoyed the School’s best result in twenty-nine years (with a 5th placing in the GPS Swimming Championships, an achievement to be gained again in the next year). A photograph of the swimming team is included in this year’s entry. The GPS Swimming Championships were held, for the first time, at the then new Commonwealth Games complex at Chandler. Previously the Swimming Championships were held at the Valley Baths in Brisbane. In Tennis, the team was relatively inexperienced and won one GPS fixture (TSS) whilst coming close to winning several others (BBC and NC). One of the 1st IV players was Randall Spann who was in Form 2. The winning match for the 1st IV was against TSS (6 rubbers to 2). In the match against BBC, the teams were equal on rubbers but TGS was defeated on sets, 10 sets to 11. In Cadets, the Unit had an enrolment of two hundred boys. In Debating, Mr Howitt, the Master-in-Charge of Debating and Public Speaking, continued to develop the skills of the boys. In this year the Senior A Debating team won the Apex-Courier Mail State Debating final (as they also achieved in the following year). The team comprised Mark Horstman, Richard Hall and Mark Green and a photograph of this team, winners of the Queensland State Finals competition, is included in this year’s entry. In Drama, the major school play for the year was Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, performed in conjunction with the girls from The Glennie School. The Director of this play was Mr Roderick McDougall who was on staff from 1980-1986 and he produced numerous plays over this time. Lead actors included Philip Robinson, Richard Hall and Paul Matheson. Another production during the year was Odd Stuff and Tuff with actors including Paul Matheson, Campbell Cooney, Mark Horstman and James Andrews. In Music, the School’s Concert Band was formed this year with 22 musicians.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team regained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, TGS 101 d DC 75. TGS won this trophy from this year until a loss in 1988. The 1st XV Rugby team was victorious in the O’Callaghan Cup, 26-0. The School’s athletes won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The TGS swimmers defeated Downlands in the annual competition, 111 points to 57.

Page | 598


President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr John Lloyd (Toowoomba); Mr Alex Yeates (Brisbane Branch)

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Sir Bruce Watson – Managing Director of Mount Isa Mines Ltd (Old Boy, 1942-1945)

General: A section of the Headmaster’s report in the School Magazine of the following year is reproduced here due to its relevance to boarding. “I am at once both an advocate and an apologist for boarding schools. I believe that children, particularly boys, who attend such schools receive many benefits denied those who do not. Some of these benefits are obvious and easily discerned: a boy at boarding school learns to know his peers, to understand them, to tolerate them and to be tolerated by them: in short, to live with his fellows. If the school be a good school, with the right values and the right virtues, he learns to subdue or to repress his natural selfishness and egotism and to consider the rights and the good of others. He learns a certain toughness of mind and acquires a certain independence of spirit. Though he can rely on the sympathy and understanding of his Headmaster or his Housemaster, he can no longer depend on the devoted or doting attention of his parents. He must learn, in small things at least, to fend for himself and to receive, gratefully rather than as a right, the advice and the assistance of those older than he and, as he grows up in the school, he discovers that he becomes, in turn, responsible for the contentment and the welfare of those boys now junior to him.”

Page | 599


1981

Senior Prefects

Teaching Staff

The School Prefects

School Swimming Team

Mark Horstman, Richard Hall, Mark Green - Winners of QLD State Finals Debating Competition

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1982 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: In January, Dr John W.P. Henderson resigned as Chairman and as a Trustee, after having been a member of the Board for seventeen years (since March 1965). Dr Henderson was succeeded by the Deputy Chairman, Mr Burnett ‘Ian’ Parkinson, who served as Chairman to 31 January 1990. Deputy Chairman:

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 1st year)

Trustees: Mr Allen P. Whitehouse joined the Board following the departure of Dr Henderson. Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 13th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 7th year)

Senior Prefect: Mark A. Horstman Senior Dayboy Prefect: Peter B. Hearnden Senior Boarder Prefect: Methuen I. Morgan Dux of Year: Andrew E. Smith

Total School Enrolment: 650 – no vacancies, either for boarders or dayboys, existed for next year Number of Dayboys: 260 Number of Boarders: 390

Staffing: •

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There was some staff discontent present at this time. One matter escalated to be eventually heard in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court on 12 July and some staff were called upon as witnesses. The matter involved a claim for the payment of overtime and a summary of the case was provided by Mr John K. Winn in his book on the history of the School, Still Playing The Game, on pages 414-416. The Staff and students celebrated Mr John Winn’s 20th year of teaching at the School. Boyce House Boarding Housemaster and teacher of English and History, Mr J. Perry, became $30,000 richer. In the Channel 0 quiz show ‘The $100,000 Money Makers’ Mr Perry appeared in ten shows displaying his impressive general knowledge. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr A. Warren (Groom), Mr R. McDougall (School), and Mr J. Franklin (Taylor).

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Students: •

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The School Prefects were Mark Horstman, Peter Hearnden, Methuen Morgan, Andrew Brimblecombe, Raymond Clarson, John Clemesha, Garry Cousen, David Crothers, Denver Dale, Tod Devenish, Jonathan Dickman, Rolfe Ellem, Barry Geaney, Malcolm Glennie, Wayne Halfpenny, Timothy Longwill, Timothy Mallyon, Paul Matheson, Robert Outridge, Philip Robinson, Glenn Rogan and Alistair Walker. Six boys gained the maximum Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Trevor Bourne, Raymond Clarson, Garry Cousen, Richard L’Estrange, Paul Matheson and Andrew Smith. Brett J. Priebe (1978-1982) was later to be elected as President of the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) (2015-2017) and awarded as an Honorary Life Member of the OBA in 2020. The Senior Prefect, Mark Horstman, was the first of three in the family to be honoured with a student leadership role at TGS. His younger brothers were both Senior Dayboy Prefects – John G. Horstman in 1985 and A.S. ‘Tony’ Horstman in 1989. Mark was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12 and was invited to return to the School in 2017 to address the Student Scholars’ Assembly. He spoke about his career in environmental management and protection and his ABC television ‘stories from around the world’. Christopher Ridgway and Matthew Peart were the recipients of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Following the completion of an Honours Science degree from the University of Queensland, Denver Dale (1979-1982) was offered a scholarship to continue his studies at the University of Oxford, England, graduating with a Ph.D in Medical Zoology. He spent ten years with Goldman Sachs, where he built a successful private banking team in New York and Los Angeles. He then founded his own investment advisory company in California. Denver was the guest speaker at the 2002 Old Boys’ annual dinner. He returned again to Australia from California to attend the 2012 and 2022 Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner in Toowoomba. Denver is acknowledged on the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Howard Smith (1978-1982) was in 2017 re-elected for another term as the Cattle Council President. Some of the school leavers of this year joined in a 30-year reunion since leaving school. A photograph of the celebration is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

The Governor of Queensland laid the Foundation Stone for the new Gymnasium at the conclusion of this year’s Speech Day. The actual official opening was exactly one year later, on the Speech Day of 1983 and it became fully operational at the commencement of the 1984 school year. The new ‘Arts Building’ was opened and a photograph of this building is included in this year’s entry. This building was the result of a decision to introduce Manual Arts into the curriculum. The new building housed both the Manual Arts workshop (left hand side) and also teaching and learning areas for Art (right hand side of building). The building was later demolished in early 2017 as it was on the site for the new Glen McCracken Sports Centre constructed in 2017. Around this time the new residence for the Deputy Headmaster was being constructed on the south-western corner of the school grounds (near the corner of Herries and Mary Streets). Page | 602


Events: • • •

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In the Annual Report the Headmaster referred to the present severe and tragic drought. A work experience program was introduced for the sixth form boys. One of the most important events of the School’s year was the Building Fund Appeal (for the Gymnasium) chaired by Mr Don Trenerry. The Appeal began with a target of $300,000 and in this year had passed $340,000. Part of this Appeal was the organisation of twelve dinners, one in Toowoomba which launched the appeal and eleven in various country centres. The study of Latin was re-introduced into the School (in Form Two) with Mr Tony Curry as the teacher. It was intended that the subject be moved upwards through the School in forthcoming years. Previously, Latin was last taught at the School in the 1960s. The study of Latin was compulsory in Year 8 until 2000. It was an elective in Years 9 and 10 until 1993 and until 1995 it was able to be taken in Years 11 and 12 but was in a composite class with Senior French. The subject Manual Arts was introduced into the curriculum. The Interact Club’s annual fund-raising venture involved the one hundred members of the Club pulling two Shetland Pony buggies, each carrying a passenger, from Roma to Toowoomba, camping along the way in the Show Grounds at Miles and Dalby. They were accompanied by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Bourne, and the Senior Master, Mr Ainsbury, and the activity raised over $2,000. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association continued their contribution via the ‘At Home’ function, the Annual Fete, the third Theatre-Restaurant and the second Art Show. The guest speaker at the annual dinner of the TGS OBA was John K. Winn, Science Master and Sports Master at the School.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In the School’s Annual Magazine for this year was a Policy written by the Board of Trustees stating that sporting scholarships will not be offered. All GPS schools, including Toowoomba Grammar School, changed this view over time. In Athletics, the Track and Field team finished 4th in the GPS competition. With only two winners, and none in the Open division, the positive result reflected the depth of the team. The Captain of Athletics, Tod Devenish, ran second in the GPS Open 400 metres event. In Cricket, the highs and lows of the 1st XI Cricket team were illustrated as follows. In Round One against The Southport School, four of the TGS first five batsmen made ‘ducks’. In Round Two, TGS were all out for 219 defeating Nudgee all out for 131. The School Magazine reported: “The collapse, recovery, collapse pattern of too many of our matches might have pleased and excited an uncommitted spectator but nearly sent the team's coaches to the nearest intensive care unit on more than one occasion.” The 1st XI also faced a bad start against Gregory Terrace with the score being 2 for 1 at an early stage. This game ended in a draw (as did the game against IGS). During the season pleasing wins were recorded against NC, BBC and BSHS. In the 1st XI game against Nudgee College, TGS batsman John Reid’s innings included 6 fours and 2 sixes, one over the top of the grandstand. Another big hitter was Colin Blackley with one six into the treetops lining the Sandgate Road which some old hands claimed to have been the biggest they had seen on that ground. Page | 603


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In the 1st XI game against CEGS (‘Churchie’) TGS bowler Anthony Hodgen took 7 wickets for 49. He also took 5/30 against BBC and 5/24 against BSHS. The batting score against BGS of only 73 runs represented the lowest innings score for TGS throughout the 1980’s decade. Craig McDermott, representing IGS, was later to become a future Test great fast bowler (see 1981). TGS batsman, Mark Pumfrey, showed enormous concentration and courage to remain 40 not out whilst facing Craig McDermott, as did Rob Outridge who was 21 not out. The Captain of the 1st XI, Peter Hearnden, writing in Ivan Board’s book(s) The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, 1887-2020 wrote a tribute to the then Deputy Headmaster and Coach of the 1st XI, Mr Ron Bourne (page 680). Peter Hearnden wrote: “On a personal note, I think Ron Bourne had an enormous impact on the direction of TGS cricket….Personally, I think he was just an awesome teacher and mentor.” In the same publication, the Captain of the TGS 1st XI teams in 1985 and 1986, Justin Stower, wrote: “It was Ron Bourne who changed the face of TGS cricket through his hard work, dedication and professionalism.” In Cross Country, the School’s team was placed 3rd in the GPS Championships out of the five schools competing. It was one of the best results ever in the School’s history. Third placings were also achieved in 1986 and 1987 with a second placing in 1988 and 1991. A photograph of the School’s cross country team is included in this year’s entry. In Gymnastics, the School’s gymnasts were placed 3rd in the GPS Gymnastics Championships. In Rugby, the School experienced the most successful 1st XV Rugby result in six years, coming 5th in the GPS competition. Three GPS games were won during the season – NC (8-6), TSS (9-3) and BBC (11-10). The 1st XV team achieved the very rare feat of defeating the 1st XV St Joseph’s Nudgee College team 8-6, the first time since 1948. This was not to occur again for another 22 years in 2004 when TGS defeated NC 18-16. Both teams also drew in 1984 and 1998. (see 1963 and 1973). Twenty-six boys represented the School in the 1st XV this year. Out of the 17 matches played by the 1st XV, they won 7. During the July holidays, the 1sts and 2nds and various members of the 3rd XV departed on their Northern Rugby Tour to Charters Towers, Rockhampton, Townsville, and finally Yeppoon. They also participated in the Thornborough College's rugby festival. In Swimming, the School’s Swimming team performed well to finish 5th in the GPS Swimming Championships. In Tennis, the 1st IV faced tough opposition from all other GPS schools and were unsuccessful in winning a GPS match. The team performed well in the final two matches, losing 3 rubbers to 5 to CEGS ‘Churchie’ and winning 2 rubbers against BGS. In Debating, the School’s Senior A Debating team won the State Debating Final for the second year in succession, with Paul Matheson named the best individual speaker of the night. The team then flew to Sydney for the national finals but were defeated in this series. A photograph of the State Champion Debating team, comprising Paul Matheson, Richard Hodgson and Mark Hosrtman, is included in this year’s entry. The School’s team won the State Debating Final for the third time in four years two years later with all teams having been coached by member of the teaching staff, Mr C.J. Howitt. The Diving Club (TGURAC) made ten trips away this year including 15 boys diving for seven days off Heron Island. Student John Warmington (1979-1982), a member of the Diving Club, recalled in later years the profound impact the Diving Club had on him. John wrote: “I am 53 years old this year and I dive every week. I observe, I record (on photo) and I rejoice in my love of the ocean. My Page | 604


• •

days at TGURAC were the foundation of a lifelong love of all things ocean, a passion for diving and at this latter part of my life, underwater photography. Ted Brambleby (the founder of the School’s Diving Club) changed my life and I credit him entirely for the passion I have for the sea today”. Another recollection of a student’s experience in the Diving Club is to be found in the 1984-year entry. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Scheme remained a popular and valuable activity attracting some eighty boys to be engaged in the program. Twenty-two boys undertook a 15-day trip to New Zealand including a trek on Milford Sound. The Pipe Band marched in the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Parade for the first time in a number of years. In Drama, the School’s Dramatic Society’s major production for the year, George Bernard Shaw’s Androcles and the Lion, was presented in conjunction with the girls from The Glennie School during May. The play involved fifty-one students and was performed in the School’s Assembly Hall. Actors included Stephen Bourne, Paul Matheson, Timothy Brewster, Mathew Peart, Trevor Bourne, Laird Morgan, Simon Paton, David Cowan, Philip Robinson, James Andrews, Stefan Treyvaud, Mark Horstman, Tod Devenish and Rodney Strachan. The play was produced by the Master-in-Charge of Drama, Mr Roderick McDougall. In Music, the student Musical Director was Paul Matheson and the Leader of the Concert Band was Scott Lisle. The Concert Band performed a fanfare and the National Anthem on Speech Day and marked the completion of its second busy year of rehearsal and performance.

Downlands Competition: •

• • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy on a rain-affected wicket. The report described the School’s batting performance with the clever words: “With the score at 7 for 46 including enough ducks to populate a farm, the game looked well and truly lost.” The TGS ‘tail’ wagged and the innings concluded at 107. Downlands fared even worse and were all out for 46. Downlands College was congratulated on securing the O’Callaghan Cup in Rugby with a 16-6 win. The School competed against Downlands College in a game of Hockey and enjoyed a 10-nil result and also won the annual Downlands Basketball carnival. The School won the annual Swimming competition against Downlands: 216 points to 120.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Vince J. Cardiff succeeded Mr Alex B. Yeates as President of the Brisbane Branch; Mr John Lloyd continued as the President of the Parent Branch in Toowoomba. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency The Governor, Commodore Sir Alan Ramsay

In the Headmaster’s report in the annual Toowoomba Grammar School Magazine of this year, on page 11, Mr Dent referred to the importance of the co-curricular program in the life of the School. It is quoted here:

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“When a man elects to teach here, or in any similar school, he knows that his obligations will extend beyond the classroom, into the whole life of the School. He knows that his duty to the boys, and his association with them, will not end at three o’clock or at half past three in the afternoon when the last bell of the school day sounds. He will know that much, possibly the greater part, of a schoolmaster’s best work is done on the playing field, on the stage or on the platform, on the parade ground or at camp. He will know that it is in these places that he can do much to guide a boy in the paths of virtue, to teach him kindness and courage, to shape and strengthen his character. Any schoolmaster of my age, and many younger than I, will know that his fondest memories and his most important accomplishments are very often associated with members of teams he has coached, or young actors whom he has directed, or cadets or scouts whom he has trained. To engage oneself in such activities and pastimes is the traditional lot of schoolmasters in this kind of school, and it is a duty which, in general, is willingly, even gladly, borne.”

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1982

Arts Building in location of the current McCracken Sports Centre

School Cross Country team

Paul Matheson, Richard Hodgson, Mark Horstman & Mr C.Howitt - Winners of QLD State Finals Debating Competition

The School Prefects

Year 12, 30 Year Reunion

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1983 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Ian Parkinson (in his 2nd year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: The Honourable Sir Gordon Chalk, KBE, LLD, retired as a Trustee in June after having served on the School’s Board of Trustees for 25 years. At the same time, another Trustee with 25 years’ experience on the Board, Dr Ian Gibson, also retired on the same day. The departing Trustees were replaced in July by Mr G. David Mayall and Dr J.M. ‘Jim’ Blaikie.

Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 14th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 8th year)

Senior Prefect: Richard D. Hodgson (and Dux) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Bradley H. Horn Senior Boarder Prefect: Lee F. Taylor Dux of Year: Richard D. Hodgson (see below)

Total School Enrolment: 671 Number of Dayboys: 274 Number of Boarders: 397

Staffing: •

Mr Eddi Campiutti joined the teaching staff (Mathematics and Science) from Ipswich Grammar School. His father had been the builder associated with a number of buildings around the School, including the H.E. Roberts classroom block opened in April 1971. Mr Campiutti retired as one of the longest-serving members of the teaching staff at the School in 2020, in his 38th year of teaching at Toowoomba Grammar School. Mr Campiutti’s twin sons, Andrew and Matthew, attended the School from 1997 to 2001. Matthew was Captain of Tennis in 2001. Mr John Dakin joined the School as a teacher of English. Mr Dakin studied a Masters Degree in English at Cambridge University and had previously been Head of English at Falcon College in Rhodesia. In 1988 he was appointed as Head of the English Department, succeeding Mr Lester Goodman. John Dakin resigned at the end of 2001 and a Tribute to him was printed in the School Magazine of 2001, page 28. One of the Headmaster’s daughters, Tessa, commenced work in the School Library. She married Mr James (Jim) Tamvakis in 1988 and resigned from the School’s employment in December 1990.

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In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr J. Flynn (Groom), Mr R. McDougall (Term 1) and Mr L. Goodman (Term 2-4) (School), and Mr C. Thorburn (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Richard Hodgson, Bradley Horn, Lee Taylor, Stephen Bourne, George Cowan, Charles Deacon, David Glennie, Victor Graham, Paul Hammond, Grant Jephcott, Scott Martyn, Godfrey Morgan, Laird Morgan, Cameron Patterson, Craig Thorne, Stefan Treyvaud, William Weigall and Scott Young. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Four Year 12 students gained the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Stephen Bourne, Richard Hodgson, Lee Taylor and Lloyd Walker. Richard D. Hodgson followed another Hodgson achieving the same distinction of being the School’s Senior Prefect and Dux of the School. In 1878 Charles H. Hodgson was Senior Prefect and Dux; his brother’s great-grandson was Richard D. Hodgson. In the School’s Museum are Prize Books awarded to four generations of the Hodgson family. Richard Hodgson was presented with a Prize Book for Best Senior Certificate (the Sir Littleton Groom Memorial Prize) dated 24 November 1983 signed by Headmaster Dent and the Chairman I.B. Parkinson. His great grandfather (see 1883), grandfather (see 1915) and father (see 1949) all have Prize Books housed in the School’s Museum. Richard Hodgson gave a wonderful speech at the 70th year reunion dinner of the Old Boys at school in 1947, a year group which included his father, Chris. A copy of Richard’s speech is included in a photograph in the 1949-year entry. Scott Young (1980-1983) advanced his skills in rugby refereeing to become an international referee with more than a dozen international matches to his credit. Scott refereed the GrammarDownlands game in 2006. He is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement as a Rugby Union international referee. In 2005 Scott was elected President of the Brisbane Branch of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association and served in this role for three years. In 2010 Scott joined Yalari, the organisation founded by Old Boy, Waverley Stanley (1980-1984), providing and supporting Indigenous children gain access to a first-class secondary education. An interesting article outlining Scott Young’s experience as an international rugby referee featured in the TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2017 on pages 37-45. William D. Weigall (1982-1983) was later to teach English at the School for five years from 1989 – 1993. Brad Horn (1979-1983) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities (aeq) in Year 12. In 2006 Brad was the guest speaker at a TGS Business Breakfast organised by the Brisbane Branch of the TGS Old Boys’ Association (President, Scott Young: TGS 1980-1983). Brad spoke on his post school life as a safari adventurer through Africa and his trips up Mount Kilimanjaro. A photograph of Brad Horn and Scott Young at a future 2010 OBA Business Breakfast is included in this year’s entry. At this function Brad spoke of his passion for travel and adventure and turning this passion into a business venture ‘Epic Private Journeys’. Stephen Bourne was also awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities (aeq) in Year 12. David Spooner was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Charlie Mort (1979-1983) was later the Founder and Chairman of his company Mort & Co, one of Australia’s largest privately-owned beef cattle lot feeding companies and a leading exporter of Page | 609


premium Australian agricultural products all over the world. Mort & Co. won the Agribusiness, Food and Beverages Award at the 2019 Premier of Queensland’s Exports Awards for the second successive year. Jonathan Clark (1979-1983) has been a primary teacher and university lecturer and is the Queensland Co-ordinator of the Apex Harmony Campaign – Sea Shepherd Australia’s shark defence campaign to defend, conserve and protect sharks. Jonathan played a critical role in the 2021 film documentary Envoy: Shark Cull narrated by Eric Bana exposing the shark cull in Queensland and New South Wales.

Buildings: •

The new Gymnasium was opened on Speech Day but had been partially utilized during the year. The Chairman of the Building Fund was Trustee and Old Boy, Mr Don Trenerry, and the gymnasium was later to be named the Trenerry Gymnasium in recognition of the Trenerry family. (see ‘Co-curricular’ section of next year’s entry). Photographs of the Trenerry Gymnasium are included in this year’s entry.

Events: • •

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A new Sporting and Pastoral Care House, Partridge House, was created and named after Mr Bob Partridge (see 1984). The teaching of Music was discontinued at the end of 1982 to be effective in 1983 due to so few boys enrolling in this subject. The then Director of Music, Mr Steve Kershaw, was retrenched. The Music Department was officially reactivated again in 1985. The site for the new top oval was levelled, later to be named “Trustees’ Oval”. The Interact Club’s charity fund-raising venture took the form of a two-day relay run to and from the Bunya Mountains, travelling out through Crow’s Nest and Maidenwell, and home through Bell and Dalby. When not running, the boys were transported in cattle trucks. Approximately $50,000 was spent on the purchase and installation of computers and computing equipment. The computers included two Ohio C1P 16k RAM computers with tape storage; a Hitachi Peach computer 48k RAM; seventeen Commodore 64s for general use by the students; and more (described in the Toowoomba Grammar School annual magazine, 1983 page 43). Thirty Senior French and Geography students travelled to New Caledonia in June. Thirty-six boys joined an excursion for ten days to Central Australia, including Ayres Rock (now Uluru) and the Birdsville Track. This trip took place in the Term Three holidays (referred to in the School Magazine of this year as the Michaelmas holidays). The tour leader was Mr Moore and this trip was the first undertaken by TGS students to the ‘Red Centre’. Over 500 people attended the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Theatre Restaurant in August which for the first time was held over two nights. The Ladies Auxiliary assisted with the ‘At Home’ social function, the annual fete, a fashion parade and luncheon, the barbeque and tea tents for the ‘home’ rugby matches, a tennis morning and the theatre restaurant. The School continued to conduct a Fete through the efforts of the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) and the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association. For the first time Old Boys were able to bring their wives or lady friends to the Old Boys’ Annual Reunion Dinner. The guest speaker at the annual reunion dinner of the Brisbane Branch of the OBA was Old Boy, Don Trenerry (1949-1952). Page | 610


Co-curricular Activities: • • • • • • • •

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In Athletics, the Captain this year was Ashley R. Little (1980-1984) whose younger brother, Jason Little, also held this title in 1987. In the GPS Track and Field Championships, several new events were included. These were the javelin, discus, triple jump and 1500m all-age walk. The Toowoomba Schools’ Carnival was held only three days before the GPS Championships. Toowoomba State High School won the local competition by 15 points with TGS placed second. In the GPS Athletics Championships, the TGS athletics squad finished 5th on the points ladder with five first placings and were placed in a total of 17 of the 69 events. In Cricket, the GPS fixtures were played at the beginning and end of the year. The 1st XI cricket team lost three matches (BGS, IGS and CEGS), drew two (TSS and BSHS) and finished 6th in the GPS competition. The 1st XI played very well to defeat Nudgee College, 5/225 d NC 8/206. In the game against BBC, TGS batsman Cameron Outridge scored 97 runs and Colin Blackley took 6 for 37 off 17 overs. In the game against IGS, Andrew Smith bowling off-spin took 5-24 and 7-25 against CEGS (‘Churchie’). In Gymnastics, the School’s team was placed 3rd in the GPS Open trophy for the third successive year. The gymnastics squad settled from an initial enrolment of 50 boys to a squad of 24, captained by Howard Arbuthnot. The training occurred three days a week and the boys travelled by bus to Mt. Lofty for training. The boys and the entire School were looking forward to the School’s new gymnasium being available next year. In October the gymnasts competed for the first time in the Toowoomba District meeting at Mt. Lofty with great success by taking first place. In this competition, Cameron Slack won the Junior District championship. In Hockey, this was the first year in which any GPS School had competed against one another in Hockey. Toowoomba Grammar School played Hockey against Ipswich Grammar School and ‘Churchie’ this year. In Rugby, the School Magazine described the School’s 1st XV as being “at times their own worst enemy”. The team won two GPS games, TSS (18-12) and BBC (4-0) but there were some very close games including against ‘Churchie’ (3-6), NC (3-7), BGS (12-15), GT (in the Toowoomba mist, 4-6) and IGS (10-12). During the rugby season, over eight games, only two were to be played in pleasantly dry conditions, with a firm footing. The Coach of the 1st XV this year and for the following two years was Mr John Dakin. In Swimming, in March the School’s swimmers competed in the GPS Championships with most of the School in attendance. Despite the TGS swimmers’ best efforts, the team finished in last position with the Championship being won by BSHS. In the Open division, the Captain of TGS Swimming, Paul Hammond, was placed third in the Open 100 metres backstroke. Indicative of the standard of swimming against TGS at the GPS Swimming Championships was a BSHS swimmer, Jon Sieben, who won the Open 100 metres freestyle event (53.94). In the following year Jon won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 200 metres butterfly event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. In Tennis, this year the GPS Tennis season was rescheduled to make it concurrent with the Rugby season. This was unfortunate for TGS as a smaller school and so many players needed for Rugby, Page | 611


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that there remained few talented players to fulfil the very competitive demands of playing 1st GPS Tennis. Rain caused great disruption to the fixtures throughout the season. The result for the School was that only five matches were played. Unfortunately, all of these were lost, though the match against TSS was very close (5 rubbers–3). The team finished last on the GPS premiership table. In Cadets, the Unit provided the Guard of Honour at the Mothers’ Memorial on ANZAC Day as the School’s cadets had done every year since 1923 except 1943. The Commanding Officer of the Cadet Unit, Major G.E. Ainsbury, retired from this position in the latter part of the year after fifteen years’ service to Cadets. Lt Franklin took over as the Unit’s Officer Commanding. The Adventure Club was established this year, led by Mr Clint Howitt, with membership limited to boys in the fifth and sixth form (Years 11 and 12). The Adventure Club represented an important part of the School’s co-curricular program for at least another forty years (refer to next year’s entry). The Diving Club had 48 members this year and went on eleven trips away. The Scout Troop had an enrolment of 45 members. The Pipe Band enjoyed praise from the Headmaster when he wrote in his Annual Report that he could not recall the Pipe Band playing better than in this year. The Concert Band changed the type of music played this year into blues-oriented jazz and rock. The increased popularity of the music and the work put in by the members enabled the band to give good performances at the School fete, Open Day, assemblies, the School dinner and a Dalby fete, with a performance by the trumpet section at Speech Day. In Drama, no School Play was performed this year.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The School was successful in winning the Athletics fixture but was defeated in the Swimming in a very close carnival. The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, TGS 5/159 d DC 158. In a close match, the TGS 1st XV won the O’Callaghan Cup for Rugby (7-6). One of the highlights of the Tennis season was the two resounding victories over Downlands College both by 8 rubbers to 0.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Bruce C. McDonald (for five years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Emeritus Professor Peter D. Edwards – Professor of English, University of Queensland (Old Boy 1945-1948)

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1983

New Trenerry Gymnasium

New Trenerry Gymnasium

Scott Young & Brad Horn at 2006 Old Boys’ AGM

The School Prefects

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1984 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Ian Parkinson (in his 3rd year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 3rd year)

Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 15th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 9th year) Senior Prefect: Michael ‘Mick’ J. O’Keeffe (and Dux) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Peter R.L. Burnie Senior Boarder Prefect: Andrew N. Smith Dux of Year: Michael J. O’Keeffe Total School Enrolment: 685 Number of Dayboys: 285 Number of Boarders: 400 – a record in the School’s history up to this year Staffing: • •

• •

This year marked the twentieth year of service to the School by Mr Dent and of his fifteen years as Headmaster. Mr Bob Partridge retired as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. He joined the School in 1947 and was appointed Secretary to the Board in 1950. He was only the fourth Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees in the then 110 years of the Board’s existence. Mr Partridge was honoured with Life Membership of the Old Boys’ Association and when the Sporting Houses were reorganised, one of the new Houses was named for him, in well-deserved recognition of his long and loyal thirty-eight year service to the School. The Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Mr Darrell J. Pierpoint, was promoted to the position caused by Mr Partridge’s retirement and Mr Ian R. Young commenced his employment at the School as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees. Mr E. Brodie Bassingthwaighte (Old Boy 1975-1976) joined the TGS teaching staff and retired in November 2019 after 36 years teaching at the School (see 2019). Biology teacher and leader of the School’s Diving Club, Mr Ted Brambleby, was presented with a Science Teaching Award for Excellence by the Science Teachers’ Association of Queensland. The award acknowledged Mr Brambleby’s contribution to the teaching of Science through Science camps and the Diving Club (see below in the ‘Co-Curricular Activities’ section and ‘The Diving Club TGURAC’. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr J. Flynn (Term 1-2) and Mr R. McDougall (Term 3-4) (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), and Mr C. Thorburn (Taylor). Page | 614


Students: •

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The School Prefects were Michael O’Keeffe, Peter Burnie, Andrew Smith, Howard Arbuthnot, Andrew Betts, Keith Blaikie, Mark Bowhay, Stuart Copeland, Gregory Hepple, Ian Hogarth, Ashley Little, Simon Maffey, James McDonald, Matthew Needham, Cameron Outridge, Robert Parkinson, Ian Peacey, William Pearce, Ian Scutt, David Shannon, Peter Stafford. Waverley Stanley, Andrew Tyler and Martin Wilshire. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Eight Year 12 boys achieved the maximum possible score of 990 in the Tertiary Entrance Scores – Shane Belford, Philip Brook, Peter Burnie, Simon Maffey, Gregory Manning, Michael O’Keeffe, Robert Parkinson and Geoffrey Vaschina. The results of the Sixth Form were excellent and possibly the best the School had enjoyed since the inception of the Radford system in 1972 (but indeed surpassed by next year’s Sixth Form). Three students were awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities this year. They were Michael O’Keeffe, Peter Burnie and Robert Parkinson. Paul King was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. The Indigenous Education Scholarship program known as Yalari was initiated in 2005 by Old Boy Waverley Stanley (1980-1984). Waverley was appointed a School Prefect in 1984 and was on an Indigenous Education Scholarship funded by his Primary School Teacher, Mrs Rosemary Bishop. It is thought that Waverley was the first Indigenous student to complete his Year 12 studies at Toowoomba Grammar School. In 2005 Waverley invited two schools to be the founding partner schools in his Indigenous Education Scholarship program (Toowoomba Grammar School and The Glennie School), later to include many of Australia’s most well-known and respected independent schools. Waverley’s Yalari program he founded has created an alumni group from 2005-2022 of 380 students of Indigenous background from regional, rural and remote communities having gained Yalari scholarships. This alumni group are now studying at university, working or undertaking further training. Waverley Stanley was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Annual Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2007. Waverley also featured in an ABC television documentary featuring his life and the Yalari program. In this ABC documentary Waverley said that he had become the man he is today because of the influence of Toowoomba Grammar School. In 2019 he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM, General Division) in the Australia Day Honours and is acknowledged on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. A profile of Waverley’s contribution to the School and society was printed in Omnibus, vol.32, no.2, 2022, pg.36. A photograph of Waverley and others having fun appears in the 1980-year entry and a photograph of him with fellow Prefects is in this year’s entry (L-R: Waverley Stanley, Michael O’Keeffe (Senior Prefect), Ian Hogarth and Mr ‘Col’ Thorburn). Another photograph taken in 2005 of Waverley with Stuart Copeland (1980-1984) at the launch of Yalari at the School is included in this year’s entry. Stuart Copeland at the time was a Member of Parliament for Cunningham and the State Shadow Minister for Education and the Arts. Geoffrey D. Nicol (1980-1984) played rugby union for Queensland as a full-back not long after he left School. He was also a dynamic wicket-keeper who dismissed 23 batsmen during the season. Sheldon P. Becker (1980-1984) was the Queensland Champion piper in 1980, 1982 and 1984 (and the Runner-up in 1981 and 1983). He later spent three months in Ireland and Scotland contesting the World, British, Scottish and European Championships as a member of the Queensland Irish Association Pipe Band. Page | 615


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Howard Arbuthnot (1980-1984) was with the medical support staff to four Olympic Games. He has been a proprietor of a multi-disciplinary sports clinic and addressed the Brisbane Branch of the OBA at its business breakfast held at King’s College, UQ, in April 2007. Peter Burnie (1980-1984) as a Partner in PriceWaterhouse Coopers Central and Eastern Europe was based in Belgrade, Serbia, but travelled to offices in Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Albania. Prior to living in Belgrade, Peter was based in Moscow for three years and prior to that in South East Asia. Gregory Hepple (1980-1984) went on to represent Queensland in water polo from 1986 to 1988. The Captain of Chess, Mark Winn (1980-1984), competed in his second Australian Junior Championships and was also the recipient of a medal from the Queensland Division of the Geological Society of Australia as the most outstanding Year 12 student of Geological Science in Queensland. Bruce Morwood (1980-1984) won the Open 400m hurdles event at the GPS Track and Field Championships. In this year he also set an Australian All Schools’ Championship record in the 400 m hurdles. Stuart Copeland (1980-1984) became a State Parliamentarian and spoke about the School in State Parliament on 16 October 2003 when the ‘Grammar Schools and Other Legislation Amendment Bill’ was being discussed. Stuart spoke at length about TGS and his assessment that it was “an excellent school”. His speech was reprinted in the Omnibus magazine, vol.13, no.3, December 2003 pp.3-6. Senior Boarder Prefect Andrew N. Smith (1980-1984) was, in March 2024, elected Mayor of the Western Downs Region in the Local Government elections. Andrew was also the guest speaker at the OBA Business Breakfast in 2010. He spoke about the developments occurring in the Surat Basin. James McDonald (1979-1984) was the relieving Officer in Charge of the Toowoomba Police Station during the devastation caused by the flooding on January 10, 2011, that ripped through Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. Andrew Hopkins (1979-1984) professional career included being the Regional Director of Planning, Design and Development for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stationed in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. ‘Ric’ Carlsson (1982-1984), the great great nephew of Old Boy General Sir Harry Chauvel (TGS, 1880-1882), donated a book to the School in 2024, The Last Charge of the Australian Light Horse’ (P. Fitzsimons, Hachette Publishing, 2023)

Buildings: •

The Trustees’ Boardroom was relocated upstairs to the first floor (southern end) of School House. Later this room was used as a Year 12 Common Room for the boarders in Mackintosh House and from 2013-2020 was the office of the Chief Financial Officer of the School.

Events: •

In previous years the Commonwealth Government provided every non-Government school in Australia with a basic grant equal to at least 20 per cent of the estimated cost of educating a child in a Government school. This year there was no longer an automatic entitlement to such a basic grant. Rather, the per capita grant was dependent upon whether the non-Government school was classified as either a Category One, Two or Three School. Forty-one schools in Category One had their grants reduced by 25 per cent. (In 1984 the Category Funding Levels were increased from three to twelve). Page | 616


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The internal House System was enlarged from four Houses to eight, with the Tutor system retained but organised on a House basis. The names of the then existing four Houses were retained – Barbour, Chauvel, Stephens and Taylor. The four new Houses were Chalk (for Sir Gordon Chalk, former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Queensland, a Trustee of the School for 25 years, and for his son, the late Dr Gregory G.W. Chalk, an Old Boy); Gibson (for Dr Ian Gibson, an Old Boy and Trustee for 23 years and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for six years); Henderson (for Dr John W.P. Henderson, an Old Boy and Dux of the School in 1936, a Trustee for 17 years, Chairman of the Board for three years, and for his sons, Alistair, Dugald and Lachlan, all Old Boys); and Partridge (for Mr Bob Partridge, an Old Boy, Secretary to the Board of Trustees and who was at the time the longest-serving employee in the history of the School) and his sons, Old Boys Gary and Kim. With the building of Stephens Boarding House in 1987, Stephens Sporting House was discontinued and replaced by Heenan House. The new oval was officially named Trustees Oval. The oval was opened early in the year. The original entrance to the School at the corner of Mary and Herries Streets was moved slightly further up Herries Street in this year due to student safety concerns. The new entrance also involved the construction of the new driveway. A facsimile transceiver was purchased by the School for an outlay of $1,890. In April, Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem to replace the former national anthem, God Save The Queen. A former Headmaster of the School, Dr Harry E. Roberts, died on 24 June at the age of 83. Dr Roberts was the Headmaster of the School from 1935-1946. An Obituary for Dr Roberts appeared in this year’s School Magazine on page 144. The Parents and Friends’ Association held its fifth Theatre-Restaurant function and a successful Art Show. The Courier Mail newspaper organised a competition to identify the best school newspapers in Queensland. Toowoomba Grammar School’s Balliwanga student newspaper was placed first in the section for secondary school newspapers. At the annual School Fete a new record profit was produced with more than $10,000 being raised. A popular activity involved egg-throwing at the Prefects. The Interact Club’s annual charity fund-raising venture was a touch football marathon. In July snow and sleet fell in Toowoomba. Sadly, the President of the Brisbane Branch of the Old Boys’ Association, Mr Vince Cardiff, passed away during the year. He had been President since 1982. The inter-House competition included a wider range of activities including drama, debating and chess. This year, for the first time, the inter-House competition was called “The Headmaster’s Trophy for the Champion House” and the winning House was Chauvel (and also in 1985-1987 inc.). The oldest Old Boy who attended the OBA reunion dinner this year was Roy Alexander (19091911). Mr Alexander also gained this honour at previous reunion dinners.

Co-curricular Activities: • General – The versatility of the new Trenerry Gymnasium for the School could be appreciated when one considers the various groups making use of it. Rugby, cricket and hockey teams had specialised training sessions in the venue and gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, boxing and judo squads trained there regularly. Aerobics was popular with the Ladies' Auxiliary and was trialled with the boys, but with only limited acceptance. New games such as indoor cricket and European handball were introduced, and competition matches in volleyball and basketball against other schools and organisations were arranged. Internal competitions were also well accepted with basketball proving most popular, and volleyball and badminton receiving good support. Table tennis and roller skating were available in the undercroft. Page | 617


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In Athletics, the School’s team was placed 4th in the GPS Track and Field Championships (behind IGS, BGS, and BSHS) held in October. Bruce Morwood won the Open 400 metres hurdles and nine first placings were recorded in the younger age divisions. In Basketball, playing opportunities were greatly enhanced since the construction of the new gymnasium. Representative games included the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Championships at Harristown with the School’s Open team winning two of their three games. Challenge games were also played against Toowoomba State High School on three occasions for one win and two losses, against the South-East Queensland U/16 representative team for a narrow loss, against St. Mary's College for two wins, and against Eagles B Grade for a very good win. Old Boy Graham Copeland (1973-1977) was appointed as coach of the Open Firsts Basketball team. He coached the team for three years. A one-day GPS round robin took place at IGS. The TGS Open side finished equal 3rd (with TSS). Eight of the nine GPS schools (BGS missing) were represented in the Open division and seven in the U/15. The TGS Open team won convincingly in their first game against Gregory Terrace (5419), but was unfortunate in playing the eventual winners, IGS, in the second round and the team was consequently eliminated (42-21). Basketball was added to the inter-House sporting competition for the first time this year. Each House played 7 games with all games being played during the lunch hour. Chalk and Mackintosh Houses played off in an exciting final with Chalk emerging triumphant. Chalk House was a new House created this year (see ‘Events’ above). In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition despite only losing one game (to Nudgee College, 158 - 7/188). This was the best result for the 1st XI since 1978. The team was captained by Andrew Smith. There were five drawn games during the GPS cricket season with two wins (GT and BBC) and one loss. In a drawn game against Brisbane Grammar School, opening batsmen Ian Scutt (71) and Lindsay Williams (33) had a century stand. This was the first century opening partnership for a TGS 1st XI since 1935. In Gymnastics, the School’s senior A team was placed 2nd in the competition. The team consisted of Howard Arbuthnot (Captain of Gymnastics), Chris Cousen, Stuart Fraser and Henry Jaschke. Further success in Gymnastics was the squad winning the Toowoomba District Secondary Schools’ gymnastics competition (for the second successive year). In Rugby, the pre-season rugby tour for 22 boys was to NSW with trial games against the Armidale School, All Saint’s College (Bathurst), Cranbrook School and Trinity Grammar School. The School’s 1st XV won or drew more GPS games than lost. The winning games were against CEGS ‘Churchie’ (13-3) and TSS (18-0). Two matches ended in a draw - Nudgee College (9-9) and also with BBC (6-6). The losing match against GT was extremely close, 13-14. Playing against the eventual Co-Premiers, BSHS and IGS, the 1st XV team encountered strong competition and lost these games 9-20 and 10-22 respectively. In the opposing BSHS 1st XV was David Wilson. David is a former Australian rugby player who played 79 Tests over nine years and captained the Wallabies nine times in the 1990s. In Swimming, during the season, the squad competed in several invitation carnivals, many of them in Brisbane on Friday nights. These were valuable in that they enabled the boys to compete in 50-metre pools and to measure an improvement in their times. The School was hosted by Downlands College, CEGS, and Ipswich Grammar at their school pools, by BGS at the Valley Pool and by GT and St. Peter's each at the Chandler Complex, the venue of the GPS Championships. The Captain of Swimming, Peter Burnie, qualified for two finals representing the Darling Downs team at the State Secondary Swimming Championships in Brisbane. Page | 618


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In the GPS Swimming Championships, although many of the School’s swimmers recorded personal best times, it was not enough for the team to gain anything but 9th (last) place. In the Open Division, Vice-Captain of the team, Gregory Hepple, was placed 2nd in the 100 metre backstroke and 3rd in the 100 metre butterfly. The TGS swimmers faced strong competition, as always, at the GPS Swimming Championships. For example, swimming for IGS in 1983-1984 was Jason Plummer who later represented Australia at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in distance freestyle events. In Tennis, the schedule of the GPS fixtures returned to third and fourth terms instead of running parallel to Rugby which led to an increase in both the strength and numerical involvement of the teams. Of the eight GPS tennis fixtures played, the 1st IV won two; TSS (4 rubbers all but winning on sets, 10 to 9) and GT (also 4 rubbers all and winning on sets,11 to 8). The match against IGS was drawn and the 1st IV faced very strong competition and lost the remaining five GPS matches. See the ‘Downlands Competition’ section in this year’s entry referring to a new sporting trophy, the Heenan Trophy. In Volleyball, prior to this year the sport had been a subject in Physical Education and a social sport only. With the construction of the new Trenerry Gymnasium, which provided the best training and playing facilities on the Darling Downs, it was only natural that interest in the sport significantly increased. The 1984 Olympics must also be given credit for exposing volleyball to such a large audience, thereby increasing its popularity. A very keen group of 20 boys trained twice weekly during Tuesday and Thursday lunch hours under the guidance of coaches Mr Cockburn and Mr Purdie. The School planned to host an "Invitation Volleyball Championship" for GPS schools in August of the following year in an effort to promote the game further. Volleyball as a sport was, at this time, not recognised in the GPS sporting competition. The School congratulated Robert Henderson on being named the first-ever Captain of Volleyball. In Debating, the School’s Senior A Debating team won the State Finals for the third time in four years. John Horstman won the award for the best speaker of the competition. In Gymnastics, the School’s Open team was placed 2nd in the GPS Open trophy. The Hockey Club maintained its membership with a total of over 60 players involved in the local club (not GPS) competition. In Swimming, whilst some very creditable performances were achieved by Gregory Hepple in the Open 100m backstroke and 100m butterfly, the team remained in 9th place at the GPS Championships.

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In Cadets, the Unit, along with many in Australia, faced very limited support from the Government. The Minister for Defence announced a restructure of the Australian Cadet Corps with existing Units other than community Units already approved, to receive very limited, if any, financial support. When the Government reduced its financial support, a decision was made to reduce the strength of the School’s Cadet Unit. About 100 of the 215 Cadets left the Unit as a result of the Government’s financial cutbacks. The new Officer Commanding (OC) of the TGS Army Cadet Unit was Capt. (AAC) John Franklin who succeeded Mr Graeme Ainsbury (who was OC from 1968-1983). Mr Franklin was OC of the School’s Cadet Unit from 1984-1988, followed by Major (AAC) Wally Davies who held the position from 1989-1996. The Adventure Club established at the School last year was under the leadership of Mr Clint Howitt. This Club had its origins in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. Over the years the Adventure Club involved the boys in trips such as cross-country skiing in the Snowy Mountains, bush walking in Tasmania, trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas and safaris in Africa. Mr Howitt was still leading this club with Mr Bob Harvey (who joined the School in 1988) until his retirement in 2003. The Adventure Club had its inaugural activity in the Christmas (1983) holiday with a hiking activity in the South Island of New Zealand. Mr Howitt led this excursion. After a delayed departure from Brisbane Airport, the boys landed at 2:00am at Christchurch. The Diving Club (TGURAC) had a membership of sixty students. As usual, the Club went down the coast frequently for excursions either to Kirra Reef, Tweed Heads or Cook Island (the most favoured dive site). The major diving trip was to Heron Island for one week. A photograph of staff member and founder of the Diving Club, Mr Ted Brambleby and the students is included in this year’s entry. A student in the Diving Club, Steven Philp (1982-1984), in later years recalled his experience with the Club. Steven wrote: “Thanks to Mr Brambleby, a large percentage of my life was spent in the dive industry working in some of the world’s top resorts and world famous diving locations throughout the Pacific. At age 18, I completed PADI dive college in Sydney and within 4 weeks of that I was bound for Papua New Guinea to run diving operations at Walindi Plantation and never looked back. I have dived with many famous photographers and marine biologists over the years and had regular features in early dive magazines on the deep wrecks and reefs we had dived. It has truly been an amazing life, all because Mr Brambleby showed me the underwater world”. The Pipe Band travelled to Bundaberg for the Queensland Pipe Band Championships. In Drama, the School Play was ‘The Ship of Fools’ presented in the Assembly Hall in May for a three-night season. The play involved twenty-two boys with leads Dylan Hughes and David Barnes. Other actors included John Horstman, Peter Burnie, Blake Singley, Troy Hyne, Rory McDowall and Sean Henderson. The producer of the play was Mr R. McDougall.

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Downlands Competition: •

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The Principal of Downlands College and the Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School donated a new trophy to recognise the annual Tennis competition between the two schools. It was known as ‘The Heenan Trophy’. It continued to be presented until 2003 and between its inception to its cessation was won by TGS on all but one occasion. The Trophy is displayed in the School’s Old Hall. The 1st XV lost the annual rugby game against Downlands for the O’Callaghan Cup (DC 19 d TGS 0). The TGS 1st XV regarded this loss as their most disappointing performance during the entire rugby season. The 1st XI Cricket team was successful in the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy: TGS, 6 for 221 d DC, all out of 79. Michael Donovan had impressive bowling figures taking 5 for 23. The School defeated Downlands in Swimming (TGS, 206 points – DC, 130 points) and continued to do so for the next three years. The School defeated Downlands in Athletics (winning by 30 points) and also in Basketball.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Honourable D.T. McVeigh – Queensland Agent General in London

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1984

Waverley Stanley, Michael O’Keeffe, Ian Hogarth & Mr C. Thorburn

School Prefects

TGURAC, School Diving Club

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1985 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 4th year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Messrs. B.Ian Parkinson, Bill B. Robinson, Pat J. Byrne, Don Trenerry, Allen P. Whitehouse, G.David Mayall and Dr Jim M. Blaikie

Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 16th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 10th year)

Senior Prefect: Christopher J. Wicks (see below) Senior Dayboy Prefect: John G. Horstman Senior Boarder Prefect: Robert H. Welsh Dux of Year: Brett W. Fordyce

Total School Enrolment: 686 Number of Dayboys: 286 Number of Boarders: 400

Staffing: •

Mr Darrell Pierpoint (appointed to the administrative staff in 1976) was promoted from Assistant Secretary to Secretary of the School’s Board of Trustees following the retirement of Old Boy, Mr Bob Partridge. Mr David ‘Dave’ Sams was appointed the Head of the Science Department at the commencement of the second semester and continued to hold this role until the end of 1998. Mr Sams had been on the teaching staff since 1974 and retired after 25 years’ service in 1998. The Heads of Department were Mr L. Goodman (English), Mr G. Geise (Mathematics), Mr K. Biggs (Term 1-2), Mr D. Sams (Term 3-4) (Science), Mr A. Curry (Languages), Mr J. Finlayson (History), Mr G. Ainsbury (Geography), Mr R. Gillies (Commerce and Economics) and Mr C. Thorburn (Manual Arts). In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr R. McDougall (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), and Mr C. Thorburn (Taylor).

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Students: • •

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A photograph of Form VI is included in this year’s entry. The School Prefects were Christopher Wicks, John Horstman, Robert Welsh, Matthew Ball, Willis Bray, Michael Donovan, Brett Fordyce, Matthew Geurtsen, Robert Henderson, Andrew Martin, Mark Page, Karl Sams, Justin Stower, Rodney Tyler, Christopher Watt, Martin Wilshire, Richard Wilson and Michael Young. Nine boys obtained the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Murray Byrne, Graeme Finlayson, Brett Fordyce, Robert Henderson, John Horstman, James Killen, Andrew Martin, Scott Powell and Robert Welsh. The academic results in terms of Ratings and of Tertiary Entrance Scores were deemed to be the best the School had achieved since Tertiary Entrance Scores were first used in 1974. The Senior Prefect, Christopher Wicks (1981-1985), was later to be appointed President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (2006-2008) and a member of the School’s Board of Trustees (from 2011 to 2021). An article describing Chris Wicks’ involvement with the School as a student, parent, former President of the Old Boys’ Association and Trustee was printed in Omnibus vol.32, no.1, 2022, pg.37. A photograph of Christopher Wicks as Senior Prefect is included in this year’s entry. Robert Welsh (1981-1985) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Robert was named as a member of the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby XV which toured New Zealand. Graeme Finlayson was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Chris Mills was unbeaten over 400m at school, zone, regional, GPS and State level in this year. Jason Little, competing in the Under 15 age group, won his third successive high jump GPS title with 1.90m, only minutes after being placed second in the hurdles, equalling the old record. Jason went on to jump eight centimetres higher at the Queensland All Schools’ titles a week later. At the Open level, Jamie Milne (1981-1985) won the Open high jump with a personal best jump of 1.925m. Peter Wildermuth (1981-1985) was named as a member of the Queensland Under 19 Volleyball team. Michael Boyce (1981-1985) returned to the School following a career change to become a teacher of Agricultural Science in 2016. Robert Henderson (1981-1985) was later awarded the Australian Neurology Scholarship to work at the Mayo Clinic in the USA. In 2010 he was invited by the Headmaster to address the School’s Scholars’ Assembly. This was in his capacity as Director of Neurology at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Dr Henderson’s work at the time involved research to gain a better understanding of brain-related diseases and disorders. In 2005 Robert Henderson was elected Vice-President of the Brisbane Branch of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. Stephen Rafter (1981-1985) was to later have his novel ‘209 A Story’ launched at Balmoral Castle in Scotland in 2009. He was also one of the foundation teachers at ‘Grammar Junior’ in 19971998. Duncan Schultz (1981-1985) was Guest Speaker at the School’s 2019 ANZAC Day Service in his capacity as Colonel and Deputy Commander 11 Brigade Gallipoli Barracks.

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Events: • •

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Tuition charges were $1,890 per annum and Boarding fees were an additional $2,780 per annum In 1985-86 members of the School’s Interact Club rediscovered, and subsequently restored, the School’s first Headmaster’s grave at the Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery (Anzac Avenue Cemetery). The Headmaster, Mr John Mackintosh, had been buried there (alongside his daughter, Florence Ethel, who had died earlier in May 1878 from a childhood illness) after being killed when thrown from his horse on 12 April 1879. A photograph of the restored grave site is included in the 1986-year entry. On 24 April, the School was honoured to receive a visit by His Royal Highness Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent. After inspecting the Guard of Honour which had been formed by the members of the School’s Cadet Unit, the Duke planted a tree (an Oriental Plane tree which promptly died, but which has since been replaced with a sturdier, more successful offering) before setting off with his entourage to inspect the School. A plaque to honour this occasion is located in a garden bed to the right of the base of the access ramp in the “quad area” behind School House. A photograph of this plaque is included in this year’s entry. During the decade of the 1980’s the Board of Trustees decided to attempt to secure an outdoor recreation site for the School. Nothing eventuated until the late 1980s when the School purchased 50 acres of land adjacent to Cooby Dam from the Royal Flying Doctor Service. This site was subsequently developed during the mid-1990s. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association annual theatre-restaurant took place in May with a Scottish theme – “Scotch on the Rocks, a Highland Fling”. The P & F Association held its fifth annual Art Show. The charity fund-raising of the Interact Club was a ‘canoe-a-thon’ on Atkinson’s Dam. Thirty-six members of the Adventure Club spent the winter holidays on a ‘Top-End Safari’ visiting places such as Hall’s Creek, the Bungle Bungle Ranges, Fitzroy Crossing, the Ord River Dam, Katherine and Kakadu National Park. Thirty-seven Fifth and Sixth Form French and Geography students travelled to Vanuatu for one week. On the TGS Old Boys’ Reunion weekend held in October the Guest Speaker on the Saturday night was Old Boy Alan Jones (1955-1958), the coach of the Australian Rugby Union Grand Slam tour of the British Isles. All the one hundred and sixty guests (some from as far as Melbourne) who attended enjoyed Alan's address about the tour and also talking to him after the formal part of the evening was completed. On the 1st January this year, the Church of England Grammar School (‘Churchie’), established in 1912, underwent a name change to The Anglican Church Grammar School, ACGS.

Co-curricular Activities: • • •

In Athletics, the School’s Athletics team finished a creditable 5th at the GPS titles held in Brisbane, a competition won by IGS. In the Open division, Jamie Milne won the high jump (1.925 metres, a personal best). Five more wins for TGS athletes followed. Jamie Milne also gained a third placing in the 110 metres hurdles. At the Queensland State Secondary Schools’ Sports Association’s Track and Field Championships held at QEII in October, the School contributed 25 athletes to the Darling Downs team. Chris Mills was first in the Open 400 metres (and won the U16 GPS 400m), Jason Little first in the under 15 hurdles (and 1st in the GPS U15 high jump), and Jeffrey Patterson first in the U14, 100metres. Page | 625


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The Captain of Athletics, Robert Welsh, started training late due to injury but still finished fourth in the GPS Open discus. In Basketball, for the first time, a full GPS competition was trialled in this sport although the formal competition was to commence in the following year. The Open1sts Basketball team was very successful this year in the GPS competition. The team won six of the eight games to finish 2nd, to IGS, in the GPS rankings (with a GPS 2nd place ranking also achieved in 1986, 1987 and 1988). Old Boy Graham Copeland (1973-1977) was in his second year as coach and produced a successful team. Glen Moor (Captain) and John Scott were selected in the Darling Downs team to compete at State level. The inter-House competition for basketball which was introduced last year, was again held during second and third term and met with great success. Over 120 boys competed in the competition which was conducted during lunch hours. Each House played seven games with two of the new sporting Houses (named last year), Gibson and Partridge Houses, playing off in the final with a win to Gibson House (48-24). In Chess, because the oldest member of the 'A' team was only in Grade 10, and the rest of the team being new this year, all players lacked vital match play and experience. Willing as they were, the Chess players just couldn't match the standard in the inter-school championships. The TGS team was placed 4th overall out of a field of nine, behind Centenary Heights, Toowoomba State High and St. Mary's College. In Cricket, the First XI, after experiencing success with their trial games, made a slow start to the GPS season, losing the first four matches, ACGS ‘Churchie’, TSS and BGS and a convincing loss to IGS (4/239 dec. d TGS, 104). They then remained undefeated for the remainder of the competition and finished 7th in the GPS competition. In the 1st XI, Jamie Milne took 5 for 51 against BGS and Mick Donovan took 5 for 17 off 18 overs against TSS and also 5 for 43 against BSHS. Captain Justin Stower took 5 for 40 against Nudgee College in the team’s first win for the season. The 1st XI cricket team defeated the eventual GPS Premiers, BBC (172-158). In the 1st XI game against ‘Churchie’, Brian Duncombe totalled 35 runs off just eight balls (but TGS lost the game). An Equestrian team was formed and competed in the All Schools’ Equestrian Championships (Darling Downs Division). In Football (Soccer), there was no school involvement in this sport as it was yet to be in the GPS sporting offering. In Gymnastics, the GPS Gymnastics championships were held in the School’s new Trenerry gymnasium and the School’s senior team was placed 4th. All competitors did their very best on the day. The Captain of Gymnastics, Stuart Fraser, and Cameron Jones scored consistently high marks in the senior competition. The Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Gymnastics competition was also held in the TGS Gymnasium. In Hockey, the 1st XI Hockey team competed in the A3 Division of the Toowoomba competition. This was a men's division and proved to be a little strong for the TGS players. However, the experience they gained from the older players was of great value and the boys finished the season with two very satisfying victories. A photograph of the School’s 1st XI hockey team is included in this year’s entry.

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In Rugby, the 1st XV drew against Nudgee College, 6-6 (the 1st XV also drew against NC in the previous year). In the 1st XV game against The Southport School, TGS was comprehensively beaten 4-32. The School Magazine described the match: “Although the score-line was painful, all who watched this game could only admire fast, open schoolboy rugby played in the best of spirits.” The 1st XV’s only win this year in the GPS competition was an away game versus Brisbane Boys’ College with the team winning 12-6. Indicative of the incredible talent and competition existing in the GPS rugby competition was David Wilson playing for IGS (formerly from BSHS). Later, David represented Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby. In 1999 he captained the Bledisloe Cup series. In Swimming in the GPS Championships, the team aimed to better 9th place which TGS had obtained over the last two years but it was not to be. Most swimmers swam their personal best times. A competitor for TGS in the swimming pool at the GPS Swimming Championships was the swimming captain of BSHS, Duncan Armstrong. Duncan was later a gold and silver medallist in the 200 and 400 metre freestyle events at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. In Tennis, Andrew Moore played his fourth season in the Firsts and his second as the School’s number one player. Andrew had a difficult responsibility playing at number one, competing against some of the best juniors in Queensland. He put up some top performances and had a couple of the best GPS players on the brink of defeat. It was Ben Webster’s third season in the Firsts and this year he was again the number two player. Ben won 6 out of the 8 singles that he played. The Tennis season started off well with two very convincing wins over IGS (8-0) and ‘Churchie’ (71). In Volleyball, the School competed, for the first time, in a GPS Volleyball Challenge by playing IGS, winning 3 sets to 1. A School team also entered in the Toowoomba A Grade competition and the players acquitted themselves very well. The School’s "A" team won the Darling Downs Secondary Schools' annual knockout competition in March. This put the team into the Queensland Secondary Schools’ competition at McGregor High School, Brisbane, in August. The team gained valuable experience but was no match for its highly skilled opponents. Several social volleyball matches were played against Toowoomba schools and organisations this year and two inter-House competitions were also played. In Cadets, the Unit’s total strength was 114 and the Cadets participated in the ANZAC Day March, bivouac, main camp and the Passing-Out Parade. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, eighteen boys from Years 10-11 were participants. The Pipe Band faced depleted numbers this year following the loss of the previous year’s Sixth Form band members. This year the Pipe Band consisted of seven pipers, five side and two tenor drummers, and a bass drummer. The Pipe Band under the direction of the Bandmaster, Mr Wilson, continued to represent the School at all the usual functions including the fete, Open Day and Speech Day. This year’s Pipe Major was John Horstman. In Drama, a drama production was performed over three nights in May in the Assembly Hall based on one of Agatha Christie’s mystery thrillers. Directed by Mr Roderick McDougall, the cast included Ben Underwood, Paul Tindall, Scott Powell, Christopher Becker, Brett Dodman, Christopher Wicks, Brett Fordyce and John Horstman. Girls from The Glennie School were also involved in the production.

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• •

In Music, after many years the School Choir was revived this year through the efforts of a new music teacher, Mr Andrew Doecke, and included eleven boys. The Concert Band comprising 21 musicians won the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Ensemble Trophy.

Downlands Competition: •

• • • •

Competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, the 1st XI Cricket team bowled Downlands all out for 70, with Brian Duncombe capturing 5 for 13. The game was won outright, the first time they had done this for many years. Downlands College won the O’Callaghan Cup for Rugby with a score of DC 12 d TGS 3. The game was played at TGS and the crowd was estimated to be in the vicinity of 5,000. At the Downlands Carnival in Athletics, the TGS team was successful by more than 150 points. The School’s swimming squad, swimming at Milne Bay Pool, won the annual competition, 195 points to 138. The School’s Open 1sts Basketball team won 51-18.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mrs Patricia Mitchell, the Queensland and the Federal President of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of Australia (Mrs Mitchell was the first woman to be the guest speaker at Speech Day in the School’s history)

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1985

Sixth Form 1st XI Hockey team

Senior Prefect Chris Wicks, later member of School’s Board of Trustees

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1986 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 5th year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 5th year)

Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 17th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 11th year)

Senior Prefect: Hamish B. McIntyre (whose younger brother, Geoffrey, was to become Senior Prefect in 1989). Senior Dayboy Prefect: Simon P. Taylor Senior Boarder Prefect: Andrew G. Thornberry Dux of Year: Paul J. Armstrong and Andrew P. Barbour (aeq)

Total School Enrolment: 710 Number of Dayboys: 285 Number of Boarders: 425 (a record level with subsequent overcrowding in the boarding school). The School was the largest boarding school for boys in Queensland at this time and thought to be the fourth largest in Australia. The boarders were living in facilities which were deemed to be totally inadequate to cope with the numbers of boys. By the end of the year construction had commenced on a new Boarding House (to be named Stephens House).

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Perry (Boyce), Mr R. McDougall (Term 1-2) and Mr P.O’Gorman (Term 3-4) (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), and Mr C. Thorburn (Taylor). Mr Des McGovern was appointed as the Head of the Physical Education Department, a position he held until his resignation in 2013. Mr McGovern, an Old Boy of TGS (1972-1973), commenced teaching at the School in 1979.

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Students: • The School Prefects were Hamish McIntyre, Simon Taylor, Andrew Thornberry, Dean Allen, Andrew Barbour, William Burge, Stephen Dryden, Ross Evans, Selby Halfpenny, Geoffrey Ila, Brett Lentz, David Lowe, Scott Mayall, Richard McCosker, David McDonald, Glen Moor, William Officer, Grant Sundin, Stuart Thorn and Glenn White. • Four boys gained the maximum possible Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 – Andrew Barbour, Paul Armstrong, Geoffrey Walker and Adrian Lewry. • Ross Evans was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. • Peter DeGaris and Spicer Briggs were the recipients of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. • Hamish McIntyre (1982-1986) and Senior Prefect this year was later to be appointed the Chairman of the Board of Cotton Australia and then a Director of the National Farmers’ Association. • Mitchell Porter and Donald Syme, both in Year 11, were placed fourth and fifth nationally in trials for the Australian Mathematical Olympiad (and first and second in Queensland respectively). • The Captain of the 1st XI cricket team for the second successive year was Justin Stower (19811986), the team winning the GPS Premiership. In this year Justin also represented Queensland in the Under 19 years Rugby team which later competed in the National Championships in Adelaide. Justin was later to join the non-teaching staff of the School as a Groundsman in late 2016 (to April 2018). A photograph of Justin Stower and his Toowoomba Grammar School tattoos is included in this year’s entry. • Jason Little (1983-1987) this year captained the Queensland XI which competed in the National Under 17 Cricket championships held in Melbourne. His best performances were 50 runs versus Northern Territory and 42 runs versus South Australia (see 1987). • Brian Duncombe (1982-1987) played in the Queensland Schoolboys XI versus New South Wales which was held in Toowoomba and in the Queensland Country Under 17 XI which played in Rockhampton. Wade Seccombe (1984-1988) was also selected for the State schoolboy cricket side. • Four boys were named as members of the Australian Under 17 Rugby XV to tour New Zealand next year – David Cameron, Phillip Hamilton, Jason Little and Anthony McDonald. • Dugald McIntyre (1984-1988) as a Year 10 student won the Australian Under 15 Cross Country Championship. • Christopher J. Smallhorn (1982-1986) rose to the rank of Commodore in the Royal Australian Navy. Records indicate that there have only been three Old Boys to have held such a high rank (see 1956). In 2018 Commodore Smallhorn was the Head of the Navy’s Fleet Air Arm at HMAS Albatross, Nowra. • Stephen Dryden (1982-1986) spoke at the dawn service at the Mothers’ Memorial in Toowoomba on ANZAC Day in 2014. At the time, Captain Dryden was based in Canberra as Director, Communications Information Systems, HQ Joint Operations. He was also the guest speaker at the School’s ANZAC Day service. • Scott Bridle (1982-1986) won first prize in the rural photography section in the 2014 Sydney Royal Easter Show and has twice won the BHP Billiton Waltzing Matilda Photographic Prize. As a helicopter musterer, Scott gets an ideal view of the patterns created in rural areas that he captures in his photography. In Scott’s book of photographs titled Outback published by Penguin Viking, Evan McHugh wrote: “There’s no doubt Scott is one of the best photographers working in the outback today. Time may confirm that he’s one of the best ever.” One of Scott Bridle’s aerial photographs is included in this year’s entry. It featured on the front cover of the School publication Omnibus, Vol 24, No.3, November 2014. The photograph taken from his helicopter is of Millar Creek, Armrayald, Queensland. Page | 631


Buildings: •

By the end of the year construction had commenced on the new Stephens Boarding House, named in honour of the School’s founder. A photograph of the completed building is included in this year’s entry.

Events: • • •

• •

The death occurred in Southport in May of Mr Charles E. Olsen, the School’s tenth Headmaster (1962-1969), at the age of 72 years. A substantial number of pine trees from the plantation were removed to clear the site for the new Stephens Boarding House. The annual School Fete was held in March and was officially opened by Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen with a record crowd in attendance. It was regarded as the School’s most successful fete ever with parachutists brandishing flares in the School’s colours, fireworks and a Bush Dance. The fete was organised quite differently from those in previous years. It began in the afternoon rather than the morning and continued until the evening. During the Open Day, a tour of School House including, for some, a climb into the roof, identified the findings of many boys’ names, the oldest being recorded in 1897. A school evaluation was conducted including a parent questionnaire which was responded to by 260 parents comprising 43% of the questionnaires sent out. Approximately fifty committees of Staff, Trustees, Parents, Old Boys and present boys were established to examine every aspect of the School’s operation. A visiting Committee, comprising thirteen senior and experienced educators, conducted an evaluation in August. Every member of staff and all Trustees were interviewed as were many students. The Chairman of the visiting Committee was Mr John Moody, Headmaster of Guildford Grammar School in Perth and the Deputy Chairman was Professor Edward Scott, Professor of Education and Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor of James Cook University in Townsville. The school evaluation exercise was acknowledged as a resounding success and the Visiting Committee in the evaluation commended the School and the staff. The newspaper The Courier Mail on 22 December on page one claimed that Ipswich Grammar School, The Southport School and Toowoomba Grammar School were the main offenders in defying the official policy of the Association of Headmasters in Independent Schools by granting sports scholarships. The following day, in Toowoomba, The Chronicle published an article featuring Headmaster Dent’s denial of the practice. On the same day a brief retraction to the School’s alleged involvement in the practice of offering sporting scholarships was offered by the general secretary of The Queensland Association of Teachers in Independent Schools and was reported in The Courier Mail. Mr Russell Gillies, the School’s longest-serving teacher (1959-1998 inc) described the teaching environment at this time as: “The 1980s proved to be a busy decade for me in the academic sphere. Incredible changes were accelerating in teaching technology: blackboards and their glassboard successors became obsolete and the white-board with their soluble marking pens became popular (with the odd errant student swapping the correct pens for permanent markers), as did the on-going use of overhead projectors. The new classrooms were wired to receive taped TV educational programmes and purchasable documentaries – contracted from the WM Dent Library Centre – and computers were introducing our students to an enlightening and developing model of learning.” (Source: ‘Toowoomba Grammar School - The Gillies Connection – author JK Winn, Toowoomba Grammar School 2013, pg 113) Page | 632


• • •

At the annual Reunion Dinner of the Old Boys’ Association, Honorary Membership of the Association was bestowed on Mrs Judy Gillies and Mrs Denise Miller. This was in recognition of their service to the Association over a long period of time. At this time they were the only women to be acknowledged as Honorary Old Boys in the history of the School and only the second and third person to have this honour conferred by the Old Boys’ Association. The Reunion Dinner was held in Centenary Hall, the School’s Dining Hall. Mrs Judy Gillies was to become the longestserving employee in the School’s history working as an Office Assistant and Receptionist at the School for 54 years, from 1958 to July 2012 (and later, for over a decade, as a volunteer in the School Museum). Similarly, Mrs Denise Miller was employed by the School for a period of forty years (1967 to 2006) working as Secretary to the Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees. Following her retirement from Executive Secretary responsibilities, Mrs Miller commenced as the inaugural Curator at the School Museum, a role she continued to hold at the time of writing (2024). At a Reunion of the North Queensland Branch of the Old Boys’ Association, held in Townsville, Mr Felix ‘Phil’ Brazier who was Senior Prefect of the School in 1914 and 1915 (and also Dux in 1915) was present as he was in the previous year. This year’s Senior Prefect, Hamish McIntyre, told the Old Boys attending the OBA Brisbane Branch annual dinner that the current students had coined the phrase ‘the fighting farmers’. The Interact Club’s major fund-raising activity was a ‘canoe-a-thon’ on Atkinson’s Dam. The boys met their target of beating last year’s achievement of canoeing a combined 512 kilometres. A group of staff and students as representatives of the Library and the Magazine Committee undertook some research into the history of the School. The first undertaking was a climb into the roof of the School House including the bell tower resulting in finding a great number of student names, the oldest being recorded in 1897. The second adventure was to crawl under School House. Here the Committee split up, with one group trying to find their way underneath the main office area. This proved to be unsuccessful due to a very low clearance height and a large rock blocking the way. The second group ventured underneath Old Hall, where old exercise books, newspapers, bottles and some other stationery pieces such as pens and letters were found. The earliest recognisable date was 1887. The TGS rugby jersey from 1914 belonging to Keith McIntyre was donated to the School. Mr McIntyre’s three grandsons, Hamish (1982-1986), Dugald (1984-1988) and Geoffrey (1985-1989), all attended the School. An account of the contribution of the McIntyre brothers’ contributions to the School is referred to in the 1988-year entry.

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Co- Curricular Activities: •

• • •

• •

In Athletics, four students were members of the Queensland Track and Field team competing in the National Finals. The competitors were Luke Oxenham in the Under 15 discus and shot put; Brian Duncombe in the Under 19 javelin; Steven Moss in the Under 17 400 metres and also in the Under 19 4 x 400 m relay; and Jason Little in the Under 17 and Under 19 high jump and in the Under 17 hurdles. The School’s Athletics team finished a creditable 5th at the GPS titles held in Brisbane at the Q.E.II complex, the same placing as in the previous year. IGS won the Championship. At the Athletics Championships, the School had nine first placings and fourteen second placings. In the Championships, Steven Moss won the GPS (Under 16) 400m and 800m events in style with, as quoted in the School Magazine, “daylight second”. Dugald McIntyre won the GPS (Under 15) 800m and 1500m events. In Basketball, the sport celebrated its inaugural year in the official GPS Basketball competition. The School’s 1st team won six of their seven competition games, thereby coming 2nd in the GPS Premiership (and again in 1987 and 1988). The School fielded five Basketball teams in the GPS competition, expanding upon the three teams of the previous year. The first game for the 1st V in the GPS Basketball season was against last season’s Premiers in what was then a trial ‘unofficial’ series of games. TGS lost the first game of the new season by eight points but the team went on to win all six remaining GPS games quite convincingly to be runners-up in this the first ‘official’ year of GPS Basketball. The 1st V was coached by Mr Graham Copeland and the Captain was Glen Moor. In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI Cricket team won the GPS Cricket Premiership (and again in the next two years, 1987 and 1988 and also in 1990). This was the School’s first GPS Premiership in Cricket in fifty years and the first for TGS in any sport since 1972 when, for the second year in succession, TGS won the GPS Athletics. The GPS Cricket Premiership team was captained by Justin Stower (see 1985 and 2016) and the Coach was the School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Ron Bourne. A pre-season 1st XI coaching camp involved fifteen boys and was organised and supervised by Mr. Graham Smythe. This was particularly successful and contributed significantly to the success achieved during the season. A bowling machine was purchased by the Old Boys' Association, contributing to the skill development of the players. The 1st XI won five GPS matches, lost two, to BGS (121-213) and NC (TGS 196 and NC winning the game by one run off the last ball of the day!), and drew one (TSS). To win the GPS Premiership, the side had to defeat BSHS in the final game of the season. On a wet day BSHS scored 86 and TGS struggled but was successful to the delight of all. In this 1st XI game against Brisbane State High School, Jason Little took 7 wickets for 21 runs off 19 overs. A bowler for the opposition was Michael Kasprowitz who took 4 for 53 when only aged 14 years. Michael represented BSHS in the 1st XI for the next three years and later was an Australian international cricketer (1996 v West Indies, 2004 v Sri Lanka and India, and 2004 and 2005 Ashes loss to England). The 1st XI team scored 311 runs with the loss of only six wickets in their game against ACGS (‘Churchie’). This score represented the highest innings score for TGS in the 1980’s decade. In this game Chris Watt and Jason Little had a century partnership of 107 runs. The 1st XI lost only two games during the GPS season – the first to Brisbane Grammar School (121213) and the second to Nudgee College. As previously stated, in this latter match, TGS lost by one run off the last ball of the day. Also in this game Brad Farr and David McDonald put on 110 for the second wicket. Page | 634


• •

• •

• • •

• •

• •

There were twenty cricket teams in this year competing in four age divisions. Jason Little captained the Queensland Cricket XI which competed in the National Under 17 cricket championships held in Melbourne. His best performances were 50 runs versus Northern Territory and 42 versus South Australia. Brian Duncombe played in the Queensland Schoolboys XI versus New South Wales game which was held in Toowoomba and in the Queensland Country Under 17 XI which was played in Rockhampton. The Deputy Headmaster (and coach of the 1st XI) Mr Ron Bourne, supported by Mr Little, the father of student Jason Little, recommended the coaching services of Mr Graham Smythe. He had been a prominent and long-term Toowoomba A Grade cricketer. This year’s cricket season commenced with a coaching camp conducted by Mr Smythe. This year’s GPS Premiership winning 1st XI cricket team returned to the School on Australia Day, 2006, to compete against the School’s current (2006) 1st XI. The 2006 team defeated the 1986 team by 17 runs. In Cross Country, the School was placed 3rd in the GPS championships, six points behind ‘Churchie’ and one point behind BGS. Prior to this year, the School had been third on only two other occasions (1977 and 1982). For the ninth year in succession, the School’s Cross-Country team won the Darling Downs Schools’ Championships. The Captain of Cross Country was the School’s Senior Prefect, Hamish McIntyre. In later years his two brothers also held this leadership role in Cross Country – Dugald in 1988 and Geoffrey in 1989. In Gymnastics, the School’s gymnasts were placed 3rd in the GPS Open trophy. The junior team won the premiership for the first time since 1950 and the competition was held in the School’s gymnasium. In Hockey, the season culminated in a round-robin competition for those GPS schools which offered the sport, this being held at Ipswich Grammar School. In Rugby, the School had twenty-three rugby teams compete in the GPS competition. This year the 1st XV defeated the team from BGS for the first time in nineteen years (11-7). The team also had a win against BBC (14-0) but lost the remaining five GPS games. Some of these were narrow defeats such as the loss to ‘Churchie’ (6-7) and TSS (7-10). Both NC (18-9) and BSHS (19-9) proved to be too good on the day. The Coach of the 1st XV this year and for the following five years was teacher Mr Oliver Dashwood. In Swimming, the School’s squad was placed 9th (last) in the GPS Swimming Championships, the same result as the last three years (and many others). In Volleyball, three boys were selected in the Queensland State Under 17 Volleyball squad – Grant Wilson, Andrew Dorr and David Wildermuth. At the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ championships this year, the TGS team was defeated 2 sets to I by Harristown in the final. The team also lost to IGS in TGS’ second-ever GPS volleyball clash, three sets to nil. The Diving Club (TGURAC) - (the Toowoomba Grammar Underwater Research and Adventure Club comprised 48 members, led by Mr E. ‘Ted’ W. Brambleby (see 2018). Adventure Club members enjoyed a week white-water rafting down the Snowy River and a week of cross-country skiing in the Snowy Mountains in the September holidays. The trip involved thirty boys. Boxing training under the direction of Old Boy Mr Neil Geddes (see 1976) was popular with 36 boys in the squad. In Debating, the School reached the State Finals of the Apex/Courier Mail Debating Competition for the sixth year in succession.

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In Drama, this year’s School Play was the slapstick comedy The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew by Robert Bolt. This play was performed at the School once before, in 1967. This was Mr McDougall’s last production with the School and the main roles in the play included performances by Edward Hughes, Andrew Barbour, Andrew Cory and Ming Lee. The Pipe Band faced severely depleted numbers.

Downlands Competition: • •

The School had success in Athletics (the Father Graham Trophy: 415 points to 230), Swimming (179 points to 156) and Tennis (the Heenan Trophy, 5 rubbers to 3). In the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy game, Downlands College 1 st XI cricket team was all out for 151 and the TGS openers of Chris Watt (127) and Bradley Farr (50) exceeded their total score with a remarkable 181 run opening partnership. This was the third successive victory for TGS in the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy game. The 1st XV lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 8-22.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Bruce McDonald Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Alan Jones, AO – Media Personality, former Australian Rugby Coach (Old Boy, 1955-1958)

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1986

Teaching Staff Photograph by Scott Bridle in 2014

New Stephens Boarding House

Justin Stower as a proud Old Boy

Restoration of 1st Headmaster Mackintosh’s Gravestone

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1987 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 6th year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (in his 6th year)

Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 18th year). The Headmaster experienced illness this year with a consequent absence on leave. Mr Bourne was Acting Headmaster for a significant earlier part of the year. Deputy Headmaster: Mr Ron G. Bourne (in his 12th year). At the end of the third term of this year, Mr Bourne resigned to take up his appointment as Foundation Principal of the Whitsunday Anglican School which was to open in Mackay in the next year. This year the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association bestowed the title of ‘Honorary Old Boy’ on Mr Bourne for his service to the School and to the Association, only the fourth person to have received such an honour. A photograph of Mr Ron Bourne and his wife Pat are included in this year’s entry. Mr Graeme Ainsbury, one of the two longest-serving members of staff (from 1959), was Acting Deputy Headmaster in Term Four.

Senior Prefect: Christopher J. Bennett Senior Dayboy Prefect: Grant D. Wilson Senior Boarder Prefect: Stephen M.C. Bowhay Dux of Year: Donald Syme

Total School Enrolment: 696 Number of Dayboys: 288 (a record number of dayboys) Number of Boarders: 408

Staffing: •

Mr Lester R. Goodman was appointed as the inaugural Master (Director) of Studies from his then position as Head of the English Department which he held from 1980. He held the senior position of Master of Studies from 1987-1992. Mr David Grosvenor arrived on a teacher exchange from England and after completing the exchange was to return to Toowoomba Grammar School in 1990 eventually to serve the School for over 25 years. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr P.O’Gorman (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor). Page | 638


A current member of staff, Mr Colin Thorburn (Head of the Manual Arts Department and Taylor Boarding Housemaster) passed away in April after a long and debilitating illness. The School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Ron Bourne, was honoured to speak at the funeral of Colin Thorburn. The eulogy was reprinted in the Toowoomba Grammar School Magazine 1987 on page 196. Mr Bourne referred to Mr Thorburn as a kind and effective mentor as a Housemaster with a deep understanding of country boys. The School presents a Year 11 subject prize, the C.J. Thorburn Memorial Prize for Technology Studies, at the annual Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. In 1984 Colin married Anne Paterson who was the School’s Laboratory Assistant. Anne Thorburn (nee Paterson) was a member of the School’s staff from 1974 to July 2001. The School’s longest serving former Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees (for 38 years – see 1950 and 1984), Old Boy Mr Robert Bruce Partridge, passed away in March. Mr Partridge retired in March 1985. In 1984, when the sporting houses were re-organised, one of the new Houses created then was named for Mr Partridge in well-deserved recognition of his long and loyal service to the School. Mrs Janet Meibusch became the first full-time female teacher in the School since World War Two in the 1940s. Mrs Meibusch taught Japanese, English and Geography until 1994 (see ‘Staffing’ section in the 2024-year entry).

Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Christopher Bennett, Grant Wilson, Stephen Bowhay, Stuart Christ, Robert Costello, Paul Czislowski, James Dare, Andrew Dowling, Matthew Gilchrist, Simon Grubb, Phillip Hamilton, Edward Hughes, Treg Kleidon, Jason Little, Rolf Mitchell, Anthony McDonald, Anthony Old, David Peirce and Donald Sword. Eight Year 12 boys achieved the maximum possible score of 990 points in the Tertiary Entrance Scores. The maximum academic scores were achieved by: Timothy Bagshaw, Christopher Bennett, Matthew Custance, Bradley Farr, Mitchell Porter, Donald Syme, Craig Thompson and Duncan Watts. This achievement had been bettered only once since the Tertiary Entrance Scores were first introduced. Christopher Bennett, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Robert Sands and Timothy Bagshaw were the recipients of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. At school, Duncan Watts (1983-1987) was one of the Australian team of three to travel to Jena in East Germany to contest the 19th International Physics Olympiad. Duncan graduated with a Ph.D. from Cornell University in the USA and his career achievements have been recorded on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Duncan’s employment has included a research scientist at Yahoo and Microsoft (USA), Professor of Sociology at Columbia University (NYC) and Professor of Computer Science, Business and Communications (The University of Pennsylvania). Donald Syme (1983-1987) and Mitchell Porter (1983-1987) secured fourth and first place respectively in the Year 12 section of the annual competition of the Queensland Association of Mathematics Teachers. A year after leaving the School, Donald Syme was placed second in Australia in the BHP Science Competition and won a $20,000 tour of the United States and competed (also a prize winner) in the 39th International Science and Engineering Fair held at Knoxville. In 2018 Don Syme’s name was added to the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. His entry read: “Ph.D. from The University of Cambridge; World Renowned

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• •

• •

• • • •

• • •

Computer Language Expert; Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research, Cambridge, England”. He returned to visit the School and the Headmaster in December 2018. Mitchell Porter (1983-1987) in Year 9 was invited to participate in the 1984-1985 Australian Mathematical Olympiad. His selection was even more significant in that most of the 120 most able students of Mathematics in the country invited to this Olympiad were in Year 11 and a few in Year 10. Mitchell was selected whilst he was a Year 9 student. David J. Wildermuth (1983-1987) was later to be named ‘Young Australian of the Year (environment category) when he was 26 years of age. Jason Little (1983-1987) as well as being a School Prefect was an outstanding athlete and was the Captain of Cricket (GPS Premiership team), Rugby, and Track and Field (also see 1986) and played tennis and swam for the School. He was awarded the Singy Miles Trophy for the most outstanding sporting achievement and the Bell Prize for the Best All Round Sportsman. In his final year at the School he won selection in the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby team which played the Irish Schoolboys and in that game he established a centre partnership with Tim Horan (from Downlands College) which blossomed. Jason’s Wallaby debut came at Strasbourg against France. In 1993, he became the youngest player in Queensland’s rugby history to make 50 appearances for his State. By the age of 24 he had made five overseas tours with senior Australian teams and eventually played 75 test matches. Jason’s contribution to the Australian Wallabies’ World Cup 1991 victory is well known and he became one of the very few members of the Australian team, along with Tim Horan, to be an integral part of two historic Wallaby World Cup wins. Jason is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement (see below and also 1985 and 1986). Jason was welcomed back to the School once again in 2012, his first visit in over ten years. In 2015 Jason was inducted into the Queensland Rugby Hall of Fame. A very interesting article including an interview with Jason Little reflecting on his international rugby career featured in the TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014, pp.52-55. Various photographs of Jason are included in this year’s entry. Jason Little, David Cameron, Anthony McDonald and Phillip Hamilton were members of the Australian U17 XV Rugby team which toured New Zealand in June and July. Stephen G. Moss (1983-1987) is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement as the coach of the Australian Triathlon team (2011-2012) and National Team Triathlon Coach, London in 2012. At school Stephen was known as the ‘Bungunya Bullet’. Stephen Moss and Jason Little travelled to Los Angeles as members of an Australian Schools’ Invitational Track and Field Athletics team. In later years Stephen Moss was coaching the Australian national team in Triathlon in 2011 and 2012 and being the Australian Olympic Committee National Team Triathlon Coach in London 2012. In May 2017 Stephen was appointed to the position of Head Coach for Triathlon in Hong Kong. Jason Little, Brian Duncombe and Stuart Moffat were named as members of the Queensland Schoolboys’ Cricket XI (Jason as vice-captain). Dugald McIntyre won three State Championships competing in the Under 16 division – the 1500 metres, the 2000 metres steeplechase and the 3000 metres (see 1988). Grant Wilson was selected in the Queensland Open Volleyball Schoolboys’ squad. Stuart S. Moffat (1983-1987) died tragically in a motor vehicle accident in September 1989. His name is perpetuated at the School in the form of a trophy which is awarded annually for “Courage, Dedication and Achievement in Sport”. Stuart was a member of two successive GPS Premiership Cricket XI teams and a champion cross country runner. R.B. ‘Todd’ Stubbings (1983-1987) later held office as President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association (Brisbane Branch) between 2008-2011. Grant Maudsley (1986-1987) was appointed President of AgForce Cattle in 2009. A Year 12 student in this year was later, in adult life, found guilty of committing a heinous crime and sentenced to lengthy imprisonment. Page | 640


Buildings: •

The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association financed what was termed ‘The Pavilion’, a large space frame erected in the Purves Quadrangle behind the Assembly Hall. It was to provide welcome shelter for the boys in all seasons of the year, a convenient ‘sitting out’ area for functions in the Assembly Hall and a useful annexe to the Hall, particularly on Speech Day. The cover was to replace an ugly and airless marquee that was until now attached to the Assembly Hall for Speech Day. The ‘Pavilion’ as it was referred to was later to be known as the Parents’ Cover. A photograph of the then named ‘Pavilion’ is included in this year’s entry. The name ‘The Pavilion’ was then given to the building by Mills and Old Boys’ Memorial Ovals. Construction of the new Stephens Boarding House was completed this year at a cost of $1.7 million. With the new Stephens Boarding House, the name of the Stephens Sporting House was discontinued and replaced by Heenan Sporting House. A photograph of Stephens Boarding House is included in this year’s entry.

Events: • • •

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The subject Japanese was introduced into the School curriculum, later replacing the study of German. Form V boarders resided in the new Stephens Boarding House and not, as previously, in Boyce House, which became the House for boarders in Form IV. The School’s Headmaster, Mr Dent, commented at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony that: “… though the School first took possession of this lovely piece of land in 1874, three of our four street frontages one hundred and fourteen years later, still lack footpaths and even the fourth has only broken bitumen. I do not complain, I merely mention it in passing, with grudging pride, since it must be something of a record to be so ignored for more than a century.” Mr Dent’s comment was in front of His Worship the Mayor of Toowoomba, Alderman Berghofer (and member for Toowoomba South in the State’s Legislative Assembly). His comment was a regular complaint over a number of years at Speech Days to civic and parliamentary representatives. At the School’s Speech Day, Mr Dent also referred to “…drought, poor prices and depressed economic conditions mean that many of our families, both in the town and in the country, are enduring difficult times.” The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association held their annual Theatre-Restaurant on three nights at the end of the third term. The Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner was the largest held since the dinner to celebrate the School’s centenary in 1975. The guest of honour at the reunion was Mr Greg Chamberlin, an Old Boy (1951-1961) and Editor of the Courier Mail. It is of interest to note that the last two editors of the Courier Mail, Mr David Smith and Mr Greg Chamberlin, were both TGS Old Boys. At the reunion dinner Greg Chamberlin spoke on media life and changes over the years. At the OBA Brisbane Branch annual dinner the oldest Old Boy in attendance was Lyn Wood (19271931) and the guest speaker was Old Boy, Col Morwood (1944-1947) who was in charge of the Statewide electricity transmission for the Queensland State Electricity Commission. The North Queensland Branch of the OBA held their fifth reunion dinner in September at the Hotel Allen with 24 Old Boys present.

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A new branch of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association was formed in Papua New Guinea in December of this year. The President was Sir Brian Bell (1942-1943) and Vice President, Sir Buri Kidu (1960-1967). The annual Boxing night was successful with eight hard-fought bouts and two blood noses. Boxing as a sport had a resurgence which coincided with the opening of the gymnasium. The Interact Club’s proposed charity fund-raising activity of another ‘canoe-a-thon’ on Atkinson’s Dam was cancelled due to too little water in it. The Interact Club’s donation to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame at Longreach was reciprocated by the invitation for the School to be a Life Member of that organisation. The Bond University Act was passed by the Queensland Government, securing the University’s status as a fully independent tertiary institution. Construction of the campus began in September.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

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This year the School was first in the GPS Cricket Premiership, second in Rugby (aeq) and Basketball, third in Cross-Country and Gymnastics, and won a State Championship in Debating. In Athletics, following the school holidays a squad of 40 athletes returned for a four-day training camp to prepare for GPS two weeks later. Disappointingly, the TGS athletics squad finished in 7th place on the GPS ladder. In the GPS Track and Field Championships, three students won individual Open events - the Captain of Athletics, Jason Little (high jump, jumping 2 metres), Brian Duncombe (javelin) and Stephen Moss (800 metres). The Open 4 x 400 metre relay runners also won their event with the team comprising Marcus Williams, Sandy Mettam, Jason Little and Stephen Moss. A photograph of the School’s Athletics team is included in this year’s entry. Jason Little backed up his high jump win with two second places in both the long and short hurdles events. Just for good measure, he achieved a TGS best-ever record of 6.82 metres to take out third place in the long jump. The GPS Open 800 metres saw Stephen Moss produce an astonishing last 200 metres to win in another best-ever record time of 1m. 54.48s., a well-deserved triumph for the "Bullett". The School was to win another GPS 800 metre event in the following year. Dugald McIntyre succeeded in completing his fourth GPS 800/1500m. double with a new GPS record of 1 min. 56.02.s. in the 800 (see ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). In Basketball, the School’s 1sts team was again placed 2nd in the GPS Championships, winning five games, drawing one and losing one. The drawn game was against BBC and about ten seconds before the final bell David Sandery scored a magnificent three-pointer. The lost game was to ‘Churchie’, TGS losing by only one point (36-37). A photograph of the 1sts basketball team is included in this year’s entry. Out of 36 games of GPS Basketball played this year, the TGS teams won 27 and drew 2. Throughout the year the basketballers played in tournaments and against other schools. This included the Darling Downs Championships where both the Under 15 and Open sides came second. The Coach of the School’s 1st team was Mr Les Purdie (Gymnasium Director), who held this role from 1987-1992 inc. In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI Cricket team won the GPS Cricket Premiership for the second year in succession. The team was captained by Jason Little and coached by Mr Bourne, the Deputy Headmaster. Prior to these two GPS Cricket Premierships (1986 and 1987) TGS had not won the Page | 642


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GPS Cricket Premiership since 1936 (and 1932-33) - (with an unofficial Premiership won in 1944 in an incomplete competition during World War II). A photograph of the 1st XI Cricket team is included in this year’s entry. The 1st XI won seven of their eight matches, losing only to IGS. In the 1st XI game against Brisbane Grammar School, the TGS 1st XI had BGS 5 for 13 and they eventually were all out for 59 runs. Against ‘Churchie’ the 1st XI had them reeling at 3-4. Similarly, against TSS they were struggling with their score at one stage being 5-12. Against Nudgee College, Brian Duncombe took 5 wickets for 37 runs, 6 wickets for 72 runs against IGS and a further 5 wickets against TSS. Jamie Mettam’s bowling figures against BGS were 6-20. This was achieved whilst in only his second 1st XI match in Year 10. He was to achieve five more in his three years, including three 6 wicket hauls, one of 7 wickets and an extraordinary 8 wicket haul (see 1988). Only one GPS side (IGS) managed to defeat the TGS 1st XI during the season despite at one stage TGS being 2/124. The final score was IGS (197) defeated TGS (183) and they were the only side to score more than 150 runs against the TGS 1st XI side. The 1st XI Cricket team travelled to the Gold Coast on a Friday afternoon in preparation for the 1st XI game against TSS on Saturday. Interestingly, the boys stayed at the ‘Pink Poodle’ Motel. In this year the GPS Association adopted a limited overs concept of 65 overs but without limitation upon the number of overs any bowler could deliver. Up until this time there was no limit on how long a team could bat for i.e. well beyond 65 overs if they choose to do so. (see 2005 and 2013 for changes to the limited overs concept). Mrs Challands donated honour boards in Old Hall for Captains of the 1st XI and 1st XV in memory of her husband Robert who, in 1921, had been the Senior Prefect and Captain of the 1st XI. In Cross Country, the School’s team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition (only one point behind Nudgee College and 10 points behind a very strong ‘Churchie’ team) as it did in the previous year. In the following year it was to achieve its best result ever in the history of the School. In Gymnastics, the School’s gymnasts were placed 3rd in the GPS Open trophy. The team took out the Toowoomba Secondary Schools' Gymnastics Championships, in both the Junior and Senior competitions (as it had done in every year of the Championships’ existence). This competition was held in the TGS gymnasium. In Hockey, the School united with Northern Suburbs Hockey Club and entered the Toowoomba Hockey Competition as ‘TGS Norths’. In Rugby, before the season began it was obvious that the School would be very competitive in the 1987 season, with eight of the previous year's XV returning, including four Australian Under 17 representatives - David Cameron, Philip Hamilton, Jason Little and Anthony McDonald. The School’s 1st XV Rugby team, also captained by Jason Little, came equal 2nd (with Gregory Terrace) in the GPS competition, behind Nudgee College. This was the best result in 31 years (i.e. since 1956) when the 1st XV had then won the GPS Premiership (equal first). A photograph of the highly successful 1987 team is included in this year’s entry. The winning games for the 1st XV were BSHS (9-6), ‘Churchie’ (12-9), BGS (18-16), GT (27-10), BBC (24-0) and TSS (14-3). Two teams defeated the 1st XV – IGS (7-9) and NC (9-19). The 1st XV win against Brisbane Grammar School was memorable for several reasons. The team at one stage was trailing 0-13. It was also the first time in twenty years that a TGS 1st XV team had beaten BGS on BGS’s home ground. In the win against BBC, Captain Jason Little scored three tries (see below in this year’s entry for recollections by Jason Little).

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Twenty-two boys had a Rugby Tour to New Zealand in June with visits to Auckland, Waikato, Rotorua (with food poisoning for the entire team), the Bay of Plenty, Napier and Wellington. Another rugby trip to New Zealand involved four boys - Jason Little, Philip Hamilton, David Cameron and Tony McDonald - who were selected to tour New Zealand with the Australian Under 17 Wallabies. They were chosen from the Under 16 National Championships which were held in Canberra, in September in 1986. In Swimming, the GPS swimming squad was placed 9th (last) in the GPS Swimming Championships – the same result as the previous four years (and many others). The School Magazine reported: “Our main ambition was to rid ourselves of the wooden spoon; however, unfortunately, we were outclassed by many fine swimmers from other schools, and it was not to be.” Pleasingly, all swimmers recorded Personal Best (PB) times at the GPS Swimming Championships. A highlight of the meet was the second placing achieved by the Open 4 x 50 metre medley relay. The swimmers were Mark Harrison, Phillip Hamilton, Ben Clarke and Scott Reinke (Captain of Swimming). During the season the swimming squad competed in several invitations and annual meets, some of which were on Friday nights in Brisbane. TGS was hosted by Downlands, IGS and ‘Churchie’ at their own pools and also hosted by GT at Chandler. This carnival provided some very good experience for the team as it was that venue for the GPS championships. In Tennis, the 1st IV had a relatively good year in comparison with previous years. The team won two GPS matches, BSHS (5 rubbers to 3) and ‘Churchie’ (4 rubbers all, but a win 10 sets to 9). The match against NC was washed out. The losing 1st IV tennis matches included BGS (2-6), TSS (2-6), IGS (2-6) and GT (0-8). In Volleyball, for the first major tournament of the season, the Darling Downs Titles, TGS was able to enter two Open teams and one Under 15 team. All of these teams were very successful, particularly the two Open teams, which finished first and second in the competition. Grant Wilson and Andrew Dorr were selected in the Queensland Open schoolboys' team. The 1sts Volleyball team had one loss in a GPS game, against BSHS (losing 2 sets to 1). In Water Polo, five players in the School’s Open team were selected in the Darling Downs Under 19 team to play in the State Championships on the Gold Coast - namely Mark Harrison, Scott Reinke, Phillip Hamilton, Ben Clarke and Ben Roach. The Captain of the School’s Water Polo team was also the Captain of Swimming, Scott Reinke. In the Adventure Club, twenty boys spent the Michaelmas holidays (September) and the preceding camp week in Nepal and Thailand. The trip was organised and supervised by Mr Clint Howitt. The boys had a nine-day trek of the Annapurna Range and rafted along the Trisuli River among the foothills of the Himalayas and visited Kathmandu, Bangkok, the River Kwai and the Burma Railway and its cemetery. In Cadets, a photograph of the CUOs and Warrant Officers is included in this year’s entry. In Debating, the School’s Senior A team won the State Finals with a two-year record of 18 victories from 19 debates. The successful team comprised Christopher Bennett, Anthony Horstman, Mitchell Porter and Duncan Watts, as it did last year. This win represented the fourth Apex State Final Debating win by Toowoomba Grammar School debaters in six years, once again led by Mr Clint Howitt. In Drama, the School Play this year was Bye, Bye, Birdie with the cast comprising an equal number of TGS boys and Glennie girls. Mr Ross Vernon was in his first year at the School and was the producer. Edward Hughes, Duncan Watts, Chris Bennett and Quentin Counsell played the lead roles.

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• • •

In Music, the Big Band (Open) section at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod, the School’s Stage Band (newly formed this year) came first. This new musical group, the Stage Band, concentrated on a jazz and blues theme. The Concert Band played mainly modern pieces such as movie themes and top 40 chart adaptations. Five-year performers in the Band were David Peirce and Philip Young. A photograph of the Concert Band is included in this year’s entry. Sadly, the School Choir consisted of only eleven members. The Pipe Band facing depleted members from last year was strengthened by the inclusion of two pipers from Fairholme College. Jason Little was interviewed by the School’s Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, in 2014. Jason was a boarder in Stephens House and he recalled: “In those days, we spent a year in each House – in Year 8 I was in Groom, Year 9 Taylor and so on. In Year 12 we lived under the Dining Hall in a large room due to renovations to Stephens House. I enjoyed my time at TGS and got involved in many sports. In the 1st XV of 1987 I believe that there were 3 or 4 players in our team who were better players than me. I was fortunate however to have the opportunities fall into place that allowed me to go on and make a career out of the game. The 1987 team was full of really tough, physical athletes who were both physically and mentally resilient. Our pack was very strong and had the ability to overpower and wear other packs down. As individuals, many of the players came from rural backgrounds and as such had a real toughness and resilience about them. We didn’t have any pre-season. We basically finished playing cricket and went straight into rugby the following week. We didn’t have a weights room and didn’t do any real strength training. For most of the players we developed physically by playing other sports and the transfer of skills attained playing these sports gave us a good base for rugby.” Jason Little continued: “I remember our U14/15 rugby coach, Graham Sampford. He had played high level rep rugby and had a really good feel for the game. He led by example and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and physically get involved during training sessions. I recall that he was bald and would often finish a training session with ruck marks and blood on his head and we really respected his willingness to get stuck in! He taught me that no matter what you do in life, you must be passionate and be willing to get your hands dirty by setting the example and getting fully involved.” Jason was asked were there any special memories of the significant events of being part of World Cup winning teams in 1991 and 1999. He replied: “To be honest, the 1995 World Cup had the biggest impact on me and the team. After we lost in the quarters and lost badly, we gained a new perspective on things and it made us more determined to succeed in 1999. While 1991 was special, the disappointment of ’95 really drove us to be better. The 1999 win was the sweetest of them all as we appreciated the win even more after the loss of 1995…. While playing rugby afforded me the opportunity to do many things, my memories are not limited to playing the game but extend to my experiences off the field whilst travelling the world. Touring provides you with perspective in your own life – visiting townships in Africa and seeing children living in poverty, yet still greeting the world with a smile on their faces really makes you appreciate your life and many privileges we often take for granted.” His advice for the TGS students focussed on resilience. He said: “Many people expect things to happen for them in life but don’t always want to go through the hard work, the failures and disappointments, to get to their end goal. My advice to any young TGS man would be to be willing to work hard and accept that you will have to overcome some failure and disappointment on the road to success. If you are resilient and bounce back quickly you will set yourself up for success.”

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Downlands Competition: •

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In Rugby, the O’Callaghan Cup played on the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was drawn, 6 points all. The Captain of the Toowoomba Grammar School team (Jason Little) and the Captain of the Downlands College team (Tim Horan) later both played for Australia as members of the Wallabies. The School Magazine described the game as “…a torrid encounter with physical forward packs and two competent well-drilled backlines.” The next drawn result in the O’Callaghan Cup occurred in 2001. The School’s Athletics squad defeated the Downlands team with a massive winning margin of 204 points. The School retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for cricket. The Downlands College 1st XI Cricket team was dismissed for 122; TGS 171. At the annual Downlands Swimming carnival held at Milne Bay, the final result was TGS 382 points d Downlands 370. The School’s 1st IV Tennis team defeated Downlands, seven rubbers to one.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Bruce McDonald (in his fifth and final year). Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Eileen Byrne, Professor of Education, The University of Queensland (only the second woman to address the Speech Day ceremony in 111 years – see 1985)

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1987

Deputy Headmaster Mr Ron Bourne and his wife, Pat 1sts Basketball team

School’s GPS Athletics team Cadet Officers Champion Athlete Jason Little

GPS Premiership winning 1st XI Cricket team

Concert Band

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1987 (cont.)

Stephens House

TGURAC, School Diving Club

P & F Pavilion, later named Parents’ Cover

1st XV Rugby team

(Front Row) M. Porter, A. Horstman, (Back Row) A. Taylor, D. Watts with Mr C. Howitt

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1988 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson

(in his 7th year)

Mr Bill B. Robinson (to August) succeeded by Dr James ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie

Trustees: In July, Mr Don Trenerry resigned from the Board after 13 years’ service and Mr Alan L. Dorr was appointed as the new Trustee. Mr Bill Robinson resigned from the Board at the end of the year (a Trustee since 1973). Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M. Dent (in his 19th year). Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 1st year), previously a Housemaster at Barker College, Sydney (see below). Senior Prefect: A. Scott R. Taylor Senior Dayboy Prefect: Geoffrey C. McDonald Senior Boarder Prefect: Dugald B. McIntyre Dux of Year: Robert J. O’Keefe Total School Enrolment: 701 Number of Dayboys: 296 Number of Boarders: 405

Staffing: •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. Amongst the teaching staff are Mrs Lynne Yeabsley and Mr (now Dr) Ian Waite who were appointed this year and both later became the second longest-serving teachers in the School’s history. Both teachers were still on the teaching staff in 2024. Also featured in the photograph is the newly appointed Deputy Headmaster, Mr Roger Buttenshaw, who was to become the longest-serving Deputy Headmaster in the School’s history. Mr Buttenshaw resigned at the end of the 2006 year and is later acknowledged and thanked. The newly appointed Deputy Headmaster, Mr Roger Buttenshaw, came to TGS from being a Housemaster and Senior Teacher at Barker College, Sydney. Prior to that he had taught successively at All Saints’ College, The Geelong College and Newington College, Sydney. Newly appointed staff included Mr Terrence ‘Terry’ Bourke (Art), Mr C.R. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Mathematics), Mr Ian Waite (Mathematics and Physics) and Mrs Lynne Yeabsley (French and English). All had long and very successful teaching careers at Toowoomba Grammar School. Mr John R. Franklin resigned from the School after nine years of valuable service. He had a most impressive career in education with appointments such as Deputy Headmaster of St. Peter’s College (Adelaide) and, later, Headmaster of Ardingly College and Christ’s Hospital School in England. Page | 649


Mr I. ‘Sandy’ Sanderson was promoted to the position of Head of the Mathematics Department, a role he successfully held from 1988 until he relocated to England at the end of Semester One 2008. Mr Roger Harris was to be the new Head of the Mathematics Department from Semester Two 2008. Mr John Dakin was promoted to the position of Head of the English Department succeeding Mr Lester Goodman who was appointed as the inaugural Master (Director) of Studies in the previous year. Mr Dakin successfully led the English Department until his resignation in 2001. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Scott Taylor, Geoff McDonald, Dugald McIntyre, Adam Bear, Kenneth Blaikie, Paul Cousen, Warrick Cox, Myles Donovan, Anthony Fairfull, Philip Green, Andrew Heath, Tarquin Hill, Michael Hopkins, David Meibusch, Sandy Mettam, Roger Morris, Jeffrey Mulder, Aaron McLauchlan, Robert O’Keeffe and Andrew Venamore. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Three Year 12 students achieved the maximum possible score of 990 points in the Tertiary Entrance Scores – David Meibusch, Roger Morris and Robert O’Keefe. Andrew Heath was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Samuel Overton, Keith McChlery and Cameron Tolmie were the recipients of the Peter ScottHunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Dugald McIntyre (1984-1988), Senior Boarder Prefect and Captain of Athletics and Cross Country, won the 1500 metres Championships in his age division in each of the last five years, and the 800 metres in four of the last five years. He was awarded the Singy Miles Trophy for the Most Outstanding Sporting Achievement of 1985-1986 for his national title wins. Dugald McIntyre’s success ranks most highly in athletic performances from any athlete from the GPS Association of Schools since the first GPS Championships were held in 1918. A photograph of Dugald McIntyre is included in this year’s entry. Three McIntyre brothers attended TGS in the 1980s. All three brothers were Captain of CrossCountry running – Hamish in 1986, Dugald in 1988 and Geoffrey in 1989. Both Hamish and Geoffrey held the office of Senior Prefect of the School and Dugald was Senior Boarder Prefect. Whilst Dugald was also Captain of Track and Field Athletics in 1988, his brother Geoffrey was Vice Captain in 1989. The author of the School’s history book 1875-2000, Still Playing The Game, John K. Winn, who was a teacher at TGS during the schooling of the three McIntyre brothers, described their achievements as ‘inspirational’ (page 469 Still Playing The Game). Wade A. Seccombe (1984-1988) held the honour of being either a member or captain of three of the School’s GPS Cricket Premiership winning 1st teams. In his final year in 1988 Wade was the Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team and advanced his cricket career in later years with State and National selection. Wade played for Queensland, the Australia A XI, and although he toured England with the Ashes team in 2001, he unfortunately did not play a test match. In 2024 Wade was the Coach of the Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat with this team winning the championship in the Big Bash League BBL-13. Wade is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Page | 650


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Sandy Mettam (1984-1988) was the Vice-Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team who played in three successive GPS Cricket Premiership sides. Also in the 1st XI was his younger brother Jamie (19851989), the main strike bowler. Sandy was also the Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team. Brendan J. Garard (1984-1988) was playing A grade representative hockey for the Rangeville ‘Eagles’ Club whilst at school and in 1990 he undertook an Australian Institute of Sport Hockey Scholarship in Perth. He captained the 1991 Australian Under 21 team and was a Bronze Medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as a member of the Australian Hockey Team. Brendan Garard is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement for representing Australia at an international level in his chosen sport and his Olympic Games achievement. Brendan Garard is not the only Toowoomba Grammarian to have represented Australia in hockey and won an Olympic Games medal (see Kiel Brown in the ‘Students’ section of the 2001-year entry). Mark Harrison (1984-1988) was selected as a member of the Queensland Open Schoolboys’ Water Polo team. Terence Rudolf (1986-1990) was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Squash team and Sam Overton (1985-1988) won the State Equestrian Championship. The Senior Dayboy Prefect, Geoffrey ‘Geoff’ C. McDonald (1984-1988) has both his father and grandfather listed on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. - Geoff’s father (John Norman McDonald, AM, 1958-1960) and grandfather (John ‘Jack’ Charles McDonald, 1928-1931). Geoff was later to be the Guest Speaker at the School’s Scholars’ Assembly in 2012 in his capacity as a former President of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and current member of the Toowoomba Regional Council. In a later year, 2020, Geoff McDonald was elected Deputy Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council. In July 2023 Geoff was voted as the new Mayor for the Toowoomba Region by the Councillors of the Toowoomba Regional Council. Another student to later address the School Assembly was Dayton McCarthy (1984-1988). After taking a B.A. (Hons.) at the University of Queensland, Dayton studied a Ph.D. in military history at the University of New South Wales. In 2016 Dayton (then Dr) McCarthy spoke to the boys in his capacity as a former Major in the Royal Australian Regiment, as a Military Historian, and a private sector Management Consultant. In 2014 Dayton was the military and historical adviser to the television production Gallipoli. He was a member of the Australian Army for twelve years and served in Iraq, Solomon Islands and East Timor. He left the regular army in 2013 and then established his own management consulting firm. Keith J.R. McChlery (1984-1988) was later a member of the national men’s canoe polo team – gold medallists at the World Championships, England (1994), Australia (1996) and Portugal (1998). He is honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Jason Stone (1984-1988) was the recipient of an award at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards in 2015. Jason is the Director of Farmscan AG and collected the environmental solutions award. His organisation produces technology relevant to spraying, planting, fertilising and spreading control and monitoring systems. Lachlan Millar (1985-1988) announced in late 2023 that he would retire from the Queensland Parliament after nearly a decade as the Member for Gregory. It is the largest electorate in Queensland, spanning 459,681 square kilometres.

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Buildings: •

Construction of the new Library commenced in July. It was officially opened in July 1989.

Events: •

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This year was the bicentennial year for Australia and also Queensland’s Expo. Fifteen busloads of boys were transported to the Expo and they returned to the School at 12:45a.m. on the following morning. Two further visits to the Expo were also arranged. The Trustees decided to install a number of Honour Boards in Old Hall. These three boards were to name those staff who had contributed more than 25 years of service to the School, to list Chairmen of the Board of Trustees and the Presidents of the Old Boys’ Association. A former long-serving Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Leslie Boyce, (Chairman from 1945-1957) passed away in April of this year. The School’s Headmaster provided the eulogy which was printed in this year’s School Magazine on pages 188-189. At the Annual Fete, members of the Staff defeated a Sixth Form team in a tug-of-war competition. A Fashion Parade and an Archives Display were also held. The Ladies Auxiliary organised a Melbourne Cup Luncheon and Fashion Parade at Dalby. During the Old Boys’ Reunion Weekend, the Old Boys played the current students in games of touch football, basketball and a shooting competition was held. At the Old Boys’ Association (Brisbane Branch) Annual Dinner were fourteen members of the 1948 GPS Premiership winning rugby team. At the dinner, Ian Nicol (1945-1948 and Vice Captain of the team) gave a short account of each member of the team and this was printed in the School Magazine of 1988, pp.184-185. (Ian Nicol had his two sons attend TGS and his elder boy Bob was Senior Prefect in 1981). Mr Malcolm Wright, Senior Prefect in 1930, was the oldest Old Boy at the function. The guest speaker was Old Boy Dick Laws (1939-1943) who spoke on the changes that had taken place in lives in the past 50 years. The TGS OBA reunion dinner was held in the School’s Centenary Hall (boarders’ dining room) and over 200 Old Boys and their wives and lady friends attended. Staff member John (‘Jungle’) Winn was the guest speaker for the night. The boys held, for the second successive year, an entertainment/talent night with 150 boys involved. The Interact Club’s annual charity fund-raising activity was a ‘walk-a-thon’; from Perseverance Hall in the Palmtree district between Toowoomba and Esk to the Ravensbourne National Park. The Headmaster’s Trophy for the Champion House was awarded to Henderson House (and also in the following year).

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, the GPS Championships were held in mid-May rather than in October as one of a number of changes made in the GPS sporting calendar for this year. The Athletics team finished 6th on the GPS Athletics Premiership ladder (BGS, Premiers), one place higher than that achieved in the previous year. There were six 1st placings, two 2nd, and nine 3rd achieved at the meet. In the Open Division, Andrew Jekyll won the Open high jump and Dugald McIntyre (Captain of Athletics) won both the Open 800 metres and 1500 metres events. Cameron Dorr won the 400 metres all age hurdles and Andrew Heath came second in the Open long jump and the Open triple jump. Page | 652


• • •

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• •

In Basketball, this was the third official year of GPS Basketball and the School fielded six teams in this competition. In a change to the GPS sporting calendar for this year, Basketball was played during the first and second terms rather than in the third and fourth terms. In the GPS competition, the School’s 1st V team lost only one game to finish 2nd, the third year in a row. The Captain of Basketball this year was Keith McChlery. The first game of the season was against BBC, last year’s Premiers. The TGS team won this game, 38-33. Other winning games included against IGS (51-46), NC (49-32), GT (54-27), TSS (51-16), and BSHS (67-43). A photograph of the 1st Basketball team is included in this year’s entry. The one game lost during the season was against ACGS ‘Churchie’ (38-60) and this team went on to win the GPS Premiership. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team won the GPS Premiership for the third year in succession – a hat-trick of Premierships and representing an historic achievement in TGS Cricket. The TGS teams in 1923 and 1924 won back-to-back titles, as did the 1932 and 1933 teams. Never before in the history of the School had TGS gained three successive GPS cricket premierships. A photograph of the 1988 GPS Premiership winning 1st XI team is included in this year’s entry. The 1st XI won four matches but won the premiership with a tie against TSS and one loss, to NC. Their BBC and BGS matches were washed out. The Great Public Schools (GPS) Association made the decision last year that the first three rounds of the 1988 competition were to be played in the final weeks of the previous year. In his book The History of TGS Cricket, author Ivan Board described this as a “ridiculous scenario”. It was the way the GPS cricket seasons were played up until 1930. The first game of the 1989 1st XI season was played in October of this year and in this game against BBC Tom Garde scored a century (123 runs). The Coach of the 1st XI Cricket team was Mr Graham Smythe in his first year, having succeeded Mr Ron Bourne who had been the 1st XI coach since 1981. Graham Smythe was to coach the 1st XI from 1988-2003 (see 2003 and 2004) and had also commenced coaching at the School’s summer cricket camps from 1986.The Captain of the Premiership team was Wade Seccombe. The strength of the 1st XI was demonstrated in some of the opposing teams’ batting scores – ‘Churchie’ (53), Gregory Terrace (48) and The Southport School (85). The game against TSS finished a tie with both teams scoring 85 runs. The TGS batsmen achieved some fine batting scores such as against BSHS (246 runs), ‘Churchie’ (205), and IGS (248). The 1st XI bowlers also did not disappoint. Robert O’Keefe took 5 wickets for 7 runs from 10 overs against ‘Churchie’ and Jamie Mettam took 8 for 18 off 17 overs against GT and 6 for 28 against IGS. Jamie Mettam was one of only ten TGS boys in the history of the School who took eight wickets in a 1st XI cricket innings in a GPS match. In the match against BSHS was Michael Kasprowicz, later to be an Australian Test player (see 1986). Surprisingly, Michael took no TGS wickets on this day, bowling none for 41 runs from 16 overs (see 1989). In Cross Country, our runners were placed 2nd in the GPS Cross Country Championships, the best result in the history of this sport from the 1970’s. The squad also won the Darling Downs Cross Country Championships. The venue for the GPS Cross Country championships was NC but the course was flooded and this led to a postponement of the competition for four days. Dugald McIntyre was placed 2nd in the Open division of the GPS Cross Country championships.

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• • • •

• •

• •

• • • • • • •

In Gymnastics, the TGS gymnasts won first overall in the boys’ section of the Toowoomba Schools’ Gymnastics Competition. The team won first, second and third in both the senior and junior divisions. The Senior team was placed 3rd in the GPS Championships held at BBC. In Hockey, only three teams were fielded this year in the local competition. In Rugby, the Captain of the 1st XV, Sandy Mettam, and Mark Harrison were the only players returning from the previous year’s 1st XV. The 1st XV had a very good season finishing 4th on the GPS Premiership ladder. The team won five games – BBC (12-7), BSHS (15-7), ‘Churchie’ (18-7), BGS (13-3) and GT (41-13). The losses were to the eventual Premiers, IGS (9-21), TSS (0-17) and NC (4-19). This year a squad of 30 players, both Under 16 and Open, under the guidance of Mr Dashwood, Mr Patterson and Mr Munro, embarked on the annual rugby tour of New South Wales. The trip was for seven days in the June school holidays and four games were played. In Swimming, the Headmaster, Mr Dent, stated in his Annual Report the following comment: “In the Great Public Schools’ Swimming Championships, our humble ambition this year was merely not to come last again – a modest hope which, one would think, a benevolent Providence might have granted. Alas, it was not to be; we were firmly ninth and last.” The swimming team was congratulated on their sportsmanship and graciousness in defeat at the hands of much bigger and stronger GPS schools. As always, the TGS swimmers faced extremely strong competition at the GPS Swimming Championships. One such example was a TSS swimmer, Andrew Baildon, who broke the GPS record in the Open 50 metre freestyle event (23.36). Andrew represented Australia in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Tennis this year was played in conjunction with Rugby during the third term. This unfortunate clash saw some of the School’s better tennis plays committing themselves to rugby to the detriment of the tennis teams. The 1st IV was placed well down on the GPS ladder but enjoyed wins against IGS and ‘Churchie’ and also defeated Downlands College in a non-GPS fixture. Volleyball was still not in the GPS sporting competition. An attempt by BBC to organise a GPS Invitation Competition this year failed through lack of interest. Three previous attempts by TGS suffered similar fates with only IGS responding in 1985 and 1986 and BSHS in 1987. A further attempt to organise GPS games was planned by TGS for 1989. In Water Polo, this year the School was represented at U14, U16 and U18 level in the Brisbane competitions as well as on Wednesday evenings in the local competition. The School’s Open team played against men’s sides in the ‘A Grade’ competition. Eight TGS students represented the Darling Downs in the State Water Polo Championships, an improvement on three boys in 1986 and 5 boys in 1987. Mark ‘Polo’ Harrison was selected in the Queensland Under 20 Water Polo team. In Cadets, the Reviewing Officer at the Ceremonial Parade was an Old Boy, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Lane (1958-1961). The Cadet Unit had approximately 120 Cadets. The Diving Club saw 20 students graduate to NAV1 OW1 SCUBA divers, 6 were certificated as NAV1 Advanced Divers and 5 became NAV1 Master Divers. A Fishing Club was established and attracted around fifty dedicated weekend anglers from Forms V and VI. In Drama, this year’s School Play was Oh! What A Lovely War, performed over three nights in April. Girls from The Glennie School were also in the cast. Mr Ross Vernon was the producer of the play and some of the actors involved included Mark Weston, Andrew Venamore and Scott Taylor. Page | 654


In Music, the musical life of the School was reportedly strong with the Concert Band comprising some 25 boys; the Stage Band 15; the Pipe Band 15; the String Ensemble 5 and there were 40 members of the Choir.

Downlands Competition: •

• • •

The 1st XI Cricket team lost to Downlands College for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for the first time since 1980.TGS scored 158 runs and DC passed this total in the 61st over when the game was then called off. The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup 0-26 in a dominant performance by DC. The Swimming team lost to Downlands College (159 points to 177). The 1st IV Tennis team won the Heenan Trophy in a very close competition, winning by only 20 games. TGS had not relinquished its hold on the Heenan Trophy in Tennis since its inception in 1984. The Athletics team won by 37 points.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Graham C. Copeland (1 year)

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Governor of Queensland, His Excellency the Honourable Sir Walter Campbell, QC The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was distraught to observe the reflection of two boys in the Assembly Hall windows playing cards whilst the Governor of Queensland was speaking. Apparently, The Governor was not perplexed; the comment was that he was a Downlands College Old Boy and was not surprised by the behaviour.

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1988

Teaching Staff

1sts Basketball team

Dugald McIntyre

The School Prefects

1st XI Cricket, GPS Premiers

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1989 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr B. Ian Parkinson (in his 6th year)

Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: Following Mr Bill Robinson’s resignation in August 1988, a new Trustee, Mr Donald ‘Don’ Christmas, joined the Board. Headmaster: Mr W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 20th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 2nd year) Senior Prefect: Richard Howard and Geoffrey L. McIntyre Senior Dayboy Prefect: A. (Tony) S. Horstman Senior Boarder Prefect: Tom L. Garde Dux of Year: Anthony Bagshaw Total School Enrolment: 724 Number of Dayboys: 302 Number of Boarders: 422 – a near record boarding enrolment in the School’s history Staffing: • •

This was the Headmaster’s twentieth year as Headmaster and his twenty-fifth year in the School. At the end of this year Mr John Winn relinquished the role of Sportsmaster (for the previous 15 years) to take up the position of First Assistant Master. The new Sportsmaster was Mr Walter ‘Kevin’ Grantham who held the position from 1990-1993 when the position was abolished. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor).

Students: •

• •

The School Prefects were Richard Howard, Geoffrey McIntyre, Anthony ‘Tony’ Horstman, Thomas Garde, Cameron Black, Scott Brimblecombe, Douglas Edlington, Andrew Johnston, Kurt Lisle, Jason Lonergan, Craig Martin, Bradley May, Scott Ryan, Richard Scarce, David Shaw, Nicholas Smith, Scott Smith, Jay Spence and Andrew Venamore . A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. (See below in the ‘Events’ section of this year’s entry). Four Year 12 boys received the maximum Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points – Anthony Bagshaw, Andrew Heron, Timothy Horrell and Richard Howard. Thomas ‘Tom’ Garde (1985-1989) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He was also the Senior Boarder Prefect, Captain of Cricket, was Page | 657


• • •

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named as Captain of the Queensland Schoolboys’ XI team and member of the Australian Under 17 Cricket Development team. He scored a century (123 runs) in the 1st XI game against BBC (which was actually played in October of the previous year). In the following year Tom was the recipient of one of the first six sporting scholarships ever to be awarded by the University of Queensland. James Maunder was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Scott Brimblecombe (1985-1989), Captain of Swimming (and Water Polo) was selected in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Water Polo team and Queensland Under 16 Swimming team. Damian (‘Dib’) Morgan (1985-1989) was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2010. ‘Dib’ is a marketing strategist, creative writer and inspiring conference speaker. He is determined to play his part in helping to preserve the ANZAC spirit and the wellknown poem he wrote titled Sir is a vote of thanks to the men and women who have fought to defend the freedom that this country enjoys. Kurt Lisle (1985-1989) was later named in the Australian Under 21 Hockey team together with Brendan Garard (see 1988). In 2010 Kurt was one of three physiotherapists supporting the Socceroos in their World Cup campaign in South Africa. Kurt had been working with the Socceroos for the previous two years. Christopher Ridler (1985-1989) was in 1999 to coach the School’s Open Gymnastics team. Richard Scarce (1985-1989) was appointed the Head Coach of the Bond Swimming Club at Bond University in 2015. As an Australian Swim Coach, Richard guided swimmers to victory at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (Glasgow) and the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships. Andrew Raffan (1988-1989) later joined the Navy and was part of the official contingent which travelled to Anzac Cove, Gallipoli for ANZAC Day in 2007. Tony Horstman (1985-1989) after school studied at the Queensland University of Technology in the School of Built Environment and Engineering, receiving the Dean’s Award for Excellence. He is now the Principal of Oryx Discovery, a small design consultancy specialising in the development of medical devices and surgical instruments. Tony has spent considerable time working and living in Suzhou (a city west of Shanghai), Jiangsu, China and also in Wellington, New Zealand. Brad Jones (1985-1989) was named The Weekly Times Coles 2016 Cropping Farmer of the Year for his cropping in Tammin, 180km east of Perth. The Awards Ceremony was held in Melbourne and later Brad was invited to speak at a conference in France. In the June/July edition 2024 of R.M. Williams Outback, The Heart of Australia magazine, an article focussed on Brad’s SwarmFarm robot that helps manage his 12,000ha of wheat, barley, canola and lupins on Bungulla Farm at Tammin. It can be used for weeding, mowing and slashing. Brad’s decision to invest almost a quarter of a million dollars in an Australian-designed and made robot is just part of his ongoing investment in agtech, with soil sensors already in the ground and masses of data being accumulated. Trent Thorne (1985-1989) in 2017 was the President of the Rural Press Club of Queensland. As an agribusiness lawyer, Trent was named as a Director of Beef Australia in 2022. Trent was the guest speaker at the 6th annual TGS Old Boys’ reunion lunch for those on the Sunshine Coast in 2023 and spoke of his life adventures, most recently climbing Mt Everest in May 2023. In 2024 Trent was involved in the triennial Beef Australia exhibition in Rockhampton where he interviewed another TGS Old Boy, Charlie Mort (1979-1983), about his significant contributions to Australian agriculture. The ‘Class of 1989’ provide an excellent illustration of the comradery existing amongst members of the group. A friendship association has formed with 57 members of the 1989 school leavers Page | 658


group on social media. This group also has a ‘long lunch’ catch-up in Brisbane on 3-4 Fridays during the year and a photograph of one of these luncheons taken in 2024 is included in this year’s entry. At this luncheon a guest speaker was invited and it was TGS Old Boy, Wade Seccombe. Some of those attending the luncheon travel considerable distances such as from Sydney and one from Germany. Brad Jones (see above) looks forward to flying over from Western Australia for the next reunion. Another example of the spirit of TGS friendship is clearly illustrated through the actions of the boys commencing at TGS as Juniors in 1947 and finishing at TGS in 1950. These Old Boys have also had annual get-togethers and 50th, 60th and 70th year anniversaries (see the ‘Students’ section in 1947 and 1950).

Buildings: •

The W.M. Dent Library was opened by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Walter Campbell, on 24 July. The former Library was to become the School’s Music Centre and named the Baynes Centre. A large crowd attended the opening of the W.M. Dent Library and a photograph of this event and the Library’s commemorative plaque are included in this year’s entry.

Events: • •

• •

The School purchased twenty hectares of land bordering Cooby Dam. Once the School’s Outdoor Education Centre was developed on this site, the property was named ‘Abingdon’. Taylor House Oval, which previously had only been a stormwater channel, was reconstructed so that a single hockey field could be accommodated on the site. Work on this project was completed in September of this year when oval fencing and a retaining wall were added. The oval was then named the P & F Oval in appreciation of the financial assistance which had been forthcoming from the School’s Parents and Friends’ (P & F) Association. A photograph of the new P & F Oval, with Taylor Boarding House in the background, is included in this year’s entry. During Camp week in the last week of Term 3, 320 boys, almost half the School, were at one of the eight camps or excursions held during that week. One hundred and fourteen cadets camped at a property near Cooby Creek. In March, the Year 8 boys went to Caloundra for their Orientation Camp. During the camp, many of the students were disciplined for misbehaviour and some inappropriate punishment was administered by the nine Prefects on duty at the time. The staff involved in the camp were unaware of such punishment being administered. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, noted the Prefects’ grievous error of judgement and, despite these boys’ impeccable behaviour prior to this event, they were required to resign their offices, including the Senior Prefect. Headmaster Dent, writing in his fortnightly letter to parents, stated that: “Nothing I have had to do, during my twenty years as Headmaster of this School, has upset me more” (than to remove the Prefects from office). The new Prefects appointed in April were Kevin Alexander, Philip Bailey, Timothy French, Cameron Hayden, Tom Hoare, James Maunder, Michael McDonald, Damian Morgan and Karl Wildman. Heavy rain caused the Interact Club’s planned major fund-raising venture to be cancelled – relay teams pulling several sulkies from Dalby to Toowoomba. The indent parking on the western side of the loop was created and ‘speed-bumps’ strategically placed in the main driveway. The only ‘loop’ at the time was what is now identified as the ‘lower loop’ i.e. near the Pavilion.

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• • •

The Cadet Unit’s Passing Out Parade took place in cold, steady rain throughout the event and all that night. An Archives Committee was formed this year, sorting through files, photographs and documents. The guest speaker at the TGS OBA reunion dinner was Benny Pike (1968-1970) and about 220 Old Boys, their wives and friends attended. The oldest Old Boy at the function was ‘Rusty’ Taylor (1939-1945). The following day the Old Boys played the present boys in games of touch rugby, basketball and tennis and competed in rifle shooting. The guest speaker at the TGS OBA (Brisbane Branch) reunion dinner was Errol Wildman (19611965) talking about the timber industry in Queensland. The oldest Old Boy present at the dinner was Mr Alex Yeates (1927-1929). The tuition fee for one semester (two terms) was $1,212 ($2,424 per annum). The boarding fee per semester was $2,100 ($4,200 per annum).

Co-curricular Activities: •

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• • •

In Athletics, at the GPS Track and Field Championships, the TGS athletes were placed 7th , one point down from last year. The number of seventh, eighth and ninth placings in events adversely affected the team’s overall points aggregate. Andrew Raffan won both the Open shot put and Open discus. Andrew also won the State title for the Open discus at the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Track and Field Athletics Championships and was selected in the Queensland team to compete at the National Titles. A photograph of Andrew Raffan is included in this year’s entry. In Basketball, the 1st V team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition (and again in 1990). The team enjoyed five wins during the season – BSHS (47-31), BBC (by 2 points), NC (57-31), GT (53-19) and TSS. The two losses were to IGS and ‘Churchie’. Darren Mentor scored 103 points for the season. The Boxing squad comprised 28 boys. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket season commenced in October 1988 and two GPS games were played before the Christmas break. The team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition. 1st XI cricket games won included GT, BBC, BGS, ‘Churchie’ and NC. The three losses were to BSHS (87-110), IGS (117-211) and to TSS. In the 1st XI game against Gregory Terrace, Jamie Mettam took 7 wickets for 19 runs and 6 for 25 against Nudgee College. Tom Garde was Captain of the 1989 1st XI. His century (123 runs) in the 1st XI game against BBC (played in October of the previous year but included in the 1989 GPS cricket season) included 18 fours and 2 sixes. Tom Garde held the highest batting average of 49.57 of all TGS batsmen in the decade of the 1980s (see ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). Representing BSHS in its 1st XI was (later) Australian Test cricketer Michael Kasprowicz (see 1986). In this game Michael took 6 TGS wickets for 23 from 19 overs. Also in the BSHS game, Doug Edlington top scored for TGS making 22 runs, opening the innings and watching seven wickets fall. In Cross Country, the GPS Championships were held at Ipswich Grammar School’s Brassall sports grounds, from Nudgee College in previous years. The team did not perform as well as the highly successful squad of last year but the TGS Open runners won their division, including Geoff McIntyre, Tony Purcell and Kurt Lisle. The Captain of Cross Country was the School’s Senior Prefect, Geoffrey McIntyre. Page | 660


• • •

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• •

In Equestrian, competing in the Downs Inter Schools’ competition held in Pittsworth, the TGS team of three riders was placed 8th out of 20 teams. Downlands College won this event. In Gymnastics, the highlight of the year in this sport was the participation of the senior gymnastics team in the Queensland Championships with a 4th placing. In the Darling Downs gymnastics competition, TGS won the junior, senior and overall aggregate score. At the GPS competition, the seniors were placed third. Andrew Begbie was placed equal first on the parallel bars and Chris Ridler (Captain of Gymnastics) was first on the floor. In Hockey, James Hindmarsh (Captain of Hockey) and Bryn Jones (Vice Captain) gained selection in the Toowoomba Representative Under 17 team at the State Championships in Gladstone. The TGS hockey teams played in the local competition. The 1st XI was placed last in a field of four in this competition. Playing an invitational game against IGS, the TGS team was defeated 0-2. In Rugby, during the winter holidays, 25 boys and several staff undertook a Rugby Tour of the North Island of New Zealand. The boys won three of the four games played. The tourists departed Toowoomba at 3:30am to catch their 8:45am flight. In addition to their matches and sightseeing, the boys enjoyed attending an All Blacks versus France test game. This was the School’s second international rugby tour abroad following a previous New Zealand tour in 1987. The supervising staff were Messrs Patterson, Dashwood, Munro and Waite and eight parents. The 1st XV won only one game this season, against ‘Churchie’ (14-0). The Captain of Rugby, Scott Stallman, cracked his collar bone in the last training session before the first GPS game and was unable to play for the next five games. Significant 1st XV losses were to IGS (3-32) and NC (6-59). The former school’s team was strengthened with three Australian Schoolboy Rugby Union players in the side. In Swimming, the Headmaster, Mr Dent, whilst congratulating the School’s Swimming team for winning the Toowoomba Schools’ Championships, also referred to the GPS competition. Mr Dent wrote: “Despite the best efforts of our team whose members had worked hard and who had, indeed, begun their training last year, the firm grip we have established in recent years on ninth and last place in the GPS Swimming Championships was never seriously threatened.” The TGS swimmers won the Toowoomba Schools’ Championships, defeating Downlands College and Toowoomba State High School as the other place getters. At the GPS Championships many TGS swimmers recorded Personal Best (PB) times and the team improved its points tally on the previous year. The Captain of Swimming, Scott Brimblecombe, and Vice Captain, Andrew Johnston, qualified for the Queensland team at the National Titles held in Perth. In Tennis, the School’s 6th placing in the GPS competition represented the best in recent years. The Captain of the team was Richard Howard. The 1st IV defeated the teams representing IGS (5 rubbers to 3) and ‘Churchie’ (6 rubbers to 2). In a very close game, the team was unlucky to lose against BSHS (4 rubbers all, 8 sets to 10). Larger losses were to BGS and NC, both 0-8 in rubbers. BBC defeated TGS (7-1) and the matches against TSS and GT were washed out. In Volleyball, the Darling Downs Volleyball trials resulted in four boys being selected in the U15 side. These were Leigh Purdie, Ian Lim, Tim Wilson and Chris Thompson. These four were prominent members of the team that went on to win an unlucky second place at the state titles. During this tournament, Tim Wilson, Leigh Purdie and Ian Lim were selected into the State squad. During the 3rd term the Open team played against a touring New Zealand side, Massi High. The TGS team lost to a much more experienced and better skilled side. In Water Polo, over seventy boys regularly played for the School in the Toowoomba competition or the Brisbane competition or both. Page | 661


• •

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This year, nine of the TGS players were selected for the Darling Downs schoolboy side (13 in a team), an all-time record, and one more than in the previous year. In this competition, Scott Brimblecombe (Captain of TGS Water Polo) and Vice Captain Scott Barnett were selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ team. In the fourth term, the TGS 1sts team lost to Palm Beach-Currumbin in the final of the Queensland All Schools Competition in Brisbane after defeating all other schools in the tournament in the preliminary rounds and semi-finals, representing an excellent effort. The Adventure Club arranged an African expedition. Nine members of the Club, together with Mr Howitt and some TGS parents, trekked (some experienced altitude sickness) in Kenya and visited game reserves. On the return trip the boys visited India (Bombay, New Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal). A connecting flight in Sydney to Brisbane departing at 11:00am was cancelled due to a pilots’ dispute with the next available flight at 9:40pm (this flight was also late). The boys arrived in Brisbane around midnight. The School Magazine of this year on pp. 95-97 recorded the daily account of this amazing experience written by Stephen Browning. In Cadets, a photograph of the Officers and CUOs is included in this year’s entry. The Diving Club had its major expedition involving a six-day cruise among the islands and lagoons of the Bunker-Capricorn section of the Great Barrier Reef. Activities included sailing, diving, island exploration, scientific research and photography. The Pipe Band had its numbers augmented by girls from Fairholme College for the third year. In Drama, there were two School Plays this year rather than one in previous years. A junior play, produced in conjunction with the staff and girls at Fairholme College and including boys in Forms II, III, and IV, was Bugsy Malone. This was the first time that TGS had joined to perform a junior play. The senior play, the major School Play, On Our Selection, involved girls from The Glennie School. This play was directed by Mr Ross Vernon and some of the cast included David Shaw, Tom Garde, Nick Pierce, Cameron Hayden, Nathan Knox and Chris Ridler. In Music, some of the talented Year 12 musicians in the Concert Band and the Stage Band included Gregory Campbell, Craig Martin and Phillip Bailey. At the Toowoomba Eisteddfod the School Choir was placed second.

Downlands Competition: • • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team regained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 79: TGS 4/80). The 1st XV Rugby team was defeated by Downlands College in the O’Callaghan Cup (0-9). The Athletics team won by over 150 points in the annual competition. The Swimming team lost by the narrowest of margins, just four points. The Tennis IV defeated Downlands, 6 rubbers to 2.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr J. ‘Tom’ Dare for a seven year period, 1989-1995 Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Bishop Adrian Charles. The Speech Day was held in the School’s Assembly Hall.

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1989

Opening of the W.M. Dent Library

The School Prefects

W.M. Dent Library

Andrew Raffan, GPS Open Winner in shot put & discus

Cadet Officers

Another long lunch for a group of the Class of ‘89

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1990 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr. B. Ian Parkinson retired in January after being the Chairman for the last seven years (since 1982) and on the Board for 18 years (since 1972). He was succeeded by Dr James (Jim) M. Blaikie who served as Chairman to February 1999. Deputy Chairman:

Mr G. David Mayall (in his 1st year)

Trustees: Dr Jim M. Blaikie, Mr G. David Mayall, Mr Patrick ‘Pat’ J. Byrne, Mr Donald ‘Don’ S. Christmas, Mr Allen P. Whitehouse, Mr Alan L. Dorr, Mr Glen W. McCracken; (Secretary to the Board – Mr Darrell J. Pierpoint). In November, Mr Pat Byrne resigned from the Board after 20 years’ service. Mr Glen W. McCracken (Old Boy 1970-1974) joined the Board of Trustees in March as its youngest ever member. He continued to serve the School as a Trustee for thirty years (resigning in September 2020) and was the Chairman of the Board from 1999 – 2019. Mr Glen McCracken is the son of an Old Boy (19391942), (Dr) David Ian McCracken, and his son Gavin Stirling McCracken attended the School from19891993. Headmaster: Mr. W. ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent (in his 21st year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 3rd year) Senior Prefect: Michael R. Black Senior Dayboy Prefect: Bryn O. Jones Senior Boarder Prefect: Gavin P. Ryan Dux of Year: Charles R. Lilley Total School Enrolment: 720 Number of Dayboys: 310 Number of Boarders: 410 Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. A photograph of the office staff is also included in this year’s entry. In the front row of this photograph are two gentlemen – Mr Darrell Pierpoint and Mr Ian Young. Their careers at the School are highly significant. Mr Darrell Pierpoint was Secretary to the Board of Trustees (in nowadays terminology, the Chief Financial Officer), on staff from 1976-2006. Darrell was to become the second longest-serving Secretary to the Board of Trustees in the School’s history. Mr Ian Young in this photograph was the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees and retired in the role of the School’s Business Manager after 31 years of outstanding service. The Headmaster at this time, Mr Dent, thanked both Messrs Pierpoint and Young for “their devoted and indefatigable service to the School”. Page | 664


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No less significant than the above is the service by a number of other administrative staff in this photograph. In the front row on the far right is Mrs Denise Miller, an administrative secretary. Denise commenced her employment at TGS in 1967 and served 40 years on staff as a member of the administrative team. Denise continued to work part-time at the School as the Curator of the Museum from 2009-2025. Another hugely influential and very effective employee in the photograph is Mrs Judy Gillies who was to spend 54 years as an employee of the School – the longest-serving employee in the School’s history. Judy later served more than a decade as a parttime volunteer in the School’s Museum. Both Mrs Gillies and Mrs Miller are Honorary Old Boys of Toowoomba Grammar School. Also featured in the photograph of the office staff is Mrs Jill Chatman, the Headmaster’s Secretary (front row, 3rd from left), and Mrs Mary Payne, the Deputy Headmaster’s Secretary (standing, 4th from left). Mrs Sonya Postle (standing far right) and Mrs Norma Mauch (standing 3rd from left) were also long-serving members of the administrative staff. The sixth form boarders in School House faced the illness (cancer) of their Boarding Housemaster, Mr Lester Goodman, during the second half of the year. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, became Acting Housemaster of School House during this time. The Headmaster’s son-in-law, Mr James (Jim) Tamvakis, was granted two years Leave of Absence at the end of the year with his wife Tessa (the School’s Assistant Librarian) to take up a position at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, south of London. Mr Ken Lavers (Old Boy 1974-1978) and Mr David Grosvenor commenced their teaching at the School this year and both remained very long-serving members of staff. Mr Grosvenor retired in 2015 but continued with some relief contract teaching in 2016 and 2017. In his career at Toowoomba Grammar School Mr Lavers held a number of important roles including Boarding Housemaster (Groom House, 1991-1992 and Boyce House, 1995–1998) and Head of Science (2014-2020). In 1993 and 1994 Mr Lavers had leave of absence to teach at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, United Kingdom. In addition to his promoted positions of responsibility, Ken Lavers contributed significantly to the School’s sports coaching program and to the Adventure Club. He retired in December 2020. The School’s Sportsmaster for the past 17 years and member of Staff for 27 years, Mr John Winn, relinquished this duty at the end of last year and this year was appointed to a new senior administrative position as First Assistant Master. Mr Winn’s successor as the new Sportsmaster was Mr W.K.P. ‘Kevin’ Grantham. In the School Magazine of this year on pp. 114-115, staff member Mr Russell Gillies expressed the School’s thanks to Mr Winn for his excellent efforts in this role. The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was on leave from December 1989 to March of this year. The Deputy Headmaster, Mr Roger Buttenshaw, was Acting Headmaster during this time. The Heads of Department were Mr J. Dakin (English), Mr I. Sanderson (Mathematics), Mr D. Sams (Science), Mr A. Curry (Languages), Mr J. Finlayson (History), Mr A. Hill (Geography), Mr R. Gillies (Commerce and Economics), Mr B. Wilson (Manual Arts), Mr T. Bourke (Art), Mr A. Doecke (Music), Mr D. McGovern (Physical Education), Mr H. Sorensen (Computer Studies) and Mr S. Purse (Library). In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor).

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Students: •

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The School Prefects were Michael Black, Bryn Jones, Gavin Ryan, Kevin Alexander, Donald Campbell, Dennis Craig, John Cunningham, Damien Daniel, Anthony Doolin, Andrew Fiedler, Duncan Heilbronn, James Jackson, John Land, Stuart McCallum, Hayden McDonald, John Piper, Leigh Purdie, Luke Raymond, Terence Rudolph, Tom Ryan, Nicholas Smith, Robert Speed and Mark Weston. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Eight Year 12 boys achieved the maximum Tertiary Entrance Score of 990 points: David J. Anderson, Michael Black, Terence ‘Terry’ Rudolf, Charles Lilley, Bryn Jones, Benjamin Macaulay, Robert Speed and David H. Schwarz. Benjamin Macaulay (1986-1990) was first place winner in Queensland in the examination to select the Australian team to compete in the Asian-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad. Senior Dayboy Prefect Bryn Jones (1986-1990) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He returned to the School in 2018 as Guest Speaker at the Scholars’ Assembly. Dr Jones was at this time the Deputy Director of Cardiology and Clinical Lead in Cardiac MRI at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. Donald Campbell was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Paul Farmer (1987-1991) took 20 wickets during the 1sts XI Cricket season for an average of 8.5 runs per wicket. Martin Love (1990-1991), whilst in Year 11, made 716 runs during the 1st XI Cricket season, including four centuries (Gregory Terrace 107; Downlands College 146; Ipswich Grammar School 103; and ‘Churchie’ 106). In his century against GT, Martin hit six fours and one six. His batting average for the season was 89.5 runs per innings. Martin was named in the Queensland Open Schoolboys’ XI and was later to play for Australia (5 Tests and 214 State Shield matches and 155 One Day matches). Author of the TGS History of Cricket book, Mr Ivan Board, named Martin Love as the finest batsman ever to attend the School. In 2018 the School initiated a new Cricket Award named the ‘Martin Love Batting Trophy’ (the 1st XI cricket batting award). Somewhat fittingly, it was Martin who hit the winning run in the final game against The Southport School to secure the GPS Premiership for TGS. Charles Lilley (1986-1990), the Dux of the School, was invited back to the School in 2014 as a Guest Speaker at the Scholars’ Assembly. Charles had completed a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and spoke to the boys about his experiences in the mining industry and specialist geotechnical consulting. Hamish Wilson (1987-1990) was, in 2011, the Guest Speaker at the School’s Scholars’ Assembly. Hamish was the recipient of a NATO Medal in recognition of his civilian leadership contribution to development projects in Afghanistan. Hamish credited his involvement in the School’s Adventure Club as the starting point for his extraordinary journey. Whilst working in England as a consultant with Impact International in humanitarian aid, Hamish was involved in relief work after a tsunami in Thailand, an earthquake in Pakistan, a cyclone in Myanmar-Burma and more. Terence G. Rudolph (1986-1990) is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. His plaque reads “Theoretical Physicist: Imperial College, London; internationally acclaimed and published authority on quantum computing and entanglement”. Mark Armstrong (1986-1990), then in his position as Colonel and Acting Commander of 11th Brigade, was invited to be the Reviewing Officer at the TGS Cadet Unit March Out Parade in October 2021. Mark joined the Army Reserve upon leaving the School and was commissioned as an officer into Royal Australian Corps of Military Police. Now holding the rank of Brigadier, Mark has had operational experience on Operation Catalyst (Iraq 2007), Operation QLD Flood Assist Page | 666


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(2011) and Operation COVID-19 Assist. Brigadier Armstrong was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) in the 2024 Australia Day Honours List in recognition for his outstanding performance as the Commander Joint Task Group on Operation Flood Assist in 2022 and is honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Craig Baillie (1989-1990) is an Agricultural Engineer and a Professor at the University of Southern Queensland. Craig became the first Head of School and Dean for Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University and was the recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award. Darren Mentor (1986-1990) was a member of the Queensland Schoolboys’ Basketball team. Luke Mayze (1988-1990) studied film and television at Griffith University Queensland College of Art. He has made at least fifteen short films that have been shown all over the world and he has won awards in New York and Pittsburgh. A photograph, taken in 2010, shown in this year’s entry is of some of the school leavers enjoying their 20-year reunion since leaving school.

Events: • • • •

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The population of Toowoomba at the commencement of the new decade was approximately 80,000 residents. The five Boarding Houses were: Boyce, Groom, School, Stephens and Taylor. The Tutor Houses were Barbour, Chalk, Chauvel, Gibson, Heenan, Henderson, Mackintosh and Partridge. A Review of the Tertiary Entrance Score by Professor Nancy Viviani proposed a new system known as the Overall Position (OP) using a 25 point scale to be introduced in 1992. The annual Reunion Dinner of the Brisbane Branch of the Old Boys’ Association was held in July. The Guest of Honour was Sir Buri Kidu, the Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea and an Old Boy of the School (Senior Prefect 1965). The annual Reunion Dinner of the Old Boys’ Association parent branch was held in August. It was the largest Old Boys’ Dinner in the history of the Association with over 400 in attendance. The Guest of Honour was Stephen Haddan who was a Prefect and a member of the First XV and Athletics team in 1975. He was also a most accomplished actor. Mr Haddan continued to assist the School in future years, for example as Guest Speaker at an Old Boys’ Business Breakfast in 2015 (see 1975). During the Spring School and Camp Week in the last week of the third term, twelve camps and excursions were held. A small group of students of the Japanese language travelled to Japan on a school tour as did students of French to Noumea. The TGS students studying Japanese departed Toowoomba at 3:40 a.m. and arrived in Osaka to be greeted by their Japanese host families. Other cities visited included Takatsuki, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kanazawa. Forty activities constituted this year’s Spring School programme. The undefeated Premiership 1st XV team of 1948 donated an Honour Board to the School to record the names of those students and Old Boys who represented Australia in sport. This Honour Board is situated in the School’s Old Hall. The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association continued to have an annual TheatreRestaurant and a Fete. Parents, as always, made a hugely valuable contribution to the School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association and its various agencies and committees – the Ladies Auxiliary, the Theatre Restaurant Committee, the Ladies Clothing Pool, the Text Book Pool, the Souvenirs Committee, the Flowers Committee, the P&F representatives on the Fete Committee, the Barbecue workers on home sports games and more. Page | 667


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Wonderful parental involvement and support were exemplified, for example, by the efforts of the mother of the School’s Captain of Basketball (Leigh Purdie). Week after week, year after year, Mrs Purdie washed the singlets of six TGS basketball teams (and also a volleyball team). A constant companion of Boarding Housemaster Mr John Perry was his Dalmatian dog, Sacha. She was so loved by the boys that, upon her untimely death, they subscribed to a bronze plaque in her honour, which is now attached to one of the concrete pillars of the W.M. Dent Library (southern side). A photograph of this plaque is included in this year’s entry. At the Ceremonial Parade of the Cadet Unit in October, for the first time the boys of the School sat on the Terraces on the embankment of Old Boys’ Memorial Oval, recently completed as a gift from the Old Boys’ Association. The Interact Club planted numerous trees around the School grounds this year. The Headmaster’s Trophy for the Champion House was awarded to Partridge House.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, disappointingly the School came 5th in the Toowoomba Schools’ Athletics Championships after winning it for so many years. In the GPS Athletics Championships, the School’s athletes secured many personal best performances to finish in 7th position with IGS winning the Championship. In the Open division, Howard Coggan ran a determined race in the 1500 metres to achieve a 3rd placing. Three first placings were achieved at the GPS Athletics Championships: Richard Reddan (U16 shot put), Dion Collins (U14 javelin) and Stuart Kelly (U14 hurdles). In Basketball, the 1st V team achieved 3rd place in the GPS competition for the second successive year. The team had a very good season with six wins and only two losses in the GPS competition. The winning results were: GT (60-48), BBC (55-35), BSHS (39-30), IGS (58-52), TSS (41-37) and BGS (129-46). The Captain of the 1st Basketball team was Leigh Purdie. The Open 1sts Basketball game against Brisbane Grammar School was memorable. This was the first season in which BGS played in the GPS basketball competition and, to their dismay, they were defeated by TGS (129-46). The two 1sts basketball games lost were to NC (51-62) and ‘Churchie’ (43-69). In Cricket, the 1st XI team won the GPS Cricket Premiership (the Earle Williams Trophy), following similar achievements in 1986, 1987 and 1988. The 1990 GPS Cricket Premiership was the fourth time in the last five years that the 1st XI had won the GPS Cricket Premiership, representing an outstanding achievement. This year’s Captain of the Premiership winning 1st XI cricket team was Senior Prefect, Michael Black, and the coaches were Mr Graham Smythe and Mr Ian Waite. Of interest, both Michael Black and Martin Love were also in the School’s Open 1st IV Tennis team with Michael Black as Captain of TGS Tennis. In the decade of the 1990s, in addition to the GPS Cricket Premiership this year, the 1st XI was placed second in 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998 and 1999. In cricket, see Paul Farmer and Martin Love in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. The School’s next GPS Cricket Premiership would not be achieved until 2000. In addition to Martin Love’s three GPS centuries (plus another century against Downlands College), the team saw impressive bowling figures achieved by Paul Farmer such as his 7 wickets for 31 runs against Brisbane Grammar School and 5 for 41 against The Southport School and another 6 wickets for 47 in the game against GT. Page | 668


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In the 1st XI cricket fixtures this year there were two wash-outs (NC and BSHS) and remarkably two tied games in successive weeks – to IGS and ‘Churchie’. In the IGS game the IGS side needed 12 runs to win in the last over. They scored 10 runs off 5 balls. With one ball remaining they needed two runs to win. The batsmen passed for one run and it was a tie. In the ‘Churchie’ game, with one over to be bowled, ‘Churchie’ needed only one run to win. James Macrae was the bowler and on the first ball of the last over he claimed the wicket of the last Churchie batsmen. In this game against ‘Churchie’, the TGS Captain, Michael Black, took 5 wickets for 38 runs. In the 1st XI cricket game against Brisbane Grammar School, after six overs the TGS team had BGS 4 wickets down for only 5 runs. This year against BBC, TGS scored only 59 runs which represented the lowest innings total for TGS in the decade of the 1990s. In Cross Country, the team was defeated for the first time ever at the Darling Downs Championships held in May. The event was won by St Mary’s College. The School was placed 8th in the GPS Cross Country Championships, won this year by TSS. In Golf, the annual GPS Golf Day was held at the Karana Downs Country Club in July and our senior team was placed 3rd. In Gymnastics, a week before the GPS Championships, the Darling Downs Gymnastics Championships were held at Fairholme College. The TGS gymnasts won both the senior and junior divisions as well as the Cup for overall points. In the high standard of GPS competition, the Open Gymnastics team was placed 6th. In Hockey, the boys played in the local clubs’ competition and won several titles. The year proved to be the most successful for TGS in hockey to date. In winning the minor premiership of the Toowoomba Hockey Association's Under 17/15 competition, this team lost only two matches, scoring 63 goals for to only 12 against. The team was also successful in winning the President's Cup in this division for the first time. After winning their major semi-final against Rangeville by a thrilling one goal to nil, they lost to that team in the grand-final. The hockey team was also successful in winning the inaugural "Mini GPS" Competition playing games against ACGS and IGS and TSS in the second round. In Rugby in the GPS season, the 1st XV had two wins; against BBC (10-6) and BSHS (6-3). In a very close game against GT, the 1st XV lost the game (13-15), losing to a penalty right in front on fulltime. The 1st XV did not score in their games against BGS (0-18) or TSS (0-8). In the words of Nick Smith, the Captain of Rugby for TGS, about the TSS match: “To put it plainly, we played pathetically and didn’t deserve to win.” A very positive result for the 1st XV was the win against Downlands College (see below). A group of 36 Rugby players drawn mainly from the First and Second XV teams spent nine days of the winter vacation touring the South Island of New Zealand. This followed a successful tour of the North Island of New Zealand by the School’s rugby players in the previous year. In the TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2015 on pages 35-38, the then School Historian, John K. Winn, summarised some of the major features of the 1990’s decade in terms of Rugby. In Swimming, several trial/invitational carnivals, held by various schools, plus a training session at Chandler, were invaluable preparation for the more important carnivals later in the season. The TGS Swimming squad competing at the Toowoomba Schools’ Competition came second to Toowoomba State High School. At the GPS Swimming Championships, TGS finished in last position but many personal victories were achieved with approximately 80% of swimmers performing personal best times. In the Open Division, the School’s Captain of Swimming, Michael Hobson, was placed third in the breaststroke. Page | 669


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In Tennis, the 1st IV lost all GPS matches during the season but retained the Heenan Trophy against Downlands College, winning 7 rubbers to 1. The game against GT was a very close one, both teams winning four rubbers each, and even on sets with GT finally winning 73 games to 71 games. Volleyball players competed in a six-week local schoolboys’ competition, finishing in 3rd place. The Open team then played in the Darling Downs Schoolboys’ titles. At the State Schoolboys’ Competition which followed, Ian Lim was selected as a member of the Queensland team which travelled to Port Macquarie in August. In Water Polo, the School’s First team won the Men’s A Grade Premiership Trophy in the Toowoomba competition. Eight TGS students were selected in the Darling Downs Schoolboys’ side which competed in the State Schoolboys’ Championships held in Townsville in March. The School’s Open Water Polo team came second in the South-East Queensland Schools’ competition. In Boxing, there were 18 boys in the squad. The Diving Club was active. In Drama, the music play Ernie was produced in conjunction with Fairholme College, with a cast of 120. Mr Ross Vernon was a co-director of the play and the leads included Matthew LeddingtonHill and Craig O’Sullivan. The School Play, Our Town, was also performed over three nights in August with Mr Vernon as the producer. The roles were challenging and capably performed by Keir Nuttall, Bryn Jones, Craig O’Sullivan, Shane Stephens and the rest of the cast. In Music, the musical life of the School continued to grow and develop. The choir was growing and the various musical groups – the Stage Band, the Concert Band, the Pipe Band and various Rock Bands – grew in both numbers and competence. The fourth annual Entertainment Night was held in October and was a huge success. The audience was entertained by singers, musicians, comedians and rock bands.

Downlands Competition: •

• •

The School defeated Downlands College in Swimming (191½–146½ points for the Seawright Trophy). The School remained undefeated in this annual swimming competition against DC from this year until the cessation of this fixture in 2005. For the first time in 24 years of Athletics competition, the School was beaten by Downlands College in the annual competition for the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The Trophy returned to TGS in the following year. The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy: TGS 5-281 d DC 9-238. Martin Love scored 146 runs (and 189 runs in the following year). The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup 10-4. It was reported that there were 8,000 spectators at this game. This was the first time that TGS had won the O’Callaghan Cup against Downlands College in seven years, with the last game won in 1983. There was a drawn game in 1987. In the following year (1991) the Cup was returned to Downlands College. Competing for the Heenan Trophy, the School defeated Downlands College in Tennis, winning 7 rubbers to 1.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Commodore William L. Taylor RAN (Ret’d), Federal Member for Groom (Old Boy 1953-1956)

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1990 The School Prefects

School Staff

The School Prefects The Office Staff

School Staff

Year 12, 20 Year Reunion The Office Staff

Year 12, 20 Year Reunion P & F Oval and Taylor Boarding House

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P & F Oval and Taylor Boarding House

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1991 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr J ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 2nd year)

Mr G. David Mayall (in his 2nd year)

Headmaster: Mr W ‘Bill’ M.S. Dent in his 22nd year as Headmaster (until July). Acting Headmaster (from May) Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw. Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 4th year); The Acting Deputy Headmaster (from May) was Mr Graeme E. Ainsbury.

Senior Prefect: Andrew S. Hoare Senior Dayboy Prefect: Ian S. Lim Senior Boarder Prefect: Grant A. Austin Dux of Year: Ben D. Wallwork

Total School Enrolment: 690 Number of Dayboys: 300 Number of Boarders: 390

Staffing: •

The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was forced into an early retirement in May due to ill health (cancer). Four years ago Mr Dent was diagnosed with cancer and was absent from the School for several months being treated for this. The teacher who was to become the longest-serving teacher in the history of the School, Mr Russell R. (‘Russ’) Gillies, addressed the TGS Old Boys’ Dinner in Brisbane as their Guest Speaker in 1997. He remembered the Dent days with affection and said: “… one of nature’s gentlemen, ‘Bill’ (Moof) Dent took over the headmastership of the School following the controversial departure of Charles Olsen. The School continued to prosper and grow both physically and in terms of enrolments. ‘Bill’ had already made his mark in many ways at TGS. After the restrictive nature of the Olsen years, it was a pleasure working under ‘Bill’ Dent who, together with his newly appointed deputy Alan Morwood, encouraged initiative on the part of both staff and boys. ‘Bill’ appointed Heads of Department for the first time and I was fortunate in being appointed Head of Commerce and Economics, a position I held for some twenty years before my recent change to sports administration….” (as quoted in Still Playing The Game, J.K. Winn, pp 379380). The School’s historian and author of the history of the School 1875-2000, Mr John K. Winn, summarised Mr Dent’s Headship on page 470 with the words: “… It... heralded the end of the Dent era which was a truly golden era in the history of the School.” Page | 672


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A very detailed Tribute to the work and success of the Headmaster, Mr Dent, appeared in the School Magazine of this year, pages 9-11. Mr Roy Jackson retired after having commenced his teaching at the School in 1962 and completing thirty years of service. Two new staff positions were created this year – a Director of Cricket Coaching (Mr Graham Smythe) and a Director of Rugby Coaching (Mr Dean Patterson). In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr K. Lavers (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Andrew Hoare, Ian Lim, Grant Austin, Duncan Bryce, Andrei Clewett, Warren Crowther, Paul Farmer, Nathan Green, Michael Gwydir, Robert Hayward, Martin Love, Bruce Morse, Nathan O’Brien, Andrew Raff, Damien Roberts, Dean Short, Shane Stephens, Benjamin Wallwork and Tim Wilson. Nine Year 12 boys gained the maximum possible score of 990 points on the Tertiary Entrance Score – Denis Gascoigne, Michael Gwydir, Kevin Hanssen, Bradley Hogan, Damien Roberts, Dean Short, Stephen Silcock, Nicholas Tidey and Benjamin Wallwork. Andrew Hoare, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Andrew Cameron was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. This was the first year that the Australian Government’s Students’ Prize was created in recognition of the top 500 Year 12 students in Australia, including Dennis Gascoigne and Benjamin Wallwork. Martin Love (Year 12) scored four centuries for the 1st XI Cricket team for the second year in succession (see 1990). These included Gregory Terrace – 114 not out; Downlands College – 169 not out; ‘Churchie’ – 115; and Brisbane Grammar School – 162 not out. Later in Martin’s cricket career he captained Queensland and played test cricket for Australia. He made his test debut in the Boxing Day Test versus England in 2002, played two tests whilst on tour to the West Indies in 2003 and played two test matches against Bangladesh in Darwin and Cairns (where he scored his maiden test century). Martin Love is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement and his photograph appears in this year’s entry. Nathan O’Neill (1987-1991), in the same year group as Martin Love, also later represented Australia and is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Nathan won a Commonwealth Games Bronze Medal in Cycling in Manchester, England in 2002 and a Gold Medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the Men’s Individual Time Trial in Melbourne. He had previously represented Australia in Cycling in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and was selected in the Australian squad for Cycling for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Nathan was an eight-time Australian time trial champion and in 2007 was crowned the overall winner of the Tour of Gila in the United States. At some stage Nathan was cycling with the Saturn team in the USA. Even when Nathan was at school in Year 12 he was the National Junior Individual Time Trials Champion and record holder.

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Michael Hall (1989-1991) returned to the School as a Boarding Residential Supervisor in 20052007 and in 2020 was appointed as a teacher of Health and Physical Education and Boarding Housemaster (Boyce House). In 2024 Michael was promoted to the position of Head of Pastoral Care. Matthew McClymont (1990-1991) and David Garden (1989-1992) were Queensland representative players in hockey and in the School’s 1st XI Hockey team which reached the finals of the Toowoomba competition. Keir Nuttall (1987-1991) graduated from the Conservatorium of Music and with Kate MillerHeidke on stage at the Woodford Folk Festival in 2005 they announced their engagement. Keir wrote a film Give and Take which had its world premiere in Paris in 2007 and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Old Boy Phil Lepherd (1986-1990) was the director and editor of this film. Later, Keir Nuttall and his wife Kate Miller-Heidke won the prestigious Helpmann Award for best original score in July 2018. It was awarded for their work on Muriel’s Wedding The Musical. Craig O’Sullivan (1987-1991) as First Secretary – Regional Security Adviser, Australian Embassy Kabul, attended the 2017 ANZAC Day Ceremony at the NATO Resolute Support Mission headquarters in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Michael Bassingthwaighte (1987-1991) completed a period of service in the Army Reserve after school and then entered the Australian Regular Army in 1995 following his selection to attend the Royal Military College, Duntroon. He has seen operational service in East Timor, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Michael is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College. Lieutenant Colonel Bassingthwaighte was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in the 2009 Australia Day Honours List for his military service and leadership. Bronte Smith (1987-1991) was invited by the Headmaster in 2023 to chair a ‘Grammar 150’ Planning Committee to ensure the successful organisation and execution of the School’s sesquicentenary celebrations in 2025.

Buildings: •

The School made a commitment during the year to plan for an Outdoor Education Centre at Cooby Dam.

Events: • • • •

• •

The Headmaster, Mr Dent, was made an Honorary Old Boy of the School by the Old Boys’ Association in August. A Diligence Award was introduced this year. The School held its first Singing Competition this year. The School introduced ‘Soccer’ as part of the GPS sporting programme. An article on the history of this year and the next 25 years of Soccer/Football was printed in Omnibus, vol.25, no.1, April 2015, pp. 23-24. The Old Boys’ Association financed the terracing on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The Acting Headmaster, Mr Buttenshaw, in the School’s Annual Report, stated that another foreign language, possibly Mandarin Chinese, and the possible introduction of the International Baccalaureate were being considered. As at the year 2024 neither of these options had been introduced into the curriculum of the School. The Interact Club had a ‘bike-a-thon' from Oakey to Dalby. Page | 674


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The School advertised for a Marketing Officer and an Enrolments Secretary. The Ladies Auxiliary’s Melbourne Cup Luncheon attracted 120 guests this year. In 1992, 180 people attended the event. The Cadet Unit provided the Guard for the Mothers’ Memorial on ANZAC Day as they had done every year since 1923. Six students of French undertook a study and cultural tour to Noumea for eight days. The Acting Headmaster, Mr Roger Buttenshaw, was instrumental in promoting the concept of a new science building to be seriously considered. A cricket tour to the United Kingdom and the USA took place involving 26 boys. Martin Love was in the team and the English bowlers could not get him out. The boys were undefeated in the nine games on tour. The tour included not only England and Scotland but the boys also visited three cities in the United States – Los Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu. A photograph of the tour party is included in this year’s entry and comprised: Front row (left to right: Mr. G. Smythe, A. Miller, M. Love, A. Hoare, P. Farmer, R. O'Connell, Mr. S. L. Purse. Second row: Mr. J. Burnie. M. Still, D. Collins, C. Maunder, G. Austin, C. Thompson, G. Ellis, Mr. W. Grantham. Third row: A. Hearnden, P. Jackson, S. Farquharson, L. Mason, A. Porter, R. Witherow, S. Lane. Fourth row: C. Antonio, D. Edgar, R. Tyrrell, G. Statton, N. Farquharson, J. Olive, K. McLennan. At the annual School Fete the crowd was anxiously awaiting some sky divers to land on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The problem was that the parachutists selected the wrong oval on which to land – at Downlands College! The School raised the highest amount collected by a school in Queensland for the Red Cross in the annual door-knock for the Red Cross Appeal. Two new computers were installed in the W.M. Dent Library this year. Students used the computers to word process assignments and to learn how to use CD-ROM data bases. Included in the photographs in this year’s entry is one of Mr and Mrs Gillies. Mrs Judy Gillies became the School’s longest-serving employee in its history (54 years) and Mr Russell Gillies became the School’s longest-serving member of the teaching staff in its history (40 years). They are photographed with the Rugby World Cup known as ‘Bill’ (the William Webb Ellis Cup) this year. The Headmaster’s Trophy for the Champion House was awarded to Chauvel House. The guest speaker at the TGS OBA reunion dinner was the School’s Director of Cricket Coaching, Mr Graham Smythe. The guest speaker at the OBA Brisbane Branch reunion dinner was TGS teacher, Mr John K. Winn.

Co-curricular Activities: •

GPS sports offered at the School in 1991 included the following: swimming, cricket, rugby union, cross country, soccer (for the first time this year), gymnastics, basketball, tennis, and track and field. Thirty years later, the only changes to this list were that soccer was renamed ‘football’, volleyball was included (from 1993), and gymnastics was no longer offered (from 1999). Additional sports (non-GPS) also offered this year, at various levels of competition, were volleyball, golf, karate, squash, boxing, badminton, water polo, shooting, hockey, fishing and SCUBA diving. In Athletics, the TGS squad finished 2nd by 14 points to Toowoomba State High School in the Toowoomba Schools’ Athletics Championships. TGS last won this athletics carnival in 1987.

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• • •

• •

• • • • • • •

• •

• • • • •

Six individual wins for the School’s athletes were achieved at the GPS Track and Field Championships but to no athlete in the Open division. The squad finished in 7th position, the same placing as the previous year. Two younger athletes, Scott Mansfield and Hugh Bridle, gained selection in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Athletics team which later travelled to Melbourne to contest the national titles. In Basketball, the TGS Firsts team was very competitive in the GPS competition, performing admirably. The ‘Churchie’ 1st V team was undefeated in the GPS season this year until TGS defeated them by one point, 46-45. Other winning matches for TGS were against TSS (49-29), GT (59-25), BBC (5245), and BGS (77-42) – representing five wins and three losses in the GPS season. The three losses were to BSHS (losing in overtime, 64-68), IGS (44-57) and to NC (39-69). In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team came 2nd in the GPS competition, losing only a single game to the eventual Premiers, Nudgee College (TGS 102, NC 9/205). Close games were against BBC (TGS scored 8/235 d BBC 7/229) and against BGS (TGS scored 6/264 d BGS 8/263). Martin Love’s four centuries are listed in ‘Students’ section above. He also played in the School’s 1st IV Tennis team this year as did another 1st XI player, Chris Maunder, who was Captain of Tennis. Martin Love’s batting average this year was 74.87. Both Martin Love and Paul Farmer (Captain of the 1st XI) were selected as members of the Queensland Schoolboys’ XI. Representing NC this year and the previous year was Jimmy Maher who was later a One Day International (ODI) player and Queensland Cricket Captain. A cricket tour of the UK and USA took place this year (see the ‘Events’ section of this year’s entry). In Cross Country, the GPS Championships were held at Brassall Park, Ipswich, at the end of August. The School finished 7th beating BSHS and GT, with IGS winning the competition convincingly. In Gymnastics, the School competed in the Darling Downs Gymnastics Championships (held at TGS) and won both the senior and junior divisions as well as the Cup for overall points. In the senior division, the Captain of Athletics, Alister Dixon, was placed first in both the compulsory and optional divisions. The GPS Gymnastics Championships were held at BBC and the TGS gymnasts came 4th in the senior division and 3rd in the junior division. In Hockey, the Captain of the School’s 1st XI team was Matthew McClymont who was also a Queensland representative player, as was another member of the 1st XI hockey team, David Garden. The team advanced to the finals in the Toowoomba competition and finished as runners-up. In Rugby, the 1st XV had two wins; against BBC (14-6) and IGS (15-14). Many of the losses were very close games – TSS (6-10), GT (8-16), BSHS (0-6), ‘Churchie’ (6-10) and BGS (11-12). The School Magazine described the 1st XV match against Nudgee College appropriately: “We were expecting Nudgee to be especially tough and they didn’t disappoint us.” NC defeated TGS, 34-3. Soccer was introduced into the GPS sporting competition for the first time this year and the School fielded four teams; the Open Firsts and one team in U13, U14 and U15. The 1st XI Soccer team came a disappointing last place with no GPS matches won but a draw against ‘Churchie’, 3-3, a game in which Andrei Clewett scored all goals. This year was also the first time the School played soccer against Downlands College, with TGS winning 4-2. By 1996 the 1st XI was in a top- three ranking and the School won the GPS Football Premiership in 2015 and 2016 (aeq). The losses in 1st XI Soccer included to TSS (0-4), NC (2-4), GT (2-3), BBC (0-5), IGS (0-2), and BGS (0-8). Page | 676


• • • •

• • • • • •

The 1st XI Soccer team was captained by Chupong ‘Rome’ Charnchayasuk, a boarder from Thailand, and the Coaches were Mr Jerry Maroulis and Mr Ian Young (Staff Member, Assistant Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees). A photograph of the 1st XI Soccer team is included in this year’s entry. Mr Ian Young, then Business Manager at TGS, recalled in 2015 a conversation he had with the Headmaster of TGS in 1988, Mr Bill Dent. Ian was enquiring about the possibility of introducing soccer in the School at that time and Mr Dent replied, politely but bluntly: ”No way at this stage”. Alan King, the 1st XI goalkeeper, recalled the resistance the team faced from the school community when it was announced that Soccer was to be played in the GPS competition this year. Alan said that the team was seen to be undermining the staunch Rugby tradition of the School. All soccer matches were played on the School’s Parents & Friends’ (P&F) Oval, now the playing area outside Boyce and Taylor Boarding Houses. In Swimming, the School’s squad won the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ competition. This year at the GPS Swimming Championships, the School once again came 9th but most of the swimmers improved their times. The best individual result was a third placing in an event. Competing against TGS in the GPS Swimming Championships was a swimmer from BBC, Kieran Perkins. In the GPS Swimming Championships of this year, Kieran won the GPS Record in the Open 400 metres freestyle event (3.51.94). This is still the current GPS Record for this event thirty years later. This comes as little surprise given that, later, Kieran Perkins was a four-time Olympic Medallist and former world record holder in three events. He won two Olympic Gold Medals in 1992 and 1996 in the 1500 metres freestyle and a silver medal in 2000. In 2011 Kieran Perkins was the guest speaker at the Toowoomba Grammar School Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. In Tennis, the 1st IV was a competitive team but did not experience success. Two very close matches were against BSHS (4 rubbers all, losing 8 sets to 9) and IGS (4 rubbers all, losing 9 sets to 11). Close matches were also against BGS and ‘Churchie’. In Volleyball, the sport was still one year away from it being introduced as a trial in the GPS competition. This year the School entered two teams in the local competition – an Open team and an U15 team. The Open team made the semi-finals in this competition. In Water Polo, the School’s Open 1sts Water Polo team lost in the final of the Toowoomba Men’s A Grade. A skiing trip took place to the Perisher-Smiggins Ski Resort. The Adventure Club sailed in the Whitsundays during the camp week and, later in the year, had a major expedition to Tasmania hiking the Overland Track. The Pipe Band was disbanded during the year. Three boys won the State Final of the Bond University’s Mooting competition. Benjamin Shepherd was selected as the outstanding speaker of the series. In Drama, the Junior Play (for students in Years 8, 9 and 10) this year was a musical version of Wind in the Willows in conjunction with the girls from Fairholme College. The Senior production was the musical Mame, performed in conjunction with the girls from The Glennie School. There were eighty students in the cast and the lead roles were played by Ricky Dumigan, Chris Locke, Craig O’Sullivan, Shane Stephens, Matthew Venamore and Ben Wallwork. In Music, Keir Nuttall playing guitar and Brendan Roberts playing the French Horn were complimented by the adjudicator at the Queensland Eisteddfod, held this year in Toowoomba. School Honour Ties were awarded to winners at the Queensland Eisteddfod – Duncan Bryce, Paul Guard, Robert Frewin, Kevin Hanssen and Ricky Dumigan.

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There were three Choirs this year – Choir A, Choir B and The Choristers. A singing competition was held for the first time this year in which thirty boys participated. Ricky Dumigan and Paul Guard tied for first place, Robert Hsieh was second and Paul Hung third. Paul Hung won several vocal solo competitions during the year.

Downlands Competition • •

The School had wins over Downlands in swimming, track and field (150 point margin), tennis (8 rubbers to nil), basketball and soccer (4-2). The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (TGS 3/340 d DC 160). The opening batsmen, Martin Love and Paul Jackson, amassed 160 runs before the fall of a wicket. Paul Jackson lost his wicket for 47 runs whilst Martin Love was on 113. After Paul left the crease, Martin continued to record a massive score of 189 runs not out. The 1st XV Rugby team was defeated by Downlands and lost the O’Callaghan Cup (6-18). It was reported that the behaviour of the crowd attending the O’Callaghan Cup match was greatly improved largely, it was believed, due to an earlier starting time. Soccer was played against Downlands College for the first time with a win to TGS (4-2).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Director of the Shaftsbury Centre, University of Queensland

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The Reverend Dr Ian G. Mavor OAM,


1991

Russell and Judy Gillies with the Rugby World Cup in 1991

UK & USA Cricket Tour

Martin Love

The School Prefects

1st XI Soccer (Football) team

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1992 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Dr J ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 3rd year)

Deputy Chairman: Mr G. David Mayall (in his 3rd year as Deputy Chairman and nine years in total on the Board) resigned earlier in the year. Trustees: Mr Alan Dorr succeeded Mr David Mayall as Deputy Chairman following Mr Mayall’s resignation from the Board. Midway through the year, Mr Allen Whitehouse tendered his resignation. Two new appointments to the Board in July 1992 were Mrs Lee Mylne and Mr Max Brady. Mrs Mylne had the distinction of being the first woman to have been appointed to the School’s Board of Trustees. She is the daughter of a Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boy acknowledged on the Wall of Achievement, Alan J. Lemon (1940-1943: see the 1943 entry). Later Mrs Mylne was to be appointed as Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees in 1999.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose was appointed as the fourteenth Headmaster of the School commencing in January. Previously he had been the Deputy Headmaster of The King’s School in Parramatta, a member of the Greater Public Schools (GPS) Association of New South Wales. As a school student Hugh Rose was School Captain of The King’s School and Captain of Rowing, Rugby and Track and Field Athletics. Following his university studies, Mr Rose worked for eight years in the commercial world before entering the teaching profession with his first appointment being Sydney Church of England Grammar School (‘Shore’). Between 1967 and 1970 Hugh Rose represented Australia in Rugby Union (The Wallabies), playing 13 Tests.

Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 5th year)

Senior Prefect: Royce H. Witherow Senior Dayboy Prefect: Luke Hearnden Senior Boarder Prefect: Michael Still Dux of Year: Stuart Bade and Benjamin A. Shepherd (aeq). This was only the fifth time in the history of the School that the title of Dux of the School was shared.

Total School Enrolment: 683 Number of Dayboys: 312 Number of Boarders: 371

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Staffing: •

• • •

Mr Lester Goodman resigned prematurely due to a recurrence of cancer. He commenced his teaching at the School in August 1978 and was progressively promoted to Head of the English Department (1980-1988), Housemaster of School House (1983-1992) and as the School’s inaugural Master (Director) of Studies (1988-1992). A tribute to Mr Goodman’s service to the School is to be found in John Keeble Winn’s book Still Playing the Game, pages 497-499. Upon Mr Goodman’s resignation Mr Alan Hill was appointed as Acting Director of Studies for the year. In a farewell speech, Mr Lester Goodman made the following observation about the boys and the School: “In 1978 I joined the staff as a teacher of English and I became later Head of English, Master of School House and eventually Master of Studies…. (Over these 14 years) ..The School has become a gentler place, with each year’s Seniors more able to see that they are the ones who determine the tone of the School. Each year I see more understanding, more care, more tolerance – and less of the aggression and selfishness that used to make life almost intolerable for boys in Year 8, or 9 or 10.” The School’s long-time Tennis Coach and Old Boy, Mr Perc Gaydon, retired after 23 years of service to tennis at the School. His successor was Mr Gavin Wright as Director of Tennis Coaching. Mr Wright was still the 1st IV Tennis Coach for at least the next 25 years. The School’s inaugural Marketing Officer, Mrs Barbara Ryan, was appointed to be followed in 1995 with the appointment of Mr Rob Mitchell as Director of Development. In this year the visiting sessional Doctor attending to the health of all boarders was Dr Richard Juhasz. His professional services were highly valued by all for at least the next thirty years. In Boarding, the Senior Resident Master was Mr J. Burnie. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr K. Lavers (Groom), Mr L. Goodman (School), Mr G. Ainsbury (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor).

Students: •

• • • •

The School Prefects were Royce Witherow, Luke Hearnden, Michael Still, Stuart Bade, Ashley Commens, Christopher Dayas, Paul Flegler, Angus Hotchin, Anthony Lowe, Donald McClymont, Michael McKenna, Malcolm McLean, Joshua Mylne, Justin Pettett, Reva-Lou Reva, Benjamin Shepherd and Rick Tyrrell. A photograph of the School Prefects and another of the Prefects’ Oath that all Prefects are required to sign are included in this year’s entry. Seven Year 12 boys achieved an Overall Position (OP) of One (the first year of this new form of Year 12 student assessment) – Stuart Bade, Peter Hunt, Austin McLennan, Rendle O’Connell, Benjamin Shepherd, Benjamin Smith and Nicholas Stone. Royce Witherow, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Luke Hearnden, Senior Dayboy Prefect, was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Stuart Bade and Benjamin Shepherd were recipients of the prestigious Australian Students’ Prize. This year was the last time in which Latin was offered as an elective in Years 9 and 10. The language was able to be studied in Years 11 and 12 until 1995 but was in a composite class with Senior French. Luke Hearnden won the Open 100 and 200 metre sprints at the GPS Track and Field Championships and also won this double at the State level. Simon Corish also won the Open shot put and Anthony Wilkerson the Open discus. Page | 681


• •

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• • • •

The boarders included seven boys from Papua New Guinea via involvement from the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau. Stuart Bade (1988-1992) as a Plastic Surgeon was in 2018 the Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Lady Cilento Hospital (now Queensland Children's Hospital) in Brisbane. Later he was appointed Chief of Surgery for Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service at the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Phillip Manning (1988-1992) was, in 2004, the Manager of Australian Aboriginal Collections and Deputy Head of Collection at The Science Centre, South Australian Museum in Adelaide. In 2023 Phillip was Senior Curator, Transport, Energy and Science, Cultures and Histories Program at Queensland Museum. Robert E. McDonald (1988-1992) was to be a Commonwealth Games seven-a-side rugby representative in 2002 in Manchester, England, and Captain of the Australian Sevens in 2003. Robert is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Rick Tyrrell (1988-1992) captained both the Open 1sts Cricket and Rugby teams and was selected in the Queensland Under 17 Rugby side to tour Argentina. Scott Lloyd (1988-1992) and his wife, Katie, won the Woolworths Key National Farmer Award in 2014 at an Awards Ceremony at the Sydney Convention Centre. Stuart Kelly (1989-1992) was based in Sydney for five years while he played for the Parramatta Eels and then moved to Brisbane in 2001 to play for the Broncos. Stuart played 182 first grade rugby league games between 1995 and 2005 and represented Queensland in all three games of the 1997 State of Origin series. Ben Shepherd (1988-1992) was a State finalist in the Jaycee Youth Speaks for Australia competition this year. Later, Ben lived in the UK while completing a Master of Philosophy degree in International Relations at Cambridge University. He then completed a Ph.D. in Economics in France then moved to the USA in 2006. Part of his work involved consulting on trade policy and economic development issues for the OECD and the World Bank. Richard Gilmore (1988-1992) was, in 2009, awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Environmentalist of the Year and was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Earthwatch Institute (Australia), a global not-for-profit organisation which supports conservation science. Ben Adams (1988-1992) in 2023 was named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the world’s largest grower of macadamias, Marquis Macadamia. Five boys were selected in the Queensland Schools’ Athletics team to compete in the National Finals. They were Luke Hearnden, Scott Mansfield, Brendan Norris, Matthew Swan and Dion Collins. Michael McKenna joined the operational staff of the School as a Student Officer in 2007 and resigned in May in the following year. Ken Raven (1992) was a new boarder in Groom House for this one year before his family moved to Western Australia. In 2023 Ken returned to TGS in the capacity as Head of the Junior School (see 2023). Cameron Thompson (1990-1992), later the founder of Thompson Golf, expressed his gratitude to his grandfather, Old Boy John Thompson (see 1939 entry) for introducing him to golf at an early age. Since gaining a Diploma in Horticulture from TAFE Queensland and an internship at Ohio State University in the USA, Cameron has been involved with the construction of almost 100 golf courses around the world, grow-ins and the preparation of over 50 international golf tournaments. Cameron was involved from conception with the ‘Tiger’ Woods Dubai and also headed IMG’s Global Golf Agronomy Department. A photograph of some of this year’s school leavers celebrating their 20-year reunion is included in this year’s entry. Page | 682


Buildings: • • •

The Headmaster’s Residence (constructed in 1949) was renovated. The Mackintosh Classroom block was renamed Barbour. A contract was signed for the construction of the new Science and Technology building. This was to provide for six science laboratories, staff workrooms and two dayboy centres and was to be completed in July 1993. The new Headmaster recommended to the Board of Trustees the purchase of residential houses in close proximity to the School so that additional teaching Resident Masters could be deployed in the Boarding Houses. Subsequently the property located at 38 Herries Street was purchased in October for $130,000. This strategic direction of appropriate property acquisition in Herries Street and Suffolk Street in Toowoomba continued for decades to follow.

Events: • • •

• •

• •

The new Headmaster commenced his Headship during a time of national recession and one of the worst recorded droughts in Queensland’s history. The Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education in Toowoomba became the University of Southern Queensland (see 1971 and 1967). This year represented the first year the Year 12s left the School under the “new” system of assessment introduced by the Goss Government based upon the recommendations of Professor Nancy Viviani. At the end of the year, the Year 12 boys received a Tertiary Entrance Statement consisting of two parts, an Overall Position (OP) and a Field Position (FP). A boy’s OP was his rank position compared with other students in the State who were eligible for the Tertiary Entrance Statement. OPs were reported from 1 (highest) to 25 (lowest). This system of student assessment remained in Queensland until 2020 with the introduction of the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). The new Headmaster, Mr Rose, wrote in the School’s Annual Report: “My initial reaction to the fact that Queensland has no common external examination for at least part of the final assessment procedure worries me...In my opinion there appear to be too many subjective assessments of processes, and not enough objective assessment of content.” Mr Rose also expressed his concern about aspects of the Queensland system of final school assessment and tertiary entrance at future Speech Days. This year was the last under which a horizontal system of boarding arrangement existed at the School; that is, all boarders in a specific Year Group being housed in the one particular building. Under the new Headmaster the venue for Staff Meetings changed to Old Hall from the previous venue which was the Common Room. This Common Room was originally used as the Small Dining Room and became the Trustees’ Boardroom. A lot of smoke was generated at these times in the Common Room by those staff who were pipe and cigarette smokers. Staff Meetings became more formal under Mr Rose and smoking by the staff was banned in this room (later extending by Government legislation to the entire school and its grounds). The Headmaster’s wife, Mrs Helen Rose, re-established an Art Show Committee. The ‘Omnibus’ publication was created to be published quarterly as a means of providing better communication within the School community. Within this publication was the ‘Balliwanga’, containing Old Boys’ news. Volume 1, Number 1 of the Omnibus/Balliwanga was published in September 1992.

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• • •

• • • • •

• • •

Wallaby internationals, Old Boy Jason Little and his old schooldays friend, ex-Downlands College player, Tim Horan, visited the School with the Bledisloe Cup. The School’s Mooting team came 3rd in the Bond University Mooting competition. Benjamin Shepherd was awarded the title of Best Advocate for the competition. The School hosted a Federal Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) conference in July. Approximately 330 delegates of State branches of the ICPA attended the conference. The next time the School was to host a major ICPA conference was in 2013 and again in 2020. The 2020 conference was to be an on-line, virtual conference due to the pandemic, COVID-19. The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association held a Theatre Restaurant event ‘Back to the Sixties’. The oldest Old Boy attending the Old Boys’ Reunion dinner in Toowoomba was Bob Lawton (19201921). The ‘Chip Van’ was operated by the Old Boys at ‘home’ rugby days. The Interact Club’s charity fund-raising venture involved a ‘bike-a-thon’, similar to that conducted in 1991. In the last week of Term Three the Camp Week and Spring School were held involving many worthwhile activities. These included activities associated with the Cadet Camp, the Fishing Club, the Dive Club, the inter-school Christian Fellowship, Skiing at Mr Perisher, learning to sail on Moreton Bay, cooking classes, geology classes, strategic war games, pottery, leatherwork, backgammon, abseiling, bridge, chess, singing, model aircraft making, music, creative writing and others. The School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony was held in the School’s Assembly Hall. The tuition fee (per semester/two terms) was $1,734 ($3,468 per annum). The combined boarding and tuition fee per semester was $4,554. The Headmaster’s Trophy for the Champion House was awarded to Chalk House.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In this year’s co-curricular programme, the School offered 21 cricket teams, a swimming team, 6 volleyball teams, 6 water polo teams, 21 rugby teams, 8 soccer teams, 3 hockey teams (playing in a local competition), a cross-country team, a track and field team, a gymnastics team, 10 tennis teams and 10 basketball teams. In addition, badminton, karate, shooting, weights and, by request, boxing were also offered. In Athletics, the squad comprising 60 athletes came 4th in the GPS Track and Field Championships (to IGS, BGS and NC). The School had 8 wins on the day and 21 top-three places were achieved. A photograph of the GPS Track and Field winners is included in this year’s entry. Luke Hearnden won the Open 100 and 200 metre sprints at the GPS Track and Field Championships and also won this double at the State level. Simon Corish also won the Open shot put and Tony Wilkerson the Open discus. Luke Hearnden later represented Queensland in the National Finals in Perth. Also selected were Scott Mansfield (unable to compete at State through illness), Dion Collins, Brendan Norris and Matthew Swan. In Basketball, the Open 1sts team secured three wins in the GPS season defeating BGS (40-22), BSHS (40-36) and ‘Churchie’ in a very close game (33-32). The NC game was not all that enjoyable being defeated 29-83. A photograph of the 1sts Basketball team is included in this year’s entry. Page | 684


• • • • • • • •

• •

• •

In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team members had a very successful season and were runners-up in the GPS Premiership (for the second successive year). The team lost only one match, against the eventual Premiers, BSHS (134-318). A photograph of the 1st XI team is included in this year’s entry. Rendle O’Connell scored a century (101 runs not out) in the 1st XI game against The Southport School. In the match against BBC, Scott Farquharson top scored and hit 6 sixes. In the ‘Churchie’ 1st XI match, TGS bowler David Littleproud took 6 wickets for 30 runs and in the NC game Scott McLennan took 5 for 17 in 6 overs. Paul Jackson made 76 runs against BBC with a six being hit with the first ball he faced. Scott Farquharson and Rendle O’Connell were selected in the Queensland Schools’ Cricket team. In Rugby, the 1st XV encountered a difficult season with only one win, against ‘Churchie’ (13-12). The game against BBC resulted in a draw, 13-13. The largest defeat came from NC, 3-53. Playing in the 1st XV was Stuart Kelly who later played for the Gold Coast Seagullls, Parramatta Eels and the Brisbane Broncos (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). The Coach of the 1st XV was Mr Scott Kennedy for this year and the following two years. In Soccer, the positives of the season for the 1st XI team were associated with non-GPS fixtures – a win against Downlands College and being undefeated in the Toowoomba region. The more challenging aspects of the season were the losses inflicted on the team by all the other GPS schools. The TGS 1st XI Soccer team did not enjoy their encounter playing against BBC, losing 2-14. Similarly, other significant defeats were by TSS (1-10), IGS (0-6), and NC (0-5). Volleyball was a trial GPS sport in this year and the School remained undefeated during the season. Volleyball was to be fully introduced into the GPS sporting competition in the following year. The Adventure Club expedition to Hinchinbrook National Park in the September holidays involved a thirty-six hour train trip from Brisbane to Cardwell. In Cadets, the School’s Cadet Unit numbered ninety cadets and officers in this Centenary Year of the Unit. Because of the 100th anniversary of the Cadet Unit, the Cadets were given the privilege of leading the Veterans’ Parade through Toowoomba. On the School’s Open Day, the Cadet Unit also mounted a Guard for the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial service. The annual Ceremonial Parade was reviewed by Lt-Colonel Pronk of the Aviation Regiment, whose son CUO Ben Pronk was the Parade Commander. The Cadet Unit was very well supported by the School Band and formed an important part of the parade. In Drama, once again the School joined with Fairholme College to perform this year's theatre production but in a departure from the practice of previous years both the Junior and Senior Plays were presented on the one night. The Junior Play was A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and the Senior Play was The Singing Door. Mr Ross Vernon was the director of the play and lead roles were held by Peter Keeton, William Corfe and Matthew Leddington-Hill. In Music, the Choir had expanded considerably since a few years ago when it was just starting at the School. This expansion was from a few grade eights to a choir of over thirty including some solo singers and students ranging from grades eight to twelve. This year the choir had full bass, tenor, alto and soprano sections. This year was the first time that the Concert Band competed in the Festival of Music and also performed at the Cadets’ Annual Ceremonial Parade. Towards the end of Semester One, Mr Guy Scruton took over as Bandmaster of both the Stage Band and the Concert Band and Mr Doecke concentrated on developing the overall music programme in the School.

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Downlands Competition: •

• • •

The School was successful against the Downlands College teams in cricket (229-105), swimming (by 150 points), soccer (5-0), cross-country, track and field (434 points – 267), tennis (10 sets to 8), basketball (40-19) and volleyball (4 sets to 0). In Cricket, our 1st XI retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (TGS 229 d DC 105). In Rugby, Downlands won the O’Callaghan Cup (DC 18 d TGS 6). In Soccer, the 1st XI soccer team had a 5-0 victory.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor R Barry Leal, AM – Vice Chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland

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1992

The School Prefects

The Prefects’ Oath

GPS Athletics Winners 1sts Basketball team

1st XI Cricket team Year 12, 20 Year Reunion

Page | 687


1993 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 4th year)

Mr Alan L. Dorr (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: Mr Max Brady resigned and Mr Perry V. Dayas joined the Board in May. Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 2nd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 6th year)

Senior Prefect: Saxon H. Rose (the son of the Headmaster) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Peter J. Ketton Senior Boarder Prefect: Rowan K. Wood Dux of Year: William Billingsley

Total School Enrolment: 699 Number of Dayboys: 317 Number of Boarders: 382

Staffing: • •

• •

Mr Lester Goodman passed away following his illness with cancer (see 1992). Mr Graeme Ainsbury who had been Senior Master since 1975 was appointed as the School’s inaugural Registrar. The position of Senior Master was abolished. Mr Ainsbury held the role of Registrar from 1992-1996. Mr John Perry retired at the end of the year after 25 years’ service (1969-1993). He had lived on the school grounds for 22 years and was the Housemaster of Boyce Boarding House for 16 of these (1971-1986). A tribute to Mr Perry was included in the 1993 School Magazine. In part it recorded: “He has taught Citizenship Education, English, Geography and History. But it is for the latter discipline that he has become particularly renowned. His knowledge of Modern, Medieval and Ancient History is best termed remarkable… More importantly, however, is the way he inspired his boys to develop a love of learning and a genuine desire to succeed in their academic endeavours…” In 1982 Mr Perry, as the Boyce House Boarding Housemaster and teacher of English and History, became $30,000 richer. In the Channel 0 quiz show ‘The $100,000 Money Makers’ Mr Perry appeared in ten shows displaying his impressive general knowledge. Maintenance Foreman for 34 years, Mr Les Hull, retired in January. Mr Richard Fairley joined the staff from Brisbane Grammar School as the new Director of Studies. In five years’ time he was appointed as the Principal of Townsville Grammar School. Page | 688


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Miss Morag Watt joined the School as House Manager in Term Three. Miss Watt resigned in August 2024 completing 31 years of excellent service to the School. Mrs Jennifer Anderson (Fordyce) joined the administration staff as Staff Secretary and served the School for 27 years, retiring at the end of 2020. Ms Fordyce was honoured by having the title of ‘Honorary Old Boy’ bestowed upon her by the President of the TGS Old Boys’ Association in 2020 (see 2020). A School Counsellor was appointed, Mr ‘Bob’ Wood. Mr Paul Herbert joined the teaching staff as a teacher of Geography and Personal Development. He resigned at the end of 2005 and in 2022 was appointed as a member of the School’s Board of Trustees. The Headmaster established an In-School Executive comprising himself, the Deputy Headmaster (Mr Roger Buttenshaw), the Director of Studies (Mr Richard Fairley) and the Registrar (Mr Graeme Ainsbury). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr R. Vernon (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens) and Mr I.’Sandy’ Sanderson (Taylor). Chauvel, Gibson, Henderson and Partridge had existed as sporting houses prior to re-organisation in this year. Their establishment as Dayboy Houses commenced in this year. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr J. DeGaris (Chauvel), Mr M. Gillespie (Gibson), Mr C. Howitt (Henderson) and Mr O. Dashwood (Partridge).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Saxon Rose, Peter Ketton, Rowan Wood, Michael Bradshaw, Richard Bron, Bradley Cameron, Dion Collins, Cameron Dart, Cameron Dean, Ashley Geldard, James Goodwin, Timothy Kent, David Littleproud, Colin Mitchell and Scott Verrall. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Joshua Barnett, William Billingsley, Richard Bron, Matthew Leddington-Hill, Huang-Lian Lee, Anthony Litzow, Nicholas Spunde and Nicholas Taylor. William Billingsley (Dux of the School) and Nicholas Spunde were recipients of the prestigious Australian Students’ Prize awarded by the Commonwealth Government for outstanding academic achievement in secondary schooling. Saxon Rose, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He was later to specialise in taxation law as a Lawyer in Brisbane. Scott Carter was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School in Year 12. Scott Mansfield won the State Under 16 400 metres title and the GPS 400m. Boyd Hamlyn was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ XV that competed in the National Schools’ Championships in Darwin. Errol Schulz was selected as fullback for the Queensland Under 17 rugby side. Jason Schutt was selected in the State team that travelled to Perth for the National Cross Country Titles. David Littleproud (1992-1993) was sworn in as Federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources in December 2017 and became a member of the Federal Cabinet. David Littleproud was elected Deputy Leader of the National Party of Australia in February 2020. The Minister was also the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2018 and is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. In May 2022 David Littleproud was appointed as Leader of the National Party of Australia representing the Queensland electorate of Maranoa. Page | 689


Craig Atkinson (1989-1993) became one of the Ten Tenors and performed with the group in Australia, Europe and the USA. On one occasion with the Ten Tenors, Craig sang at a gala dinner after the presentation of the Emmy’s in Los Angeles. Craig was invited back to the School in 2000 as a guest speaker at an Assembly. In 2008 Craig was employed by the School as a sessional vocal teacher. Craig sang a beautiful solo at the dinner held in the School’s Old Hall in 2008 honouring Mrs Judy Gillies (the longest serving employee in the School’s history) celebrating her 50th year of employment at TGS. On this occasion Craig sang to Judy and the audience the song Someone To Watch Over Me. Peter Ketton (1989-1993) was the Guest Speaker at the Brisbane Branch of the TGS OBA business breakfast in 2005. Then Captain of the 3rd Ballalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, Peter spoke of spending six months in Iraq involved in training the Iraqi Army. A photograph of students in the computer classroom is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

The L.T. Heenan Science and Technology Building was officially opened in August during the School’s Open Day. It was opened by the Honourable Edward Casey, MLA, Minister for Primary Industry and was named after former Headmaster, Mr Heenan, who was also an outstanding Physics teacher (on the teaching staff 1927-1955 and Headmaster from 1956-1961). Present at the opening was Old Boy Mac Stirling (1970-1973) who, as an architect, helped design this building as part of his employment with the architectural firm Powell, Dods and Thorpe. Mac Stirling was later to design the School’s pavilion (see 1994). A photograph of the L.T. Heenan Science and Technology building and its commemorative plaque are included in this year’s entry. An in-house Laundry was constructed and became operational this year. The building was situated adjacent to the School’s Workshop and Storerooms near the fuel store. This is in the area now devoted to car parking for the Aquatic Centre. Prior to this time the Laundry was located at the rear of School House. The new Laundry on the school grounds together with the School’s Workshop and Storerooms were removed in 2009 in readiness for the car-parking demands associated with the School’s new Aquatic Centre being built at this time. Mrs Margaret Doran was one of the staff in the new laundry in 1993 and she retired from TGS in 2015 after 34 years’ service.

Events: • • •

A crippling rural crisis existed with drought and poor commodity prices. A portrait of the former Headmaster, Mr Dent, was unveiled in March. In a total re-organisation of the House system, the Boarding Houses became sporting houses as well and four dayboy Houses were formed – Chauvel, Gibson, Henderson and Partridge (Freshney Dayboy House was to be created in 1996). The Boarding Houses (boarding, sporting and administrative) were Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens and Taylor. A consequence of the renaming of Houses’ decision was that the use of the names of the former Dayboy Houses of Barbour, Chalk and Heenan was discontinued. The House restructure introduced a greater sense of House identity and belonging. As a result of the Boarding House systems changing from a horizontal age group structure to a vertical age grouping, the name of the Boarding House ‘School House’ was changed to ‘Mackintosh House’. From this year every Boarding House had boys in a range of year groups. In Page | 690


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the boarding programme, table service was replaced by a buffet system and this led to the discontinuation of the saying of the Latin grace and blessing prior to the evening meal due to the practicalities involved. A comprehensive Bullying and Harassment Policy was formally implemented following the work of a Bullying/Harassment sub-committee. The first TGS students’ Art Exhibition was held in the W.M. Dent Library in October. The three individual School Blazers were rationalised into one – the striped (former School Colours) blazer. Prior to this initiative, it was possible for a Year 12 student to possess more than one expensive blazer. A photograph of the three individual School Blazers prior to the initiative is included in this year’s entry. Featured are (from left) William Billingsley (Dux), wearing the standard blazer; Saxon Rose (Senior Prefect) wearing the Prefects’ blazer; Headmaster Mr H.A. Rose; Nicholas Spunde (Proxime Accessit) wearing the standard blazer; and Scott Mansfield (Senior Prefect for 1994) wearing the Colours blazer. The Headmaster and Board of Trustees discussed the re-establishment of a Primary section in the School. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association donated funds to provide heritage lighting of School House. A photograph commemorating this contribution is included in this year’s entry. In the summer holidays of 1992/93 the P&F funded the upgrading of the tennis courts. The bitumen courts were resurfaced with Synpave, a synthetic, all-weather surface. Surrounding fences and net posts were redone and the walls on one side of the courts painted. The Parents and Friends’ Association was incorporated in January. Over the years the P&F Association co-ordinated numerous fund-raising and friend-raising events including the text book shop, the uniform shop, nursery plant stalls, winter sports barbecues, the P&F art show and the annual Blue and Gold Ball. The P&F Clothing Shop opened in July and retailed the School uniform. The P&F held a Ball, with the theme Blue and Gold, in September. The annual fete was operational throughout the Heenan, Olsen, Dent and early Rose eras, organised essentially by the Old Boys’ Association. A Rugby Supporters’ Group was formed (a Tennis Supporters’ Group was established in the previous year). The guest speaker at the TGS OBA reunion dinner was retired Headmaster, Mr Bill Dent. Members of the GPS Premiership winning 1st XV Rugby team of 1948 returned to the School in September after spending several days together. The reunion included Neil Schwartz, Robert Tait, Alan Battaglene, ‘Mick’ Madsen, Bru Conochie, Ian Nicol and Murray Symes. Camp Week was cancelled this year for a combination of reasons, namely financial and organisational. Four Headmaster ‘era’ dinners were held to promote both friend-raising and fund-raising. The era dinners celebrated different Headmasters from 1920 to 1972. One thousand Old Boys were able to come back for the dinners, many of them for the first time since they left the School. Four hundred people attended the Barbour-Roberts era dinner. At the time, searches at the Australian Electoral Commission noted 3,200 Old Boys on the roll. The Old Boys of the Mills/Griffiths era from 1947- 1956 attracted about 170 Old Boys and their partners and about 500 invitations were sent. The program for this dinner included guest speakers Mr Charlie Moore (1944-1948), Mr Ray Swan (1953-1956), Mr Chris Hodgson and his son Tim Hodgson (Year 12) who was a third-generation boy. At the Heenan era Dinner, Lachlan Handley spoke as a third-generation boy, with a response by his father, John (1954-1958). At that particular dinner, the guest speaker was Mr Alistair Grant (1951-1956) who was Senior Prefect in 1956. This Era Dinner was probably one of the most special because many of the Old Boys and Page | 691


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their partners stayed for the opening of the L.T. Heenan Science and Technology building the day after the dinner. To many of the Old Boys, both the old and new science classrooms will be known simply as the 'Pud Labs' - it seems they all called Mr Heenan 'Pud'. The final era Dinner in November was the most lively - about 240 Old Boys, many with partners, attended and were much less reserved than the older groups in catching up with friends and classmates. (The group was evicted from Centenary Hall very late in the night and continued their 'catching up' until the early hours of the morning.) A magical moment at the dinner was Mr Dent's appearance as special guest - he was momentarily lost for words following the screening of a tributary video tape on Mr Dent's career and his years at TGS. The oldest Old Boy attending the Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner was Mr Arch Black (1921-1923) who could celebrate witnessing four generations of the family attend the School. The Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House sport was shared by Gibson and Henderson, both Day Houses.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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The year will be remembered as one in which the boys trained and played with determination but unfortunately experienced very little success in most sports. The Open Firsts teams in Cricket, Rugby, Volleyball and Soccer (with two drawn games) were all unsuccessful in their efforts to win a GPS game. Against these disappointing results was a GPS Premiership win to TGS – in Gymnastics. In Athletics, this year the School hosted an Invitational Carnival with athletic teams from IGS, NC, BBC, GT, Downlands College and Scots Warwick. TGS won the Toowoomba Schools’ Athletics competition with 20 outright wins to finish a comfortable 100 points ahead of its old athletics foe, Toowoomba State High School. The GPS Track and Field Championships held at QEII took place in October and the whole TGS squad gave their best. The School had five wins on the day and the team was placed 6th in the overall competition. The School’s Captain of Athletics, Dion Collins, broke a GPS record in the Open Javelin throw at the GPS Track and Field championships (63.64 metres). It was his fourth GPS win in discus over four years. Brendan Norris completed an outstanding sprint double in the U15 100 and 200 metres (22.46 sec.) Scott Mansfield won both the U16 400 and 800 metres . In Basketball, a new outdoor basketball court was built during Term Three behind Groom House (now Corfe House) as a major project of the School’s P&F Association. It was removed with the extension to the Junior School in 2010. The Open 1sts team won its first GPS match for the season against BGS and then experienced a round of defeats. The team lost its Captain, Chris Wright, due to injury part-way through the season and lost several games that could have been won. Mr Clarence ‘Pop’ Dickerson, commenced in a part-time sessional capacity as Director of Basketball. He coached the 1sts team until 1997. In Boxing, eighteen boys trained with their coach, Old Boy, Neil Geddes (1951-1954). In Cricket, the 1st XI lost all eight GPS games this year and finished last in the GPS competition. The only consolation was a win against Downlands College outside of the GPS programme. In the 1st XI match against Nudgee College the TGS batsmen were run-out on five occasions. The School Magazine reported: “Those not run-out were left to wallow in guilt, offered little resistance and the TGS 1st XI was dismissed for 114 runs.” Page | 692


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Examples of the defeats included those by ‘Churchie’ (267-131), BGS (230-149) and TSS (218-108). The game against GT was lost by only seven runs. Lachlan Stevens, who had just turned 14 years, joined the 1st XI in Round 4. He was later to be Captain of the 1st XI in 1995 and 1996. The Captain of the 1st XI, Saxon Rose, writing in the School Magazine, described the cricket season as “harrowing”. Saxon also wrote: “On behalf of the 1st XI I would like to thank Mr Graham Smythe, our coach, who believed in us throughout this most trying of seasons. There are few men who possess such a supreme love and understanding of the game of cricket as he does and TGS is extremely fortunate to benefit from his services right down to the Under 13 age group”. The School held a summer Cricket Camp for the first time with 98 boys aged from 12 to 15 years attending the sessions. It was organised by the School’s Director of Cricket, Mr Graham Smythe, and was to become an annual event in the School’s calendar. In Gymnastics, the School won a GPS Premiership – the first time since Gymnastics was introduced into the GPS sporting program in 1916. This year seven GPS schools competed in the gymnastics competition. The gymnasts were Ben Jackson (Captain) and Tony Mason in Year 12, and two Year 11 students, Drew Slack-Smith and Shane Lep (Shane Linkerhof was unable to compete due to injury). The depth of the team enabled them to claim the Premiership, despite no member winning an overall individual championship. The team was coached by Mr M. Soranaka. A photograph of the Premiership winning Gymnastics team is included in this year’s entry. All of the Senior School in Assembly warmly acknowledged the boys’ success in winning the GPS Premiership in Gymnastics. In Rugby, as with Cricket, the Open Firsts team was unsuccessful in its attempts to gain a win over the other GPS teams. The major defeat was against BSHS with a score of 0-38. A Rugby squad comprising 23 boys toured Fiji over the Easter holidays. The boys returned home ten days later, many sore and carrying injuries due to the tough Fijian opponents. It was suggested that the 1st XV losing every game in the GPS competition this year may have been due to the injuries sustained with the rugby tour to Fiji prior to the commencement of their GPS fixtures. In Soccer, the 1st XI team opened its season with two successive draws (1-1), against ‘Churchie’ and BGS. Unfortunately, the team was unable to score a win in the season. The 1st XI played BBC at Perry Park as a curtain raiser to the State of Origin clash. A crowd of approximately 2,000 people watched the game which saw TGS defeated 0-3 to the eventual Premiers. The worst defeat of the season was against NC, 0-6. In Tennis, the younger players in the Open Firsts showed promise of a successful future for TGS Tennis. The Tennis match against Brisbane State High School provided the first victory by a TGS 1st Tennis team in eighteen months of competition. The game was a close victory winning by only two games. The Open tennis squad enjoyed a win over Downlands College in the annual fixture. In Swimming, despite performing well, the School’s swimming squad continued with its traditional 9th (last) placing in the GPS Swimming Championships. In Volleyball, this was the second year of the sport as a trial in the GPS programme. The Firsts experienced a disappointing season losing all of their GPS games played. Volleyball was to be an official GPS sport in the following year. Relevant to Cadets, the Headmaster in his Annual Report referred to his concern with lower numbers in the Unit.

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Boys travelled to Central Australia in August via the Birdsville Track and numerous ski trips were undertaken to the Snowy Mountains around this time. In Drama, for the first time in many years, a Shakespearean play was selected to be performed in a joint production with Fairholme College. Romeo and Juliet was performed in May at a new venue for drama productions for both schools, Toowoomba City Hall. Forty students were involved in the dramatic production. The play was co-directed by Mr John Dakin and the lead role of Romeo was performed by Peter Ketton. Three highly successful performances were held in front of three full houses. Other cast members included Zoltan Bourne, Christopher Young, William Billingsley, Matthew Leddington-Hill, Paul Guard, Nicholas Spunde, Richard Schwarz, David Rosenthal, Cameron Crowther, Jonathon Brand and Andre Russ. Tom Sawyer was performed by the TGS Theatre Company in May with three performances in the Assembly Hall. In Music, in May the Stage and Concert Bands completed a country tour, performing in Millmerran, Moree, Goondiwindi and Inglewood. Approximately 200 parents and boys attended the Music Awards evening in November. The Adventure Club continued to offer wonderful activities for the students under the leadership of Mr Clint Howitt. Kevin Ackworth, a student from 1989-1993, attended the TGS Reunion in 2023 and recalled his involvement in the Adventure Club. The Adventure Club activities were generally held monthly and included Mt. Barney, Lizard Point and all main ranges. Kevin’s involvement in the Adventure Club led to a life-long interest in the outdoors and he went on to experience Everest Base Camp and the three Peaks in the United Kingdom. Thirty years after leaving the School, Kevin Ackworth still kept in touch with Mr Clint Howitt. Similar extremely positive experiences were shared by a number of participants in the Adventure Club over the years including Old Boy Chris Dixon (1992-1993) who, since 2016, was the event director of ‘Wild & Co.’ and ran ‘Hells Bells’, Australia’s longest running 24-hour adventure race held on the Sunshine Coast. A photograph of the Adventure Club officials is included in this year’s entry.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The School retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for Cricket (TGS 9/225 d DC 162). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup this year (6-20). The first half of the game was very close with DC leading 7-6 at half time. The School defeated Downlands College in swimming (258 points to 78), cricket, cross-country, athletics (403-262) and tennis (6 rubbers to 2). TGS was defeated by Downlands College in rugby (6-20), basketball, shooting and volleyball (1-3).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr William M. Dent, former Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School (1970-1991). In Mr Dent’s speech he referred to an occasion in which the School was preparing for the GrammarDownlands Day. Mr Dent was referring to the need for good sportsmanship and of not allowing the Downlands boys to steal our school flag as they usually managed to do on those days. As Mr Dent left the Assembly he heard the Senior Prefect step to the microphone and yell in threatening tones: “Stringer, stay where you are.” At once a tall boy at the back of the Hall leapt to his feet and ran. He was a Prefect at Downlands. He had smuggled himself into the TGS Assembly and he had discovered all of our plans. He escaped and the next day the Downlands boys not only won the game but they stole our flag again. That night at Downlands, the Principal, Father Patterson, demanded that the flag be returned and next morning, when he went into the Chapel to say Mass, there it was neatly folded, lying modestly, even reverently, on the Altar. Page | 694


1993 1993

The School Prefects Computer Room The School Prefects Computer Room

GPS Gymnastics Premiership Winning team comprising (L-R) Tony Mason, Shane Lep, Ben Jackson & Drew Slack-Smith GPS Gymnastics Premiership Winning team comprising (L-R) Tony Mason, Shane Lep, Ben Jackson & Drew Slack-Smith

L.T. Heenan Science & Technology Building L.T. Heenan Science & Technology Building

Adventure Club Officials

Adventure Club Officials

Three School Blazers

Three School Blazers

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1994 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 5th year)

Mr Alan L. Dorr (in his 3rd year)

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 3rd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 7th year)

Senior Prefect: Scott K.H. Mansfield (whose younger brother, Darren, was also Senior Prefect in 1997) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Andrew Christensen Senior Boarder Prefect: Tim Fraser Dux of Year: Peter J. Houston Total School Enrolment: 707 Number of Dayboys: 340 Number of Boarders: 367 Staffing: •

Mr Jack Burnie retired at the end of the year as Senior Resident Master (1964-1968 and 19781994). Mr Burnie was a former staff member with the School’s thirteenth Headmaster, Mr Bill Dent, when they were both working at Thornburgh College in Charters Towers. The position of Senior Resident Master was subsequently discontinued after Mr Burnie’s retirement and the Boarding Houses became more autonomous in their own right. In later years Headmaster Hauser reintroduced a senior managerial co-ordinating and leadership role in boarding with the creation of a Head of Boarding position in 2011 (later to be retitled Director of Boarding in 2015). A tribute to Mr Jack Burnie recognising his 22 years of invaluable service appeared in the School Magazine of this year, page 25. The positions of Sportsmaster and Assistant Sportsmaster ceased to exist at the end of 1993. The position of Director of Sport and Activities was created as a new role and Mr A.J. (Tony) Wood was appointed to this position. Previously Mr Wood was at Sydney Grammar School (see 2000). Mr Russell Gillies was appointed to the role of Sports Administrator in the following year (to assist Mr Wood) at which time he relinquished his former position as Head of the Commerce/Economics Faculty. Mr James (Jim) Noble commenced to teach Business Principles and Economics. He left at the end of 1996 for a promoted position at Nudgee College and returned in 2008 as Mackintosh Boarding Housemaster for three years. He was then promoted to the position of Director of Pastoral Care and Head of Boarding for three years. In 2015 he was appointed to the Executive role as Director of Boarding. Mr Noble resigned from the School at the end of 2021 and relocated to Brisbane. Page | 696


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The Boarding Housemasters were Mr J. Burnie (Boyce), Mr D. Grosvenor (Groom), Mr R. Vernon (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr J. DeGaris (Chauvel), Mr M. Gillespie (Gibson), Mr C. Howitt (Henderson) and Mr O. Dashwood (Partridge).

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The School Prefects were Scott Mansfield, Andrew Christensen, Timothy Fraser, Lachlan Aird, Mark Alexander, Russell Cameron, Niall Carey, Cameron Crowther, Ricky Dumigan, David McLennan, Ian Nearhos, Bradley Neill, Brendan Roberts, David Rosenthal, Shaun Salter, Errol Schulz, Ken Siminji, Bradley Wallace and Edward Willis. Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Niall Carey, Trent Crawford, Cameron Crowther, Peter Houston, Scott Mansfield, Daniel Quinlan, David Temple-Smith and Kent Worden. The School’s Senior Prefect and Captain of Athletics, Scott Mansfield (1991-1994), won the Open 400 and 800 metres in the GPS championships, setting a new record in the 400 metres in 48.1seconds. He broke the electronic record by 0.56 seconds, breaking a time which had been unchallenged for seven years. In his four years’ appearance at the GPS titles, he remained unbeaten in both the 400 and 800 metres events he contested. Scott Mansfield was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Later, in 2016, he was invited to address the School at a Scholars’ Assembly. Scott spoke to the boys about his boarding at TGS (a boarder from a cattle property in Injune), through a variety of careers to become a surgeon. Scott initially worked as a Physiotherapist in rural Queensland before deciding to study medicine. After completing a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery with first class honours at the University of Queensland, he completed a two-year colorectal fellowship in Adelaide and Sydney which emphasised minimally invasive surgery. Timothy Fraser (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Ten students were chosen to represent Queensland at the national Track and Field titles in December. At the Open level, these boys included Scott Mansfield, Hugh Bridle (5000m), Kevin Purcell (400m hurdles), Chris Schutt (2000m steeplechase), Jason Schutt (5000m) and Daniel Walton (110m hurdles). Prefect and House Captain of Henderson, Ricky Dumigan (1990-1994), played in the 1st XI Cricket in the previous year and the 1st XV this year. He was also leader of the Big Band in 1993 and 1994 and commenced his working career as a musician with the Royal Australian Navy for five years and later as a musician with the Australian Army for six years. In 2006 Ricky was named as Captain of the Australian Services Rugby Union Team. Later his career involved being the Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Melbourne Rebels and in 2017 and beyond lived and coached in Japan. For three years he was the Head of Strength and Conditioning with the rugby coach Ricoh, based in Tokyo and later commenced with Docomo Red Hurricans Rugby Club in Osaka, Japan, in 2021 where he was Assistant Head Coach and Coach of Defence. Ricky’s father, Ian, is also an Old Boy (Honorary Life Member) of the School (see 1965). Jonathan Brand (1990-1994) won the Mona Schumann Memorial Trophy for the best dramatic performance at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. He made a debut at the Queensland Theatre Company in 2002. Kurt Worden won the Geological Society of Australia (Qld. Branch) Gold Medal for the most outstanding Earth Science student in the State for this year. Page | 697


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Drew J. Slack-Smith (1990-1994) later represented Australia in ‘The Emus’ at the Polo World Cup held in Argentina in 2001. Drew played five tests for the Emus in that World Cup. Ben Woodhouse (1990-1994) proceeded to operate a highly successful dairy products company, Maxum Foods. Damien Bourke (1990-1994) appeared to be ‘living the dream’ working in the French Alps at various chateaux as a chef followed by further employment on charter yachts on the Mediterranean. An eighteen-month stint on a fabulous sailing yacht allowed Damien to chef for the Swiss banker owner and see more of the world. Phillip Radford (1990-1994) was invited back to the School in 2004 to speak to the boys at Scholars’ Assembly about his career and achievements in graphic design. Edward Willis (1990-1994) and his family were chosen as winners of The High Achiever of the Year Award at the 2006 Australian Cotton Industry Awards. Mark Alexander (1990-1994) was appointed to the position of Head Cricket Coach at the School in Term 4, 2023.

Buildings: • •

The decision was made by the School’s Board of Trustees and the Headmaster to establish an Outdoor Centre/Personal Development area at the School’s Cooby Dam property. The Headmaster’s Office was relocated in April to the first floor of the Main Building (School House) from its previous location situated by the front office reception left of the main entrance door. This was on the southern end of the first floor of the building. The Trustees’ Boardroom was where the Chief Financial Officer’s office was located until 2022. Next to the Boardroom was the Headmaster’s Office and a separate office for the Headmaster’s Secretary (a title later changed to become Headmaster’s Personal Assistant and from 2022, Executive Assistant to the Headmaster).

Events: •

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In October it was decided by the Board of Trustees to proceed with the re-establishment of a Primary School (‘Grammar Junior’). The Chairman, Dr Jim Blaikie, announced that the School would open a Junior School at the beginning of 1997, catering for grades 5, 6 and 7. Colours in cultural activities were permitted to be displayed on the School blazers for the first time. The Toowoomba Grammar School Art Show was re-introduced this year following a number of years in recess. The efforts of the Headmaster’s wife, Mrs Helen Rose, are acknowledged here as she was instrumental in the reintroduction of the Art Show. Held in mid-April, the Art Show was most successful. At the Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner, the guest speaker was former Deputy Headmaster, Mr Ron Bourne. The guest speakers at the Brisbane Branch OBA reunion dinner were the former Headmaster, Mr Dent, the current Headmaster, Mr Rose, and former Senior Master, Mr Tony Rae. In this year there were five Boarding Houses (Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens and Taylor) and four Dayboy Houses (Chauvel, Gibson, Henderson and Partridge). Freshney Day House was to be introduced in 1996.

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Ten students of French travelled to New Caledonia at the end of Term Three for a language and cultural experience. The Inter-House Variety Night was held in October and the various performance sections included – best performance in a comedy/dramatic act; best musical act; most entertaining act; and a jazz group prize. The Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House Competition was won by Henderson House and also in the following year.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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• •

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In Athletics, the GPS Track and Field team came 4th, the School’s equal best result since 1980 when it was placed 3rd. The School’s Open 4x400 metres relay team won its event and the runners were Peter Hewett, David Rosenthal, Bradley Wallace and Sean Salter. Other first placings were recorded in younger age divisions. The School’s Senior Prefect and Captain of Athletics, Scott Mansfield (1991-1994), won the Open 400 and 800 metres in the GPS championships, setting a new record in the 400 metres in 48.1seconds (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). The next TGS athlete to win the GPS Open 400 metres event was to be in 2013. Kevin Purcell (Year 12) won the State Open 400 metres hurdles title. Brendan Norris won the Under 16, 100 and 200 metres sprint double. In the 200m Brendan blitzed the field to break the existing manual and electronic record. He then stepped out less than one hour later to come from behind and take the 100m. Brendan was also the backbone of the U16 4 x 100m relay team which also won. In Basketball, there were 10 TGS teams involved in the GPS competition. For a relatively young and inexperienced Basketball side, the 1st V team was unfortunate in not securing a win in the GPS season as there were some very close games. Narrow losses included to BGS (38-44), TSS (45-47) and BBC (32-36). The three games against GT, IGS and ‘Churchie’ were ones to forget – GT (21-92), IGS (26-84) and ‘Churchie’ (43-100). In Cricket, the 1st XI achieved two victories – against IGS and GT. In the GPS competition, a very close game was a loss to ‘Churchie’, with them scoring the winning run in the last over with one wicket in hand. Similarly, in a non-GPS fixture, against Downlands College, the loss arose when Downlands scored the winning runs also in the last over. The game against TSS was washed out. In Cricket, the School fielded 23 teams this year. In Cross Country, at the GPS Championships, Hugh Bridle and Jason Schutt finished first and second in the Open event. Hugh Bridle’s win in the GPS Open Cross Country championships was the first for the School since Brett Winter in 1978 and 1979. A first placing for an Open age division TGS cross country runner was next achieved in 2004 with Jaryd Grantham’s run. In Gymnastics - a back-to-back GPS Premiership (joint premiers with St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace). The senior team included Shane Lep (Captain), Drew Slack-Smith, Michael Wagstaff and Andrew Martin. The coaches were Simon Grubb, Ron Maybury and Jim Whipps with the TGS 1993 Captain of Gymnastics, Ben Jackson, joining the coaching staff in Term Two. Overall, there were 22 boys involved in the GPS gymnastics competition. A photograph of the Premiership winning Gymnastics team is included in this year’s entry. In Rugby, for the second year in succession, the Open First XV lost all 1st XV GPS games this year. The Captain of the 1st XV, Errol Schulz, summarised the season by stating: “In terms of victories, our GPS season cannot be hailed as one of overwhelming success but there were many games in Page | 699


• • • •

• • • • • •

• • • •

• • •

which we all performed our best.” The two major losses during the season were to Nudgee College (0-44) and BSHS (6-36). Representing Nudgee College in its Premiership winning 1st XV was Elton Flatley (later a Wallaby) in Year 11, playing in his third year at this level. Ricky Dumigan (1990-1994) and member of the 1st XV was later to be employed by the Ricoh Rugby Club in Japan (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). The School fielded 21 Rugby teams this year. In Soccer, the 1st XI team was a relatively young one with eight of the eleven players being from Year 11. The 1st XI soccer team gained its first win in the GPS competition since the introduction of this sport into the GPS in 1991.The victory was against Ipswich Grammar School (1-0) in the first round. The team lost all further games in the GPS season. Some big losses in the 1st XI Soccer were to BGS (0-6) and NC (0-7). There were 10 Soccer teams this year. In Swimming, the School remained in 9th (last) place in the GPS Swimming Championships but the points achieved were higher than in recent years. Swimming Captain, Cameron Bradshaw, broke four Open Swimming records in the School’s InterHouse Swimming Competition. In Tennis, despite limited success the 1st IV experienced an enjoyable and rewarding season. The team won two GPS games – against TSS (6 rubbers to 2) and BSHS (7 rubbers to 1). Volleyball was introduced into the GPS sporting program for the first time this year although not all of the nine member schools were initially participating. The first Captain of Volleyball at the School was David A. Rosenthal and the Coach was Mr Les Purdie. Unfortunately, the team was unable to secure a victory in the GPS games but some close matches were played. In Cadets, at the Annual Camp all cadets were able to have a short ride in a helicopter. In Debating, the School entered eight teams in the Queensland Debating Union competition and five of these teams qualified for the State Final rounds. In Skiing, twenty-five boys travelled to Falls Creek in the Victorian Alps in the September holidays for a week’s skiing. In Drama, this year’s production was the comedy drama The Front Page performed in conjunction with The Glennie School (in the TGS Assembly Hall). The performance involved a cast of twenty boys and five girls. The play was directed by Mr Ross Vernon and the cast included Edward Foy, Michael Wagstaff, Andrew Martin, Brad Wallace, Stephen Jones, Paul Broughton, Cameron Crowther, Niall Carey, David Rosenthal, Daniel Teis and Bennett Sheridan. The Junior Play was The Canterville Ghost, also in association with The Glennie School and this play was performed at Glennie. In Music, the Stage and Concert Bands had a ‘Take Note Tour’ to the Sunshine Coast and hinterland which involved 35 instrumental players and singers in five performances. The Big Band and several solo singers received a total of seven first prizes at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. The Choir expanded to include sixty singers. In this year The Grammarphones were established as an a cappella group. Mr Alan Muller led this group. A photograph of The Grammarphones is included in this year’s entry. The third Music Awards Dinner was held in November and included a most successful dinner.

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Downlands Competition: •

• • •

Downlands College proved too strong in rugby (0-15), cricket and shooting. TGS was successful in swimming, track and field (462-225 points), cross-country, basketball (47-31), volleyball (3 sets to 1) and tennis (the game was called off due to rain half-way but TGS had not, at the time, lost a set). The 1st XI Cricket team lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (TGS 173 – DC scored the winning runs in the last over of the game). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup (0-15). The 1st XI Soccer team drew with Downlands (2-2).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Anthony J. Rae – Senior Master Toowoomba Grammar School (1959-1963) and later Headmaster of Albury Grammar School (later known as The Scots School, Albury) and Newington College, Sydney (1972-1993).

Page | 701


1994

GPS Gymnastics Premiership Winning Team (L-R) Michael Wagstaff, Drew Slack-Smith, Shane Lep (Captain), Andrew Martin & Mr G. Sampford (MIC)

The Grammarphones

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1995 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 6th year)

Mr Alan L. Dorr (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Dr Jim M. Blaikie, Messrs.Alan L. Dorr, Don S. Christmas, Glen W. McCracken, David W. Henderson, Perry V. Dayas and Mrs Lee E. Mylne. Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 8th year) Senior Prefect: Paul A. Guard (and Dux)

(see 2000)

Senior Dayboy Prefect: David Bade Senior Boarder Prefect: Cayne Anderson Dux of Year: Paul A. Guard (whose younger brother, David, was also Dux in 2000) (see below) Total School Enrolment: 720 Number of Dayboys: 367 1946

- the number of Dayboys exceeded that of Boarders for the first time since

Number of Boarders: 353 Staffing: •

• •

On 18 October, the School’s thirteenth Headmaster, Mr William ‘Bill’ Dent (1970-1991) passed away at the age of 62 years after an eight-year battle with cancer. His funeral was held at St. Luke’s Anglican Church and the large attendance was indicative of the respect and very high esteem in which he was held by the community. The Trustees agreed to a request by the Dent family to have Mr Dent’s ashes spread in the garden bed outside the office he occupied for so many years. A plaque dedicated to Mr Dent is situated in the gardens to the entry of the main office of School House and a photograph of this plaque is included in this year’s entry. A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. The School’s Registrar, Mr Graeme Ainsbury, retired at the end of the year after 36 valuable years’ service. During this time he held many positions – Acting Deputy Headmaster, Registrar, Senior Master, Boarding Housemaster, Archivist, Officer-in-Charge of Cadets and other appointments. The School Magazine of 1995 concluded a tribute to Mr Ainsbury with the following words: “Thirty-six years at one educational institution is becoming somewhat of a rarity these days and, although it is obvious that Graeme Ainsbury has benefited from his association with the School, it is equally obvious that the School has benefited greatly from his years of dedicated service, his vast experience and his considerable organisational skills.” (School Magazine, 1995 page 22). Mr Ainsbury was also the longest serving ‘Officer Commanding’ of the School’s Cadet Corps in the School’s history, from 1968-1983. This year, in the School’s 120th Anniversary 1995, Graeme Page | 703


• •

Ainsbury also completed his research for the School in the preparation of an extremely valuable historical publication Toowoomba Grammar School Register 1877 – 1995 in his capacity as School Registrar. The production of this book was initiated by the Headmaster, Mr Rose, and it provided a wealth of information to Old Boys and other supporters of the School, as well as to those interested in Australian education generally. Mr Rose commented in the Foreword of this book: “It is most important that a school with our history and tradition should maintain such a record.” A tribute to Mr Ainsbury’s service to the School is to be found in John K. Winn’s book Still Playing the Game on page 502 and the School presents the G.E. Ainsbury Prize for Geography each year at the Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. A Director of Development position was created for the first time with the appointment of Mr Rob Mitchell. This position was later titled Director of Enrolment and Development and Mr Mitchell retired from this senior role at the end of 2010. In 2004 Mr Mitchell was honoured with the invitation to become an ‘Honorary Old Boy’ by the School’s Old Boys’ Association in appreciation for his excellent efforts with the School and the Association. Mr Russell Gillies transferred from the Head of the Commerce and Economics Department into a full-time sports administration role at the School. Mr Gillies had been the Head of this subject department since 1975. Teacher of French, Mrs Lynnette Yeabsley was one of only two Queensland secondary school teachers to win a scholarship offered by the French Government which enabled her to undertake a five-week course in France. The Heads of Department were Mr J. Dakin (English), Mr I. Sanderson (Mathematics), Mr D. Sams (Science), Mr A. Curry (Foreign Languages), Mr B. Greer (History), Mr A. Hill (Geography), Mr G. Alford (Commerce and Economics), Mr B. Wilson (Design and Technology), Mr T. Bourke (Art), Mr A. Doecke (Music), Mr D. McGovern (Physical Education), Mr H. Sorensen (Computer Studies), Mr S. Purse (Library) and Mr R. Wood (Careers Adviser/School Counsellor). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr K. Lavers (Boyce), Mr D. Grosvenor (Groom), Mr S. Kennedy (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens) and Mr I. Sanderson (Taylor). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mr M. Gillespie (Gibson), Mr C. Howitt (Henderson) and Mr O. Dashwood (Partridge).

Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Paul Guard, David Bade, Cayne Anderson, Lachlan Aird, Adam Brand, Hugh Bridle, Samuel Bryce, Sanjay Dhupelia, Benjamin Drynan, Burnett Fahey, Lachlan Handley, Phillip Hayes-St Clair, Darrell Keppel, Thomas Lloyd, Andrew Marland, Daniel Mellish, Troy Prettejohn, Alex Rose, Matthew Swan and Gregory Zillman. Six Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Joseph Carey, Louis Gilshenan, Paul Guard, Nicholas O’Neil, Robert Pietsch and Bennett Sheridan. Paul Guard, Robert Pietsch and Joseph Carey were winners of the Australian Students’ Prize awarded by the Commonwealth Government for Outstanding Achievement in Secondary Schools. Paul Guard (Senior Prefect and Dux) and his younger brother, David (also Dux of the School in 2000) lost their parents in 2014 as a result of an international airline tragedy (see 2014). In 2007 Paul was invited by the Headmaster to be the Guest Speaker at the School’s Academic Honours Assembly and he was completing a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the time. David Bade was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12.

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• • •

• •

• • • •

Alex Rose (1992-1995) was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Academic Honours Assembly in 2004. Alex was also the guest speaker at the Brisbane Branch of the OBA business breakfast in 2005. He spoke about current trends of the Australian Stock Market. Gregory Zillman (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. In 2006 Gregory was appointed to the National Council of Young Farmers. Lachlan Handley (1991-1995) and Captain of Basketball represented the third generation of the Handley family to attend Toowoomba Grammar School. His father, John, was later to be the Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees and a President of the Old Boys’ Association (see 1957 and 2005). Edward Foy (1994-1995) starred in Toowoomba Empire Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast in 2007 which was a huge success in Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. Earlier in the year Edward played the title role in a University of Southern Queensland production of Macbeth. Edward’s acting career has spanned stage and screen. In 2023 Edward was living in Vancouver, Canada. Brad Fitzgibbons (1992-1995) became well known to many Old Boys over the years as the proprietor of Fitzy’s Pub in Margaret Street, Toowoomba. James Maher (1991-1995) went on a Rotary Exchange to Japan in the first year following Year 12. He followed that with a degree in Japanese and Korean. In 2002 he completed a Masters Degree at the University of Queensland in Japanese interpreting and translating which led to employment as an in-house translator and interpreter in Nagoya, the home of Toyota. Daniel Mellish (1991-1995) was one of only twenty students in Queensland to be awarded a scholarship to the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra. Ashley Ford (1993-1995) was named in the Queensland State Tennis team to contest the National Secondary Schools title in Melbourne. Ashley was only in Year 10 at the time. Ben Hewitt (1991-1995) and his brother Michael (1993-1997) were featured on ABC television in 2024 highlighting their success in developing Australia’s largest organic meat company (see Colin Hewitt in the ‘Students’ section of the 1969-year entry). Nathan G. Swain (1993-1995) was killed in a bombing of the Sari Club in the tourist district of Kuta in Bali. Known as the Bali bombing, this event occurred on 12 October 2002 and killed 202 people. Nathan was inducted posthumously into the Indonesian Rugby Hall of Fame. Nathan was a member of the ISCI Rugby Club in Jakarta and was in Bali at the time as a member of a team playing at an International Rugby Competition in Bali.

Buildings: • •

The construction of an Outdoor Education Centre named ‘Abingdon’ at Cooby Dam, north of Toowoomba, commenced (see 2006). Photographs of the Cooby Dam site and Abingdon are included in this year’s entry. The Pavilion by the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was completed and opened on Open Day in August by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Jim Blaikie. The building was funded largely by donations from the School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association. The pavilion was designed by Old Boy and architect, Mr Mac Stirling (1970-1973), from the architectural firm Powell, Dods and Thorpe. Included in the photographs in this year’s entry is a plaque commemorating the opening of the Pavilion. The construction of ‘Grammar Junior’ was planned and construction was scheduled to commence in May of 1996 . Included in the photographs in this year’s entry are those relating to the pine plantation clearing for the new building.

Page | 705


Events: • • • •

• • •

The drought continued into its sixth year. By early in this year all buildings in the School were designated ‘smoke free zones’. This was later extended to all buildings and all the school grounds. The pine forest fronting Herries Street was cleared on this site, commencing in May next year with ‘Grammar Junior’. The Art Show was a huge success attracting 400 people to the opening (with 2000 visitors over the weekend and 500 paintings displayed). Old Boy Mr Alan Jones AM was guest speaker and he opened the Show. The Headmaster presented a gift of a suite of paintings to the Mayor of Toowoomba, Councillor Ross Miller, for the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery. The Interact Club raised $4,000 in the year for local charities and donated a small aluminium boat with an outboard motor to the School for activities at Cooby Dam. Eight students of French travelled to New Caledonia in September. For the first time, a House Colours scheme was introduced. This recognised the efforts of boys who were not recognised for sporting or academic performances but who offered leadership, commitment, and support to their peers. The Half and Full House Colours were to be awarded on a points system and these colours were to be worn on the bottom left-hand pocket of the School blazer. In 2008 the School added an Honours House Colours award. This year there was an historic occasion to celebrate being the seventieth anniversary of the foundation of the Brisbane Branch of the Old Boys’ Association. A dinner was held in the Wisden Room at the Queensland Cricketers’ Club. Four Past Presidents of the Brisbane Branch were in attendance, namely Graham Hobbs (President, 1971-1972), Tom Vallis (1984-1988 and 1992), Rae Roberts (1989-1991) and Rodney Metcalfe (1992-1995). Also in attendance at the function were other Brisbane Branch TGS Old Boys’ Association stalwarts, Ivan Board, Keith McPhie, Col Morwood, John Saunders, Bill Thomas and Jeremy Wilkinson. A history of the Brisbane Branch of the OBA up to 1980 was documented in the School Magazine of 1980 (pp. 84-85). The Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House Competition was won by Henderson House.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

• •

In Athletics, the School’s athletics squad gained a 5th place at the GPS Track and Field Championships. Hugh Bridle won the Open 3000 metres event at the GPS Track and Field Championships. He also placed 4th in the National Schoolboys’ Cross-Country Championships. The next time a TGS athlete was to win the GPS Open 3000 metres event was in 2014. In Basketball, the Open Firsts team achieved two wins in the GPS competition – against ‘Churchie’ (61-57) and TSS (67-55). Punishing defeats on the team were imposed by BBC (37-99) and IGS (4088). In Cricket, the 1st XI won three GPS games this season, against BGS, GT and NC with one washout and four losses. The Captain of the 1st XI this year and next was Lachlan M. Stevens who later played for Queensland. Lachlan scored a total of 443 runs in the 8 GPS 1st XI Cricket games played this year. In 6 of the 8 games played, he scored over 50 runs. He also took 5 wickets for 35 in the 1 st XI match against GT this year (see the ‘Students’ section in next year’s entry).

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• •

• • •

• • • • •

• •

In the 1st XI was Dane Jones (Year 11). His father, Arthur, had been a prolific GPS 1st XI century maker (see 1968-69) whilst his grandfather, William ‘Bill’, also played for the School’s 1st XI Cricket team in 1935 – a rare feat. Also in the 1st XI was the Vice-Captain, Lachlan Aird, who took 5 wickets for 64 against GT and a further 5 for 52 against BGS. In the NC 1st XI team were future Wallabies, Elton Flatley and Peter Hewat. Recorded in Ivan Board’s book(s) The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School 18772020 was a tribute to Mr Graham Smythe, the coach of the 1st XI. Written by the Captain of the 1st XI this year and next, Lachlan Stevens wrote: “He (Graham Smythe) was cricket at TGS for generations of players and is still spoken about in such loving and admired terms today… we will always think of him with great respect and affection and I am so glad he was my coach.” In Cross Country, the School won the McVeigh Cup for the Champion School in the Darling Downs Cross Country Championship (for the 22nd time in the 23 years of competition). The School’s cross country championships were held at the Toowoomba Show Grounds. Excellent individual performances by Hugh Bridle and Chris Schutt ensured their selection to represent Queensland at the National Titles in Tasmania. Hugh Bridle came fourth at the National Cross Country Championships. The GPS Cross Country Championships, held at Limestone Park in Ipswich, provided an 8km track of challenges and a finish line flat enough to enable the many dedicated spectators a clear view of their champions. With nine schools competing, Toowoomba Grammar improved on last year's 8th position to equal 7th place. In Gymnastics, the School’s senior gymnasts were placed 2nd in the GPS competition but the overall squad finished 5th overall. A change in the competition rules this year involved every performance to be counted from Year 8-Year 12 for the overall school result. The GPS Gymnastics titles were held for the first time at the Sleeman Sports Complex. The School hosted the Toowoomba Schools’ Gymnastics competition and won both the senior and junior divisions. Andrew Martin and Michael Wagstaff competed in the national gymnastics titles this year. In Rugby, the Captain of the 1st XV team was Alex Rose, the son of the Headmaster, Mr Hugh Rose, a former Australian Wallaby. The 1st XV Rugby team had a memorable victory over Brisbane Grammar School (18-12), the team’s sole victory during the season. Those who watched the game would remember the final minutes involving a sensational run by Cayne Anderson and a try scored by Dave Elliot to secure the victory. Emotional scenes followed with the crowd rushing on to the oval to congratulate the TGS team. The 1st XV team was humbled by TSS, losing 0-48, ‘Churchie’ (0-44) and the eventual Premiers, NC (3-62). The team was coached by Mr Paul Herbert who continued to coach the 1 st XV to 2004 inclusive except for 1998-1999. Indicative of the incredible talent and competition existing in the GPS rugby competition was Nathan Sharpe in the TSS 1st XV. Later, Nathan played 116 Test matches for Australia including 20 as Captain. In Soccer, the Captain of the 1st XI Soccer, Alastair Yeabsley, is the son of Mrs Lynne J. Yeabsley, a member of the teaching staff since 1988 and still teaching French at the School in 2024. (see 1988, 2006). Soccer was played on Mills Oval for the first time. The Soccer season for the 1st XI was the most successful so far since the introduction of Soccer into the GPS sporting competition schedule in 1991.

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• •

• •

• • • •

• •

The 1st XI Soccer team had three GPS victories – against ‘Churchie’ (1-0), GT (1-0), and BSHS (3-2). A game to forget was that played against BBC when a weakened ‘flu affected TGS 1st XI team was defeated 0-7. In the soccer match against Downlands College, TGS was successful in winning by a huge margin, 10-1. Andrew Carnell and Chris Schutt scored three goals each. In Swimming, the School’s swimmers were only one point from lifting themselves from the traditional 9th (last) position in the GPS Swimming Championships. This result was the closest to 8th position in a decade. The Captain of Swimming, Darrell Keppel gave an entertaining speech at the April Summer Sports Dinner. In the speech, recounting his experience at the GPS Swimming Championships, Darrell said: “When I went down to the marshalling area I had a bizarre experience. I was sitting in the marshalling seats we had allocated to us. I decided to check out the opposition. I looked to my right and noticed the bloke in lane one had no hairs on his legs. I just had a little chuckle to myself. I thought he must be pretty fair dinkum. Then I looked to my left and noticed everyone else's legs were clean shaven and shiny. Immediately I thought to myself. I'm in trouble.” In Tennis, the 1st IV had two wins in GPS matches – against ‘Churchie’ (5 rubbers to 3) and against BSHS. The team was unable to play a full-strength one every week with several players often away simultaneously. In Volleyball, the Open Firsts did not experience a win but several closely fought games went to the final, and deciding, fifth set. Debating was now an official GPS competition event but, until this year, the School competed in the local Queensland Debating Union competition due to the difficulty of attending mid-week fixtures in Brisbane. This year for the first time in many years, the School was invited into the Senior A competition. Only fifteen schools in the State competed at this level of competition and the TGS team was coached by Mr Clint Howitt. The Captain of the School’s Senior A Debating team both this year and the previous year was Bennett Sheridan. This year Bennett advanced to the Queensland Students’ Debating Squad. In later years Bennett was a Cardiologist and Specialist in Intensive Care, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. In Water Polo, boys continued to play in the local Toowoomba water-polo competition. In Cadets, the Unit was heavily involved in the celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II. The Dive Club enjoyed a week-long diving trip off Gladstone in December. In Drama, the production this year was the comedy rock musical Little Shop of Horrors with Fairholme College and was held at the Toowoomba City Hall in May (120 students and staff were involved in the production). The play was co-directed by Mr Ross Vernon and the two major leads were Edward Foy and Bennett Sheridan. The Junior Production this year was a play which was a musical version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe titled Nania. This year, as part of a special project, senior boys headed the production team for the Junior Play in the areas of direction, design and stage management. The student director was Bennett Sheridan and student designer Edward Foy. In Music, an intensive Music Instrumental Camp at Noosa was held at the start of the academic year. At the 1995 Toowoomba Eisteddfod the School’s musicians won the Darling Downs Regional Instrumental Music Committee Trophy for the best performance in Big Band, Concert Band and Orchestra for secondary schools. The School was also awarded the Harold Swan Memorial Shield for the most outstanding performance in the Open Instrumental Ensemble, Open Big Band and Open Small Ensemble. No Darling Downs School had ever held both the Shield and the Trophy at the same time. Page | 708


Downlands Competition • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team regained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 139 – TGS 3/140). The School won cricket, soccer (10-1), swimming (211-125), track and field, cross-country, basketball, and tennis (8 rubbers to nil). Our volleyball team lost to Downlands (2 sets to 3). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup in the first game of the season, 3-26. In the Soccer victory to TGS 10-1, Andrew Carnell and Chris Schutt both scored three goals.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Tom Dare concluded his Presidency (1989-95) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland

Page | 709

Mrs Alison W. Dickson AO – Retired


1995 1995

Teaching Staff Teaching Staff

Preparing for new Junior School Preparing for new Junior School

Abingdon Outdoor Education Centre, Lake Cooby Abingdon Outdoor Education Centre, Lake Cooby Pine Plantation Clearing for new Junior School Pine Plantation Clearing for new Junior School

Page | 710


1996 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr. J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 7th year)

Mr Alan L. Dorr (in his 5th year)

Trustees: Mr Alan Dorr was replaced as a Trustee by Old Boy (1954-1957), Mr John Handley, in July. He joined Mr Glen McCracken as the second Old Boy on the current Board of Trustees. Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 9th year) Senior Prefect: Lachlan McR. Stevens (see the ‘Cricket’ section 1995) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Matthew J. Kibble Senior Boarder Prefect: Scott A. Kelly Dux of Year: James B. Cooper Total School Enrolment: 728 Number of Dayboys: 379 Number of Boarders: 349

Staffing: •

Mr Paul Southwell (on staff 1996-2001) was appointed as the inaugural Head of Grammar Junior. He commenced in July to ensure everything was in place for the arrival of TGS Junior School students in Term One, 1997. Prior to coming to TGS, Mr Southwell was Head of The Glennie Preparatory School. He was a former Wallaby, representing Australia in Rugby Union. Mr John K. Winn replaced Mr Ainsbury in the role of Registrar following Mr Ainsbury’s retirement in December of the previous year. Mr Winn’s former position, that of First Assistant Master, now ceased to exist. Mr Winn retired from full-time employment at the School at the end of this year but he returned in 1997 on a part-time basis to teach his Year 11 Earth Science class. Mr Winn was also presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association and was also invited by the School’s Board of Trustees to write the School’s history (1875 to 2000) to be published in 2000. Mr Harry Sorensen retired after 28 years of continuous service (Mathematics and Science). Mr Sorensen Twas Head of Mathematics from 1975-1982 and then Head of Computer Studies and he initiated the computer program into the School curriculum. In 1984, whilst at Toowoomba Grammar School, he also assisted the Association of Independent Schools of Queensland as a computer consultant and assisted many independent schools in their computer requirements. A tribute to Mr Sorensen was included in the School Magazine of this year on page 19. Page | 711


• •

• • •

A new staff position was created this year, the School Marshal, and Mr Trevor Evans was appointed to this position. Mr ‘Ted’ Brambleby retired at the end of this year having completed 29 years of service (Biology) having commenced at the School in 1968. The Board of Trustees decided to name a Senior Biology subject prize at Speech Day in Mr Brambleby’s honour. The tribute to Mr Brambleby in the 1996 School Magazine (page 19) recorded, in part: “Ted was an outstanding Biology teacher with an incredible love for his subject. Such was his gift that he was able to impart this love to the students who took his course. Whilst Ted involved himself widely in the general school program, his greatest love was marine biology. He not only incorporated this into the course but he also ran for many years a successful Dive Club….” (see 1982, 1984 and 2018). In a Tribute to Mr Brambleby in the School Magazine of this year it included: “Ted was never a person to use a few simple words if he could replace them with numerous lengthy ones. For example, he was never able to run a simple Dive Club but insisted on calling it ‘The Toowoomba Grammar Underwater Research and Adventure Club’ (TGURAC). His work programs were a wordsmith’s delight but, in many cases, seemed incomprehensible to anybody else.” Mr Rob Mitchell (Director of Development) and his wife Margie travelled extensively throughout Queensland and Northern NSW promoting the School and meeting many prospective, current and past parents and Old Boys. Venues visited included Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Inverell, Goondiwindi, Roma, Crows Nest and Longreach Shows. They also attended Moree MATE, Expo 14 at Gatton, Agro 2000 at Emerald, Ag Quip at Gunnedah and the Agricultural Show in Toowoomba. Rob and Margie Mitchell’s presence at these shows was welcomed by all. The Headmaster and Director of Development attended various school functions this year including in Sydney, Melbourne, Townsville, Cairns, Port Moresby and Emerald. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr K. Lavers (Boyce), Mr D. Grosvenor (Groom), Mr S. Kennedy (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens) and Mr E. B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr P. Herbert (Gibson), Mr C. Howitt (Henderson) and Mr G. James (Partridge).

Students: •

• •

The School Prefects were Lachlan Stevens, Matthew Kibble, Scott Kelly, Anthony Athanasiov, James Buck, Andrew Carnell, James Cooper, Danny Croft, John Delofski, Owen Dingle, Daniel Dredge, William Heath, Ben Holmes, Dane Jones, Sean McPhail, Warwick Walsh and Andrew Zischke. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Three Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – James Cooper, Matthew Madigan and Ryan Tan. Sean McPhail (Year 12) was awarded the Geological Society of Australia (Queensland Branch) Gold Medal for the Best Year 12 Earth Science student in Queensland. Since the inception of this award in 1984, seven TGS boys have been awarded this Prize. The most recent winners were Sean McPhail (1996), Nicholas O’Neil (1995), Kurt Worden (1994) and Ben Gilshenan (1993). Senior Prefect, Lachlan Stevens, captained the School’s 1st XI cricket team for the second year in a row and was also Captain of Tennis in this year. The Director of Cricket and 1st XI Coach, Mr Graham Smythe, stated that: “I would rate Lachlan Stevens as a cricketer in the same company as Wade Seccombe, Martin Love and Jason Little.” Lachlan also had the honour of being Captain of the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Cricket team. Scott Kelly scored centuries against Nudgee (106) and BBC (158) in the 1st XI Cricket team.

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John Arneil was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Cricket side to compete against New South Wales in December. Grant Chandler finished 1st in the Open 100 metres backstroke at the GPS Swimming championships. The 4x100 metres Open relay team won their event at the GPS Track and Field championships (Chris McDonald, Andrew Kidu, Heath Knox and Ben Holmes – Captain of Athletics). Anthony Athanasiov (1992-1996) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He was later to graduate in Medicine (and later as an orthopaedic specialist) as was his younger brother, Paul (1995-1999). Dane Jones (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Byron Wood was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ Under 16 years Rugby squad to play New Zealand in Sydney. Anthony Klan (1994-1996) returned to the School in 2011 to be Guest Speaker at a School Scholars’ Assembly. Anthony was asked to speak to the boys about his experience as an awardwinning journalist with The Australian newspaper. In 2010 Anthony won News Limited’s highest journalistic award and was on secondment in New York with the Wall Street Journal. Dan Dredge and Warwick Walsh were invited back to the School in 2019 to address the School Scholars’ Assembly about their careers to date. Ben Savage (Year 12) was invited back to the School in 2002 to conduct a music workshop for the students. This followed his study in Boston and recording in New York City.

Buildings: •

When the Junior School was re-established, the first building phase occurred in this year commencing in April, with four classrooms and an administration block being constructed. In November the main Junior School building (then referred to as Grammar Junior) was officially opened by Mr Mike Horan, MLA, Minister for Health and Member for Toowoomba South on 10 November. A photograph of the plaque commemorating this occasion is included in this year’s entry. The Junior School had a full complement of boys enrolled for the beginning of next year. The location of the Junior School, situated on the boundary of Herries Street, was previously the School’s pine plantation and unused property. A photograph included in this year’s entry (taken in 1954) outlines the location of the site for the new Junior School. ‘Abingdon’, the School’s Outdoor Education Centre, situated on the shores of Cooby Dam was opened in August. The first Year 8 group to the Centre visited in July and involved 26 boys. The Co-ordinator of Outdoor Education at this time was Mr Ian Taylor. The 20 hectare site comprised a main building with bunk style accommodation and bathrooms for 30 at one end and a kitchen, laundry and common room at the other. There were two staff bedrooms as well. Outside there were high and low climbing ropes, rock climbing and orienteering and navigation over bush tracks. Overnight camping was part of the program and canoeing and sailing were also on the curriculum. The Abingdon property was sold by the School in 2006 and a more diverse program of Outdoor Education was offered to the boys. The Housemaster’s residence for Taylor House was built.

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Events: •

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A new Dayboy House, Freshney, was established, named after Dr Reginald Freshney who was a member of the Board of Trustees for 21 years, 19 of which he was Chairman (1911-1929).A photograph of Dr Freshney is included in this year’s entry. Dr R. Freshney’s son was also an Old Boy, Dr Edward Freshney (1928-1929). Mrs Lynne Yeabsley was appointed to lead this new House which was created due to the expansion in dayboy student numbers. Mrs Yeabsley, a teacher of French at the School, was Assistant Housemaster of Henderson House and was the School’s first female Housemaster (Freshney House) and Head of Department (Languages). Mrs Yeabsley was later the first woman to be appointed to the School Executive – see 2006. Over the years since this time a number of women on staff most successfully held the role of Day Housemaster and a member of the School Executive. The Headmaster, Mr Rose, and the Director of Development, Mr Mitchell, conducted marketing and Old Boy reunion functions in Townsville, Cairns and Port Moresby. At the function at Port Moresby over 60 Old Boys and parents were present. The Headmaster wrote to parents warning them of the boys attending unsupervised parties. In his March letter to parents, Mr Rose stated: “It would be wrong of me if I did not pass on to you that I believe some of our boys have been in association with people or have been involved in social occurrences where drugs of various descriptions have been available…. Illegal drugs such as marijuana and ecstasy are available in Toowoomba, our sons will come into contact with them and we should therefore ensure that they are fully aware of the dangers associated with such substances.” The subject Information Processing and Technology was introduced into the curriculum. In this year there were 40 personal computers at the School; by 2004 this number had increased to 400 PCs running hundreds of different applications via a 14 server Windows 2003 network. The network supported a variety of infrastructure ranging from five PC labs to a pod of 25 laptop PCs utilised in the foreign languages area, the 60 PCs available on both floors of the library, and many smaller groups of PCs located in specific rooms, including 6 PCs in each room in the Junior School. The Old Boys’ Association (Toowoomba Branch) annual dinner was held away from the customary venue, namely the School. The different venue was the Glenvale Room at the Toowoomba Showgrounds and approximately 120 Old Boys attended the dinner. The guest speaker was Mr John Winn who, at some stage during his 34 years at the School, had taught approximately 80 per cent of the 120 Old Boys present at the dinner. The ‘Blue and Gold’ Ball and the Art Show were organised by the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association. A Grandparents’ Day was held at the School. The rifle range on the School’s grounds was dismantled. It had been in operation since 1942 (see 1942). The Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House competition was won by Freshney House.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

In Athletics, the GPS Track and Field Championships were held at a night meeting for the first time. The School’s team came 6th in the GPS competition, only 14 points behind 4th place. The 4 x 100 metres Open relay runners won their event at the GPS Track and Field Championships. The sprinters were Chris McDonald, Andrew Kidu, Heath Knox and Ben Holmes (Captain).

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At the GPS Track and Field Championships, the School also won the all-age 4 x 400 metres relay, the team consisting of Steven Glover, Jeff Inch, Shannon Drenan and James Nicholas in a GPS record-breaking time. At the Toowoomba District Athletics Carnival, the School won every trophy on offer which included all the age groups, the relays and the aggregate trophy. Four boys were selected from the Darling Downs team to the Queensland team to compete at the Nationals in Perth. In Basketball, the Open Firsts team often faced taller, more experienced opponents but was successful in winning against The Southport School with a massive 94 points on the scoreboard (94-30). This win against TSS, in Round 6, was the only GPS match won by the team this season. In Chess, the School was involved in the GPS Chess competition for the first time this year with three teams competing – A, B and Novice. The first game was cancelled due to rain which sounds strange for an indoor sport. The rain and resultant flooding cut the road to Brisbane and all sport that weekend was cancelled. The Coach of the inaugural GPS Chess team was Mr Les Lord who was still actively involved in TGS Chess at least 25 years later. The captain of the first GPS Chess team for the School was James Cooper and the Master-in-Charge was Mr Paul Martin. The Senior A team finished in 5th place in this first year of GPS Chess. In addition to James Cooper in the Senior A team were Lachlan Stevens (Senior Prefect and Captain of Cricket and Tennis), Adam Barron, and Nick Leeman. The Open Chess team won two GPS games this year – against Gregory Terrace (2.5-1.5) and Brisbane State High School (4-0). The scoring for Chess in this competition was 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw and 0 for a loss. The GPS Chess games lost by the Senior A team were to IGS (1.5-2.5), ‘Churchie’ (0-4), BGS (0-4), BBC (1.5-2.5) and NC (1-3). In Cricket, the 1st XI team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition. The team lost to IGS winning with 14 balls to spare and ACGS (the eventual Premiers) won in their 43rd over. A photograph of the School’s 1st XI Cricket team is included in this year’s entry. The 1st XI Cricket team won the State Final of the Coca Cola Cup and later the team was RunnersUp in the Australian Schoolboys’ Cricket Championship this year played on Adelaide Oval. Because of these competitions, the 1st XI ended up playing twenty highly competitive matches during the season. Further games were part of the UK tour and pre-season games. The Senior Prefect and Captain of Cricket (and Tennis), Lachlan Stevens, scored 404 runs in the 8 GPS 1st XI cricket games played this year. His batting average was 50 this year. This followed Lachlan’s 443 runs scored in the previous year. Lachlan was in the 1st XI for four years and Captain of the team in both 1995 and 1996. The Vice-Captain of the 1st XI, Scott Kelly, made two centuries in the GPS season. In the game against Nudgee College, Scott scored 106 runs, hitting 12 fours and 4 sixes. Against BBC, Scott scored 158 runs. This run score was ranked the eighth highest in the history of TGS 1 st XI cricket from 1877-2020. In one of the first few balls ‘Scotty’ faced, he hit a massive six onto Moggill Road. This year playing against TSS, the TGS 1st XI scored the highest innings score for TGS (5-308) in the 1990’s decade. In the game against GT, Lachlan Stevens and Luke Nothdurft had a second wicket partnership of 111 (the 6th highest 2nd wicket partnership in TGS cricket history). Next year Luke Nothdurft scored 94 runs against BBC. In the 1st XI cricket game against NC, TGS bowler Nathan Taylor took five wickets for 42 runs.

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A Cricket Tour to the United Kingdom over three and a half weeks in June/July was a highlight for 17 boys, 2 staff and 10 parents. Six matches were played, losing only one match. The coach on the tour was Mr Alan Hill and Mr Tony Wood (Director of Sport and Activities) also accompanied the tour. In the Captain of Cricket’s written report in the School Magazine, Lachlan Stevens wrote: “A player should never be afraid of failing. They should always be willing to attempt something different and backing themselves in the process. If he's going to play cricket then let him enjoy the game and entertain the spectators. The first XI have played that way this year with entertaining and aggressive cricket.” Also in the TGS School Magazine of 1996 on page 93 was another report written by the Captain of Cricket, Lachlan Stevens. It was a wonderfully written piece reflecting on cricket as a liberal education and is a must read for all who love the game. In Gymnastics, no Year 12 or Year 10 student was in the Senior and Junior sections this year. The Senior A team comprised Sam Farrell (as Captain), Andrew Kidu, Peter Reid, and Greg Ulamari. The School’s gymnasts won the Toowoomba District Schools’ Gymnastics titles, held at Fairholme College, in both the senior and junior divisions. In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV team did not win a game this year but drew against BSHS (22-22). The 1st XV was extremely close in not defeating both Nudgee College (17-19) and Brisbane Grammar School (15-17). Representing GT in the 1st XV was David Croft who later won five caps representing Australia in 2002-2003. Former Coach of the Australian Wallabies and TGS Old Boy, Alan Jones, was present to watch the TGS v TSS match which unfortunately was won by TSS (18-5). Nathan Dennys was selected in the GPS XV and Byron Wood was selected in the Australian Under 16 Schoolboys’ team. The time-period 1993-1996 was an extremely bleak one for the School’s 1st XV Rugby teams in terms of win-loss ratios. No GPS 1st XV Rugby games were won by TGS in 1993 and 1994; one GPS game was won in 1995; and no GPS games were won in 1996. In Soccer, the School’s Open 1st XI soccer team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition (and 2nd in the following year). The season was regarded as possibly the most successful for the 1st XI since soccer was first introduced into the GPS sporting competition in 1991. All players in the team, except one, were in Year 11. The team lost only one game in the season, to IGS (1-6), and drew against GT (0-0). The winning results for TGS were: ‘Churchie’ (3-2), BGS (3-1), TSS (4-2), BSHS (31) and BBC (1-0). The Captain of the team was Andrew Carnell. In Swimming, for the first time in 13 years the School team did not come last in the GPS Swimming championships (the team finished in 8th position and just 6 points away from placing 7th). The Swimming team had considerably more depth than in previous years. The GPS swimming result this year was the first time in 18 years that the team scored more than 150 points. In the Open division, Grant Chandler won the Open 100 metres backstroke (and again in the following year) and was placed third in the Open 100 metres freestyle. The Captain of the team was Anthony Athanasiov. The School’s Inter-House Swimming competition was held at The Glennie School for the first time this year. In Tennis, the 1st IV team had an enjoyable season but gained only one GPS victory, against BSHS. The 1st IV tennis players also won against Downlands College and had narrow losses against TSS, GT and BBC.

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The Captain of the 1st IV Tennis team was Lachlan Stevens who was also the School’s Senior Prefect and Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team. In Volleyball, the Open Firsts team came 3rd in the GPS competition, winning two of their five GPS games played. Two five-set games lost by TGS were to ‘Churchie’ and Nudgee. These two matches were both lost by only two points in the final set. The 1sts volleyball team was coached by Mrs Murka Smiechowski. In Cadets, Major Wally Davies relinquished his role as Officer Commanding of the School’s Cadet Unit after twelve years (1985-1996) and during this time under his leadership the Cadet Unit prospered. He had followed the leadership of Captain John Franklin who resigned his commission to travel overseas and teach in England. Major Davies passed away in June 2013 and a Tribute to him featured in the School publication Omnibus, vol.23, no.3, November 2013, pg.23. In Debating, fifty boys represented the School in the Queensland Debating Union competition. In the Adventure Club, Mr Harvey and Mr Howitt continued as Leaders. Mr Ted Brambleby concluded his conduct of the Dive Club and Mr Robin Buchanan continued to co-ordinate the Photography Club. The Computer Club was established. In Drama, the major production this year was the rock musical Grease. This was performed at City Hall in May to four full houses with the involvement of girls from Fairholme College and The Glennie School. The musical was directed by Mr Ross Vernon and the lead roles were performed by David Ramsay, Ross Dakin, Daniel Dredge, Ben Holmes, Robert Hayes-St.Clair, Chris Chown, Rohan Bates and Joe Lewis. In Music, this year was seen as a highly successful one. The ‘Take Note’ Music Tour travelled to Sydney with performances at Warwick State High School, the New England Girls’ School Armidale, The King’s School, the Opera House and Darling Harbour. Over fifty boys participated in the tour which was made up of the Concert Band, the Strings Orchestra, the Big Band, String Quartet and the Fusion Band. A select group of nine solo vocalists formed a small unaccompanied choral group this year and continued with the name The Grammarphones originally established two years previously (see photograph in the 1994-year entry). Under the direction of Mr Jonathan Kemp these singers joined the ‘Take Note’ Music Tour to Sydney.

Downlands Competition: • • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 45 – TGS 2/46). After deciding to play on, TGS finished at 7-227. The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup, 8-27. The Track and Field team won the Father Graham Memorial Trophy. The School’s Volleyball team won (2 sets to nil) and the Open Basketball team also experienced a win (76-61). The School’s Swimming squad defeated Downlands, 187 points to 149. In this competition held at the Downlands Pool, both schools entered three swimmers for each individual race and two relay teams for each relay race. In each case the points were 6 for first place and 3 for second, 2 for third and 1 for fourth. The scoring system was to allow the team with strength in depth to neutralize the efforts of individual stars.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Keith L. Muller for a two-year period, 1996-1997. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Her Excellency The Governor, Mrs Leneen Forde AC Page | 717


1996

Construction of Junior School

1st XI Cricket team

The School Prefects

New Freshney Dayboy House

School Grounds in the 1950’s, the site of the current Junior School site

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1997 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr. J. ‘Jim’ Blaikie (in his 8th year)

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 1st year as Deputy)

Trustees: Old Boy Mr W. ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (1969-1973) was appointed to the Board, joining two other Old Boys already on the Board of Trustees, namely Mr Glen McCracken and Mr John Handley. Mr Don Christmas and Mr Perry Dayas resigned at the end of the year.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 6th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 10th year)

Senior Prefect: Darren T. Mansfield (whose elder brother, Scott, was Senior Prefect in 1994) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Kent C. Paroz Senior Boarder Prefect: K. Andrew Kidu (whose father, Sir Buri Kidu, was Senior Prefect in 1965) Dux of Year: James C. Gilshenan

Total School Enrolment: 832 Senior School Total: 727 Junior School Total: 105 (‘Grammar Junior’ opened in this year with 105 boys in four classes (from Years 5-7). Of the 105, there were 87 dayboys and 18 boarders. The boys came from 44 different schools. A photograph of the Junior School students is included in this year’s entry. Number of Dayboys: 490 Number of Boarders: 342 Staffing: •

Mr John K. Winn retired after 35 years teaching at Toowoomba Grammar School (commencing in 1963). Mr Winn was regarded as an exceptional teacher of Earth Science and administrator and also served the School as Sportsmaster and later Registrar. He was the author of Still Playing the Game, the 125-year history book of the School and various other history books relating to the School. At the School’s annual Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony boys aspire to receive the J.K. Winn Medal for Five Years of Academic Excellence (introduced in 2001). For many years after his retirement, Mr Winn conducted School history tours for new boys and was the official School historian. Sadly, Mr Winn passed away on 6 September, 2015 and to this day the School misses his presence, involvement and charm. A photograph of Mr Winn is included in this year’s entry. Page | 719


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In addition to the 598 page Still Playing the Game: A History of Toowoomba Grammar School 1875-2000 written by Mr John K. Winn he also wrote a number of other smaller books relating to various aspects of the history of the School. These additional School History books authored by John K. Winn included Toowoomba Grammar School ‘The Headmaster Tradition’ (2007);Toowoomba Grammar School ‘The Enduring Traditions’ (2009); The Toowoomba Grammar School ‘Heritage Trail’ (2007); A History of the Toowoomba Grammar School Army Cadet Unit 1892-2010 (2010); Toowoomba Grammar School ‘Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement’ (2011); and Toowoomba Grammar School ‘The Gillies Connection’ (2013). A photograph of these titles are included in this year’s entry. A tribute to Mr John Winn, written by Mr Russell Gillies (the longest-serving member of the School’s teaching staff in the School’s history) was included in this year’s School Magazine, page 19 and in Omnibus, vol.25, no.3, November 2015, pp.32-33. A Tribute to John K. Winn is also included in Appendix One of this publication. Mr Richard Fairley resigned as Director of Studies to become the Principal of Townsville Grammar School, a position he held with distinction from 1998-2017 inc. (see 1975 and 2017). The inaugural staff at ‘Grammar Junior’ were Mr Paul Southwell as Head (and Year 7 teacher), Mr Anthony Beauchamp (the second Year 7 class), Mrs Susan Fuss (Year 6), and Old Boy, Mr Steven Rafter (Year 5 - see 1985). Mrs Fuss returned to the School on two occasions (2008 and 2018) to teach for a one-term contract appointment. She told Headmaster Hauser in 2018: “I am amazed to see the expansion of the Junior School in its physical appearance and resource base. Similarly, I am greatly impressed by the dedication shown by the teachers in the educational and emotional development of the boys. There is a highly structured and all-encompassing curriculum which educates the whole boy.” The School Magazine of this year (pp 19-20) included Tributes to teachers Messrs John Winn, Richard Fairley and Ross Vernon. The School Magazine for the years 1997-2004 were all compiled and formatted by Mr Todd Harm in a committed and thorough effort. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr K. Lavers (Boyce), Mr D. Grosvenor (Groom), Mr S. Kennedy (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor) and Mr S. Rafter (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr P. Herbert (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr G. James (Partridge).

Students: • The School Prefects were Darren Mansfield, Kent Paroz, K. Andrew Kidu, James Arneil, Derek Babineau, Rohan Bates, Matthew Bron, Jon-Paul Chapman, Ross Dakin, C. ‘Sam’ Farrell, Clint Hawkins, Neil Hetherington, Dane Houlahan, Daniel Johnson, Daniel Kuhn, Alex Mylne, William McUtchen, Luke Nothdurft and Ben Taylor. A photograph of the Senior Prefect, Senior Dayboy Prefect, Senior Boarder Prefect and the Headmaster and Deputy Headmaster are included in this year’s entry. • One Year 12 boy achieved an OP One, James Gilshenan. • Benjamin Roberts attended Government House in Sydney to receive his Mathematics Gold Medal from the Governor of New South Wales (see 1998 and 1999). • Darren Mansfield was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12.

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Lindsay Krieg (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. He also won the Open 400 metres hurdles at the GPS Track and Field Championships. The Captain of Swimming, Grant Chandler, won the Open 100 metres backstroke at the GPS Swimming Championships. He also previously won gold medals at the Pan Pacific Games held in Perth at the end of 1996. Caan Childs and John-Paul Chapman were selected for the Australian Under-16 Schoolboy Rugby team to play a New Zealand team in Christchurch. Caan Childs was to be selected as Captain of the School’s 1st XV in the following year. Nathan Taylor was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ XV. John Arneil was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Cricket XI. Rhys D. Jones won both the Open and Under 16 shot put events, setting new records in both. Senior Boarder Prefect, Andrew Kidu (1995-1997), progressed to practise law in both Sydney and Papua New Guinea. Andrew returned to the School in 2006 with his mother, Dame Carol Kidu, the Minister for Community Development in the Papua New Guinea Parliament. A photograph of Andrew and Dame Carol Kidu is included in this year’s entry. They are holding a ‘message stick’ which was first presented to the School in 1980 by Old Boy, Sir Buri Kidu (Senior Prefect, see 1965). Mick Hewitt (1993-1997) and his brother Ben Hewitt (1991-1995) were featured on ABC television in 2024 highlighting their success in developing Australia’s largest organic meat company (see Colin Hewitt in the ‘Students’ section of the 1969-year entry). Two boys from the Class of ‘97 from Papua New Guinea both completed medical degrees after leaving school. Vincent Pyakalyia (1996-1997) was a doctor at the Port Moresby General Hospital and in 2023 was Senior Advisor Health at Oil Search Foundation PNG. Kipas Binga (1995-1997) was, in 2005, a doctor and stationed at the hospital in Mount Hagan, Papua New Guinea. In 2020 Dr Binga was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Morobe Provincial Health Authority in the Lae District of PNG. Jon-Paul Chapman (1993-1997) proceeded to run one of the larger private companies (retail and shipping) in the Kingdom of Tonga. He has also been President of the local Tonga Chamber of Commerce. Daniel Kuhn (1993-1997) was later to teach at the School (English, French and Business Studies), commencing in 2006 and resigning in December 2008. In 2008 Daniel coached the 1st XI Soccer (Football) team. Daniel later returned to become a Boarding Housemaster in 2010 to the end of Term One, 2012. Luke Anderson (1993-1997) was Guest Speaker at the School’s Assembly in 2004. Luke spoke of his experience with the Australian Army including tours to East Timor and Iraq. Dane Houlahan (1993-1997) attended the TGS Old Boys’ Association reunion in London in 2008 whilst working with KPMG. Innes Fahey (1993-1997) won the National Final of the Young Auctioneers Competition 2002 at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for the second successive year. He was also Champion World Junior Brahman Judge following a Wesfarmers Landmark competition. Jake Marshall (1993-1997) spent more than two years at Western Texas College on a rodeo scholarship. He competed in the national rodeo finals both in Australia and the USA. In 2006 Jake was named the Australian Bareback Champion. Richard Capp (1993-1997) and his brother Bryce (1995-1999) founded Milton & King, now Australia’s largest wallpapering manufacturing business. They export all over the world and have opened factories in Dallas, Texas and Amsterdam, Netherlands with offices in Manchester, Los Angeles and Toowoomba. Page | 721


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Angus Watson (1993-1997) had his second tour of duty in Timor-Leste as part of the International Stabilisation Force. He graduated as an S-70 Blackhawk pilot in 2005. James Sparkes (1993-1997) graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon as an Army Aviation Pilot Officer. In 2006 James was flying Blackhawk helicopters with the 5th Aviation Regiment in Townsville and later in the Middle East. He served his second tour of duty in Timor Leste. James’ brother, Alistair Sparks (1994-1998), also served in Timor-Leste. Geoff Pike (1993-1997) was a finalist at the Telstra Australian Business Awards held in Sydney in 2013 after winning the regional award earlier in the year. Geoff’s company, General Trade Industries, diversified from plumbing into constructing camps and building well surface facilities for gas companies.

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The new J.M. Blaikie Health Centre was constructed, ready for use at the beginning of 1998. The building covered approximately 300 square metres and included accommodation for two fulltime and one part-time staff on a rotational basis and capacity for ten boys. Other features of the new facility were an isolation ward, a dispensary, waiting room, treatment room and doctor’s consultation room. The new Health Centre was to replace the existing Sick Bay situated on the first floor of Mackintosh (School) House. Four more classrooms were to be added to Grammar Junior to be completed by Semester 2 next year. One of these rooms was for the purpose of a computer and resource centre. The tennis shelters were opened by the President of the P&F Association, Dr Gerry Fogarty, in September.

Events: •

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On 15 September the official opening of the School’s Outdoor Education Centre, Abingdon, at Cooby Dam was held. The Abingdon programs aimed to encourage the personal development and awareness of the boys by building self-esteem and confidence, developing social skills by working in small groups, and also developing outdoor skills through a variety of pursuits. Students from Years 5-10 spent camps at the School’s Outdoor Education Centre, Abingdon. A new computer system enabled full Internet access throughout the School. In the newly opened ‘Grammar Junior’ there were five computers in each classroom (and one was connected to the Internet). The Guest of Honour at the annual dinner of the Toowoomba Branch of the Old Boys’ Association held at Laguna following a Race Day at Clifford Park Racecourse was Old Boy, Mr Graham Turner (1965-1966), Managing Director of the Flight Centre business. Mr Turner was also to visit the School in 2003 to address the boys in the Senior School Assembly. The School Executive comprised the Headmaster, Deputy Headmaster, Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Director of Studies and Director of Sport and Activities. The Old Boys’ Association (OBA) underwent a necessary constitutional change to become an incorporated body. It promptly moved to establish a system of compulsory life membership for members by means of a levy which was subsequently collected whilst the boys were still at the School. The OBA developed its own home page on the Internet. Vice-President, Tony Loveday, was thanked for his efforts in developing and maintaining the Home Page (and for being Chip Cooking Co-ordinator and Secretary of the TGS OBA). Page | 722


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A Class of 1947 fiftieth reunion was held in March at the School, with one of the organisers Mr Syd Gardner. Twenty years later, in March 2017, the Class of 1947 celebrated their 70 th year reunion with a dinner at Gips Restaurant in Toowoomba. The Headmaster and the President of the OBA, Mr Keith Muller, hosted Old Boy reunion functions in Sydney, Roma, Townsville, Cairns and Bundaberg. Ten students of French together with French teachers, Mr Tony Curry and Mrs Lynne Yeabsley, travelled to New Caledonia during the mid-year break. A New Zealand Geography tour for 29 boys took place during the September school holidays. The P & F Association had a successful year with fundraising via the Uniform Shop, the ‘Rio’ Ball, the Art Show and the winter barbecues at the Pavilion on home games. The Ladies Auxiliary’s Melbourne Cup Luncheon was a great success. The School’s mascot, ‘Ting Tong’ Tiger, made his debut this year at both the final game of the GPS Rugby season against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace and at the QEII Stadium at the GPS Track and Field championships (once again an evening event). The TGS Tiger was the initiative of the School Prefects and the Interact Club and the Old Boys’ Association contributed to the funding of the project. This was organised and designed by Interact member and School Prefect, Alex Mylne, and the other School Prefects. The Interact Club arranged an ‘All Schools Social’ at Rumours International (as the Club had done so previously). Boys in Years 10-12 who received the academic awards of Maxima Cum Laude, Dux or Proxime Accessit were to have their efforts acknowledged by having their blazer appropriately embroidered for the first time (in a similar way to that of School Colours and Honours). The Empire Theatre in Toowoomba returned to its original use as a theatre. Toowoomba recorded its lowest winter rainfall for many years with less than one quarter of its usual rain. The next lowest winter rainfall occurred in 22 years’ time, the winter of 2019. The Inter-House competition for the Headmaster’s Shield was won by Boyce House.

Co-curricular Activities: • • • •

• •

In Athletics, the squad finished in 4th place, only 11.5 points behind 3rd place. Rhys Jones won both the Open and Under 16 shot put events and set new GPS records in both (see 1998). Lindsay Krieg won the Open 400 metres hurdles. In Basketball, this year a talented Open Firsts team had wins over ‘Churchie’, BGS and TSS and reached Basketball’s highest GPS placing for many years (finishing 5th). The winning scores were against ‘Churchie’ (48-32), BGS (50-48) and TSS (49-30). Mr David Toleman (formerly of the Mountaineers) was appointed to coach the Firsts this year. In a later year, 2004, he joined the administrative staff of the School as a Publications Officer and Graphic Designer. Mr Toleman coached the Firsts basketball team for nine years until the end of the 2005 season but again assumed this role in 2009 and 2010 with Mr Stuart Rowland. Mr Toleman resigned as a member of staff at the end of Term 1, 2012. In Chess, this was the second year in the GPS competition and the team was successful in defeating one other GPS school, BSHS (3-1). Some of the GPS Chess matches lasted two hours each. Simon Fogarty as Captain of the Senior ‘A’ Chess and his team competed against very talented Chess players. For example, three of the competitors from the other GPS schools had ratings of 2100, 2100 and 1780. Page | 723


• • • • • • •

• • • • • • • •

• • •

In Cricket, the 1st XI team, despite coming 4th in the GPS competition, won the State Final (the Coca Cola Cup) and contested the Australian Schoolboys’ Cricket Championships (the National Finals) in December in Melbourne and Geelong. The 1st XI was successful in defeating four other GPS schools – BBC, BGS, NC and GT. The game against TSS was extremely close with TGS bowled out just nine runs short of the target. Perhaps the 5:00 a.m. departure for the TGS team to travel to Southport took its toll. The team was captained by Kent Paroz and included twin brothers, James and John Arneil. A member of the 1st XI, Bryce Burrows, travelled from Darwin to Toowoomba in 2017 to participate in the Old Boys versus current (2017) 1st XI players. In Cross Country, the Captain of the School’s team was Kent Paroz who also captained the 1st XI Cricket team. The Darling Downs Cross Country Championships were held at the Toowoomba Showgrounds for the first time. The TGS team maintained its impressive record at these Championships with another convincing victory, taking out the 'McVeigh Cup' for the 7th consecutive year and the 20th time since 1974. At the GPS Cross Country Championships against a very strong field, TGS finished a creditable 8th just three points behind Ipswich Grammar for seventh. The Open team proved to be the best team for TGS with a result of 5th place. In Gymnastics, the School fielded full teams in every division of the GPS Gymnastics competition which was held at the Clayfield College gymnasium in Brisbane. In the GPS Gymnastics competition, the TGS gymnasts performed well and gave their all, but the Brisbane schools proved to be very strong. TGS was eventually placed 6th overall. The School’s best performer in the Senior division was the team Captain, Sam Farrell. Hockey was no longer regarded as an official school sport this year but a number of boys continued to be involved in local club games. In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV team defeated the team representing The Southport School, 26-19. TGS was not to secure another win against a TSS 1st XV team until 2015. Another win for the 1st XV was against GT, 19-14. The 1st XV team came close to defeating Nudgee College in a very exciting game. Nudgee was only 5-3 up with ten minutes of play remaining (but finished by defeating TGS 12-3). Similarly, the game against Brisbane Grammar School was also very close (8-10). Twenty-five boys travelled to the South Island of New Zealand for a cultural and sporting tour prior to the Rugby season. In Soccer, the 1st XI Soccer team was equal Runners-Up in the GPS competition (with four wins, three draws and only one loss – to NC, 2-4), the best result since Soccer was introduced into the GPS sporting competition in 1991. The team was captained by Daniel R. Kuhn (see earlier entry ‘Students’) and the Vice-Captain was Nick Young, the son of a member of the School’s administrative staff, Mr Ian Young. In the next year Nick Young was to be awarded a sporting and academic university scholarship to play soccer in North Carolina in the United States. In Soccer, the 1st XI enjoyed fine wins against ‘Churchie’ (6-0), The Southport School (5-0), BSHS (4-2) and GT (2-1). The three drawn games were BBC (3-3), IGS (1-1) and BGS (2-2). Members of the 1st XI returned to the School ten years later to play a soccer game against the current boys in a combined team from the 1st XI, 2nd XI and 16A. It was an enjoyable occasion and the 1997 team celebrated their win, 4-1. In Swimming, at the GPS Swimming Championships, the Captain of the team, Grant Chandler, won the Open 100 metres backstroke (1:00.61) for the second successive year and came second both in the Open 100 and 200 freestyle events (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). The next time a TGS swimmer was to win the GPS Open 100m backstroke was in 2017, Dylan Stevens.

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• • • • • • •

• • •

In the early stages of the GPS Swimming Championships the TGS team was in 6th position. Unfortunately, lack of depth in the relay events saw the squad finish in 8th position. In Tennis, the 1st IV experienced little success but had one GPS win, against BSHS (6 sets-2). Two narrow losses were to TSS (4 sets all, lost by 2 games) and BBC. In Volleyball no GPS games were won at the Open Firsts level but two games went to five sets – ‘Churchie’ (2-3) and BSHS (2-3). In the final volleyball game against BBC, the TGS 1sts were losing 6-14 in the third set but came back to win this set 17-15. BBC eventually won the match, 3-1. Adventure Club members travelled to Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania at the end of the year. In Cadets, teacher and Old Boy, Mr Brodie Bassingthwaighte, assumed the responsibility of Officer Commanding. In Drama the rock musical Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was performed over four nights in May at the Toowoomba City Hall and was regarded as being highly successful. Girls from both The Glennie School and Fairholme College were also in the cast. The role of Joseph was played by Chris Chown. Other leads included Rohan Bates and Ross Dakin and other feature cast members included Andrew Kidu, Matthew Denne, James Walsh, Matthew Brunckhorst, Anthony Elliott, Michael Elliott, Alexander Mason, Oscar Pearse, Simon Fogerty and Hugh Munro. Mr Ross Vernon was the producer and director of the show. The Grammar Junior boys also performed in their own one-act play titled Boots ‘n’ All about a junior rugby team. Year 8 boys were also cast members. This show was performed at City Hall prior to the performance of the Senior Musical. In Music, the Grammarphones vocal ensemble expanded to thirteen voices this year and both the Senior and Junior Choir had a most successful year. The ‘Take Note’ Music Tour involving over fifty boys travelled via Biloela to Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Yeppoon. The Concert Band was placed 3rd in the A Grade Section of the Queensland Festival of Music held in Brisbane.

Downlands Competition: •

• •

Toowoomba Grammar School was successful in every sport contested against Downlands College this year – cricket, rugby, swimming (winning 20 of the 27 events), soccer, track and field (441241), tennis (8 sets-0), volleyball and basketball (60-50). The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy: DC 73 – TGS 0/76 (in just nine overs). The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup with a 38-5 result after previously losing the competition for six successive years (having last won in 1990). A member of the teaching staff and rugby coach at the time, Mr Paul Herbert, commented that: “The game was a stand-out. We hadn’t beaten Downlands in years. Indeed, no student at the School had ever seen the 1st XV win this encounter against Downlands. Mr Scott Kennedy organised a footy show the Thursday before the game. Downlands Coach, Peter Healy, brought the O’Callaghan Cup to the function and was lucky to get out alive! The atmosphere during the match was electric. The second half was a procession of tries as we led 38-0. Downlands scored last. When the ref blew the whistle the place just went berserk. That was a day to remember.” Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Professor Peter Swannell AM – Vice Chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland

Page | 725


1997

A sample of the School History Books written by School Master, Mr J.K. Winn

Junior School

Dame Carol Kidu & Andrew Kidu with the message stick presented to the School in 1980 by Old Boy, Sir Buri Kidu

Andrew Kidu, Darren Mansfield & Kent Paroz with Headmaster Rose and Deputy Headmaster Mr R. Buttenshaw

Retirement of Mr J.K. Winn

Page | 726


1998 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie (in his 9th year)

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: Mr Perry Dayas resigned as a Trustee and Old Boy (1970-75) Dr Kerry Milne was appointed in April. This brought the number of Old Boys to four on the seven-member Board of Trustees.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 7th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 11th year)

Senior Prefect: Nathan D. Taylor Senior Dayboy Prefect: Alistair C. Green Senior Boarder Prefect: Tim C. Saal Dux of Year: Andrew J. Campbell-Lloyd

Total School Enrolment: 862 Senior School Total: 732 Junior School Total: 130 Number of Dayboys: 505 Number of Boarders: 357

Staffing:

Mr Russell Gillies retired after 40 years of teaching at Toowoomba Grammar School (commencing in 1959); the longest-serving teacher in the School’s history. When Mr Gillies was appointed by Headmaster Heenan in 1959 he was one of only twelve teachers catering for an enrolment of 270. In December 1962 he married Judith Magarry who commenced work in the School Office in 1958. Mr Gillies was the coach of the 1st XV Rugby team for nine years, a swimming, cricket and track and field coach and the inaugural Head of Department of Commerce and Economics. From the early 1980s he also held the position of Assistant Sportsmaster. Mr Gillies relinquished his role as Department Head of Commerce and Economics in 1994 to move into full-time administrative duties. In 1998 Mr Gillies was presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association, only the seventh person in the School’s history to have this honour conferred.

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• •

• • •

In 2013 the School published a book ‘Toowoomba Grammar School – The Gillies Connection’ – written by John Keeble Winn. The book served to honour the service to the School made by Russell and Judy Gillies (see a photograph of the front cover of this book in the 1997-year entry). A tribute to Mr Gillies was also featured in this year’s School Magazine on pages 21-22 and in the Omnibus magazine, vol.1, April 2013, pp. 21-22, written by John K. Winn following Russ’ passing in 2013. Mr Graham Sampford commenced in 1965 as a Science and Mathematics teacher and resigned this year after 34 years of continuous service. He is remembered as a gifted, thorough and enthusiastic teacher. Mr Sampford had been a Housemaster of Day and Boarding Houses, an Officer of Cadets, and a coach of many sporting teams in rugby, cricket and athletics. Old Boy and Australian Wallaby International, Jason Little, recalled being coached by Mr Sampford at the Under 15 level. He commented: “Mr Sampford got into the rucks and mauls and would come out bleeding - he would put his body on the line for tackling practice. He told the players to take pride in what they were doing and insisted they have a good time while they were doing it. It’s something that I’ve always remembered.” (J.K. Winn – Still Playing The Game – pg. 508) In this year Mr Sampford was presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. A tribute to Mr Sampford was included in this year’s School Magazine on page 22. Mr Colin ‘Dave’ Sams retired after 25 years of unselfish service in both the classroom and the cocurricular programme (commencing in 1974) and was Head of the Science Department since 1986. His subject specialisation was Senior Chemistry. In this year Mr Sams was presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association and a tribute to him was included in this year’s School Magazine on page 23. The position of ‘Director of Information Technology’ was created and held by existing teacher Mr Brian Hewitt. The position of ‘Head of Outdoor Education’ was created and was filled by Mr Don Hamley in May. This position was later elevated to that of ‘Director of Outdoor Education’ and involved membership of the School Executive group. Mr Hamley resigned from the School at the end of Term 1, 2005 and the position ceased to continue. After the promotion of Mr Richard Fairley to the position of Principal of Townsville Grammar School, Mr Alan Hill was invited to undertake the responsibility as Director of Studies and to join the School Executive. Mr Hill had acted in this capacity for a period during 1992. Mr Hill most successfully held the role of Director of Studies from 1998-2007 and then chose to return to fulltime teaching as Head of the Geography Department in 2008 until his resignation at the end of 2014. Mr Allan Smiddy joined the School Staff as a teacher of History. He was appointed as a Day Housemaster in this year and a Head of Department, History, in 2007. Staff received extra payment for the first time for their involvement in the School’s co-curricular program (see ‘Staffing’ 2008). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr K. Lavers (Boyce), Mr D. Grosvenor (Groom), Mr S. Kennedy (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor) and Mr S. Rafter (Term 1) and Mr J. Tamvakis (Term 2-4) (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr E. Campiutti (Acting - Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

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Students: •

• • • • • • •

• • •

The School Prefects were Nathan Taylor, Alistair Green, Tim Saal, Robert Anderson, David Avery, Nathan Bourne, Dougal Coates, Adam Derrick, Shannon Drenan, Sunil Dhupelia, James Kibble, Roderick Gordon, Tom Holmes, Tim Ivers, William Jarvis, Rhys Jones, Jordan Myers, Simon Parkin, Kurt Renwick, James Walsh, Luke Westaway and Laurence Wood. Nine Year 12 students achieved an OP One – Geoff Allen, Andrew Campbell-Lloyd, Joshua Cockfield, Stephen Davis, Nick Hamilton, Tim Ivers, Andrew Maher, Simon Parkin and James Walsh. Andrew Campbell-Lloyd and Joshua Cockfield received the Australian Students’ Prize. James Walsh was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Dougal Coates (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. James Kibble (Year 12) was awarded colours in five sports – swimming, cross country, track and field, tennis and rugby. The students enjoyed four computer laboratories containing 26 computers. Andrew Maher (1994-1998) graduated from Royal Military College Duntroon in 2003. He topped the intake in the officer training course and was asked to lead the passing out parade. Bruce McConnel (1994-1998) in 2010 attended the 24th Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Edinburgh representing Australia as the national rural ambassador. He was later to be promoted as General Manager of Food Leaders’ Australia in 2017. Rob Anderson (1994-1998) was later elected Australian Mungbean Association President. Andrew Maher (1994-1998) led the Duntroon Officers’ Passing Out Parade in 2003. Year 10 student, Dugald Cornes (1996-1998), lost his life in a motor vehicle incident in December. This year Dugald had been awarded a Queensland Reds Scholarship and was invited to join the State Rugby Development Squad. A small memorial to Dugald in the form of a single sandstone boulder with a commemorative plaque attached is located above Old Boys’ Memorial Oval on the eastern bank. The “D.J. Cornes Memorial Award for Most Promising Rugby Player in All Grades” is presented annually to an underage ‘A’ level player.

Buildings: • •

The second phase of construction in the Junior School occurred, with a further four classrooms being built. At the end of May, the State Minister for Health, Mr Mike Horan MP, opened the new ‘Dr J.M. Blaikie Health Centre’. The visiting Doctor, Dr Richard Juhasz, continued to serve the School for over the next twenty years. A photograph of the plaque commemorating this opening is included in this year’s entry. A picket fence was constructed around Mills Oval, funded by the Old Boys’ Association. The fence was officially opened by Old Boy Mr Graham Boys (1924-1928) in the following year. A photograph of the plaque commemorating this event is included in this year’s entry.

Page | 729


Events: •

• • • • • •

• • •

The Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon John Howard MP, visited the School in May. The visit was organised by Old Boy and retiring Member for Groom, Mr Bill Taylor (1953-1956). The day coincided with the annual Toowoomba Grammar School versus Brisbane Grammar School rugby and soccer day. The Prime Minister was in Toowoomba supporting the endorsed Liberal candidate for Groom, Mr Ian Macfarlane. All Open 1st teams this year were coached by outside professionals. All boys in the School could obtain access to email through the School’s network. Ten students of Japanese enjoyed visiting Japan in June. Mr Alan Jones was guest speaker at the Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner in Brisbane. The annual reunion dinner of the OBA in Toowoomba was held in a new venue, the City Golf Club. In ‘Grammar Junior’ the boys enjoyed building billy carts and conducting a derby. This activity continued for at least the next twenty years (see the ‘Events’ section in the 2020 entry). The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association held another Theatre Restaurant night, ‘Highland Fling’. It was some years since the last one when it was replaced by the ‘Blue and Gold’ Ball. On this occasion a real haggis was served, made by the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Dr Jim Blaikie. Two new P&F groups were formed this year – the Boarder Support Group and the Music Supporters’ Group. Three editions of ‘Omnibus’ were published this year. Freshney House won the Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House competition and also in the following year.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

• •

In Athletics, at the Toowoomba District Carnival, the School retained all but one of the trophies. At the State Knock Out Cup the senior team was victorious (by one point) over NC. This year’s GPS Track and Field Championships were held at St Joseph’s Nudgee College on their new blue athletic track. Not only had the venue of the GPS Championships changed this year but also the timing of the event. The first buses left the School for Nudgee at 6:30a.m. The School’s athletics squad was placed 4th in this competition, by one point over GT. The three top place getters were IGS, BGS and NC. The Captain of Athletics, Rhys Jones, broke the then oldest GPS standing record in the Open shotput (set in 1961 by another TGS boy, Ian Moore, who won this event in both 1960 and 1961) with a throw of 19.52m (beating the old record of 16.85m). Rhys Jones was later chosen to participate in the World Juniors titles which were held in Belgium. Further success in the GPS Open shot-put event occurred with TGS students winning this event in 2000 (Stephen Glover, breaking Rhys’ GPS record and a record which remains unbeaten as at 2023); 2002 and 2003 (Chris Hanley); 2004 (Blake Althaus); 2013 (Matthew Denny); 2014 (Jimmy Gordon); and 2016 (Connor McLoughlin). At the same GPS Track and Field Championships, Peter Black won the Open high jump (2.04 m) and Steven Glover won the Under 15 shot-put setting a new GPS record (19.39m) and Under 15 discus (56.39m). In Basketball, thirteen teams represented the School.

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• • • •

• • • • • • •

In the 1st V Basketball game against NC, the TGS team had a two-point lead at halftime. NC clawed its way to a two-point lead with four minutes to go and then amassed multiple points to finally win 60-42. In the other GPS Basketball games, the 1st V defeated BGS (48-39) and BBC (60-45). The losses were to opposing teams whose players were, in the words of the TGS Captain of Basketball, Laurence Wood, “too tall, too fast and too good”. In Chess, despite the Firsts’ somewhat disappointing placing, the other teams showed potential. The Open 1st Chess team played extremely well to draw with both BGS and BSHS (both schools came equal second in the GPS competition). The final round of the GPS Chess competition was hosted by TGS with all other teams travelling to Toowoomba to play at the same time. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team was equal runners-up in the GPS Cricket competition with an interesting season suffering losses in the first two GPS games (NC and BBC) and then continuing to win six consecutive matches. The Captain of Cricket, Nathan Taylor, in his report in the School’s Annual Magazine, commented on the work of the 1st XI Coach, Mr Graham Smythe. Nathan’s comments were one of numerous praises for Graham Smythe’s work over many years, Nathan wrote: “It is without doubt that our coach Mr. Graham Smythe is responsible for the quality of this team. His ability to relate to the team is a virtue; it enables us to absorb the vast knowledge he possesses, and to share our thoughts with him. His effort is forever ongoing and he is an inspiration to us all.” Representing IGS in the 1st XI for the third year was Shane Watson who later represented Australia in cricket. Shane Watson’s first Test match was in 2005 against Pakistan and his last Test was in 2015 against England. A TGS batsman, Tom Marland, recalls hitting Shane Watson for a four and then in the next ball a six. Shane Watson later ran out Tom Marland with a direct hit at the stumps and reminded Tom that it was him on Tom’s return to the sheds. Later, Shane Watson for IGS came out to bat and smashed 30 runs off about six balls. In the match against GT, a record-breaking eighth wicket partnership of 75 runs occurred between Cohan Bourke and Tim Saal. Against ‘Churchie’, TGS lost seven wickets for eight runs in the space of six overs but TGS still won the game. Nathan Taylor and Jamie Gunn were selected in the combined GPS 1st XI. In Cross Country, the squad trained hard during the winter months but at times found it hard to attract boys away from rugby and soccer. The squad won the ‘team event’ in all age groups at the Darling Downs Cross Country Championships held in Warwick. Regular Sunday morning time trials were conducted by the Toowoomba Road Runners as part of the boys’ training schedule. In the GPS competition, once again held at Limestone Park, this event provided the team with its greatest challenge of the season. The School managed 8th position but it was in 7th place until very late in the competition. The team performed admirably and there were many fine performances in the day's competition. In Equestrian, at the Darling Downs Inter-School Championships, Tom Graham. Steven Bliss and Michael Payne combined to win the Senior Teams Show Jumping. At the State Finals for the InterSchool Show Jumping, Tom Graham came second and Steven Bliss eighth which overall put the team into sixth in the State for the teams' event, a fine effort for only 3 riders.

Page | 731


• • • •

• • •

• • •

In Rugby, during the 1st XV match against Nudgee College the team stormed back from a 20-nil deficit at half-time to draw the game, 20-20 (see 2004). The team also drew against ‘Churchie’ (19-19) during this season. In a season of ‘nail biters’ the 1st XV also had very close matches in their three wins against BBC (28-22), GT (21-15) and BSHS (21-19) and three losses to BGS (10-13), IGS (9-15) and TSS (1221). The 1st XV finished the season in 5th place in the GPS competition and the Coach was Mr Bob Wood (and the following year). In Soccer, in the first 1st XI game of the season, the team played Nudgee College and lost 1-8. The Captain of Soccer, Andrew O’Reilly, commented that “it was like hitting a brick wall”. The 1st XI Soccer team defeated TSS (1-0) and drew against BSHS (2-2). There were narrow losses to BGS (0-1) and BBC (1-2) and more significant defeats by GT, ‘Churchie’ and IGS. Andrew O’Reilly was selected in the Combined GPS 1st XI. In Swimming, the Captain of the School’s Swimming team, Glen Heidke, performed admirably at the GPS Swimming Championships. Glen finished 3rd in the all-age 200m individual medley, 3rd in the Open 100m backstroke and 3rd in the Open 100m butterfly. The Swimming team was placed 8th overall and in the younger age groups some encouraging performances were achieved. In Tennis, Tim Ivers was Captain of the School’s Open 1st Tennis team for the second successive year. The 1st IV Tennis team experienced little success in the GPS competition against the larger Brisbane-based GPS schools. Many of the 1st IV matches were close but only one win (against BSHS) was recorded. In Volleyball, the 1st Volleyball team achieved equal 3rd in the GPS competition. Impressively, the team won its four GPS matches all in straight sets, against BGS, GT, BSHS and IGS and lost the remaining three matches, NC (1-3), BBC (0-3) and ‘Churchie’ (1-3). The Adventure Club had a Term Two holiday expedition to Kakadu and Litchfield National Park and later in the year an expedition to the Himalayas under the supervision of Mr Clint Howitt and Mr Bob Harvey. In Drama, this year’s dramatic productions were ‘Afrodizziac’ and ‘Here Come the New Lads’. These represented a significant departure from the School’s traditional big musicals as they were original productions. With the resignation of Mr Ross Vernon at the end of last year, the new Drama teacher, Mr Todd Harm, wrote and directed the two plays. Here Come the New Lads was a 45 minute play with a message about masculinity and provided the cast with the opportunity to have creative input into the content of the scripts. The lead characters were played by James Loveday, James Walsh, Warwick Fraser, Matthew Brunckhorst, Jack MacDiarmid and Evan Anderson and the cast numbered seventeen. The second production, Afrodizziac, included main roles portrayed by Alexander Mason, Nick Hamilton, Tim Dashwood, Scott Stirling, Ben Wright, Rhys Jones, Tim Saal, Joshua Cockfield, John Hallo, Jack MacDiarmid, Cameron Mathie, Geoff Keating, Josh McAuley and Duncan Krieg. In Music, the School’s largest music group was the Concert Band with over 50 members. The Big Band ‘A’ sat an 8th Grade Trinity Examination and received a Distinction. Ten boys were successful in their audition for the Grammarphones vocal ensemble. The ‘Take Note’ Music Tour involved over 60 boys travelling to the Sunshine Coast. Performances included one at the ‘Ettamogah Pub’ and another at Sunshine Plaza. The supervising music teachers were Mr Roche-Kelly, Mr Scruton, Mr Kemp and Miss Turner.

Page | 732


Downlands Competition: • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy – TGS 148: DC 2/150. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup with a 25-18 victory. This was the first time since seasons 1980/81 that the School had won the Cup back-to-back. The School’s Swimming team was victorious in the annual Downlands swimming carnival, more than doubling the points score of Downlands College (244-91). TGS also defeated DC in Athletics competing for the Father Graham Memorial Trophy (384-308), Basketball and Volleyball (3 sets to nil, in a match lasting less than 30 minutes).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Ian R. Dumigan (for one year) succeeding Keith Muller. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr John K. Winn (former member of staff, retiring at the end of 1997 after 35 years of continuous service)

Page | 733


1998

Page | 734


1999 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: On 12 February, Mr Glen W. McCracken succeeded Dr J. ‘Jim’ M. Blaikie as Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Dr Blaikie was the Chairman for ten years and on the Board since 1983. Mr McCracken had been on the Board for ten years and the Deputy Chairman for two years. A Tribute to Mr McCracken, the new Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, is included in the photographs in this year’s entry. Deputy Chairman: Board of Trustees

Mrs Lee E. Mylne, following Mr Glen McCracken’s appointment as Chairman of the

Trustees: A new Ministerial appointment to replace Dr Blaikie as a Trustee was Mrs Karen McNamee who was on the Board from July for less than twelve months.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 8th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 12th year)

Senior Prefect: D. Tom Marland Senior Dayboy Prefect: Alexander I.F. Mason Senior Boarder Prefect: John B.H. Hallo Dux of Year: Joel J. Gardiner: From this year the Dux of Toowoomba Grammar School was to receive the L.G. Hopkins Medal (named after TGS Old Boy, 1923-1927, and 1932 Rhodes Scholar).

Total School Enrolment: 892 Senior School Total: 761 Junior School Total: 131 (including 25 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 526 Number of Boarders: 366

Staffing: • •

Mr John K. Winn became the School’s archivist on a part-time basis. The School Executive comprised the Headmaster (Mr Rose), the Deputy Headmaster (Mr Buttenshaw), Secretary to the Board of Trustees (Mr Pierpoint), Head of Grammar Junior (Mr Southwell), Director of Studies (Mr Hill), Director of Sport and Activities (Mr Tony Wood) and the Director of Information Technology (Mr Hewitt). Mr A ‘David’ Miller joined the staff as the new Head of the Science Department, succeeding Mr Dave Sams who retired at the end of the previous year. Page | 735


The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Harm (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr P. Herbert (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

Students: •

• • •

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The School Prefects were D. ‘Tom’ Marland, Alexander Mason, John Hallo, Paul Athanasiov, Stephen Dredge, James Lockwood, Grant McCasker, Peter McDougall, David McLean, Bill Hawkins, Bruce More, Joshua Neeld, Cameron Pfeffer, Scott Prebble, Stuart Scudmore, William Tait, Colin Tucker and David Walker. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Seven Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Paul Athanasiov, Stephen Bliss, Ben Buckley, Joel Gardiner, Marcus Harmes, Angus Maley and Grant McCasker. Joel Gardiner and Paul Athanasiov were awarded the Australian Students’ Prize. Tom Marland (Senior Prefect) was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Tom completed a Law degree at the University of Queensland in 2005 and is now the Principal of his own firm, Marland Law (Agribusiness and Advisory) in Bundaberg. Alexander Mason (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. This was the last year in which the study of Latin was compulsory in Year 8. This decision may have been in keeping with a view expressed by the School’s 11th Headmaster, Mr L.T. Heenan, who wrote almost forty years ago in the Headmaster’s Report of 1960: “Many years ago it was the fashion for all to study Latin. It has since been realised that many have no flair for it and that it would be cruel to make them study it.” (page 11, School Magazine, 1960) Benjamin Roberts received a gold medal as the best Intermediate Mathematician in Queensland and Nicholas Mesken was ranked equal second. Ben Roberts received a gold medal for Mathematics from the Governor of Queensland at a presentation in November. Athletics Captain, Will Tait, won the Open 400 metres hurdles and the 110 metres hurdles at the GPS Track and Field championships. Grant McCasker (Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team) was selected in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Open Cricket side. David Klan (1995-1999) was later to become a member of the teaching staff, commencing in 2007. Initially he commenced as a teacher in the Junior School and later transferred to the Senior School to become a Boarding Housemaster (Mackintosh House, 2014-2016) and Year 7 Co-ordinator. In 2023 David was appointed as Head of Operations at the School and resigned at the end of this year. Marcus Harms (1995-1999) graduated from the University of Queensland with First Class Honours in History with a major in Ancient History. He was awarded a University Medal and continued with Ph.D. studies at the University of Queensland and proceeded to be a Lecturer at the University of Southern Queensland. One of his books published was on 17th century history titled: Bishops and Power in Early Modern England.

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Lawrence Fletcher (1995-1999) later received the award of Katherine Region Young Territorian of the Year. This was in recognition for his community work at Ngukurr in the Northern Territory (331 km south-east of Katherine). Alan Hunter (1997-1999) was, in 2014, announced as the Pol Roger Sommelier of the Year for the Fairfax Queensland Good Food Guide. Bryce Capp (1995-1999), together with his brother Richard (1993-1997) founded Milton & Kiing, now Australia’s largest wallpapering manufacturing business, exporting all over the world (see 1997, Richard Capp in the ‘Students’ section). The Seniors of 1999 were presented with Old Boys’ ties and badges at their final assembly.

Buildings: •

The Woodward stained glass windows in Old Hall were installed in 1999. These windows were donated by Sir A. Edward Woodward in memory of his father, Old Boy Lieutenant-Governor Sir Eric W. Woodward, Governor of New South Wales (at TGS 1911-1916).

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An Appeals Board was established by the School in an attempt to boost philanthropy. The Patrons of the Appeals Board were Mr Alan Jones and Sir Bruce Watson. The Chairman of the Appeals Board was Mr Peter Corish. The combined boarding and tuition fee for a Year 12 boarder was $13,908. The School’s main cricket oval, Mills Oval, was enhanced by a white picket fence which was generously provided by the Old Boys’ Association, the Brisbane Branch of the Old Boys’ Association and the TGS Cricket Supporters’ Group. The fence was officially opened by Old Boy Mr Graham Beresford Boys (at TGS 1924-1928) who had captained the School’s 1st XI in 1927 and 1928; with the School winning its third GPS Cricket Premiership in 1928. In addition to the white picket fence was the unveiling of a new cricket scoreboard on Mills Oval. It was named the R.R. Gillies Scoreboard in recognition of the fact that Mr Gillies was the longest serving member of the teaching staff in the School’s history (for 40 consecutive years). A photograph of Mr and Mrs Gillies in front of the scoreboard together with Headmaster Rose is included in this year’s entry. This scoreboard was replaced by a digital scoreboard, still named in recognition of Russell Gillies, in 2014. The Toowoomba Grammar School Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association committed $500,000 to the music rooms and facilities to be part of the new dayboy, staff and music room centre (to be named the Hugh Rose Centre). Gibson House boys ran 100 kilometres in just four hours to raise more than $1,000 for ‘Guide Dogs for the Blind’. The boys ran at least 4 laps each around Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. A History tour in January included the major archaeological and historical sites of Turkey and Egypt. Another History school tour to Turkey took place in March 2012. A Geography tour to New Zealand took place. In 2019 members of the School’s 1st XI cricket team of 1999 initiated a “Peter McDougall Memorial Trophy”. This was for the best player of the current 1st XI as selected by the Old Boys’ team in the annual fixture between the 1st XI cricket team of twenty years ago and the current 1st XI. Pete McDougall played in the School’s 1st XI in both 1998 and 1999. He was also in the Open 1sts team for rugby and athletics and seconds tennis team and was a School Prefect. This year Pete was awarded ‘man of the match’ in the Grammar/Downlands rugby fixture for the O’Callaghan Cup. Page | 737


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Sadly, Peter passed away in August 2016 from skin cancer (see 2019). A photograph of a framed Tribute to Peter McDougall is included in this year’s entry. This year was the first year of a special Assembly known as the Scholars’ Assembly to celebrate the academic achievements of the Year 12s from the previous year. The Soccer Supporters’ group was formed this year. For the eighth consecutive year the Headmaster, Mr Rose, expressed concern about some aspects of Queensland’s system of final school assessment and tertiary entry. Mr Rose may have been relieved to hear that in 2020 the Queensland Year 12 assessment was revised to include some element of external examination. The School’s Outdoor Education Centre, Abingdon, on the shores of Cooby Dam, north of Toowoomba, offered a sequential program from Years 5 to 9. The Year 10 boys prepared for ‘The Journey’ by selecting one of three adventures – mountain biking, canoe touring or bushwalking/rock climbing. The Headmaster’s Shield for Inter-House competition was won by Freshney. This year represented the fiftieth-year anniversary of Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, the School’s Track and Field squad came 3rd in the GPS competition, the first time since 1980 that a top three position in GPS Athletics had been achieved. The GPS Athletics championships were held at QEII in October. The School was to achieve its next top three position in Track and Field in 2012 with a 2nd placing. At the GPS Track and Field championships, in the Open Division, Will Tait won the all-age 400 m hurdles and the Open 110m hurdles (the first win in the GPS Open 110 hurdles since 1975, and again for the School in 2001). In Basketball, the Open 1st V had two wins – against ‘Churchie’ (50-38) and TSS (41-38). The game against BGS was incredibly close with TGS being defeated by a single point (32-33). The BSHS team displayed their supremacy by defeating TGS (75-42). The height of the IGS team was also confronting, including a 6’11” player, a 6’8” Australian representative and a 6’ 5” player and this team defeated TGS (72-47). In Chess, the Premier team finished the season with 4 draws and 3 losses from the 7 matches played. Unfortunately, this did not elevate the team out of 8th place. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team came 2nd in the GPS competition, winning 6 of the 8 GPS matches. The 1st XI lost only two GPS games – to ‘Churchie’ (the eventual Premiers) and to Nudgee College (by 134 runs). The Captain of the 1st XI, Grant McCasker, was in his third season in the team. He was also named Captain of the Queensland Schoolboys’ side. Cameron Pfeffer scored a century (107 runs) in the 1st XI match against BBC. Steven Glover took 5 wickets for 25 in the match against BSHS (also see 2000 against TSS). In the game against GT, Steven knocked the helmet clean off one batsman – who happened to have the surname Buchanan (whose father was the coach of the Australian Cricket team). John Buchanan attended TSS as a student and was the coach of the Australian national cricket team commencing in 1999. In Gymnastics, this year the Dickinson Cup awarded to the Senior Gymnastics Champion at the School ceased to be presented. The Cup (1944-1999) is displayed in the School’s Old Hall. The School ceased its formal involvement in the GPS Gymnastics competition after this year. The Captain of Gymnastics in this final year was Peter B. Overell. Page | 738


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In Rugby, the 1st XV had only one win this year, against BGS (24-17). Some losing games were still extremely close such as BBC (3-5), NC (3-6), TSS (12-14) and IGS (0-6). Two of the GPS teams had winning scores over thirty points (‘Churchie’ and BSHS). In the match against GT, the GT team took a 17-0 lead after only twenty minutes into the first half, eventually winning the game 27-19. Rugby continued to be the most popular co-curricular activity, fielding 22 teams. In Soccer, the 1st XI Soccer team had a bad day against ‘Churchie’, losing 0-7 but the team enjoyed fine wins against NC (3-0), GT (2-0) and BSHS (2-0). In Swimming, the team remained in 8th place in the GPS competition but won more points than previous TGS swimming squads. In the Open division, Glen Heidke achieved two second placings at the GPS Championships – in the Open 100 metres butterfly and the Open 200 metres freestyle. In Tennis, the 1st IV enjoyed victories against BGS and IGS for the first time in over ten years. Three of the four members of the Firsts gained selection in the Darling Downs side and the team was also victorious in taking out the Darling Downs Division of the National Secondary Schools’ Teams’ Competition and reaching the Queensland finals. In Volleyball, the Open Firsts team won three GPS matches, all with a score of 3 sets to 1 – BSHS, BGS and IGS. In Cadets, a change in Government policy allowed the Unit as a fully supported one to have the cadets clothed and kitted out by the Army as well as being permitted to attend annual camp and cadet promotion courses conducted by Cadet Wing. The program for the Cadets involved the usual – ANZAC Day, the Guard for Mothers’ Memorial, two bivouacs, annual camp, range practice, the annual dining-in night and the Passing Out Parade. Girls from Fairholme College were invited to join the Cadet Unit. The Unit strength was disappointing with 59 cadets (41 boys and 18 girls). In Debating, the School’s ‘A’ Debating team was recognised as one of the best teams in the last decade. In Drama the two productions for the year were Armageddon-Outta-Here and Blush, both productions written and produced by Mr Todd Harm. The former play involved girls from Fairholme College and the lead role was performed by Alexander Mason. The latter play involved a cast of twenty talented performers and the lead role was performed by Cameron Pascoe. In Music, the ‘Take Note’ Music Tour was to the Gold Coast for four days. On the last day the Concert Band played in Queen’s Park at a Gala Concert in conjunction with the Carnival of Flowers. The Big Band was placed second in the Secondary Schools’ Big Band division at the Queensland Eisteddfod.

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Downlands Competition: • • • • • •

Headmaster Rose had in previous years mentioned some spectator behaviour on the Grammar/ Downlands Day was not acceptable, either socially or educationally. The 1st XI Cricket team regained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (TGS 174 d DC 66). The 1st XV Rugby team lost to Downlands College in the O’Callaghan Cup (12-27) but won 16 of the 20 rugby matches played. In Basketball, TGS won the close game (55-49). TGS player Steven Glover ended with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 13 steals. The Swimming team had a massive victory (TGS 258 d DC 77) and wins were also recorded in Cross Country, Volleyball, Tennis and Basketball (55-49). In the annual Father Graham Carnival (Track and Field) against Downlands College, TGS scored a 517 to 215 point victory.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Richard G. Duke (for two years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency The Governor, Major General Peter Arnison AC

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1999

The School Prefects

Mr Glen McCracken, Chairman, Board of Trustees

Russell Gillies, Judy Gillies & Headmaster Rose

Pete McDougall Memorial Award

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2000 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 2nd year)

Mrs Lee E. Mylne (in her 2nd year)

Trustees: Mr Glen W. McCracken, Mr W ‘Bill’ D. Barrett; Mr S. John Handley; Dr Kerry S. Milne; Mrs Lee E. Mylne; Mrs Julie A. Michael; Mr Ian L. Stirling; (Secretary to the Board of Trustees – Mr Darrell J. Pierpoint) Mr David Henderson resigned after ten years as a Trustee and was replaced by Mr Ian Stirling (Old Boy 1972-1975). Mrs Julie Michael also joined the Board in March of this year.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 9th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 13th year)

Senior Prefect: Scott D. Hayward Senior Dayboy Prefect: Hugh E. Esler Senior Boarder Prefect: Douglas B. McNicholl Dux of Year: David Guard (following his brother, Paul, in 1995; see below)

Total School Enrolment: 875 Senior School Total: 744 Junior School Total: 131 (including 24 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 518 Number of Boarders: 357

Staffing: •

The Director of Sport and Activities, Mr Tony Wood (1994-2000), resigned at the end of the year to be Deputy Principal at Whitsunday Anglican School in Mackay, later as Principal of Fraser Coast Anglican College (2005-2011) and in 2012 was appointed as Head of College at Moreton Bay Boys’ College. Mr Paul Southwell (Head of Grammar Junior) resigned at the end of the year to become Head of West Moreton Anglican Primary School. Mr Southwell was the inaugural Head of the Junior School at TGS. The Director of Outdoor Education, Mr Don Hamley, and the Director of Enrolments and Development, Mr Rob Mitchell, joined the School Executive this year.

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Mr Tony Curry, the Head of Foreign Languages, retired at the end of the year after 24 years’ service to the School. Mr Curry taught Latin, French, English and Ancient History. The Heads of Department were Mr J. Dakin (English), Mr I. Sanderson (Mathematics), Mr A.D. Miller (Science), Mr A. Curry (Languages), Mr B. Greer (History), Mr P. Nicholas (Geography), Mr G. Alford (Commerce and Economics), Mr B. Wilson (Design and Technology), Mr T. Bourke (Art), Mr N. Roche-Kelly (Music), Mr D. McGovern (Physical Education), Mr H. Sorensen (Computer Studies), Mr M. Gillespie (Agricultural Science), Mr S. Purse (Library) and Mr A. Roediger (Careers Adviser). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Harm (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr P. Herbert (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

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The School Prefects were Scott Hayward, Hugh Esler, Douglas McNicholl, Andrew Cochrane, Robert East, Ian Elliott Smith, Alexander Gillespie, Stephen Glover, David Guard, Brenden Hood, Sam Lloyd, Glen Mondave, Frank Ngamoki, Simon Porter, Alex Redwood, C. ‘Will’ Stuart, Ashley Turner, Andrew Westaway, David Wilson and David Woodhouse. Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Timothy Eagles, David Guard, John Pietsch, Simon Porter, Cameron M. Smith, Cameron R. Smith, Daniel Van Geuns and David Woodhouse. Steven Glover (Year 12) captained three sports in this year – 1st XI Cricket (GPS Premiers), 1st V Basketball (including representing the State), and Track and Field Athletics. Steven Glover also won the Open shot-put event at the GPS Track and Field championships (19.11m), having won his age group in GPS shot-put in all five years he competed and broke the GPS record every time. Steven’s GPS record this year was still remaining in the GPS competition after more than twenty years (see the Athletics section in this year’s entry). In 2006 Steven returned to the School to coach the Open 1sts Basketball team. This year, the School’s Director of Sport and Activities, Mr Tony Wood, claimed Steven Glover was the best schoolboy athlete he had seen. Steven won the Bell Prize for Best All Round Sportsman at TGS for two successive years. The last TGS student to achieve this honour was Jason Little in 1986/87 and the next to do so was Christopher Hanley in 2002/03. Simon Porter was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. The Captain of Rugby, Will Stuart, was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ A team and was also Captain of Volleyball. He was also the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Ben Egerton (Year 12) won first place in the 17 years’ violin solo at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. Evan Rees (1997-2000) was to later join the staff of TGS in 2013 as a teacher of Japanese. Prior to this he studied at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies in Japan on a twelve-month scholarship as part of his Arts Degree in Japanese and English Literature at Griffith University. Geoffrey Keating (Year 12) returned to the School in 2013 to address the boys at a Scholars’ Assembly. Geoffrey spoke to the boys about his experience working as a Teacher and Guidance Counsellor in a high security prison. Page | 743


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Bart Mellish (1996-2000) was in November 2017 elected as a State Parliamentarian (Member for Aspley). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). In December 2023 The Honourable Bart Mellish MP was appointed to the Queensland Cabinet as Minister for Transport and Main Roads and Minister for Digital Services. James Hughes (1996-2000) was guest speaker at the School’s academic honours assembly in 2008. Upon leaving school, James completed a nursing degree and then secured a graduate position in the Accident and Emergency Department of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. In 2004 James became interested in Operation Sunrise, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to helping children and young adults with facial birth defects in medically under-served countries around the world. James volunteered his time and skills to travel to China on three separate occasions with Operation Sunrise. Brad Bazley (1996-2000) was part of the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development Program in 2012. He spent twelve months in Indonesia working as an Information Management Officer with the TC Hilliers General Hospital. Shane Matthews (1997-2000) is the Managing Director of Syngineering, a company that has developed a world-first recycling product – a vibratory membrane technology filtration system. Cameron Smith (1999-2000) in 2015 was working as a bioinformatician at Freiburg University in Germany and was studying for his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics. Nigel Corish (1994-2000), as a recipient of a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, spent sixteen weeks visiting China, the UK and USA to meet with farmers, consultants, researchers and experts in their fields. Robert Dashwood (1996-2000) was a guest speaker at the School’s academic honours assembly in 2009. He spoke of working in Nepal with AusAID on the Australian Youth Ambassador for Development program. Since leaving the School, Robert completed a dual degree at the Queensland University of Technology in Health Information Management and IT. In 2012 Robert participated in ‘the Ride to Conquer Cancer’ - a 200km ride (there are multiple events across the country and the world) and being part of the Melbourne Ride meant that the funds he raised went to the Peter MacCallum Centre, a publicly funded Cancer hospital. Joseph Kluver (1996-2000) and Peter Mason (1996-2000) walked from Surfers Paradise to Sydney in 2003 to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Ben Banks (1996-2000), together with his wife Oona, manage the family’s 46,500-hectare property Rivington’, west of Blackall, where in 2017 they were running up to 25,000 merinos. A photograph of the Captains of Sport is included in this year’s entry. Some of the Year 12 cohort of this year celebrated a 10-year anniversary of leaving school at the Old Boys’ Reunion dinner. A photograph of these Old Boys, taken in 2010, is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

The new academic administration, music and dayboys’ centre was completed. This was later to be named the ‘Hugh Rose Centre’ in honour of the Headmaster. The Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, had the honour of tapping the foundation stone on 5 August and used the trowel that was originally used by Mr Justice Lilley on the School House (main School Building) foundation stone in 1875. A photograph of the foundation stone for the new building with Mr Hugh Rose (Headmaster) and Mr Glen McCracken (Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees) is included in this year’s entry. The main School House building was upgraded. Page | 744


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The population of Toowoomba at the commencement of the new decade was approximately 90,000 residents. The School celebrated its 125th Anniversary. Numerous celebratory events occurred during the year. These included: (i) A formal black-tie Dinner which was held in the Assembly Hall and hosted by Old Boy, Mr Alan Belford Jones AO (at TGS 1955-1958). (ii) A Brisbane Girls Grammar (also celebrating their 125th Anniversary) Cricket team played the 1st XI. (iii) The History of the School was published titled Still Playing The Game authored by former member of staff, Mr John Keeble Winn, and launched by Mr Alan Jones AO. (iv) The artist Katie Edwards was commissioned by the P&F Association to produce the painting entitled Playing The Game. (v) The foundation stone of the new Academic Administration, Music and Dayboys’ Centre was in place. (vi) Numerous dignitaries attended the Ecumenical Service. (vii) A Vietnam Honour Board was dedicated, provided by the Old Boys’ Association. At the start of this new decade there were five Dayboy Houses – Chauvel; Freshney; Gibson; Henderson and Partridge. There were five Boarding Houses in the Senior School – Boyce; Groom; Mackintosh; Stephens and Taylor. In the Junior School the Houses were Baynes, Lavers and Parkinson and Corfe House for the boarders. The Old Boys’ Association funded the erection of a picket fence around Barbour Oval. It was the year of the Sydney Olympic Games. Successful P&F events such as the Art Show, the ‘At Home’, and the Melbourne Cup luncheon (organised by the Ladies Auxiliary) continued. The Art Show, under the leadership of the Headmaster’s wife, Helen Rose, and John Winn, was socially and financially a great success. In the Headmaster’s Annual Report, Mr Rose quoted two academics who were considering the future of technology and schools. It would have been interesting at the time to reflect on their prediction. They wrote: “As computers with internet access become as common in homes as televisions and other household appliances, education via the internet may be an acceptable educational option. The next generation is likely to see on-line education as one of a range of activities which can be transacted over the web. Students could use resources and curriculum on the internet. This may mean that some teachers will need to be available to answer e-mails outside of school hours, so customary organisational practices will be challenged.” In the Headmaster’s Speech Day Report Mr Rose also stated: “I remain very concerned about the GPS competition and its blinkered focus on premierships and championships.” The Dux of the School, David Guard, and his brother Paul (who was Dux and Senior Prefect in 1995) lost their parents in 2014 as a result of an airline tragedy (see 2014). The ‘Dog Box’ (see 1906) was removed from the School campus and sold to Old Boy Robert Smiley. A photograph of the Dog Box is included in this year’s entry. A ski trip for 28 students took place to Mt Hotham in the Victorian snowfields during the mid-year holiday. The trip involved a 20-hour bus trip to travel to the ski resort. On one of the days it snowed all day – many boys had never seen snow falling before. Page | 745


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In June, a group of 10 boys went on a language and cultural trip to Japan. During the two weeks away the boys visited Tokyo, Chigasaki, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka. A Geography tour to the USA took place in January over a 20-day period involving eleven boys including a stay with host families in Phoenix, Arizona. The tuition fee for a student in Years 11 or 12 was $2,928 per semester/two terms ($5,856 per annum). The boarding fee for a boy in Years 8-12 was $4,446 per semester or $8,892 per annum. Taylor won the Headmaster’s Shield for the Inter-House competition.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, many athletes achieved ‘personal bests’ at the GPS Track and Field Championships. A mere ten points separated the middle placings and TGS finished in 7th place. A photograph of the School’s Athletics team is included in this year’s entry. One of the most outstanding performances was that of the TGS Captain of Athletics, Steven Glover. Under immense pressure he threw the shot to a new GPS Record that was over 1.5 metres above his season's personal best. This was the fifth time in five years he had won the shot-put and set a new GPS record in the process. The Master-in-Charge of Athletics, Mr Jones, commented: “Steven’s performance was truly inspirational to all those who saw it. It was one of the great schoolboy athletic performances and capped off a magnificent career in Track and Field. We will be lucky to see an athlete the calibre of Steven again.” (See ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry.) Steven Glover’s GPS Record in the Open shot-put event established this year (19.11m with a 5kg shot-put) continued to be the GPS record for over twenty years. At the GPS Track and Field championships the School recorded six wins and set three new records on the night. In Basketball, the first win for the season was the 1st V defeating a higher ranked team, BBC, by 3 points. Further wins were against ‘Churchie’ (50-38), TSS (41-38) and BGS (33-32). The largest loss of the season was to BSHS (42-75). In Chess, the 1sts team experienced the best results on record to date with an equal 4 th placing in the GPS competition. Winning games were against GT (3-1), NC (4-0) and IGS (3-1) and draws against BSHS (2-2) and BBC (2-2). The 1st IV chess players lost to BGS (0-4) and ‘Churchie’ (0-4). In Cricket, the School celebrated a GPS Premiership (the Earle Williams Trophy) for the 1st XI Cricket team captained by Steven Glover, last won in 1990. This GPS Cricket Premiership represented the School’s twelfth GPS Cricket Premiership in its history. The 1st XI team was coached by Mr Graham Smythe who had held this role for 15 years. A photograph of the Premiership winning 1st XI Cricket team is included in this year’s entry. Steven Glover playing in the 1st XI from 1998-2000 took the most GPS wickets (48) of all TGS bowlers in the decade of the 2000s. The next highest wicket taker was Jason Fenwick (1st XI, 20032006) taking 43 wickets. (See Steven Glover in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry.) In the past 15 years, the TGS 1st XI cricket sides have finished in the top three in the GPS competition on eleven occasions. Of these eleven times, five have been GPS Premierships – 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 and 2000. The next GPS Cricket Premiership for the School was to be achieved in 2005. The Premiership winning 1st XI Cricket team’s season did not commence well when, in the first game, after dismissing The Southport School for 82 runs, the TGS side found themselves 8 for 30 with a huge top order batting collapse! (TGS still won the game thanks to a strong and patient Page | 746


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effort by Robbie Di Russo to make 57 runs.) TGS then sent TSS back in for a second innings and had TSS 4 for 1 off 8 overs. In this match against TSS, Steven Glover took 5 wickets for 17 runs from 11 overs. In the 1st XI cricket match against IGS, Robbie Di Russo took 5 wickets for 17 runs. The game against ‘Churchie’ was also incredibly close with a one run victory to TGS. All other GPS games were won with the exception of the GT game in which they defeated TGS 120 – 7/122. The 1st XI scored the lowest innings score for TGS in the entire decade of the 2000s. This was a batting total of 57 runs against Churchie. Damien Pfeffer was the only TGS 1st XI bowler in the 2000’s decade to take twenty or more wickets in a year. Damien took 21 wickets with an average of 10.0 and overall took 33 wickets between 2000-2001. In the June-July holidays, a TGS Cricket squad comprising 17 students, 2 staff and 13 supporters toured the United Kingdom and played thirteen games. The schools played included The Halliford School, City of London Freemen’s School, Christ’s Hospital School (Horsham), Brighton College, Prior Park (Bath), Bristol Grammar School, King’s College (Taunton), Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School (Bristol), Denstone College (Uttoxeter), Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (Blackburn), King Edward VII and Queen Mary School (Lytham) and Lancaster Royal Grammar School. In Debating, the two Year 12 teams started the season with limited experience and developed their skills over the season. Neither Year 12 team reached the regional finals of the Queensland Debating Union (Darling Downs). In Rugby, a pre-season rugby tour to Melbourne and Canberra took place. On tour the boys played some very talented sides including the Under 19 Melbourne Colts (which ended up comprising players with an average age of 23). The 1st XV Rugby team came 8th in the GPS competition. 1st XV games won were against BSHS (255) and IGS (24-15). The losing game against ‘Churchie’ was close with a score of 20-24 and the biggest defeat by a GPS 1st XV during the rugby season was against GT, 10-47. The game against BGS resulted in an extremely disappointing loss by one point (22-23) but a highlight was Doug Harrington’s three tries. Representing BGS was Stephen Moore, later to be a Captain of the Australian Wallabies, playing 100 Tests. Stephen is the second most capped Wallaby of all time and played at three World Cups. Another GPS rugby player later to represent Australia in Rugby Union was Rocky Elsom at NC from 1998-2000. Rocky won 75 Caps for Australia and was the Captain of the Wallabies in 2009. The Coach of the 1st XV this year and for the following four years was Mr Paul Herbert. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2015 on pages 52-57 included a very interesting article in which Paul Herbert was interviewed about his recall of standout games and his experience at the School. In 2022 Paul Herbert was appointed to the School’s Board of Trustees as a Trustee. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2015 on pages 43-45 included an article titled Ten Memorable 1st XV GPS Wins, 2000-2010. The article was written by the then School Historian, John K. Winn. In Soccer, the 1st XI gained one GPS win against ‘Churchie’ (1-0) and a draw against BSHS (2-2). Some games were very close but three massive losses were inflicted by the eventual Premiers BGS (0-6) and the final second-placed team IGS (0-5). Similarly, the game against NC was one to forget (but hard to forget) when the NC team scored five goals in the first 15 minutes of the game. In the GPS Premiership winning BGS soccer team was Matt McKay. Later Matt achieved more than 50 caps for the Socceroos and captained the Australian team. Matt also captained the Brisbane Roar in its Premiership year of 2011. In Swimming, the GPS Swimming championships held at Chandler took place on a Friday evening, rather than the usual Saturday afternoon. No TGS competitor placed in the top three at the Page | 747


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swimming championships. Throughout the years 2000-2010 inclusive, the School’s swimming team remained in 9th (last) place in the GPS Swimming championships. This was largely due to the incredible competition from the other GPS schools in the sport of swimming. This year, for example, a GT swimmer, Brenton Rickard, later represented Australia in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. At these Olympics, Brenton was a double silver medallist. In Tennis, the 1st IV was a young team, with one Year 12, two Year 11 and one Year 9 student. No player had previously played at the Open 1st IV level. No GPS games were won during the season but the boys tried very hard and gained valuable experience. In Volleyball, the Open Firsts team finished equal 5th in the GPS competition with two wins – against ‘Churchie’ (3-2) and IGS (3-0). In Drama, the School production was Forgedaboudit staged at the City Hall with girls from The Glennie School and St Ursula’s College. For the third successive year it was an original play written by Drama teacher, Mr Todd Harm. The play also involved the School’s Big Band directed by Mr Guy Scruton. Jack MacDiarmid and Marc Farrell shared the lead role. In the Junior School the boys performed The Odder-Sea. In Music, the Concert Band was the largest group ever in the music program. A photograph of the Concert Band members is included in this year’s entry. The inaugural GPS Music Day of Excellence was held at The Southport School in October.

Downlands Competition: •

• •

Despite the School’s 125th Anniversary celebration, TGS had to congratulate Downlands College on their fine wins to secure the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy in Cricket and the O’Callaghan Cup in Rugby and in Basketball. The 1st XI Cricket team was defeated: DC 220 d TGS 150. In the decade of the 2000s, Downlands College only won two matches against TGS – in 2000 and 2009 (the matches in 2003 and 2004 were washed out). The 1st XV Rugby team lost 19-32. The School had success over Downlands College in Swimming, Cross Country, Track and Field, Tennis and Volleyball.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Honourable Dean Wells MP, QLD Minister for Education. The Ceremony was held in the Empire Theatre for the first time.

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2000 2000

Headmaster Mr Hugh Rose & Chairman of Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken Teaching Staff

Headmaster Mr Hugh Rose & Chairman of Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken

Teaching Staff

Year 12, 10 Years Later Year 12, 10 Years Later

Concert Band Concert Band

Removal of ‘Dog Box’ Removal of ‘Dog Box’

School’s GPS Athletics team School’s GPS Athletics team The 1st XI Cricket Team The 1st XI Cricket Team

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2001 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 3rd year)

Mrs Lee Mylne and then Mr W ‘Bill’ D. Barrett

Trustees: Mrs Lee Mylne resigned from the Board during the year. As a Trustee she was replaced in October by Mrs Barb MacDiarmid who served as a Trustee until 2012.

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 10th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 14th year)

Senior Prefect: Robert N. Thompson Senior Dayboy Prefect: Alexander D. Tennent Senior Boarder Prefect: Ben C. Michelmore Dux of Year: Adam B. McAuley-Jones

Total School Enrolment: 851 Senior School Total: 722 Junior School Total: 129, including 15 boarders. (Year 4 was introduced into the Junior School this year for the first time with 24 boys). Number of Dayboys: 535 Number of Boarders: 316

Staffing: • • • •

• •

This year represented the conclusion of Mr Rose’s tenth year as Headmaster of the School. Mr Mark Bensley commenced as the Head of the Junior School (then referred to as ‘Grammar Junior’) at the beginning of Semester Two. Mr Anthony Beauchamp was appointed as Deputy Head of Grammar Junior. Mr Steven O’Connor commenced as Director of Sport and Activities following the resignation of Mr Tony Wood at the end of the previous year. Mr O’Connor resigned in 2004 and in 2021 he was appointed as Principal of St Patrick’s College in Ballarat, Victoria. The Head of the English Department, Mr John Dakin, resigned at the end of the year having joined the staff in 1983. A Tribute to Mr Dakin was printed in the School Magazine of this year, page 28. Mrs Lynne Yeabsley was appointed Head of the Foreign Languages Department following the retirement of Mr Tony Curry at the end of the previous year. Mrs Yeabsley was the first woman in the School’s History to be appointed to the senior position of Head of Department. Page | 750


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Mrs Anne Thorburn (nee Paterson), Laboratory Assistant and Staff Secretary, resigned after 27 years of service. Mr Lance Treloar joined the staff this year as a Teacher of Mathematics, Science and Health and Physical Education and he was still on staff in 2024. Mrs Tanya Simpson (nee Slyderink) was appointed as Office Assistant and was still on staff in 2024. Mrs Rebecca Statton joined the teaching staff of the Junior School this year and resigned at the end of 2005. Later, in 2022, Mrs Statton was appointed to the School’s Board of Trustees. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr A. Roediger (Boyce), Mr J. Tamvakis (Terms 1-3) and Mr B. Jones (Term 4) (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr T. Harm (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Robert Thompson, Alexander Tennent, Ben Michelmore, Leslie Bennett, Andrew Brown, Kiel Brown, Nicholas Buttenshaw, Matthew Campiutti, Brad De Luca, Elliott Dennys, Robert Di Russo, Alistair Gunthorpe, Jack MacDiarmid, Cameron McConnell, Alistair Mace, Hamish McIntosh, Todd Newton, Reggie Parker, Ben Turner and Tim Windle. Nine Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Nicholas Buttenshaw, Jack MacDiarmid, Stephen Mann, Adam McAuley-Jones, Nicholas Mesken, Benjamin Roberts, Andrew Stone, Robert Thompson, and Clinton Uebergang. Adam McAuley-Jones (1997-2001) was awarded an Australian Students’ Prize for academic excellence. Andreas Heger (Year 12) was later awarded an Australia-at-large Rhodes Scholarship to study at The University of Oxford in 2010. A photograph of Andreas is included in this year’s entry. Benjamin Roberts and Adam McAuley-Jones were awarded Silver Medals for their outstanding performance in the Australian Science Olympiad. Adam was placed second in the State in Chemistry and Ben in Physics. Ben was Captain of the School’s 1st Chess team this year. In this year’s Australian Senior Mathematics Olympiad four Queensland students obtained Honour Certificates with two of them being TGS students. Ben Roberts (Year 12) obtained a Silver Certificate and Nicholas Mesken (Year 12) obtained a Bronze Certificate. Ben Roberts (1997-2001), when in Year 9, was placed first in Queensland at the 1998 Mathematics Olympiad selection trials and also first in Australia in his age group in the Australian Mathematics Competition. Ben was admitted to study a Ph.D. at Cambridge University in 2002. Nicholas Miller (Year 10), the son of the School’s Head of Science, Mr David Miller, was placed first in Queensland for his year level in the Australian Schools’ Science competition. Robert Thompson, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Nicholas Buttenshaw (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Timothy Cuddihy (2000–March 2001) was selected to represent Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics in Archery. Tim was at the School for Year 8 and at the beginning of Year 9 before he left to go to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. Timothy is recognised on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Page | 751


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Kiel Brown (1997-2001) was selected as Captain of the Queensland Under 18 Hockey team. He was later to be selected to represent Australia in Hockey and played 150 games for Australia in approximately 25 countries. Kiel, as a member of the Australian team, played at the Olympic Games in 2008 (Beijing and winning a bronze medal) and 2012 (London). At the 2014 Commonwealth Games played in Scotland, he was part of the Australian Hockey team that won the gold medal. Kiel was also a talented cricketer in the School’s 1st XI. In a match against TSS, Kiel took 6 wickets for 36 runs. He holds general registration as a Psychologist and is honoured on the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. A photograph of Kiel Brown is included in this year’s entry. Andrew Stone (1997-2001) was heavily involved in the School’s music program and in 2018 was Head of Chugg Music, a management and Australian record label for a number of artists. John Adams, in Year 11, was selected in the Australian Schools’ Under 17 Rugby development squad. Dominic Schramm was selected to ride for Queensland at the National Championships in Eventing. The Captain of Cricket, Reggie Parker, was injured in the 1st XV Rugby game against Nudgee College (the second game of the season). He could not play rugby for the rest of the year, nor compete in the GPS Track and Field Championships. Adam Penberthy (1997-2001) was a Director and Board member on the Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Advisory Board in 2013 following his successful business initiatives. A student in Year 8, Roger Walker, tragically lost his life as a result of leukaemia.

Buildings: • • • •

The Hugh Rose Centre was officially opened by the Minister for Education, The Honourable Anna Bligh, MP, in August. The School Gymnasium was officially named the Trenerry Gymnasium by the Minister for Education, The Honourable Anna Bligh, MP at the same time. Mackintosh House (as the main heritage building was named at the time) was upgraded. Several gazebos were erected around the School grounds, financed by the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association.

Events: • • • • • •

2001 was the Centenary of the Federation of Australia. The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC took place on September 11. This year the School welcomed Year 4 students into Grammar Junior for the first time. Two years later, in 2003, Years 1 to 3 were introduced. A Grammar Junior Supporters’ Group was formed this year. The Year 7 boys in the Junior School enjoyed an excursion to Canberra, travelling by bus. During these years there were ten Houses in the Senior School – five Boarding Houses and five Dayboy Houses. The Boarding Houses were Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens and Taylor. The Dayboy Houses were Henderson, Freshney, Chauvel, Partridge and Gibson (see 2004). This year a new medal was struck to acknowledge the efforts of those Year 12 boys who had achieved a Merit and/or Proxime Accessit and/or a Dux prize in each of their five years at the Page | 752


• • • • •

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School. The “5 Year Medal of Academic Excellence” was named in honour of Mr John K. Winn, who recently completed the School’s History, Still Playing The Game, after a long and distinguished career as a teacher and administrator at the School (1963-1997). The School developed an intranet to facilitate communication and information gathering. The School’s website complemented the information made available through the intranet. Approximately 70 boys were spectators at the ‘Goodwill Games’ in September and the Track and Field team watched in awe at the sprinting performance of World Champion, Michael Johnson. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association performed a pantomime, Robinson Crusoe, over two nights. In the second week of the September holidays, a group of ten students of French experienced a week-long study tour of New Caledonia, accompanied by Mrs Yeabsley and Mr Curry. Following a successful History Tour in 1999, a second tour took place in January 2001. A small group of six students and some families travelled to Turkey and Greece. The supervising teachers were Mr Terry Bourke, Mr Brad Greer and Miss Elizabeth Dawson. The major excursion for members of the Adventure Club this year was to Kosciusko National Park. The guest speaker at the TGS OBA reunion dinner was Dr Peter Terry, an Olympic Sports Psychologist. The Old Boys, in conjunction with the Downlands Past Students’ Association, arranged a framed rugby jersey showing the combined colours of TGS and DC. The initiative was generated by Old Boy Phil Sterns (1967-1968), the Secretary of the OBA at the time. Mackintosh House won the Headmaster’s Shield.

Co-curricular Activities: • • •

• • •

• • •

In Athletics, the GPS Track and Field Championships returned to the main ANZ Stadium having been allocated the warm-up track for some years. The School’s Athletics team finished in 6th place in the GPS Championships. Elliott Dennys (Year 12) won the Open 110 metres hurdles at the GPS Track and Field Championships and Damien Pfeffer (Year 12) won the Open discus. No TGS Open Age hurdler has won the GPS championship event since this year. In Basketball, the sport continued to grow in popularity. This year the School fielded 12 basketball teams. In the 1st V Basketball, the team secured two GPS wins – against TSS (43-38) and BGS (66-52). In Chess, the Open Firsts team gained three wins (GT, NC and IGS) to be placed 5th in the competition. This result was a very favourable one in terms of recent years’ performance and the skilled opposition faced during the season. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team achieved 2nd place in the GPS competition (runners-up to Nudgee College). The team was captained by Reggie Parker who had been a member of the 1st XI for three years. The 1st XI came very close to successfully defending the GPS Premiership from 2000 by coming within three wickets of winning the Premiership again. The 1st XI bowled GT out for 59 and BSHS for 35 but had disappointing games against TSS (making only 79 runs) and against IGS (75 runs). In the 1st XI cricket game against BSHS, Captain Reggie Parker took 6 wickets for 8 runs in 5 overs. It took less than one hour to dismiss all BSHS batsmen. Winning games for the 1st XI included GT, NC, BSHS, BBC and BGS with losses to TSS, IGS and ‘Churchie’. Page | 753


• •

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Kiel Brown took 6 wickets for 36 runs from 12 overs in the match against TSS. Representing IGS in the match against TGS was Nathan Reardon who later made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against South Africa in November 2014. In the match against TGS, Nathan took 3 wickets for 24 from 10 overs. In Rugby, the 1st XV Rugby team recorded its first ever victory over Marist College, Ashgrove (2011) in a non-GPS fixture and won GPS games over ‘Churchie’ (27-17), BBC (14-12) and GT (13-8). The win over BBC on their home ground was the first in some years and the win against ‘Churchie’ was memorable in that ‘Churchie’ had previously been undefeated in the season. The GPS Competition saw TGS finish 6th in a very tight competition. The team was only one win away from being placed 4th, indicative of the competitiveness of the games. A Rugby tour to New Zealand took place with 24 senior players selected to tour. The boys also had two days skiing at Mt Hutt. In Soccer, in the 1st XI GPS Soccer competition, the TGS team defeated BSHS (2-1) and drew against Churchie (1-1) and TSS (2-2) but suffered some large losses – GT (1-7), NC (0-8), and IGS (0-6). The team finished in 7th position. In Swimming and Tennis, both sporting teams struggled against some very strong competition. In Volleyball, the team did not win a GPS game but played with spirit and determination. Three of the losing games were close, going to five sets and all losing 2-3 – IGS, NC and ‘Churchie’. The ‘Churchie’ game was one to remember with the final deciding set being lost 23-25. A TGS ski trip to Mt Hotham in the Victorian Alps took place for 35 boys in the September holiday period. In Drama, this year’s musical was The Wiz, performed to large and entertained audiences at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba. This year's production was the first time the Toowoomba Grammar Theatre Company had performed in the Empire Theatre and a total of 4,000 tickets were sold over the four shows. The cast included students from five local girls’ schools and the leads this year included Tim Windle as the Scarecrow, Jack MacDiarmid as the Tinman, Rohan Webster as the Lion, Andrew Stone as The Wiz, Marc Farrell as the Royal Gatekeeper and Tim Dashwood as the Lord High Underling. Mr Harm (producer and director) and Mr Roche-Kelly (musical director) were thanked for their efforts. In Music, the ‘Take Note’ Music Tour this year was to Yeppoon where the boys performed and conducted workshops with other schools in the area. The achievement of first place in the annual Toowoomba Eisteddfod was the highlight of the year for the Concert Band, led by Hugh McKerrow. The Big Band led by Andrew Stone was placed second in the prestigious Open Big Band Division at the Eisteddfod and the 'Jazz Ensemble' also gained a second place.

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Downlands Competition: In this year the School continued to compete against Downlands College in a variety of sports – cricket, rugby, swimming, cross country, track and field, soccer, basketball and tennis. Downlands College did not compete in volleyball this year. • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (179 – 76). The TGS Swimmers won the annual swimming carnival and the 1sts games in Athletics, Basketball (86-40) and Soccer were also won. In Rugby, the School played 17 games against Downlands. TGS won 15 of these games, drew one and lost only one. The 1st XV Rugby team faced a drawn result in the O’Callaghan Cup (25-25) with the final TGS points coming from the boot of Ashley Leeder as the full-time whistle was blown. (Ashley was also the Captain of the School’s Swimming team.) In Athletics, won by TGS, the competition for the Father Graham Memorial Trophy was trialled in a different format in a two-afternoon event.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr W. ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (1969-1973) (for one year) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Rodney Macqueen AM – Businessman and former Australian Rugby Coach

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2001

Andreas Heger, Rhodes Scholar Kiel Brown as an Australian Olympian

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2002 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 4th year)

Mr W ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (in his 2nd year)

Headmaster: Mr Hugh A. Rose (in his 11th year). Mr Rose concluded his Headmastership in December 2002. The School’s Historian wrote of Mr Rose’s Headmastership in the School history book 1875-2000 Still Playing The Game: “ … his leadership ability is beyond question and there is universal respect for him and for what he has done for the School. His greatest forte has undoubtedly been his ability to lead by example.” (page 497). Mr Rose left the teaching profession to return to commercial ventures. From 20042019 Hugh Rose was Chairman of the (now named) Toowoomba Anglican School Council. A Tribute to Hugh A. Rose was printed in the School Magazine of this year, pp.4-5. Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 15th year) Senior Prefect: Jonathan A.C. Erbacher Senior Dayboy Prefect: James A. Esler Senior Boarder Prefect: Andrew N. Johns Dux of Year: Timothy G. Hamlyn

Total School Enrolment: 824 Senior School Total: 703 Junior School Total: 121 Number of Dayboys: 508 Number of Boarders: 316

Staffing: •

A tribute to the outgoing Headmaster, Mr Hugh Rose, was featured in the School Magazine of this year, pages 4-5, written by Mr John Winn. Not only did Mr Rose serve the School in an outstanding way but his wife, Helen, also immersed herself fully in the life of the School. Significantly, Helen was the convenor of the School’s Art Show (which she re-established in 1992) and the ‘Green Fingers’ nursery and school souvenirs. Also, both of the Rose boys made a substantial contribution to the School. In 1993 Saxon Rose was Senior Prefect, House Captain, Captain of the 1st XI cricket team and a member of the 1st XV rugby team and debating team. His younger brother, Alex, was a School Prefect and Captain of the School’s 1st XV rugby team and a member of the athletics team. A photograph of the Rose family is included in this year’s entry. In this year Mr Rose was presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. Page | 757


Ms Debbie Wells joined the School staff this year as Master-in-Charge of Athletics, following Mr Brett Jones’ service in this role. Ms Wells was a triple Olympian (see the Athletics section below). She resigned from the School’s employ as Head Coach of Track and Field in 2014 after loyal and very effective efforts. Debbie’s successor was Ms Jackie Davies (later to be Mrs Jackie Gallagher – see 2015 and 2023). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr A. Roediger (Boyce), Mr B. Jones (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr C. Randall (Terms 1-2) and Mr T. Bourke (Terms 3-4) (Stephens), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Terms 1-2) and Mr L. Treloar (Terms 3-4) (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr T. Harm (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

Students: •

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• • • • •

The School Prefects were Jonathan Erbacher, James Esler, Andrew Johns, John Adams, Andrew Bullen, Ryan Douglas, Michael Elliott-Smith, Tim Emery, Grant Joy, Phillip Gunthorpe, Charles Hollingworth, Blake Miller, Matthew Morgan, Scott Stirling, Willie Tennent, Matthew Thorne, Rohan Webster, John Whitehill and Paul Yeo. Six Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Andrew Bullen, Jonathan Erbacher, Timothy Hamlyn, Charles Hollingworth, Matthew Thorne and Joe Weir. Jonathan Erbacher, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Rodney Wilson (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. 132 TGS Geography students participated in the Australian Geography competition and the School was awarded first place. This represented the third year in succession that Toowoomba Grammar School had won the Australian Geography competition. John Adams as Captain of the School’s 1st XV was invited to be a member of the Australian Schools’ Rugby Development team. He was also selected in the Queensland Open Schoolboys’ team. Two other students were selected in the Queensland II team – Matthew Howse and Chris Hanley. Luke Forster (2001-2002) was Captain of the Queensland Under 17 Squash team. He later reached the quarter finals of the Scottish Junior Squash Open in 2003. Senior Prefect, Jonathan Erbacher, was Captain of both Basketball and Volleyball and represented Queensland in the latter. He was also Leader of the Big Band. Timothy Hamlyn (1998-2002), Dux this year, was later awarded the University Medal in his Masters Degree in Classical Studies at the University of Queensland. Grant Joy and Roland Atherton were both awarded Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Scholarships, with only twelve such scholarships presented nationally. Cadet Under Officer, Grant Joy, represented the South Queensland region at the inaugural Australian Army Cadets Conference held in Canberra during the June holidays. Grant was also a Guest Speaker at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Day. In 2011 he returned to the School as Guest Speaker at the School’s ANZAC Day Service. At that time, Captain Joy was based at Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera. Grant joined the Australian Defence Force as an Intelligence Officer in the Army in 2003, continuing to serve until 2019. He is now the Managing Director of Protegas Australia, a firm offering national security, emergency services, law enforcement intelligence and security expertise to clients including government, defence and the corporate sector.

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Max Morris (1998-2002) was named Young Territorian of the Year 2004. He also won the Charles Darwin University Outstanding Leadership Award in 2003 and various community awards in Katherine. Joe Weir (1998-2002) as a Year 12 student invited Headmaster Rose to be his first passenger on his first flight as a licensed pilot. Mr Rose accepted the invitation. In 2015 Joe was working as a veterinarian at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (founded in 1884). Josh ‘Giddy’ Hannan (1999-2002) was, in 2007, running the Gymnasium at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai. He then became a personal trainer for the family of Prince Abdul Aziz, third son of the King of Saudi Arabia and travelled internationally with the family. Tim Dashwood (1997-2002) performed in the Queensland Theatre Company’s season of The Importance of Playing Ernest and was one of the main characters in Fame the Musical touring Australia in 2010. In 2013 Tim shared the stage with model and actress Jerry Hall in the Australian Theatre production of The Graduate in Melbourne. He has also played in the thriller Deathtrap at the Eternity Playhouse in Sydney, in Dracula at the Cremorne Theatre and many more productions. Jack McDiarmid from the previous year (1997-2001) reported that sometime after school he met up with a number of university friends visiting South Africa for a four-week World Cup trip. The following were mentioned, all attending TGS from 1997 to 2002 or thereabouts – Scott Munns, Doug Bourne, John Bourne, Michael Elliott-Smith and Daryl Archibald. Only a small number of students possessed mobile ‘phones in this year. They immediately became more popular as they became more affordable and accessible throughout the 2000s. The first version of what is known as a smartphone was invented in 1992 by IBM. The first fully realised smartphone was the first Apple iPhone in 2007. Some of the Year 12 cohort of this year celebrated a 10-year anniversary of leaving school at the Old Boys’ Reunion dinner. A photograph of these Old Boys, taken in 2012, is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: • • •

Stephens Boarding House was refurbished. This was in preparation for next year’s transition to be Stephens and Groom Boarding Houses. The ‘old’ Groom Boarding House was refurbished to provide accommodation for primary school boarders (and was subsequently referred to as Corfe House). The Groom Boarding Housemaster’s residence and resident flats were constructed as an extension to the Groom Boarding House near the Herries Street entrance to the School.

Events: •

• •

In February the Headmaster, Mr Rose, informed the School’s Board of Trustees of his intention to retire at the end of the year. The School Magazine of that year described his eleven years of service as memorable and meritorious. Nathan G. Swain (who left in 1995) was killed in a bombing in the tourist district of Kuta in Bali. Known as the Bali bombing, this event occurred on 12 October and killed 202 people. Later in the year the School was used as an evacuation centre during a bush fire crisis on the Toowoomba Range. Nearly one thousand people registered in the Assembly Hall after being Page | 759


• • •

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• •

evacuated from their homes. The front driveway of the School was used as a parking lot for a number of fire trucks while fire fighters slept in nearby motels. A photograph of the fire trucks in the School’s main driveway is included in this year’s entry. A dinner attended by over 300 guests was held in October as a fund-raising event held in support of the U.K. Rugby tour. Special guests included Andrew Slack (Queensland coach and former Grand Slam Wallaby Captain) and TGS Old Boys, Jason Little (1983-1987) and Rob McDonald (1988-1992). The TGS Art Show and the student art exhibition were both most successful. Both the Art Show and student art exhibition were regular features of the School calendar for decades to follow. The Headmaster, Mr Rose, was invited to be an Honorary Old Boy at the Old Boys’ reunion dinner. The Headmaster was the Chair of the GPS Association this year. In the Headmaster’s Annual Report, Mr Rose referred to his concern about some of the member schools of the GPS Association as having a blinkered focus on winning premierships. This year marked the 110 year of operation of the TGS Cadet Unit, the oldest continuous Cadet Unit in Queensland. The Officer Commanding of the Unit was TGS teacher, Mr Allan Smiddy. As part of the School’s Cadet Unit’s 110 Anniversary, Miss Jean Chauvel, the niece of Lt General Sir Harry Chauvel (TGS, 1880-1882) was invited to view the Unit’s new 110th Anniversary Banner. The Reviewing Officer and Guest of Honour was Old Boy Squadron Leader (retd.) Jack Doyle, DSO, DFC and Bar (1932-1934). A number of Cadets had the honour of meeting the Chief of the Defence Forces, General Peter Cosgrove (later to become the 16th Governor General of Australia), when the Unit marched in the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of Milne Bay celebrations. The School’s Interact Club was involved in the Blue Nurses’ Door Knock Appeal, the Hobby n’ Craft Spectacular and the Leukaemia Foundation ‘Shave for a Cure’. In September, six boys from Year 10 and six from Year 11 undertook a French study tour to Noumea. The students were faced with a rigorous regime of speaking French, enjoying the sun and visiting all the cultural centres and attractions around Noumea. This was the first year of the combined Omnibus/Balliwanga publication. The guest speaker at the TGS OBA annual reunion dinner was Old Boy Dr Denver Dale (1978-1982) who resides in the USA (see 1982). The reunion dinner of the Brisbane Branch of the OBA was held at the Tattersall’s Club. The Headmaster’s Shield was won by Freshney House.

Co-curricular Activities: • • •

No TGS Firsts team finished in a top-three position in the GPS competition this year. In Athletics, at the GPS Track and Field Championships the School recorded 13 wins, 3 more than any other school, including IGS which won the championship. The team finished in 6th place. This year Ms Debbie Wells joined TGS as Head Athletics Coach. She is an Australian former sprinter who competed in three Olympic Games – 1976 (Montreal), 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles). Debbie was three times Australian 100 metres champion and twice Australian 200 metres champion. Significantly, Debbie Wells was the youngest athlete ever to be selected in an Australian Olympic team at the age of 14. Renton Crook-King won the Open high jump at the GPS Track and Field Championships with a jump of 2.01m.

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Chris Hanley won the Open shot-put (18.07m) at the GPS Track and Field Championships, and also in the following year. Jonathan Lambert won the Open discus at the GPS Track and Field Championships with a throw of 50.35m and also the Open javelin (60.23m). Brett Stapleton competing in the Under 15 division in the GPS championships gained three individual firsts – Under 15 100, 200 and 400 metres and also 1st in the Under 15 4 x 100 m relay. In Australian Rules Football, the inaugural Darling Downs Independent Schools’ Cup for Australian Rules Football commenced. The ‘TGS Tigers’ comprised 24 players, most of whom had little understanding of, or exposure to, the game. Fortunately, there was a small group of dedicated and experienced AFL players in the team – Ryan Clancy, Lachlan Dalley and Jacob Cadona. The team won a Bronze Medal in the competition. In Basketball, the Open 1sts V won two GPS games – BGS (45-43) and BBC (67-43). The team also suffered some significant defeats including those from ‘Churchie’ (38-78), GT (34-74), IGS (37-80) and TSS (37-69). In Chess, the School’s teams again secured both the Open and Junior Championships in the Darling Downs tournament. In the GPS Chess competition, the TGS 1st IV won two games – against IGS and BBC and drew against GT. The TGS Captain of Chess was Joshua Stewart both this year and also in 2003. In Cricket, the 1st XI had only one GPS win this season, against ‘Churchie’ and a rain-affected draw against BGS. The team finished in 7th position on the GPS cricket ladder. In the 1st XI cricket match against BBC, the BBC bowler was seeking a hat-trick after taking two consecutive TGS wickets. The TGS incoming batsman, Liam Brown, strolled to the crease and hit the BBC bowler for a six. This was then followed by another six - with many more sixes hit by Liam during the season. In the 1st XI match against Nudgee, Liam Brown once again strolled to the crease and showed total disregard for the bowling attack, smashing 57 in short time, with 8 fours and 3 massive sixes. Liam was to captain the 1st XI in 2004. In the NC match, Fraser Booth made 95 runs when the 65th over concluded. Representing IGS in the 1st XI cricket team this year was Berrick Barnes (who captained the IGS 1st XI in the following year). Berrick later represented Australia in Rugby Union. In Cross Country, the School’s inter-House cross country championships were held at the Toowoomba Showgrounds. Matthew Morgan, Captain of Cross Country, led nearly 100 boys at the GPS Championships at Ipswich. In Rugby, the 1st XV contested 13 games during the season, winning 7 and losing 6. In the GPS competition, the team won three games and lost five, finishing 6th on the GPS ladder. The 1st XV had convincing wins against Gregory Terrace (24-12) and IGS (30-3) and a narrower win over BGS (21-16). The team had a heart-breaking loss to The Southport School by one point (2526). The largest defeat was by the eventual Premiers, Nudgee College, defeating TGS (43-0). The Captain of the 1st XV, John Adams, gained shadow selection in the Australian Schoolboys’ team and was unlucky not to gain full selection. Providing strong competition for the TGS rugby players was James Horwill representing BBC. Later he was an Australian rugby union player with 61 Caps to his name. He was also a Captain of the Australian Wallabies including during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Berrick Barnes, representing IGS, was to play for the Australian Wallabies from 2007-2013. The Open 2nd XV enjoyed an undefeated season. In late November, the School’s senior Rugby players for 2003 travelled to the United Kingdom for a six-match tour. The boys left Toowoomba for overseas at 7:30pm on Thursday, 28 November, following the conclusion of the Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony at the Empire Theatre. Page | 761


• • • • •

• • • •

• •

One of the rugby games was played in Northern Ireland (against the Rainey Endowed School in Magherafelt, an hour north-west of Belfast), another in Scotland (the Edinburgh Academy) and the remaining four in England. The English schools were the Royal Grammar School in Newcastleupon-Tyne; Solihull; Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, south of London (set on 1500 acres); and Eltham College. In Soccer, the 1st XI team celebrated a win (2-1) against ‘Churchie’ in the first round and a convincing win of 5-0 against TSS. Another win was against NC (2-0) and a drawn game was against GT (1-1). Of the four GPS games lost, the major defeats were by IGS (0-5), BGS (1-4) and BBC (1-5) with a closer game won by BSHS (0-1). The team finished in 6th place in the GPS competition. In Swimming, the inter-House swimming competition was held at The Glennie School’s swimming pool. In the GPS Swimming championships, the team finished in 9th (last) position but the swimmers’ performance was an improvement on many previous years. In Tennis, the 1st IV endured two very narrow losses to ‘Churchie’ and BSHS and competed very strongly to win at least one rubber in every other GPS fixture. This was the last year in which the Heenan Trophy was awarded (see below in the ‘Downlands Competition’ section). In Volleyball, the Open 1sts team won one game in the GPS competition, a five-set match against BBC (3-2). The team also took the eventual Premiers, Nudgee College, to five sets, but lost this game (2-3). The Adventure Club hiked through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. In Cadets, the Unit continued to gain momentum. In Debating, eight teams entered the Queensland Debating Union (Darling Downs) competition this year. In Drama, the School’s dramatic production Courage was staged in the Assembly Hall and was a collage of well-known drama productions including Macbeth, A Man for all Seasons, The Last Post, A Few Good Men, Two Weeks With The Queen, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Mr Todd Harm was the producer of the plays. In Music, 51 musicians participated in a ‘Take Note’ music tour in Northern New South Wales. The GPS Music Day of Excellence was held in April. This was the first time this annual event was held in Toowoomba and the performance venue was the Empire Theatre. The day was a sensational one of music making involving the top music students from all nine GPS schools culminating with an evening concert. The concert consisted of three outstanding ensembles performing works such as Peter Sculthorpe’s Kakadu, the Barber of Seville overture, the stirring choral “In Flanders Fields” and “Also Sprach Zarathustra” made famous in “2001 a Space Odyssey”.

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Downlands Competition: • • • • • •

• •

The School retained the Father Graham Trophy in Track and Field. The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (140-116). The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup (29-13) in front of an estimated crowd of 5,000. The swimmers won the Swimming Carnival (for the 13th consecutive year). The School’s teams won in basketball (64-46) and tennis. This was the last year in which the Heenan Trophy for the winner of the tennis competition between Downlands College and Toowoomba Grammar School was awarded. Downlands College had won this trophy only once in the life of the competition (since 1964). The 1st XI Soccer team lost, 1-2. In the inaugural year of the Darling Downs AFL Independent Schools’ Cup, the TGS team lost to Downlands College (DC,7 goals, 10 behinds - 52 points d TGS, 4 goals, 4 behinds – 28 points). In the overall competition, the School won a bronze medallion.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Andrew E. Taylor (1971-1975) (for two years) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Jonathan Wickham – former Headmaster of The King’s School, Parramatta, New South Wales

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2002

Fire Trucks in School Driveway, Toowoomba Range Bush Fires

Headmaster Mr Hugh Rose & Family

Ten Years Later

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2003 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 5th year)

Mr W ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (in his 3rd year)

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 1st year). Mr Hauser commenced as the School’s 15th Headmaster of the School in January and previously was the Deputy Headmaster of Camberwell Grammar School, Melbourne (a member of the Association of the Grammar Schools of Victoria). Prior to this he was a Senior (Group) Master at Scotch College in Melbourne (established in 1851 and a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria). Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 16th year)

Senior Prefect: Alastair H. Cochrane Senior Dayboy Prefect: Robert J. Porter Senior Boarder Prefect: Benjamin W. Dowdle Dux of Year: Benjamin W. Dowdle

Total School Enrolment: 886 Senior School Total: 703 Junior School Total: 183 (with 19 Junior School boarders; Years 1-3 were added to the Junior School this year) Number of Dayboys: 585 Number of Boarders: 301

Staffing: •

• •

There were 53 teachers in the Senior School and 13 teachers in the Junior School. The School’s administrative and ancillary staff totalled 96 and there were a further 80 people employed by the School on a casual basis. The Head of ‘Grammar Junior’ (the Junior School), Mr Mark Bensley, resigned at the end of the year. Mr Clinton (Clint) Howitt, who commenced in 1978, retired at the end of the year. A highly capable teacher of English and History, Mr Howitt coached the School’s Senior Debating team to three State Finals and was the primary founder of the Adventure Club in 1983/4, an activity he pursued with enthusiasm and great commitment until his retirement. A tribute to Mr Howitt was included in this year’s School Magazine on pages 29-30.

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• •

Mrs Judith Coey was the first female member of the non-teaching staff to reside in a Boarding House (apart from Nursing Sisters living in School House prior to the opening of the Dr J.M. Blaikie Health Centre). Mrs Coey was the Boarding House Mother in Corfe Boarding House for the youngest boarders, from 2003-2011. Mr Graham Smythe retired at the end of the year in his capacity as Director of Cricket Coaching. He had been the Coach of the 1st XI Cricket team since 1988.The highest regard in which the School held Mr Smythe was seen when he was awarded the position of Honorary Old Boy of the TGS Old Boys’ Association this year. Graham Smythe coached three GPS Premiership cricket teams (1988, 1990 and 2000) and the School’s 1st XI cricket teams were State title holders in 1988, 1996 and 1997. In 1996 the School’s 1st XI team coached by Graham Smythe finished Runners-Up in the Grand Final of the National Schoolboys’ Cricket competition and the venue was the Adelaide Oval. Mr Smythe continued coaching in a part-time capacity even in retirement for at least a further ten years. As an illustration, the Captain of Cricket in 2011, Giles Creedon, acknowledged the continued support of Mr Smythe by writing in the School Magazine of 2011 (pg.138) - “Each and every week Mr Smythe gives up his time, predominantly in the evenings, to personally develop and fine tune the techniques of not only the First XI players but also the youth of the sport.” The Boarding Housemasters were Mr A. Roediger (Boyce), Mr T. Lavelle (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr L. Treloar (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Freshney), Mr T. Harm (Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Partridge).

Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Alastair Cochrane, Robert Porter, Benjamin Dowdle, Andrew Brown, Nathan Carrott, Dougal Elder, Christopher Hanley, Ben Kalinowski, Alec McMaster, Anthony Single, Leonard Smith, Joshua Stewart, Nicholas Turner and Nicholas Wuersching. Twelve Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Jack Brumpton, Benjamin Dowdle, Nicholas Egerton, Dougal Elder, Benjamin Kalinowski, Roderick McLennan, Nicholas Miller, Edward Pietsch, Craig Porter, Hugh Russell, Anthony Single and Steven Wilson. This was the first year since the introduction of the OP measure of Year 12 assessment in 1992 that more than ten boys gained an OP One. In this year only 2.2% of all Year 12 students in Queensland gained an OP1 – at TGS the corresponding figure this year was 9.45%. Benjamin Dowdle and Anthony Single were awarded the prestigious Australian Students’ Prize for Academic Excellence in Australian secondary education. The Award was presented to the boys by the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training. Senior Prefect, Alastair Cochrane, was invited to be Guest Speaker at the School’s Scholars’ Assembly in 2017. After school Alastair took a degree in Commerce and Business and later an MBA at Bond University. In 2023 Alastair was working as an agribusiness investment consultant and also considering the market for start-up products in agricultural science from the University of Queensland. Alastair also has a polo school in Sydney and plays polo on a professional basis internationally. His competition on the polo field has included members of the Royal Family. Robert Porter was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. After school Robert graduated in Science and Law from the University of Queensland and in 2023 was working with the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). Page | 766


• •

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Senior Boarder Prefect and Dux of this year, Ben Dowdle, later successfully trained as an orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne. Joshua Stewart (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. In 2010 Joshua represented the University of Queensland at the Australian Constitutional Law Moot in Canberra. The team members made it to the finals and appeared in the High Court in front of Chief Justice French where they were successful in taking the trophy. Joshua graduated in Law and Arts from the University of Queensland and later completed an MBA from Melbourne. In 2023 Joshua was the General Manager, Weapon and Ammunition, at Rheinmetall Defence in Melbourne. A Year 12 student and Captain of Athletics, Christopher Hanley (2001-2003), won the Under 20 years shot-put at the National Schoolboy Athletics Championships. Christopher received colours for five sports – swimming, volleyball, rugby, basketball and athletics – in both Years 11 and 12. In Year 12 Christopher won the Open shot-put event at the GPS Track and Field Championships, a success he also achieved in the previous year. Christopher Hanley was also the recipient of the Bell Prize for Best All-Round Sportsman in both 2002 and 2003. The Bell Prize was established in 1971 and only a select few athletes have been awarded successive titles. These are Keith J. Farrelly (1975/76), Douglas B. McKinstry (1980/81), Jason S. Little (1986/87), Steven Glover (1999/2000) and Chris Hanley (2002/03). Whilst not in successive years, Ron G. Buchholz won the Bell Prize in two years, 1977 and 1979. Christopher Hanley and Andrew Brown were selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Rugby side. Chris was later selected in the Australia ‘A’ Schoolboys’ team which played the Fijian Schoolboys’ team. Year 11 student Brett Stapleton won the Australian Under 18 years 100 metres championship (10.96 seconds). Andrew Brandon enjoyed his fourth year in the Open Firsts Tennis team, this year as Captain. The Captain of Swimming, Ayrton Dickey, won the 200-metres backstroke at the Australian Schools’ National Swimming titles in Hobart this year. He was also a member of the winning 4 x 50m medley relay team and in this relay broke the National Record for 50m backstroke. Stuart Valdal and Duncan Grover were selected in the Queensland Under 18 and Open Water Polo team. Liam Brown was selected in the Queensland Under 18 Hockey side (and was Captain of the School’s 1st XI Cricket team in the following year). Troy Honeysett (1999-2003) graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, and Te Whaea, Wellington, New Zealand. He became a Principal Dancer with the Australian Dance Theatre and during this time toured full-length contemporary dance works throughout Europe, USA and Japan. He left the Australian Dance Theatre to pursue acting and has appeared in several films. He is a stage and screen director, stunt adviser, movement coach and educator. Leonard Smith (1999-2003) returned to the School in 2015 to deliver an address at the Senior School Assembly. Since leaving school, Leonard had spent a year on exchange in South Africa, completed a Masters degree in Economics and worked for the Shell Oil Company for six years based in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia and then completed a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Queensland. Leonard spoke to the boys about his international travel to many remote and interesting regions of the world. In 2021 Leonard was working in Helsinki, Finland as Vice President Methodologies of Puro.earth CO2 Removal Marketplace – the world’s first B2B marketplace, standard and registry focused solely on carbon removals.

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• •

Dominic Dillon (1997-2003) the year after leaving school accepted a contract to work as an acrobat/performer for Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan. His stage and performance experience came from being a key member of the ‘Dance Nation Xtreme Team’ since he was 14 years of age. Douglas Michael (1999-2003) trained as a secondary teacher and commenced teaching at TGS in 2013. In 2024 Douglas was still on the teaching staff as a teacher of History and an Assistant Day Head of House. Douglas’ connection to the School extended beyond being an Old Boy and member of staff in that his late mother, Mrs Julie Michael, was a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2011. In addition to his teaching and pastoral care responsibilities, Douglas has been heavily involved in coaching senior debating (to local and regional championships) and in the GPS competition and contributing to the School’s reconciliation action plan (see ‘Events’ section in the 1877-year entry). Andrew Fogarty (1997-2003) returned to the School as the Head of the Science Department in Term 2, 2024. Blake Gaffney (2002-2003) attended the TGS Old Boys’ Reunion in London in 2015. He was working with a law firm as the Finance Manager of the UK, Central and South East Personal Injury division which includes London. Geoffrey Zabell (2001-2003) initially studied a Science and Commerce degree at the University of Queensland and then studied at General Assembly, San Francisco. Geoffrey worked for seven years in New York running project management digital strategies and later went to Madrid to complete an MBA at IE Business School. He left Spain to return to Sydney where he has cofounded an investment advisory app, Kwala. Cory Salmond (1993-2003) has made a name for himself internationally when his artwork was chosen for the second time to be exhibited at the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation Wildlife Artist of the Year Exhibition in the Mall Galleries, London in 2016. Cory’s trip to Africa in 2010 inspired him to start sketching animals in the wild. Cory exhibited some of his studies of African wildlife at the TGS Art Show in 2016. Tristan James (1999-2003) as a tribute Elvis entertainer has performed at various events in Australia. In 2023 Tristan took part in the European Elvis Championships in England.

Buildings: • •

The Junior School Library was initially housed in a single classroom (now J3) (see 2005 and 2010). The new Headmaster was surprised to note some dormitories in the Boarding Houses still had “double-decker” bunks, first introduced in the early 1950s.

Events: •

Similar to that faced by Mr Rose at the commencement of his Headship in 1992, the incoming Headmaster, Mr Hauser, had to confront running a school with a significant boarding enrolment at a time of one of the worst droughts in living memory. In March, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a global alert for active worldwide surveillance for a coronavirus – SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). SARS was a contagious and sometimes fatal respiratory illness appearing in approximately 30 countries. The disease was successfully contained during the year and had no implications for the School other than some heightened awareness of personal hygiene (see 2020).

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• •

• • • • • • • •

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Years 1-3 were added to the Junior School. Later, in 2005, the Preparatory Year was also introduced. The Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement was opened on 3 August. The School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Roger Buttenshaw, initiated this project having seen another independent school in the United Kingdom have a similar display of past scholars’ achievements. A photograph of this opening is included in this year’s entry. A number of very important people visited the School this year. The School welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon. Mr John Anderson MP; Her Excellency, the Governor of Queensland, Ms Quentin Bryce; and the Premier of Queensland, the Hon. Peter Beattie MP. The School’s timetable was changed from 7 lessons of 40 minutes duration last year to 5 lessons of 55 minutes duration. The Australian Rules Football team, the Brisbane Lions, had their pre-season training camp at the School in January. The School won the title of Champion Geography School in Queensland in the Australian Geography competition. This win was the fourth in succession in this competition. A European Art and History tour for students to Belgium, France and Spain took place, organised and supervised by the teacher in charge of Art, Mr Terry Bourke. During the June/July holidays a group of eleven students of Japanese travelled to Japan for a language and cultural tour. The supervising teachers were Ms Dianne Burgess and Mr Eric Smith. Twelve students of French travelled to New Caledonia on a study tour accompanied by Mrs Yeabsley and Mr Curry. In the September holidays seventeen boys, parents and staff participated in an extended trip to the south-western region of Western Australia. The House system in the Senior School was revised in Term 4 and fully implemented in the following year. Rather than having five separate Houses for boarders and five separate Houses for dayboys, the Houses in the inter-House competition were combined i.e. mixing the boarders with the dayboys (see 2004). The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association continued to organise a highly successful Art Show, Melbourne Cup luncheon and the Clothing Shop and Book Pool. Three regional tours were undertaken by the Headmaster and Mrs Hauser to meet past, current and prospective parents and Old Boys. The first trip was to Longreach and Cloncurry, the second to Moree and the final trip to Dalby, Condamine, Roma, St George and Cunnamulla. At the TGS OBA reunion dinner, the Toast to the School was delivered by Dr Wellington Lee (19401942), an Old Boy profiled on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement (see 1942). Partridge House won the Headmaster’s Shield for the Inter-House competition.

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Co-curricular Activities: • •

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• • • • • • • • • • •

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None of the School’s Open Firsts sporting teams was placed in the top three of the GPS competition. In Athletics, there were eleven individual winners in the GPS Track and Field Championships and one winning relay team. At the Open level, the only first place winner was Chris Hanley in the Open shot-put, throwing a distance of 17.80 metres. In Australian Rules Football, the School fielded two Open teams and one Under 15 team in the QAFL Darling Downs Independent School Competition. The TGS Firsts team was defeated by Downlands College in the Grand Final. In Basketball, no wins in the GPS competition were recorded. The committed team endured four games lost by under ten points. In Chess, the School’s Premier team came 4th in the GPS competition with wins against NC, IGS, TSS and GT. One member of the First IV was a student in Year 8, Michael Gearing. As usual, the School also competed in the Darling Downs Schools' Chess Teams Championships. In this competition, the Premier team secured the title for the ninth consecutive year in the event's ten-year history. Similar success was experienced by the School’s Junior A team, which secured its respective title. In Cricket, the 1st XI team won three games – against BSHS, TSS and IGS - and lost four. The match against BGS was washed out. The team finished in 6th position on the GPS cricket ladder. As noted earlier, this was the year that the Coach of the team, Mr Graham Smythe, retired after superbly coaching the School’s 1st XI since 1988. In the 1st XI cricket team were the twin sons of staff member Mr Paul Kalinowski, Benjamin and Thomas. Harrison Humphries spent the season out of the team through injury. The game against ‘Churchie’ was a disappointing one with TGS all out for 114, just one half of the runs needed. The game against GT was lost by two runs in the final over. In this year Jason Fenwick was selected in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ State Cricket team. Jason was to later captain the TGS Cricket GPS Premiership winning 2005 team. The Captain of the IGS 1st XI this year was Berrick Barnes, considered at IGS to be their finest ever wicket-keeper. Berrick was a future Rugby Union International player for Australia. The School’s 1st XI squad for 2004 travelled to New Zealand in December of this year for a sporting and cultural tour. The group comprised 15 boys, 3 staff and 9 family members. In Cross Country, the School won the McVeigh Cup in the Darling Downs Cross Country competition for the 28th time since 1974. In the GPS Cross Country championships, the School finished in 8th place, rising from the bottom of the cross country table where it had languished for a number of years. In Rugby, the 1st XV team may have remembered the season as ‘the one that could have been’. The season commenced in a bad way with the first game loss to ‘Churchie’ (0-51), followed by another major defeat by Nudgee College (0-29). The team won two GPS games during the season – BGS (29-8) and IGS (18-12). Representing GT 1st XV was Digby Ioane who later was an Australian Wallaby from 2009-2012. In Soccer, the GPS season was disappointing in that only one GPS game was won, an away fixture against BBC in which the team won 1-0. Whilst only one game was won, there were three drawn games – BGS (1-1), GT (3-3) and BSHS (1-1). The season started in a poor manner with a first game loss to ‘Churchie’ (0-3) and then, in the next game, a massive defeat by Nudgee (0-6), with all the NC goals scored in the first half. Page | 770


• •

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In Swimming, the Captain, Ayrton Dickey, reported: “Although finishing in 9th place on the night, all boys walked away with a contented attitude having given it their all, and happy with simply being able to swim in such a great event with top class facilities.” Ayrton Dickey achieved a great deal in schoolboy swimming as listed in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. At the GPS Swimming Championships, Christian Sprenger representing GT broke the GPS record in the Open 100 metres breaststroke event. His record was still standing in 2020 and possibly beyond. Later, Christian won a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 100 metres breaststroke event. He was also a guest at the opening of the Toowoomba Grammar School Aquatic Centre in May 2010 along with another Olympic swimmer, Jessicah Schipper. In Tennis, the 1st IV performed particularly well against schools such as Gregory Terrace, Brisbane State High School and The Southport School. The team recorded some memorable wins in individual rubbers, although was unable to capitalise and win any overall fixtures. In Volleyball, the 1st VI played seven GPS games and lost six. The only win was against IGS. Of the six games lost, three of these went to the fifth set in very exciting games. The Adventure Club under the leadership of Mr Clint Howitt and ably assisted by Mr Clifford Robert (Bob) Harvey continued to offer some exceptional experiences for the boys. Mr Harvey took on the leadership role of the Adventure Club at the end of the year following Mr Howitt’s retirement. In Cadets, at the end of this year the Commanding Officer, Mr Allan Smiddy, stepped down after three years as OC. Major Brodie Bassingthwaighte resumed his involvement in this position commencing 2004. In Drama, a new activity for the students, the Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA), was created by teacher, Mr Todd Harm. This was a highly creative outlet much enjoyed by a group of students over many years to come and well beyond Mr Harm’s resignation from the School in 2011. This year’s TiGAA group provided much entertainment and hilarious performances were delivered by Dominic Schramm, Adam Trussell, Wes Pollard, Todd Johnson, Lachlan Bailey, Jack Mackenzie, David Burton, Simon Buttenshaw and Sam Brain. The School Musical this year was Anything Goes. The cast totalling 90 boys together with 110 girls from Fairholme College performed to an audience of over 3,000 people over the four performances. This was the first joint production between the two schools in five years. The producer of this highly successful play was Mr Todd Harm and the musical director was Mr Neil Roche-Kelly. The leads included Andrew Murray, Kent Martin, Adam Trussell, Wessley Pollard and Tristan James. In Music, 26 of the School’s musicians participated in the 4th annual GPS Combined Schools’ Music Day held at the Queensland Conservatorium in Southbank in April. This year the School Orchestra again amalgamated with the Glennie Orchestra with a great deal of success. In the Toowoomba Eisteddfod the Orchestra gained a prestigious second place and a Highly Commended at the Queensland Festival of Music.

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Downlands Competition • • • •

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The 1st XI Cricket game was washed out so TGS retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy from the previous year’s victory. The 1st XV Rugby team was defeated in the O’Callaghan Cup (17-22). Both the Open1st Basketball (95-22) and Tennis (96-12) teams won their annual match. The Heenan Trophy for the 1st IV Tennis (donated by the Principal of Downlands College and the Headmaster of TGS in 1984 for the tennis competition between the two schools) lapsed after this year. Since 1984, Downlands College had won the Trophy only once. The Trophy is on display in Old Hall. The School’s swimmers won the Swimming Carnival (180–126). In Soccer, the inaugural ‘Parents and Friends (P&F) Cup’ was held with the TGS 1st XI winning this game, 3-0. A photograph of this Cup, together with the O’Callaghan Cup, is included in the 2004year entry. In Australian Rules Football, playing in the Darling Downs AFL Football Independent Schools’ Cup, the Open TGS team was defeated by Downlands College in the Grand Final.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Her Worship The Mayor of Toowoomba, Councillor Dianne Thorley

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2003

Opening Ceremony of the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement

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2004 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 6th year)

Deputy Chairman: Mr W ‘Bill’ D. Barrett (in his 4th year). Mr Barrett resigned from the Board of Trustees at the end of the year.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 2nd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 17th year)

Senior Prefect: Dustin J. Kavanagh Senior Dayboy Prefect: Michael E. Bullen Senior Boarder Prefect: Phillip M. Avery Dux of Year: James A. Barkla

Total School Enrolment: 897 Senior School Total: 699 Junior School Total: 198 (including 16 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 617 Number of Boarders: 280

Staffing: • •

Mr Anthony Beauchamp was Acting Head of the Junior School in Term One prior to the commencement of the new Head of the Junior School, Mr Scott Campbell, in Term Two. The School’s Director of Sport and Activities, Mr Steven O’Connor, resigned at the end of the year to accept a Principal’s position at a school in Victoria. His successor in the following year was Mr John Anderson. The Director of Cricket Coaching and 1st XI Coach, Mr Graham Smythe, concluded his outstanding service to the School’s cricket program in a formal capacity (see 1988). Mr Smythe continued to provide specialist coaching advice to individual boys for many years to come. The School’s Director of Studies, Mr Alan Hill, received an Australian College of Educators (ACE) Award for Excellence in Education (known as the Kath Dickson Award) for outstanding educator in the ACE Darling Downs Regional Group. Mr Justin Anlezark, a sessional coach of throws and field events in the School’s Athletics programme, took leave of absence to represent Australia in shot-put in this year’s Olympic Games in Athens.

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• •

Mr Ray Morgan commenced working at the School in 2004 as a Student Officer and later as the School’s Workplace Health, Safety and Compliance Officer but subsequently trained through external studies to be a qualified secondary teacher. He graduated in 2009 and then transferred to working at the School as a teacher of Industrial Design and Technology and Mathematics in 2010. Ray Morgan came to the School with a military background and, having been awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM), was ideally suited to assist with the operation of the School's Cadet Unit from 2010 through to 2017. In 2023 Ray had recorded 20 years of excellent service at the School and resigned in May 2024. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr A. Roediger (Boyce), Mr T. Lavelle (Groom), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens), Mr L. Treloar (Taylor) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Groom-Freshney), Mr T. Harm (Terms 1-2), Mr J. Perrignon (Terms 3-4) (Taylor-Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Boyce-Henderson) and Mr A. Smiddy (Stephens-Partridge).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Dustin Kavanagh, Michael Bullen, Phillip Avery, Blake Althaus, Trent Baldwin, James Barkla, Myles Barnett, Liam Brown, Simon Buttenshaw, James Coats, Matthew Eilers, Mark Emery, Brendan Ezzy, Brody Grogan, Jamie Iker, Stuart Mace, Robey Miller, Hamish Procter, Adam Trussell and Ashley Uebergang. Six Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – James Barkla, Michael Bullen, Matthew Crewe, James Coats, Mark Emery and Adam Rodger. James Barkla and Adam Rodger were named recipients of the Australian Students’ Prize award in national recognition of outstanding academic achievement. James Coats was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Simon Buttenshaw (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Dustin Kavanagh (2000-2004), the School’s Senior Prefect, after Year 12 undertook a ‘GAP year’ residing and working at the internationally known Christ’s Hospital School (founded in 1553 with a royal charter: see Index) in Horsham, south of London. At TGS Dustin was a boarder from Winton and this trip to the United Kingdom represented the first time he had left Queensland. Dustin returned to Australia the next year and completed a degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland. After working in Brisbane in private practice for three years, Dustin returned to London working as a Physiotherapist there. Dustin travelled from London to attend the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Reunion functions in August 2024 representing his 20 th year since leaving the School. Danny Beresford (2002-2004) was to be later employed by the School, initially in the capacity as a Groundsman (2014) and subsequently as Grounds Co-ordinator from 2016 and still maintaining the excellent appearance of the School’s grounds a decade later. Benjamin Woolacott (2000-2004) joined the teaching staff of Toowoomba Grammar School in 2018 as a teacher in the Junior School. He resigned at the end of 2022, transferring to Brisbane and continuing with his teaching career. Ryan Cooling achieved an Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Education Award this year. Blake Althaus won the Open shot-put and Open discus at the GPS Track and Field Championships. Page | 775


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Jaryd Grantham (Captain of Athletics) won the Open event at the GPS Cross Country championships. Brett Stapleton (Year 11) won the GPS Open 200m sprint in a time of 21.81s. Jason Fenwick (Year 11) was selected in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ State Cricket side as he also was in the previous year. Brody Grogan (2002-2004) was a member of the 1st XI Cricket team and from 2013-2017 was employed as Director of Cricket at St Joseph’s Nudgee College. Brody then commenced as a commercial photographer. Cameron Weber and David Marsh represented Queensland in the Under 17 Volleyball team, competing in the national championships. Liam Brown (Captain of Cricket) was also selected as Captain of the Queensland Under 18 Hockey team and in the National Schoolboys’ Hockey team. Harrison Humphries (Year 11 and next year’s Senior Prefect) represented Queensland in both the individual 400 metres final and the 4 x 400m relay. Also representing Queensland in Athletics were Blake Althaus, Nathan Cook, Jaryd Grantham and Brett Stapleton. Dominic Schramm was a member of the Queensland Junior Elite Eventing squad. His passion for eventing and his skill took him all over Australia as well as to equestrian hubs around the globe, including the USA, England and Germany. He was recognised by national selectors and was a member of the 2006 Australian Young Rider Eventing Squad. Dominic achieved a 3 rd place at the 2011 American Eventing Championships. Adam Trussell (2000-2004) entertained the School on stage in 2003 and 2004. He continued to entertain on stage and completed a full-time contemporary repertory theatre and acting training program with the ‘Fourth Monkey Theatre Company’ in London. Adam has also performed in one of its productions at the ‘Fringe’ in Edinburgh and toured Britain with the theatre company’s production of Elephant Man. Tom Dowling (1997-2004) in 2017 was invited to take part in an art exhibition in the World Trade Centre. He was also selected to exhibit in the New Museum in Manhattan. Hamish Stirling (2000-2004) in January 2020 set sail on a journey of nineteen days from Tasmania to Mawson Station in Antarctica to stay and work for twelve months. He is a carpenter by trade but was selected on his adaptability to undertake any job. Hamish said his highlights included driving a Hägglund over the ice, riding a quad bike in freezing conditions and wearing four layers of clothing, witnessing wonderfully coloured auroras and marvelling at the variety of wildlife. Hamish’s father, Ian Stirling, is also an Old Boy (1972-1976) and served as a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from 2000-2010. Guy L. Bryant (2000-2004) tragically drowned in a freak accident in a lagoon about 100 kms south of Mungallala in January 2005. At the completion of the Memorial Service about 200 current students and Old Boys formed a Guard of Honour along the route from the Church to the hearse and a hearty rendition of the TGS war cry, school song and some rugby cheering songs were sung. Each student had access to 100-150 MB storage space on the School’s computer network.

Events: • •

2004 was the Centenary Celebration for the City of Toowoomba since it was proclaimed as Queensland’s fifth city. The House system in the Senior School was revised. Rather than having five separate Houses for boarders and five separate Houses for dayboys, the Houses in the Inter-House competition were Page | 776


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combined i.e. mixing the boarders with the dayboys. The new Houses were: Boyce-Henderson; Groom-Freshney; Mackintosh-Chauvel; Stephens-Partridge; and Taylor-Gibson. This decision was made in an effort to promote a more unified school with a better integration of dayboys and boarders. A further benefit of the change was to achieve greater equity in the numbers of boys in all Houses creating a fairer inter-House competition. In this year the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association bestowed on the School’s Director of Development and Enrolments, Mr Rob Mitchell, the title of ‘Honorary Old Boy’ for his service to the School and the Association. A member of the School’s administration staff working in the Enrolments and Old Boys’ Association Office, Mrs Ellen Morosini, also became only one of fourteen people in the School’s history to date to be honoured as an ‘Honorary Old Boy’ by the Old Boys’ Association. With this honour, Mrs Morosini joined two other women as Honorary Old Boys in the history of the School, with Mrs Judy Gillies and Mrs Denise Miller both of whom receiving this honour in 1986. Mrs Gillies and Mrs Miller were very long-serving members of the School’s non-teaching staff. Drama as an academic subject was added to the School Curriculum at the Year 11 level and advanced to Year 12 in the following year. Up to this point Drama had only been offered as an elective subject to the Year 10 level. A major addition to the School’s Outdoor Activity facility, Abingdon, was the construction of a rock-climbing wall donated by TGS parent, Mr John Russell. A summer cricket camp held during the week before school commenced attracted over 60 in attendance. The popularity of this camp was seen over the years such as ten years later when well over 100 boys attended. A Cricket Supporters’ Group was formed during the year. The Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association had a busy year with the annual Art Show (exhibiting 650 artworks), the clothing and book pools, volunteers in the canteen during home games, the theatre restaurant production The Empyre Strikes Back, the Melbourne Cup Luncheon and more. During the June/July holidays, nine students and two teachers (Ms Burgess and Ms Ward) travelled to Japan on a language and cultural tour. During the September holidays, a group of 22 students, staff and family members trekked the Himalayas in Western Nepal. The trip included a visit to Kathmandu, Chitwan National Park and a flight around Sagarmatha (Mt Everest). The tour leader was Mr Neil Roche-Kelly. Some 240 Old Boys and their partners attended the TGS OBA annual reunion dinner held at the Cathedral Centre in Toowoomba. The Toast to the School was proposed by Rodney Metcalfe (1961-1964). At the reunion, Dr Alan Newsome (1949-1952) wore his 1951 colours blazer for Gymnastics. The TGS OBA Brisbane Branch reunion dinner was held at the Tattersall’s Club and the Toast to the School was proposed by Dr George Fielding (1944-1948). The Headmaster and Mr Rob Mitchell (Director of Development) attended the Queensland State Conference of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) held in Blackall. The Headmaster, President of the OBA (Mr John Handley) and Mrs Ellen Morosini (Development Office) attended a dinner with Old Boys and partners in Canberra. Mr Harold Bullock (1929-1934) was the oldest Old Boy in attendance. Stephens/Partridge House won the Headmaster’s Shield this year.

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In Athletics, the School did not experience overall success at the GPS Track and Field championships but won seven individual events. In the Open age group division, Blake Althaus won the Open shot-put and the Open discus. Brett Stapleton won the Open 200 metres in a time of 21.81 seconds. Also, a Toowoomba Grammar School athlete was to win the GPS Open 200 metres event in 2006 (Tim O’Sullivan, 22.01), 2008 (Hugh Tait, 22.61), 2013 (Joshua Robinson, 21.52) and 2020 (Jai Gordon, 21.84). In Australian Rules Football, the School entered two teams this year, the Open age ‘TGS Tigers’ and the Under 15 ‘Eagles’ in the AFL Queensland Independent Schools’ Cup. The Open team made the Grand Final but was beaten by the team representing St Joseph’s Toowoomba. The Cup involved TGS playing Australian Rules football games against Downlands College, St Mary’s College (Toowoomba), St Mary’s College (Dalby), Concordia and St Joseph’s Toowoomba. In Basketball, the 1st V defeated Ipswich Grammar School (61-53) but some of the losses against the other GPS schools were of narrow margins. The Captain of Basketball, Blake Althaus, was in his fourth year in the Open 1sts team. A photograph of the present and past Captains of Basketball is included in this year’s entry. In Chess, the team started the GPS season with a solid three draws: IGS (2-2), TSS (2-2) and GT (22-) but the remainder of the games were losses. In Cricket, the 1st XI had a modest season in terms of their own high expectations. The 1st XI Cricket team had three wins – against TSS (205-108), NC (8/227 – 89) and Churchie (2/188-176). The team finished in 6th position. The Captain of the 1st XI, Liam Brown, scored a century in the combined GPS XI team. Liam Brown recorded six innings over 30 runs for the TGS 1st XI and three over 50. His batting average was 45.28. The cricket game against Brisbane Grammar School was won by BGS with the second last ball of the game (BGS 9/150 d TGS 9/149). In the winning match against NC, the Captain, Liam Brown, and Vice-Captain, Doug Murphy, had a partnership of 120 runs. This remains the equal seventh highest third wicket partnership in TGS cricket history. In the winning game against Churchie, Liam Brown and Doug Murphy put on 89 runs from just 16 overs. Doug scored 43 not out and Liam 52 not out. The influence of Brody Grogan’s coach in the TGS 1st XI cricket team (Mr Graham Smythe) was significant. This was illustrated, in part, when Brody visited Graham Smythe in the year (2023) when Graham was to turn 90 years of age. Brody, whilst videotaping their conversation, handed Graham a TGS 1st XI cap and asked him what the first thing was he thought of when he saw the cap. Graham replied: “I think of the high standard of people I met who wore it. I don’t think I ever struck anybody who wore that cap who didn’t show respect for what it was and what it represented. I always felt that if you did not respect the game and who you were playing the game for then you shouldn’t be in the team. If you are going to play the game, then enjoy it. You fellas at Grammar enjoyed your cricket. It was always my idea that if people could leave cricket saying that they learnt a little bit about life while they were playing cricket then we had done our job because sport is something about life. If you cannot play sport and enjoy it then for my money give it away.” Succeeding Mr Graham Smythe as 1st XI cricket coach following his retirement in the previous year was a member of the teaching staff, Mr (later Dr) Ian Waite. He was to coach the team for four years including the 2005 GPS Premiership team. Page | 778


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A Cricket Supporters’ Group of parents was established this year. In Cross Country, Jaryd Grantham had an outstanding win in the Open event at the GPS Cross Country championships. This was the first win for the School in this event since 1994 and only the fourth time that a TGS athlete had won the Open event of the GPS Cross Country championships since available records commenced in 1971 (Brett Winter 1978 and 1979; Hugh Bridle 1994; and Jaryd Grantham 2004). In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV Rugby team defeated the Nudgee College 1st XV (18-16). Prior to this, a Toowoomba Grammar School 1st XV had not defeated a Nudgee 1st XV side since 1982. The team was coached by Mr Paul Herbert. The School Magazine reported the words of the boys: “The boys came out firing and were determined to change the history between Nudgee and ourselves. It was a nail biter to the end and we showed just how awesome our defence could be, denying Nudgee any points after they pressured the try line for all of the second half. We held them out for a magnificent victory.” A photograph of the 1st XV team and the scoreboard recording its win over Nudgee College is included in this year’s entry. The 1st XV lost to the eventual Premiers, Gregory Terrace, in a very close game, 9-11 and also close losses to IGS (22-26) and BGS (16-17). Not so close was the defeat by TSS (0-45). Exciting wins for the TGS 1st XV included BSHS (24-22) and Downlands College in a non-GPS fixture (17-15). In the lost 1st XV rugby game against ‘Churchie’ (16-30), TGS player Andrew Krelle scored all 16 of the TGS points. Brett Stapleton was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ side to meet the Irish schoolboys. Ryley Woodyard (TGS 1st XV Captain) was selected in the Queensland I Schoolboys’ side. In December of this year a developmental squad of 30 Rugby players travelled to the United Kingdom on a three-week rugby tour (as in 2002). In Soccer, a squad of 22 boys stayed at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra prior to the commencement of the GPS Soccer season. The 1st XI Soccer team had three wins in the GPS season, defeating IGS (1-0), TSS (2-1), and NC (31). The game against ‘Churchie’ resulted in a draw (1-1). The largest losing margin was to BSHS (0-3). In Swimming, the GPS Swimming Championships were postponed as a result of severe storms threatening Brisbane and South-East Queensland during the afternoon of the scheduled event. Bus travel by the boys in all of the nine GPS schools to the event was deemed to be too dangerous. The revised date was on a Wednesday afternoon. The School’s Swimming squad finished in 9th (last) position in the GPS Swimming Championships but the boys put in their best effort and many personal best times were recorded. The TGS swimmers, as always, faced extremely strong competition at the GPS Swimming Championships. One such swimmer, representing NC, was Leith Brodie who broke the GPS record in the 200-metres individual medley event. Leith was later to be a Bronze Medallist in two freestyle relay events at the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing. In Tennis, the 1st IV did not experience a win in the GPS season. In the School’s internal Tennis championship, the winner was a Year 8 boy, Ben Turner. Ben represented the School this year in the Open 1st IV team. In Volleyball, the 1st Volleyball team was placed equal 3rd in the GPS competition, the School’s best result thus far in the GPS Volleyball competition. Two of the TGS games went to five sets, winning one (BBC) and losing one (GT). In the match against Gregory Terrace, the TGS 1 st VI lost the first two sets. TGS won the third set 25-23 and the fourth set 25-22. The TGS team narrowly lost the decider 14-16 in a wonderful game of volleyball.

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The 1st VI Volleyball team won four games out of seven played. The wins were over ‘Churchie’ (30), BBC (3-2), IGS (3-1) and NC (3-1). A summer heatwave caused the postponement of the Volleyball game against BGS. A group of boys travelled to Melbourne in December to compete in the Australian Volleyball Schools’ Cup competition. The 1st VI Volleyball success this year (equal 3rd in the GPS competition) was the beginning of a strong achievement in TGS Volleyball with two second placings and two third placings on the GPS ladder in the next four years. In Cadets, the Unit comprised 65 Cadets including 3 girls from The Glennie School and 10 girls from Fairholme College, The annual Cadet Passing Out Parade was held under very difficult conditions. Heavy rain made the Parade impossible on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval and was held indoors in the Assembly Hall and Parents’ Cover. The Adventure Club’s extended trip was to the Whitsunday Islands in December. Fifteen boys, three parents and two staff travelled by train to Proserpine and from there to Shute Harbour, to take charge of two 43-foot catamarans. In Drama, the School’s dramatic production this year was Soul Circle, written by member of staff, Mr Todd Harm. Girls from The Glennie School were also in the cast. Major lead roles were held by Year 12 students Adam Trussell and Dominic Schramm and Year 11 students William Hopson and Lachlan Dowling. In Music, a highlight in the School’s music programme was the boys’ participation in the Australian International Festival of Music following a successful audition. In the Term Two holidays, 40 musicians and choristers representing the School performed in this Festival held in Bathurst and Sydney. Performance venues included St Andrew’s Cathedral, the Sydney Town Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Sixteen school and community groups representing countries including Australia, USA, China and New Zealand performed at this music festival. During the year many public performances were undertaken by the School’s musicians.

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All cricket games were washed out for the Downlands College fixture for the Tom Allen trophy. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup, 17-15. Hosted by DC, TGS won 17 of the 18 rugby games played. A photograph of the O’Callaghan Cup for Rugby, the Parents & Friends’ (P&F) Cup for Soccer (Football) and the DC/TGS commemorative jersey is included in this year’s entry. Last year the School created the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Cup for the annual soccer match against Downlands College. This year’s game was won by TGS, 6-1. The swimmers won the annual swimming carnival (for the 14th year in succession). The athletes were unable to compete in the Father Graham Memorial Carnival due to a washout.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr S. John Handley (1954-1957) was elected as President of the OBA for a 3-year term (2004 - 2006) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Her Excellency The Governor, Ms Quentin Bryce

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2004

A Rare Moment with Rugby Win over Nudgee College

Past & Present Captains of Basketball (L-R) Steven Glover (2000), Ed Wippell (2001), Derek Babineau (1997) & Blake Althaus (2004)

Senior Prefect Dustin Kavanagh & The Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce AC

Mrs Judy Gillies and the original School Bell

Winning O’Callaghan Cup (Rugby) & P & F Cup (Soccer)

Page | 781


2005 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 7th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 1st year as Deputy Chairman)

Trustees: Mr E.R. (Russ) Johnson was appointed to the Board in February (to 2016). The other Trustees were Dr Kerry S. Milne, Mr Ian L. Stirling, Mrs Barb MacDiarmid and Mrs Julie A. Michael.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser

(in his 3rd year)

Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 18th year)

Senior Prefect: Harrison J. Humphries (whose younger brother, Lincoln, was also Senior Prefect in 2007 and whose mother (Nicole Humphries) taught in the Junior School from October 2002 - February 2008). Senior Dayboy Prefect: Nathan J. Vickery Senior Boarder Prefect: Bryce R. Mooring Dux of Year: David J. Faraker

Total School Enrolment: 930 Senior School Total: 719 Junior School Total: 211 - a Preparatory ‘Prep’ Year was introduced into the Junior School this year (initially called ‘Reception’). This was converted to the Preparatory Year, in line with the rest of Queensland, in 2007. There were 10 boarders in the Junior School. Number of Dayboys: 661 Number of Boarders: 269

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. Mr John Anderson joined the staff as Director of Sport and Activities following the resignation of Mr Steven O’Connor at the end of the previous year. In the previous year he had been the Acting Head of Blackheath and Thornburgh College in Charters Towers. Later, in an outstanding career at Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr Anderson would be promoted to Head of Senior School (in 2013) and to Deputy Headmaster (in 2018). Mrs Paulina Skerman joined the staff as Head of English following Mrs Mel Dixon’s resignation from this position (on staff 2002-2005). In 2008 Mrs Skerman was promoted to the senior position as Director of Studies and on the School Executive senior management team.

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The first female Head of Department appointed in the School’s history was Mrs Lynne Yeabsley (Languages) in 2001. This year there were five women in a Head of Department role – Mrs L. Yeabsley (Languages), Mrs P. Skerman (English), Ms L. Thomson (Information Processing and Technology), Mrs T. Burley (School Counsellor) and Mrs N. Humphries (Co-ordinator of Infants). Mr Mike Sharpe spent three terms as Assistant Boarding Housemaster of Taylor-Gibson House prior to his promotion as Housemaster of Corfe House in the Junior School. Mr Sharpe’s vacancy as Assistant Boarding Housemaster of Taylor-Gibson was filled by Mr Mark Oliphant. The Heads of Department were Mrs Paulina Skerman (English), Mr I. Sanderson (Mathematics), Mr A.D. Miller (Science), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Languages), Mr P. Auliciems (History/Geography), Mr I. Bullock (Commerce), Mr J. McKain (Design and Technology), Mr T. Bourke (Art), Mr N. Roche-Kelly (Arts), Mr D. McGovern (Physical Education), Ms Lisa Thomson (Information Processing and Technology), Mr M. Gillespie (Agricultural Science), Mr S. Purse (Library), Mr A. Roediger (Careers Adviser), Mrs T. Burley (School Counsellor), Mr M. Sharpe (Deputy Head of Junior School) and Mrs N. Humphries (Co-ordinator of Infants). Mr Peter Bromley was appointed as the Head of Boarding. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr A. Roediger (Boyce-Henderson), Mr T. Lavelle (Groom-Freshney), Mr M. Nairn (MackintoshChauvel), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens-Partridge), Mr L. Treloar (Taylor-Gibson) and Mr K. Thompson (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Groom-Freshney), Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor-Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Boyce-Henderson) and Mr S. Koplick (Stephens-Partridge).

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The School Prefects were Harrison Humphries, Nathan Vickery, Bryce Mooring, Alexander Bond, Andrew Brown, Christopher Carlaw, Jason Fenwick, Peter Firth, John Gunthorpe, William Hacon, James Harris, Andrew Krelle, Timothy Hill, Paul Macindoe, Roby Parker, Rainer Pollard, Scott Purcell, Brendan Quinn and Lynton Tapp. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Nine Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Alexander Bond, Gareth Emblen, David Faraker, Antony Hallam, William Hopson, Vikram Iyer, Matthew Klan, Blake Moffett and Peter Stark. Year 12 student Alexander Bond was awarded an Australian Students’ Prize. The Senior Prefect, Harrison Humphries, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. In April of this year Harrison fractured the CI vertebra in his neck in a trial rugby match against The Southport School. Harrison wore a neck brace for over three months with little movement. Remarkably, he recovered sufficiently well to be placed third in the 400 metres in the GPS Track and Field Championships in October. Another boy, Nicholas Warner (Year 11), this year also sustained a fractured neck in a rugby incident against the same school, TSS, and also made a full recovery. After school, Harrison Humphries (above) qualified in Law and in September 2020 was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the School. In the same year he was the President of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce. A photograph of Harrison as a School Trustee, taken in 2020, is included in this year’s entry. Roby Parker (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Laurie Erhart (Year 12) was the recipient of an Australian Vocational Student Prize for Excellence. Page | 783


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Captain of the GPS Premiership winning 1st XI Cricket team, Jason Fenwick, and Ashley Benham (both Year 12) were selected in the combined GPS Cricket team, with Jason being named Captain. Peter Firth (Year 12) held the A.Mus.A. qualification from the Australian Music Examination Board in piano. Carl James ‘Jamie’ McNulty (2001-2005) was killed in the following year, as a passenger, along with another teenager, in a motor vehicle incident on the Gore Highway. Jamie’s parents, Paul and Ellana McNulty, spoke to the School Assembly about their loss and encouraged the boys to be determined to be in control of their lives. Year 12 students James Pascoe and Brendan Quinn (both 2002-2005) were both awarded a prestigious Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) Scholarship and graduated from the ADFA in 2008 and the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 2009. James was unfortunately medically discharged from the Army at the end of 2016 due to a number of injuries sustained during his service. He then made a successful transfer to the corporate sector. Vikram Iyer (1998-2005) graduated from the University of Queensland in Medicine in 2012 and also got married to Swati in Mumbai, India in the same year. Guests at Vikram’s wedding included 13 TGS Old Boys. Jimmy Bourne came from Qatar and Will Snow and Joel Cottrell flew to India from France. The Iyer wedding spanned over five days and was a traditional South Indian wedding. The reception was held at the Mumbai Cricket Club. The TGS Old Boys who attended the wedding included a law graduate working in government, two engineering students, a journalist, a law student, a solicitor, three teachers, two doctors, a professional musician and a current university student. Vikram Iyer is now a vascular surgeon. A photograph of the inaugural ‘Reception’ (Prep) class in the Junior School is included in this year’s entry. Of interest, there were nine boys from this cohort who completed their entire junior and secondary education at the School. They are listed in the 2017-year entry, ‘Students’ section.

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This year the Junior School Library expanded to include two classrooms (J4 and J5). The Library was to be situated in a new location in 2010.

Events: •

The Indigenous Education Scholarship program known as Yalari was initiated and launched by Old Boy, Mr Waverley Stanley (1980-1984) this year. Toowoomba Grammar School was one of the two first partnership schools (together with The Glennie School) for the Yalari organisation (see 1984 and 2006). A photograph of Waverley Stanley and another Old Boy, Stuart Copeland (19801984) who was at the time a Member of Parliament for Cunningham and the State Shadow Minister for Education and the Arts, at the launch of the Yalari program is included in this year’s entry. An extremely successful Memories of Wartime Exhibition was staged in April in Old Hall, in conjunction with the Queensland Museum and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. A photograph of this exhibition is included in this year’s entry. The Preparatory Year (referred to as Reception in this year) was introduced into the Junior School. The year commenced with twenty 4 and 5-year-old boys eager to start ‘big school’. A photograph of these first ‘Prep’ boys in the Junior School is included in this year’s entry. Many of the boys in the inaugural ‘Prep’ year represented the first cohort to complete thirteen years at TGS when they completed Year 12 in 2017 (see 2017). Page | 784


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An underground watering system was installed on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval and Mills Oval in December. A photograph of this activity on Mills Oval is included in this year’s entry. At an Old Boys’ Reunion in Sydney, Old Boy Ralph (Taffy) Evans (TGS 1925-1929), aged 93 years, proudly wore his School Colours Blazer. He told Headmaster Hauser that he was not the oldest person present at the reunion. He said: “I am younger than that old bloke over there!” He was pointing to Dr Norman Fisher AO (at the School from 1923-1927). The Old Boys’ Committee arranged to join the current boarders for their evening meal prior to their Annual General Meeting. This practice was to be an ongoing activity. The School celebrated its 130th year anniversary in August. Three Old Boys addressed the School Assembly, talking about their years at the School – Mr Eric Evans (1928-1933), Mr Jack Doyle (1932-1934) and Mr John Handley (1954-1957). A photograph of these three distinguished Old Boys addressing the students in Assembly is included in this year’s entry. The floodlighting of the School’s tennis courts was funded through the efforts of the P&F Association. In the September holidays, 32 Cadets attended the Annual Camp. This year’s inter-House Swimming Carnival was held at Milne Bay Aquatic Centre from the previous venue, The Glennie School’s aquatic centre. A group of 20 boys enjoyed a French study tour to New Caledonia in September. A group of 16 boys from the Year 11 and Year 12 French classes spent three memorable weeks in France in March/April. The tour also included the boys staying with host families and attending school in Nancy. The tour leader was the French teacher and Head of Languages, Mrs Lynne Yeabsley. A photograph of the boys visiting Chambord Chateau in France is included in this entry. The Junior School boys travelled for the first time to Canberra by plane for their annual tour. For the first time, this year a group of 30 boys from Grammar Junior travelled to New Zealand to play Rugby and Soccer against several other schools. The boys were accompanied by Mr Sharpe, Mrs Williams and Mr Henderson. On February 25-27th the Queensland Shield Cricket team was competing in the Pura Cup against South Australia at the ‘Gabba’. Of significance was the fact that in the team were three Old Toowoomba Grammarians – Wade Seccombe (Captain of the 1st XI in 1988), Martin Love (ViceCaptain of the 1st XI in 1991) and Lachlan Stevens (Captain of the 1st XI in 1995 and 1996). In October in Brisbane, during the Commissioning Ceremony of the HMAS Toowoomba II, a representative of the Old Boys’ Association made a presentation to the Commander of HMAS Toowoomba II of a painting of HMAS Toowoomba I in battle. Underneath the painting was a list of TGS Old Boys who had served in the Navy. This gesture was initiated by Mick Storrs (19591962) and Commodore William Taylor RAN Ret’d (1953-1956) made the presentation. At the TGS OBA reunion dinner, the Toast to the School was proposed by Tony Skoien (1952-1955) and the Headmaster responded by highlighting some of the events of the past year. The Brisbane Branch of the OBA annual reunion dinner was held at the Tattersall’s Club with the guest speaker, Bill Hauritz, providing an entertaining history of the Woodford Folk Festival. The Headmaster and Director of Development attended Old Boys’ reunions in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Townsville, Cairns and Darwin. Groom-Freshney won the Headmaster’s Shield competition which, for the first time, included the inter-House Choral competition.

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In Athletics, the School’s athletes came 7th in the GPS Track and Field championships. Todd Garsden produced a GPS record winning jump of 1.88m in the U14 high jump (and another GPS high jump record in the following year – see 2006 ‘Athletics’). In Basketball, most of the Basketball games were played at St Mary’s (Toowoomba) new stadium. The 1sts Basketball team did not win a GPS game this season with the biggest defeat being from BBC (39-107). The Captain of Basketball, Cameron Weber, was in the Open 1sts V for four years. In his annual summary of the games he wrote: “Success is not measured by the wins but by the effort that is put in…” Cameron Weber was to join the staff of TGS in 2021 as a qualified Sports Scientist and full-time strength and conditioning coach (see 2023). In Chess, the 1st IV won matches over GT (3-1), NC (2½ -1½) and IGS (4-0) as well as a draw with BBC (2-2). This was a considerable improvement on last year’s result of no wins and 3 draws. The Premier Chess team also qualified for the Queensland School Championships held in Brisbane and was placed 6th in this competition. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team won the GPS Cricket Premiership (the Earle Williams Trophy), last won by the School in 2000 (and prior to that in 1990, 1988, 1987, 1986, and 1936 and an unofficial title in 1944 during World War II). The GPS Premiership winning team was captained by Jason Fenwick and coached by Mr (later Dr) Ian Waite who commenced teaching at the School in 1988 (and was still teaching there in 2024). The 1st XI Cricket team also won the Queensland Schools’ title. A photograph of the Premiership winning 1st XI team is included in this year’s entry. The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team, Jason Fenwick, was to assist the School in 2019 as Assistant Coach of the 1st XI (until the end of 2023). Jason Fenwick was to take the second most wickets of all TGS 1st XI bowlers during the decade of the 2000s. Over his GPS 1st XI playing career (20032005) Jason took 43 GPS wickets, second to Steven Glover (1998-2000) with 48 wickets. A photograph of Jason Fenwick as a pace bowler is included in this year’s entry. The 1st XI Cricket team won all GPS cricket games this season except for Brisbane Grammar School. Some of the wins were by very narrow margins such as against BSHS (by 10 runs), IGS (by 3 runs) and NC (by 2 runs). In the 1st XI Cricket game against ‘Churchie’, Captain Jason Fenwick took 6 wickets for 14 runs off 12 overs. The Churchie team was dismissed for just 69 runs in the 40th over and TGS won by 68 runs. In this game TGS batsman Andrew Krelle hit 2 sixes in his 32 runs scored. In the match against BSHS, a nine-wicket partnership of 64 was made by Joel Roxby and Matt Dennis. Toby Tapscott played his first game in the School’s 1st XI cricket team later in the season having been promoted from the 2nd XI. In Toby’s first game in the Firsts playing against IGS he hit 37 runs which included three massive sixes. In the final 1st XI match of the GPS cricket season, against BBC, the team smashed 5 for 292, Toby Tapscott, in only his second game for the 1st XI, scored 106 not out and Joel Roxby scored 112 not out (including 14 fours and 3 sixes). The partnership of 236 runs remains the highest sixth wicket partnership in the School’s history. A further record was set in that it was the first time that two 1st XI batsmen had scored centuries in one innings since 1948. A photograph of the team in front of the Gillies scoreboard with the BBC result confirming its Premiership win is included in this year’s entry.

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In the 1st XI cricket team were the two Dennis twins – Simon and Matthew. Their father, Russell Dennis, was a talented fast bowler for TGS from 1974-1977. Twenty-six of the School’s cricketers toured the United Kingdom on a three-week tour (15 games) during the June/July holidays. The supervising teachers were Mr Anderson, Mr Tetzlaff and Mrs Humphries. The School was hugely relieved to hear that the squad had left London safely within hours of a horrific terrorist bombing attack on the city. In this year the GPS Association amended the limited overs concept from 65 overs to 60 overs to be faced by the batting team. No restriction was placed on the number of overs bowled by any bowler (see 2013). In Cross Country, two of the School’s Open runners placed 3rd and 4th in the GPS Cross Country championships – Lachlan Stuart and Jai Cavanough. Despite the efforts of all team members who competed, TGS finished a disappointing ninth. In Rugby, the 1st XV recorded only one win in the GPS competition, against BBC (16-15) but also defeated Downlands College (26-20). Significant defeats were inflicted by 1st XV teams representing NC (16-40), ‘Churchie’ (8-36) and TSS (7-38). The Vice Captain of the 1st XV, Andrew Krelle (2001-2005), reflected on the 2005 GPS Rugby season when he returned to the School ten years later. He said: “Looking back ten years ago you could say the competition back then was very competitive with very good young players running around who got picked up out of school and have continued on playing professionally such as Lagi Setu (Roosters) and Will Chambers (Storm) who are in the NRL and James Hanson (GT), David Pocock (ACGS), Will Genia (BBC), Nemani Nadolo (NC) and Quade Cooper (ACGS) who are all playing Super Rugby.” Indicative of the rugby talent in the GPS Rugby competition was David Pocock in the Churchie 1st XV. David made his debut as a Wallaby in 2008 and was Captain of the Wallabies in 2012. Another indication of the extent of rugby competition was the BBC 1st XV player, Will Genia, who later was the 10th Wallaby to play 100 Tests for Australia. Representing NC in Rugby was Will Chambers, at Nudgee from 2002-2005. Later, Will represented Queensland in Rugby League in the State of Origin and was also in the Australian team (the 800th Australian Kangaroo). The Coaches of the 1st XV this year were Messrs. Mark Nairn and Lance Treloar and for the following two years. In Soccer, the 1st XI did not win a GPS game and drew with GT. Some of the scores were very onesided: BGS (7-1), ‘Churchie’ (4-0), and BSHS (4-1). The only consolation was an extremely strong performance to beat Downlands College in a non-GPS fixture, 7-1. In Swimming, in the GPS championships, the School’s swimmers swam personal best times in 16 of the 32 individual events contested. Despite this, the team was placed 9th in this highly competitive event attracting some of the country’s best swimmers. In Tennis, the 1st IV lost all games with its best performance being four rubbers all against NC. Representing TSS in Tennis this year was Bernard Tomic, who later had a career-high ranking as world number 17 in tennis. Bernard studied at TSS for only one year before pursuing his professional tennis career. In Volleyball, the 1st Volleyball team achieved equal 2nd place in the GPS Volleyball championships with the team defeating all other GPS First Volleyball teams with the exception of BGS and IGS. The winning games included ‘Churchie’ (3 sets to nil), BSHS (3-1), BBC (3-2), NC (3-0) and GT (30). The Captain was Cameron Weber who represented the State in this sport at the Under 15 and 17 years level and he was also the Captain of the School’s Open Basketball team, being in the 1st V for four years. Cameron was to return to the School in 2020 as an Assistant Coach with the Page | 787


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School’s 1st V Basketball team and also a Strength and Conditioning Coach for various sports. His engagement with the School transferred to being a full-time employee in 2021 as a strength and conditioning coach. In the Adventure Club, the boys walked in the Border Ranges, Main Range and Girraween, seakayaked in the southern part of Moreton Bay and floated hundreds of feet in the air above the Byron Coast in hang-gliders. In Cadets, the Passing Out Parade was held in the Parents’ Cover and the Assembly Hall due to wet weather making the use of the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval impossible. In Drama, an outstanding major school musical was performed. It was the classic musical and famous adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion - My Fair Lady, at the Empire Theatre in conjunction with Fairholme College (with a cast of 114 boys and over 100 girls). Pygmalion was first performed by TGS in 1960. The Teacher-in-Charge of Drama, Mr Todd Harm, was the Producer and was deserving of the highest praise. Similarly, the incredibly talented cast and crew were most professional in their efforts with the leads being delivered by Tom Wendland and William Hopson as Henry Higgins, Tim O’Sullivan as Colonel Pickering, Oliver Lavers as Alfie Doolittle and David Faraker as Freddie. In Music, in the Toowoomba Instrumental Eisteddfod, first places were won by Gareth Channon, Jeremy Peacock, Harrison Tait, Simon Thomas and Steven Thornely. In the Toowoomba Choral Eisteddfod, the Grammarphones (led by Alex Bond and conducted by Mr Neil Roche-Kelly) won first place in the Secondary Boys’ Choirs.

Downlands Competition: • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy after bowling Downlands out for 48 runs. All cricket games were won by TGS against Downlands on this day. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup (26-20). The 1st XI Soccer team retained the P&F Cup (7-1). The swimmers won the Swimming trophy for the 15th year in succession, 356 points to 241. This was the last year of the Swimming competition between the two schools and the ‘swimming baton’ was held by TGS in perpetuity and displayed in the School Museum. The ‘swimming baton’ and the swimming carnival were initiated in 1943 and a photograph of the baton is included in this year’s entry. This year was the last competition for the Father Graham Memorial Athletics Trophy, initiated in 1967, at the request of Downlands College. This year, TGS won 626 points to 417. The trophy was returned to Downlands College in perpetuity. The School defeated Downlands College in the Grand Final of the AFL Queensland Darling Downs Independent Schools’ Cup – TGS 14 goals, 8 behinds (92 points) to 4 goals, 8 behinds (32 points).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Hugh Mackay, Psychologist, Commentator, Author and Social Researcher (who taught at TGS in 1959). A summary of Hugh Mackay’s wonderful speech is printed in Omnibus, vol.25, no.1, April 2015, pg1-2.

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2005 2005

Student Leaders (L-R) Bryce Mooring, Nathan Vickery and Senior Prefect, Harrison Humphries Student Leaders (L-R) Bryce Mooring, Nathan Vickery and Senior Prefect, Harrison Humphries

Teaching Staff Teaching Staff

The School Prefects The School Prefects

GPS Cricket Premiership winning team GPS Cricket Premiership winning team

Jason Fenwick, Captain of 1st XI Cricket Premiership team Jason Fenwick, Captain of 1st XI Cricket Premiership team

Distinguished Old Boys Addressing Assembly, (L-R) Mr Jack Doyle, Mr Eric Evans & Mr John Handley Distinguished Old Boys Addressing Assembly, (L-R) Mr Jack Doyle, Mr Eric Evans & Mr John Handley

Memories of Wartime Exhibition Memories of Wartime Exhibition

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2005 (cont.) 2005 (cont.)

First Year of ‘Prep’

First Year of ‘Prep’

The Swimming Baton, TGS v DC

The Swimming Baton, TGS v DC

Language Students Tour to France Senior Prefect Harrison Humphries later as a School Trustee Language Students Tour to France Senior Prefect Harrison Humphries later as a School Trustee

Preparing New Pop-Up Underground Watering System on School Ovals in December Preparing New Pop-Up Underground Watering System on School Ovals in December

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2006 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 8th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 2nd year)

Trustees: Dr Kerry Milne resigned from the Board at the end of the year. Mr Russ Johnson was invited to Chair the Finance Committee.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Roger D. Buttenshaw (in his 19th year). Mr Buttenshaw resigned at the end of the year after 19 years as Deputy Headmaster. For his outstanding service to the School, Mr Buttenshaw’s name is recognised at the School’s annual Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony with the award: Roger Buttenshaw Prize for an Exemplary Role Model (see below). In this year Mr Buttenshaw was presented with Honorary Membership of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association in acknowledgement of his service to the School and to the Association.

Senior Prefect: Marc A.S.N. Barker Senior Dayboy Prefect: Matthew J. Dennis Senior Boarder Prefect: Geoffrey W. Smith Dux of Year: David A. Rathmell

Total School Enrolment: 919 Senior School Total: 714 Junior School Total: 205 (with 12 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 638 Number of Boarders: 281

Staffing: •

Mr Roger Buttenshaw resigned at the end of the year after 19 years as Deputy Headmaster to reside and work on the Sunshine Coast. He was the longest-serving Deputy Headmaster in the School’s history (1988-2006). Mr Buttenshaw was also the Acting Headmaster from December 1989 to May 1990 and from May to December 1991. His wife, Julie, also immersed herself fully in the life of the School including major contributions to the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association, the P&F Balls, the Book Pool and as a House Mother of the Junior School boarders. Roger and Julie Buttenshaw’s two sons were both awarded the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Page | 791


Outstanding Contribution to TGS – Nicholas in 2001 and Simon in 2004. A tribute to Roger Buttenshaw’s outstanding contribution to the School was included in the School Magazine of this year (pages 25-26) including the Headmaster’s Annual Report. A photograph of Mr Buttenshaw at his farewell is included in this year’s entry. Mr Darrell Pierpoint retired as the School’s Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees (19752006). Mr Pierpoint was the second longest-serving Secretary to the Board of Trustees and his contribution to the School was also documented in the Headmaster’s Report of this year included in the School Magazine. Mr Graham Woolacott joined the staff as the new Chief Financial Officer (and Secretary to the Board of Trustees) in August following the retirement of Mr Darrell Pierpoint. Mr Woolacott was only the eighth person to hold the position of Secretary to the Board of Trustees since 1874 (see 2018). Mrs Denise Miller retired after 40 years of service to the School as Secretary to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees/Chief Financial Officer (see 1967 and 1986) at the end of the year. Mrs Miller had been employed at the School since 1967 and, with Mrs Judy Gillies, worked for four Headmasters of the School – Headmasters Olsen, Dent, Rose and Hauser. A very interesting article outlining Denise’s association with the School over 40 years was printed in the Omnibus magazine, Vol.17, No.1, April 2007 on page 16. In the article Denise recalled in the early days of her employment at the School she used a manual typewriter, manual adding machine and the accounts and receipts of the School were handwritten. She also said that parents would frequently come in and pay the school fees in cash or by cheque, sometimes even receiving cash in the mail which upset the auditors. When Denise first started, the financial administration staff were all in the front office. There were only three staff; the Secretary to the Board of Trustees, the office junior and Denise. Following retirement, Mrs Miller was appointed as a part-time Curator of the School Museum in 2008, a role in which she still served in 2024. Mr Brian Hewitt resigned at the end of the year as Director of Information Technology and a member of the School Executive to become the Headmaster of Blackheath and Thornburgh College in Charters Towers. Mrs Lynne Yeabsley, the Head of the Languages Department, was appointed to the newly created role on the School Executive titled Director of Pastoral Care. Mrs Yeabsley was the first woman in the School’s history to be appointed as a Housemaster (1996), Head of Department (2001) and member of the School Executive (2006). She commenced teaching at the School in 1988 and was still teaching French at TGS in 2024. Ms Lisa Thomson was congratulated on her appointment as a Day Housemaster of GroomFreshney House following Mrs Yeabsley’s promotion to the School Executive as Director of Pastoral Care. Mr Terry Bourke retired at the end of Term 2 after making a significant contribution to School and boarding life with 13½ years as the Housemaster of Stephens Boarding House. Mr Bourke was also the Teacher in Charge of Art. Former member of staff, Mr Jim Tamvakis, returned to the School after having been the Director of Boarding at Anglican Church Grammar School ‘Churchie’. Mr Tamvakis is married to the eldest daughter (Tessa) of Mr Bill and Mrs Marion Dent. Mr Dent was the School’s second longestserving Headmaster from 1970-1991 although he actually began teaching at TGS in 1965 when he was initially appointed as Housemaster of School House. Tessa Tamvakis (nee Dent) also worked at the School as an Assistant Librarian and Archivist. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr E. Smith (Boyce-Henderson), Mr T. Lavelle (GroomFreshney), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mr T. Bourke (Stephens-Partridge) Terms 1-2 and Page | 792


Mr N. McMahon from Term 3, Mr L. Treloar (Taylor-Gibson) and Mr K. Thompson (Terms 1-3) and Mr M. Sharpe (Term 4) (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Peter Bromley. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Ms L. Thomson (Groom-Freshney), Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor-Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Boyce-Henderson) and Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens-Partridge). Ms Lisa Thomson became only the second female Day Housemaster (Groom-Freshney House) in the School’s history when she succeeded Mrs Lynne Yeabsley who had been promoted as Director of Pastoral Care. Ms Thomson held this position for two years followed by Mrs Karen Catlow as Day Housemaster from 2008-2016.

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Marc Barker, Matthew Dennis, Geoffrey Smith, Donovan Baker, Aiden Cushnahan, William Hanton, Mitchell Hogan, Thomas Inch, Paul King, Angus MacDiarmid, William Mackenzie, Dugald Macleod, Jack Michelmore, Timothy O’Sullivan, David Rathmell, Benjamin Single, Fraser Stirling, Toby Tapscott, Zack Weedon and Peter Wylie. Fifteen Year 12 students achieved an OP One (the highest ever recorded at the School since the inception of the OP system of assessment in 1992) – Marc Barker, Graham Coupland, Thomas Crawley-Smith, Aiden Cushnahan, Richard Gunningham, Ryan Heckscher, Paul King, Oliver Lavers, John O’Bryan, Alex Pun, David Rathmell, Cavan Reid, Benjamin Single, Matthew Topp and Alistair Varidel. The success of these boys and the School was very favourably publicised by the media as illustrated in a photograph included in this year’s entry with the newspaper article heading “Grammar is Our Smartest School”. The OP One recipients represented 14.6% of the TGS Year 12 cohort whilst the equivalent statistic for all Year 12 students in the State was 2.5%. The Senior Prefect, Marc Barker, was one of only four young men to be selected by The Order of Australia (QLD) Association for a Student Citizenship Award. Marc was presented with this Award by The Governor, Her Excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce AC. A photograph of Marc Barker and The Governor is included in this year’s entry. Earlier in the year Marc was selected by the National Youth Science Forum to visit Moscow and St Petersburg. Marc was also awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Marc was, in 2016, residing in Ottawa, Canada and working with Palantir Technology. Geoffrey Smith (2002-2006 and Senior Boarder Prefect) was named Queensland's 2025 Australian of the Year. As a data analyst he co-founded Australian Spatial Analytics, a business which helps train and employ young neurodiverse people to work as geospatial analysts. Of the firm's employees, 80 per cent are neurodivergent and 61 per cent have come from long-term unemployment. Oliver Lavers was one of only 57 boys in Queensland to receive a highly prestigious Lord Florey Student Prize (in previous and post years known as the Australian Students’ Prize). Oliver Lavers is the son of Old Boy Ken Lavers (1974-1978), a long-serving member of the teaching staff of Toowoomba Grammar School from 1990–2020. Tim O’Sullivan (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Simon Thomas was invited to join the Queensland Youth Environmental Council as one of only 15 members.

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Alec Mackenzie (2000-2006) became a helicopter pilot at the Oakey Army Aviation Training Centre and felt privileged to be able to land on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval in mid-October 2016 and take cadets on a ride in the helicopter. A photograph of Alec landing the helicopter at the School is included in this year’s entry. Stuart Valdal (2003-2006) returned to the School in 2020 to speak to the boys at an Assembly in his capacity as founder and manager of a most successful construction company, Valdal Projects. Thomas Crawley-Smith, Thomas Holt and Jason Squires gained ADFA Education Awards this year. In the Junior School, Angus Fraser was awarded Dux of the year.

Buildings: • •

An aerial photograph of the School’s campus is included in this year’s entry. The Margery Hobbs memorial stained glass windows in Old Hall were unveiled. These beautiful windows were donated by Old Boy Mr Graham Hobbs (1949-1952) in memory of his wife. They complemented the Woodward stained glass windows in Old Hall installed in 1999. These windows were donated by Sir A. Edward Woodward in memory of his father, Old Boy Lieutenant-Governor Sir Eric W. Woodward, Governor of New South Wales (at TGS 1911-1916). A photograph of the stunning stained glass windows in Old Hall donated by Mr Hobbs is included in this year’s entry.

Events: • • •

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The School celebrated the tenth anniversary of Grammar Junior (the Junior School). The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Mark Vaile, visited the School. The first Yalari Indigenous Education scholarship recipient enrolled in the School. The School received national attention when a documentary was screened on ABC television featuring the vision of Old Boy, Mr Waverley Stanley, (1980-1984) and the Yalari organisation promoting indigenous education. Waverley Stanley was to be the Guest Speaker at next year’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony (see ‘Students’ 1984). The School’s P&F Association’s fundraising and social activities included the annual Art Show, the Theatre Restaurant, the Melbourne Cup Day luncheon and the operation of the Pavilion’s canteen during the winter and summer seasons. The Outdoor Activities Pursuits and Cultural Week was revised. The ‘Abingdon’ site was not used extensively and the Trustees and Headmaster decided to sell the property. This was to enable a more diversified and appropriate program in the future. At a Canberra Reunion of Old Boys, Mr Lister Hopkins (1924-1927) was in attendance. A former Rhodes Scholar, Mr Hopkins, aged 97 years, vividly recounted to Headmaster Hauser times at the School in the 1920s. A photograph of Lister Hopkins at this function is included in this year’s entry. Lister Hopkins died in October 2008 and was acknowledged in the School’s publication Omnibus in this year. An Old Boys’ Reunion was also held in Sydney this year. The School welcomed back Old Boy Mr David Rowbotham AM (1939-1940), one of Australia’s best- known poets, to speak to a new formed student group, The Writers’ Circle. Mr Rowbotham is acknowledged on the School’s Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement.

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Old Boy, Mr Geoffrey Saba (1960-1963), an international concert pianist, visited the School and conducted a Master Class and workshops for the students. Mr Saba is acknowledged on the School’s Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. The large clock presented to the School by the departing Sixth Form of 1956 (see ‘Events’ 1956) was taken out of storage and restored by a current parent Mr Paul Hogan (Hogan’s Jewellers) and staff member Mr Ray Morgan. The clock was mounted on the W.M. Dent Library external brickwork. When the 1956 Old Boys returned to the School for their 50th anniversary in June 2006 they found it difficult to believe that ‘their’ clock still looked ‘as good as new’. The School was recognised as State Geography Champions for the sixth successive year. Ten students of Japanese from Years 10 and 11, accompanied by Mr Butt and Mr Lalor, visited Japan in the September holidays on a language and cultural tour. Members of the Adventure Club enjoyed an expedition to New Zealand. The boys and Mr Harvey walked the Routeburn Track and also visited Milford Sound. At Queenstown the boys experienced some adventure with jet boating, white-water rafting and the giant swing over the Shotover Canyon. The trip also included a cycling leg on the Central Otago Rail Trail and a close encounter with the royal albatrosses, fairy penguins and the New Zealand fur seals of the Otago Peninsula to the spectacular Tunnel Beach. A 20/20 cricket match was played between senior students and staff to fundraise for victims of Cyclone Larry in North Queensland. The annual cricket coaching camp in January attracted over 110 players aged between 11 and 14 years of age. Prior to this year boys were simply awarded ‘Colours’ in their respective sports. In 2006 it was decided that three levels of Colours could be awarded – Half, Full and Honour. The Coach of the Brisbane Broncos, Wayne Bennett, visited the School in February and spoke to some Year 11 and 12 students about commitment, discipline and doing the best you can in all things. Wayne Bennett was visiting Toowoomba for his team was to play the Melbourne Storm on Saturday, February 25th. On the morning of the big game the Melbourne Storm players came to the School to have a social match of cricket on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The Toowoomba City Council conducted an unsuccessful referendum relating to recycled water and stringent water restrictions were subsequently imposed. At the OBA Brisbane Branch reunion dinner held at the Queensland Cricketers’ Club in July, Old Boy Sir Bruce Watson (1942-1945) proposed the Toast and the guest speaker was Old Boy Martin Love (1990-1991). Martin gave a fascinating insight into the exciting life of a professional Queensland and Australian cricketer. Pop-up sprinkler systems were prepared and installed on Mills Oval and Old Boys’ Memorial Oval creating a far more efficient means of watering. The winner of the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Stephens-Partridge.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, at the GPS Track and Field championships, Athletics Captain, Year 12 student, Tim O’Sullivan, won the Open 200 metres event (22.01 sec.). A photograph of Tim winning this event is included in this year’s entry. Overall, the squad was placed in 8th position. At the same competition, Todd Garsden broke a GPS record to win the Under 15 high jump (2.05m). In Australian Rules Football, the School entered two teams in the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL competition and the TGS Open side was runners up losing to St Mary’s College in the Grand Final. Page | 795


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In Basketball, the highlight of the season was the team’s first (and only) win and their first win in two years – against Nudgee College (77-60). The game against BSHS, the eventual Premiers, was a difficult one being defeated 28-97. This was a rebuilding year for TGS Basketball with only two Year 12s in the squad. The 1st V Coach, Mr David Toleman, resigned after nine years in this position and the new Coach was Old Boy and Toowoomba Mountaineers player, Mr Steven Glover who was Captain of the School’s Basketball team (and Cricket and Athletics) in 2000. Steven was to coach the Open Firsts team for three years, 2006-2008 inclusive. In Chess, the 1st IV Chess team defeated Premier teams from every other GPS school apart from two drawn games with BBC and BGS to share the GPS Chess Premiership for 2006. The Captain of the team (and also in 2005) was Brock McIntyre and the team also comprised Michael Gearing, Andrew Webster and Matthew Baker. The Coach of the team was Mr Les Lord (not a member of staff) and the Master-in-Charge of Chess was Mr Jason Butt. The team drew with the team representing Brisbane Grammar School in a nail-biting final round to share the GPS Premiership with this school. A photograph of the Premiership winning 1st IV Chess team is included in this year’s entry. Chess was introduced into the inter-House competition for the first time this year. In Cricket, despite finishing 6th in the GPS competition, the 1st XI won the Australia Post State Cup. TGS player Will Hanton was named ‘Player of the Series’. The 1st XI won four GPS games and lost four. The winning games were against ‘Churchie’, GT, NC and BSHS. The Captain of Cricket, Matthew Dennis, broke his finger in a pre-season game and Will Hanton stepped up to the role of Acting Captain in the initial games. In the 1st XI game against GT, TGS bowler Jai Cavanough took 5 for 45 off 12 overs. Representing TSS in the game against TGS was Michael Neser. Michael made his debut in Australia’s One Day International (ODI) team against England in 2018. In the game against TGS and played in Toowoomba, Michael scored 92 runs (5 fours and 5 sixes) and was bowled out by Simon Dennis. Playing GPS cricket for NC from 2002-2006 was Joe Burns. In December 2014 Joe was selected to play for Australia in the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He played in the Australian Test team from 2014-2016 and made his first Test century against New Zealand at the ‘Gabba’. The first game of the current 1st XI Cricket team versus the 1st XI Cricket team of twenty years ago (TGS 1986 1st XI) was initiated on the Australia Day weekend by the then Director of Sport and Activities, Mr John Anderson (see 1963, 1986 and 2015). The 1986 GPS Premiership winning Cricket team was captained by Justin Stower who was later (in 2016-2018) to join the School’s staff as a groundsman and in charge of the turf cricket wickets. In Cross Country, the squad trained very hard in an attempt to improve on previous years’ placings with up to seven training sessions per week being completed. The boys achieved their goal with an 8th placing and being only a single point from finishing in 7th position. In Rugby, the 1st XV team only won one game in the GPS competition (over BBC, 6-0) in the first game. The 1st XV did, however, lose some games by the narrowest margins such as to Nudgee College (1 point) and BGS (2 points). The 1st XV had a day they wished to forget at ‘Churchie’. With significant injuries to the team, and with Quade Cooper (to become a rugby international) scoring four tries and setting up another four, the final result was 0-78. The Captain of the IGS 1st XV in this year was Rodney Davies who gained his Wallabies jersey in 2011. Page | 796


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• •

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In the GPS Premiership winning TSS 1st XV which defeated TGS (26-16) were two players later to be Australian Wallabies – James Slipper (from 2010-2021) and Rob Simmons (2010-2020). James Slipper was also to be in the TSS 1st XV in the following year. In December, a TGS Rugby tour to the United Kingdom was conducted with the touring party comprising 26 boys. The tour leaders were Mr Lance Treloar and Mr Mark Oliphant. In Soccer, the 1st XI won two GPS games; against ‘Churchie’ (1-0) and TSS (1-0). The largest losing margin was to BSHS, 0-7. In Swimming, although the TGS swimming team finished in last place in the GPS championships, every team member was determined in his efforts and many personal best times were achieved. In Tennis, the 1st IV team registered its first win for several years (over BSHS) and was placed 8th in the GPS competition. In Volleyball, the Open 1sts Volleyball team won all games except one (BGS) to achieve runnersup in the GPS Volleyball Premiership. The Captain of the team was Fraser Stirling and three opposing teams were defeated by TGS in straight sets (0-3) – BBC, IGS and ‘Churchie’. David Marsh was selected to the State Under 15 and 17 years Volleyball team. In Cadets, the Unit totalled 82 and for the first time in the School’s history a Year 12 Cadet, Anne Buchanan, was appointed as the Unit’s Senior Cadet Under Officer. Since this time there have been other girls hold the position of Senior CUO in the School’s Cadet Unit – Olivia Hassell (2015), Elouise Radford (2021) and Johannah Whittle (2023). In Drama, the combined TGS and The Glennie School production involving over 150 students was a self-devised comedy called Star Struck, written by TGS staff member Mr Todd Harm. This show was held ‘in the round’ in the School’s Assembly Hall over four nights to audiences in excess of 400 people per performance. The show featured Zack Weedon, Angus MacDiarmid, Nic Battersby, David Rathmell, Michael Wendland, Oliver Lavers, Ryan Heckscher, Tim Bond and many others. Chris McGovern was a specialist dancer. The Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) once again involved a select group of twenty boys (and five girls from various schools in Toowoomba) in acting various self-devised comedies. In Music, the ‘Take Note’ Music Tour this year involved 65 musicians, teachers and parents and travelled to Queensland’s Fraser Coast, in particular Hervey Bay. Performances were held at various schools and Kingfisher Resort, Fraser Island. Members of the Toowoomba Grammar Acting Academy (TiGAA) also participated in the Tour. The RnB Band, under the direction of Mr Andrew Eunson, was placed second in the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. The combined TGS and Glennie Orchestra won first place at the Eisteddfod as did the Glennie/Grammar string ensemble and The Grammarphones. The Grammarphones (an a cappella vocal ensemble) toured the USA and performed at Disneyland (after an earlier successful video audition completed in the previous year whilst in Australia) and at the New York Choral Festival. The boys spent 12 hours at Disneyland and saw sights that regular tourists would not see. They were shuttled through the buildings at the back-over to California Adventure where they performed on the six million-dollar Hollywood Back-Lot stage. The boys were well received by the audience. From Los Angeles the group travelled to San Francisco performing at a local school and visiting the former prison complex of Alcatraz Island. They then flew to New York City and prepared for a huge highlight of the tour – performing at the New York Choral Festival. After the TGS boys performed they received a standing ovation and applause that went on for several minutes. The tour leader of this amazing experience was Mr Neil Roche-Kelly, the Head of the Arts Department. A photograph of the Grammarphones and the tour is included in this year’s entry. (The Grammarphones had a similar USA tour and Disneyland performance in 2016.) In March, the Grammarphones enjoyed a successful 10-year reunion, where seventeen members from previous years joined for a memorable concert. Page | 797


Downlands Competition: •

The Swimming Carnival between the two schools was discontinued at the end of last year at the request of Downlands College and the baton was retained by TGS. The School continued to compete in the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Sports Association annual swimming carnival and in the GPS championships. The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy which was presented to the Captain by Mr Tom Allen’s son (Mr Ross Allen, TGS Old Boy 1954-1955) who travelled from Cairns to make the presentation. Mr Ross Allen, like his father, also played cricket for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield. The result of the Tom Allen game against Downlands College this year was DC 118 and TGS 4/119. At one stage in the game the Downlands side was 4 wickets down for 4 runs. The 1st XV Rugby team retained the O’Callaghan Cup, 18-17, representing the third successive victory for TGS. With only seconds to go according to the clock on the field, Downlands were 1715. The Downlands supporters rushed onto the field in anticipation, only to be informed by the former international referee, Old Boy Scott Young (see 1983), that there was still time to go according to his watch. TGS had the ball and through Downlands’ frustration they gave a penalty right in front of the uprights in the last few seconds of the game – a win to TGS! Stuart BrowningDevine converted the final penalty. TGS won 15 of the 17 rugby games played against DC on the day. The 1st XI Soccer team retained the P&F Cup (6-3) and the other Soccer game played was the 14A team playing in a curtain raiser to the 1st XI game, winning 6-0.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Andrew Metcalfe, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (Old Boy 1972-76 and Dux and Senior Dayboy Prefect)

Of Note: Mr John K. Winn, the former long-serving member of the teaching staff (1963-1997), author of the School’s history book Still Playing the Game, 1875-2000 and part-time school archivist, wrote to the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, at the end of the year. Mr Winn commented: “From the information I have at my disposal, I am more than convinced that the immediate past year (2006) has no peer to rival it in the entire history of the School. Collectively it was a period of remarkable innovation, success and achievement which ranged across an entire spectrum of endeavour. Most significantly however, it was a year which would have no doubt delighted all of the School’s selfless caretakers from the past, as well as silencing its most ardent critics…” The Headmaster at the time, Mr Peter B. Hauser, whilst extremely proud of Mr Winn’s claim, asked him to look at many other years in the School’s history such as 1932 and 1948 and other years for example. (In 2011 Mr Winn once again wrote to the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees – see the 2011 entry.)

Page | 798


2006

Aerial View of the School

Mr Roger Buttenshaw, Deputy Headmaster for 19 years

Distinguished Old Boy, Mr Lister Hopkins (1923-1927)

GPS Chess Premiership Winning Team (aeq), (L-R) Matthew Baker, Michael Gearing, Brock McIntyre & Andrew Webster, with Mr Les Lord (Coach) & Mr Jason Butt (MIC)

The Majorie Hobbs Memorial Windows in Old Hall

Old Hall

The Grammarphones performing at Disneyland

Page | 799


2006 (cont.) 2006 (cont.)

Tim O’Sullivan, GPS Open 100m Winner

Tim O’Sullivan, GPS Open 100m Winner

Alec Mackenzie landing on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval Alec Mackenzie landing on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval

Senior Prefect Marc Barker Receiving Award by Her Excellency, The Governor of Queensland Senior Prefect Marc Barker Receiving Award by Her Excellency, The Governor of Queensland

Nathan Cook & Ben Turner

Nathan Cook & Ben Turner

Excellent Year 12 Academic Results

Excellent Year 12 Academic Results

Page | 800


2007 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in 9th year)

Mr S. J. (John) Handley (in 3rd year)

Trustees: Dr K.S. Milne resigned at the end of this year.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly commenced in January having transferred from the Anglican Church Grammar School ‘Churchie’ where he had been a Head of Faculty.

Senior Prefect: Lincoln B. Humphries (see 2005) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Alexander A. Kerridge Senior Boarder Prefect: Gareth M.G. Channon and Ben P. Leeson Dux of Year: Harrison C. Tait

Captain of the Junior School: Madison C. Simmons Dux of the Junior School:

Alexander Schatz

Total School Enrolment: 944 Senior School Total: 732 Junior School Total: 212 (including 15 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 660 Number of Boarders: 284

Staffing: •

The School’s Director of Studies, Mr Alan Hill, chose to relinquish this position he had held since 1998 at the end of the year and return to full-time teaching in his capacity as Head of Geography. Mr Hill had previously been the Head of the Geography Department from 1989-1997. As Director of Studies Mr Hill did an exemplary job in leading the teaching and learning programmes throughout the Senior School over the ten years in this role. A photograph of Mr Alan Hill is included in this year’s entry. Page | 801


• •

Mr Allan Smiddy was appointed as the new Head of the History Department following the resignation of Mr Peter Nicholas/Auliciems at the end of the previous year. Mr Smiddy commenced his employment at TGS in 1998 and had been the Housemaster of Partridge Dayboy House. The Deputy Head of the Junior School (from 2002-2007), Mr Anthony Beauchamp, resigned at the end of the year. Mr Beauchamp joined the teaching staff of the Junior School in 1997. The Headmaster invited a former member of the administrative staff of the School and Honorary Old Boy, Mrs Denise Miller, back to the School later this year to prepare for the establishment of the new School Museum and Archives. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr E. Smith (Boyce-Henderson), Mr T. Harm (Groom-Freshney), Mr M. Nairn (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mr N. McMahon (Stephens-Partridge), Mr P. Bromley (TaylorGibson) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Peter Bromley. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr J. Tamvakis (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Ms L. Thomson (GroomFreshney), Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor-Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Boyce-Henderson) and Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens-Partridge).

Students: • The School Prefects were Lincoln Humphries, Alexander Kerridge, Gareth Channon, Ben Leeson, Matthew Baker, Jorge Cadona, Finlay Creedon, Rupert Dingle, Eric Donaldson, Richard Gifford, Benjamin Harris, David Lemon, Matthew Long, Nathan Maller, Alexander Rogan, Samuel Stewart, Harrison Tait and Andrew Webster. • Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Matthew Baker, Eric Donaldson, Thomas Hockings, Samuel Houston, Alexander Kerridge, Alexander Rogan, Timothy Sandstrom and Harrison Tait. • A record five boys were awarded the Australian Students’ Prize by the Commonwealth Government – Eric Donaldson, Samuel Houston, Alexander Rogan, Timothy Sandstrom and Harrison Tait. A photograph of these national academic prize-winning students is included in this year’s entry. • Alexander Rogan (Year 12) was selected to participate in a scientific study tour of Russia which was hosted by the All-Russian Youth Aerospace Society. Alexander was one of only five Year 12 students in Australia to be selected in this scientific study. • Alex Kerridge (Senior Dayboy Prefect), the Captain of Volleyball, Basketball and Athletics, was also a member of the Queensland Under 19 years’ Volleyball team. Alex was also awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He was later to graduate in Medicine in Melbourne. • Ben Harris (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. • Ruan Smith (Year 11) was selected in the Australia A Open Rugby Union Schoolboys’ side. Both he and his twin brother, Jean-Pierre (‘JP’), had arrived at the School in the previous year from South Africa but left the School at the end of this year to return to South Africa. In this year the twins played in the 1st XV Rugby team but because of their departure were unable to play in the 1st XV in 2008. In later years, returning to Australia, the twins earned selection to the Queensland Reds Super Rugby squad. ‘JP’ signed with the Reds in late 2017 and Ruan was selected to the Queensland Reds squad as a tighthead prop in 2018. A photograph of Ruan Smith is included in this year’s entry. • Gareth Channon (Year 12) won the best cellist at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod for the third year in succession. Page | 802


• •

• • • •

• •

Andrew Firth (Year 12) achieved an A.Mus.A. with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). Lincoln Humphries, Senior Prefect, later became a journalist and television news presenter at WIN Television. For over ten years Lincoln researched, produced and presented news, sport and weather on television. Harrison Tait (Year 12) gained a Best Saxophone Award at the Festival of Music held in Brisbane. Later, Harrison was a University Medallist graduating with Honours in Law and Arts from the University of Queensland. In 2014 Harrison enrolled in a Bachelor of Civil Law at Magdalen College, Oxford University and later graduated with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Law from Oxford in 2020. Harrison’s thesis was on corporate insolvency law and he is now an Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University College, London. Peter Buchanan (Year 12) was appointed as Senior Cadet Under Officer (Senior CUO) of the School’s Cadet Unit. His sister Anne was Senior CUO in 2006. Peter and Anne’s father, also Peter Buchanan, was a CUO in 1978. Their grandfather, Glen Buchanan, was a CUO in the School’s Cadet Unit in 1947. A photograph of some members of the Buchanan family and their tradition in Cadets is included in this year’s entry. Thomas Charlton (Year 12) was awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize. David Lemon (Year 12) was the third generation in the Lemon family to be appointed a School Prefect, following his father Donald Lemon (1972-1976) and grandfather Malcolm Lemon (1945-1948). Kieran Wilkie (Year 12) was selected to represent Queensland in Open Hockey. Simon Thomas (Year 12) was one of only thirty delegates appointed to the Queensland Youth Environmental Council established by the State Premier. Later, Simon completed a Bachelor of Science, Master of Bioinformatics and a Ph.D. in Machine Learning, working on artificial intelligence for medical imaging diagnosis. Samuel Ryan (2003-2007) was in the Navy from 2011 to 2018 and was on operational deployment to the Middle East on board HMAS Melbourne in 2013-2014 and was awarded several medals. Samuel later studied a Bachelor of Laws degree. Ashton Boully (2003-2007) was selected in the Queensland State Team for the National Archery titles in 2009. At that time he was ranked in the national top 20 of the open age group in archery. He was also invited to represent Australia in Poland for the World Indoor titles in 2009 but unfortunately had to decline due to the cost of the travel. Daniel Fulloon (2000-2007) in 2010 was a lighting technician with a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas, Nevada. This offered Daniel the opportunity to meet many celebrity guests having a back stage tour. Tom Newbury (2003-2007) works as a VFX artist (creating photoreal, digitally-generated imagery) with a focus on building creatures and characters for production. Some of his creations have been used in movie films screened internationally. Chris McGovern (2003-2007) was in the cast of The Mikado performing at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Samuel ‘Sam’ Stewart (2000-2007) obtained his Private Pilot’s licence through Aerotec Queensland and then converted it to a helicopter licence. In 2015 Sam had the pleasure of flying actor Hugh Jackman and his family around Uluru, whilst flying with the firm Professional Helicopter Services. Richard Pascoe (2003-2007) later had a highly successful career as an international chef. In 2011 he won the Australian Apprentice of the Year (Chef) and a Gold Medal for best performing competitor in the WorldSkills Australia National Finals in 2012. Richard gained an overall world ranking of 7th in the Australian Youth team competing in the IKA Culinary Olympics held in Erfurt, Germany. Page | 803


Four students from the Class of 2007 graduated with Degrees from the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) at the end of 2010. They were Joshua Dennis (1999-2007), Nicholas Reynolds (2003-2007), Samuel Stewart (2000-2007) and Benjamin Turner (2004-2007). They then attended the Royal Military College, Duntroon, pursuing their military careers. Joshua Dennis (1999-2007) of the 51st Battalion Far North Queensland Regiment in 2018 was a selected member of the Ensign Party presenting the Battalion Colours at the Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux, France. The year 2018 was the 100th year anniversary of the re-capture of the French town of Villers-Bretonneux by the Australians on ANZAC Day in 1918. Tom Frith (2003-2007) was the eldest of five brothers who all attended the School as boarders – Tom, Fergus (2006-2010), Oliver (2007-2011), Harry (2010-2014) and Dugald (2011-2015). Tragically, Tom lost his life in July 2024 at aged 33 when the helicopter he was piloting during the fighting of wildfires crashed after mechanical failure shortly after take-off. For the last three years of his life, Tom had been fighting wildfires in Canada. Tom’s employer, in a moving Tribute, referred to Tom as a ‘beacon of light’ and said he passed away whilst battling wildfire near Fort Good Hope, in the Northwest Territories of Canada - ‘a testament to his unwavering courage and dedication’.

Events:

• •

Year 8 dayboy James Cronin collapsed on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval with heart failure whilst walking to a Physical Education lesson and later died at the Toowoomba Base Hospital. The School continues to award the James Cronin Memorial Prize for the Most Improved Chess Player and the James Cronin Memorial Trophy Queensland Debating Union Schools’ Competition, Junior Debater of the Year (see ‘Debating’ in the 2009 entry). Following a generous bequest from the estate of the late Mrs Helen Gibson (the wife of the late Dr Ian Gibson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1973-1979) another grand piano was purchased, an Alex Steinbach. The Old Boys from 1947-1950 also donated generously to finance this purchase. This year saw the inaugural Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp held at the School which was introduced by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly. The three-day and two-night camp involved approximately 40 Year 11 boys providing 24-hour care and support to 23 younger children facing some physical or mental disability. The Camp was a wonderful experience for all involved as the guests had a great time, their families were offered the opportunity of some rare respite and the TGS students had the chance to learn about themselves in an environment where they were expected to place the needs of others ahead of their own. The Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp conducted at Toowoomba Grammar School by TGS staff led by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly, for a decade, became a permanent fixture in the school calendar including up to the School’s sesquicentenary. The School hosted a major national conference, Women Educators in All-Boys’ Schools. The School’s Director of Studies, Mrs Paulina Skerman, initiated this event. Various international tours took place this year. These included a trekking expedition in the Himalayas led by Messrs Harvey, Lavers and Roche-Kelly; an inaugural soccer (football) trip to the United Kingdom; and a French language study tour to New Caledonia (led by Mrs Van Itterbeeck and Mr Michel) and another to France (led by Mrs Yeabsley and Ms Thomson).

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• •

The Prep (Preparatory) Year was introduced into Queensland schools this year as an optional year. The Prep Year had already been introduced into the Toowoomba Grammar School Junior School two years earlier in 2005. The Queensland State Parliament passed legislation in September 2016 ensuring all children in Queensland benefit from a full-time Prep Year before starting Year 1. The Junior School celebrated the installation of large custom-made gates to its Herries Street entrance. The School installed an underground watering system with pop-up sprinklers for all of its sporting ovals. The former method of watering the grounds using above-surface sprays was deemed to be inefficient and with the pop-up sprinklers the School decreased its use of water for irrigation by over thirty-five per cent. A Business Breakfast was held by the Old Boys’ Association and Old Boy and current member of staff, Michael McKenna (1988-1992), spoke about his experiences in Iraq. A similar Business Breakfast in Brisbane was held at King’s College, UQ, and the guest speaker was Howard Arbuthnot (1980-1984) talking about his experiences of elite sport (see 1984). The TGS 60-year TGS group dinner (senior year 1947) was held on a Friday evening at the Burke and Wills Hotel and the Old Boys’ Association reunion dinner the following night at the Cathedral Centre in Toowoomba. Fourteen of the senior year of 1947 attended the dinner. Guests included Ric Lightbody who had travelled from England for the occasion. Ten years’ later, at the 70-year reunion dinner of the 1947-year group, sadly there were only four of the 1947 school leavers present – Col Morwood, ‘Bunny’ Powne, Geoff ‘Sol’ Grundy and Glen Buchanan. These four gentlemen were acknowledged at the Old Boys’ Association annual reunion dinner held at Rumours International in Toowoomba. Mackintosh-Chauvel House won the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• • • • • • • •

In Athletics, at the GPS Track and Field championships, the School’s team won the premier event of the night, the 4 x 100m relay. The winning team comprised Jeremy Elliot, Alex Kerridge, Matt Baker and Mac Alison. Mac Alison (Under 18, 100m) and Lachlan Sturt (Under 17, 800m) were selected in the Queensland team to compete in the Australian All Schools’ Championships held at Homebush Bay, Sydney, in December. Mac Alison broke a 15-year drought to place third in the GPS Open 100 metres. The team finished in 8th place in the GPS competition. In Australian Rules Football, the School entered one team in the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL competition. The team finished runners-up in the Grand Final of the Cup. In Basketball, the School’s Open 1sts, 2nds and 3rds teams collectively did not win a GPS game during the Basketball season. Despite this, the determination of every player was admirable. The BSHS basketball team had state and national players and defeated TGS 96-40. In Chess, the Captain of the School’s Open Premier team, Michael Gearing, was one of the top five place getters in the Australian Under 18 Chess titles held in Canberra. The Premier Chess team could not match the Premiership-winning success of the previous year but had wins against TSS, IGS, GT and a draw with NC. The Premier Chess team won the Queensland Regional Schools’ Championships. In Cricket, only three players from the previous year’s 1st XI returned for this season.

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• •

• • •

• • • •

The 1st XI won two games this season (BBC, 5/151-94; and ‘Churchie’, 8/158-125) and the team finished in 6th position. A particularly encouraging win was against BBC under difficult circumstances of a wet wicket and outfield, a delayed start and fading light. Finlay Creedon captained the side and the two Donaldson brothers, Eric and Fraser, were members of the team. In a 1st XI cricket game, the Captain, Finlay Creedon (Year 12), took five wickets for 21 runs against Anglican Church Grammar School (‘Churchie’). In a major batting collapse by the team against BSHS, TGS batting was 3 wickets down for 88 runs and then was bowled all out just 11 runs later for 99. A similar batting collapse occurred against GT when TGS lost six wickets for just 5 runs. The major defeat of the year was in the match when IGS (5/272) d TGS (9/122). In Cross Country, the School was successful in winning the Darling Downs Cross Country Trophy for the 17th consecutive year. In Rugby, the 1st XV enjoyed one win during the season, against GT, 23-7. Some punishing defeats were inflicted on the team by Nudgee College (45-3) and BSHS (43-12). Jake Cooley had been a member of the 1st XV since Year 10 but his final season was cut short by an injury sustained in a trial rugby match against Marist Ashgrove. Jake was still named Vice Captain of the team in recognition of his involvement and success in previous 1st XV teams. 1st XV team members and twin brothers, JP and Ruan Smith, returned to South Africa with their family at the end of the year and were unable to play 1st XV for TGS in 2008. This year Ruan Smith was selected in the Australia A schoolboys’ rugby team. Both boys advanced to become professional rugby union players including playing with the Queensland Reds (2018-2020). The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014 (pp.32-35) contained an article featuring an interview with Ruan Smith and the Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, about Ruan’s professional rugby career and his rugby schooldays at TGS. This was a year in which a number of 1st XV players from the competing GPS schools were later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as Wallabies. They included 1st XV players from NC, TSS, BBC and BSHS (see below). In the victorious NC 1st XV was James O’Connor. James was to become the second youngest Wallaby in Australian rugby history at the age of 18 years. He has over 25 Caps for the Wallabies. Also in the NC 1st XV was Joe Tomane who was also to represent Australia in Rugby as a Wallaby. In the GPS Premiership winning TSS 1st XV were two players later to be Australian Wallabies – James Slipper (and former Captain of the Queensland Reds and Wallaby 2010-2021) and Ben Tapuai (Wallaby 2011). Representing BBC in the 1st XV was Dane Gagai who later was to represent Australia in Rugby League and was also a Queensland Origin player. A BSHS 1st XV player, Matt To’omua, was later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby. A rugby dinner was held and the Guest Speaker was former Australian Wallabies Coach and TGS Old Boy, Mr Alan Jones (1955-1958). In Soccer, the School’s first international Soccer tour (to the United Kingdom) took place in September. The Master-in-Charge of Soccer, Mr Paul Kalinowski, was the leader of the tour and he was accompanied by the Director of Soccer Coaching, Mr Dean Simpkins. The tour provided the sixteen boys with the opportunity to watch Premier League matches, train with club and academy coaches and play matches against English Club junior sides. The boys visited Sheffield, York, Cambridge, Hertfordshire and London. The 1st XI Soccer season started perfectly with a 4-0 win against The Southport School but unfortunately this was the team’s only win during the season. The next game was a 0-4 defeat from BGS. There were two drawn games during the season (1-1) against ‘Churchie’ and BSHS. Page | 806


• • •

• •

• •

• •

The 1st XI Soccer drawn game against BSHS was encouraging given their 7-0 defeat over TGS in the previous year. In Swimming, the School’s swimming squad finished in 9th place at the GPS Swimming championships. In Tennis, the 1st IV team had one of the School’s best performing seasons for over a decade. The team was placed 6th in the GPS competition and also placed 6th in the Queensland Team Tennis competition. The team also won the Queensland regional schools’ championship. The Tennis 1st IV games won included those against IGS, GT and ‘Churchie’. These games were four rubbers all but the closest match was against ‘Churchie’ – 4 rubbers all, 9 sets all, and TGS winning on games 80-76. In Volleyball, the 1st VI team was ranked 3rd in the GPS competition (and also 3rd in the next year). The team lost only two matches during the season (to BGS and GT). The 3rd placing meant the School had been placed in the top three rankings in GPS Volleyball in each of the last three years. The warning signs for the 1st VI Volleyball team against GT did not bode well. Andrew Rae who was starting to show his dominance against all opposition suffered a serious ankle injury during training preventing him from playing for the rest of the season. The team’s Vice Captain, David Lemon, succumbed to a dislocated knee and the bus had a tyre puncture on the way to Brisbane for the team to play on the GT courts. The 1st VI Volleyball team’s five winning GPS games (out of seven) included: BSHS (3-0), NC (3-0), ‘Churchie’ (3-1), BBC (3-0) and IGS (3-1). The Adventure Club’s expedition to Nepal was led by Mr Bob Harvey, Mr Ken Lavers and Mr Neil Roche-Kelly. The boys received an overwhelming reception when they visited a local village school, the Shree Belbhanjyang Primary School. A band played the local version of a triumphal march as the boys entered, banners had been erected over a welcome arch, while everyone from schoolchildren to grandparents, arrayed in their best outfits, daubed the boys’ foreheads with bindi spots and presented flowers. Apart from experiencing the wonderment of first-time travellers to Kathmandu, the boys and staff trekked the southern edge of the Annapurna Himal with the lakeside town of Pokhara as the base and visited the Chitwan National Park near the border with India. In Cadets, the Officer Commanding the School’s Cadet Unit, Captain Richard Gehmann, relinquished his role at the end of the year. The entire School, for the first time, watched the Passing Out Parade of the School’s Cadet Unit on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. Nine Year 12 Cadets were congratulated on completing five years of service to the Cadet Unit. A photograph of an ADFA Graduation Ceremony in 2011 is included in this year’s entry featuring four former Year 12 students of 2007 - Joshua Dennis (1999-2007), Nicholas Reynolds (20032007), Samuel Stewart (2000-2007) and Benjamin Turner (2004-2007). The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme was re-introduced into the School’s co-curricular program. This offering was via the School’s Cadet Unit. In Drama, 80 boys were involved in the school musical, Oklahoma!, in conjunction with approximately 100 girls from Fairholme College, performed at the Empire Theatre. The show was, once again, an outstanding production through the efforts of Mr Todd Harm as producer, Mr Neil Roche-Kelly (vocals), Mr Andrew Eunson (orchestra), cast, crew and musicians. The male leads were Simon Thomas (Curly), Joshua Dennis (Will Parker), Nicholas Battersby (Jud Fry) and Jack Mackenzie (Ali Hakim). A photograph of some of the talented cast is included in this year’s entry. The Junior School held its inaugural musical Pinnochio which involved every boy.

Page | 807


Downlands Competition: • The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC all out 109; TGS 2/110). • The 1st XI Soccer team retained the P & F Cup (1-0). • The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup (13-20).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Chris J. Wicks (1981-1985) was elected as President of the OBA for a 2-year term (2007 – 2008). Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Waverley Stanley, Chairman, The Yalari Foundation (Old Boy 1980-1984) As part of his address, Mr Stanley said, as he made reference to his time at this School: “Now the young Indigenous boy who turned up to the School in the right uniform at the wrong time has grown into a man and the person I am today is because of the discipline, respect, support and education from one of the best schools in Australia.”

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2007 2007

Junior School Billy Carts Junior School Billy Carts

Mr Alan Hill, long serving member of staff and Director of Studies, 1998-2007

Ruan Smith, 1st XV

Mr Alan Hill, long serving member of staff and Director of Studies, 1998-2007

Ruan Smith, 1st XV

Australian Student Prize Winners (L-R) Eric Donaldson, Alexander Rogan, Timothy Sandstrom, Samuel Houston, & Harrison Tait Australian Student Prize Winners (L-R) Eric Donaldson, Alexander Rogan, Timothy Sandstrom, Samuel Houston, & Harrison Tait

ADFA Graduates in 2010, (L-R) Joshua Dennis, Nicholas Reynolds, Samuel Stewart & Benjamin Turner ADFA Graduates in 2010, (L-R) Joshua Dennis, Nicholas Reynolds, Samuel Stewart & Benjamin Turner The Buchanan Family Cadet Tradition The Buchanan Family Cadet Tradition GPS Open 4x100m Winning Team, (L-R) Mr P.Bromley, Jeremy Elliot, Matt Baker, Mac Alison & Alex Kerridge GPS Open 4x100m Winning Team, (L-R) Mr P.Bromley, Jeremy Elliot, Matt Baker, Mac Alison & Alex Kerridge

School Musical, Oklahoma! School Musical, Oklahoma!

Page | 809


2008 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 10th year as Chairman)

Mr John Handley (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Following Mr Kerry Milne’s resignation from the Board of Trustees in the previous year there was a delay in the replacement of a Trustee. There were only six Trustees on the Board this year. Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 6th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 2nd year) Senior Prefect: Lachlan A. Inch (whose mother, Mrs Sue Inch, was a member of the teaching staff of the School from January 1996 to June 1999). Senior Dayboy Prefect: William B. Yates (who, in 2016, was the School’s Guest Speaker at the Speech Day and Price-Giving Ceremony) Senior Boarder Prefect: Robert H. Speed Dux of Year: Sajith Karunasena Captain of the Junior School: Hugh ‘Bud’ Cruickshank Dux of the Junior School:

Joshua Perkins

Total School Enrolment: 940 Senior School Total: 731 Junior School Total: 209 Number of Dayboys: 654 Number of Boarders: 286 Staffing: • •

The School celebrated Mrs Judy Gillies’ 50th year of service at the School (see the ‘Events’ section below). Mrs Paulina Skerman, the former Head of the English Department, was promoted to the position of Director of Studies and was consequently a member of the School Executive. This followed Mr Alan Hill’s relinquishment of the position at the end of last year after ten years. Mrs Skerman resigned from the School in December 2011 and in 2015 was appointed to the position of Principal of St. Patrick’s College in Townsville and in 2020 to the position of Principal of Santa Sabina College in Sydney.

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Mr Roger Harris was appointed to the role of Head of the Mathematics Department following the resignation of Mr ‘Sandy’ Sanderson at the end of the first semester. Mr Sanderson had been the Head of the Mathematics Department from 1988 to June 2008. Mr Harris decided to relinquish this position of Head of Mathematics at the end of 2019 but continued to teach Senior Mathematics at the School until his resignation at the end of 2021 to transfer to Rockhampton Grammar School. Mr Harris’s wife, Kate, had been appointed the Head of the Junior School of Rockhampton Grammar School. Current staff member, Mr Michael ‘Mike’ Sharpe commenced as Deputy Head of the Junior School following the resignation of Mr A. Beauchamp at the end of the previous year. Mr Sharpe commenced teaching in the Junior School in 2003 and retired in 2024. The model for paying staff for their co-curricular involvement (see 1998) was revised and was based on a points model. This model evolved year-on-year. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr D. Kuhn (Boyce-Henderson), Mr T. Harm (Groom-Freshney), Mr M. Nairn (Term 1), Mr J. Noble (Term 2-4) (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mr N. McMahon (StephensPartridge), Mr P. Bromley (Taylor-Gibson) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Peter Bromley. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr J. Tamvakis (Mackintosh-Chauvel), Mrs K. Catlow (GroomFreshney), Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor-Gibson), Mr I. Waite (Boyce-Henderson) and Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens-Partridge). Mrs Karen Catlow was appointed as the Day Housemaster of Groom-Freshney (2008-2016).

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The School Prefects were Lachlan Inch, William Yates, Robert Speed, Daniel Burrett, Nathan Cook, Nicholas Finlay, Christopher Jackson, Alistair Lavers, David Lindsay, John Maunder, Andrew Powne, Andrew Robertson, Samuel Single, Lachlan Strohfeldt and Nathan Wallwork. Three Year 12 young men achieved an OP One - Sajith Karunasena, John Maunder and William Yates. Sajith Karunasena (Dux) was one of 500 students in Australia who received the Australian Students’ Prize. This Prize was one part of the Australian Government’s strategy to recognise academic excellence and achievement in secondary education. Daniel Burrett (2001-2008), School Prefect, President of the Interact Club and Captain of Debating, was later to be elected as President of the Toowoomba Grammar School’s Old Boys’ Association (from 2018 to 2020) having previously served as a Co-Vice President for two years. Daniel was re-elected as President of the Old Boys’ Association in 2024 for a three-year term. In Year 12 Daniel was awarded a Certificate for Community Service by The Order of Australia Association. Daniel was also the recipient of an Award presented by the Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council for his commitment to serving others. This year Daniel was also the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Lachlan Inch, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. After school Lachlan graduated in Medicine. Thomas Versace came third in Australia in a rifle shooting competition. Andrew Hart (2004-2008), a young man with multiple disabilities, died in the following year following medical complications after surgery. A rugby award is named after Andrew titled the “Andrew Hart Memorial Award for 13A Rugby” and is awarded to a player who best epitomises the value of ‘Putting the Team First’ at training and during matches; not necessarily the most

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talented player. Due to Andrew’s physical disabilities he was unable to play rugby but keenly volunteered to be the Manager of the School’s Under 13A team. At Andrew Hart’s memorial service held at the School in 2009, Alexander Miller (Year 10) played a beautiful piece of music on the French Horn at the service. Alexander was later to join the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Year 12 student and Captain of the School’s Open Basketball and Volleyball teams, John Maunder, progressed with his tertiary study in the following year to graduate with an Engineering Degree from The University of Queensland. On the day of his graduation he was informed he was suffering from a rare form of blood cancer, nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin’s lymphoma. John decided to pursue a medical degree whilst still receiving intensive chemotherapy. He subsequently graduated in December 2016 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from The University of Queensland. John has been instrumental in being an active fundraiser for the Leukaemia Foundation and was the Guest Speaker at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in 2017. After his blood cancer diagnosis, John represented Australia at the 2019 World Triathlon Championships. He won a 2020 University of Queensland Distinguished Alumni Award. Robert Kruger was selected in the Open Hockey Queensland Schoolboys’ team. Brendan Bernier, a Year 12 student fully vision impaired since birth, was a member of the School’s Open II Debating team. He entered the School in Year 11 and a number of his contemporaries volunteered to receive training in how to guide a person with vision impairment. Brendan was guided to his classrooms by his classmates and his laptop computer had the facility to convert any ‘word’ document into voice recognition. Brendan was also a very keen supporter of the School’s cricket teams. A photograph of Brendan together with Old Boy Stuart Copeland (1980-1984), the then Shadow State Minister for Education, Training and the Arts, is included in this year’s entry. Robert Speed was selected in the Queensland I Rugby schoolboy team which progressed to win the National Final against New South Wales. Joel Biddle was presented his Gold Award in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme by the Governor in a ceremony conducted at Government House.

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The Old Boys’ Association assisted with the funding of the construction of a new building to house the School’s archives. Also the Old Chemistry Lab/Cadet Q Store was completely renovated to create a School Museum. The Museum was formally opened on 31 May the following year. With the two buildings completed it was time to transfer the archives from the W.M. Dent Library into the Museum. All classrooms in the Senior School had ceiling fans and data projectors installed in them. Many classrooms were refurbished with new ceilings and improved lighting and heating. All Junior School classrooms were airconditioned as was the entire W.M. Dent Library.

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Events: • •

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The Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) replaced the former Senior Certificate. For the first time, all secondary schools in Australia were required to administer a National Test known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to all Year 9 students. This year three boys entered the School under a Yalari Indigenous education scholarship founded by Old Boy, Waverley Stanley. In September, 15 concrete storage tanks, with an individual capacity of 31.5 kilolitres, were installed to capture rainfall from the roofs of the School’s buildings. Four tanks were installed in the front lawn outside School House as illustrated in the photographs in this year’s entry. Throughout Term Three and early Term Four, the Margaret Street entrance to the School was closed. This was necessary so that a loop road could be created from Margaret Street enabling both access to, and departure from, the School at this point. Prior to this, all cars entering the School from Margaret Street had to drive through the school campus and exit at Herries Street. The Margaret Street former entry to the School with its one-way exit from Herries Street created many problems. These included traffic congestion and the obvious problem of having vehicles driving through the School at all times of the day (and night) and student pedestrian safety. People visiting the School parked their cars (and buses) along this driveway going right through the school campus. These problems were alleviated when the school driveway/promenade was modified and enhanced in 2012, security driveway bollards were installed and access was closed to vehicles in the middle of the School. In March, a special School Assembly was held to honour Mrs Judy Gillies on the occasion of her completion of 50 years of dedicated service to the School. Immediately following Judy Gillies’ Special Assembly, in the company of the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees (Mr Glen McCracken) and the Headmaster, Judy was escorted along the pathways (which were lined by the cheering and clapping staff and boys of the Senior School) to the vicinity of her old office at the front of the Main Building (School House). Here she rang the old School Bell for the last time, was hugged and kissed by Ting Tong Tiger (the School’s mascot) and deafened by the School War Cry. A photograph of Judy and Russell Gillies is included in this year’s entry. Two days later the Headmaster hosted a formal dinner for Mrs Gillies in Old Hall. This was an elegant occasion under candlelight, with a string quartet and pianist and with a special vocal performance by Old Boy Craig Atkinson (1989-1993) who had been one of the original Ten Tenors. A personal video message sent to Judy by Old Boy Mr Alan Jones was also screened to the guests. As part of Judy’s response to the invited guests comprising family, closest friends and work colleagues, she said: “This beautiful room (Old Hall) holds a multitude of memories including the days when my father, Les Magarry, the school painter, used to paint Old Hall. I still feel his presence in the room, balancing in the rafters whistling while he painted. He loved TGS almost as much as I do.” Later in her response, Judy commented: “It is wonderful that Russell, Mark, Drew and his wife Ivana, my sister Jacelle and her husband Basil could be here with us this evening… There are three 1958 Old Boys here this evening – Harry Barlow, Les Thompson and Peter (KP) Hauritz – they were in Year 11 when I started and they left at the end of 1959. They were like my big brothers when I started as a shy girl who blushed if the boys looked sideways at me….I have worked with five Headmasters during my fifty years and two of them are here this evening – our current Headmaster Mr Peter Hauser and the previous Headmaster, Mr Hugh Rose. Also here tonight is Mrs Marion Dent, the wife of Bill Dent, the second longest serving Headmaster in the School’s history…. It is like coming to my second home each day to see my “other” family. When

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I first started I was like their sister, then their mother, and now possibly their grandmother. No matter how they see me they will always be ‘my boys’.” At a London Old Boys’ Reunion, 44 Old Boys were in attendance (with a further 20 apologies). Those attending included three Old Boys honoured on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement – Peter Porter (1943-1946), Geoffrey Saba (1960-1963) and George Roubicek (1950-1953). A photograph of Peter Porter and Brian Carne (1942-1945) with Headmaster Hauser at the London Old Boys’ Reunion is included in this year’s entry. The School commenced the second edition of the School Register which records the names of all students enrolled. Since 1877 the School Register has been painstakingly handwritten to record the name of every boy who has entered the School since the first day on 1 February 1877. There have been 14,861 names entered into the book from 1877 to 2007 filling 300 pages. As there were insufficient pages left in the Register to record this year’s intake, a new book was prepared. The original Register is 400mm high by 300mm wide and 100mm thick, bound and covered in English calf leather which is embossed on the front. A photograph of Volume 1 of the School Register is included in this year’s entry. Both volumes of the School Register are housed in the School Museum. Year 10 students participated in a five-day work experience program at the end of Term Two. This was the start of an ongoing work experience program for Year 10 students over forthcoming years. The Toowoomba Regional Council was formed following the forced amalgamation of Jondaryan, Cambooya, Clifton, Pittsworth, Millmerran, Rosalie and Crow’s Nest Shires. Two of the granddaughters of the School’s Headmaster from 1910-1935, Mr G.P. Barbour, visited the School – Helen and Jennifer Carmichael (see 1934). For the first time this year, all secondary schools in Australia were required to administer a Test known as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to all Year 9 students. This took place over three days in May. At the start of the year, all teachers throughout the School were issued with personal laptop computers for educational use. The teachers could now ‘dock’ their computers into a docking station in each classroom where they could utilise the data projector. Teachers in the Senior School also used their computers to digitally enter student attendance records for every lesson. In the September school holidays, a group of 13 students of Japanese and two teachers travelled to Japan for 16 days. Cities visited included Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Takatsuki (the sister city to Toowoomba) where they were home stayed and attended classes. Mr Jason Butt was the Tour Leader and organiser of the trip. The second Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp was held over three days during the September school holidays. Led by the School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Kelly, the camp hosted 25 developmentally delayed young children from Clifford Park Special School and Toowoomba West Special School. The 24 TGS Year 11 boys cared for these children facing conditions such as cerebral palsy, autism, vision impairment, Down’s Syndrome and Batten’s disease. An OBA Business Breakfast was held and the guest speaker was Ben Woodhouse (1990-1994) who spoke about his experiences in agricultural commodity marketing. The winning House for the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was MackintoshChauvel.

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Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, injury took its toll on the School’s team in the last week of preparations leading into the GPS Championships, with some injured athletes withdrawing from the team on the day of the Championships. Athletics Captain, Hugh Tait, led by example to be the School’s sole winner at the Championships, taking out the Open 200m in a time of 22.61. A special commendation went to Lachlan Stuart for his courageous performance in Open 4 x 400m relay. Only four minutes prior to competing in this event, Lachlan placed second in the Open 400m. To be able to run two 400m races back-to-back, in an event that is known as one of the hardest in Track and Field, was an outstanding achievement. A photograph of Hugh Tait winning the GPS Open 200metres event is included in this year’s entry. The School’s Track and Field squad was placed 8th in the GPS championships. In Australian Rules Football, due to a revised timing schedule of the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL Cup, the School was unable to enter this competition this year. The games were held at times that clashed with the School’s sports of Rugby and Soccer. In Basketball, it was a difficult year for the School’s basketballers, No wins during the season were recorded by the Open 1sts, 2nds, 16A, 16B, 15A, 15B and 13A teams. The first game for the 2008 1st V Basketball team was against The Southport School. It was not a good start to the season with TSS defeating TGS 129 points to 29. The School Magazine, somewhat tongue in cheek, claimed “It was good to kick off the season with a nice close game.” Later in the season, IGS also scored a triple digit winning figure (109-41). In Chess, the Premier IV team comprised one Year 11 boy, two Year 10s, and one Year 9 boy. With wins against Gregory Terrace, Nudgee College, Ipswich Grammar School and draws with Brisbane State High School and The Southport School, the Premier Team placed one point ahead of last year’s results which was very pleasing. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team finished 3rd in the GPS competition and teacher Mr Alan Hill took over as coach from Mr Ian Waite. Mr Hill continued to inspire the cricketers for seven years in this role. Eight boys returned to the team from the 2007 team. The 1 st XI won five games this season and lost three (to IGS, TSS and NC). The Captain of the 1st XI this year was Nathan Cook, a son of a former 1st XI player, Peter Cook (1968-1971). In the 1st XI Cricket match against Brisbane Grammar School, opening batsman Ben Turner (145 not out) and Fraser Donaldson (96 not out) finished their innings unbeaten on 0 for 252.This was the largest opening partnership in the School’s history. A higher second wicket partnership was scored in 1932 when Ken Boag (130 not out) and Jim Maddern (219 not out) put on 362 against the Southport School (also see 1932, 1933, 1938, 1948 and 2005). Ben Turner (Year 12) scored three centuries in the 1st XI cricket season – a 180 not out against ‘Churchie’ (batting throughout the entire 60 over game), 145 not out against Brisbane Grammar School and a century (114) against BSHS. He was also selected in the Queensland Open Schoolboys’ Cricket team. A photograph of Ben Turner following one of his century innings is included in this year’s entry. Ben Turner was considered by former 1st XI Cricket coach, Mr Graham Smythe, as one of the most technically correct batsmen he ever coached. The author of the book(s) The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr Ivan Board, stated that Ben Turner’s 180 not out represented the sixth highest innings ever played by a TGS 1st XI member. Ivan Board stated on page 920: “Ben Turner is recognised in TGS cricket history as one of the School’s finest batsmen.” He was only the fifth TGS 1st XI player in the School’s history to achieve Page | 815


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three centuries in one season. Ben also won the Open Tennis championship in the School for five consecutive years and was Captain of Tennis in this year. Legendary former TGS 1st XI cricket coach, Graham Smythe, was this year still assisting the School with master class lessons and batting on bowling machine sessions on Mondays through to Thursdays. He used to get keen younger students in early to watch Ben Turner bat, displaying how each shot should be played. A memorable batting partnership occurred in the match against TSS. Tom Lyons (to be Senior Prefect in 2009), as the last batsman in for TGS, joined Fraser Donaldson over 21 overs to deny TSS winning bonus points. This year the 1st XI scored the highest innings score for TGS in the decade of the 2000s. This was against BSHS with a score of 9-364. In Cross Country, the inter-House competition was held at Queen’s Park in week 2 of Term Two. In Rugby, the 1st XV won two GPS games; against ‘Churchie’ (17-9) and BGS (19-7). A very high scoring game was between TGS and BBC with the winning score to BBC (39-34). The Coaches of the 1st XV were Messrs. Peter Bromley and Lance Treloar for this and the following year. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2015 on pages 50-51 included an article in which Peter Bromley was interviewed about his standout memories of his time coaching the 1st XV. The Captain of Rugby, Nathan Cook, expressed his thanks to the Staff in his report in the Annual School Magazine. Nathan wrote: “I would like to thank the coaching staff of Mr Peter Bromley, Mr Lance Treloar, Mr Tom Cameron and Mr Jono Farrell as they were the instigators of this change in culture at the School.” Nathan was referring to developing a winning culture in rugby at the School. A squad of 26 Rugby players joined the School’s North America Rugby tour in the September school holidays. The boys visited major sites in Los Angeles and San Francisco and played games primarily in Vancouver. Messrs Mark Oliphant, Jonathan Farrell and Michael McNamara accompanied the boys. In later years, Kane Boucaut made an international debut for Hong Kong playing in both 7’s and 15’s formats. In the GPS Cross Country championships, the TGS runners finished in 9th (last) position. In Soccer, the 1st XI team won two GPS games; against TSS (2-1) and BGS (2-1) and a clear win in a non-GPS fixture, against Downlands College with a 6-1 result. Most games were very close with the exception of IGS (1-5), the eventual Premiers. In Swimming, whilst the School’s Swimming team finished last in the GPS competition, 23 individual Personal Best times were recorded by our swimmers. In Tennis, the 1st IV faced some tight matches against The Southport School, ‘Churchie’ and Gregory Terrace but were unable to take out any wins during the season. The game against ‘Churchie’ was notable in which all four singles rubbers went to three sets along with a doubles rubber. In Volleyball some impressive results were achieved during the year including becoming Premiers in the Toowoomba Volleyball Association league, finishing overall champions at the QUT Student Guild Volleyball Day and earning the silver medal in their division at the prestigious Australian Volleyball Schools’ Cup. The 1st VI Volleyball team finished equal 3rd in the GPS competition. Winning games for TGS included BSHS (3-0), NC (3-0), ‘Churchie’ (3-0), and BBC (3-0), with losses to BGS (1-3), GT (1-3) and IGS (0-3). Following two very tight first sets in the Open VI Volleyball match against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace with 25-23 each way, the third set went to 43-41 with a final victory to Gregory Terrace.

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A TaeKwon-do martial arts club which had been operating at the School for five years continued to operate. This year 50 students enrolled in the Club and two of the current students were assistant instructors, both possessing 2nd Degree Black Belts. A TGS parent, Mr Danny Purcell, was the chief instructor and organiser of the Club. In Cadets, as in previous years, members of the School’s Cadet Unit (60 students) involved themselves in learning skills in first aid, fieldcraft, navigation, engineering, bush survival, radio communications, military customs and traditions, and safe firearm training. Mrs Ann Hallam was the Administration Officer of the Unit and continued in this role until 2019. At the Cadet Passing Out Parade, Old Boy Dr Glen Buchanan (1944-1947) and his wife Reverend Ann Buchanan donated to the School two beautifully crafted ceremonial military swords (to be known as the Buchanan swords). The Buchanan family had an extremely long association with the Cadet Unit over three generations. Three cadets were presented with the Australian Defence Force Long Ran Leadership and Teamwork Awards this year – Samuel Baker (Year 12), Daniel Gillam (Year 11) and Richard Manchee (Year 10). In Drama, a dramatic and musical production was held titled Battle of the Bands written by two staff members, Mr Todd Harm (script and lyrics) and Mr Peter Woods (music). The musical delighted four consecutive audiences of over 400 in the Assembly Hall. The female roles were played by girls from a variety of schools and the entire cast numbered 120. Major roles were played by Nathan Wallwork, Yannick Grams, Raymond Stewart, Conor Doyle, Alistair Lavers, William Darbyshire, Andrew Rae, Alec Snow and Rob Kruger. In Music, the Choir welcomed nearly 50 boys with a full year of performances including two first place awards at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. The combined Glennie/Grammar Orchestra also won the senior secondary stage orchestra section in the Eisteddfod. At the Toowoomba Eisteddfod, a total of sixteen 1st prizes were won by the School’s musicians, singers and speech and drama students and a further six boys gained 2nd places. Over 100 boys participated in the annual ‘Take Note’ Music Concert. International concert pianist and Old Boy, Mr Geoffrey Saba (1960-1963) visited the School and conducted a master class as he had done so on a previous visit.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 100, TGS 4/101). At one stage the Downlands College batsmen were 4 wickets down for 12 runs off 15 overs. The 1st XI Soccer team won the Parents and Friends (P & F) Trophy (6-1). The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup (35-13).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Headmaster, Mr Peter B. Hauser, and Senior Boys

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2008 2008

Brendan Bernier with Old Boy, Stuart Copeland MP (1980-1984) Celebrating Mrs Judy Gillies 50th Year of Service with husband Mr Russell Gillies

Brendan Bernier with Old Boy, Stuart Copeland MP (1980-1984)

Ben Turner after another GPS Cricket Century

Ben Turner after another GPS Cricket Century

Celebrating Mrs Judy Gillies 50th Year of Service with husband Mr Russell Gillies

At London OBA Reunion (L-R) Mr Brian Carne, Headmaster Hauser & Mr Peter Porter At London OBA Reunion (L-R) Mr Brian Carne, Headmaster Hauser & Mr Peter Porter The School Register

The School Register

Water Storage Tanks from Roof of School House

Installation of 15 Water Storage Tanks

Water Storage Tanks from Roof of School House

Installation of 15 Water Storage Tanks

GPS Open 200m Winner, Hugh Tait

In Front of School House

In Front of School House

Outstanding Musician, Alexander Miller

GPS Open 200m Winner, Hugh Tait

Outstanding Musician, Alexander Miller

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2009 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: as a Trustee) Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 11th year as Chairman and 20th year

Mr S. John Handley (in his 5th year)

Trustees: Dr Russell M. Domrow was appointed to the Board. He was later, in 2018, to accept the role as Deputy Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 7th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 3rd year)

Senior Prefect: Thomas ‘Tom’ J. Lyons (see 2014) Senior Dayboy Prefects: Andrew R. Rae and Fraser H. Donaldson Senior Boarder Prefect: Jacob T. Gundry Dux of Year: Nicholas J. Domrow

Captain of the Junior School: Hudson Hood Withey Dux of the Junior School:

Thomas Innes

Total School Enrolment: 956 Senior School Total: 745 Junior School Total: 211 (with 10 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 678 Number of Boarders: 278

Staffing: • •

Two full-time Resident Supervisors (non-teachers) were appointed for Groom and Stephens Boarding Houses. Additional appointments in the other Boarding Houses occurred in future years. Mr Nathan Stains, a teacher in the Junior School, was named in the Australian Country Cricket team and won the Don Bradman Batting Trophy.

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Mr Mark Oliphant, a teacher and Boarding Housemaster in the Senior School, won the Queensland Duathlon Championship in August and was selected to compete in the Australian Triathlon team. Mr Chris McLeod in the Senior School was appointed as a coach of the Toowoomba Raiders Soccer XI whilst remaining on staff at the School. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr M. Oliphant (Boyce), Mr T. Harm (Groom), Mr J. Noble (Mackintosh), Mr N. McMahon (Stephens), Mr P. Bromley (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Peter Bromley. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr M Gillespie (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. J. Tamvakis (Mackintosh), Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

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The School Prefects were Thomas Lyons, Fraser Donaldson, Andrew Rae, Jacob Gundry, Joseph Barrett, Michael Byrnes, Hugh Duffie, Daniel Goodman, James Heydon, Harrison Hughes, Thomas Sandow, Seamus McNab, Hugo Radford and Thomas Yates. Nine Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Michael Byrnes, Nicholas Domrow, Fraser Donaldson, Zachary Drew, Yannick Grams, Damon Li, Thomas Lyons, Mitchell Potter and Hugo Radford. Two Year 12 students represented Australia by being invited to attend the International Youth Science Forum – Fraser Donaldson (to South Africa) and James Heydon (London). The School’s Senior Prefect, Thomas ‘Tom’ Lyons was inspirational this year. Tom was an OP1 recipient and Captain of Rugby and Vice-Captain of Cricket. He was also awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. A photograph is included in this year’s entry of Tom Lyons and a copy of one of his speeches he delivered to the School Assembly. Tom tragically lost his life in 2014 as a result of heart failure (see 2014). Alexander Stewart (in Year 12) tragically lost his life in June as a result of a quad bike accident. A ‘Captain of Rugby in the Junior School’ Honour Board was donated by Mr and Mrs Stewart in loving memory of their oldest son, Alexander. Alex was a student at the School from 2003-2009. The name of Alex’s younger brother, Hamish, is featured on this Honour Board as Captain of Rugby in the Junior School in 2010 and Captain of Rugby in the Senior School in 2015 and later representing Australia as a ‘Wallaby’. Alex’s other brother, Alistair, was Vice Captain of Rugby in the Junior School in 2007. Three Downlands College students lost their lives in a motor vehicle collision. James Heydon (2003-2009) as Lieutenant Commander Royal Australian Navy, was in 2024 one of the first three Australian Navy Officers to graduate from the US Submarine Officer Basic Course. This followed his studies at Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and Nuclear Power Training Unit in South Carolina, USA. James will now serve as a Division Officer on US Virginia Class nuclearpowered submarines based at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. Hugh Duffie (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. In 2014 Hugh launched his ‘Sandows’ cold brew coffee in London after identifying an opportunity to lead the UK market as cold brew coffee had already been extremely popular in the USA. The coffee is made using only cold water with 16 hours extracting less acidity and making the coffee very smooth. His coffee has been listed at Fortnum & Mason and the Whole Foods Market in London together with another 60 plus stockists. Jeremy Peacock and Damon Li (Year 12) both achieved their A.Mus.A. with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). Page | 820


Jeremy Peacock (2005-2009) after school completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Bond University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant, now based in Melbourne. In 2021 Jeremy competed at the Australian National Paratriathlon Championships in Tasmania and won his category. In 2022 he won gold in his category at the World Triathlon Para Series in Montreal, Canada. Jeremy’s success in Paratriathlon led to him being ranked third in the world in the PTS4 Para category. In 2024 Jeremy was selected to represent Australia in the Paralympics in Paris in triathlon. Jeremy was born three months premature and diagnosed with hemiplegia cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen to the brain. His early years were marked by numerous surgeries and specialist appointments. Jeremy’s mother, Ann Peacock, is a former member of the School’s Library staff. An article outlining Jeremy’s involvement and success in Paratriathlon appeared in the School’s Omnibus publication, Vol.33, No.1, 2023 on page 37. Ben Gersekowski (2005-2009) was later to become a highly successful racing car driver. In 2018 he won the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Championship race at Japan’s Suzuka International Racing Course. Jake Dingle (2007-2009) is a champion wood chopper and a member of the Australian Axemen’s Team competing at all the Royal Shows across the country. In 2022 Jake won the Endurance Event Woodchop at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show and the Queensland Champion Axeman title at the Brisbane EKKA. Alec Snow (2006-2009) earned a starring role in the Australian television series Home & Away in 2013 and signed for a further four years. Over this time Alec featured in 300 episodes of Home & Away and more recently appeared in a feature film The Haunting of Saint Joseph’s (2023).

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In January the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, signed a contract to construct a new Aquatic Centre. A photograph of the area where the new Aquatic Centre was to be built is included in this year’s entry. An additional staff facility was built in the Junior School comprising a new much larger staffroom and several staff offices. The School Museum and Old Boys’ Building were opened in May. The old Chem Lab had been transformed into the Museum and a purpose-built building was erected beside it to house the Archive Collection. The opening was on the Sunday of the Old Boys’ reunion weekend. Mrs Denise Miller, a former member of the administrative staff of the School for forty years and an Honorary TGS Old Boy, was appointed as Curator of the Museum. Denise Miller served as Curator of the Museum from its inception and was still in this role in 2024. Her service at the School, initially as an Executive Secretary and then as part-time Curator of the Museum represented a total of 57 years of employment at Toowoomba Grammar School. In addition to Mrs Miller as Curator, there were eight inaugural volunteers in the Museum when it was opened this year. Of these inaugural volunteers, there were three still working in this part-time volunteer capacity in 2024, representing 16 years of service to the Museum – Mr John Handley (Old Boy and former Trustee and former President of the Old Boys’ Association), Mrs Margaret Jones (parent of two TGS Old Boys) and Mrs Sue Palmer (parent of a TGS Old Boy). The other five inaugural volunteers included the following and their years of involvement are illustrated in parenthesis – Jack Doyle (2009); Russell Gillies (2009-2012); Don Trenerry (2009-2016); Leona Morton (2009-2016); and Laura Vandersee (2009). Others who have contributed significantly to the work of the Museum and/or archival records are thanked in the Preface of this publication. A photograph of the Museum volunteers is included in this year’s entry. Featured in this photograph are: (Back) – Rob Mitchell, Page | 821


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John Winn, John Handley, Russ Gillies, Ross Jurgs, Don Trenerry, David Toleman; (Front) – Laura Vandersee, Margaret Jones, Sue Palmer, Denise Miller (Curator), Leona Morton, Vicki Warden (Qld.Museum) and Ellen Morosini. Photographs of the opening of the School Museum and its volunteers are included in this year’s entry. Disabled access ramps were installed leading to the W.M. Dent Library and the Assembly Hall. The School’s maintenance sheds were dismantled and removed in September from their location near the Blaikie Health Centre and to the east of the Headmaster’s residence. The maintenance sheds were relocated to near the tennis courts by Margaret Street. The School laundry was also removed in the summer holidays to prepare for a car park for the new Aquatic Centre and the School leased a laundry facility off-site. A photograph of the dismantling of the maintenance sheds is location in this year’s entry. The two Year 6 classrooms were temporarily located in demountable classrooms in what became the Aquatic Centre carpark during this year. These Year 6 classrooms were previously temporarily located on the ground floor of Corfe Boarding House but were relocated as a result of a refurbishment of Corfe House due to an increase in junior boarding numbers.

Events: •

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The School’s outdoor swimming pool (first built in 1927 as one of the School’s Jubilee Fund projects) was filled in. An all-weather outdoor basketball court was constructed on the site of the former swimming pool. Photographs of the demolition of the outdoor swimming pool and land clearing are included in this year’s entry. The Global Financial Crisis was experienced this year. The School experienced a positive growth in enrolments and waiting lists existed in many year levels. This year the Federal Government announced an economic stimulus package titled National Building and Jobs Plan. One part of this plan was a component titled Building the Education Revolution (BER). This BER package was to provide $14.7 billion over three years to school capital projects. The amount of government grant payable to each primary school in Australia was determined by the student enrolment. All primary schools with an enrolment in excess of 200 received a grant of two million dollars to finance large scale construction. As per the government instruction, a new library and a new multi-purpose hall were to be built in the Junior School precinct. A photograph of a plaque acknowledging the Federal Government’s funding as part of its ‘Building the Education Revolution (BER)’ financial stimulus package is included in the 2011year entry. The School received an additional 163 computers under the National Secondary Computer Fund of the Federal Government. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) was administered to all students in Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. In Term Three a new turf cricket wicket was installed for the first time on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval (this had originally been discussed during Mr Olsen’s Headmastership – see 1962). The first game on the new wicket was played in the next year. The combined/hyphenated names of the five Houses in the Senior School ceased in this year. The five original House names were retained with each House comprising dayboys and boarders: Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens and Taylor. A consequence of this decision was that the use of the names of the former Dayboy Houses of Chauvel, Freshney, Gibson, Henderson and Page | 822


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Partridge was discontinued. Boarders resided in one of the six Boarding Houses – Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens, Taylor and Corfe. During the day-to-day operation of the School all boys (dayboys and boarders) were identified as being in Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens or Taylor. The Queensland Reds Rugby Union team held a pre-season camp at the School. The growth and success of the School’s Football (Soccer) program in future years was directly related to the employment of a teacher, Mr Chris McLeod, this year and further staff appointments. In addition, Mr McLeod introduced Mr Rale Rasic (an Australian Football legend) to the School. Mr Rasic has been honoured in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and no other coach in Australia’s history of Football (Soccer) has achieved a higher World Cup ranking than under his direction in 1974. Mr Rasic continued to be heavily involved in the School’s Football program for the following ten years both in his capacity as Patron of TGS Football and as a coach at numerous training clinics. Sadly, Rale Rasic passed away in June 2023. Former Australian Socceroos Coach, Mr Rale Rasic, was Guest Speaker at the TGS Soccer Supporters’ annual dinner. The School’s Mascot, ‘Ting Tong’ Tiger received a makeover and updated design by the Seniors of 2009. A group consisting of seven Year 12 and four Year 11 students accompanied by French teacher and Head of Languages, Mrs Lynne Yeabsley, and another staff member, Mrs Karen Catlow, travelled to France during the School’s Activities Week and Term One holidays. Four days were spent attending a French school and a two-week homestay was arranged with French families. The boys were based in the city of Nancy and the region of Lorraine and also visited Strasbourg, Paris and the World War One battlefields of Verdun. In July the OBA presented a plaque via its President, Mark Creedon (1973-1977), whilst on the TGS cricket tour. The plaque was donated to Board Members of the French-Australian WWI Museum in Villers-Bretonneux, France. The plaque honours the memory of the seventeen TGS Old Boys who paid the ultimate sacrifice on Somme battlefields in the Great War, 1914-1918. For further references to Villers-Bretonneux and TGS Old Boys, refer to 1959, 2007, 2011 and 2018. Eighteen boys undertook the Nepal expedition in the Easter holidays. In addition to trekking and seeing several of the world’s highest peaks, the boys white-water rafted and rode elephants. Understanding a Third World country was a major goal of this trip. Of significance was the fundraising of the group (and the School as a whole) to fully cover the cost of employing a teacher at a village school, Belbhanjyang Primary School. Such fund-raising occurred over a number of years in the future. The tour leader was Mr Bob Harvey and other accompanying staff were Mr Ken Lavers and Miss Miranda Mitchell. A photograph of the tour group and the welcome to the boys by the Belbhanjyang Primary School is included in this year’s entry. At the end of Term Three, a second group of nine boys visited four countries – Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Highlights included visits to the iconic sites around Angkor Wat, the floating markets and canals of the Mekong delta, the Long Tan battlefield and trekking to isolated villages in northern Laos. The tour leader was Mr Bob Harvey. Various parent supporter groups were, once again, very active and supportive of the School. These groups included the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association, the TGS Past Mothers’ Group, the TGS Boarder Parents’ Group and those associated with various sports and cultural activities. An initiative this year of the OBA was a ‘Generations Dinner’ at which current students who have a generational link to the School could share an evening with those who have preceded them at TGS.

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Old Boy, Brad Horn (1979-1983), was the guest speaker at the OBA Business Breakfast in October. He spoke of his passion for travel and adventure which he then turned into a business venture ‘Epic Private Journeys’. Mackintosh House won the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition and also for the next three years.

Co-Curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, the School’s squad was placed 6th in the GPS Track and Field championships, the highest position in nine years. (In 2000 the team was placed 3rd.) Open age group athletes achieving top-three placings were Andrew Rae, Ashley Warren and Wil Hamilton. In Australian Rules Football, the School could play this sport this year as the Darling Downs games were held at the conclusion of the GPS rugby and soccer seasons. In the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL Cup, the TGS Open team won the Grand Final. In this game TGS played the Downlands College team and experienced a massive win – TGS, 19 goals, 8 behinds (122 points) to DC, 4 goals, 2 behinds (26 points). In Basketball, the School Magazine openly predicted that it was going to be a hard season for the 1st V. The team lost all games and four of the opposing teams scored in excess of 100 points. The TGS team’s highest points scored in a GPS game this year totalled 28. In Chess, interest in the game continued to grow as the season progressed, so much so that the School, despite its size, was one of only three schools with a D Team. The School’s Premier Chess team was placed 4th in the GPS competition with wins over NC, BSHS, GT and IGS. In Cricket, the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival commenced this year. This involved a 1st XI Cricket competition between four nationally respected schools – Toowoomba Grammar School, Camberwell Grammar School (Melbourne), St Peter’s College (Adelaide) and Knox Grammar School (Sydney). In this first year of competition, the venue was Knox Grammar School in Sydney. Toowoomba Grammar School first won this cricket festival nine years later in 2017 in Toowoomba. The 1st XI Cricket team faced stiff competition this season in the GPS fixtures and won only one game, against Brisbane State High School. The side was placed in 9th (last) position in the GPS Cricket ladder for this year. The team was captained by Fraser Donaldson and only two boys returned to the team from the 2008 team, Fraser Donaldson and Tom Lyons. After the fifth round, the TGS Captain, Fraser Donaldson, suffered a debilitating injury putting him out for the rest of the season. Tom Lyons took over the captaincy. The 1st XI team defeated BSHS in a wonderful match. In the BSHS team was Marnus Labuschagne (considered one of the three best batsmen in the world in 2019). Scott Elliot caught Marnus for 2 runs off the spinner Giles Creedon. Marnus Labuschagne was only 14 years old this year and playing for the BSHS 1st XI. He was first selected to the Australian Men’s Cricket team in October 2018. BGS had a decisive win over the TGS 1st XI by 124 runs. In the game against TSS, TGS was 2 for 80 and in the space of three overs was 7 for 81 – an extraordinary batting collapse. In the June/July holidays a Cricket squad comprising 15 boys undertook a Cricket tour to the United Kingdom. The boys also crossed the channel to visit the French-Australian World War One museum in Villers-Bretonneux. Teacher Mr Alan Hill was the tour coach. Page | 824


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In Cross Country, the squad recorded an improved placing in the GPS championships, finishing in 7th position. In Debating, competing in the Queensland Debating Union (Darling Downs region) TGS was presented with a trophy acknowledging “The most successful school of the season”. It was fitting that the first recipient of the James Cronin Memorial Trophy Queensland Debating Union Schools’ Competition, Junior Debater of the Year (see 2007) was a TGS student, Angus Fraser in Year 10. In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV Rugby team was placed 5th in the GPS competition. This was the third highest place for our 1st XV in 22 years (the 1987 team captained by Jason Little came 2nd and the 2000 team captained by C.W.’Will’ Stuart was placed 3rd). The 1st XV team won three games in a row (GT, Downlands and BGS). The game against Brisbane Grammar School was particularly memorable with TGS defeating BGS 50 – 5. In this game both TGS wingers, Jeriah Goodrich and Joe Barrett, scored a double. After this game the 1st XV lost to BBC in a close match (17-21) then enjoyed another win, this time against IGS (28-17). The biggest loss for the season was against TSS (5-47), followed by ‘Churchie’ (13-44). Representing GT in the 1st XV was Liam Gill who made his debut for the Australian Rugby team, the Wallabies, in 2012. In Soccer, the School fielded fifteen teams of soccer players, to that date a record number of players. The 1st XI Soccer team enjoyed three wins in GPS matches this season: GT (3-2), BGS (2-0) and TSS (4-0). Two matches resulted in a draw: NC (1-1) and ‘Churchie’ (2-2). In September, 18 boys and 3 staff set off at 4:30am from Toowoomba for a football (soccer) and cultural tour to Japan. The boys were based in the city of Maebashi competing in a football competition (the 13th annual Maebashi Mayor’s Cup) and stayed with host families. After the football competition, the boys visited Disneyland, observed some sumo wrestling bouts and saw the sights of Tokyo. Messrs Chris McLeod, Dennis Lund and Paul Kalinowski accompanied the boys. In Soccer, also refer to ‘Events’ in this year’s entry. In Swimming, the squad faced by far its toughest competition for the season, the GPS Swimming championships. The boys competed against many National age medallists. Although the TGS swimming team finished in last place on the night, every team member swam in earnest and many personal best times were achieved. In Tennis, the 1st IV team, achieved the best result for a long time, winning 4 of their GPS matches to finish 5th overall in the GPS competition. The winning games were: NC (5 rubbers to 3), GT (71), ‘Churchie’ (5-2) and TSS in a very close game even on rubbers and sets and a win 85-70 in games. The 1st IV win over Nudgee College (5-3) represented a win never previously achieved under the direction of the Coach, Mr Gavin Wright. A member of the 1st IV, Vinnie Cadona, won all but one singles match for the GPS season. The one game Vinnie lost was in a 3 set thriller against the player representing BGS. In the match against Gregory Terrace, TGS player Madison Simmons had a dominant game with a 6-0/6-0 victory. It was arranged for the last 1st IV Tennis fixture for the season against The Southport School to be played at the Brisbane International Tennis Centre, an initiative of the GPS Association. In Volleyball, despite the 1st VI trying hard and enjoying the season, the boys only experienced one win; against Nudgee College (3-2). In Drama, 140 TGS boys and 86 girls from various neighbouring girls’ schools performed Jesus Christ Superstar at the Empire Theatre. The performances were acclaimed. The play was produced and directed by the School’s Drama teacher, Mr Todd Harm, and the Orchestral Director was Mr Andrew Eunson. The decision was made to double cast three of the major roles as such a depth of talent was evident from the auditions. Yannick Grams and Will Darbyshire were cast as “Jesus Christ’; Jock Houston and Raymond Stewart as “Judas Iscariot”; and Emily Krelle and Emma Page | 825


• •

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Dennis as “Mary Magdalene”. Other leads were Dan Goodman as “Pontius Pilate”, Alec Snow as “Herod”, Andrew Rae as “Caiaphas”, Ben Byron as “Annas”, David Pietsch as “Peter” and Steven Thornely as “Simon”. The chorus involved 125 members, dancers and guards. The show played to four impressive crowds, with a total of 5806 tickets sold and with the final performance sold out at the Empire Theatre. In the Junior School a production titled Ratbags – The Musical was held, together with the annual Singers’ Trophy, the Eisteddfod and a Twilight Concert. In Music, 46 boys (from a touring party of 73 including parents and staff) participated in the Pacific Basin Music Festival in Honolulu in March. This was, to date, the largest ever overseas music tour in the School’s history. Over ten days the students workshopped, performed and socialised with hundreds of students from Alaska, Montana, California, New Zealand and Australia. The tour leader was Mr Neil Roche-Kelly, Head of Department of Arts. The School’s choristers placed in every single section in which they competed in the Toowoomba Choral Eisteddfod held in May. The School achieved first place in the Open Contemporary section (the Grammarphones), and also first in the Secondary Boys’ Choirs and the Modern Chorus. The most prestigious of all the awards is the Anne Thomas Aggregate Trophy for Modern Chorus, Spiritual and Small Vocal Ensemble and TGS won this aggregate trophy from very capable competition. The Wind Ensemble had over 60 members, the largest number of musicians ever to date in this ensemble. At the Toowoomba Eisteddfod, the Glennie/Grammar Orchestra placed 1st with a perfect score of 100. Following this, the Orchestra was invited to play at the closing ceremony of the Eisteddfod. The String Ensemble placed first in the small string ensemble section at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod.

Downlands Competition • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team lost the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, DC 100, TGS 65. This represented only the second loss to DC in cricket in the 2000’s decade. The 1st XI Soccer team retained the P & F Cup (7-1), the seventh year in succession. In this game TGS player Lincoln Waugh scored three goals. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup for the fifth time in the last six years with the score 22-10. TGS defeated DC in Australian Rules Football in a Grand Final under the auspices of the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL competition. The massive winning score to the School was TGS, 19 goals, 8 behinds (122 points) to DC, 4 goals, 2 behinds (26 points).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Mark D. Creedon (1973-1977) was elected as President of the OBA for a three-year term (2009 – 2011), and again in 2021 for a further three-year term. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Her Excellency, the Governor of Queensland, Mrs Penelope Wensley, AO The School has been honoured to have twenty State Governors present at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony on thirty-six occasions. This year the School was honoured to have Her Excellency Mrs Penelope Wensley address the Speech Day audience. The last time the Governor of Queensland attended the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony was in 2004 when Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC (who later was appointed the Governor General of Australia) presented to the School. The next visit by the Queensland Governor was at the 2015 Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony with the Guest Speaker being His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC.

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2009 2009

Aquatic Centre site before construction

Tom Lyons with the O’Callaghan Cup

Aquatic Centre site before construction

Tom Lyons with the O’Callaghan Cup

Senior Prefect, Thomas Lyons Honorary TGS Old Boy Mrs Denise Miller Senior Prefect, Thomas Lyons Honorary TGS Old Boy Mrs Denise Miller

Architects’ Impression of New Aquatic Centre & Site Preparation

Architects’ Impression of New Aquatic Centre & Site Preparation

Old Swimming Pool Demolition

Old Swimming Pool Demolition

Old Pool demolition complete

Old Pool demolition complete

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2009 (cont.) 2009 (cont.)

The School Museum Volunteers The School Museum Volunteers

The School Museum The School Museum

Aquatic Centre Preparations Aquatic Centre Preparations

Adventure Club Expedition to Nepal Adventure Club Expedition to Nepal

Demolition of Workmen’s Shed & Laundry Demolition of Workmen’s Shed & Laundry

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2010 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 12th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 6th year)

Trustees: Mr Ian Stirling (Old Boy 1972-76) resigned from the Board in June. The Trustees also included Dr Russell M. Domrow, Mrs Barb MacDiarmid, Mrs Julie Michael and Mr E.Russ Johnson.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 8th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 4th year)

Senior Prefect: Ryan L. Leeson Senior Dayboy Prefect: Jake J. Platen Senior Boarder Prefect: Macalister J. Gee Dux of Year: Patrick B. O’Connor Captain of the Junior School: Drew E. Arundel Dux of the Junior School:

Drew E. Arundel

Total School Enrolment: 987 Senior School Total: 770 Junior School Total: 217 (including 8 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 699 Number of Boarders: 288

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the teaching staff is included in this year’s entry. Mrs Lynne Yeabsley stepped down from full-time teaching (and the inaugural Director of Pastoral Care on the School Executive) to transfer to a part-time teaching role (whilst retaining the position of Head of Languages). Mrs Yeabsley commenced teaching at the School in 1988 and was the first woman to be appointed as a Housemaster (in 1996) and a Head of Department (2001) and member of the School Executive (2006) in the School’s history. For ten years, from 1996-2006, Mrs Yeabsley was the Day Housemaster of Freshney House and later Groom-Freshney House. Mrs Yeabsley was still teaching at the School in 2024. Page | 829


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The Director of Enrolments and Development, Mr Rob Mitchell, retired at the end of the year having commenced in the inaugural role of Director of Development in 1995. Mr Mitchell, together with his wife Margie, made a highly significant contribution to the School in many areas and were warmly welcomed by the TGS families in rural and outback regions during their numerous visits to these areas promoting the School, encouraging good will and increasing enrolments. In 2004 Mr Mitchell was honoured by the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association when the title of ‘Honorary Old Boy’ was bestowed on him for his service to the School and the Association. Teacher, Mrs Emma Melton, was the first female Assistant Boarding Housemaster to be appointed in the School’s history. Mrs Melton commenced in this role at the beginning of Term Three in Boyce House. The next female teacher to be appointed as an Assistant Boarding Housemaster (Boyce House) was Ms Suzanne Connelly in 2017. The first female Head of a Boarding House (Corfe House) was Mrs Lisa Purves in mid 2021. Mr Terrence (Terry) Bourke concluded his teaching at the end of this year after 23 years. He was Teacher-in-Charge of Art and for many years (1993-2006) was the Boarding Housemaster of Stephens House. The School’s inaugural Head Swim Coach and Manager of the Aquatic Centre, Mr Dick Orbell, commenced in Term Four of the previous year to complete various organisational tasks for the new Centre. Mr Orbell was a former Olympian (1984) and a gold and silver medallist in Swimming in the Commonwealth Games (1988). The Heads of Department were Mr P. Irwin (English), Mr R. Harris (Mathematics), Mr A.D. Miller (Science), Mrs L. Yeabsley (Languages), Mr A. Hill (Geography), Mr A. Smiddy (History) Mr I. Bullock (Commerce), Mr J. McKain (Industrial Design and Technology), Mr T. Bourke (Art), Mr N. Roche-Kelly (Arts), Mr D. McGovern (Physical Education), Ms Lisa Thomson (Information Processing and Technology), Mr M. Gillespie (Agricultural Science), Mrs P. Read (Library), Mrs T. Burley (Head of Counselling and Special Needs) and Mr I. Waite (Assistant to Director of Studies). Under the leadership of Mr Scott Campbell as Head of the Junior School were Mr M. Sharpe (Deputy Head of Junior School), Mrs S. Taylor (Junior School Curriculum) and Ms P. Craig-Havern (Junior School Co-ordinator of Pastoral Care). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr M. Oliphant (Boyce), Mr T. Harm (Groom), Mr J. Noble (Mackintosh), Mr N. McMahon (Stephens), Mr D. Kuhn (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Dayboy Housemasters were Mr M. Gillespie (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. J. Tamvakis (Terms 1-2), Mr C. ‘Bob’ Harvey (Terms 3-4) (Mackintosh), Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Ryan Leeson, Jake Platen, Macalister Gee, Thomas Adamson, Lachlan Becke, Jordan Campbell, Sean Cairns, William Darbyshire, Hayden Grantham, Matthew Lindsay, Connor McBain, Stuart McKelvie, Peter Manchee, Richard Manchee and Patrick O’Connor. Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Luke Bristow, Jordan Campbell, Nicholas Joseph, Ryan Leeson, Peter Manchee, Stuart McKelvie, Patrick O’Connor and Kyle Reardon. Three Year 12 students were Australian Student Prize winners, namely Luke Bristow, Nicholas Joseph and Patrick O’Connor. After school, Patrick continued his medical training to specialise as an orthopaedic surgeon. Page | 830


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Senior Dayboy Prefect, Jake Platen, returned to the School in a teaching and Assistant Boarding Housemaster position in September 2021. Previously he was the Head of Boarding House Curriculum at St Peter’s College in Adelaide. In Year 12 Jake was the recipient of the Peter ScottHunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Ryan Leeson, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Year 12 student Jake Jones was awarded school-based Apprentice of the Year for Queensland. Three Year 12 students were awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize – Jake Jones, Tori Apelt and Thomas O’Kane (who also won a Prime Minister’s Award for Skills Excellence in the Agrifood Industry category). Year 12 student Stuart McKelvie represented Australia by attending the International Youth Science week in South Africa in September and Patrick O’Connor (also in Year 12) attended the International Youth Science Forum in Turin, Italy. Alexander Bloom (Year 12) was the recipient of a Gold Award in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. This year the School had five boys of Indigenous heritage on ‘Yalari’ scholarships. An Indigenous Boarders’ Support Dinner for boys and parents was held, organised by teacher Mrs Gabe Battersby. Adrian Eccles (2009-2010) received a major academic and football (soccer) scholarship to attend Virginia College, USA, commencing in the following year. Connor McBain (2002-2010) in 2020 was teaching at the Glasgow Law School, University of Glasgow, whilst studying for his Ph.D. in international law. Prior to this, he completed a Master of International and Comparative Law from the University of Helsinki, Finland. His first degree after leaving school was a Bachelor of International Relations from Bond University prior to travelling and residing in Scotland.

Buildings: •

The major part of the Government’s Building the Education Revolution funding announced in the previous year was a component titled Primary Schools for the 21st Century. A total of $12.4 billion was allocated to fund libraries and multi-purpose halls in every primary school in Australia. With an enrolment of 210 boys in the Junior School, our School received a grant of two million dollars to finance large scale construction. A new Library and a multi-purpose Hall were constructed this year with this Government funding. In addition, the School’s Board of Trustees allocated a further two million dollars to create eight general learning areas in the Junior School plus an art/woodwork studio and a music centre. All these new buildings were fully air-conditioned. All facilities were ready for the start of the 2011 school year. This represented the third phase of construction in the Junior School and also involved the removal of the two tennis courts in this precinct. In 2017 the School’s Board of Trustees informed the school community that the new Junior School Library would be named the ‘A.E. Lavers Library’ (Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1934-1943). Also it was decided in 2017 that the new Junior School Assembly Hall would be named the ‘B.I. Parkinson Assembly Hall’ after Mr Ian Parkinson, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1982-1990. A photograph of the extension to the Junior School is included in this year’s entry. The indoor Aquatic Centre was opened in May, comprising a main pool with ten lanes 25 x 25 metres square, a separate Learn-to-Swim pool measuring 15 x 11 metres and a strength and Page | 831


conditioning area upstairs. Guests at the opening of the Aquatic Centre included two current Olympic swimmers, Christian Sprenger and Jessicah Schipper. Photographs of the opening of this outstanding facility for the School are included in this year’s entry. The criteria for deciding the location of the new Aquatic Centre included that the School did not want to lose any current sports field or play area, it had to be in close proximity to the Trenerry Gymnasium and the Junior School, and hopefully it could create a marketing impact by being situated near a main thoroughfare. The area immediately adjacent to Trustees Oval, formerly occupied by some of the trees from the old pine plantation and used solely for hill runs during winter sports season, was selected. A photograph of the chosen site is included in the previous year’s entry. This year the Corfe building was returned exclusively to boarding. Prior to this, for several years the Corfe building had two Year 6 classrooms on the ground floor.

Events: • •

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The Great Public Schools (GPS) Association made the decision to refer to ‘Soccer’ as ‘Football’. Under the Federal Government’s initiative, The Digital Education Revolution, all Year 9 students received their personal laptop computer via a grant of approximately $1,000 per computer per student. This commenced in Term 3 following a Term 2 trial. Toowoomba’s water supply was secured when a pipeline from Wivenhoe Dam in the Brisbane Valley came online. The Commanding Officer of HMAS Toowoomba, Commander I.M. Ingham RAN, and some Officers and Sailors, were guests at the School’s ANZAC Day Ceremony. The first cricket game on the new (first) turf wicket on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was played this year. The inaugural ‘Young Creator of the Year’ competition was organised by the Director of Studies, Mrs Paulina Skerman. A ski trip took place in conjunction with ‘Churchie’ to the Victorian alpine ski resort of Falls Creek. An inaugural live-in Football Camp for 72 boys under the guidance of former World Cup Coach, Mr Rale Rasic, took place at the School. During the Term One holidays, thirty-one boys undertook a cultural and historical tour of Turkey. Seeing some of the country’s amazing sights, the boys also spent two days at Gallipoli. The supervising teachers were Messrs Dennis Lund and Ken Lavers and Mrs Gabe Battersby. The tuition fee for a student in Years 11 & 12 was $2,634 per term (4 terms). The boarding fee for a boy in Years 11 & 12 was $3,759 per term. Old Boy Andrew Smith (1980-1984) was the guest speaker at the OBA Business Breakfast. He spoke about the developments occurring in the Surat Basin. The School had an archival display which was part of the Heritage Treasures Programme as featured at Toowoomba’s Cobb & Co Museum in October. Mrs Sylvia Gwendoline Cumes, the granddaughter of the School’s Founder (Mr Samuel George Stephens Snr) was the special guest of honour. She was the daughter of Old Boy Archibald ‘Archie’ H. Stephens (at TGS 1887-1889), who was the second of the six Stephens’ siblings to attend the School. The winning House in the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Mackintosh.

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Co-Curricular Activities: • •

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In Athletics, the School finished in 8th position at the GPS Track and Field championships, only 5.5 points behind 6th position Gregory Terrace. In Australian Rules Football, the School won the Grand Final in the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL Cup. The School’s team defeated the Downlands College team in the grand final in a close and competitive game, 11.10 (76) – 9.7 (61). In Basketball, the year proved to be a difficult one for the TGS 1st V. No GPS games were won during the season but the members of the team were commended on their attitude and determination. In Chess, the Open 1st Premier team finished in equal 4th place in the GPS competition. The team competing in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Chess Championships was placed 5th in Queensland. In Cricket, in the decade between 2010-2020, the TGS 1st XI was placed runners-up in the GPS competition on three occasions – 2010, 2012 and 2017 and with a third placing in 2011 and 2013. This year the 1st XI Cricket team achieved 2nd place in the GPS competition. Four GPS games were won; BSHS (219-119), IGS (7/163-162), ‘Churchie’ (8/226-6/225) and BBC (215-214). There were two games washed out (BGS and NC) and two losses (to GT and TSS). The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team was Giles Creedon in Year 11, and also Captain in 2011. He followed his older brother, Finlay Creedon, who captained the 1st XI Cricket team in 2007. (Their father is Mark Creedon, Old Boy 1973-1977, and Past President of the Old Boys’ Association in 2009-2011 and also 2021-2023). The first GPS game of the season was against GT and was played on Mills Oval. The 1st XI had a poor start to the season with GT winning with nine wickets in hand (passing the TGS total at 1 for 149 in just 24 overs). James Luscombe took six wickets in the 1st XI Cricket match against Brisbane State High School (six wickets for 18 runs). In the same match, Mitchell Beutel on debut smashed five 6’s, with the side scoring 219 runs. In this match against BSHS, future Australian Test player Marnus Labuschagne was caught on the sixth ball he faced, caught by Bryce Priebe off the bowling of Tom Caskey. A memorable game for the 1st XI Cricket team was against Brisbane Boys’ College. After TGS scored 215 runs in their innings, BBC needed 15 runs off the final over to win with two wickets remaining. The first few balls bowled produced sundries and boundaries. Eventually, BBC now needed just three runs off the last two balls to snatch victory from TGS. The second last ball was delivered and Mitch Beutel claimed one of the best ‘caught and bowled’ dismissals of the season, with the TGS team winning by one run. On Australia Day the School welcomed back the Open 1st XI cricket team of twenty years ago (1990) to play the current 1st XI. The 1990 team won the GPS Cricket Premiership in that year and former Australian Test player, Martin Love, was in the team. The current 1st XI boys defeated the Old Boys this year in what was the fifth year the twenty-year 1st XI reunion match had been held. The first game of cricket on the new turf wicket on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was the 9A team in Term 1 (see ‘Events’ section in the 2009 entry). Cricket had been played on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval decades ago but it was never on a properly constituted turf wicket. In Cross Country, the team finished in 9th position overall, a placing not representative of the extensive training undertaken by the runners. In Football (Soccer), two international Football tours took place. An Under 13 team travelled to Japan in the September holidays for a sporting and cultural experience and the boys competed in Page | 833


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an international carnival in the city of Maebashi. An Open Football team travelled to the United Kingdom also in the September holidays. There were 15 boys plus parents and staff on the tour and the boys experienced playing a football game in Brunei and also games in Scotland and England. The 1st XI Football team defeated Brisbane Grammar School for the third successive year (3-2). This was the only 1st XI game won this season. Two GPS schools scored 7 goals to defeat the TGS team; IGS (7-2) and TSS (7-1). An Under 15 team of indoor soccer (futsal) players qualified for the National Titles in October. Here they became the Australasian Champions with an emphatic 10-4 result in the final game. A Year 9 student, James Eccles, received a National Youth Scholarship with the Brisbane Roar Football Club. Five people led by former Director of Football, Mr Chris McLeod, compiled a “TGS Football Team of the Decade, 2010-2019”. The selected players are listed in the Football section in the 2019 entry. In Rugby, the 1st XV Rugby side was an inexperienced one with 13 boys making 1st XV debuts, 8 of whom were in Years 10 and 11. This inexperience led to no 1st XV games being won this year despite consistent and determined efforts by the TGS players. The Coach of the team was Mr Lance Treloar. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2017 (pp.48-50) contained an interesting article with an interview of Lance Treloar and his memories of significant games. A major trial game for the 1st XV played against Marist Brothers College Ashgrove was a curtain raiser game at Suncorp Stadium to the Reds versus Stormers game in April. Representing BSHS in the 1st XV was Chris Feaui-Sautia, later to become an Australian Wallaby (2013). At the 1st XV Rugby game against BBC, a guest of the School was Old Boy, Mr Alan Jones. After the match Mr Jones addressed the boys with authority for he was a former Coach of the Australian Wallabies team. He spoke in admiration of the boys’ strength of character, their determination and for not giving up. He also recounted an occasion in which the Australian Rugby team he coached had been narrowly defeated by the All Blacks and how the Australian team dealt with this distressing loss and regrouped in readiness for the next game. During the year the Courier Mail newspaper ran a series of leading articles on the larger GPS schools allegedly “buying players” and strengthening their rugby programmes at the Open 1 st level. The title of the series was ‘Fair Play’ and the coverage created significant discussion. In December the School’s 2010 Rugby Tour to England, Wales, France and Italy took place and involved 27 boys and 4 staff. The touring party travelled to London, Wales, Manchester, Lancaster, northern France, Paris and Rome. Adverse weather conditions forced the cancellation of three games. In Wales the temperature fell to minus 17 degrees Celsius and at more than one school in England the rugby pitches were frozen. The boys met their Rugby hosts at Christ’s Hospital School in Horsham, south of London. Here the boys were greeted by two former members of the staff of Toowoomba Grammar School, the Headmaster, Mr John Franklin, and Boarding Housemaster, Mr Jim Tamvakis. In Swimming, the School’s newly constructed Aquatic Centre was not ready for the early GPS Swimming championships. Training for the event was conducted in the Toowoomba Preparatory School’s outdoor swimming pool. The history of the School will record the traditional lack of success by the TGS swimmers in the GPS Swimming championships. In previous years the TGS swimmers were constrained to training off-site and during the summer months only which put the School at a distinct disadvantage in the GPS championships. Page | 834


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At the GPS Swimming championships in March, of the 32 individual events, 21 of our swimmers secured Personal Bests (PB’s) on the night. Four School records were broken. The team once again came last in the competition but there was a new sense of optimism amongst the swimmers knowing that they could now train all year round in the new Aquatic Centre. During the year, a number of former Olympic and Commonwealth Games competitors addressed the boys. A highlight was the address by five-time Olympic canoe/kayak champion Clint Robinson. Clint was a gold medallist in the Barcelona games in 1992, Silver Medallist in the Athens games in 2004 and Bronze in the Atlanta Games in 1996. In Orienteering, the School was named Runner-Up Champion School in Orienteering in Queensland. In Tennis, the 1st IV was placed 7th in the GPS competition and enjoyed wins against GT (5-3) and TSS (even in rubbers and sets but won 83 games to 72). There were also several close matches during the season such as against BSHS with four rubbers all. Madison Simmons in Year 10 (Senior Prefect in 2012) was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ Tennis team. He won all his GPS 1st IV singles matches this year playing at the number 2 position. The 1st IV Tennis team was successful in winning the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Tennis competition at the regional level. This win enabled the team to travel to Rockhampton to participate in the State Finals. In Volleyball, the 1st VI team had a positive season with a 4th placing in the GPS championships. In the game against Gregory Terrace the TGS side was down two sets to nil and trailing in the third. The TGS boys ended up winning the 3rd, 4th and final set in over two and a half hours of demanding match play. The 1st Volleyball team also played a marathon match against IGS – a five set encounter lasting two and a half hours with IGS winning by 2 points in the final set. Kerry Lansdowne was in the 1st VI for the second successive year. His highest vertical leap was measured at 98cm. From 2006-2010 Jacob Guymer played volleyball for BGS. Later, Jacob represented Australia in volleyball in the Volleyroos. In Cadets, a book written by Mr John K. Winn was published by the School. The book, titled Steadfast, Brave and True, was a record of the Toowoomba Grammar School Army Cadet Unit 1892-2010 and incorporated the Old Boys’ Armed Forces’ Rolls of Honour. In Drama, the teacher-in-charge of Drama, Mr Todd Harm, devised, produced and directed the Maps performance in conjunction with Fairholme College. The Year 12 members of TiGAA included Alistair Seawright, Connor McBain, Paul Hewett, Andrew Heiner, James Drysdale and Lachlan Watson. The play Jamboree written by Mr Todd Harm was performed by 25 students in Years 8, 9 and 10 together with 15 girls from The Glennie School. The Toowoomba Grammar Acting Academy (TiGAA) introduced a lip-synching competition for the first time with the money raised going to a primary school in Nepal. In the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, Alexander Bloom gained a Gold Award. In Music, the Wind Ensemble numbered 54 musicians and achieved first place in the secondary schools’ section in the Eisteddfod. The Glennie/Grammar Orchestra also won first place at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod for the third consecutive year.

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The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 98, TGS 2/99). From 2010-2020 the TGS 1st XI team did not lose a cricket game against DC in the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (the 2017 and 2020 matches were washed out). The 1st XI Soccer (Football) team lost the Parents and Friends’ (P & F) Cup for the first time since its inception in 2003 (0-1). The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup 23-25. In Australian Rules Football, the TGS team defeated Downlands College in the Grand Final of the Darling Downs Independent Schools’ AFL Cup. The final score was TGS, 11 goals, 10 behinds (76 points) to DC, 9 goals, 7 behinds (61 points).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Damian Morgan (Old Boy 1985-1989), Business Marketing Consultant and Poet

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2010

Teaching Staff Opening of the Aquatic Centre

The Indoor Aquatic Centre

Construction of New Extension to Junior School

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2011 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 13th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 7th year)

Trustees: Mr Chris Wicks (Old Boy 1981-1985, Senior Prefect 1985 and President of the Old Boys’ Association 2006-2008) commenced in March 2011 succeeding Mr Ian Stirling who left the Board in June 2010. Trustee Mrs Julie Michael had been in ill-health throughout this year and resigned late in the year (and passed away in July 2012).

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 9th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 5th year)

Senior Prefect: George J. Hempenstall Senior Dayboy Prefect: Giles C. Creedon Senior Boarder Prefect: Toby J. Cook Dux of Year: Alexander D. Miller and Robert W. van Gend (aeq)

Captain of the Junior School: Guido M. Zuccoli-Handley Dux of the Junior School:

Andrew Lumsden

Total School Enrolment: 1088 (the first time in the School’s history that enrolments exceeded 1,000) Senior School Total: 813 Junior School Total: 275 (including 12 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 801 Number of Boarders: 287

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Mr James ‘Jim’ Noble was promoted to the School Executive this year in his role as Director of Pastoral Care and Head of Boarding. The title was reclassified in 2015 as Director of Boarding and Mr Noble continued in this role until his resignation at the end of 2021 to transfer to Brisbane. Page | 838


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Mr Ben Foley joined the staff as Director of Enrolments following the resignation of Mr Rob Mitchell at the end of 2010. Mr Foley was a member of the School Executive and resigned at the end of 2020 to return to his former profession, that of Law as a Solicitor. The School’s Director of Studies, Mrs Paulina Skerman, resigned at the end of the year following her appointment as Deputy Head of Canberra Grammar School commencing in 2012. Mrs Skerman had been on the staff of Toowoomba Grammar School since 2005 and had most successfully held the positions of Head of the English Department (2005-2007) and Director of Studies (2008-2011). Mrs Skerman was only the second woman in the School’s history to join the Senior School Executive Group as Director of Studies (Mrs Lynne Yeabsley was the first, in 2006). The School’s Arts Department was saddened to note the departure of Mr Todd Harm (Teacherin-Charge of Drama) and music teacher, Mr Andrew Eunson, to promoted positions elsewhere. Both men had made a most significant contribution to the Performing Arts in the School. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr M. Oliphant (Boyce), Mr T. Harm (Groom), Mr S. Stevens (Mackintosh), Mr L. Treloar (Stephens), Mr D. Kuhn (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding and Director of Pastoral Care was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. E. ‘Brodie’ Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr D. Grosvenor (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor). Mrs Gabe Battersby was appointed as Day Housemaster of Boyce House, a position she held for over a decade. A full-time Librarian was employed for the first-time in the Junior School, Ms Michelle Worthington.

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There had been a 27.8 % increase in the total number of students attending the School between 2001 and 2011. The School Prefects were George Hempenstall, Giles Creedon, Toby Cook, Jack Baldwin, Elias Bitzer, William Cavaye, Jubilee Charger, Oliver Civil, James Drysdale, Hamish Inch, Michael McGill, Seamus Murray, Hugh Pegler, James Rae, Robert van Gend, Arno Visagie and Thomas Webster. The Year 12 class of 2011 was the fifth most successful academically in the entire State in the OP 1-5 range with over 40 per cent of the School’s OP eligible students registered in this range. The School celebrated highly favourable publicity in both The Toowoomba Chronicle and The Courier Mail relating to such performance. Fourteen boys received an OP 1, the second-best result for the School in the history of the OP assessment regime for Year 12 students (surpassed only by 2006) – Jack Baldwin, Jake Brennan, Scott Byron, Raja Chinthamundeedi, Giles Creedon, Oliver Dornbusch, Angus Fraser, James Halliday, George Hempenstall, Hani Mikail, Alexander Miller, Hugh Pegler, Robert van Gend and Arno Visagie. This was the first year since the inception of the OP measurement of Year 12 achievement in 1992 in which more than 50 boys received an OP 1-5 (55 students). It was not until 2017 that another Year 12 cohort had more than 50 boys receiving an OP 1-5 (52 students). Three Year 12 students, George Hempenstall, Alexander Miller and Robert van Gend, won the Australian Students’ Prize, with only one school in all of Queensland securing more. George Hempenstall, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Page | 839


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Three students were also awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize – Henry Dight, Jack Nottle and Justin Anderson. Jubilee Charger in Year 12, a young man of Indigenous heritage from Normanton, was selected as one of the School’s Prefects. Five students of Indigenous heritage graduated Year 12 this year and a photograph of these young men appears in this year’s entry. Photographed (L-R) are Jubilee Charger, Jordan Williams, Lincoln Childs, Beau Jackson and Jackson Mahon. Alexander Miller (Year 12) was an outstanding player of the French Horn. He had been a member of the Queensland Youth Orchestra since Year 9. In 2018 Alexander was appointed to the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal French Horn player. He gained his A.Mus.A. qualification via the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in Year 10 and later his L.Mus.A. qualification. A photograph of Alexander Miller is included in this year’s entry. Robert van Gend (Year 12) and his brother Johnny (Year 9) completed their Licentiate in Music (LMusA) with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) as violinists. In the Toowoomba Eisteddfod both Robert and Johnny won seven 1st places. In addition to Robert completing the highest diploma for solo violin, the licentiate in music (LMusA), he also successfully completed an AMusA with distinction on viola. A photograph of Robert and Johnny van Gend is included in this year’s entry. Robert van Gend was the eldest of three brothers who were all awarded the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to TGS – Robert in 2011, Michael in 2013 and John in 2014. Robert was Dux of Year 12 this year and was a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra for seven years (see ‘Music’ in the ‘Co-Curricular Activities’ section of this year’s entry). William Darbyshire (Leader of the Choir) and Scott Haddon (Leader of the Grammarphones) attended the Gondwana Chorale for choral workshops. Angus Fraser (Year 12) was invited to participate in the YMCA Youth Parliament in a week-long residential experience. Jeriah Goodrich (Year 12) represented Queensland Schoolboys in Rugby Union. Nicholas Hopson (2007-2011) returned to the School in 2020 as a full-time teacher of Economics, Business Studies and English. In this year Nicholas was awarded the Perpetual Weedon Family Trophy for Excellence in Dramatic Performance. Nicholas resigned from teaching at the end of 2023 to commence tertiary study in Medicine. Robert Gilmour (2005-2011) successfully completed his Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Year 12. After completing a university degree in Tasmania, in 2020 he was living in Western Australia and working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Western Operations) as a pilot based in Kalgoorlie. Alexander Skerman (2007-2011) completed a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery degree at the Australian National University (ANU) and then went into specialty training in Psychiatry in Canberra.

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The Junior School celebrated the opening of its new extension which was constructed in the previous year.

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Devastating flood waters inundated parts of Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich, Brisbane and rural and regional areas of Queensland. The flooding in Toowoomba occurred on 10 January. In only 11 days into January of this year, Toowoomba had recorded its wettest January for 37 years with 255 mm of rainfall recorded. This followed the city’s wettest December since 1942. On 10 January a two-metre wall of water hit the CBD of Toowoomba. Mills Oval was completely under water and Old Boys’ Memorial Oval was also under water in many areas but not totally submerged. This event occurred on the same day as a previous natural disaster devastating Toowoomba in 1976 (see 1976). Within one day of the disaster, the School invited flood victims from Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley to use the School’s Boarding Houses as emergency accommodation (there were no boarders in residence at the School due to the summer holidays). Over the next week the School welcomed over 100 adults and children by providing emergency in three of our Boarding Houses – Boyce, Groom and Stephens. The relieving Officer in Charge of the Toowoomba Police Station during the devastation caused by the flooding that ripped through Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley at this time was James McDonald, a TGS Old Boy (1979-1984). Photographs of the flooding in Toowoomba are included in this year’s entry. In the Junior School, an additional three classes were introduced as the School progressively doubled-streamed the classes. All Year 9 students were allocated a personal laptop computer as part of the Federal Government’s Digital Education Revolution. With this computer rollout, all students in Years 9 and 10 now had a personal computer. It was anticipated that in 2012 all students in Years 9, 10 and 11 would have individual laptops. An exhibition of the work of a famous Australian artist, Tom McAulay, was held in Old Hall in August. The “SQNLDR Jack Doyle, DSO, DFC and Bar Commemoration Propeller” was presented for the first time. It continues to be awarded to a cadet who has shown an outstanding commitment to the TGS Cadet traditions and is presented by members of the Old Boys’ Association (see 1934). Old Boy, Mr John Thompson OAM (1937-1939), addressed the boys in Assembly with stories of his schooling at TGS. An Old Boys’ Reunion in London was held in June. Old Boys present at the function included a noted actor, an international concert pianist, an international stage set designer, a Professor of Mathematics and former Rhodes Scholar, a Professor of Engineering, a property developer, several financiers and so on. Another Old Boy who had recently graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Applied Probability (Pure Mathematics) from Cambridge University was also present. Those in attendance also enjoyed the company of four former members of the Toowoomba Grammar School staff who were then residing in the United Kingdom or who were visiting at the time, namely Messrs Neil Munro, Sandy Sanderson, Jim Tamvakis and Ross Vernon. An Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner was held in Adelaide at St. Peter’s School. The climbing tower in the Junior School playground was erected. Twenty students of French from Years 11 and 12 undertook a language and cultural tour to France. Travelling to the Somme region, the boys found the grave of TGS Old Boys, F.C. Fuljames, C.R. Wonderley and F.G.P. Barbour. The boys also attended the Dawn Service at VillersBretonneux and home-stayed and attended school in Nancy, as well as visiting the sights of Paris. Another tour was made available to students of French in Years 9 and 10. In the September holidays 13 boys visited New Caledonia. Over the first weekend of the September holidays the School hosted its fifth Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp. This was the largest camp yet with 36 children as guests and provided Page | 841


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a wonderful learning experience for the Year 11 boys involved in caring for their guest for the duration of the camp. It was inspirational to see the TGS young men respond so positively by clearly placing the needs of another person well before their own. Both the Junior Cricket Coaching camp (scheduled for 9-12 January) and involving 100 boys and the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival (to be hosted by TGS) were cancelled due to the flooding. This year the Queensland State Government announced its intention to move Year 7 to secondary school from 2015. This decision was necessitated following the adoption of the Australian curriculum and Queensland’s introduction of a Preparatory Year several years ago. Toowoomba Grammar School was to make its change in 2014. A disaster benefit fundraiser was held by the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce and Industry in late January. The President of the Chamber of Commerce was Old Boy Geoff McDonald who was the organiser of the event. The two guest speakers were also both Old Boys of the School – Graham ‘Skroo’ Turner (1965-1966) and Alan Jones (1955-1958). A photograph of these three Old Boys at the charity event is included in this year’s entry. The OBA annual reunion dinner was held at Rumours International. Old Boy Ian Knight (19601961) was the guest speaker at the OBA Business Breakfast and he spoke about the developments occurring in the Toowoomba property market. At the OBA Generations Gathering this year, the School welcomed Mrs Elizabeth Moore, wife of Charlie (1944-1948), mother of Graham (1972-1976), Richard (1975-1979) and David (19781982), grandmother of Bryce (Year 12) and Zac (Year 8). She spoke of her father, Vivian Marwedel who attended TGS between 1915-1919 and his uncle Percy Marwedel (1877-1881) who was one of the first students to attend the School. Mackintosh House was placed first in the Headmaster’s inter-House competition (by one point from Stephens House).

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The Athletics, Swimming and Football (Soccer) results improved significantly this year. In Athletics, the School’s team achieved the best result in the GPS Track and Field championships (6th place) since 2003. In this competition, six wins were recorded on the night, including David Tong U13 years 400m, 800m and 1500m, Matthew Denny U15 years discus, Jimmy Gordon U14 years discus and Max Orbell U14 800m. In addition to these wins, three GPS records were also broken by David Tong 800m and 1500m and Matthew Denny in discus. A photograph of Matthew Denny (later representing Australia twice at the Olympic Games) winning the discus event at the GPS Championships is included in this year’s entry. Max Orbell, David Tong, Matthew Denny, Jimmy Gordon, Jack Aird and Joshua Robinson were all selected in the Queensland Track and Field Schoolboys’ team to compete at the Nationals in December. In Basketball, this year saw not only a significant improvement in the skill levels of the TGS teams but also a lot more time invested into pre-season competitions, individual skills training and team development. The School’s 1st and 2nd V teams, for the first time, qualified for First Division in the Champion Basketball Schools’ Queensland (CBSQ) competition, achieving 4 wins and 3 losses.

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The School’s 1st V team secured back-to-back wins against BGS (64-27) and GT (73-47) in the opening two games of the season, a feat that had not been achieved for some decades. Unfortunately, this winning streak did not continue for the remaining games. The 1st V Basketball team defeated Gregory Terrace in the GPS competition (73-47) for the first time since 1991 (59-25). Overall the 1st V team was placed 7th in the GPS competition, the best position since 2002 (and achieving 6th place in the following year). Kabe Cicolini was the new Head Coach for this year, 2012, 2014 and throughout the period from 2017. In Chess, the School’s Premier Chess team had a highly successful year. The boys’ achievements in the Premier IV Chess team were significant - 3rd in the GPS competition, 4th in the State titles and being undefeated (20-0) in winning the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Chess championships. In the GPS Chess competition, the 1st IV defeated the Premier Chess teams representing GT, IGS, TSS, NC, BBC and had a drawn game against BSHS. The boys only lost to two teams – BGS and ‘Churchie’. The most talented 1st Chess IV team comprised Robert van Gend (Captain), Nizami Ousmand, Michael van Gend and Zack Domrow. Michael van Gend won the Board 3 Prize for most wins during the State Chess competition. Zack Domrow finished the GPS season undefeated. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team achieved 3rd place in the GPS competition following their 2nd placing last year. The 1st XI lost only two GPS games during the season, to the two top teams (BGS and TSS) and one match (ACGS) was washed out. Giles Creedon was in his second year as Captain of the 1st XI cricket team. In the 1st XI game against Nudgee College, Year 10 student Tom Carty took 6 wickets for 13 runs from 9.3 overs. Representing TSS in the match against TGS was Billy Stanlake, a very tall fast bowler who took 5 wickets for 12 runs. Billy was called up to Australia’s One Day International (ODI) team squad in 2017 to play against Pakistan. In the match against BGS was a student later to become an Australian test player, Matthew Renshaw. Matthew was run out by Dennis Rush for just eight runs. TGS was all out for 66 runs when playing against TSS (TSS was to be the 2011 GPS Cricket Premiers). TGS lost by 121 runs. In this match Jack Carty (to be the Captain in 2012) broke his right wrist celebrating a dismissal by ‘high-fiving’ with wicketkeeper Sam House. Joel Currie also broke his toe in this match. Tom Carty (Year 10), in his first of three years in the 1st XI, was selected in the combined GPS team. Against the BSHS 1st XI, the TGS bowlers saw both openers dismissed for ‘ducks’. This was followed by the prized wicket of Marnus Labuschagne for seven, caught by Joel Currie from a Tom Carty delivery. The Neil Dansie Cricket Festival scheduled to be held at Toowoomba Grammar School in January was cancelled due to the flooding. In Cross Country, the School’s squad finished in 8th place at the GPS championships, just 4 points off 6th place. In the competition, TGS athlete David Tong won his age division. In Football (Soccer), the improvement in the School’s programme was clearly demonstrated. The 1st XI team was proud to be undefeated in ‘home’ games during the season. The 1st XI defeated TSS (2-0), BSHS (3-1) and NC (2-1), drew with two teams (BGS: 3-3) and BBC (0-0) Page | 843


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Last year (2010) the School organised Football (Soccer) tours to both the United Kingdom and to Japan. This year two further international Football tours took place. During the winter holidays, 16 boys participated in a successful three-week Football tour to Germany and a further 17 boys, 10 parents and 2 staff toured Singapore and Malaysia during the September holidays. The Football tour held at this time of the year for the Year 8 Footballers had in recent years been to Japan but the destination changed due to the natural disaster (major earthquake and tsunami) faced by the country earlier this year. The tour organiser of the Year 8 Football Tour was Mr Mike Sharpe, the Deputy Head of the Junior School. In Rugby, the 1st XV played eight GPS games, winning both the GT (45-17) and BBC games. This latter game was a very exciting one, with the game won by TGS by one point (24-23). The boys were competitive in their games against TSS and NC. Jeriah Goodrich was selected in the Queensland I Schoolboys’ team which won the National championships (against NSW). The Coaches of the 1st XV were the Director of Rugby, Mr ‘Jono’ Farrell and Mr Jason Gilmore who was later to be the Head Coach of the Australia Under 20 side and then to join the coaching staff of the NSW Waratahs. Jason was later to be appointed the Coach of the Australia A rugby union team. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2016 featured an interview with Jason Gilmore on pages 42-44. A BBC 1st XV player, Tom Banks, was later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby. A BSHS 1st XV player, Samu Kerevi, was later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby. The School finished in the top four in the Queensland Schoolboy 7 Championships played at Suncorp Stadium as a curtain raiser to a Reds versus Rebels match. In Orienteering, the School won the ‘Queensland Champion School’ title in the sport of Orienteering (and again in the following year). In Swimming, seven students qualified to compete in the Australian Swimming Championships. The improvement in Swimming as a result of specialist coaching and the new Aquatic Centre was clearly noticeable by analysing the School’s aggregate points gained at the GPS Swimming Championships: in 2008 (79 points); in 2009 (78 points); in 2010 (114 points); and 2011 (197 points). Prior to at least the last fifteen years, the School has finished in last place at the GPS Swimming championships. The TGS team finished in 5th place this year, the best finish for the School for almost 30 years. Promise of future success in Swimming was seen at the GPS Swimming Championships with the Under 13 medley relay breaking a GPS record set in 2002. The medley team’s record-breaking performance comprised Alan Gibson (backstroke), Patrick McNab (breaststroke), BJ Oates (butterfly) and Charlie Carswell (freestyle). Under the rules of competition at the time, an individual swimmer was permitted to swim in only three individual events and one of our swimmers, B J Oates (Year 8,) competed in the allowable maximum number of events and won them all – wins in the 50, 100 and 200 metres freestyle. Another Year 8 boy (Patrick McNab) also won an individual event. At the State Secondary School Swimming Titles in April, nine of the School’s swimmers received medals. In all, the boys received 4 Gold, 6 Silver (including 1 relay) and 9 Bronze (including 5 relay) medals. In Tennis, two of the School’s 1st IV players were new to the Open Firsts this year but the encouraging prospect was that all would return for the 1st IV next year. The 1st IV won one GPS game this year, namely against GT (5 rubbers to 3).

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The Captain of Tennis, Madison Simmons, played in the Australian Schoolboys’ Championships in Victoria in May, finishing in the top ten. In Volleyball, the Captain of the School’s Open 1sts Volleyball team was William Cavaye who also held this position in the previous year. William was a member of the State Under 15 years Volleyball team. The 1st VI Volleyball team finished in 6th position in the GPS championships but were within ten points of winning nearly every game. The team defeated both BBC (3-0) and NC (3-1) in the season. In the Adventure Club, many boys and quite a few parents travelled to Nepal with the Club. The boys trekked near the Annapurna Himal, white-water rafted on the Trisuli River and had excursions on elephant backs and by foot in Chitwan National Park. The tour co-ordinator was Mr Bob Harvey. In Cadets, the Unit had a posted strength of eighty. The Unit’s Commanding Officer (AAC) was Captain Geoff Quinn. LT (AAC) Ann Hallam was Administration Officer. In the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, both Jordan Birrell and Robert Gilmour gained a Gold Award. In Drama, the Senior School performed The Music Man involving approximately 160 boys and girls (from Fairholme College) at the Empire Theatre with a matinee and three evening performances. Mr Todd Harm was the producer/director in his last production with the School prior to his resignation at the end of the year and Mr Neil Roche-Kelly the vocal director. The male cast included Nicholas Hopson and Alexander Schatz as leads (Harold Hill) and James Drysdale, Alistair Seawright, Joe Lynch, Philip Jones, Max Ellis and Andrew Heiner. The Barbershop Quartet comprised James Halliday, Alex Miller, Scott Byron and Harry Greig; and the Travelling Salesmen were Samuel Anderson, Lachlan Watson, Karl Priebe, Christopher Thomson, James Kleeman and George Lavers. The Junior School boys performed The Lion King in the new Junior School Assembly Hall. In Music, the School was honoured to be the host school for the GPS Music Day of Excellence involving all nine GPS schools in a full day’s rehearsal and evening concert at Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre. TGS student Robert van Gend was the Concert Master. The TGS RnB Band performed at Suncorp Stadium prior to a Queensland Reds Rugby game. Reference is made to the outstanding instrumental musical achievements of Robert van Gend, Johnny van Gend and Alexander Miller and the vocal achievements of William Darbyshire and Scott Hadden in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. The Glennie/Grammar Orchestra, led by Alexander Miller, achieved first place at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod for the fourth successive year. The String Ensemble, led by Robert van Gend, also won a first place.

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Downlands Competition: • • • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy, 196 runs to 165 (the sixth win in the last seven years). The School won nine of the ten cricket fixtures contested against Downlands College this year. The 1st XI Football (Soccer) team won the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Cup, 2-0, for the eighth time since the Cup’s inception nine years ago. All other TGS Football teams won on this day. The 1st XV Rugby team was defeated by the Downlands College team, 14-16, losing the O’Callaghan Cup. Both schools once again played Australian Rules Football in a competition known as the Darling Downs AFL Queensland Independent Schools’ Cup. This year the School once again won the Independent Schools’ Cup with a repeat Grand Final victory over Downlands College, 12-12 (84 points) to 2-8 (20 points).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Kieran Perkins, OAM, Former Olympian, Head of Business Development and Acquisitions at National Australia Bank

General Note: At the end of this year, former member of the teaching staff and School Historian, Mr John Winn, wrote to the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, and stated: “One could argue, quite convincingly, that 2011 represents the most successful year to date in Toowoomba Grammar School’s history…. in my opinion, a year without peer.” (see entry 2006).

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2011 2011

The Floods The Floods

Outstanding Musicians, Robert van Gend & Johnny van Gend Outstanding Musicians, Robert van Gend & Johnny van Gend

The Devastating 2011 Floods in Toowoomba The Devastating 2011 Floods in Toowoomba Outstanding Musician, Alexander Miller Outstanding Musician, Alexander Miller

Year 12 Graduating Indigenous Students, (L-R) Jubilee Charger, Jordan Williams, Lincoln Childs, Beau Jackson & Jackson Mahon Year 12 Graduating Indigenous Students, (L-R) Jubilee Charger, Jordan Williams, Lincoln Childs, Beau Jackson & Jackson Mahon

Old Boys Assisting the Flood Disaster Benefit Fundraiser, (L-R), Mr Graham ‘Scroo’ Turner, Mr Geoff McDonald & Mr Alan Jones Old Boys Assisting the Flood Disaster Benefit Fundraiser, (L-R), Mr Graham ‘Scroo’ Turner, Mr Geoff McDonald & Mr Alan Jones

Matthew Denny (later a Triple Olympian) Matthew Denny (later a Triple Olympian)

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2012 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 14th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 8th year)

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 10th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 6th year)

Senior Prefect: Madison C. Simmons (who was also Captain of the Junior School in 2007) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Daniel M. Gibson Senior Boarder Prefect: Luke P.C. Mayne Dux of Year: Alexander H. Schatz

Captain of the Junior School: Austin J.K. Kelly Dux of the Junior School:

Mark Mackenzie

Total School Enrolment: 1137 Senior School Total: 831 Junior School Total: 306 Number of Dayboys: 845 Number of Boarders: 292

Staffing: •

In July Mrs Judy Gillies retired after 54 years’ service in the administrative staff, representing the longest serving employee in the School’s history. Mrs Gillies’ name was subsequently honoured by the School at the annual Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony with the award: The Judy Gillies Prize for Loyalty and Service to Toowoomba Grammar School. Mrs Gillies continued her involvement with the School by volunteering in the School Museum for at least a further decade. The former member of staff and later part-time School Historian, Mr John Keeble Winn, as part of the School’s historical collection, wrote the book ‘Toowoomba Grammar School: The Gillies Connection’ in 2013. A photograph of Mrs Judy Gillies ringing the school bell for the last time is included in this year’s entry (also see the reference to Judy receiving gifts from the Old Boys Association in the ‘Events’ section below). Page | 848


• •

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Two members of the teaching staff were acknowledged and thanked for accruing 25 years of service at the School – Mrs Lynnette Yeabsley and Dr Ian Waite, both of whom joined the staff in 1988. A significant number of new staff joined the Junior School with the additional classes created in Years 1, 3 and 4. Mr Gregory Bland joined the School (and the School Executive) as the new Director of Studies. This followed the resignation of the previous Director of Studies, Mrs Paulina Skerman, at the end of last year to obtain a very senior appointment at Canberra Grammar School. Later, in 2015, Mrs Skerman was appointed to the position of Principal of St. Patrick’s College in Townsville and in 2020 to the position of Principal of Santa Sabina College in Sydney. A new staffing position was created in the School’s Arts and Music programme, that of Director of Performance. Mr Harley Mead, a current member of staff, was appointed to this position. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr D. Parrington (Groom), Mr S. Stevens (Mackintosh), Mr L. Treloar (Stephens), Mr D. Kuhn (Term 1), Mr S. Church (Terms 2-4) (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding and Director of Pastoral Care was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. E. ‘Brodie’ Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

• •

The School Prefects were Madison Simmons, Daniel Gibson, Luke Mayne, Matthew Belford, Jack Carty, Jens Christensen, Jack Higgins, George Lavers, Jack Leeson, Joseph Lynch, Hayden McRae, Philippus Potgieter, Nicholas Riordan, Matthew Rogan, Alexander Schatz and James Wheeler. Eleven Year 12 boys achieved an OP One and 27 per cent of OP eligible students gained an OP in the range 1-5 – Andrew Adrian, Matthew Belford, Timothy Buttsworth, Daniel Gibson, Jaamae Hafeez-Baig, Andrew Heiner, George Lavers, Dominic McCrae, Hayden McRae, Alexander Schatz and David Swan. A Year 12 student, Nicholas Muller, tragically lost his life in a motor vehicle collision in September. The School honours Nicholas’ name with the Nicholas Muller Memorial Values Award presented each year at the School’s Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony. Philippus Potgieter (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School (see the ‘Co-Curricular Activities Rugby’ section below in this year’s entry). Two Year 12 boys were awarded an Australian Vocational Student Prize – Jim Milson and Matthew Ryan. The Senior Prefect, Madison Simmons, was Captain of Tennis in both this year and the previous year. This year Madison was also appointed as Captain of the Queensland State Schoolboys’ tennis team. Madison was also awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. A photograph of Madison Simmons and the Senior Prefect of both 1947 and 1948, Dr George Fielding, is included in this year’s entry. Joshua Robinson (Year 11) won three gold medals at the National Track and Field titles in December. This year he was named the National NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year (see 2013). A photograph of Joshua Robinson together with Brisbane Bronco Petero Civoniceva and Old Boy Ross Livermore (1958-1959), a former Queensland Rugby League (QRL) Managing Director, is included in this year’s entry. Page | 849


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Jack Norman in Year 12 was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ Gymnastics team. Two Year 9 boys, Alan Gibson and Braiden ‘BJ’ Oates, won national gold swimming medals. Andrew Heiner (2008-2012) was the only person in Queensland to be selected to attend the 2016 Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Programme (UCWIP) which gives Australian students the opportunity to intern with offices of the United States Congress in Washington DC. Bryson Head (2010-2012) won the seat of Callide for the Liberal National Party in the June 2022 by-election (and making him the youngest member of the Queensland Parliament). Todd Ellis, a young man of Indigenous heritage, was a talented artist and a photograph of Todd and some of his artwork is included in this year’s entry. The Dux of the School this year, Alexander Schatz, was in 2024 a Barrister in Sydney. Timothy Buttsworth achieved the A.Mus.A. with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). Over the past two years the Junior School enrolment increased by nearly fifty per cent.

Buildings: • •

• •

Various improvements to the infrastructure of the School took place during the year as described below and some photographs relating to these appear in this year’s entry. The Boyce Boarding Housemaster’s residence (formerly the Deputy Headmaster’s residence from 1965-1977 and then the residence used for the Senior Resident Master) was demolished and construction of the new Mackintosh Boarding House commenced on this site. The new Margaret Street brick entrance gates were erected. A significant extension to the School Pavilion was constructed with a major contribution to the financing of this project being made by the P&F Association, this year being led by its President, Mr Ross Ole. The front driveway (promenade) was visually enhanced with the removal of the asphalt surface and replaced by an exposed aggregate pathway.

Events: •

The opening of the major extension to the School Pavilion was celebrated with its first official function, that of Mrs Judy Gillies’ farewell after 54 years’ service to the School. The date of this first function was on 5 August (the 137th year anniversary of the foundation of the School). The first function organised by the P&F Association in the new Pavilion was the Melbourne Cup Luncheon. At the Old Boys’ Association annual reunion dinner, Mrs Judy Gillies was presented with her own Old Boys’ cap and jersey and a giclee print of an original portrait of Judy that the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) had commissioned via Old Boy Mr Graham Hobbs (1949-1952). The artist of Judy’s portrait was Dalerie Patterson. A photograph of Judy receiving the giclee print of the original portrait is included in this year’s entry. To the left of the photograph is Mr Craig Dennis, President of the OBA, Mrs Judy Gillies and the Headmaster, Mr Peter Hauser. Judy’s husband, Mr Russ Gillies, the longest-serving teacher in the School’s history, was present at both of these occasions but sadly passed away later this year on 11 November. At the celebration of his life held at St Bart’s Anglican Church in Toowoomba, the Old Boys of the School formed a lengthy guard of honour followed by a stirring rendition of the School’s War Cry. The year saw the implementation of the first phase of the new Australian Curriculum. Page | 850


• • • •

Mills Oval received a complete resurface and laser levelling and extension to increase the size of the playing surface. A new turf wicket square was also installed. A photograph of the levelling of Mills Oval and its extension is included in this year’s entry. Two Rugby awards were created in memory of Old Boy and Rugby Coach, Steve Sweeney (see 1980) – the Steve Sweeney Memorial Trophy for 2nd XV Best and Fairest and the Steve Sweeney Memorial Award for Rugby Coach of the Year. A number of international tours were offered to the boys this year in addition to the Musicians’ Tour to Central Europe (see ‘Co-curricular Activities’ section in this entry). These international trips included a Geography tour to Vanuatu (involving 23 Geographers), a Year 8 Football tour to Singapore and Malaysia (15 boys), a Japanese students’ language and cultural tour to Japan (8 boys) and a History students’ tour to Turkey (45 tourists). In addition, 29 students and five staff coaches thoroughly enjoyed a Rugby tour to South America, visiting and playing rugby in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Over the last few years the School’s social service programme had become an increasingly important component in the personal development of many of the boys. This was seen in the wonderful fund-raising efforts of the Interact Club, the continued success of the Sony Foundation’s Children’s Holiday Camp and the Community Service contribution made by boys in their various pastoral care Houses. The School’s Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly, is acknowledged for his initiative and efforts in this regard. The Old Boys’ Generations Gathering held in Old Hall involved current Year 8 and Year 12 students together with Old Boy fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. To close the evening, Old Boy Roland Lavers (1936-1939) led the Old Boys’ rendition of the School’s war cry followed by the current boys. At the Old Boys’ Business Breakfast, Old Boy Geoff McDonald (1984-1988) was the guest speaker. This year the School held an inaugural boarder orientation weekend for boys entering the School in the next year. An Old Boys’ reunion was held in Sydney and Melbourne. At the Old Boys’ reunion in Melbourne there were 25 Old Boys in attendance, hosted by the Headmaster at the Melbourne Town Hall. Five young Old Boys from during Mr Hauser’s Headmastership were present, four of whom were now doctors or medical students. Member of the Old Boys’ Management Committee, Mr Ian Dumigan, was also present. The Revd. Herbert Stevens AM who attended TGS from 1936-1937 was most impressive in leading the warcry. Mackintosh House was placed first in the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition for the fourth successive year.

Co-curricular Activities: •

A revised GPS sporting calendar was approved by the Headmasters’ Collective of the GPS Association in the previous year and implemented this year for Terms 2 and 3. In Term 2 the only field event was Football (Soccer) together with Cross Country and Tennis. In Term 3 the only field event was Rugby Union together with Basketball and Chess. Prior to this change there was a break of three weeks with the winter holidays during the playing season with a consequent interruption to player fitness, training and match conditioning. Furthermore, by having only one field sport per term, this freed up more available ovals. The initiative also enabled, for the first time, the opportunity for the boys to play both Football (Soccer) and Rugby. The School’s Director of Sport and Activities at the time, Mr John Anderson, initiated this concept which was approved by the Headmasters’ Collective of the GPS Association. Page | 851


• •

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• •

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In Athletics, the School’s GPS Track and Field team was placed 2nd in the GPS championships (only seven points beneath IGS in first place). The 2012 Track and Field season ended with the most exciting finish for Toowoomba Grammar School’s Athletics in 32 years with this 2nd placing. First place getters in the GPS Track and Field Championships included: Matthew Denny Under 16 Shot-Put and Discus (a GPS Record); Jimmy Gordon Under 15 Shot-Put and Discus; Scott Trevena Under 13 Shot-Put; Joshua Robinson Under 16 100m, 200m, 400m and Relay; Emmanuel Philip Under 13 200m and 800m; David Tong Under 14 800m and 1500m; Jacob Lawrence Under 16 800m; the Under 14 4x100m Relay team; and the Under 16 4x100m Relay team. Joshua Robinson (Year 11) won three gold medals at the National Track and Field titles in December. In Australian Rules Football, with the change to the GPS calendar, a local competition of Australian Rules Football was played during the Football (Soccer) season in Term Two. The TGS ‘Tigers’ had enjoyed three successive local Premierships but were unable to retain the trophy this year. In Basketball, the School’s 1st V experienced three GPS wins during the season, the first time for approximately fifteen years. The 1st V Basketball team defeated the 1st V teams from BGS (72-52), GT (86-48) and BSHS (7972). The strength of the TSS team (and the absence of the TGS Captain, Paul Aleer) was demonstrated in the final score, TSS (105) – TGS (35). A photograph of the Captain of the 1st V Basketball team, Paul Aleer, and a younger student, Darcy Meagher, is included in this year’s entry. In Chess, the School’s Premier Chess team came 3rd in the GPS competition, as they did the previous year. The Premier Team confidently won the fixtures over Gregory Terrace, The Southport School and Nudgee College with 4-0 victories, BSHS (3-1) and BBC (2½ -1½). The only losing games were to ‘Churchie’ and BGS, both 3-1. In Cricket, the 1st XI cricket team came 2nd in the GPS competition without having the opportunity to play the eventual premiers ‘Churchie’ due to a washout. The team’s 2nd placing followed similar successes from the TGS 1st XI teams of the previous two years with a 2nd and 3rd placing in the GPS competition (and next year’s 3rd). The Coach of these most successful teams was Mr Alan Hill who was deserving of much praise for the commitment he showed to the task. The 1st XI won five GPS games, with 2 washouts (‘Churchie’ and TSS) and one loss (BGS). In the 1st XI game against GT, Sam Green took 6 wickets for 22 runs off 10.2 overs. In this match against GT, the TGS batsmen went from 1 for 37 to 5 for 42 in a major collapse. Despite this, TGS won with four wickets in hand. Another excellent bowling spell was from Jack Carty in the BSHS 1st XI game, taking 6 for 9 off 11.4 overs. Jack Carty was the Captain of the 1st XI and his two younger brothers were also later to be selected as the Captain of the School’s 1st XI – Tom Carty in 2013 and William ‘Will’ Carty in 2016 and 2017. Jack Carty and Mr Neil Dansie (a stalwart of cricket history in South Australia after whom the Neil Dansie cricket competition in which TGS plays in an annual fixture is named) appear in a photograph in this year’s entry. The Neil Dansie Cricket Festival was held at the School after being washed out in Toowoomba the previous year. In Cross Country, the School’s 4th placing in the GPS Cross Country championships represented the School’s best performance in twenty years. The boys in the squad had trained extremely well and the team nearly doubled the points from the previous year. The team was also just two points off Nudgee College in third place. Page | 852


• • • • • •

• •

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The GPS Cross Country championships got off to a great start. Emmanuel Philip won the Under 13 age division, David Tong won the Under 14 age group and Ben Drew was placed third in the Under 15 division. In Football (Soccer), the 1st XI had a successful season with a 4th place finish in the GPS Football competition. The 1st XI Football team enjoyed 5 GPS wins out of the 8 played with victories over BGS (4-1), GT (5-0), BSHS (5-0), NC (3-1) and BBC (1-0). The School’s 1st XI Football team played on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval for the first time ever, on a classic Toowoomba foggy and rainy day. This match was against BGS with a 4-1 victory to TGS. In Football (Soccer) the School’s Under 15 team was State runner-up in the Bill Turner Football Cup and the Open team was placed in the top four teams in the State in the Red Lion Cup. The School’s Futsal (indoor soccer) team won the Under 16 Australasian Championship. In Rugby, whilst the School’s 1st XV Rugby team was placed 5th in the competition, it won five games in the season: against Churchie (24-18), Gregory Terrace (28-23), Ipswich Grammar School (26-22), Brisbane Boys’ College (24-16) and Brisbane State High School (36-28). The team was evenly locked with Nudgee College at 19 all until the dying minutes of the game when Nudgee received a penalty kick to win 22-19. The Coach of the 1st XV was Mr Jason Gilmore. The School won every Rugby match in all year levels against both BBC and IGS, lost only three games against BSHS and won 17 out of the 23 matches played against GT. The first game of the GPS Rugby season was against ‘Churchie’ whose team came into the 2012 season as favourites. It was their Centenary year and the TGS coach at the time, Jason Gilmore, recalls this match which TGS won (24-18) as one of the standout memories from his time as Head Coach of the 1st XV. Campbell Lindsay in Year 11 dislocated vertebrae during a rugby match against The Southport School. Campbell made a full recovery. Year 12 student, Jonah Placid, was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby team winning the Bronze Boot Award vs New Zealand Schools. A photograph of Jonah and the Bronze Boot Award appears in this year’s entry. In 2015 Jonah excelled at the World Under 20 Rugby Championships held in Italy. In 2017 he was playing for the Melbourne Rebels and had played Super Rugby for the Reds. In 2019 Jonah was playing for Toulon Rugby Club in France. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2013 (pp.30-31) contained an informative article written by Jonah outlining his diary over two months (September and October 2012) training and playing with the Australian Schoolboys’ team. In addition to Jonah Placid being selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby team, two other students, Philippus ‘Philip’ Potgieter and Adam Deck, were selected in the Australian A Schoolboys’ team. Philip Potgieter later toured New Zealand with the Australian Barbarians team and represented King’s College (University of Queensland) at the Hong Kong Tens tournament, alongside another Old Boy and 2012 1st XI team-mate, Thomas Kidston (2011-2013). Later, Philip was playing for Mazda Blue Zoomers (now Skyactivs Hiroshima) competing in the Japan Rugby League One. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2016 (pp.39-41) included an interview with Philip and the TGS Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, discussing Philip’s National Rugby Championship experience for Queensland Country. Philip Potgieter and former Wallaby Old Boy Jason Little (1983-1987) appear in a photograph in this year’s entry. Markus Vanzati (2011-2012) earned his first Reds Cap on Saturday, 11 March 2017 at Suncorp Stadium. Jordan Drew (2008-2012) made his NRL debut for the Broncos v St George Illawarra Dragons in August of the following year. He had the honour of becoming the 200th Bronco in the Club’s Page | 853


• • • • •

• • • • •

• •

history. Later, Jordan was selected to represent Canada in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2014 contained an article featuring an interview with Jordan Drew about his selection in the Broncos and his rugby schooldays (pp.30-31). In this year, seven Toowoomba Grammarians were Queensland Schoolboys’ Rugby Union representatives (Jonah Placid and Stuart Bougoure in QLD I and Adam Deck, Philip Potgieter, Anton Minenko, Blaise Hartley and Markus Vanzati in QLD II). Alistair Stewart was selected in the Australian Junior Rugby Union U 17 team. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2012 included an article written by the former School Historian, John K. Winn, providing a summary of the history of TGS rugby (pp.36-39). In Orienteering, the School won the ‘Queensland Champion School’ title in Orienteering for the second year in succession. In Swimming, the School’s swimmers were placed 6th in the GPS Swimming Championships (but only 15 points from 3rd place). The School had two State Swimming Champions this year, Alan Gibson and BJ Oates, while another 5 boys made State finals: Drew Timbs, Phillip Brittain, Jared Pailthorpe, Patrick McNab and Joshua Smith. Alan Gibson had wonderful results securing 4 Gold Medals and he was State Champion in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke and the 200m and 400m Individual Medley. BJ Oates also secured 3 Gold medals in the 100m and 200m Freestyle and the 100m Butterfly. At the GPS Swimming Championships, the TGS Under 14 years 200 metres medley relay team won their event in a GPS Record time. This record still existed twelve years later. The successful swimmers in this event were Brayden McCarthy, Patrick McNab, Braiden ‘B.J’. Oates and Charles Carswell. Indicative of the talent and competition at the GPS Swimming Championships was Jack McLoughlin swimming for NC. Later, in 2016, Jack represented Australia at the Rio Olympic Games. In Tennis, the School’s 1st IV finished in 8th position in the GPS championships. The team had tight matches against IGS and TSS and enjoyed its win against BSHS (6-2). The matches against BGS and NC were cancelled due to the weather. In Volleyball, the 1st VI was relatively inexperienced in first level competition but finished in a pleasing 4th position from a highly competitive field in the GPS. Winning games in Volleyball for the 1st VI were against GT (3-1), IGS (3-1), BSHS (3-0) and NC (30). Paul Aleer was in the 1st VI (and 1st basketball) for the second successive year. Paul was the tallest member of the volleyball program at 6 foot and 8 inches (203cm) and his highest reach was 353cm. In Cadets, the School’s Cadet Unit celebrated its 120 years of operation since its inception in 1892. To honour the occasion, a commemorative photograph of the Cadet Unit was taken in front of School House, replicating a similar photograph taken in 1910. At an impressive Passing Out Parade in front of the entire school, the boys enjoyed watching a demanding routine using the Unit’s innocuous .303 rifles from the Unit’s Precision Drill Team (soon to be renamed ‘The Honour Guard’). This year the School’s Cadet Unit also won the Darling Downs Tri-Service Brymaroo Challenge Shield. In Debating, 36 boys represented the School. In Drama, the TGS Acting Academy (TiGAA) had 16 students in the Junior group and 22 members in the Senior troupe. This year’s production was a re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, produced by Mrs Eylece Blaikie, teacher of Drama. This production was a Dinner-Theatre show held in the Assembly Hall over four nights. It involved 30 boys on stage and 15 boys backstage. This was Mrs Blaikie’s first production at the School following her arrival this year.

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• • •

• •

Chris Thomson and Jack Lynch were awarded bursaries with the Empire Theatre Youth Arts Program to attend further training academies around the country. The Junior School musical Aladdin was a special and memorable event with all boys from Year 4 to Year 7 singing, dancing and acting their way through four sold-out performances. In Music, a massive music tour in conjunction with The Glennie School comprising 133 people travelled to central Europe for a music tour. The tour also involved the students performing in the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland) and the Bratislava Youth Music Festival in Slovakia. The touring ensembles also gave numerous performances in Salzburg (Austria) and Budapest (Hungary) with the highlight being able to compete in the International Music Festival event in Bratislava (Slovakia). Here the Orchestra and Choir were awarded Silver and the Big Band was particularly thrilled to achieve Gold. Mr Neil Roche-Kelly, Head of Arts, led this amazing tour. The Performing Arts programme was most successful this year. There were 15 Senior School ensembles involving over 180 boys, 16 music tutors and staff, and approximately 160 Senior School students learning a musical instrument. The School congratulated the Senior Choir on their success at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod achieving first place in the Boys’ Choral section, first in Modern Chorus and second in the Secondary Choral section. The Take Note Concert showcased the School’s impressive musicians. The Senior School Choir comprised 65 boys and 18 boys were members of the Grammarphones.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 144, TGS 1/145) (all Cricket matches were won in every age group). The 1st XI Football team retained the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Trophy 3-1 (9 times in the last 10 years) and TGS winning every football game in every age group. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup (40-8) with six tries to one. This was the second highest score in the Cup’s history to date. The Toowoomba Chronicle newspaper article ‘Grammar Romps To Victory’ provided coverage of the game and a photograph of this article is included in this year’s entry.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Craig R. Dennis (1976-79) was elected as President of the OBA for a 3-year term (2012-2014). Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Mr Nicholas Gleeson, Motivational Speaker and vision impaired

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2012

The School’s Longest Serving Employee in its History, Mrs Judy Gillies

Todd Ellis and dot painting

Darcy Meagher (Prep) and Captain of Basketball, Paul Aleer (Year 12)

Nearly a Combined Century of Outstanding Service to the School by Mr Russell & Mrs Judy Gillies

40-8 Victory in O’Callaghan Cup vs DC

Developments in 2012

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2012 (cont.)

Champion Student Athlete Joshua Robinson with Former QRL Managing Director & Old Boy Mr Ross Livermore (1958-1959) & Brisbane Bronco, Petero Civoniceva

Jack Carty & Mr Neil Dansie

Levelling Mills Oval Jonah Placid, Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby Team

Mrs Judy Gillies Portrait Presentation by President of OBA Mr Craig Dennis & Headmaster Hauser

Philippus Potgieter with Old Boy, former Australian Wallaby, Jason Little

Page | 857


2013 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 15th year as Chairman)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 9th year)

Trustees: Trustee Mrs Barb MacDiarmid resigned from the Board in May 2013 following 11 years of service. Two new Trustees joined the Board in September – Dr Nicola Hulme-Peake and Mrs Kym Murray. Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 11th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 7th year)

Senior Prefect: Andrew Park Senior Dayboy Prefect: Matthew J. Gleeson Senior Boarder Prefect: Jamie O. Border Dux of Year: Tobeas J. Brennan

Captain of the Junior School: Mitchell J. Leeson (Year 7) - Harrison D. Weir (Year 6) Dux of the Junior School:

Adrian Irwin (Year 7) - George Statton (Year 6)

Total School Enrolment: 1214 Senior School Total: 849 Junior School Total: 365 Number of Dayboys: 913 Number of Boarders: 301

Staffing: • •

The School congratulated the Head of the Junior School, Mr Scott Campbell, on his 10th year of service. Three staff, each with over 25 years teaching experience with the School, retired at the end of the year – Old Boy Mr Des McGovern (35 years); Mr Robin Buchanan (27 years) and Mr Clifford Page | 858


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‘Bob’ Harvey (26 years). Mr McGovern had been the Head of the Physical Education Department since 1986; Mr Buchanan was a teacher of Manual Arts; and Mr Harvey taught in the Mathematics Department and was a Day Housemaster. A photograph of Mr Bob Harvey is included in this year’s entry. A new Senior Staff position was created this year – the Head of the Senior School. The School’s former Director of Sport and Activities, from 2005-2012, Mr John Anderson, was promoted to this position. Mr Anderson was later to be appointed as the School’s Deputy Headmaster (in 2018). A photograph of Mr John Anderson is included in this year’s entry. Mr Sean Tasker joined the staff and School Executive as the new Director of Sport and Activities and resigned in September 2015. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr D. Parrington (Groom), Mr S. Stevens (Mackintosh), Mr L. Treloar (Stephens), Mr S. Church (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding and Director of Pastoral Care was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr E.B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students • The School Prefects were Andrew Park, Matthew Gleeson, Jamie Border, Samuel Belford, Tomas Carty, Joseph Cook, Jack Devine, Dugald Gourlay, Liam Jurd, Daniel Martlew, Daniel O’Connor, Angus Pegler, Malachy Sweeney, Michael van Gend and Harry Whyte. • Nine Year 12 boys achieved an OP One – Jamie Border, Toby Brennan, Jack Devine, Zack Domrow, Matthew Gleeson, Daniel Martlew, Angus Pegler, Joshua Perkins and Michael van Gend. • The Year 12 students gained the highest percentage result in the category of OP 1-15 (almost 97%) since the introduction of the OP system in 1992. • Four Year 12 students received the highly prestigious academic prize known as the Australian Students’ Prize. The award recipients were Tobeas Brennan, Jamie Border, Matthew Gleeson and Angus Pegler. Only 59 young men throughout Queensland received this national honour. • Three boys received an Australian Vocational Student Prize this year – Edward Collins, Jordan Dallinger and Stephen Hemmings. • Andrew Park, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. He practised for four years as a Dentist in Toowoomba and Southport and then decided to continue with postgraduate studies in paediatric dentistry at the University of Melbourne. • Michael van Gend (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. • Jamie Border (2009-2013), Senior Boarder Prefect, completed postgraduate studies in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Queensland and his Ph.D. research was in computational fluid dynamics. In 2023 Jamie was working at Boeing in Brisbane. • Year 12 student and Captain of Athletics, Matthew Denny, was later to represent Australia in discus in three Olympic Games – Rio de Janeiro (2016), Tokyo (2021) and Paris (2024). In his Year 12 year Matthew won both the Open shot-put and discus at the GPS Track and Field Championships. The Open discus throw was a new GPS Record of 62.89m. Matthew’s success came as little surprise given that he had won the Under 18 and Under 20 age divisions at the National Championships in discus, shot-put and hammer throw. Matthew was ranked World Champion in the Under 18 discus event at the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Youth Championships held in Ukraine and third in the world in the Under 18 hammer Page | 859


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throw. At this athletics meet, Matthew was selected as Captain for this team. For his outstanding achievements, Matthew was rewarded by being named Queensland male athlete of the year and Australian Junior Track and Field athlete of the year. Later, in 2016, Matthew represented Australia in the Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro), was a Silver Medallist in hammer throw at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast and was acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Matthew also placed fourth in the discus event in the Tokyo Olympic Games (July 2021), throwing a personal best of 67.02 metres, only 5 centimetres away from a Bronze Medal. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, Matthew smashed his Personal Best twice to claim a Gold Medal in the men’s discus event. Any of his six throws in the final would have been good enough to win the gold. His final throw was a distance of 67.26 metres. At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Matthew broke the Australian record with a discus throw of 68.24 metres and finished 4th in the competition. Matthew’s third participation in the Olympic Games was in the 2024 Paris Olympics in which he won an Olympic Bronze Medal. Matt’s throw of 69.31 metres created Australia’s first Men’s Discus Olympic Medal. The gold and silver winning men’s discus throwers in this event both beat the existing Olympic record. Photographs of triple Olympian and Old Boy Matthew Denny are included in this year’s entry. Year 12 student, Joshua Robinson, won the Open 100 (11.01 sec), 200 (21.52 sec) and 400 metres (49.90 sec) events in superb performances at the GPS Track and Field Championships. Joshua achieved State representation in Track and Field, Rugby Union, Rugby League and Touch Football (see 2012). Photographs of Joshua Robinson are included in this year’s entry. A group of six highly talented student athletes competed in the Czech Republic in the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World Schools’ Athletics Championships and won first place. The international TGS team comprised Joshua Robinson, Jacob Lawrence, Tim Penberthy, Coen Oates, Max Orbell and Mitchell Phillips. This followed their first-place ranking in Australia to qualify for this international event. Schools from Turkey, Germany and England filled second, third and fourth places respectively. Most significantly our athletes were also voted as “the country that best demonstrated fair play” (see a photograph of the boys in this year’s entry). A framed celebration of this international achievement was donated to the School by Old Boy, Mr Graham Hobbs (1949-1952) and a photograph of this celebratory event is included in this year’s entry. A photograph of a letter written to the School by the State Premier congratulating the boys on their international achievement is also included in this year’s entry. The Old Boys’ Association and Mr Hobbs supported the boys’ attendance at the athletics meet in the Czech Republic. Liam Jurd (Year 12) and James McColl (Year 11) were selected in the Australia A Schoolboys’ Rugby team. Later, Liam Jurd represented Australia in the U20s team in two Test matches against New Zealand U20s and also in the World Rugby U20s Championship in Manchester, England. Jack Devine (2009-2013) trained as an aerospace engineering officer in electronics at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra. He graduated at the end of 2016 as a pilot officer. At ADFA, Jack was the Pipe and Drum Major of the ADFA Band. He was also the lone piper at the Dawn Service in Canberra on ANZAC Day. Ten years after leaving school, Clancy O’Connor (2009-2013) returned to commence teaching at TGS in the subject area of Economics. Christopher Thomson (2009-2013) later returned to the School to assist with performances by the Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) and school productions (see 2023). In 2019 Christopher graduated with a Masters in Directing from the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) and he wrote several plays for the boys to perform (see ‘Drama’ section in 2019-year entry). Page | 860


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A number of Year 12 students were excellent musicians and held the A.Mus.A. (Associate Diploma in Music Australia) qualification from the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). They included Andrew Park (Senior Prefect) and Angus Pegler in saxophone performance, Ben Anderson on piano and Kenny Han on the flute. Kenny later advanced to the L.Mus.A. qualification. Clancy Sinnamon (2009-2013) was, in 2016, selected to write the script and produce a graduating film for Bond University in the Faculty of Film and Television. Later he travelled the world for two years (2019-2020) with the Australian Cricket team having signed a contract with Cricket Australia as a video-journalist. A profile of Clancy’s career, including his mentoring of young filmmakers in regional Australia, was included in the School’s publication Omnibus, vol.34, no.1, 2024, pg.36. Lachlan Civil (Year 12) had an initial career choice that made him the envy of some of his contemporaries. He was a professional ‘gamer’ and for around ten years competed in competitions in Oceania, Europe and South Korea. This involvement continued until 2022. The School celebrated the graduation of five boys of Indigenous heritage from Year 12 this year including Old Boy Waverley Stanley’s own son. This year there were fifteen Murri and Koori boys in the Senior School, five of whom were attending the School under the Yalari Indigenous Education Scholarship program now operating nationally, an initiative of Waverley Stanley, In 2024 Waverley Stanley AM was acknowledged on the TGS Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. (see 1984). This year one of the Yalari boys, Todd Ellis (2009-2013), created an Aboriginal dot painting of the School’s crest. This piece of art has been hung in the W.M. Dent Library and also, later in 2022, in the Indigenous Education meeting space on campus. Two of the grandsons of the late 13th Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr ‘Bill’ Dent, commenced their studies at the School this year. Jack Dent commenced in Year 8 and his younger brother, Max, commenced in Year 7. The boys’ father, Andrew Dent, attended TGS from 1976 to 1980. Mr ‘Bill’ Dent’s other son, William, attended TGS from 1974 to 1978. Max Ellis (2007-2013) was selected to play in the Australian Underwater Hockey team which took part in the World Championships in Spain in August 2015. Max was the only Queensland player to be selected. Sam Thorne (2009-2013) won the Australian Weightlifting Championship (102kg division) in November 2021. Frazer Brownlie (2009-2013), a boarder from Theodore, in April 2024 cycled as part of the peloton from Brisbane to Longreach (1311 km) in the biennial charity bike ride, RideWest. The event was to raise money for mental health support programs for regional Queenslanders. Frazer was working as a paramedic in Western Queensland and had seen first hand the effects that mental health can have in rural communities.

Buildings: •

The new Mackintosh Boarding House building was opened at the start of the year and the Mackintosh boarders transferred to the new Boarding House from the heritage School House building. A photograph of the new Mackintosh Boarding House is included in this year’s entry. The two upper floors of the original heritage-listed building, School House, were renovated once the Mackintosh boarders left the building at the end of 2012. This renovation occurred over the summer holidays and throughout Term 1. The Headmaster’s study and the offices of the Chief Financial Officer and all Accounts staff were relocated to the first (middle) floor of the heritage building (School House). The Headmaster’s study, the office of his Personal Assistant and the Page | 861


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Conference Room were previously the Mackintosh Boarders’ Common Room which included a television, couches, table tennis table and a billiards table. On the southern side of the first floor overlooking the camphor laurel tree prior to the School House renovation was the Senior boys’ common room. This area was now converted to administrative office space. In earlier years this room was the Trustees’ Boardroom and next to it was the Headmaster’s Office. Opposite this room (south-eastern side) was the dormitory for the Year 11 Mackintosh Boarders. This area is now the Accounts Office. The teaching staff progressively moved out of the Hugh Rose Centre to have their work areas relocated to the top floor of School House (where the Mackintosh boarders were originally housed on this floor and the first middle floor). The Mackintosh Boarding Housemaster’s former residence was totally refurbished at this time to become the Staff Common Room. The upstairs of the residence was converted to staff offices. The ground floor of the W.M. Dent Library was converted into a reconfigured Student Services Centre incorporating the offices of the Head of Senior School, Director of Pastoral Care, School Counsellor, Careers Adviser and Vocational Education and Training (VET) Co-ordinator.

Events: • • •

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This year was a period of political instability in Australia with three Prime Ministers of Australia and three different Federal Ministers for Education. Three classes of Year 7 spent this year in the rare circumstance of being both Junior School (first semester) and Senior School (second semester) students. The three Year 7 classes transferred from the Junior School to the Senior School at the beginning of Term 3. The Year 7 boys were located into some of the eight new classrooms created in the Hugh Rose building following the transfer of the teaching staff (from their Common Room and work offices) to the top floor of the School House heritage building. This was one and a half years before the transfer of Year 7 students throughout Queensland into Secondary School as required by the State Government by 2015. This was the 4th year of the School’s tablet computer program and every student from Years 9-12 now had a notebook computer. The School hosted the annual State Conference of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) conference in October. (The School last hosted an ICPA conference in 1992.) Later, the School was to host the ICPA conference in 2020 but as an on-line event due to the COVID pandemic. This year saw the School introduce the School ‘App’, compatible with iPhones, iPads and Android devices and included general notices, events, photos, P & F notices and an interactive map. Synthetic grass was installed in the Junior School playing surface due to the difficulty of growing grass in the shade and maintaining moisture during drought years. During the year there were numerous interstate and international cultural, adventure and sporting tours. They included: the Australian Schoolboys’ Volleyball championships in Melbourne; the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival in Melbourne; the Year 8 Football tour to Singapore and Malaysia; the World Schools’ Athletics championships in the Czech Republic; the Australian Youth Olympics Festival in Sydney; a cultural, trekking, natural history and community service tour to Nepal and Bhutan; a French language and cultural tour to France; a Cricket tour to the United Kingdom; a Football (Soccer) trip to Brazil; the Festival of Voices Choral School in Hobart; and a Year 8 Rugby tour to Sydney. Page | 862


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The Football (Soccer) trip to Brazil was set up by Mr Rale Rasic, Patron of Football at TGS and former Australian World Cup 1974 Coach. After a series of four flights (36 hours) and two bus trips, the group of 24 boys and six adults arrived at Botafogo Academy in Ribeirao Preto. The TGS boys shared the Academy with boys aged 14-17 from Kazakhstan, Mexico and China. The boys from Kazakhstan and China who were specifically selected by their respective Football Federations live at the Academy for three years of education and training with the view of one day playing for their national teams. At the OBA reunion dinner, the Toast to the School was proposed by Old Boy Col Harding (19501953). This year’s guest speaker at the OBA Business Breakfast was Old Boy David Chester, Managing Director of the International Thoroughbred Auction House, Magic Millions. He was also a Board Member of the Queensland-Hong Kong Business Association. The OBA saw 15 financial members assist in the presentation to all Year 12 students with the Old Boys’ tie, key ring and cap with their years at school embroidered on the side. Stephens House won the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition and in the next two years.

Co-curricular Activities: • •

• • • • • •

The year was a very strong one in terms of sporting success in the GPS competition with a topthree placing in five sports, namely Cricket, Volleyball, Swimming, Football (Soccer) and Chess. In Athletics, one of the most significant athletics achievements in the School’s history occurred this year with six TGS athletes winning the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World Schools’ Athletics Championships (see the ‘Students’ section above in this year’s entry). Tim Penberthy won the Open 400 metres hurdles at the GPS Track and Field championships. Joshua Robinson was also a triple event winner – see the section ‘Students’ in this year’s entry and also reference to the International School Sport Federation World Schools’ Athletics championships in which Toowoomba Grammar School won this international event. The Captain of Athletics in this year, Matthew Denny, in later years was a three-times Olympian and a Commonwealth Games medallist (see the section ‘Students’ in this year entry). The School’s Open 4 x 100 metres relay team gained first place at the GPS Track and Field championships. The successful team comprised Joshua Robinson, Michael van Gend, Coen Oates and Mitchell Phillips. This year the School had seven boys represent Queensland at the National All Age championships in Perth. The TGS athletes won a tally of thirteen medals. The Captain of the School’s Athletics team, Matthew Denny, was the only Open age athlete to win Gold – in the Under 18 shot-put, discus, and hammer. A photograph of the School’s highly successful Athletics team is included in this year’s entry. In Basketball, the ‘Churchie’ 1st V contained State and National players who displayed their amazing talent in a 109-49 defeat of TGS. Similarly, an athletic IGS V defeated TGS, 100-47. Despite these losses, the School’s 1st V enjoyed two good wins during the season – against BGS (92-36) and GT (77-72). The Coach of the 1st V was Charles Dickerson, prior to Kabe Cicolini’s return to the School. In Chess, the School’s Open Premier Chess team came 3rd in the GPS competition, representing the third year in succession. It was a highly successful season for the Open Premier Chess IV with five wins: BSHS (3-1), NC (40), TSS (4-0), IGS (3-1) and GT (3-1) and a draw against BBC (2-2). It was the final season for three of the School’s current Premier players. Page | 863


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In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team came 3rd in the GPS competition and enjoyed bowling St Joseph’s Nudgee College 1st XI all out for 38 runs in Round 8. During the cricket season the 1st XI won four games (‘Churchie’, BSHS, TSS and NC) and a further game (BBC) was a washout. The 1st XI was defeated by BGS (by 55 runs) and GT (by 28 runs). The match against ‘Churchie’ was won on the last ball with TGS bowler Sam Belford taking out the middle stump of the ‘Churchie’ batsman. The Captain of the 1st XI was Tomas ‘Tom’ Carty following his older brother, Jack, who captained the side in 2012. The boys’ youngest brother, William, captained the team in 2016 whilst he was in Year 11 and also in 2017. In the match against BSHS, TGS scored 7 for 280. This score represented the highest innings score for TGS in the 2010’s decade. Against BGS, a future Australian Test opening batsman, Matthew Renshaw, scored 103 runs. He was caught by Dan Anderson from the bowling of Tom Carty. TSS was bowled out for just 73 runs. Sam Belford took 4 for 14. NC was also humbled in the match against TGS scoring only 38 runs (departing in the 15th over). Sam Belford had the bowling figures of 5 for 16 from 6 overs. In this year the GPS Association amended the limited overs concept from 60 overs to 50 overs to be faced by the batting team. For the first time, a restriction was placed on the number of overs bowled by any bowler, limiting the bowler to 10 overs in two (or more) spells. In Cross Country, the School’s squad of runners performed well to be placed 6th in the GPS championship against very strong opposition. In Football (Soccer), the 1st XI Football team came equal 3rd in the GPS competition (with IGS) behind NC and TSS who shared the premiership. The 1st XI enjoyed five wins and a draw from eight fixtures. Some of the games were won by TGS with big margins such as BBC (4-2), ‘Churchie’ (4-1), GT (6-1) and BSHS (5-1). This was one of the most successful years for Football at Toowoomba Grammar School, again showing that the football program had grown immensely with large participation rates and depth throughout all age groups. Preparation for the 1st XI Football season included an 8.4 km run called ‘heartbreak hill’ and extra skills sessions and strength and conditioning gym work. The squad participated in the 10 km ‘Peak to Park’ run to raise funds for cancer research. The squad also had a pre-season camp at Emu Gully where they faced everything from mud pits, blind tunnels, ration packs, the Kokoda trail night expeditions, skirmish and further team-building activities. In the IGS 1st XI game, the TGS team conceded a goal within the first 30 seconds and then another soon after. The Round 8 1st XI game was against a previously undefeated and top of the ladder Nudgee College side. TGS scored in the final minutes of the second half inflicting upon NC their first defeat (0-1). In Rugby, the 1st XV played with commitment and a determined attitude but came under heavy pressure against some of the larger teams. The 1st XV won only one GPS game during the season, a fine win against BGS (28-10). The highest losing margin was to TSS (17-53). Three of the 1st XV rugby players gained selection in the two QLD schoolboy teams – Liam Jurd, James McColl and Harry Wathen. Both Liam Jurd and James McColl’s national selection are referred to in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. The Captain of the 1st XV, Harry Wathen, joined his 1st XV team-mate James McColl, in 2015 in a 40 player University of Queensland tour to England for two weeks on a World Cup Rugby tour. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2016 (pp. 36-37) included an article in which James McColl discussed this experience. The Coaches of the 1st XV were Mr Dave Ellis and Mr Bryan Battersby. Page | 864


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In Swimming, the School’s team came 3rd in the GPS Championships, the best result in the GPS Swimming competition for the School in 67 years. The team was only two points from being placed 2nd in the Championships. This year at the GPS Swimming championships, the School’s swimmers achieved five 1st placings, three 2nd placings and nine 3rds. The Captain of Swimming was Malachy Sweeney. Six swimmers were selected in the QLD Schoolboys’ team to attend the National Schools’ titles. This was the School’s best contingent of swimmers in the QLD Schools’ team ever. The boys were Malachy Sweeney, Jared Pailthorpe, Tristan Ludlow, BJ Oates, Alan Gibson and Bryan Pool. In Tennis, the 1st IV tennis season was a very close one with a three-way tie for first place – BGS, BBC and NC. There were no returning players to the 1st IV for this year and the new 1st IV included two Year 9 students. The team’s lack of experience at Open Firsts level resulted in a 9th finish in the GPS competition with no GPS 1st games won. In Volleyball, the 1st VI team came 3rd in the GPS competition. Five GPS wins were achieved during the season with the 1st VI defeating NC (3-2), GT (3-1), BBC (3-2), IGS (3-1) and BSHS (3-0). The 1st VI team was defeated by ‘Churchie’ (2-3) and BGS (0-3). In Australian Rules Football, three teams played in the Darling Downs Independent Schools AFL competition – the Open, Under 14 and Under 13 teams. The Under 14 team won the Grand Final. The Adventure Club offered to its members the opportunity to travel to Nepal and Bhutan. This was Mr Bob Harvey’s last expedition with the boys as he was retiring at the end of the year. Mr Harvey had taken boys away to the bush both domestically and overseas for 26 years. He was the Adventure Club Assistant for 16 years and then served as Leader for a further 10 years. Over such a lengthy period of time, Mr Harvey had shown over 1,000 Toowoomba Grammarians the beauty of the Australian bush and given them an appreciation of nature and its fragility. In Drama, 63 boys and approximately 40 girls were involved in a major school production South Pacific held at the Empire Theatre in conjunction with girls from Fairholme College. Mr Harley Mead, the School’s Director of Performance, was the Producer and Mrs Eylece Blaikie was the Director. There were four outstanding performances of the musical with different leads for the matinee and evening sessions. The matinee leads included William Hansen, Max Ellis, William Clift, Benjamin Marshall and Jeremy Bond. The evening performance leads included Maxwell Tait, Zack Westgarth, Christopher Thomson, Alexander Aird and Jeremy Bond. The TGS Acting Academy (TiGAA) produced a piece of Australian gothic theatre titled Hoods, directed by English and Drama teacher, Mr Mitchell Burey. In Music, the students’ involvement in the Toowoomba Eisteddfod was the highest it has ever been (over 550 boys from the Junior and Senior School). The Grammarphones were placed 3rd nationally in the Australian University and Schools’ a cappella awards. A number of Year 12 students were excellent musicians and held the A.Mus.A. (Associate Diploma in Music Australia) qualification from the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). They included Andrew Park (Senior Prefect) and Angus Pegler in saxophone performance, Ben Anderson on piano and Kenny Han on the flute. Kenny later advanced to the L.Mus.A. qualification. John van Gend in Year 11 was selected as Concert Master for the combined all-schools’ GPS Orchestra. John’s superb musical ability is also referred to in next year’s entry as is that of William Hansen.

Page | 865


Downlands Competition: • •

The 1st XI Cricket team won The Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 124, TGS 8/231). The TGS boys won all 11 cricket games played on the day against Downlands College. The 1st XI Football (Soccer) team retained the P&F Trophy (3-1) representing the 10th win over the 11 years of the Cup’s existence. In this year, eleven Football games were played and all were won by TGS. The 1st XV Rugby team lost the O’Callaghan Cup 33-38. This was the only Rugby game lost with 11 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr Alastair Blanshard, Classics Scholar

Page | 866


2013 2013

Site for extension for Corfe Boarding House

Site for extension for Corfe Boarding House

Former Mackintosh Boarding House now Administration and Teaching Staff work areas.

Former Mackintosh Boarding House now Administration and Teaching Staff work areas. Track & Field GPS Athletics team

Track & Field GPS Athletics team

TGS Winners of the World Schools’ Athletics Competition, Czech Republic (L-R) Coen Oates, Tim Penberthy, Mitch Phillips, Joshua Robinson, Max Orbell & Jacob Lawrence Letter From The Premier of Queensland TGS Winners of the World Schools’ Athletics Competition, Czech Republic (L-R) Coen Oates, Tim Penberthy, Mitch Phillips, Joshua Robinson, Max Orbell & Jacob Lawrence Letter From The Premier of Queensland

Winners of the World Schools’ Athletics Competition

Page |Winners 867 of the World Schools’ Athletics Competition


2013 (cont.) 2013 (cont.)

Joshua Robinson winning another GPS Sprint event

Joshua Robinson winning another GPS Sprint event

Joshua Robinson, Winner of the GPS Open 100, 200 & 400m Events. Joshua Robinson, Winner of the GPS Open 100, 200 & 400m Events.

Leader of the Adventure Club,Mr Bob Harvey

Leader of the Adventure Club,Mr Bob Harvey

Matthew Denny, 1st in Discus in World Youth Championships, Donetsk, Ukraine Matthew Denny, 1st in Discus in World Youth Championships, Donetsk, Ukraine Tribute to the TGS Winning Team in the World Schools’ Athletics Competition

Tribute to the TGS Winning Team in the World Schools’ Athletics Competition

Head of Senior School and later Deputy Headmaster, Mr John Anderson Head of Senior School and later Deputy Headmaster, Mr John Anderson

Matthew Denny, later a triple Australian Olympian with Coach, Mr Grahame Pitt

Page | 868

Matthew Denny, later a triple Australian Olympian with Coach, Mr Grahame Pitt


2014 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 16th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 10th year as Deputy Chairman)

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 12th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 8th year)

Senior Prefect: Thomas J. Barnwell (and co-Dux) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Tristan D. Heiner Senior Boarder Prefect: Clifton D. Ostwald Dux of Year: Thomas J. Barnwell and John A. van Gend (aeq)

Captain of the Junior School: Sebastian Hulme-Peake Dux of the Junior School:

Sebastian Hulme-Peake

Total School Enrolment: 1267 Senior School Total: 939 Junior School Total: 328 Number of Dayboys: 977 Number of Boarders: 290

Staffing: •

By commencing his twelfth year of Headmastership this year, Mr Hauser was now recorded as the third longest-serving Headmaster in the history of Toowoomba Grammar School. The School’s longest-serving Headmaster was Mr George Pitty Barbour (the seventh Headmaster) in office from 1910-1935. In terms of length of service, he was followed by the thirteenth Headmaster, Mr William ‘Bill’ Dent, who served as Headmaster from 1970-1991. Mr Hauser retired as Headmaster at the end of 2020 after 18 years of service (2003-2020). Highly popular teacher Mr Alan D. Hill resigned at the end of the year having commenced at the School in 1987. Between 1998 to the end of 2007 Mr Hill served on the School Executive as Director of Studies and then transferred to Head of the Geography Department. In the School Magazine of 2002 the then Headmaster, Mr Hugh Rose, acknowledged Mr Hill as “without reservation, the finest teacher I have taught with”. Page | 869


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The Head of the Science Department since 1999, Mr David Miller, resigned at the end of Term One. He was succeeded by a long-standing Science teacher at the School, Mr Ken Lavers. The Officer Commanding of the School’s Cadet Unit, Capt.(AAC) Geoff Quinn, resigned from his position. A photograph of Mr Geoff Quinn is included in this year’s entry. Next year’s Officer Commanding was to be Mr John Wells. Former Junior School teacher and later Director of Music Performance (2011-2014), Mr Harley Mead, passed away suddenly in September following his resignation from the School in August to complete his doctoral studies and to further pursue his national and international career composing and conducting. His loss was a monumental one for the School and for the Australian music community. The staffing position ‘Director of Pastoral Care’ ceased at the end of 2014 and was replaced by a new position ‘Head of Student Wellbeing’ in 2015. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr R. Pearson (Groom), Mr D. Klan (Mackintosh), Mr D. Anderson (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow, Mr C. Harris (acting Term 2) (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Thomas Barnwell, Tristan Heiner, Clifford Ostwald, Dane Budden, Ryan Ensor, Harrison Freer, Nicholas Gabbett, Nicholas Greste, Thomas Innes, Jacob Lawrence, Harrison Scott, Jack Sendall, John van Gend, Thomas Watkins and Benjamin Webster. Eight Year 12 boys achieved an OP One and 34% of the Year 12 OP eligible students gained an OP in the range 1-5. The OP One recipients were: Alexander Aird, Thomas Barnwell, Jonathan Buttsworth, Harrison Freer, Tristan Heiner, Drew Nuttall-Smith, John van Gend and Thomas Watkins. Three Year 12 students, Thomas Barnwell, Thomas Watkins and John van Gend, won the Australian Students’ Prize. This year represented the last occasion in which the Federal Government awarded the Australian Students’ Prize. Three students were awarded the Australian Vocational Student Prize, namely Brennan Dempsey, Jacob Murrell and Mitchell Hawley. Two Year 12 students, Thomas Barnwell and Thomas Watkins, won the inaugural Queensland Certificate of Education academic achievement award. Thomas Barnwell, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Year 12 student, Ben Webster, represented Australia in Science to attend South Africa’s National Science Olympiad. Year 12 student and Co-Dux, John van Gend, completed the Licentiate in Music (LMusA) with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) as a violinist in Year 9. In Year 12 Johnny was selected to be the Concert Master at the GPS Day of Music Excellence Concert. Johnny was also a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra for a number of years (see Music in the Co-Curricular Activities section of this year’s entry). Johnny was also the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Johnny was admitted to the Page | 870


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Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) located in Melbourne in 2018. Later he became the first ANAM student to participate in the Bavarian State Opera’s Orchestra Academy which involved a two-year residency at the Academy in Germany. Dean Bender (Year 12) was selected in the Queensland Schoolboys’ I Rugby Union team. William Hansen (2010-2014) studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music after leaving school. In July 2019 William travelled to Spain with Sydney Conservatorium’s wind symphony (as a double bass player). In June 2024 William played in the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra. Kenny Han (Year 12) achieved an A.Mus.A. with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). Will Clift (2013-2014) commenced studies at the Australian Institute of Music, Melbourne Campus in 2015 and in 2016 competed in the Under 20 National Rugby Championships. Cooper Blackwood (2012-2014) represented Australia at the Invictus Games in Germany in 2023. Kane Brunjes (Year 10) completed an Aboriginal dot painting which was presented to the Mayor of the city of Takatsuki, Japan (Toowoomba’s sister city), this year. A photograph of Kane and some of his artwork is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

A major addition/extension to Corfe Boarding House was built in front of the existing Corfe building (formerly known as the Groom Boarding House in the 1990s and earlier). The new extension to Corfe was to accommodate the new Year 7 boarders who were to commence in 2015 (see photograph in the 2015-year entry).

Events: •

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• •

The entire school community mourned the loss of the Senior Prefect of 2009, Thomas Lyons, who passed away on Sunday, 2 February as a result of heart failure following the completion of a triathlon event. His name is recognised at the School’s annual Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony with the Tom Lyons Memorial Award for Senior Prefect. Tom was an OP1 recipient, Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team, Vice Captain of the First XI Cricket team, a performer on the stage; an immensely talented, personable, quiet and humble achiever. A Tribute to Tom Lyons was printed in Omnibus, vol.24, no.2, September 2014, page 20, written by Headmaster Hauser. Photographs of Tom Lyons are included in the 2009-year entry. The Toowoomba (Brisbane West) Wellcamp Airport was opened in November. It was the first privately funded airport in Australia and was built by the Wagner family in 18 months. The incoming Year 7s commenced in the Senior School in the remaining available classrooms in the Hugh Rose Centre. Years 5-7 boys were permitted to compete in the GPS sporting events for the first time. This had an immediate effect on the extent of sporting competition offered to the boys such as the number of TGS cricket teams growing from 25 to 34 teams. Every boy in Years 5 and 6 had his own iPad. At the end of the year, the Junior School discontinued the use of the three House names – Baynes, Lavers and Parkinson. The five House names used in the Senior School (Boyce, Groom, Mackintosh, Stephens and Taylor) were to be introduced in the Junior School from 2015 to provide consistency in House allocation and enhance House spirit.

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Two electronic scoreboards were erected on Mills Oval and Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. These scoreboards were financed by the Old Boys’ Association. The scoreboard on Mills Oval was named the Russell Gillies Scoreboard in recognition of the School’s longest-serving member of the teaching staff, Mr Russell Gillies, who taught at the School from 1959–1998. Prior to this new scoreboard there was a metal scoreboard in place by Mills Oval named the R.R. Gillies Scoreboard which was first unveiled in February 1999. On 17 July the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a missile whilst flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board lost their lives. The attack seriously affected the TGS community generally but also specifically in that Drs Roger and Jill Guard were on board the aircraft. They were the parents of two TGS Old Boys, Paul Guard (Senior Prefect and Dux, 1995) and David Guard (Dux, 2000). The Headmaster, Mr Peter B. Hauser, was presented with the title “Honorary Old Boy” by the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association at the annual Old Boys’ Reunion Dinner held in August at Rumours International in Toowoomba. This was the 15 th title of Honorary Old Boy awarded in the School’s history. The Toowoomba Preparatory School (‘Prep’) commenced tuition into the secondary school years, with an accompanying change of school name – Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School (TACAPS). In 2019 the school undertook a further change in title to that of Toowoomba Anglican School (TAS). A History Tour of the USA took place at the end of Term One. The sixteen-day tour of the NorthEastern States provided 24 boys, eleven adults and 3 staff with a comprehensive insight into the history and culture of the USA. Areas visited on the tour included New York City, Philadelphia, Lancaster County, Washington DC, Williamsburg, Charlottesville, Gettysburg, Danbury and Boston. Sixteen students from Japanese classes were fortunate to be able to visit Japan for seventeen days during the Term Three holidays. Also in the Term Three holidays was a Football tour to Japan involving sixteen boys from Years 7 and 8. The tour was led by Messrs McLeod, Lund and Tonkies. During the Term One holidays, thirty-four boys, five staff and twelve parents experienced a rugby and cultural tour of South Africa. The major cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban were visited with games played against some of South Africa’s most prestigious rugby schools. The School’s Director of Rugby, Mr Jono Farrell, was the tour leader. A photograph relating to the South African tour is included in this year’s entry. The OBA reunion dinner had Old Boy Scott McAlpine (1970-1974) propose the toast to the School. At the OBA Business Breakfast the guest speaker was not a TGS Old Boy but rather a Downlands College past student, Mr Denis Wagner, who outlined the current airport development. The winning House in the Headmaster’s Shield this year was Stephens.

Co-curricular Activities • •

In Athletics, the team achieved 6th position at the GPS Track and Field championships. The Captain of Athletics, Jimmy Gordon, won the Under 18 Australian Junior Championship in discus. At the GPS Track and Field Championships, Jimmy won two Open events, the shot-put (18.69 m) and discus (60.01 m). Page | 872


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At the GPS Track and Field championships the School’s throwers did particularly well. Jimmy Gordon won the Open discus and shot-put; Conor McLoughlin won the Under 15 discus; and Scott Trevena won the Under 15 shot-put. The only track win for TGS at the Open competition was Ben Drew winning first place in the All Age 3000m event. The Head Coach of Track and Field, Ms Debbie Wells, resigned this year after thirteen years in this role. A highlight of Ms Wells’ coaching efforts and record was the international first-place ranking of six of the School’s athletes in the 2013 ISF World Schools’ Athletics Championships (see 2013). Debbie’s successor was Ms Jackie Davies (see 2015). In Basketball, the 1st V won two GPS games, BSHS (86-72) and BGS (62-55). The team representing IGS delivered a major defeat of TGS (101-31). In Chess, the School’s Open Premier Chess team came 3rd in the GPS competition (for the fourth successive year). The Open Premier Chess IV was placed 3rd in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ State Chess finals. The School’s Premier Chess team was successful in retaining the title of Darling Downs Secondary School Chess Champions. This year was the 20th consecutive year that the School had won this title. The Premier Chess team comprised Vineths Ousmand, John van Gend, Thomas Sedl and Tony Diep and was arguably one of the best the School had seen. The team lost only one game (BGS) out of the eight GPS games played and was only one point behind from placing equal 2nd with ‘Churchie’. There were three drawn games in the season. For the first time in eight years the 1 st IV achieved a draw against the second best seed ‘Churchie’. In Cricket, the Captain of Cricket, Dane Budden, scored a century (108 runs) in a 1st XI match against Brisbane State High School (TGS won by 74 runs). It was a mixed season for the 1st XI, finishing in 6th position in the GPS competition. The 1st XI won three GPS games (BSHS, BBC and BGS) with BGS scoring only 76 runs to TGS 195. The TGS XI also lost four games with some of these being close. This year the 1st XI cricket coaching was shared between Mr Ben Foley (Director of Enrolments) and Mr Alan Hill (teacher). Chris Melton hit 3 sixes in the 1st VI game against BBC in which he scored 48 runs. In the 1st XI loss to IGS, the TGS batsmen Pierce Clark and Ben Webster hit 3 sixes in the final over before lunch. For the first time in the history of the School, boys in Years 5, 6 and 7 participated in the GPS sporting competition. In Cross Country, the School team was placed 8th in the GPS championships. There were some outstanding individual results during the day’s competition. Teketel Tyson won the Year 7 division, David Tong finished 2nd in the Under 16 years division and Ben Drew came 2nd in the Open event. In Football (Soccer), the 1st XI had an impressive season. The Captain of the School’s 1st XI team, Ryan Ensor, faced the team representing Ipswich Grammar School with the knowledge he had not won a game against IGS over his five years at the School. To Ryan’s delight, the School’s 1st XI won this game against IGS, representing one of the five GPS wins for the 1st XI team in this season (including a 7-2 win against BBC and 5-0 defeat of BSHS). The 1st XI lost the final two games, to NC (0-1) and TSS (2-3) and was placed 3rd in the GPS competition. Nykodah Smith scored three goals for the 1st XI Football team in his debut game against BSHS (see 2015).

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In Rugby, the 1st XV had 3 GPS wins and 5 losses (with 4 of the 5 having a margin of fewer than 10 points). The games won by the 1st XV were against BGS (41-19), GT (26-19), and IGS (36-34). A new 1st XV Rugby coach commenced this year, Mr David Enfantie, who continued to coach the 1st XV until the 2022 season when he was appointed to the position ‘Head of Sport – Rugby' at the School. The 1st XV team of this year, captained by Brendon Dann, will be remembered for scoring the highest winning margin ever recorded in the match against Downlands College. The School had been competing annually for the O’Callaghan Cup against Downlands College since 1950 and never before had such a massive score been achieved nor by such a winning margin (TGS 69 points defeated DC 0 points). A photograph relating to this achievement is included in this year’s entry. In the IGS 1st XV team was Izack Rodda who made his national debut for the Wallabies in 2017. In the ‘Churchie’ 1st XV team was Kalyn Ponga, later to be an Australian professional rugby league player and the recipient of the 2023 Dally M Medal. The rugby and cultural tour of South Africa is referred to in the ‘Events’ section of this year’s entry. In Swimming, only one first place was achieved by a TGS swimmer at the GPS Championships. This 1st placing went to Thomas Wilson in the Under 14 100m freestyle. B.J. Oates qualified for the national open titles in backstroke as a selection trial for the Australian Commonwealth Games Swimming team. In Taekwon-Do, the martial arts club ceased its operation at the end of this year following the resignation of Ms Miranda Mitchell who had been leading the group. In Tennis, the 1st IV was a relatively young team with three players in Year 10 and one in Year 11. Ryan Smith and John Brett were in their second year in the Firsts. The 1st IV Tennis team played well but in a very tough competition did not win a GPS match. In Volleyball, many of the 1st VI were backing up for a second season at the Open Firsts level. The team won 3 GPS games against BSHS (3-0), NC (3-0) and IGS (3-1) but lost to GT, ‘Churchie’, BBC and BGS. In Cadets, the Cadet Unit had a complement of fifty-six boys from the School together with some girls from both Fairholme College and The Glennie School and one student from St Saviour’s College. Two Cadets, Jeremy Bond (Year 12) and Guido Zuccoli-Handley (Year 10), were the recipients of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Awards. Refer to the service of Captain (AAC) Geoff Quinn in the ‘Staffing’ section of this year’s entry. In Drama, the TiGAA production was held in the new theatre in the Empire Theatre complex, the Armitage Theatre. The Junior School musical production, The Pirates of Penzance, was a major event during Term Three for the boys from Years 3-6. In Music, Year 12 student, Johnny van Gend (co Dux) LMusA, was selected to be the Concert Master at the GPS Day of Music Excellence Concert. Johnny was also selected as a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra. At Johnny’s final performance at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod this year he was given a standing ovation by the audience. Johnny started learning the violin aged 5. When aged 12 he achieved an LMusA with Distinction qualification with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in violin and achieved LMusA with Distinction in ensemble performance the following year with his brother, Robert. This year (2014) Johnny was a finalist in the National Youth Concerto competition. In later years he was the recipient of various awards during his time at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, and also at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). William Hansen’s success in music is listed in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. Page | 874


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This year was regarded as one of the most successful Eisteddfod performances on record for the School. In the instrumental Eisteddfod in Toowoomba, the School’s instrumental ensembles won both the Strings’ and the Bands’ instrumental aggregates. This was the first time this had been achieved in twenty years when the School’s Pipe Band was in operation. The Grammarphones won two major awards and were national runners-up in the live final in Melbourne of Aus-Aca National a Capella competition run by Vocal Australia. A photograph of the very talented and entertaining singers in the Grammarphones is included in this year’s entry. One highlight for the School Choir this year was taking part in an innovative collaboration of male voice choirs from around the globe by video for the International Boys’ Schools’ Coalition 2014 conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. Over 120 boys performed in the Take Note Concert held in October in the School’s Assembly Hall. The Leader of the Arts this year was Will Hansen with other Leaders, Stuart Baines, Alexander Aird, Kenny Han, Christopher Paton, Jeremy Bond, Jonathan Buttsworth, John van Gend and Cameron Morgan.

Downlands Competition: • • •

The 1st XI Cricket team retained the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy for the tenth year in succession with the result TGS 9/257 d DC 117. The 1st XI Football team retained the P&F Trophy (6-0). Downlands College requested that only the 1st XI team play on this day, not our other Football teams. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup with the highest winning margin since the commencement of the Cup’s competition in 1950. The scores were an historical record-winning margin of 69-0. The ‘Man of the Match’ was awarded to the Vice Captain of the TGS 1st XV, Dean Bender. The game was played at Downlands College.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Ms Ann Harrap; Harrap Consulting, former Australian High Commissioner to South Africa

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2014 2014

Kane Brunjes and his dot painting

Outstanding Musician and Academic, John van Gend, LMusA

Kane Brunjes and his dot painting

Outstanding Musician and Academic, John van Gend, LMusA

Highest Winning Margin ever in O’Callaghan Cup against Downlands College Highest Winning Margin ever in O’Callaghan Cup against Downlands College

Rugby Tour to South Africa

Officer Commanding TGS Cadet Unit, Capt. (AAC) Geoff Quinn

Rugby Tour to South Africa

Officer Commanding TGS Cadet Unit, Capt. (AAC) Geoff Quinn

At the Take Note Concert

At the Take Note Concert

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2015 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 17th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 11th year)

Trustees: Messrs Glen W. McCracken, S. John Handley, E. Russ Johnson, Chris W. Wicks, Dr Russell M. Domrow, Dr Nicola Hulme-Peake, Mrs Kym M. Murray.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 13th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 9th year)

Senior Prefect: Riley L. de Jong Senior Dayboy Prefect: Dugald K. Inch Senior Boarder Prefect: Zachary J. Beveridge Dux of Year: Pierce L. Leahy

Captain of the Junior School: Jack W. Dann Dux of the Junior School:

Nicholas Willingham

Total School Enrolment: 1255 Senior School Total: 952 Junior School Total: 303 (including 5 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 960 Number of Boarders: 295

Staffing: • •

• •

Mrs Margaret Doran retired from the School’s laundry after 34 years of service. Former member of the teaching staff for 35 years, Mr John K. Winn, passed away on 6 September (see 1997). A Tribute to Mr Winn for his remarkable contribution to the School and its history is included in Appendix One of this publication. The School celebrated Old Boy Ken Lavers (1974-1978) 25th year of teaching at TGS (see 2020). The Heads of Department were Mr P. Irwin (English), Mr R. Harris (Mathematics), Mr K. Lavers (Science), Mrs E. Parrington (Languages), Mrs K. Reeve (Geography), Mr A. Smiddy (History) Mr I. Page | 877


Bullock (Commerce), Mr J. McKain (Industrial Design and Technology), Mr G. Murfin (Art), Mr N. Roche-Kelly (Arts), Mr A. Budnick (Physical Education), Mr P. Barton (Information Processing and Technology), Mr P. Kalinowski (Agricultural Science), Mrs P. Read (Library), Mrs J. Bomm (Head of Counselling and Special Needs), Dr I. Waite (Assistant to Director of Studies), Mr T. Wallis, (Head of Student Wellbeing), Mr D. Klan (Year 7 Co-ordinator), Dr B. Sawyer (Head of e-Learning), Mr M. Sharpe (Deputy Head of Junior School), Mr J. Locke (Junior School Head of Teaching and Learning) and Mr D. Anderson (Junior School Sportsmaster). The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr R. Pearson (Groom), Mr D. Klan (Mackintosh), Mr D. Anderson (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte, Mr C. McLeod (acting Term 2) (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Riley de Jong, Dugald Inch, Zachary Beveridge, Jan Bakker, Benjamin Drew, Alexander Harris, James Kinnear, Jacob Kratsmann, William Krause, Oliver Lilford, Samuel Muller, Benjamin Saxton, Jean-Luc Shorey, Logan Torrance, William Vary and Callum Wallis. Seven Year 12 boys achieved an OP One and 35% of the Year 12 OP eligible students gained an OP in the range 1-5. The OP One recipients were Riley de Jong, Tony Diep, Pierce Leahy, Oliver Lilford, Aidan Myatt, Ben Saxton and Ben Tickell. Dux of the School, Pierce Leahy (2011-2015), won a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) ‘Distinguished Academic Achievement Award’ (only 29 awarded in Queensland). Jean-Luc Shorey (Year 12) was selected to represent Australia at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar. Senior Prefect, Riley de Jong, was named in the Australian Under 18 Men’s Orienteering team. He was also the Guest Speaker at this year’s Toowoomba Regional Council’s ANZAC Day Service. Riley was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Alistair Schramm (Year 12) was selected to represent Queensland in the Equestrian Australia National Inter-School Championships in Sydney. Ben Anderson was awarded the A.Mus.A. qualification from the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in piano. Nykodah Smith (2014-2015) was, in the following year, the first Australian ever to sign a professional contract with a leading Brazil football club (Botafogo FC). Photographs of Nykodah Smith are included in this year’s entry. Big hitting batsman in the 1st XI (and also Captain of the 1st XV Rugby team), Hamish Stewart (TGS 2004-2015), scored 44 runs from 22 deliveries including four 6’s in a 1st XI cricket match against St Joseph’s Nudgee College. Hamish followed in the next round against Brisbane State High School with 115 runs from 74 balls. He was later selected in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Cricket team. Hamish also represented the State in the Queensland Schoolboys’ 1st XV Rugby Union team and two years later debuted as a player with the Queensland Reds. He signed a three-year contract with the Reds in 2017 and competed in the Under 20 World Rugby Championships in Georgia (see below). Photographs of Hamish Stewart are included in this year’s entry.

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Hamish Stewart (above) played 72 games for the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition over 6 seasons between 2017-2022 and in 2022 transferred to the Western Force Club in Perth. Hamish played his 100th Super Rugby game in June 2024 playing for Western Force against the Brumbies. In Hamish’s June 2024 game for Western Force he was once again joined by his TGS and Reds contemporary, Harry Hoopert, who had signed with the Western Force until the end of 2025. Prior to this, Harry made five international appearances with the Australia A touring squad but this was curtailed by an ACL injury requiring over a year in recovery. Hamish Stewart (Year 12), Harry Hoopert (Year 12) and Matthew Faessler (Year 11) were selected in the Queensland Schoolboys I Rugby Union team. In 2018 all three young men were selected as Junior Wallabies (formerly known as Australia U20s) and participated in the World Rugby U20 Championships in France. Both Hamish Stewart and Harry Hoopert were playing for the Queensland Reds in 2018, together with fellow Old Boys, Ruan and ‘JP’ Smith (see 2007). Hamish and Harry were named in the Australia A rugby squad for a three-match tour against Japan in Japan in October 2022. In September 2024 Hamish Stewart (above), when aged 26 years old after over 100 Super Rugby caps, was selected as an Australian Wallaby. In Hamish’s first game with the Wallabies the team enjoyed a one point win against Argentina playing in Buenos Aires. Harry Hoopert was added to the Australian Wallabies squad for the final two tests on the 2024 Spring Tour having been promoted from the Australia A side. William Krause (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. William (‘Will’) Brown (2011-2015) was successful in motor racing events this year, including being the first Australian Formula 4 race winner. In 2018 as a nineteen year-old, Will won the prestigious Peter Brock Medal at the annual Confederation of Australian Motor Sports awards ceremony. In 2021 Will raced in the Bathurst 1000, a 1,000 kilometre touring car race held on the Mount Panorama Circuit. In November 2021 Will won his first ever Supercar event, aged 23 years. In August 2023 it was announced that Will was, from 2024, to join Triple Eight Race Engineering and Red Bull Ampol Racing in a three-year deal after transferring from Erebus Motorsport. In March 2024 Will won the Larry Perkins trophy, awarded to the Supercar driver who accrued the most points from the four races held during the 2024 Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. Also in 2024 Will Brown won the 2024 Supercars Championship in the 12 event series with Red Bull Ampol Racing. He also made history as the first driver in 40 years to secure a podium finish at every round of the Supercars calendar. In his spare time Will has been involved in rebuilding a Glasair 3 twin turbo aeroplane he purchased in 2023.

Buildings: • •

An aerial photograph of the School campus is included in this year’s entry. The building comprising the combined Boarding Houses of Boyce and Taylor was built during the year on the outer perimeter of the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Oval by Margaret Street and Mackenzie Street. A photograph of the new Boyce/Taylor Boarding Houses is included in this year’s entry. Another photograph shows the Boyce/Taylor Boarding House with the Mackintosh Boarding House. The Years 5, 6 and 7 boarders moved into the recently completed Corfe Boarding House extension in January.

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The ‘Learning Laboratory’ was ready for use, incorporating three cameras, six microphones and advanced video-recording facilities to record and observe lessons. This facility was in one of the classrooms in the Hugh Rose Centre (HR 13) and incorporated what used to be the office of the Deputy Headmaster until relocated to the ground floor of School House. The Baynes Centre (Music/Drama) was air-conditioned during the year.

Events: •

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The year represented the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli and a party of 28 represented the School on a ‘Battlefields Tour’ of Turkey, France and Belgium (see below in this section). With the swearing in of the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, the nation recognised Australia’s fourth Prime Minister in just two years. The School celebrated the 140th anniversary of its foundation. The Junior School adopted the use of the five House names of the Senior School for the first time. All students in Years 5-11 had an iPad and boys in Years 9-12 selected their own laptop for educational use in the classroom. The Toowoomba Grammar Swim Club was established following a constitutional name change from the former Academy Swim Club. An Honour Board ‘Academic Excellence in Boarding’ was unveiled this year and was located on the stairwell to the Centenary Dining Room. Two other Honour Boards were also unveiled, the Senior Dayboy Prefect and the Senior Boarder Prefect. Old Boy and Senior Boarder Prefect, Dr Tarun Sen Gupta (1975-1979), was one of many at the unveiling. The opening night of the School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Art Show attracted 525 guests. The high teas were also very popular. In the Term One holidays, a group of 14 boys and 2 staff travelled to France for three weeks. The boys completed a homestay arrangement in the city of Nancy and also attended school there. They also visited Paris, the Loire Valley and Mont St Michel. The tour was led by Mrs Elouise Parrington, Head of Languages. A photograph of the tour group is included in this year’s entry at the Victoria School, Villers-Bretonneux in France. Also in the Term One holidays, 14 boys and 3 staff travelled to Turkey, Belgium and France on a Tour of World War One battlefields. The purpose of the tour was to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War and to pay respect to those TGS Old Boys who paid the supreme sacrifice during the Great War. The tour managed to visit individual grave sites or memorials for 49 of the 62 Old Boys that the School identified as being either killed in action, died of an illness or of their wounds during WWI. The three-week tour was organised in superb detail by Mrs Ann Hallam, the School Cadet Officer, and the boys were also accompanied by staff members Mr Ray Morgan CSM and Ms Annmarie Puglisi. The ‘Battlefields Tour’ encouraged Mrs Hallam to engage the services of historian, researcher and author Mr Edwin Habben OAM, RFD. Mr Habben wrote a most comprehensive account of the lives of those TGS Old Boys who lost their lives in WWII. This was later produced as a book ‘Toowoomba Grammar School Roll of Honour WW2’ (published 2019) documenting the background of each Old Boy, as well as telling of his demise and resting place. The editor of Mr Habben’s book was Ms Vanessa Williams and Mrs Ann Hallam (TGS Cadet Administration Officer) and the volunteers in the School’s Museum also provided their support during this venture. A Page | 880


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photograph of the front cover of Mr Eddie Habben’s book ‘Toowoomba Grammar School Roll of Honour WW2’ is included in this year’s entry and the School Museum holds a copy of this important book. In the Term Three holidays, a group of 18 boys from Years 9-10 travelled to New Caledonia on a French language and cultural tour. At the OBA reunion dinner, the Headmaster had the pleasure of presenting to the Old Boys two trophies – the GPS Football (Soccer) Premiership Cup and the O’Callaghan Cup (won earlier in the day against Downlands College). Old Boy Steve Haddan (1971-1975), formerly a Channel 9 sports reporter and now a public speaker, entertained the audience. The Headmaster, President of the OBA, Mr Brett Priebe, and Director of Enrolments, Mr Ben Foley, attended an Old Boys Reunion in Sydney in September. The OBA Business Breakfast guest speaker was Paul Digby, Executive Director of Plenary Group, who spoke about the forthcoming construction of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing. In September, eighteen students attended an Indigenous Boys’ Family Dinner held at the School. The dinner involved the School’s boys of Indigenous heritage, their parents and supportive teaching staff. The evening included a ‘welcome to country’, didgeridoo playing, a powerpoint display of student involvement, speeches and selected food such as kangaroo meat and damper. Stephens House won the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition for the third successive year.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, this year Ms Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ Davies (later to be Mrs Jackie Gallagher) commenced in the role of Head Coach of Track and Field and teacher of English. Jackie represented Australia at the World Junior Championships in Track and Field in Italy (2004) and China (2006) and was the Australian Champion in the 200 and 400 metres events in 2001-2004 inclusive and again in 2006. Further coaching achievement highlights are referred to in the 2023 entry. The School’s squad came 7th in the GPS Track and Field championships with only eleven points behind the 6th place getter. A number of boys recorded Personal Bests but no first places were achieved at the Open level. In Basketball, the Open 1st V team defeated two GPS school teams - Nudgee College (66-61) and had a ‘nail biter’ defeating BGS by just one point (59-58). The eventual Premiers of GPS 1st V Basketball for this year, IGS, showed their supremacy with the defeat of the TGS 1st V, 126-46. The ‘home’ games of Basketball and Volleyball this year were played at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) stadium. The Coach of the Open Firsts team this year was David Allen. In Chess, the School’s Open Premier team finished in 8th position in the GPS Championships. The 1st IV had one win (3-1) against IGS and two drawn games against BBC and GT. The School’s Open Premier Chess team won 22 from 24 individual games in the annual Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Chess tournament – retaining the Open Division Trophy for the 21st consecutive year. The Coach of the School’s inaugural GPS Chess team in 1996 was Mr Les Lord who was not a member of the staff. Mr Lord was still actively involved in TGS Chess this year representing twenty years’ service to the School and its chess players. In Cricket, the 1st XI team won three GPS games (against NC, BBC and IGS), lost four and with one washout (ACGS). The team finished in 7th place on the GPS ladder. Page | 881


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Mr Ben Foley, the Director of Enrolments, took over as the sole 1st XI cricket coach this year and in 2016. In a 1st XI cricket match against Brisbane Boys’ College (BBC), Will Carty (Year 10) took five wickets for 22 runs. In the 1st XI match against IGS, the TGS Captain, Zac Beveridge, took 6 wickets for 35 runs. In the 1st XI win against NC, TGS batsman Hamish Stewart hit 4 sixes making 44 runs from 22 deliveries. The power and determination of Hamish’s batting was seen once again in the game against ‘Churchie’ when he made a century (115) from 74 balls. Hamish also scored a century against BSHS with 115 runs from 74 balls (see Hamish Stewart in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry). This season, Vice-Captain Christopher Melton had an impressive final three matches with the bat – 67 against GT, 62 against IGS, and 78 against TSS. This year represented the 10-year anniversary of the 1st XI Cricket team of 20 years ago playing against the current 1st XI. In these first 10 years the result tally was six wins to the current boys, three wins to the Old Boys, and one draw in 2013. Since 2006 the Old Boys had won the competition in the years 2008, 2009 and 2012. The Old Boys were to next win the match in 2016 but lost in 2017, 2018 and 2019. No match was played in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and in 2021 the Old Boys faced another loss. The Old Boys were victorious against the current 1st XI in both 2022 and 2023. In Cross Country, Benjamin Drew (Year 12) won the Open division in the Queensland State School Championships held at Runaway Bay in July. All competitors ran to the best of their ability at the GPS Cross Country championships with the TGS team finishing in 8th place. Ben Drew (Captain of Cross Country) placed 4th in the Open division and was selected in the Queensland school sport Cross Country team. In Debating, the School was awarded ‘Most Successful School’ in the Queensland Debating Union (Darling Downs) competition. The School had three of its Debating teams in their respective Grand Finals. In Football (Soccer), the School celebrated a GPS 1st XI Football (Soccer) Premiership (the School’s first) with five wins, one loss and two draws. The winning scores were against NC (2-1), ‘Churchie’ (4-1), BGS (4-0), IGS (3-2) and TSS (3-2). There were two drawn games in the season, BBC (1-1) and GT (2-2). The only defeat for the 1st XI was by BSHS (1-3). A photograph of the GPS Premiership winning team is included in this year’s entry. In the final game against The Southport School for the GPS Premiership, the TGS win was secured with a goal being scored in the last 27 seconds of play. This final goal, a header, was scored by Nykodah Smith who, in the following year, was to become the first Australian ever to sign a professional football contract for a Brazilian team. The Captain of the team was James Kinnear and the Coach was Mr Matt Bell. The Director of Football was Mr Peter Broadfoot and the Master-in-Charge was Mr Paul Kalinowski. Pierce Clark (Year 12) spent the summer holidays and Term One in Germany at the invitation of the Elversberg Football Club. Pierce returned to the School for the rest of the year and played as goal keeper in the GPS Premiership 1st XI Football team in Term Two. The School’s Under 16 team won the Australasian Futsal (indoor soccer) Championship. In Rugby, the 1st XV Rugby team came equal 3rd in the GPS competition, with five GPS wins (more recent years’ teams also enjoying five GPS wins were in 1968 and 1987). The 1st XV’s wins this year included BSHS (38-30), ‘Churchie’ (33-31), BGS (65-0), GT (31-24) and TSS (27-24). A photograph of the 1st XV team is included in this year’s entry.

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This year was the first time the School’s 1st XV had defeated The Southport School’s 1st XV since 1997 with a score of 27-24. The team also defeated the eventual premiers ‘Churchie’ in a ‘nailbiter’ where the TGS players spent the last ten minutes defending their try line to be victorious and inflict the only loss in the season for ‘Churchie’. The 1st XV team also posted a massive win against Brisbane Grammar School, 65-0. In the 1st XV game against ‘Churchie’, B.J. Oates scored four tries with the final result, TGS 33 d ACGS 31. B.J. Oates was also Co-Captain of the School’s Swimming team this year. This year ‘B.J.’ was joined by his younger brother, Kye, playing in the 1st XV. A number of the 1st XV Rugby players have their achievements documented in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. This year’s 1st XV rugby team achieved the honour of being the first 1st XV team in the School’s history to score over 240 points in the GPS rugby season (243 points). This record total surpassed the teams from 1940 (207 points), 1945 (192 points), 1956 (184 points), 1930 (182 points) and 1948 (173 points). Despite this record achievement, the team did not have a record for the lowest points scored against them. The 2015 team had 197 points scored against them during the GPS season – the record lowest points scored against a 1st XV in TGS history went to the 1948 1st XV with only 21 points scored against (followed by the 1930 team with 27 points against). Clayton Mack (Year 11) was selected to represent Queensland in the U16 Rugby League team. In Swimming, the Co-Captains of the team, B.J. Oates and Alan Gibson, were both State and National medallists, together with Patrick McNab (Year 12). Despite the strength of the Open division with these national swimmers, overall the squad finished in 9th position. The Co-Captains had outstanding swimming success over their secondary schooling. BJ Oates won 8 GPS Championship individual gold medals during his time at the School. At national level he had won 1 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze. BJ was also named State Champion ten times in a range of strokes. Similarly, Alan Gibson at National level won 3 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze with a further 11 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze at State level. In Tennis, the Open 1st IV team had the best result in the GPS competition for a number of years. The boys finished in 6th position with wins against NC, IGS, and BSHS. The 1st IV won ‘best regional team’ in the Queensland Secondary Schools State Finals and 5th place overall. In Volleyball, in the first game of the 1st VI the boys offered a great spectacle in a four-set game against the reigning Premiers, Brisbane Grammar School. BGS had been the reigning premiers in GPS Volleyball for more than ten years and this was the first time since 2010 that TGS had taken a set from them. Despite having a talented 1st VI, the team won only one game and lost five in the GPS season. The win was against BSHS (3-0) and the game against NC was cancelled due to dangerous driving conditions to the venue due to Cyclone Marcia. In Cadets, the Unit was involved in a number of commemorative services to acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli. The Cadet Honour Guard, previously known as the Precision Drill Rifle team, was formed to allow those members who support cadets to participate in activities not under the auspices of the Australian Army Cadets. The major event of the Honour Guard was the ANZAC Day commemorations. The Honour Guard wore WWI replica uniforms and paraded with the School’s .303 innocuous rifles. The new Officer Commanding of the School’s Cadet Unit was Capt.(AAC) John Wells.

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In Drama, the School Musical Titanic – the Musical was performed at the Empire Theatre in conjunction with Fairholme College. A photograph of some of the cast is included in this year’s entry featuring Mason Watts singing one of the songs. The show was a hugely successful musical involving a cast of 95 students (50 boys and 45 girls), 12 backstage and 25 students in the orchestra (with only three adult musicians). Approximately 4,000 delighted patrons supported the production over the four performances. The cast was dressed in period piece costumes obtained from the professional production in Sydney. The Director of the production was Mrs Eylece Blaikie and leads included George Mundell and Sachin Joshi (Year 12); Mason Watts, Rupert Bevan, Watson Blaikie, Hugh Hansen and Matthew Clulow (Year 11); and Austin Kelly (Year 10). A student in Year 9, Sean Johnston, also gave an amazing performance (see ‘Students’ section in the 2018-entry). In Music, the School’s Big Band and R’n’B Band performed at the Empire Church Theatre in August. The Grammarphones sang at a special candle lighting ceremony held in the gardens of the Empire Theatre by the Toowoomba Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Service. The Grammarphones also performed for Vocal Australia at the Princess Theatre in Brisbane as part of the prestigious Australian a Capella Awards (AUS ACA). For the last two years the Grammarphones had been the National Runners-Up in the secondary division of the highly acclaimed AUS ACA awards. The Grammarphones, led by Sachin Joshi, won the Penny Family Shield for best secondary school boys’ choir at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. The Vivace Trio comprised Hugh Hansen (Year 11) with Harry and Jeremy Egerton (Year 10) and achieved first place in the string (unaccompanied) trio/quartet secondary school division of the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. The TGS Saxophone Ensemble, comprising Toby Burstow (Year 12), Jesse Jones (Year 11) and Xavier Schubert (Year 8), was placed first in the small instrumental ensemble open division. The TGS Big Band, led by Toby Burstow, came first in the ‘A’ Grade Stage Band secondary school division. The lead singer with the R’n’B Band was Mason Watts in Year 11.

Downlands Competition: •

The 1st XI Cricket team defeated the Downlands College 1st XI team by 184 runs to retain the Tom Allen Trophy (TGS 3/303 d DC 119). Downlands College requested that only the 1st XI cricket team play in this round due to the disparity between the two schools in the depth of their cricket program. In this game Nathan Carroll and Will Carty had a 1st wicket partnership of 129 runs. The Principal of Downlands College requested that the two schools do not compete in Football/Soccer (for the P&F Trophy in existence since 2003) because of the historical dominance of our School in this sport. Toowoomba Grammar School will hold this Cup in perpetuity after winning it 13 of the 14 years the competition had been in place. The 1st XV Rugby team won the O’Callaghan Cup at home in dismal weather, 24-7. Twelve rugby games were played against Downlands College with all teams recording victories, many by massive margins.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Brett Priebe (1978-1982) was elected as the new President of the Old Boys’ Association for a three-year term (2015–2017) Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: His Excellency, the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland Page | 884


2015 2015

Aerial View of the School Aerial View of the School

The Roll of Honour New Extension & Refurbishment of Corfe Boarding House The Roll of Honour New Extension & Refurbishment of Corfe Boarding House

New Boyce & Taylor Boarding Houses New Boyce & Taylor Boarding Houses GPS 1st XI Football Premiership GPS 1st XI Football Premiership

Boyce, Taylor and Mackintosh Boarding Houses Boyce, Taylor and Mackintosh Boarding Houses

Football (L-R), Mr Rale Rasic, Nykodah Smith & Thiago Kosloski Football (L-R), Mr Rale Rasic, Nykodah Smith & Thiago Kosloski

Nykodah Smith, later to secure a professional contract with a leading Brazil Football Club Nykodah Smith, later to secure a professional contract with a leading Brazil Football Club

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2015 (cont.)

Hamish Stewart, all rounder Captain of 1st XV Rugby team & later an Australian Wallaby

GPS Premiership, 1st XI Football team

Musical, ‘Titanic ’

1st XV Rugby team, equal 3rd in GPS Competition.

Battlefields Tour of Turkey, Belgium & France

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2016 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 18th year)

Mr S. John Handley (in his 12th year)

Trustees: A vacancy at the Board level occurred following the passing of Mr E. (Russ) Johnson in March. Mr Johnson was on the Board from 2005 and followed Dr Kerry Milne as Chair of the Finance subcommittee. Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 14th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 10th year) Senior Prefect: Daniel G. Cover Senior Dayboy Prefect: Justin R. Weier Senior Boarder Prefect: Nicholas A.B. Lahey Dux of Year: Jesse B.R. Jones Captain of the Junior School: Kai K. McLoughlin Dux of the Junior School:

Ned Besley

Total School Enrolment: 1255 Senior School Total: 964 Junior School Total: 291 Number of Dayboys: 954 Number of Boarders: 301

Staffing: • • •

The School celebrated ten years of service by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly. The School’s Business Manager (formerly Assistant Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees), Mr Ian Young, celebrated his 30th year of service at the School. Dr Alison Young commenced at the School as only the third female in the School’s history to have served on the School Executive staff (after Mrs Lynne Yeabsley and Mrs Paulina Skerman). Dr Young was appointed as the School’s Director of Studies following the relinquishment of this position by Mr Greg Bland at the conclusion of the 2015 academic year. Mr Bland transferred to part-time teaching this year but returned full-time in 2018 and was appointed Head of the Mathematics Department in 2019. Page | 887


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Mr David Bell commenced in the role as the new Director of Sport and Activities following the resignation of Mr Sean Tasker at the end of Term Three of the previous year. Mr Bell was offered and accepted a promotional position at Brisbane Boys’ College (BBC) at the end of the following year. Sadly, Mr Bell passed away whilst still employed at BBC as Head of Middle School in May 2023. Mr John McKain, the Head of Industrial Technology and Design, resigned having commenced in 1988 (part-time) and 1989 (full-time), representing 28 years of service. Mr Tim Bunce retired (following this year of personal leave) after 27 years of service. Mr Bunce had taught in both the Senior School and the Junior School. The Headmaster’s Personal Assistant, Mrs Carina Biddle, resigned at the end of the year and relocated to the Sunshine Coast. Her excellent work during the ten years in this role was acknowledged. Old Boy Justin Stower (1981-1986) commenced employment at the School as a groundsman and in charge of the turf cricket wickets. As a student at TGS, Justin was Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team for two years, a member of the 1st XV Rugby team and was selected in the Queensland Under 19 Rugby team. He later resigned in April 2018. A photograph of the excellent Administrative and Operations Support Staff of the School is included in this year’s entry. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr R. Pearson (Groom), Mr D. Klan (Mackintosh), Mr D. Anderson (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Head of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs K. Catlow (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Daniel Cover, Justin Weier, Nicholas Leahy, James Anderson, Lachlan Boyce, Thomas Hemmings, Andrew Lumsden, Clayton Mack, Luke Manassero, Jack Loveday, Conor McLoughlin, Red Morgan, Patrick Morrison, Joshua Peart, Thomas Sedl, Mason Watts, Matthew Willshire and Guido Zuccoli. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Three students achieved an OP One and 31.3% of the OP eligible students gained an OP in the range 1-5. The percentage of Year 12 students in the OP range 1-10 (76.34%) was the highest since the introduction of the OP measure of Year 12 assessment in 1992. The next best result was in 2017. The OP One recipients were James Anderson, Jack Loveday and Andrew Lumsden. Daniel Cover, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Dan commenced teaching at Downlands College in 2022 following graduating with a Bachelor of Secondary Education majoring in Health and Physical Education. Dan’s contemporaries responded to such a move in a predictable manner but even more so when he was selected as the Assistant Coach of the Downlands College 1st XV in 2023 competing against his old school in the O’Callaghan Cup match. Thomas Sedl (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Matthew Willshire was selected for the Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby Union team; Matthew Faessler was selected as Captain of the Australian ‘Barbarians’ team; and Kye Oates received the honour of being selected as Captain for the Australian Indigenous Under 18 Schoolboys’ team. In Page | 888


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March 2022, Matt Faessler (2015-2016) joined two other TGS Old Boys playing in the Queensland Reds rugby union match against Western Force in Perth – Hamish Stewart (2004-2015) and Harry Hoopert (2013-2015). Matthew Faessler (2015-2016) was named in the Queensland Reds team in 2021 following his selection in the Australian Under 20s team in 2018. He signed a new two-year contract with the Queensland Reds in 2023. Also, in 2023 Matt became the Australian Wallabies 969th representative player and played in the Australia Wallabies versus New Zealand All Blacks game played in Dunedin, New Zealand, in August. In September 2024 Matthew again played for the Wallabies in a one point win against Argentina playing in Buenos Aires (alongside a fellow Old Toowoomba Grammarian, Hamish Stewart (see 2015). As an Australian Wallaby, Matthew Faessler made history by becoming the first hooker to score a hat-trick for Australia in Test rugby (that is, 695 Test matches since 1899). His three tries were scored in a Test against Wales in November 2024. Kye Oates (2012-2016) less than three years after leaving school was selected in the Australian ‘Junior Wallabies’ (Australian Under 20 Rugby Union team) to compete against Fiji (April 2019). In 2022 Kye was selected in the Australian Sevens Rugby team. In his debut game for Australia v Hong Kong, Kye scored a try. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet of 2017 on pages 33-36 contained an article featuring Kye recalling his rugby experience at TGS. In the article Kye said: “My time at TGS will be some of my most memorable years. I loved everything about the school, from the different sports right through to the everyday school life. There will definitely be some memories that I will cherish forever, along with some of the lifelong friends that I have made during my time at the school.” In the article Kye also thanked his parents and the staff. Richard Clift (2013-2016) signed with the Melbourne Rebels in 2017 joining his older brother William (2013-2014) with the Club. The TGS Rugby Season Booklet 2017 (pp. 27-32) contained an article featuring an interview with Richard and Will Clift about their schooldays, their move to Melbourne after school and training with the Rebels. Richard Clift moved to England in June 2023 and was signed by Nottingham Rugby Club. Nathan Morgan (Year 12) achieved the Gold Award in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Three students in Year 12, Hugh Hansen, Jesse Jones and Andrew Lumsden, were successful in gaining their A.Mus.A. qualification with the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). Hugh Hansen (above) studied as a music teacher and in 2024 was the Principal ‘Cello with the Brisbane Regional Youth Orchestra. The orchestra travelled to the South Pacific in 2024 playing many concerts and donating hundreds of instruments to the local children. The Dux of the School this year, Jesse Jones, later studied a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and in 2023 was studying a Master of Music postgraduate degree at the University of Queensland focussing on music education. Rupert Bevan (2010-2016) was named the top student in Queensland (boys and girls) for his Grade 6 Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) Speech and Drama examination. Rupert held lead roles in the TGS productions South Pacific and Titanic the Musical performed at Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre. Outside of school, Rupert was involved in Empire Theatre productions including Mary Poppins, Legally Blonde and The Wizard of Oz. In 2018 Rupert was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Acting. His original theatre piece Darling Boy has been performed in the Melbourne Fringe Festival and in Sydney, Edinburgh and Ireland. Mason Watts (2012-2016) released his debut single Recovery in 2019. His songs are playing on all major music streaming platforms.

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Guido Zuccoli (2005-2016) was the Captain of the Junior School in Year 7 in 2011 and in Year 12 he was a Prefect and Senior Cadet Under Officer. After Year 12 Guido was admitted to the Australian Defence Force Academy. In 2023 he was with the RAAF as an air battle manager flying an E-7A wedgetail in 2 Squadron. The wedgetail is an airborne early warning and control aeroplane with between 10-15 people on board. Guido is based in Newcastle, NSW. A number of other students from the Class of 2016 were admitted to the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra after leaving school. In addition to Guido Zuccoli (above) were Sam Penhaligon (2011-2016), Lincoln Rolfe (2012-2016), Lachlan White (2012-2016) and Isaac Martin (2007-2016). A student in Year 10, Will Jakins, the twin brother of Thomas, tragically lost his life as a result of a farming accident and his Memorial Service was held at the School.

Buildings: •

In January, boarders moved into the new Boarding Houses of Boyce and Taylor located near the corner of Margaret and Mackenzie Streets on the perimeter of what was formerly known as the P&F Oval. A photograph of the upper northern floor dormitory of Boyce Boarding House prior to the boys’ move to the new Boarding House is included in this year’s entry. As outlined below, this space was then converted to a Drama Studio classroom for the boys. At the commencement of Term 4, students moved into the newly refurbished learning areas of the former Boarding Houses of Boyce and Taylor. With the departure of the Boyce boarders at the end of the 2015 school year and their subsequent relocation, the former Boyce Boarding House was then dedicated to the specialist teaching of Art and Drama; with the departure of the Taylor boarders in November 2015 and their relocation to the new Boyce/Taylor Boarding House, the former Taylor Boarding House was then converted to a dedicated teaching and learning area for Industrial Design and Technology. This year the P&F Association, led by Mr Wes McRae, made a huge donation to the School via its contribution to the air-conditioning in the Roberts, Purves, Heenan, Barbour and O Block classrooms in the Senior School. Also this year the P&F Association organised and funded a major renovation to the School’s Uniform Shop and Book Pool.

Events: • •

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Old Boy Matthew Denny (2011-13) represented Australia in the Olympic Games (Rio de Janeiro) (see the ‘Students’ section in the 2013 entry and the ‘Events’ section in 2018 and 2021). His name is acknowledged on the Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. This year was the 10th annual occasion in which the School had conducted the Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp for children with disabilities. The camp had been organised and led each year by the Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly. The Headmaster at the time, Mr Peter Hauser, commented that this Camp was one of the most educationally significant and inspirational personal development initiatives he had seen throughout his teaching career. The School was represented at the 50th Anniversary of Long Tan, held at the Mothers’ Memorial in Toowoomba. In October, the School’s Director of Enrolments, Mr Ben Foley (who commenced at the School in this role in December 2010), participated in ‘Access China’. This involved a trade delegation of 220 people departing from Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport on the first international passenger flight from this airport. The flight was a direct one to Shanghai and Mr Foley joined other Toowoomba business leaders and delegates in a fact-finding mission regarding various business opportunities. Page | 890


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The School hosted the Yalari National Schools’ Seminar, welcoming approximately 40 educational leaders from around Australia. Topics discussed included Indigenous culture, assimilation, activities and curriculum initiatives. Toowoomba Grammar School was one of the two founding schools (together with The Glennie School) involved in the Yalari program when it was first created by TGS Old Boy, Mr Waverley Stanley AM (1980-1984), in 2005 in his attempt to promote Indigenous education throughout Australia. In April the School hosted a celebration that marked the tenth anniversary of the Yalari Indigenous Education Scholarship program. Waverley Stanley visited the School in April and spoke to the School Assembly. This year was the 50th year of operation of the School’s Interact Club. The State Government announced that the introduction of the new system of student assessment in Year 12 (the ATAR) would be postponed one year from the original time frame of 2019 to 2020. A cultural and language tour to Japan involved 16 boys took place in the Term Three holidays. Old Boy Graham Hobbs (1949-1952) was acknowledged with Honorary Life Membership of the School’s Old Boys’ Association, one of only 27 Old Boys since this honour was initiated in 1972. The Headmaster and President of the OBA, Brett Priebe, attended an Old Boys’ reunion in Rockhampton in October. Leon Clothier (1968-1972) and Frazer Pearce (1973-1977) organised the event and around 40 Old Boys and partners attended. Of interest, there was an Old Boy in Rockhampton who had been regularly dealing in business with another man but, to their surprise, both attended the reunion, previously unaware that they had both attended the same school. The oldest Old Boy on the night was Peter Shannon (1944-1947) who spoke about how the school infrastructure was used by the military during the Second World War. Another attendee, Vern Ezzy (1979-1980) spoke of his time as a Paralympian in the 80s and how the Paralympian movement was eventually able to convince the Olympic authorities that Paralympics were indeed worthy of using the Olympic name. This year’s OBA Business Breakfast guest speaker was Steve Haddan (1971-1975) who thoroughly entertained the audience. Boyce House won the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition (the first time in 19 years).

Co-curricular Activities: •

This year, the School had 590 boys playing cricket, 609 boys playing football (soccer), 637 boys playing rugby, 24 boys playing chess, 128 boys playing basketball, 158 boys playing tennis and 254 boys playing volleyball. In Athletics, the Captain of the School’s Athletics team, Conor McLoughlin, won the National Under 17 titles in both discus and shot-put and a national silver in the hammer throw. Conor also won the Open discus and shot-put events at the GPS Track and Field Championships. This victory in the GPS Open discus and shot-put represented the third occasion in four successive years in which a TGS athlete had won both events at the GPS Track and Field Championships (2013, Matthew Denny; 2014, Jimmy Gordon; and 2016, Conor McLoughlin). In 2018 Conor competed in the discus event at the IAAF World Under 20 Championships in Finland. Despite Conor McLoughlin’s success, the School’s Athletics team came a disappointing 9 th place in the GPS Track and Field championships.

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In Basketball, the 1st V achieved two wins in the GPS season, against GT (82-77) and BGS (88-79). Two games were lost by narrow margins, IGS (69-74) and to NC (70-80). The Coach of the Open Firsts team was Mr Sean Timperley. In Chess, the Open Premier IV team achieved a 7th placing in the GPS competition. The Captain and Vice Captain of the School’s 1st IV, Thomas Sedl and Jonathon Jones, tied for 1st place in the Darling Downs Division of the Queensland Open Chess Championships. In Cricket, the annual Neil Dansie Cricket Festival involving the Open 1st XI Cricket teams from TGS, Knox Grammar School (Sydney), Camberwell Grammar School (Melbourne) and St Peter’s College (Adelaide) was hosted at TGS. Regrettably the competition had to be cancelled after only the first day’s round of games. A serious outbreak of gastroenteritis affected the health of many players in all teams. It was agreed that the event would again be hosted by TGS in twelve months’ time. Unfortunately, the School’s Cricket visitors from interstate have not had favourable encounters when TGS has hosted the festival in Toowoomba. This is because we had previously had to cancel the cricket festival when the School was last scheduled to host the event due to the January 2011 floods in Toowoomba and Brisbane. The 1st XI had a somewhat disappointing season in terms of both results and some wet weather disrupting games. Only two GPS games were won, against ‘Churchie’ (by 13 runs) and GT (by 20 runs). Against BSHS a draw was the outcome due to rain affecting the match. Some of the losses were significant such as being defeated by 80 runs by TSS. The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team was Will Carty in Year 11 (and also in the following year). He followed his older brothers, Tom Carty, who captained the 1st XI Cricket team in 2013 and Jack Carty who captained in 2012. Nathan Carroll was selected in the National Under 17 Cricket Championships. A Cricket tour to New Zealand took place in the Term 4 holidays. The School’s grounds staff did a wonderful job in placing the School’s crest on Mills Oval as illustrated in a photograph included in this year’s entry. A photograph of the School’s 1st XI Cricket team is also included in this year’s entry. In Cross Country, a number of the School’s top runners were unable to compete in the GPS Cross Country championships due to illness or injury. The result of the day was a disappointing 9th position. In Football (Soccer) - GPS Football (Soccer) Premiership - The 1st XI Football team achieved a GPS co-Premiership (sharing with St Joseph’s Nudgee College); a back-to-back GPS Football Premiership. The team was captained by Joshua Fanning and the Coach was Mr Matt Proctor. The team had a less than ideal opening three rounds. The boys had only one win and two draws and the team was in last place on the ladder. The 1st XI co-Premiership team lost only two games during the season, to NC (2-3) and BSHS (12), The winning matches were against TSS (2-1), BBC (2-1), ‘Churchie’ (1-0), BGS (2-0), GT (3-0), and an impressive 6-0 victory against IGS. Photographs of the GPS Football Premiership Cup and the 1st XI Football team are included in this year’s entry. A tradition in the School dating back as far as the 1940s was that the TGS Old Boys’ Association would present the members of the winning GPS Premiership Cup with a Premiership Cap (modelled on the ‘baggy green’ of the Australian Cricket team). This was again done this year. Year 12 students Emmanuel Philip and Charles Miller both represented the School in the Open 1st XI Football team for four years and were part of two GPS Football Premierships.

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In Rugby, an Open age-group Rugby tour of New Zealand took place during the Easter holidays involving 41 boys and 5 staff. The 1st XV Rugby team was a very talented one and a photograph of this team is included in this year’s entry (after a muddy game). The 1st XV team contained Matthew Willshire who was selected in the Australian Schoolboys’ team, Matthew Faessler (Captain of the Australian ‘Barbarians’ and later an Australian Wallaby), Harry Green (QLD Schoolboys) and Kye Oates skippering the Australian Indigenous Schoolboys’ team (and later a member of the Australian Sevens team). Frustratingly, the team only finished 7th overall and lost a number of games after very impressive starts to their games. The losing game against TSS (24-28) was at one stage a lead held by TGS 17-7. A one-point loss to BBC (29-30) resulted when, at an earlier stage in the game, TGS was leading 15-0. Another very close game lost was to IGS by one point (31-32). The win against Downlands College was a close one (33-29) when at one stage TGS held a 21-0 lead. The loss to Nudgee College was by only 7 points (26-33) and the team had a 12-point loss to the eventual Premiers, BSHS. The 1st XV Rugby team wins were against BGS (26-17), GT (28-24) and ‘Churchie’ (20-10). A visiting spectator at TGS for the ‘Churchie’ game was Mr ‘King’ Wally Lewis who later congratulated the team on its win. In the 1st XV game against Gregory Terrace, TGS denied GT a Premiership by beating them in the final play with Matt Faessler putting on the goose step to score the gamewinning try. In a time when, increasingly, students at the highest sporting level choose to specialise in one particular sport, it was refreshing to see the Captain of the School’s Premiership winning Football (Soccer) team also selected to represent the School in the 1st XV Rugby team. This was Joshua Fanning, who, in his debut game with the 1st XV against IGS, scored a try. Similarly, Nathan Carroll who played in the Australian under 17 Cricket Championships this year was, in 2022, selected in the ACT Brumbies Rugby team in a pre-season match played against the Black Rams Tokyo. He was also selected in an Australian representative Rugby Sevens squad to compete in the Oceania Sevens carnival in New Zealand. In the BBC 1st XV was Len Ikitau, later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby. In the TGS 1st XV was Matt Faessler, later to represent Australia in Rugby Union as a Wallaby (see ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry). In Swimming, the School’s squad improved its ranking with a 4th place in the GPS championships. This was a significant improvement on last year’s ninth place. There were only a mere 3 points to achieving a 3rd place in the competition. Benjamin Clark won the prestigious Open GPS 50 metres freestyle event in a time of 24.26 seconds at the GPS Swimming Championships. This was the first time a TGS swimmer had won the Open 50 metres freestyle event since Gordon Card in 1945. Three of the School’s swimmers were selected in the Queensland team to compete in the National Schools’ Championships held in Darwin. Simon Geldenhuys gained six national swimming gold medals and two individual silver medals at this competition. Joshua Smith (Year 10) also won two individual gold medals at this meet. Fraser Stewart was also a gold and silver medallist. The TGS Swimming Club was honoured to be named as the most successful regional swim club in Australia. In Tennis, the School’s 1st IV was an older and more experienced team than in recent years. Ryan Smith and John Brett had been members of the 1st IV for four seasons whilst Charlie Zwolsman completed his third year in the School’s top team.

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• • • • •

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The 1st IV Tennis team was placed 5th in the Queensland Secondary Schools’ Tennis competition and won the Queensland Country championships. The 1st IV team finished in 6th place in the GPS competition recording victories over TSS (7 rubbers to 1), BSHS (5-3) and IGS (6-2). In Volleyball, the 1st VI experienced one win, against BSHS (3-1). All other defeats were in straight sets. In the Adventure Club, a tour to Nepal involved 9 boys, 2 staff and 9 parents. In Cadets, approximately 80 students were in the School’s Cadet Unit, all benefiting from this significant personal development program. A photograph of the Unit on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval during the ANZAC Day service, in front of the entire Senior School and the older year groups of the Junior School, is included in this year’s entry. In Drama, Year 12 student, Rupert Bevan, was named the top student in Queensland (boys and girls) for his Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) Grade 6 Speech and Drama examination. This represented the third occasion in which Rupert had won the ‘Barbara Sisley Award’ for the highest performance in the state in each grade level of the AMEB Speech and Drama examination. This year Rupert Bevan also won four first-places and was the overall winner of the Years 10-12 Speech and Drama Championships at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. Rupert’s success in drama after leaving school is further outlined in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. The Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) performed two interwoven plays Cosi and The Play That Goes Wrong performed at the Armitage Centre at the Empire Theatre. In the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, Nathan Morgan gained a Gold Award. In Music, the Grammarphones engaged in a performance tour to the USA in the September school holidays. After an earlier audition process, 23 students were chosen to tour accompanied by Mr Neil Roche-Kelly (Director of Performance) and Mrs Eylece Blaikie (Teacher-in-Charge of Drama and Head of Arts). The boys visited and performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City and performed at both Disneyland and on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building. A photograph of a plaque from Disneyland acknowledging the Grammarphones performance is included in this year’s entry. The Egerton twins in Year 11, Harry and Jeremy, were both awarded the qualification AMusA by the Australian Music Examinations’ Board (see 2017). The Glennie/Grammar Orchestra (led by Hugh Hansen) placed first at the Queensland Eisteddfod held in Toowoomba. The Big Band, led by Jesse Jones, also won the secondary big band section. The String Consort achieved first place in the secondary small string ensemble. The Saxophone trio won the secondary woodwind (unaccompanied) trio/quartet section. The Grammarphones, directed once again by Mr Neil Roche-Kelly, and led by Mason Watts, came second in the secondary school boys’ choir. Mason Watts’ father, Mr Trevor Watts, is a State Politician and each year the Trevor Watts MP Prize for Agricultural Science is presented at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. This year Mason Watts was the leader of the R’n’B Band and the Grammarphones and since leaving school had a number of singer-songwriter pieces recorded.

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Downlands Competition: •

The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 87 – TGS 2/88). As at 2016 TGS had won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy 41 times, DC 18 times with two washouts and four drawn games. The 1st XV Rugby team retained the O’Callaghan Cup (33-29) in a very close match. As at 2016 Downlands College had won the O’Callaghan Cup on 35 occasions and TGS had won it 29 times. There had also been 3 drawn games.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr William Yates (Old Boy and 2008 Senior Dayboy Prefect)

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2016

Visual & Manual Arts Building prior to demolition for new Sports Centre

Second Successive GPS 1st XI Football Premiership (aeq)

Former Boyce Boarding Dormitory before conversion to Henderson Art & Drama Classrooms

The School Crest on Mills Oval Back to Back GPS Football Premiers

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2016 (cont.)

Acknowledging The Grammarphones Performance at Disneyland The School Prefects

After a wet & muddy game

Cadet Unit at ANZAC Day Service

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2017 Chairman of the Board of Trustees:

Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 19th year)

Deputy Chairman: Mr S. John Handley (in his 13th year) who resigned from the Board in October. Mr Handley had been a Trustee of the School for 22 years and a Past President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. Trustees: Mr Brendan Baulch was appointed to the Board of Trustees in April filling the vacancy created by the passing of Mr Russ Johnson in the previous year. Each year the School remembers with fondness and gratitude the efforts of Russ Johnson on the Board of Trustees with the E.R. (Russ) Johnson Memorial Prize for Accounting being presented at the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 15th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr Timothy J. Kelly (in his 11th year) Senior Prefect: Austin J.K. Kelly (who was also Captain of the Junior School in 2012) Senior Dayboy Prefect: Lachlan T. Grigg Senior Boarder Prefect: Joel D. Beveridge Dux of Year: Mark N. Mackenzie Captain of the Junior School: William J.G. Smith Dux of the Junior School:

William J.G. Smith

Total School Enrolment: 1234 Senior School Total: 949 Junior School Total: 285 (including 3 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 935 Number of Boarders: 299

Staffing: •

The Deputy Headmaster, Mr Timothy Kelly, resigned at the end of the year to accept the appointment as Principal of Townsville Grammar School to commence in 2018. Mr Kelly was appointed as the School’s Deputy Headmaster in 2007 at the relatively young age of 36 years. He made an enormous contribution to the School, particularly in the development of service leadership and community service. The School celebrated Mr Craig Harris’ 25 years of teaching at the School. Page | 898


• •

Business Manager, Mr Ian Young, retired in October after 31 years of outstanding service to the School. Prior to the reclassification of his role, Mr Young had been the Assistant Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees. He was succeeded by Mrs Debbie McCourt in a role initially as Business Manager and then as Human Resources Manager, resigning in May 2021. A teacher of English, Ms Suzanne Connolly, was appointed as an Assistant Boarding Housemaster in Boyce House. This represented only the second time a woman had held a leadership role in a Senior School Boarding House (see 2010). The School’s Director of Performance, Mr Neil Roche-Kelly, resigned at the end of the year having joined the staff in 1998 as Head of Music. At the end of 2015 Mr Roche-Kelly was appointed as Director of Performance following the passing of Mr Harley Mead. Mr Roche-Kelly had made a most significant contribution to the Performing Arts at the School, particularly through the vocal work with the Grammarphones. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr D. McDonald (Groom), Mr C. McLeod (Mackintosh), Mr D. Anderson (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor). Mrs Therese Manassero’s appointment as the new Dayboy Housemaster (now ‘Head of House’) of Groom House filled the vacancy created by Mrs Karen Catlow who relinquished this position at the end of the previous year. The number of Dayboy Housemasters/Heads of House who were female increased over the years. The first female Housemaster was Mrs Lynne Yeabsley who was a Housemaster of Freshney House from 1996-2005. Other women appointed to Housemaster/Head of House leadership positions were Ms Lisa Thomson (Groom-Freshney, 2006-2007), Mrs Karen Catlow (Groom, 2008-2016), Mrs Gabe Battersby (Boyce, 2011-2022), Mrs Therese Manassero (Groom, 2017- current at the time of writing, 2024) and Mrs Lisa Purves (Boarding, Corfe, 2021- 2022).

Students: •

• • •

The School Prefects were Austin Kelly, Joel Beveridge, Lachlan Grigg, James Bailey, Jack Brandon, Tom Dickenson, Bradley Evans, Flynn Halfpenny, Joe Hanly, Cameron Keating, Josh Kelly, Luke Kratzman, Mark Mackenzie, James Scott, Will Schmidt, Sean Sorour, Corne Wiid, Hamish Williams and Joseph Willis. Eleven students gained an OP One, only the fifth time double-digit OP Ones had been achieved since the introduction of the OP measure of Year 12 assessment in 1992. The other four years recording ten or more OP Ones were in 2003, 2006, 2011 and 2012. The School’s OP One recipients were Jack Brandon, Joshua Eiser, Lachlan Grigg, Cameron Keating, Luke Kratzmann, Mark MacKenzie, Austin Reed, William Schmidt, Sean Sorour, Andrew Waite and Angus Wilson. 37.1% of the Year 12 OP eligible students achieved an OP 1-5, the second best ever result. Only 2011 had a superior result (40.4%) since 1992. The percentage of Year 12 students achieving an OP in the range 1-15 (97.9%) was the highest ever in the School’s history. Austin Reed (Year 12) was offered a place at the University of Cambridge to study Mathematics. Austin commenced his Cambridge studies in October of the following year. In 2022 Austin was admitted to study a Ph.D. at Cambridge specialising in computational biology. Specifically he is studying the mechanisms driving tumour formation using single-cell sequencing to try to identify Page | 899


• • • • • •

a trajectory of changes in gene expression from healthy to diseased tissue. An article on Austin’s experience at the University of Cambridge and his cancer research was published in the School’s Omnibus magazine, Vol.33, No.1, 2023, pg.36. The School’s Senior Prefect, Austin Kelly, had an incredibly busy schedule in this role but also with a weekly commitment to train with the Queensland Ballet in its senior training program. In Year 8 he danced his way through a gruelling audition process to be chosen to dance on stage with the Russian Bolshoi Ballet where he performed with them on the QPAC stage for eight shows of Le Corsair. In Year 9 Austin was selected to dance in the Queensland Ballet’s production of Coppelia. A photograph of Austin Kelly performing on stage is included in this year’s entry. Harry Egerton (Year 12) was offered a place with the Australian Youth Orchestra and toured Europe and China with the orchestra. He joined a young Old Boy colleague, John van Gend, in this orchestra (see 2014). Harry completed a Bachelor of Music at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, studying violin performance. At the Conservatorium Harry won the Ronald Clifford Davis violin prize each year from 2018-2021. In 2021 Harry was a casual musician with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He was then admitted to the Australian National Academy of Music located in Melbourne in 2022. Jeremy Egerton (Year 12), the twin brother of Harry (above), started on the violin when he was four and a half years old but changed to the viola a few years later. After school Jeremy completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the Queensland Conservatorium. Lachlan Grigg was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Hamish Williams (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Dylan Stevens was ranked number one in Australia for the 50 metres backstroke in the Under 17 age division. Jack Wagner (2013-2017) committed to Ottawa University at the end of the year to further his education and basketball. Harry Hornery (2014-2017) committed to the University of Southern California to continue his education and basketball career. The grandsons of the 13th Headmaster of the School (Mr ‘Bill’ Dent) and the sons of Andrew Dent (TGS 1976-1980) attended the School during this time; Jack Dent (Year 12) and Max Dent (Year 11). The students in the inaugural Reception/Prep class at the School in 2005 were now completing their Year 12 studies. To acknowledge their thirteen years of schooling at Toowoomba Grammar School, a special lapel badge 2005-2017 was presented to the boys. These young men who completed their entire schooling at TGS over thirteen consecutive years (2005-2017) were: Tyler Gilmore, David Hart, Jack Hogan, Hugh McRae, Sam Sparke, Louis Tidswell, Brock Wendland, Corne Wiid and Joseph Willis. A photograph of these students is included in this year’s entry.

Buildings: •

In January, the Arts Building (comprising Manual Arts and Art and constructed in 1981) was demolished to prepare for the construction of the new Sports Centre. A photograph of the building and its demolition is included in this year’s entry.

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In January, work commenced on the construction of the new Sports Centre, a project to take more than sixteen months. Various photographs of the preparation of the building site and progress works are included in this year’s entry. The School’s Board of Trustees announced to the school community the naming or renaming of various buildings. These included the School’s Aquatic Centre to be known as the ‘P.B. Hauser Aquatic Centre’; the building formerly housing the Boyce House boarders to be known as the ‘J.W.P. Henderson Art and Drama Centre’; the building formerly housing the Taylor House boarders to be known as the ‘I. Gibson Design and Technology building’; and the classroom block formerly known as the ‘O Block’ to be referred to as the ‘R. Freshney classrooms’. A photograph of an empty dormitory in the former Boyce Boarding House, in readiness for its conversion to Art Rooms in the J.W.P. Henderson Art and Drama Centre, is included in this year’s entry.

Events: •

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Toowoomba recorded its equal hottest day on record with 39.5 degrees on Saturday, 11 February. This record was broken the following day when on Sunday, 12 February the temperature reached 40.8 degrees in Toowoomba. This broke all records in the 60 years of data collection in the city. The School’s Cadet Unit celebrated its 125 year anniversary. The ‘rocket ship’ play equipment in the Junior School was installed. The School Leavers from 1947-1950 held their 70th year reunion in March. Organised primarily by Mr Sydney Gardner (1947-1950), the Old Boys celebrated a reunion dinner at Gip’s Restaurant in Toowoomba on Saturday, 18 March. The following morning saw 22 of these Old Boys return to the School for a tour and a wonderful trip down memory lane. A new academic diligence medal was initiated, the Dr George Fielding Medal for Application and Diligence. This was named after the School’s Senior Prefect in 1947 and 1948. This year was the first year in which the Senior School introduced e-text books whereby the students used textbooks in a digital on-line version rather than printed text. The Headmaster, Mr Peter Hauser, was selected as “Principal in Residence” at Bond University. There is only one School Principal in Australasia who is selected each year and this involved Mr Hauser in various functions at the University during the year. Mr Hauser also resided on the University campus for one week in May to comment on the operation of the University and its attraction to secondary school leavers. In the following year Mr Hauser was honoured as a Fellow of Bond University. A Latin Club was established as a voluntary lunchtime activity for boys by teacher Mr Michael Cocks. The Interact Club raised in excess of $25,000 to assist various charities. The Old Boys’ Association donated $200,000 towards the construction of the new Sports Centre. A donation from the Hodgson family including TGS Speech Day Prize Books dated 1883, 1915, 1950 and 1983 was made to the School at the 70th anniversary dinner of the 1947-1950 Group of Old Boys held in Toowoomba in March. A photograph of these prize books is included in the 1949year entry. A cultural and language study tour to France was conducted during the Term One holidays. The tour included two weeks of homestay and schooling in Nancy, followed by eight days of sightseeing in Paris and beyond. A one-day excursion to the World War One battlefields of Verdun was also on the itinerary. The boys were accompanied by the Head of Languages, Mrs Elouise Parrington, and History teacher, Mrs Gabe Battersby. Page | 901


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A language and cultural tour to New Caledonia took place in the Term Three holidays with the tour leader, French teacher Mrs Tracy Stinson. The School entered a team in the Bond University Mooting Competition, an activity in which the School experienced considerable success in 1991 and 1992. Students were invited to compete in the Bond Mooting competition between 2017 and 2019 and then competed in the Mooting competition conducted by the University of Southern Queensland (2018-2020). Boys from Year 11 and Year 12 volunteered to join the School’s newly established White Ribbon committee. White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement engaging men and boys to end men’s violence against women and girls, promote gender equality and create new opportunities for men to build positive, healthy and respectful relationships. One of the Old Boy 1st XI cricket players participating in the Old Boys versus current 1st XI players was Bryce Burrows who came from Darwin to play in the game. The guest speaker at the OBA business breakfast was Old Boy Mac Stirling (1970-1973), a property developer, architect and sport and recreation consultant. This year’s O’Callaghan Cup game between TGS and Downlands College 1st XV Rugby teams had an unexpected visitor on the field. The ‘streaker’ ran almost the full length of the field wearing only a small leopard print loin cloth covering around his waist. He ran from the Margaret Street bus loop end, hopped the fence and continued running down past Mills Oval out the Herries Street entrance. It was in the final minutes of the game but no one gave chase as he was far too quick. He was apprehended by police shortly after. Boyce House won the Headmaster’s Shield for the second successive year.

Co-curricular Activities: •

• •

The year was a most encouraging one for sport at Toowoomba Grammar School. In terms of the Open Firsts teams, second placings in the GPS championships were awarded to the TGS 1st XI Cricket team, the 1st XI Football (soccer) team and the School’s Swimming team came third. In Athletics, the GPS Track and Field Championships (Friday, 27 October) were held in the State Athletics Facility adjacent to the customary venue of the main stadium of the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) due to the refurbishment of the main arena. This year was the 100th GPS Track and Field competition. The Cup for overall champion school in the GPS Track and Field championships is named after Sir Thomas Herbert ‘John’ Chapman Goodwin who was appointed Governor of Queensland in 1927. The TGS athletes achieved 36 Personal Bests from the 67 performances. There were seven first placings gained and a minimal number of bottom three placings. The Squad finished in 7th position in the GPS competition. Angus Davey (Year 10) broke the GPS record (existing from 2002) in the Boys 15 years Javelin throw at the GPS Track and Field Championships. In Basketball, the School’s 1st V had many hard-fought games against older and more experienced teams. The boys won one GPS game, against BGS (67-46) but lost 3 triple digit scores to TSS (41108), BSHS (37-104), and GT (59-108). In the GT game the TGS 1st V started quite poorly and saw GT amass a 27-0 start. This year was marked as the commencement of a rebuilding program for Basketball in the School with the appointment of Mr Kabe Cicolini who continued coaching at the School for at least a further seven years (see 2022). In Chess, despite the boys’ best efforts the Open Premier IV finished the season in 9th place. Page | 902


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In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI team won the Neil Dansie festival for the first time since the competition commenced nine years ago (and again in the following year). This cricket festival involves the 1st XI cricket teams of four nationally known schools – Knox Grammar School (Sydney), St Peter’s School (Adelaide), Camberwell Grammar School (Melbourne) and Toowoomba Grammar School (see 2009). In cricket, the Captain of the 1st XI team both this year and last year was Will Carty and the new Coach of the 1st XI was Mr Steve Fryer who coached the team during the 2017-2019 years. In 2020 Mr Steve Fryer was appointed the School’s Director of Sport and Activities and Mr Ben Schuhmacher was appointed 1st XI coach in 2020. The School’s 1st XI Cricket side came 2nd in the GPS competition with six successive wins often by quite comprehensive margins. The 1st XI was successful in defeating NC (3/112 – 10/111), BSHS (3/141 – 10/140), BBC (6/211 – 10/109), ‘Churchie’ (8/223 – 10/119). BGS (8/184 – 9/173) and GT (6/150 – 10/147). The team was only one point from winning the Premiership. The Captain of Cricket, Will Carty, scored 102 runs in a 1st XI cricket game against Anglican Church Grammar School. Prior to Will coming to the batting crease, the TGS team was suffering at 3 wickets down for 9 runs after only a few overs, and eventually won the game. Vice-Captain of Cricket, Nathan Carroll, was selected into the Queensland Under 19 Cricket team and was chosen in the GPS combined XI for the third consecutive year. A Cricket tour to the North Island of New Zealand involved two TGS teams. The boys enjoyed cricket matches against other school teams in Auckland, Hamilton, Hastings, Paraparaumu and Masterton. The tour co-ordinator was Mr Tony Wallis. In Cross Country, the runners performed to the best of their ability to be placed 8th in the competition. In Football (Soccer), sixteen boys and three staff participated in a Football tour to Brazil in the Term Two holidays. The tour involved two training sessions per day and six games over the fortnight. The highlight of the tour was the visit to a favela and the social game had with the local players. The boys were confronted by the abject poverty as they toured the housing district. After Ribeirao Preto (and the Botafogo Football Academy) the boys visited Sao Paulo (with 11 million people) and Rio de Janeiro. The staff comprised the Patron of TGS Football, Mr Rale Rasic, 1st XI Football Coach, Mr Matt Proctor, and teachers Mr Peter Broadfoot (Team Leader) and Ms Heidi Jackson (Team Manager). The School’s 1st XI Football team came 2nd in the GPS competition, following its Premierships in 2015 and 2016. The 1st XI fell short of securing the Premiership by one point to IGS. During the season the 1st XI had six wins, against – TSS (3-2), NC (3-2), BSHS (3-2),’Churchie’ (2-1), BGS (4-1) and GT (4-1). The two losses were to IGS (1-2) and BBC (1-4). The School’s Under 15 Football team won the Queensland Championship in the Bill Turner Cup competition. The team then played off in the National Championships and finished with a bronze medal in a competition comprising 800 teams. In Rugby, the School’s Open 1st XV team won two games in the GPS competition, namely BGS (2612) and BSHS (26-10), a game in which Samuel Stanford scored 3 tries. The team finished in 7 th position in the GPS competition. Frustratingly, three matches were lost by five points or fewer – NC (14-17), BBC (17-22), and IGS (32-34) Representing BSHS in the 1st XV was Jordan Petaia who was awarded ‘Wallabies Rookie of the Year’ award in 2019. Refer to the ‘Events’ section in this year’s entry regarding the ‘streaker’ at the Grammar/Downlands match. Page | 903


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In Swimming, the School’s team recorded 3rd place in the GPS Swimming Championships, the equal second-best result in the School’s history (with another 3rd place in 2013 and 1946 and a GPS Championship in 1935). Dylan Stevens (Year 12) won the Open 200 metres freestyle and 100 metres backstroke events at the 2017 GPS Swimming Championships (the 94th carnival) held at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre. Also in the Open 200 metres freestyle event was a future Olympic Gold Medallist, Izaac StubbletyCook, representing ‘Churchie’ (see below). First place getter, Dylan Stevens, defeated Izaac who was placed fourth in this event. Dylan also came second in the Open 400 metres freestyle by the slimmest of margins, 0.01 seconds. Dylan Stevens first-place in the GPS Open 200 metres freestyle was the first win for a TGS swimmer in this event since its inception into the GPS swimming programme in 1978. Also at the Open level, the 200 metre Medley swimmers won their event – Dylan Stevens, Joshua Smith, Fraser Stewart (Captain of Swimming) and Simon Geldenhuys (Vice-Captain). This was the first time in the School’s history that a TGS team had won the prestigious Open Medley relay event. A photograph of the GPS winning medley team is included in this year’s entry. William Salmond (Year 8) broke a GPS Record (set in 2003) in the 50 metres butterfly Under 13 event at the GPS Swimming Championships with a time of 28.16 seconds. Representing ACGS ‘Churchie’ in swimming and a GPS swimming record holder was Izaac Stubblety-Cook. Izaac broke the GPS Record in the Open 50 metres breaststroke in both 2016 and 2017. In 2021 he won an Olympic Gold Medal in the men’s 200 metres breaststroke final at the Tokyo Olympic Games. This was in an Olympic record time. In Tennis, the Open 1st IV team achieved Queensland Country runners-up at the State Teams Tennis finals. Three new players were selected into the 1st IV Tennis team this year following the departure of the Year 12 players at the end of last year. The boys did not win any GPS matches but improved considerably and were quite competitive at times against much more seasoned opponents who regularly played on the competitive circuit. In Volleyball, only one GPS match was won, TGS defeating BSHS (3-2). In Cadets, the School celebrated the 125th year anniversary of the foundation of its Cadet Unit. The 125th Anniversary for the Annual March Out Parade took place on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval on Thursday, 26 October. The Reviewing Officer was Colonel Tara Bucknall, Deputy Commander, Australian Army Cadets, and the Officer Commanding the TGS Army Cadet Unit was Capt. (AAC) John Wells. The Formal Dining Out Night for the Cadets took placed on Saturday, 28 October. Photographs of the programs for both these Cadet functions are included in this year’s entry. In Drama, the School Musical Oliver the Musical was performed at the Empire Theatre in conjunction with Fairholme College. Oliver was a triumphant success involving over seventy boys in the musical. Because of so much talent apparent at the auditions, it was decided to double cast all the major and minor leads. The role of ‘Fagin’ was played by Jeremy Egerton and Joe Smith. ‘Oliver’ was played by Henry Heslop and Darcy Browning, both in Year 7. Other major roles were played by Sebastian Hand, Hamish Donaldson, Joe Smith and Austin Kelly. Ms Katrina Bailey from Fairholme College was the Artistic Director. Another play titled The Curious Incident of the Day at Night-time was performed by members of the Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA), starring Patrick Thomson and produced by Mrs Eylece Blaikie. In Music, a photograph of the Arts Leaders in Music and Drama are included in this year’s entry. The Grammarphones achieved first place in the secondary school boys’ choir section at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. Page | 904


• •

Jeremy Egerton, A.Mus.A. (Year 12) won the open instrumental concerto golden jubilee City of Toowoomba Eisteddfod Inc. Trophy. Jeremy won three additional first places at the Eisteddfod. Harry Egerton, A.Mus.A. (Year 12) won eight first places at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod in string solo sections (see the ‘Students’ section in this year’s entry).

Downlands Competition: •

The cricket game for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy involving the 1st XI cricket teams was cancelled and no game was played. This was due to unplayable pitches due to successive days of wet weather prior to the game. The 1st XV retained the O’Callaghan Cup (31-26) after leading at half-time 26-0, later at 31-5 and then facing a major Downlands comeback. The TGS boys won every rugby game against Downlands College in all age divisions for the second successive year.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Old Boy, Dr John Maunder (2004-2008)

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2017

On the Sports Centre Construction Site

Senior Prefect, Austin Kelly

13 Years at TGS

Demolition of Old Arts Building

Clearing Land for the McCracken Sports Centre.

Early Construction Stage of the Sports Centre

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2017 (cont.) 2017 (cont.)

Commencement of McCracken Sports Centre Old Boyce Boarding Dormitory to new art studios Commencement of McCracken Sports Centre Old Boyce Boarding Dormitory to new art studios

Sports Centre building

Sports Centre building

School Production ‘Oliver’

School Production ‘Oliver’

Leaders of the Arts School Musical Production of Oliver Leaders of the Arts School Musical Production of Oliver

125th Anniversary of TGS Cadet Unit GPS Swimming Honour Board 125th Anniversary of TGS Cadet Unit GPS Swimming Honour Board

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2018 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 20th year as Chairman). This length of service identified Mr McCracken as the longest-serving Chairman in the School’s history and a photograph recording this achievement is included in this year’s entry. Deputy Chairman: Dr Russell M. Domrow, in his first year as Deputy Chairman following the resignation of Mr John Handley in October 2017. Trustees: Following Mr John Handley’s resignation from the Board of Trustees in October 2017, the Trustee’s vacancy was filled by Mr Barry O’Sullivan (commencing January 2018). Mr O’Sullivan was to be appointed as Chairman of the Board of Trustees in July 2023 following the resignation of the then Chair, Mr Brendan Baulch.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 16th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 1st year as Deputy Headmaster having been internally promoted from his previous position as Head of Senior School). Mr Anderson had been the School’s Head of Senior School for the previous five years and a member of the TGS Executive staff for fifteen years.

Senior Prefect: E.(‘Ted’) J. Vary Senior Dayboy Prefect: Adrian J. Irwin Senior Boarder Prefect: Matthew W. Price Dux of Year: Mark B. Anderson

Captain of the Junior School: Joel D. Ewing Dux of the Junior School:

Oliver Clifford

Total School Enrolment: 1183 Senior School Total: 927 Junior School Total: 256 (including 6 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 887 Number of Boarders: 296

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Staffing: •

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The School’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Graham Woolacott, retired in April after eleven years of outstanding service. Mr Woolacott had been only the School’s eighth Secretary to the Board of Trustees since the foundation of the School. Mr Woolacott was succeeded by Mrs Christina Onley who commenced in April. Mrs Onley was formerly the General Manager (Finance and I.T.) of Murrumbidgee Irrigation Company, the largest private sector irrigation company in Australia. A former member of the teaching staff of the School, Mr Mark Oliphant (2005-2011), returned to the School staff and commenced duties in the role of Head of Senior School, the position formerly held by Mr John Anderson prior to his promotion to Deputy Headmaster of the School in January 2018. Mr Oliphant had previously been Director of Boarding at Anglican Church Grammar School ‘Churchie’ in Brisbane and Director of Boarding at Newington College in Sydney. Mr Wes Dunne commenced in the role as the new Director of Sport and Activities following the resignation of Mr David Bell at the end of last year. Mr Dunne was offered and accepted a promotional position at The King’s School in Sydney at the end of the following year. Whilst not a member of staff, the School acknowledged the 25-year service of the 1st Tennis Coach, Mr Gavin Wright. Mathematics teacher, Mr Craig Harris, retired from the School at the end of the year (to be followed by one term of Long Service Leave in 2019). Mr Harris had taught at the School for twenty-seven years, during which time he was an Assistant Day Housemaster for over twenty years. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr D. McDonald (Groom), Mr C. McLeod (Mackintosh), Mr D. Anderson (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Ted Vary, Adrian Irwin, Matthew Price, Watson Blaikie, Mitchell Brandon, Thomas Dolzan, Fynn Donaldson, Lawton Elliott, Lachlan Gourley, Samuel Hicks, Jack Kennedy, James Kleidon, Max Manassero, Hamish Oxenford and Harry Schatz. Six students gained an OP One – Mark Anderson, Tom Dolzan, Ahmed Hafeez-Baig, Isa Kasim, Mitchell Leeson and Harry Schatz. Ted Vary, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Watson Blaikie (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. During the summer holidays (2017-2018) Angus Davey (Year 11) won the Australian Under 16 All Schools’ Championships in javelin. Later this year Angus won his second national title – the Australian Under 17 years javelin (64m). William Salmond (Year 9) won an Australian swimming gold medal in the 100 m butterfly event at the Pacific Schools’ Games in Adelaide. The School’s Captain of Swimming, Joshua Smith, won the Open 100 metres breastroke event at the 2018 GPS Swimming Championships held at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre (Sleeman Centre). Joshua also competed in the trials for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games during the year. Page | 909


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Cameron Shields (Year 12) led the Australian Formula Four motor racing championships whilst also being in the top three in two other national motor racing championships. Samson Ryan (Year 12) was, in December 2020, identified as the number one selection for the Australian Rules Football team Richmond Football Club (The Tigers) in the national player selection draft. Samson made his Aussie Rules debut for Richmond against St Kilda Football Club on 25 June 2021 playing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the MCG). His contract with the Richmond Football Club was further extended in 2024. Samson was also a very talented cricketer as outlined below. Two students, both members of the School’s 1st XI cricket team, represented the State in the Queensland Open Schoolboys’ Cricket team – Nicholas Brown and Samson Ryan. The School’s Captain of Debating, James Wyche, was awarded the Senior Debater of the Year in the Queensland Debating Union (Darling Downs) competition. Nicholas Galea, (Year 12), when in Year 10 in 2016, may have been the youngest solo pilot of the CT/4E aircraft in Australia. Nicholas received his solo pilot’s licence in January 2016 and at the time was aged 15 years and 2 months. Marco Handley (2006-2018) became Australia’s youngest warbird pilot when aged 16 years. After Year 12 Marco was admitted to the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and, following graduation, commenced a mission aircrew course in Sale, Victoria. Luke Radford (2014-2018), the School’s Senior Cadet Under Officer, was admitted to the Australian Defence Force Academy after leaving school. Luke joined his contemporaries Marco Handley (above) and Samuel Hicks (2015-2018). Two Year 12 students playing rugby suffered dislocations to vertebrae on consecutive days. Following hospitalisation, surgery and rehabilitation, both boys returned to the School and in good health. Oliver Bierhoff was injured on Friday, 13 July in a training exercise and James Kleidon also suffered dislocated vertebrae in an Open 1st XV practice game against Brisbane Grammar School on the following day. Will Chaffey was named in this year’s Australian Schoolboys’ Rugby Squad after a strong performance at the National Championships in Sydney. David Armstrong (2016-2018) joined the Newcastle Knights NRL Club in season 2022 (see ‘Rugby’ in the Co-Curricular Activities section below). Josiah Neal (2014-2018) was awarded the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade New Colombo Plan Scholarship for 2021. Sean Johnson (2014-2018) graduated from The Queensland Conservatorium at the end of 2021 completing a Bachelor of Music Theatre. By 2022 Sean had performed lead roles in Grease at QPAC, It’s Only Life, Mama Mia and Jersey Boys at the Star Casino, Gold Coast. A highlight was his performance in the 2022 production of Hairspray at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. A student in Year 7, Shafiuddin Aanan, won the entire Senior School Toowoomba District Individual Chess Tournament and was placed third in the Under 12 Queensland Chess Championships.

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Buildings: •

The Sports Centre was completed in June of this year and was operational at the commencement of Term 3. The Sports Centre was named the Glen McCracken Sports Centre in recognition of Mr McCracken’s record length of service as the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees. The first GPS game of basketball in the new Sports Centre was against Ipswich Grammar School on Saturday, 28 July but the result was not as hoped. Various photographs of the construction of the Glen McCracken Sports Centre and the final outcome are included in this year’s entry. The Glen McCracken Sports Centre has its height equivalent to that of a six-storey apartment block. The advantage of the design and its location is that it is situated on a steep incline so the building has a much lower profile than if built on flat land. The lower level contains six indoor cricket pitches with retractable nets and includes many indoor cricket facilities such as multiple bowling machines. When the netting in this area is retracted, the playing surface is ideal for indoor soccer (futsal) and general physical education classes. The main stadium contains two Basketball courts positioned east to west. This area also allows for multiple Volleyball courts. Also on this level is a bank of retractable padded seats, four hundred in number, to allow for a centre court appearance in the stadium and for special School Assemblies. Above the playing courts are additional spectator viewing areas, two teaching and learning areas and staff offices. The boys also benefited by new changing rooms, canteen facilities and a first-aid area. Looking at the indoor cricket area with its indoor cricket practice nets within the Sports Centre, former Australian Cricket Coach, John Buchanan, described the facility as the second best in the State to those at the ‘Gabba’. Later in the year the Headmaster conducted a whole-school Assembly with all students from Prep to Year 12 in attendance. This was held in the new Sports Centre and a photograph of this event is included in this year’s entry. Previously the School had no venue to accommodate the size of such an audience and indeed in recent years the Assembly Hall was not sufficiently large to accommodate all students in the Senior School alone. This necessitated one Year Group of students being nominated to miss the Assembly on a rotational basis and convene elsewhere for a smaller year group meeting. A former Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Works Committee of the Board throughout the inception and completion of the Sports Centre was Honorary Life Member of the Old Boys’ Association (awarded in 2005) and former President of the Old Boys’ Association (2004-2006), Mr John Handley. Mr Handley was honoured with the naming of the S.J. Handley foyer within the Sports Centre.

Events: •

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This year was the celebration of the centenary of the Great Public Schools’ (GPS) Association of Queensland founded in September 1918. In recognition of the centenary, all boys in the Senior School received a GPS centenary pin and the School received a GPS centenary banner. The Commonwealth Games were held at the Gold Coast from 4-15 April and included a silver medal won by Old Boy Matthew Denny (2011-2013) in the hammer throw. Brisbane Grammar School celebrated its 150th year. In April, TGS Old Boy, Dr George Corones (TGS 1932-1936) celebrated his 100th birthday (see 1936). Dr Corones had four sons who also attended Toowoomba Grammar School; Harry (19611964), Peter (1963-1965), Mark (1964-1968) and Stephen (1964-1966). When Dr Corones was aged 99 years he set two new world records in his age group. These world records were in Page | 911


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swimming – the 50m freestyle in 56.12 seconds (which beat the previous world record by 35 seconds) and the 100m freestyle at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre. Dr Corones passed away on 22 March 2020, two weeks prior to his 102nd birthday. He took up Masters swimming at the age of 80. A photograph of an article appropriately titled ‘The TGS Treasure – Mrs Judy Gillies’ is included in this year’s entry recognising the 60-year association of Judy with the School. The article appeared in the School’s publication Omnibus in this year. John Eales AM who captained the Australian Wallabies 55 times in Test matches (from 1996-2001) visited the School and addressed the Assembly on Thursday, 19 July. He also presented the 1st XV jerseys to the team. In November the School launched a major digital portfolio of all Old Boys who lost their lives in military conflict. The detailed biographies of the Fallen were added to the School’s webpage. The School’s Cadet Officer, Mrs Ann Hallam, was the major initiator of this massive project. The idea for the website was a result of research on Old Boys of Toowoomba Grammar School when Mrs Hallam was preparing for the School Battlefield Tour which took place in 2015. On that tour the staff (Mrs Hallam, Mr Morgan and Ms Puglisi) and 14 boys visited Gallipoli, the Western Front and Normandy. Mrs Hallam used earlier research by Mr Rob Mitchell (Director of Development and Enrolments) and Mr John Winn (former staff member and later part-time School Historian). The ‘Battlefields Tour’ included visiting all cemeteries and memorials of Old Boys from World War One in Turkey, France and Belgium. Mrs Hallam’s Old Boys’ commemorative website of the fallen was subsequently expanded to include the personal story of each TGS Old Boy (189 individual personal stories) in every global conflict since 1892. The Old Boys’ Commemorative Website honours those who paid the supreme sacrifice in military conflict. The website covers the background and personal stories of the two Old Boys serving their country in the Boer War; sixty-three during World War One; one hundred and twenty-two during World War Two; Private Douglas McEwen in Korea; Captain Kenneth Bade during the Vietnam campaign; and Private Tim Aplin in Afghanistan. The Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Commemorative Website was supported by the Queensland ANZAC Centenary Spirit of Service Program which allowed the School to digitise military records and establish the website. In addition to the excellent work of Mrs Hallam, two military historians spent many hours researching and compiling the military records. Mr Greg Lamerton of Toowoomba provided the stories for all the World War One Old Boys. Mr Eddie Habben of Ipswich provided the stories for all the World War Two Old Boys. A reunion of the Toowoomba Grammar Underwater Research and Adventure Club – TGURAC – the School’s Diving Club – was held at Hastings Point in September. Over fifty Old Boys attended who were members of the TGS Diving Club from 1971-1996. Former teacher and Master-inCharge of the Diving Club, Mr Ted Brambleby, was present at the Reunion (see 1986, 1996 and 2019). The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association Art Show secured record art sales in dollar terms. The School’s P&F Association generously offered $100,000 per year for five years as its contribution to the Glen McCracken Sports Centre. A language and cultural tour to Japan took place in the Term Three holidays for 13 boys.

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A sit-down dinner titled ‘Dinner en Blanc’ was held on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval in October. The dinner, held at various international locations, attracted 650 guests and the spectacle required all guests to be dressed entirely in white. The Dinner en Blanc in Toowoomba was the first to be held in a regional centre in Australia and a photograph of the event is included in this year’s entry. This year the highest number of computer devices at the School was recorded in the School’s history. There were 950 iPad devices, 600 laptop devices (for Years 9-12), 150 laptop devices for teachers and 400 desktop devices throughout the School. An initiative this year was the Corfe House sleepover where Year 5-7 boarders invited a dayboy friend to come to the Boarding House for an overnight stay and participate in a programme of activities. The Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp, now in its twelfth year, was again highly successful. The School entered a team to compete in the University of Southern Queensland Mooting competition and won the Championship. Students participated in this competition between 2018 and 2020 prior to the COVID pandemic. A New Zealand ski tour took place in the Term Two holidays involving 14 students, 6 parents and 2 staff (Messrs Andrew Budnick and Brad Siebenhausen). The boys skied and snow-boarded at ‘The Remarkables’ and Coronet Peak. Another trip to New Zealand was a Cricket Tour undertaken in December 2018 for 25 boys, involving 14 matches. In October the School was a sponsor and contributor to the City of Toowoomba’s major seminar on Mental Health. The School also hosted a dinner during the Queensland Mental Health Week and invited every Principal of all primary and secondary schools in the Toowoomba region to attend. The Guest Speaker at the dinner was an interstate guest who spoke on the topic of positive psychology. The School’s strong commitment to Pastoral Care of the students continued. In the long-standing Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week, held during the last week of Term One, the boys were challenged in different ways. The Year 7 boys enjoyed a range of beachside activities at Alexandra Headland, strengthening their peer relationships. The Year 8s camped at Leslie Dam near Warwick and focussed on developing teamwork and resilience. The Year 9 boys faced a challenge at Lake Cootharaba, inland from Noosa North Shore. Various outdoor activities challenged the boys in a positive way. All Year 10 boys undertook a week of Work Experience, whilst Year 11 boys had a leadership conference at Twin Waters on the Sunshine Coast. The Year 12s were involved in a range of activities to develop their skills for life after school. These included first-aid, defensive driving, the responsible service of alcohol and community service. An inaugural Sunshine Coast OBA luncheon was held in September. The gathering was organised by Syd Gardner (1947-1950) and Waverley Stanley (1980-1984) was the guest speaker. Waverley spoke of his honour in having scholarship programs develop to have 161 Indigenous boys and girls study at independent schools across Australia through the Yalari Foundation he established. Boyce House won the Headmaster’s Shield for the third successive year.

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Co-curricular Activities: • • •

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In Athletics, the School’s athletes were disappointed learning that there were only two points between 7th and 6th placings and only 6 points from 7th to 5th. The School finished in 7th position. There were some fine performances and personal best efforts at the GPS championships. No Open age athlete gained a first place in the competition. In Basketball, the construction of the new Glen McCracken Sports Centre was accompanied by an increase in the number of boys wishing to play basketball. Between 2017-2018 there was a 22% increase in the number of boys participating, with 194 boys playing across 19 teams. In the 1st V Basketball competition, the team won only one game, against BGS (84-56) and lost only very narrowly to NC (71-73). Four opposing teams scored triple digits in their wins against TGS – IGS (101-69), BSHS (102-71), BBC (101-56) and ‘Churchie’ (116-72). In Chess, the Open Premier team was a young one with only one Year 12 student, one Year 10 and two Year 9 players. The reserve player for this team was a student in Year 7. Despite the relatively little experience playing at the Open Firsts level, the team won two rounds – against TSS and NC. In Cricket, the season involved the fielding of 34 sides; 30 of these in the GPS competition and 4 in the local Toowoomba competition. The Open 1st XI team was a young one and relatively inexperienced at this level of competition. Accordingly, only one GPS game was won during the season, against NC, and two games were washed out (IGS and BSHS). With the five losses, the 1st XI was placed 8th on the GPS cricket ladder. The School’s 1st XI Cricket team was comprehensively beaten by TSS in Round 3 of the GPS Cricket season (TGS 10/62 – TSS 2/66) and also by the BBC 1st XI which scored 9/255 defeating TGS 10/74. The batting total of 62 runs against TSS represented the lowest innings score for TGS in the decade of the 2010s. In the 1st XI team, four players were successful in being selected in Queensland representative teams – Nicholas Brown and Samson Ryan (QLD U19 Secondary Schoolboys’ team), Harrison Weir (QLD U17 side) and Morgan Galvin (QLD U15 side). The 1st XI side comprised two brothers, Nick Brown (Captain), and his younger brother Dan in Year 10. In Cricket, the 1st XI team played the TGS 1st XI cricket team of twenty years ago. In a highly competitive and enjoyable game, the current boys defeated the Old Boys in the second last ball of the day’s play. Student Dan Brown made 100 not out in the match. Competing in Melbourne in the tenth year of the Neil Dansie Cricket festival, the School’s 1st XI team was undefeated and retained the trophy for the second successive year. This was the last year in which Camberwell Grammar School (Melbourne) participated in the competition. A new medal was initiated in Cricket – the Martin Love medal for Best Batsman (most runs) in the First XI team (see 1990 and 1991). In Cross Country, the School’s team finished in 9th (last) place in the GPS championships. This placing did not reflect the effort and time dedicated by the runners and coaches. In Football (Soccer), the School’s 1st XI team finished in 4th place. One memorable game was a win against the eventual GPS Premiership team, St Joseph’s Nudgee College, 2-0. The opposition team contained both Queensland and Australian representatives. Another highlight for the 1st XI Football team was a 6-0 win against BBC, with the other wins against BSHS (3-0) and BGS (2-0). The game against GT was a draw (4-4) and the three losses, in each case, were by only one goal. After winning the Queensland State Titles, the School’s Under 15 Football team played in the National Grand Final of the Bill Turner Cup and finished runners-up. Page | 914


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A Football Tour to Japan involved 20 boys in Years 7-8 and 3 staff during the Term Three holidays. The football program at the School received a major stimulus with the arrival of Mr Thiago Kosloski from Brazil. This year Thiago coached the 9A football team and assisted with the general coaching of other students. He departed in June 2020 to take up a professional coaching contract in the Brazilian Serie A. In 2023 Thiago was the head coach at Coritiba as well as assistant coach of the Brazilian Under 23 team. In Rugby, a successful Rugby Tour to the USA during the Term One holidays for 47 boys and six officials focussed not only on skill progression and match preparation but also on developing cross-cultural connections being formed via the billeting experience. The Tour Manager was Mr Michael McNamara and the School’s First XV Rugby Coach, Mr David Enfantie, also accompanied the boys. The 1st XV had three GPS wins during the season, finishing in 6th place. The most intense was against Ipswich Grammar School with only two minutes of play remaining TGS scored a try and the score was even at full-time. The conversion was directly on the sideline to the TGS supporters. It was an eerie feeling as it appeared the whole of Toowoomba was silent at that point in time and Jake Sargood successfully converted for the win to the delight of the home ground (28-26). Two other wins were over BGS (14-12) and GT (27-22) but sound defeats were inflicted on the TGS 1st XV by TSS (12-67) and NC (10-62). A member of the 1st XV, David Armstrong (2016-2018), was contracted by the Newcastle Knights in his early twenties. In 2023 David was in his second season with the Knights playing in the NSW Cup and was the leading try scorer for the team. He made his debut in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition playing for the Newcastle Knights in April 2024 and scored a try in his first game at this level (within the first nine minutes of play). In David’s fourth game with the Knights in the NRL he scored three tries in the Knights win over the Gold Coast Titans. David signed with the Leigh Leopards, a professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England on a three-year contract commencing in 2025. David will play in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. This year five TGS Old Boys were named in the Queensland Reds 2018 Super Rugby squad. They were Harry Hoopert (2013-2015), Hamish Stewart (2004-2015), Markus Vanzati (2011-2012), and twin brothers Ruan and JP Smith (2006-2007). The special guests attending the 1st XV season launch were Old Boys Matthew Faessler (20152016, later an Australian Wallaby), Paul Farmer (1987-1991), Peter Cook (1968-1971 and Captain of the 1st XV in 1971), and Harry Hoopert (2013-2015, Qld.Reds). In Swimming, the School’s team won the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Swimming Championships for the 25th successive year and the School’s Swimming Club was named the most successful regional club in both Queensland and Australia. Despite the local success, the School’s swimming squad faced a different level of competition from Queensland and National representative swimmers from the other eight GPS schools. In this centenary year of the GPS Association, these GPS Swimming Championships represented the ninety-fifth carnival event for competitors. The School finished last in the GPS Swimming championships despite some Personal Best times being swum. The highlight at the GPS Swimming championships was the Captain of Swimming, Josh Smith, winning the Open 100 metres breaststroke. This was the first time a TGS swimmer had won this event since 1977 (Craig Seawright). In Tennis, the School’s 1st IV tennis team won the Darling Downs Secondary Schools’ Tennis Championship for the 15th successive year. Twenty-eight Tennis teams contested the GPS competition in Term Two. Page | 915


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The School’s Captain of Tennis, Riley Morrison, had been a member of the 1 st IV team for four seasons. Also in the 1st IV was a Year 8 student, Jamie O’Shea, who won his first encounter in the 1st IV matches against IGS, 6-3 and 6-2. The Tennis season proved to be a challenging one for the younger, less experienced side and no overall 1st IV wins were recorded. In Volleyball, twenty-three Volleyball teams represented the School. The 1st VI team recorded two wins during the season, against IGS and BSHS. Both matches were won in straight sets (3-0). The team finished in 6th position on the GPS volleyball ladder. Significant losses were inflicted by the 1st VI teams representing ‘Churchie’, BGS and GT, all with 0-3 results. In Cadets, a photograph of the Cadet Unit during the ANZAC Day Service in front of the Senior School is included in this year’s entry. In Drama, members of the Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) wrote and performed a cabaret, loosely based on the original story of The Three Musketeers. The cabaret performance was held at the Armitage Theatre in the Empire Theatre Complex. TiGAA also performed ‘The Zombie Apocalypse’. The Year 10 Drama students performed Australians at War to coincide with the School’s ANZAC Day Ceremonies. All boys in the Junior School were involved in a full-scale musical, Madagascar, which was a great success. In the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s Scheme, Niklaus Vettiger gained a Gold Award. In Music, the School’s musicians performed in the Welcome Concert, the GPS Music Showcase, Grandparents’ Day Concert, the Big Band and R’n’B Band ‘Extravaganza’, the inaugural TGS Wind Instrument competition, Gold Coast Eisteddfod, Toowoomba Eisteddfod, GPS Day of Music Excellence, Mother and Son luncheon, Paul Morton Choral Festival, Singers’ Trophy, Strings Soiree, The Take Note Concert and Battle of the Bands. The School’s Big Band, led by Mitchell Leeson, was placed first in the open stage band section of the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. Also at the Eisteddfod, the Vivace Quartet, comprising Luke Tatzenko, Julian Lachmund, Harry Schatz and Sean Bain, won the Year 12 and under chamber music ensemble and the Saxophone Trio, comprising Nicholas Galea, Xavier Schubert and Isaac Schefe, won the open small instrumental ensemble. The Saxophone Ensemble won the secondary school woodwind/ brass ensemble. Harry Schatz (Year 12) won the all-age graded piano solo section at the Eisteddfod and Xavier Schubert (Year 11) won the Years 10-12 woodwind championship solo. All students in the Junior School sang in a choir called ‘Voiceworks’ at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and the Junior School Orchestra won the Primary School Orchestra section at the Eisteddfod for the fourth year in a row. A photograph of the Junior School Orchestra is included in this year’s entry.

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Downlands Competition: •

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The 1st XI Cricket team won the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy (DC 78, TGS 1/80). TGS had DC all out for 78 runs and the first wicket for the TGS side fell at 70 runs. The Trophy was presented to the Captain of the TGS Cricket team, Nick Brown, by Mrs Bev Hall, a daughter of the late Tom Allen. In Rugby competing for the O’Callaghan Cup in July, TGS defeated DC, 50-16. In the game, TGS Prop, Ronin Hassall, scored three tries in the first half. The TGS victory for the O’Callaghan Cup this year represented the fifth consecutive win to Toowoomba Grammar School. The five-year consecutive win represented the longest series of victories for TGS since the commencement of the O’Callaghan Cup in 1950. Downlands College enjoyed a six-year series of consecutive wins from 1991-1996 inc. In the 2018 fixture the TGS boys won every rugby game against Downlands College in all age divisions for the third successive year. This was also the first year in which the 1st XV game was filmed and made available live ‘online’ via the internet. After the 2018 game the number of wins for both schools was Downlands College (35 wins) and Toowoomba Grammar School (31 wins) with three drawn games. For 37 of these 69 games the winning margin had been ten points or less. After this year’s 69th O’Callaghan Cup match the overall points scored since the introduction of the competition in 1950 were TGS 1049 and Downlands College 1048.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Daniel Burrett (2001-2008) was elected as the new President of the Old Boys’ Association.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Old Boy, The Hon. David Littleproud MP, Federal Cabinet Minister and appointed Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources in 2017.

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2018 2018

Mrs Judy Judy Gillies, Mrs Gillies, 60th 60th Year Year of of Service Service to to TGS TGS

Mr Mr Glen Glen McCracken’s McCracken’s Record Record Service Service as as Chairman Chairman

Mrs Judy Gillies, 60th Year of Service to TGS

Mr Glen McCracken’s Record Service as Chairman

School Assembly Assembly in in new new Sports School Sports Centre Centre

School Assembly in new Sports Centre

Dinner en en Blanc Blanc on on Old Old Boys’ Boys’ Memorial Memorial Oval Oval Dinner

Dinner en Blanc on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval

Cadet Cadet Unit Unit and and ANZAC ANZAC Day Day Ceremony Ceremony Junior School School Orchestra Junior Orchestra Success Success Cadet Unit and ANZAC Day Ceremony Junior School Orchestra Success

Sports Centre Sports Centre building, building, Trustees Trustees Oval Oval in in foreground foreground

Page | 918 Sports Centre building, Trustees Oval in foreground


2019 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Glen W. McCracken (in his 21st year as Chairman and 30 years in total on the Board). Mr McCracken resigned as Chairman of the Board of Trustees in November of this year after a record length of service as Chairman but remained on the Board as a Trustee to assist with Board transition in the short term. Mr McCracken was first appointed to join the School’s Board of Trustees in March 1990 during the Headmastership of Mr ‘Bill’ Dent. It was announced that the incoming Chairman of the Board of Trustees would be a current Trustee, Mr Brendan Baulch, who had been a member of the Board of Trustees since April 2017. Deputy Chairman:

Dr Russell M. Domrow (in his 2nd year as Deputy Chairman)

Trustees: Trustee Mrs Kym Murray resigned from the Board in August having commenced as a Trustee in 2013. Mrs April Cavanagh was appointed to the Board of Trustees in September 2019. A photograph of the members of the School’s Board of Trustees is included in this year’s entry.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 17th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John Anderson (in his 2nd year as Deputy Headmaster)

Senior Prefect: William J. Purcell Senior Dayboy Prefect: Harrison D. Weir Senior Boarder Prefect: Jack D. Waugh Dux of Year: Thomas H. Heath

Captain of the Junior School: Jett C. Heffernan Dux of the Junior School:

Jett C. Heffernan

Total School Enrolment: 1,159 Senior School Total: 903 Junior School Total: 256 (including 3 boarders) Number of Dayboys: 875 Number of Boarders: 284

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Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. Also featured is a photograph of the excellent Administrative and Operations Support Staff of the School. Mr Brodie Bassingthwaighte, an Old Boy of the School (TGS 1975-1976), retired as a secondary school teacher and Dayboy Housemaster and former Boarding Housemaster after 35 years teaching at TGS, having commenced in July 1984. Mr Bassingthwaighte’s 35 years of service placed him equal fifth longest-serving member of the School’s teaching staff in the School’s history (with Mr John K. Winn). During Mr Bassingthwaighte’s service he was a Boarding Housemaster (Taylor House, 1996-2001), a Dayboy Housemaster (Mackintosh House, 20122019), Officer Commanding the TGS Cadet Unit on two different occasions (1997-2000 and 20042005) and he held numerous other roles. Mrs Ann Hallam resigned from the School’s Cadet Unit in April. She had been a Cadet Administration Officer for fifteen years and made a major contribution to the Cadet Unit, including its operation and history, over these years. Later, in 2020 and beyond, Ann spent countless hours as a volunteer in the School Museum researching the military involvement of Old Boys and updating records. She was also the initiator of the commemorative website on Old Boys and Staff included on the School’s webpage under ‘Community’, ‘TGS OBA’ and ‘Commemorative Website’. The Boarding Housemasters were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mr D. McDonald (Groom), Mr C. McLeod (Mackintosh), Mr J. Hill (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr M. Sharpe (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Housemasters were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. B. Bassingthwaighte (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were William Purcell, Harrison Weir, Jack Waugh, Lachlan Dolzan, Dougal Gray, Harry Hanly, Thomas Heath, Edward Mailler, Patrick McKay, Connor McLeod, Callum Murray, Sam Pegler, Tharunda Perera, Campbell Snow and Lewis Whitton. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. One student, Thomas Heath, gained an OP 1 in this the last year of using this measure of Year 12 student achievement in Queensland. William Purcell, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Will was also the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. The Captain of Basketball, Jason Spurgin in Year 12, secured a generous scholarship to study and play basketball at the University of Southern Utah in USA to commence in 2020. Eli Adams (Year 12) was to make his A-League Football debut for the Brisbane Roar playing against Sydney FC in June 2021. Cameron Lumsden (Year 12) held an A.Mus.A. qualification from the Australian Music Examination Board in piano. Tim Faingaanuku (Year 12) was selected in the Queensland Reds Academy Under 18 side playing against NSW and Victorian teams. A student in Year 8, Nicholas Barker, tragically lost his life as a result of heart failure and his Memorial Service was held at the School in February.

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Buildings: This year saw the commencement of a refurbishment program for a number of classrooms in the Senior School. The first project involved creating more innovative and collaborative learning spaces in HR8 (Rose Seminar Room) in the Hugh Rose building and plans were prepared for the refurbishment of the Roberts classroom block over the summer holidays. Events: • •

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The year represented the 50th year anniversary of landing on the moon in 1969. The year was the last in which the Year 12 students were assessed using a measure known as the ‘Overall Position’ (OP), a score from 1 (highest) to 25 (lowest). This statistic to determine tertiary entrance was in use in Queensland from 1992 to 2019, prior to which the measure was the Tertiary Entrance Score. In the following year, 2020, a new tertiary entrance measure was introduced in Queensland, one that had been in operation in other Australian States for some time – the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). With the discontinuation of the OP score for tertiary entrance at the end of this year, this was also the final time in which the associated Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test was conducted for Year 12 students. The student use of iPads in the Senior School was discontinued. The School implemented changed arrangements for the provision of computer laptops to the students. This year boys in Years 4 and 5 had classroom laptop computers available in classrooms. Year 6 and Year 7 boys had a schoolprovided laptop for use in class and at home. Boys in Years 8-10 were provided with a laptop computer from the School which remained with the student over a three-year lease. Students in Years 11 and 12 were given the flexibility of being able to select the type of computer that best suited their needs. The TGS Old Boys’ Association held a reunion in Sydney in September. The Toowoomba Bypass opened to motorists on September 8. The bypass, known as the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing during its construction, commenced in 2015 and connected the Warrego Highway at Helidon to the Gore Highway at Athol. Toowoomba experienced its lowest winter rainfall in 22 years with only 25mm falling, compared to the average of 92.5mm. The (Toowoomba) Chronicle reported on 13 January 2020 that Toowoomba recorded its lowest annual rainfall in 2019 since data was recorded in 1900. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers celebrated its 70th anniversary having commenced in October 1950 with a street procession. In the Australia Day twenty-year cricket reunion match between the current 1st XI team and the 1st XI team of 1999, the members of the School’s 1st XI cricket team of 1999 initiated a “Peter McDougall Memorial Shield”. The Shield was in memory of Pete McDougall (TGS 1995-1999) who was a School Prefect, member of the 1st XI cricket team, 1st XV rugby, athletics and Open 2nds tennis. Sadly, Pete passed away in 2016 from skin cancer (see photograph in the 1999-year entry). In the 2019 cricket match, the School’s Senior Prefect of 1999, Tom Marland, announced Mitchell Doolan in Year 11 as the inaugural recipient of the Peter McDougall Memorial Shield (following his century with the bat in this game). The 40th year anniversary of the foundation of the TGS Past Mothers’ Group was celebrated with a lunch at the School in April.

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This year represented the 10th year anniversary of the opening of the School Museum. Since its opening the part-time Curator has been Mrs Denise Miller who previously was employed by the School for forty years as an Administrative Assistant to the Secretary to the School’s Board of Trustees, later to be known as Chief Financial Officer. Denise was honoured in 1986 by the Old Boys’ Association as recognising her as an Honorary Old Boy and in 2009 receiving, on behalf of the School, a Gallery and Museum Achievement Award from the Premier of Queensland, The Hon. Anna Bligh MP. This year represented the 10th year (and final) anniversary of the wonderful contribution of Mr Rale Rasic as Patron of TGS Football (see 2009). A book produced as a result of the Toowoomba Grammar Underwater Research and Adventure Club (TGURAC) reunion held in September 2018 acknowledging the Club’s operation from 19711996 was published. A copy of the book is held in the TGS Museum. A school ski trip to New Zealand took place in the Term Two holidays. A French language and cultural tour to New Caledonia took place in the Term Three holidays. A Central Europe Business and History Tour took place in the Term Three holidays with visits to Prague, Vienna and Berlin. The students studied at the Business Academy of Prague School with an English immersion programme and spent time with host families. With the Czech students, the TGS boys visited Karlstejn, a large Gothic Castle built in 1348 and rafted along the Vltava River. In Berlin they saw the remains of a section of the Berlin Wall and visited many museum displays. The Tour Leader was History teacher, Mr ‘Dennis’ Lund (who was born in Prague), and Mrs Catlow also accompanied the boys. A USA Football Tour took place at the end of the year (only a month or so before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic). In January, the Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School (TACAPS) underwent a change of school name to Toowoomba Anglican School (TAS) in recognition of its full transition to a Prep – Year 12 school. In August, TGS Old Boy, Ian Hutchison (TGS 1934-1936) celebrated his 100th birthday with Edwin (Ted) Bousen (TGS 1933-1934) also reaching this milestone birthday in September. The Interact Club was involved in numerous fund-raising events and volunteer efforts for charity. These included Clean Up Australia Day, The World’s Greatest Shave (the Leukaemia Foundation), the 40 Hour Famine, and activities to raise funds to support the Country Women’s Association for Drought Appeal and Queensland Rural Fire Service. This year represented the conclusion of a 17-year association with the School as fee-paying parents by Mr Wes and Mrs Beck McRae. Their three sons were all educated at the School in both the primary and secondary divisions – Hayden (2003-2012), Hughie (2005-2017) and Elijah (20072019). What was more significant was the extraordinary involvement of Wes McRae in the life of the School during this time. This included being President of the Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association for five years (2015-2019) during which time the P&F and the various Parent Supporter Groups undertook major fundraising activities which resulted in significant gains for the boys of the School. These gains included financing the air-conditioning of classrooms and a $100,000 annual grant for five years towards the new Sports Centre. Also, Wes was a sports coach at the School and an unofficial School Photographer. For nine years (2010-2018) he was also President of the School’s Rugby Supporters’ Group. During this time Wes took wonderful action photographs of the rugby matches throughout the season that were published in the weekly rugby blog. The rugby game programmes and the rugby season booklets throughout these years, produced by the then Director of Rugby, Jono Farrell, and with Wes McRae’s superb photographs, were outstanding publications. Page | 922


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The OBA reunion dinner was held at the Burke and Wills Hotel in Toowoomba. At the OBA Generations Gathering the audience celebrated a five-generation family attending the School – the Cameron family. Chris Cameron (1961-1964) and his son Andy (1987-1991) and Curtis in Year 7 (grandson/son). Chris’ grandfather, Allan Ewen Cameron (1899-1900), and his father, Allan Cecil Cameron (1926-1930), also attended the School. At the OBA Business Breakfast the guest speaker was Mr Barry O’Sullivan, a current Trustee of the School (later, in 2023, to be Chairman of the Board of Trustees) and a major commercial developer in Toowoomba. The winning House in the Headmaster’s Shield was Boyce House.

Co-curricular Activities: •

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In Athletics, four Open first place rankings were achieved in the 102nd carnival of the GPS Track and Field Championships held at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) in November. Harrison Callow (Year 11) won the 100m Open, Patrick McKay (Year 12) won the Open triple jump, Angus Davey (Year 12) won the Open javelin and four sprinters won the Open 100m relay event – Michael Evans, Harrison Callow, Kai Rahui and Patrick McKay. The School was placed a commendable 6th place in the 2019 GPS Track and Field championships. The squad was only fifteen and a half points from Brisbane Grammar School in fifth place. Six of the School’s athletes gained selection to compete at the Australian Track and Field championships held in Sydney in April. Four national medals were achieved – Jai Gordon (3rd in Under 17 years 100 and 200 metres), Josh Roach (3rd in U16 400m) and Wihan Kruger (Australian Champion in U15 javelin). In Basketball, this year’s season was a very positive one. Last year the School’s basketballers won 22 games and this year this total was surpassed by Round 4, finishing the season with 44 wins and 1 draw. The School won the title ‘Champion Boys’ Basketball School’ in the Toowoomba region. This was the result of achieving 20 wins and 1 loss in the St Mary’s Old Boys’ Friday night Basketball Challenge. The 1st V Basketball team advanced to compete in the Division One competition in the Champion Basketball School of Queensland (CBSQ). This was the result of the team in the previous year winning the number one position in Division Two of this competition. The 1st V Basketball team secured three wins in the GPS season, two by triple digit scores, and finished in 6th place in the GPS competition. The team was successful against BGS (112-51), BBC (101-84) and NC (82-67). Two members of the 1st V Basketball team, Jason Spurgin and Josh Allen, were selected to play in the Toowoomba Mountaineers QBL team. A photograph of the School’s Captain of Basketball, Jason Spurgin, with Headmaster Hauser’s grandson, Joshua, is included in this year’s entry. Jason Spurgin’s basketball scholarship to play in the USA is referred to in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. In Chess, the School’s Open Premier team won the Toowoomba Teams’ Chess Tournament for the 25th consecutive year. The School’s chess players were awarded both the first and the second place in this competition. At the State event, the School’s Open team achieved first place for regional Queensland. A member of the School’s Open Premier team, Flynn Taylor (Year 10), achieved first place at the Toowoomba District Individual tournament.

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Despite this success, the Open Premier Chess team achieved only one win in the GPS competition, defeating IGS. Forty boys participated in ten teams in the GPS competition and the Open Premier Chess team generously assisted the younger players. This year the School’s Open Premier team included a Year 8 student, Shafiuddin Aanan. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team was placed 2nd in the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival. In this competition Paul Draheim (Year 11) had the remarkable bowling figures of 5 wickets for 3 runs in the 1st XI Cricket game competing against St Kevin’s College, Melbourne. The 1st XI team finished in 4th place in the GPS Cricket competition with wins over IGS, NC, ‘Churchie’ and BGS and with four losses. The Captain of the 1st XI Cricket team was Matthew Watson and a photograph of him taking a spectacular catch as wicketkeeper is included in this year’s entry. Ben Potter (Year 12) bowled 5 for 35 off 9.2 overs in the 1st XI match against Ipswich Grammar School (won by TGS by 60 runs). Mitchell Doolan (Year 11) scored 109 in the 1st XI cricket match against St Joseph’s Nudgee College (TGS won the game against NC by 128 runs). Mitchell had previously scored a century in January of this year when the 1st XI competed against the TGS Old Boys’ 1st XI of 1999. Mitchell’s century against NC made him the 43rd 1st XI member to achieve this feat in the School’s history (also see 2020). In the first match of the GPS season, against GT, the TGS 1st XI suffered the fifth highest score from an opposing side in the history of cricket at TGS – 8 for 292 from 48 overs, with GT winning by 142 runs. In this match Jacob Gross scored 62 runs (including 7 fours and 3 sixes). In the match against TSS, Elijah McRae secured two runouts within the space of one over. TSS won this match by 32 runs. In Cross Country, the School’s team finished in 9th (last) place in the GPS championships despite the boys running to the best of their ability. In Football, (Soccer) the School’s 1st XI Football side came 2nd in the GPS competition, missing the GPS Football Premiership by one point to ‘Churchie’. A 1st XI Football fourth-round match was played against a previously unbeaten 1st XI from The Southport School after three rounds this season. The TGS side defeated TSS in front of the TSS home crowd 6-2. After the match the TSS Director of Football claimed it was the best display of schoolboy football he had seen in ten years. In a 1st XI Football match against BBC, the TGS side won 7-2 with two TGS players both scoring three goals each – Luke Lister and Patrick McKay. The 1st XI Football game against Nudgee College saw the highest winning 1st XI GPS Football result ever to date on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval, TGS 7 goals defeated NC nil. In this game, Eli Adams scored three goals. The School currently has nine Old Boys involved with European Football Clubs. Four of this year’s current players had secured overseas contracts for 2020. Five people led by former Director of Football, Mr Chris McLeod, compiled a “TGS Football Team of the Decade, 2010-2019”. The team comprised: Goal Keeper, Pierce Clark (2011-2015); Centre Half, Ryan Ensor (2010-2014); Centre Half, Kyle Parish (2010-2015); Left Back, Joe Scott (20132017); Right Back, Mitchell Golding (2010-2011); Central Midfield, Emmanuel Philip (2012-2016); Central Midfield, Martin Gorrie (2010-2011); Right Midfield, Jake Jones (2009-2010); Left Midfield, Mitchell Hunter (2012-2013); Striker, Jackson Courtney (2016); Striker, Nykodah Smith (2014-2015); and the Subs Bench comprising Joshua Fanning (2012-2016), Keanu Tuart (20152018) and Charles Miller (2012-2016).

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Eli Adams (Year 12) was to make his A-League Football debut for the Brisbane Roar playing against Sydney FC in June 2021. This year represented the 10th year (and final) anniversary of the wonderful contribution of Mr Rale Rasic as Patron of TGS Football (see 2009). Sadly, Mr Rasic passed away in June 2023. In Rugby, the 1st XV team achieved three fine wins – against GT (26-24), BSHS (26-10) and BGS (36-7). The team experienced a disappointing, but very close, loss to ‘Churchie’ (17-24) but was humbled by a superior display of rugby skills from the TSS players (65-3) who won the Premiership. The TGS team finished in 6th place on the GPS Rugby ladder. The first phase of the new ‘Safe Rugby Framework’ was implemented by the GPS Association. This framework was created by the GPS Association in conjunction with Rugby Australia and Queensland Rugby Union. The ‘Safe Rugby Framework’ emerged following a number of major rugby injuries to students in the GPS schools in the previous year. This included two TGS rugby players suffering dislocations to vertebrae on consecutive days (see 2018). In Swimming, the School’s squad was keen to improve on last year’s 9th place result. At the GPS Swimming championships, the team sat in 6th position throughout the evening until the last event when it dropped to 7th place by half a point. Nevertheless, the School was very pleased with the swimmers’ effort and determination. In Tennis, 28 teams contested the GPS competition for the School. The 1st IV Tennis team had a disappointing season in terms of results, with no GPS matches being won. The players faced extremely tough competition throughout the season but never gave up. In Volleyball, the School fielded the highest number of teams since the sport was included in the GPS competition in 1994. Twenty-five teams of volleyballers were keen to represent the School. The 1st VI Volleyball team was a relatively young one and faced a challenging season in terms of competition. The team only won one game, against BSHS (3-1). Two very competitive games went to five sets but eventually were lost, against BGS (2-3) and NC (2-3). The 1st team finished in 5th place in the GPS competition. In Cadets, the Unit had a disappointing enrolment of only 62 Cadets. The School’s Cadet Unit was successful, for the fifth consecutive year, in winning the Byramaroo Challenge Trophy in the Darling Downs tri-service competition involving Cadet Units from the Navy, Air Force and other Army Cadet Units. Ben Peacock (Year 11) represented Australia whilst competing against New Zealand teams in the New Zealand Cadet Forces Chief of Army Military Skills Competition in September. Ben was selected as part of a ten-person team representing the South Queensland Army Cadets Brigade which had previously won the Australian Chief of Army Cadet Challenge. Ben was promoted to the rank of Senior Cadet Under Officer (CUO) in the following year. A photograph of the School’s Cadet Leaders is included in this year’s entry. The School thanked Capt.(AAC) John Wells who concluded his service as Officer Commanding in this capacity since 2015. In Debating, approximately fifty students from Years 7-12 entered the Queensland Debating Union’s (Darling Downs) competition. The School’s senior team did not make the finals this year but nevertheless displayed considerable talent in the activity. In Drama, this year’s major musical performance was The Wedding Singer in conjunction with the girls from Fairholme College. The show was performed in the Empire Theatre to an appreciative and highly entertained audience. More than sixty students from the two schools were involved in the performances. The leads in the musical included Year 10 students John Anderson, Hamish Wells, Angus Mohr, Julian Lachmund (Year 11) and Ryan Murphy (Year 9).

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Matthew Murphy (Year 11) was the winner of the Longwill Family Secondary Speech and Drama Bursary for Boys. Matthew was judged as the top performer at this year’s Toowoomba Eisteddfod in Speech and Drama. Senior Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) members performed Who’s The Man in the Armitage Theatre, Empire Theatre complex. This play was written by Old Boy, Christopher Thomson (2009-2013), and examined the concept of masculinity in the 21st century. In Music, the students enjoyed many successful performances and events this year, including the GPS Showcase, Welcome Concert, Art Show Opening, Toowoomba Eisteddfod, Read My Lips, Music Showcase, Sunrise Way Fundraising Dinner, GPS Music Day of Excellence, Paul Morton Choral Festival, Big Band and RnB Extravaganza, Singers’ Trophy, Take Note Concert, TiGAA Showcases (Junior, Intermediate and Senior), Rockschool Exams and Battle of the Bands. Cameron Lumsden (Year 12) won the Year 11-12 other brass solo division in the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and received an A.Mus.A. qualification in piano performance. Matthew Sands (Year 12) was awarded the Australian Speech Communication Association Trophy for verse speaking. Xavier Schubert (Year 12) achieved an A.Mus.A. qualification in alto saxophone through the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB). The Grammarphones, conducted by Mrs Natalie Otto and led by Bryce Callaghan, performed at the Sunrise Way Fundraising Dinner at Rumours International in Toowoomba. The group also won the secondary school vocal ensemble at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and the secondary school folk singing ensemble. The Vivace Trio, comprising Julian Lachmund (Leader of Strings), Angus Mohr and Sean Bain, was placed first in the ‘A’ Grade small string ensemble at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod and the Chamber Strings won the secondary school small string ‘A’ Grade ensemble.

Downlands Competition: •

This year represented the 70th game of the O’Callaghan Cup since its inception in 1950. After five successive wins to TGS, the Cup returned to Downlands College (DC 27 d TGS 21). A Downlands College player, Mac Grealy (later playing for the Qld.Reds), won the game for DC with a sensational final try. Despite the loss at the Open 1st XV level, the School was very proud of all who represented the School. Indicative of the overall success of the rugby program at TGS was the fact that of the eleven rugby games played against Downlands College at the annual fixture, TGS scored 373 points and had only 26 points scored against its teams. This year represented the 66th year of competition for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy in 1st XI Cricket, having commenced in 1954. TGS retained the Trophy in 2019: DC 101, TGS 1/102.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: students.

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The Headmaster and various Year 12


2019 2019

Members of the Board of Trustees & The Staff Members of the Board of Trustees & The Staff

Captain of 1st XI Cricket, Matthew Watson Captain of 1st XI Cricket, Matthew Watson

McCracken Sports Centre McCracken Sports Centre

Cadet Leaders Cadet Leaders

Jason Spurgin, Captain of Basketball with Headmaster Hauser’s grandson, Joshua Jason Spurgin, Captain of Basketball with Headmaster Hauser’s grandson, Joshua

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2019 (cont.)

Cadet Unit and ANZAC Day Ceremony

The School Prefects Non-Teaching Staff

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2020 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Brendan P. Baulch (in his 1st year as Chairman)

Dr Russell M. Domrow (in his 3rd year as Deputy Chairman)

Trustees: The Trustees were Mr Brendan P. Baulch, Dr Russell M. Domrow, Messrs Glen W. McCracken, Chris J. Wicks, Barry O’Sullivan, Dr Nicola Hulme-Peake and Mrs April Cavanagh. In September, Old Boy and former Chairman, Mr Glen McCracken, resigned from the Board. At the same time the School welcomed a new Trustee and Old Boy (Senior Prefect 2005), Mr Harrison Humphries. A photograph of the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr Brendan Baulch, is included in this year’s entry.

Headmaster: Mr Peter B. Hauser (in his 18th year as Headmaster). Mr Hauser concluded his Headmastership in December 2020 following his retirement from office. Mr Hauser’s length of service as Headmaster represented the third longest in the School’s history – surpassed only by Mr Barbour (19101935) and Mr Dent (1970-1991). Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 3rd year as Deputy Headmaster)

Senior Prefect: Ronan R. Austin Senior Dayboy Prefect: Charles A.E. Schoorl Senior Boarder Prefect: Hunter J. Austin Dux of Year: Thasankan Eswaran and Joshua D. Singla

Captain of the Junior School: George J. Clifford Dux of the Junior School:

Banjo Seaniger

Total School Enrolment: 1,206 Senior School Total: 930 Junior School Total: 276 Number of Dayboys: 924 Number of Boarders: 282

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Staffing: •

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Mr Steve Fryer commenced in the role as the new Director of Sport and Activities following the resignation of Mr Wes Dunne at the end of the previous year. Prior to this senior appointment Mr Fryer was the Director of Cricket and 1st XI cricket coach and teacher of Physical Education at the School. Mr Gregory Bland succeeded Mr Roger Harris as the Head of the Mathematics Department following Mr Harris’ decision to relinquish this position at the end of last year. Mr Bland had previously been the School’s Director of Studies from 2012-2015. Mr Edward (Eddi) Campiutti retired from the School after 38 years’ service as a teacher of Mathematics, having joined the School in 1983. Mr Campiutti’s 38 years’ service represented the second-longest length of service of any teacher in the history of TGS. The longest-serving member of the teaching staff was Mr Russell Gillies with 40 years’ service (1959-1998: see 1998). Eddi Campiutti is the son of Mr A. Campiutti who constructed the Roberts Classroom Block and the Annexe as part of the Gibson Design and Technology Building (former Taylor Boarding House Annexe). TGS Old Boy Mr Ken Lavers (1974-1978) retired from the School after 31 years’ service as a teacher of Chemistry and Science, having joined the School in 1990. Over his career Mr Lavers had been a Boarding Housemaster in earlier years and at the time of his retirement was the Head of the Science Department (since Term Two, 2014). Mr Lavers had been the Boarding Housemaster of Groom House from 1991-1992 and Boarding Housemaster of Boyce House from 1995-1998. He had also been a leader in the School’s Adventure Club. Old Boy Nicholas Hopson (2007-2011) commenced at the School as a teacher of Economics and English. Nicholas resigned from teaching at the end of 2023 to commence tertiary study in the Doctor of Medicine program at the University of Wollongong. Ms Jennifer Fordyce joined the administration staff as Staff Secretary in 1993 and served the School for 27 years, retiring in December 2020. During the year Ms Fordyce had the honour of the title ‘Honorary Old Boy’ bestowed upon her by the President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. Ms Fordyce is one of only four women in the School’s history who has held such a title, namely Judy Gillies, Denise Miller, Ellen Morosini and Jennifer Fordyce. Ms Maree Missen in the Accounts Department also left the School towards the end of the year concluding 28 years’ service at the School. As a result of COVID-19 the School had to temporarily ‘stand down’ fifty staff, largely in two operational areas, namely the Aquatic Centre and the Boarding Houses. Most of the staff stood down in the Aquatic Centre were casual, sessional learn-to-swim staff and the Aquatic Centre was closed throughout the year due to the pandemic. Similarly, for a significant period of time, the Boarding Houses were closed and the operational staff were not required when there were no boarders residing in the School. The Heads of Department were Mr P. Irwin (English), Mr G. Bland (Mathematics), Mr K. Lavers (Science), Mrs E. Parrington (Languages), Mrs K. Reeve (Geography), Mr A. Smiddy (History), Mrs M. Reisinger (Commerce), Mr A. Kirby (Industrial Technology and Design), Mr A. Budnick (Physical Education), Mr P. Barton (Digital Technologies), Mr D. Crook (Library and Information Services), Ms J. Johnson-Saul (Head of Counselling), Dr I. Waite (Timetabler and Data Analyst), Mr D. Klan (Year 7 Co-ordinator), Dr B. Sawyer (Head of e-Learning), Mr L. Rawle (Head of Teaching and Learning), Mr M. Sharpe (Deputy Head of Junior School), Mr R. Jeffries (Junior School Head of Teaching and Learning) and Mr B. Doherty (Junior School Sportsmaster). The title of ‘Housemaster’ was replaced with that of ‘Head of House’ in this year.

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The Boarding Heads of House were Mr M. Hall (Boyce), Mr D. McDonald (Groom), Mr C. McLeod (Mackintosh), Mr J. Hill (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor) and Mr R. Fowler (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble. The Dayboy Heads of House were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. A. McKinnon (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Ronan Austin, Charles Schoorl, Hunter Austin, Cooper Bridgeman, Wilson Cochrane, Samuel Dyer, Mitchell Dight, Jed Dowling, Samuel Harmsworth, Sebastian Hulme-Peake, Julian Lachmund, Thomas Maher, Hamish Muller, Patrick Noble and Kavinda Perera. In this first year of the use of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in Queensland, five students achieved an ATAR in excess of 99.00. These boys were Thasankan Eswaran, Joshua Singla, Samuel Harmsworth, Dibyang Niroula and Jed Dowling. Ronan Austin, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Cooper Bridgeman (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. At the 2020 Queensland Short Course Swimming Championships held in September at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Year 12 student Isaac Cooper in the 50 metres backstroke event broke numerous records. In this event he went under his then Queensland Age Record (25.09 seconds) and the Queensland All Comers Record to achieve a new Australian Age Record in the event with a remarkable time of 24.37 seconds. Isaac was also placed first in the Open Freestyle 50 metres event at the GPS Swimming Championships in a time of 23.81 seconds. Isaac’s win was even more significant in that, whilst he was in Year 12, he was still a year younger than the opposing swimmers. At the GPS Swimming Championships Isaac did not compete in his specialist event, the open backstroke, as the swimming coach required his talent in the open freestyle event to maximise team points. Isaac Cooper (2019-2020), in the following year and aged only 17, represented Australia in swimming in the Tokyo Olympic Games. He reached the semi-finals in the 100 metres backstroke and also swam in the 4x100 mixed medley relay in the heat and semi-final. Whilst not swimming in the final event of the medley, Isaac still gained an Olympic Bronze medal as the team was placed third in the final. Swimming at the May 2022 Australian Swimming Championships Isaac set a new Australian record of 24.44 in the 50 metres backstroke event. In July 2023 Isaac was part of the Australian Swimming team competing in the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and gained 4th place in the Men’s 50 metre freestyle event. In February 2024 at the age of 20 Isaac won a gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in the 50 metres backstroke event (24.13s) - a TGS Old Boy World Champion. Isaac also represented Australia in the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris competing in the Men’s 100 metres backstroke and in the final of the Men’s 4x100 metres medley relay. Year 12 student Jai Gordon won both the Open 100 (10.81 sec.) and 200 (21.84 sec.) metres sprint events at the GPS Track and Field Championships. Two years later, in March 2022, Jai won gold in the 100m Under 20 sprint final at the Australian Track and Field Championships with a time of 10.28s. He was also placed fourth in the Australian Open Men’s 100m sprint. In 2022 Jai competed in the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Cali, Columbia. In this event Jai unfortunately Page | 931


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tore his calf at the 60-metre mark but still crossed the finish line with a torn calf in a time that requalified him for the Australian team. In April 2023 Jai broke a 57 year-old national athletics record in the 100 metres sprint. Competing at the UniSport Nationals Jai ran 10.28 seconds in the final to win the event. Captain of Basketball, Greg Spurgin, accepted a basketball scholarship to Westminster College, an NCAA Division 2 College in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA commencing in mid-2021. Joshua Allen (Year 12) committed to the College of the Siskiyous in California, USA, to continue his education and basketball. Later, in February 2022, Cooper Bridgeman and Tane Pardoe (both Year 12) were named in the Australian Wallabies Rugby Under 20 squad. Julian Lachmund (Year 12) was an excellent musician and held the A.Mus.A. (Associate Diploma in Music Australia) qualification from the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB) in violin. Charlie Schoorl and Mitchell Dight rode 1,000 km from Sydney to the Gold Coast on a tandem bike in January 2024 to raise money and awareness for the men’s mental health charity Grab Life by the Balls.

Buildings: •

The Roberts Classroom block, first constructed in 1971, received a total refurbishment in December 2019 and January 2020 in preparation for this new academic year,

Events: •

In March of this year, the Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Old Boy Mr Glen McCracken (1970-1974), recorded thirty years of honorary service as a Trustee of the School. A Tribute to Glen McCracken featured in the School’s Omnibus publication, vol.29, no.3, Nov.2019, pg.2. A new measure to determine tertiary entrance for secondary school student leavers in Queensland was introduced – the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). This was a number between 0.00 and 99.95 which indicated a Year 12 student’s position relative to all other Year 12 students in the State seeking university entrance. A component in the calculation of the ATAR was externally set examinations, representing 25% of the final score for Humanities subjects and 50% of the final score for Science/Mathematics subjects. Year 12 students in Queensland had not experienced external examinations since 1972 (the external Senior Public Examination). On the second day of the new academic year the School (and all Australian educational institutions) was advised that any student or adult who had visited China including Hong Kong within the last 14 days should be isolated for fourteen days i.e. kept in separate quarters and without visitors. This was in response to a coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) first appearing in China in December 2019. The virus was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and later as a pandemic. This was only the fifth time that the WHO had declared a public health emergency of international concern (see 2003). The seven student boarders from China including Hong Kong were isolated in the School’s Blaikie Health Centre for two days and were then relocated to the Headmaster’s residence on the School’s campus for the remaining twelve days of isolation with one of the School’s full-time registered nurses. These boys remained in good health and returned to the boarding houses and classrooms following the mandatory period of isolation. A photograph of the boys from China living in the Headmaster’s residence in isolation (with nursing sister care) is included in this year’s entry. In Page | 932


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March, the State Education Minister issued a directive that all official overseas travel by state school students and staff had been halted until further notice due to the ongoing threat of COVID19. The School cancelled the Senior School Activities Week at the end of Term One and all local excursions and three overseas tours. Students were delivered online education classes whilst at home during the last week of Term One in preparation for a mandatory school closure in early Term Two. For the first five weeks of Term Two the students received their education via an online method of curriculum delivery. A small number of boys remained at school (receiving the same online classes) if their parents were emergency workers or could not assist with the supervision of their children during the school day. After the five weeks of home-online schooling experience for all boys, the State Government stated that only 25 percent of the boarders would be permitted to return to the School. Later this was relaxed to 50 percent for the remainder of Term Two. All boarders were permitted by the Government to return to the School at the commencement of Term Three. Various photographs of the impact of the COVID pandemic on the students and school life is included in this year’s entry. The Queensland and New South Wales border was closed on three occasions during the year. The first closure was from March 26 to July 10 and the second was from August 8. The border reopened to some areas of NSW in late September and to all of NSW in October. The Qld/NSW boarder was also closed late December for those deemed to have visited or resided in a ‘hot spot’ in the Northern Beaches of Sydney (see 2021). ANZAC Day events were cancelled throughout Australia at the height of the national COVID-19 lockdown. An article titled “TGS Life in Lockdown – COVID 19” featured in this year’s Omnibus, vol.30, no.2, August 2020, pp.3-5. It recorded the on-line, off-campus learning, the cancelled GPS sports and excursions, boarders and dayboys being sent home, quarantines, boarding meals being delivered to boarding houses, School Assemblies held on-line and so on. In February, the School’s Board of Trustees met and interviewed a number of short-listed applicants for the position of Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School to commence in January 2021. Further interviews followed prior to the selection of Dr John Kinniburgh (see 2021). The School’s Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association Art Show did not occur in a physical sense but rather was conducted via online sales. This was due to the isolation required at public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The School hosted the State Conference of the Isolated Children’s and Parents’ Association (ICPA) in an on-line means of delivery because of COVID-19. In December the Herries Street loop driveway was modified to provide a safer precinct for pedestrians. This area was to be known as Chauvel Common. The Sony Camp was once again held this year but in a modified format with no overnight stays due to COVID restrictions. The process of constructing billycarts with boys and parents, a feature of the Junior School programme since 1998, was modified this year due to COVID. The components of the billycarts were taken home this year and the boys and parents were encouraged to send to the School photographs of their ‘at home construction’. The tuition fee for a student in Years 11 & 12 was $4,004 per term (plus $1,110 per annum general purpose levy). The boarding fee for a student in Years 11& 12 was $5,500 per term. The winner of the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Mackintosh House.

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Co-curricular Activities: •

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no GPS sporting competition occurred at all during Term Two. According to Government instructions, at this time students could only train on the School’s sporting ovals in groups of five or fewer and with no sporting equipment. The GPS competition resumed in Term Three for all GPS sports normally held in Term Two and Term Three but spectators were strictly limited and an online signing-in system was administered. No student spectators were permitted to watch the games. In Athletics, ten TGS athletes were selected to represent the State in the Australian Athletics championships but the competition was cancelled due to COVID. Jai Gordon and Harrison Callow in Year 12 were preparing to set an Australian World Junior Team qualifying standard for the 100 metres but these trials were cancelled due to the pandemic. Seventy athletes represented the School at the GPS Track and Field championships held at the QSAC athletic stadium. The team placed 6th for a second year in a row, narrowly missing 5th place by only five points. Year 12 student Jai Gordon won both the Open 100 (10.81 sec.) and 200 (21.84 sec.) metres sprint events at the GPS Track and Field Championships (see ‘Students’ in this year’s entry). In Basketball, with the COVID restrictions and the students remaining at home during much, or all, of Term Two, the coaching focussed on on-line skill development and live ‘zoom’ skills sessions. Thirteen teams contested in the COVID-affected GPS Basketball season in Term Three. In the St Mary’s Old Boys’ Association Friday night Basketball competition, all TGS teams were undefeated prior to the conclusion of the competition due to the pandemic. The 1st V Basketball team commenced its season with an historic win against Brisbane Grammar School, 108-38. Further wins were achieved against IGS (92-88) and NC (97-77). In Chess, in the GPS competition, 48 players participated in 12 teams. The 1st IV Premier Chess team was congratulated on its wins against GT and NC and draws with IGS, TSS, and BSHS. The team finished equal 5th in the competition. The 1st IV Premier team claimed first place in the regional division of the State Teams Chess competition and finished 7th overall. In Cricket, the 1st XI Cricket team won the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival held in January at St Peter’s College, Adelaide to retain the trophy. The 1st XI went through the competition undefeated. Knox Grammar School (Sydney) decided to withdraw from the competition and, for this year only, Prince Alfred College in Adelaide participated in the matches. The 1st XI Cricket team only played six out of the eight GPS games (due to the pandemic) to finish in 7th position in the GPS competition. The 1st XI side had convincing wins against BGS (2/158 d BGS 8/155) and GT (6/104 d GT 103), four losses and two cancelled games. Mitchell Doolan (Year 12) scored 101 in the 1st XI cricket match against Ipswich Grammar School but the 1st XI still lost this game. In the match against BGS, Mitchell Doolan scored 71 including 6 fours and 5 sixes, all but 17 of his runs coming from boundaries. In the final match of the season against BSHS, Sam Anderson scored 62 runs including 6 fours and 3 sixes. The author of the book(s) The History of Cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, 1877-2020, Mr Ivan Board, as part of his extensive research, assigned a number to every player who represented the School in the 1st XI throughout these 144 years. The TGS 1st XI caps are now numbered based on Ivan Board’s research and this year 1st XI player number 1000 was presented (to student Jem Ryan). Page | 934


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The new coach of the 1st XI was Mr Ben Schuhmacher for the next three seasons. In Cross Country, the COVID pandemic regulations did not allow spectators to attend the GPS Cross Country championships and all teams were reduced in size by 50 per cent. The team finished in 8th position. In Debating, twelve teams from Years 7-12 entered the Queensland Debating Union’s Senior Debating competition (Darling Downs region). Unfortunately, only one round took place when all remaining rounds were cancelled due to the pandemic. In Football (Soccer), nine of the starting 1st XI players made their debut this year in the Open Firsts. The 1st XI Football team had two wins during the season – BSHS (3-0) and BBC (2-0), finishing 7th in the GPS competition. In Rugby, the first three rounds of GPS fixtures were trials this year with no competition points involved. All registered players attended a Rugby Camp where boys completed mandatory ‘Confidence in Contact’ sessions and the front row forwards participated in the ‘Scrum Readiness Programme’. The 1st XV won only two GPS games this year – BSHS (38-29) and BGS (34-5). A photograph of the 1st XV is included in this year’s entry. In the winning 1st XV game against BGS, Nicholas Cave (Year 12) scored three tries. Joseph Currie (Year 11) gained selection in the Queensland Reds U18 Academy but no interstate games were played due to COVID. No student spectators were permitted to watch some of the sporting events during the year (such as the O’Callaghan Cup and some GPS matches). In Swimming, the Captain of the School’s Swimming team for the second successive year was Charlie Schoorl. The GPS Swimming Championships were held in early March, only a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The School’s team came 8th in the competition. The Sleeman Aquatic Centre in Chandler hosted huge crowds of cheering schoolboys, an occasion unheard of later in the year due to the pandemic. Isaac Cooper (Year 12) was placed first in the Open Freestyle 50 metres event at the GPS Swimming Championships in a time of 23.81 seconds. Isaac’s win was even more significant in that, whilst he was in Year 12, he was still a year younger than the opposing swimmers. Isaac Cooper’s national and international swimming success is documented in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry. In the GPS Swimming championships, other first placings went to Juert Eerkens and Will Salmond in the 50 metres U14 and U16 Backstroke respectively. The Schools’ State Swimming championships and the Age National Swimming championships were cancelled due to COVID. In Tennis, the 1st IV won the Queensland Country Champion School in the State Tennis championships and finished the overall competition in 5th place. The 1st IV faced two washout fixtures and lost the remaining five games. In Volleyball, the School’s 1st VI team finished in 5th place in Division 1 of the Australia Volleyball Schools’ Cup – the School’s best result in the Division 1 competition. The 1st VI defeated Nudgee College (3-1) for the first time in four years and enjoyed further wins against GT (3-1) and IGS (3-0). There were two close losses in five sets to BGS and ‘Churchie’. Ben Hood (Year 11) captained an Under 19 Australian Volleyball team against a touring Japanese side at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. An inaugural 20-year reunion Old Boy Volleyball match against the current boys was played in good spirit and humour (with a win to the current boys).

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In Drama, the Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) had three ensembles – Senior, Intermediate and a newly formed Junior. Senior TiGAA comprised 14 boys from Years 1012; Intermediate TiGAA enrolled 14 Year 9-10 boys; and Junior TiGAA was opened as a nonauditioned group and welcomed 25 boys from Years 7-8. Senior TiGAA presented its annual Showcase performance at the Armitage Centre (Empire Theatres) on the last evening of Term 3. Senior TiGAA performed Romeo and Juliet Reimagined to a restricted audience due to COVID-19. The production was also screened online to an appreciative audience of approximately 1,300 viewers. Due to COVID, for some weeks the rehearsals involved on-line meetings and then restricted face-to-face interaction. In Music, the students and staff were in the final stages of preparation for the Jazz Under the Stars community event in March when all co-curricular activities were suspended due to COVID19. The student musicians were impacted by the postponement or cancellation of many planned performance opportunities during the year. These included the Toowoomba Choral and Instrumental Eisteddfod, the TGS Art Show, choral workshops with visiting conductors, a community fundraising concert for the Toowoomba Hospice, the TGS Welcome Concert and Music Showcase Concert, the Carnival of Flowers and more. The boys did play at the Welcome Back Concert held in late August and the Assembly Hall was transformed into a TV studio for an on-line audience. Some talented Senior School students were invited to perform in the GPS Music Showcase held at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in February. The students participated in the GPS Symphony Orchestra, GPS Concert Band, GPS Big Band and the GPS Choir, rehearsing all day and performing in an evening concert.

Downlands Competition: • •

The annual 1st XI Cricket fixture known as the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy played against Downlands College was cancelled due to wet weather on 15 February. The O’Callaghan Cup annual fixture between TGS and Downlands College 1st XV Rugby teams was played in August but not at the host school’s (DC) campus. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to strictly restrict spectators an enclosed venue with the ability to regulate the number of attendees via a supervised gate was sought; the Clive Berghofer Stadium (Toowoomba Sports Ground) in Mary Street, East Toowoomba, was selected as the venue. The 71st O’Callaghan Cup game made history for three reasons – first, for the first time ever the game was played at a venue away from both schools; secondly, the game was played under lights commencing at 7:00pm; and thirdly, the only spectators at the game were the parents of the players. The Cup returned to TGS with a 24-10 victory. A photograph of the 1st XV preparing for the game under lights is included in this year’s entry. Thirteen Rugby games were played against Downlands College in this fixture with all TGS teams except one recording victories.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The 2020 Speech Day and Prize-Giving Ceremony was held at the Empire Theatre on 26 November but a seating capacity of only 50 per cent was observed due to Government regulations with COVID-19. Only the Prize Winners and their parents could attend the event which was live streamed via the internet to the wider school community. There was no Guest Speaker but the Speech Day was also an opportunity to farewell the retiring Headmaster.

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2020

Teacher Mr Luke Rawle Presenting an Online Lesson during COVID

Coronavirus Isolation - boys from China in quarantine in Headmaster’s residence

No crowds due to COVID regulations for O’Callaghan Cup

1st XV Rugby team

Mr Brendan Baulch, Chairman Board of Trustees

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2021 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Brendan P. Baulch (in his second year)

Dr Russell M. Domrow (in his 4th year)

Trustees: Dr Nicola Hulme-Peake resigned from the Board of Trustees in March having been on the Board since September 2013. In December, Mr Chris Wicks also resigned from the Board after eleven years of dedicated service to his old school as a Trustee. Mr Wicks was also a past President of the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Association. A photograph of the members of the School’s Board of Trustees is included in this year’s entry.

Headmaster: Dr John C. Kinniburgh (in his 1st year). Dr Kinniburgh commenced as the School’s 16th Headmaster in January and previously was the Deputy Headmaster of Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. Prior to this he taught at Wellington College in the United Kingdom and The King’s School in Sydney. A photograph of Dr Kinniburgh is included in this year’s entry. Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 4th year as Deputy Headmaster)

Senior Prefect: Harrison A. Mills Senior Dayboy Prefect: Angus J. Callachor Senior Boarder Prefect: Lachlan J. Williams Dux of Year: Aaron J. Palmer

Captain of the Junior School: Samriddh Srivastava Dux of the Junior School:

Samriddh Srivastava

Total School Enrolment: 1178 Senior School Total: 919 Junior School Total: 259 Number of Dayboys: 900 Number of Boarders: 278

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Staffing: •

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The School’s first ever female Head of a Boarding House was appointed in July. An existing member of the TGS teaching staff and Assistant Head of Corfe House, Mrs Lisa Purves, was promoted to this position following the resignation of Mr Ryan Fowler who transferred interstate. Member of the School Executive and Director of Boarding, Mr James ‘Jim’ Noble, resigned at the end of the year to relocate to Brisbane. Mr Noble had been employed at the School in 1994-1996 and 2008-2021. He had made a wonderful contribution to boarding and the School during this time. The Head of the English Department since 2008, Mr Paul Irwin, relinquished this position at the end of this year but remained on the teaching staff. Two new administrative positions were created on the School Executive, that of Director of Advancement and Director of People and Culture. The successful appointee in the former position was Mrs Tammy Wilson (commencing in February) and Ms Louise Strachan was appointed to the latter role (commencing in October). Long-serving teacher Mrs Lynne Yeabsley was honoured by the School in having a Speech Day and Prize Giving Student Award named ‘Mrs L.J. Yeabsley Prize for French’. This year represented the tenth year that Mr Paul Sullivan had been the Housemaster/Head of House of Stephens Dayboy House. Mr Sullivan was still in this role in 2024 and had commenced teaching at the School in 2008 from his former employment in the legal profession. Mr Jake Platen, an Old Boy of TGS (2006-2010 and Senior Dayboy Prefect), was appointed in August as a member of the teaching staff and as Assistant Head of Corfe Boarding House following his earlier career teaching at St. Peter’s College, Adelaide. Jake resigned at the end of the following year to relocate to Brisbane. Mr Chris McLeod, a current teacher of Physical Education and former Boarding Housemaster of Mackintosh Boarding House (2017-2020), was granted a two-year sabbatical from the School in 2022 and 2023. Mr McLeod returned to the School in 2024 having spent two years with the Australian Futsal Association as the South West Queensland Director of Futsal. The Boarding Heads of House were Mr M. Hall (Boyce), Mr D. McDonald (Terms 1-3), Mr J. Hall (Acting, Term 4) (Groom), Mr M. Simpson (Terms 1-2) and Mr T. Wallis (Acting, Terms 3-4) (Mackintosh), Mr J. Hill (Stephens), Mr J. Noble (Taylor), and Mr R. Fowler (Terms 1-2) and Mrs L. Purves (Terms 3-4) (Corfe). The Director of Boarding was Mr Jim Noble who resigned from the School at the end of the year. The Dayboy Heads of House were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr A. McKinnon (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

The School Prefects were Harrison Mills, Angus Callachor, Lachlan Williams, John Anderson, Samuel Anderson, Nicholas Coonan, Joseph Currie, Zenuka De Silva, Benjamin Dight, Paul Draheim, John Higgins, Oliver Schubert, Thomas Sippel, Tom Twidale and Charlie Wigan. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. Another photograph is of the Headmaster with the Senior Prefect, Senior Dayboy Prefect and the Senior Boarder Prefect.

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In this second year of the use of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in Queensland, seven students achieved an ATAR in excess of 99.00. These boys were Aaron Palmer, Zenuka De Silva, Nicholas Nugent, Sathu Eswaran, Hugh Wilson, Peter Rathie and Zain Hafeez-Baig. The Dux of the year, Aaron Palmer, received a prestigious Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) Achievement Award (Distinguished Academic Achiever), one of 47 students in the State. Ben Hood (Year 12), Captain of Volleyball, left the School at the end of Term One to take up his offer at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Later, Ben’s inclusion in the South Australian Sports Institute’s elite performance squad led to him joining the ‘Developing Volleyroos’, a key part of the national beach volleyball program. In 2023 Ben was selected to represent Australia at the Asian Under 21 Beach Volleyball Championships in Thailand. In 2024 Ben and his volleyball partner, D’Artagnan Potts, won a bronze medal in the Nuvali Open Men’s Competition in Laguna in the Philippines. An article featuring Ben Hood and his sporting success was included in the School’s publication Omnibus, vol.34, no.1, 2024, pg.37. Oliver Schubert (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Oliver was an excellent musician and held the A.Mus.A. (Associate Diploma in Music Australia) qualification from the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) in trumpet. Harrison Mills, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities. Benjamin Moore (Year 12) was selected in the Australian Youth Touch Football Under 20 team to play in the Pacific Youth Club in 2023 (see 2023). Bailey Biggar committed to Medicine Hat College in Alberta, Canada, to continue his education and basketball career. Joshua Roche (Year 12) won the Under 18 years 400 metres hurdles at the Queensland Track and Field Championships in October. Shafiuddin Aanan (Year 10) won the Queensland Under 18 Chess Championship. Senior Prefect, Harrison Mills (Year 12), was successful in gaining entry in the 2022 intake to the National Institute of Dramatic Arts, NIDA, into the Bachelor of Fine Arts – Acting course. Only 24 students from Australia and internationally gain entry in this course each year. Hamish Wells (Year 12) gained admission to the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) to study musical theatre in 2023. Angus Mohr (Year 12). Leader of the Strings in Music, qualified for the House Honour Colours on five occasions. Paul Draheim (Year 12) was later to represent Australia in Indoor Cricket. He was part of the victorious Under 22 Australian side which defeated New Zealand in the final of the Tri-Nations tournament held in Adelaide in September 2024.

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In January the School refurbished the Freshney Science classrooms. Chauvel Common and the Herries Street loop were updated to improve safety for pedestrians and vehicles. Towards the end of the year the School continued its classroom refurbishment program with an upgrade of the Barbour classrooms.

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The first vaccination in Australia against COVID-19 (phase 1A) occurred in late February. The pandemic COVID 19 continued to influence all the world. The border between Queensland and NSW was closed for some time and hotel quarantines for other interstate visitors were mandatory. At times during the year the Queensland border was closed to all interstate and international visitors. As a consequence of the border closure, interstate boarders were unable to return home during the holidays. The small number of boarders from China remained at School this year but had been unable to go home or see their family since January 2020. During this second year of COVID, there was no off-campus home on-line schooling required (unlike in the previous year) but GPS sport was cancelled for four rounds during Term Three due to COVID ‘lockdowns’ in Brisbane. The cancelled GPS matches at this time in the winter sports of Rugby, Basketball and Chess were against NC, GT, BGS and ACGS. The wearing of face masks was required in Term Three and GPS sport had some spectator restrictions. In the final week of Term One, COVID cases in South East Queensland led to lockdowns. Three year groups en route to the Outdoor Activities and Camps week had to turn around and return to Toowoomba. The camps week was rescheduled to later in the year. In Round 3 in Term Three in the GPS sports program the boys were playing Nudgee College. Following a concerning COVID outbreak in Brisbane, GPS Rugby and Basketball fixtures underway on this Saturday morning ceased immediately. Over the School’s public address system, all players, parents and staff were asked to go home immediately. The TGS teams playing in Brisbane on this day were also immediately recalled home. The current Headmaster, Mr John Kinniburgh, kindly welcomed the two former Headmasters back to the School. A photograph is included in this year’s entry with, from the left, Mr Hugh Rose (Headmaster 1992-2002), Mr Peter Hauser (Headmaster 2003-2020) and Dr John Kinniburgh (Headmaster 2021 – ongoing). In March, the School launched the publication of Old Boy Ivan Board’s (1961-1964) extremely detailed account of the history of the sport of cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School from 18772020. Ivan Board represented the School for three successive years in the 1st XI and was elected an Honorary Life Member of the TGS Old Boys’ Association in 2004. From 2018-2021 he completed over 4,000 hours voluntarily researching the 1,204-page tome on the history of cricket at Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875-2020, in a highly commendable and thorough piece of scholarly research. In April, the first edition of a digital newsletter for the School, The Blue and Gold, was published online. The School’s ANZAC Day service was held in April to coincide with the Senior School Grandparents’ Day. The Cadets were also involved in the local Toowoomba City ANZAC Day Services, including the Dawn Service, and they provided the catafalque party for each service held at the Mothers’ Memorial in Toowoomba. The Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp was held at the School for three days at the end of Term Three. This Camp was the fifteenth such camp organised by the School. The Headmaster attended the 50th anniversary State Conference of the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA) held in Cunnamulla. OBA reunions in both Rockhampton and the Sunshine Coast took place during the year. It was decided that only two editions of Omnibus would be published annually. Boys and their dads ran in the Fathers’ Day ‘run with dad’ charity event. Various parent seminars such as ‘Raising Good Men’ were held during the year. The School hosted the Queensland Junior State Rugby Championships in the September holidays. The winner of the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Mackintosh House.

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In Athletics, nine TGS athletes represented Queensland at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney over the Easter break. Over the ten-day competition, the boys achieved seven national medals. At the GPS Track and Field Championships the athletics squad finished in 8th place with only 23 points separating 6th from 9th position. In Basketball, of the only five GPS matches played (due to the cancellation of three matches due to the COVID lockdown in South-East Queensland) the 1st V won against BBC (78-70) and also the two-time reigning Premiers ‘Churchie’ (108-72). This was the first defeat of a ‘Churchie’ 1st V basketball team by TGS in 17 years. The 1st V lost to TSS in a very close game (68-76), IGS (71-81) and BSHS (57-76). The team was placed in equal 4th position (with ‘Churchie’ and GT) in this interrupted season. The School won the title of Champion Boys’ School of the Darling Downs in the Friday Night City Basketball Championship for the fourth consecutive year. A partnership with the NBL franchise, the Brisbane Bullets, was established bringing ‘Big Shots’ Mega Camps and Bullets Academies to the School. In Chess, sixteen teams and 64 players competed in the GPS Chess competition. The Premier team maintained the School’s distinguished record in the Toowoomba District Secondary School Teams’ Chess Championships with a win for the 27th consecutive year. Competing in the Toowoomba District Secondary School Individual Chess Tournament, all first four place getters were TGS boys with Shafiuddin Aanan (Year 10) claiming first place. Shafiuddin Aanan also won the Queensland Under 18 Chess Championship. In the Toowoomba District Primary School Teams’ Chess Championships, the TGS teams claimed first, second and fourth places. The Junior School team also won the regional Queensland title. The Premier Chess team came 3rd in the GPS competition. The team recorded two draws (BBC and BSHS) and had wins against Nudgee College (3-1), TSS (3-1) and IGS (3-1). A loss was recorded against ‘Churchie’ (1.5-2.5) and the remaining games were cancelled due to a COVID lockdown in Brisbane. Allan Hamawand (Year 9) had the first undefeated season as a TGS 1st IV Chess player since 2006. The School achieved the highest State result ever in Chess with a 3rd placing in Queensland overall (third on a countback from an equal second place). In Cricket, the Neil Dansie Cricket Festival was cancelled this year due to COVID-19. The 1st XI achieved three wins during the GPS cricket season – against BBC (6/220 – 10/219), BSHS (2/230 – 6/226) and BGS (9/193 – 5/192 in the second last over of the match). The losses were to NC (100 – 2/105), GT (153 – 9/187) ‘Churchie’ (150 – 6/151), TSS (108 – 4/109), and IGS (206 – 9/230). The team finished in 6th position in the GPS competition. In the game against BSHS, Harry Meiklejohn and Thomas Sippel scored an opening partnership of 129 runs after 24 overs. In the 1st XI game against GT, Jem Ryan (Year 11) took 5 wickets for 37 runs. In Cross Country, the squad finished 9th in the GPS Championships and the athletes were congratulated on their efforts. In Debating, ten teams participated in the Queensland Debating Union (QDU) competition this year. In Football, (Soccer), the School’s Paul Wade Football Camp was held in the Term One holidays with approximately 240 boys in attendance. Socceroos Technical Adviser, Ron Smith, Newcastle Jets Technical Director Kew Jaliens and the Camp’s namesake, former Socceroos Captain, Paul Wade, gave the boys a great understanding of the game. Page | 942


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The School’s Under 15 Futsal (indoor soccer) team was crowned the Southern Queensland Champions after their performance in the Queensland School Futsal Titles in Brisbane in August. In the 8 game GPS season, the 1st XI football team achieved wins against BBC (4-1) and ‘Churchie’ (2-0) and experienced two drawn games – BGS (1-1) and TSS (2-2). Four games were lost during the 1st XI GPS football season – NC (1-4), GT (1-2), IGS (2-5) and a substantial loss against BSHS (05). The 1st XI had a mid-table finish. In Rugby, of the four GPS matches played (because of the cancellation of four matches due to the COVID lockdown in South-East Queensland – NC, GT, BGS and ‘Churchie’) - the 1st XV won two – against IGS (7-5) and BSHS (21-19). In this latter game the BSHS crowd rushed onto the field in celebration of a close win, only to be told by the referee that there was a further two minutes of play remaining, with a final try by TGS to win the game. The 1st XV team finished in equal 4th position on the GPS rugby ladder. During the season the team was defeated by BBC (20-36) and TSS (10-35). The 1st XV captain, Charlie Wigan, and Vice-Captain, Joseph Currie, were named in the Queensland Reds Under 18 Academy team. Sebastian Sialau was selected in the Melbourne Rebels Under 18 Academy and Joseph Currie was signed by the North Queensland Cowboys for 2022. Of the 15 players in the Australian Wallabies team defeating the South African Springboks at Suncorp Stadium in September were six former students from the Queensland GPS schools – Tom Banks (BBC), Len Ikitau (BBC), Samu Kerevi (BSHS), Quade Cooper (‘Churchie’), Izack Rodda (IGS), and James Slipper (TSS). In Swimming, the TGS squad achieved an 8th placing at the GPS Swimming Championships. In Tennis, 28 TGS teams competed for the School in the GPS competition. The 1st IV team won the Queensland State Secondary Schools’ tennis competition (Darling Downs Region) for the nineteenth consecutive year. No GPS 1st IV tennis matches were won by the TGS 1st IV but the boys were competitive in many rubbers. There were straight set losses (0-8) to BBC, NC, BGS and TSS and other losses were to GT (1-7), ‘Churchie’ (1-7), IGS (3-5) and BSHS (2-6). In Volleyball, the Captain of Volleyball, Ben Hood (Year 12), left the School at the end of the volleyball season to commence at the Australian Volleyball Academy at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra (see more on Ben Hood in the ‘Students’ section of this year’s entry). The School hosted the 2021 Volleyball Queensland Intermediate Schools’ Cup in May. Approximately two thousand players representing 200 hundred teams attended the competition. The 1st VI finished a very pleasing equal 2nd on the GPS volleyball ladder, the equal best result since 2006. The 1st VI recorded decisive 3 sets to nil wins against BBC, NC, IGS and BSHS. The fifth win was against ‘Churchie’ (3-1), a win for the first time against this school in over a decade. Losses were recorded against GT (1-3) and BGS (2-3). In Cadets, the School’s 104th annual March Out Parade was relocated from Old Boys’ Memorial Oval to the Glen McCracken Sports Centre due to thick fog blanketing the oval. The Reviewing Officer was Colonel Mark Armstrong, Acting Commander of 11th Brigade. The Colonel is an Old Boy of the School, 1986-1990, as was his father Mr Peter Armstrong, 1952-1953. The ANZAC Day March was cancelled due to COVID but the School held an ANZAC Day Service on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. Cadet Under Officer, Eloise Radford (a student at Fairholme College) was only the third female in the history of the TGS Cadet Unit to become a Senior Cadet Under Officer (SCUO) and Parade Commander. The other two female Officers were also students at Fairholme College, Anne Page | 943


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Buchanan in 2006 and Olivia Hassall in 2015. In later years there were further female Senior Cadet Under Officers and Fairholme College students in the TGS Cadet Unit – Johannah Whittle in 2023 and Heather McKenzie in 2024. In Drama, members of TiGAA (Toowoomba Grammar Acting Academy) performed ‘Shakespeare in the Grove’ on a Saturday evening in May. Unfortunately, the wet weather forced the performance to be held in the Assembly Hall. The production The Show Must Go On in conjunction with Fairholme College was performed in the Assembly Hall. Due to COVID there was no live audience but the show was professionally recorded and then screened at the Empire Theatre on Saturday, 21 August. The show was a musical medley and the staff involved included Dr Alison Young as Producer, Mrs Wendy Evans as Musical Director and Mrs Katrina Bailey (Fairholme College) was the Director. The Junior and Intermediate TiGAA ensembles performed two comedies in September at the Armitage Centre, Empire Theatre – The Play That Goes Wrong and Act 1 of Cancelled – A Killer Farce. Eighteen members of Senior TiGAA performed The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui which was staged at the Empire Theatre in September. The play was produced by Mrs Eylece Blaikie, Head of Drama. The Junior School Year 3-6 musical this year was Dr Dolittle Jnr. performed in September. In Music, the School’s Director of Performance, Mrs Natalie Otto, resigned at the end of Term Two. The new Director of Performing Arts, Mr Mark Chalmers, commenced in October. Leader of the Arts, Oliver Schubert, performed as a featured soloist (trumpet) for the GPS Big Band as part of the GPS Music Showcase held at the Queensland Conservatorium. The Grammarphones received first place in the secondary school Folk Singing Ensemble and the secondary school Boys’ Choir sections at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod.

Downlands Competition: • The School’s 1st XI defeated DC in the annual cricket match competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy – TGS 10/276 d DC 10/81. • In Rugby, competing for the O’Callaghan Cup, TGS defeated DC 24 – 8. Of the ten games of rugby played against Downlands College on the day, all games were won by TGS. A photograph of the School’s 1st XV team celebrating its win in the O’Callaghan Cup is included in this year’s entry.

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Mark Creedon (1973-1977) was elected as the new President of the Old Boys’ Association for a three-year term. He was previously President of the OBA in 2009-2011.

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr Dinesh B. Palipana OAM

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2021

The 16th Headmaster, Mr John Kinniburgh 1st XV Rugby team winning O’Callaghan Cup Two Former Headmasters Welcoming Dr John Kinniburgh

(L-R) Headmaster Kinniburgh, Angus Callachor, Harrison Mills & Lachie Williams

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2022 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Brendan P. Baulch (in his 3rd year)

Dr Russell M. Domrow (in his 5th year)

Trustees: Three new Trustees joined the School’s Board of Trustees at the commencement of this year – Mrs Karina Hepner, Mrs Rebecca Statton and Mr Paul Herbert. Mrs Statton and Mr Herbert were former members of the teaching staff of the School. Mrs Statton taught in the Junior School from 2001-2005 and Mr Herbert taught Geography and Personal Development in the Senior School from 1993-2005. Headmaster: Dr John C. Kinniburgh (in his 2nd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 5th year as Deputy Headmaster) Senior Prefect: Archie Lord Senior Dayboy Prefect: Daniel Da Silva Senior Boarder Prefect: Charlie Horn Dux of Year: Darcy Schmidt Captain of the Junior School: Charlie Pollock Dux of the Junior School:

Charlie Pollock

Total School Enrolment: 1202 Senior School Total: 908 Junior School Total: 294 Number of Dayboys: 921 Number of Boarders: 281

Staffing: • •

A photograph of the academic staff is included in this year’s entry. The Head of the Junior School since 2004, Mr Scott Campbell, resigned at the end of Term One. His term as Head of the Junior School was characterised by the highest quality of educational provision, innovation and expansion. Mr David Hine commenced in his new role as Acting Head of the Junior School in the second week of Term Two in an employment contract for Terms Two and Three. For eight years Mr Hine was the Head of the Junior School of St Peter’s College (Adelaide) and was also previously the Head of the Junior Schools of Newington College (Sydney) and John Paul College (Brisbane). In Term Four the Deputy Head of the Junior School, Mr Mike Sharpe, had the responsibility of being the Acting Head of the Junior School. Page | 946


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The School celebrated the wonderful contribution of 35 years teaching at TGS by two members of the teaching staff – Mrs Lynnette Yeabsley and Dr Ian Waite, both of whom joined the staff in 1988. Such length of service acknowledged both teachers as the equal 4 th longest-serving members of the teaching staff at Toowoomba Grammar School throughout its history. A member of the non-teaching staff, Miss Morag Watt, working as House Manager in the School’s Boarding House, was honoured for her 30 years employment at the School, commencing in 1993. Mr Allan Smiddy, Head of the Humanities Department, was congratulated on his 25 years’ service at the School. Since 1998 Mr Smiddy has held numerous responsibilities in the School including Day Housemaster, Head of Department, Officer Commanding of the Cadet Unit and other roles. An article outlining Allan Smiddy’s excellent service to the School over these 25 years was published in the School’s Omnibus magazine in the following year, Vol.33, No.1, 2023, on page 26. Ms Sarah Field joined the teaching staff as Head of the English Department succeeding Mr Paul Irwin who relinquished the position at the end of last year but remained on staff (after holding this position from 2008). Ms Field resigned at the end of the year. A new Director of Boarding commenced this year, Mr Nicholas Byron, succeeding Mr Jim Noble who resigned at the end of the previous year. Mr Scott Gale commenced employment as the School’s Indigenous Program Co-ordinator and 1st XV Coach. As the Indigenous Program Co-ordinator, Scott has provided support for the School’s Indigenous students along with leading awareness and cultural initiatives for all throughout the year. Included in a photograph in this year’s entry are Mr Scott Gale, Old Boy and Founder of the Yalari Indigenous Education Scholarship program (Mr Waverley Stanley: see ‘Students’ section in the 1984-year entry), the Headmaster and the Yalari Captain (Reghan Bayles). The Heads of Department structure was rationalised to embrace only nine key department areas, namely English (Ms S. Field); Mathematics (Mr G. Bland); Science (Dr B. Sawyer); Humanities (Mr A. Smiddy); Technologies (Mr P. Barton); Physical Education (Ms A. Varley); Commerce (Mrs M. Reisinger); Languages (Mrs E. Parrington); and Library and Information Services (Mr D. Crook). Three new Boarding Heads of House commenced at the beginning of this year: Messrs Brad Allen, Eugene Massi and Chris Stearn. The Boarding Heads of House were Mr M. Hall (Boyce), Mr C. Stearn (Groom), Mr B. Allen (Mackintosh), Mr J. Hill, (Term 1), Mr P. Kefford (Terms 2-4) (Stephens), Mr E. Massi (Taylor) and Mrs L. Purves (Term 1) (Corfe). Mr Henry White commenced as Head of House of Corfe Boarding in September. The Dayboy Heads of House were Mrs G. Battersby (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. A. McKinnon (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Archie Lord, Daniel da Silva, Charlie Horn, Douglas Ahern, Hamish Andreas, Tully Austin, Jude Brocherie, Angus Cory, Patrick Crothers, James Darlington, Harry Gallagher, Zack Lane, Kai McLoughlin, Paarth Menon, Ryan Murphy, Jamie O’Shea, Darcy Schmidt, Tom Walker, Jamie Watson and Rufaro Zimbwa. A photograph of the School Prefects is included in this year’s entry. In this third year of the use of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in Queensland, one student, Darcy Schmidt, achieved an ATAR in excess of 99.00. The Year 12 students displayed impressive academic performance with a median ATAR of 87.6 (84.1 in the previous year). Page | 947


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Archie Lord, Senior Prefect, was the recipient of the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities. Rufaro Zimbwa (Year 12) was awarded the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Ryan Murphy (Year 12) was one of only four aspiring young actors across Australia to be awarded the prestigious John Bell Scholarship in January 2023 with the Bell Shakespeare theatre company. After school Ryan studied a Bachelor of Music Theatre at the Elder Conservatorium, the University of Adelaide. Harry Fortune (Year 12), the School’s Senior Cadet Under Officer, at the end of the year was accepted into the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) to study a Bachelor of Technology (Aeronautical Engineering). Jaydahn Hearn (Year 11) was selected to represent Australia at the Under 17 International Futsal Alliance competition held in Barcelona, Spain, in September. Matthew Taylor (Year 11) was the Queensland Champion for both the Under 20 years’ and Under 17 years’ discus. Hamish W. Brown (Year 6) won the Australian Small Business Champion Awards 2022 ‘Junior Small Business Champion Entrepreneur’ in a ceremony held in Sydney.

Buildings: •

The Barbour Classroom block, first constructed in 1981, received a total refurbishment in December 2021 and January 2022 in preparation for this new academic year. The Barbour Classroom block was originally named the Mackintosh Classrooms in honour of the School’s first Headmaster. In 1992 the building was renamed the Barbour Classrooms when it was decided to name one of the boarding houses for the School’s inaugural Headmaster instead (‘School House’ to ‘Mackintosh House’).

Events: •

Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, passed away on 8 September aged 96 years. She became the first British monarch to reign for 70 years. Her eldest son ascended to the throne as King Charles III, aged 73 years (see ‘Events’ in 1952 and 1954). COVID-19 continued to influence the nation. The 2022 new year commenced with the students receiving online learning with the teachers engaging boys online and not on campus. The students returned to the School in the third week of Term One. This was in response to the State Government announcing that all students in Queensland would resume Term One classes two weeks later than scheduled due to the escalation of cases associated with the spread of the COVID variant, Omicron. Due to the continuation of COVID, all students in Queensland were required to wear a face mask at school until early March unless they were seated or able to maintain a 1.5 metre distance from others. Also, until early March all school staff were required to wear masks while standing or moving about indoors but were permitted to remove their mask when seated or if able to maintain a 1.5 metre distance from others while teaching or interacting with students or when outdoors. A photograph of boarding boys returning to the School wearing face masks is included in this year’s entry. Page | 948


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Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic the GPS Association directed that the first two rounds of GPS sport in Term One would include only the ‘A’ teams. Later in this term some GPS matches were cancelled due to the flood conditions in S.E. Queensland and particularly Brisbane. In the month of May the School experienced significant student absenteeism due to COVID and an influenza outbreak. As an illustration of the extent of student absenteeism, on May 19 (Week 5 of Term 2) there were 335 students away from school on this day, comprising 297 boys absent from the Senior School and an additional 38 boys absent from the Junior School due to their illness. The School was awarded the prestigious Microsoft Surface Lighthouse School award in recognition of its innovative use of technology using Microsoft products. In May, the School was donated a bible first belonging to the first enrolled student at TGS, Alfred G. Stephens. The donation was from Old Boy Ian B. Morris (1958-1961) and a photograph of the bible is included in the 1877-year entry. The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) celebrated its 30th anniversary as a university having previously been The Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education. The university also revealed a total rebrand during the year with a change of logo and a new acronym – UniSQ. The School, like all other Grammar Schools in Queensland, faced a reduction in Federal Government funding with a new funding model for all independent schools being released – the Direct Measure of Income (DMI) model. The DMI model was based on the capacity of parents in each independent school to contribute to school fees determined by median taxable income data. The outcome of the new funding model was that the School would sustain a reduction in Federal Government funding in the period 2022 to 2029. The Trustees and Headmaster devised and announced a Strategic Plan for the School for 20222026. A former Trustee of the School, Mrs Barb MacDiarmid, was thanked for her recent service to the School as President of the TGS Past Mothers’ Group. Barb MacDiarmid was a member of the School’s Board of Trustees from October 2001 until May 2013 and President of the Past Mothers’ Group from 2016 to December 2022. She is married to a TGS Old Boy, Manuel MacDiarmid (19661970), and their two sons both attended the School – Jack (1997-2001) and Angus (2002-2006). The TGS Past Mothers’ Group was formed in 1979 by Mrs Mary Campbell. There are now 63 official members of the group and many other past mothers also come along to enjoy various functions. A ‘TGS on Tour’ program commenced with senior staff visiting regional areas as far north as Darwin and south to Gunnedah. This year saw the formation of a new student club, the mountain-bike club with 50 boys registering their interest. The winner of the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Mackintosh House.

Co-curricular Activities: •

In Athletics, Matthew Taylor (Year 11) was the Queensland Champion for both the Under 20 and Under 17 discus. The School’s athletics squad was placed 8th at the GPS Track and Field Championships. In Basketball, the 1st V shared the GPS Basketball Premiership – the first GPS Basketball Premiership for the School since the inception of Basketball into the GPS competition schedule in Page | 949


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1986. Three schools shared the GPS Basketball Premiership this year, with each school losing only one game in the season – TGS, BSHS and TSS. The TGS team achieved six successive wins, then one loss and another final victory. The winning games were IGS (73-60), NC (102-67), TSS (78-75), ‘Churchie’ (82-63), BBC (71-69), BGS (77-57) and GT (67-65). The one loss was to BSHS (45-88). The final game against GT to determine the Premiership position was a pressure-packed fixture. Coming down to the final few possessions, the TGS team managed to draw level. With 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock to secure victory and the first ever basketball premiership in the School’s history, Samuel Geu (Year 10) hit a tough turnaround jump shot and scored. The Captain of the Premiership winning team was Rufaro Zimbwa who described the result of the final game as “a fitting end to a glorious season”. The Coach of the team was the School’s Head of Sport – Basketball (Mr Kabe Cicolini) and the two assistant coaches, Cameron Weber (Old Boy) and Jacob Zupp. A photograph of the 1sts Premiership winning Basketball team is included in this year’s entry. In Basketball, the School’s ‘A’ teams went from a 27% winning rate in 2017 to a 54% winning rate in 2022. This was the result of an overhaul of the Basketball program at the end of 2017, with the Director of Basketball, coaching staff and the School administration committing to improving the opportunities and outcomes across the entire program. The primary reasons for the success of the TGS Basketball program at this time were two-fold. First was the construction of the Glen McCracken Sports Centre (2018) and second was the fulltime appointment of Mr Kabe Cicolini as Director of Basketball and 1st Coach. Kabe commenced sessional coaching at the School in April 2011 and departed at the end of 2012 for the USA. He returned in 2014 and was re-employed by the School in 2017 as 1st Coach and Director of Basketball in 2018. In Chess, at the Toowoomba District Secondary Individual Chess Tournament Championships, TGS students took 1st, 2nd and 4th place. Year 11 student, Shafiuddin Aanan, and Year 6 student, Avaneesh Pai, won the Toowoomba District Individual Chess Championships Senior and Junior Division respectively. The 1sts (Premier) team was placed 7th in the GPS competition. The 1st IV defeated teams from NC and GT and achieved draws against BGS, BBC and TSS. The ‘Churchie’ team had a strong win in this competition. For the 28th year in succession the 1st IV team won the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Teams’ Chess Championships. In Cricket, in March the School recognised its 750th game of 1st XI cricket (despite the GPS Association not being established until 1918 and with full membership of the nine schools in 1930). The 750th game of 1st XI cricket for TGS was against St Joseph’s Nudgee College in Round 2, played at NC. In Round 8 of the GPS 1st XI cricket season, Rex Tooley scored 125 runs not out in the match against BSHS with an impressive batting score for TGS of 320 runs. Also, in this game Rex Tooley and William Nason (both Year 12) put on 191 runs undefeated creating a new fifth wicket partnership record for the School. Their 191-run partnership broke an 85-year-old record set by Ray ‘Roy’ Halford and G. James Stuart in 1937 with a partnership of 177 playing against IGS. The 1st XI cricket team was placed equal 3rd in the GPS competition. There were three wins (BSHS, TSS and GT), three losses (to IGS, NC and BGS) and two wash-outs (‘Churchie’ and BBC). The win against TSS was the first TGS 1st XI cricket victory against TSS since 2013 and a photograph of the victorious 1st XI team against TSS is included in this year’s entry. A highly significant achievement was Jem Ryan’s (Year 12) selection in the Australian Under 19 merit team and Rex Tooley in the Queensland Under 19 schoolboys’ team. In 2024 Jem Ryan signed a ‘Rookies Contract’ with the Queensland Bulls. In November of the same year, he was selected in the Prime Minister’s First XI to play India in Canberra. Page | 950


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In Cross Country, Charlie Randall (Year 11) was congratulated on his selection in the Queensland Cross Country team. The TGS Cross Country team was placed 9th in the GPS competition. In Debating, the School’s debating teams competed as a school-based member of the Queensland Debating Union (QDU) competition. The Senior A debating team defeated the Fairholme College team in the Toowoomba Queensland Debating Union finals and was crowned QDU Regional Champions. Max Durkin (Year 11) won the Best Senior Debater award. In Football (Soccer), the 1st XI football team suffered a major defeat (0-7) by IGS in Round One, (2-5) to NC in Round Two and further losses in the season to TSS (0-2) and BSHS (1-5). Winning games for the 1st XI included ‘Churchie’ (2-1), BBC (1-0), BGS (2-1) and GT (2-1). The 1st XI team was placed 5th in this year’s GPS competition. A photograph of the 1st XI Football team after its win against ‘Churchie’ in the rain is included in this year’s entry. In Rugby, the GPS rugby season saw a three-way premiership – to NC, TSS and ‘Churchie’ (the three schools each lost one match). The TGS 1st XV was placed 4th in the GPS competition, the best result since 2015 when the team achieved an equal 3rd position. In addition to the 3rd placing in 2015 another 3rd was achieved in 2000 (and a 2nd place in 1987). This year the TGS 1st XV enjoyed wins against BBC (35-29), BGS (8-7), IGS (18-10) and with a massive score against BSHS (54-0). The team lost close matches to ‘Churchie’ (18-22), NC (15-22), TSS (17-19) and GT (14-15). A photograph of 1st XV players making their way through a tunnel of spectators before the TSS match is included in this year’s entry. A member of the 1st XV Rugby team this year, Will Nason, played in the Queensland Reds under 19 team in the following year and was also named in the preliminary U20 Australian Rugby squad. Two Year 11 students and members of the 1st XV, Chace Oates and Ewald Kruger, were named in Rugby Australia’s Under 16 development squad after commanding performances for the U16 Queensland Reds in the National Championships. Both boys were selected in the Queensland Reds U18 team in 2024. The new Coach of the 1st XV was Mr Scott Gale who joined the staff this year. In Swimming, the TGS squad achieved an 8th placing at the GPS Swimming Championships with a highlight being Ryan Thornton’s (Year 11) win in the Open 100 Backstroke event. In Tennis, the 1st tennis IV finished in 6th position in the GPS competition. The win against IGS (53) was the first victory for a TGS 1st IV squad in five years. Another impressive win was against TSS playing at Southport (6-2) and BBC (5-3). Losses were to NC (2-6), BGS (0-8), BSHS (0-8) and GT (2-6). The ‘Churchie’ game was washed-out. The School’s 1st IV team won the Queensland State Secondary Schools’ Tennis Competition (Darling Downs Region) event for the 20th year in a row. This was the 20th consecutive year that the Darling Downs representative tennis team has consisted entirely of TGS players. In Volleyball, the wins for the School’s 1st VI included IGS (3-0) and BSHS (3-0) and the losses were to NC (0-3), BGS (1-3) and GT (2-3). Two matches in Rounds 5 and 6 were cancelled due to severe weather conditions affecting safety on the roads (the ‘Churchie’ and BBC games). The game against GT was one to remember with the TGS team facing three match points in GT’s favour after the first two sets. The TGS team then won the third set (30-28) and the subsequent fourth set (25-22) with the game finally being won by GT in the fifth set. The 1st VI finished the GPS volleyball season in 5th place. In Cadets, the Cadet Unit performed at the ANZAC Day service and the March Out Parade. A highlight for the Cadets was the opportunity to go on a flight in an MRH-90 helicopter at the Oakey Aviation Training Centre. Four bivouacs were held during the year.

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In Drama, the drama students produced a high standard this year such as their performance in Shakespeare in the Grove and the production of Greek Mythology for Millennials. This latter production was written and produced by Year 12 student Gabriel Donaldson who was short-listed for last year’s Queensland Young Playwrights’ award. This year Gabriel’s play was performed at the Empire Theatre in June. In Music, the COVID pandemic continued to disrupt opportunities in the Performing Arts program. Cancellations included the Term One GPS Music Showcase, Welcome Concert and Jazz Under the Stars events. The TGS Junior School Concert Band, conducted by Mrs Kellie Dixon, won the primary school concert band section at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. This resulted in the Junior School winning the aggregate trophy for the first time. At the Toowoomba Eisteddfod, the School’s Big Band won the Harold Swan Memorial Trophy for best Open performance.

Downlands Competition • • •

In Cricket, the School’s 1st XI defeated DC in the annual cricket match competing for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy – TGS 6/246 d DC 10/57. In Rugby, competing for the 73rd O’Callaghan Cup, TGS defeated DC 27-21. A photograph of the victorious TGS 1st XV is included in this year’s entry. This was the first time in four years that the O’Callaghan Cup match was played at the Downlands College grounds (due to the previous DC round in 2020 being played at the Toowoomba Sports Ground due to COVID spectator restrictions). The TGS rugby teams won all 11 games played against DC on the day. An inaugural game was played with the TGS Under 11A team defeating the Downlands team, 20-7. After the 73rd O’Callaghan Cup game, the number of wins for both schools was Downlands College (36 wins) and Toowoomba Grammar School (34 wins) with three drawn games (1977, 1987, 2001). After the 2022 game the overall points scored for both schools since the inception of the Cup in 1950 were TGS (1145) and Downlands College (1114).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Headmaster

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2022

Teaching Staff

1st V Basketball team

1st XI Cricket winning team

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2022 (cont.)

1st XV Rugby team about to play

1st XV Rugby team winning O’Callaghan Cup against Downlands College

1st XI Football team after a wet game

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2023 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Mr Brendan P. Baulch (in his 4th year). The Chairman, Mr Baulch, resigned from the Board of Trustees at the end of June. A current Trustee who joined the Board in January 2018, Mr Barry O’Sullivan, was elected as the new Chairman from 1st July. A photograph of the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr Barry O’Sullivan, is included in this year’s entry. Deputy Chairman:

Dr Russell M. Domrow (in his 6th year)

Headmaster: Dr John C. Kinniburgh (in his 3rd year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 6th year as Deputy Headmaster)

Senior Prefect: Thisaja S. Samarawickrama Senior Dayboy Prefect: Riyan T. Khan Senior Boarder Prefect: Patrick W. Savill Dux of Year: Riyan T. Khan

Captain of the Junior School: Charles C. Barwick Dux of the Junior School:

Ruhan Bulchandani

Total School Enrolment: 1201 Senior School Total: 929 Junior School Total: 272 Number of Dayboys: 919 Number of Boarders: 282

Staffing: •

Mr Ken Raven commenced as the Head of the Junior School in January. Mr Raven had previously been the Head of Junior School at Great Southern Grammar School in Albany, Western Australia and his teaching experience prior to this included at Canberra Grammar School and Townsville Grammar School. He was a student at Toowoomba Grammar School as a boarder in Groom House in 1992 before his family moved to Western Australia. Dr Alison Young resigned from the School as Director of Studies at the end of the year to relocate to the Sunshine Coast for family reasons. Dr Young was a member of the School Executive. In this Page | 955


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crucial role for eight years (from 2016-2023) she made a highly significant impact on the School’s academic program, particularly in implementing the ATAR system, the introduction of external examinations at the Year 12 level and managing online student learning during the COVID pandemic. Old Boy Clancy O’Connor (2009-2013) commenced teaching Economics at the School this year. Old Boy Jackson Stone (2003-2014) joined the staff of the School as Head of Athletic Development in Term 3. His appointment to the position followed the resignation of Old Boy Cameron Weber as the School’s Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning (see below). Several new leadership positions for staff were created this year including Head of Operations (Old Boy, Mr David Klan), Head of Teacher Development (Mr Luke Rawle) and Head of Year 7 (Mrs Jodie Blades). Mrs Gabe Battersby commenced as a teacher of History and English in 2008 and as Assistant Day Housemaster of Boyce-Henderson House. Mrs Battersby was the Day Housemaster/Head of House of Boyce House from 2011 (from Mr Mark Gillespie) and continued in this important role to the end of 2022. Mrs Battersby resigned in 2023. Mr James Perrignon commenced teaching at the School in 2002. This year he completed twenty years as a Day Housemaster/Head of House – Gibson Day Housemaster 2004-2009 and Taylor Day Housemaster 2010-2024. Mrs Chantelle Bauer was appointed Deputy Head of the Junior School, Teaching and Learning. Mrs Jackie Gallagher (Director of Athletics and teacher of English) was one of only 25 women worldwide to be selected to attend the Women in Sport High Performance Pathway Program held in the United Kingdom in August. This program was conducted by the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics. This year Jackie was also selected to be an Australian Team Coach to go to the World University Championships in China in July for three weeks. In February of this year Jackie was awarded ‘Coach of the Year’ (the Pat O’Shea Memorial Trophy) at the Sports Darling Downs, Sports Stars of the Year dinner. Jackie resigned from the School at the end of this year. Long-serving TGS woodwind teacher and accompanist, Melissa Buchholz, received the honour of a position on the Trinity College London music examinations panel. The Head of the Mathematics Department, Mr Greg Bland, a highly valued member of the teaching staff and former member of the School Executive as Director of Studies, resigned at the end of the year. The Head of Department Technologies, Mr Paul Barton, resigned at the end of the year to relocate to Brisbane. He commenced his employment at the School in 2011. Teacher of Health and Physical Education (2008-2023) and former Director of Rugby, Mr ‘Jono’ Farrell resigned at the end of the year and transferred to Brisbane Grammar School. Mr Farrell made a significant contribution to the advancement of the School’s rugby program as seen in improved results and the development of many State and some international representatives. Jono’s thorough research and documentation of rugby and its history in the School provided invaluable additional information for the School’s history and the Rugby Season Booklets he produced from 2009-2020 were outstanding publications. Old Boy Cameron Weber (1998-2005) resigned from the role of Head Coach of Strength and Conditioning in June upon his appointment as Head of Athletic Development at The King’s School in Sydney. A collaborative engagement commenced with the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) School of Psychology and Wellbeing directed at the educational and pastoral needs of boys.

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Old Boy Mark Alexander (1990-1994) was appointed to the position of Head Cricket Coach in Term 4 of this year. The Boarding Heads of House were Mr M. Hall (Boyce), Mr C. Stearn (Groom), Mr B. Allen (Mackintosh), Mr P. Kefford (Stephens), Mr E. Massi (Taylor) and Mr H. White (Corfe). The Dayboy Heads of House were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce - Acting), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. A. McKinnon (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor).

Students: •

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The School Prefects were Thisaja Samarawickrama, Riyan Khan, Patrick Savill, Shafiuddin Aanan, William Anderson, Isaac Burke, Beau Campbell, Richard Dean, Samuel Freer, Samuel Gladwin, George Griffiths, Sam Hoffensetz, Carter Liddiard, Clancy McCosker, Patrick Ostwald, Edward Rogan, William Smith, William Street, Noah Taylor, James White, Clancy Wright and Jeremy Zuyderwyk. Eight students achieved an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) in excess of 99.00. These boys were Riyan Khan, Ayan Rahman, Thomas Dixon, Taku Doherty, William Anderson, William Byrne, Charlie Aarons and Benjamin Silvester. Riyan Khan achieved the highest possible ATAR of 99.95. He was one of only 34 Year 12 students in Queensland to obtain this maximum score and was the first Toowoomba Grammarian to achieve an ATAR of 99.95 since the introduction of the ATAR in Queensland in 2020. The Year 12 students displayed impressive academic performance with a median ATAR of 88.25 (87.6 in the previous year). 42.3% of eligible students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above compared with 10% across the State. Thisaja Samarawickrama, Senior Prefect, was awarded the Belford Prize for Scholarship, Leadership, Sport and Activities in Year 12. Samuel Gladwin (Year 12) was the recipient of the Peter Scott-Hunter Memorial Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School. Matthew Taylor (Year 12) won gold in the Under 17 discus event (1.5kg) at the Australian All Schools’ Track and Field Championships held in Adelaide with a throw of 57.79 metres. Benjamin Rosenberg (Year 12) was awarded Best Director Overall at the National Nextwave Youth Film Awards. In this year Benjamin was named ‘2023 Best Overall Film Maker’, an award that came with a full scholarship to study Film and Television at Bond University in 2024. At school Benjamin completed a mini documentary titled Mitchell, focussing on a fellow student, Mitchell Wilkes, as he steadily experienced the deterioration of his eyesight (see ‘Students’ in the 2024year entry). Samuel Freer (Year 12) was the guest speaker at this year’s Toowoomba Regional Council’s ANZAC Day Service. William Anderson (Year 12) in the following year was awarded the T.J. Ryan Memorial Medal. Each year up to ten T.J. Ryan Memorial Medals and Scholarships are awarded by the Queensland Government to support exemplary students in their pursuit of tertiary studies. William was awarded a $10,000 scholarship over five years to support his pursuit of a Bachelor of Medical Science/Doctor of Medicine degree with Monash University. Matthew Moore (Year 12) was selected in the Under 18 Australian Youth Touch Football team to play in the Pacific Youth Club. Matthew’s elder brother, Benjamin (TGS 2013-2020), was also selected in the Under 20 team in this competition. Page | 957


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Edward Rogan (Year 12) was admitted to study architecture at the University of Queensland in the following year and travelled to Lima in Peru for the U20 World Athletics Championships competing in javelin. George Swanson, the great-great-great grandson of the School’s longest-serving Headmaster, Mr Barbour (from 1910-1935), was in Year 12. Four students participated in a 96km run in the Kokoda Pinnacle Challenge to raise money for breast cancer research and the Kokoda Youth Foundation. The boys were Matthew Wise and Dougal McInnerney (both in Year 12) and Edward Layton and Harry McMillan (both in Year 11). With the lessening of the impact of the COVID pandemic, the School welcomed five boys from Papua New Guinea this year. This was a peak number over recent years. School enrolment records from 1877-2007 revealed 251 boys from PNG had enrolled at the School during this time.

Buildings: •

The Purves Classroom block, first constructed in 1975, received a total refurbishment in December 2022 and January 2023 in preparation for this new academic year. The first phase of renovation works on the School House ground floor to include a more central student services area was completed. The ground floor of School House was remodelled in 2023 as part of the second stage of the ground floor refurbishment of School House. The Trustees’ Board Room was relocated to the Headmaster’s study on the middle level, the Headmaster’s study was relocated downstairs near the front office reception, and part of the Trustees former Board Room was refurbished to become the office of the Deputy Headmaster. The School installed solar panels on the roof of the Glen McCracken Sports Centre and the roof of the Junior School. A photograph of the Junior School’s solar panels is included in this year’s entry. In addition to the solar panels, the School also replaced the majority of the traditional lighting in classrooms and boarding houses with energy-efficient LED lighting. In August, the School’s Ministerial Infrastructure Designation was approved by Hon. Steven Miles MP, the Queensland Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.

Events: •

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Old Boy Mr Phil Woodhouse (1959-1960), the great grandson of former TGS Headmaster Charles Carteret Corfe, and his wife Jo donated the Corfe Cup to the School. The Cup has the engraving ‘Hundred Yards Race, March 5, 6 & 8, 1869 won by C.C. Corfe (Jesus College, Cambridge University)’. Mr Corfe was Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School from 1890-1900. A photograph of this Cup is included in this year’s entry. The School commemorated National Reconciliation Week and National Boarding Week. The School proudly launched its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) as part of its commitment to reconciliation in education. This plan, developed in conjunction with Narragunnawali, focused on fostering respect, building relationships and creating opportunities to promote and enhance First Nations history and culture within the School and the wider community. A ‘Grammar 150’ Planning Committee was formed to ensure the successful organisation and execution of the School’s sesquicentenary celebrations in 2025. The Committee was chaired by Mr Bronte Smith, a current parent and Old Boy of the School (1987-1991). A similar committee Page | 958


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was established at the School in 1924 in preparation for the celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the School. The School’s ‘Jubilee Committee’ was elected with Dr. E. Falkner as Chairman and Brigadier-General J. Robertson as Honorary Secretary. It was hoped that the organising committee could raise a sum of 2,000 pounds for school improvements. In July, Old Boy Geoff McDonald (1984-1988) was voted as the new Mayor for the Toowoomba Region by the Councillors of the Toowoomba Regional Council. In March 2024 Geoff McDonald was voted by the Toowoomba electorate for a further four years as Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council. In Term 4 the Trustees and Headmaster unveiled Phase One of the School’s ambitious Masterplan. Aligned with the School’s Strategic Plan, the multi-year Masterplan anticipates the needs of students in a rapidly changing global society and provide the School’s current and future boys with outstanding learning environments and opportunities. Phase One of the Masterplan comprised the construction of two state-of-the-art facilities: a Design, Engineering and Technology centre, and an Agriculture and Industry Centre. Construction of these facilities commenced in the following year (see ‘Buildings’ 2024). A new electronic scoreboard was erected on Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. Malcolm Powell (TGS 1948-1951) and the Sunshine Coast branch of the TGS Old Boys’ Association donated an O’Callaghan Cup Honour Board to reside in the Pavilion. Malcolm played in the 1951 TGS 1st XV which was the first to bring the new Cup to the School. A photograph of this Honour Board is included in this year’s entry. This year the Student Officer, Mr Matthew Harrison, arranged for the Old Boys’ Association to finance the restoration of the old Barber’s chair used at the School in the 1950s. Whilst being the School’s Student Officer, Mr Harrison is also a qualified barber and commenced offering this service to the boys and wider school community later this year. Old Boys recall the School Barber as previously cutting the boys’ hair in the Dog Box and later in the small room off the Assembly Hall. The original, newly restored, Barber’s chair is now in the undercroft of the Centenary Dining Hall (Boarders’ Dining Hall). Perhaps Matthew Harrison will follow the career of Phil Neidler (1980—1984) who, in 2004, won the Readers’ Choice Award in the Heritage Southern Queensland Business Excellence Award for his Barber shop. The administration block of the Junior School was inundated with water in June, resulting in prolonged and expensive repairs. The cause of the water damage was a burst hot-water unit in the roof of the building. The Queensland Government announced in July that mobile ‘phones and certain wearable electronic devices such as smart watches would be banned in all Queensland state schools from Term 1, 2024. The mobile ‘phone policy in place at Toowoomba Grammar School initiated a number of years prior to this time permitted boys to bring a mobile ‘phone to school but it had to be secured in the boys’ lockers on arrival. The mobile ‘phones were permitted for use only at the end of the afternoon classes. Similarly, for many years boys were not permitted to use laptops before school or during breaks unless in the Library. The School’s Interact Club, a Rotary-sponsored club, was in its 60th year of operation. Forty-eight Year 11 students participated in the School’s 17th Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp. Twenty-four girls from Fairholme College and The Glennie School also participated in caring for the 36 guests at this camp. Over fifty boys were involved in the School’s White Ribbon committee, an activity which commenced at the School in 2017. The TGS Show Cattle Team represented the School at the Brisbane, Goondiwindi, Taroom and Pittsworth Shows and also at Farmfest. Page | 959


• •

A TGS mountain bike club and a photography club were formed this year. In early November, the School served as the host venue for the 2023 ‘Gather & Graze’ Dinner, welcoming 600 guests under a big top tent on the Old Boys’ Memorial Oval. The event raised approximately $410,000 for charity and secured a brand-new refrigeration truck valued at $100,000 for Tony’s Community Kitchen. TGS Old Boys, Michael Valdal (2003-2008) and Alex Johnson (2008-2013), were key members of the ‘Gather & Graze’ Committee. A small number of Year 11 students were honoured at the Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony with the presentation of two new awards – the Headmaster’s Award for Character and the Boarding Community Award. The winner of the Headmaster’s Shield in the inter-House competition was Mackintosh House for the fourth successive year.

Co-curricular Activities: The School experienced highly impressive sporting success in the GPS competition this year with three 2nd placings, namely in Cricket, Rugby and Volleyball, and a 3rd place in Basketball. •

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In Athletics, three long-standing records were broken in this year’s Inter-House Athletics competition. Nicholas Denny (Year 11) broke the 40-year-old triple jump record setting a new distance of 13.02m; Matthew Taylor (Year 12) broke a 36-year-old discus record by 2.376m with a throw of 54.4m; and Taj Gordon (Year 11) broke the 24-year-old 110m hurdles record with a new time of 14.61 seconds. The School’s Director of Athletics, Mrs Jackie Gallagher, is acknowledged in the ‘Staffing’ section above. At the GPS Championships, the Senior School team was placed 8th. Competing in the Open division, Edward Rogan won the javelin event and Matthew Taylor won the discus. Edward Rogan early in the following year also won the Australian Under 20 years’ javelin and qualified for the 2024 World Junior Championships in Peru. In Basketball, the 1st V Basketball team was placed 3rd in the GPS competition. The team finished the season with five wins and three losses. The winning games were against the teams representing BGS (91-89), ‘Churchie’ (90-83), BSHS (101-85), NC (114-66) and IGS (92-59). The losses were to GT (71-90), TSS (58-99) and a one point loss to BBC (99-100). In a trip to Adelaide, the 1st V won all four games played. At the end of this year coach Kabe Cicolini relinquished his role as 1st Coach but continued as Head of Basketball and was also appointed as Assistant Head of House, Corfe House. The 2nd V team had an undefeated season to their credit, with eight wins. In Chess, TGS students were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Toowoomba District Secondary Schools’ Individual Chess Championships – Shafiuddin Aanan (1st), Avaneesh Pai (2nd) and Thomas Dixon (3rd). Avaneesh Pai (Year 7), being placed second in this competition, outperformed students from Years 7-12 from all schools in the Toowoomba district. Avaneesh also represented the School in the Premier Chess team, a remarkable achievement for a boy in Year 7. The School’s chess players won the Toowoomba Secondary Schools’ Teams’ Chess Championships for the 29th consecutive year and qualified for the State finals held in Brisbane.

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The Premier Chess team finished 6th in a highly competitive season. The team defeated the chess players representing GT, NC and TSS, drew with IGS and lost games to BSHS, BGS, BBC and ‘Churchie’. Mr Jacob Zupp was appointed the new Head of Chess. In Cricket, approximately 430 TGS boys made up 32 cricket teams from Years 5-12 competing in the GPS competition. The 1st XI was placed 2nd in the GPS competition (the TSS side finished Premiers with 49 points and TGS runners-up with 48 points). The 1st XI won 6 of the 8 GPS 1st XI cricket matches played with one draw (TSS) and one loss (BBC). The 1st XI results for the season were as follows: TGS (7/199) d GT (9/196); TGS (5/121) d BSHS (10/120); TGS (6/116) d BGS (10/112); TGS (9/201) d ‘Churchie’ (10/127); TGS (5/265) d NC (10/148); TGS (9/209) d IGS (10/162); TGS (7/152) drew with TSS; BBC (7/248) d TGS (10/234). In the 1st XI cricket match against NC, Connor Walker (Year 11) made a century with 110 runs scored. In the same match Chace Oates (Year 12) hit 5 sixes and 4 fours in his total of 56 runs. During the GPS season, Chace Oates scored six half-centuries. In the GPS 1st XI cricket season, TGS bowler Ewald Kruger (Year 12) took 5 or more wickets in three matches which is a very rare achievement (the last was Paul Farmer in 1990). This year Ewald took 6 wickets in the game against GT (6 wickets for 34 runs); 5 for 27 against ‘Churchie’; and 5 for 32 against IGS. The 1st XI team participated in the Neil Dansie competition in Adelaide, the first game in this competition in three years due to the COVID pandemic. The team lost all games played. This was the 69th match for the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy against Downlands College. As at 2023 the overall results were TGS 48 wins, DC 16 wins and 7 draws/washouts. Thisaja Sewmith (‘TJ’) Samarawickrama (Year 12) was selected in the Australian Under 17 cricket team. The Old Boys 1st XI cricket team of 2003 defeated the current 1st XI, 186 runs to 122. In Term 3 Mr Ben Maddox was appointed as Head of Cricket following the resignation of Mr Peter Dein. Old Boy Mark Alexander (1990-1994) was appointed to the position of Head Cricket Coach (1st XI) in Term 4 of this year. In Cross Country, despite best efforts and some personal best performances, the School’s cross country runners were placed in 9th position at the GPS Championships. In Debating, the School entered teams in the GPS debating competition based primarily in Brisbane for the very first time. In previous years the boys debated in the local Darling Downs competition. The Open 1st team was placed 8th in its inaugural year of involvement in this level of competition with a record of one win and seven losses. In Football (Soccer), 24 football teams represented TGS in the GPS competition. The Head Coach for the 1st XI football team was Mr Mike Mulvey. The team was undefeated up to Round 8 of the season with wins against TSS (3-0), BSHS (1-0) and BBC (2-0) and three draws with GT (3-3), BGS (2-2) and ‘Churchie’ (1-1). In the final two rounds, the team experienced losses to NC (1-2) and IGS (1-2) and its position fell from a shared 1st place to finish 5th. In Futsal, a team of Year 11 and Year 12 students advanced in Football Queensland’s ‘Queensland School Futsal Championships’ to win the State title. In Rugby, the School’s 1st XV achieved a highly impressive equal 2nd place in the GPS competition. The 1st XV win against The Southport School (TSS), with a score of 29-26, represented only its fourth win against TSS in 37 years – 2023, 2015, 1997 and 1987. The TGS 1st XV team did, however, defeat TSS over four successive years from 1981-1984.

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• • • • • • •

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The 1st XV team secured six wins in the GPS competition, namely against GT, BSHS, ‘Churchie’, TSS, BGS and IGS. The two 1st XV games lost were to BBC and NC. In the 1st XV match against BGS, Ewald Kruger scored four tries. In 2024 Ewald was selected in the Queensland Reds Under 18 team. Also selected in the Queensland Reds Under 18 team in 2024 was current Year 12 student and member of the 1st XV, Chace Oates. This year the School entered a team in the All-Schools' touch football competition held on the Gold Coast where they competed in the Under 18 boys’ section and finished 2nd in Queensland. In Swimming, this year the GPS Association and the School celebrated the 100th GPS Swimming Championships. The TGS team was placed 8th in the competition this year. Mr Jason Cooper commenced in the role of Head of Swimming. The Royal Lifesaving Society Australia (RLSA) conducted a review of the operations of the School’s Aquatic Centre. This review, called the Aquatic Facility Safety Assessment, was the first for a school and the Aquatic Centre was deemed excellent. In Tennis, the School entered 28 tennis teams in the GPS Championship competition. While the 1st IV tennis team did not win any matches this season, close contests with ‘Churchie’, GT and TSS could have gone either way. A three-and-a-half-hour match was played by Dallas Baker in the 1st IV to win his singles match against his TSS opponent, 6-7, 7-6 and 7-6. The School won the regional finals of the Queensland State Secondary Schools’ tennis competition and the open division for the 21st consecutive year. In Volleyball, Ms Kelly Richter commenced in the role of Head of Volleyball succeeding Mr Eric Smith who was the Director of Volleyball for the previous four years. The School’s 1st VI team was placed equal 2nd in the GPS competition. The results were: TGS (3 sets) d GT (1); TGS (3) d BGS (0); TGS (3) d BBC (0); NC (3-1), IGS (3-0), ‘Churchie’ (3) d TGS (0); BSHS (3) d TGS (0). The victory over the BGS 1st VI volleyball team represented the first time a TGS 1st VI team had achieved this honour. The 1st VI squad competed in the Australian Volleyball Schools’ Cup and earned a bronze medal. This was the best result the School had ever achieved in this competition. The Captain of the 1st VI, Hussein Yusaf, represented Queensland at the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships and later was selected to join the Under 21 National Squad which competed in Thailand. The Old Boys 1st VI volleyball team of 2003 was defeated by the School’s current 1st team (0-3). The Old Boys five-year reunion match was a closer loss (2-3). In Cadets, the School’s ANZAC Day Service coincided with the Senior School Grandparents’ Day. A new internal Award for Cadets was introduced – the Bronze, Silver and Gold Award. The Cadet Unit engaged with the community by mounting the vigil for the National Servicemen’s Association in February, on the 108th anniversary of the ANZAC’s landing in April and the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in August. The Unit conducted three bivouacs during the year. In Music/Drama, the School performed ‘Footloose the Musical’ with the girls from Fairholme College and it was a resounding success. Major roles were held by Ruben Kruger (Year 9) and Year 12 students Max Durkin, Ruben Fitton, Samuel Freer, Ben Rosenberg, Noah Taylor, Clancy Wright and Jeremy Zuyderwyk and many more in the cast. The School production of Footloose was directed by an Old Boy, Christopher Thomson (20092013). Christopher was heavily involved in drama whilst at School and in his final year was Page | 962


awarded the Weedon Family Trophy for Excellence in Performing Arts. He is a graduate from the Queensland Conservatorium and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Later in the year the Senior TiGAA drama students performed A Thousand Points From Zero at the Empire Theatre. The School Choir won the Secondary School Choir section at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. This was the first time that the non-auditioned full School Choir had won a section at the Choral Eisteddfod. The GPS Music Showcase took place this year following the cancellation of the event in 2022 due to the COVID pandemic. This was held in the Old Museum building in Brisbane and involved 23 of the School’s musicians in Big Band, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band and Choir.

Downlands Competition: • •

In Cricket, the TGS 1st XI secured a dominant victory over the DC team in the annual Tom Allen fixture. The TGS side was 6 wickets down for 246 runs, defeating the DC side all out for 57 runs. In Rugby, TGS defeated DC in a close game, 38-33. Ten rugby games were played against Downlands and TGS won eight of these. The win for the TGS 1st XV against DC was the fourth in successive years and represented the ninth win for TGS against DC in the last ten years. After the 74th O’Callaghan Cup game, the number of wins for both schools was Downlands College (36 wins) and Toowoomba Grammar School (35 wins) with three drawn games (1977, 1987, 2001).

Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: The Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Headmaster

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2023

Solar Panels on Junior School Roof

Mr Barry O’Sullivan, Chairman Board of Trustees

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2024 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Barry O’Sullivan (in his 2nd year)

Dr Russell Domrow (in his 7th year)

Trustees: Mrs April Cavanagh resigned from the Board of Trustees mid-year, having commenced as a Trustee in September 2019. Two new appointments to the Board of Trustees were made in the midyear: Mr David Lynch (former Commandant of the Army Aviation Training Centre, Oakey) and Ms Kristian Rose with a background in corporate leadership, law and psychology. Headmaster: Dr John C. Kinniburgh (in his 4th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 7th year) Senior Prefect: Alistair E.L. McKay Senior Dayboy Prefect: Benjamin E.A. Burgess Senior Boarder Prefect: Stuart M. Officer Dux of Year: Aaron Nelbin Captain of the Junior School: James S. Anderson Dux of the Junior School: Aarav Kansagara Total School Enrolment: 1146 Senior School Total: 886 Junior School Total: 260 Number of Dayboys: 863 Number of Boarders: 283 Staffing: •

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The Boarding Heads of House were Mr M. Hall (Boyce, Term 1), Mr. N. Byron (Term 2), Mr J. Troxler (Terms 3-4), Mr C. Stearn (Groom), Mr B. Allen (Mackintosh), Mr P. Kefford (Stephens), Mr E. Massi (Taylor) and Mr H. White (Corfe). The Dayboy Heads of House were Mr T. Wallis (Boyce), Mrs T. Manassero (Groom), Mr. B. Schuhmacher (Mackintosh), Mr P. Sullivan (Stephens) and Mr J. Perrignon (Taylor). The long-serving and highly respected Deputy Head of the Junior School, Mr Mike Sharpe, resigned from the School at the end of Term 2. Mr Sharpe served 21 years at the School initially as a teacher in the Junior School, then as an Assistant Boarding Housemaster, Junior School Sportsmaster, Housemaster of Corfe House (for 17 years) in the Junior School and as Deputy Head of the Junior School (from 2008-2024). Page | 965


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Ms Morag Watt resigned in August from an operational role in the School as House Manager after 31 years of excellent and dedicated service. During her years at the School Ms Watt undertook various responsibilities including the House Manager in charge of accommodation services on campus, providing for up to 380 boarders at one point and was responsible for the setup and delivery of food for events and functions. Her duties also included supervising cleaning services, managing laundry operations and being the primary point of contact for the maintenance of School residences and apartments. Mr Murray Janke resigned in January after 20 years’ service as the School’s Property and Facilities Manager. Mr Janke played a major role in some massive building projects during his time at the School and provided dedicated service of the highest standard. Mr Ray Morgan, teacher in the Technologies and Mathematics Departments, resigned after 21 years’ service in May (see 2004, ‘Staffing’ section). In Term Two, two new Directors were appointed - Mrs Crystal Hede as the Director of Learning and Innovation (formerly held by Dr Alison Young in the role of Director of Studies until her relocation to the Sunshine Coast at the end of 2023) and Ms Lyn Edwards in a newly created position as Director of Philanthropy and Fundraising. Mr Gabe Robbie commenced at the School as the new Head of Curriculum. Old Boy Andrew Fogarty (1997-2003) commenced at the School as the new Head of Science having transferred from the Head of the Science Department at Marist College Ashgrove. The role of Deputy Head of the Junior School following the retirement of Mr Mike Sharpe resulted in the creation of two appointments – a Deputy Head of Junior School (Students) and a Deputy Head of Junior School (Teaching and Learning). Ms Amanda Hall was appointed to the former role and Ms Chantelle Bauer to the latter role.

Students: •

The School Prefects were Alistair McKay, Ben Burgess, Stuart Officer, Nicholas Baulch, Juert Eerkens, James Elms, Joseph Gray, Jordi Groom, Bertie Mansfield, Sam McLennan, Harry McMillan, Jonathan Moffitt, Aaron Nelbin, Kyan Oats, Finn Parrington, Gumoor Randhawa, Joe Sippel, Harry Skobe, Jackson Smiddy and Dihan Yapa. Three students achieved an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) in excess of 99.00. These boys were Aaron Nelbin, Bertie Mansfield and Joshua Zahra. Aaron Nelbin achieved the highest ATAR of 99.8. Mitchell Wilkes (Year 10) in December 2021 was diagnosed with a genetic condition called Stargardt Disease, a juvenile macular degeneration illness that results in slow central vision loss. In the following years Mitchell had lost a considerable amount of vision. It was explained to him that there would be a possibility that he could go completely blind by the age of 30 but if he was lucky he might retain some peripheral vision. Mitchell has one classroom that has special equipment where the other students join him for classes. All of his classes except science and music are held in this room for him. Mitchell is a keen musician as a saxophonist and pianist and sings in the choir and the Grammarphones. He also loves running. As a triathlete, Mitchell runs with a 50cm tether between himself and a fellow student, Alby Galbraith, and the boys run armin-arm with Alby as the guide. The boys won the national championship in the multiclass division in March of this year. (A TGS student who was totally vision impaired since birth, Brendan Bernier, is referred to in the ‘Students’ section of the 2008-year entry.) Jackson Smiddy (Year 12) competed in the National U18 Hockey Championships this year.

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Buildings: •

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Architectural plans for the new Design, Engineering and Technology (DET) facility progressed, with construction to commence towards the end of the year. The DET facility is designed to be a centre of creativity and innovation, where students are provided with the latest technologies and resources to engage deeply with the fields of Design, Engineering and Technology. The building will provide students with innovative and creative learning areas comprising state-of-the-art equipment for the practical application of their creativity and theoretical knowledge. To accommodate the new Design, Engineering and Technology building the Dr J.M. Blaikie Health Centre was relocated to the ground floor of the Boyce Taylor boarding houses. Major improvements were made to the traffic flow and car parking availability at the Aquatic Centre. A newly constructed barbecue area by the Pavilion was operational in the latter part of the winter sports season. As part of the School’s new Master Plan a new project was launched this year, the TGS Old Boys’ Deck. This will be located in front of the W.M. Dent Library, just off the promenade. The Old Boys’ Deck will provide an event space, shade, seating and additional terraces for the School and Old Boys. The support of the Old Boys’ Association in this venture is gratefully acknowledged.

Events: • •

• • •

• •

In the Term One holidays, 28 boys and 3 staff travelled to New Caledonia on a French language and cultural tour. Of interest, the boys and staff returned to Australia only six weeks before a state of emergency in New Caledonia was declared because of major civil unrest in Noumea. The Headmaster hosted a TGS Old Boys’ Reunion in London in June, held at the Bloomsbury Hotel. The gathering was attended by Old Boys from diverse ages and backgrounds. The Headmaster commented that it was inspiring to witness the strong bonds and connections that had endured over the years, transcending the time they spent at the School. Two Old Boys competed in the 2024 Olympic Games held in Paris this year and one Old Boy also competed in the Paralympic Games. Refer to Matthew Denny in the 2013-year entry, Isaac Cooper in the 2020-year entry and Jeremy Peacock in the 2009-year entry. The 18th Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp was held at the School in the September holidays. It was another extremely valuable service activity for a number of Year 11 students to be responsible for children with special needs. The School joined with a number of independent schools in the Giraadji Group. This group of schools includes TGS, Prince Alfred College, Geelong College, Barker College, Guildford Grammar School, Lowther Hall and Canberra Girls’ Grammar School. The Giraadji Group aims to share practice, engage in professional discussion about education and examine possible collaborative research initiatives. A most successful TGS Parents and Friends’ (P&F) Association Art Show was held in March and attracted more than three thousand visitors over three days. It was the 31st annual TGS Art Show to be held. An Old Boys’ Sunshine Coast Reunion luncheon was held in October.

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Co-curricular Activities: • •

• • • •

• • • • • • •

• • • •

In Australian Rules Football, a team advanced to the S.E.Queensland Finals in the AFL Queensland Schools’ Cup in July. In Basketball, the new coach of the 1st V and Sports Co-ordinator was Jacob Zupp. Winning games included against BSHS (95-86), IGS (91-61), TSS (89-70), GT (88-63), NC (86-73) and BBC (79-78). Losses included to ‘Churchie’ (97-104) and BGS (84-96). The 1st V team was placed 3rd in the GPS Basketball competition for this year. The Basketball 1st V team played in a pre-season competition in Melbourne, winning four games of the six games played. In Chess, the Premier team won games against GT (3-1) and NC (3.5-0.5). Games lost included to BSHS (0-3), IGS (0.5-3.5), TSS (0-4), ‘Churchie’ (0-4), BGS (0-4) and BBC (1-3). This team was placed 7th in the GPS Chess competition for this year. In Cricket, the Old Boys’ cricket team of 2004 was defeated by the current 1st XI (138 - 7/261). In the game, two current 1st XI players batted extremely well – Josh Cranston (92) and Charlie Bignell (81). In Round One of the 1st XI playing against BSHS, Dominic Black (Year 12) as a medium pace bowler took three wickets in the last three balls of the match representing a ‘hat-trick’. This was only the fourth time a hat-trick had been taken by a TGS 1st XI cricketer in a GPS game. The last time a TGS 1st XI bowler took a hat-trick in a GPS game was Geoffrey Burcham in 1962 and prior to this in 1950 and 1940. Charles Lachmund (Year 11) was selected in the Queensland Under 17 years’ Cricket team. He first played in the School’s 1st XI when he was in Year 10. Charles’ bowling speed was recorded by Queensland Cricket this year as 136 km/h. Another student, Joe Sippel (Year 12), was also selected in the Queensland Under 17 years’ Cricket team but had to withdraw due to injury. The 1st XI team played eight GPS matches and won four – against BSHS (10/176 - 10/137), BGS (7/188 - 7/157), GT (10/193 - 9/190) and BBC (7/170 - 10/168). The 1st XI team was placed 5th in the GPS cricket competition. In Cross Country, the senior team finished 9th in the GPS competition. Henry Reeves (Year 6) won the Queensland Under 12 State Cross Country gold medal. In Debating, the Senior A Debating team was placed equal 7th in the GPS debating competition. In Equestrian, student involvement was revitalised at various events. In Football (Soccer), the 1st XI Football team played seven GPS matches, winning two and had a drawn game (with BGS, 2 goals all). The winning games were against BSHS (4-1) and BBC (2-1). The losses were to IGS (1-2), TSS (0-2), ACGS (0-2), GT (1-3) and NC (1-2). The team shared a tied 6th place with GT and BSHS on the GPS Football ladder. In Rugby, the 1st XV won games against BGS (47-12) and GT (31-10). Losing games included BSHS (28-47), IGS (17-36), TSS (26-35), ‘Churchie’ (22-31), BBC (8-26) and NC (27-45). In the game against NC the scores were almost even at half time with some very impressive play by TGS. The 1st XV tied in 6th place in the GPS Rugby ladder together with ‘Churchie’ and GT. NC won the Rugby Premiership for this year. Joe Gray (Year 12), the captain of the School’s 1st XV, was selected in the Queensland Reds under 18 team. Joe’s elder brother, Dougal, was also captain of the School’s 1st XV five years earlier in 2019. In the 1st XV game against GT, Jonah Allen scored three tries in the team’s win. A ten-day Rugby Tour to the South Island of New Zealand took place in the Easter holidays involving 46 students and 6 staff. The two teams played four schools and both teams were successful in winning all eight of their fixtures. The students participated in some amazing cultural experiences, highlighted by a whole school haka prior to the game against Marlborough Boys’ High School. Page | 968


• • •

• •

• • • •

In Swimming, the swim team finished 8th overall in the GPS competition. In Tennis, the 1st IV team lost all games played against very strong competition. The match against GT was washed out. In Volleyball, the 1st Volleyball team was placed 7th in the GPS competition. Of the seven GPS games played, the 1st VI team won one game – against IGS with a score of 3-0. The results in some of the games were very close. In Cadets, in March the Headmaster announced that during the next 18 months a major review would take place of the School’s Cadet program. External reviewers were to consider the program in its current form and make recommendations about how the School might increase engagement and make the most of the offering. Warrant Officer Class 1 Erik Sheppard (Year 11) was appointed as the first TGS Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) in the School’s cadet history. Erik was appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of the 16th Battalion, South Queensland’s largest Army Cadet Battalion which is made up of school-based units including ‘Churchie’, TSS and St Paul’s Anglican College. In Drama, the drama students in Senior TiGAA (Toowoomba Grammar Acting Academy) focused on performing Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”. The Junior and Intermediate TiGAA groups performed shows called “10 Ways to Survive the End of the World” and “Container of Sharks” respectively. All of these TiGAA showcase performances took place in the Empire Theatre’s Armitage Centre. The Junior School undertook the musical ‘Finding Nemo Jr.’, holding it in the Junior School Hall. This musical featured every boy from Year 3-6 to the delight of the parents. In Music, the School’s Big Band directed by Mr. Gavin McKenzie won both the Open Stage Band and A Grade Secondary School Stage Band sections in the Toowoomba Eisteddfod, the first time that this has happened. Across the Senior and Junior Schools a total of 23 ensembles placed in their respective sections across both parts of the Eisteddfod. The GPS Music Showcase took place this year. The School had a total of 21 students selected to take part including two featured soloists. Henry Geise (Year 9) was a featured clarinet in the Concert Band and Bertie Mansfield (Year 12) was featured with trumpet solos in the Big Band. Henry Geise (Year 9) on clarinet and Joshua Green (Year 10) on ‘cello were selected to take part in the Australian Honours Ensemble Program (AHEP) held in September at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. The School’s Big Band and RnB Band performed at the Glennie Jazz Fest. A review of the Performing Arts program of the School was announced in Term Three. The review was to be conducted by Dr Brad Merrick who is currently a Senior Lecturer (Music and Arts Education) in the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. In Mountain Biking, an article on the TGS Mountain Bike Club was featured in the School publication Omnibus in Volume 34, no.1 of this year on pages 20-21.

Downlands Competition: • •

In Cricket, the annual competition match for the Tom Allen Trophy was washed out. In Rugby, this year was the 75th O’Callaghan Cup game and the School was victorious with the winning score of 40-15. This win produced an even result between the two schools over the 75 years – each school winning 36 games and with three drawn games (1977, 1987 and 2001).

President of the Old Boys’ Association: Mr Daniel Burrett (2001-2008) was elected as the new President of the Old Boys’ Association for a three-year term. He was previously President of the OBA in 2018-2020. Guest Speaker at the Speech Day & Prize-Giving Ceremony: Dr Linda Evans, Head of Fairholme College Page | 969


2024

Mitchell Wilkes & Alby Galbraith

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2025 Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Deputy Chairman:

Mr Barry O’Sullivan (in his 3rd year)

Dr Russell Domrow (in his 8th year)

Headmaster: Dr John C. Kinniburgh (in his 5th year) Deputy Headmaster: Mr John C. Anderson (in his 8th year)

Senior Prefect: Gilbert J. Tighe Senior Dayboy Prefect: Hedley W. Donges Senior Boarder Prefect: Rupeni Baravilala Dux of Year: unavailable at the time of publication

Captain of the Junior School: Andrew J. Reeves Dux of the Junior School: unavailable at the time of publication

Total School Enrolment: unavailable at the time of publication Senior School Total: unavailable at the time of publication Junior School Total: unavailable at the time of publication Number of Dayboys: unavailable at the time of publication Number of Boarders: unavailable at the time of publication

Staffing: •

Two members of the teaching staff this year recorded an outstanding length of service at the School, namely 38 years. The School congratulated Mrs Lynne Yeabsley and Dr Ian Waite on their superb performance over such an extended period of time. This 38th year of teaching represents the equal second-longest length of service as a teacher at Toowoomba Grammar School. The longest-serving member of the teaching staff in the School’s history was Mr Russell Gillies with 40 years’ service (1959-1998). Sharing equal second-longest length of service are three teachers – Mr Edward (Eddi) Campiutti (1983-2020) and current staff, Mrs Lynne Yeabsley and Dr Ian Waite (see below). Now in her 38th year teaching French at TGS full-time since 1988 and part-time since 2011, Mrs Lynne Yeabsley has attained many notable achievements. These have included being the longestserving female teacher at TGS in the School’s history, the first female to be appointed Housemaster (1996), Head of Department (2001) and member of the School Executive as Director of Pastoral Care (2010). When Mrs Yeabsley first arrived at the School in 1988 there was only one Page | 971


other female full-time teacher (Mrs Janet Meibusch who commenced teaching Japanese, English and Geography in the previous year to 1994) and two female part-time teachers. For the next five years there were only four women teaching at the School. The only time when there were more female teachers than males in the School was in the years 1940 to 1945 because of World War Two (for example, in 1942 during the War there were only 7 teachers in the School and 4 of them were female). Also in his 38th year of teaching at TGS is Dr Ian Waite who joined the teaching staff in 1988. His specialist teaching area has been Physics but he has also taught Mathematics and General Science. In addition to his teaching Dr Waite was Day Housemaster of Henderson House from 2002-2007. During his career at the School he was also heavily involved in the Cadet Unit for ten years in the role of Quartermaster. He also coached cricket with the highlights working with Graham Smythe in the 1990 GPS Cricket Premiership year and his coaching of the 2005 1st XI Cricket team which won the GPS Premiership. In 2013 Ian Waite successfully completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Astrophysics. Associated with the University of Southern Queensland he specialised in Astrophysics and was one of a small team of researchers who found a new planet, TOI-270 orbiting a nearby star. The School’s Chief Financial Officer, Mrs Christina Onley, in mid-2024 announced her plans to resign from this role in early 2025. This concluded a seven-year tenure at the School in an extremely demanding and challenging position. Throughout this time Mrs Onley was a member of the School Executive and the most senior employee of all non-teaching staff. Teacher Mr Lance Treloar was sincerely thanked for his 25 years of service at the School this year. Mr Treloar has held numerous roles including Boarding Housemaster of Taylor House (2002-2006) and Boarding Housemaster of Stephens House (2011-2013). Over the years Mr Treloar has taught PE, Maths, Science, Multistrand Science, Personal Development, Biology and Psychology. In the co-curricular program of the School he specialised in the coaching of Rugby including coaching the School’s 1st XV Rugby team between 2004 and 2010. A member of the non-teaching staff, Mrs Tanya Simpson (nee Slyderink) was also thanked for completing 25 years at the School as an Office Assistant. Of interest, for many years Tanya Simpson worked with Mrs Judy Gillies in the Front Office reception of the School. Mrs Gillies is the longest-serving member of staff in the School’s history having commenced her employment at TGS in 1958 and retiring in 2012 but continuing to work part-time in a volunteer capacity in the School Museum for at least a further decade. Mr Clayton Lachmund and Mr James Perrignon both commenced teaching at the School in January 2002, representing their 24th year at TGS this year. Their excellent and lengthy service to the School are acknowledged. Mr Eric Smith commenced teaching at the School in January 2003. This year represents his 23 rd year of service, making a significant contribution in both the academic and co-curricular areas of the School. In 2005 he married Cassandra Connell, the Headmaster’s Personal Assistant who had been on the staff from 1999 to 2005 and then from 2017 to at least the time of publication of this book in 2025. Mrs Smith has worked as the Executive Assistant to three Headmasters of Toowoomba Grammar School – Mr Hugh Rose, Mr Peter Hauser and Dr John Kinniburgh. Whilst not a member of the Staff of the School, the specialist sessional Chess coach and mentor since 1996 when the GPS Chess competition was first introduced has been Mr Les Lord. Mr Lord’s 30-year association with the School and particularly with its Chess players has been very much appreciated. Les Lord continues to provide coaching for all of the School’s Chess teams including the Premier team.

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Students: •

The School Prefects were Gilbert Tighe, Hedley Donges, Rupeni Baravilala, George Bain, Olly Dunk, Emmanuel Geu, Jett Heffernan, Charles Herden, Hinata Inoue, Matthew Jacob, Charles Lachmund, Brody McInnerney, Angus McKenzie, Hugo Morison, Max Nielsen, Archer Onley, Omer Shahid, Erik Sheppard, Ben Walker and Edward Webster. It is highly appropriate that, in this year celebrating the School's 150th year anniversary, the 2025 Queensland Australian of the Year is an Old Boy of Toowoomba Grammar School. Geoffrey Smith (2002-2006) was the School's Senior Boarder Prefect in 2006 and he is acknowledged in the 2006 year-entry. This year the Junior School Prep boys of 2013 will graduate from the School in Year 12.

Buildings: •

An Agriculture and Industry Centre to be located on school-owned land opposite the Aquatic Centre on the southern side of Herries Street was in its planning stages. The Centre was to be constructed once the Design, Engineering and Technology building had been completed.

Events: • •

The foundation stone to the Centenary Dining Hall constructed in 1974 incorporated a time capsule with the strict instructions of not to be opened until 5 August, 2025 (see 1974). The massive camphor laurel tree outside the School’s Old Hall (western side) is over a century old. A photograph of this tree, taken in 1907, illustrated that it was a very tall and mature tree in this year. Similarly, the photograph of the School’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony in the 1925-year entry depicts the tree as very well established.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS: •

The future for the School and its community is largely uncertain and unwritten. What is clear is that the future success of the School will be influenced significantly by the skills and commitment of the entire School Community – the members of its Board of Trustees, the Head of the School and senior management, all staff (both teaching and non-teaching), all students (present day and future and Old Boys), all parents (both present day and past and future parents), economic conditions and the policies of Government at all levels.

The School is extremely well known for its maintenance of the highest standards of operation and the behaviour and commitment of all students and staff. It is with great confidence that this will continue in the future.

For the current boys, the positive reputation of the School is crucial for its continued success. It cannot be stressed too highly that the core values of Toowoomba Grammar School for all Old Boys, current and future students, and all staff must remain paramount. These core values of behaviour which have served the School and its students so well in the past, present and hopefully in the future include: Page | 973


-

Integrity Resilience Persistence Respect (for self, others and the School) Courage Compassion Humility Service Loyalty and Enthusiasm.

Old Boys and current and future students may take guidance from a well-known quote from Mr Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States of America from 1923-1929. He said: “Nothing in this world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent.”

The very best wishes are extended to the entire Toowoomba Grammar School community, both now and into the exciting future. Let us all hope for a future edition of the History of Toowoomba Grammar School written to celebrate its 200th year anniversary with wonderful coverage of achievement, endeavour, initiative, service to others and behaviour characterised by the core values as listed above – Fidelis in Omnibus.

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2025

Some of the current Year 12 Students when in the Prep Year in 2013

The 50 Year Old Time Capsule

A beautiful sight over Old Boys’ Memorial Oval

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Appendix One: A Tribute to John Keeble Winn (1941-2015) By Peter B. Hauser, Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, 2003-2020

I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr John Winn in the earliest of my days as Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School in 2003. Perhaps we shared a connection by both being born in Melbourne and my knowing one of the first schools he attended, Ivanhoe Grammar School. At some stage John relocated to Queensland and attended The Southport School (TSS) where he had the honour of being Senior Prefect in 1958. John was a boarder at TSS for eight years. Later, he studied at Queensland Teachers’ College and taught with the State Education Department from 1960 to 1962. Despite his not being an Old Boy of Toowoomba Grammar School, very few people could demonstrate a knowledge and love of our School greater than that exhibited by John. He was a former long-standing teacher here, having taught with us for thirty-five years, from 1963 to 1997. John’s teaching area was Geological (Earth) Science and our Old Boys would remember him with the greatest affection as “Jungle”. John originally was appointed to teach in our Junior School but he transferred to the Secondary School when the Junior School was discontinued at the end of 1963. His knowledge of his teaching discipline was clearly revealed not only in the classroom but through his published works. These included, to name just a few, A Practical Guide to Minerals and Gems; The Geology of the Darling Downs; Sermons in Stones; The Geology of Toowoomba City and Environs; Elementary Petrology; Speaking of Emeralds; and Speaking of Diamonds. John was a very talented author who wrote with ease and clarity. Later his written work was to include poetry, plays, art books and historical stories. Certainly John’s finest published work from the School’s perspective was his 598 page tome on the history of Toowoomba Grammar School. Titled Still Playing The Game (A History of Toowoomba Grammar School, 1875-2000), this well-researched, indeed scholarly, book represents a vital historical record of the development of our wonderful School over its first 125 years. In the cover jacket of this book are the unacknowledged words: “Winn’s love and passion for Toowoomba Grammar School is glowingly obvious. This work was three years in the making, a mammoth achievement and one that will be taken to heart by all those who are Still Playing The Game.” John’s own words are written in the Preface of Still Playing The Game and those of you who knew him well could just picture him saying the following (page ix): “From the moment my voice broke and I stepped into the adult world of long trousers I always wanted to teach.” John continued writing on the same page with his observations as a teacher in 1997 (his last year of teaching at TGS): “I found the Staff common room its usual busy self. Russell “never better” Gillies, the longest-serving employee in the history of the School, was sitting in his favourite chair surrounded by the more sporting-orientated types who were savouring the impending Headmaster’s Assembly, for they knew he would announce the recent successes in tennis and basketball against arch rivals Downlands College – making it a cleansweep in all ten sports contested between the two schools during the year.” In the Foreword to this book, the then and current Chairman of the School’s Board of Trustees, Mr Glen McCracken, wrote: “I have, in the thirty years of our association, found that John is one of those people we rarely encounter in life. He devoted the major part of his career to the teaching of Earth Science. His teaching abilities were widely acclaimed and recognised. John’s major strengths also lay with his feelings for the School Page | 976


and all that it stands for plus his desire to do the best for the boys. We see much of this history from the viewpoint of a man who spent the larger part of his life working at the coalface. It is a perspective not often seen and John is eminently qualified for the task of writing this record of the School’s history.” Not only was John Winn’s teaching ability recognised by the students he taught and his own contemporaries, he was also the recipient of two “Excellence in Teaching Awards”; in addition, his name is honoured at the School’s annual Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony where our most academic students are awarded the prestigious “JK Winn Medal”, signifying that the student has been awarded an academic Merit prize in each of his years of secondary schooling. Many of the School’s current, long-serving staff knew John Winn through his regular visits to the School. They enjoyed conversations with him over lunch in the Centenary Dining Hall and knew that he was a long-standing teacher with us and also the School’s part-time Historian. Many of them would not, however, be aware that John was a former representative of our School on the GPS Sportsmasters’ Committee (and elected by his peers as President until he relinquished the position in the early 1990’s). The staff may also have not be aware that John was for many years in charge of the School’s Scout Troop and was also an Officer in the School’s Cadet Unit. In his early married days, he was the Boarding House Master of Taylor House and was ably assisted by his wife, Valda. After John’s service to the School as Sportsmaster, he became First Assistant Master and later Registrar. With such extensive involvement over thirty-five years at the School, he certainly knew the School better than most. My association with John continued over the years through his careful editing of my annual Speech Day Report and his authorship of a number of published booklets relating to specific aspects of the history of our School. These published works included: Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement; The Enduring Traditions; The Headmaster Tradition; Steadfast, Brave and True (A History of the TGS Army Cadet Unit); The Gillies Connection and Heritage Trail. John also advised me on all matters relating to the history of the School and chaired a sub-committee with me considering nominees for the Toowoomba Grammar School Old Boys’ Wall of Achievement. Until John Winn’s passing, many students enjoyed walking around the School with Mr Winn as he outlined various aspects of the School’s history to them. Many close to John saw his immense sorrow at the passing of his wife, Valda, in May 2015. John passed away only four months later on 5 September, 2015. The School community remembers John Keeble Winn as a monumental part of the history and the fabric of Toowoomba Grammar School. We also remember him as a gentleman, a scholar, a kind and true friend, and a dedicated teacher with a passion for sport, art, history, geology, writing and much, much more.

Peter B. Hauser Headmaster, Toowoomba Grammar School 7 September, 2015

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Appendix 1 - John K. Winn

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Appendix 2 - Trustees’ Honour Boards Appendix 2 - Trustees’ Honour Boards

Appendix Two: Trustees’ Honour Boards

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Appendix 3 - Staff Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 3 - Staff Honour Boards (cont.)

Appendix Three: Staff Honour Boards

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards

Appendix Four: Student Honour Boards in Old Hall and Other Locations

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.) Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix 4 - Student Honour Boards (cont.)

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Appendix Five: Index A-Z Abingdon' Outdoor Education Property Academic, First in State Academic Honours on Blazers Academic Performance, Year 12 Academic Streaming of Classes Accounts Office Adventure Club Adventure Club, African and Indian Expedition Adventure Club, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand Adventure Club, Nepal Expedition Adventure Club, New Zealand Expedition Adventure Club 'Top End' Safari Agricultural Science Ainsbury, Graeme, (Staff) Ainsbury Prize for Geography Air-Conditioning Air Force Air Vice Marshal Air Force Hut Air Force Training Air Raid Practices and Trenches Air Training Corps Airport, Brisbane West (Wellcamp) Toowoomba Aland, Robert Alcohol Minimum Drinking Age Anglican Church Grammar School ('Churchie') Anniversary, 50 years Anniversary, 75 years Anniversary, 100 years Anniversary, 125 years ANZAC Day ANZAC 'Battlefields' Tour, Turkey, France & Belgium Appeals Board Apprentice (School-Based) of the Year Aquatic Centre Archaeologists Archives Committee Armoury Army Huts Army Brigadiers Page | 994

Year 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2006 1912, 1924, 1927, 1939, 1946, 1954 1997 2006, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017 1971 1943, 1947 1983, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 1989 2009 1987, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016 2006 1985, 1993, 1998 1977 1959, 1970, 1983, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995 1995 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016 1940 1945, 1950 1942 1940, 1944 1942 2014, 2016 1884, 1889 1957, 1974 1912, 1946, 1985 1925 1950 1975 2000 1916, 1940, 2015, 2020, 2021 2015 1999 2010 2009, 2010, 2017 1974, 1981 1989 1901, 1910, 1944 1940, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948 1885, 1894, 1896, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1927, 1977, 1990


Army Lieutenant-Generals Art Exhibition, McAulay, Tom Art Exhibition, Students Art Group Art Show, Parents & Friends Association Arts Building (Art and Manual Art) Assembly Hall Athletics GPS Athletics, Australian Schools' Invitational Athletics team to USA Athletics, Australian Schoolboy Athletics Championships Athletics, Booth, Antony Athletics, Brunckhorst, Craig Athletics, Collins, Dion Athletics, Cox, John Athletics, Denny, Matthew Athletics, Glover, Steven Athletics, Gordon, Jai Athletics, Hearnden, Luke Athletics, Jones, Rhys Athletics, Landy, John, MBE Athletics, Mansfield, Scott Athletics, McIntyre, Dugald Athletics, Moore, Ian Athletics, Moss, Stephen Athletics, Myles, Graham 'Singy' Athletics, Purcell, Kevin Athletics, Robinson, Joshua Athletics, Stapleton, Brett Athletics, Taylor, Matthew Athletics, Trousdell, Rod 'John' Athletics, Winter, Brett Athletics, Father Graham Memorial Athletics Trophy Athletics, First Place in World Schools' Athletics Championships Athletics, GPS Centenary Athletics, GPS Championships, First Place Premiership Athletics, GPS Championships School Second Place Athletics, GPS Championships School Third Place Athletics, GPS Open, Winners in 2 Events Athletics, GPS Open, Winners in 3 Events Athletics, GPS both 100 and 200 metre Champions Athletics, Guiness Book of Records Athletics, History, 1877-1926 Athletics, International Representative, Matthew Denny Athletics, International Representative, Vern Ezzy Page | 995

1882, 1898, 1910, 1916, 1966 2011 1993, 2002 1909 1981, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2015, 2018, 2020 1981, 1982, 2017 1963, 1964, 2018 1918, 1996, 1998, 2017 1987 2003 1947 1968 1993 1975 2013, 2016, 2021 2000 2020 1992 1998 1969 1994 1987, 1988 1960, 1961 1987 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1968, 1969 1994 2012, 2013 2002, 2003, 2004 2022, 2023 1944, 1945 1978, 1979 1967, 1968, 1990, 2005 2013 2017 1945, 1971, 1972 1944, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 2012 1923, 1924, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1999, 1929, 1944, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020 1944, 1978, 2012, 2013 1927, 1943, 1944, 1975, 1992, 2013, 2020 1975, 1980 1926 2013 1980


Athletics, International Representative, Benny Pike Athletics, Open sprint 100 metres winners Athletics, Open sprint 200 metres winners Athletics, Open 400 metres winners Athletics, Open sprint triple winners Athletics, Open 800 metre winners Athletics, Open 4 x 100 metres relay winners Athletics, Open 4 x 400 metres relay winners Athletics, Open 4 x 800 metres relay winners Athletics, Open 110 metres hurdles Athletics, Open 400 metres hurdles winners Athletics, Open 1500 metres winners Athletics, Open 3000 metres winners Athletics, Open discus winners Athletics, Open javelin winners Athletics, Open shot put winners Athletics, Open high jump winners Athletics, Open long jump winners Athletics, Open triple jump winners Athletics History, 1925-1950 Athletics, QEII Stadium Athletics, State Representatives Athletics, Televised GPS Championships Athletics, TGS World Schools' Athletics Champions Athletics Coach, Anlezark, Justin Athletics Coach, Gallagher (nee Davies), Jackie Athletics Coach, Jones, Lindesay Athletics Coach, Wells, Debbie Aubigny Cricket Club Ground Australia Bicentennial Year and QLD Expo Australia, Centenary of Federation Australian Curriculum Australian Government's 'Building the Education Revolution' (BER) Australian Government's 'Digital Education Revolution' Australian Government's Students' Prize Australian Government's Vocational Students' Prize Australian Mathematical Olympiad, Mitchell Porter Australian Mathematical Olympiad, Benjamin Macaulay Australian Mathematical Olympiad, Donald Syme Australian National Anthem

Page | 996

1927, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1974, 1975, 1992, 2013, 2019, 2020 1925, 1926, 1927, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1975, 1992, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2020 1924, 1937, 1965, 1994, 2013 2013 1931, 1944, 1945, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1994 1975, 1996, 2007, 2013, 2019 1971, 1975, 1987, 1994, 1996 1973, 1977, 1979, 1997 1923, 1945, 1965, 1975, 1999, 2001 1984, 1988, 1997, 1999, 2013 1978, 1988 1978, 1979, 1995, 2014 1989, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2023 1987, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2019, 2023 1908, 1924, 1960, 1961, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1989, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2016 1944, 1945, 1948, 1963, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2002 1918, 1919, 1969, 1973, 1980 2019 1952 1975, 2001 1947, 1985, 2003 2014 1962, 1965 2013 2004 2015, 2023 1965, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1982 2002, 2014 1877, 1881, 1883 1988 2001 2012 2009, 2010 2010 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 1984, 1986 1990 1986 1984


Australian Rules Football Australian Rules Football, Brisbane Lions Training Camp Australian Rules Football v Downlands College Australian Rules Football, Ryan, Samson Australian Science Olympiad Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) Camp Bain Scholarship Bali Bombing, Nathan Swain Balliwanga Student Newspaper Barber's Chair Barbour Classroom Block Barbour Oval Barbour Sporting House Barbour, George's children and family Barbour, George H. Barker College, Sydney Barrett, Bill (Old Boy and Trustee) Basketball Basketball, GPS Premiership Basketball, GPS second place Basketball, GPS third place Basketball v BGS Basketball v BBC Basketball v 'Churchie' Basketball v GT Basketball v NC Basketball v TSS Basketball Coach, Kabe Cicolini Basketball Coach, Dickerson, Clarence 'Pop' Basketball Coach, Glover, Steven Basketball Coach, Toleman, David Basketball Coaches, 1st V Basketball, Spurgin, Jason Basketball, Spurgin, Greg Basketball, Weber, Cameron Bassingthwaighte, Brodie, (Staff and Old Boy) Baulch, Brendan (Trustee and Chairman) Baynes Centre (Library then Music) Baynes, Mervyn Beauchamp, Anthony (Staff) Belford Prize Bell Prize for Best All-Round Sportsman Page | 997

1880, 1883, 1884, 1887, 1899, 1905, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 2003 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011 2018 2001 2020 1940, 1941 1962, 1969 2002 1968, 1984 2023 1980, 1992, 2021, 2022 1900, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1951, 1954, 1955, 2000 1964, 1974, 1984, 1993 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1933, 1934, 2008, 2018 1933, 1951, 1954, 1955 1956, 1967, 1988 1997 1963, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2015, 2018, 2022 2022 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 1989, 1990, 2023 1990, 2015, 2020 2005 1991, 2013, 2021 2011, 2022 2006 1996, 2008 2011, 2022 1993 2006 1997 1984, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 2019 2020 2005 1976, 1984, 1997, 2019 2017, 2020, 2023 1971, 1989, 2015 1919, 1976 2002, 2007 1923, 1934, 1968, 1984 1971, 1976, 1981, 1987, 2000, 2003


Bell Prize for Successive Years Ben Hur' and Horse-Drawn Mower Beresford, Danny (Old Boy and Staff) Bernier, Brendan Bicycle Shed Bischof, Frank, Commissioner of Police Blackheath and Thornburgh College Blaikie J.M. Health Centre Bland, Greg (Staff) Blaxland Sword Blazers Blue and Gold Newsletter Boarder-Dayboy Rivalry Boarder Parent Supporters' Group Boarders' Church Attendance Boarders' Leave Boarders' Telephone Board, Ivan M. Board of Senior Secondary School Studies Boarders' Annual Dance Boarders' Camping Expeditions Boarders' Cold Showers Boarders' Dining Rooms Boarders from Papua New Guinea (see PNG students) Boarders' Leave Boarding Boarding, Academic Excellence Honour Board Boarding, Barrymount Hostel Boarding, Beresford Residence Boarding, Boyce/Taylor Boarding Houses (new) Boarding, Coey, Judith (Staff) Boarding, Corfe, Years 5-7 Boarding, Director of Boarding Boarding, Early Days Boarding Enrolments Boarding Enrolments Exceeding Dayboys Boarding Enrolments, Record Boarding, Female Staff Boarding, Food Rationing Boarding Full-Time Resident Masters Boarding at Mr Hatherell's Boarding, Honour Board, Academic Excellence Boarding Housemasters Boarding Houses by Vertical Grouping Page | 998

1975/76, 1977/79, 1980/81, 1986/87, 1999/2000, 2002/2003, 1945, 1947 2004 2008 1938 1919, 1958 1973, 2005, 2006 1997, 1998, 2024 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 1878 1904, 1907, 1909, 1912, 1926, 1930, 1993, 1994, 1997 1962, 2021 1913 1998 1911 1956 1966, 1968 1962, 1964, 2018, 2021 1964, 1972 1907 1880, 1910 1902, 1908, 1920, 1924, 1935, 1937, 1941, 1948 1973, 1974 1992, 2023 1956 1969, 1981 2015 1963, 1964 1940, 1942, 1946, 1948 2015, 2016 2003 2015 2011, 2015, 2022 1913, 1929, 1937 1907, 1929, 1932, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1951, 1955, 1966, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989 1939-1995 1986, 1989 2003, 2010, 2021 1944, 1948 2009 1941, 1942 2015 1980, 1985, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022 1979, 1980, 1993


Boarding Houses by Year Level Boarding, Resident Supervisors (Non-Teachers) Boarding, School House renamed Mackintosh House Boarding, Senior Resident Master (see Boarding, Director of Boarding) Boarding, Somerset Residence Boardroom, Trustees Board of Trustees and the Press Board of Trustees Minutes of Meetings Boater Hats and stiff collars Boer War Bond University Book Pool Bore Water Bourke, 'Terry' (Staff) Bourne, Ron (see Deputy Headmaster) Bowls, International Representative, E.R. Wyeth Boxing Boxing, International Representative, Geoffrey 'Benny' Pike Boxing, Neil Geddes Boyce Boarding House Boyce Boarding House Dormitory Names Boyce Boarding Housemaster's Residence Boyce, John 'Gerard' and 5th Generation at TGS Boyce, Leslie Boys, Kelvin R. Memorial Prize Brambleby, E.W. 'Ted', (Staff) Brambleby Senior Biology Subject Prize Brigadiers Brisbane Boys' College (BBC) foundation Brisbane Grammar School foundation Brisbane State High School foundation Brunckhorst, Alfred 'Bill' Buchanan, Glen and Family Buchanan, Robin, (Staff) Buchholz, Ron Building Fund Appeal Building Names Bullying and Harassment Policy Bunce, Tim, (Staff) Burnie, Jack, (Staff) Burrett, Daniel Bus Trips to Brisbane Buttenshaw, Roger D, (Staff) Byrnes Medal Page | 999

1979, 1980, 1987, 1990, 1992 2009 1993 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1994, 2005, 1940, 1942 1984, 1994 1888 1958 1909, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1929 1899, 1900 1987, 1989, 1991, 2017 1976, 2016 1937 1988, 2010 1928 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993 1970, 1980 1953, 1976, 1986 1964, 1968, 1969, 1993, 2010, 2015, 2016 1894, 1909, 1910, 1916, 1969 2012 1887 1914, 1945, 1957, 1988 1935 1968, 1969, 1972, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1996, 2018, 2019 1996 1885, 1894, 1896, 1910, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1977, 1990 1902 1869, 1935, 2018 1913 1936, 1937, 1938 1947, 1978 2013 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 1957, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1999 2017 1993 2016 1977, 1978, 1994 2008 1962, 1968 1988, 1990, 1991 2003, 2006 1904, 1922, 1925, 1937, 1944


Cadet Light Horse Cadet Unit formation Cadets

Cadets Compulsory Membership Cadets, Compulsory Military Training Legislation Cadets and girls from Fairholme College Cadets and girls from The Glennie School Cadets Anniversary Banner Cadets, Anniversary, 110 Years Cadets, Anniversary, 120 Years Cadets, Anniversary 125 Years Cadets, Buchanan family Cadets, Buchanan Swords Cadets, Centenary Year Cadets, Doyle, Jack, Commemoration Propeller Cadets, Female Senior Cadet Under Officers Cadets, Guard of Honour, Royal Tour Cadets, Hallam, Ann (Staff) Cadets, Hallam, Ann (Staff), Commemorative Website For The Fallen Cadets, History Book 1892-2010 Cadets, Honour Guard Cadets, Leslie 'Graham' Peters Cadets, Mothers' Memorial Guard Cadets, Officer Commanding Cadets, Passing Out Parade Cadets, Peacock, Ben Cadets Vehicle Accident Caledonian Sports Ground Cambridge University Camera Club Cameron, Alan Cameron, Donald Cameron, Peter (Rhodes Scholar) Campbell, John H. Campbell, Scott D. (Staff) Camphor Laurel Tree by Old Hall & School House Campiutti Family Camps Week Captains of Three or More Sports Careers Room Carmichael, K

1908, 1909 1907, 1908, 1930 1883, 1892, 1895, 1907, 1909, 1923, 1925, 1930, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019 1911, 1930, 1942, 1943, 1947, 1963 1911 1999 2004 2002 2002 2012 2017 1947, 2006, 2007 2008 1992 2011 2006, 2021 1954 2008, 2015, 2018, 2019 2018 2010 2015 1954, 1955 1923, 1927, 1945, 1991 1907, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1945, 1959, 1968, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2020 1990, 2007 2019 1957 1887 1890, 1898, 1987, 1992, 2011, 2017 1906, 1919, 1944, 1947, 1959 1927 1892 1968 1963 2004, 2013, 2022 2025 1971, 1983, 2020 1989, 1990, 1992 1917, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1974, 1987, 2000, 2007, 1979 1925

Page | 1000


Carnival of Flowers Car Parking Carparking, Fund-Raising Cambridge University Centenary Dining Hall Centenary Year Celebrations Central Australia Tour (see Adventure Club) Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Aland, Robert Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Baulch, Brendan Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Baynes, M.W. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Blaikie, J.M. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Boyce, L.A. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Freshney, Dr. Reginald Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Frost, Richard Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Gibson, I. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Gregory, Francis Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hale, A.W. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Henderson, J.W.P, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Kennard, Stanley Chairman of the Board of Trustees, King, George Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Lavers A. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, McCracken, Glen Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Nelson, Sir Hugh Chairman of the Board of Trustees, O'Sullivan, Barry Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Parkinson, B.I. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Robertson, Brig.Gen. J.C. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Taylor, James Chariot Races Chalk House Chalk, Gregory, Memorial Prize Charters Towers Connection Chauvel Common, Herries Street Loop Chauvel Scholarship Chauvel Sporting House Chauvel, Harry, General Chelmsford Cup Chemistry Laboratory Chess Chess, GPS Premiership Chess, GPS third place Chess, Darling Downs Secondary School Chess Champions Chess, Inter-House Competition Chess, Qld Under 18 Chess Champion Chess, Toowoomba School Teams' Chess Tournament

1950, 1982, 1999 1989 1972 1948, 1987, 1974, 1975 1975 1983, 1985 1889-1904 20201957-1973 1990-1999 1945-1957 1911-1929 1910 1973-1979 1883-1884 1933 1979-1982 1906-1909 1884-1889 1933-1943 1999-2020 1904-1906 2023 1982-1990 1929-1933 and 1943-1945 1874-1882 1946 1984, 1990, 1993 1960 1973 2020 1955 1974, 1984, 1993, 2004, 2009 1880, 1882, 1896, 1919, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1984, 2002 1907, 1910, 1917, 1918, 1925, 1927-1930, 1932, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969 1906, 1924, 1925, 1940 1916, 1952, 1959, 1970, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2006 2006 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2021 2014

Page | 1001

2006 2021 2019, 2021


Chess, Aanan, Shafiuddin Chess, Domrow, Zack Chess, Gearing, Michael Chess, Hamawand, Allan Chess, Highest State Result Chess, Lord, Les Coach Chess, van Gend, Robert & Michael Chess, Winn, Mark Chief Financial Officer (see Secretary to the Board of Trustees) Choir Christ's Hospital School, England Church of England Grammar School (CEGS) Classrooms, Air-Conditioning Classrooms, Ceiling Fans and Data Projectors Classrooms - North, Middle, South Blocks Colours, House Colours, School Commodores, Royal Australian Navy Computer Club Computer Internet Computer Laboratories Computers Computers, Staff Laptops Computers, Student Laptops Corfe, Arthur, Brigadier-General Corfe Boarding House Corfe, Charles, Family Corfe House Sleepover Cornes, Dugald, Memorial Award Corones Family Corporal Punishment Cotton, Sidney Courier Mail Newspaper Editors COVID (See Epidemic - Pandemic) Cow Shed and Milking Yard Coxen, Walter, General Cranbrook School, Sydney Creedon, Mark Crest, School Cricket 1st XI, bowlers taking 8 wickets or more in innings Cricket 1st XI, bowlers taking a 'hat-trick' Cricket 1st XI Caps

2018, 2021 2011 2003, 2006, 2007 2021 2021 1996, 2006 2011 1984 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1959, 1962, 1970, 1976, 1985 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994 1988, 1990, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2010 1912, 1985 2010, 2016 2008 1958, 1960 1995 1994, 2006 1953, 1956, 1986 1996 1997 1993, 1998 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018 2008 2010, 2011, 2013, 2019 1890, 1896 1964, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 1890, 1894, 1896, 1957, 2023 2018 1998 2018 1908, 1910, 1937, 1963, 1975 1908 1987 1937, 1938 1881 1961, 1984 1977, 2009, 2010, 2021 1888, 1895 1917, 1918, 1933, 1934, 1945, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1968, 1973, 1978 1940, 1950, 1962, 2024 1912, 2020

Page | 1002


Cricket 1st XI Century Makers

Cricket 1st XI Double Centuries Cricket 1st XI Coaches Cricket 1st XI, Player Numbers Cricket, Australian Schoolboys' Cricket Championship Cricket Ball Throw Cricket By Train to Brisbane Cricket, Dansie, Neil, Cricket Festival Cricket History, 1877-1926 Cricket History, 1925-1950 Cricket History, 1900-1963 Cricket History Book(s), Board, Ivan, 1877-2020 Cricket Pitch, Old Boys' Memorial Oval Cricket Tour, Sydney, early interstate tours Cricket Tour, NSW Cricket Tour, New Zealand Cricket Tours, United Kingdom Cricket v Anglican Church Grammar School 'Churchie' Cricket v Brisbane Boys College Cricket v Brisbane Grammar School Cricket v Brisbane State High School Cricket v Downlands College Cricket v Downlands College, Tom Allen Memorial Trophy Cricket v Ipswich Grammar School Cricket v St. Joseph's Gregory Terrace Cricket v St. Joseph's Nudgee College Cricket v The Armidale School Cricket v The Southport School Cricket, Allen, Ross Cricket, Allen, Tom Cricket, Allen, Tom Memorial Trophy Cricket, Boag, Ken Cricket, Brown, Liam Cricket, Buchholz, Ron Cricket, Carlson, Ray Cricket, Carty brothers Cricket, Colbert, Ray Cricket, Creedon brothers Cricket, Clowes Cyril Cricket, Fenwick, Jason Cricket, Halford, Ray

1912, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1948, 1968, 1969, 1978, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2005, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 1932 1974, 1981, 1988, 2004, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2024 2020 1996 1912 1953 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 1926 1952 1963 2021 2009, 2010 1904, 1912, 1926, 1928 1979, 1980 2003, 2016, 2017, 2018 1991, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2013 1923, 1961, 1964, 1986, 1990, 2005, 2013 1924, 1933, 1957, 1973, 2005, 2010 1878, 1879, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1918, 1925, 1929, 1958, 1968, 1972, 1987, 2004, 2008 1930, 1986, 2001, 2008 1932, 1941, 1954, 1958, 2015 1954 1877, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1902, 1904, 1910, 1957, 1976, 1977, 1990 1928, 1954 1920, 1923, 1928, 1986, 1993, 2013, 2015 1904, 1917 1915, 1920, 1922, 1932, 1939, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1987, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2022 2006 1928, 1929, 1938, 1954, 2006 2010 1932, 1933 2002, 2004 1978, 1979 1946 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017 1948 2007, 2010 1910 2003, 2005 1937

Page | 1003


Cricket, Healy, Ian (BSHS) Cricket, Heuschele, Matthew Cricket, Hutcheon, Ernie Cricket, Hutcheon, John 'Jack' Cricket, Jones Family Cricket, Kann, Eddie Cricket, Kelly, Scott Cricket, Kent, H. Roy 'Copper' Cricket, Love, Martin Cricket, Love, Martin Batting Trophy Cricket, Labuschagne, Marnus (BSHS) Cricket, Mackay, Jack Cricket, Maddern, Jim Cricket, Mayes, Alex Cricket, McDermott, Craig (IGS) Cricket, Moore, Charlie Cricket, Poon, Hunter Cricket, Seccombe, Wade Cricket, Smith, Don Cricket, Smythe, Graham (Coach) Cricket, Stains, Nathan (Staff) Cricket, Stevens, Lachlan Cricket, Stewart, Hamish Cricket, Turner, Ben Cricket, Watson, Shane (IGS) Cricket, Yeates brothers Cricket Bowling Machines Cricket, First Century Scored Cricket, First Game Cricket, GPS, First Place Premierships Cricket, GPS second place Cricket, GPS third place Cricket, Highest Individual Score Cricket, Second Highest Individual Score Cricket, Highest Opening Partnership Cricket, Highest 1st XI Team Scores Cricket, Mr Barbour Cricket, Mr Leadbeater Cricket, Old Boys 1st XI v Current Boys 1st XI Cricket, time of the year when played Cricket, Limited Bowling Overs Cricket, Match at the Gabba Cricket, Match at the Sydney Cricket Ground Cricket, McDougall, Peter, Memorial Shield

1981 1919, 1920 1903 1894, 1900 1995 1920, 1926 1996 1917, 1918 1990, 1991 2018 2009, 2010, 2011 1939 1932 1920 1981, 1982 1948 1912 1987, 1988 1978 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2008 2009 1993, 1995, 1996 2015 2008 1998 1925, 1928, 1935 1986, 2008, 2018 1912 1877 1918, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2005 1926, 1931, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2023 1939, 1946, 1948, 1970, 1978, 1984, 1989, 1996, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2022 1932 1937 1920, 2008 1932, 1933, 1939 1910, 1904 1906, 1963, 1964, 1986, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2019 1929, 1968, 1973, 1975, 1983, 1988, 1990 1987, 2005, 2013 1935 1912 1999, 2019 Page | 1004


Cricket, Past Grammar Cricket Club Cricket, Queensland Shield Cricket Team With 3 TGS Old Boys Cricket, State Final Winners, Coca Cola Cup Cricket, Summer Coaching Camp Cricket Supporters Group Cricketer International, Love, Martin Cricketer International, Seccombe, Wade Cricketer International, Wyeth, Ezra 'Boxer' Cricketers, State Representatives Cronin, James Memorial Prize Cross Country Cross Country (internal) Introduction Cross Country, GPS Open Division Winners Cross Country, GPS second place Cross Country, GPS third place Cross Country, McIntyre brothers Cross Country, McVeigh Cup, Darling Downs Cross Country, Winter, Brett Curriculum Curriculum Electives Curry, Tony (Staff) Cycling, O'Neill, Nathan Cyclone Larry, North Queensland, Fund Raising Dakin, John (Staff) Dale, Denver Dancing Classes Dancers Darling Downs Campus of the Qld. Institute of Technology (see University of Southern Queensland) Day Boys Exceeding Boarder Enrolments Debating Debating, Entry Into GPS Competition Debating, State Champions Decimal Currency Defence Act Dent, W.M. Family Dent, W.M. Speech Day Addresses Deputy Headmaster, Anderson, John C. Deputy Headmaster, Bourne, Ron G. Deputy Headmaster, Buttenshaw, Roger D. Deputy Headmaster, Dent, William 'Bill' Deputy Headmaster, Kelly, Timothy J. Deputy Headmaster, Leadbeater, James Deputy Headmaster, Morwood, Alan D. Deputy Headmaster, Rae , Anthony (Tony) J.

1908 2005 1996, 1997 1993, 2004, 2006 2004 1990, 1991 1988 1927, 1928 1912, 1913, 1920, 1928, 1932, 1935 2007, 2009 1938, 1939, 1946, 1954, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1982, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2015 1946 1978, 1979, 1994, 2004 1988, 1991, 1977, 1982, 1986, 1987 1986, 1988, 1989 1995, 1997, 2003 1978, 1979 1889, 1904, 1910, 1915, 1919, 1935, 1961, 1971, 1978, 1996 1974, 1977, 1978 2000 1991 2006 1988 1982 1947, 1953, 1980, 2003, 2017 1967, 1992 1946, 1995 1906, 1907, 1912, 1959, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1995, 2009, 2018, 2022, 2023 2023 1981, 1982, 1984, 1987 1966 1911 1979, 1980, 1983, 2013, 2017 1978, 1982, 1987, 1993 (2005), (2013), 2018 1976-1987, (1981), (1982), (1987), (1994) 1988- 2006 (1965), 1966-1969 2007-2017 1903, 1910-1937 (1953), (1962), (1963), 1970-1975, (1975) 1959-1963 (1962), (1963), (1994)

Page | 1005


Deputy Headmaster, White, Edgar 'Blue' Deputy Headmaster's Office Deputy Headmaster's Residence Diligence Award Dinner en Blanc Dining Hall, Centenary Dining Hall Dining Room Director of Advancement Director of Boarding Director, Chief Financial Officer Director of Development and Enrolments Director, Head of Junior School Director, Head of Senior School Director of Information Technology Director of Outdoor Education Director of Pastoral Care Director of People and Culture Director of Sport and Activities Director of Studies Disabled Access Ramps Diving Club (TGURAC) Dog Box Doran, Margaret, (Staff) Downlands College Downlands College Co-Education Downlands College, World War Two Downlands/Grammar Rivalry Downlands College Rugby, Mayne Cup Downlands College Rugby, the O'Callaghan Cup (see Rugby v DC, O'Callaghan Cup) Downlands, Father Graham Memorial Athletics Trophy Dowse, Ralph K, Memorial Prize Doyle, Jack C. Drama

Drama in Curriculum Drama, First Production in Assembly Hall Drama, First Production in Empire Theatre Drama, First Production in Toowoomba City Hall Drama, Girls from Fairholme College Drama, Girls From The Glennie School Drama, Bevan, Rupert Drama, Dashwood, Tim Drama, Foy, Edward Drama, Hopkins Brothers Drama, Johnson, Sean

1958 1961 1965, 1966, 1978, 1982, 2012 1991 2018 1974, 1975 1961 2021 1994, 2011, 2015, 2022 2006, 2018 1995, 2011 1996, 2020 2013, 2018 1998, 2006 1998, 2005 2006, 2011, 2014 2021 1994, 2001, 2005, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020 1987, 1998, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2023 2009 1971,1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2018, 2019 1906, 1967, 1968, 2000 1993, 2015 1931, 2009 1971, 1972 1942 1962, 1988, 1993, 1999 1944 1967 1930, 1950, 1954 1934, 2002, 2011 1904, 1924, 1941, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990-2025 2004 1964 2001 1993 1989 1964 2016 2002 1995 1959 2018

Page | 1006


Drama, Mills, Harrison Drama, National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) Drama, Roubicek, George Drama, Snow, Alec Drama, Thomson, Christopher Drama, Toowoomba City Hall Drama, Toowoomba Grammar School Acting Academy (TiGAA) Drama, TiGAA Lip Synching Competition Drama Tour Drama, Trussell, Adam Drama, War Memorial Fund Drama, Wells, Hamish Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Edgar White Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Tony Rae Drama/Musical Producer, Mr May Drama/Musical Producer, Mr W.M.Dent Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Stephen Kershaw Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Roderick McDougall Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Ross Vernon Drama/Musical Producer, Mr Todd Harm Drama/Musical Producer, Mrs Eylece Blaikie Drinking Fountains Driveway Drought Drugs Drum and Fife Band Duke of Edinburgh Award Dumigan, Ian Dumigan, Ricky Dunn, Alan Memorial Prize Duntroon, Royal Military College Dux and Senior Prefect Dux, Henderson family Dux: Brothers Dux: Father and Son Education compulsory Electricity Electric Toaster Election, Australian Labor Party Empire Theatre, Toowoomba E-mail E-text books Enrolments - Dayboys Exceeding Boarders

2021 2021 1951, 1952, 1953 2009 2013, 2019, 2023 1953, 1993 2003, 2006, 2010 1960 2004 1948, 1949 2021 1949-1959 1960-1962 1964, 1965 1967-1974; 1978-1979 1979, 1980 1981-1986 1987-1997 1998-2011 2012-2022 1949 1949, 1989, 2008 1884, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2006 1996 1908 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018 1965, 1998 1994 1923 1898, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1955, 1959, 2002, 1877,1878, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1932, 1967, 1972, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2014 1971 1892/1894; 1914/1917, 1966/1971; 1968/1970; 1995/2000; 2011/2014 1918/1953; 1923/1959; 1929/1963; 1936/1966; 1900 1905, 1911, 1914, 1916 1962 1972 1911, 1933, 1997 1998 2017 1946, 1995

Page | 1007


Enrolments Decline Enrolments Growth Enrolments Limit Enrolments, First Time over 500 Enrolments, First Time over 1,000 Enrolments Student Register Epidemic (Pandemic) COVID Epidemic (Pandemic) Influenza, the 'Spanish Flu' Epidemic, Measles Epidemic, Mumps Epidemic, Poliomyelitis Epidemic, SARS Epidemic,Typhoid Fever Equestrian Team Eton Preparatory School Examinations, External, cessation Examinations, External, re-introduction Examinations, Junior Public Examinations, Sydney University Executive Staff Executive, Chief Financial Officer Facsimile Transceiver Fairley, Richard, (Staff) Farrelly, Mark Female School Executive staff Female Heads of Department Female Boarding Housemaster and Assistant Housemasters Female Day Housemasters/Heads of House Female Honorary Old Boys Female Students Female Teaching Staff Female Trustees Feros James N., Memorial Award Fetes Fetes, Sky Divers Fielding, George Dr. Fire, Toowoomba Range Fire-Engine, Horse-Drawn Fishing Club Fleming Corner Store Floods Disaster Appeal Floods, Toowoomba & TGS Evacuation Centre Floods of Toowoomba and Brisbane Foley, Ben (Staff) Foreign Languages (See Languages) Football, Soccer Football, Soccer GPS Premierships

1953 1944, 2009, 2011 1968, 1982 1973 2011 1877, 2008 2020, 2021, 2022 1918, 1919 1949, 1959, 1960 1904, 1941, 1959 1932, 1937, 1938, 1951, 1953 2003 1888, 1889 1985, 1988, 1998, 2015 1888 1972, 1992 2020 1970 1889 1993, 2021 2016, 2018 1984 1993, 1997, 1998 1974 2006, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2021 2005 2003, 2010, 2017, 2021 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2017 1986, 2004 1942, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1970, 1999, 1877, 1943, 1977 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2019, 2022 1950 1957, 1975, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1993 1991 1947, 1948, 2017, 2002 1893 1988 1910, 1931, 1937, 1939, 1943, 1955, 1967 2011 2011 1974, 2011 2011, 2015, 2016, 2020 1910, 1912, 1917, 1958, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 2015, 2016

Page | 1008


Football, Soccer GPS second place Football, Soccer GPS third place Football, Soccer, Adams, Eli Football, Soccer, Australian Institute of Sport Football, Soccer, Bill Turner Cup Football, Soccer, Eccles, James Football, Soccer, European Clubs Football, Soccer, GPS Naming Football Football, Soccer, Highest TGS Score Football, Soccer, Kosloski, Thiago Football, Soccer, McKay, Matt (BGS) Football, Soccer, McLeod, Chris (Staff) Football, Soccer, Rasic, Rale Football, Soccer, Rasic, Rale Camp Football, Soccer, Smith, Nykodah Football, Soccer Tour to Brazil Football, Soccer Tour to Germany Football, Soccer, Tour to Japan Football, Soccer, Tour to Singapore & Malaysia Football, Soccer, Tour to United Kingdom Football, Soccer, Tour to USA Football, Soccer, Young, Nick Football, Soccer v BBC Football, Soccer v BGS Football, Soccer v Downlands College Football, Soccer v IGS Football, Soccer v NC Football, Soccer v TSS Football, Soccer, Past v Present Football, Soccer, Parents and Friends (P&F) Cup Football, Soccer, Played on Old Boys' Memorial Oval Football, Soccer, Supporters Group Football, Soccer, Team of the Decade Footpaths around the School Foott, Cecil, General Fordyce, Jennifer, (Staff) Formals Forster Family, Senior Prefects Fortescue Cup, Cadets Fortescue, Charles Foundation Stone Trowel Franklin, John (Staff) Fraser, Thomas French Language French Tours, New Caledonia French Tours, France Freshney R. Classrooms

1997, 2017, 2019 1996, 2013, 2014 2019 2004 2012, 2017, 2018 2010 2019 2010 2019 2018 2000 2009 2009, 2013, 2017, 2019 2010 2014, 2015 2013, 2017 2011 2009, 2010, 2014, 2018 2011, 2012, 2013 2007, 2010 2019 1997 1992, 1993, 2018, 2019 2010 1991, 1995, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010 2014, 2016 2000, 2003, 2013, 2019 2015 1997, 2007 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014 2012 1999 2019 1987 1885 1993, 2020 1959 1920, 1923, 1959 1930 1909, 1968 1875, 1975 1983, 1984, 1988 1885 1889, 1959, 1991 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 2017, 2021

Page | 1009


Freshney Dayboy House Fulbright Scholarship Futsal, Australasian Championship Futsal, State Championship Gallipoli Lone Pine Seedlings Gardner, Sydney J. and Reunions Garget, John Gatekeeper's Lodge Gazebos Geography Tour, New Zealand Geography Tour, USA Geography Tour, Vanuatu Geography, Australian Competition, First Place Geography, State Champions German Language Gibson Dayboy House Gibson, Design and Technology Building Gill, Ernest, (Staff) Gillies Connection' Book, J.K. Winn Gillies, Ian Gillies, Judy, nee Magarry, (Staff) Gillies, Judy, Prize for Loyalty and Service to TGS Gillies, Russell, (Staff) Gillies, R.R. Scoreboard Global Financial Crisis Golf Goodman, Lester, (Staff) Government Funding, Building the Education Revolution BER Government Funding For Independent Schools Government Funding of Tertiary Education Governor of New South Wales, Old Boy Governor of Victoria, Old Boy GPS (Great Public Schools') Association GPS (Great Public Schools') Association, Centenary GPS Combined Old Boys' Dinner GPS Sport During COVID Years GPS Sporting Calendar Change Grace Grammar Schools Act Grandstand/Pavilion, Barbour Oval Grandparents' Day Great Depression Greek Language Gregory, Francis Grimes, Leonard Griffith University

1929, 1996, 2004, 2009 1948, 1949 2010, 2015 2023 1979 1950, 1997, 2017 1875 1876, 1889, 1901 2001 1997, 1999 2000 2012 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 2003-2006 1889, 1904, 1915, 1943, 1971, 1987 1984, 1993, 2004, 2009 2017 1904, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 2012 1921 1950, 1958, 1962, 1986, 2008, 2012 2012 1959, 1962, 1963, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2012, 2014 1999 2009 1896, 1901, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1910, 1926, 1927, 1939, 1973, 1990, 1992 1978, 1990, 1992, 1993 2009, 2010

Page | 1010

1960, 1962, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1984, 2022 1972 1916, 1960, 1961 1894, 1934, 1935 1918, 1923, 1924, 2014, 2018 2018 1959 2020, 2021, 2022 2012 1878 Background 1928, 1951, 1955 1996 1929 1904, 1915 1882 1885 1975


Groom Boarding House Groom, Boarding Housemaster's Residence Groom, Littleton, Sir Groom Sporting House Grosvenor, David I, (Staff) Guard Family Guide Dogs for the Blind Donation Gymnasium, Outdoors Gymnasium , McCracken Sports Centre Gymnasium, Trenerry Gymnastics Gymnastics, GPS Introduction Gymnastics, GPS first place Gymnastics, GPS second place Gymnastics, GPS third place Gymnastics, Dickinson Cup Gymnastics, International Representative, 'Mac' Stirling Gymnastics, Morwood, Colin Gymnastics, Norman, Jack Haddan, Steve Hailstorm Damage Hallam, Ann (Staff) Handley Family Handley, S. John Harding, Colin (Old Boy and Staff) Harris, Craig, (Staff) Harris, Roger (Staff) Harristown State High School, Old Boy Principal Hart, Andrew Memorial Award Harvey, 'Bob', (Staff) Hassler, Hans, (Staff) Hatherell, William 'Bill' (Staff) Hauser, P.B. Aquatic Centre Head of Senior School Headmaster Tradition, History Book, J.K. Winn Headmaster Era Dinners Headmasters, Longest Serving Headmasters' Photographs, Old Hall Headmaster Barbour Headmaster Boyd Headmaster Corfe Headmaster Dent Headmaster Griffiths Headmaster Hauser Headmaster Heenan Headmaster Kinniburgh

1964, 2002 2002 1879, 1883, 1890, 1915, 1917, 1926, 1937, 1964 1964 1987, 1990, 2015 2014 1999 1904, 1905, 1943, 1944, 2017 1982, 1983, 2001 1916, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1973, 2012 1946 1993, 1994, 1999 1975, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1995, 1948, 1952, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 1944, 1999 1972, 1973 1947, 1952 2012 1975, 1990 1976 2019 1957, 1995 1957, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2017, 2018 1953, 1954, 1956 2017, 2018 2008, 2021 1919 2008 1984, 1988, 2003, 2013 1918, 1923, 1940, 1973 1924, 1948, 1962 (2010), 2017 2013, 2018 2007 1993 1935, 1991, 2020 1921 1910-1935, (1927) (1951) 1888-1890 (1928) 1890-1900 (1935, 2023) 1970-1991, (1974), (1977), (1978), (1987), (1989), (1990), (1993), (1995) 1947 (1961) 2003-2020 (2014, 2017) 1956-1961, (1927), (1933), (1958), (1960), (1980) 2021

Page | 1011


Headmaster Mackintosh Headmaster Mills Headmaster Nesbitt Headmaster Olsen Headmaster Purves Headmaster Roberts Headmaster Rose Headmaster Stephenson Headmaster's Boarding House Financial Responsibility Headmaster's Chair in Assembly Hall Headmasters' Children Born Whilst In Office Headmasters' Death Whilst On Duty Headmasters' Era Dinners Headmaster's Office-Study Headmaster's Parlour Headmaster's Residence Headmaster's Shield for Inter-House Competition Heads of Department Heads of Department, First Female Heads of Department, Female Health Centre Health Centre, Visiting Doctor, Juhasz, Richard Heating in Classrooms Heenan Science and Technology Building Heenan Tennis Trophy Heenan Sporting House Henderson Dayboy House Henderson, Art and Drama Centre Henderson Family Academic Success Henderson, Robert Herbert, Paul (Staff and Trustee) Herries Street Entrance Loop Herries Street Property Acquisition Hewitt Family Hewitt, Tom C,. Hill, Alan D, (Staff) History and Art Tour, Belgium, France, Spain History Tour, Battlefields Tour of Turkey, France and Belgium History and Commerce Tour, Central Europe History Tour, Egypt and Turkey History Tour to Turkey History Tour to USA HMAS Toowoomba Hobbs, Graham C. Hockey Hockey, Olympian

1876-1879 (1985) 1948-1956 (1955) 1882-1888 1962-1969, (1967), (1969), (1986) 1901-1910 (1918), 1935-1946, (1970), (1984) 1992-2002, (1999), (2002) 1879-1882, (1921) 1935 1964 1937, 1941, 1973 1879, 1956 1993 1965, 1994, 2013, 2023 1961 1878, 1949, 1970, 1972, 1992, 2020 1984, 1993 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020, 2022 1996 2005 1904, 1997, 1998, 1994 1920, 1960, 1969, 2008 1991, 1992, 1993 1984 1984, 1987 1984, 1993, 2004, 2009 2017 1936, 1966, 1971 1985 1993, 2005, 2022 2020 1992 1969 1907, 1908, 1914 1987, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014 2003 2015 2019 1999, 2001 2010, 2012 2014 2005, 2010 1952, 1972, 1973, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2016 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2008 1988, 2001

Page | 1012


Hodgson Family Prize Books Hodgson, Charles Hodgson, William Hollows Honour Boards

1883, 1915, 1950, 1983, 2017 1877 1883 1952 1912, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1946, 1950, 1975, 1988, 1990, 2000 1925, 1927, 1962, 1999, 2006 2011 1892 1937, 1962, 1975 1903 1982 1937 1941, 1942, 1974, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2009 1984, 2004

Hopkins, Lister G. Hopson, Nicholas (Staff and Old Boy) Horn, David Horse Paddock and Stables Horses and Hunting Dogs Horstman Family Prefect Tradition Hot Water House System House System Revised Housemasters, Boarding (see Boarding) Housemasters, Dayboy Housemaster, First Female Housemaster Title to Head of House House Variety Night Howitt, Clint, (Staff) Hull, Les, (Staff) Humphries, Harrison (Old Boy and Trustee) Hutcheon, John (Jack) Indigenous Students (also see Yalari) Indigenous Students, NAIDOC Sportsperson Of The Year Indonesian Language Information Processing and Technology Subject Initiations Ink Pens Interact Club Interact Club Marathon Record Interact Club Fund-Raising Initiatives International Youth Science Forum Internet Intranet iPads Ipswich Grammar School (see Chelmsford Cup) Irrigation, Pop-Up Sprinklers Irrigation, Underground Tanks Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) Jackson, Roy, (Staff) Jackson, Sidney James and Rita Bain Scholarship

2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 1996 2020 1994 1978, 1984, 1987, 1993, 2003 1993 2004, 2005, 2020 1894, 1900 1984, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2023 2012 1975 1996 1920, 1922, 1934, 1936, 1945, 1957 1959 1966, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1995, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023 1975, 1980 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997 2009, 2010, 2015 1997, 2000 2001 2014, 2019 2006 2008 1992, 2013, 2020, 2021 1962, 1991 1885 1962

Page | 1013


Japanese Language Tour to Japan Japanese Language Jaycees' Youth Speaks for Australia Competition Johnson, Russ, Memorial Prize for Accounting Jones Family, Prefects Jones, Alan Belford Jones, Lindesay, (Staff) Jubilee Anniversary, 50 years Judges, Supreme & District Courts Juhasz, Dr Richard Junior School (also see 'Primary School Students' in index) Junior School Billy Cart Derby Junior School Classrooms, Air Conditioning Junior School, Deputy Head, Anthony Beauchamp Junior School, Deputy Head, Mike Sharpe Junior School Drama Junior School Enrolment Growth Junior School Entrance Gates Junior School Extensions Junior School Head, Mark Bensley Junior School Head, Scott Campbell Junior School Head, Ken Raven Junior School Head, Paul Southwell Junior School Houses Junior School Library Junior School Music, Eisteddfod Success Junior School Music, Orchestra Junior School New Lavers Library Junior School New Parkinson Assembly Hall Junior School Preparatory Year Junior School Staff Room Junior School Supporters Group Junior School Synthetic Grass Junior School Tour to Canberra, by Plane Junior School Tour to New Zealand Junior School, Years 1-3 Entry Junior School, Year 4 Entry Junior School, Year 'Prep' Entry Kelly, Austin Kelly, Timothy (see Deputy Headmaster) Kent Oval Kent, H. Roy, 'Copper', Trustee & Kent Oval Kidu, Sir Buri, Chief Justice PNG King Charles III, His Royal Highness King George, His Royal Highness

1990, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 1987, 1990, 1998, 2000 1981 2017 1968 1957, 1958, 1985, 1986, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2011 1964, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1982 1925, 1927 1878, 1880, 1902, 1915, 1933, 1944, 1955 1992 1892, 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013 1998, 2020 2008 1997, 2001, 2004 2005, 2024 2007 2012 2007 1998, 2010 2001, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2022 2023 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000 2014, 2015 2003, 2005 2022 2018 2010, 2011, 2017 2010, 2017 2005 2009 2001 2013 2005 2005 2003 2001 2005 2017

Page | 1014

1917, 1928, 1941, 1964, 1966, 1973 1914, 1917, 1918, 1958, 1971, 1973, 1965, 1990 2022 1885, 1952


Klan, David (Old Boy and Staff) Knowles, George Knox Grammar School, Sydney Kuhn, Daniel (Staff and Old Boy) Lacrosse Lacrosse, International Representative, John Hutcheon Ladies Auxiliary Ladies Fashions Langer Master Plan Languages Latin Latin Grace Laundry Laurel Bank Park, Toowoomba Lavers A.E. Library (Junior School) Lavers Family Lavers, Ken, (Staff and Old Boy) Leadbeater, James G. (Staff) Learning Laboratory Lemon Family, Prefects Lemon , Reginald J. Memorial Cup Lewis, Wally (BSHS) Library, M.W. Baynes Library Library, W.M. Dent Library Library, A.G. Stephens Memorial Library Library, Old Hall Life Saving Championship Event Life Saving Club Lighting - Electricity Lighting - Gas Lamps Lions Club, Youth of the Year Little, Jason Lloyd, John G. Memorial Prize Lone Pine Trees Lord Huntingfield, Governor of Victoria Lyons, Thomas 'Tom' Lyons, Thomas, Memorial Award for Senior Prefect MacDiarmid, Barb and Family Mackay, Hugh (staff) Mackintosh Boarding House renamed from School House Mackintosh Boarding House Mackintosh Classrooms (see Barbour Classroom Block) Mackintosh Sporting House Magarry, Judith (Judy), (Staff) - see Gillies, Judy (Staff) Maids' Quarters Maintenance Sheds

1999 1898 1956 1993, 1997 1899, 1908, 1912 1895 1966, 1974, 1976, 1983 1947, 1950 1946, 1950, 1968 1904, 1910, 1915, 1937, 1959, 1975 1889, 1904, 1915, 1919, 1942, 1960, 1978, 1982, 1992, 1999, 2017 1993 1949, 1993, 2009, 2015 1897, 1932 2010, 2017 1933, 2012 1977, 1978, 1990, 2006, 2015, 2020 1903, 1904, 1937 2015 2007 1945 1977 1971 1988, 1989, 2008 1937 1964 1908 1943, 1947 1914, 1916 1911 1964 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 2002 1944 1979 1935 2009, 2014 2014 2022 1959 1993

Page | 1015

2012, 2013 1980, 1981, 1992 1942, 1974 1961 2009


Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 Manual Arts Margaret Street loop entry Marketing Officer Marks, Henry Mary Street Basalt Wall Martin, James 'Eric', Brigadier Martin, Thomas ('Tibby') (Staff and Old Boy)) Maryborough Grammar School Masters in the late 1930s, early 1940's Mathematical Olympiad, Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad, Australia Mathematics Gold Medal, Benjamin Roberts Maunder, John Mayors of Toowoomba McCracken, Glen(Old Boy and Chairman of Trustees) McDonald, Geoff McGovern, Desmond, (Old Boy and Staff) McIntyre brothers McKain, John, (Staff) McLeod, Chris, (Staff) McRae Family Mead, Harley, (Staff) Melbourne Cup Luncheon Memories of Wartime Exhibition Mental Health Seminar Metric System Michaelmas Holidays Middle Block Miles, Charles, General Military Training (Compulsory) Miller, David (Staff) Miller, Denise, (Staff) Mills Oval Mills Oval, White Picket Fence Mills Oval, R.R. Gillies Scoreboard Mills, Egerton Milne Bay Swimming Pool Miss Australia Missen, Maree (Staff) Mitchell, Rob (Staff) Mobile Phones Moffat, Stuart: Memorial Trophy Moon Landing Moore, Charlie Moore, Ian McK. Mooting, Bond University Morosini, Ellen (Staff)

2014 1981, 1982 2008 1992 1885 1951 1917, 1968 1917, 1928, 1948, 1952 1881 1941 1990, 1998 1984, 1986 1997, 1998, 1999 2008 1887, 1888, 1956, 1988, 2023 1974, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2018, 2019, 2020 1988, 2011, 2023 1972, 1973, 1979-2013 (1986) 1986, 1988, 1989 1988-2016 2009 2019 2012, 2014 1988, 1991 2005 2018 1966 1942 1958, 1971 1898 1911 2014 1967, 1986, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2019 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 1998, 1999 1999 1889 1962 1953, 1955 2020 1995, 1996, 2004, 2010 2002, 2023 1987 1969 1948 1961 1991, 1992, 2017, 2018 2004

Page | 1016


Mortar Boards Morwood, Alan D. (see Deputy Headmaster) Morwood Family Academic Success Morwood, Colin Motor Racing, Brown, Will Motor Racing, Gersekowski, Ben Motor Racing, Shields, Cameron Motor Vehicles Mountain Bike Club Mower, Horse Drawn 'Ben Hur' Muller, Nicholas, Memorial Values Award Music, Alex Steinbach grand piano Music, Atkinson, Craig Music, Australian Music Examinations Board, A.Mus.A Music, Australian Music Examinations Board, L.Mus.A Music, Australian Youth Orchestra Music, Big Band Music, Burstow, Toby Music, Buttsworth, Timothy Music, Channon, Gareth Music, Choir Music, Clarke, Lance Music, Clift, Will Music Club Music, Concert Band Music, Contempt For Music, Cornish, Rob Music, Director of Music/ Performance Music/Drama Public Concerts Music, Egerton Brothers Music, Egerton, Harry Music, Egerton, Jeremy Music Ensembles Music, GPS Day of Music Excellence Music in the Curriculum Music, Inter-House Singing Competition Music, Hansen, Hugh Music, Hansen, William Music, Jones, Jesse Music, Lachmund, Julian Music, Lawson, Ronald Music, Li, Damon Music, Miller, Alexander Music, Nuttall, Keir Music, Parent Supporters' Group Music, Peacock, Jeremy Music, RnB Band

1888 1953, 1963, 1970, 1975 1918, 1953 1947, 1952, 1954 2015 2009 2018 1888, 1902, 1910, 1920 2022 1945, 1959 2012 2007 2008 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 2011, 2014 2014, 2017 1987, 1994, 2004, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2022 2015 2012 2005, 2007 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1959, 1962, 1970, 1976, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2008, 2012, 2014 1972 2014 1970 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1998, 2001 1947 1997 1975, 1983, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2021 1887, 1904, 1907 2015 2017 2017 1947, 1988, 1993, 1994, 2012 2000, 2002, 2011, 2014 1877, 1983 2005, 2006 2016 2014 2016 2018, 2020 1958 2009 2008, 2011 1991 1998 2005 2011

Page | 1017


Music, Queensland Youth Orchestra Music, Saba, Geoffrey Music, Savage, Ben Music, Saxophone Ensemble Music, Schatz, Harry Music, School Orchestra Music, Schubert, Oliver Music, Schubert, Xavier Music, Singing Competition Music, Song, Gaudeamus Igitur Music, Stage Band Music, Stone, Andrew Music, String Ensemble Music, Tait, Harrison Music, TGS and Glennie Orchestra Music, The Grammarphones Music, Thornely, Steven Music Tour, Central Europe Music Tour, Sydney Music Tour, Take Note Tours Music Tour, The Grammarphones, USA Music Tour, USA Music, van Gend Brothers Music, van Gend, John Music, Watts, Mason Music, Wind Ensemble Musical At Empire Theatre Musical Instruments Musicals/Drama With Fairholme College Myles, Graham 'Singy' National Assessment Program - Literacy & Numeracy (NAPLAN) National Anthem National Science Olympic, South Africa National Youth Science Forum Navy Commodores Newington College, Sydney Newsletter, Blue and Gold Noble, James, (Staff) North American Tour North Block Nudgee College (see St Joseph's College, Nudgee) Obelisk Old Boys' Association Old Boys' Association, Branch Brisbane Old Boys' Association, Branch Canberra

2011 1963, 2008 1996 2018 2018 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 2021 2015 1991 1885, 1903, 1959 1987, 1988, 1995 2001 2006, 2009, 2011 2005 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016 1994, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 2005 2012 1996, 2004 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008 2006, 2016 2006, 2009, 2016 2011 2013, 2014 2016 2009, 2010 2001 1980 1989, 1992 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1968, 1969 2008, 2009 1984 2014 2006 1953, 1956 1910, 1912, 1926, 1928, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1972, 1978 1962, 2021 1994, 2011, 1977 1958, 1963

Page | 1018

1948 1888, 1889, 1901, 1908, 1997, 2000 1925, 1935, 1995 1958


Old Boys' Association, Branch Papua-New Guinea Old Boys' Association, Branch Sydney Old Boys' Association, Branch Townsville Old Boys' Association, Honorary Life Members Old Boys' Association, Honorary Old Boys Old Boys' Association, Honorary Old Boys, Female Old Boys' Chip Van Old Boys (1956) Clock Old Boys' Christmas Party Old Boys Fifth Generation Old Boys' Memorial Oval Old Boys' Memorial Oval Inundation Old Boys' Memorial Oval Underground Irrigation Old Boys' Memorial Oval, Terracing Old Boys' Memorial Oval, Turf Wickets Old Boys' Military Commemorative Website Old Boys' GPS Premiership Caps Old Boys' Reunion Dance/Ball Old Boys' Reunion Dinner Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Adelaide Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Brisbane Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Canberra Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, London Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Melbourne Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Papua New Guinea Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Rockhampton Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Sunshine Coast Old Boys' Reunion Dinner, Sydney Old Boys' Reunion Dinner Venues Old Boys' Reunion Dinners, Female Attendance Old Boys' Reunion, Class of 1947 Old Boys, Operational Staff at TGS Old Boys, Six Skerman Brothers Old Boys, Teaching Staff at TGS Old Boys, Later Trustees Old Boys' Wall of Achievement (see Wall of Achievement) Old Boys' Weekend and Dinner O'Connor, Clancy (Staff and Old Boy) Old Hall Old Hall, Honour Boards Old Hall, Refurbishment

1987 1930, 1931, 1932, 2005, 1925, 1934 1911, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1925, 1929, 1931, 1934, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1984 1967, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2014, 2020 2020 1992 2006 1959 2004, 2019 1932, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1962, 1976, 1990, 1991, 2005, 2009, 2011 1976, 2011 2005 1990 2009 2018 2016 1905, 1906, 1911, 1920 1930, 1939, 1976, 1990, 1996, 1997 2011 1980 2006 2008, 2011 2005, 2006, 2012 1996 2016 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024 2005, 2006, 2012, 2019 1976 1983 1997, 2017 1943, 1986, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2014, 1925 1926, 1941, 1944, 1953, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2013, 2023 1894, 1900, 1909, 1914, 1918, 1919, 1922, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1942, 1945, 1952, 1957, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2005 2003 1959, 1976, 1987, 1990, 2013, 2023 1953, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1912, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1946, 1950, 1975, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2000 1972, 1973

Page | 1019


Old Hall, Stained Glass Windows (Hobbs) Old Hall, Stained Glass Windows (Woodward) Oliphant, Mark (Staff) Olsen era Olympian, Brown, Kiel, Hockey Olympian, Cooper, Isaac, Swimming Olympian, Cuddihy, Timothy, Archery Olympian, Denny, Matthew, Discus Olympian, Downs, Barry, Pistol Shooting Olympian, Garard, Brendan, Hockey Olympian, Hutcheon, John 'Jack', High Jump Olympian, O'Neill, Nathan, Cycling Olympian, Pike, Benny, Boxing Olympic Games, Melbourne Olympic Games, Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games Judges/Staff Omnibus Magazine and Balliwanga Open Day Open Scholarship, University of Qld. First Place Open Scholarships, cessation Order of Australia, Student Citizenship Award Orienteering Orienteering, State Champion School Outdoor Activities Pursuits and Cultural Week Outdoor Education, Cooby Dam property, Abingdon Outdoor Pursuits and Activities Week Overall Position (OP) Student Assessment Oxford University Pace Graham Memorial Prize Papua New Guinea students Paralympian, Ashley Adams Paralympian, Vernon Ezzy Paralympian, Jeremy Peacock Parent and Teacher Interviews Parents' Cover, P & F Parents and Friends' (P & F) Association Parents and Friends' (P&F) Association, Art Show (see Art Show) Parents and Friends' (P&F) Association, Melbourne Cup Parents and Friends' (P&F) Association, Sports Centre Donation Parents and Friends' (P&F) Association, Theatre Restaurant Parents and Friends' (P&F) Ball

2006 1916, 1999 2005-2009, (2009), 20181969 2001 2020, 2021 2001 2013, 2016, 2021 1947 1988 1907 1991 1970 1956 2000 1947, 1973, 1984, 1987 1992 1976, 1980, 1912, 1924, 1927, 1939, 1946, 1954 1971, 1974 2006, 2008 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 2011, 2012 2006 1985, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006 2018 1990, 1992, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 1905, 1915, 1917, 1920, 1950, 1963, 1968, 1982, 2001, 2007, 2021 1931 1943, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2023 1972 1980 2009 1976 1987 1954, 1980, 1982, 1990, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2016 1981

Page | 1020

1991 2018 1980, 1981 1993


Parents and Friends' (P&F) Oval (Formerly Taylor House Oval) Parents and Friends' (P&F) Pantomime Parents and Friends' (P&F) Uniform Shop Parkinson B.I. Assembly Hall (Junior School) Partridge Dayboy House Partridge, Eric Partridge, Robert 'Bob', (Old Boy and Staff) Past Mothers' Group Pavilion, P & F Association Perry, John, (Staff) Photography Club Physics Laboratory Physics International Olympiad Pierpoint, Darrell, (Staff) Pidgeon, Brian Pine Forest, Herries Street Pipe Band Piper, Qld Champion, Sheldon Becker Platen, Jake (Old Boy and Staff) Polio (see Epidemic, Poliomyelitis) Politicians, Federal and State Polo International, Drew Slack-Smith Poulson, Len, (Staff) Powell, Willoughby Prefect System Prefects' Blazer and Tie Prefects' Oath Preparing For Bachelorhood Elective Primary School Students Prime Minister visit Prime Ministers of Australia Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Visit Prince of Wales Visit to Toowoomba Public Building Fund Public Speaking Purves W.A. Classroom Block Queen Elizabeth II Queen's Park (old) Queensland Border Closure Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) Queensland Certificate of Education Academic Achievement Award Queensland Youth Environmental Council Queensland's Centenary Year Rafter, Stephen (Staff)

1989 2001 1993 2010, 2017 1983, 1984, 1993, 2004, 2009 1910 1943, 1947, 1950, 1959, 1984, (1987) 1979, 2019 1995, 2012 1969, 1982, 1993 1906, 1908, 1971, 1996, 1914 1987 1976, 1984, 1985, 2006 1956 1950, 1951, 1954, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1995 1965, 1966, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991 1984 2010, 2021 1883, 1956, 1979, 1984, 1993, 2012 1994 1941-1974, (1965), (1970), (1974) 1875 1891, 1892, 1903, 1910 1962 1910 1977, 1978 1941, 1942, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1959, 1963, 1993, 1994, 1997 1905, 1998 2013, 2015 1985 1920 1957 1944, 1947, 1957, 1959, 1980 1974, 1975 1952, 1953, 1954, 1963, 2022 1877 1919, 2021 2008 2014, 2015, 2021 2006, 2007 1959 1985

Page | 1021


Rail Motor Rainfall Winter Rainwater Tanks Recyled Water, Toowoomba Rec Dorm Red Cross Military Ambulance Donations Red Cross Appeal Record Rees, Evan (Staff and Old Boy) Registrar Remembrance Day Renwick, 'King', Staff Rhodes Scholar, Barbour, Robert Rhodes Scholar, Cameron, Peter J. Rhodes Scholar, Heger, Andreas Rhodes Scholar, Hopkins, Lister Rifle Range Roberts Classroom Block Robertson, James, Brig-General Roche-Kelly, Neil (Staff) Rose, Hugh Centre Rose Seminar Room Refurbishment Row, John A. Rowbotham, David Rowing, Head of the River Royal Agricultural Society Royal Military College, Duntroon Rugby, Compulsory Participation Rugby, Curtain Raiser, Australia v New Zealand Rugby, Curtain Raiser, Australia v Springboks Rugby, Fractured Neck Injuries Rugby, First Game, Old Boys' Memorial Oval Rugby Fundraising Dinner Rugby GPS, Scholarships Rugby GPS, Television Transmission Rugby International Coaches Rugby International, Broadfoot, Cecil Rugby International, Broadfoot, Nev Rugby International, Challoner, Robert Rugby International, Colbert, Ray Rugby International, Corfe, Arthur C. Rugby International, Faessler, Matt Rugby International, Hatherell, Ian Rugby International, Hayes, Edwin 'Dooney' Rugby International, Kent, Allan W. 'Copper' Rugby International, Little, Jason Rugby International, MacMillan, Donald Rugby International, McDonald, John, 'Jack' C.

1944 1997, 2019 2008 2006 1944, 1959 1940. 1941 1991 2000 1993 1918, 1945 1903, 1941, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1966 1914, 1920 1961, 1963, 1968 2001, 2006, 2010 1925, 1927 1914, 1931, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1996 1971, 2020 1894, 1929, 1943 1998, 2017 2000, 2001, 2013 2019 1923 1940, 2006 1953 1944 1898, 1912, 1916, 1926, 1934, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1965, 2002 1963 1938, 1949, 1957 1965 2005, 2012, 2018 1953 2002 2010 1965, 1976 1930, 1958 1912 1912 1903 1948 1890, 1896 2015, 2016 1948 1926, 1928, 1933, 1938 1906 1987 1948 1929, 1931 Page | 1022


Rugby International, McLean, Gray 'Buster' Rugby International, Steggall, Jack Rugby International, Thompson, Edward Rugby League Rugby League GPS Premierships Rugby League, Armstrong, David Rugby League International, Broadfoot, Cecil J. Rugby League International, Broadfoot, Nev. Rugby League International, Madsen, Mick Rugby League International, McDonald, John N. Rugby League International, Teys, Gordon Rugby League, Melbourne Storm Visit Rugby League, Wally Lewis (BSHS) Rugby League, Brisbane Broncos Rugby League, Wayne Bennett Visit Rugby Reds Rugby Sevens, International, McDonald, Robert Rugby Sevens, International, Oates, Kye Rugby Supporters' Group Rugby Test International Referee, Young, Scott M. Rugby Tour, Fiji Rugby Tour, Melbourne and Canberra Rugby Tour, New South Wales Rugby Tour, New Zealand Rugby Tour, South Africa Rugby Tour, South America Rugby Tour, United Kingdom Rugby Tour, USA and Canada Rugby Union, GPS Premierships Rugby Union, 1948 GPS Premiership Rugby Union, GPS Second Place Rugby Union, GPS Third Place Rugby 1st XV to Government House, Sydney Rugby, Bledisloe Cup Rugby v Brisbane Boys' College (BBC) Rugby v Brisbane Grammar School Rugby v Brisbane State High School Rugby v 'Churchie' Rugby v Downlands College before 1950 Rugby v Downlands College, Framed Jersey Rugby v Downlands College, Live 'On-Line' Via Internet Rugby v Downlands College, Toowoomba Sports Ground Rugby v Downlands College, Mayne Cup Rugby v Downlands College, O'Callaghan Cup

1949 1925 1923 1920, 1927, 2012 1923, 1924 2018 1912 1913 1916, 1933, 1938, 1949 1960 1942 2006 1977, 2016 1992, 2012 2006 2009, 2016, 2018 1992 2016 1974, 1993 1983 1993 2000 1930, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1988, 2013 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2016 2014 2012 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 2008, 2018 1930, 1932, 1948, 1954, 1956 1948, 1988, 1993 1926, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1937, 1987, 2023 1934, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1962, 2015 1961 1992 1933, 1961, 2012 1887, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1920, 1922, 1942, 1949, 1952, 1961, 1967, 1986, 1987, 2009, 2015 1933, 1961, 2021 1961, 2006, 2012, 2015 1932, 1942 2001 2018 2020 1944 1950, 1970, 1975, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020

Page | 1023


Rugby v Downlands College, O'Callaghan Cup, drawn matches Rugby O'Callaghan Cup, largest defeat Rugby O'Callaghan Cup, largest victories Rugby O'Callaghan Cup, longest winning streak Rugby O'Callaghan Cup, progressive scores Rugby O'Callaghan Cup, 'streaker' Rugby v Ipswich Grammar School Rugby v Marist College, Ashgrove Rugby v St. Joseph's Gregory Terrace Rugby v St. Joseph's Nudgee College Rugby v The Armidale School Rugby v The King's School Rugby v The Southport School Rugby v TSS at BGS Rugby v TSS at GT Rugby v Sydney Grammar School Rugby, 1st XV Coaches Rugby, 1st XV four or more individual tries Rugby, 1st XV over 170 points scored in season Rugby, 1st XV lowest scores against in season Rugby, Australian Schoolboys Rugby, Australian Schoolboys - 4 in one team Rugby, 3 State players and 1 International in 1st XV Rugby, Criticism of Players Rugby, Barnes, Berrick (IGS) Rugby, Cooper, Quade (Churchie) Rugby, Eales, John (Marist, Ashgrove) Rugby, Elsom, Rocky (NC) Rugby, Flatley, Elton (NC) Rugby, Genia, Will (BBC) Rugby, Horwill, James (BBC) Rugby, Ioane, Digby (GT) Rugby, Little, Jason recollections Rugby, Lynagh, Michael (GT) Rugby, Moore, Stephen (BGS) Rugby, O'Connor, James (NC) Rugby, Pocock, David (Churchie) Rugby, Simmons, Rob (TSS) Rugby, Slipper, James (TSS) Rugby, Wilson, David (IGS/ BSHS) Rugby, Discussion of 'Top' Teams Rugby, First Game

1977, 1987, 2001 1975 2012, 2014 2014-2018 2018, 2022 2017 1904, 1905, 1917, 1924, 1928, 1961, 2012, 2018 2001, 2010 1919, 1929, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1980 1913, 1914, 1920, 1923, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1949, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2012, 2022 1905, 1916, 1984, 1912, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1911, 1912, 1922, 1938, 1949, 1952, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1997, 2015, 2019 1950, 1964 1952, 1956 1912, 1954 1903, 1951, 1957, 1959, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2022 1937, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 2015, 2023 1930, 1940, 1945, 1948, 1956, 2015 1930, 1940, 1945, 1948 1974, 1987, 2001, 2002, 2012, 2016 1987 1930 1960 2002 2006 2018 2000 1994 2005 2002 2003 1987 1981 2000 2000 2005 2006 2006 1984, 1985 1929, 1930 1887

Page | 1024


Rugby, GPS Safe Rugby Framework Rugby, Hatherell Prize Rugby History 1877-1926 Rugby History 1900-1961 Rugby History 1925-1951 Rugby History, First 100 Years Rugby, Bridgeman, Cooper Rugby, Deck, Adam Rugby, Faessler, Matt Rugby, Farrelly Brothers Rugby, Hoopert, Harry Rugby, Jurd, Liam Rugby, Kidston, Thomas Rugby, 'King' Renwick and Trophy Rugby, 1st XV Losing Streak Rugby, Oates, Kye Rugby, Old Boys XV v Current Boys XV Rugby, Pardoe, Tane Rugby, Past Grammars Rugby Union Club Rugby, Placid, Jonah Rugby, Potgieter, Philip Rugby, Queensland Reds Rugby, Smith, Ruan and J.P. Rugby, Steve Sweeney Memorial Award Rugby, Stewart, Hamish Rugby, Teams by Weight Rugby, the Mayne Cup Rugby, the O'Callaghan Cup Rugby, Vanzati, Markus Rugby, Wood, Lyn Russian Youth Aerospace Society Ryan, Jem Ryder, Robert L, Memorial Prize Saba, Geoffrey Sampford, Graham, (Staff) Sams, Colin 'Dave', (Staff) Sanderson, 'Sandy' (Staff) Schwartz, Neil L. Scholars Assembly Scholarship Examination School Anniversary, 50 Years School Anniversary, 75 Years School Anniversary, 125 Years School Anniversary, 150 Years School Ball School Barber School Bell School Blazers

2019 1924, 1927, 1962 1926 1961 1948 1975 2020 2012 2015, 2016 1972, 1974, 1976 2015, 2016 2013 2012 1903, 1941, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1966 1993, 1994, 1995 2016 1905, 1906, 1907, 1911, 1965 2020 1907, 1950, 1969, 1970 2012 2012 2015, 2018 2007 1980, 2012 2015, 2016 1947, 1958 1944 1950 2012 1929, 1930, 1931 2007 2022 1930 1963, 2006 1965, 1987, 1998 1974, 1985, 1998 1988, 2008 1950 1999 1962 1926 1950 2000 2025 1980 1878, 1945, 1958, 1962, 1986, 2012 1904, 1909, 1912, 1926, 1930, 1993, 1994 Page | 1025


School Colours, blue and white, blue and gold School Counsellor School Dance School Dining Room School Driveway-Promenade School Entrance, Herries Street School Entrance, Margaret Street School Evaluation School Fees School Fence School Footpaths School Formal Dinner School Grace School Grounds School Grounds, Aerial Photographs School History Book, Centenary School History Book, 125 Years School Honour Caps School Hospital-Sick Bay School House School House Bell Tower School House, Mackintosh Boarding School House, Boarding, Renamed Mackintosh School House Extensions School House Renovation/Refurbishment School Inspections School Kitchen School Leaving Age School Magazine School Mascot, 'Ting Tong Tiger' School Marshal School Motto and Badge Crest School Museum and Old Boys' Building School Ovals School Register, 1877-1995 School Song School Terms School War-Cry Schoolies' Week Science, International Youth Science Forum Science Laboratories Science, Australia Olympiad Scoreboards, Electronic Scotch College, Melbourne Scots College, Sydney

1879, 1901, 1907 1993 1909, 1953, 1959 1961 2012 1876, 1938, 1941, 1968, 1984 1949, 1950, 1968, 1976, 2008, 2012 1986 1877, 1889, 1913, 1923, 1934, 1948, 1958, 1965, 1967, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2020 1921, 1941, 2012 1987 1964, 1965, 1968 1878, 1993 1889, 1893, 1928, 1946, 2001 1954, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1975, 2006 1975 2000 1910 1961 1961, 1976, 1978, 1986, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2014 1876, 1986 2000, 2001, 2013 1993 1906, 1941, 2023 1978, 2023 1937 1961 1912, 1961 1883, 1904, 1934 1997, 2009 1996 1895, 1904 1904, 1918, 2008, 2009, 2019 1941, 1952, 1954, 1964 1995, 2008 1910 1944, 1949, 1951, 1981 1910, 1923 1957, 1980 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 1962, 1965, 1972 2001 2014 1876, 1903, 2003 1922, 1930, 1933, 1935, 1946, 1947, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1972 Page | 1026


Scots College, Sydney, Association With TGS Scott, Leslie W.A., (Staff) Scott-Hunter, Peter Memorial Prize Scout Troop Seat Belts Compulsory Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Ludgate, T.H. Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Nolan, J.G. Secretary to the Board of Trustees (Chief Financial Officer) Onley, Christina N. Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Partridge, 'Bob' Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Pierpoint, Darrell J. Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Sinclair, Robert Secretary to the Board of Trustees, Stephens, Samuel Secretary to the Board of Trustees (Chief Financial Officer) Woolacott, Graham N. Senior Boarder Prefect Senior Dayboy Prefect Senior Master Senior Prefect and Dux Senior Prefect: Brothers Senior Prefect: Father and Son Senior Prefect For Three Years Septic system Sharpe, Mike (staff) Shooting Shooting, International Representative, Ashley Adams Shooting, National Champions Shooting Range Shooting, the GPS Stephenson Premiership Cup Shooting, Old Boys v Current Boys Shorthand in the Curriculum Shot Put Sick Bay Simpson, Tanya (Staff) Singy' Myles most outstanding sportsman trophy Skerman, Paulina, (Staff) Skerman, Six Brothers Smallhorn, Christopher Smiddy, Allan (Staff) Smith, Geoffrey Smith, Paul Smoke Free Zones Smoking of Cigarettes Smythe, Graham (see Cricket)

1898, 1922, 1933, 1935, 1946, 1947, 1959 1916-1957, (1957) 1963, 1966 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983 1972 1931-1950 1926-1931 2018-2025 (1947), 1950-1984 (1976), 1984-2006 1901-1928 1874-1901 2006-2018 1966 1966 1975 1877, 1878, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1915, 1917, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1932, 1967, 1972, 1983, 1984, 1995, 1983, 2014 1920/1923; 1986/1989; 1994/1997; 2005/2007 1923/1959 1936, 1937, 1938 1919, 1932 2005, 2008, 2024 1908, 1909, 1910, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973 1972 1955, 1973 1909 1937, 1948, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1966, 1973 1966 1904, 1919 1998, 2000, 2016 1904, 1961, 1997, 2024 2001, 2022 1927, 1969 2005, 2008, 2011 1925 1986 1998, 2007, 2022 2006, 2025 1971 1995 1978

Page | 1027


Snow Skiing

1981, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2010, 2018, 2019

Soccer (see Football, Soccer) Solar Roof Panels Sony Foundation Children's Holiday Camp Sorensen, Harry, (Staff) South Block Southwell, Paul (Staff) Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony Speech Day, Rain Speech Day, First Woman Guest Speaker Speech Day, Ladies Fashion Speech Day, State Premier Visitors Speech Day and State Governor Visitors Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony - Restricted Audience Speech Day Venue - Alexandra Hall Speech Day Venue - Empire Theatre Speech Day Venue - Masonic Hall Speech Day Venue - Old Hall Speech Day Venue - School Assembly Hall Speech Day Venue - School House Front Lawn Speech Day Venue - Town Hall Speech Day Venue - Walhalla Hall Sports Centre, Glen McCracken Sporting Calendar GPS revision Sporting Honour Caps Sporting Scholarships Sporting Spectator Admission Charge Spring School Program Squash St Joseph's College - Gregory Terrace St Joseph's College - Nudgee St Margaret's Church of England High School for Girls St Mary's College, Toowoomba St Peter's College, Adelaide Staff Association Staff Co-Curricular Financial Allowance Staff Common Room Staff Crowding Staff Discontent Staff Heads of Department Staff History Staff, Longest Serving Staff Meetings, Venue Staff, Superannuation

2023 2007, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2023 1996 1958, 1959, 1963, 1981 1996, 2001 1950, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1981, 1992 1947 1985 1934, 1947, 1950 1929, 1937, 1944 1904, 1905, 1910, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1988, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2015 2020

Page | 1028

1905-1906 2000-present 1903-1904 1882, 1901 1964-1999 1924-1963 1909-1923 1908 2017, 2018 2012 1910 1982, 1986, 2000, 2002, 2010 1886, 1891 1990 1973, 2002 1875 1891 1890 1899 1988 1971 1976, 1998, 2008 2013 1976 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 1975 1975 1957, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2019, 2020, 2022 1992 1971


Staff, Total Teaching Stained Glass Windows, Old Hall Stamp Club Stanley, Waverley State Aid (see Government Funding for Independent Schools) Statton, Rebecca J. (Staff and Trustee) Stephens, Alfred Stephens Boarding House Stephens Memorial Library Stephens Sporting House Stephens, Samuel Sterling, Rowan, Memorial Prize Stewart, Alexander Stieglitz Brothers Still Playing The Game, School History Book Stirling, Mac Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach Storrs, Mick Stower, Justin Strategic Plan, 2022-2026 Student Council Student Services Centre Stumm, Charles Swain, Nathan Swan, Ray Swartz, Sir Reginald Sweeney, Steve Memorial Trophy Swimming

1879, 1905, 1908, 1911, 1926, 1933, 1938, 1940, 1946, 1951, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1999, 2006, 1970 1984, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2016

Swimming Baton, Downlands College Swimming Carnival Swimming Club Swimming, Past Grammar Swimming Club Swimming GPS Championships, cancellation Swimming, Compulsory 'Learn to Swim' Lessons Swimming History, 1925-1950 Swimming, Improvement Swimming, Inter-House Competition, Venue Swimming Pool (outdoors) Swimming Pool, Aquatic Centre Swimming Pool, Milne Bay Swimming v Brisbane Grammar School Swimming v Downlands College Swimming, Australian Schools' Championships Swimming, Chandler Swimming, City Baths Swimming, GPS Schools Championship Page | 1029

2001, 2022 1877, 1880, 1932, 2022 1875, 1964, 1986, 1987, 2002, 2010 1937 1942, 1974, 1984, 1987 1875, 1900 1942 2009 1898, 1902, 1946 2000 1972, 1973, 1993, 1995 1987 1961, 1962, 2005, 1985, 1986, 2016 2022 1970 2013, 2023 1878, 1917 1995 1953, 1955, 1956, 1961 1924 2012 1907, 1910, 1958, 1968,1981, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2010, 2016, 2017 1943, 1945, 1954, 1968, 2005 1906 1904, 1906, 2015, 2016, 2018 1929 1932, 1938, 1951, 1966, 1967 1911 1950 2011 1996, 2005 1927, 1928, 1929, 1941, 1950, 1961, 1964 2009 2009, 2010 1958, 1962 1913 1943, 1945, 1954, 1968, 2005 2016 1981 1907 1935


Swimming, GPS Schools Second place Swimming, GPS Schools Third place Swimming, GPS Open 50m Freestyle Winners Swimming, GPS Open 100m Freestyle Winners Swimming, GPS Open 200m Freestyle Winners Swimming, GPS Open 400 m Freestyle Winners Swimming, GPS Open 50 m Breastroke Winners Swimming, GPS Open 100m Breastroke Winners Swimming, GPS Open 50m Backstroke Winners Swimming, GPS Open 100m Backstroke Winners Swimming, GPS Open 200m Medley Winners Swimming, Individual Swimmers Winning Two or More Open Events Swimming, Armstrong, Duncan (BSHS) Swimming, Baildon, Andrew (TSS) Swimming, Chandler, Grant Swimming, Clarke, Ben Swimming, Cooper, Isaac, Olympian Swimming, Dickey, Ayrton Swimming, Geldenhuys, Simon Swimming, Gibson, Alan Swimming, Lawrence, Laurie (Staff) Swimming, Muller, Thomas Swimming, Nuss Baths Swimming, Oates, BJ Swimming, Orbell, Dick (IGS and TGS Coach) Swimming, Perkins, Kieran (BBC) Swimming, Plummer, Jason (IGS) Swimming, Salmond, William Swimming, Scott, Robert Swimming, Seawright Brothers Swimming, Seawright Trophy Swimming, Sieben, Jon (BSHS) Swimming, Smith, Joshua Swimming, Sprenger, Christian (GT) Swimming, Stevens, Dylan Swimming, Stewart, Fraser Swimming, Stubblety-Cook, Izaac (Churchie) Swimming, Trenerry, Don Swimming, Trenerry, 'Martin' Swimming, Toowoomba Grammar Swim Club Swimming, Toowoomba Secondary Schools Swimming Championships Swimming, Usher's Pond Sydney Grammar School 'Shore' Sydney University Gold Medal TaeKwon-Do Martial Arts Club Talkie Machine

1930, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1946 1931, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1945, 2013, 2017 1934, 1935, 1945, 2016, 2000, 2020 1931, 1935 2017 1937 1937, 1971, 1977, 2018, 1935, 1945, 1969, 1973, 1996, 1997, 2017, 2022 2017 1935, 1945, 2017, 1985 1988 1996, 1997 2016 2020 2003 2016 2015 1964, 1965 1935 1890, 1893 2015 1979, 2009, 2010 1991, 2011 1984 2017, 2018 1944 1977, 1978 1977, 1979, 1990 1983 2016, 2018 2003, 2010 2017 2016 2017 1949, 1950 1949 2015, 2018 2018 1877, 1904 1910, 1912, 1922, 1926, 1928, 1939, 1950, 1954, 1969, 1971, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1992 1915 2008, 2014 1943

Page | 1030


Taylor Boarding House Taylor Boarding House Annex Taylor Boarding Housemaster's Residence Taylor Sporting House Taylor, James Teaching Resources Teaching Staff, Years of Service Telegraph Blue Telephones Television Sets Student Levy Television, black and white Television, colour Tennis Courts Tennis Courts Floodlit Tennis Courts, Resurfacing Tennis v Brisbane Grammar School Tennis v 'Churchie' Tennis v Ipswich Grammar School Tennis v NC Tennis v The Southport School Tennis, Emerson, Roy (IGS) Tennis, Gaydon brothers Tennis, Gaydon, Perc (Coach) Tennis, Harris, Alan Tennis, Jones, Alan Tennis, Moore, Charlie Tennis, Simmons, Madison Tennis, Strohfeldt, Brian Tennis, Tomic, Bernard (TSS) Tennis, Wright, Gavin (Coach) Tennis, First Game Tennis, GPS Open IV, top players Tennis, GPS Premierships Tennis, GPS second place Tennis, GPS third place Tennis, Heenan Trophy Tennis, History, 1877-1926 Tennis, History, 1925-1950 Tennis, International Representative, Mark Kratzman Tennis, National Representative Tennis, Queensland Secondary Schools Tennis Competition Tennis, Shelter Tennis, State Representatives Tennis Supporters' Group Tennis, Sydney Country Championship Tennis, Term Played Tertiary Education Funding

1875, 1958, 1959, 2015, 2016 1967 1996 1942, 1974, 1984 1875 1969, 1971, 1986 2022 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956 1901, 1958, 1966, 1968, 1962 1956 1975 1907, 1925, 1949, 1950, 1970, 1980, 1993 2005 1993 1885, 1914, 1917, 1999 2007 1905, 1999 2009 1911, 1917 1951 1946, 1951, 1952, 1954 1992 1941 1956, 1957, 1958 1948 2010. 2011, 2012 1939, 1940, 1941 2005 1992, 2018 1885 1938, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1995, 2012 1927, 1930, 1932, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1957 1926, 1928, 1937, 1958 1936, 1960 1964, 1984, 2003 1926 1949, 1950 1979 1941 2010, 2015, 2016

Page | 1031

1997 1917, 1938, 1940, 1946 1993 1918 1984 1972


Tertiary Entrance (TE) Score Text Books To E-Text Books Theatre Restaurant (Parents & Friends Association) The Armidale School The King's School, Parramatta The Southport School foundation TSS first time sporting teams travelled to TGS The Southport School, Headmaster Pearce Thompson, Duncan E. (Ian) Thornburn, Colin (Staff) Thornburn Memorial Prize for Technology Studies Time Capsule Centenary Dining Hall Timetable Ting Tong Tiger, School Mascot Toleman, David (Staff) Tom Allen Memorial Trophy Toowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School (TACAPS) Toowoomba Anglican School (TAS) Toowoomba By-Pass Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Toowoomba Centenary Celebration Toowoomba East State School, Old Boy Principal Toowoomba Golf Club Toowoomba Grammar Acting Academy (TiGAA) - see Drama, TiGAA Toowoomba HMAS Toowoomba Hottest Day Toowoomba Lowest Annual Rainfall Toowoomba Population Toowoomba 'Prep' School Toowoomba 'Prep' School into Co-Education Toowoomba 'Prep' School into Secondary School Toowoomba Regional Council Toowoomba State High School, Old Boy Principal & Teachers Toowoomba Water Restrictions Toowoomba Wellcamp (Brisbane West) Airport Townsville Grammar School Train to Brisbane, 10 hours Tree Planting Ceremony Trenerry Gymnasium Trenerry, Don Trenerry, Fred Trevethan, Ross Trinity Grammar School, Sydney Trip to School, Two Weeks

1972, 1975, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992 2017 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2004 1904, 1910, 1916, 1956, 1980 1911, 1912, 1913, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1947, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1961, 1992 1901 1968 1937 1945, 1959 1987 1987 1975 2003 1997, 2009 1997, 2004, 2012 1929, 1954, 1958 2014

Page | 1032

2019 2018, 2019 1950, 1972, 1982, 1999 2004 1916 1896 2005, 2010 2017 2019 1900, 1911, 1920, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 1904, 1911, 1920, 1939, 1958, 1972, 1973, 2014 1972 2014 2008 1893, 1912, 1919 1935, 1936 2006, 2010 2014, 2016 1888, 1930, 1953, 1970, 1975, 1997, 1998, 2017 1888, 1928, 1953 1975 1983, 2001 1949, 1952, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1988 1952 1957 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1984 1913


Trustees Boardroom Trustees Oval Trustees, Press attendance at Board Meetings Trustees, Youngest Trustees, First Woman Tuck Shop (also see Fleming Corner Store) Tug of War event Turner, Graham Tutor Groups Twin Towers New York City terrorist attack Typewriter, Electric Typing in the Curriculum Typhoid Fever Typing Uniform Shop University Fees Abolished University of Queensland University Scholarships University of Southern Queensland University of Sydney University, Tertiary Entrance (TE) Score van Gend, Brothers Vallis, Tom, Prize for Mathematics Vietnam War and Conscription Vietnam War, Old Boys' Honour Board Villers-Bretonneux, France Vocational Guidance Volleyball Volleyball State Schoolboy Representatives Volleyball, GPS second place Volleyball, GPS third place Volleyball, Hood, Ben Volleyball, Yusaf, Hussein Volleyball, Past v Present Teams Volleyball v 'Churchie' Volleyball v GT Volleyball, Qld. Intermediate Schools' Cup von Stieglitz Family Waite, Ian Dr., Staff Wallace, Donald J Wall of Achievement Wall of Achievement, Adams, Ashley Wall of Achievement, Armstrong, Mark Wall of Achievement, Avery (Grimes), Leonard Wall of Achievement, Barbour, Robert Wall of Achievement, Bell, Brian Wall of Achievement, Boyce, Austin

1984, 1994 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984 1888 1990 1992 1910, 1937, 1975 1887, 1908, 1915, 1988 1966, 1997, 2003 1979 2001 1969 1950 1888, 1889 1919, 1949, 1950, 1965 2016 1974 1910, 1921 1896, 1938 1967, 1992, 2022 1921 1975 2011, 2013, 2014 1941 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 2000, 2016 1966, 1990 1959, 1977, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2018 1965 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2020 1985, 1987, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 2005, 2006, 2021, 2023 1996, 1998, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013 2020, 2021 2023 2020 2021 2008, 2010 2021 1946 1988, 2005, 2012, 2022, 2025 1945 2003 1972 1990 1885 1917 1943 1883 Page | 1033


Wall of Achievement, Boyce, John 'Gerard' Wall of Achievement, Broadfoot, Cecil Wall of Achievement, Broadfoot, William, 'Neville' Wall of Achievement, Brown, Kiel Wall of Achievement, Bullock, Harold Wall of Achievement, Burge, Evan Wall of Achievement, Burstow, Graham Wall of Achievement, Cameron, Donald Wall of Achievement, Cameron, Peter Wall of Achievement, Chauvel, Harry Wall of Achievement, Cheng (Coy), Charles Wall of Achievement, Chester, David Wall of Achievement, Clowes, Cyril Wall of Achievement, Clowes, Norman 'Nim' Wall of Achievement, Colbert, Ray Wall of Achievement, Common, Ian Wall of Achievement, Corfe, Arthur 'Anstey' Wall of Achievement, Cooper, Isaac Wall of Achievement, Cotton, Frederick 'Sidney' Wall of Achievement, Coxen, Walter Wall of Achievement, Croker, James Wall of Achievement, Cuddihy, Tim Wall of Achievement, Dale, Denver Wall of Achievement, Denny, Matthew Wall of Achievement, Downs, Barry Wall of Achievement, Doyle, Jack Wall of Achievement, Ezzy, Vernon Wall of Achievement, Feros, James 'Jim' Wall of Achievement, Fisher, Norman Wall of Achievement, Foott, Cecil Wall of Achievement, Fortescue, Charles Wall of Achievement, Garard, Brendan Wall of Achievement, Gartner, Joseph 'Joe' Wall of Achievement, Gore, Richard Wall of Achievement, Groom, Littleton Wall of Achievement, Haly, Frank Wall of Achievement, Hamilton, Christopher Wall of Achievement, Hatherell,William 'Lew' Wall of Achievement, Hatton, Neville Wall of Achievement, Hauritz, William Wall of Achievement, Hayes, Edwin 'Dooney' Wall of Achievement, Heger, Andreas Wall of Achievement, Hinton, William 'Vaughan' Wall of Achievement, Hopkins, Lister Wall of Achievement, Hume, Bertram Wall of Achievement, Hunter, Barry Wall of Achievement, Hutcheon, John 'Jack' Wall of Achievement, Jackson, Sidney Page | 1034

1887 1912 1913 2001 1934 1950 1943 1892 1963 1882 1918 1964 1910 1949 1948 1937 1896 2020 1908 1881 1946 2001 1982 2013 1947 1934 1980 1950 1927 1885 1909 1988 1956 1970 1883 1949 1977 1948 1910 1969 1928 2001 1949 1927 1888 1943 1900 1885


Wall of Achievement, Jones, Alan Wall of Achievement, Jones, John Wall of Achievement, Jorgensen, Graham Wall of Achievement, Kent, Allan 'Copper' Wall of Achievement, Kidu, Buri Wall of Achievement, Knowles, George Wall of Achievement, Kratzmann, Mark Wall of Achievement, Lee, Wellington Wall of Achievement, Lemon, Alan Wall of Achievement, Little, Jason Wall of Achievement, Littleproud, David Wall of Achievement, Littleton, Colin Wall of Achievement, Livermore, Ross Wall of Achievement, Lomas, Geoff Wall of Achievement, Love, Martin Wall of Achievement, Macdonnell, James 'Jamie' Wall of Achievement, MacMillan, Ian 'Donald' Wall of Achievement, Madsen, Michael 'Mick' Wall of Achievement, Marks, Henry 'Harry' Wall of Achievement, Martin, J. Eric Wall of Achievement, Mayes, Bruce Wall of Achievement, McAlpine, Colin Wall of Achievement, McChlery, Keith Wall of Achievement, McDonald, John 'Jack' Wall of Achievement, McDonald, John 'Cracker' Wall of Achievement, McDonald, Robert 'Rob' Wall of Achievement, McKay, Peter Wall of Achievement, McLean, Gray 'Buster' Wall of Achievement, McLeod, Alan Wall of Achievement, McNeilly, Ronald 'Ron' Wall of Achievement, McWilliam, James 'Jim' Wall of Achievement, Metcalfe, Andrew Wall of Achievement, Miles, Charles Wall of Achievement, Miller, Howard Wall of Achievement, Morwood, Colin Wall of Achievement, Moss, Stephen Wall of Achievement, Nutt, John Wall of Achievement, O'Neill, Nathan Wall of Achievement, Outridge, K. 'Paddy' Wall of Achievement, Parker, Ian Wall of Achievement, Parkinson, Roy Wall of Achievement, Partridge, Eric Wall of Achievement, Pascoe, Reginald 'Reg' Wall of Achievement, Pike, Geoffrey 'Benny' Wall of Achievement, Porter, Peter Wall of Achievement, Powne, Eric 'Bunny' Wall of Achievement, Preece, Alexander Wall of Achievement, Price, Geoff

1958 1948 1952 1906 1965 1898 1979 1942 1943 1987 1993 1932 1959 1966 1991 1948 1948 1916 1885 1921 1921 1947 1988 1931 1960 1992 1953 1949 1920 1961 1945 1976 1898 1934 1947 1987 1950 1991 1944 1940 1917 1910 1946 1970 1946 1947 1943 1948 Page | 1035


Wall of Achievement, Raymond, Neville Wall of Achievement, Robertson, James Wall of Achievement, Roubicek, George Wall of Achievement, Row, John Wall of Achievement, Rowbotham, David Wall of Achievement, Rudolf, Terence Wall of Achievement, Saba, Geoffrey Wall of Achievement, Sainsbury, Maurice Wall of Achievement, Scott, Robert 'Bob' Wall of Achievement, Seccombe, Wade Wall of Achievement, Sheahan, Charles Wall of Achievement, Skerman, Keith 'Doug' Wall of Achievement, Skerman, Percival 'Percy' Wall of Achievement, Skoien, Ralph Wall of Achievement, Smith, E. Raymond Wall of Achievement, Stanley, Waverley Wall of Achievement, Steggall, John 'Jack' Wall of Achievement, Stephens, Alfred Wall of Achievement, Stevens, Donald Wall of Achievement, Stirling, John 'Mac' Wall of Achievement, Swartz, Reginald Wall of Achievement, Syme, Donald Wall of Achievement, Taylor, William 'Bill' Wall of Achievement, Teys, Gordon Wall of Achievement, Thompson, Edward 'Ted' Wall of Achievement, Turner, Graham 'Skroo' Wall of Achievement, Vanneck, William Wall of Achievement, Watson, Bruce Wall of Achievement, Watt, John Wall of Achievement, Watts, Duncan Wall of Achievement, Weir, Don Wall of Achievement, Whiting, Kevin Wall of Achievement, Williamson, John Wall of Achievement, Woodward, Eric Wall of Achievement, Wright, Malcolm Wall of Achievement, Wyeth, Ezra 'Boxer' Wall of Achievement, Yeates, Neil Wall of Achievement, Young, Scott War-Cry Wartime, Memories of Wartime Exhibition Water Polo Water Recycling in Toowoomba, Referendum Water Restrictions Water Springs to Mary Street Water Storage Tanks Water Supply, Toowoomba Watering, Underground System Watt, Morag (Staff)

1921 1894 1953 1923 1940 1990 1963 1945 1944 1988 1933 1938 1926 1944 1941 1984 1925 1880 1935 1973 1924 1987 1956 1942 1923 1966 1894 1945 1950 1987 1944 1944 1943 1916 1947 1928 1935 1983 1910, 1923, 1955, 1965 2005 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 2003 2006 1937, 2006 1956, 1976 1907, 2008 2010 2005, 2007 1993, 2022 Page | 1036


Weber, Cameron (Old Boy and Staff) Webpage White, Edgar G (Staff) White Ribbon committee Wicks, Christopher Wildermuth, David, Young Australian of the Year (Environment Category) Windmills Winn J.K. Medal for Academic Excellence Winn, John Keeble, (Staff) teacher and School Historian Winn, J.K., School History Books Wireless Club Women Educators in All Boys' Schools Conference Wonderley, Charles R Woodford's Shed Woodward Eric, Governor of NSW Woolacott, Benjamin (Staff and Old Boy) Work Experience Workshop World War One Remembrance Day World War One and Two, Brigadier Neville Hatton World War One Enlistments World War One Honour Board, Old Hall World War One Generals World War One, Charles Fortescue World War One, Charles Wonderley World War One, Frank Swinburne World War One, Fred Barbour World War One, Hunter Poon World War One, Loss of Life World War One, Sydney Bond World War One, TGS Battlefields Tour, World War One, Mr Tom Hewitt, (Staff) World War One, Villers-Bretonneux, France World War Two World War Two, Brigadier Edward Smith World War Two, Brigadier James Martin World War Two, Ian Parker World War Two, Jack Doyle World War Two, Lt.Gen. Cyril Clowes World War Two, Norman Clowes World War Two, Sir Alan McLeod World War Two Honour Boards World War Two, Loss of Life World War Two, Pearl Harbour Attack World War Two, Roll of Honour, E. Habben's Book World War Two, Military Ambulances Donation World War Two, Slit Trenches and Air-Raid Drills

2004, 2005, 2023 2001 1939, 1958, 1973 2017 1985, 2007, 2011, 2021 1987 1906, 1907, 1936, 1938, 1941 1997, 2001 1963, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2015 1997, 2000 1927 2007 1912 1947, 1974 1916, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1999 2004 1982, 2008 1983, 2009 1918 1910 1914, 1916, 1918, 1921 1916, 1917, 1919 1914 1909 1912 1916 1914, 1915, 1917 1910 1914 1911 2015 1907, 1908, 1914, 1916 1959, 2007, 2009, 2011 1939-1945 1941 1921 1940 1934, 2002, 2011 1910 1910 1920 1975 1945 1941 2014, 2015, 2019 1940, 1941 1940, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946

Page | 1037


Writers' Circle Yalari Indigenous Education Scholarship Program Yalari, National Schools' Seminar at TGS Yeabsley, Lynnette, (Staff) Yeabsley, L.J. Prize for French Years 5-7 in GPS Sport Year 7s to Secondary School Year 8s to Secondary School Yeates, Brothers Young, Alison Dr., (Staff) Young Creator of the Year Competition Young, Ian R, (Staff)

2006 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2016 2016 1988, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 2021 2014 2013, 2014 1963, 1964 1920, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1935 2016 2010 1984, 2016, 2017

Page | 1038


Vol. 2 TOOWOOMBA GRAMMAR SCHOOL A Celebration of its Sesquicentenary 1875- 2025

Volume 2

A Celebration of its Sesquicentenary 1875 - 2025

Peter B. Hauser

Written and Compiled by the 15th Headmaster

Peter B. Hauser


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