Catching up with the CLASS OF 2004 It is an honour to write a Ten Years’ On report on behalf of the ’04 leavers, an exceptional group of Coll grads. Ten years on, we mourn the loss of two good friends. We lost John ‘Jack’ Howard, who was living his life’s passion fighting for the British Army in Afghanistan. And we also lost Adam Djanowski in tragic circumstances. Both of these losses were horrible tragedies, and our class stands with Jack and Adam’s friends and families in mourning their passing. More happily, many of our classmates are now pursuing their lives’ dreams: setting sports records, getting great jobs, and in some cases marrying and even starting to raise families. In reaching out to classmates for input on this article, I was struck by how strong our friendship bonds from Wellington College remain. There is something remarkable about the friendships and community that we built during our time at Coll, and even a decade on, we are lockstep in no time. Our years at Coll marked some major milestones. The first intake of the new millennium, we were the first to encounter and grapple with NCEA. In our first year, the Runathon hype really kicked off -—perhaps because the school managed to reach an impossibly large goal or maybe because we enjoyed the spectacle of Mr Moses shaving off his beard. In our final year, Coll was a force on all fronts. The crowd favourite, we won the regional Stage Challenge. We produced an exceptional production of Richard III. We set a new national benchmark for World Vision fundraising, with the Runathon raising $74,000. We dominated sporting arenas, including a record-breaking McEvedy Shield win with the largest points total in the history of the competition. These achievements set the platform for our exceptional cohort to achieve great things over the last ten years. The diversity
of professions spans shark scientist to start-up entrepreneur. A growing number of us (myself definitely not included) are now proud fathers! Though only a sample, I want to make mention of the remarkable achievements some of our classmates have made. Now called by his students 'Mr Tinkle', Mark Tinkle has returned to teach PE, Commerce, and Social Studies at Coll. He is the glue of the class, and our link between Old Boys and major events at the school. Our class has also made its mark on the international sporting arena. Dane Coles is now a household name, having become a key force in the All Blacks. Also from the 1st XV, Tim Natusch made his first NRL debut against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2009. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Matt ‘the Mule’ Archibald won a Bronze Medal in the Men’s 1km cycling time trial. Our class is also making its mark on stage and on TV. Nic Sampson has become a regular on TV as himself and Ernest Rutherford, building on his time as a Power Ranger. Elliot Travers played a feature role in the acclaimed sci-fi film Eternity, which was selected for the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. The wit of Chris Chang, which made for a very memorable leavers dinner, was the beginning of his career in the public eye. Chris is now the North Island correspondent for Breakfast on TVNZ. As a force on the Coll debating team, Stephen Whittington has taken his skill to the political stage, taking a break from his legal career to run for ACT in Wellington Central at the last election. I had the pleasure of working with Lewis Bollard and Tamaroa Wawatai as Deputy Head Prefects, both of whom have gone onto exceptional things in their respective fields.
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Lewis attended Harvard University for his undergraduate studies, where he was selected to deliver the class graduation address. He recently graduated from Yale Law School, and now works for the Humane Society of the United States, where he’s advocating for an end to factory farming around the world. Tamaroa completed his law degree at Victoria University in 2010. He then joined the New Zealand Army where he graduated from Officer School. He was recently promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and now serves as an Infantry Platoon Commander. Based in Linton, he works with a number of Old Boys including Dylan McKay, Sione Stanley, and Daniel Reddington. Since graduation from Melbourne University, I have been working in East and Southern Africa. During the scale-up of antiretroviral therapy in a post-Mbeki South Africa, I worked for the National AIDS Council. I’m now based in Dar es Salaam with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and lead a project to improve the quality and competitive position of local pharmaceutical manufacturers in East Africa. Ten years on, much remains the same (even the jokes). The friends certainly do. Beyond our days in school uniform, for me, the legacy of Coll is the group of mates I count as brothers. I hope you share that legacy too, and will keep it strong until we’re 40 years on and afar and asunder. Tom McCarthy, Head Prefect 2004 tmccarthy@clintonhealthaccess.org
Class of 2005 Cohort If you have some news to share with 2005 classmates and fellow Old Boys, please get in touch with your Head Prefect, Michael Hobbs at mjd.hobbs@ yahoo.co.nz