Spectemur Issue 3 2021

SPECTEMUR Issue 3

2021

Contents S C H O OL

From the Headmaster’s Desk..................................................................................1 Follow Your Passion................................................................................................2 Meet the School Council.........................................................................................6 Green Pages...........................................................................................................8 From the Experts...................................................................................................10 Murdoch Centre for Educational Research and Innovation.................................... 13 News from Around the School.............................................................................. 14 Biennial Agendo Art Award and Exhibition 2021....................................................22 Junior School Presents… An Aesop Adventure.....................................................24 Sport.....................................................................................................................26 Camberwell Snowsports and Falls Family Week....................................................28

CO M M U N I T Y

Staff Profile............................................................................................................29 Community Connections.......................................................................................30 Staff Tributes.........................................................................................................32

OC G A

Alumni News.........................................................................................................34 Alumni Profile........................................................................................................36 From the Archives.......................................................................................... 37 Gallery of Achievement Inductees 2021..........................................................38 Obituaries................................................................................................. 42 Connect with Us....................................................................................... 45

From the

Headmaster’s Desk

In these crisis-filled times it is tempting sometimes to retreat into cynicism and defeat. We have been reminded repeatedly over the past 18 months that life contains forces which are beyond our control. The plans we have made have had to be cancelled or altered beyond recognition, we have had our movements restricted, we have been told who we can and cannot interact with, and restricted to a limited number of reasons to leave our homes. People have died, people have been seriously ill with lasting consequences, and we have received mixed messaging even about the vaccines which offer us a way out of this particular coronavirus pandemic.

The present is uncomfortable. Some of us retreat into nostalgia for happier times. Some prefer to look forward to a time when the pandemic will be behind us. It is tempting to escape from present unpleasantness, at least in our minds. It is equally tempting to numb our emotions, to hide from pain by not allowing ourselves to feel anything. It is easy to feel flat, uninterested, to try to lose ourselves by scrolling through social media.

But in reality, we live only in the present – this moment – and if we are not careful we might miss it. One of our past students, Professor Craig Hassed, recently encouraged staff and

parents to practice ‘mindfulness’, being consciously present in this moment. One way to do this is to be passionate about something, to engage fully in something that will bring us joy.

Sometimes young people will claim that they are not really interested in anything, let alone passionate about something.

The first challenge is therefore to seek out some endeavour or activity which they, and indeed we, can feel passionate about.

And I believe that we need to actively seek those things out, and we then need to work hard enough at them that we feed our passion. We need to be brave enough to experiment, to try new things, to stretch ourselves to try new things, so that we can put ourselves into a position that we can find something we can feel passionate about. It will be different for everyone – it might be sport, or making music, or reading philosophy or learning a new language, or dancing, or hiking or sailing or climbing or cooking or painting or playing music. Usually, it will be something which does not come easily, and which takes effort and persistence to master. Often it will be something which always feels just beyond our reach – but close enough that we feel we have a chance at getting better at it. If we are lucky, we will find something which makes us feel passion, and if we do, it will take us beyond ourselves and bring joy into our lives.

The opportunities are endless, but if we are active in seeking out the things which make us happy, and then practice them with purpose and intent, we have a chance to discover passion, and while those passions may not help to solve the pandemic, they can give us moments of joy as we live through it.

Dr Paul Hicks Headmaster

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Follow Your Passion There is no doubt that 2021 has been a year that has challenged us yet again, putting into stark contrast the areas in our lives that might be failing us or preventing us from reaching a true state of happy purposefulness.

In this issue of Spectemur, we look at how passion can shape one’s pathways and offer fulfillment throughout life. Here, students and staff share their passion stories, from life-affirming hobbies to shaping future careers.

Flying High: Alexander Guorgi YEAR 12 I am that person who always looks up at the sound of an overpassing aircraft and identifies what sort of aircraft it is.

My Dad, being on his own journey to obtaining a private pilot’s licence (PPL), definitely exposed me to aviation from a young age. I had always loved the idea of being able to hop in a plane and travel anywhere I desired, with no boundaries or limitations.

From flight lessons to learning radio calls and reading weather systems, the aviation world intrigued me further and further the more I learned about how it worked.

Enrolling in an Aviation VET course through the school at the beginning of Year 11 (2020) was where I began to learn the basics of aerodynamics and how planes operate. My flight training is currently completed with Tristar Aviation located at Moorabbin Airport, where flights such as circuits around the airport and skills training, located further south above Carrum, take place. We fly in Cessna 152s engaging in drills such as how to recover from spiral dives and what to do if you have engine failure. This teaches you the basics to fly on your own and will ultimately lead to obtaining a Recreational Pilot’s Licence (RPL). Progressing further for me will entail navigational flights and instrument flight (IFR) as you learn to travel from point A to point B while enabling you to fly during night time.

This allows you to then get your Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL).

It’s then on to a Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) and Aviators Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL), which both enable you to be paid for flying and carry a significantly larger amount of people in larger aircrafts.

In an ideal world, a future career in aviation for me will hopefully be flying for airlines on international flights while simultaneously being able to travel the world. However, this requires an enormous amount of time spent in the cockpit along with many exams and ratings. In order to be recognised by major airlines, a solid number of hours and skill level is required. I may, however, find myself on other paths such as applying for the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA), as there are many career opportunities to fly there as well.

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The Accidental Musician: Dr Paul Hicks HEADMASTER Like many adults I speak to, I regret not learning an instrument when I was young. My viola journey began about three years ago when I was challenged to join a Music School initiative for all music teachers to learn a new instrument. I was given the viola, an instrument I knew very little about, though I soon discovered that there is a whole world of ‘viola jokes’ out there.

I was lucky enough to be assigned to Ms Lisa Grossman as my teacher and was lent a viola and bow. I learnt very quickly that this was difficult. As Lisa taught me, I had to learn both the viola and the bow, and if I had any chance of making a nice sound I had to get both to work together. She has shown great patience and empathy as bit by bit I began to learn.

Learning a difficult new skill is a humbling experience. I am used to being the teacher and knowing my subject and how to teach it well. I now had to accept that I had to go slowly, and that I would not be sounding ‘good’ for a long time. I had to push my ego down and become vulnerable again. Learning to play a string instrument takes time, and progress is slow. I had to train my body to do new things, and I learned that even if my brain wanted to do something, my fingers would not necessarily follow my brain’s instruction. It is difficult, and it made me appreciate how hard it can be to master something which does not come easily, and how important persistence is if you want to get better.

Online Entrepreneur: William Cook YEAR 12 My passion for building businesses started back in primary school where I enjoyed creating cool projects and getting my friends to test them. I remember building a website where you could practise your Italian, as that was the LOTE I learnt. From there my passion for entrepreneurship grew. Over the next few years, I ran a range of other businesses, none of them had customers but it was the thrill and grind that I really loved. One business that I spent many years on was called WC Freelancing which I started with some friends from CGS around the middle of Year 7 and we made quite a bit of headway. We had a few clients, as well as a behind-the-scenes project we almost built that we had proposed to Mr Wyatt, who had really liked the idea.

Now I run Advertise Your Server (AYS). Midway through Year 8 was when I joined AYS, a community/business that provides advertising/marketing services to online communities. We were quite small back then and were only a Discord community, with a few hundred members.

But things quickly took off from there. We expanded at quite a rapid rate, quickly gaining new members.

It would have been very easy to give up, and sometimes I am still tempted to give up, but I am curious to see how far I can take it. And I have fallen in love with the daily time out of playing and practising and slowly, slowly, getting a little bit better.

It was a great thrill for me to finally be welcomed into our Junior School Orchestra and to play alongside other students who are on their own learning journey. Playing in an orchestra is another brand-new skill and it too is difficult, requiring focus and discipline – and the courage to try, and to make mistakes. I now also play with the Middle School Orchestra, and I am even trying some of the Senior School’s pieces – though, in all honesty, they are a bit beyond me.

As we grow older, we drift towards the things we are good at, and the things we feel most comfortable with. Learning something new is a challenge, and it is confronting to face something we are not good at. I am so grateful to my teacher for encouraging me, and believing that I can do it. As I learn this new thing, I also gain better insight into being a student again, and I have a deeper understanding of the challenges facing our students when they try to learn something new and difficult. And I am also reminded of the joy and satisfaction that appears when a breakthrough is made.

Playing the viola was never a secret passion of mine; I fell into it almost accidentally. I have become passionate, however, by doing it. Recently I began learning a movement from a Bach cello suite transcribed for the viola – how cool is that?

Around April of 2018, I took over as the owner of AYS, as the previous owner could no longer dedicate the time needed to run the community. Nowadays, we have over 65,000 members across the four platforms we run, those being Discord, Reddit, Gaming and Discord Bots. We also have a staff team made up of volunteers and paid team members of around 70 who help run the community from marketing/sales to trust and safety.

As the Chief Executive Officer, I have a lot on my plate day‑to‑day. It can get quite tricky at times, especially being in Year 12, to plan out my time effectively. Usually, I start my day around 6.00am and work for an hour or so on AYS. At school, I like to keep my time strictly to schoolwork only, but I do check during my breaks to see if there are any issues in the day-to-day operations. Generally, after I’ve done my homework, I will hop on to deal with things that have come up throughout the day, such as approvals for projects and questions that I only know the answer to. Generally, on the weekends is when we get together as a team and work on new projects.

I hope to be able to either study part-time or take a gap year next year to keep running AYS and I am excited to see where the company will take me.

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Synthesizing Sound: Stirling Martin YEAR 8 I love music, especially electronic music, and have a passion for collecting synthesizers and drum machines. A synthesizer (or a synth) is an instrument that electronically generates and modifies sounds. A synthesizer can make an infinite number of sounds, they can emulate instruments like horns, strings, percussion and also sounds that aren’t instrumental, creating sounds that are completely electronic. I first became aware of synthesizers when I started listening to Daft Punk and other electronic musicians.

Then, on my thirteenth birthday, my parents got me the Korg Minilogue. I have since collected a Behringer TD3 (which is a clone of the Roland TB303 but more affordable), a Behringer RD8 (which is also a clone but of the TR808 drum machine which you would have heard on Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody), and the Korg NTS1. Out of all my instruments, the Korg Minilogue is my favourite – it has a very cool metallic sound.

I also love mixing music and the artists I like and like to mix are Daft Punk, Justice and Cassius, to name a few.

“Synthesizers are great for everyone, you don’t need a musical background, anyone can experiment with the sounds a synth creates.”

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We are lucky to have a not-for-profit organisation MESS (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio) in Melbourne that promotes electronic music by letting people use electronic instruments old and new. MESS has a wide variety of electronic instruments both loaned and donated, one of these donors is the famous musician Gotye, who has donated all his drum machines and synths to MESS. I attended an open day at MESS where I was able to use many classic, and now very expensive, instruments. Some of the instruments were the Korg MS-20 (which was used on the song Da Funk by Daft Punk), the Moog system 55 (which featured in Wendy Carlos’ album Switched on Bach and launched the synthesizer into the public), and the Roland Jupiter 8 (which featured on Michael Jackson’s Thriller).

Synthesizers are great for everyone, you don’t need a musical background, anyone can experiment with the sounds a synth creates. It’s lots of fun. I hope to continue with sound design in the future.

Technologies of the Past: Mr Michael Daniel HEAD OF EAL AND OVERSEAS STUDENTS COORDINATOR

My interest in vintage and antique objects began when I was a child and I have a particular interest in gadgets that embody the technology of the past. My collection includes objects as diverse as slide rules – which were used for mathematical calculations prior to the advent of scientific calculators – valve radios, and manual adding machines.

I also have a particular interest in propelling pencils and fountain pens. Being a teacher, not a day goes by without me using a fountain pen to correct work or write notes, and a pencil to annotate textbooks. Whilst most of the fountain pens I use are relatively modern ones, my favourite pens are a Marbie Todd pen made in about 1946, and a Parker Zephyr made in the late 1930s. Another benefit in collecting them is that, unlike some of the other objects I collect, pens and pencils are more compact.

The items in my collection are not particularly valuable – I collect them for their interest value. The only condition I set myself is that all the items in my collection are used. The fascination for me with collecting is in learning about the development of the item – who invented it, what the brands and models were, and the social history associated with the objects. There is also the satisfaction in being able to repair, or get working again, an item that does not work when I acquire it.

Recently, I have begun to collect typewriters when I found a discarded one in the neighbourhood. Being one of the last batch of students to do their ten-finger typing training on a manual machine, using my 1929 Remington Model 2 machine which a retired English teacher kindly gave to me earlier this year, has proven a fun way for me to type up correspondence to people who do not have access to emails. It also generated considerable interest amongst the student body when it was taken into the library.

CGS Alumni Ben Summons (1992) offers some advice on how to give your life direction by following your passions.

Ben is a Purpose and Midlife Coach based on the Gold Coast.

Life is to be lived, not tolerated. We should thrive, not just exist. We should go on our own individual journeys, and not be obliged to carry others’ agendas. I’m not talking about frivolous pursuits of happiness or getting that ‘living your best life’ shot that you will share on your social media. I’m talking about real fulfillment and joy that comes from a full and whole life where you are doing the things you love and can offer your best to the world.

Passion and purpose are at the heart of this. Let’s pause and reflect for a moment and consider those who play out their life not being on purpose or accessing their passions.

The downside is feeling lost, restless and unfulfilled just to name a few. As a coach, I come across this every week, and career is often one of the main concerns.

This lack of fulfillment often plays out in our careers because we have pursued what we thought we should do, or what was expected of us from others.

For those of you still in school let’s step back for a moment and look at the big picture. Completing Year 12 is a key milestone in life, and we are at an exciting and sometimes daunting point in our life where we venture out of the bubble and independently shape our lives.

What’s important to appreciate is that amongst you, there is a wonderful blend of talents and traits that will show up in a variety of careers: you all have your own genius, your own gifts. Those natural traits and talents that you do so well, and others benefit from when you share them. If you can tap into those, you tap into a rich stream of fulfillment, happiness and infinite opportunities.

Know your passions and access them, they are important drivers of vitality and energy in your life. You will have many of them, and some may or may not be part of your career, but if you can find a vocation that is meaningful for you, then you unlock passion all the same. Intersect this with what the world needs and how you can serve others with your gifts, and you are on the right track to finding your sweet spot.

Pay attention to not just doing the best you can but what makes your eyes light up, what makes your heart sing, what feels good to serve and be useful to others, as this is where you will find happiness.

Whether still in school or ‘forty years on when far and asunder’, any time is a great time to start connecting with what is purposeful for you. You deserve the chance to live it, and those around you will also be better for it.

Ben can be reached directly through his website, www.purposeandflow.com.au.

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Meet the School Council Our School Council, currently consisting of 11 members, plays a vital role in the governance of the School. Amongst other responsibilities, the Council develops the overall strategy for our School, and the Headmaster and the Leadership Team of the School are responsible for implementing that strategy. In June of this year, our new School Council Chair, Mr Gavin Powell, stepped into the role, taking over from Mr Michael Neilson who had been Chair since 2014.

To assist with the smooth running of School Council, it has three Committees reporting into it: Finance, Development (Property), and Governance, Risk and Compliance. Council members’ participation on these Committees is noted below.

Mr Gavin Powell Council Chair Gavin attended Camberwell Grammar School between 1975 and 1980, and then completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Melbourne University.

He joined the EY (formerly Ernst & Whinney) audit division in 1984 where he worked for ten years. In 1993 he joined E.L. & C. Baillieu Limited, a stockbroking firm, where he was Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to June 2021.

Gavin joined the CGS School Council in 2014 and took over as Chair in June 2021. He has been Chair of the Finance Committee and also Deputy Chair of Council. Gavin is a past student (1980) and past parent of three Camberwell Grammarians – Matthew (2011), Sam (2013) and Lachlan (2016).

Ven Greg Allinson Development The Venerable Greg Allinson is currently the vicar of St Mark’s Camberwell.

He joined the School Council in 2010.

He is also the Archdeacon of Kew, helping the Bishop care for the 22 local Anglican parishes. Before that, Greg was a music teacher in the Education Department and at Brighton Grammar.

He was also a member of the Army Reserve for five years. He is married to Joy and has two adult children, one grandchild and two cats. He loves Jesus, family, cats, dinner parties, golf, cards, fishing, lego, and modern jazz (he plays piano, saxophone and bass).

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Mr David Chan Development David graduated from CGS in 1998 and is the youngest member serving on the School Council. David is keen to ensure that the ethos he learned as a student at the School is implemented and continued through the School’s governance and strategy.

David works part-time as a technology leader at ANZ, and part-time for a Christian non-profit business, Third Space, helping people to reflect on life, faith and meaning.

David is married to Cindy and has three young children.

The eldest will be joining Derham in 2024.

Mrs Deb Gallacher Development Chair, Governance, Risk and Compliance Originally from England, Keith and Deb moved to Australia in 2005 with their children, Steph and Alex (2013), after spending 5 years in Hong Kong.

Deb’s working background is in IT and she holds a degree in Geographical Sciences. During her time as a CGS parent, Deb has worked with several of the ‘Friends of’ groups, most extensively with the Auxiliary. She was also the Parents’ Association President from 2012 to 2013.

Deb enjoyed how, as a parent, she could contribute to the fabric of the School community. In her final year as a parent at CGS, she joined the School Council as the PA Representative. Deb currently chairs the Development Committee.

Mrs Cathy Garrard Development Cathy has been the Parents’ Association representative on the School Council since 2019, the year the youngest of her four boys was in Year 12. All of her sons – Ben (2002), Thomas (2008), Liam O’Callaghan (2011) and Sam (2019) – attended CGS over a 20-year period and, over that time, Cathy was actively involved in a variety of parent-based activities – from Class Representative to volunteering in the Library and for Cafeteria duty, running the Pre-Loved Uniform Shop (PLUS), and co-founding the CGS Angels.

Cathy is a registered midwife specialising in neonatal nursing.

Outside of School, Cathy enjoys being Nanna to her two beautiful grandchildren, learning Italian, keeping fit and looking forward to when she and husband, Nigel, can restart their 2020 travel plans!

Mr David Haintz Finance Chair David has been a financial adviser for 32 years and in his own practice since 1989, before merging, listing and monetising in 2014. He has been consulting to the financial advisory industry since then. He holds the internationally recognised Certified Financial Planner™ designation, which is the highest designation within the industry, and is an immediate past director of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).

David is a founding trustee of the Future2 Foundation (supporting young Australians whose lives are disadvantaged by poverty, homelessness or drug dependence), and lectured at the Securities Institute of Australia (now FINSIA) for six years.

A past student of the School, David has been on the School Council since 2012 and is currently Chair of the Finance Committee as well as President of the CGS Foundation.

Michelle and David have two boys at Camberwell Grammar, in Year 11 and Year 9.

Mr John Mills Finance, Governance, Risk and Compliance John Mills, a 1984 CGS leaver, has been a member of the extended School community through the Old Camberwell Grammarians’ Association committee (OCGA) since 1995 and OCGA President twice. John is also a parent of two boys at CGS, in Years 8 and 10, and a daughter at a neighbouring school.

As a parent, he is involved in CGS Baseball.

John is also a member of both the Governance, Risk and Compliance and Finance Committees of School Council. He is a graduate of Melbourne and Monash Universities, works in the Federal Government, and has had experience on not-for-profit boards in the health sector nationally.

Mr Michael Phillips OAM General Member Michael has been a member of the CGS School Council since 1999 – and offers experience and expertise in leadership, administration and management, as a secondary school principal in Victorian schools – enhancing the diversity of skills on School Council.

Past and current achievements include the Victorian Education Excellence award for School Leadership, an Australian Council of Education Leaders (ACEL) Fellowship award, Centenary Medalist and membership of the Order of Australia for services to secondary education in Victoria. Michael currently serves on several not-for-profit Boards, including a foundation that supports funding programs for vulnerable students.

Mrs Michelle Vienet Governance, Risk and Compliance Chair Michelle is a pharmacist with a background primarily in clinical practice and pharmacy education, focusing on student, intern and early career pharmacist education. Her most recent role has been in the tertiary sector at Monash University, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, managing the faculty’s intern pharmacist offerings. Michelle is married to past CGS student, Graeme (1971), with a daughter Stephanie and two sons who also attended CGS, Robert (2012) and Edward (2015).

Dr Sherryl Wagstaff Governance, Risk and Compliance Dr Wagstaff was appointed to the School Council in 2021. She has a son in Year 10 who has been at Camberwell Grammar since Year 4. She is a practising ENT surgeon and for many years was head of Otolaryngology at Eastern Health and the Victorian State Chair of ENT training and education. Sherryl is currently involved in a joint venture with Medibank Private to create a new hospital in Kew and has been appointed Medical Director. She has previously been on the Board of the philanthropic arm of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons – the Foundation for Surgery, and currently sits on the Boards of the Bionics Institute and the audiological company, Neurosensory.

Mr Trevor Webster Finance Trevor Webster is a Senior Finance professional in the international energy sector leading global teams delivering shared financial services across a diverse portfolio of partners. He has had a long involvement with Camberwell Grammar School through his sons Daniel (2005) and Tom (2008) and he and his wife were very active supporters of the Parents’ Association during their sons’ years at the School. Trevor was a member of the Parents’ Association for eight years and President for five of them. He is a member of the Finance Committee.

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Green Pages Camberwell Grammar teacher and Sustainability Coordinator, Mr Will Hone, shares the story behind the creation of the Towards2050 group and how his passion for sustainability took hold within the School community, leading it to become a pillar in the School’s strategic plan.

In 2015 I was engaged in an email conversation with some friends – all of us have children and the Paris conference was approaching. There were some suggestions that it was too little, too late, that climate change is too big to tackle – that little people like us held no sway over huge global events.

Replying to my friends, I realised that I needed to answer the question I can imagine any child alive today asking their parents at some point in the next twenty years: What did you do when you found out the climate was collapsing?

I needed to be able to show my son the things I did to fight for his future. I needed to take action, even if I am only a small cog in the global behemoth that is our civilisation, because I needed an answer for him.

The first thing I did was start a student action group, Towards2050.

Our first target was solar. The School went large, installing 888kw of panels – enough to produce 48% of our net energy usage (and from January next year, all our power – 100% – will be sourced from renewable generation). The conversion of lights to LED also started way back then and is now over 95% complete.

Despite making huge steps, the School did not stop there.

They shared my outrage at the amount of landfill we were

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creating, and the boys helped me design a new layout for bins around the School that included co-mingled recycling bins next to every landfill bin. We started to stream rubbish, and now have co-mingled, paper and cardboard, green, organic and landfill collections. While there is still much to be done, particularly in streaming schoolyard waste, our landfill footprint has been halved.

We set about removing single-use plastics from the School, starting with the tuck shop and events catering. The School helped me organise stainless steel water bottles so we wouldn’t have water in plastic bottles sold on campus, and then made plastic a big thing when the new catering contract was up for negotiation. It is worth noting that Chartwells, who took on the new contract, has been amazing and there is now rarely singleuse plastic at Camberwell events. If you do see any single-use plastics, the chances are that it is from Biopak. Their cardboard is free of wood, and their plastics free of any petrochemicals – instead they make magic with plant-based materials that will break down in significantly less time than the estimated 500 odd years it takes for traditional plastics to completely degrade, releasing far fewer demonic chemicals in the process. It is also worth noting that while the Covid pandemic has led to an increase in our plastic consumption, we are very keen and constantly searching for ways to safely reign this in.

When faced with the spectre of climate change, I think many feel – as my friends did back in 2015 – it’s too much, we are too small. I am sure people want to do the right thing, but don’t always know, for example, what they should do with their electrical waste (especially after it was made illegal to pop it in the landfill bin!).

A core directive started to develop: the School is a hub that sits at the centre of a large community. So, we tried to create convenient solutions. We established clothing and e-waste collection bins in the Highton Carpark. We brought a Mobile Muster phone recycling box to the Weickhardt Library and are working on a number of other proposals to further expand our offerings.

And along the way, the dream started to spread. Ms Katrina Massey (Middle School Science and Geography Coordinator) caught the Green Fever and commandeered the top deck of the Middle School Atrium where she and a loyal band of Year 7 and 8

“Beyond providing funding for these projects, the Headmaster and Business Manager have supported creating Sustainability as a pillar in the School’s strategic plan.”

students started to create their own ecosystem of seedlings, plants and vegetables. Like the original gardening students (now in the Senior School, but still avid green thumbs), the program has outgrown its first greenhouse and is settling into new digs outside Kingussie (where the School beehive, that Katrina also set up, thrives off its many flowers while pollinating our plants). Keep an eye out for the honey – it is Olympian ambrosia.

It has been an incredible journey so far, teaching me much more than a simple answer to my son’s inevitable question, and it has been by no means a journey that I have taken on my own. I do not work in a place where I have to fight for every step we have taken – it is quite the opposite. In the School’s management I have found consistent and amazing support. Beyond providing funding for these projects, the Headmaster and Business Manager have supported creating Sustainability as a pillar in the School’s strategic plan, and also created the position of Sustainability Coordinator. As I have mentioned, I also work with staff who are keen and proud to be a part of these programs – we can move mountains when we work together, but I struggle to get out the front door on my own.

I work in a school that has accepted a responsibility to lead the way towards sustainable operations in education.

This experience has created in me hope for the future, for I am now convinced that the decades and centuries to come can be as prosperous as our past. We will have to fight for it and there are many who will join our ranks, but Camberwell Grammar was the first place to show me what it looks like when people come together and say yes, we can and yes, we will change this.

Mr Will Hone Sustainability Coordinator and English and History Teacher

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From the Experts Professor Craig Hassed Lessons Learned on Following One’s Passion In June, CGS Alumni Professor Craig Hassed OAM (1977) spoke about the benefits of mindfulness in education at the Parent Education Seminar. Here, he shares his journey and insights into following your passion and how mindfulness can help you find direction.

I have often been asked by the students I teach for advice about which career path to follow. My response has always boiled down to encouraging them to follow what they are truly passionate about. Thankfully, I adopted this principle in my own life. It has never let me down and has guided me to opportunities and insights I never could have dreamed of let alone contrived. Here is a brief telling of my story and some of the lessons gleaned from it.

When I was a Year 12 student stepping out of the gates of Camberwell Grammar and into the wider world I was clueless about what course or career I wanted to follow. I had a lukewarm interest in many different careers but a conviction for none.

I thought perhaps the best approach might be to eliminate things I certainly didn’t want to do. With an aversion to blood and gore, the first thing I eliminated was Medicine.

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Lesson 1:

Lesson 2:

It has been said, ‘be careful what you wish for’, but equally it could be said, ‘be careful what you wish to avoid.’

Pay attention, even to the things you find uncomfortable, because that is how you learn about life and yourself.

This method of elimination didn’t get me very far though, so I reflected again on what I was really interested in.

What I came up with was the ‘mind’. Curiosity about the mind and how it worked expressed itself in many ways such as in how I noticed that distraction and worry not only reduced my ability to function well but also had very negative effects on the body. The mind-body relationship fascinated me. I noticed that when I worried about future events, like the interschool swimming championships, even though the future was in my imagination, my body reacted as if I was in the water with a shark. It made sense to train myself to stay in the present moment and to focus on reality and what I could control in order to reduce anxiety. During Years 11 and 12, I practiced staying in the moment while studying, then I extended this to staying calm and focusing to deal with the pressure of the exam room. At the time, all this made intuitive sense to me, but many years later I realised I was teaching myself what I now call mindfulness.

This interest in the mind was the first thing, but I also recognised that I was much happier when I was helping others so my career path needed to include this. Interest in the mind and a helping career led me to study Medicine at Melbourne University with a view to later doing Psychiatry despite my aversion to blood and gore. I resolved to teach myself how not to be ruled by this aversion, which I did.

Lesson 3:

Lesson 4:

If you mindfully turn towards your fears and aversions then your capacities will grow and the fears and aversions will shrink. If you avoid them then they will grow and your capacities will shrink.

A true calling in life is generally to something bigger than ourselves (or what we take ourselves to be).

The promptings of the ego are always to things smaller than ourselves.

Unfortunately, nearly everything I was taught about psychiatry in medical school had little to do with the mind and everything to do with drugs. So, marooned in the medical course, I maintained my interests. I continued to learn through observation, self-reflection and what I would now call meditation. I had to teach myself about wellbeing, self-care and stress-reduction because it seemed that university was hell-bent on teaching we medical students about stress-production.

In my experience, such moments of clarity don’t come often. They cannot be forced, but come to us when we are open, aware and ready to receive them. I made inquiries at Monash and found it to be a creative and fertile environment to finally put down roots. That moment, that decision, set the direction for my life and work. I now had to find a way to not be ruled by my fear of public speaking, which I did. I also had to find a language and rationale for introducing mindfulness, mind-body medicine and lifestyle medicine into the curriculum of our next generation of doctors when it wasn’t being done anywhere else in the world. I have stayed true to that calling and my passion and it has helped in dealing with many challenges and sometimes entrenched resistance.

Eventually, after graduation and working for a few years, I navigated to general practice with an emphasis on counselling patients using the approaches that had been so valuable in my life. I wanted to help everyday people to manage the stresses of modern life, to be more fulfilled and, where possible, to prevent illness through a healthy lifestyle rather than having to treat it.

It became clear that my passion wasn’t really in the consulting room and so, in 1988 at a crossroads moment in my career, for some reason I thought to look in the job section of the newspaper – the only time I ever did that. Just looking with an open and curious mind at what was presented, I saw a clinical and lecturing position at Monash University in the Department of General Practice.

When I saw the advertisement I thought of all the things I wasn’t taught in medical school but should have been. I lamented to myself that, ‘Someone should do something about that.’ Suddenly one thought rang loud and clear in my mind, ‘Do something about it!’ I sat with that for a moment until the mind protested, ‘What? Why would I want to take up a lecturing position when my biggest fear in life is public speaking?’ I sat with that until another moment of clarity arose, ‘Do I really want my life to be governed by my fears?’ Of course not. ‘If I help one patient that is good, but if I help to educate one doctor then I help 1,000 patients.’ I felt I had no other choice but to follow what felt like a calling.

Lesson 5: Your innate passion will give you the energy and resilience to deal with challenges and adversity far more than secondary gains like money or status ever will.

It has taught me a huge amount about myself but also helped me to find a truly fulfilling career which has hopefully been useful to others. The rest, as they say, is history. I’ve had a wonderful time over 33 years at Monash, met many inspiring people and have found it to be full of opportunities.

The next exciting phase in my career has come about through a large philanthropic grant to found the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies.

Lesson 6: If we stay true to our passions, develop our talents as best we can, and dedicate our efforts to being of service, then the Universe works in mysterious ways to bring us to where we need to be.

Maybe opportunities do not come by chance but are the product of paying attention to our inner and outer worlds, willingly learning from our mistakes, and making the best of what we have been given to work with. I hope that you too will trust and follow your passion and find your inner calling.

PROFESSOR CRAIG HASSED Professor Craig Hassed OAM has been working within the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University since 1989. Now he also teaches into a number of other faculties, is coordinator of mindfulness programs across Monash and is the founding Director of Education at the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies. His teaching, research and clinical interests include mindfulness, mind-body medicine, lifestyle medicine, integrative medicine and medical ethics. He has authored over 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has published 14 books and 16 book chapters. He co-authored with Richard Chambers two free Mindfulness MOOCs (massive open online courses) in collaboration with Monash University and FutureLearn, both of which are rated by Class Central as the two leading online mindfulness courses globally and among the 10 top online courses for any subject in the world. In 2019 Craig was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to Medicine.

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“When a school does things right, all activities are open to all students; none are ruled out on the basis of gender. A good school allows students to be themselves and reach their full potential.”

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Murdoch Centre

for Educational Research and Innovation Doing the Best for our Boys

average boy, certainly not at CGS. The variation in boys that we see, from the mulleted jock who lives for footy, to the boy who translates Apuleius for fun, is far greater than any difference between a notional ‘boy’ and ‘girl’. Instead of working out a generic way of teaching boys, I encourage our teachers to teach to, and delight in, the range of boys that make up the CGS community.

I remember the experience of a friend of mine, Jackie. She was a strong believer in boys’ education and worked in a school in one of our regional cities. She was dismayed that, with the exception of sports teams, every activity this school offered was dominated by girls: they were the ones who volunteered to play an instrument, sing, act in a play, start up a group to lobby the council on environmental matters; for all of the talk of boys dominating classrooms, they were keeping away from the types of activities that could broaden their experience and enrich their lives. So my friend Jackie started a cadet unit. It took over a year, and the bureaucracy was monumental, but finally, she was ready to start. She announced it to the school community and sold it to the boys: adventure, camping, getting away from it all.

On the opening night, Jackie had a hall full of eager volunteers and not one of them was a boy.

Research has indicated that students view subjects and activities through the lens of gender. For example, they might view Physics as a boys’ subject, and Art as a girls’ subject. This is most strongly evident in many co-educational schools, but also in some single-sex schools, particularly those with a rigid view of what a man does. When a school does things right, all activities are open to all students; none are ruled out on the basis of gender. A good school allows students to be themselves and reach their full potential. Thus, we have students who play Firsts footy, but also play the trumpet and appreciate love poetry from the first century AD – and don’t see any issue in this. They can be a demon fast bowler but also like helping a Preppy with his reading and enjoy a game of foursquare at lunch.

What is it about boys that getting involvement from them can be so difficult? I frequently talk to colleagues at co-educational schools, and they bemoan the fact that the orchestra is mostly girls, or how hard it is to find boys willing to act in the school play. They are not downgrading girls’ involvement, they just want all children to benefit. It’s not just a single-sex versus co-ed issue either: I know many boys’ schools who struggle to find boys who will sing or act or go beyond any of the stereotyped ‘boys’ activities. It comes down to a matter of student perception.

I did some research on this a few years ago. I looked at five schools, all quite similar: they were well-resourced, with similar populations, almost identical socio-economic scores, all in metropolitan Melbourne. The difference was that three were co-ed, and two were boys only. I looked at the uptake of French in these schools. French is the most popular language in Victorian schools, and these schools all had very good French programmes, with similar language policies across the schools.

I asked a simple question: of all the boys in Year 12, what proportion was learning French?

Now, I should state at the outset that I’m not a fan of the idea that there is a way that boys learn, and a way that girls learn.

This theory relies on an image of an average ‘boy’ and ‘girl’, and the teacher adapts the teaching to maximise for these ideals.

But what I have found is that there is simply no such thing as the

The results for the co-educational schools were dismaying: in some schools, there was only one boy learning French.

Proportion of Boys Learning French, Like Schools, Year 12 School A

School B

School C

School D

School E

Size (total number of students)

More than 1000 More than 1000 More than 1000 More than 1000 500-999

Location

Melbourne metropolitan

Melbourne metropolitan

Melbourne metropolitan

Melbourne metropolitan

Melbourne metropolitan

SES

122

124

122

122

124

Type

Boys Only

Boys Only

Co-ed

Co-ed

Co-ed

Number of boys in Year 12

148

199

130

45

50

Number of Year 12 boys learning French 16

29

7

1

1

Proportion of boys learning French

14.57%

5.38%

2.22%

2.00%

10.81%

However, the boys-only schools had significantly more boys learning French. Clearly, the boys in these schools were not getting the message that they shouldn’t be learning French.

The issue is, of course, much bigger than just French (apologies, Mme Eckersley and the French Department).

The same phenomenon occurs for a range of subjects and activities, especially the arts. In a boys’ school, every subject and activity – by definition – are boys’ subjects and boys’ activities. Just because you prefer art to footy doesn’t make

you any less of a man. Society imposes all sorts of ideas on what a boy should or shouldn’t do – and I shudder to think of the messages they are getting through social media, Kardashians and Love Island. The adults in the lives of our students need to be encouraging and affirming in moving past all that rubbish and doing what will help them flourish and grow.

Dr John Tuckfield Director of the Murdoch Centre for Educational Research and Innovation

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News from Around the School French Poetry Laureates Félicitations! French students from Years 7-10 took part in the inaugural CGS French Poetry competition during which they had to study and recite a French poem for two judges who marked them on mastery, pronunciation, expression, and presence. Winners received vouchers for a local French café and bookshop. Well done to the 2021 laureates!

Sport Masterclasses

Year 2 Visits the CGS Archives

CGS Football was lucky enough to welcome VFL coach and past AFL player Josh Fraser to their Football Masterclass sessions. Middle and Senior School Hockey players had the opportunity to participate in Masterclass sessions with Sports Academy Coach Lou Ciriello and Head of Hockey, Stuart Webster, working on specialised and advanced skills to improve their game.

In July, the Year 2 students visited the School Archives to learn about the extensive history of Camberwell Grammar from its beginnings in 1886, concentrating in particular on the Mont Albert Road site occupied since 1935.

School Historian and Archivist Dr David Bird took the class through the Archives room, showing them examples of the many items preserved there including trophies, uniforms, documents, photographs and artwork. They then proceeded to the Archives office and workroom, where they viewed many items reserved for a museum and were able to ask questions about the purpose of an archive and about the history of the School. The boys displayed considerable knowledge of their School and were keen to learn more about their thousands of predecessors over the last 135 years, aware that they would themselves be part of the history of Camberwell Grammar. Their visit demonstrated the importance and worth of making Grammarians aware of the heritage of an institution that plays a significant part in their formative years.

Dr David Bird School Historian and Archivist

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Monash Scholars We are delighted that three Year 10 students, Charlie Leong, Ashton Lu and Tom Nguyen, have been accepted into the Monash Scholars Program for 2021-2023.

They join a select group of CGS students who have also been part of the program in recent years.

Monash selected these scholars based on their outstanding academic results, contributions to extra-curricular activities and strong written applications. They will be participating in a series of on-campus and virtual events over the next two years as an introduction to potential opportunities at Monash University.

Former Soccer Coach in with the Big Leagues Congratulations to former Camberwell Grammar coach Joe Montemurro, who has recently been announced as Italian powerhouse Juventus’ women’s manager.

Joe coached the CGS First XI Soccer team for many years until 2017, and left us to coach Arsenal’s women’s team.

The Duke of Edinburgh International Awards The Duke of Edinburgh Awards encourage students to make individual choices and set goals to improve themselves with the support and guidance of people skilled in those areas.

Congratulations to CGS student Jordan Murphy (Year 12) who was granted a Silver Award in Term 3! Jordan showcased his drumming skills for the Skill section, mentored primary aged school students for his Service, and his Adventurous Journey included bushland trekking and researching Indigenous history.

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Junior School Artist in Residence Program The Junior School welcomed feltmaker Ms Elizabeth Armstrong to our Norge Village in Term 2 as our Artist in Residence.

All boys from Prep to Year 5 were given the opportunity to learn and contribute to a whole school wall hanging. The joy of working with wool was a first for many of our boys. In a world full of digital and technology-based artmaking, it was imperative for our boys to experience one of the oldest and ‘hands-on’ forms of art. Wool was pulled, twisted, rolled, thrown and cut to support fine motor development, while new techniques and processes were discovered. Boys collaborated and turned their fleece into a beautiful array of patterned, textured and coloured felt which was used to create the whole school wall hanging.

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Each grade was guided and inspired by Ms Armstrong to brainstorm and design a certain feature for the wall hanging.

The focus was ‘Our CGS Community’. Boys decided the layout, the activities and the buildings they wanted to include.

All drawings and ideas helped our artist design the wall hanging, considering the boys’ favourite activities at school. This included the four-square game, pirate ship, sandpit and games on the green. The level of detail and creativity is exceptional. Every time you look at the work, a new and surprising feature is discovered.

Dr Hicks, Mr Kelly and our resident Yeti are just some of the many features created to find.

Mother’s Day Card Felted Hearts This year, Mother’s Day cards featured the handmade felt.

Heart shapes were cut and turned into mini-masterpieces with each card individual and unique. A beautiful keepsake for mothers or that special person.

3-Dimensional Felted Animal All students created their very own 3D felted artwork.

Prep and Year 1 created finger puppets, Years 2 and 3 created felted birds and Years 4 and 5 could choose from a 3D felted dog, cat or owl. A joyous activity and keepsake for each boy.

Staff and Parent Workshops Ms Armstrong worked with Junior and Senior School staff and parents in a masterclass session. The variety of spectacular handmade felt inspired many to turn their felt pieces into pillows, wall hangings and little pincushions to name a few.

Mrs Sofia Tsolakis Head of Junior School Art

During my residency at Camberwell Grammar I was made to feel so welcome.

So much so that by the end of a few weeks I felt very much part of a wonderful family!

The best part though was the time spent in the classroom sharing feltmaking with the boys. Seeing them ‘paint’ with the wool and having the most marvellous time.

Sofia’s art room is a place of such happiness and filled with so much creative endeavour, I left smiling every day!

Ms Elizabeth Armstrong Artist in Residence

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Year 4 Visit Polly Woodside

Scrubbing the Deck

The Year 4 students were fortunate to get in the only excursion in between lockdowns. Their Integrated Studies inquiry for Term 3 was ‘Explorers’, with a focus on early explorers.

To develop their unit of learning, they visited Polly Woodside.

I loved scrubbing the deck... even though it was hard work.

You had to scrub really hard and with the captains yelling at you to put more effort into scrubbing. It was really difficult! We later had a chance to swap roles and return the favour to help motivate our peers.

Australia once relied on cargo ships to distribute resources and carry many of our early explorers, who spent long periods at sea as they explored and discovered new places. Their lifestyles were very different to the lives we lead today. At Polly Woodside, the boys experienced the life of a sailor, led by the First Mate.

The boys learned the hardships of a sailor’s life and the economy of a 19th-century cargo ship that traded around the world.

Ms Michelle Ponert and Mr Tristen Haines Year 4 Teachers

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Keaghan Ho Year 4B

Captain’s Quarters The captain’s quarters was by far the most comfy looking place on the ship. The captain’s quarters had more room than the other bedrooms and was located below deck, not above.

Gaius Pillemer and Kiran D’Rozario Year 4B

Junior School Footy Day

Junior School Soirée

To celebrate the last day of Term 2, the Junior School students and staff held a resplendent Footy Day. All the boys dressed up in their favourite team’s colours and continued to support 300 Blankets with a gold coin donation. After a sausage sizzle for lunch, they were joined by players from the CGS Firsts Football team who led them in a series of drills and games.

During lockdown, Junior School musicians recorded their performances for the Junior School Soirée. While lockdown prevented them from performing to a live audience, the students did incredibly well, sharing their performances online for our enjoyment. Congratulations to all the students for maintaining your enthusiasm, and thanks to the teachers for your nurturing and inspiration under these challenging conditions.

Book Week 2021 The theme for this year’s Book Week was ‘Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds’. Book Week highlights the importance of reading, and the students took up the challenge, despite being at home, sending in pictures and activities which highlighted their love for reading and books.

Prep Zoo Incursion In Term 2, the Prep students had close encounters of the wild kind when Wild Action Zoo visited the School with different local animals for the boys to hold and learn about.

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Term 3 Remote Learning

“Despite being stuck at home again, CGS staff and students made the best of a tough situation, showing grit and resilience, all while finding the fun and lightness in it all.”

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Agendo In August, Camberwell Grammar held the eighth Biennial Agendo Art Award and Exhibition for young emerging artists. While Covid restrictions meant that the event was held virtually, the range and standard of submissions was excellent.

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WHY DID YOU SELECT THESE PARTICULAR PIECES FOR YOUR AGENDO ENTRY? Through art school, I focused on sculpture. However, I felt that using photography would be the best way to convey my Retro Futurism concept. I’d just completed my Art-Tech Residency at Yarra Ranges Tech School, Lilydale, when I entered the Agendo Art Prize. I was proud of the series because it conveyed my passion for technology alongside my interest in social history.

Working between the art and engineering sectors, it’s often hard to strike a balance where I feel that a project represents my interests as a whole. Retro Futurism achieved, to me, what my previous work didn’t – marrying these two worlds together in a new way. I chose to submit two of my photos from the series because I felt like they represented me as a creative, and I wanted to share them more widely.

Winning artwork, Pet Drone #1 by Jessica Coldrey

Agendo is an opportunity for young emerging artists to promote and expose their work and talent. In addition, this substantial award recognises the continued commitment and individual contribution that all young artists make to our community. With a non-acquisitive prize of $10,000, sponsored by the generous Crone Family, a work is also selected for purchase to remain in the permanent collection of Camberwell Grammar School.

‘The Arts have always held an important place within our School, and we have always encouraged our students to explore their own artistic dimensions. This competition represents an attempt to reach out to the world beyond the School and to support artistic endeavour of young adults in a practical and useful way,’ said Dr Paul Hicks.

This year, the three judges, Dr Robert Haysom, Mr Kevin Boyd and Mr Philip Davey, were unanimous in their decision when choosing Jessica Coldrey’s Pet Drone #1 as the winning artwork. They shared their enthusiasm for the work with an appreciation of its clever concept and elements of the absurd fused with society’s contemporary obsession with emotionally loaded modern technology. We spoke to Jessica about her winning piece.

DESCRIBE THE THOUGHT AND PROCESS BEHIND YOUR PROJECT RETRO FUTURISM AND THE WINNING PIECE PET DRONE #1.

In Retro Futurism, I attempted to highlight the absurdity of our relationships with technology in the present by reflecting on the space-age futurism of the 1960s. The Pet Drone photographs allowed me to recontextualise drones from the frightening, military context they are often portrayed in and experiment with what a domestic drone might look like. Our emotional relationships with technology fluctuate over history, presenting as irrational fear or a sickly utopian optimism. Through the absurd elements in the photograph, like my beehive hair, drone leash and glittering space dress, I tried to bring some humour into the composition to help viewers reflect on that.

WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? It just so happened that the opening day of the Agendo Art Prize was the day of my first laparoscopy surgery, where I was diagnosed with endometriosis. My next art series will explore the challenges people with uteruses have communicating endometriosis pain symptoms through fashion, robotics, and botanic life.

Last week, I was awarded a grant as a 2021 Laureate of the Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation. This will enable me to travel to France for the project and work from the art studio in the Botanic Gardens Marnay sur Seine. I’m looking forward to collaborating with researchers and organisations worldwide to advance the important task of raising endo awareness through improved visual communication strategies.

CAN YOU SHARE SOME INSIGHT INTO WHAT YOUR FUTURE ASPIRATIONS ARE AND HOW ART WILL PLAY A ROLE? I’ve had parallel interests in art and engineering for several years now, which I hope to continue throughout my future career.

Later this year, I’ll be commencing a Masters in Humanitarian Engineering with Management at Warwick University, England, with the support of the 2021 Victorian Government John Monash Scholarship. Here, I hope to study how managing infrastructure projects in more human-centred ways can support future innovation and sustainability.

In the future, I’d love to run an interdisciplinary lab or research institute that leverages creative innovators from different fields.

This format could help solve future challenges across the academic, government, and engineering sectors. I think art provides a fundamental perspective in world changes and that artists are often the visionaries of society. I want to provide a platform for my work and others to invigorate positive global action by decreasing polarisation. This could help spark more future-focused conversations about important issues like climate change, inequality, and post-pandemic health.

I believe my artwork helps me be a more creative, innovative, and inclusive STEM advocate who thinks outside of the box. Similarly, I find that my engineering work invigorates my art practice with fresh ideas and exciting methodologies. To continue both passions simultaneously would be a great privilege, and I’m confident that the support of the Agendo Prize fund will help me realise that.

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Junior School Presents…

An Aesop Adventure

‘If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again!’.

This message from the famous Aesop fable The Crow and the Pitcher is a salient reminder to us all that no matter what life throws at us we must always pick ourselves up and try again.

This was very much the case for the cast of JS Presents…

An Aesop Adventure. All boys from Pre-Prep to Year 5 were to present this dramatic performance in the final week of Term 2, 2020. Each class’ fable had been allocated, the technical team had begun to prepare ideas for costumes, props and set design, auditions had taken place and then… the Covid-19 Virus put a halt to any further preparations.

At the beginning of 2021 we picked ourselves up and tried again!

Despite the uncertainty of preparing a performance during a global pandemic, the Junior School boys worked diligently during their Term 2 classroom music lessons to develop their dramatic expression and musical performance to portray one of eight famous Aesop fables.

With only four weeks until production, Victoria was once again put into lockdown and all production rehearsals had to occur via Zoom, with the boys singing, dancing and acting in the comfort of their homes. When we returned in Week 9 it was all systems go, with the boys learning quickly how to use the space of the stage in the Performing Arts Centre and how to incorporate the props, backdrops, sound and lighting effects into their developing stagecraft skills.

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As the date for the ‘one night only’ performance approached, it was announced that due to capacity numbers, the cast was unable to perform to a live audience of family members. Thanks to the technical expertise of the CGS Audio Visual Department, the final dress rehearsal was filmed on Thursday 24 June and released as a streamed evening performance for families to watch together at home. While the boys missed the thrill of a live evening performance, they were still absolutely thrilled to perform to an audience of students in their magnificent, colourful costumes.

An Aesop Adventure is a musical journey, telling simple stories that use animals as well as humans to present powerful and memorable messages about life. Many of the morals shared in these stories have become words we use as advice to our children. As simple as they are, following their guidance prepares us all for many of life’s challenges. Each class dramatically presented a different fable that shared a moral to live by in life, complete with a song and dance.

The Pre-Preps opened the show with an informative musical introduction to the fables, followed by the colourful and delightful tales of The Farmer and the Stork (4B), The Fox and the Grapes (Year 1), The Boy Who Cried Wolf (4A), The Lion and the Mouse (Year 3), The Hare and the Tortoise (5A), The Ant and the Grasshopper (Year 2), The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse (5B) and The Crow and the Pitcher (Prep). Narrated emphatically by four narrators and with additional commentary and jokes from two audience members, Frank and Elvis, the show came together at the Finale with the whole chorus singing a resounding version of the opening song, An Aesop Adventure.

“As they say in the theatre, ‘the show must go on!’ and with credit to everyone involved, it did!.”

‘Junior School Presents’ is an important part of the whole school Drama program. For many students, this first venture onto the stage is the beginning of a life-long interest in theatre and performing arts. I wish to thank the wonderful Junior School staff for all their hard work and patience in Term 2 as we worked against the odds to produce this production, to the adaptive, creative and dynamic technical team who worked behind the scenes to bring this show to life and to the cast of over 200 boys who delivered an admirable performance.

As they say in the theatre, ‘the show must go on!’ and with credit to everyone involved, it did!

Mrs Trista Fry Music Teacher Pre-Prep - Year 2

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Sport

Although the Season was interrupted with cancelled fixtures due to lockdowns, it was delightful to see our students participating in their respective Winter Sports again, particularly given the season could not be held last year. We saw our Year 7 and Year 8 students representing the School in Winter Sport for the first time and enthusiasm levels were high. There were some excellent individual and team performances too.

Firsts Badminton went through the season undefeated and, despite losing the opportunity to play finals, were rightfully awarded the AGSV Premiership. Led by Captain Otto Zhao (Year 12), the team were dominant throughout all fixtures and recorded the School’s 21st AGSV Badminton Premiership. Congratulations to the team, Head Coach Nick Ong and Teacher in Charge, Mr Duong.

It was a similar story for Firsts Hockey. They did not lose a match within the incomplete season and were also named joint AGSV Premiers with Trinity Grammar, whom they drew with during the season. Coach and Teacher in Charge Mr Watson and Head of Hockey Stuart Webster were thrilled with the team in a season that saw them win the annual Geoff Mills Cup against Scotch and the Melbourne Grammar International Hockey Tournament for the first time. The squad boasts a host of Year 11 students and they will look to go back-to-back next season.

With a mixture of experience and youth, Firsts Soccer completed a very positive season, recording 3 wins and 2 losses to finish 3rd on the AGSV Ladder. New Firsts Coach, Anthony Frost, and Head of Soccer, Andreas Papanicolaou, were instrumental in developing our students and introducing a consistent game style across all teams. One of the highest participated sports in the School, Soccer will be pushing for finals for years to come.

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The Cross Country squad also enjoyed an improved season by finishing 3rd for the first time in many years. The younger runners proved most consistent and successful. Henry Shirrefs (Year 10) and Harrison Car (Year 9) won silver medals for their respective year levels, while Joshua Carlin (Year 8) won gold and was crowned the best runner of his year level. Mr Collins and Ms Mandusic are hopeful for higher finishes in the future and with Head Coach Craig Mottram leading the squad, anything is possible.

Firsts Football defeated PEGS in an inspiring display. The team was looking for more wins in their final two matches against teams towards the bottom of the ladder, however, were denied the opportunity due to cancellations. The program continues to demonstrate improvement and First XVIII Coach Rayden Tallis is excited by the young talent coming through the School.

At the end of the AGSV Season, students can be selected in AGSV Representative teams to play against APS Representative teams. Unfortunately, the matches were not played this season, however, the teams were still named. Congratulations to the following students who were rewarded for outstanding seasons and gained selection within their respective AGSV Representative teams: • Badminton – Otto Zhao, William Nguyen (Year 12) and Jordan Yang (Year 10) • Football – James Harker (Year 12) • Hockey – Angus Oldham, Rian MacLennan (Year 12), Brodie Carswell and Michael Hare (Year 11) • Soccer – Blake Pearson and Themistocles Kapnias (Year 12)

Results in our non-AGSV sports were also notable. Our Fencing squad, in particular, had a very impressive season. In the School Team Competition, our Senior students won the Senior Secondary Men’s Epee, and the Juniors came second.

Sean Xu (Year 11) was the standout Senior Fencer, but it was Julian Lim (Year 9) who dominated all Junior competitions, as well as achieving notable State and National performances.

Attention now moves to the 2021/22 Summer Season, which is scheduled to commence in Term 4. Training is due to start from Tuesday 5 October and fixtures will begin from Saturday 16 October.

Mr Lachlan Crawford Director of Sport

Although their season was cut short, 3 out of our 5 Baseball teams were destined to play finals. As one of our newest sports, Baseball continues to grow in participation and development.

The Snowsports squad enjoyed the CGS Family Week at Falls Creek this year. It was great to have students and parents enjoying time on the mountain again, especially given the Victorian Interschool Snowsports Championships were eventually cancelled due to lockdowns.

Unfortunately, the Spring Season was cancelled for a second consecutive year. We hope to see our Athletes and Water Polo players in action in 2022. Therefore, the 2020/21 Sport Season has come to an end. It was one that saw the School win four AGSV Premierships, the first time the School has ever achieved four in one season! The close of the Season also marks the final time our Year 12 students will represent the School in their respective sports. Thank you for your participation, enthusiasm and commitment to Sport at Camberwell Grammar. You are encouraged to continue your journey in sport beyond your time at school and take the experience, skills and knowledge obtained during that time with you. We hope to see you and hear of your future endeavours.

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Camberwell Snowsports and Falls Family Week

Our Snowsports families were lucky to make it to the snow this year for Falls Family Week. Harrison Hough (Year 12) Captain of Snowsports, shares the highlights from the week and being involved in CGS Snowsports.

After a devastating 2020, all the boys were very keen to get back into the gym and onto the slopes. With an impressive turnout filled with new faces, the first training of the year made it clear that from the start, the Snowsports squad was ready to work and get physically prepared for the upcoming events.

Due to the decreased crew at Mount Buller, because of Covid-19, we were unable to have our annual event, the Camberwell Cup, as the mountain couldn’t facilitate it.

Personally, this is my favourite event and favourite part of Snowsports. I was disappointed that it got cancelled, as I’m sure all the other boys were too. However, frustrating as this was, it was great to still see boys in groups with their mates skiing and snowboarding together in brand new Camberwell jackets that the boys have been wanting for a while.

During the Falls Family Week the snow was average, but the weather couldn’t have been better. I thought it would be a good idea to wear shorts and a T-shirt one day because the 28

weather was so beautiful, but I didn’t even make it to the lift before heading back to change. Unfortunately, due to the lockdowns that proceeded the Family Week and the uncertainty of upcoming weeks, the Interschool Competition has been postponed.

The Interschools pose as another opportunity for boys to excel in their respective events and for a lot of others, like me, just to go out and have a crack with their mates. With the exciting training by Mr Sartori that kept the squad interested and always having fun, it has been great to see vast improvements with all the boys’ fitness.

The Snowsports squad wouldn’t be the same or running at all without the coordination and constant support of Mr March, Mr Williamson, and Mr Heyes who run the show. As well as the teachers, the Friends of Snowsports need to be thanked for organising many events up at the Family Week, especially seeing the inconvenience that the pandemic played in this. Since I am in Year 12 and my schooling journey is coming to an end, I am so excited for the future of Snowsports with such a large group of boys with so much talent. This group can only grow from here on in. You will definitely see me back on the slopes for the upcoming Family Weeks and I’m looking forward to seeing all the boys having fun and improving even more.

Harrison Hough Captain of Snowsports

Staff Profile Paul Sartori

and commitment to their footy training. The 1st XVIII boys have particularly been inspiring this season, devoting a lot of time to their training during lockdown periods. They have built a great deal of momentum going into Season 2022, which feeds down to the younger year levels. I can’t wait to see where the program goes in future seasons.

Paul Sartori is the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and Head of Football.

I lead the wonderful Strength and Conditioning (S&C) team at CGS and have been doing so since 2018. The S&C team strives to engage students in an array of physical activity options at the School, ranging from involvement in CGS Sport with our 1st squads to running the weights room facility before school, lunch-time and after school open times. We also program and lead CGA swimmers through all their dry-land strength training, run S&C sessions in the PE curriculum, and assist CGS staff with their fitness training. We see S&C as a means of not only boosting athletic performance but also academic performance and social development. Exercise plays a significant role in developing healthy habits, building self-confidence and providing an outlet for stress management – all important factors of a student’s life at CGS. I have also been the Head of Football for the past three seasons.

Covid has wreaked havoc on our past two seasons but all students from Years 7 to 12 have been brilliant in their engagement

I’ll put it out there, we have the best job in the school!

The foundation of our work is building relationships with the students which I absolutely love. The highlight of each day is sharing banter with the boys away from the stresses of the classroom. If I’m not chatting S&C then I’m discussing potential AFL All-Australian teams or NBA trades with the students.

It’s great to have a common interest with the boys to assist in building a trustworthy relationship with them. As a result, the S&C program has merged with wellbeing programs within CGS, taking a more holistic approach to the day-to-day health and development of the students. I feel extremely lucky to have forged the relationships I have with the boys.

I always have had a keen interest in sport, leading me to complete a degree in Bachelor in Exercise, Sport Science.

From there my journey has involved roles at Hawthorn Football Club, Marcellin College, Assumption College and an endless list of community sporting teams. My real passion has always been working with adolescents and assisting them with their growth and development, leading me to work in education.

You have to love exercise working in this industry. I’m a keen runner and use it as a way to recharge physically and mentally. With three children under three years old, family life has been pretty hectic over the past few years! I love spending time with family and friends and am an avid musician.

Spectemur | Issue 3 - 2021

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Community Connections

Casual Clothes Day and Tug-of-War The final day of Term 2 was a Casual Clothes Day for charity. On the day, the Year 10 Youth in Philanthropy students raised funds for three charities that support youth homelessness: YouthWorx, Kids Under Cover, and the Hope Street Foundation. Staff also joined in, with all involved adding donations to the worthy causes. At the end of the day, an epic tug-of-war was held between the Year 12 Prefects and Staff and the Year 10 Youth in Philanthropy students. Students and staff were well-matched, with both teams scoring a win!

‘Year 10 Youth in Philanthropy students raised funds for three charities that support youth homelessness: YouthWorx, Kids Under Cover, and the Hope Street Foundation.’

Youth in Philanthropy An enthusiastic group of Year 10 students participated in the Annual Youth in Philanthropy program this year. Despite having to participate online, the boys involved made the most of online forums and meetings. The foundation provides $10,000 to be distributed to three charities across a selected ‘impact area’.

This year, the boys chose to focus on homelessness in Melbourne and engaged in online presentations with Hope Street Youth and Family Services, Youth Development Australia, and Kids Under Cover. With the assistance of Mr Paul and Angela Wheelton as mentors to the group and the Casual Clothes day in Term 2, their total grant allocations were well over $21,000. This was an amazing effort and thanks to everyone at CGS who contributed, enabling all funding requests by the three charities to be met.

Expressions of interest will be sought for 2022. Here is a link if you would like to know more about this amazing program: https://www.lmcf.org.au/youth-in-philanthropy/theprogram/about-youth-in-philanthropy 30

Jump Rope for Heart In Term 3, Junior School students participated in Jump Rope for Heart, helping to raise funds for heart research, patient support and programs that help save lives. The students had fun, got lots of exercise and were able to challenge themselves in the process. Junior School boys raised over $2,000 with any prizes won donated to community outreach programs helping refugees and other disadvantaged groups. Well done to all the students involved!

Medical Donations Camberwell Grammar Health Centre staff have been hard at work, sorting out excess medical stock that is no longer needed, or not appropriate for student use. CGS parent Mrs Lok is assisting Ms Sonego to donate the goods to Interplast where they can be given a second life for less fortunate patients overseas. Interplast sends volunteer medical professionals overseas to carry out life-changing plastic surgery and reconstructive work. You can find out more about Interplast here: https://interplast.org.au.

Year 12 Doughnut Treat Similar to 2020, this year our Year 12 students faced additional challenges due to being required to spend significant stretches studying from home.

To lift morale and to acknowledge their courage, all students received a special delivery from the School.

Teachers and Staff thought they deserved a special doughnut treat to reward them for their bravery and hard work during another difficult year.

Spectemur | Issue 3 - 2021

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Staff Tributes At the end of the year, we will be saying farewell and thank you to four long-serving members of staff.

Reverend Charles Butler, Chaplain and Religious Education Teacher helped create such a significant place, and it is wonderful that he has been able to enjoy the Chapel before his retirement.

This year, the Reverend Charles Butler will be completing 34 years of devoted service as the Chaplain of Camberwell Grammar. While so many things have changed in that long period, Charles’ purposeful and compassionate Chaplaincy has remained a wonderful constant.

Charles’ ministry at Camberwell has always reflected and built on the Christian faith embedded in the School, but it has also, and vitally, embraced all, consistently encouraging a deeper appreciation, understanding and unified acceptance of each other.

Thousands of students, staff and parents have benefitted from Charles’ deeply caring, always interested approach. Nurturing the School body in times of celebration as well as in times of challenge, and even great suffering, Charles has used his deep faith to provide comfort, reassurance, encouragement and hope.

The construction of the beautiful Chapel at CGS has enlarged the involvement of students in Chapel services as well as providing a beautiful, contemplative space for all to share. It has been a joy to Charles whose input in its design and setup has

As part of his many roles at Camberwell, Charles has coached footy and been a keen adventurer on countless School camps.

Charles’ ability to enter enthusiastically and whole-heartedly into any and all activities on offer, has endeared him to generations of boys. He has undertaken no less than 15 Murray River kayaking marathons with students from CGS and has accompanied students on three rigorous treks through the Kokoda Trail.

Seeing these most challenging adventures as a vehicle for building teamwork, and encouraging and strengthening care for each other, Charles has helped provide unforgettable and deeply rewarding experiences for the students. They have also kept Charles very fit!

At the many camps I have undertaken with Charles, it is Charles you will find beside the student who may be finding the going a little tough. Whether a Senior boy or a first-time camper in Year 6, quietly, unobtrusively, just listening and encouraging, he can make a positive contribution to their wellbeing with so little fuss, and yet with such significant impact.

Charles’ quiet gentleness, love for others, and encouragement of faith have been a blessing over these 34 years at Camberwell. In that long period of humble service, his contribution to life at CGS has been immeasurable.

Post his retirement at the end of 2021, he will hopefully continue to be a most regular presence around School.

Mrs Anne Walters Art Teacher

Ms Helen Thomas, Junior School Music Teacher and Assistant Director of Music - Junior School For 25 years, Camberwell Grammar has been blessed with a passionate and driven Music educator in Helen Thomas.

During Helen’s time at CGS, she has shown that, with no exception, she puts the needs of the boys first and strives to inspire a passion for music in every student. Her classroom program has incorporated an abundance of singing, movement, music literacy, listening and instrumental activities, with a focus on meeting the needs of a range of learners.

Helen ensures the boys at CGS are provided with many ensemble and solo performance opportunities, including regular evening Soiree recitals, beautiful choral music for Easter and Christmas services, inclusion in the biannual Hamer Hall Concert, Open Day and Ensemble Soiree performances and, more recently, Online Concerts. Her vocal ensembles, the Junior School Choir and Chamber Singers, regularly showcase not only beautiful harmonies but also a sense of fun with entertaining performances at concerts in the Performing Arts Centre.

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The Year 5 Ensemble is an initiative inspired by Helen’s foresight to recognise the opportunity for boys to perform collaboratively as a cohort to mark the end of their time in Junior School, with their performance at the Year 5 Graduation a highlight of the ceremony.

Helen is also enthusiastic about providing Performing Arts prospects to all boys in Junior School in the form of the biannual musical production for Year 3-5 boys and the JS Presents… whole school production, combining dance and drama with singing.

Helen’s love for singing is evident and the whole Junior School community enjoys coming together in song at weekly Assemblies, led by her accomplished piano playing. Toward the end of every year, as we approach the Ensemble Soiree, Helen convinces, cajoles and inspires staff to perform a musical item to amuse the boys and their families. Her creative musical mind, energy and enthusiasm have ensured fun and laughs for staff and audience alike. She is a highly respected colleague, an excellent communicator, and a life-long friend to many.

Helen’s legacy at CGS will live on not only in the accomplishments of current and former students but through the love of music established in all boys who have learned from her.

We wish Helen all the best as she departs to spend more time with her family and to travel in post-covid times.

Mrs Trista Fry Music Teacher Pre-Prep - Year 2

Dr Graham Morey-Nase, Head of History This year marks the milestone of twenty-five years of service at Camberwell Grammar

by Dr Graham Morey-Nase, a teacher who has played a significant role in the recent history of the School.

‘The Doc’, a graduate of the ANU, carried the distinction of his weighty academic title with moderation at a time when few of his colleagues had attained such rank, choosing a teaching career rather than the prospect of academia. He soon discovered that he was indeed ‘a born teacher’, working at a number of independent schools in Australia and the UK, but Camberwell Grammar has been the centre of his lengthy career. Graham first arrived at the School in 1981 as the ‘Assistant to the Headmaster’ (A.D.P. Dyer), a position elevated to ‘Deputy Headmaster’ in 1984. Dr Morey-Nase served in this important role until 1991, occasionally serving as Acting Headmaster, when he proved to be an innovator – his introduction of the benign ‘bucket detention’ served for many years as a reminder of his influence. He was also responsible for appointing Trevor Henley as Director of Music, initiating a musical empire!

The restaurant trade attracted his attention for some years, but in 2006 ‘The Doc’ returned to the School as Head of History and to his first love, the classroom. Again a gifted teacher and absolute master of his subject, Graham soon demonstrated that he had not lost any of his former notable attributes as a Steven House tutor and cricket coach. He also continued to be the dominant personality of any circle in which he mixed, both in the classroom and elsewhere. One former headmaster, Colin Black, under whom he had served and for whom he had acted thrice during absences, noted in a 1988 Grammarian tribute: ‘Dr Morey-Nase has an intimate knowledge of the School, and his advice and guidance have been invaluable. He has an eagle eye for detail and is quick to act when a problem has to be solved.’

The many hundreds of students taught by Dr Morey-Nase over the past decades and the scores of professional colleagues with whom he has worked at Camberwell Grammar would agree heartily with such an assessment. ‘The Doc’ will be sorely missed at the School when he retires at the end of 2021; his departure will be a loss to Camberwell Grammar and a gain for Outback Australia where he intends to tour in coming years both for pleasure and in order to enhance his considerable knowledge of the history of his country.

Graham is truly ‘a gentleman and a scholar’ and the school community wish him vale and good fortune in the future.

Dr David Bird School Historian and Archivist

Mr Rob French, Deputy Head and Head of Senior School Rob French arrived at Camberwell Grammar in 2013 to take on the role as Head of Middle School after celebrated stints at Geelong Grammar and Carey Grammar. Middle School Staff recall their first impressions of Rob as ‘friendly, approachable and warm’. Rob was clearly a ‘people person’ and it didn’t take long for his charismatic approach to have a positive impact on the community at a staff, student and parent level. After settling into his new role, he orchestrated a number of new initiatives including the entrepreneurship-based Project10 for Year 8 and the Middle School Network group for staff of local schools, both of which have grown into valuable and highly anticipated events each year.

In 2018, following the departure of Ms Rachel Falloon from her role as Deputy Head and Head of Senior School, Rob made the long trek west to Kingussie to establish the new Senior School Office.

His appointment to this role brought a new scale of challenge and responsibility, but it was clear from the start that the Senior School Staff and students would be in capable hands.

As part of his role as Head of Senior School, Rob taught Years 9 and 10 History, coached Years 7 and 8 Football, remained an avid gym user and swimmer, guided trips to Central Australia and shared the highs and lows of the past four years with all of us.

In the classroom and around the grounds, Rob demonstrates a seemingly effortless way of interacting with everyone at CGS. Whether you were a new Year 9 student struggling with the transition into white shirts or one of our hard-working cleaning staff,

Rob would go out of his way to make sure that you felt at home and that you felt valued. He inspires confidence in those around him, shepherds those that require additional support and has remained positive in the face of adversity. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to find a leader who has coped better with the uncertainty and unpredictability of the last 18 months.

To understand the effect that Rob has had on the student population, one need look no further than the steps outside his office, where groups of students regularly congregate. Not in anticipation of punitive measures or sanctions, but perhaps, I think, reflecting the level of comfort, surety and trust that they have in him. Rob sees the best in all of us, particularly the young men who we seek to educate and inspire.

It has become a common occurrence to meet past staff members of Geelong and Carey Grammar and be asked ‘We really miss Rob, how is he going at Camberwell?’ – such was their affection for him during his tenure at their schools. As Rob now prepares to move to take on the role of Principal at Kilvington Grammar in Ormond, I am sure that the CGS community will now do the same. We will follow his career and future achievements with interest and be forever grateful for the time that he led us. We thank him and wish him all the best.

Mr David Rayner Deputy Head of Senior School

Spectemur | Issue 3 - 2021

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Alumni News Where are They Now? James Baird, School Vice-Captain 1995, is the Chief Information Officer for Coca-Cola South Pacific and is based in Sydney. James’ current position at The Coca-Cola Company provides an amazing experience of working in a truly networked and connected organisation for one of the world’s most renowned consumer brands.

Since leaving CGS in 1995, James has risen through the Information Technology ranks of many high-profile businesses like the Melbourne Cricket Club, Stadium Australia, Cravable Brands, Hungry Jack’s and now Coca-Cola.

James is married with three children and has been a member of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service for the past 12 years.

He is very proud of his association with the School and has many life skills based on sound learning and lessons from his teachers and friends.

Simon Chesterman’s (1990) latest book, We, the Robots? Regulating Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of Law is now available in print. Simon is Dean of the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and Senior Director (AI Governance) at AI Singapore. Simon was inducted into the Camberwell Grammar School Gallery of Achievement in 2003.

Congratulations to Aidan Oh (2020) and Ryan Tam (2020) who have been recognised with a Premier’s VCE Award for their outstanding academic results in 2020. Ryan Tam received a Premier’s VCE Award for being a Top All-Round VCE High Achiever, which is given to students who achieved outstanding results in five or more of their subjects, and Aidan Oh received a Study Award for Visual Communication Design.

Congratulations to Ash Tchen (2017) who received a Highly Commended Award at the 2021 HART Awards from Reconciliation Victoria. This award was for his work on the Girraway Ganyi Consultancy YouTube channel that he undertook as part of his Youth Work course through RMIT University and Community Services course at Booroongen Djugan College. As part of the project Ash, who is Wiradjuri/Wotjobulak, filmed Camberwell Grammar Indigenous students sharing their stories and experiences.

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The entire CGS community congratulates them on being the recipients of such prestigious awards.

Congratulations to Liam O’Callaghan (2011) and Monica who celebrated their wedding at Immerse Winery in Dixon’s Creek on 8 March 2021.

Queensland Reunion The Queensland OCGA Network Event was fortunately able to go ahead in late July. Craig Rose (1994) kindly hosted dinner at Bianca Italian Restaurant in Brisbane.

Dr Paul Hicks and Mr Ryan Whitehead (1994) were unable to travel to Brisbane due to Covid-19 restrictions, but it was a great success with many CGS Alumni attending to catch up with old friends and make new connections on the night.

Spectemur | Issue 3 - 2021

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Alumni Profile Blake Collyer (2014) Since leaving Camberwell Grammar School, I decided to dedicate my time to focus on my golf, with training at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), and the things I needed to do to turn professional and make my way up the ranks. Alongside this, I had a job at Apples and Sage Organics in Balwyn and was also completing a series of online study courses through the VIS. It was great to have a balance of work and training when I was in Australia, and it helped self-fund my overseas travel for tournaments.

When I was young, I played a range of different sports from footy to basketball to tennis and more, as well as being enrolled in a junior golf program at Kew Golf Club. When I was 10, I won a competition in the local newspaper to be a part of a group lesson with Adam Scott involving 14 other kids at Huntingdale.

Spending time with Adam, and his kind words of ‘You’ve got a mighty fine swing, keep up your golf’, has stuck with me since, and has helped shape me into the golfer I am today.

As I grew up, I played basketball at school – club and representative level – but still managed to allocate time to focus on my golf. I went on the USA Basketball tour with the school and have to say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The enjoyment and mate-ship created as a group, and the experiences on and off the court, is something you don’t get much of in an individual sport like golf.

During my final years at CGS I made the Victorian State Team for golf and captained the team, which was a great honour.

Following the completion of Year 12, I was accepted on a golf scholarship at VIS where I have just recently finished the program due to my professional status. I played National Amateur tournaments around Australia and then, with the help of the VIS, travelled to the UK and USA to play in their summer amateur events. Four years of competing in those tournaments, and the gradual improvement of my game, put me in a great position to turn professional at the end of 2019 and take the next step in my golfing journey.

In my first event as a professional, the Victorian PGA Championship, I finished in 4th position which included a -10 under par in the second round. I got the opportunity to play in the Australian PGA on the Gold Coast which happened to be the same event that Adam Scott was competing in. It was quite surreal considering some 13 years earlier he had given me advice, and it was great to reflect on where the last 13 years had taken me. Since the start of my pro-career, I have continued to build on my positive early results and have been able to get my name up at the top of the leaderboards at recent events.

Before the Covid pandemic, I was able to secure my 2020/2021 tour card on the PGA Tour Australasia and, after a few strong finishes late in the season, have recently finished in the top 50 of the money list in the season to again secure my tour card for the 2021/2022 season. I have gained tour status on the Asian tour, however, the uncertainty of overseas travel has made it difficult for that tour to restart.

At CGS, I enjoyed the camaraderie and friendships I built and the opportunities I was given to compete in a wide range of organised sports within the School. For those in Year 12, you’re often meant to feel like you should know what you want to do with your life straight away, however, for some people, it can take many years to work it out and there is no rush to tie yourself down.

Explore what’s out there and do what you enjoy.

I’m excited for what the future holds and am looking forward to achieving the goals I have set out and continuing to develop my game. I enjoy being a role model both on and off the golf course and the opportunities I can provide to help others, which is another key area I will continue to build on going forward.

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From the

Archives ‘Are We to Be Spared Nothing?’

Traditional lament, frequently attributed to Tony Brown, 1961-89.

We all remember from our schooldays teachers who had a command of their subject matter but were lacking in their role of transmitting an enthusiasm for learning to their students.

More memorable were those who followed a passion in their teaching and were able to excite zeal in their students; often, that awakened keenness can endure for a lifetime. Over thirteen decades, Camberwell Grammar has hosted many teachers who followed such passions and passed them on to their students – one of the more outstanding was Tony Brown, who taught here from 1961-89 and managed the performing arts in the School for the bulk of that period. There is no better example of a teacher who followed his passion during his time at the School. Tony began his Camberwell theatrical career playing the role of Hotspur in Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1 in the 1961 production. From 1963, he became the director/ producer of senior school plays (continuing to act in some of them), the first being The Teahouse of the August Moon and his swan song being A Fortunate Life in 1988. Tony had been involved in over thirty productions not including a number of musicals in which he collaborated with John Mallinson and the Music School, an enduring record.

All of Tony Brown’s productions displayed his immense talent and passion for the performing arts both on-stage and behind the scenes – all were suitably lauded, although (in the tradition of theatrical criticism) some were considered more successful than others. It is difficult to grade them, but three of the more memorable were the productions of King Lear in May 1966, of Lola Montez in May 1970 and of the Centenary Revue, Are We To Be Spared Nothing, in May 1986.

Tony knew that King Lear would be a challenge, urging his cast accordingly: ‘Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a rough ride.’

Keith Gillam was charged with the main role and was credited with having given ‘three superb performances’; Lear’s daughters were three strikingly effective recruits from Fintona. An especially rigorous rehearsal program had been followed beforehand with notably noisy, boisterous sessions in the Memorial Hall, as well as a weekend at Bambara, where the difficult scene of Gloucester’s blinding was practised and perfected in a forest and above a quarry. This particular portrayal was long remembered, some believing that they had never seen a ‘Gloucester’ (Graham Caldwell) to equal it. The subsequent performances concluded with a tearful Lear carrying the limp body of Cordelia to the stage apron – the audience responded with stunned silence and then thunderous applause, indicative of the emotion that had been conveyed by this outstanding production.

Lola Montez, a musical drama, was more joyful, touted in a 1970 Spectemur as a depiction of ‘one of the most flagrantly immoral women ever to walk the stage’. Tony was conscious that the work had been a recent favourite of community theatre if an initial failure on the professional stage. Nevertheless, the Camberwell production was a sensation. The dramatic climax of Lola was a public whipping administered by Montez (Jenny Brown) to Seekamp (Greg Ham) down the main street of Ballarat; the greatest challenge came with the so-called ‘dream sequence’, where Lola recalls her time at the Bavarian Royal Court in Munich, a scene demanding both a considerable change of scenery and the use of a ‘fog machine’ to simulate dreaming reminiscence. The dreamy, dry-ice ‘fog’ was deeper than any expected on the opening evening, flowing off-stage to

“Are We to Be Spared Nothing”, May 1986.

Tony Brown - a student sketch.

a depth of eight rows into the Memorial Hall audience – these front rows narrowly avoided immediate evacuation. Distracting coughs ensued amongst the audience, whilst the on-stage dancers were somewhat confused, much to the chagrin of the producer, but Spectemur appropriately assessed the production: ‘To present a musical, the producer must be part-choirmaster, part-danseur, part-actor and part-magician…he must also be part-diplomat… And what a success it turned out to be.’

Tony’s career climaxed with the three-night 1986 Centenary Revue, Are We To Be Spared Nothing, at the National Theatre, St Kilda. He had long been aware that a revue presented especial difficulties, admitting as much in the program.

‘The art of Revue is acknowledged by those unfortunates who have had anything to do with it as being a very tricky and technical business. Everything should be condensed to appalling brevity. No scene or number should play for more than a few minutes at most, and above all, the audience must never be kept waiting!’

However, the revue lived up to the promises made beforehand in the Spectemur that the audience would witness ‘a show with a difference, a kind of Cage-aux-Camberwell’. The evening featured cabaret performances, a soft-shoe shuffle (featuring the director himself), a sketch on Shakespearean drama, a Mozartian ‘powdered-wig and corsets’ dance, an on-stage guillotine, a papier-mâché Moby Dick, a rowdy classroom sketch, a meeting of an all-powerful School Council and the appearance of Tarzan on a swinging vine. The climax came on the final Friday night with ‘Aunty Jack’ (Peter Hutchinson) astride a borrowed motorbike and sidecar that had been painfully carted upstairs earlier by the backstage crew. Perhaps this was Tony Brown’s finest moment, certainly a production never to be forgotten. It was preserved on a ‘Centenary Revue Videotape’ (Cost: $30.00), recorded in order ‘to refresh your memory, to show to friends and family, to relive in years to come’.

Tony Brown retired in 1989 and the Grammarian of that year assessed his twenty-nine years at Camberwell Grammar as a period in which ‘his theatrical aplomb and ingenuity were responsible for establishing a fine dramatic tradition in the school’. These traits had their origins in Tony Brown’s passion for the performing arts, a passion which the Grammarian acknowledged he had passed on to his students, giving them ‘heightened self-confidence and sensitivity’. No teacher could ask for a better heritage than that.

Dr David Bird School Historian and Archivist Spectemur | Issue 3 - 2021

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Gallery of Achievement Inductees 2021 Congratulations to our inductees for 2021. Unfortunately, due to lockdown restrictions faced this year, we were unable to host the annual Gallery of Achievement and Roystead Dinner but hope to gather next year to celebrate this year’s Inductees and their achievements.

Mr Peter R Barker AM (1973) Peter has spent most of his career as a freelance professional Chinese interpreter and translator.

He first began learning Chinese at CGS in Year 7 and continued his studies in Chinese through to Year 12. He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree (Hons) at the University of Melbourne with majors in Chinese and Indonesian and a sub-major in French. Peter was awarded an Australian Government scholarship to study in China upon completion of his university studies, one of only seven recipients each year. He studied at the Beijing Languages Institute and Beijing University at a time when China had yet to open up to the outside world.

In 1980 he returned to Australia to complete his Diploma of Education and the following year taught Chinese to native Chinese speakers and English as a Second Language at Richmond Girls High School. He was also heavily involved in the development of Chinese language textbooks for Australian students.

In 1982 Peter received a Victorian Government Teacher Scholar Award where he returned to China to study at Nanjing University and taught one day a week at the Jiangsu Education Institute.

He returned to Australia in 1983 and again taught at Richmond Girls High School for another eighteen months.

In 1984 Peter successfully took part in national examinations for an Australian Government scholarship to study in China to become a professional interpreter. He undertook a two-year course at the United Nations Interpreter Translator Centre in Beijing where he majored in simultaneous interpreting. He was the only non-Chinese student to complete the course. He then went on to work in the Australian Embassy in Beijing as an interpreter for the Australian ambassador.

Peter returned to Australia in 1988 and established his company working as a freelance interpreter. For thirty years he acted as Australia’s most senior Chinese interpreter working on all major government bilateral exchanges between Australia and China as well as with private industry and at international conferences.

Peter also worked two months a year for the Getty Conservation Institute based in Los Angeles on their heritage conservation projects in China for twenty years.

Peter received an Order of Australia in 2018 for his achievements in developing Australia’s relations with China. Peter retired in 2019.

Mr Johan Handoko Durst (2008) Johan first came across hockey in Year 7 at Camberwell Grammar School when several classmates suggested hockey as a winter sport. When the winter season came around, the Year 7A hockey team needed a goalkeeper and Johan was willing to give it a go.

During the 2011 season, Johan captained the Under 21 Victorian team and also led the Under 21 Australian Team that won a silver medal at the inaugural Sultan Johor Tournament in Malaysia.

Following a hip injury which saw him sidelined for the 2014 season, Johan’s career breakthrough came in 2016 when he was part of the Victorian Open Age Team, the Vikings, which won the Australian Hockey League for the first time since 1996.

The Victorian Vikings went on to win the title again in 2017 and Johan was also awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

After school, Johan initially went on to study opera at the Victorian College of the Arts, however balancing a music career with high-performance sport proved challenging, with sport eventually winning out and Johan deciding to pursue undergraduate studies in economics and Indonesian.

In 2018, Johan was selected into the Australian Men’s Hockey Team, the Kookaburras, and moved to Perth to join the team’s training base. Later that year he made his debut against Germany with the Kookaburras that won gold at the 2018 Champions Trophy as well as the inaugural edition of the Hockey Pro League in 2019. Johan remains part of the Kookaburras as the team prepares for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, is a proud member of the Hawthorn Hockey Club in Melbourne and is the current Chair of the Australian Hockey Players’ Association.

Johan’s first opportunity to represent Victoria came later than most as a top age player in the 2009 Under 18 National Championship in Darwin. Following a strong performance in the tournament he received a full scholarship to the Victorian Institute of Sports Hockey Program. In 2010, Johan was selected in the Victorian Under 21 team which won gold in front of a home crowd in Melbourne and later that year was included in the Under 21 Australian team.

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Away from his hockey career, Johan is currently undertaking postgraduate studies in energy and minerals economics and upon completion will be joining BHP in their mining strategy and development division. Johan is married to fellow Hawthorn Hockey Club member and former Hockeyroo, Claire Messent, and the couple currently live in Perth.

SQNLDR Sean Andrew Hamilton CSC (2001) Sean Hamilton was a member of Macneil House and a CUO with the Camberwell Grammar School Cadet Unit. Upon graduating in 2001, his positive cadet experiences led him to join the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Sean attended the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and he studied a Bachelor of Arts, graduating in 2004 with a double major in History and Computer Science.

Sean completed the RAAF’s pilot training between 2005-2008, graduating from Basic Flight Training School (CT-4s), 2nd Flying Training School (PC-9s), 79SQN and 76SQN (Hawk-127s) and 2OCU (F/A-18As). In 2008 he was posted to 77SQN in RAAF Williamtown as a F/A-18A Hornet fighter pilot.

Sean completed F/A-18A tours at 77SQN and 3SQN before deploying to Afghanistan for six months as a Heron Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) operator in 2012. Sean and his team provided Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) for the Australian Regular Army and the Special Operations Task Group in the war against the Taliban.

After returning from Afghanistan, Sean was posted to 1SQN flying the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. After completing the Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course, he deployed as the 1SQN FCI to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to conduct strike operations in Iraq. Throughout this 2014-2015 deployment, Sean and his SQN provided Close Air Support (CAS) to defend Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces (ISF and KSF) in contact with the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL).

Between 2015-2017 Sean focused on tactics development, furthering the RAAF’s warfighting capabilities’ through enhancing their technical and tactical integration. In 2017 he returned for a second strike deployment to the UAE, this time as 1SQN’s Flight Commander. This deployment was the last rotation of Australian fighters to Iraq, ISIL being heavily degraded by coalition air power and ISF and KSF operations.

Sean completed his tour as 1SQN’s A-Flight Commander in 2020, being awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for his contribution to RAAF Air Combat tactics development and training. Sean is currently a Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) completing a Masters of Strategic and Defence Studies at the Australian Command and Staff College.

Mr Tim J Millikan (1987) Tim Millikan completed his schooling at Camberwell Grammar School in 1987 and undertook a youth exchange year with AFS to Thailand in 1988.

Tim studied Arts at Monash University. He was active in student politics and was elected General Secretary of the Monash Association of Students in 1994.

He was also an active member of the Monash University Choral Society, holding several committee positions including President. Tim graduated in 2004 with First Class Honours in Thai Language in Culture in 1994.

In 1995, Tim joined the Department of Foreign Affairs through its graduate program and completed a Master of Arts (Foreign Affairs and Trade). Tim has had the honour to be posted in Port Louis, Mauritius (1998-2001); Brasilia, Brazil (2006-09); Accra, Ghana (2013- 16) including Acting High Commissioner from December 2015 to April 2016 and shorter assignments in Bougainville as part of the Peace Monitoring Group (Jan‑May 2002); Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (Oct 2010-Mar 2012); Harare, Zimbabwe (Oct 2016-Jan 2017); Pretoria, South Africa (Jun‑Jul 2017) and Ankara, Turkey (Aug 2018-Sep 2019).

Tim is currently posted to Dublin, Ireland as Deputy Head of Mission and Consul, a role he commenced in September 2019.

His current role includes reporting on developments in Ireland from Brexit, possible unification on the island of Ireland, and assisting Australians in Ireland affected by Covid and helping those who want to return to Australia.

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Dr Tom (Justin) Playfair AM (1961) Justin still has a vivid memory of his enjoyable 5 years at Camberwell Grammar School from 1956 to 1960. He missed out on the Matric year as he returned to Sydney with his parents.

During the 6 years at Sydney University Medical School, Justin developed an interest in Ophthalmology. He was encouraged to return to Melbourne to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital as it was at the forefront of modern innovative Ophthalmology. These 3

years inspired him to study further at Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge. It was here that he developed his skill in vitreo-retinal surgery and also married his Scottish wife, Jacqueline.

Justin returned to Sydney in late 1977 as he had taken up an offer from Professor Bilson to share with him his vision for Sydney Eye Hospital. For the next 40+ years he worked as a vitreo-retinal surgeon, becoming Head of Ophthalmology and President of the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation before retiring.

In 2021 Justin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to ophthalmology, and to professional colleges.

Professor John M Tonkin (1956) John was born in Melbourne in 1939. His early education was at East Kew Central School and he then attended Camberwell Grammar School from 1948 to 1956 where he was Head Prefect, Captain of Derham House and Captain of Football.

He also represented the School in Cricket and Athletics and was an Under Officer in the School Cadets. He went on to study at Melbourne University and then at the Melbourne College of Divinity.

John’s academic achievements are best summarised by quoting a record compiled by a long-time academic colleague at UWA, for presentation at John’s funeral in 2019: “John Tonkin was Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia. His first degree was a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. Thereafter he studied a Bachelor of Divinity at the Melbourne College of Divinity and proceeded to a Doctorate of Philosophy at Drew University in the United States. He was appointed to the Department of History at the University of Western Australia and was promoted to the position of Professor of History there. For many years he served both as Professor and as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. On the strength of his many outstanding publications he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.”

John married Barbara Armstrong in 1963 and they left for America where he completed his PhD. During this time abroad he came to a decision to change his career direction in favour of an academic career in European history, with a particular interest in the Reformation. On their return to Australia, John took up a position in the Department of History at the University of Western Australia (UWA) where he remained for the rest of his academic career. They have two children, Kati and Christopher, both of whom have academic careers at UWA. John and Barbara’s marriage came to an end and he married Lesley in 2001.

On retirement, John was accorded the honorary title of Emeritus Professor and continued active association with UWA as Senior Honorary Research Fellow. He was appointed as Cathedral Scholar at St George’s Cathedral and in this capacity, he gave whole series of lectures on church history and related topics in the Cathedral’s Centre for Education and Spirituality.

John is remembered not only for his academic achievements but also as a gentle, caring man who enjoyed the company of his friends, a good joke and a glass of red.

(1939 – 2019)

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Mr Robert Neil Wallace (1969) Robert (Rob) Wallace, elite marathon runner, running coach, and former retail owner of ‘Run On’ in Dallas, Texas, left many footprints on this earth. Born on 21 June 1951, and raised in Croydon, Rob started running as a 12-yearold encouraged by the CGS Sports Master, Roy Whitehead.

He ran cross county for the school in the morning, then at Olympic Park for the Richmond Harriers in the afternoon.

He received an athletic scholarship to Long Beach State in California, eventually transferring to the University of Texas El Paso, where he set two running records in 1974, before graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

In 1976, he placed second at the Australian Olympic marathon trials, won the Australian Marathon Championship in 1977, and represented Australia in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth

Games. He ran twenty marathons under 2hr 20mins, with several first-place finishes to his credit including the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 1980, and finished 9th at the Boston Marathon in 1982.

Rob and wife Rebecca started a running specialty shop named ‘Run On’ in 1995, which grew to six stores, and a race timing company before selling in 2012. He was regarded as a visionary in the retail running industry, setting an example for running stores all over the US. Between hundreds of marathon clients he coached and as the co-author of How to Train For Your Bucket List Marathon, he poured his soul into the running community.

Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2019, Rob continued to run, hike, bike and climb mountains near his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he and Rebecca retired in 2014. He was an avid gardener, cook, and yogi, loyal to his canine companions, and always perturbed by United States’ continued use of the imperial measurement system.

(1951 – 2020)

Dr John Oastler Ward (1957) Born in 1940 to architect Donald Charles Ward and Tintern Ladies College student Lucy Grigg Ward, John was educated at Camberwell Grammar School and graduated as Dux of the School. He then went to Melbourne University where he did his Bachelor of Arts (Hons) before proceeding to Toronto, Canada, where he completed his Ph.D. on the medieval uses of the classical doctrines of rhetorical persuasion. He then returned to Australia and took up a permanent teaching position at the University of Sydney in the Department of History where he taught, mainly, medieval European history for the rest of his employed life, retiring owing to ill health in 2003.

He ran courses on medieval history generally, but also on special topics such as Joan of Arc, and Dante. John was one of the last teachers of the night school at Sydney University where he enjoyed meeting fully employed people whose interests got them to take up nocturnal studies at the University. He attended numerous local

and overseas conferences in his areas of specialty and was often invited to deliver special addresses at these events. He published books and numerous articles on his special subjects, and one of his latest efforts was: Classical Rhetoric in the Middle Ages: the medieval rhetors and their art A.D. 400-1300, with manuscript survey to 1500 CE (Leiden: Brill, 2019).

During some of this time he was also alderman, councillor and ultimately Mayor and CEO of Ashfield Municipality, Sydney (now amalgamated into the Inner West Council) from 1978 to 1994. He emphasised heritage and respect towards the historic parts of his municipality and for a long time he was associated with the Ashfield and District Historical Society (of which he is a life member). In his later years he ran walking tours of the municipality, sometimes dressed up as Frederick Clissold, a leading light in the early European history of Ashfield. He also attended other leading historical events in his and nearby municipalities, sometimes dressed in historic clothing. He also helped publish a book on the early history of Ashfield and NSW: Remembered with Pride: the Recollections of an Australian Gold Digger, by Mark J. Hammond, edited, introduced and annotated by Brian Hodge (Maruba Press, Lewisham, 1988).

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Obituaries Max McKenzie (Year 9) 7 January 2006 – 19 August 2021 Max was a friendly and engaging young man with a zest for life. He joined CGS in Grade 4 and, as his journey through the Junior and Middle Schools progressed, Max proved to be a very capable student, a steadfast friend, and someone who enjoyed success in an array of pursuits. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he helped foster a strong sense of camaraderie amongst the groups in which he was involved.

After joining the Senior School, Max very quickly made his mark. In the House, his enthusiasm for Table Tennis, Athletics and Music competitions was noteworthy and showcased his dedication, his supportiveness of others, and the mature influence that he had amongst his peers. However, it was Max’s involvement in House Debating that stood out. Only a handful of Year 9 students volunteered to represent the House. Max spent hours working with his teammates to formulate arguments and coaching them in their delivery. Max’s teammates valued his input, and he was highly regarded for his erudition, sharp argument and for staging a strong performance.

After working backstage in Term 2 on The Alchemist, he worked as the show caller on the Middle School Play, a role that required much focus and skill in calling the cues for the running of the production. He was impressive in this role, accomplishing superb command of the position, remaining calm and in control, learning on the job and marking up the prompt copy ready for the season.

While Max was in his element on the stage, he was just as comfortable in the outdoors and demonstrated similar commitment and drive as a member of the School’s Kayaking squad and as an Army Cadet. Max loved camping, an interest he had developed on hiking trips with his family. At the Cadet Bivouac, his organisation and skills as a backwoodsman stood out and were highly valued by the other members of his platoon, who were at times more challenged than he was living and training in the bush.

Max undertook all of his involvements with enthusiasm and equanimity. He loved the School and approached all his involvements with an open heart, great generosity and a desire to do his best. Max was a conscientious student, a dedicated member of many groups and a great friend. He loved his friends dearly, and they in turn also loved Max. He had much to live for and will be greatly missed.

Mr Hamish Green Head of Macneil House

Max’s ability as a showman was shaped over many years, particularly with School Drama. The Year 5 Memory Book rated his most memorable moment in Junior School acting as Flash the camel in Ali Baba: The Musical. He loved his involvement with the plays in Junior, Middle and Senior School, and made a big impression on the actors, crew, and production teams. They loved him, his gentle manner, his shy laugh and, more especially, his generosity. He was always asking what else he could do to help and find ways to support the cast, such as organising cast parties.

“Max was a conscientious student, a dedicated member of many groups and a great friend.”

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Bartley Edward (Ted) Bailey (1945) 4 April 1928 – 16 August 2021

Geoffrey William Ewenson (1959) 11 November 1941 – 15 July 2021 Geoff was a student at Camberwell Grammar School from 1954 to 1959 and his interests ranged from drumming in the cadet marching band to playing football with the Old Camberwell Grammarians’ Football Club and messing about in boats. When Geoff was a boy, his family split time between Melbourne and Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula.

In 1967, at the age of 25, Geoff sailed aboard the Winston Churchill with five others bound for Newport, Rhode Island, to watch and support Australia’s Dame Pattie in that year’s America’s Cup competition.

Father of Simon (1975) and Nicholas (1978)

Christopher Hartmann (1960) 30 November 1942 – 19 June 2021

James Johnson Kibel (1958) 22 February 1940 – 5 August 2021 Father of James (1987) and Jeremy (1991)

That circumnavigation (the wrong way via the Cape of Good Hope) proved to be a massive event in his life, as he met his wife of 52 years, Patricia (Patsy) upon arriving in Newport. Within a month of meeting Patsy, Geoff pulled out of the second half of the circumnavigation. Within a year they were engaged, within two they were married, and within three they had their first child, Geoffrey Michael Ewenson. Two more children, Ashley and Nicholas, followed.

Pascal Luc De Stoop (1966)

As an adult, he continued to actively race sailboats, mostly as a navigator in offshore races. He had a lot of success and was known to be a great shipmate; a highlight was winning the Newport to Bermuda Race in 1982 on Brigadoon III. He took great pride in passing along his love for being on the ocean and his passion for racing sailboats to his three children.

Frederick MacTaggart Wallace (1944)

12 December 1947 – 12 July 2021

Paul Nicholas Oglesby (1973) 27 August 1954 – 20 August 2021 Twin brother to Ian (1973).

20 February 1926 – 13 August 2021

Geoff’s career was in marketing and sales, mostly in the construction, real estate, and marine industries. Over the years he followed job opportunities to Chicago, New Jersey and Fort Lauderdale, but he always returned to Newport. His colleagues and friends will remember him for his optimism and sense of humour.

Geoff is survived by his wife, Patsy and his son Nick and daughter Ashley.

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Your early years were privileged but challenging, dealing with undiagnosed dyslexia throughout school and enduring a long recovery from a near life-ending bike accident. Your family was caring and loving but often absent. And your resilience in embracing the many moves, shaped the quiet strength that carried you through life – albeit with some scars.

Your love of life was infectious and enjoyed by all in your company. You were privileged to make so many close friends along the way. None more than Mick Mitchel and the boys from Camberwell Grammar and the old Xavs cricket club. The association with CGS, stemming from your beloved uncle John – as to extend to my time at Camberwell Grammar, which you gently requested from mum – when you took me by the hand as a 4-year-old, to come and look at daddy’s old school. Mum got the message, and I was sent to Camberwell and now my boys have continued that grateful passage.

Douglas John Howard (1961) 7 September 1943 – 15 May 2021 Father to James (1987) and grandfather to Carson (2020) and Tim (Year 10) Dad, it is with a heavy heart but also with our trust in your strength that we can say goodbye.

You taught us so much and in your own unselfish way, I suspect you will continue to give even in your physical absence.

Those who knew you well understand how you gave of yourself – this was your life’s work fulfilled. The gifts you gave us, as a son and daughter, are everlasting. And as a friend, associate, or just a man on the street willing to chat, you found a way to stop and connect… ‘Lord knows you loved a chat with a random stranger much to the agitation of those with you on a schedule.’

Feeding your family with obscure on-the-job recipes, building tables, boat-beds and chopping boards – they were all gifts made with love. Even the bars you built in your friends’ homes were a work of art, constructed without drawings made with love on the run.

“Dad, your richness of character and the selfless life you live, will be honoured and celebrated for many years to come.”

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Dad, your love of art and entertainment was at the core of who you are. Great with your hands, you excelled with woodwork and the fine arts and colour. Your work as an interior decorator was where you found your truth. This culminated in your successful business, Douglas Howard Consultants, which saw your creativity enter into many homes with exceptional results.

Dad, you had an unwavering love for your family and the building of your castle at Barrington Avenue. With your mum and dad over the back lane and Noonie and Pater two streets away, you were in your element. With friends coming and going it was a nice time of life for all of us.

Dad, your richness of character and the selfless life you live, will be honoured and celebrated for many years to come.

You can rest in peace now, my mate, my dad.

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