OLD GRAMMARIAN AND COMMUNITY NEWS

Gwen Bourchier (Duxson, 1941)

Travis Barnes (1991) (pictured below)

Travis and his family visited the school from Canberra in November. Travis captained the Ballarat Grammar 1991 First XI Premiership Cricket team and has since lost his cricket cap, so we arranged for a new cap to replace his lost one! Travis’ sons are carrying on his love of cricket and were competing in the Under 12 Schoolboys' Cricket Championships representing the ACT.

Heath Whelan (1989) (pictured above)

Now living in the USA, Heath visited Australia last August with his wife and three children and was keen to show his family where he went to school. Heath was particularly thrilled to see his old boarding house, Dart House, and share his memories with his family after many years of living abroad.

(pictured above) Gwen Bourchier and her extended family visited the School in April this year, 84 years after Gwen first started boarding at Queen’s. Gwen thoroughly enjoyed her visit, and it was wonderful to see her happiness in the connections and opportunities that the School has given many members of her family. Two of Gwen’s children, Allison Bourchier (1981) and Mark Bourchier (1985) attended Grammar, and also her grandchildren Claire Swann (2003), Fletcher Swann (2005), Thomas Swann (2005), Hamish Bennett (2014), and Sophie Bennett (2013) and now her great granddaughter Laila Reilly (Year 10) , is a current student, and the fourth generation attending the School. Gwen and her family were very impressed with what has been achieved, and is still in the making, with buildings and grounds, since the family began their association with Grammar.

Peter Burgess (1954) passed away in November 2022. John Burgess (1989) advised the School of the death of his father, one of five Burgess siblings who attended Ballarat Grammar or Queen’s. Details of the long Burgess family connection were supplied by Peter and published In Boomalacka 117, Autumn 2019.

Peter, a boarder, a Probationer, member of the 3rd Crew and active participant in sporting competitions, left in 1953 after completing the equivalent of Year 11. He studied a Diploma of Agriculture at Longerenong. He returned as a part-time resident House Master during 1957-58 and was a rowing coach. Later, he went on to train at Ballarat Teachers’ College.

Clive Chatfield (1940) passed away in February, aged 99. Clive was enrolled in 1937 and attended from the equivalent of Year 9 to Matriculation in 1940. He was a Prefect, was awarded the Senior Music Prize in 1939, and was one of three boys to receive a Proficiency Prize in his final year, 1940.

He maintained a strong interest in the School throughout his life and often spoke fondly of the years he spent at Ballarat Grammar. One story he told his children about travelling to school was shared at his funeral. His parents used to drop his bags at the station at Kaniva around 9pm, then go to bed. He would get himself up to the station to catch the train which came through after midnight. As this was the first stop after the border, he was first on, but gradually his mates would join him as the train made its way to Ballarat, and once there, they would go and have breakfast before making their way up to school.

It is with sadness that we share news of the death of Fiona Croggon (1983) and send our heartfelt condolences to her friends and family. A creative and bright-spirited person, Fiona was in Manifold House. The Funeral Service for Fiona was simple and deeply moving; a booklet of her childhood poems and later paintings was provided for relatives and friends. A copy has been added to the School's historical collection.

Christopher Neale (2007), Co-Captain of Robin House in 2007, sadly passed away in late April after unexpected complications of a short illness. His family very much appreciated the fact that some of his Grammar mates were able to be present at the funeral at St Matthew’s Anglican Church, opposite the School. He will be remembered by his peers for his “no fuss, cheerful, purposeful manner”, his willingness to accept responsibility and the contributions he made to the wellbeing of the School community and the community at large.

In a message to Chris’ parents, his manager at Optus (where Chris worked for 14 years) wrote, “Chris was more than just a team member, he was a friend, a mentor to many, and an inspiration to all of us. He brought so much to us with his infectious energy, his positive attitude, and his unwavering dedication to his work. Chris had a way of making everyone around him feel at ease; he had a gift for bringing people together. He was always the first to offer a helping hand or a listening ear, and he was never too busy to lend his support to those who needed it. We take comfort in knowing that his memory will live on through the countless lives he touched, the lessons he taught us, and the legacy he leaves behind.”

Grenville ‘Gren’ Tonzing (1950) passed away in February. G.A. Tonzing was a student at Grammar for three years from 1948 until 1950. He was awarded Colours for Rowing.

We were sad to hear of the death of His Majesty King Constantine II of Greece in January. As Round Square’s Patron and President of the Round Square Board, King Constantine was a champion of the organisation’s IDEALS and work. He was present when it was founded in the 1960s and attended almost every Round Square conference over a period of 50 years. He was also a friend to Ballarat Grammar, visiting in 1998 as pictured, with his son, Crown Prince Nikolaos visiting Mrs Nolan’s maths class in 1998 and opening the Esther Larritt Wing of Hayhoe House pictured here with Mr Higgs and Sally Pullin (1998), Hayhoe House Captain.

Lester Trickey (1976), a boarder in Dart House from 1974 to 1976, passed away in November. He was involved in a range of activities while at School: he rowed and studied piano. He represented the School in the First XVIII in 1975 and 1976, in the First Basketball Team in 1974 and 1975, and the Second Tennis Team in 1976; he also coached Girls’ Basketball, was a cast member for the School’s production of Charlie Girl and a member of the School Choir in 1976. Old Grammarians Doug Cowland, Nigel Hooke, Greg Fisher, Duncan Macleod and Philip le Plastrier (all Grammar students from the 1976 cohort), caught up with Lester in early October; many wonderful memories were shared with much laughter.

Siblings, Phyllis Redman (Murphy, 1943), and Ray Murphy (1945), died just five weeks apartRay on 19 March, aged 92, and Phyllis, aged 94, on 22 April. Phyllis was the mother of Sue White (Redman, 1969), Deborah Westfield (Redman, 1971) and Andrew Redman (1975) and Ray was the father of Chris Murphy (1976).

In the tribute for Phyllis printed in The Courier, her family lovingly remembered her as the family historian, a singer in church choirs and musicals, a voracious reader and life-long learner, a diligent auditor and bookkeeper, an attentive legal receptionist and archivist, lover of good food, live entertainment and fashion, baker of hedgehog and other sweet delights, keen traveller and resilient Covid first-wave survivor. Phyllis was a proud citizen of Ballarat, a significant Queen’s Old Girl and an advocate of education for girls.

Ray was a great friend of the late Alf Hancock’s (1948). Ray thought he might be the last survivor of his year.