Carey’s centenarian: A tribute to Peter Bucknill

Helen Penrose

Carey’s Centenary Historian

Happy 100th birthday to Old Carey Grammarian and past member of staff Peter Bucknill!

Our Historian, Helen Penrose, recently wrote this tribute to this highly significant member of the Carey community and the impact of his 36 years as a dedicated Carey teacher.

We wish Peter all the best for this special occasion.

Russian, science and Peter Bucknill

Russian, introduced to the curriculum in 1958, aimed at expanding science students’ horizons. Carey’s reputation for excellence in science had been cemented long before this through the efforts of teachers Mark Stump (staff 1927–46) and Robert ‘Drac’ Wilkinson (staff 1948–61), in particular. In 1956, the new science wing opened, complete with rooftop meteorological facilities. An auroral camera, the only one in Australia when it was installed on the roof in 1957 by the Australian Academy of Science, allowed keen Year 11 Physics students to explore auroral physics. The Soviet Union’s launch of the first satellite, Sputnik I, also in 1957, surprised the world and galvanised it to catch up. Science education received renewed emphasis, especially in America. In Australia, secondary schools rushed to revitalise aged science laboratories and address the shortage of science teachers. Carey’s science facilities were widely envied by other schools.

Peter Bucknill (OCG 1937 and staff 1946–82) had studied Russian, French and Latin at the University of Melbourne, and was an examiner of French and Russian. His teaching colleagues at Carey regarded him as a modern language master. Small numbers of students at Intermediate, Leaving and Matriculation levels at Carey were lucky to learn Russian from Peter Bucknill. Russian not only inspired the young scientists who watched the developing ‘space race’ with interest, but was also a good example of the way the School keenly embraced a broad range of subjects and activities in and out of the classroom to provide choice and foster individuality.

Several of Peter Bucknill’s Russian students entered the Pushkin Poetry Competition, run by the University of Melbourne. Entrants competed by reciting, in Russian, poetry written by Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837). In 1965, four Carey students won prizes, including first prizes awarded to Ian Bolster in Matriculation and Andrew Lillies in Leaving. In 1972, Matthew Fox won a prize in the Intermediate section. By this time, the School could no longer sustain such small classes, and so Russian was phased out from 1972. Peter Bucknill retired as head of the languages department in 1982, leaving behind an indelible mark on language teaching at Carey.