Light Blue - February 2024

ISSUE 113 FEBRUARY 2024

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↓ SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION Members of the Geelong Grammar School community have faced significant challenges from the hurt of the past. In recent years,

the School has been working to provide an authentic response to survivors of sexual abuse.

Principal, Rebecca Cody, has observed: “I have met with survivors

and I am deeply sorry for their pain and suffering: to be sorry though, is not enough; complying with new legislation is not enough – we need to set an example and lead. We need to move forward by recognising the devastating impacts and effects of childhood sexual abuse and by never losing sight of the learnings from them”.

Rebecca said: “Whilst we cannot undo the failures of the past,

together we can acknowledge the harm, recognise the pain caused and together, we can support and enable a culture which fortifies against such devastating harms and places child safety at its core.

Together, we can make a positive difference towards shaping a better world”.

For survivors, for victims of trauma, for those struggling in

challenging times – there are options for reaching out and finding support.

You are not alone – you are a valued member of the Geelong

Editor

Brendan McAloon

Grammar School community – we are thinking of you, and we care.

Design

Survivor Liaison Coordinator

Kate Noseda

Renee Handsaker provides outreach and support for survivors of

child sexual abuse at the School. Renee can be contacted by phone

on 0414 299 142 or by email: renee@sustainingconversations.com Independent Counsellor The School continues to provide the services of an independent counsellor, Pauline Ryan. This service is available to those in our community wishing to access counselling or support regarding

abuse. Pauline can be contacted directly during business hours by calling 1800 799 139.

Healing & Hope Healing & Hope is a unique initiative which has been established to endeavour to relieve the suffering and to provide practical comfort, assistance and support to survivors of child sexual

abuse and victims of trauma within our Geelong Grammar School community, both past and present. To find out more please visit www.healingandhope.org.au, call or text 0459 439 291 or email: contact@healingandhope.org.au

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Chloe Flemming Claire Robson Photographers Helen Beasley Stef Driscoll

Mike Dugdale Nick Fletcher

Jay Gunawan - Event Photography Drew Ryan

Nick Sculley Contributors

Jacqueline Adams Sophie Church Nick Sculley Website

www.ggs.vic.edu.au Email

lightblue@ggs.vic.edu.au

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CHAIR OF COUNCIL

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PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE

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TIMBERTOP 70 YEARS

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TRAILBLAZERS

SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

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20

YEAR 12 RESULTS

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TOORAK CAMPUS

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PRIMED

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2024 SCHOOL CAPTAINS

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BOSTOCK HOUSE

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POSITIVE EDUCATION

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VICE-PRINCIPAL

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MIDDLE SCHOOL

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FOUNDATION

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STEP OUT

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SPORT

42

MAILROOM

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ARCHIVES

We BELONG to our FAMILY. Families can include mums, dads, stepmothers, stepfathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, cousins and pets. Families come in all sorts of arrangements, shapes and sizes. No two families are the same.

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CHAIR OF COUNCIL

FOUR

B I G

A D V A N C E M E N T S

Milestones of any kind are important in a world that strives for positive progress. For the School community, it’s pleasing to have four major campus advancements to convey – future milestones structured to continue the delivery of Geelong Grammar School’s exceptional educational experience.

One

Junior School at Corio Campus It’s gratifying that the School has advanced the design of a new, purpose-built Junior School at the Corio Campus, and construction of this project is scheduled to begin in Semester 2, 2024. It’s a significant strategic project for GGS and an exciting new chapter for the Bostock House community – a transformational “Timbertop moment” for the School with years Prep-12 being on being on the one campus for the first time in our 168-year history.

Imagine the excitement these little people will experience on entering the open spaces of Corio Campus and having new adventures every day. The young trailblazers to Corio Campus will arrive for the start of the 2026 year to begin their journey through GGS.

Two

Middle School at Toorak Campus The School has also completed its comprehensive review of the educational model at Toorak Campus. We are confident of advancing the design of a Middle School programme, including the phased re-introduction of Years 7 and 8. The review included workshops and focus groups with staff and families, and an independent research project undertaken by Roy Morgan to provide robust data and a clear positive market perspective.

The new model will continue the GGS record of Exceptional Education at the Toorak Campus. The Glamorgan Initiative will include re-orientating and refreshing existing facilities to accommodate the introduction of Year 7 in 2027, and Year 8 in 2028. We’re confident there exists a healthy appetite in Melbourne for our proposed co-educational Middle School model (Years 5-8), supported by dedicated Middle School staff and providing a direct pathway to Timbertop and beyond to Senior School at Corio.

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Three

Four

Corio Campus Masterplan

Timbertop Masterplan

At the most recent School Council meeting the commitment to progress other projects outlined in the Corio Campus Masterplan was renewed. The new Junior School feeds into the development of the overall Masterplan for Corio, progressing projects such as a new link road connecting to the Junior School while servicing Facilities, improving parking and drop-off flow, and enabling the pedestrianisation of the core of Biddlecombe Avenue. Work has also continued to advance designs to reconfigure and revitalise the Garnett and Perry Senior School boarding houses.

A newly developed, comprehensive Masterplan for Timbertop was also endorsed by Council. Like the Corio Campus Masterplan, the new Masterplan for Timbertop interweaves the rich heritage of the campus (which celebrated its 70-year anniversary in 2023) with an evolving vision for contemporary learning. The Masterplan leverages our existing array of environmental assets that are utilised for real-world, nature-based learning. As was the case at Corio, these plans are based on deep collaboration and consultation – including students, staff and the broader GGS community for their contributions to the process of developing a shared vision for Timbertop.

The delivery of the Masterplans equips us with a roadmap for the future development of our campuses. It enables us to continue providing an Exceptional Education well into the future – a complex and significant but achievable ambition for the GGS school community. Understandably, not all of these projects will be readily met by recurring income and, in time, community support will be sought. So, the next forward move is to undertake a philanthropic feasibility study to evaluate the likely support available to realise these ambitions. Community interest and philanthropic capacity will help plan the logistics of where we start and create a map of works with estimated timelines.

This will all require a deep reserve of communal patience and understanding as we collectively work through the complexities of these important capital works at each of our campuses. Various benchmarks need to be met along the way, but to reach the final milestones is a reality in the making. I’m sure it will be embraced by the GGS community.

Paddy Handbury (M’72) Chair of Council

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P R I N C I PA L’ S P E R S P E C T I V E

O U R

M E R R Y

P I O N E E R S

and their stories

By design, schools are communities of connection, purpose, learning and, at GGS, boarding. The unique and intensive structure of our School is an opportunity to enliven interactions and relationships, all contributing to an education that is holistic and long lasting. A series of encounters during Semester 2 personified this and so much more about our light blue.

celebratory weekend, one imagining for our learners of today is a prediction about the kinds of stories they will promote in 2093 (70 years hence). Whilst none of us will have certainty about what these might be, and most of us will not be witness to the story telling, for those who contribute wholeheartedly to their school community, there will likely be a marvelling at the diversity of stories, influenced by an education at our School.

As part of our 70th anniversary celebrations for the Timbertop campus, it was an honour to host the original 1953 cohort, affectionately referenced by Andrew Farran (P’56) as our “merry band of pioneers”. Listening to their reminiscing was often cause for laughter, sometimes smiling and, overall, admiration. These gentlemen were at their most animated in describing the gift of a Geelong Grammar School education, and in lamenting the unstinting use of intrusive social media and portable devices. There were pleas from our Old Geelong Grammarians (OGGs) to engage in conversations at dinner tables and put the technology aside to not miss the joys of being active and involved in the stories of community.

John Landy (M’48) once said that other than his parents, his education at our School was “the greatest influence” on his life. The second man to break the four-minute mile (who subsequently held the world record for three years), John’s story is one of sporting folklore. He was an influential teacher during the early years of Timbertop (1954-58) and used the mountain trails to train for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. Arguably, his most famous moment was stopping mid-race to help a fellow runner to his feet, then chasing the rest of the field to win his fourth Australian 1,500 metre title – one spectator described it as “the most incredibly stupid, beautiful, foolish, gentlemanly act I have ever seen”.

Being active and involved stimulates thoughts and feelings that can stand the test of time. The influence of the inaugural Timbertop year and subsequent Corio years was profound for our OGGs. Such influence is expectedly and rightly different from our students’ experiences today, yet all are threaded beautifully with a universe of light blue stories.

It was opportune that, with our whole School community gathered at Corio Campus for Athletics Day in Term 3, I had the privilege and pleasure to announce the renaming of our Main Oval as John Landy Oval. I thanked the many OGGs who had initiated and supported the proposed renaming, and I encouraged our current students to chase their own “John Landy moments”. John won the 440 yards, 880 yards and mile at School Sports Day in 1948 – fittingly, the first event held on the newly-named John Landy Oval was a 1,500-metre race.

Just as our original Timbertoppers of 1953 made meaning of their experiences through the stories told at the

Remembedrlinecgombe Janet Bid

↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

70 yearsboefrtop Tim This issue of Light Blue celebrates the stories of our GGS trailblazers, from our original Timbertoppers to exceptional individuals like John Landy and Janet Biddlecombe. In the following pages you can read Janet’s remarkable light blue story.

Her generosity was recently acknowledged with the unveiling of a memorial plaque in the Chapel of All Saints; an initiative championed by Fiona East (Russell, The Hermitage ’71). It was an honour to join Fiona and a small group of Janet’s descendants and friends for the unveiling, and to express our gratitude for her munificent legacy.

WATCH HERE

We serve our students of today imagining their return to Geelong Grammar School as OGGs, abundant with gratitude for their education and teeming with the stories they have chosen to live and share as the legacy of merry pioneers continues.

Rebecca Cody Principal

Athletics Day 2 0 2 3

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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↓ SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

Timbertop

years 70

Blessed with the benefit of 70 years hindsight, respected Geelong paediatrician and environmentalist Dr Bill McKellar OAM (FB’56) believes that Timbertop changed his life. Bill was amongst the very first group of students to attend Timbertop in 1953. He said the experience helped push him to discover his potential and instil his lifelong passion for environmental conservation.

“It was incredibly important to me,” Bill said. “It was the first time someone said, ‘Bill, you could be better than this’. It was the freedom of being able to be yourself. It was the responsibility to be independent. It was learning the enjoyment of spending time in nature.”

Dr Bill McKellar

Bill was one of 22 members of the original 1953 Timbertop cohort that revisited the campus in Term 4, reviving memories of their time in the bush 70 years ago. He said it was particularly special to share the experience with current Timbertop students. “It was a really lovely experience to see the way the kids co-operated with each other, how organised they were, and how thoughtful – they asked some really good questions and were so forthright.”

Head of Timbertop, Ross Hopkins, said the visit of the original Timbertoppers was an enlivening experience for current students and staff. “They (the 1953 cohort) were so excited to be back at Timbertop and you could see that it clearly had had a profound impact upon their lives,” Ross said. “It really reinforced the importance of what we do and the value of what we do. We had campus tours and a Q&A, but I also watched conversations organically evolve from that shared experience.

It reminded our current students that they are part of a much bigger story.”

Bill reflected that although much had changed at Timbertop since the beginning of that bigger, 70-year story in 1953, he was enthused by how the programme remains true to its origins. “There’s a lot more to Timbertop now but you are still out in the bush, seeing and doing things in nature, rather than being on your phone. We did quite a bit of exploring in 1953.

We walked to the top of Mt Buller. We walked to Eildon weir.

We were lucky to be the first, that’s what we’ll be known for, but we would’ve liked to have been there now too. We were very impressed and a little envious.”

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LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

↓ SECTION 03 — FOUNDATION

Ranald Macdonald with Ross Hopk

ins

Ross said that it was almost impossible to compare the challenges of 2023 at Timbertop with the 1953 experience.

“Our students still experience those simple ideas, like letter writing, boilers for hot water, running and hiking in the outdoors.

Even the Timbertop marathon follows a similar route. The philosophy that underpins Timbertop is as important in 2023 as it was 1953. The gap between Timbertop and home life for an average 14-year-old is as large as it has ever been, but it would be a mistake to make the programme easier. When you put a challenge in front of young people, and when you’ve created an environment and a structure to support them, they rise to the occasion. It’s hard work but there are incredible outcomes – the potential for transformation is so great.”

It (Timbertop) was incredibly important to me. It was the first time someone said, ‘Bill, you could be better than this’. It was the freedom of being able to be yourself. It was the responsibility to be independent. It was learning the enjoyment of spending time in nature.

Dr Bill McKellar OAM (FB’56)

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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s r e z a l b l rt ai TRAILBLAZERS

AT G G S

Inspired by the 70th anniversary of Timbertop, this issue of Light Blue celebrates trailblazers. From the idea of Timbertop to the introduction of co-education and the development of Positive Education, our School has a proud heritage of innovation. The people profiled in these pages are emblematic of the progressive and pioneering spirit of our School. It is not intended as a definitive list. It is intended to inspire our students and community to discover their own paths to follow and blaze their own trails.

It was fitting that Elliott Watkins beamed in to a series of social media workshops for Year 10 and Year 11 students during the inaugural two-day Step Out programme in Term 4 rather than attend in person as initially planned. Better known by his YouTube alias Muselk, Elliott is a pioneer of social media content creation. Having admitted to playing a little too much Call of Duty and not doing enough maths prep at school, Elliott began experimenting with creating YouTube content in 2014, concentrating on popular video games like Fortnite and Overwatch.

Elliott’s early success prompted him to defer his university law degree and leave an internship with leading Sydney law firm Gilbert + Tobin to spend a year focusing on producing video game clips for YouTube.

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Elliott quickly rose to prominence with his high-energy personality and highly engaging content. As Muselk, he built a YouTube channel filled with live gameplay, tutorials, truth or dare challenges, and e-sports competitions, which now has an audience of more than 9 million subscribers. “I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of work that goes into YouTube,” he told Forbes magazine in 2017. “It’s not a 9-5 job, it’s a when you wake up to when you fall asleep job.”

Elliott’s videos are viewed more than a million times a day – more than many top-rating TV shows in Australia – and he credits his channel’s popularity to knowing what young people want. “It’s about making sure you’re always doing something different, always doing something new,” he told Business Insider in 2020.

Something new was Click Management, a talent and brand management company for gaming and technology influencers, Elliott co-founded in 2017 with his older sister

Grace (Ga’09), who was working as an associate at PwC Sydney in consumer products and services. Click represents some of the world’s best and brightest gaming talent, helping them navigate the industry, and optimising their content and marketing strategies. “It’s an industry now – everyone has teams and operations around them,” Elliott explained. Click also develops marketing campaigns for some of the world’s biggest brands to reach and engage with gaming audiences through content creation, branded competition, and map-making within games such as Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft.

As Muselk, Elliott has partnered with brands like Samsung, EA (Electronic Arts) and HP (Hewlett Packard), as well as having his own Muselk brand of merchandise and presenting on Disney’s weekly TV show, Gamefest.

His innovative approach to content creation, coupled with a deep understanding of the digital space, continues to blaze a trail in the video

tt o i ll e

gaming industry, which is the fastest growing entertainment and media industry in the world; already bigger than the movie and music industries combined, and estimated to be worth more than $320 billion by 2026 according to PwC research. Unsurprisingly, Elliott’s spectacular journey from Cuthbertson House to YouTube sensation in the space of a decade was a huge inspiration for our current Year 10 and Year 11 students, eager to follow in his footsteps as the next generation of online content creators and tech entrepreneurs.

Image source: Damian Bennett

O n l i n e i n f l u e n c e : E l l i o t t Wa t k i n s ( C u ’ 1 2 )

The road to Mecca: Jo Horgan (Je’83) In the mid-1990s, Jo Horgan, then an executive at L’Oréal, had a lightbulb moment. She decided that what Australian women needed was a store selling only makeup, skincare and fragrances from a small selection of the world’s most renowned beauty brands.

horgan

In 1997, she opened a shop named Mecca in South Yarra. Beyond an initial flurry of interest, it seemed that not everyone shared her enthusiasm and the business quickly lost money.

Foreclosure loomed but Jo and her husband, Peter Wetenhall, who had secured Mecca’s start-up loan against his future income, persevered. Fast forward 25 years, and today their business is worth more than $570 million, earning them a spot on the Financial Review Rich List.

Theirs is more than a story of rags to riches, however. In creating the Mecca empire, which now encompasses three brands, the environmentally focused kit:, Mecca Cosmetica and Mecca Maxima, Jo redefined the Australian beauty landscape. Renowned as a champion of retail innovation, she was the first woman to be named EY Entrepreneur of

the Year in 2018, and Mecca’s 6,000 employees work for a business consistently ranked as one of Australia’s best places to work. Currently, four per cent of annual turnover is invested in staff training, and Jo’s belief in the fundamental importance of education has inspired Mecca to become an instrument for social change. A sustainability program, M-Pact, aims to transform the Mecca brand into an environmental and sustainable changemaker.

M-Power, launched in 2017, has supported 10,000 girls facing social or financial barriers to complete secondary education, and currently supports 17 notfor-profit organisations working to progress gender equality.

SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

jo

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Under Jo’s energetic and inspired leadership, Mecca’s ongoing evolution is set firmly on the trailblazing trajectory of life being a journey, not a destination – the ultimate proof that beauty is more than skin deep.

Janet Biddlecombe: Outstanding Hereford breeder In September 1949, The Herald newspaper ran an article on the increasing number of women exhibitors at the Melbourne Royal Show, and not just in the poultry, pigeon and dog sections, but in the livestock sections too. Singled out for special mention was an “outstanding personality among women beef cattle exhibitors”, Mrs Janet Biddlecombe of Golf Hill, Shelford. By then aged in her eighties, Janet had assumed control of Golf Hill some 60 years earlier, when her brother proved incapable of running the large pastoral operation. It was unusual for a woman to be at the helm of such a business, but Janet was a woman of pluck. Together with her husband, Commander John Biddlecombe, Janet established one of the

leading Hereford studs in Australia, which she continued to maintain following John’s death in 1929.

At the Sydney Royal Show in 1947, Janet’s cattle took every prize in the Hereford section, and she achieved a record sale price of 2,350 guineas for one of her bulls. In 1953, she was named the show’s most successful exhibitor, beating her nearest rival by 30 points. By this time, she was known as one of the leading Hereford breeders in the world. Janet’s ambition to improve Hereford stock in Australia had been successful, with her careful records kept over the previous 30 years demonstrating that Golf Hill bloodlines had resulted in a marked improvement in the breed. Her final act, just a few months before her death, was

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

the dispersal in 1953 of her entire stud at public auction, providing younger farmers with the opportunity to secure her breeding females, the result of her life’s work. The sale set records across the Commonwealth.

The proceeds of Janet’s pastoral operations were directed almost entirely towards philanthropic activities.

At Geelong Grammar School, Janet is renowned as the School’s most notable female benefactor. Her generosity was recently acknowledged with the unveiling of a memorial plaque in the Chapel of All Saints. Given our strong rural connections, it is fitting that the School’s main throughfare, Biddlecombe Avenue, is named for a woman who laid a path for female rural enterprise.

janet 11

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Blue-sky thinker: Dianne Blood (née Boddy)/David Elford (P’51)

Dianne Blood is not only a trailblazer but a tenacious survivor who has overcome incredible challenges to be recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative engineers. Dianne recently received Engineers Australia’s highest award, the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, which has been conferred annually since 1923 on an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia in recognition of their “notable contribution” to the science and/or practice of engineering in Australia.

During a remarkable 70-year career in engineering, Dianne has created more than 2,000 successful designs and 40 international patents while working in areas as diverse as food canning, sheep shearing, deepsea oil drilling, vehicle suspension, robotics, and geo-mechanical research.

And she’s not finished yet.

Whenever the opportunity arises, the 90-year-old can be found in her Mallacoota workshop absorbed in one final, personal project – an all-terrain, self-levelling, fourwheel drive disability scooter.

Dianne’s gift for problem solving has been shaped by a life of challenge and adversity.

When she and twin brother Hugh Elford OAM (P’48) were just seven years old, their father Richard (P’27) was killed in the 1940 Canberra air disaster that also claimed the lives of three cabinet ministers, including the Minister for Air and Civil Aviation, James Fairbairn (M’15). Richard Elford served as Fairbairn’s private secretary at the outbreak of World War 2, having previously worked as a journalist at Melbourne’s Argus newspaper.

His widow, Audrey, “worked herself to the bone” to keep the family afloat and provide her children with the very best education. “My mother was a fighter,” Dianne said. “Sadly, she never saw how well both her children got along in life.”

Dianne excelled at Physics and Mathematics at school, but, needing income, instead of attending university with the Commonwealth Scholarship she received, Dianne found work as a draftsperson at a Melbourne engineering company specialising in mining, harvesting and food processing machinery. Dianne

was immediately captivated with every aspect of machinery design and demonstrated an innate ability for problem solving. She initially focused on food processing and was soon entrusted with small design projects. Her first major invention was the development of an automatic peach-feeding machine for canning. Dianne was sent to America to prepare production drawings of her design. Whilst in California, she attended a course on the Simplification of Design, which explored the key concepts of design thinking. “It formed the basis of my design philosophy.

To create something new that solves a problem is what engineering is all about.”

Dianne went on to create a succession of world first food processing designs.

She became the executive engineer and associate director of one of the Goulburn Valley Canneries (Kyabram Preserving Co-Operative Ltd), where she modernised and expanded the plant’s production facilities. In 1973, she was engaged as a consultant by the Western Australian government to help build a fruit canning

industry in the State. This led to her appointment as senior mechanical design engineer for a robotic sheep shearing project at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and an endless variety of work followed – in environmental fluid dynamics, materials testing and geo-mechanical engineering focused on centrifuge research equipment.

Dianne gained an international reputation, and her services were sought for projects with the CSIRO, Shell, Castrol, Bundaberg Sugar, Wattie’s (NZ), the ASEAN Food Handling Bureau, Swiss and Japanese research laboratories, as well as the US Army.

It seemed that there was no design problem too wickedly difficult that Dianne could not solve. Except her own. In her early 60s and desperately unhappy, Dianne was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. “It’s a subject that’s very difficult for people to understand. I didn’t seek in any way to be transgender.

I was aware of the fact that I was different. I didn’t know why or how.” Following the advice of her GP in Perth, Dianne was referred to an Emeritus

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LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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new that solves a problem is what engineering is all about.

Dianne Blood

Professor of Psychiatry at UWA, who, following months of investigation, recommended a gender reassignment. “I drove home in absolute turmoil. By the time I got home it was like my whole personality had changed.

I saw colours for the first time. I could hear music.” Ever since, she has lived happily and fully as Dianne. She married fellow OGG, Harold Boddy (M’29) in March 2002, becoming one of the first transgender people to be legally married in Australia (following a historic Family Court decision in October 2001). “I don’t remember being David.

I have no real memory of my younger life at all. I have a group of friends from school.

We’ve been friends all our lives.

They’ve totally accepted me as Dianne.”

dianne

In 2010, Dianne was awarded Australia’s most prestigious mechanical engineering award, the AGM Michell Medal, for her outstanding contribution to mechanical engineering and her “demonstration of a balance of ingenuity and a range of theoretical knowledge and application”. She was subsequently invited to become an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia and to be one of their Eminent Speakers.

She spoke to schools, universities, and industry groups around Australia. She became a mentor to young engineers and inventors, most notably Marita Cheng, who was named by Forbes as one of the World’s Top 50 Women in Tech and is the founder and CEO of aubot, which specialises in building telepresence robots.

In 2014, Dianne was inducted into the Victorian honour roll of women, which celebrates women who have made lasting contributions to Victoria.

Amidst the accolades, Dianne’s later life has not been without further challenges and adversity. After a happy decade LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

together, Harold died in 2012.

Then, in late December 2019, a small bushfire at Wingan River, about 30 kilometres west of Dianne’s home in Mallacoota, suddenly raged out of control.

An emergency warning was issued for the area, urging people to immediately take shelter. Dianne and her second husband Lionel fled their house for the Mallacoota foreshore, huddling at the boat ramp with thousands of residents and holiday makers, watching on helplessly as the sky turned red as the fire approached.

“The sky went from a beautiful summer’s afternoon to pitch black in seven or eight seconds, followed by red embers. It was terrifying.”

Cut off and surrounded by bushfires, Dianne and Lionel were eventually evacuated in a black hawk helicopter and spent weeks in limbo, unable to return home. It was a traumatic event that has had lasting impact. “We still haven’t really got back to a normal life to be honest.”

Normal life for Dianne is time spent in her workshop, surrounded by tools, a 3D printer, a lathe and milling machine, immersed in solving an engineering problem. “I’ve had a workshop ever since I was 19,” she said. “I’ve been building machinery all my life and have spent 70 years collecting odds and ends, so I can machine almost anything that I need.” She is in the process of building a prototype of her all-terrain, self-levelling, four-wheel drive disability scooter; capable of traversing the sand dunes and rocky shoreline of the East Gippsland coast. “I will be 91 next month, so I’ve decided it will be my very last project. Whether I totally get to finish it, I don’t know.”

With Dianne’s awe-inspiring ability for solving problems and overcoming challenges, few would doubt her.

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SECTION 01 — INTRODUCTION

It formed the basis of my design philosophy. To create something

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Helen Garner has left an indelible imprint on Australia’s literary landscape, inspiring writers to push the boundaries of traditional storytelling and

delve into their own lived experiences. The success of Helen’s seminal work, Monkey Grip (McPhee Gribble, 1977), has been credited with popularising autofiction (combining elements of autobiography and fiction) as a genre.

The first novel of her celebrated writing career, Monkey Grip blurred the lines between fact and fiction, with the narrative closely mirroring Helen’s own life – like the protagonist Nora, Helen was a single mother immersed in the communal counterculture of Melbourne’s inner north in the 1970s. Helen’s original voice not only paved the way for contemporary autofiction works such as Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle (2009-2011) and Sheila Heti’s How Should a Person Be? (2013), but also challenged the traditional notions of the novel.

Monkey Grip experimented

with form and structure, utilising diary entries, stream of consciousness, and fragmented narrative. Critics suggested that this unconventional approach allowed Helen to capture the essence of the human experience in a raw and unfiltered way, exploring themes of addiction, love, motherhood and what it meant to be a woman in 1970s Australia with vulnerability and authenticity.

Helen explained her deeply personal approach to storytelling when The Spare Room (Text, 2008), about a three-week visit from a dying friend, was published. “By calling it a novel I’m saying: this is not a memoir, this is not non-fiction, this is a novel and there will be things in here that are invented, that didn’t really happen, and I’m going to take every sort of liberty I need to take in order to turn it into the sort of book I want it

to be.” Across five novels, four collections of short stories, three screenplays and countless essays and works of non-fiction, Helen has weaved together elements of her personal experiences and observations, often presenting them in a fictionalised landscape to evoke a sense of shared experience and universal understanding.

“Pretty much everything I’ve ever published was drawn from this compulsion to watch and witness and record,” she explained to The Guardian in 2021. Helen received the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Literature in 2006 and was honoured with the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2019. More recently, Helen has published three volumes of her diaries, from 1978 to 1998. “In my heart I always liked my diary better than anything else I wrote.”

helen garner

Ar tist of autofiction: Helen Garner (Ford, The Hermitage ’60)

H o u s e o f h i t s : Te d A l b e r t ( C u ’ 5 4 )

Ted played music and performed in plays at school – the Corian review of the 1954 production of The Crimson Coconut noted that Ted “played his part as the shady

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and smelly anarchist with true revolutionary zeal” – and formed a band, The Alby Blert Trio, with his brothers Robert (Cu’52) and Anthony (Cu’56). Ted was accepted into engineering at The University of Sydney but decided to join his father in the family music business. Founded in Sydney in the 1880s by a Swiss watchmaker who also repaired musical instruments, J. Albert & Son was an instrument retailer, most notably selling the Boomerang mouth organ.

Ted changed the direction of the company and Australian music when he established Albert Productions in 1964, signing Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs and The Easybeats, and producing a string of hit songs, including the 1966 Easybeats song “Friday on My Mind”, which was voted the top Australian song of all time at the 2001 APRA (Australasian Performing Right

Association) awards. When The Easybeats broke up, Ted opened a recording studio with band members Harry Vanda and George Young writing and recording songs, producing worldwide hits such as “Love is in the Air” and “Yesterday’s Hero”. In 1974, Ted signed a raw rock band featuring George Young’s younger brothers Malcolm and Angus. AC/DC would become Australia’s most successful band, selling more than 200 million albums worldwide.

When Ted died suddenly in 1990, he’d just begun working with little-known 26-year-old NIDA graduate Baz Luhrmann to adapt his stage play Strictly Ballroom to the screen. Ted saw the potential for music to play a dominant role in the film, not just provide background.

The film debuted at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Prix de Jeunesse,

ted

Legendary music producer Ted Albert fostered a distinctive Australian rock ‘n roll sound that would conquer the world. Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs. The Easybeats. The Ted Mulry Gang. John Paul Young. AC/DC. The Angels.

Rose Tattoo. All were scouted, signed and recorded by Albert Productions, which was founded by Ted in 1964, inspired by the Beatles’ tour of Australia and his ambition for an Australian music industry.

In its heyday in the 1970s, Albert produced around 20% of the nation’s chart hits, with a record label and recording studio in Sydney, as well as owning national radio and TV networks.

launching Luhrmann’s film career and going on to win eight Australian Film Industry awards.

Ted was posthumously awarded the ARIA Lifetime Achievement Award, while APRA created the annual Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

What’s old is new: Rebecca Hossack (Li’73) Thirty-five years ago, in March 1988, Rebecca Hossack, then a young gallery assistant, was cycling along Windmill Street in London’s bohemian Fitzrovia district on a beautiful sunny day. She was reminded of her native Australia, with everyone outside enjoying the spring sunshine and, when she saw a ‘shop for rent’ notice, she took it as a sign.

She had been mulling over the idea of opening her own art gallery, and fortunately the bank was prepared to give her a modest loan to start. Her motivation was to share her passion for Australian Aboriginal art with a British audience.

Soon afterwards, she asked the artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, whom she had met in Alice Springs, if he would like to show his work in London; he said yes. In 1990, Clifford’s work formed Rebecca’s first exhibition and sale of Australian Aboriginal paintings, and indeed one of the first exhibitions of Australian Aboriginal art in Europe.

Rebecca graduated from GGS with a Commonwealth Scholarship to study both Law and Art History at Melbourne University, before transferring to ANU. She went to London in 1981 to study for the bar, but soon decided that the arts offered a better and happier

career for her than the law. In the 35 years since opening her first gallery (she now has two – one in Fitzrovia, the other in Miami), Rebecca has become widely known as a champion of non-Western artistic traditions.

Through her annual ‘Songlines’ exhibitions, she continues to promote the work of Australian Aboriginal artists of outstanding provenance, assisting both public and private collectors to build their collections. She regularly visits the remote Aboriginal communities where the work she exhibits is created, cultivating long-standing relationships with the artists and art centres. She has also curated exhibitions of works from Papua New Guinea, India and the Kalahari, showcasing artistic talent that would not otherwise have been seen in the UK. Western contemporary artists are also supported by Rebecca, but with a focus on those working outside the dominant trends. As an article in The Economist noted, “Rebecca Hossack is amongst the few galleries which have not only survived but thrived, and they have done so because they do not depend on the ephemeral thrills of trendy art”. A clear focus on the inherent beauty and technical accomplishment of works of art, whether Western or non-Western, has driven Rebecca’s reputation for innovation and individuality.

Rebecca is also an energetic promoter of the arts beyond her own gallery walls. Between 1993 and 1997, she served as Australia’s cultural attaché in London when she organised a series of exhibitions and talks, promoting links between British and Australian writers.

She writes regularly in the UK national press and lectures widely on Aboriginal art, as well as working closely with several international collecting institutions. She has raised money to plant trees in Fitzrovia, the area of central London where she still lives and works. She campaigns to preserve rock art in Western Australia and is a trustee of the journal of alternative thought, Resurgence. She is a flag bearer for Aussie expats and a champion of Australian culture, especially Aboriginal art which, uniquely, is both the world’s oldest continuous artistic tradition and one of the newest movements in contemporary culture.

Rebecca’s ability to harness this appealing synergy has been transformative.

Rebecca Hossack is amongst the few galleries which have not only survived but thrived, and they have done so because they do not depend on the ephemeral thrills of trendy art.

k c a oss h

The Economist

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SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

sir hudson fysh

A letter to Hudson Fysh from Charles Hawker (GGS’13), written from Japan in 1936 giving information regarding a Qantas air route (GGS Archives)

Qantas Empire Airways logo 1944-47

Qantas LTD logo 1920-30

Australia’s wings: Sir Hudson Fysh KBE DFC (GGS’12) In May 1918, the Corian recorded that ‘Hudson Fysh has transferred from the Light Horse and has joined the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in Egypt. He has won his first wing as a qualified observer.’ Hudson was already a veteran serviceman. He had served at Gallipoli for almost the entire duration of the campaign, and subsequently in Palestine and the Sinai with the 3rd Light Horse. His decision to transfer to the AFC was a passing mention in the Corian, but one that would prove to be a seminal moment in Australia’s story.

Hudson served with distinction in No. 1 Squadron AFC in the Palestine campaign, gaining a reputation as an accurate and cool-headed gunner. He shot down several enemy aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in air combat. Soon after the war, he achieved his flying licence and returned to Australia with his wartime colleague, Lieutenant Paul

McGinness. The pair was convinced that aviation was the way of the future. In 1919, they planned to enter the Great Race for the first successful flight from Britain to Australia for which the government offered prize money of £10,000, but their financial backing fell through. They instead accepted a commission to survey northern Australia to plan a suitable route that offered open landing spaces for the race.

In August 1919, Hudson, Paul and a third companion set off from Longreach in a Model T Ford, becoming the first people to travel across the Gulf of Carpentaria in an automobile, eventually arriving in Katherine in October 1919. Their experience of the vast distances between outposts and the nature of the terrain convinced them that commercial aviation was the key to transporting passengers and goods in the Australian outback. Three western Queensland graziers supported their idea, and in November 1920 the five men

Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, 1920

pooled their savings and their energies to form the Queensland and Northern Territorial Aerial Services Ltd, a name that formed a pleasing acronym: QANTAS. In 1921, they began a service operation, and offered joy flights, and in 1922 successfully tendered for a regular Charleville–Cloncurry passenger service. Hudson Fysh became Qantas’s managing director.

By 1930, Qantas had flying schools in Longreach and Brisbane, had built seven of its own aircraft and flew routes from Brisbane, as well as an ambulance plane for the Australian Inland Mission.

Hudson Fysh continued to test the limits of what was possible. In 1931, when an experimental airmail service

between Australia and England began, Hudson flew the Brisbane–Darwin section. He later surveyed the route to Karachi, and in 1934 Qantas and Imperial Airways became equal partners in Qantas Empire Airways (QEA), which secured the government airmail contract. The first Qantas overseas flight, from Brisbane to Singapore, took place in 1935. Hudson was also a founding director of Tasman Empire Airways, which in 1940 established the first air service to New Zealand. QEA passed into public ownership in 1947, and Hudson remained as managing director until 1955, and chairman until 1966. He died in 1974. From biplanes to jet planes within his lifetime, Sir Hudson Fysh gave Australia its wings.

Hudson served with distinction in No. 1 Squadron AFC in the Palestine campaign, gaining a reputation as an accurate and cool-headed gunner.

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steve ↓

M i l e a g e m a k e s c h a m p i o n s : S t e v e Fa i r b a i r n ( G G S ’ 8 0 )

In the long history of rowing at Geelong Grammar School – the Boat Club will turn 150 in 2024 – one man helped to set the course in the very earliest days: Steve Fairbairn. Steve was an all-round sportsman, excelling at cricket, football and rowing, and in athletics, swimming and gymnastics.

In 1880, Steve’s final school year, he stroked the GGS crew – then rowing in a four – to win the Head of the River with his “long and sweeping stroke” and because “he did not lose his head in the race”.

This ability to keep his mind in tune with the rhythm of the boat was the key to Steve’s success and subsequent fame. At Jesus College, Cambridge, he soon became more famous than his already notable brothers, James and

Charles. He rowed in four university crews in the famous Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, and hundreds of crews for Jesus College and other clubs. But it was as a rowing coach, mostly at Jesus College for more than three decades, that his reputation for genius emerged. Rather than focusing on body swing as the source of power, Steve’s crews were encouraged to focus on leg drive, arm pull and the smooth motion of the blade in the water. Aphorisms such as “Enjoy your rowing, win or lose”, “Don’t start the next stroke too soon” and “It has all got to come from inside you, laddies” achieved a fame of their own, and were later published in a book. He introduced innovations such as swivel rowlocks rather than fixed pins, and lengthened slides to allow better use of the legs.

Longer strokes suited Steve’s philosophy of distance training, and his belief that “mileage makes champions”.

He developed the concept of the head race as a result, encouraging crews to train against the clock over longer distances, and founded London’s prestigious Head of the River Race in 1926. Highly charismatic and influential, Steve Fairbairn has some claim to the title of rowing’s greatest figure – a reputation that began on the Barwon almost 150 years ago.

n r i a b r fai

The woman who is widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest female rowers did not begin her rowing career on the Barwon River. In fact, Kate Slatter first took up an oar on Corio Bay, soon after her Year 12 exams. Although her athletic prowess was evident at school, where she won the John Landy triathlon three times and earned colours for swimming, athletics and cross country, Kate admired the rowers from the riverbank. But at the University of Adelaide in 1989, she pursued the interest that had started with a paddle on Corio Bay, and the rest is history.

In 1990, Kate won her first of 16 national titles, and in 1992 made her selection debut in a women’s coxless four representing South Australia.

Remarkably, that same year she was a finalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in a crew that finished in sixth place, the first Australian women’s crew to make an Olympic final since 1984. In 1994, she won a bronze medal in the World Championships and two Commonwealth silver medals, and in 1995, in a coxless pair with Megan Still, she won the World Championships in Finland. In 1996, at the Atlanta Olympics, Kate and Megan became the first Australian women to win an Olympic gold in rowing. With Megan retiring following Atlanta, Kate partnered with Rachael Taylor, the pair claiming bronze at the 1999 World Championships.

They won a silver medal at the 2000 World Cup, and silver again at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Following her retirement, Kate was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport’s ‘Best of the Best’ in 2001, and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2002. Widely regarded as one of Australia’s greatest female rowers, Kate’s history-making Olympic gold medal is a milestone achievement in women’s sport.

kate

History on the water: Kat e Allen (Slatter, Cl’88)

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The business of biotech: Dr Jackie Fairley (Je’79) When Dr Jackie Fairley steps down as CEO of Starpharma during 2024, she will have blazed a distinctive trail for the biotech industry in Australia. Jackie recently announced her decision to retire as CEO of the Australian-based global biopharmaceutical company and will leave a company and an industry unrecognisable from when she took the reins of the biotech start-up 16 years ago. “Under her leadership

and vision, Starpharma has successfully transformed from a start-up with promising technology to a mature organisation with multiple commercial partnerships, marketed products around the world, and a strong portfolio of pre-clinical and clinical-stage assets,” Starpharma Chair, Rob Thomas, said.

Jackie studied Science (pharmacology and pathology) and Veterinary Science at

start-up Cerylid Biosciences, which was exploring the pharmaceutical potential of plants, microbes and marine macro-organisms. Jackie joined Starpharma in 2006, shortly after the Australian company secured funding from the USA National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for the development of its astodrimer sodium product VivaGel, intended to prevent the transmission of HIV.

Melbourne University and started her career as a veterinary surgeon before joining leading global biotech company CSL. At the same time, Jackie began a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Melbourne Business School, winning the prestigious Clemenger Medal for topping her cohort. She was appointed Vice President, International Business Development at Faulding Pharmaceuticals before becoming CEO of biotech

Micro world, macro impact: David Cockayne (Ge’60)

david

The title of David Cockayne’s MSc thesis in 1965 was ‘Numerical calculations of the n-beam solution in electron diffraction with experimental verification using convergent beam diffraction’. It was the first step in a trailblazing career in the field of electron microscopy. The microscopic world remains elusive to most of us, yet its secrets when unlocked significantly enhance our understanding of microorganisms, molecules, cells, metals, crystals and other biological and inorganic specimens.

Biomedical researchers use electron microscopes to examine biopsy samples in minute detail, exploring the molecular nature of disease. Many industries, including pharmaceutical, mining, energy storage and automotive, rely on electron microscopes to examine the surface composition of various substances as part of vital quality control processes.

David’s contribution over his lifetime to the advancement of electron microscopy had a wide-ranging and lasting impact.

In particular, David was responsible, with two colleagues, for the development of the dark-field ‘weak beam’ technique of transmission

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electron microscopy. At the time, he was studying for a DPhil in the Department of Metallurgy at the University of Oxford, working on improving the resolution at which crystal defects, known as dislocations, could be studied.

The high resolution ‘weak beam’ technique revealed that some materials, such as copper and silver, consist of two dislocations, a discovery that greatly enhanced scientific understanding of the properties of crystal defects.

The technique is now routinely used in laboratories worldwide.

At the University of Sydney, where David was Director of the Electron Microscope Unit from 1974 to 1999, he and another colleague developed a high-precision method for studying the structure of amorphous materials accurate to 0.001 nanometres – as a point of reference, a strand of DNA is 2.5 nanometres in diameter. Among other uses, the technique enabled the study of the structure of C70 carbon fullerenes, or ‘buckyballs’, a nanoparticle with wide industrial application.

Further significant advances were made after David took up the post of Professor in the Physical Examination of Materials at the University of Oxford in 2000 until his death

in 2010. His legacy there is the David Cockayne Centre for Electron Microscopy, which provides training and supports researchers working in the field. David was not someone who hid away in a laboratory.

He was an exemplary leader in his field, leading and attending conferences and workshops, and especially enabling young people to discover the microscopic world. He initiated programs that took electron microscopes into Australian schools and enabled an electron microscope in Oxford to be remotely controlled by students. David’s many honours and awards included election to the Royal Society in 1999, a rare distinction that he responded to by writing to his physics and chemistry teachers at Geelong Grammar School, Lex Spear and Ken Mappin, acknowledging their groundwork 40 years earlier. In 2008, when he was conferred with the prestigious Massey Medal by the Institute of Physics, a referee commented that David Cockayne had ‘made the impossible possible’.

A biography of David Cockayne

by Sir Peter Hirsch FRS published by the Royal Society 61, 53–79 (2015) was referred to in the writing of this piece.

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a medical device in more than 45 countries and has been licensed in 160 countries, including as the world’s first and only antiviral condom).

When the COVID-19 pandemic and the race for a vaccine and treatments put the biotech sector firmly in the spotlight, Starpharma responded with the rapid development and commercialisation of a broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray – expedited by a $1M grant from the Australian Government’s Medical

Research Future Fund and launched in the UK through national chemist chain Lloyds Pharmacy just six months later.

It is a snapshot of what Jackie has achieved across the past 30 years, helping to steer the upward trajectory of the biotech sector in Australia, which has grown by almost 50% since 2019 and is now ranked fifth in the world in terms of research and translation. “It has been a privilege,” she said.

Digital disruptor: Philip Cornish (Cu’73) Philip Cornish laughs off comparisons with technology entrepreneurs such as Tesla founder Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“Being mentioned in the same sentence is flattering but they, not me, are the smartest businessmen on the planet, and also the richest.” Best known for his role as a Director of Vodafone Australia, Philip has been a disruptor in the mobile telecommunications industry in Australia, accelerating the uptake of digital technologies.

A country kid from a cattle farm at Bunbartha on the Goulburn River, he came to Corio in Grade 8 from Shepparton High School courtesy of the Cuthbertson Scholarship – fittingly, Philip would later be a House Prefect in Cuthbertson House. He went on to study veterinary science at Melbourne University. When Philip’s father died during his fourth year, he returned home, quite literally sold the farm, and moved back to Melbourne to invest in technology; co-founding a telephone equipment company with products designed by uni friends studying engineering.

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

After investing in several telecommunications start-ups and weathering the early 1990s recession, Philip’s company Mobile Communications Holdings (MCH) played a pivotal role in the British Vodafone Group acquiring Australia’s third mobile phone licence in 1993 (joining Telstra and Optus). As a Director of Vodafone Australia, Philip drove the shift from analogue to digital networks – unlike Telstra and Optus, Vodafone’s network was digital only. Within seven years, the Federal Government had turned off the analogue mobile phone network in favour of digital technology. “Global roaming and what a digital phone could do was, at the time, literally mind boggling,” he explained.

“If you catch a technical trend, in our case it was digital phones, you can do very well.”

When the Vodafone Group acquired German industrial conglomerate Mannesmann AG in 2000, it became one of the largest companies in the world. Sensing another seismic shift in technology, Philip got out in 2001, as the mobile telecommunications industry peaked, before the rise of Google and Facebook.

ish

Philip’s next chapter was philanthropy. “I subscribe to the view that if society has rewarded you greatly, you are obligated, truly obligated to give back.”

He served as a Director of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, supported genomics research and paediatric cardiology at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital, and is a Director of the Telco Together Foundation, which has raised more than $7 million for local charities such as Reach Out, Red Dust and the Beacon Foundation. Philip was Vice-President of the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and is a Director of the National Gallery of Victoria Foundation, establishing the Cornish Family Prize for Art and Design Publishing. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2021 for significant service to the telecommunications sector, and to the community. “In truth, at least in my case, as you get on in years, you derive greater satisfaction from giving than from getting.”

The Vodafone logo 1985-1997

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SECTION 02 — SCHOOL

Under Jackie’s stewardship, Starpharma has become a world leader in dendrimer (branched polymeric molecules) technology for medical applications.

From its laboratories at the old Carlton & United Breweries site in Abbotsford, it has built a reputation as an innovator; developing and commercialising therapeutic products that address significant global healthcare needs, from cancer to HIV (VivaGel is now registered as

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2023

Y E A R

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R E S U L T S

Results Snapshot 82.9 – Combined Median Atar 27.2% - Top 10% of the State / 90+ –

67% - Top 25% of the State / 75+

Henry Crutchfield (Cu’23) is Geelong Grammar School’s Dux for 2023.

Henry completed the VCE, achieving a near-perfect ATAR of 99.90.

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Charlotte Nicholson (He’23) is Proxime Accessit having achieved an IB score of 44 out of 45, which equates to an ATAR of 99.75.

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119 students completed the VCE in 2023, with six achieving an ATAR of 95 or above: Henry, Becky Knowles (EM’23), Jessica Stapleton (Ga’23), Quimby Yates (Cl’23), Millie Fothergill (Ga’23) and Amelia Charleson (He’23).

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50 students completed the IB programme in 2023, with five achieving an IB score of 40 or above (which equates to an ATAR score above 97): Charlotte, Isaac Dunell (Fr’23), Julia Kent (Cl’23), Kate Wardlaw (He’23) and Ned Cole (P’23).

Our Dux

Henry Crutchfield (Cu’23) Henry, from Toorak in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, joined the School all the way back in ELC3 at Toorak Campus, finishing his Geelong Grammar School student journey as a boarder in Cuthbertson. Henry earned 11 distinction prizes, including prizes in Biology, Chemistry, French, Literature and Mathematics, and his score led to him receiving the Chancellor’s Scholarship from the University of Melbourne for 2024 and beyond. Henry originally planned to study biomedicine, however, this scholarship will allow him to explore his interests in biology before committing to a biomedicine path. “Science offers much more flexibility than biomedicine, which is quite a rigid course, and so it will allow me to further explore my interests in the realm of biology before I decide on a career path or commit to medicine,” Henry said. Throughout his Geelong Grammar School journey, Henry felt supported by the “fantastic” teachers and tutors available to him, acknowledging that Cuthbertson House was the perfect place for him to complete his VCE. “I think the boarding environment helped me to maintain a healthy balance between my studies and my social life, and enriched my experience of school beyond pure academics. The other Cuthy Year 12s, in particular, will know how much I appreciate their friendships.”

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Henry Crutchfield

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Proxime Accessit Charlotte Nicholson (He’23)

Charlotte, from Ballarat in Victoria’s goldfields, joined the School in Year 8 in Kunuwarra, progressing on to Timbertop before spending her Senior School years in The Hermitage. Charlotte’s nerves in anticipation of the release of IB results in early January were exacerbated by her near-perfect score. “It was a great relief to finally read them and be able to look back with pride on what was a challenging two years,” Charlotte said. “I’m planning on studying a Bachelor of Mathematics in the UK, though I’m not sure exactly which university yet as I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple. I’m very excited though!”

Charlotte didn’t have this certainty of what she wanted to study post-GGS when it came to deciding between IB and VCE at the end of Year 10. Ultimately, choosing the IB helped her to keep her options open. “The IB pushed me to my limits but I think it drastically improved my time management skills and my understanding of my capabilities.” Beyond the classroom, Charlotte excelled in the School’s performing arts programme. She featured in prominent roles in our past two Senior School Musicals, Fame and Anastasia, performed in dance concerts and won Best Solo/ Duet in the 2023 House Music competition alongside Sarah Gubbins (He’23). “Music and theatre are incredibly important to me, so making them a priority in my schedule felt to be more of a privilege than a challenge,” Charlotte said. “Of course, at times it was difficult to manage my time to get all my work done to the standard I strived for, but I made sure to use rehearsals and performances as a much-needed break from academics to keep myself balanced.”

All-Rounders Quimby Yates (Cl’23) and Ned Cole (P’23)

Quimby, from Mount Torrens in SA, joined the School at Timbertop in Year 9 before spending her Senior School years in Clyde house; an environment in which she thrived. “I was overwhelmed by the openness of the entire house in welcoming me as a Year 10. The overall boarding experience was something that I wish everyone could experience, because it teaches you so much about patience, respect and one’s self, which is crucial as we grow into young adults.” While Quimby finished the year working towards her academic goals, she began 2023 on a mission as part of the 1st Girls’ Rowing VIII, culminating in a most-satisfying win at the annual Heads of the River regatta. There’s always the danger of becoming stretched too thin during Year 12, but Quimby felt she found the right balance. “I love being busy, because it challenges me, and that is what I find in sport too,” she said.

“The extracurriculars serve as a way to break from schoolwork and also help in meeting new people which is an important part of the school.” For Quimby, these extracurriculars included rowing and netball, plus athletics in the spring – Quimby represented the School in several long-distance events at APS level – plus debating and the

Charlotte Nicholson Environmental Action Team (EAT). “I’m passionate about the environment and being a part of the EAT was a small way I could contribute to making a difference on a local scale.” Quimby is hoping to study biology or chemistry post-GGS. Ned, from Anglesea on Victoria’s surf coast, joined the School in Year 8 as a day boarder, going on to lead the School in 2023 as School Captain alongside Ellie Austin (He’23). Ned credits Ellie, and the prefect group as a whole, for providing invaluable support throughout an unpredictable year. “I can’t even begin to say how important that support was in getting me through the year,” Ned said. “Talking out problems, sharing advice and tips, sharing the agony of the, at times, overwhelming workload. I like predictability and sometimes I’d been thrown when last minute meetings were called, but this has only helped me grow as a person. I was determined to do my best in everything while not sacrificing time with mates.”

Reminiscing on his time at GGS, the memories that Ned will take with him are a mixture of the big moments – “the First XI Cricket premiership and the final Year 12 chapel service will be cemented in my mind forever” – and the smaller, incidental moments. “The chats with mates that can get surprisingly deep; the comradery of the Lorne 160 team running through the night; the power of a boarding house family, and the Timbertop stories told and retold in the house common rooms.” Ned plans to study Law/ Arts at ANU, majoring in Psychology and International Relations.

Quimby Yates

Ned Cole Scan here for more on the Class of 2023

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Introducing

O U R 2 0 2 4 S C H O O L C A P TA I N S ,

OLIVIA MANN (YR12 CL) AND HUDSON SIEBEL (YR12 M)

How have you settled into your new role as school captain?

And was there a moment that it sunk in for you?

Olivia: It has been a very busy first

term in the role, but I love to be kept busy and on my toes. The moment when the new role sunk in was when we delivered our first address to the Corio Campus community. Both Hudson and I spoke together, thanking Ned and Ellie for how they had led the School in 2023.

Looking up at all my peers staring back at us made me realise how real this was.

Hudson: I’ve slowly been able to

settle into the role of School Captain throughout Term 4. I have been extremely enthusiastic about the role and the challenges it brings. A moment this year where the role did begin to feel real for me was during the StepOut programme, working with my fellow prefects to create a lesson plan for Year 7 students. While helping out one of the Sport Captains, Sam Lalor, I was quizzed about the role of School Captain by an eager Year 7 student. This interaction brought to light the role I am in and the position of influence I have. It was a very surreal moment for me to be able to discuss my thoughts on leadership and give this student some guidance on how he could employ traits of leadership in his life.

What is your first memory of Geelong Grammar School?

Olivia:

My very first memory of Geelong Grammar School would be when I was about 10 years old. Mum drove my brothers and I through the School, giving us a glimpse of the school she always talked about and the school we would hopefully one day attend. I don’t remember much except thinking “Wow, this school is massive!!” and then suddenly being eager to join Geelong Grammar School in Year 8.

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What is your favourite place or space at Corio Campus, and why is it special to you?

Olivia:

I have several places at Corio that I really love but my favourite space would definitely be the Clyde House courtyard. I have so many memories of spending lunches and afternoons in the sun with my friends, it’s always such a happy place where we all sit chatting and laughing. The Clyde garden is filled with many flowers and trees which make it so beautiful and relaxing to sit in.

Hudson: My favourite part of the

School is the Chapel. Whilst life at the Corio Campus is filled with the pressures of school, sports and cocurricular activities, I find that the chapel provides a space that is the opposite of this. Morning chapel services often give me time to reflect on how everything is going, allowing me to slow down for a bit. Apart from this, I love spending time with my mates in Manifold. Having a strong connection with my house, I feel very at home and find time to relax there too.

The adventure education programme at the School has expanded significantly during your time at the School, and looks set to do so again in 2024.

How important has this element of fun and adventure been for you during your time at GGS, providing that outlet away from the classroom?

Olivia:

The Adventure Education programme the School provides is like nothing else. I really enjoyed Timbertop and found it such a rewarding place to be; to be faced with challenges, and to overcome them, leaves you feeling accomplished. Moving to Corio in Year 10, I knew there were opportunities like the Year 10 adventure camps, but I was extremely excited when activities such as the Bogong camp were announced, and the new positions of Adventure Captains were elected. To be able to

have adventure education entwined into my time at Geelong Grammar School provides the perfect outlet away from the craziness of school life and a great way to free my mind and take some time off, but also provides me with an opportunity to extend my skills and develop new friendships.

The leadership programme has expanded for 2024 and, with the introduction of Step Out, 2024 leaders have had the opportunity to spend time with their fellow prefects and set some goals and establish values for 2024.

How valuable did you find these sessions, and more broadly, what are your goals for 2024 in terms of leadership?

Hudson: I’m so happy to have the

opportunity to experience these new leadership positions in the School and think they will help in making positive differences to GGS in 2024. In the Step Out programme, I found a lot of value in the leadership sessions which enabled us to set goals and values for 2024. I think these roles will provide a mode of communication for these values and goals to be exhibited at GGS. Individually, one of my goals for leadership in 2024 is to be able to confidently say that GGS students are kind and compassionate to one another and in the broader community. Above anything else producing students who have a capacity for kindness is the most important aspect of the school following its Anglican values. I want to help do this by being a role model to students through the position of School Captain in 2024.

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Service is about recognising that you are part of something much bigger than just yourself.

I feel that I’m so fortunate for my time and the incredibly unique opportunities that have been given to me by Geelong Grammar School. - Olivia Mann (Yr12 Cl)

What does service mean to you and how does it influence your approach to leadership?

Olivia:

Service is about recognising that you are part of something much bigger than just yourself. I feel that I’m so fortunate for my time and the incredibly unique opportunities that have been given to me by Geelong Grammar School. To be able to take and involve myself in as many of the opportunities the school provides not only has helped me grow as a leader but in some instances has allowed me to give back and help the school and the broader community. For example, being involved in the Lorne 160 and tour days have been ways I have been able to provide service and show my gratitude and thanks to Geelong Grammar School.

But, while also hopefully influencing others to take action to “have a go” as well. I hope in 2024 I am able to influence others to take all opportunities Geelong Grammar School offers and learn to give back to the school and broader community wherever possible.

Hudson: Service, to me, is being

able to put other’s needs above my own. As a School Captain, it means finding ways to support my fellow students, the school community and the broader community outside of the school.

Service shapes my approach to leadership by prioritising my character strengths of kindness and love in how I lead, positively impacting the lives of others. A way I have been able to use service this year was through participating in Lorne 160 alongside Olivia. Through this service activity not only myself, but the whole school, was able to show service to Samaritan House by donating and raising awareness of the problem of homelessness, specifically in the community of Geelong. I find that service has a major influence on how I lead, by ensuring I listen to all members of the community and their individual needs.

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M E E T O U R N E W V I C E P R I N C I PA L

Dr Luke Mandouit became a

teacher because he wanted to make a positive difference. “This is still the thing that inspires me the most about working in education,” Luke said.

“As a school leader, the sphere of influence of this potential for change reaches beyond the classroom to teachers, staff, students, and the broader school community.” Luke joins GGS as Vice Principal | Learning, Teaching and Academic Innovation in 2024. A highly accomplished school leader and educational researcher with more than 20 years of experience, Luke replaces Chris McNamara, who has accepted a role as School Partnerships Executive with Australian education technology company Janison.

Luke joins GGS from St Michael’s Grammar School, where he was Associate Head – Research, Innovation and Professional Practice (K-12). He is also an Honorary Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne, having completed his Doctoral degree investigating how students receive, interpret, and respond to teacher feedback. “I am a student-centred educator who believes in giving students agency and voice in their learning,” he explained. “I believe that students need to be engaged and active in their learning. This is achieved through positive relationships and high-level instructional practice. I consider the purpose of education to develop students as happy and healthy young people with the knowledge and skills to succeed in their own lives and contribute positively to society.”

In 2023, Luke received the ‘New Voice’ in School Leadership Scholarship from the Australian Council for

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Educational Leaders (ACEL). The scholarship recognises forward thinking, contextually relevant, and responsive educational leaders whose work has had an impact above and beyond their immediate context. “The most important lesson of my teaching career was the understanding that every interaction with a student can be powerful and impactful for them,” he said.

“Whether it be a tough day in which they don’t feel seen or heard, or a coaching conversation around their goals and challenges reaching them, teachers have the power to influence positive change.”

Principal, Rebecca Cody, said that Luke had demonstrated an ability to strengthen curriculum development, pedagogy, student and staff wellbeing, and innovation at both government and

independent schools across his career.

“I am confident that Luke’s unique blend of leadership, vision, pedagogical expertise, and research background will contribute significantly to our School’s continued success in supporting our students to make positive progress,” Rebecca said.

Luke said that he was “thrilled and honoured” to join the GGS community.

“This is an opportunity that is ‘the right fit’ given my passion for education and the importance I place on fostering an environment that thrives on the pillars of adventure, positivity and creativity,” he explained. “The opportunity to learn and work under Rebecca’s leadership, along with Tom (Hall) and the broader leadership team was also very appealing. In my leadership, I hope to uphold the School’s values and proud traditions, whilst ensuring that we adapt and grow to meet the evolving needs of our students to live happily and productively in an ever-changing world.”

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TERM 4

Step Out Our Year 10 and Year 11 students were spoiled for choice during the inaugural two-day Step Out programme in Term 4. Designed as a circuit breaker at the end of the 2023 academic year and before the transition to their 2024 timetable, students chose from 107 different activities across four categories: Careers, Service, Wellbeing, and Transferable Skills. Students were encouraged to explore new activities, engage with new people, and to step out of their normal day-to-day habits.

“Step Out provided an exciting opportunity for our Senior School students to broaden their GGS experience as they closed the door on one year level by readying themselves to step up to the next,” Creative Education Collaborator, Matt Limb, explained. “The intention was for students to step out of their comfort zone, explore something different, acquire new skills and work alongside others outside of their immediate network.”

Step Out had an incredibly wide range of activities to choose from, both on and off campus. At Corio, operational staff from Facilities, the Handbury Centre for Wellbeing, and Community Engagement facilitated sessions that introduced students to building trades, cattle handling, seed propagation, sports field maintenance, sports coaching, personal training, and video storytelling.

Youtuber and gamer Elliott Watkins (Cu’12), aka Muselk, facilitated online workshops on social media content creation. Careers and industry experiences also included sessions with the Australian Defence Force, Marcus Oldham College, Melbourne University, The Gordon, William Angliss Institute and Channel 31. Service opportunities were similarly broad, including activities with Fiji Book Drive, St Kilda Mums, BeeBrave Cards, Share the Dignity and Landcare, whilst wellbeing pursuits included surfing, rock climbing and scuba diving.

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@ TO ORAK CAMPUS After much hard work and many years of planning, the Bush Food Garden at our Toorak Campus officially opened in November.

Attendees to the opening ceremony were greeted by the unique textures of Indigenous herbs, edible plants and the unveiling of a handcrafted sign kindly made by our Timbertop students and staff.

Throughout the year, the Year 4 students and teachers have worked in the Children’s Garden, planting a range of Indigenous herbs, fruit and vegetables to create the Bush Food section. During Art classes the students researched a chosen bush plant and painted the beautiful signs that now feature in the Garden, inspired by their study.

thrive in the Australian landscape – or the ‘bush supermarket’ as Ian fondly calls it.

Introducing bush foods into the Children’s Garden has also enhanced a deeper understanding and connection to country – and many of the children have been intrigued to learn how First Nation people used plants for food and medicinal purposes.

“I learnt how they use plants to heal wounds and how they are used for food dishes.” Damien Jiang (Yr4 McComas)

Guided by Ian Hagley’s extensive knowledge of growing Australian bush foods, students have learnt about sustainability, caring for plants indigenous to Australia and the wealth of edible treasures that

As the garden grows and produces fruit and vegetables, they will be incorporated into the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program and the children will learn how to use these native ingredients. Kitchen Garden Coordinators, Justine Siedle and Sophie Bryan, said “it has been wonderful to see the student’s engagement and connection to the Bush Garden and to be a part of changing the shape of the Children’s Garden and Kitchen Program for the future”.

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Bostock House was named after Thomas E Bostock who was the mayor of Geelong and member of the Geelong Grammar School council in 1909.

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Bostock House was first established in Aberdeen Street and then moved to Highton before moving to its current location in Noble Street.

Unique animals BELONG to Australia, There are Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby, honeypot ants, dingoes, frilled lizards, mallee ringnecks, bandicoot and so much more.

Our graduating Year 4 class of 2023 left an amazing gift for the Bostock House community through the creation of a beautiful picture book with a profound message.

The Bostock Book of Belonging was created by our Year 4 students with guidance from their Year 4 classroom teacher Stacey Clancy and current parent Sally Roydhouse, a graphic designer and author of illustrated picture books about Singapore and New York. Belonging was the Positive Education focus at Bostock House in 2023 and students explored the topic through various activities, projects and excursions throughout the year. “We worked in small groups and started with all the students’ ideas and it grew from there,” Stacey explained. “We have a really diverse group of students who come from many different cultures. We talked a lot about being respectful and inclusive and they wanted to get that message across.”

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The echidna and platypus are the only mammals in the world that lay eggs.

Like the transdisciplinary curriculum framework of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the book project was explored between and beyond subjects. “It incorporated different areas of the English curriculum, like punctuation and sentence structure, as well as editing,” Stacey said. “The students also got an opportunity to illustrate, which they love, and it was great to include our specialist teachers too. It meant that all students contributed in one way or another and they felt a great sense of achievement. It taught the students to work together, listen to others’ ideas and, most importantly, that amazing things take time. The students really enjoyed the process and were super proud of what we produced.”

We BELONG to our FAMILY. Families can include mums, dads, stepmothers, stepfathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, cousins and pets. Families come Stacey the book project reinforce how collaborative insaidall sorts ofhelped arrangements, activities and attitudes help foster a sense of connection and shapes and two belonging.

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said. “For them to know that we are all connected and the best way to be happy is to treat others well.”

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THE BOSTOCK BOOK OF BELONGING @ BOSTO CK

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Great Victorian Bike Ride The GVBR! What a trip of growth; of resilience; of comradeship; of fitness; of learning for our Year 8 students. For so many, the car ride home was full of words like “I feel so proud”, “I feel accomplished”, “it was the worst but I’m glad I got through it,” and the students should absolutely feel proud of what they have achieved. The GVBR was nine days of

constant challenges: the first time camping, for some the very first time on a bike, long distances or many hills to cover, illness, COVID-19, and a whole week of seemingly incessant rain. Yet, these challenges will render the trip magical and memorable for many years to come, and every student who rode into the brilliant sunshine at Wonthaggi, two by two to the applause of family and friends and teachers after 560km on the road, has matured and grown over the course of their week in the saddle.

We set out on the bus to Orbost on Saturday 25 November and after a very, very long journey we were grateful to arrive. We had our first team meeting, tents went up, there were dips in the river, and we settled into camp – and what a festival we’d arrived at! There were marquees everywhere, live music, an outdoor cinema, food trucks, thousands of people, and a wonderful atmosphere.

And then, in the coming days, as we jumped on our bikes and learnt to work together as a group, the rain set in and made everything just a little bit harder. Think sodden garbage bags of wet gear, hair stuck to your neck, unbagging soaking tents every day, mosquitos buzzing, never getting dry. Yet we cracked on. We might have grunted and groaned and whinged and whined and cursed, but we cracked on. The students cycled in the drizzle, and when the rain was heavier or the flooding too high, we listened to the advice of the organisers and were fortunately kept safe and comfortable in a pavilion drinking hot cups of tea, nice and snug in our tents, or on a bus to the next destination.

Through their adversity the students began to realise the power of little joys: a warm sleeping bag at the end of the day, hot chips, a hot shower, playing games by torch-light together, a winding stream or a field of flowers

Through their adversity the students began to realise the power of little joys: a warm sleeping bag at the end of the day, hot chips, a hot shower ... good friends to share the journey with.

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along the route, an extra lower gear you didn’t know you had to get you up a hill, good friends to share the journey with.

Standing around in the constant rain with Team Luxembourg on Day 7, the students began to play ‘I Spy’ until we picked the magic ‘p’ word – puddles! I couldn’t believe the difference; a few days ago the rain had been an overwhelming presence. Now, they seemed almost immune to it, and even in the downpour they could take a moment to find some joy together.

And all this cracking on, wasn’t it worth it?! By Day 8 and 9 we were well and truly enjoying the fruits of our labour.

Everything had fallen into place. Our leg muscles had adapted and we were cycling long stretches like Olympians. We were comfortable with the road rules and GVBR processes and could cycle in formation like elite professionals. We’d figured out

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why the GVBR was a nine-day trip, and not any shorter – it took a full nine days to experience the magic. My group had forgiven me for encouraging them to stick out those first wet, sore, difficult days. Some in my group even commented that they wished they had two or three more days to go, as we were cycling so well – kids who, on Day 2, wanted it to be not one minute longer! We were having a whale of a time, and no more so than when the sun finally came out for our final glorious day cycling along the beach with the sea breeze on our faces and the sun dancing off the waves.

out into the drizzle to summit them, I am sure you will go on to face many of your future challenges with similar determination and maturity. Well done Year 8s, and best of luck for Timbertop. The lessons you have learnt around cracking on when you feel you have nothing left, to support your friends around you even when you’re not feeling your best, and to ultimately achieve something you never thought you were capable of achieving in the first place – this is the essence of Timbertop. You are ready for all the wonderful challenges and achievements coming your way next year.

Those hills and that rain were just metaphors for the many bumps and challenges we all will face in our lives, if we’re living it to the fullest; and based on the way you grit your teeth and kept heading

Ms Talia Andrews and Nicolette Bosch

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l oo ch s e l d d i m musical

During Term 2, auditions were held and rehearsals got underway for our highly anticipated Middle School musical, The Little Mermaid Jr. By mid-October the cast and crew were ready to deliver a spectacular show for family and friends, and our talented students did not disappoint!

For three nights, an amazing set and wonderful costumes transformed The David Darling Play House into an underwater kindgom where mermaids sang, seagulls danced and seahorses pranced.

The story, with the universally understood themes of love, identity and belonging, was brought to life by a sweet singing Ariel, a heroic Prince Eric, a magnificently wicked sea witch and a crab with impeccable comedic timing – all supported by an enthusiastic ensemble cast of more than 100 Middle School students.

Well done to everyone involved in the production and we hope that all who attended enjoyed the performance!

the

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↓ SECTION 02 — SCHOOL Christian Polyzoudis (Yr11 Fr) announced himself to the Australian football public in the second half of 2023, coming on as a substitute for the Melbourne Victory in a pre-season friendly in August before leading Victoria to the Australian Under 16 title at the National Youth Football Championships in October.

Christian scored Victoria’s lone goal in their grand final victory against New South Wales, but it almost wasn’t to be. “I told the ref just before I scored to stop play because my nose was bleeding, but he said I’d have to wait until the next stoppage.”

Fortune favoured Christian and his team as play continued to flow, but there was nothing fortuitous about his stunning longrange strike. “Fast-forward 20 seconds, the ball was cut back to me on the edge of the box. I didn’t overthink it; I just shot the ball as hard as I could. Seeing the ball whistle into the top corner was amazing!”

Christian had lofty goals entering the Championships: firstly, to win the tournament, and second, to be named player of the tournament. “When the announcer started to describe the person (set to be awarded player of the tournament), I thought ‘that sounds like me’, and when they read my name out, I couldn’t stop smiling. Knowing that I had achieved something so significant was such an amazing feeling for me.”

Arriving at the School at the beginning of 2023, Christian quickly felt at home in Fraser House and was able to lean on a familiar face from his time training with the Victory, Kayne Razmovski (Fr’22), for guidance. “Kayne helped a lot because if I ever had any questions, I knew I had the support.” Reflecting on his first year at GGS, Christian felt that it flew by. “The year felt so quick, but I loved every moment.”

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Pip Crawford (Cl’23) signed-off from her final competition representing GGS as a National Champion, winning the Overall Senior Novice title at the Marcus Oldham Australian Interschool Championships in October. Pip had set herself an initial goal to represent the School at State level each year during her time at GGS; a goal she well-and-truly exceeded! “To be able to represent GGS and Team Victoria at a National level was an amazing feeling,” she said. “And to then be the National Champion at Novice level was a dream come true!”

Pip has loved the opportunity to have her horses with her at Corio Campus – “riding and looking after two horses takes a bit longer, but it’s worth it,” she points out – and she feels like her riding has gone to another level with these additional opportunities to ride. “Keeping my horse on campus enabled me to train regularly and it was fantastic to be able to ride in the beautiful, world-class GGS equestrian facility.”

Pip also credits her coach, Deb MacNicol, with helping her to go to the next level, while also lauding the incredible environment that is the David William Robert Knox Equestrian Centre (known widely, and affectionately, as the EQ).

“The EQ was a very special place where I could do a sport that I loved. The support from the Staff was amazing and the opportunities that the EQ has given me has helped me to get a wonderful equestrian job for 2024.”

Pip has completed her Equestrian Australia Introductory Coaching Certificate with hopes to start coaching professionally, and has taken a job as a groom with Megan Bryant Equestrian to keep her busy in between dressage competitions in 2024.

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Exploring the Archives OUR ARCHIVES PROVIDE

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING TO MEMBERS OF

THE GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL COMMUNITY THROUGH A VARIETY OF AVENUES. PARTICULARLY

VALUABLE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR OUR CURRENT STUDENTS TO

HAVE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES

WITH THE DIVERSE AND PRECIOUS ARTIFACTS AND DOCUMENTS

THAT THE ARCHIVES ENCOMPASS, AND BY DOING SO, GROW THEIR

UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCHOOL’S HISTORY AND THE LIVES OF THEIR PREDECESSORS. PIPER CARTER-

WILLIAMS (GA’23) DESCRIBES HER EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH THE SCHOOL’S COLLECTION.

Not many people notice the School’s archives when they first walk into the Fisher Library. I know its existence certainly didn’t cross my mind until hearing of a friend’s incursion for History class within the mysterious vault which is the Geelong Grammar School archives. The mystique of where and how extensive the School’s archives were remained in the back of my mind until the end of Year 11, when the Geoffrey ‘Pop’ Fink Art Scholarship applications came around.

To fulfil the criteria of the scholarship it was a requirement to engage in an act of service towards the GGS Art School community. My ongoing interest in art conservation as a possible career and future Master’s degree, coupled with my intrigue towards the existence of the School’s archives and its contents, prompted me to reach out to School Historian, Sophie Church, and School Archivist, Darren Watson.

The main agenda of my time within the archives was aimed towards the cataloguing, conservation, and re-organisation of the School’s old architectural plans. These plans date all the way back to the early 20th century, with commissions for artist concept drawings, details, sections, and site plans of Corio campus (or as the area was originally called, ‘Cowie’), Timbertop and the original pre-Corio site in Geelong. Upon cataloguing these plans, we observed evolutions in the ideation of iconic buildings, such as the Chapel of All Saints and the Dining Hall, with the original iteration of the Corio site plan including up to 10 boarding houses similar in an architectural manner to Manifold and Cuthy, with Perry situated in what is now the quad and clock tower. In particular, we came across beautifully memorable watercolour concept sketches of the Chapel of All Saints and the Tunbridge Pavilion overlooking the oval and bay area. Through this process we also stumbled across evolutions in social customs, with the original floor plans of certain buildings, including antiquated facilities such as maid or servant living quarters.

As a precursor to this project, professional art conservator Briony Pemberton (GGS Staff 2017-22) visited to provide advice on conservation and the techniques necessary in preserving these archival architectural plans. This included an introduction to the proper handling of the fragile centuryold paper, a brief overview of the function of mylar sheets in conserving particularly fragile paper, and the effects of sticky tape and other environmental factors in discolouring or damaging the paper whilst in storage or on display. This was particularly meaningful as an insight into the professional art conservation world and its practices.

Possibly the most notable task of my time within the archives occurred upon receiving a donation from the son of an Old Geelong Grammarian of a trunk filled with his father’s school memorabilia. We were able to piece together his former life as a GGS athletics champion, Francis Brown House Prefect, 1st XI cricket captain (1951) and 1st XVIII footballer (1950, 1951), through the athletics trophies, team photos and old leather athletics spikes found within his trunk. It was particularly endearing to discover an old copy of his House photo scribbled and drawn upon, a reminder that the habits and traditions of school kids haven’t strayed too far over the years. Artefacts and records such as these are key in collecting, communicating, and preserving the stories of our community, and work such as that done in the School’s archives is integral in the continuation of this practice for the interest of both past and future generations.

Left: Piper Carter-Williams with paper conservator Briony Pemberton

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The School’s annual PRIMED exhibition showcases the

works produced by our Year 12 students across IB Visual Arts, VCE Art Making and Exhibition, VCE Media, and VCE Visual

Communication and Design. As Dr Peter Bajer, Head of Visual

Arts, is careful to point out each year, the name of the exhibition is not accidental. The visual arts programme provides our

students with the skills required for a life filled with artistic pursuits, leaving them primed for what comes next.

Scan here view the 2023 PRIMED catalog.

Artwork by Ruby Plummer (A’23)

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P O S I T I V E E D U C AT I O N :

Leadership Leadership is one of the 24 VIA Character Strengths, which tells us that all people have the strength of leadership, or capacity to be effective leaders. It also tells us it is an attribute that has been valued by cultures throughout human history, and that there exists evidence in the form of literature, plays, sermons, songs, and fables of people describing and encouraging effective leadership attributes in their communities. Like all strengths, leadership can be misused, overused or underused, and so conversations within our community which clarify what good leadership looks like and feels like help us all as we develop, whether we are five years old, 15, 35 or 75.

Effective leaders look to support others to be their best and help make things happen. Leadership is both a practice and an attribute, and while a formal position of leadership is a recognition of a capacity to serve and support others, there are countless ways to ‘lead without a badge’.

Any member of our community can act in a way that helps to create the conditions for the people around them to be successful. As a school we value people who rise to the occasion, get people on the same page and inspire action for the common good. Leadership is the ability to influence and to serve and supports our vision of Making a Positive Difference.

How can we be good leaders?

Much of the research around effective leadership comes from the business world. Kim Cameron and Jane Dutton from the Centre for Positive Organisations at the University of Michigan are two experts who describe effective leadership, and their research shows consistently that people who are effective leaders are authentic and values-driven and build a feeling of trust and psychological safety. To be a good leader we can ensure our actions and interactions are serving others.

Actions aligning with our values Having clarity around your values and purpose helps us to ensure we are working for the good of others. Serving something greater than ourselves, whether it’s a team, a class, a house, a community, or an issue such as sustainability or social justice helps provide the motivation and clarity to deliberately engage in activities for the benefits of others.

Values are not a place a person arrives at like goals, rather values are directions which help guide us, and connecting to values involves connecting to what is really important to you, what makes your heart sing, what you stand for and how you want to relate to the world.

Interactions building positive relationships At the core of effective communities are energising and positive relationships. One way to consider relationships is through the lens of High-Quality Connections. These are built through demonstrating four key behaviours and have been shown to benefit individuals and communities, from increased physical and psychological health, improved co-operation, increased capacity for resilience and learning, and stronger feelings of attachment and security.

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The four pathways to building High-Quality Connections are: 1. Respectful Engagement Engaging with others in a way that sends a message of value and worth. These can be very simple actions such as opening doors, greeting people or acknowledging contributions.

2. Task Enabling Behaviour Setting others up for success by doing our bit. Cleaning whiteboards after a lesson, emptying dishwashers or refilling a photocopier are all examples.

3. Trusting Behaviour Conveying to someone else we believe they will meet our expectations (almost the antithesis of micro-managing) – believing the best in the other person, that they have the capacity for the work they have been asked to do.

4. Playing Sharing play and humour with other people signals that an environment is safe, that we can connect on a more personal level, we can be creative and work effectively together.

Activities which focus on service through purpose and values-aligned actions, and strengthening relationships and positive regard will help develop a greater understanding of what effective leadership looks like within our communities.

Cat Lamb Positive Education Collaborator

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FA R E W E L L A N D N E W B E G I N N I N G S

Giving Day

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE GEELONG G R A M M A R FO U N DAT I O N

As I write this, my time as Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation draws to a close. It feels bittersweet to reflect on the past seven years, a period marked by extraordinary challenges and incredible achievements.

When I first became involved with the Foundation in 2009 and then took on the role of Chair seven years later, I knew that the Foundation played a vital role in supporting the School’s mission to provide a world-class education. What I didn’t anticipate was the sheer depth and breadth of that impact.

Through the generosity of our donors, we have been able to: Timbertop units

2023 School Captain and JRD Scholar, Ned Cole (P’23) with Penelope McBain.

Enhance the student experience. Together we have supported initiatives that enrich the curriculum, provide access to cutting-edge technology, and foster a vibrant co-curricular programme. We have supported our leading Positive and Creative Education programmes, the engagement of Visiting Fellows, the provision of Staff Study Awards, funding for sports programmes and equipment, along with our more recent sustainability initiative.

Increase diversity and accessibility. We have established scholarships and bursaries that allow students from all walks of life to access the transformative Geelong Grammar School (GGS) experience, including rural and Indigenous student scholarships.

Through the support of our community, scholarships now enable a GGS education for almost a quarter of our Senior School students, with over $15.4 million in donor funding provided to support scholarship recipients across the past seven years.

Invest in facilities. Through the generosity of our community we have contributed to the construction and refurbishment of essential living, learning and enabling spaces, including the outstanding SPACE (School for Performing Arts and Creative Education) facility at Corio, the Toorak Wellbeing Centre, the David William Robert Knox Equestrian Centre, and restoration of Timbertop units. Support for these important spaces is ensuring that our students are provided with an environment in which they can thrive.

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Supporting Scholarships Strengthen our community. We have fostered a culture of philanthropy and engagement, connecting alumni, parents, and friends of the School. We have delivered three exceptionally well supported Giving Days in 2019, 2021 and 2023; a flourishing Biddlecombe Society, now with 260 members; grown membership of the Foundation to now stand at 979; and presented countless events and celebrations to bring together our community, here and around the world, in support of our shared vision.

I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together. But I am also deeply aware that the Foundation’s work is never truly finished. There are always new challenges to address, new opportunities to seize.

I am delighted to introduce Vanessa Mahon as the newly appointed Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation, effective 1 January 2024. Vanessa brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, and I am confident that she will lead the Foundation to even greater heights.

Vanessa has a long and distinguished career in community and commercial law and community service, and is a current parent of the School. She is a passionate advocate for GGSand its mission, and I have no doubt that she will be a driving force behind the Foundation’s continued success.

Toorak ing Wellbe Centre

As I step down, I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has made the past seven years possible. To the Directors of the Foundation, the Advancement team, the School Council and the leadership and staff of GGS, and to the countless volunteers who have given so generously of their time and talent, thank you. To our donors, whose unwavering support has made our work possible, thank you. And most importantly, to the students of GGS thank you for inspiring us with your energy, your passion, and your endless potential.

It has been an honour to serve as Chair of the Geelong Grammar Foundation. I am confident that the future of the School is bright, and I look forward watching and supporting the Foundation as it continues to make a positive difference in the lives of our students for generations to come.

SPACE

Penelope McBain Chair, Geelong Grammar Foundation

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THE BIDDLECOMBE SOCIETY

H O N O U R I N G G E N E R O S I T Y A N D S H A P I N G T H E F U T U R E The Biddlecombe Society is a special group of individuals who have generously chosen to leave a lasting legacy and support the future of the School through a gift in their will. Just as Geelong Grammar School continues to flourish, so too does our bequest programme and Biddlecombe Society. In recent years, membership of the Society has grown significantly to 260 members, highlighting our community’s strong support for the programme. We are grateful to our many members for their ongoing commitment.

The Biddlecombe Society is named after Commander John Biddlecombe and his wife Janet, who generously provided six Masters’ residences at Corio between 1920 and 1925, and after whom Biddlecombe Avenue on the Corio Campus is named. Their act of philanthropy serves as an inspiration to the members of the Biddlecombe Society, who are committed to ensuring the continued success and growth of Geelong Grammar School.

The Biddlecombe Society plays a vital role in securing the School’s long-term sustainability.

In 2023, realised bequests have totalled over $744,000. These gifts have provided support for student scholarships and for building projects, along with untied contributions to the Endowment Trust, helping the School to deliver on its mission now and into the future.

As is the case each year, the 2023 calendar included a series of Biddlecombe Society events, bringing together members from all over Australia to celebrate their shared commitment to Geelong Grammar School, and providing an opportunity to showcase all that is made possible through the support of our community, particularly through scholarships.

In celebration of Timbertop’s 70th anniversary year, Ross Hopkins, Head of Timbertop, joined as guest speaker at the annual Bellarine Peninsula Biddlecombe Society Luncheon, held at the Barwon Heads Golf Club. An entertaining panel of original Timbertop students, including Bill McKellar (FB’56), Reece Burgess (FB’56), Peter Gall (M’53) and Deryk Stephens (M’56), shared stories and memories from their time at Timbertop for 108 members and guests.

The annual Melbourne Biddlecombe Society Luncheon was attended by 88 members and guests, showcasing the Society’s strong

commitment and community spirit. Held in the beautiful surroundings of the National Gallery of Victoria, with highlights including contributions from 2023 School Captains and scholarship recipients, Ellie Austin (He’23) and Ned Cole (P’23), introduced by our Principal, Rebecca Cody, along with past scholar and Russell Drysdale Visual Arts Scholar Tillie Pridham (Cl’19) and Head of Visual Arts, Peter Bajer.

The Sydney Biddlecombe Society Luncheon is a regular highlight where we embrace the opportunity to reconnect with NSW members in the surroundings of the Sydney Opera House. In 2023, our Chair of Council, Paddy Handbury (M’72), was guest speaker, along with Ellie Austin (He’23), the inaugural recipient of the Handbury Scholarship.

The Biddlecombe Society is a demonstration of the power of philanthropy and its ability to create a lasting impact. The Society is an integral part of the Geelong Grammar School community.

If you are interested in learning more about the Biddlecombe Society or becoming a member, we encourage you to have a discussion with Garry Pierson, who can guide you on how your intentions can be achieved. Garry can be contacted on +61 3 5273 9136 or at garryp@ggs.vic.edu.au.

Ned Cole

(P’23)

Ned Cole has been one of two esteemed School Captains for 2023 at Geelong Grammar School – which speaks to Ned’s leadership qualities, academic commitment, and respect amongst his peers.

Beyond his leadership role, Ned has been a high achiever in the classroom. His dedication to learning and intellectual curiosity, combined with his active involvement in a range of co-curricular activities, make it no surprise that he was also the recipient of a donor-funded scholarship.

Like nearly a quarter of our Senior School students, a scholarship made possible Ned’s experience at GGS. Ned was awarded the awarded the J.R. Darling Memorial Scholarship when he joined the School in Year 7.

The J.R. Darling Memorial Scholarship was established in 1997 to honour the life, memory and educational legacy of Sir James R Darling OBE, funded by teachers and former students who knew and admired him.

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The J.R. Darling Memorial Scholarship provides opportunities for students to attend the School who would otherwise be unable to access a GGS education. With a corpus of over $4.6 million, the School is able to award the scholarship to multiple students each year.

“I am from Anglesea on the Surf Coast in Victoria.

I selected GGS particularly due to the Timbertop programme in Year 9 but also because when I was 5, I saw the First XI Cricket team playing in their baggy blue caps on the GGS Main Oval, which quickly became a dream of mine. I was lucky enough to receive the Sir James Darling Memorial Scholarship for general excellence and began my GGS journey in 2018 as a Day Boarder in Year 7.

Since Timbertop, I have lived in Perry House and recently completed Year 12, studying the International Baccalaureate, where Literature and Psychology became my favourite subjects. The sports programme was a large part of my time at GGS, where I was fortunate enough to represent the First Football and First Cricket teams.

2023 has been a highlight of my time at the School, and I have learnt so much through my leadership role. The hardest part has been mastering the act of juggling my love of sport, my desire to do well academically and spending essential time with my mates. I plan to go to university next to begin a double degree in Arts/Law, which will lead to my future career in law combined with psychology.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity my scholarship made possible for me and look forward to continuing to pay forward the generosity I was shown through the gift of my GGS education.”

Ellie Austin

(He’23)

A seasoned boarder, dedicated student and ambassador for maximising every opportunity that comes her way, Ellie was appointed School Captain at GGS for 2023.

Ellie’s willingness to contribute and enthusiastic involvement in so many aspects of school life has been infectious across the school community.

Beyond her academic and extracurricular contributions, Ellie is highly regarded amongst her peers for her integrity and approachability.

Ellie was awarded the Handbury Scholarship when she joined the School in Year 9 in 2020.

The Handbury Scholarship is generously funded through the Handbury Foundation thanks to the generosity of the late Dr Geoff Handbury AO, his late wife Helen Handbury AO, and past parents Paddy Handbury (M’72) and his wife Helen Handbury (Godfrey, The Hermitage ‘73).

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The Handbury Scholarship assists students from a remote, rural or regional community to attend GGS who would otherwise be unable to do so and encourages recipients to contribute in a positive manner to the life of the School and their house by participating in a broad range of activities and opportunities.

“I am from a beef cattle property in regional NSW, 40 minutes from the rural town of Wagga Wagga.

I have a younger brother in Year 10 in Cuthbertson House, and I own three dogs.

My father, aunt, grandfather and great-grandfather are Old Geelong Grammarians, so I have grown up with stories about their time at the School, especially from my father. He reflects often on his time at GGS, recognising how lucky he was to attend. His GGS stories demonstrate for me the joy he shared there with friends, who, as a result, have become lifelong and I have now grown up with their children.

It was a “no-brainer” that I wanted to go to the School.

My journey at Geelong Grammar began in Year 9 at Timbertop as a young enthusiast, nervous for my huge year ahead but extremely excited. After the first drop-off, I said goodbye to my parents and never looked back. And I still haven’t!

I completed the International Baccalaureate in 2023 and studied Geography, Visual Arts, Spanish, Literature, Maths and Sport Science. I have played Touch Football in the Summer and Aussie Rules Football in the Winter.

I participated in Lorne 160, the Surf Coast Trek, Horse Polo, two senior musicals (Mamma Mia and Anastasia), and the John Landy Athletic Squad and received half athletic honours and full academic, Touch and AFL honours. I won the 2022 Geelong Grammar School Coriobald Judges’ Prize for Portraiture, and I achieved the 2023 Athletics Girls’ Open Runner-Up Champion.

In 2024, I have been offered the opportunity to work in a boarding school in Oxford, England, looking after Year 7 and 8 boys, which I have gratefully accepted. I hope that at the beginning of 2025, I will come home to Australia to study for a double degree in Arts and Law at Sydney University.

My scholarship was gifted to me as an inaugural scholarship for a rural student who would not otherwise be able to attend Geelong Grammar. I am and forever will be grateful for this opportunity to have experienced some of the best years of my life, attending a school where people look after you and help and support you as you grow as a person.”

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1948

James Gordon Maxwell Moffatt AM KSJ (M’48) – known as Gordon – who was born on 12 February 1931 and died on 27 July 2023, was an influential chair of several organisations, a Melbourne city councillor, and a generous philanthropist.

The son of Max Moffatt and his German wife Charlotte, Gordon was born in London where his father was the buying director for GJ Coles. The family returned to Melbourne when Gordon was a baby. Gordon entered Glamorgan in 1937, and came as a boarder to Corio in 1943, first in Barrabool and then Manifold House. He played football and cricket to a high level, achieving particular success as a batsman, and won the Argus Literature Prize in 1948. Friendships developed with John Landy (M’48) and Rupert Murdoch (Cu’49).

Beginning with a knock on Ian Potter’s door in January 1949, Gordon rose through the ranks of the investment banking world with roles at GJ Coles and McKinley Wilson, eventually becoming a member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange. From 1974 he served two terms on the Melbourne City Council. Following the dismissal of the council by premier Sir Rupert Hamer (M’34), Gordon was re-elected in 1982 and, in 1984, became Melbourne’s first Deputy Lord Mayor. Between 1989 and 2000, he served as chair of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, helping to build its coffers to more than $200 million. He was awarded an Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the community.

On the back of his investment career, Gordon became a director of various companies, including a term as chairman of the Union Fidelity Trust Company of Australia. He subsequently took up honorary board positions with various medical, sports and arts charities and foundations, and was a life governor of several hospitals. Profits from his investments were distributed among the many charities and institutions that were the recipients of Gordon’s generosity, including the Kids Tennis Foundation, the Victorian Artists Society and the National Gallery of Victoria Foundation. In 2002, the Moffatt family donated $1 million to the NGV to establish the Maxwell and Charlotte Moffatt Family Gallery. The Royal Historical Society of Victoria, of which Gordon was an active member for more than 40 years, named the Gordon Moffatt Room in his honour in 2019 and presented him with a Distinguished Service Award in 2023.

At Geelong Grammar, Gordon founded a named scholarship, which currently supports two students attending the School, selected for their ability to make contributions to society by demonstrating sound practical judgement. In addition, the Gordon Moffatt Prize for Contribution to School Life is awarded annually. “School is more than just about learning subjects,” explained Gordon. “It’s about mixing with people, because that’s what life is about.” He was an eminent member and governor of the Geelong Grammar Foundation. Gordon is survived by his five children, Tim (M’71), Julie, Craig (P’75), Scott (FB’76) and Heather, eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. His wife of 60 years, Jacqueline, predeceased him in 2014.

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1949

Elizabeth Mary Britten (The Hermitage ’49, Staff 1967-76), who was born on 26 August 1937 and died on 18 November 2023, made a significant contribution to our community as Headmistress of The Hermitage (1968-75), helping to navigate the amalgamation of The Hermitage and Geelong Grammar School in 1976. Elizabeth was the eldest of three daughters of the Venerable Mervyn Britten (Chaplain 1946-49, Council 1959-61) and his wife Gweneth Mary (née Herring), who would later become the first female member of the Anglican Diocesan Council of Melbourne. Elizabeth was born in the vicarage of St James Church in Drysdale, where her father was vicar from 1936-39.

The family moved from Drysdale to Yallourn, Vermont and Canberra while Mervyn served in various parishes, as an army chaplain with the 7th Division in Syria and Papua New Guinea, and at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before he was appointed Chaplain of Geelong Grammar School in 1946. Elizabeth attended The Hermitage for the next four years, until the family moved again, to St Barnabas’ in Balwyn and then to St Mark’s Camberwell two years later. Elizabeth completed her schooling at Melbourne Girls Grammar School before studying a combined Arts and Music (Piano) degree at Melbourne University, where she was an active member of the Melbourne University Choral Society (MUCS), and completing a Diploma of Education.

Elizabeth began her teaching career at St Catherine’s School in 1961, teaching English and History whilst living in the boarding house. She led a student excursion to Papua New Guinea in 1964. Enlivened by the experience, she applied to the Australian Government Overseas Service Bureau’s newly launched Australian Volunteers Abroad (AVA) program and spent the next two years (1965-66) at the Anglican Mission at Popondetta. She was appointed Administrative Assistant to the Headmistress at The Hermitage in 1967 and succeeded Leslie Coggin (Headmistress 1962-67) as the fifth Headmistress of The Hermitage in 1968 “having already won the respect and the affection of girls and staff”. Over the next eight years, Elizabeth navigated an incredibly volatile period in the School’s history. The 1967 drought was followed by a rural recession, with boarding numbers dropping from 35% of the total enrolment in 1968 to just 17% a few years later. The “co-educational experiment” with GGS that began in 1970, with about half of The Hermitage 6th Form travelling to Corio for Science, Mathematics and Latin classes, created further tension. After preliminary talks about amalgamation with GGS, The Hermitage decided to proceed as an independent girls’ school. Whilst GGS admitted its first intake of girls in 1972, The Hermitage moved out of its rambling buildings in Newtown to consolidate the School on the larger site at Highton (where its Middle School had been located since 1964). The move was short-lived. With senior students leaving for either GGS or The Geelong College (which became

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In April 1975, The Hermitage School Council announced that owing to increasing difficulties caused by rising costs and decreasing numbers, an amalgamation with GGS and Clyde School would come into operation from the beginning of 1976.

“A clear head and bold action were needed. Miss Britten worked closely with the Council and with the other schools in taking the sometimes-difficult steps that were necessary,” Chairman of The Hermitage School Council, Archdeacon John Gason, said.

At her instigation, Elizabeth spent 1976 on staff at Corio to help in the completion of the amalgamation process that she had already steered such a long way towards a successful conclusion.

Charles Fisher (Headmaster 1974-78) reflected on the “substantial part” that Elizabeth played through this transition, describing her as “a splendid colleague” and “a most helpful and constructive collaborator”. “Certainly, throughout this period Elizabeth Britten deserved and received renewed recognition and respect as an important leader in independent education and in the affairs of The Hermitage and Geelong Grammar School in particular,” he said. “We have benefited from her presence, her work, and her leadership.”

Elizabeth left GGS in 1977 for a research role with the Department of Education before being appointed the eighth Principal of Shelford Girls’ Grammar in Caulfield in 1979. She spent 13 years at Shelford and burnished her reputation for collaborative leadership. “I always encouraged people to work together and share their ability and their knowledge so that all can grow in a positive environment,” she said. Upon her retirement in 1991, Chairman of the Shelford School Council, Rev. Ray Brooks, described Elizabeth as “very caring and concerned – a thoughtful communicator and certainly no wimp”. Elizabeth served as a member of the Australian Council of Churches Executive (1976-94), Secretary to the Anglican General Synod’s Missionary an Ecumenical Commission (1986-97), Examining Chaplain to the Archbishop of Melbourne (1986-2000) and a board member of the Melbourne College of Divinity (1991-96). She moved to Coleraine in 2002 to be closer to family and continued to contribute to community as a Director of the Community Bank, President of the Tourist Information Centre, President of the Coleraine and District Development Association, organist at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, and as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels. She enjoyed travelling in and around Australia, particularly outback Northern Territory and Western Australia. “Elizabeth believed in helping others and building on the positive things in life,” her nephew John Pepper said. “She valued the smaller things as much as the larger ones and had a wry sense of humour.”

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co-educational in 1975), amalgamation with GGS became inevitable. “We were losing an average of ten (students) a year in this way, and no school can go on for long under such conditions,” Elizabeth explained.

1952

Charles Foundyller (FB’52) now resides in Naples, Florida, with his wife Dara, enjoying the year-round warm weather and sunshine, and tolerating the unfortunately regular hurricanes. They travel often back to Massachusetts and to Australia to visit family and friends. Now retired from his career in the tech industry, Charles maintains a keen interest in the world of technology and particularly the advancements in AI. Charles is a keen supporter of the School and visited the Corio campus earlier this year on a visit to Melbourne.

1956

Dr Richard Southby, KStJ (FB’56) and Dr Janet Southby continue to enjoy a busy lifestyle in Washington DC, where Richard is Dean and Distinguished Professor of Global Health Emeritus in the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University. Richard and Janet travel regularly to Australia and remain closely engaged with the School through the Dr Richard and Dr Janet Southby Visiting Fellows Programme, which they established to expand the academic horizons of our students by engaging them with visiting scholars and practicing professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds on topics which may not be addressed in typical classroom settings. Richard served on the Board of the AUSUSA Foundation and now continues his involvement as a ‘Roving Ambassador’ encouraging support from US-based donors towards Australian schools and universities, including GGS.

The 2024 GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL & GEELONG GRAMMAR FOUNDATION Dinner S AV E T H E D AT E

Our biennial black-tie dinner, which incorporates the James R. Darling Memorial Oration and the awarding of the GGS Medal for Service to Society

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State Library Victoria | Friday 17 May

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1960

Michael ‘Mick’ Hood (FB’60), who was born on 31 July 1943 and died on 11 July 2022, was a farmer and well-respected resident of the Albury district. Mick was raised on the family farm ‘Kywanna’ near Albury. He came to GGS to board in 1953, aged 10. A talented sportsman and superb tennis player, Mick was a member of the Tennis team and the 1st Football XVIII in 1960. After school, he went jackerooing around Australia and travelling overseas, before returning to the family farm where he and his wife Liz, whom he married in 1968, raised their three sons. Remembered as a larger-than-life character, a loyal friend and family man, Mick is survived by his wife Liz, sons Bill, Tom and Jack, and four grandchildren.

assumed a leadership role at several fires, and was awarded the CFA Life Member Medal, National Medal and 60 Year Service Medal. Bruce died before he could receive the latter in person, which was presented to his daughter Elizabeth at his funeral service in Wangaratta Cathedral by the Head of the CFA. He was a member of the Wangaratta Men’s Shed for 10 years, serving as committee member and President during that time, instructing interested attendees on both traditional hand tools and machinery. His brilliant woodworking skills perhaps peaked in making a violin for his grandson George, which he used for an AMEB grade 6 exam. The parts for the violin added up to about $350, but it is worth about $8,000 now, except to George, for whom it is priceless. Remembered for his quiet kindness, dedication to community and skills at the workbench, Bruce is survived by his wife of 55 years, Ann, children Christobel, Philip and Elizabeth, and three grandchildren.

1962

Charles Ernest Bright (P’62), who was born on 16 March 1945 and died on 11 August 2023, was a prominent William Bruce McDonald investment analyst and (M’61), who was born on friend to many. The 27 February 1943 and great-grandson of Charles died on 12 October 2023, Edward Bright, one of was a wheat and sheep two brothers who farmer who contributed emigrated to Australia in enormously to his local the 1880s, Charles came from a family of leading merchants and community of Wangaratta. traders with a fascinating ancestry. In Australia, the brothers A popular member of founded the steamship company Bright Bros & Co, which later Manifold House, Bruce became the well-known firm Gibbs, Bright & Co. In 1974, the came into his own at family made a permanent gift to Geelong Grammar School of the Timbertop in 1963, where two seventeenth century oil paintings by Pietro Beretino da he developed a love for the mountains and bush that stayed with Cortona, depicting Roman battle scenes, which hang in the him all his life. A top ten finish in the Timbertop marathon Dining Hall. They had formed part of the estate of a Bright despite an enormous blister that would have stopped a lesser ancestor and had been on loan to the School since the 1930s. competitor, plus a pair of beautifully made hickory skis fashioned Charles was the youngest of three sons born to GAD (David) in the Corio carpentry shop, gave a hint of what was to come.

Upon leaving school, Bruce embraced the sport of Nordic skiing Bright (P’30) and his wife Valda, a close-knit family whose life revolved around the family home, Shipway Lodge at Sorrento. via the Wangaratta Ski Club, where he was a member for 61 Following his older brothers David (P’56) and Peter (P’56), years. He was a member of the Victorian Nordic Ski Team in 1969 and 1972, and competed in the international Paddy Pallin Charles entered GGS in 1952. At school, Charles enjoyed and Hoppet races, winning for Australia in 1972. For those who history, music (he was an accomplished violin player) and debating (he was a member of Areopagus), and in 1962 he was a marvelled at his marathon blister, it was no surprise Bruce kept on competing until 2016, always finishing in the top three for his member of the APS championship-winning Rugby 1st XV. After commencing a bachelor’s degree at the University of age group. Bruce also learned to map read at Timbertop, and Melbourne, Charles went up to Pembroke College, Oxford, later became an enthusiastic competitor, course setter and where he read PPE and was Captain of Boats. He graduated committee member of the Warby Orienteering Club, Bachelor of Arts in 1967 and became Master of Arts in 1972, contributing greatly to the fieldwork and cartography for the having become intellectually assertive and making many friends.

Chiltern Forest, Skeleton Hill and Warby Ranges orienteering He returned to Australia and commenced a career in finance in maps. During the 60s and 70s, he was a member of the Society 1968, first with the family company and then from 1969 with for growing Australian plants, participating in propagation, Ian Potter & Co (later Potter Warburg and then UBS), taking cuttings and collecting seed. He identified new sub species transferring to the London offices in 1971. In that year he of dryandra and grevillea, including a new form of G. Alpina. married Primrose (Primmy) Danby, the daughter of a diplomat,

1961

Bruce’s sense of community was enormous. He was a Life Member of the Wangaratta CFA Bowser Brigade, where he

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at the Canadian Embassy in The Hague. They returned to Melbourne in 1974, and after Charles was made partner in 1978, returned to London from 1981 to 1984.

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1966

A 17-year-old Prince Charles arriving in Sydney in 1966 enroute to Timbertop was the first stamp in a special edition collection released by Australia Post in November to celebrate King Charles III’s 75th birthday. The black-and-white photograph features a young Charles arriving in Sydney, where he was greeted by then Prime Minister Harold Holt.

The collection features two unique stamps of the royal patriarch, alongside a colourful print to commemorate his coronation. Australia Post said the one-off collection “serves as a tribute to his dedicated service, education, and the betterment of society. This collection encapsulates the essence of King Charles III’s legacy, embodying his continued commitment to tradition and progress.” All three limited edition stamps are priced at $1.20 and are now on sale across the country.

1981

Timothy Ainslie Klingender (FB’81), who was born on 19 February 1964 and died on 20 July 2023, was a renowned expert and dealer in Indigenous art. Tim completed his final two years of schooling at Geelong Grammar School as a member of Francis Brown House, receiving half-colours for swimming and work. In his final year, he achieved excellent results in English and Art. After graduating BA in Fine Art from the University of Melbourne, Tim joined the auction house Sotheby’s, becoming an international director from 1998-2009. He established the first contemporary art department for Sotheby’s Australia in 1994, then in 1996 the first Aboriginal art department, touring the sales internationally before auction in Australia. He established his own consultancy, Tim Klingender Fine Art, in 2009, and from 2011 to 2013 was senior consultant to Bonhams auction house. Tim continued his relationship with Sotheby’s internationally, overseeing Aboriginal art auctions between 2015 and 2018 in London, and from 2019 in New York.

Since 2015, under Tim’s leadership, Sotheby’s Aboriginal art sales have set consecutive sales records, both within and outside Australia, as well as achieving record individual artist sales.

Tim was passionate about Aboriginal art and artists. He visited remote communities regularly and built long lasting relationships with First Nations people and art centres throughout Australia. He was part of a group who organised the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal, collecting, commissioning and ultimately auctioning works from the region to raise money for in-community renal treatments across the Western Desert. The auction was held in 2000 as part of the seminal Papunya Tula exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. The money raised – more than $1 million – was the catalyst that transformed Central Australia from having the worst dialysis survival rates in the country to the best in the space of 20 years. Tim’s pivotal role in bringing Australian Aboriginal art to a global audience was underscored by his reputation for high ethical standards, his passionate knowledge of the subject, and emphasis on solid provenance. He is widely regarded and respected for establishing an ethical international market in the field of Australian Indigenous art. The breadth and depth of his expertise was so extensive as to be considered peerless. His death leaves a vacuum in the art world, especially in the advocacy for and understanding of Australian Aboriginal art.

Tim loved the sea and enjoyed fishing in the waters near his home in Bondi Beach. Tragically, he died following a freak boating accident on Sydney Harbour. He is survived by his wife Skye McCardle and their daughters Bay and Gala, and by his sister Jessica Leahey (Klingender, Cl’79) and brother Jonathan Klingender (FB’87).

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Back in Melbourne, Charles thrived in the booming financial climate of the 1980s, demonstrating the financial and investment acumen that seemed to be characteristic of the Bright family.

Regarded as an innovative and daring dealmaker, Charles was at the vanguard of some of Australia’s biggest corporate deals of the 1980s. He was chairman of Potter Warburg from 1985–89, and was subsequently a director or chairman of numerous companies, ranging from ASX-listed to primary production companies, making valuable contributions in an investment advisory role. He made a particular contribution to the National Gallery of Victoria as a founder benefactor of the NGV Foundation. In 2012, he instigated a successful fundraising campaign among OGGs to raise funds to build a home at Corio, the new Dovecote, for Michael Collins Persse (Staff 1955–2018). Charles eventually inherited Shipway Lodge, where his own children replicated the idyllic and fun-filled childhood once experienced by Charles and his brothers. From 1993 to 2018, he farmed beef and wool on 3,500 acres at Darraweit Guim, Victoria. Remembered by his loving family and many friends as generous-hearted, boisterous and larger-than-life, Charles is survived by Primmy, children Samantha Pirenc (Bright, Cl’89) and Richard Bright (Cu’92), and five grandchildren including Tom Pirenc (Cu’23) and Manon Pirenc (Cl’23).

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1980 40 Year Reunion

1

2

3

4

5 At their Class of 1980 40 year Reunion at West Beach Pavillion in St Kilda:

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1.

Katie Dopheide (Evans, Je’80), Peter Devilee (FB’80) and Jen Ames (Smith, Je’80)

2.

Ruth Clarke (Baulch, Fr’79), Robert Oliphant (A’80) and Penny Allen (Fr’80)

3.

Sarah Dempsey (Gunnersen, Cl’80) and Katie Dopheide (Evans, Je’80)

4. Mandy Lunney (Urquhart, Cl’80), Sarah Dempsey (Gunnersen, Cl’80), Helen Kelly (Cl’80), Matthew Guest (FB’80), David Ritchie (P’80) and Merrick 7 Howes (P’80) 5.

Jonathan Robinson (P’79), Nick Graham-Higgs (Fr’80), Jamie MacDonald (Fr’80) and Aidan Bell (Fr’80)

8 6. Katie Dopheide (Evans, Je’80) and Jen Ames (Smith, Je’80) 7.

Merrick Howes (P’80), David Morton (P’80), Sarah Dempsey (Gunnersen, Cl’80), John Manton (P’80), Katie Dopheide (Evans, Je’80) and David Kirby (M’80)

8. Miles Prince (A’80) and Sarah Laird (Je’80) 9.

8

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9

Mandy Catanach (Je’80) and Heather CookGearon (Cook, Cl’80)

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1983 40 Year Reunion 1 At their Class of 1983 40 year Reunion at West Beach Pavillion in St Kilda: 1.

Anne Headon (Field, Fr’83), Rob Perry (A’83) and Mark Layther (Cu’83)

2.

Matt Joyce (P’83), Jacqui Jordan (Je’83) and Garrick Hicks (P’83)

3.

Rod Ramsay (Timbertop ‘80), Rob Colquhoun (FB’83) and Wendy Jamieson (Cl’83)

4. Steve Sprague (M’83) and Trev McCann (FB’82) 2

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5.

Lisa Kebell (Wilson, Cl’83), Jane Freeman (Richards, Je’83), Phoebe Wynn-Pope (Fraser, Cl’83) and Sam Manifold (M’83)

6. Angus Reed (P’83), Nick Horman (FB’82), Michael Blackwell (P’83), Matt Joyce (P’83), Cullen Gunn (Cu’83), John O’Shea (A’82) and David Cleary (P’83) 7.

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5

David Cleary (P’83), Damon Howes (P’83), Simone Foreman (Breguet, Fr’83) and Lucy Longden (Ferry, Je’83)

8. Steve Sprague (M’83), Penny Dawson and Lee Jabara 9.

Caroline MacLachlan (Tallis, Cl’83) and Libby Naylor (Cl’83)

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9

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9

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1982

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Ali Moore (Je’82) will continue as the Melbourne Drive host on ABC Radio in 2024. Ali filled in as the host of ABC Radio Melbourne’s afternoon slot following Rafael Epstein’s move to mornings in September. Ali has since been appointed as the full-time replacement, eight months after the ABC began an extensive review of its local radio services. In the most recent radio survey, ABC Radio Melbourne held the highest overall audience share of the five metro Melbourne stations, at 8 per cent, up 0.6 points on the previous survey. Ali has been a regular program host on the ABC (where she began her career as a cadet in 1987) since returning to Australia from Singapore in 2017, initially filling in on News Breakfast for Virginia Trioli. Ali has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and broadcaster. She was working in Singapore for BBC World News on Newsday and Asia Business Report, having previously spent time as the ABC’s China Correspondent in Beijing. Ali has covered major news and current affairs events with the 7.30 Report, ABC News 24 and as host of Lateline Business. Ali also worked with the Nine Network from 1996-2006, where she was a reporter and eventually presenter of Business Sunday, as well as reporting and presenting on Today. Ali is a former Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at The University of Melbourne, producing and presenting the ‘This is Not A Drill’ series of hypotheticals with Asialink, the ABC and the Wheeler Centre.

1999

1984

Richard Marles (P’84) was guest speaker at the School’s Leavers’ Celebration Ceremony on Sunday 15 October. Richard has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence since 2022. He started his GGS journey in Year 1 at Bostock House in 1973 and graduated in 1984 as House Captain of Perry House. In a wide-ranging address, part history lesson and part inspirational valedictory speech, Richard spoke about the “great lesson” of GGS – the building of character and the call of service to others. “From the very earliest moment of this place, in its DNA, has been the building of character,” he said. “The ethic of service is the great gift that this School has to give… the basis for a serious and meaningful life.”

Geoff Lemon (FB’99) had a very busy 2023 covering a banner year for Australian cricket.

Geoff writes regularly on cricket for The Guardian and was also behind the microphone for the ABC and the BBC during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, the men’s and women’s Ashes, and Australia’s tour of India. Geoff took a moment on Twitter prior to calling Australia’s triumph over India in the World Cup final in November to acknowledge just how far he had come.

“Today I’m commentating my third World Cup and my first final, after a year also doing an England Ashes and a Test tour of India. Ten years ago these ideas had never crossed my mind.

It feels great.” In 2014, Geoff started his commentary career by calling overseas cricket matches from his Brunswick living room for Roar Radio, which later became known as Whiteline Wireless – a pirate radio station that broadcast Australian cricket matches that weren’t being covered by the ABC or commercial networks. Geoff now co-hosts the popular The Final Word Cricket Podcast with journalist and broadcaster Adam Collins, and his book Steve Smith’s Men, Behind Australian Cricket’s Fall (Hardie Grant, 2018), won the 2019 Wisden Book of the Year as well as The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year.

Watch Richard’s address on Vimeo

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↓ French car and fire-breathing students performing Shakespeare. “Readers of this book will find plenty to amuse and perhaps will see a little more good in everyone,” Norrie suggested.

Sandy started his teaching career in 1984 and has worked in various schools around the world, sharing his Timbertop’s resident bard A.J. ‘Sandy’ Mackinnon (Staff 2004-) has published a hilarious and heart-warming memoir of teaching, treasure hunts and finding your own way in life. Quaint Deeds: Unlikely Adventures in Teaching and Treasure-hunting (Black Inc., October 2023) was chosen as Non-Fiction Pick of the Week by The Age newspaper.

Described as “an irresistible ode to the magic and mystery of youth”, the memoir recalls the ups, downs and unexpected detours of a teaching life. The Age critic Cameron Woodhead praised Sandy’s “truly enchanting gift for whimsical storytelling” and suggested he was “the kind of dedicated, mildly eccentric teacher who makes a lifelong impact on his students”. Writing for the Queensland Reviewers Collective, Norrie Sanders noted that the memoir is cast as a series of loosely themed chapters, with subjects as varied as cave explorations, a cantankerous

old black leather coach with

dered where he travelled

g ago. I hope you will

and many other courageous

g job researching and bringing the

erations.ʼ

vernewton AND BEYOND

ave found many years later.

WILLIAM TAYLOR OF O

would often look at the

in the old gilt frame and

m, and what he did. Then,

WILLIAM TAYLOR OF Overnewton AND BEYOND P I O N E E R A N D PA S T O R A L I S T

ent diary of the

Mackenzie has carried

n an engaging way.’

JOAN MACKENZIE

ALIST

JOAN MACKENZIE

Joan Mackenzie (Bloomfield, Clyde ’52) has researched and written a book about her maternal great-grandfather's life, achievements and legacy after arriving in Australia from Scotland in 1840. William Taylor of Overnewton and beyond Pioneer and Pastoralist was published in July and edited by GGS School Historian, Sophie Church. William Taylor arrived in Port Phillip on 7 August 1840, five years after the first European settlement in 1835, and established a sheep run on the Moorabool River,

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

passion for English Literature, drama, art and philosophy with countless students over the years. Whilst much of Quaint Deeds is set in the UK, Sandy has been a much-loved member of staff at GGS for almost two decades.

He recently appeared on ABC Radio’s popular Conversations program with Sarah Kanowski, discussing the never-ending adventure of the little yellow dinghy that was the subject of his popular travel memoir The Unlikely Voyage of Jack de Crow (Black Inc., April 2014). Having taken long service leave from his role at Timbertop in 2023, Sandy set off on another sailing adventure, this time from the Black Sea in Romania, across the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas, navigating hundreds of islands, rocky reefs, a broken rudder and a hole in the hull, hoping to reach the magical port of Venice.

adjacent to Golf Hill and twenty miles (32 km) from Geelong. William and his partner Dugald McPherson then ran 33,000 sheep in the Wimmera, where they were the first pastoralists north of where the small town of Glenorchy now stands – Taylors Lake (20 km south-east of Horsham) is named after William. In 1849, he bought 13,000 acres at Keilor near Melbourne and built a Scottish style manor house called Overnewton, which was the Taylor family home for over 100 years.

Overnewton was Joan’s childhood home.

“I used to ride my pony Billy up to Sydenham to get the mail,” Joan told the Brimbank & Northwest Star Weekly. “It took us about four miles and then we’d get an ice cream and of course I had to get one for Billy too, before we’d travel the four miles back home.” Overnewton was also her mother’s, Madge Bloomfield (Taylor, Clyde 1915-20), and her aunt’s, Aileen Stewart (Taylor, Clyde 1914-17) home. Several descendants of William Taylor have also attended GGS, including Joan’s brother Peter Bloomfield (Cu’49). Joan immersed herself in archives, letters, and family

narratives, to piece together the puzzle of her family’s history and William Taylor’s life. “As a child, I would often look at the portrait of the elegant man in the old gilt frame and wonder where he came from, and what he did.” Fittingly, the book was launched at Overnewton in November, with a lunch catered by the current owners, who run a café and restaurant in the house and gardens.

The book is available for purchase via the What’s On page of the Overnewton Castle website: www.overnewtoncastle.com.au

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CORIO BOOK CLUB

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2

1983 40 Year Timbertop Reunion & Open Morning

3

4

5

6

At the 1983 40 Year Timbertop Reunion and Open Morning were: 1.

Sarah Hollingworth (Cl’86) and JoJo McIntyre (Carnegie, Cl’86)

2.

Will Adams (M’86), Simon Horne (Cu’86) and Andrew Marcus (Fr’86)

3.

Tempe Falkiner (Cl’86), Anna Plowman (Je’86) and Ian Bromell (P’86)

4. George Read (A’85), Harriet Robin (Je’86) and Andrew Gatenby (M’86) 5.

Tim Buzzard (P’86), Daniel Guthrie (Cu’85), Andrew Lord (M’86), Andrew Bell (FB’86), Richard Clark (M’85) and Hamish Little (P’86)

6. Sarah Laidlaw (Seymour, Ga’86), Georgie Imhoff (O’Shea, A’86), Carolyn Allen (Cornwall, Cl’86), Sarah Manifold (Ga’86) and Alex Bartholomew (Mitchell, Je’86) 7.

Sam Hickson (Rymill, Je’86), Jane Macdougall (Cl’86), Toshi Ota (Past Staff), Graeme Joy (Past Staff), Nina Tomasoni (Coles, Cl’86), Brooke Yates (MacLachlan, Cl’86) and Jane Evans (Je’86)

7

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1993 30 Year Reunion 1

2

3

5

4

6

7

8 At their Class of 1993 30 year Reunion at The Sandbar in Middle Park: 1.

Nik Kemp (FB’93), Penny Barlow (Gude, Fr’93) and Jeremy Hutchings (Cu’93)

2.

Chris Gaussen (M’93) and Adrian Lehmann (M’92)

3.

Katie Bennet (Je’93) and James Povey (P’93)

4. Marcus Prato (A’92), Gabrielle Patterson (Cl’93), Chris Darling (A’93), Nigel Schofield (Fr’93) and Nick Brockman (A’93) 5.

Hilary Scott (Doyle, Je’93), Caitlin Macleod (Ga’93) and Bonnie Scurry (Ga’93)

6. Roland Wu (P’93) and Stuart MacGowan (M’93) 7.

Pete Luckock (M’93), Nick Treweeke (P’93) and Hamish McInnes (Cu’93)

8. Marita Voller (Cl’93) and Bonnie Scurry (Ga’93)

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2003 20 Year Reunion 1

3

5

2

4

6

7

8

9

At their Class of 2003 20 year Reunion at the Royal South Yarra Tennis Club in Toorak: 1.

Wilfred Ho (M’03), Ka Lim (M’03) and Stephanie Wong (He’03)

2.

David Batho (A’03), Lachie McGregor (Cu’03), John Grant (Cu’03) and Brad Hancock (Fr’03)

3.

Oliver Wilkinson (M’03), Lizzie Sullivan (Alder, Cl’03), Anne Volkov (Ga’01) and Nick Morrissey (P’03)

4. Laura Hawkins (He’03), Michelle Chan (A’03) and Althea Hartley (Ga’03) 5.

Julia Roche (Davies, He’03), Paddy Oman (M’03), Annie Costin (Legoe, Cl’03), Abel Farrell (FB’03) and Jack Wall (M’03)

6. Kate Carnegie (Ga’03), Alexis Buckley (Ga’03), Jack Wall (M’03), Julia Roche (Davies, He’03) and Emma Auriel-Smith (Veall, Cl’03) 7.

Phoebe MacLeod (Connell, Cl’03), Jared Lee (P’03), Edward Orum (P’03), Henry Dobson (Cu’03) and Julia Roche (Davies, He’03)

8. Kate Morrissey (Swan, Fr’03), Meg Bainbridge (Fr’03), Alex Knight (P’03) and John Batho (A’03) 9.

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Douglas Tan (P’03), Selina Lim (Glamorgan ‘99), Andrew Spottiswood (Cu’03) and Sophie de Clifford

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2013 10 Year Reunion 1

2

4

3 3

5 At their Class of 2013 10 year Reunion at the Flying Duck Hotel in Prahran: 1.

Jaklina Hermsen (He’13), Scarlett Daniell (Cl’13), Prudence Burnett (Cl’11) and Adelaide Darling (Cl’13)

2.

Patrick Miles (A’13), Nathan Chaniago (P’13) and Napier Waller (P’13)

3.

Hamish Macmillan (Cu’13), Douglas Bond (Cu’13), Zane Mahood (A’13), Jock Grimshaw (FB’13), Jacqui Fetter (Ga’12), Bridget Heal (He’13), Danielle Davidovits (He’13), Gus Ridder (M’13), Andrew Calvert-Jones (FB’13), Charlotte St Baker (Ga’13) and Daniel Howes (P’13)

4. Charlie Felton (Cu’13) and Aiman Mohamed Tarmizi (FB’13) 5.

6

7

8

9

Henry Pyne (M’13), Kate Scott (Cl’13), Kate McGeoch (Ga’13), Gemma Sullivan (EM’13) and Luke Sitzler (M’13)

6. Tom Hodgson (FB’13), Kate Crozier (Ga’13) and Charles Burbury (FB’13) 7.

Luke Sitzler (M’13) and Ane McBain (Ga’13)

8. Jock Grimshaw (FB’13), Douglas Bond (Cu’13), Mo Alizzi (Cu’13), Hamish Macmillan (Cu’13), Alan Wright (Cu’13) and Charlie Felton (Cu’13) 9.

Sarah Holmes (Cl’13), Kate Scott (Cl’13), Edwina Landale (Cl’13), Polly Ritchie (Cl’13), Emily Faithfull (Cl’13) and Prudence Burnett (Cl’11)

10. Michelle Davey (Ga’13), Salasei McCarthy (EM’13), Cecilia Cameron (Cl’13), Lilian Liu (A’13) and Matilda Hall (A’13)

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10

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OGG President 2023 was another very busy year for the Old Geelong Grammarians as the catch-up on the COVID backlog of reunions continued. 749 past students attended a total of 10 OGG year-group reunions across the year, a further 858 attended an OGG event or gathering, whilst Hermitage and Clyde old girls also connected at various HOGA and COGA events and reunions. Recent OGG gatherings have included another successful Business Networking event at the Garden State Hotel on Flinders Lane in October, a small informal gathering of OGGs in Boston in November, and the 22nd annual Tower Luncheon at Corio, where telecommunications entrepreneur Philip Cornish AM (Cu’73) was an extremely engaging and interesting guest speaker – the questions from the audience could have gone on all afternoon! One of the OGG Association’s prime purposes is to unite former students of GGS, Glamorgan, The

54

Hermitage and Clyde School, and we certainly delivered on that objective in 2023.

The OGGs have also continued to support the Old Geelong Football Club and congratulate Simon Bones and the team down at Como Park for all the work they do both on and off the field.

The footy club provides a community hub for all OGGs and I encourage any recent leavers, players or supporters to get involved with the club.

One of the real highlights of 2023 has been the interaction between OGGs and current GGS students. A recent poignant example was the reunion of the original 1953 Timbertop cohort, which was held in Term 4 specifically to engage most meaningfully with current Timbertop students. It is highly unusual, perhaps even unique for a Timbertop reunion to be held during Term time, but the current Head of Timbertop, Ross Hopkins, and Assistant Head, Brad Bolden, were keen to connect the experience of students from 1953 to 2023. My father, Reece Burgess (FB’56), was amongst those original Timbertop students 70 years ago. Whilst he and my mother Julia have had children and grandchildren

survive and thrive at Timbertop during the intervening years, it was clear that interacting with current students was a highpoint of their visit. Ross and Brad reflected that it was also incredibly powerful for current students – to lead past Timbertop students on campus tours, to share and compare experiences during a lively Q&A session, and to connect their Timbertop experience to something bigger than themselves.

I recently had the opportunity to revisit the campus and, on the occasion of its 70-year anniversary, was reminded anew of what an amazing place Timbertop is and the special significance it holds in our community. My own Timbertop experience is more than 40 years in the rearview mirror, but its influence has been profound. This is true for so many OGGs, and it was wonderful to see so many attend the OGG Timbertop Open Morning on Saturday 16 September.

What OGGs almost universally discover is how much the purpose and philosophy of Timbertop hasn’t changed from their time, or indeed from when the campus was first established in 1953. This is remarkable. As is the demand Timbertop, which has grown exponentially since COVID, with the School receiving

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↓

This year’s graduating Year 12 students will not readily forget the inspirational address from Richard Marles (P’84) at the School’s Leavers’ Celebration Ceremony on Sunday 15 October. Due to the disruptions of the pandemic, it was the first time the School had welcomed a guest speaker to the Year 12 speeches and prizing giving ceremony since Roland Wu (P’93) was guest speaker in 2019. Richard has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence since 2022. Richard spoke about the School’s distinctive 168-year history, with particular reference to the legacy of Sir James Darling (Headmaster 193061). If you have not already, I strongly encourage you to watch Richard’s speech via the QR code.

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Another example of OGGs interacting with current students was the Step Out programme for Year 10 and Year 11 students in Term 4, that not only featured YouTuber and gamer Elliott Watkins (Cu’12) but also included opportunities for service activities with the Fiji Book Drive; sorting and boxing books, computers and educational resources for schools in Fiji. Fiji Book Drive was founded by Fiona Luth (Ingram, Cl’91), who is a former English teacher with a passion for reading. What began as a one-person crusade in 2012, Fiona’s initiative has since donated more than 290,000 books to almost 200 schools and kindergartens in Fiji – some so remote that they are only accessible by horse! Fiona is a wonderful example for our current students of service in action and a timely reminder for our OGG community of Darling’s adage that “to whom much is given, much is expected”.

Andrew Burgess (FB’81) OGG President Watch Richard’s address on Vimeo

OGG CALENDAR

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a significantly higher number of applications than available places for new students. Regrettably, Timbertop simply cannot accommodate all Year 9 applicants. In our OGG Update e-newsletters we strongly encourage OGG families interested in enrolling their child at Timbertop to ensure they have submitted an online application and consider earlier entry into Middle School.

1974 50 Year Timbertop Reunion Saturday 13 April 2024 1984 40 Year Reunion Saturday 20 April 2024 1994 30 Year Reunion Saturday 20 April 2024 2014 10 Year Reunion Saturday 4 May 2024 2011 10 Year Reunion (held over from 2021 due to COVID)

Saturday 11 May 2024 Old Geelong Grammarians Annual General Meeting Tuesday 28 May 2024 1984 40 Year Timbertop Reunion Saturday 21 September 2024 2004 20 Year Reunion Saturday 26 October 2024 Tower Luncheon Saturday 9 November 2024 OGG Motoring Event Sunday 10 November 2024 For more information please visit www.ogg.org.au or email: oggs@ggs.vic.edu.au

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OGG EVENTS

1

2

3

4

5

At the South Australia OGG Gathering:

3.

1.

4. Soph Langley (Timbertop ‘22) and Brooke Yates

2.

Michael Kirby (M’84), Brooke Yates (MacLachlan, Cl’86), Iona Levinson (McGregor, Cl’88) Liza Kirby, and James Mackenzie

Liza Kirby and Primrose Langley (MacLachlan, Cl’86)

5.

Primrose Langley PP and Edwina Grant (McLachlan, Cl’82)

Samantha Scarratt and Chris Darling (A’93)

6. Hugh MacLachlan (P’52) and Simon Yates

6

1

3

2

4

5

6

7

At the 22nd Annual Tower Luncheon were: 1. Judy Read (Tucker, The Hermitage ‘53), Deidre Griffiths (The Hermitage ‘68) and Lesley Robinson (Donaldson, The Hermitage ‘51) 2. Jenny Porteous (Irvine, The Hermitage ‘59), Nigel Porteous, Wendy Wilson (Edge, Clyde

56

Boston OGG Gathering (right): ‘56) and John Wilson (Cu’55)

3. Rob Southey (FB’66), Jane Southey, Susie Burston and Robert Peardon (M’65) 4. Angela Jackson (Bors, The Hermitage ‘61) and Jan McGuinness (The Hermitage ‘64)

5. Junia Wraith, Daryl Wraith (Cu’57) and Martin Barrett (P’51) 6. Simon Madin (P’70), Simon Kemp (Cu’70) and John Wilson (Cu’55) 7. Denis Robertson (M’54), Michael Pointer (P’54) and David Houseman (P’55)

On 29 November 2023, an informal get together of OGGs was hosted in Boston by the Head of Advancement, Elissa Gale. The group included Scott Rasmussen (FB’86), Henry Nguyen (FB’17), Yusuf Ning (FB’13), Sam Parsons (P’14) and Julian Sherwin (Fr’08).

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OGG EVENTS 1

2

3

4

At the OGG Melbourne Business Connect: 1 Charles Gillett (PP), Whitney McLaren (Hammond, He’04), Andrew Jordan (Cu’04) and Tristan Dwyer (Fr’01) 2 Sam Plowman (Cu’87), Kate Streeter (Fr’21), Edward Buckingham (P’86), Ross McDonald (P’87), Campbell Jones (A’88), Julian Hinckfuss (A’88) and Isabella Hunter (A’21)

3 David Lawrance (M’93), Bryce Yeo (P’11) and Adrian Lehmann (M’82) 4 Stuart Holmes (FB’89), Andrew Burgess (FB’81) and James Wheeler (A’89) 5 Mark Grogan (A’79) and Rob Perry (A’83)

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HOGA

The HOGA Committee was returned unopposed, with the addition of Felicity Hocking (Waterman, The Hermitage ’67) and Pauline Greaves (Harvey, The Hermitage ’68) appointed Treasurer.

Our guest speaker this year was Sue Lloyd-Williams AO (The Hermitage ’67). Chair of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award and a Director of the Bendigo Art Gallery, Sue has had an amazingly interesting career and kept us spellbound with all her achievements and innovations.

This issue of Light Blue includes an obituary of the last Headmistress of The Hermitage, Elizabeth Britten (The Hermitage ’49, Staff 1967-76), who passed away on 18 November 2023 at Coleraine. We were very fortunate to be able to provide the School Flag that was draped over her coffin, which was greatly appreciated by her family. We also had two of our Old Girls attend and represent the School.

We are fortunate that several girls have organised reunions for their year groups.

As always, we are looking for ladies to assist in organising a reunion for their year group. This year we are looking to hold reunions for the 1954-, 1964- and 1974-year groups. If anyone is interested, please contact Jill Nicholls (Holmes, The Hermitage ‘68) for assistance on 0400 800 136 or via hermitagegirls@gmail.com.

Once again, the Annual HOGA Golf Day was a successful event, although it was disappointing to see more ladies lunching than actually playing. Prue Webb (Spittle, The Hermitage ’70) has retired after many years of very successfully organising the Golf Day. We would like to sincerely thank Prue for all the work she has done over the many years. We are very lucky that Sarah Tallent (The Hermitage ’67) has offered to take over as organiser, and we thank her and wish her all the best.

We have held a number of very successful gatherings since the last issue of Light Blue, and attendance numbers are increasing post-COVID. A lovely group of ladies attended the Adelaide gathering, which is always a great opportunity to catch up. Our casual lunch at the Grovedale Hotel in June was a very happy and talkative event and has become a fixture on our HOGA calendar. Our Annual General Meeting and Old Girls’ Luncheon in the Darling Hall at Corio attracted larger numbers than normal, which was wonderful. We were thrilled to be joined by Hermitage House Captain, Mae Cowan (He’23), and Vice-Captain, Amelia Charleson (He’23), accompanied by co-Head of House, Guy Begley. We displayed an article from our archives on each table, which was quite a talking point.

We are very excited to announce our Tour of Barwon Park Mansion on Thursday 21 March. The day will include bus transfers, entry, a guided tour, and lunch. Bus pick-up will be from Belmont Common at 10.45am. RSVP by March 7 to Jill Nicholls on 0400 800 136 or via hermitagegirls@gmail.com.

Our Annual Christmas Lunch at All Saints Hall on December 4 was a great success. Unfortunately, the guest entertainer cancelled with ill health the night before. In true Hermitage spirit, Janey Ryle-Yeates (Bone, The Hermitage ’77) came to the fore and organised the music, despite having just returned from holidays. Everyone enjoyed themselves, as was evident from the wonderful sound of friendship that emanated through the hall.

4

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We continued the tradition of presenting a copy of the history of The Hermitage to each Year 12 Hermitage House girl. We believe this strengthens their connection to the proud history of our School. We receive wonderful feedback from the girls, who greatly appreciate this gesture.

1

Attendees at the Annual HOGA Christmas Lunch at All Saints Hall on Monday 4 December

2

Sue Bull (Beaumont), Amanda Kelly (Pescott), Lucienne Kelly (Collins) and Jane Ryle-Yeates (Bone)

3

Bev Foster (Smith), Jenny Jordan (Grey), Jane Caldwell (Newman) and Lesley Robinson

4

Valerie Anderson, Stephane Bennett (Jones) and Elizabeth Thomas (Robinson)

5

Priscilla Edgar (Campbell), Brenda Venters (Balharrie), Pauline Walker (Ilett), Faye MacLean (Balharrie) and Lorraine Grady

6

Isabel Murfitt (Sleeman) and Ros Leigh (Tayler)

4

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↓

The COGA Annual General Meeting and Old Girls’ Lunch was held at Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday 22 October. It was attended by 30 Clyde Old Girls and included guests, Bill Ferguson (P’72), co-Vice President of the OGG Association, and representatives from Healing and Hope, Kate Parsons (GGS Staff 19882020) and Tanya Bishop (Hegarty, A’79, Alumni Relations Manager 199799). Guest speaker was Julia Ponder (The Hermitage’ 65 and Clyde’ 69).

Julia is a COGA Committee member and editor of The Cluthan. She spoke of her experience living and working in Paris in 2022 at age 70, helping an entrepreneurial Australian tech start-up company integrate with the French company that it had bought.

As a competent French speaker and tech expert, Julia spent several months in Paris to assist with some aspects of staff training and mentoring. Her talk extended to a lively discussion and questions about the employment of older women in the workforce, and the attendant prejudices and hurdles which need to be overcome.

The overall message was to encourage confidence in pursuing employment opportunities available to older women who wish to continue their careers in the paid workforce (we all know there

Our alumni magazine, The Cluthan, is entering its 110th year of publication in 2024. First published with two issues in 1914, The Cluthan continues to provide Clyde Old Girls’ news, an invitation to the COGA AGM, and an annual report of Clyde House activities and achievements at GGS. For the past 30 years, a record of Clyde House students who are closely related to former students of Clyde School has been maintained. The list is published annually in The Cluthan and in 2023, 21 Clyde House students were direct descendants or close family members of 41 Clyde Old Girls. This is only one small measure of the strong family connections between Clyde School and GGS. For example, Olivia Mann (Cl’23) is closely related to eight Clyde Old Girls spanning four generations. Olivia has been appointed School Captain in 2024 and COGA congratulates her on being selected for this significant leadership role.

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COGA

her maternal great-grandfather’s life, achievements and legacy after arriving in Australia from Scotland in 1840.

William Taylor of Overnewton and beyond - Pioneer and Pastoralist was published in July and edited by GGS School Historian, Sophie Church.

are countless unpaid volunteering opportunities!). Julia’s talk was followed by a presentation from Kate and Tanya about Healing & Hope. They provided information on the group’s purpose and initiatives, and those in attendance were impressed by their commitment and passion for providing practical assistance and support to survivors of child sexual abuse and victims of trauma within our community.

Photos taken at the COGA AGM on Sunday 22 October, Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club.

1

Christine Nicolas (Blackwell, Clyde 1961), Di Whittakers (Moore, Clyde 1963) and Jill Meredith-Smith (Coy, Clyde 1951)

2

Guest speaker Julia Ponder (Clyde 1969) and Jenny Happell (Shaw, Clyde 1955)

3

COGA Treasurer Peta Gillespie (Clyde 1969) and Lou Robinson (McMillan, Clyde 1958)

4

Deirdre Gowan (Leviny, Clyde 1954) and Jackie Mackinnon (Kelly, Clyde 1969)

5

Jocelyn Mitchell (Low, Clyde 1954), Deirdre Gowan (Leviny, Clyde 1954), Susan Schudmak (Sproat, Clyde 1964), Roslyn Allen (Wilkins, Clyde 1962), Jackie Mackinnon (Kelly, Clyde 1969) and Jenny Blencowe (Hogg, Clyde 1955)

6

Sue Hendy (Clyde 1975), COGA Secretary Trish Young (Clyde 1975) and Annabel Tucker (Kimpton, Clyde 1971)

Former COGA President, Joan Mackenzie (Bloomfield, Clyde ’52) has researched and written a book about 1

2

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3

4

6

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FLYIN’ RYAN Lauren Ryan (Cl’16) capped a remarkable 2023 by winning the Australian 10,000m title at the Zatopek:10 athletics meet at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium in December. Lauren flew back to Melbourne from Baltimore, where she is a member of the Under Armour professional running team coached by former Washington State University coach Lara Rogers. Lauren recorded personal best times for the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m in 2023, earning selection to represent Australia in the 5,000m at her first open age World Championships in Budapest in August. In October, Lauren represented Australia at the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships in Latvia and then won the Pandora 10K at the Baltimore Running Festival.

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Image source: Michael Dawson

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OGG SPORT

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OGG SPORT

OLD GEELONG FOOTBALL CLUB

Pre-season is in full swing at Como Park, building on a solid 2023 season for Old Geelong FC. Having won promotion to B Grade, the Senior Men’s team finished the season in fifth place, winning the final two games of the home-and-away season to miss the finals on percentage. Senior Men’s Assistant Coach, Scott Dixon (A’13), was runner-up in the Seniors best & fairest.

Mickey Nicholls (P’16) topped the Seniors goalkicking, with Charlie Fox (Cu’22) leading goalkicker for the Development team. The Women’s team also enjoyed a strong season, finishing

the home-and-away season with a big win against Old Xaverians to secure fifth place in Division 1. Brooke McKay (He’15) won the Women’s best & fairest and was named on the half forward flank in the VAFA Women’s Division 1 2023 Team of the Year.

Sophie Batten (EM’14) won the Most Improved award, whilst Annabel Rafferty (A’14) was Most Consistent. As ever, all OGGs are encouraged to get involved with the club, as players or supporters. Visit: www.oldgeelong.com.au

MELBOURNE ROWING CLUB

JAMIESON SHEAHAN (P’15)

Melbourne Rowing Club is encouraging all Melbourne-based OGG rowers to join one of its rowing programs. The Club caters for rowers of all levels of experience, from beginners and social rowers to State and National representatives. Located on the Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne, the club’s Development Squad provides opportunities for those who rowed a while ago and are keen to dust off some cobwebs, while Competition Squads take on club racing at local, regional, State and National level. Julian Baker (M’91) is Club Vice-Captain and encouraged OGG rowers interested in joining one of the Club’s programs for fitness, camaraderie and/or competition to contact head coach, Joe O’Neil, via headcoach@melbournerowing.com.au or visit www.melbournerowing.com.au

LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

After three years as a punter at The University of California, Berkeley, Jamieson Sheahan (P’15) featured in the Canadian Football League’s title showdown, the Grey Cup, in November. Jam was drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in May (selected eighth overall) and his team finished the 2023 season with 14 wins and four losses to progress to Canada’s version of the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, Winnipeg lost the final to the Montreal Alouettes in agonising fashion, with Montreal scoring a touchdown pass with 13 seconds to play. After making four punts during the game, Jam (who averaged 46.2 yards across the season) was called upon on the final play, catching his first pass of the season before punting the ball downfield in the hope of forcing a turnover by the opposition.

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2012

Hashim ‘Hash’ Bashir Hassan (FB’12), who was born on 13 July 1994 and died suddenly on 13 July 2023, was an aspiring actor who dreamt of making it to Hollywood and having a family. Hash came to GGS in 2007 from difficult circumstances but, displaying characteristic resilience, threw himself into school life, playing football, hockey, soccer and tennis, and the piano and guitar. Kind and clever, he was a well-loved member of Francis Brown House with many friends. Following Hash’s death from a suspected epileptic seizure on his 29th birthday, a Go Fund Me appeal set up by his friend Finn Kinsella (FB’12) raised over $15,000, more than double the target, to support Hash’s younger sister Paris and her baby.

2015

A pop/ rock band featuring five Old Geelong Grammarians released its debut album in August. Aphrasia comprises Bart Thatphithakkul (M’15), Andrew Nicholson (M’15), Nick Holberton (P’15), Justice Nicholson (He’17) and Charlotte Nicholson (He’23). Their debut album, Midnight Reverie, reflects their love of classic pop/rock music, and has resulted in “a sound that’s both timeless and fresh”. You can listen to Aphrasia’s debut album on Bandcamp or Spotify.

2017

Tarryn Love (A’17) completed a six-week Artist Residency at the Blue Cabin, a mobile artist residency located in Vancouver British Columbia on Canada’s Pacific Coast, in September-October. Tarryn’s residency was part of a residency exchange facilitated by Footscray Community Arts, providing residency and community engagement opportunities for two Indigenous artists – Tarryn traded places with Atheana Picha, a Salish artist from the Kwantlen First Nation. A Gunditjmara Keerray Woorroong artist, Tarryn’s recent work has included wrapping the walls and panels of The Story House theatre at the newly opened Geelong Arts Centre. The work spans approximately 500 custom made panels that cover approximately 1,600 square metres of space, representative of yoowak (the night), encompassing three thematic layers: kakatheereeng, meenkeel, wootyook (the stars), tanteen tyamoorn (the Milky Way), and alam meen (Ancestors wrapped in their Possum Skin Cloaks).

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Emily née Clarke (Fr’09) and Michael Mele, a son, Charlie Nino, on 12 July 2023 Isabel née Coburn (Ga’09) and Hugh Cameron (M’09), a daughter, Sienna Caroline Joy, on 20 June 2023 Ashlee and Henry Drysdale (Fr’05) a son, Charlie James Henry, on 28 July 2022 Sophia née McQuillan (Fr’09) and Ryan Marsden-Smith, a daughter, Dorothéa Elizabeth, on 27 July 2023 Anna née Loughnan (Fr’98) and Christopher Jenkins, a son, George Loughnan Scott, on 12 July 2023 Louise and Griff Loughnan (Fr’03), a daughter, Francesca Johanna, on 20 July 2023 Pollyanna and Joshua Parrott (A’16), a daughter, Wynne Elizabeth, on 28 December 2023

Thomas Richard (Tom) Manifold (196368) on 17 October 2023

Jacqueline Anne Economou née Leishman (Clyde 1959-64) on 8 October 2023

Ruth Marks née Michaelis (The Hermitage 1947-50) on 11 August 2023

Jonathan Scott (Jono) Edgar (1951-62) on 18 September 2023 Hugh Fairfield-Smith (1946-50) on 10 June 2023 David Casamajor Loftus Gaussen (194551) on 17 July 2023 Danielle Fleur Gaymans (Je’92) on 13 June 2023 Patricia (Pat) Joan Cameron née Gill (The Hermitage 1953-54) on 23 August 2023

Joan McColl (The Hermitage 1946-48) on 12 August 2019 Dorita Maria Thomson née McColl (The Hermitage 1946) on 12 July 2023 Jennifer Josephine (Jenny) McConachy née Gubbins (The Hermitage 1964-69) on 20 June 2023 James Gordon Maxwell (Gordon) Moffatt (1936-48) on 27 July 2023 Ulric Graeme Orr (1947-51) on 28 August 2022

Laurel Margaret Frances Green née Peck Darryl William Palmer (1950-54) on 8 (The Hermitage 1941-43) on 14 June 2023 May 2023 Margaret Griffiths née Dean (The Hermitage 1947-51) on 14 July 2023

Graham Douglas Palmer (1967-71) on 3 January 2024

Pamela Margaret Hartley née Outhwaite (Clyde 1945-49) on 26 October 2021

Patrick Fraser (Paddy) Porter (2003-08) on 8 January 2024

Deaths

Hashim Bashir Hassan (2007-12) on 13 July 2023

Elaine Bronwyn Abrecht née Dowie (Clyde 1943-44) on 1 September 2023

Nicholas Harwood Hedstrom (1955-61) on 26 November 2023

Roger Albrecht (1960-61) on 27 December 2020

Robert William Cameron Hesketh (195154) on 13 July 2023

Stewart Trevor Armytage (1952-53) on 21 June 2023

Christopher (Chris) John Hobbs (195563) on 2 January 2022

Trevor Bayne (1945-50) on 15 September 2022

Elizabeth Irene Taylor née Hoddinott (Clyde 1947-48) on 22 July 2023

George Pendock (Tim) Bingley (1952-62) on 2 January 2024

Cynthia Hodgson née Vanrenen (The Hermitage 1969-74) on 20 July 2023

Suzanne Amelia (Amy) Pyers née Littlejohn (The Hermitage 1968-72) on 5 November 2023 Agnes Humphreys née Rolph (Clyde 1938-39) on 10 August 2023 David Robb Ross (1952-54) on 12 October 2014 Alison (Sally) Salter née Stevenson (Clyde 1949-51) on 29 December 2023 Patricia Sherson Glass née Shaw (Clyde 1925-35) on 11 October 2023

Eustace Allan (Allan) Cameron (1947-51) on 21 November 2023

Colin Almond Taylor (1941-44) on 1 Michael Lionel (Mick) Hood (1953-60) on March 2016 11 July 2022 Robin Mary Villwock née Izon (The Hermitage 1948-52) on 8 January 2024 Dr Vere David Urquhart Hunt (1953-56) on 11 January 2024 Graham Robert Wiese (1960-64) on 16 Suellen (Susie) Irving (Clyde 1960-62) on December 2023 28 February 2023 Chun Yuet (Barry) Wong (1983-84) on 19 Helen Bernice Crothers née Jellie (The November 2022 Hermitage 1956-58) on 1 August 2023 Elizabeth Hobden Yoffe née Mann Joan Mary Hobbs née Keighley (The (Clyde 1937-40) on 13 July 2014 Hermitage 1939-47) on 9 January 2024 Marie Marsden Jackson (The Hermitage Vivienne Wendy (Wendy) Kemp née 1949-55) on 26 March 2023 Faulkner (Clyde 1941-47) on 8 June 2023

Janet Rosemary Clark née Armstrong (Clyde 1948-52) on 16 September 2023

Timothy Ainslie (Tim) Klingender (1980-81) on 21 July 2023

James Robert Lauder Cleland (1987-89) on 9 September 2023

Nigel Brian Lander Lewis (M’55) on 10 September 2022

Christopher Russel Gooden (Chris) Crocker (1964-65) on 9 May 2023

Rosemary Lincoln (Clyde 1947-52) on 29 May 2022

Andrew Coppel (FB’47) on 10 November 2023

Irma Florence Macauley née Skelton (The Hermitage 1944-46) on 28 September 2023

Riley Patterson Boyd (2010) on 29 July 2023 Charles Ernest Bright (1948-62) on 11 August 2023 Elizabeth Mary Britten (The Hermitage 1946-49, Past Staff) on 18 November 2023 Alison Bumpstead (The Hermitage 193748) on April 2023 Ilma Elaine Cameron née Rowley (The Hermitage 1944 -48) on 1 July 2023

Kathleen Ursula Syme Cust née Mason (Clyde 1957-62) on 15 July 2023 LIGHT BLUE - GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Marriages Tom Cohen (M’09) married Georgie O’Hallaran on 28 February 2023 Henry Cox (P’04) married Nikki Wagstaff on 13 May 2023 William Morphett (FB’10) married Zelda Chambers on 15 March 2023

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Births

Murray Clive Drinnan (1961-24) on 18 January 2024

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I N

2 0 2 4

Corio Campus Discovery Days

Toorak Campus Open Mornings

- Friday 1 March

- Wednesday 14 February

- Wednesday 15 May

- Tuesday 26 March

- Friday 9 August

- Wednesday 8 May

- Friday 15 November

- Wednesday 5 June - Wednesday 7 August - Wednesday 4 September - Wednesday 16 October