WCOBA Lampstand 2011

THE ANNUAL MAGAZINE OF THE WELLINGTON COLLEGE OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION NUMBER 21 • OCTOBER, 2011 PO Box 16073, Wellington, New Zealand 6242 • Telephone 04 802 2537 • Fax: 04 802 2542 Email: oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz • Web: www.wellington-college.school.nz

Lampstand The

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WCOBA ADMINISTRATION

THE ARCHIVES DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

We’ve Moved...

WELLINGTON COLLEGE OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION OFFICE

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o one was more excited than our Archivist, Paddianne Neely when she was advised to pack up the Archives (based in Broomhedge Street, Newtown) and prepare for her eleventh move - to the recently vacated Headmaster’s House. With only a week’s notice, Paddianne, with husband Don, Property Manager - Kelwyn D’Souza and his staff plus a handful of University students, all managed to get 144 year’s worth of history moved into the new premises. The unpacking, sorting and displaying of our College treasures is still work-in-motion but it is wonderful news that the Archives have returned to the College. Our subsequent visitors will now be able to see first-hand, the wonderful and historical collection of Wellington College memorabilia.

Good news also greeted our Development Manager, Tony Robinson and myself when we learnt that we too would be moving into the Headmaster’s House. At the time of going to print, (we have still to relocate due to cabling issues for the internet and telephone), but hope to be settled early in 2012. Both Tony and I will welcome the shift to a more prominent place within the College with better access and ambience for our visitors.

We look forward to welcoming Old Boys to our new location, no doubt the first visit for many who have never actually been inside the former Headmaster’s residence. Our Headmaster, Roger Moses and his family have moved off-site into their own home nearby.

If you plan to visit the Archives in particular, just check first by email or telephone so we can ‘pop the kettle on’. Paddianne officially works on Mondays and Wednesdays only.

Stephanie Kane

04 802 2537

s.kane@wellington-college.school.nz

Paddianne Neely

04 392 9411

oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

Tony Robinson

04 802 7698

t.robinson@wellington-college.school.nz

Wellington College Old Boys’ Association PO Box 16073, Wellington 6242 • Telephone: 04 802 2537 • Facsimile: 04 802 2542 Stephanie Kane, WCOBA Executive Officer • Email: oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

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he Lampstand is the Registered Newsletter of the Wellington College Old Boys' Association. Mail can be sent to the WCOBA Executive Officer, at the above address.

Back issues of The Lampstand can be found on our Website: www. wellington-college.school.nz (Our Community/Old Boys/Lampstands).

Please support the Association by joining the WCOBA today. Your support assists in producing the magazine, funding Old Boys' activities and events, as well as supporting College awards, buildings, activities and maintaining the Archives.

Life Membership: $150.00

WILL YOU HELP SAVE THE LAMPSTAND? see page 89 to pledge your support.

THE ANNUAL MAGAZINE OF THE WELLINGTON COLLEGE OLD NUMBER 21 • BOYS’ ASSOCIA PO Box 16073, SEPTEMBER, 2011 TION Wellington, New Zealand 6242 Email: oldboys • Telephone 04 @wellington-col 802 2537 • Fax: lege.school.nz 04 802 2542 • Web: www.w ellington-college .school.nz

(Includes a Certificate of Life Membership & Lapel Pin) Special thanks to Paddianne Neely, our Archivist for providing material for The Lampstand and to Gil Roper (1959-61) who proofreads The Lampstand. Thank you also to Justin Arthur and James Griffin who took many of the more recent photos. Thanks also to staff and Old Boys for sending in news that helps form The Lampstand each year.

Stephanie Kane, Editor

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DATES TO NOTE Friday, 28 October 2011 Class of 1971 • 40 Years On Reunion @ Wellington College • Wednesday, 16 November 201 1 Bay of Plenty Branch Lunch Daniel’s in the Park, Memorial Park, 1 1th Ave, Tauranga • Friday, 25 November 201 1 Canterbury Branch Evening Gathering @ The Classic Villa, Worcester Blvd.

• Friday, 23 March 2012 Class of 1962 • 50 Years On Reunion @ Wellington College • Friday, 21 September 2012 The In-Between Reunion 55 Years Plus @ Wellington College As other events are planned, we will let you know by email and post.

On the radar - but not quite finalised: Melbourne, Sydney & Brisbane Dinners (early May).

• Auckland Branch • • Hawkes Bay Branch • • Canterbury (With Quad) •

Thanks AGAIN

EMAIL us • Help us to tell your news from the Association (including forthcoming reunions and events) by providing us with your email address, so we can keep you up-to-date. Email us at oldboys@ wellington-college.school.nz with your details. We would appreciate it if you could send your email address by way of email so it can be added to our database.

It saves us dollars if we can communicate with you via email on forthcoming events and news. Just remember to make the Old Boys a ‘safe sender’ so our emails don’t end up in your spam box.

STAY IN TOUCH • Please keep our database up-to-date so you can receive the Lampstand plus news of WCOBA and College events and reunions taking place in 2011 and 2012. IF YOU CHANGE HOUSE AND/OR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE LET US KNOW. If you are in contact with former College friends and relatives but find they are not receiving the Lampstand, it may be because we no longer have their address. If they would like to receive the Lampstand, please ask them to contact us to update their details.

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ollowing our request in the 2009 and 2010 Lampstands for help towards our magazine, the WCOBA received a combined total of around $20,000 in $5.00 denominations which helped with the cost of producing both the 2009 and 2010 publications. Our sincere thanks to all those who ‘helped out’.

WELCOME

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racing family links has become much more important to relatives as they compile family trees and join the past to the present. Almost everyday, I receive a request for details of a former student for the recipient to complete the link, whether it be from family or researchers from New Zealand or overseas.

We are fortunate to hold extensive records of all students who have attended the College since 1867.

From the original registers, students are recorded (in the most wonderful calligraphy script) with their enrolment details – full name, address, previous school, father’s name and achievements. From 1919, the registers ceased to exist and each student then had his own personal card of his time at school, with same details plus, until the late 1940s, his weight, height and chest expansion.

From 1990, the records became electronic and herewith remain in that format, but with more details including if his father was an Old Boy, to his iwi. From these records and Wellingtonians, we can construct a profile on our Old Boys for those who relish and cherish that information. Many Old Boys who lost their lives in conflict are recorded on the Auckland Museum’ Cenotaph site as does news from the Papers Past website.

When Old Boys return here, not only do the memories of their own time at the College give them an opportunity to reminisce but to also see relatives who went before them recorded on the honours boards around the College walls. Likewise, current students can also take pride on their forebears’ names being highlighted. Current students can read old Wellingtonians and chuckle at the length of their father’s hair, or see where they inherited the sporting and creative genes.

One day, we hope to have all Wellingtonians on line so that people researching family history can read of their relative’s time at Wellington College. In the meantime we, with pleasure always enjoy providing as much information as we can. Between the WCOBA database and the Colleges Archives, there is 142 years’ worth of stories that can be recounted and remember, you are part of this history.

Stephanie Kane, WCOBA Executive Officer oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

Enrolment of Sons of Former Students - Great News for our Old Boys

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n June 2010, the Government introduced the Education Amendment Bill, which included significant news for our Old Boys in particular, that schools again have the ability to enrol, as a fourth priority, children of former students. This is something that a number of traditional state schools have been lobbying for over a number of years and Wellington College wholeheartedly supported the amendment.

AGS Headmaster, John Morris presented his school’s thoughts about the amendment both in writing and at the Education Select Committee hearing in Wellington. The main points were: • that this ability is a vital component in the make-up of schools. Without this, the sense of community and a sense of belonging that are essential in the culture and ethos of a school will eventually be destroyed.

• maintaining historical inter-generational links is also vital in enabling schools to remain as ‘family’ schools.

• a natural consequence of this change to the Act will undoubtedly be an increased enthusiasm of former students to participate in their old school’s activities as Board members, sport coaches and fund-raisers.

The submission by Mr Morris was well received by the Select Committee and subsequently after the final reading of the Bill, the Amendment was passed through Parliament. Wellington College is very grateful to Mr Morris in taking a positive stance for the Amendment that has been greatly welcomed by similar schools.

Enrolments for Year 9 2012 have now closed for those living out of the Wellington College zone. Applications for Year 10 - Year 13 for 2012 (out of zone) close on 4 November 2011. However, if you would like more information about enrolments for 2013, please contact our Enrolment Officer, Lynda Woods at enrolments@wellington-college.school.nz or Telephone (04) 802 2520 ext. 721.

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WCOBA Administration

STAY IN TOUCH...

WCOBA Administration

WCOBA Executive 2011-2012 POSITION PRESIDENT IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT TREASURER EXECUTIVE OFFICER CENTENNIAL TRUST CHAIR

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

NAME Brian Smythe Bob Slade Bob Slade Stephanie Kane Matthew Beattie Robert Anderson Roger Moses (Headmaster) Matthew Reweti Guy Randall Ernie Rosenthal Scott Tingey

YEARS 1954-1958 1954-1958 1954-1958 1970-1972 1969-1973 1986-1990 1999-2003 1957-1960 1974-1978

CONTACT smythelson@xtra.co.nz bob@slade.co.nz • Tel: 04 477 0027 bob@slade.co.nz • Tel: 04 477 0027 oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz matthew.beattie@insteplimited.com r.anderson@wellington-college.school.nz r.moses@wellington-college.school.nz matthew.reweti@gmail.com randall_guy@hotmail.com e.rosenthal@wellington-college.school.nz zl2tpd@gmail.com

WCOBA Branch Contacts LOCATION AUCKLAND

NAME Ross Crotty

YEARS EMAIL 1959-1963 crotty@lowndeslaw.com

TELEPHONE (027) 4507 548

WAIKATO BAY OF PLENTY HAWKES BAY MANAWATU HOROWHENUA MARLBOROUGH

Alain Harper (07) 848 4091 1956-1960 apralain@wave.co.nz Barry Ward 1948-1952 barry.ward@kinect.co.nz (07) 576 6774 Dave Halliday 1962-1966 dash-hb@slingshot.co.nz (06) 844 7590 Robert Bruce 1954-1958 rabruce@inspire.net.nz (06) 329 7858 Barry Jobson 1953-1957 jobson@paradise.net.nz (04) 904 3399 John Wedde 1961-1965 johnwedde@xtra.co.nz (027) 484 3729 Ian McGuire 1960-1964 mcguires@slingshot.co.nz (03) 547 4422 NELSON Murray Lauchlan 1967-1971 Murray@valuersnelson.co.nz (03) 547 9876 John Grocott 1951-1955 grocottjw@xtra.co.nz (03) 385 1449 CANTERBURY Peter Morrison 1970-1975 morrisonh@xtra.co.nz (03) 377 7905 or (027) 434 0568 OTAGO Darryl Tong 1981-1985 darryl.tong@stonebow.otago.ac.nz (03) 479 6530 Michael Rhodes 1962-1966 michael@mkarhodes.com (+614) 127 20922 (M) AUSTRALIA (NSW & QLD) Bryan Gray 1977-1980 bryan.w.gray@jpmorgan.com (00612) 9440 8910 (W) Peter Osvath 1966-1970 peter.osvath@csiro.au (03) 9545 2594 or (+610) 439 343 483 (M) AUSTRALIA (VIC) Rob Owers 1951-1955 rowers@bigpond.net.au (03) 9807 0931 or (0419) 807 093 (M) UNITED KINGDOM Martin Conway 1971-1974 martinsconway@yahoo.co.uk +44 (0)7720 052 051 THAILAND Yuttachat Boonyarat 1967-1969 kmbgroup@ji-net.com +66 8181 28787 IN ORDER TO ARRANGE MORE EVENTS IN YOUR AREA, WE REQUIRE THE SERVICES OF OLD BOYS TO BE THE FIRST POINT OF CONTACT BETWEEN THE WCOBA OFFICE AND FOR FELLOW OLD BOYS IN YOUR AREA. IN PARTICULAR WAIRARAPA, EUROPE, ASIA, USA and CANADA. WE ARE ONLY TOO HAPPY TO ARRANGE AN EVENT FOR FELLOW OLD BOYS IF YOU CAN ASSIST AS THE LOCAL CONTACT.

WCOBA Objectives The WELLINGTON COLLEGE OLD BOYS' ASSOCIATION was founded to: • Further the interests of the College and its past and present members and keep former students in touch with each other and with the school.

• Maintain a register of names of all who have passed through the College since 1867 and endeavour to record the addresses of all those alive.

• Arrange reunions and other functions for Old Boys.

• Support current students at the College where needed.

These aims are met by the Association undertaking the following tasks: • Produce The Lampstand each year, covering activities of Old Boys and other relevant information.

• Maintain a computerised database giving details of all Old Boys of the College including teaching staff. This includes addresses where known. The Executive Officer will release addresses to bona fide Old Boys but will not allow any access for commercial purposes.

• Provide financial support for College activities including sport and cultural activities, sponsorship and academic prizes as well as supporting the Archives.

• Organise various reunions and other social functions either at the College, nationwide or internationally for Old Boys which the Association wishes to encourage and extend.

• Administer charitable funds managed by the Association for current and past students including assistance with fundraising appeals.

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am pleased to present the following report, at the end of my first year as President.

I must acknowledge the seven years of dedicated service that the Immediate Past President, Bob Slade, has given to the Association.

Bob also remains on the Executive Committee as Treasurer, much to my relief!

GENERAL The Association is in good heart. Stephanie Kane continues her excellent and indispensable services in the key positions of WCOBA Executive Officer and the College’s Communications and Events Manager.

Tony Robinson, the newly-appointed College Development Manager is primarily concerned with the raising of funds for building and infrastructure projects. Tony has vast experience at these levels and comes to us bursting with enthusiasm and ideas to advance these allimportant and challenging issues. Both he and Stephanie have currently been overhauling the WCOBA database and fundraising programmes as steps towards wider and better communications from the Development Office. We (the Association) together with Wellington College Foundation have contributed to updated software to facilitate this process.

Headmaster Roger Moses, amongst his many functions, is an enthusiastic and supportive member of the Old Boys’ Executive Committee.

His contributions are as invaluable as they are welcome.

MEMBERSHIP The Association currently has 31,295 listed members, but addresses are held for only 9000. As well as Wellington, there are active Branches in Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough, Horowhenua, Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Auckland, with overseas Posts also in Sydney, Melbourne, Thailand and the UK. The updated database will improve all communications with Branches and individuals, and in particular, will enable forward event planning, and the donation of historical records to the College Archives (provided, of course, that Old Boys keep the Office informed of additions, changes, and deletions). Updates and changes can be emailed or posted to the WCOBA Office.

LAMPSTAND This excellent annual WCOBA magazine continues to be collated and published by Stephanie. It contains news, articles, photos and information of great interest and reaches Old Boys throughout New Zealand and overseas.

The magazine is a primary instrument of Old Boys communication, and is a significant cost on our budget. Stephanie’s skills and dedication to the production of The Lampstand are remarkable,

and well appreciated.

The 2010 edition drew many favourable responses, including $5 donations to assist with production costs. All such donations are always welcome and appreciated.

EVENTS AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS The following were organised or attended over the year to June 2011: • OB Dinner in Manukau, September • OB Dinner in Sydney, October • OB Lunch in Tauranga, November • OB Dinner in Auckland, November • OB Dinner in Christchurch, December 2010.

[Between earthquakes]. It was my pleasure to attend this dinner and to make a powerpoint presentation of the College Y13 ‘French History and NZ Army War Zones Trip’ of 2006, to Turkey, Gallipoli, Rome, Monte Cassino, Paris, Normandy, Northern France and Belgium.

[NOTE: I would be happy to give this presentation to any interested Branch in conjunction with any appropriate meeting or social event].

• OB Dinner in Nelson - March • OB Dinner in Napier – April • Quadrangular Cocktail Party in Wanganui • Y13 Leavers Lunch [Class of 2010] • The annual Freyberg Lecture – an outstanding presentation by Mr Gerald Hensley covering the WWII relationship between General Freyberg and Prime Minister Peter Fraser.

• Reunion of Class of 1970 – October • Reunion of Class of 1961 – March ARCHIVES The Association together with the College’s Board of Trustees is seeking to relocate the growing volume of Archives from the present unsatisfactory premises to a site within the College grounds. It is vital that this invaluable historical resource be more readily accessible for research and displays around the College. [As per the inside cover of this Lampstand, the Archives are now established back at the College].

FINANCIAL MATTERS Details of the WCOBA operating account, budget for Year Ending June 2011, and current investments will be found in the Annual Accounts. Full financial statements but can be made available upon request.

It will be noted that income [and in one case capital also] from a number of long-standing Trust Funds under the control of the Executive is available for the purposes of the Association. We aim to increase this capital base by encouraging further donation and bequests.

As would be expected, the WCOBA clearly has a vested interest in being in a position to contribute to the current proposed capital projects being funded through the Wellington College Foundation including:

• Enlargement of the Memorial Hall to accommodate the entire College at one time. [The cost of a completely new structure has escalated to the point where enlargement is now the more realistic option]; • Construction of an all-weather playing surface on the middle ground – to be funded and shared in partnership with the Wellington City Council; • Refurbishment of the Centennial Terraces overlooking the main playing field.

• To assist funding of the College Archives.

Steps have been taken to channel to the Association, the proceeds of the Annual Giving Appeal, and the school leavers textbook deposit refunds, to ensure the operational costs of running the Office are adequately covered.

WELLINGTON COLLEGE TODAY As set out in the annual Wellingtonian, the College continues high levels of performance in academic, sporting, and cultural achievement, as well as maintaining a high standard of conduct.

For example: • 89 national scholarships were awarded in 2010 - the fourth highest in New Zealand, and the highest beyond Auckland; • McEvedy Shield for athletics was regained; • Quadrangular Rugby tournament was won for a record eighth time in 2010; • The variety of sports available continues to increase; • Students excel in all cultural endeavours – music, drama, debating, and historical trips away.

THE BOTTOM LINE Under the dedicated skills and energy of Headmaster Roger Moses and his Staff, Wellington College sustains and develops a remarkably high standard of secondary education – vitally important in today’s competitive and challenging world. Students spend some of their most formative years in preparing to enter the complexities of modern adult life.

Old Boys of every age are encouraged to take an active interest in the College through membership of the Association. It is interesting and rewarding!

Lastly, my thanks to our executive Committee members who give their time to meet and discuss matters of interest to all our Old Boys.

LUMEN ACCIPE ET IMPERTI Brian Smythe, 1954- 1958 WCOBA President

Brian can be reached at smythelson@clear.net.nz or Tel. 04 977 23478 or care of the WCOBA Office, PO Box 16073, Wellington 6242.

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WCOBA Administration

WCOBA President’s Report for 2010-2011

Headmaster and Foundation

Greetings from the Headmaster

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nce again, it is a very real privilege to extend the very warmest of greetings to Old Boys both near and far.

After 16 years as Headmaster, I continue to be amazed at the warmth and generosity of spirit towards the College held by Old Boys throughout the world. One particularly enjoyable reunion was one held recently while I was in London and organised by our longstanding UK President, Marty Conway. I was struck afresh by the links that bind ‘Coll Boys’ together, irrespective of age or location. A similar sense of camaraderie was enjoyed just recently by over forty Old Boys in the inaugural luncheon held by the Kapiti branch and organised by former WCOBA President, Barry Jobson.

As I write, the College is celebrating a particularly successful year. For the first time in many years, the College has won the 1st XV Premier One competition (against St Patrick’s Silverstream), the 1st XI Football competition (against St Patrick’s Town) and the 1st XI Hockey competition (against Wairarapa College). The Senior A Basketball were defeated narrowly in a thrilling final by Hutt Valley High School. The McEvedy Shield was regained in a tremendous team performance and the Quadrangular

Tournament was won at home in a pulsating final against Nelson College for a record ninth year in a row. Both our Swimming team and our Underwater Hockey teams have recently won national championships.

The Arts, too, continue to thrive.

Two of our students, Rayhan Langdana (our Head Prefect) and Ed Foley, were members of the NZ Secondary Schools’ Debating team that competed recently in Scotland. Our Chorale won two awards in the Wellington ‘Big Sing’ and one of our Y12 students, Oscar Shaw, won the Stockley Cup awarded for Public Speaking in the Wellington Region.

Academically, we enjoyed another excellent year in 2010. Since the reintroduction of the Scholarship Examinations in 2004, a ‘Top Scholar’ has been awarded every year in every subject. Wellington College has produced fifteen ‘Top Scholars’ in that time, the most of any school in the country. This is a tribute to the hard work of the boys but also the excellent tuition they receive from a committed and determined staff.

I would like to pay particular tribute to the Old Boys’ Association, capably led for such a long

time by Bob Slade and now by Brian Smythe (Head Prefect 1958). Stephanie Kane, our Executive Officer, continues to do a magnificent job with The Lampstand and in organising our reunions and gatherings.

Readers will be interested to learn of our most recent project at the College which involves the installation of an artificial pitch on the Old Boys’ field, a facility which will enable Football (Soccer) and Rugby to be played in all conditions.

Once again the College is eternally grateful to that wonderful benefactor, Sir Ron Brierley (19511954), whose support has enabled the project to go ahead. We also hope to transform the former Squash Courts into a high performance Sports Academy. Many Old Boys will also be interested to learn that I have now moved out of the Headmaster’s House, which has become a long overdue home for Archives. Paddianne Neely and her husband Don have done a magnificent job in transforming one home into another.

In our Annual Giving Appeal this year, we have asked that donors give to the Old Boys’ Association. We are very keen to keep The Lampstand going in its current format and to support this great organisation that does so much to reconnect Old Boys across the world.

Roger Moses ONZM • Headmaster r.moses@wellington-college.school.nz

Greetings from the Wellington College Foundation

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he Wellington College Foundation was established in 1989, and is incorporated as a charitable trust. Its purpose is to receive donations made by Old Boys, parents and friends of the school, and to invest the money received on a prudent basis for the benefit of the staff and students of Wellington College.

The Board of the Foundation includes the Headmaster, the President of the Old Boys’ Association, and the Chair of the College Board of Trustees as well as representatives appointed by the Parents’ Association and the College Mothers’ Club.

This means that the Foundation is aware of the needs of the College, and can make informed decisions.

Obviously, we will endeavour to provide funding for projects which the College Board of Trustees has identified as priorities. Indeed, as appears from the report from Tony Robinson, the College’s Development Manager, in this edition of the Lampstand, there are a number of current projects including the Assembly Hall refurbishment – modernising the existing hall, and building a mezzanine floor – and the No. 2 field astrograss project.

a former Old Boy, was killed in the Second World War. This very generous gift is held on two trusts, $1 million for the College Hall Project, and $500,000 for the Endowment Fund.

While the global financial crisis and the continuing difficult economic situation have made the task of raising money very difficult, there is a great deal of goodwill for the College in the community and I am confident that the funds of the Foundation will continue to grow, thus enabling us to make an on going contribution to the future of the College.

John Marshall QC • Chair, Wellington College Foundation Wellington College: 1960-1964 • john.marshall@waterfront.org.nz

The Foundation has set up four separate funds, the Building Fund, the Endowment Fund, the Annual Giving Appeal Fund, and the Operating Fund.

We have a conservative, low risk, investment philosophy with a portfolio of securities structured to generate investment income. As at 31 March 2011 we had accumulated funds of $2,395,053 which included a very generous gift by one of our most eminent and respected old boys, Sir Ron Brierley, of one million shares in GPG, valued at $720,000 as at the date of the gift.

Sir Ron has agreed that the proceeds of these shares can be put towards the College’s contribution to the No. 2 field astrograss project.

In addition to the Foundation’s accumulated funds of almost $2.4 million, a further $1.5 million was gifted in 2008 by Miss Violet Dunn, whose fiancé, 6 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

At the Wellington College Foundation Awards Dinner of 2010, Guest Speaker and All White, Tim Brown (1994-1998) [centre], speaks with Headmaster, Roger Moses [left] and Foundation Chair, John Marshall [right].

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t is a delight to be at Wellington College and part of such a proactive and energetic team.

I am married to Jill and we have four children who are spread as far afield as Sydney and Boston. We have spent our last 19 years in Hawke's Bay, so as first time residents of Wellington any lingering provincial perspectives are being quickly broadened.

It seems that in one way or another, most of my life has been spent in boys' schools so I am certainly used to their ethos and the expectations that they bring. I will declare quickly that I am a Christ’s Old Boy and note that followers of this august southern establishment are growing continually concerned at the long-standing grip that Wellington College presently has on the Inter-Quadrangular Rugby title!

The bulk of my career, thus far spanning thirty years, has been in the educational sector. I was at King's College in Auckland from 1979 until 1991 and finished with my last three and a half years there as the Deputy Headmaster. I also had a stint at Radley College, a well known public school in Oxford, England.

In 1992, I became Headmaster of Hereworth Prep School in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay and filled this rewarding role for ten years. After a long period looking after and teaching senior students, it was a different challenge with the younger ones, but I loved their natural exuberance, sense of humour and unashamed naivete. It certainly provided me with fresh perspectives and I quickly learned that the mothers had the strongest expectations!

In 2001, having lived in Independent Boarding School environments for 25 years, it was more than time for my long-suffering wife to be in her own home, so we bought a lifestyle block, moved into the Hawke's Bay countryside and I set up an educational consultancy company of one! In

the next seven years I did plenty of 'troubleshooting' type work for the Ministry doing Statutory Intervention roles which meant helping schools that were struggling, going in there and setting up action plans and facilitating this programme until it was deemed successful by all parties.

The other interesting post I have had recently was as CEO of Hawke's Bay's Rescue Helicopter from 2007 until 2010. It was a humbling experience working with sets of brave and talented people who were in the daily situation of saving people's lives and really making a difference. During these four years we upgraded from a single engine 'Squirrel' helicopter to a twin engine BK117, so outside the five major cities, Hawke's Bay is the only province presently able to provide this level of service and tick all CAA and other compliance areas essential for the future. A twin engine operation costs two million dollars a year to run, sixty per cent of which has to come from the pockets of the loyal public, so in my four years I was closely involved in a number of fund-raising programmes.

Over the years, I have played a lot of sport and have been a passionate Coach of Rugby and Cricket and have only recently become an ‘armchair supporter' after 30 years of coaching. I am also a very keen golfer but finding it increasingly hard to hold on to a single figure handicap these days!

I have long been aware of Wellington College's prestigious record across a number of fields. Having known the Headmaster, Roger Moses, for many years, I can quickly see that the extensively genuine and strong support of staff and students is a hallmark of this fine College. I greatly look forward to being part of this team as Wellington College forges ahead to embrace its challenges and opportunities in the future.

Tony Robinson, Development Manager t.robinson@wellington-college.school.nz DDI 04 802 7698

Greetings from the Development Office THE ASSEMBLY HALL BUILDING APPEAL he Wellington College Board of Trustees and Headmaster have recently decided to modify the objectives of the Assembly Hall project.

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The original plan of a completely new Assembly Hall and associated facilities was a 12 million dollar challenge, and after five years of extensive fund-raising initiatives, people now agree that this actual target is cost prohibitive.

Consequently the goal now is to refurbish and modernise the hall, building a mezzanine upper floor to cater for the large number of students who invariably miss out on significant school gatherings. Above all, it is essential that the Headmaster is able to address the full school in regular assemblies. There will also be a stage and drama facility as an integral part of the project.

A tremendous level of commitment has allowed us to raise 2.3 million dollars to date. The new target will be in the region of 4.5 to 5 million dollars and plans and costings are in the process of being drawn up. This means we will be half way to achieving the revised target from the outset. The College authorities are convinced that this goal is now thoroughly achievable and in good time for

the celebration of our 150th year in 2017.

of the programme that is being undertaken.

NUMBER 2 FIELD ASTROGRASS PROJECT This has been a news item in The Dominion and is a joint venture between the College Board of Trustees and the Wellington City Council to allow for both Rugby and Football to be played on this new surface.

Currently the small weights training area incorporated in the Renouf Sports Centre is used, but with the renovation of the College squash courts, this new venue will provide three large training venues and a reconditioned classroom which will allow programmes to be taken to another level.

Traditionally, wet winter weather will no longer prove to be a barrier. Recent statistics tell us that there have only been on average seven hours of quality sports time weekly on number 2 field, but with this new surface that number will increase to 50. The ground will be floodlit and the community able to use it after Wellington College practices have concluded and in certain times in the weekend.

When this is developed in conjunction with the new all weather turf complex, these Wellington College facilities will be second to none.

The project will actually begin later this year with a projected finishing date of early 2012. So it is good to know that major developments will be happening so quickly.

SPORTS ACADEMY This elite performance academy which began this year is excited about moving to a new facility in 2012. It will better accommodate the requirements

CENTENNIAL TERRACES The Terraces are in a noticeable state of disrepair which is clear to all who use them, and having been built in 1967 for the Centennary, a major upgrade now assumes a high priority. More will be said about this important project soon.

BEQUEST PROGRAMME Leaving a bequest to Wellington College in one’s will is seen as a highly significant way of furthering the legacy of giving that over many years has led to the school that we have today.

It is our aim to ensure that the bequest programme has more of a focus in the future and to this end THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 7

The Development Office

INTRODUCING OUR NEW DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, TONY ROBINSON

The Archives

Greetings from the Development Office continued new brochures are being drawn up to provide those interested with easily assimilated information and straightforward steps to follow.

A Visitation Programme is being established as those who have indicated that they wish to make a bequest will be spoken to on a one-to-one basis to ensure that their wishes are carried out to their full satisfaction.

The President of the Old Boys, Brian Smythe, and fellow Old Boy, John Wedde, are to join me on a Bequest Committee to help promote what is possible in the future. Obviously we want to convince people that this is a wonderful way to ensure that Wellington College remains a forerunner in New Zealand education for many more years to come.

You can see why the College does not hold too many full school assemblies - the only place the whole school can be accommodated is the Renouf Sports Centre, where we assemble once a term. Besides most of our 1550 boys having to sit on the floor, with no room for staff - the smell of socks is overwhelming making the new hall extension and upgrade a matter of priority.

I look forward to meeting many of you on my future travels around the country and further afield. Those Old Boys whom I have met to date all speak highly of their old school and look forward just as much as I do to the exciting challenges ahead of us.

Best wishes Tony Robinson, Development Manager t.robinson@wellington-college.school.nz DDI: 04 802-7698

The old Squash Courts (left) will become the College’s new Sports Academy. In the middle, is the International Students’ centre and right is the refurbished gymnasium.

Greetings from the Archives

Paddianne Neely, College Archivist oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

‘a goodly heritage, proud traditions, cherished memories’

E

leven is now my lucky number.

Shift number eleven has found a new and permanent home for the Wellington College Archives, the Headmaster’s House.

It is appropriate that one of the remaining oldest buildings at the College has become the home of the Archives.

Early next year, the WCOB and Development Office, with Stephanie Kane and Tony Robinson, will join me at the family home. It will be so convenient to have all three groups under one roof. It will also be ideal for visitors, Old Boys, Staff and students to be able to view again the treasures of the College and do research work in-near perfect surroundings. The move, at short notice, was to embrace the 2011 Quadrangular Tournament and enable Old Boys to visit.

Property Manager, Kelwyn D’Souza and his hard-working band of helpers – Roy Smith and four strong University students and recent Old Boys – Jono Anderson, Tom Kane, Reese Cargill and David Reynolds laboured an unbelievable number of hours, moved heavy storage furniture from the upstairs warehouse rooms in Broomhedge Street into vans and shifted these loads to the Headmaster’s House. They 8 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

then struggled with these exceedingly weighty articles up more stairs to the appropriate rooms.

Roy assembled shelving and attached the same to concrete walls.

Twelve heavy, five-drawer architect plan drawers of differing heights were placed in the main room upstairs and all blocked to the same height. A huge table top measuring 1.75m x 3.28m was built and has made an outstanding work bench.

This has proved an invaluable asset for husband Don to produce a stunning historical display of photographs of the Triangular and Quadrangular Tournaments for this year’s event. It has been the first year our own lounge, dining room, hall and kitchen have not been strewn with photographs and display boards. What a blessing!

About ten years ago, Rick Holmes (1962-66) donated two DIC glass and oak display counters to the Archives. In storage, unable to be used due to lack of space, they now feature treasures of the College in the Headmaster’s lounge and dining room space. These rooms have become the museum area. Rick also purchased a Firth House mattress and bed at the 1980 auction and donated both to the Archives at last year’s Firth House Reunion. Photographic boards displayed at the 2010 Reunion now adorn the walls of the dining

room, showing College life 1924-1980 and that of Firth House.

Offices, storage and work space dominate the top floor. In time, more historical photographs will grace the walls.

To remind visitors that this building was once the family home of seven Headmasters, for over 87 years, photographs are featured in the main entrance. Mr and Mrs TR Cresswell moved from the Old East School to take up residence in 1924-1927. Mr and Mrs WA Armour resided there 1928-1942. I was unable to find a suitable photograph of Mr and Mrs EN Hogben for 19431951 but managed to unearth a good one of Mr Hogben with his pipe which gives a warm feeling of the man. The Heron family image 1951-1962, is celebrating daughter Elaine’s wedding. Their son Richard, opted to stay on at Rongotai College when Mr Heron transferred as Headmaster to take up the same position at Wellington College.

Richard went on to be Head Prefect at Rongotai.

Later he became Chairman of the Board at Wellington College and also sent his sons here.

By chance, Stephanie Kane came across Geoff Hill, Old Boy and youngest son of Mr and Mrs Seddon Hill at the 2011 Quadrangular

The Archives

Despite all the moves that the Archives has had since 1990, the Old Boys and their families have had sufficient faith to continue to donate material.

For that I am most grateful. Precious memorabilia can now be displayed and items can be rested from time to time to allow new gifts to be shown.

Having a museum space means that plans can be made for the future. It will be necessary to have special glass top cases built to display such things as old school reports, medals, badges, more colours caps, students’ work and diaries etc. The design of these cabinets must be chosen with care to enable the best use of the space available.

One huge problem that has always faced the Archives is the lack of storage for the many hundreds of framed photographs and paintings. These are at present leaning against the walls of Tony Robinson’s proposed office at one end and in masses of boxes at the other - not the best method of protection and almost impossible to access. I have already designed a large unit which I have used successfully in other colleges. The framed items are stored in ideal conditions and can be found easily when required.

If there are any Old Boys out there who might be interested in building this special storage, I would be delighted to hear from them. Your help would be very much appreciated. If we can get this unit made, then Tony’s room can be cleared for next year when he shifts in.

2010/2011 cannot go by without my sincere thanks to the many people who have assisted with the Archives – Roger and Ros Moses whose house we now occupy and the Board members who took on board Roger’s suggestion to use this space and acted on it. Stephanie Kane and Tony Robinson who will soon join me in the Headmaster’s House and who are a constant support. My husband Don, who stepped in at hectic times to create superb photographic displays, packed and then unpacked archival goods for the return to the College and has spent long hours dating, identifying and filing many hundreds of photographs in the collections. There are yet still thousands to work on! Marilyn MacLennan whose photocopying skills have been invaluable. Old Boys’ President Brian Smythe and his wife Liz who both unpacked and cleaned after the shift. Penny Basile for the typing she has carried out for me. Felicity Peters of Kilbirnie Photo and Camera and Paul Craig specialist picture framer for their professional skills. Rob Mitchell (1957-1961) whose magic of sorting hundreds of rolled, crumpled and damaged architect plans from all over the College into a workable order.

Ted Clayton whose voluntary services have had to be curtailed during all the upheaval. I look forward to his return, his wise council and deep knowledge of the history of Wellington College. A big thank you to you all.

Memorabilia from Firth House days

Few staff members have left material for the Archives, so when Diana Meads, daughter of ‘Sam’ OS Meads, (remembered with affection as the ‘Gentle Bellow’), gave photographs of her father and family they proved a real bonus. Venus Flaws, granddaughter of ‘Fanny’ EMP Flaws, also donated photographs and special articles of Eric’s days as a student and staff member. Many others have also passed on material.

Finally, thanks to all the donors of blazers, books, badges, caps, cups, crockery, invitations, obituaries, medals, menus, newspaper clips, plaques, papers, programmes, poems, pens, pencil boxes, photographs – framed and loose, school reports, school work, text books, uniforms and your stories, without your kind donations of memorabilia and financial gifts, the Archives would be a struggle. Your generosity has created something we are proud of. Thank you.

Please visit our new premises in the Headmaster’s House. Open Monday and Wednesday or by appointment. I suggest you phone in advance to make sure I’m not off site. Tel: 04 382 9411 (work) or 04 386 2072 (home) or email oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz.

Warmest regards Paddianne W Neely, College Archivist THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 9

The Archives

Tournament. Geoff provided an excellent portrait for the 1963-1978 period.

So too did Harvey Rees Thomas for his term from 1979-1995. The final photograph shows Roger and Ros Moses at Roger’s investiture when he was awarded the ONZM for service to education in 2009. The family resided there from 1995-2011 and have now purchased their own home. This has been to the benefit of the Old Boys and the Archives.

The Archives The WCOBA sent its best wishes on behalf of our members to Paddianne and Don Neely when they celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary.

Congratulations to you both on your half-century!

A Pictorial History of Tournament

In conjunction with the 2011 Quadrangular Tournament, Don Neely spent countless hours preparing eight photo-boards of photographs and associated details dating back to the original Triangular Tournament through to the 2010 Quadrangular. The boards feature perspectives from all four schools and during Quad itself, were viewed by the many visitors to the College from the schools - all very impressed and touched to see themselves and/or fathers and grandfathers playing in previous matches.

We plan to upload these to our WCOBA website. They can also be viewed at the Wellington College Archives in person.

10 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

‘While the spirit of neighbourliness was important on the frontier because neighbours were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbours are so many’.

Lady Bird Johnson

Mr and Mrs Creswell 1924-1927

Mr and Mrs Armour 1928-1942

Mr Hogben 1943-1951

Mr and Mrs Heron and Family 1951-1962

Mr and Mrs Hill and Family 1963-1978

Mr and Mrs Rees-Thomas and Family 1979-1995

Mr and Mrs Moses 1995 to the present

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 11

The Archives

The Headmaster’s House

Reunions and Events

40 Years on • CLASS OF 1970

Back Row: Third Row: Second Row:

Front Row:

Ian Cassels, Jasper Holthuis, Robert Nippert, Ian Grainger, Chris Renouf, Paul Jeffery, Steve Skipper, Tim Downes, Sandy King Peter McLean, David Muir, Richard Leppard, Grant Caradus, Andrew Deller, Richard Renfrew, Mike Holdaway, Orm Rigarlsford, Noel Eton Peter Stanley, John Childs, Robert Gerard, Graham Jenkins, Ashley Rosenblum, Michael Chan, Jeff Scott, Carey Oldfield, John Jenkins, Spencer Beasley Peter Osvath, Wayne Feehan, David Young, Alexander Yule (Former Master), Andrew Carman, Roger Moses (Headmaster), Bruce Kirkham (Head Prefect, 1970), Neil Culliford, Warren Yee, Lyn Chung, Laurence Chiu

1

970 began in a frustrating manner for the Wellington College Board, staff and students as on-going delays in building the new Tower Block and Memorial Hall were dogged by bureaucracy.

As if these frustrations were not sufficient to test the mettle of the College community, the matter of student values continued to be a live issue.

In his Wellingtonian editorial, G Halliday wrote Often unfavourable comparison is made between the behaviour of present day pupils and that of boys of other years. Pupils seem lazier, more insolent, less inclined to accept school rules and requirements than those of former generations.

Certainly the College was making efforts to treat its seniors as young men. Navy reefer jackets had been introduced into the school dress code, to be worn with grey slacks, white shirt and school tie by seventh formers but the debate on the length of hair challenged many.

Forty years on, a number of those socially progressive seventh formers returned to

Wellington College for the 40 Years On Reunion on Friday, 15 October.

While only 38 returned for their reunion - small in number but big in spirit – the gathering enjoyed an impressive day and night of memories and nostalgia.

Headmaster, Roger Moses welcomed our guests over morning tea before embarking on a damp but extensive tour of the College accompanied by our 2010 Prefects, calling in to a number of classes to meet students, and trekking over paths crossed forty years prior. The morning activities concluded with a welcome from the College’s Kapa Haka group.

The evening formalities began with the traditional cohort photo, then for the next hour, guests were able to catch up with each other over drinks before the College’s Chorale serenaded them at dinner.

Master of Ceremonies, Robert Anderson (1969-

1973), now the College’s Deputy Principal, was a fourth former in 1970 and regaled our guests with memories of the College, its staff and students and New Zealand at that time.

1st XI Hockey Captain and Head Prefect of 1970, Bruce Kirkham - now a Doctor of Rheumatology at Guys & St Thomas’ in London - gave the Toast to the College, with Roger Moses responding.

The last of the infamous King brothers, in this case Sandy King, gave a toast to absent friends.

Others contributed anecdotes over the evening with much amusement as stories came to mind.

While those in attendance showed no outward signs of the turbulent years they experienced some forty years ago, there were no doubt many indifferent memories of their time at the College but with time spent back at Wellington College many years on, we can only presume that the Class of 1970 left with the feeling that their old school is in good heart and good hands.

(L-R): Bruce Kirkham, Marcus Playle (2010 Head Prefect), Peter Stanley, John Childs, Spencer Beasley, Roger Moses, Sandy King

12 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

40 Years on • CLASS OF 1970 THE DOMINION, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1970

Reunions and Events

SENIOR STUDENTS (7A of 1970) of Wellington College leaving for home after a day’s study. Secondary schools in Wellington have built up fine reputations through the years for equipping girls and boys for the road that lies ahead of them.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 13

Reunions and Events

50 Years on • CLASS OF 1961

Back Row:

Second Row:

Front Row:

Absent:

Hamish Morison, Keith Kenderdine, Bill Smillie, Peter Underwood, Ian Williams, George Quinn, Rob Mitchell, Ian Milne, John Adams, Roger Price Alan Baldwin, Wayne Chapman, John Errington, Bill Hinkley, Roger Newman, Richard Bramwell, Peter Whitmore, Bill Hislop, John Peddie, Lynn Morrison Richard Cathie, Ivan Letica, Chris Saunders, Gil Roper (Head Prefect, 1961), Roger Moses (Headmaster), Alistair Young, Nick Grant, Philip Temple, Ernie Rosenthal Jim Cable

1961 Head Prefect, Gil Roper’s Toast to the College y warm thanks to Roger Moses and Robert Anderson for their welcome as students at Wellington College in 1961. It has been a most rewarding experience to us to renew camaraderie – not having seen each other in many cases since we left school.

M

Forty or Fifty Years On? Have you recently read the words of the third verse of what was, and still is, our school song Forty Years On? They become even more relevant for us today as we are in fact 50 years on from 1961 to 2011 – as we all move closer to that dubious figure of our ‘three score years and ten’.

We all have different memories of College at that time – both positive and negative. Today has provided us with the opportunity to reminisce and share some of these, especially anecdotes of personalities – both staff and students while at, and beyond school, as well as experiences of achievements in cultural activities and success of sports teams. I can vividly recall some of these experiences as if they were yesterday.

Here are a few: It was a crunch game for our 1st XV in the 1961 season! The result of our game against HVHS would determine whether we went through to the final of the Third First Rugby Division finals. To begin the game, our planned, unorthodox, reverse kick off to the 14 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

open side - away from the two forward packs, was designed to surprise the opposition team and get us on to attack well into their 22. As the referee blew for the start of the game, the signal for this move was given, and the ball was instead kicked out towards the touchline beyond the ten-metre mark. As the ball floated out wide – our flying left winger came through at pace, caught the ball on the full, beat the opposition fullback with a decisive swerve, and scored unopposed under the posts – this was less than 25 seconds after the initial kickoff! This surprise move and outcome blew the wind out of their sails as we ultimately gained a convincing victory and progressed to the final.

On a Sunday evening in April 1961, I was rushed to hospital with appendicitis – following severe stomach pains at the Wellington Girls’ College

Dance on the Saturday night in the Town Hall. It was just before the start of the rugby season. Back at school two weeks after having my appendix removed, I participated in my initial 1st XV training. Frank Crist, our highly esteemed coach directed us for the traditional run up the gutbuster – a real endurance test, more so for me that day, as my strength was not fully restored after my operation. However, I was determined to catch up on fitness, and despite feeling weak, I set off up the track for the gruelling ascent. I hadn’t gone far when all of a sudden, I collapsed and lost what I had consumed for lunch! Needless to say the gutbuster was not conquered that day.

The 1st XV changing room was under the Canteen that formed part of the Social Hall, approximately where the north end of the Language Block is today. The hot showers were all open with no cubicles, and at the end of our frequently muddied practices, a shower was always welcome. Being open showers, we all stood in the same shower water - practice after practice.

As a consequence, by the end of the rugby season, all the team members had tinea or athletes’ foot – with cracked and soft itchy peeling skin between our toes – our team unity even extended to tinea-infected feet!

(L-R): Gil Roper, Ivan Letica with the Steve Letica Trophy, Josh Nicho (1st XV captain and Andrew Wells (Vice Captain). The Letica Trophy is played for annually against Old Boys University U21s

As Head Prefect, I recall having to deliver an important message to the esteemed and renowned Inky Dighton - ‘Inky’ was so named because of a crop of jet black hair in his younger days. However in 1961, it was more

50 Years on • CLASS OF 1961

Inky’s greyish/white hair reminds me of TD Holmes (affectionately known as Chook) – our History teacher. Chook was a heavy smoker and his crop of white hair contrasted with his very red complexion, a husky voice with a periodic irritable cough - brought on as he was a chain smoker. We literally amassed History content through one of two methods – either by writing copious notes from the blackboard or writing down the notes dictated to us. These delivery methods contrast strongly to the highly creative teaching techniques of learning of History today.

Ewen Cardale, our Chemistry teacher was testing us during a practical period for unknown anions and cations – a sequence of tests the resulted in certain colours, precipitates, or the evolution of distinct gases when mixing chemicals. As we carried out our testing, we all knew that Ewen had the list of answers in the top of his lab coat pocket.

While one daring student distracted him to ask a question, another equally daring boy deftly removed the answer list from Ewen’s top pocket of his lab coat, emulating Fagin’s Artful Dodger approach. He wrote down the answers and then unobtrusively returned the list to the same top pocket. The answers were circulated to all the class members. Of course we were regarded as highly skilled practical Chemistry students as everyone gained the correct results. Ewen wrongfully attributed this to his teaching prowess and not the cunning of his Chemistry class students.

HA Heron, our Headmaster, although aloof from the boys, I got to know him better and appreciated him more as the year progressed. I recall the pleasant relaxing social afternoon tea at the end of the year, for the Prefects hosted in the Headmaster’s residence. On one occasion, I was summoned to his office to be told

that the array of pinups we had in the Prefects Room were inappropriate and not a good example to the other boys – you need to remove them immediately, he said. When conveying this to the other Prefects, they were quite accepting of this directive, even though the pictures were tame and conservative – unlike what is accepted today.

How times have changed!

– catering better for the range of abilities of students with a wide range of options of subjects and courses • a change from a bottom field with two rugby grounds, to one rugby and one football (soccer) ground - although rugby is alive and well, last year there were 30 soccer teams and 14 rugby teams.

Wellington College in 1961 had a significant influence on moulding us 17-and-18-year-olds for the future: study, academic attainment, qualifications, skills in leadership and teamwork in sports teams and cultural pursuits. Our year produced eminent doctors – including specialists, scientists, university lecturers and professors, lawyers, accountants, pilots and educationalists – many of whom are here tonight. In proposing a toast to the College I find it interesting to contrast my time at school as a student 1959 - 1961 and then returning to be part of the staff for the past four years. There are obvious differences between then and now:

Wellington College is undoubtedly in very good heart, in the top echelon of Secondary Schools in the country – both in its academic attainments, sports achievements, plus cultural performances.

However, in my opinion the environment created in the school through the outstanding leadership is a paramount factor – the vision, expectations of students, the values promoted, the character of tradition, service to others, developing leadership among young men and encouraging wide participation in the range of activities available are outstanding. I find it a privilege to work here.

• an identical uniform – but no caps, and more frequent use of the dress uniform for seniors • a bigger roll of 1500 plus students, with a Year 13 contingent of 300 plus • a broader spectrum of nationalities of students.

Whereas we were almost entirely Pakeha, today we have over 30 different nationalities of domestic students, as well as international students • zoning of students – entry to College is not automatic, unless boys have had previous family at College • men as well as women staff – about 40% are now women • able, creative and innovative teachers who are most approachable – exhibiting a wider scope of teaching methods and going the extra mile to assist in the success of the boys • no blackboards or chalk, but whiteboards and data projectors and a plethora of information from the internet, that brings visual information direct to lessons • instead of written assignments by students, these are frequently electronic with online peer critiquing, submission and marking • no cadets or corporal punishment • a new and broader curriculum and a standards based national assessment instead of the norm referenced ranking of students as was the case in School Certificate and University Entrance

Wellington College: • is consistently a top school in the number of NZ Scholarships awarded annually and excels in the total number of scholarships secured, the numbers of different students gaining these, as well as the numbers of different subjects gained – all students can enter, and the outstanding results can be attributed to the dedicated extra time given by staff beyond the normal teaching day • has a focus on the needs of others, through raising thousands of dollars for the underprivileged of Tanzania through World Vision, in the annual Runathon, and more recently for two Christchurch boys’ schools who suffered severe damage in the earthquake • is recognised worldwide with top students being awarded prestigious scholarships to undertake tertiary study at renowned universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Duke and Harvard • has regular NZ representation across a range of sporting codes of rugby, touch, swimming, yachting, water polo, underwater hockey, athletics, basketball to name a few • has national winners in drama, music - Jazz Band, Big Sing and Stage Challenge.

We are only six years short of 150 years since Wellington College was founded. I warmly ask you to raise your glasses and toast a College that I am truly proud of, and consider it an honour to be part of – as a student, a staff member and as a citizen of Wellington and NZ. Gil Roper g.roper@wellington-college.school.nz

(L-R): 2011 Head Prefect Rayhan Langdana with 1961 Head Prefect, Gil Roper

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 15

Reunions and Events

shades of grey and white. He always wore his academic gown that was streaked with white chalk dust to match his then hair colour. I knocked firmly on his classroom door and walked into his room where he was fully launched in a deep-toned oration with his English class. I wasn’t there long enough to ascertain the topic of the delivery. Inky turned to the door and with his forceful stentorian voice boomed out and what’s your opinion on this topic Roper? – no first names used in those days.

Inky and the class expectantly awaited for my wise response to a question I knew nothing about. …… Fortunately, the pause, which seemed an age, was broken as Inky took the opportunity to compliment me in my role as RSM of the College Cadet unit – Barracks Week having been held the previous week and the battalion parades were held on number two field. Roper, he boomed out, you handled the battalion parades very well – I could hear your commands very clearly when I was walking through the Basin Reserve! You have got a strong and commanding voice – you should become a teacher and a singer – interestingly enough, both of which I did.

Reunions and Events

50 Years on • CLASS OF 1961

16 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

10 YEARS ON • THE CLASS OF 2001

A

So, what have people been up to since 2001?

I remember turning on the TV during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and being able to say with pride that the guy rowing for NZ went to my school. Just competing at an Olympics is a huge deal and so to see Peter Taylor come seventh in the men’s lightweight double sculls was fantastic. Subsequently, Pete has won Gold at two separate World Cup regattas and must surely be aiming for a podium finish in London next year.

I came to see how well Tim Maddren has done since those days in the Brierley Theatre. The first time I saw Tim on the box, was on an Australian KFC ad where he was playing beach cricket. He ran to take a catch only to collide with a greased up, muscle bound ocker in red budgie smugglers.

Now, if you had seen the line of cars racing to KFC on Kent Terrace after third period for free popcorn chicken, you would know the affinity Coll Boys have with the Colonel. We were all pretty jealous. Think of all the free popcorn chicken.

number of short-films that have been highly rated.

Tim has been in numerous stage and television shows. He performed in Topol’s Fiddler on the Roof and in 2009 became a member of the children’s entertainment troupe Hi-5. It is rumoured that Tim has had to remove himself from Facebook due to the excessive attention from the mothers of his fan base. Unfortunately, this meant I haven’t heard the latest from Tim. There are others, though, that keep me entertained with their hilarious daily posts. Liki Ross aka Fred Finau, keep it coming.

Blake Horsley boldly took up a position in commercial property in Romania after forging a reputation at Colliers in Wellington. Matt McNeile is set to leave the extensive Old Boys group in Sydney to take up an impressive promotion in finance in London. Likewise, Sam Urlich is there trading currencies for HSBC, leaving behind a ten-bedroom mansion in Auckland’s North Shore that he shared with Alex Franks and nine others.

Alex takes a break from the pool and tennis court to work as a lawyer during the week and on the surf patrol at Piha on weekends with Nick Wiley.

Another daily favourite of mine is the photography blog from Tane Coffin. Tane travels the world working as an assistant for one of Australia’s top fashion photographers and is a brilliant exponent in his own right. Check out neweyesforthegreedy. com for some of his personal creations. To see the work of another on-line sensation, make sure to check out Stace “le Swan” Hollis. Stace has a

A common theme for many, post-WC, is the desire to travel. Recently, I spent six months exploring South and Central America with Sam LePine.

For me, this was a post-university getaway and for Sam, a chance to break up the long road to becoming a doctor, and to meet a Peruvian girl.

Some have travelled for altruistic purposes.

Andrew Johnston, for example worked in orphanages in Zambia, while others use travel to further their careers.

Many others have travelled to further their education. Unsurprisingly, our Dux, Albert Bollard attained a First Class degree in Economics from Cambridge University and a PhD from Stanford. Angus White completed a Masters in Economics from Cambridge and Justin Wall is currently working his way towards a Masters in Law from the London School of Economics. After winning international Mooting competitions, Justin had a stint as a Judges Clerk in the High Court in Christchurch.

At school, Pete was a member of the Cox fours that cleaned up at Maadi Cup. Another member of that team, Ned Lee, recently made headlines as an international hero.

Ned flies helicopters in Wellington and was contracted to help out during the Queensland floods. As the water levels rose, rescue operations became increasingly difficult.

On one touch-and-go occasion, Ned spotted a family atop a floating 4WD vehicle. After dropping the mother to safety, Ned and his crew winched the son from an upturned hay baler and reunited mother and son safely on dry land.

So, many of our classmates are on their way towards realising those seventh form predictions. I hear Nick Hill did marry Felicity. Others however, haven’t even come close. Jono White isn’t the new Don King. He lives a more peaceful life at Coogee beach in Sydney. As for Josh Reich, he sparks up controversy himself, as a journalist for the Nelson Mail. It will be good to check up on progress another ten years on...

Staying with dramatics, many of the 2001 class will remember the senior drama O number 7, wherefore art thou. For most, this was an opportunity to get on stage for the first time and go to a sweet after party.

For others, this was just another heading on a packed cultural CV that would only get more impressive. After leaving school, Jacob Rosevear found his rhythm in Salsa dancing and performed solo in Cali, Colombia, in front of 15,000 at the Festival Mundial de Salsa. Not bad for a Palagi from Pukerua Bay. Since becoming an uncle, I have watched plenty of children’s TV shows. This is how

If you were part of the 2002 cohort and would like to touch base with your Head Prefect and update your news for the 2012 Ten Years On report, please email Te Puoho (TP) Katene at bethandtp@gmail.com he’s currently living in Japan and welcomes news from fellow classmates.

Simon Allen, Head Prefect 2001 simonrallen@gmail.com

THE CALL BEYOND DUTY, 2001: The Senior Prefect team (L-R): Tim Maddren (Deputy Head Prefect), Simon Allen (Head Prefect), Alex Franks (DHP) and Jacob Rosevear (DHP)

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 17

Reunions and Events

t our Leavers dinner in 2001, two people from each class were asked to sum up their classmates futures. There were those generic predictions that were common to all classes; an accountant, a policeman or an actor. Then there were those that reflected certain traits exhibited while at school; married to his third form girlfriend, a boxing promoter or still getting talked into fights by the boxing promoter. This was a funny night as the jokes were on those that we had spent the past five years with. While you were never going to know the embarrassing stories or the idiosyncrasies of 250 people, word spread fast and you got to know most of the year pretty well.

I have been lucky enough to stay close with a number of my old classmates, so I get to keep up with a fair few people’s exploits. Over time though, you do lose track of people and so it’s been nice to take the time to catch up on the lives of some of the people who were such a big part of the formative years. Basically, this was a time to experience a lot of ‘firsts’. The people who were there then, will always be important and will always have some classic stories to tell.

Reunions and Events

MISSING PIECES • 40 years on

Class of 1971

friday, 28 october 2011 at WELLINGTON COLLEGE The Class of 1971 Cohort contained 276 students. We have addresses for 146 of these students and know that at least fourteen have passed away. To date, 42 have confirmed their attendance at this year’s reunion. It’s not too late to register.

Please email oldboys@wellingtoncollege.school.nz for more information.

Class of 1972

friday, 26 october 2012 at WELLINGTON COLLEGE

We are trying to locate the following Old Boys from the Class of 1972 Cohort. (Form 3 1968 through to Form 7 1972 plus those from the 1971 Cohort who stayed on for a further year). If you know where one or many may live, please let us know so we can send them details of their Reunion.

Alcorn, A B Allen, R B Annandale, K B Ansell, M G Aslin, G S Baker, P G Baker, R M Barr, J S Baumann, P R Bayliss, D M Bell, D J Benfield, G R Bilton, S L Blades, W S Bliss, S V Bolt, R S Brasted, D K Broadbent, M W Brodie, B W Broom, K L Childs, T L Churchill, J N

Clark, P G Clinton, C D Colaric, M Counts, R Crawford, R J M Cummins, D W T Davies, T Dawkins, A R De Bruyn, J R de Jongh, H A Dobbs, B M Earnshaw, R S Easby, J R Easton, S A H Elliott, I R Evans, C P O Farmer, K F Francis, P G Gibb, A J Gibson, B W Gibson, R C Gifford, M D

Goode, J A Gower, J C Green, D M Griffiths, P W Hagen, A Haliday, R G Harrison, G L Hayward, R J Heileson, M R Hewitt, R J Heyder, B W Hildreth, S C Hill, G D Hill, R J Hitchiner, W A Hochberg , I D Hollis, R G Howe, S W Hsiang, P Hudson, J R Hume, R P Hunt, S

Hunter, D I Jamieson, P L Janse, W G Johanson, W J Joiner, M L Jones, I L Karantze, T A Khor, S Y King, W A Kisbey, A V Krinkel, P C Kyle, S S Lacey, C J A Lai, P J Leelasorn, T Levy, R G Lyall, M R MacPherson, N L Major, G N May, P B McCallum, T V McLea, M C

McLean, L G McSweeney, A J Mexted, S R Miller, I K Mossman, B R Muir, S M Murdoch, T I Myers, A J Nababan, H Niven, P J Oakley, G E O'Connor, G A Palmer, J S Parun, M J Pearce, R G Pearson, A K Peck, M A Peirse, D L Price, P D Rabey, P Ramsden, P B Rands, M S

Read, T J Richards, G L A Robertson, E B Robertson, R J Ryan, M J Saicheua, S Saxton, P A Schneideman, D I Scollay, W P Scott, J G Serafim, T S Shah, B H Shaw, J S Shepherd, D C Shields, M R Shimmins, J E Simpson, P A Simpson, W J Smiler, R T Smith, M A Steele, R A Stevens, R P

Stinson, C J Stott, M G Thomson, A D Tietjens, C T Torrance, G C van Asbeck, J Van Oss, H G Vaney, W B Vaughan, M R Veale, N H Walker, S R Ward, D R Williamson, B H Wilson, D M Wilson, G F Wilson, K F Wood, A J M Yee, E J Yee, R G Young, J E P Young, N S

The Class of 1972 Cohort contained 256 students. We have addresses for 95 of these students and know that at least seven have passed away.

18 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

MISSING PIECES • 50 years on

Class of 1962 Reunions and Events

friday, 23 march 2012 at WELLINGTON COLLEGE

We are trying to locate the following Old Boys from the Class of 1962 Cohort. (Form 3 1958 through to Form 7 1962 plus those from the 1961 Cohort who stayed on for a further year). If you know where one or many may live, please let us know so we can send them details of their Reunion.

Allen, G S Andrews, L F J Barton, G G Bassett, R W Bathgate, M A Beaglehole, R Bellgrove, B M Bennis, D C Bentley, T G J Blundell, E T Boyes, P J Brierley, H T Briggs, F H Brown, H D Brown, J C Campbell, R G Carroll, P M Cashmore, G F Cherry, B M Childs, B R D Clark, C G

Clayton, D G Clothier, M D R Comrie, R J Cook, C B Cook, N J Cooper, R A Corrin, R J Coutts, J W Davidson, R W Davies, A S Earl, G C Eastgate, R J Economou, M Eggleton, I R C Erenstrom, P B Exley, J E Eyres, J D Fleming, B E Forsberg, R G C Freed, S M Gapes, A C

Gates, J Gosling, H A Graham, H W Green, L A Halley, D J Harricks, A R Harvey, G M Henderson, I B Henskie, B F Heyes, R J Highet, A D H Hildreth, W H Hirschfeld, M V Holt, M Hyman, A M Jackson, A W Joy, R L T King, C C King, D A S Kingi, E T Komatas, A

Lahman, T G Levy, K L Lew, A Lindop, R W Long, S W Lysaght, E P MacLeod, P M Marple, J K Marris, M E McIvor, E G McLean, P M McLellan, R J Mechen, G N Melville, G O Miêt, P A Miller, I D Morley, L G Morris, L W Mortlock, T R Morton-Jones, S T Munro, N C

Neuer, M Odlin, C G Page, N W Paine, N C Parker, M B Paul, W G Payne, W A Petersen, J K Peterson, G J Phillips, G K Pickard, T J Piper, R L Poole, G F A Poulton, M Power, K W Quinn, J Radcliffe, A A Reedy, P T P Riddell, R S Ripley, F M Riszko, G

Roberts, W H Roberts, W J Ross, T M Rudd, A S Rush, A D Salmon, P J Salter, J D Scott, E G Scott, K R Shand, G F Sinclair, I D Smart, M G Smith, I W Smith, R E Smucar, P S Smyth, D A W Stewart, K D Stewart, W E Strong, C B Strong, P A Summers, K M

Talbot, G P Taylor, R G T Terry, B J Thomas, T A Turner, D L A Van Wyngen, M W Warren, P S Watkins, D C Webb, G J Webster, M T Weiser, P R Whitcombe, A R White, A W Wikstrom, J P P Williamson, B J Wilson, C J Wilson, R H Woodfield, R J Wrigley, P J Wylie, R B Yeomans, O G R

The Class of 1962 Cohort contained 274 students. We have addresses for 112 and know that at least seventeen have passed away.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 19

Reunions and Events

BY POPULAR DEMAND...

THE ‘IN BETWEEN YEARS’ REUNION friday, 21 SEPTEMBER 2012 at WELLINGTON COLLEGE ASSEMBLY • COLLEGE TOUR • PHOTOS • COCKTAIL PARTY • DINNER

For those Old Boys, who were not eligible for the 60 Years Plus Reunion in 2009 and who haven’t experienced a 50 Years On Reunion (only because the 50 Years On Reunions didn’t start until 2008 for the Class of 1958).

If you were in Form 3 in 1946 (Class of 1950)



If you were in Form 3 in 1950 (Class of 1954)



If you were in Form 3 in 1947 (Class of 1951)



If you were in Form 3 in 1951 (Class of 1955)



If you were in Form 3 in 1948 (Class of 1952)

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If you were in Form 3 in 1952 (Class of 1956)

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If you were in Form 3 in 1949 (Class of 1953)

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If you were in Form 3 in 1953 (Class of 1957)

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Calculating your Cohort Year for our Reunion Programme

F

ill in the years you were actually at Wellington College and then the blanks to get your COHORT YEARS (ie the five years from 3rd form [Year 9] to 7th form [Year 13] or Upper Sixth), irrespective of when you may have started or left Wellington College.

The year in which you actually were, or would have been in the 7th Form (Upper 6th/Year 13) is your COHORT LEAVING YEAR. This is the Year from which your anniversary of leaving school is calculated, by adding 10, 20, 40 etc years. Your cohort leaving year may not be the actual year you left Wellington College, but captures all those fellow students who you were at school with, irrespective of how many years you were at College, or the years you actually started or left.

Those who stay on for a further year (Year 14) can attend their actual cohort reunion AND the following cohort reunion as well. There are no ‘enforced’ rules but the example below should assist in your calculations.

Example (as shown in table): I joined Wellington College in the 3rd form in 1968 and left at the end of the 6th form in 1971.

1.

Fill in 4th Form = 1969, 5th Form = 1970 and 6th Form = 1971 2.

Fill in the remaining COHORT YEARS you would have been at College ie 1972 is your COHORT YEAR. 3rd Form 4th Form Year 9 Year 10

1968

1969

5th Form Year 11

6th Form Year 12

7th Form Upper 6th Year 13 This is Your Cohort Year

1970

1971

1972

MY COHORT LEAVING YEAR

10 YEARS ON REUNION

20 YEARS ON REUNION

30 YEARS ON REUNION

40 YEARS ON REUNION

50 YEARS ON REUNION

60 YEARS ON REUNION

70 YEARS ON REUNION

1972

1982

1992

2002

2012

2022

2032

2042

1962

1972

1982

1992

2002

2012

2022

2032

20 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

W

ith many thanks to Sydney residents, Michael Rhodes (1963-1966) and Bryan Gray (1977-1980), who arranged a Dinner for our NSW Old Boys in October, 2010 at the prestigious Union, University and Schools’ Club in downtown Sydney.

Travelling over from Wellington College were Headmaster Roger Moses, former Headmaster Harvey Rees-Thomas and myself. It was the first occasion for many, many years that the only two living Headmasters together were in attendance at an Old Boys event.

Earlier that day, Darryl Courtney-O’Connor (1962-1967) kindly hosted us at his International College of Management in Manly.

The International College of Management, Sydney (ICMS) was established in 1996 and is a global leader in management education. In association with its strategic partner Macquarie University, ICMS offers diplomas as well as associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in the areas of hospitality management, event

management, international tourism, retail services management, sport management and property services management. Darryl is the donor of the College’s annual ICMS Prize, awarded to a student each year to study for three years at ICMS. Six students have been the recipient of this auspicious award so it was a privilege to visit the campus where our students are based.

Returning back to the city, a group of around 40 gathered for drinks, followed by a wonderful dinner. With toasts to the Queen and to the College, the formalities turned less formal as Roger, Harvey and I addressed the guests with news from the College, the Foundation and the WCOBA. It was a wonderful evening, carefully orchestrated

by Michael and attended by a good number of local Old Boys including three younger Old Boys - recipients of Darryl’s ICMS award. It was great to catch up again with those who had flown over to Wellington for previous reunions and at the same time, meet many more who were known by

name but not by face. The evening continued on around the corner in a nearby hotel for those who still had much catching up to do.

The following morning, Roger and Harvey met with Sir Ron Brierley (1951-1954), who subsequently gifted the College a million GPG shares which in turn will hugely support the establishment of our new artificial surface as mentioned in the Development Report on pages 5 and 6.

We certainly appreciated the warm welcome and hospitality and aside from returning with excess baggage, the trip was a success.

We look forward to returning early next year, when we coincide our trip to Melbourne and Brisbane as well. My thanks again to Michael and Bryan for their efforts and in particular to Michael for the extra accommodation and hospitality.

Stephanie Kane, WCOBA Executive Officer

(L-R) Dean Millar, Stephanie Kane, Victor Yee

Michael Rhodes extends a welcome to our guests

(L-R) Roger Moses, Darryl Courtney-O’Connor, Dean Millar, Dave de la Cruz and George Hitchcock

ICMS in Manly, NSW

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 21

Reunions and Events

Sydney

Reunions and Events

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

London round 15 Old Boys residing in the UK met up with Headmaster Roger Moses in London in July 2011 for drinks and dinner. We all introduced ourselves and delighted in some fond (or not so fond) anecdotes of our days at the College. Roger updated us on recent academic and sporting achievements at the College along with future plans.

A

Youngest Old Boy, Andrew Armour [pictured above left] concluded the evening with the honorable duty of blowing out the candle.

Those in attendance were Mark Allingham (1981-1985), Andrew Armour (2001-2005), Tim Benton (1965-1968), John Brennan (1983-1987), Grant Bundle (1999-2003), James Croft (1993-1997), Rod Forsyth (1954-1958), Derek Golding (1960-1964), Miles Golding (1963-1967), Carl Kibblewhite (1982-1986), Jesse Korrey-Slow (2000-2002), Adrian Risman (1971-1975), Matt Sime (2001-2003), Brett Stephens 1999-2003 and myself.

The UK group can be reach me at the contact details shown elsewhere in The Lampstand, but we rely on the database held in Wellington to be the effective repository for Old Boys changing addresses between New Zealand and the UK.

22 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

A fine evening had by all and as organiser, I have set aside a further date in November for another informal get together.

Martin Conway, (1971-1974) Tel: +44 (0)7720 052 051 or martinsconway@yahoo.co.uk

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

Auckland Each year a boy from Wellington College sails on the ‘Spirit of Adventure’, funded from a trust fund set up by the Old Boys in Auckland over many years and we are delighted to continue with this support. The Trust is now managed by the WCOBA Executive.

WCOBA Executive Officer, Stephanie Kane introduced me, as the the new Convenor of the Auckland Branch, then in turn introduced the speakers.

The association with Auckland Grammar is much appreciated, and is to the mutual advantage of the Grammar Old Boys in Wellington who use the College facilities.

There was a remarkable attendance from eight mature gentlemen who had all become Old Boys before 1950 including John (Ormy) Haworth (19331935), Peter Hindle (1934-1937), Alf Were (1935-1938), George Gair (1940-1941), Angus Macleod (1940-1942), Bruce Conyngham (19411943), Bill Donovan (1944-1947) and Warren Hunt (1944-1948). The youngest Old Boy was Will Taylor (1997-2001).

Thanks again to Mike Ward (1968-1971) who supplied the accompanying photographs taken at the dinner.

Ross Crotty (1959-63) crotty@lowndeslaw.com

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 23

Reunions and Events

F

ifty-four Old Boys from Wellington College dined in the Old Boys’ Pavilion at Auckland Grammar School in mid-November last year, and heard addresses from the new President of WCOB, Brian Smythe (19541958), and the Headmaster, Roger Moses, an Old Boy of AGS.

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

Reunions and Events

Tauranga T

he BOP Old Boys’ Luncheons are always very happy occasions and the 2010 event was no exception.

Held at Daniels in the Park at Memorial Park, Tauranga, on a bright and sunny day, 32 Old Boys and guests, Headmaster Roger Moses and Deputy Principal Rob Anderson (1969-1973) enjoyed considerable chatter and much reminiscing from College days. As usual, College colours decorated the room.

Wellington College, the boys and current and future plans and activities which was listened to attentively and followed by enthusiastic applause.

Those present were proud to be Old Boys of ‘our’ College which is obviously in great heart with inspired leadership from the Headmaster and staff.

A toast to the College was then drunk and the occasion finished with a spirited rendering of Forty Years On.

Ian Kaywood and Baden Jordan had ‘driven over the hill’ from the Waikato, with a big contingent driving from Rotorua. So Tauranga and the greater Bay of Plenty were well represented.

It is interesting to note that the Old Boys whose tenure at Wellington College went back the furthest were Malcolm MacDonald and Geoff Streeter, both students from 1939 -1943. Amongst several others, an apology was received from Ken Frazer who was at College from 1929-1933.

Daniels provided a superb lunch of ham on the bone, a roast pot with a medley of vegetables followed by Christmas Pudding and ice cream.

I am sure that those Old Boys who attended in 2010 will want to repeat again this year.

Following lunch, Roger Moses gave a long and stirring address about

Barry Ward (1948-1952) • barry.ward@kinect.co.nz

WCOB BOP branch 2011 lunch Wednesday, 16 November 2011 Daniels in the Park, Memorial Park, 11th Avenue, Tauranga 11.45am for 12.30pm $32 includes two-course lunch, tea/coffee, table wine Guest Speakers: Roger Moses, Headmaster and Tony Robinson, Development Manager RSVP please to Barry Ward, 149 Manuwai Drive, Matua, Tauranga, 3110 Telephone: 07 576-6774 Email: barry.ward@kinect.co.nz No later than 9 November please.

Please mail payment of $32 (payable to WCOB Reunion) to Barry at the above address but call or email him in the first instance to confirm your attendance.

24 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

M

anakau was the location for two splendid Branch functions being the Annual Dinner in September followed in February by the ‘Magic Day Barbecue and Picnic’.

On the evening of 15 September 2010, a grand total of sixty Old Boys and staff were piped into the cosy Manakau Hotel by bagpiper Merv Carruthers Esq. Attending on behalf of the College were Deputy Principal Robert Anderson (19691973) and Stephanie Kane, WCOBA Executive Officer who had printed an indelible programme with the frontispiece featuring the memorable stained glass window of St George.

Following an effervescent ‘Happy Hour’ and to reinforce the spirit of Lumen accipe et imperti, an oil lamp was lit by Gerald Aburn (1942-1945) the most venerable Old Boy present. Old Boys stood in remembrance of recently deceased members of the Manawatu, Horowhenua and Whanganui districts as recorded in The Lampstand 2010.

Jeremy Cooper (1958-1962) uttered the succinct Firth House grace before the dinner that was a resplendent offering of the best Horowhenua hogget, vegetables and wines. I proposed the Loyal Toast. A brief AGM followed before Barry Jobson (1953-1957), Prefect, WCOBA Life Member and former President of the Association, proposed the Toast to the College. Robert Anderson responded on behalf of the College and brought us up to date with recent achievements in scholarship, sport and cultural activities.

There were expressions of gratitude and hearty applause for Bob Slade (1954-1958) who had completed a magnificent term of seven years as president of the Association. Brian Smythe (1954-1958) as the newly elected President, then outlined his plans and visions.

With the walls of the pub echoing to the enthusiastic singing of all three verses and chorus of Forty Years On, the superbly convivial evening concluded with the snuffing out of the light on the lamp by none other than Robert Anderson the youngest Old Boy present.

In a magnificent gesture, Bob and Janet Slade opened the gates to their Manakau home and garden for the ‘Magic Day Barbecue and Picnic’ on 20 February 2011. The weather was warm, sunny and calm for the 43 Old Boys and their wives and partners attending. It was great to see how the folks relaxed and spread out around the lawns and garden cultivated so excellently by Bob and Janet.

The stimulus and pleasures of live music were forthcoming from the jazz quartet of pianist Brian Smythe, clarinettist Dave Thompson (19541958), bassist Noel Evans (1952-1956) and myself on drums. Formed in college days, this popular quartet had regrouped for the 50 Years On Reunion for the Class of 1958 in March 2008.

Lunch was a leisurely affair that was followed by an astonishing display of pure magic tricks from master magician Andrew Wilson (1960-

1964). His gruesome guillotine act was requested whereupon it was the new Old Boys’ Association President Brian Smythe who was cajoled into putting his head forward onto the block.

Understandably, Smythie was in a sweat but he need not have worried. For reasons that remain obscure, the guillotine gadget that had chopped up celery, carrots and rhubarb ‘with no problems at all’, failed to function and decapitate the President’s head at the atlanto-occipital articulation.

Perhaps this was just as well, given that Smythie has a lot to offer not only to the College and Old Boys’ Association but also as a tremendous jazz pianist. Certainly, as a lawyer, it would have been peculiar seeing him continuing to talk and expound on this and that while walking around here and there with his head off.

As the afternoon shortened, it was a very happy throng that gathered up their hampers, took another sniff of the roses, bade their farewells and headed off homewards.

Lumen accipe et imperti Robbie Bruce (1954 – 1958) Convenor, Manawatu – Horowhenua Branch rabruce@inspire.net.nz

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 25

Reunions and Events

Horowhenua

Reunions and Events

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

Kapiti O

n Friday, 9 September the first ever Old Boys function on the Kapiti Coast was held at the Kapiti Club, Marine Parade, Paraparaumu Beach.

The luncheon was organised and chaired by Barry Jobson (1953-1957) and Life Member, former President of the WCOB Association and former Chairman of the WCOB Centennial Trust). Barry was ably assisted by Stephanie Kane, Executive Officer of the WCOB Association.

Forty-six Old Boys attended, the principal speakers being the Headmaster Roger Moses, Bryan Smythe - President of the Old Boys’ Association, and Tony Robinson who was recently appointed Development Manager at the College.

Barry Jobson made the point that a good number of Old Boys have gravitated to reside on the Kapiti Coast in retirement. As the Kapiti Coast is sandwiched between Old Boys branches in Wellington and Manawatu/Horowhenua, and with a population of around 45,000, there was justification in holding a function there - and the numbers attending proved that point.

The function concluded with a rousing rendition of Forty Years On.

26 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

T

he idea for getting something going in the way of a bit of local fellowship had been around for a while, but had not got off the ground to any great degree until a small sub-committee was established in mid-2010 comprising Ian McGuire, Trev Valler and Murray Lauchlan. This group organised a low key social gathering of Old Boys at Café Affair in Nelson on 15 September 2010 and a good turnout of 18 Old Boys enjoyed a lively social time along with drinks and nibbles.

Following that gathering, a second gathering was organised for March this year and was attended by the Headmaster, Roger Moses and 17 Old Boys including Alan Gawith DFC (1929 to 1931) a spritely 95-year-old Battle of Britain veteran.

Roger has been Headmaster of the College for the last 16 years and spoke to us of the changes that he has brought to the College and how he has fostered a nondiscriminatory, positive and all-inclusive atmosphere within the College. He spoke with obvious pride of the many successes that various College groups have enjoyed in the academic, sporting and cultural arenas and also mentioned the wide variety of activities that are now open to the boys.

Following the gathering, the WCOBA was honoured to receive a very generous donation from Alan Gawith (1929-1931), pictured above with Headmaster Roger Moses. Alan’s donation has been turned into a Trust which will annually assist current students who apply and attend the Outward Bound Outdoor Education Course.

After a lively question and answer time, the group stopped for a more casual mix and mingle over drinks and nibbles. A small number of guests then stayed on for dinner with the Headmaster, and were amazed at his sporting knowledge, matched in equal portion by that of John Phillipps. Names, dates and events were flying across the table leaving others stunned at their prowess.

Overall, a great evening enjoyed by all and with many thanks to the Headmaster for taking the time to attend this function.

We look forward to another similar event in 2012.

Ian McGuire (1960-1964) mcguires@slingshot.co.nz or 03 547 4422 Murray Lauchlan (1967-1971) murray@valuersnelson.co.nz or 03 547 9876 Trev Valler (1944-1947) trevaller@xtra.co.nz or 03 545 0611

Back: Jim Cable, Trev Valler, Steve Gray, Ian McGuire, David Phillipps, Dr David McNicoll, Graeme Hall Middle: Adrian Douglass, Dr John Ayers, Dr Alex Rutherford, Roger Moses, Murray Lauchlan, Doug Strong, Martin Lubransky Front: Richard Owen, John Phillipps, Alan Gawith DFC

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 27

Reunions and Events

Nelson

Reunions and Events

NEW ZEALAND EVENTS

Christchurch

I

n late October, in between the shaking, the Canterbury Branch met up at the Canterbury Club. WCOBA President Brian Smythe attended and gave us a talk on the ‘ANZAC’ trip he undertook with the College, and the evening was enjoyed by all. It was particularly poignant for Brian Hastings whose grandfather died at Chunuk Bair.

WCOB CANTERBURY branch FUNCTION Friday, 25 November 2011 The Classic Villa 17 Worcester Street Boulevard, Christchurch 5.00pm - 7.30pm $20 includes drinks and canapés Guest Speaker Roger Moses, Headmaster Invitations will be mailed out to all Canterbury Old Boys. If you live out of the region but wish to attend, please contact the WCOBA Office at oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

W

Napier

ellington College’s 1st and 2nd XV played Napier Boys’ High School in late April at NBHS (for the Amner Trophy). As the teams travelled up the evening before, accompanied

by Headmaster, Roger Moses plus Coaches and Managers, it was an opportune time to host a dinner for our Hawkes Bay Old Boys on the Thursday evening.

Local Old Boy and Branch Rep. Dave Halliday (1962-1966) kindly booked the venue and arranged the Dinner at the Napier Golf Club.

Roger Moses and 1st XV Coach, Chris Wells (1971-1975) both spoke at the Dinner and brought guests up to date on news from the College. We also introduced our new Development Manager, Tony Robinson. Up until his appointment, Tony resided in the Hawkes Bay. It was a very pleasant evening, but alas I forgot to take my camera along to capture the highlights from the evening. My thanks to Dave for arranging the Dinner and accepting the RSVPs. We look forward to a return visit in April 2012, when we play Hastings’ Boys’ High School. And for the record, our 1st XV won but the 2nds just lost.

Stephanie Kane

T

Wellington

here’s not a lot to report from the Wellington Region aside from the two reunions held in October last year and in March this year.

I endeavoured to arrange a WCOBA Dinner in conjunction with Quadrangular Tournament on the Sunday evening prior to the matches, with a superb line-up of guest speakers and Old Boys; Keith Quinn, Bryan Waddle and Neemia Tialata. However, we only received around 50 RSVPs and it was deemed unprofitable to run this when we hoped to have around 250+ attend. I thank those who were willing to give their time to speak and those that did RSVP, but hope there will be another occasion in the future where events such as this will be better supported.

We were also going to launch the new Rugby Honours Board in association with the Wellington College Rugby Club who funded the initiative.

The Honours Board is now on display in the lobby adjacent to Firth Hall.

In a similar vein, the Golf Tournament had only twelve respond to play for the Heron Trophy at Mirmar Golf Club in July organised by Matthew Roche. The Trophy was won by Guy Walmsley with 39 Stableford points, second was Mike Brodie with 32 and third was Robert Vance with 31.

The Freyberg Lecture • Peter Fraser’s General

I

n May this year we had the third Biennial Freyberg Memorial Lecture which is sponsored by the Wellington College Foundation. The topic of the lecture was: The Wartime Relationship Between Prime Minister Peter Fraser and Sir Bernard Freyberg.

This was an extraordinary relationship between two men who seemed to be complete opposites. During WWI, Fraser was in prison as a result of his opposition to conscription, while at the same time Freyberg's battlefield exploits were becoming the stuff of legend. However in WWII, these two men developed a strong relationship based on mutual respect and genuine warmth that was pivotal to a successful New Zealand war effort.

The lecture was delivered by Gerald Hensley. Gerald had a distinguished career as a diplomat and public servant. He was Head of the Prime Minister's Department during the Muldoon and Lange administrations. Following this he was Secretary of Defence. Gerald was well placed to speak on the lecture topic as in his retirement he has become an author of note. His recently published work; Beyond the Battlefield, New Zealand and its Allies 1939 and 28 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Above: Gerald Hensley (centre) with our 2011 Prefects, who acted as Ushers for the night. Left: General Freyberg and the Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, at Headquarters 5 Infantry Brigade near Sora

1945 is a scholarly account of a young country attempting to fight a war on both sides of the world.

Gerald gave a superb lecture that was enjoyed by all who attended. The next day he returned and addressed a group of equally enthralled senior history students and their teachers. If you would like a copy of Gerald’s address, please contact the WCOBA Office.

Robert Anderson (1969-1973), Deputy Principal

WELLINGTON COLLEGE EVENTS ‘Man for All Seasons’ Book Launch

I

n the 2010 Lampstand, we featured an item on David Grant’s latest book - the biography of Old Boy, Ken Douglas (1949-1953) Man For All Seasons, The Life and Times of Ken Douglas. Ken was appointed to the Order of New Zealand (ONZ) in 1998 and is just one of 20 living New Zealanders who holds that honour and our only Old Boy.

recounted in a chapter, aptly titled Doony loved school more than school loved Doony.

In September, 2010 the College hosted David’s book launch which took place in a packed Brierley Theatre. The book was officially launched by His Excellency, The Governor General, the Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand. It was entirely appropriate that the book launch took place at Wellington College. Ken Douglas is an Old Boy, as is his son John. So too are a two of his grandsons.

Author, David Grant is well known to the students and staff at Wellington College. Between spells of writing, David works at the College as a relief teacher. Some may consider it ironic that a biography of Ken Douglas be launched in the Brierley Theatre. This is not so. For, although Sir Ron Brierley and Ken Douglas come from different backgrounds and differ ideologically they are friends. This friendship was forged in the classrooms, corridors and fields of Wellington College and although they have followed different paths since leaving the school, their friendship has remained. To me that is one of the strengths of Wellington College.

Ken Douglas’s colourful days at Wellington College in the early 1950s are

Roger Moses, ONZM • Headmaster

T

he formula for the annual Leavers’ Function remains the same as we bade farewell to our 2010 Year 13 students before they left for study and exams.

The 2010 lunch was attended by our Senior Management, WCOBA President, Brian Smythe and Guest Speaker, 2005 Dux, Max Harris and around 270 Y13 students – now better known as the Class of 2010. The MCs, our Deputy Head Prefects Julian Chote, David Gush and Atef Khan entertained our guests and introduced our speakers. Our impromptu orators spoke of their memories of their time at the College including their first few weeks as Y9 students, major events of 2006 through to 2010, the teachers and summaries of life at the College.

Max Harris spoke of his warm memories of his time at College and the journey he has since taken through University and work. Brian Smythe welcomed our newest Old Boys to the Association and spoke of the brotherhood to which these young men will now become part. Concluding comments were given by Head Prefect, Marcus Playle and Y13 Dean, Ms Andrea Shaw. A rousing rendition of 40 Years On concluded the formalities but not before the College Haka was bestowed on Headmaster, Roger Moses. We look forward to following the paths of the Class of 2010 and hope we will read of their successes in times to come in later Lampstands.

White Out

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or the first time in at least 30 to 40 years, snow fell to sea level throughout the Wellington region in mid-August. Flurries were reported from Karori to Paekakariki, Upper Hutt and Wairarapa, blanketing cars, houses and roads and Wellington College.

Such an unusual occurrence in the capital had students snapping away, and while the thrill of seeing snow (some for the first time), by the time it was the end of the school day, getting home was a problem for many students and staff. The snow stayed in place overnight, but while a number schools closed, Wellington College staunchly carried on with lessons.

Do you remember snow at Wellington College during your time here? Drop us a line with your story.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 29

News from the College

Class of 2010 join the ‘Brotherhood’

Highlights from Wellington College • THE ARTS

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ebating and Public Speaking then went on to win the world title. go from strength-to-strength This was very disappointing for each year. Last year and 2011 the team but there is an opportunity have been stellar years for the to rectify this in January when College. In 2010, Dux Duncan they travel to Cape Town for McLachlan and fellow Y13 another World Competition. student Tom Mitchell were both selected for the NZ As part of the annual Secondary School’s Debating Cultural Fortnight, a great Team, after winning the debate was held with national title. Duncan also current senior debating won the coveted Wellington students facing three Old Speaking Union’s Stockley Boys debaters (and NZ Cup. Repeating the NZ reps) - Duncan McLachlan selection in 2011 were Head (2006-2010), Stephen Prefect Rayhan Langdana and Whittington (2000-2004) Y12 student Ed Foley. The and Seb Templeton (2001Top (L-R): Duncan McLachlan, Tom Mitchell, Rayhan Langdana, Ed Foley two recently returned from the 2005). The students were Below: (L-R): Seb Templeton, Duncan McLachlan, Stephen Whittington World Debating competition fairly soundly and very in Scotland where they convincingly won all of of their eight round-robin amusingly beaten by the more experienced, but all six provided a source of debates ranking them at the top of the table. However, the first team they met great entertainment for both staff and students. in the semis was Singapore, who they had beaten the day before, and who

News from the College

Debating

I The Chorale

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n May, the Wellington College Stage Challenge cast and crew took to the stage of the TSB Arena and performed with their trademark enthusiasm and passion. This year’s production carried the message that inspiration and strength does not always come from our heroes, but often comes from the ordinary everyday people around us. Our superhero, brilliantly danced was inspired by a cross section of society; firemen, metrosexuals, gamers and ‘rich boaties’.

n June, the College Chorale competed in the annual BIG SING competition and were awarded three major prizes: Best Performance of a Popular Work, Best Performance of a Classical Work and the trophy for the best performance of a piece accompanied by the Town Hall organ. This was a great achievement, earning the Chorale its place in the top 24 choirs in the country.

The Chorale has also sung at school events such as Old Boys’ reunions and ANZAC services. Combining with Wellington Girls’ College choir, they sang in the Commonwealth Observance Service. Highly sought after, they have also sung at events such as the Memorial Service for Soldiers who fell in the Battle of Crete, as well as at Parliament for the launch of the Victoria Cross stamp issue and the swearing in of the new Governor General. A small group of the boys also sang the national anthem at Government House for a Volunteer Organisations commemorative function. 2011 has so far been very successful and the Chorale are looking forward to recording a CD later in the year.

Stage Challenge

In an evening of fierce competition, the boys were placed second which was an great result considering the level of performance. They were awarded special prizes for excellence in set design, stage use, choreography, costuming, character, performance skill, visual enhancement and student leadership.

The biannual Cultural Extravaganza is a show case event for Wellington College and Wellington Girls’ College in a combined concert. The event, which was staged in the Town Hall, showcased all the cultural talent the combined schools have to offer. The groups involved were the combined Choirs, Orchestras, Concert Bands and Jazz Bands, along with Kapa Haka, Poly Club, both Stage Challenge groups and a combined Ukulele Orchestra. To end the show, everyone from every group on stage, performed a rendition of Don’t Stop Believing.

30 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Highlights from Wellington College • THE COMMUNITY

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n 1998, after previous years of largely unproductive attempts at starving 1500 boys for 40 hours to raise money for World Vision, the decision was made to rejuvenate the World Vision 40 Hour Famine at Wellington College, to create a fun and active event that the whole school could get behind, and the Runathon was born.

shown throughout.

Fruits of Labour

The Runathon is a student-led event that continues for 40 hours. Wellington College boys run laps of the 800m short circuit around the school, supervised by College staff - with many participating.

The students are encouraged to ask family members, neighbours and friends to sponsor them for their efforts.

The Big Blokes Breakfast

Since 1998, Wellington College has raised over $600,000 for World Vision, with the money we have raised going to our project of helping kids less fortunate than us, in Ibwera, Tanzania. Earlier this year, a group of students, led by staff member, Ben Lau (1994-1998) and Chris Jupp (2002-2006) travelled to the village of Ibwera. The region’s aid is entirely funded by World Vision New Zealand and in part by Wellington College’s Runathon, to visit the places where these funds are used and see exactly what the money means for the many thousands of people in the area.

On the final day in Ibwera, the group split up to visit the various children that some in the group had sponsored before the trip. This provided a personal connection for the trip, to place a name to a face out of the many hundreds of children that they came into contact with.

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n June, Wellington College Mothers’ Inc hosted its second ‘Big Blokes’ breakfast, a very happy occasion where almost 250 men and students enjoyed a delicious start to the day. Fathers, grandfathers, uncles and others all enjoyed the morning and many big ‘Big Breakfasts’ were consumed. The blokes were addressed by Tony Robinson, our new Development Manager, who emphasised the relationship between fathers and sons as being the core of any society.

The breakfast provided a great informal opportunity for all to meet fellow blokes of all generations before heading to work and class and in typical style, there wasn’t too much in the way of leftovers.

History Repeats Itself

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ast term, the Board of Wellington East Girls’ College was placed in the difficult position of having to close their historical main building due to serious concerns about the structural integrity of this facility in the event of a moderate earthquake. The safety of their staff and the students were of course their main priority.

With Headmaster, Roger Moses overseas at the International Boys' School Conference, Deputy Principal, Dave Ashby approached the WEGC Principal to offer any assistance we could, considering the very difficult situation they found themselves in with nine classrooms down and the loss of their Assembly Hall.

After discussing the urgent needs with our neighbours, we offered the use of our Pavilion, Firth Hall and Brierley Theatre for a three-week period at the beginning of Term Three while negotiations continued with the Ministry of Education for prefabs to be set up on the WEGC site.

Allowing access to WEGC in class time had very minimal impact on classes for our boys and there was no intention to have joint classes nor any other interaction between the two student bodies. The girls continue to be taught by their regular WEGC staff but in our buildings.

Stage One of the College’s new artificial surface got underway in late September, with the number two field being closed off to students to allow for the earthmoving machines to clear the top layer of the ground in preparation for Stage Two. While the boys have lost ground space and parking for the last term, the benefits in 2012 will certainly outweigh any inconvenience this year.

We have as a school, a chance to offer some of our wonderful facilities to our state school neighbours who are experiencing a very difficult time in their history. As regards to our history, Deputy Principal, Mr Rob Anderson reminded me that during WWII, many of our classes were taught up at WEGC due to a number of our male staff being absent, serving in the war.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 31

News from the College

Students are split into ten teams, each with a different sponsor. Every time a team member completes a lap, as well as raising money, he earns his team a point. The points are tallied on a board set up at the start/finish line which creates a strong competitive spirit among the students, encouraging them to run the most laps and earn the most points and money as they compete for the Lendrum Shield, which was donated by Head Prefect, Chris Lendrum who started the Runathon in 1998. This contributes to the huge success of the event and has the full support of the College with immense school spirit

The Runathon is a massive event in the school calendar, and is more than just a ‘big run.’ There are other events and competitions, leading up to the big weekend, such as the ‘dinosaur game,’ and the ever popular milk-scull. It is a hugely popular event every year, and a great way for some of the newer boys to see what the spirit is all about.

Highlights from Wellington College • SPORTS • McEVEDY SHIELD: Normality for the Wellington College Athletics Team has been restored, and the McEvedy Shield is back in their trophy cabinet after a year away.

The team, led by middle-distance runner Ryan Mahon, collected 181 points during the meeting at Newtown Park to finish 28 points clear of St Patrick's (Silverstream). St Patrick's (Town), who won the shield last year, finished third with 135 points and Rongotai were fourth on 68.

News from the College

The motivation for Ryan and his team was simple, It was just the thought of getting it [the McEvedy Shield] back.

For Silverstream it was an afternoon of if only.

The side returned home with 17 McEvedy Shield titles to their credit, one fewer than Wellington College. However, it was in the minor placings that the eventual shield winners outshone their rivals - Wellington College athletes finishing second on 20 occasions and third on another 17.

In contrast, Silverstream collected 13 second placings and 15 thirds.

Wellington College completed a notable winter treble in winning the 1st XV Premier title, the 1st XI Football Competition and the 1st XI Premier One Hockey title.

• rugby: Wellington College are back at the top of Wellington Secondary Schools’ Rugby. Wellington, twice beaten by St Patrick’s (Silverstream) earlier in the season, grabbed the one that counted when they beat Silverstream 20-18 in a tight Premier One final at the Petone Recreation Ground and recorded for Sky TV .

It had been 8-8 at halftime but Silverstream, who dominated the second half, had led 18-15 before big Wellington winger TeDee Sami forced his way over in the corner. The try was awarded only after a long discussion between the referee and the touch judge.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Silverstream who had been the defending champions and had

32 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

not been defeated in the Wellington competition till the final. Both sides scored three tries and a penalty but Wellington landed one conversion while Silverstream missed three conversions and a penalty.

• Basketball: The Senior A team had a great season finishing a very close second in the Premiership pushing HVHS right to the whistle, eventually going down 88 - 84 in front of great support at Te Raupauraha. This continued through to the Nationals where they finished seventh and on a real high, beat last years champions Fraser High School 102 - 100 in extra time. This was by far the College’s best placing at a Nationals Tournament for many years.

It was the seventh title for Wellington College in the last eight years. Wellington coach Chris Wells (1971-1975) said he was ...over the moon. It was never going to be a runaway win [to either side].

Our lineout and scrum operated well and we kept • Underwater Hockey: A fantastic staying in the game. season for the Senior A Underwater Hockey team • FOOTBALL: The Wellington College 1st XI saw them win all three competitions in which Football Team completed a largely successful they played. The Wellington League, the Central season with a penalty shoot-out victory over St Regional Championships and ultimately the Patrick’s (Town) under floodlights on the Wakefield NZSS Championships.

Park artificial turf.

At Rotorua, they went through the competition Despite no goals being scored in the match itself, conceding only three goals and although they it was a tense and enthralling final. Both sides went into the final against Mt Albert Grammar played some excellent football with the defences School as underdogs, they came through strongly of both teams quite outstanding. In the shoot out, to win 3 - 1. Led by NZ representative Tristan Town missed their first two kicks which allowed O’Neale and coached by Old Boy Richard Wellington College, who only missed their third Maxwell (1998-2002), the team thoroughly shot, to secure a 4-2 win and the Premier One deserved their victory.

Trophy.

It was the 12th time Wellington College have been The 1st XI finished seventh at the Nationals. A good the national champions but their first since 2006. result, but disappointing having gone through group play undefeated and playing very good football. • Swimming: The Wellington College team They lost to St Patrick’s (Silverstream) in the performed outstandingly to win the inaugural NZSS Swim Champs in Hamilton which involved quarter-finals who went on to make the final.

109 schools in a two-day competition. All boys • Hockey: The 1st XI Hockey found it hard at in the eight-man team won medals - 22 in all, Rankin Cup with injuries to key players making it helping us achieve an overall points tally of 237 an uphill battle. The 13th placing looks likely it will over St Peter’s Cambridge on 231. mean they will play in the India Shield grade next year.

• TENNIS: Wellington College capped a dominant season to win the inaugural Onny The team came home with local pride at stake and Parun senior boys’ regional tennis title at the beat Rongotai College in the semis and Wairarapa Renouf Tennis Centre. Wellington beat St College in the final in front of a passionate group Patrick’s (Silverstream) 7-0 . of supporters. The game went to drop offs of nine, seven then ultimately five and even then the teams Wellington College maintained their national could not be separated. It was finally decided by ranking after finishing fourth at the national teams penalties which we won 5 - 4. finals in Auckland in March.

The 85th Quadrangular Tournament, 2011

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elson College in pursuit of their first Quadrangular title since 2001 made an excellent beginning in the final against Wellington College. Nelson preserved the ball for many phases and won a penalty which Mitchell Drummond narrowly missed. Wellington looked to play at speed right away but an attempted cutout pass by Andrew Wells was intercepted by Kere Barrett and the winger, despite the desperate chase of three Wellington defenders, sprinted 60 metres to score and Drummond converted, 7-0.

Connor McKinnon-Stevenson is renowned for his brutish running. The Nelson prop standing at centre would have had Bull Allen frothing with excitement when he made a 25 charge, producing two right hand fends and taking the ball from halfway towards the Wellington 22.

Nelson started the second half camped inside Wellington territory. Steven Soper who has been one the ‘blues’ best this year, was prominent with his support play and offloading skills. But once again points eluded Nelson who turned down two kickable chances. The inability to translate pressure into points would prove costly.

Wellington playing a more forward- orientated game, relying on constant carries by number 8 Luke Tau’alupe and prop Eti Sului, in the main, gained the ascendency in territory, scrums and lineouts. Eti Sului, for me the man of the match, with his solid scrummaging and strong tacking, was rewarded for his industry, scoring the try which gave Wellington the lead, 8-7. Andrew Wells converted to provide a further lead of 10-7.

Andrew Quinlivan [pictured below right] is a player I have seen a lot of this year and praised frequently. A game breaker with vision, power, speed and flair it’s a tragedy he is not on the shortlist for the New Zealand Schools’ side. His 70-metre try on day one was good. His effort today will be remembered by all those who witnessed it! Catching a kick on the full near the left wing touchline, 65 metres out, Quinlivan ventured across field with apparently nothing

on. Game in the balance, Quinlivan was able to pinpoint some out of position tacklers and keep on going and going. Taking the ball from one touchline to the other, Quinlivan scored an epic try which was the difference.

At 15-7, Drummond finally landed a penalty to make it 15-10 and Barrett made another breakout which caused tension for the large crowd of ‘black and yellow’ supporters. But by and large, the last five minutes were controlled by the Wellington forwards and more graft from Luke Tau’lapue and composure by halfback Carne Green positioned Andrew Wells for a drop goal which put the final nail in the Nelson coffin, with a final score 18-10.

Wellington won the ‘Quad’ for a ninth year in a row and for a 30th time overall.

In the playoff for third and fourth, Christ’s College defeated Wanganui Collegiate 20-12.

Next year’s Quad is at Christ’s College. With the vast majority of the Wellington forwards returning and only three leavers in the quick Nelson side, it’s hard to see these schools breaking their stranglehold on the Quad final in 2012.

Adam Julian Sky Sport College Rugby

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 33

News from the College

Stevenson’s breakout was one of many for Nelson.

Barrett was a constant threat with his pace and anticipation while fellow winger Latham Jones was also active. Nelson’s speed combined with the sound judgment of Drummond and first-five Mitchell Hunt had the Wellington defence in retreat for most of the first half. However two missed penalties by Drummond and some errant handling prevented a larger lead from being established. Wellington on the other hand gained a penalty from Andrew Wells, when there was a rare venture inside Nelson territory. They finished

the first half stronger with a lineout drive that was just thwarted leaving the score at 7-3 at halftime.

Coping in the ‘Real World’

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News from the College

t the recent Foundation Sport and Cultural Awards Dinner, Deputy Head Prefect Nick Fenton spoke to the audience about leaving Wellington College and the challenges ahead of him as he starts life beyond the confines of Wellington College.

2 February, 2007. I walked up the drive at Wellington College for the first time. I was scrawny – well, scrawnier. I had my garters so tight around my knees, they were cutting off the blood to my feet. My bag weighed more than I did, and my stomach was full of butterflies. As I tiptoed up the drive, I encountered a giant legs covered in miniature forests, biceps like mountains, and most amazingly, a beard. This was no boy, this was a man, a man who went to the same school as me, and wore the same uniform.

It seemed unbelievable that I would ever be as old as that giant ‘Coll boy-man’. And yet in just a couple of months, I will walk down the drive for the last time as a ‘Coll Boy’, as old and as hairy legged as that legendary man (but tragically still without the facial hair – or the biceps).

But will I survive out there in the cold? What has Wellington College taught me in preparation for the real world? Do I feel ready to embrace University? Am I set for the workforce?

Absolutely not. In fact, while I have loved my time at Wellington College more than anything else, I am now less prepared to face the world than I was as the scrawny third former five years ago. After five years at this amazing school, I’m not ready for the harsh realities of real life.

Wellington College has disempowered me! I’m weighed down by tradition, tongue tied by ‘Coll Speak’, and unlikely to find love.

After all those assemblies and classes and McEvedys, I’m blinded by tradition that I can’t switch off. Ever since Year 9, I’ve embraced the tradition of Wellington College, and I’ve loved it. I’ve been caught up in the spirit of it all, and the feeling of being involved in something bigger than yourself. But the problem is that now, I have McEvedy running in my veins. When I get on a public bus in early March next year, chances are that I’ll just jump up without thinking and scream at the top of my voice, EVERYBODY STAND UP! Then I’ll grab the nearest guy in a suit and try to make him start rocking the bus. And I’ll be very surprised when the bus doesn’t turn up the drive to Wellington College, where Associate Principal, Mr Ashby is standing waiting for me.

Wellington College has drummed all this tradition into me – how am I supposed to drum it out? I’ll be at my first work meeting, and someone will nod mid-conversation, and I’ll leap to my feet expecting Headmaster, Mr Moses to walk in at any moment.

Or I’ll be in a University Lecture, and I’ll find myself drawing giant penises all over my lecture notes. People tell me that’s not an appropriate way to behave in the outside world. How am I supposed to know?

34 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

I’m not sure I can even communicate outside Wellington College anymore.

My ability to speak in English to normal people has entirely disintegrated and been replaced by the dialect that is ‘Coll-ish’.

And unfortunately, according to Mr Rosenthal, if I want to succeed outside of Wellington College, language is a pretty important skill to have. I need to have a wide vocabulary, understand all sorts of jargon, and be able to converse like the pro I am trying to become.

But at Wellington College, a wide vocabulary means understanding the difference between handum, jandum, and yandum, or being able to tell a skuk from a guk. When I go to my first job interview, I’ll have to focus on not being a ‘botz guy’, but I’ll also have to focus on not using words like botz guy. I’ve taken English from Year 9 to 13, but when asked to describe the beauty of a woman, I’ll call her a schwett What does that even mean? I’ve spent the last five years becoming fluent in ‘Coll Speak’ – and now it’s going to get me into trouble.

Furthermore, I will be lost in the real world without the fountain of knowledge that is the student website MyColl. Where will I be without ready access to the latest photo competitions or forum digests? This is the same MyColl that went down recently when it snowed under the strain of more than four students actually being online at the same time, when everyone went on hoping that school had been snowed in. Instead, our trusty MyColl pleasantly informed us of the ‘snow pics’ competition, and that we had a longer second period the next day.

It’s not that I don’t know the meaning of hard work. I mean I know the meaning of it. I just try not to let it dominate my day. Take yesterday for example. I woke up at 8.00am, ate the breakfast that Mum had made for me, put on my school uniform, grabbed the lunch Dad had prepared, and then drove Mum’s car to school, after noticing with approval that she had filled it up with petrol.

After first period, I had a ‘study’ period, which I spent, as is traditional, having hotcakes at McDonalds. My relaxing day continued, until I drove home at 3.15pm to put my feet up. What struck me yesterday, was how easy it all is. I get food made for me, I don’t have to pay for transport, or even walk to someone’s house to get a ride, I don’t have to do anything.

What’s going to happen when school’s over?

Once I’m out of uniform, it may well occur to my parents that I don’t need quite so much looking after.

The next thing you know, I’ll be having to pay for things myself!

There’ll be no pocket money for walking the dog once a week, there’ll be no dipping into the coin bowl for lunch money, and the petrol in the car certainly

won’t keep refilling itself. How the heck am I going pay for all that stuff?

I’ll need a job. I want a job like school – where if I turn up late, I can just get a late pass and be excused, or better yet, be sent to the Atrium to think about what I’ve done for half an hour.

I want a job that gives me study periods with hot cakes. But I have a terrible suspicion that work is not going to be like that. I might have to actually have to think about what I wear each morning, which actually sounds really, really difficult to me. I find it hard enough deciding whether I should wear the pants or the shorts with the uniform every morning, let alone deciding on different colour ties, sweaters, shirts and pants. Too much!

When I move out, I’ll even have to cook for myself. I won’t have breakfast, lunch and dinner all sorted for me every single day, and there’ll be no scrounging round the Canteen for ten cent coins, and you know what? Wellington College hasn’t prepared me for any of this stuff!

It’s just wrapped me in cotton wool, coated me in sunblock, but never taught me how to apply sunblock myself. Well guess what – I’m going to get very, very sunburnt out there.

Worst of all, I’m completely unprepared to go out and meet girls. Despite five years of education at one of Wellington’s finest schools, girls remain a mystery to me. When a girl walks into Wellington College, she gets treated like the Sunbears at Wellington Zoo. The older kids woof and shout at her, while the younger kids wipe their noses and press their faces up against the glass. We snigger clever comments to our friends, but we never get too close, because we wouldn’t have a clue what to do if she actually talked to one of us. This is the alarming reality of being a Wellington College boy. We’re quite happy to chant about girls on buses, because we’re safe behind the glass, and in our grey-shirted pack, but if we met the same girl on the street, we would turn and run away at a McEvedy record-setting pace.

Where are the NCEA classes in how to attract girls? I can’t dance. I can’t play the guitar, sing or write poetry. And I sure as heck can’t keep reciting the Lord’s Prayer to impress new girls.

Where were all these essential life skills being taught, while I was studying the precise art of linear programming in Statistics, and German grammar?

So that’s why I’ve come up with a solution – a support group. You can recognise our members by our secret handshake (Wellington College sign) and our subtle call - ‘FORTY YEARS ON’.

My name is Nick Fenton, and I am Wellington College addict.

Wellington College Europe Study Tour

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n early July after months of fundraising, 69 Y13 students and eight staff members of the College embarked on a three-week trip as part of the Wellington College Europe Study Tour.

Nearly 40 hours and three flights later, we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey. For most of us, the reality that we were on the other side of the world seemed to sink in the second we stepped out of the airport, as the heavy and humid air pressed up against our sweaty faces. The subsequent five-hour bus ride took us through the Turkish countryside, to Canakkale, the Turkish city, right across the Dardanelles from Gallipoli.

Istanbul was a truly incredible city for us to visit.

It was positively humming with life and the sights we saw were eye-opening. I think it was the most different country to New Zealand that we visited, and living conditions in some areas were very unlike much of home, but this made it all the more interesting and eye-opening to see.

We flew from Istanbul to Munich, and arrived in the heart of German beer country - Bavaria.

We explored the English Gardens and saw the incredible BMW World and Museum.

While the previous day was relaxed, the next

The next stop was Berlin, and we took the train across the countryside to the country’s capital.

Whereas Munich had felt relaxed and quite manageable for most of us, Berlin seemed to be huge. After arriving at the station late at night, we set off early to the Brandenburg Gate the next morning, from where we started a walking tour of the city. Seeing the places that we have studied was quite amazing. We were shown where the Berlin Wall had once divided a city, where Hitler’s bunker was once situated, where the border controls at Checkpoint Charlie had stood, and the incredible Reichstag building of the German Parliament. All of us were struck by the incredible history evident in Berlin, and the dynamic of a big city that is getting even bigger.

From one huge city to another, we flew from Berlin to Paris, where we had three full days to look forward to. The bus tour on the first night took us round the main sights and we stopped at the Eiffel Tower, which we were glad to realise lived up to its breathtaking billing.

From Paris we travelled to Arras, in the North of France. It is the sight of the Battle of Arras of 1917, where NZ soldiers fought. We visited the sight of the Battle of the Somme nearby, and went to the Thiepval Memorial for those missing on the Somme. The Memorial was remarkable, and the number of crosses and gravestones that spread out across the fields was unimaginable. I think that it was at this stage that we started to get a real sense for the magnitude not just of WWI, but of war in general, and how devastating it can be. As we laid poppies, the lists of names on the Memorial really struck many of us. It all felt strikingly lonely, and tragic that so many young men had lost their lives on the other side of the world, and so far from their families.

We visited the graves of two Wellington College students, Will Hopkirk and Mac McColl, both Old Boys that we have studied in History classes.

It was sad to see their graves placed on the other side of the world from where they grew up, and the College connection made it all the more powerful

to us. We performed a Haka at the Memorial to the NZ soldiers who lost their lives in the battle of Messines.

Ypres is a small city that was popular with the boys. A focus on the battle of Passchendaele took us to Tyne Cot Cemetery. I remember being particularly struck by the size and rows and rows of hundreds upon hundreds of tombstones that stood in the meticulously kept fields. It was frightening to see the scale of war’s horror, but also heartening to see the honour of the graves of the fallen soldiers. It was a beautiful, and somewhat fitting setting for them.

That night back in Ypres, we had a ceremony at the Menin Gate. Three students laid a wreath on behalf of Wellington College at the Gate for the unknown who had fallen. It was a touching way to end our time in Belgium.

The next day, we set out for the French town of Le Quesnoy, that NZ soldiers liberated in 1918.

Part of Le Quesnoy was even gifted to NZ as New Zealand territory. After feeling like kings in a town that loved our country, we set off for Lille, where we took the train to London!

Arriving in London was extremely exciting.

We’ve grown up reading, hearing and watching things about England, and for a lot of us it was the first time we had seen it with our own eyes.

Big Ben, Downing Street, Buckingham Palace - they were all names that we were so familiar with, and to see them ourselves was brilliant.

Our final formal visit for the trip was to the NZ War Memorial in Hyde Park. We performed a Haka, and admired the memorial and the poems included on it.

The Europe trip was an incredible adventure for all of us. We were made to think more about our position, how fragile life can be, and how horrific war is. We were able to apply classroom theory to the real life locations, and learn more about our schoolmates of the early 1900s. We saw and experienced things that will remain with us for the rest of our lives, but most importantly, we had an absolutely fantastic time with our mates and with the teachers, which is what made a wonderful trip such an unforgettable one.

Nick Fenton, Deputy Head Prefect

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 35

News from the College

I know I speak for all of the boys on the trip when I say that our time at Gallipoli was one of the most moving experiences not just of the trip, but of my life. The day was blistering hot; we had sweat dripping down our noses, and our tour t-shirts were smelling pretty awful already. Like our Old Boys of the early 1900s, we arrived at Gallipoli not really sure what to expect. We visited the Memorial on the beach of Anzac Cove, and stared up at the sheer cliff face that young Kiwis would have stared up at as well. We saw Lone Pine Cemetery, The Nek, Quinn’s Post Cemetery, the Turkish Memorial, but the most moving and emotional visit for most of us was at Chunuk Bair. We made it to the highest point of Gallipoli for which the Wellington Battalion fought so valiantly for in 1915. The NZ Memorial stands atop the hill, and there we conducted a short service for those that lost their lives on Chunuk Bair. The Chorale sang, and we performed a Haka (to many fascinated onlookers) and laid poppies.

It wasn’t difficult to imagine how the boys of our age had felt nearly 100 years earlier on the very same hill, and we felt a real connection to those boys of the past.

day we went to the town of Dachau not far from Munich, and visited the Concentration Camp that had been stationed there during the 1940s. Much of the camp remains, which made for an eerie and startling experience as we looked around it. It was very moving, and the boys all left having been affected in different ways.

Remembering our Fallen Heros

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n the last day of Term One, Y12 and Y13 commemorated ANZAC Day with a special Assembly. As has become the tradition over recent years, we related the story of an Old Boy who served in World Wars I or II. This year the Old Boy selected was William Hopkirk, (1907-1908) who along with three of his brothers, attended Wellington College in the early 20th century.

Lest We Forget

William served in Samoa, Gallipoli and the Western F r o n t . After distinguishing himself at Gallipoli, he was commissioned as an Officer. One of his men wrote of him as ….a man any of us would be proud to follow. I have heard the worst characters in the company speak in the highest terms of Bill.

(L-R): Callian Sculley, Rayhan Langdana (Head Prefect), Major Scott Cordwell, Kawharu Morehu and Nick Fenton

William Hopkirk was killed by a sniper on 1 June, 1916. The medic who received his body was Alf Caddick (1903-1905) who had been William’s English teacher here at Wellington College as well as an earlier student.

It is important that the current generation of Wellington College students remember the sacrifices made in warfare. William Hopkirk was just 23 when he died.

At the service, one of William’s descendants - Y11 student Daniel Gendall read William’s last letter home and the final entries in his diary. The Chorale sang In Flander’s Fields and the Last Post was played once the Head Prefects had placed the wreath at the foot of the Memorial Window.

Just last year another 23-year-old Old Boy was killed in war. Jack Howard (2000-2004) was serving with British forces in Afghanistan when he was killed. At an appropriate time his name too, will be inscribed on a brass plaque at the back of the Assembly Hall.

Present at the Assembly were 16 descendants of William Hopkirk, including two of his nephews. Old Boys who have served and those who do serve in our Armed forces were represented by Major Scott Cordwell (1986-1991).

Robert Anderson (1979-1973), Deputy Principal

Paying tribute: Johan Askervall plays the Last Post at Kviberg Cemetery in Gothenburg, Sweden. Emma Temm, who has a NZ father and a Swedish mother, holds the New Zealand flag.

W

ellingtonian Sergeant John Williams (1938) was a long way from home when his plane was attacked during World War II. The Wellington bomber X3371 was shot down while flying towards Flensburg, northern Germany, and crashed into the North Sea in August 1942. Everybody on board was killed. The 21-year-old's body washed up on Ockero, a small island near Gothenburg on the rocky west coast of Sweden. The locals buried him at Ockero Gamla Kyrka churchyard on September 11, 1942.

On ANZAC Day, the Last Post rang out at his gravesite as New Zealand and Australians living in Sweden commemorated Anzac Day. Poppies and wreaths were placed on his grave. New Zealand ambassador to Sweden, Barbara Bridge said she discovered the story of John Williams about two years ago and arranged an annual ceremony at the site.

Research by the New Zealand Embassy in Stockholm found John Williams went to both Wellington College and Otago Boys' High School. He signed up for the Royal New Zealand Air Force in February 1941 and trained as an air gunner. He left for Britain in November that year, serving at air force bases in Yatesbury, Bassingbourn and Feltwell with the RAF 57th Squadron.

William Hopkirk’s nephews Richard (left) and Don Hopkirk, in front of the Memorial Window, with William’s War Medals. Richard travelled from Rangiora for the Assembly – his father Viv was an Old Boy of the College, and was a Prefect in 1919.

William Hopkirk was one of four Hopkirk brothers to attend Wellington College, along with James, Walter and Viv.

36 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Ms Bridge said the embassy was trying to contact John Williams' family and hoped they would one day travel to Sweden to celebrate an ANZAC service at the cemetery.

El Alamein - Under A Desert Sky

T

he green war graves of France and the United Kingdom may be visited more often but the dusty desert of El Alamein also whispers stories of Wellington College Old Boys.

Travelling through Egypt in September 2010, our family was able to visit the El Alamein Cemetery and learn more about our Old Boys who lie there, particularly the late Kenneth Hugh Basil Booker (1930-1932).

Before leaving, we had identified Kenneth Booker by cross referencing names from the College Roll of Honour with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.cwgc.org). This is a particularly useful tool for amateur historians.

From the College Archives, we learnt that Kenneth Booker attended Wellington College from 1930 when he entered in Form 3A (Modern), leaving at the end of 1932, having completed 5C (Modern).

Enlisting as a Non-Commissioned Officer, he made a good impression on his seniors and prior to being posted to Egypt, served with the 27th NZ Machine Gun Battalion in Libya.

The official records show that on November 24 1941, while acting as Command Sgt Major, Sgt Booker accompanied Major White and a driver on an exploratory mission towards Bardia.

Major White takes up the story - … we saw a long line of men emerge from some widely scattered derelict vehicles up on the escarpment – right in the sun and on our flank. It was Jerry all right.

He opened up evidently firing light automatics while on the move ... things were a bit hectic and confused for a while … There were bullets singing past galore .. and then I got it in the right leg.

Robin Kay’s official history of WWII notes that Booker, who had been running approximately 15 metres ahead of Major White, went back and dragged his wounded officer to the safety of a truck. Help eventually arrived and the skirmish was over in half an hour. Sgt Booker, who had not hesitated in the face of fire, was awarded the Military Medal.

The end came less than a year later on July 15, 1942, at the Battle of Ruweisat Ridge in Egypt.

In the face of German fire, and as desperate men scratched gravel shelters in the almost solid rock, Ken Booker ran out of time.

His colleague Lance-Corporal Lawrie recalled that the Stukas came in out of the setting sun.

Another large truck came along and unfortunately stopped next to our LAD vehicle – and made this a sitting shot.

The CSM’s truck, loaded with ammunition, was destroyed and Sergeant-Major Booker, along with two others, was killed. He was 26. Thus, 68 years later, it became our mission to find Ken Booker’s final resting place: plot XXVIII A 15 in El Alamein.

El Alamein (in Arabic ‘the two flags’) lies 106 kilometres in a straight line west of Alexandria and we travelled there by mini bus. For those in Egypt who visit the Pyramids, this would be just over three hours from Cairo.

The emotional impact of visiting a military cemetery is not easily described. At El Alamein, rows of headstones set in red sand are a poignant sight indeed. We were torn between sadness at the sheer waste of life and admiration for these soldiers’ contributions in helping end a war.

As Winston Churchill said of El Alamein, Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

During 2010, the Gendall family was able to purchase and donate to the Wellington College Archives the documentation relating to Sgt Booker’s Military Medal.

Signed off by Major General Freyberg (our most famous Old Boy), the citation notes: During the whole of this time the area was being swept with fire but this NCO showed not the slightest hesitation, and his coolness and courage in the face of this fire is worthy of recognition.

Eventually, with the patience of our local guide Marwa, we found Sgt-Major Booker in a cemetery which now contains 7240 Commonwealth burials, and 102 from other nationalities. Of the total, 815 remain unidentified. The German and Italian Cemeteries, which we unfortunately did not have time to visit, are a little further afield.

When we got there, Ken Booker’s headstone proved to be a standard model – handsome in its plainness and fitting the CWGC understanding that there should be no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed.

All brothers lie together in death.

Two years after his passing, Hugh and Gwen Booker placed the following notice in Wellington’s Evening Post newspaper.

In proud and loving memory of Warrant Officer Kenneth H B Booker, MM, who gave his life at El Alamein, Egypt, July 15, 1942 To live in the hearts of those We love, is not to die.

Inserted by his loving parents.

Still heartbroken, Mr and Mrs Booker repeated their message in 1945.

It has been a privilege to come to know something of the life of the late Kenneth Booker. I apologise to the families of other Old Boys at El Alamein for being unable to acknowledge them individually but Kenneth Booker stands for you all.

I urge anyone with a connection to Wellington College who happens to be in Egypt to make the effort to visit El Alamein. Following in the footsteps of our soldiers is a humbling experience.

I also apologise for any errors or omissions in this account and would welcome any further information. Charlotte Gendall, Current Parent and Wellington College Board of Trustees Member. cgendall@internet.co.nz Sources: Wellington College Archives, The Light Accepted (A W Beasley, 1992), Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.cwgc.org ), 27 Machine Gun Battalion (R Kay, 1958 – via Electronic Text Centre).

Y11 student Daniel Gendall at Kenneth Booker’s grave

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 37

Lest We Forget

After leaving school and before entering the armed forces, Ken took on further study with evening classes at the Wellington Technical College which he combined with work as a warehouseman. He had many friends and acted as groomsman and usher at the weddings of several military and work colleagues.

On the way to Syria: FW Cowan, KB Booker and JG Watson

Remembering our Fallen Heros FOR THE DURATION: 2NZEF officer Bruce Robertson (19231925) on active duty and ‘in the bag’.

5 years on, interest in WWII and its impact continues. Many stories of New Zealand soldiers have already been told, but many are still emerging. Bruce Robertson left Wellington in January 1940 for the Middle East, with the first echelon of volunteers. He served in Egypt, Libya and Syria and after a night of hell on the Alamein Line in July 1942, he became a prisoner of war. He endured prison camps in Italy and Germany before being liberated by the Americans in April 1945.

A Brotherhood so Splendid CT McNulty

6

T

his book endeavours to tell a broadly chronological story of Wellington College and by extension, a story of New Zealand’s First World War. The product of five year’s part-time historical research and writing, it aims to do this by tracing some of the war experiences of nine central characters whose lives were greatly impacted by the war.

The nine consist of six old boys (four Pakeha and two Maori - Mac, Frisky, Coningham, Purdy, Hami, Jimmy) and two masters , Caddick and Williams) who go to war and the fulcrum of the story, the College’s Headmaster throughout the war, JP Firth.

Lest We Forget

For the Duration is largely transcribed from Bruce’s comprehensive journals and diaries. It paints a vivid picture of one man’s war: a fascination with Middle Eastern culture, the blistering Western Desert, furious battle and the shattering blow of capture. And how using a talent helped him make the best of it as the Allies advanced into Germany and the war drew to a dramatic climax. It's one of our more detailed and perceptive personal accounts of Kiwi war service, from both active service and POW points of view.

Published by Ngaio Press, Wellington. ISBN 978-0-9582855-8-2 • paperback • 287 pages• 101 illustrations • index • Price: $39.95 plus $6 postage.

Available from: Rosanne Robertson, 6 Sefton St, Wadestown, Wellington 6012.

Phone 04-472 4580; email: rosar@ihug.co.nz Payment by cheque or internet banking: acc. number 01 0517 0062095-00

Soldiers from WWI regain their voices

T

he identities of WWI soldiers are being traced through the messages of love they sent home in letters and postcards.

Bob Cameron has spent the past eight years trying to trace the writers of letters sent home by long-lost WWI soldiers. Now he’s hoping that by posting his findings on a blog, family members will be able to discover their relatives’ messages. Bob spends many of his days in the Alexander Turnbull Library poring over faded handwriting on diaries, postcards and letters, trying to get glean hints at a writer’s identity.

I’ve had lots of success and I get very excited when I suddenly find who the guy is... you’ll never get them all. There are still some that I’m really puzzled by.

Bob has identified about 100 writers from about 1600 documents and, as the centenary of the landing in Gallipoli in 2015 approaches, hopes to identify the remaining soldiers. He estimated there were still 500 to identify. Bob has set up a blog: robertcameron.wordpress.com where he plans to post his findings.

Bob’s interest was sparked when he bought a suitcase of letters and postcards written by a Wellington youth, Gunner Leslie Gower (1909) [pictured], killed in Cape Helle on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

It was very sad that no one has maintained his memory. A letter from Leslie is shown.

He expanded his research to other letters from soldiers in other units. The letters tell of soldiers being homesick and talk of their fellow soldiers. It’s quite sad when you read ‘I’m in a safe place. I’ve been very lucky’ and then look at his file and find he died three days later.

38 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Their true stories are told through a series of vignettes that mark each man’s chronology and interactions through the war. Of the eight men, three will die and others will experience the war and be affected by it in many different ways. Though the dialogues in the vignettes are speculative, all the events depicted were based on extensive research, and were very likely to have occurred as portrayed.

Each vignette is framed by selected extracts from the school’s magazine of the time, the Wellingtonian, the intent being that they add further authenticity and veracity to their true stories and additionally progress the overall narrative thrust of the story.

The story begins with a vignette-preamble at a Wellington College rugby match in 1909, the purpose of which is to introduce to the reader every central character who will be followed through the book.

The main body of the book consists of a series of chronological chapters, each one beginning with a brief summary to set the historical situation (known as THE WAR) and followed by a succession of vignettes interspersed between Wellingtonian extracts which together progress the narrative.

Colm McNulty, an Irishman from Co Kildare, Ireland was educated at National University of Ireland [Maynooth] and gained BA (Hons) MA in History [University College Dublin].

He began teaching in 1987 and was for nine years, Head of History at England’s oldest Catholic School, St. Edmund’s College, Hertfordshire. He is currently a teacher of History at Wellington College, New Zealand .

I have been a regular visitor and First World War battlefield guide for student and adult groups since my first visit to Ypres and the Somme way back in 1987.

On coming to New Zealand in 2001, I soon became mindful of the central role the Great War has played in the development of the New Zealand psyche. Since my arrival I have been instrumental in the organising and guiding of five very successful Wellington College European Battlefield trips to Gallipoli and the Western Front.

The initial impetus for the writing of ‘A Brotherhood So Splendid’ really came from my desire to impart a Wellington College dimension to our visits to the various New Zealand battlefields. In the course of my research, I managed to strike a rich vein of primary data from the school magazines of the time, The Wellingtonian. They provided me with a unique and interesting perspective of the war. In time, I came to realise from my reading that Wellington College, as much as any institution in the world, fought in the First World War. It was then that I knew this was a golden opportunity too tempting to forgo. Six years and too numerous to mention trips later to Auckland Museum, Waiorou Army Museum, The National Archives, Alexander Turnbull Library and Wellington College Archives, the product of my endeavours is finally complete.

Colm McNulty • c.mcnulty@wellington-college.school.nz

Head Prefects - 100 Years Apart, Link Up

H

arold Phillip James Childs’ (1908-1911) father, Tom Childs, was for over twenty years, the owner of the Commercial Hotel in Palmerston North. Like other prominent businessmen and farmers from the Palmerston North area, the Childs family came for holidays at Plimmerton Beach often owning their own beach house or using one of the many hotels or boarding houses in Plimmerton village.

Harold’s service record states that his father Tom Childs, Plimmerton in 192123, was sent Harold’s medals: the 1914-15 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal and a named commemorative plague and commemorative scroll given to all families who lost kin in the Great War. Tom Childs was involved in the planning committee that was formed to provide a pavilion in Victory Park, Plimmerton which was constructed in 1926. The majority of those on the committee had either served in the World War I or had lost relatives in the conflict.

Harold was the third of five sons and attended Wellington College as did his other brothers. It is noted in College records he was good at sport, with particular mention being made of boxing, gymnastics and athletics where he won various competitions in schools sports events. Harold was also in the 1st XV and 1st XI during his schools years, captaining both teams in 1911, the year he was Head Prefect.

Two other brothers followed Harold to Wellington College, with the youngest, Stanley (Stan) also becoming a Prefect in 1921.

On enlistment, Harold held the rank of Sergeant, in D Company of the 3rd Reinforcements, Otago Infantry Battalion departing New Zealand for Egypt in February 1915.

The 3rd Reinforcements arrived in Egypt on 27 March 1915 and Harold reverted to the rank of Private when the reinforcements were incorporated into the main body of the Otago Infantry Battalion (later to be renamed the Otago Infantry Regiment). The Otago Battalion with battalions from Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury made up the New Zealand Infantry Brigade.

The stay in Egypt was short as transport carrying the New Zealand and Australian Division left Alexandria 12 April 1915 for Mudros, a small Greek port on the island of

It was the afternoon of 25 April 1915 when the Otago Infantry Battalion landed. The Battalion was initially held in Brigade support positions on Plugges Plateau. It was then moved into the firing line on Walkers Ridges. Given the confusion at ANZAC Cove, Harold was reported wounded between the 25th and 28th of April 1915. The service records list that Harold was wounded in the legs and a foot, possibly from Turkish artillery that was reported to be very accurate and effective. He was evacuated by sea to Egypt, landing at Heliopolis where he was admitted on 2 May 1915 to the 1st Australian Hospital. Harold remained in hospital for six weeks and then was returned to his battalion, landing again at ANZAC Cove 26 June 1915.

The Lone Pine Memorial records the names of 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who fell in ANZAC Cove and have no known grave. It also records the names of 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who incurred mortal wounds or sickness and found burial at sea.

Alan Dodson Plimmerton Residents’ Association agcdodson@xtra.co.nz

The conditions at Gallipoli, on both sides, at this stage were notorious. In the summer, the heat was atrocious, and in conjunction with bad sanitation, led to so many flies that eating became extremely difficult. Corpses, left in the open, became bloated and stank. The precarious Allied bases were poorly situated and caused supply and shelter problems. A dysentery epidemic spread through the Allied trenches in both Anzac and Helles. The disease caused by extreme heat and unsanitary conditions would prove to be almost as deadly as Turkish fire.

The Otago Infantry Battalion in June and July 1915 was defending Courtney’s Post and it was into these conditions that Harold returned. He was evacuated from the Dardanelles, on 16 July 1915 with Enteric Fever on the Hospital Ship H.S Sicilia, but died in transit to Mudros, Greece 27 July 1915 and was buried at sea.

Private Harold Phillip James Childs is honoured at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey and at Wellington College.

Rayhan Langdana, Wellington College’s Head Prefect 2011 places a poppy next to the name of Harold Phillip James Childs, Head Prefect 1911 whose name is inscribed on the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 39

Lest We Forget

Harold was listed as a 20-year-old university student, attending Knox College, Dunedin when he enlisted in December 1914. It is assumed that he was studying medicine, as his eldest brother TWJ Childs was a doctor and a younger brother CR Childs later became a doctor.

Lemnos prior to the assault on Gallipoli.

In July 2011, 70 boys and 10 staff from Wellington College returned from three weeks travel around the WWI Memorial sites in Europe tracing the Old Boys who died in the Great War 1914 – 1918.

Navigator saved by French Agents

R

aymond Glensor (1929-1934) grew up in Island Bay. When still a young man, he found himself on the run when his bomber was shot down over St Omer, northeast of France in September 1942. He would eventually be helped to freedom through one of the most famous escape lines in WWII.

Raymond, formerly a student at Wellington College was the navigator in a Wellington Bomber of 142 Squadron caught in a flak after an air raid in Germany. Like more than 7000 other allied airmen, he was hidden from the Nazis by civilians in occupied France.

Raymond was provided with false papers and identity, a disguise and every possible comfort the locals could provide. He was eventually helped out of France by the O’Leary Line - a network of agents and contacts that also helped Nancy Wake, escape the country. His time in France brought him into contact with other agents such as Louis Nouveau and Norbert Fillerin, whose wife and later their children helped escaping soldiers and airmen after Mr Fillerin’s arrest in 1943.

In 2006, Raymond’s daughter Tricia went to France to meet Monique Fillerin, the woman who as a teenager, along with her younger brother and sister Genevieve, hid ten airmen after the girl’s parents had both been sent to concentration camps.

Visitors to Paris’ Musee de l’Armee today can see a stone plaque that refers specifically and with gratitude to the soldiers of New Zealand who fought for the freedom of France during the war.

Lest We Forget

Keren Chiaroni, Victoria University Senior French Lecturer Excerpt from her book, ‘Kiwis at War, The Last of the Human Freedoms’

A Lifesaving Forgery - Raymond Glensor was provided with false identity papers in France.

Search Finds War Hero’s Brother

I

n an earlier issue of the Wellingtonian weekly newspaper, there was a story about the search for relatives of two Wellington airmen who died in World War II. The story generated considerable publicity and family members of one of the airmen, Alan Gray Tolley [pictured right], were located. Harry Tolley, [pictured below] a Masterton resident and brother of Pilot Officer Tolley, responded to the search.

the North Island Motor Union, a predecessor of the Automobile Association.

Alan Tolley was a man of strong moral standards, who died fighting for his country, says his proud brother, Harry. The war hero was born in 1921 and grew up in Kelburn and Northland, attending Kelburn Normal Primary School then Wellington College.

About mid-1939, as the war was beginning, Alan decided to join the service.

At that stage the war clouds were developing over Europe. Alan, because of his loyalty as a New Zealander, decided he wanted to be a serviceman of some sort and had a particular interest in becoming an air force person.'

Harry, now 93, said that while at school his brother developed into a man with `very strong moral standards. In particular, he was opposed to drink and all those things. No such thing as drugs in those days.'

Alan was a strong churchgoer and the philosophy of those people, at St Michael's Church, became part of him, Harry said. At that time Alan was a scout and a cub. So those moral standards tended to develop with that environment, and at the same time [he was] a very good student.

Harry said they were close as brothers and shared common interests, such as sports - Alan was a keen tennis player.

Harry said that was probably because he and his Wellington College companions were keen sportsmen and keen people in all those fields of exciting stimulating activity.

Both men went on to attend Wellington College. To get there Alan rode a push bike all the way from Northland. It was a pretty good thing to do, Harry said.

Alan completed a six-month pre-entrance course for pilots and then joined the full-time training classes. Harry also joined the military, serving in the army. Once deployed, Alan was involved in many air raids. The flying crews of those days flew on various types of aircraft, including the Wellington Bomber and Stirling Bomber.

After leaving school, Alan became a part-time night student at a private accounting college, Harles. He worked as an accounting clerk for

On his final flight, Alan was captain of a Stirling Bomber, which departed on April 20, 1943. While over Denmark on the

40 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

return leg, the plane was shot down. All seven men on board died. Harry said he was very proud of his younger brother, who died fighting for what he believed in.

I want to emphasis that he’s a New Zealander, having all the characteristics of having good training which developed into a loyalty for his country. In particular, determination to make sure he could retain those characteristics of freedom and ability to live in accordance with our own management and administrative systems. It’s a nice thing, at this point to make a story about those really good people who served to preserve the freedom and enjoyment of life that we enjoy.

Harry recalled a story which Alan told, with a great deal of enjoyment, in one of his many letters.

[They went] to a concert where Vera Lynn [also known as ‘The Forces’ Sweetheart’] was the star.

These young men worked their way forward to get on to the stage to meet Vera Lynn. That was a big thing, a highlight.’

Harry said if Alan had come home after the war he most likely would have continued with accounting.

He would have become a company secretary and probably from there, moved on to executive officer and then some meaningful type of business.

Honorary Doctorates Awarded to Two Old Boys

M

artin Banwell (1969-1972), a graduate of the Victoria University of Wellington and now Professor of Chemistry within the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University, received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Victoria University at the Science Graduation last year. Martin is an organic chemist concerned with developing new methods for the synthesis of biologically active natural products and their analogues. His work in this area has been detailed in some 180 publications and patents. Working in collaboration with several Australian-based biotech companies, his current research is directed towards the identification of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of a number of disease states. Martin is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science as well as the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and currently chairs the Editorial Advisory Committee of the Australian Journal of Chemistry.

Martin attended schools in Taupo, Stokes Valley, and Wellington prior to secondary education at Scots College in Wellington, for a while in Mexico City(1967-68) and then at Wellington College (1969-72) before entering Victoria University and gaining his BSc and Honours degrees (1975 and 1976). He also spent a couple of months

Double Honours

at the Australian National University as a Vacation Scholar.

Martin returned to Wellington and commenced his doctoral studies that were completed in 1979. His postdoctoral was at Ohio State University. The sojourn at Ohio lasted about a year, after which time Martin accepted appointment as a Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Adelaide. In 1982, he took up a lectureship in Organic Chemistry at the University of Auckland, left for the University of Melbourne in 1986 and moved through the ranks, becoming Associate ProfessorReader in 1993. He accepted appointment as a Senior Fellow at the Australian National University and settled in Canberra in 1994. He was appointed Professor in 1999.

In the year 2000, Martin was elected an Honorary Fellow of the NZ Royal Society and has continued to distinguish himself in his chosen field. He has held numerous fellowships and lectureships and continues to hold editorial board responsibilities for publications of high esteem. He has supervised in excess of 100 doctoral, masters and honours candidates and has employed 25 postdoctoral fellows; his publications number some 276 including some 15 book chapters and nine patents.

New Year’s Honours

A

Also last year, Tony received an award from the Association for Asia Studies, recognising his Distinguished Contribution to Asian Studies.

The 2010 award for Distinguished Contributions to Asian Studies honors the New Zealand-born and Cambridge-educated historian of Southeast Asia, Anthony J.S. Reid.

To describe Reid as an historian cannot do justice to the interdisciplinary breadth demonstrated in his nine books, 23 edited volumes, and 16 monographs or published lectures. Having begun his career with a pathbreaking study of colonial contestation in northern Sumatra, Reid went on to write on the Indonesian revolution and the collapse of traditional rule. In his middle career, Reid’s two volume Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680 (1988 & 1993) demonstrated his capacity to use the local and the regional to pluralise our understanding of the global.

Reid inspired an entire generation of Southeast Asianists to examine comparative issues - colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, gender relations, and conversion to world religions - while never losing sight of the irreducible dignity of local worlds.

Reid is also a teacher and institution builder. He has advised a small legion of Southeast Asianists in Australia, Europe, the United States, and East, South, and Southeast Asia. He served as the Founding Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California Los Angeles and at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. Over the course of this remarkable career, Professor Reid somehow managed never to lose the youthful sparkle and gentle humour that make participating in his seminars a quiet joy.

The AAS honours and thanks Anthony Reid with the 2010 Distinguished Contributions Award.

Brendan Smyth (1964-1968), of Wellington, received the Insignia of Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the music industry. Brendan has been active in the promotion of New Zealand music for more than 20 years. As New Zealand Music Manager for NZ On Air, his promotion of local musicians has been instrumental in boosting the popularity of home-grown talent and the radio airplay of New Zealand music to more 20 percent.

Murray Hansen, (1941-1942) of Kawerau, received the Queen’s Service medal for services to the community. Murray has been a Justice of the Peace in Kawerau for 45 years and a member of the Kawerau Rotary Club for 46 years. He has mentored many JPs and remains an active member of the Eastern Bay of Plenty JPs Association. Since the founding of Kawerau, he has shown a strong commitment to the community through the many Rotary activities he has been involved with, as well as the numerous local committees of which he has been a member. Murray was a driving force behind the establishment of the Kawerau Community Association.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 41

Old Boys in the News

t the same time, a fellow Old Boy, Anthony (Tony) Reid (1952-1956) was also granted a honorary degree of Doctor of Literature.

Tony, Emeritus Professor and Visiting Fellow, Department of Political & Social Change, School of International, Political & Strategic Studies is now based in Canberra as Professor (Emeritus) at the Australian National University.

Y

oung Chemist Peter Clark (2002-2005) loves solving puzzles but the next problem he hopes to untangle is how to make cheap pharmaceuticals for the Third World.

Kiwi Chemist in his element at Oxford named after the Fisher & Paykel co-founder, is also aimed at making a contribution to New Zealand.

The Victoria University Masters student was one of three Kiwis who will study at Oxford University after being selected for the prestigious Woolf Fisher Scholarship.

Peter said he had been fascinated by jigsaw puzzles and problem-solving since he was a child, developing problem-solving skills ideal for organic chemistry.

Next year, he will work alongside some of the world's leading chemists and will do a doctorate in the complex field of domino reactions, in which a series of chemical reactions are set off one after the other. Developments in the field could make pharmaceuticals cheaper to produce and be sold more cheaply.

A lot of anti-cancer drugs are only available to the rich because they are so expensive. It's work

Headmaster, Roger Moses with Old Boy, Peter Clark

like this that can make them available to everyone.

That's what I hope to achieve. If there's something wrong I will look for ways to provide solutions.

Peter, as well as having a love of science, is a keen weightlifter and rugby player who might be able to teach the Oxford rugby players a thing or two.

Peter, who will return to Wellington once his fouryear doctorate is complete, said he saw science as a clear way forward for New Zealand. We're small and we don't have the money and resources that other countries do. Scientific and technological innovations are some of the best ways we can keep up.

Peter was guest speaker at the College’s Scholarship Assembly earlier this year. After presenting the prizes to our top scholars from 2010, Peter then gave an entertaining and stirring speech. He challenged the students to set their goals high as he is proof that students can achieve anything they want, if they set their minds to it.

The annual $100,000 Woolf Fisher Scholarship,

Distinguished Alumni recognised by Victoria University

A Old Boys in the News

t the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Awards Dinner hosted by Victoria University one of the five recipients was Old Boy Right Honourable Justice Sir Thomas Gault (1952-1955).

He is one of the most distinguished members of New Zealand’s legal profession, and is the first New Zealander to become Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

Sir Thomas graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1962 and a Master of Laws (LLM) in 1963.

He then joined law firm A J Park & Son and remained there for 20 years earning a reputation as a rigorous lawyer and building strong expertise in intellectual property.

In 1981, Sir Thomas began practising as a barrister sole, and in 1984 he was appointed a Queen’s Counsel. Sir Thomas was appointed Judge of the High Court in 1987, followed three years later by being made a member of the Court of Appeal. From there he rose through the ranks to become President of the Court of Appeal in 2002.

When the Supreme Court of New Zealand came in to existence in 2004, Sir Thomas was an inaugural member of the bench. He is also a member of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom.

In 2001, Sir Thomas received a knighthood (formerly known as a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit) for his services to the judiciary.

Sir Thomas is also a keen golfer. He won the New Zealand Universities’ Golf Championship and was awarded Blues by both Victoria University and the University of New Zealand.

Moving into the administration of the game, he was an Advisory Member of the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status Committees from 1978 to 1996 while also holding office as President of the NZ Golf Association from 1987 to 1996.

While a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, Sir Thomas was referee for The Open Championship from 1993, and in 1994, joined The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

In September 2005, Sir Thomas became the first New Zealand Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. He is only the second from the Antipodes, following Viscount Bruce of Melbourne in 1954.

The traditional ceremony for ‘driving the new Captain into office’ - where the incoming captain performs a ceremonial drive, is marked by the firing of a cannon. As reported by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews on their website in 2005, into a freshening breeze, the new Captain hit a fine tee shot which carried 210 yards before waiting caddies raced to retrieve the ball and exchange it for a gold sovereign. The single shot earns the incoming Captain the Queen Adelaide Medal, which is worn on official engagements.

Victoria University

View of Wellington College in 1925 showing the Cricket Pavilion, Firth House, East School, West School, and the Gifford Observatory. Cricket Pavilion built 1924; Firth House tender notice in Evening Post 20 December 1922, foundation stone laid 25 June 1923,opened 1 December 1924; East School built 1874 and 1883, spire removed 1909, demolished 1931; West School tender accepted October 1907, building completed 1908, demolished 1969, Gifford Observatory seen here was built 1924.

42 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Academic Dedication

A

former Wellington College student is one of two people to win a scholarship named after the late Māori Queen. Tredegar Hall, (2002-2006) is one of two University of Waikato students who recently received a Dame Te Atairangikaahu Scholarship which is run by the university and funded by Environment Waikato.

The scholarship, worth up to $2000, was set up in 1991 to mark the 25th anniversary of the late Dame Te Atairangikaahu and to ensure the further education of Māori people. Māori studying full time at an undergraduate level in the resource management or environmental fields at the University of Waikato are eligible to apply.

Tredegar, who completed his secondary schooling at Wellington College, is of Tūwharetoa descent.

He has always had an interest in Māori, geography and the environment,

completing his Bachelor of Social Sciences last year.

He is now completing an honours year and aspires to work for his people, hopefully with the Tūwharetoa Māori Trust Board, he says.

Aside from his study, he also finds time to play rugby for the University Premier team, perform for a university Kapa Haka team, is co-president of the Waikato Māori Students’ Association, is a student ambassador for the university and is also a tutor and mentor for Geography.

Tredegar was accepted by the Golden Key Society in 2009, which recognises academic achievement in the top 15 per cent of faculties at the University of Waikato.

He says prospective students should be assertive, study what interests them and take up as many opportunities as possible. Step up, sharpen up, harden up, he says. Anything worth having never comes easy.

Advancing the Science and Technology of Light

R

ick Millane (1967-1971) left the College for Victoria University for a year and then completed a Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electrical Engineering at the University of Canterbury in 1975. He worked as an engineer for the NZ Post Office in Wellington for a year and then returned to Canterbury in 1981 and completed a PhD Degree in Electrical Engineering.

He then moved to Purdue University in the United States where he rose to the position of Professor in 1995.

Rick is married with a son, Alex who recently graduated from Canterbury with a degree in Mechatronics Engineering and a daughter Caroline who is studying Radiography in Auckland. Rick is a licensed sailplane pilot in NZ and the US and was an instructor for the Canterbury Gliding Club before he left for the US. Just last month, Rick was awarded a prestigious James Cook Research Fellowship, valued at $220,000 over two years.

Rick was one of four academics from New Zealand universities awarded fellowships in this round. The fellowships are for two years starting early in 2012 and are full-time positions. They provide funding to each recipient of $110,000 per year covering salary and expenses, allowing researchers to undertake concentrated work in their fields of expertise for that period.

The fellowships, administered by the Royal Society of NZ on behalf of the Government, are awarded to researchers who demonstrate that they have achieved national and international recognition in their area of scientific research.

Rick Millane (right) receives his Fellow of the Optical Society of America honour

Rick says, the benefit of the fellowship is that it will allow me some uninterrupted time to devote to research that I hope will contribute the New Zealand’s skill-base and stature in biomolecular imaging.

He was awarded his fellowship for research entitled: Imaging biological macromolecules with x-ray free-electron lasers. This is a new area of research and the success of the technique will depend on solving a number of challenging data processing problems, he said.

Rick is very appreciative of the education he received at the College. He recalls Bob Bradley who, aside from instilling fear, also instilled an early appreciation of mathematics. Funnily enough, the teacher he remembers best was the one who taught him his worst subject, French. He recalls Ray Michael, aside from having an excellent aim with chalk, admonishing him with come on Millane, s’il vous plait, on a silver plate! It was a real pleasure for him to meet Bob and Ray again during a visit to the College in 1993.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 43

Old Boys in the News

In 2001 Rick and his family returned to New Zealand where he took up a position in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Canterbury where he is now a Professor and Head of Department. Rick leads a research group in computational imaging with applications in biophysics and remote sensing. He was elected a Fellow of the Optical Society of America in 2009 for his contributions in this area.

Victoria Graduate heading to Harvard

V

ictoria graduate Peter Williamson (19992003) is heading to Harvard on a two year scholarship. He won one of four Knox Fellowships for New Zealanders and will take his place at Harvard Divinity School in the United States this September.

Peter, who completed his Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) at Victoria two years ago, says the scholarship is a fabulous opportunity.

I’ll be doing my Masters in Theology, furthering work I did at Otago where I studied a Bachelor of Theology and a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Maths. Harvard is one of the best universities in the world so I’m really looking forward to it.

The Frank Knox Memorial Fellowships provide funding for students from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to conduct graduate study at Harvard University. Annie Reid Knox set up the scholarships to honour her late husband and asked that future scholars be selected on the basis of future promise of leadership, strength of character, keen mind, a balanced judgement and a devotion to the democratic ideal.

The former Wellington College student is currently teaching Physics and Maths at Hutt Valley High School but with both parents being vicars in the Anglican Church, perhaps it’s no surprise his

long-term goal is to go into the ministry. Teaching has very similar skill-sets to being a minister and after I’ve been to Harvard I plan to come back to New Zealand and will continue teaching first.

I love communicating ideas and helping people understand things, says Peter.

Outside the classroom, he is involved in coaching soccer, the school social justice group and is part of the Teamworks teaching team - a group of staff

Old Boys in the News

An upside to a Forgotten Memoir

E

arly in 2008, Arthur Meek (1995-1999)got his big break when he performed a solo play with the hard-to-ignore title On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as Her Young Lover. Done in the style of a PowerPoint presentation, it went on to win several awards and was performed around the country to packed houses. The play's success catapulted Arthur into the ranks of the best Kiwi playwrights aged under 30.

Three years on and Arthur's new play On the Upside-Down of the World has the same origin. The solo play, performed

by Laurel Devenie, is based on a half-forgotten 19th-century memoir by Lady Mary Ann Martin called Our Maoris. Arthur came across it in a market bookstall. I was just looking for something to read and I saw this title. I thought 'that looks patronising, rude and basically really offensive'. But it was only five bucks so I picked it up and thought I'd have a bit of a laugh.

But it wasn't.

She had a really modern turn of phrase. She was really witty. She was the opposite of what I thought. I thought she would have come over from England and have had her way of doing things and have lots of trouble. She changed.

She went from being a wife, a chattel to a boss and doer - something I don’t think she could have done where she grew up.

Martin arrived in New Zealand in 1841 as the young wife of our first Chief Justice, William Martin. Along with learning te reo, she established a makeshift hospital for Maori at Judges Bay in Auckland.

Arthur says while the memoir details her experiences and views, Martin gave away little about herself, so he also researched her life. It was a really interesting lesson. She's not talked about much by other writers even though she was a really important figure of her time. I don't know if it was because she was a woman. There is a big biography of her husband.

44 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

that discuss and implement the latest ideas in cooperative teaching. I love teaching and I have such good staff around me. For the past year and a half, I’ve had the opportunity to talk about subjects I love - maths and physics. I definitely see myself as a teacher. Theology is also a subject that I love, and I look forward to teaching that in some way in the future as well.

Victoria University

Writer receives further acclaim

M

ark Pirie (1987-1991) has had another very successful year.

In August 2010, his anthology, Voyagers: Science Fiction Poetry from New Zealand published in Brisbane (and co-edited with Tim Jones) won the Best Collected Work Category in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, the annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of NZ Awards.

As well, his anthology of NZ cricket poems, A Tingling Catch: A Century of New Zealand Cricket Poems 1864-2009, has been a widely acclaimed success story. Don Neely, at the Basin Long Room launched the book in October 2010. At the launch, Don presented Mark with his NZ Cricket tie in recognition of Mark’s service to New Zealand Cricket.

The book was well-reviewed in local and international media, and on Sky Sport’s Cricket Company show. The prestigious Poetry Library in London has also bought two copies of Mark’s cricket anthology and the MCC Library at Lord’s holds a copy as well.

His other success was having his poetry journal, broadsheet: New New Zealand Poetry, reviewed by the highly regarded literary magazine The Evergreen Review in the States. This is the equivalent of a Wellington musician being championed by Rolling Stone or a Wellington film-maker

by Variety.

Mark also co-organises the Poetry Archive of New Zealand Aotearoa.

Website: http://poetryarchivenz.wordpress.com. More information about Mark and his books is at www.markpirie.com Mark also has a cricket poetry blog at http://tinglingcatch.blogspot.com - how to order A Tingling Catch is noted on the blog.

Family Links - Can you equal or beat five generations of Wellington College connections?

One of the components of building up a database, is linking all the relatives who have attended Wellington College from great-grandfathers to current sons, plus nephews, uncles, brothers and cousins to name a few. It’s always of great interest to connect the dots and review the family trees of so many families. Of course, it’s always more difficult to link families - if for instance, a current son is the grandson of his mother’s father and thus has a different surname.

We do encourage those currently enrolling at the College to list any connections, but many overlook this section. We also ask each year on the feedback form that accompanies The Lampstand for Old Boys, to let us know of any family connections to add to the database, but this too is seldom acted upon. Please if you can take time, send us your family tree - the further it goes back - the greater the history.

T

here are a number of families that have a long and proud association with the College. The Brittain family are one who now have a fifth generation attending the College.

AJP Brittain (1896-1898), CH Brittain (1922-1924), HLS (Henry) Brittain (1953-1957), his sons AH (Andrew) Brittain (1983-1987) and ST (Simon) Brittain (1987-1992) and now Andrew’s son, Jacob Brittain-Mill who is in Y9.

(L-R): Simon Brittain, Colin, Brittain, Henry Brittain (photographed in 1991) •

Albert Brittain • Andrew Brittain, Jacob Brittain-Mill and Henry Brittain in 2011

Neville, when interviewed, recorded that he was a ‘wild child’ but so were most little boys in the middle of last century. I’m pleased I grew up when I did.

is now. Its work involved dispensing information.

He was very good at that.

Reviewed by Gordon McLauchlan (1945-1949)

A

ll journalists are sure they have a book inside them but few ever get it out, for which I’m sure we should mostly be thankful.

But let’s be grateful that Neville Martin (19551958) managed it because his little memoir of Wellington in the late 1940s and early 1950s is a gem. It is worth reading every word. And I know how true it is because I was there at precisely that time.

I didn’t know Neville until years later. By then he was the voice of the NZ Dairy Board at a time when public relations was a lot less shrill than it

This book has only 77 pages but it has the two inestimable qualities that most enrich memories of childhood – charm and authenticity. He says in an introduction called I Used to Live in Wellington (which is his way of saying he is still there but the city has changed): Looking back, life for the young then was less standardised, codified and certainly less cosseted, and then goes on to demonstrate how true that is.

What he manages is truly rare. He writes in the relaxed understatement of the time. He runs his late-in-life eye over his parents and the members of his extended family without flinching at their frailties, but without a trace of bitterness and no sense of being a judge of their behaviour. It is extraordinary how he manages in such a small space to evoke the atmosphere and attitudes of the Wellington of his childhood.

Growing up in a creaky bungalow in Oriental Bay (which was in gentle decline), he and his friends free-ranged, turning up after a day of playing in time for tea, with no frantic parents having sent out a search party. They played in rock pools and picked up discarded soft drink bottles, exchanging them for a few pennies at the dairy opposite the band rotunda. If you could find just one bottle, it could be converted into something your mother wouldn’t want you to eat.

Neville spent an undistinguished few years at Wellington College, where he managed to get whacked for all sorts of things, including striking a teacher mid-chest with an afghan.

The Careers Adviser told him he should be come a teacher or a journalist or work in insurance. I went into the Evening Post building and asked for a job and got one - in the reading room. He worked as a sports reporter for five years before moving to public relations.

His fortunate generation, he says didn’t have to go to War, diseases had all been wiped out and there was no Great Depression. We had better lives than any other generation on earth.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 45

Old Boys in the News

Golden Days

An organised Page-Turner

Old Suitcase a Treasure Trove

A

rthur Carman (1916-1917) was an intriguing mixture – a sober and respected personality, a pacifist who was jailed for his beliefs, a cricket and rugby statistician extraordinaire and a staunch advocate of Tawa.

Nearly 30 years after his death, the multi-faceted Arthur has become the subject of a biography, and really it's not a moment too soon.

W

ellington Central MP, Grant Robertson, left, congratulates Graham Booth (1952-1956) for his work in helping to organise the Downtown Community Ministry's annual Book Fair.

The man behind Wellington's largest second-hand book fair has been named a Community Champion. Graham organises the Downtown Community Ministry's annual Book Fair, which is held at the TSB Arena. A retired builder, Graham has been a Downtown Community Ministry volunteer since 1976 and has worked at the Ministry's Book Fairs since they began about twelve years ago.

Old Boys in the News

When Grant Robertson presented Graham with the award, he said Graham's excellent organisational skills had ensured the book fair had become a Wellington institution. The money raised from the Book Fair accounts for 20 per cent of the Downtown Community Ministry's income and that covers a lot of their services.

Without the Book Fair, the Ministry would probably not function.

Locals donate more than 100,000 books, CDs, records, DVDs and puzzles to the fair each year. The items are taken to a Shelly Bay warehouse, where Graham and a team of 25 volunteers sort through them. Although not a big reader, Graham is knowledgeable about reading trends. Yoga was in and so was sustainability, he said, so there would be sections at the fair for both.

Graham is happy to sort books, organise volunteers and ponder new categories.

Even as a child he had a knack for organising events, though he was not drawn to books until high school. The first thing I organised, in Standard 4 [Year 6], was a penny concert for the school. Some of the parents came. I sang in it, but I can't remember what or who the beneficiaries were. That was pretty close to the end of the war and a penny could buy a lot then. You could get penny ice-creams, a penny of broken biscuits and a penny of lollies, he said.

My first experience of books was getting involved with the Wellington College Library as a student. My teacher once said to me: `If you read more books rather than organised them, you would be better at English'.

Bruce Murray [pictured right] and David Wood, with support from the Tawa Historical Society, have written Arthur Carman's Suitcase. The $30 book has sold out of its first print run and is being reprinted.

The title is a good one. Arthur, who edited the New Zealand Rugby Almanack from its inception in 1935 until his death in 1982, and the Cricket Almanack from 1948 until 1982, lived in pre-computer days.

He operated by using a detailed card system on representative rugby and cricket players (and also historic figures from the Tawa region, for books he wrote on that subject). In addition, he kept minutes and notes from the various committees on which he served, including the Wellington Hospital Board (for 44 years), the Tawa Flat Board/Borough Council (23 years), and the Hutt Valley Electric Power (and Gas) Board (23 years).

Arthur was also a committed Christian – a Methodist – and preached often. He kept notes of all these occasions, too – where, how many attended, what he spoke about, which Scriptures were cited and so on.

Much of this information was to be found in his battered old suitcase.

That suitcase has been a treasure trove, said Bruce Murray. It was wonderful in researching Arthur's life, and has also given the Tawa Historical Society much valuable information about the history of our suburb.

The section of the book that is most absorbing is his court case in 1941 for ‘breaching the nation's emergency regulations’ – for advocating pacifism – and his subsequent jailing. It is amazing, looked at through modern eyes, that such a respected citizen as Carman, nearly 40 years old, would be sentenced to a year's hard labour for such a ‘crime’.

Arthur continued to edit the Rugby Almanack while in Mt Crawford jail.

He was a determined person who knew what the consequences would be if he spoke at a public meeting advocating pacifism. It was ridiculous that he was jailed, said Bruce. He was made an example of. He did his time in jail hard, but it was even harder for his wife, Edith, who [like Arthur] did not drive, but used to travel from their Tawa home most weekends to visit him.

Another notable chapter concerns Arthur's determination to accompany the 1924-25 All Blacks to Britain and France. The team became known as The Invincibles. He was refused leave by the Audit Department, but pressed his case so determinedly that he eventually gained permission.

He was the only New Zealand journalist to accompany perhaps the most famous of all All Black teams.

He was always polite, but seldom ventured an opinion unless asked. As Arthur Carman's Suitcase reveals, it was a case of still waters running deep. The book can be bought from the Tawa Library or through the Tawa Historical Society (tawahistory.wellington.net.nz).

The Wellingtonian

Prince William shares a hongi with Sir Ralph Ngata Love (1951-1954) at the Supreme Court in Wellington last year.

46 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Stage life spans fifty years plus

One of the Lucky Ones

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ritish satirical theatre comedy The 39 Steps was staged at the Marlborough Repertory's Boathouse Theatre recently, giving director Duncan Whiting (19551958) a staged celebration for his 50 years in drama.

Blenheim isn't big enough to support a professional theatre, but producerdirector Duncan Whiting has made the town his base for the past 40 years. He can trace his involvement in stage drama back to the small productions to his school days, but it was an end-of-year production with Wellington Repertory in 1960 that began his commitment. 17-year-old Duncan Whiting had finally made it into the front row of chorus singers for a performance of Cinderella.

He identifies an early influence as Richard Campion (1937-1941), an English Master at Wellington College and father of New Zealand film director Jane Campion. Mr Campion was also the original director of the New Zealand Players and taught at the New Zealand Theatre Company. It was the precursor of the New Zealand Drama School, offering evening classes which Duncan attended when he left school. It gave him a good grounding and he used it in productions with the local repertory theatre and the Wellington Musical theatre.

Feeling confident in his acting ability, he travelled to Australia and was given a part with the JC Williamson Theatre, touring New South Wales and Queensland with a production, The Sentimental Bloke. We were playing four-night stands and one-night stands. It was a wonderful experience and I think I learned a lot, because you do when you are moving from town to town. I was living it and eating it.

Life got in the way. A chance to join the Children's Arts Theatre, which toured primary schools, delayed his plans for a year, and that was followed by an invitation to direct the musical Kiss Me Kate in Whakatane. In 1969, I came to Blenheim to direct Oklahoma for the Blenheim Operatic Society. One of the chorus singers was Sheryl and the next year she and Duncan were married. Their life together started in Wellington, but after a year, they returned to her home town and Duncan made Blenheim his base.

He has been heavily involved with Marlborough Repertory, Blenheim Musical and in latter years the Marlborough Children's Theatre, and regularly travels to other centres to do productions. If trips out of town coincided with school holidays when Duncan and Sheryl's three sons were young, the whole family would go along. At other times, Duncan went alone.

Asked to identify highlights, the first one he mentions is a 1975 performance of My Fair Lady in Tauranga. An amateur production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Palmerston North was another, and also in that city, Hair. He can probably name Fiddler on the Roof as his favourite musical, with Les Miserables a close second.

His long involvement with the Marlborough Repertory Theatre was recognised a couple of years ago when Duncan was made a Life Member. He appreciates the title. You don't want to be put on the dung heap because you have reached a certain age. He isn't ready to hang up his director's hat yet and is currently looking at new ventures for Blenheim theatre. Every three years, you have to reinvent yourself, he says. People who just go along, doing the same old, same old ... they get into a rut. Then you wake up one day and know: it's time to reinvent yourself.

The Marlborough Express

He was a Battle of Britain pilot, but was not able to attend any of the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the campaign that took place in August and September 1940, when the German air force took on the Royal Air Force (RAF) and lost. Alan was invited to a commemoration at the National War Memorial in Wellington and a service in Nelson's Christ Church Cathedral.

Alan believes he is the last surviving Battle of Britain pilot in the South Island.

He was a 22-year-old law student when he left New Zealand in 1938 and joined the RAF. He was posted to No 23 Squadron and flew dangerous night missions. Often he could not tell how successful they were, because in the dark he simply could not see.

But one night the lights were on him. He had flown from Arundel in Sussex to France planning to drop 50-pound bombs on an airfield, when searchlights went on and anti-aircraft fire started.

He managed to dodge it. I learnt a lesson – always fly across an airfield before you let them know you are there.

One of his brothers, who flew Hurricane bombers wasn't so lucky, and was fatally shot down, while another brother, who flew Lancasters, died just a few years ago. I seem to be lucky, said Alan, who was awarded a DFC. Looking back, he believes the war was necessary to stop Hitler doing what he was planning. We didn't lose the Battle of Britain, which was the first time he had been beaten. It was the only battle fought entirely in the air. But he is not a war advocate.

Personally, I believe war never wins anything, really.

Following an Old Boys’ function in Nelson earlier this year, the WCOBA were honoured to receive a very generous donation from Alan. Alan’s donation has been turned into a Trust which each year,will assist current students who apply and attend the Outward Bound Outdoor Education Course in Anakiwa.

We received notification of a newly established street - Sam Meads Way in Greytown, but at the time of going to print were not able to establish why the much-beloved Sam Meads came to have a street in his honour.

It backs on to Kuranui College where Sam went after Wellington College so perhaps that’s the reason. We look forward to reporting in more detail when information comes to hand.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 47

Old Boys in the News

Sydney was his next base and Duncan taught theatre for the Workers Education Association and directed several plays, including experimental productions in the Kings Cross Chapel Theatre and Seymour Theatre in the city. It was a very interesting part of my life. I came back to New Zealand in 1966, thinking I would always go back to Australia.

N

elson man Alan Gawith (1929-1931) believes he is one of the lucky ones. Not only did the fighter pilot make it through World War II, but at 94, he is still driving and out and about.

Branch Office

them in your harness you're almost part of the tree.

He retains a sense of wonder at trees planted in the Botanic Garden in the 1870s that are still alive. Like old people, he says, they get characterful scars and bumps. He admires the age and importance of the Monterey pines – very important for their origin in Monterey and their gene pool. They’re some of the earliest planted in New Zealand. We really don’t know how long they will last. We could get another 20 or 30 years out of some of them. English oaks in England last two, three or four hundred years but because they grow faster here they’re starting to decline now. Their canopy ages when they can’t get the sap to the top of the tree. There’s less foliage and loss of canopy density. That’s life. It’s like a person to see magnificent trees aging.

J

ames Jones (1980-1984) is an arborist - a curator at the Wellington Botanic Gardens.

When he's high up in a tree, his safety gear latched to its limbs, the clouds skating above, and the wind ruffling the leaves and his hair, he almost feels part of the branches he is climbing in.

James has loved trees since he was a kid growing up in Upper Hutt. His delight in them was cemented when he was ten and his parents went to live in Britain, in a village in the beautiful New Forest.

That was stunning. There was an ancient oak forest and villages right amongst it. You only needed to walk a couple of hundred metres and you were in it.

He and his friends bicycled, explored and climbed.

This idyll lasted a year and the family relocated to New Plymouth where there were different, but equally beautiful, gardens and trees.Their house had a big section with fruit trees.

Then back to Wellington and Wellington College after which James’ love of trees, and the fact that friends of friends had gone to work in parks and gardens, made his choice of career obvious.

Old Boys in the News

He joined the Wellington City gardening team as a labourer and found himself along Lambton Quay and Cuba Mall, tending the flowers and blasted by great gusts of diesel fumes belched out by roaring council buses.

James’ appreciates the beauty of the old Lebanon cedars and towering sequoias and the curious beauty of the garden’s most photographed tree, the relatively young – at about 40 – Cheiranthodendron pentadactylon, or Devil’s Hand tree with its yellow finger-shaped blooms and red claws.

The trees need constant maintenance, much more than if they were growing in the wild. Broken branches need removal before they can fall on a wanderer with eyes glued on the tulips.

Like flower-watchers, he says gardeners walk around looking at the ground. An arborist walks around looking up. Beneath the trees, he is responsible for lawns, grasses and bush, and helping train apprentices. Sometimes he needs to work indoors.

Not at all put off, he eventually studied for his National Diploma in Horticulture and did an apprenticeship. Ever since, he has worked for the council in its gardens, mostly in the Botanic Garden - though he was seconded for a time to manage Otari - and mostly concerned with trees.

The Botanic Garden is a beautiful place, he says, 24 hectares of native forest, exotic trees, bedding plants, rose - the whole shebang, really. I love the outdoors. I couldn’t go into an office. My life is trees. I’m lucky at 44 I can still do it. I’m one of the older arborists. You've got to be fit, which is why it's a young man's game, though there are a few women arborists.

It is, he says, an amazing feeling to be up in a tree and knowing you’re trying to make it last 150 years. A floral bed goes for six months and it's gone.

Trees have form, strength and beauty. You can enjoy them. When you’re up in

Saturday Magazine

Passion on a Passport

A

s a young person growing up in Lower Hutt and commuting each day into Wellington to attend first St Mark’s and then Wellington College, I would never have imagined the kind of life that was before me. My father was a factory worker and he expected that I would follow in his footsteps. But my school life set me on a totally different journey.

After finishing at Wellington College and Victoria University, I ended up in Motueka as a secondary school teacher. I then joined up as a full-time minister with the Salvation Army and took a life time journey through some of the world's troubled spots.

With my wife Pam and our four children, we spent 14 years in Africa. Then we moved to London and an international role and where l picked up my dodgy passport. I was fortunate to be part of a recovery team that went into Iraq after the invasion and for a short time was able to help the people in southern Iraq. We worked with the North Korean Government to help improve their dairy industry. North Korea is one of the most amazingly isolated and needy places on earth.

48 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Working with the poorest people on earth took me into the mountain ranges in China and work with the ethnic minority groups in Mao Xian.

Other placements included Pakistan, Afghanistan and Cuba. To top off my migrations, I spent three years in Southern Sudan as the Programme Director for World Vision. Working there to assist almost three million people in the newest country on earth was the most challenging role I have ever done.

Now my life is fairly normal, working as World Vision New Zealand's International Director. I still have the chance to work with freeing children from bonded labour in India and changing communities across the twenty other countries we work in. My body is mainly in South Auckland but my mind and heart are still working for the poor of the world in some of its most needy spots.

St Mark’s Alumni Magazine Seth Le Leu (1968-1971) Seth.Le-Leu@worldvision.co.nz

M

Back on his feet - after 31 years

ore than 30 years after a diving accident confined him to a wheelchair, a former Paralympian has the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle one day in the future, thanks to a pair of bionic legs.

David MacCalman, ONZM (1971-1975) is the first in the world to own a pair of Rex bionic legs, invented in New Zealand and unveiled by Prime Minister John Key in July.

The 193cm David says the opportunity to stand again has been overwhelming. The intimacy and opportunities are endless. My daughter is 17 and there's the potential to walk her down the aisle one day. At first I just didn't want to fall over and hurt myself. I couldn't take my eyes off my feet because they were moving independently for the first time in so long, he said.

It was not until several hours after his first training session that the magnitude of what he had just done hit him. It wasn't really until I had time to think afterwards that I really reflected, and it was very emotional. That moment, when I broke my neck and realised that I was paralysed and probably wouldn't walk again, all came back.

Richard Little, one of the creators and chief technology officer for Rex Bionics, said he couldn't be happier with his first customer. Dave is not only a great bloke, but he is a shining light in the New Zealand disability community, and in general. Seeing him standing and walking, it never wears off. That is what drives us to come in here every day.

so to see their reactions will be really neat.

David was an elite basketballer, playing for Wellington in the NZ national league before joining Brisbane in the Australian NBL. He was on a basketball scholarship in California when he broke his neck diving into a shallow river.

Since then he has forged a sporting career as a basketball coach and as a three-time Paralympian, winning gold medals in the shot put and javelin at Sydney in 2000.

In a recent email with David, he wrote, As the first

owner of a pair of exosceletal bionic legs I work closely with the REX company in development at their centre in Albany. I don’t currently have them at home so there are no new developments at the moment. I hope to have them home over the summer, however, and will try BBQing, dancing and walking every day in them... they are so much fun!

I had hoped to take them to New York this November as I will be doing the marathon in a handcycle but the importation made the project complicated and expensive.

NZ Defence Force Medal

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he New Zealand Defence Service Medal (NZDSM) was instituted by HM The Queen signing the Royal Warrant on 6 April 2011.

The new Award is to recognise service in the NZ Armed Forces/ Defence Force since September 1945. This service is not only in the Regular and Reserve Forces but also under the Compulsory Military Training (CMT) scheme of the 1950's and the National Service scheme of the 1960's.

Malcolm Faulls (1947-1951) was chosen to be in a representative group to receive the NZDSM at Parliament in April 2011. The attached photograph shows Malcolm being presented with the Award by Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Veterans Affairs.

Other Old Boys receiving the Award on 14 April included Bill Hopper (1949) and Ken Douglas ONZ (1949-1953) .

The number of Old Boys who are eligible for this Award will number in the thousands out of the 160,000 to be awarded nationwide.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 49

Old Boys in the News

Dave is a Paralympics gold medallist, but says his sporting successes never made up for being in a wheelchair. I was the same person, but suddenly people see you differently. I used to go to a bar in town with a local basketball team and I would hang out with the guys I used to play with, but they were all so tall, and I could never get a conversation going. Rex will allow me to be back at eye-level, and there are a lot of people who have never known me other than in a wheelchair,

(Left:) David gives his new bionic legs a try out. (Right): David at the 1992 Barcelona Games

The Day(s) the Earth Moved

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t lasted 47 seconds and had the force of seven nuclear bombs, but miraculously no one was killed in the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch on September 4. Everyone in Christchurch will remember exactly where they were and what took place at 4.35 am on Saturday 4th September, 2010. Five months later, after the city had been comparatively lucky with both the location and timing of the September's magnitude 7.1 - the location of this one was within 10km of the city and at a shallow depth of 5km during the middle of a working day which resulted in destruction, injuries and deaths.

From the rubble emerged stories of survival, hope and the triumph of the Kiwi spirit. Even though thousands are still without power, water and living in damaged homes, and still enduring regular shakes, New Zealand communities have banded together to show their love and support through donations and on-the ground labour to help Cantabrians get through what is set to be a tough period of rebuilding properties and lives.

We were well aware that many of our Old Boys suffered considerable damage to their properties and major disruptions to family and work life – our thoughts are still with you as you move ahead and get through this most horrific disaster and aftermath.

We asked one of our central city-based Old Boys, Peter Morrison (1970-1975) former Head prefect and current Branch convenor to tell us how he is getting on.

Old Boys in the News

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e and our families are all safe and well. The Classic Villa is still standing with just some minor plastering and repainting needed. We were closed for three weeks, as we had no power or water and were also in the cordoned off area of Worcester Boulevard, opposite the Arts Centre. Fortunately, we could reopen in mid-March.

Out of Adversity - we have H20, At the Classic Villa, the old well (c1897) has come alive again from the ‘shaking’ and thus, we have the delicious alluvial cold, cold water coming up - we have had it tapped – it’s great in the Gin! Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to those who have lost loved ones in this tragic event, as well as to those who have lost their homes and businesses.

Quote: We will rise to this challenge. We will be better than before. We will build a City that will remember and honour those we have lost. This is our place, and not even the terrible tragedy we are facing can take this City away from us. We have a great future, believe it. Bob Parker, Mayor. -Thanks Mayor Bob! Then to top it off – we had snow and lots of it with the biggest snow fall since 1992 on 10 August. It looked pretty but after five days of it hanging around and collapsing our guttering, we were over it.

Please come and support Christchurch. Great rates for Old Boys at www.classicvilla.co.nz - 40% off rack.

Please also become friends with The Classic Villa on Facebook, where updates are done frequently.

Cheers Peter Morrison, (1970 -1975) morrisonh@xtra.co.nz 50 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Wellington College turns ‘Red n Black’

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he generosity of the student and staff community of Wellington College again came to the fore on Friday, 4 March.

To assist the victims of the Canterbury Earthquake it was decided to hold a RED and BLACK Day. Staff and students were encouraged to wear red and black clothing and contribute towards the appeal.

The support was overwhelming and a staggering $7045 was raised. What was particularly warming for the organisers was the fact that many students gave over and above and even students who were not in red and black also contributed. UK-based Old Boy, Derek Golding (1960-1964) even chipped in a generous donation to boost the appeal after reading about the effort in the Collegian newsletter.

It was decided that the money raised was to be shared equally between two of our brother schools in Christchurch. Shirley Boys' High School was severely damaged and Christchurch Boys’ High School also suffered structural damage.

We cannot put a finger on whether Wellington College has ever held a ‘non-uniform day before’ - perhaps one of our readers could enlighten us.

On the Right Track

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urrent students of the College and no doubt many local Old Boys will shortly be able to ride the new Matangi Trains as they roll out from the Wellington Station yards. Not many will know that one Old Boy, John Brown (19581963) owns the Sydney-based team and works as Design Director for TDI Asia Pacific (Transport Design International). TDI created the Matangi industrial design for Hyundai Rotem, the Korean manufacturer.

John, founder of Design Resource now one of Australia’s largest industrial Design Agencies, undertook design degrees in New Zealand and the Royal College of Art, London. He worked as a consultant with AID (Allied International Designers) in London for five years and founded Design Resource in Sydney in 1980. In 1989, he founded TDI (Transport Design International) working in conjunction with Martin Pemberton (TDI UK).

OSCAR and Waratah double deck trains. It is encouraging to see how New Zealanders can influence global design.

His favourite projects include consumer products, sustainable design and transportation.

Don Ramage was my art master at Wellington College, so that’s where it all started. In addition to product design, design management and innovation management, John acts as an expert witness in design related legal matters. He is a past judge for the Wheels Car Design of the Year, and has lectured at a number of Australian and New Zealand Design Universities, and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Design.

John said, We are especially pleased with the Matangi, due mainly to the unique multi-purpose carriage solution where a number of special needs passengers can comfortably use the train.

Wheelchair and motorised scooter users, the elderly, families with strollers and bike riders can all easily enter the platform height carriage. The wide aisle multi-purpose layout, with its special features, is unique in international carriage design.

The emergence of rail transport as a major solution to transport growth in Asia and North America has seen TDI create visionary rollingstock design solutions for many global cities over the last two years. They include Auckland, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Hong Kong, Cairo, Istanbul, Athens and the Sydney Millennium,

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teachers for schools. He then retired but spent two years as a visiting professor at Northern Illinois University, West of Chicago.

On leaving Wellington College, he went to work at the Reserve Bank and then decided he wanted to be a teacher, thus completed his degree at Victoria University.

John spent time teaching in low income schools in London and then taught at Alexandra Grammar school in Singapore where he became housemaster of the Boarding School.

He recently met 14 Ghurka men who had been boarders - now all retired from the British and Nepalese armies.

They continued to see the world and went to Hong Kong where John became a lecturer in

John Brown johnb@DesignResource.com.au

A Life of Learning

ohn McLevie (1953-1947) attended St Mark’s and Wellington College as a clergyman’s son, as his father was the Vicar at St Barnabas', Roseneath.

John went on to teach at Rongotai College as a PE and History teacher. He married Elaine, a teacher at Wellington East Girls College, and they decided to go overseas for 18 months. However they never returned (except for a holiday).

Outside of his professional activities, John’s interests are endurance horse riding, dressage, life drawing, water-colour and pastel, collecting early industrial artefacts, visiting art galleries and collecting art books.

John and Majur Malou, the Executive Director of the Refugee network.

Education. John and Elaine also had their third child and after four years decided to go to the United States. They both went to Michigan State University where they completed PhDs in English and Education. John then went to San Diego State University where, over 14 years, climbed to the rank of full Professor and the Director of Teacher Education. He also spent three years in Brazil as Chief of Party of a US consulting team.

John then proceeded to Associate Dean for Teacher Education at the University of Houston at Clear Lake, Texas before they headed back to California where they took up positions which involved John visiting 54 universities, training

They finally settled down in San Diego to be near their children and seven grandchildren. Of course this didn't stop them as they are now volunteers at the Episcopal Refugee network where John is President and Elaine is the Community Relations Officer. They serve refugees settled in the area by the UN and the US government. They have about 3500 Sudanese from Kenya and Cairo camps; 2000 Karen and Karenni Hills tribes— people from the Thailand border and about 200 Bhutanese from Nepal. Their jobs are very busy helping the refugees learn English, get jobs and housing.

John plans to visit New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup - hopefully supporting New Zealand.

St Mark’s School Alumni Magazine John McLevie (1943-1947) • JMclevie@aol.com THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 51

Old Boys in the News

John has worked on major industrial design projects in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Many of his client partnerships extend for periods of 20-25 years, creating ongoing ranges of successful product designs.

TDI is one of the leading transport design studios

in Asia, specialising in Passenger Rail and Marine design. John comments, My passion is styling and giving new products the wow factor.

Wellingtonian Profile: In Hell and Loving it! the market. It seems silly now.

What was the first pizza business you owned?

I opened a store in Wainuiomata called The Pizza Place. It had been advertised for $7000, including the stock. The catch was it was in Wainui. It was pretty challenging running a pizza place there, because it's not the most affluent suburb. I would have all-you-can eat specials and get the rugby league guys to come in. League's big out there and once I got them in, everyone else followed.

You opened Hell Pizza in Kelburn in 1993.

Why choose Hell as a brand?

I had friends who ran a radio station called Fish FM and everything had to have a fish theme. I liked the idea of having something themed. I thought the pizza industry was really boring at the time, so wracked my brains and came up with Hell.

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ell Pizza founder Callum Davies (1986-1989) talks about pizzas, wanting to become a stockbroker and Wellington's entrepreneurial spirit.

Old Boys in the News

Is it true you came up with the idea for Hell Pizza while at high school?

No, that's an urban myth. But I did have an afterschool job at a pizza place in Karori when I was 15, and did start thinking about pizza then.

When you were growing up what did you want to do?

Believe it or not I wanted to be a stockbroker. In the 1990s the stockmarket seemed so exciting and those guys were making heaps of money by they time they were 24 or 25.

Were you concerned about using the name Hell?

When we opened the Kelburn store we were a bit worried potential customers might think we were back-yard devil-worshippers or something and not order from us. I tried to think of other names, but I couldn't come up with anything better.

How did you allay your concerns?

We went to a graphic design company and they suggested we keep everything light and fun, so we did. We needn't have worried. The place really took off. We couldn't answer the phones fast enough. We were very lucky, though. We were close to Victoria University and a group of web design students offered to set up a website for us.

The website basically took off because people couldn't get through on the phones.

Were you good at maths and accounting at school?

Maths was probably one of my best subjects at school. Accounting wasn't so great. I found that sixth form [Y12] Accounting was just not that relevant.

Was it hard work getting that store off the ground?

I worked every night possible, except for two weeks at Christmas. At the time I was 21 and all my friends were going out drinking. I was missing out on that, so I thought, `This had better be worth it'. Thankfully it was.

You must have a good head for numbers.

I have an OK head for numbers, but it wasn't until I took on my business partner, Stu McMullin (1985-1989), that I learned about how much it actually cost to make pizza. He taught me that. I had been pricing them according to what was in

Several Wellington businesses, including Havana Coffee and 42 Below vodka, started at the same time as Hell. Was it an exciting time?

Yes it was. Wellington was really changing. You would go out at 9.30 at night and no one would

L

egends of the NZ music scene, Hello Sailor, were inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame at the APRA Silver Scrolls Awards Night.

JKL It's been 36 years since the band's first official gig in Tokoroa, but Graham Brazier, Dave McArtney (1964-1968) and Harry Lyon haven't stopped doing what they love most - making solid rock tunes for an appreciative audience.

Speaking on TV, the aged rockers reflected on the heady days of rock and roll in the 1970s and 80s and what has kept the iconic Kiwi group going.

Determination is what has really kept us together, said Dave. We put the music first and we're more into the content than anything.

52 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

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be out and hardly anything would be open. That was changing, the coffee culture was really taking off and Wellingtonians really appreciated it.

Wellingtonians really appreciate when they get something good.

How many Hell Pizza stores are there now?

We have 63 in New Zealand, and franchises and owner-operated stores in Australia, UK, Ireland, Canada, India and Seoul.

How popular is pizza in South Korea?

They have three pizza brands in Seoul. It's become very popular, mainly with the emerging middle class, especially the kids. They seem to want to move away from tradition and be more Western.

Were you concerned about using the Hell brand in any overseas markets?

I was worried about Ireland, because they still have religious wars going on. But they were fantastic. I probably wouldn't try opening a Hell in Texas, though.

You travel a lot for business. Do you enjoy travelling?

I love to travel. When I came back from the UK a few years ago with my wife and children we took three months and travelled by train, boat and automobile through Mongolia and Russia. It was absolutely fantastic.

What pizza topping is the most popular in New Zealand?

Definitely Lust – that's our meat-lovers' one. New Zealand is definitely a nation of meat-lovers.

Having said that, our gluten-free and dairy-free pizzas are really popular.

The Hell Pizza headquarters are in the former Mt Cook police barracks, which are said to be haunted. Have you seen any ghosts?

We haven't seen anything, but one of our rooms is filled with Halloween and Hell-themed paraphernalia, so it looks quite spooky.

The old cells are still there, though. Apparently, then, men would go out drinking on Friday nights, be placed in the cells and then on Saturday morning their sons would line up and hand over a penny to get them out.

The Wellingtonian

Hello Sailor enters NZ Hall of Fame

he band members of Hello Sailor are somewhat silent on the excesses of a rock and roll lifestyle these days. That doesn't mean they have stopped playing classic songs, like Gutter Black and Blue Lady, that have made them famous. We just keep playing. We've just about finished a new album that's going to be released next year, Dave said.

As for their hard-earned recognition, the band is surprised and pleased to be honoured by the NZ music fraternity. It's really nice to be in the company we're keeping. I never imagined it would happen, said Harry.

Despite their rock and roll status, the band doesn't expect to be celebrating like they used to. We certainly won't be waking up in Singapore with a beard two weeks later, jokes Dave.

(L-R): Dave, Graham and Harry

Wellingtonian Profile: The St John’s Man in Charge

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This is an unusual church in that you don't really have a geographic parish. Where do your parishioners come from?

All over Wellington, really. We're pretty traditional and the people coming here appreciate that. We have a lot of families.

t John's in Willis Street senior minister Allister Lane (1988-1992) talks about Wellington College, how he was ‘called’ to be a Minister and whether Christianity remains relevant.

Did you come from a religious family?

In our household there was no opportunity not to go to church on Sunday. That was clear. I'm very thankful to my parents for that. But we weren't a pious family, or strictly conservative.

How did you find Wellington College?

Coming from Wadestown Primary, it was a big shock, being thrust into such a huge environment.

It was rather overwhelming for a start. We had a long family tradition at the school – my father, uncles and older brother had gone there. I thought it was a great college and it set me up academically.

Were you into sport, or drama or public speaking?

No sport, that's for sure. I've been described as ‘a-sportal’. I was relatively shy and did very little extra-curricular stuff at school.

You studied Accounting at Victoria University.

How was that?

The longer I did it, the less I enjoyed it. I got through it. I lived at home while I was at Victoria, and didn't involve myself in areas like student politics. Through my college years and while I was at Victoria, my extra-curricular life revolved around the church. That's where I learnt leadership roles and devoted my energy.

Did you enjoy your work?

Very much, and I'm grateful for that time. The experiences I had then, and the people I met, have been extremely helpful to me now in this job.

I read you then had a ‘calling’ to become a minister?

While I was working, I was taking theology papers from Otago University. The more I did, the more I loved them. Finally a friend said I should have a look at my life – my work with our church, my

obvious interest in theology. He made me reassess my life, and I decided I wanted to be a minister.

However, it wasn't that clearcut. I asked my girlfriend of two months, Naomi, what she thought about it, and she was very encouraging. So we moved to Dunedin and I was there for five years.

A student again?

Yes, but a ‘mature’ student. I was in my late 20s by then.

And your girlfriend?

It worked out well. She's now my wife. We've been married eight years.

When you became a Minister, did you choose to live in Wellington?

I was ready to go anywhere in New Zealand. You make the decision in consultation, but I never expected to be moving back to my home town.

When you got your job as senior Minister at St John's in 2008 you were 34. Was that young?

It was for this church. This has been a very conservative church. It only got its first New Zealand-born senior minister in the late 1970s.

They previously came from Scotland. Ministers have got younger over the past decade or two, but I was young.

Was that a problem?

Not at all. I've been made to feel extremely welcome at St John's.

How do you get on with other denominations?

Very well. We have excellent relationships with the St Peter's Anglican and St Mary of the Angels Catholic churches nearby. We have combined services on some occasions, and meet and discuss issues relevant to us all. Grant Robertson, the local MP, is excellent in bringing inner-city groups together, and we are part of that.

The number of church-goers is declining. Is the church still as relevant today?

I'm sure it is, but in other ways. The number of people attending church is declining, but that doesn't mean Christianity is less relevant. In fact, the feedback is that it is more relevant. I'm not anxious that people are losing their faith. The challenge is to present it in a way which suits today's society.

St John's has a reputation for its rather edgy billboards. Are you behind that?

No. They were going before I got here. Stuart [Simpson, the other minister at St John's] and I have kept them going. We try to get a message across, usually using humour. The Tui billboards have been a good model for us. It's a balancing act. You want a strong message, but you don't want to offend people.

What do you think of Wellington?

It's a smashing place. The buzz and the liveliness.

I've not experienced anything like it in any other New Zealand city. And the closeness of everything is a big asset. There's always something happening in Wellington. It has an edginess I like, and its leaders are always looking to push forward.

The Wellingtonian

_

Yokoso, (Welcome) Minister

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n December, Koro Bessho (Class of 1969), and now the Deputy Vice-Minister for Foreign Policy in the Japanese Government made a return visit to his old school. Koro’s father was the Japanese Ambassador here in Wellington in the late 1960s.

International Director, Mike Pallin, Deputy Principal, Robert Anderson and Japanese Teacher, Shinichi Muroya welcomed Koro and gave him a tour of the College, stopping in at one of the Junior Japanese classes to see how the language is now taught and the number of students who take the subject.

(L-R): Mike Pallin, Koro Bessho, Robert Anderson, Shinichi Muroya

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 53

Old Boys in the News

Did you work as an accountant?

No, I knew by the end of my degree it wasn't for me. I worked in banking and insurance.

Is there much competition among Presbyterian churches for parishioners.

Not competition, but there is a certain sensitivity in that area.

Wellingtonian Profile: Mad About Music camp for everyone; they all wanted to go into social work or become policy advisers.

When did you become involved professionally with the music industry?

When I was at Transport, a job came up for an advisory officer at the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council (now Creative New Zealand). I applied for it and got it.

Z on Air music manager Brendan Smyth (19541968) talks about missing out on seeing The Beatles, working in the public service and his affection for Shihad.

Wasn't the council mostly involved in funding and promoting the fine arts?

There was a small group working on music and I was running that section. I got to know a lot of people through the job, so when I came across to NZ On Air it was an easy transition.

Were you always interested in music?

Ever since The Beatles. The first record I bought was The Beatles. I was born in 1950 and was 13 when The Beatles came here. I was a teenager and just discovering music.

What was your first job with NZ On Air? NZ On Air was just being set up in 1989 and I came on board as the radio manager. It was all about getting more New Zealand music played on commercial radio stations.

Did you see them play in Wellington?

I was boarding at Wellington College – it was a boarding school then – and we were not allowed out. So we climbed the top of Mt Vic to watch their motorcade come in from the airport. Meanwhile, our housemaster, who we thought was quite square, went to see them perform. That was one of the greatest injustices of the world.

How much New Zealand music were commercial stations playing back then?

Back in the 90s a survey was done to find out how much New Zealand music was played on air. It was just under 2 per cent. Now it's about 20 per cent.

Old Boys in the News

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You never studied music. What did you do at university?

I started a law degree at Victoria. That did not work out happily at all, so I ended up studying philosophy. Our philosophy lecturer said there would never be "situations vacant" ads for philosophers, but it still served me well. I was able to get a job straight out of university.

Wasn't your first job with the Ministry of Transport?

When I finished university the public service was employing just about every graduate going. They didn't care if you had a philosophy degree. A degree of any sort was fine. So I started out with the Ministry of Transport.

What was that like?

It wasn't that inspiring. It was basically a transit

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n June, this year, retired Deputy Principal, Mike Pallin - now our International Students’ Director, hosted a function for our Thai Old Boys, in Bangkok. Joining him [far right photo] included Den Wasiksiri (1967-72) [left] and his brother Dow Wasiksiri (1969-73).

Just last month, Nikhom Tantemsapya (19571959) visited the College. Nikhom moved to New Zealand when his father set up the Thai Embassy.

In the early 1980s, Nikhom himself became the Thai Ambassador, based here in Wellington. Now retired and living in Bangkok, he returned to New Zealand for the opening of the new Thai Embassy in Thorndon.

54 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

You were involved with establishing New Zealand Music Week.

A group of us had formed the Kiwi Music Action Group and music week was one of our ideas.

Everyone involved was very nervous about that week, because we were not sure if it was a naff idea or a cool idea. But a programmer from one of the big commercial stations said he had been really humbled by it.

Now it has morphed into NZ Music Month.

A week just was not long enough. And now so many organisations have become involved, from Hallensteins and their music month T-shirts to local libraries staging events.

What was it like to be made a Member of the Order of New Zealand for services to music?

The investiture was at Government House and was an amazing experience. I was in the company of

people who had done great things, from brain surgeons to those who had contributed to their local community. It was very humbling.

What up-and-coming band should we look out for?

Family Cactus. They're from Wellington, play altfolk-rock and deserve our support, because they are really good.

Shihad is one of your favourite bands. Why? Shihad and NZ On Air have grown up together.

We were involved with their first video and we've been involved ever since. I love those boys and see them as friends. I love that we have been behind them since the beginning. I'm looking forward to Jon Toogood's new record.

You love music. Were you ever in a band?

No, not really. I've been in a music video, Bliss,

by The Dudes. It was shot at the Cricketers' Arms.

I'm the hippy with bushy hair at the front of the video. I didn't actually know it was being filmed at the time. I had just gone along to see The Dudes, who were the hot new band in town.

Describe Wellington's music scene.

There's a really cool scene happening here, much of it centred round Mighty Mighty bar. There's an alt-country-folk thing going on at the moment.

Before that, it was dub – Fat Freddy's and The Black Seeds, which are both still very much alive and going strong. Wellington is a very integrated [music] scene. People turn up in each other's bands all the time.

Other than music, what keeps you in Wellington?

I went to Lyall Bay School, Wellington College and Vic Uni. My life is Wellington. I live in Wellywood, literally, in Strathmore. I go to Miramar New World and I'll see some Hobbits. I wouldn't live anywhere else.

The Wellingtonian NB: Brendan’s brother Roger is Class of 1969 and his son Harry is currently in Y12.

Sawatdee Khrab

Whit's fur ye'll no go by ye! (What's meant to happen will happen, old Scottish saying).

Back: Second: Front:

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1981 SCHOOL COUNCIL EXECUTIVE S Grimwood, P Dawson, R Anyon, B Gordon, A Shvarts S Grimshaw, A Moss, J Silver, I Rennie J Albren, N Lourantos, A Ioannou, R Wallace, R Kan, P Swallow, M Heron

who live here. It is a place where people feel safe and have easy access to the Petone foreshore, the river walks, our native bush reserves in the surrounding hills and the numerous parks and gardens.

The former real estate agent - who admits to being a sci-fi buff and ‘bit of a Trekkie’ [A Trekkie is a fan of the Star Trek television series/films], now heads an organisation that employs 490 people and controls $1.2 billion in assets. He and his partner Linda live in Wainuiomata. In his spare time he enjoys working on landscaping plans for the couple’s property and hitting the Petone foreshore on his bike.

We are actively promoting business opportunities to build prosperity and provide jobs for our young people so they can stay and raise their families here. Lower Hutt is one of the first cities to benefit from the Ultra Fast Broadband and this will benefit local business and provide new opportunities for our young people who will make use of this resource and prosperity for the area.

Ray has extensive experience in local body politics. He was first elected to Hutt City Council as a councillor in the Wainuiomata Ward in 1995 and served as Deputy Mayor from 2001 to 2005. During his 15 years as a councillor, he held various senior positions on council committees, including Chair of Operations and Compliance, Chair of Community Grants, Chair of Community Services Committee and Chair of Heritage Advisory Committee.

A strong sense of community mindedness has also seen Ray involved with numerous community projects such as fundraising for the local volunteer fire brigade, organising foodbank appeals and coordinating youth awards. He has been a Justice of the Peace for sixteen years.

Ray’s primary goal is to be known as the ‘people’s Mayor’ and to inject vibrancy into Lower Hutt while reducing crime through the Hutt Safe City programme. Latest crime figures for Lower Hutt already show a reduction in the crime rate and a recent poll of residents show 95 per cent loving living in the city.

I think Lower Hutt has a rich cultural diversity and has much to offer the 100,000 or so people

A Wainuiomata ward councillor since 1995, Ray was always destined for a career in politics. His family emigrated from Scotland in the 1960s when he was just three. Though no trace of the accent remains, Ray is still fiercely proud of his Scottish ancestry and hangs both the New Zealand and Scottish flags in his mayoral office.

With a name like William Wallace, which is my full name, where else am I going to come from?

And yes, I have seen Braveheart, many times.

Though a Labour man early on, Ray ‘fell out’ with the party’s Rogernomics policies and stood as a National Party candidate for Pencarrow in the 1990 general election. He lost in the safe Labour seat by 208 votes. I was young, energetic and keen to see change. But when National digressed from some of its policies, Ray stepped down from national politics for good. Local body was where his heart lay.

Hutt South MP and Wainuiomata local Trevor Mallard says Ray is a damn good bloke and is pretty hard to dislike. We haven’t always agreed on stuff but he’s straightforward and honest and he’s certainly worked in the interests of his constituents as No 1. His only broken promise to me has been promises to get fit. He’s never done it.

In his formative years, Ray attended Te Aro Primary, St Mark’s and Wellington College. He was a Prefect and recalls winning his first election while at College when he ran for Student Council President against 13 other candidates. It was a landslide with over 80 per cent of the vote. I was even out campaigning with billboards then, so I’ve had plenty of practice.

His teenage campaign platforms were remarkably similar to todays. That I was approachable, that the role of the School Chairman was to serve the students, and it’s no different [now]. I want to be the people’s Mayor. I am a servant for the people. That’s very much where I see myself for the duration of this term and hopefully beyond.

I am loving the role and challenges of being Mayor. There have been some big issues that I have had to deal with coming up to my first year in office. The values that I was taught at Wellington College have trained me well to cope with those issues and the training I received as a Prefect serves me well looking after twelve Councillors.

oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

I have News...

Please send us your news to share with fellow Old Boys.

Don’t forget to send us your change of address if you move house or email provider.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 55

Old Boys in the News

ay Wallace (1979-1981) swept to power in the 2010 Lower Hutt mayoral election, trouncing his sole rival, incumbent David Ogden, by 5000 votes and became the 21st person to occupy the Office of Mayor since 1891.

School’s Out for Retiring Principal

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rincipal of Tawhai School, Stokes Valley since 1987, Ron Wainwright (1958-1962) can look back with satisfaction at the school he leaves in the hands of his successor.

His last ‘school report’ otherwise known as the ERO report, described him as an effective leader with a collaborative approach, empowering staff to take appropriate roles and responsibilities in the development and implementation of sound literacy teaching practices.

In fact he’s proud of the fact all eight ERO reports over that past 25 years have been positive. I’ve been lucky to have a great lot of students and a dedicated staff, many of them long-term at Tawhai, providing stability. Added to that, we have been well supported by parents and a high-calibre Board of Trustees, he says. Take away any arm of that triangle and the whole structure collapses.

Emphasis has been on literacy and numeracy throughout the school, with a special emphasis on giving new entrants a head-start by making the transition from Preschool to Year 1 as stress-free as possible. The 2009 ERO report says more than 92 per cent of students were achieving at or above the expected level at both six months and after one year at school at the end of 2008. The hard work by the school community had led to a well-resourced school, with attractive learning environments and grounds.

Educated at Wadestown Primary, Wellington College, Victoria University and Wellington Teachers College Kelburn, Ron Wainwright began his working life as a meteorological technician before becoming a teacher. Stints working on the railways, driving trucks and working in the bush on the East Coast ‘rubbing shoulders with all walks of life’ helped hone his understanding of people.

He taught Forms One and Two at Newlands Primary before spending seven years in special education at Porirua East. In 1976 Ron came to teach in the Hutt Valley and was at Eastern Hutt School from 1977-1983 before returning to Cashmere Avenue in Khandallah, until he became the teaching Principal at the 140-pupil Tawhai School in 1987. Now the roll has more than doubled and at its peak in the post-2003 Network Review had 350 students.

Retirement plans include some overseas travel and more time indulging in his love of tramping in the New Zealand outdoors. He is also looking forward to spending more time with his adult twin daughters, both of whom have shared interests with him in teaching and the well-being of young people. Becky is currently a teacher at Taita College and Charlotte is a trained clinical psychologist working with disadvantaged children, who intends to follow a career in psychology and education on her return from her OE. The Hutt News

Auckland Old Boys Sponsorship Assists Student to Sail Old Boys in the News

The Spirit of Adventure

as rather ordinary, like learning to sail or seeing the dolphins. But it’s more than that. It’s the experience and all of these things put together with 40 kids that make this trip so special, the experience that sets you up for not only a ten-day adventure, but your future as well.

M

y adventure in April was amazing on all sides of the spectrum. The skills I learnt, the things I saw and the friends I made will surely be memories that will stay with me for a long time to come.

From a young age, I had seen this proud ship anchoring outside my window, and had been told by young and old what an amazing adventure it offers. However, it was only after I saw that there was a chance of obtaining funding to help me afford the trip, that I really started to look at what the Spirit was about. By doing this I just got positive feedback, all talking about this whole life-changing experience. I managed to obtain the funding and soon after I was on board the ship. This Spirit had A LOT to live up to.

But the Spirit definitely lived up to its expectations. In April, 40 trainees who were almost complete strangers went on board with fourteen crew on a tenday journey. My Voyage travelled from Wellington through the Cook Strait, through the Marlborough sounds to Nelson. We managed to sail Cook Strait in the first day, which allowed us eight days to explore the sounds around the top of the South Island.

However although learning how to run a 60-foot boat was helpful, the sailing itself was one of the least important highlights of the trip for me. During this time, I constantly found myself taking charge of up to 20 trainees in turning the boat around or anchoring it. It was things like this that improved so many aspects of myself and the trainees around me.

Some of the friendships I made on the trip are now stronger than friendships I have had for years and years, and the lessons I have learnt have changed my life. The trip highlights included seeing dolphins, climbing the mast, being the cook on trainee day (the final day, where the trainees completely take over and direct the ship into Nelson), meal times, the list goes on.

I am often asked why it was so good or what was the best part, and I find myself struggling to answer properly. Each highlight on its own seemed 56 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

I left the ship more determined and focused than I think I have ever been, and it has continued through to this day.

So, thank you to the Auckland Branch of the Old Boys’ Association for giving me the opportunity to partake in this journey, and to those who are thinking about going on the Spirit - I thoroughly recommend it. And if you don’t believe me, ask the 60,000 others.

Fletcher Mills, Y12 MEN BEHAVING BADLY... NOT AT WELLINGTON COLLEGE t’s not always the teens who need to learn a few bus manners. I was on a crowded bus last week when an older woman got on. A shylooking young man in his Wellington College uniform stood up and gestured for her to sit in his seat. In a loud and stern voice she said: Sit down and don’t patronise me... It made me angry and disappointed to see this young man’s confidence knocked so dramatically.

I

JUST WHAT WAS IN THE WATER? here must have been something in the Wellington College drinking water back in the early 2000s. Comedian Dai Henwood says ahead of him in the school’s Junior Drama Club were Bret McKenzie, from Flight of the Conchords, and thespian raconteur Jeremy Randerson.

The year after him was Barnaby Weir, from Black Seeds and Fly My Pretties.

T

Who would have thought those grey uniforms could be so inspiring?

The above quips both appeared in recent Dominion Posts’

Heading Home - going about it the long way

A

dam Glover (1986-1989) is a man on a mission, be it by bicycle. Adam, who for the past five years has lived in London, working in the construction industry decided he was ready to return home to catch up with family and friends.

But for this Old Boy, it wasn’t the usual Heathrow to Auckland non-stop route but instead, Adam has decided to do it by bike.

and where he received the most invitations to stay in actual homes and experience the warm hospitality and attention – all the time, feeling completely safe and the modest attention of being a celebrity.

The toughest terrain to date was crossing the 460km Turkmenistan Desert on a fiveday transit visa in 55 degree heat. With strong head winds and blowing sands, it was an arduous sector which resulted in him taking refuge in an abandoned farm to escape a sandstorm. In the desert, he needed to carry ten litres of water to survive each day – not always enough – and the search for water one day took him over 80km.

So on 2 April this year, Adam set forth for home on a 24,000km ride – using only his bike, and boat for a 12-month plus journey from London’s Tower Bridge to Wellington.

We caught up with Adam in Kyrgyzstan, having already cycled 10,600km through 17 countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with a further ten more countries to cycle through to his destination. His ETA in New Zealand is April/May 2012 after cycling through the likes of China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Timor and Australia.

Cycling through the remote Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, Adam had to push the bike for 25km one day because the road was just not possible to access easily with parts very steep, sandy and other parts very rocky. Escaping blowing snowfalls over a 4255 metre Kizill Art Pass, was also a challenge - the highest pass he crossed, Akbaital Pass was 4655 metres high.

Adam says the trip is a personal challenge for him and a fantastic life experience.

As he is an asthmatic, he decided to give more meaning to the trip by raising funds for Asthma UK and is funding the entire trip out of his own pocket. The trip to date has made him a much stronger and healthier person as well as losing around 10kg going from 83kg-73kg. Leaving the stresses of life in London hasn’t done him any harm either.

Adam’s bike - a Surly Long Haul Trucker - is pretty much self-contained and he carries around 40kg-50kg of weight which includes camping equipment, spare parts for the bike, food and water (sometimes up to ten litres) when he headed into more remote parts such as the Turkmenistan Desert of Turkmenistan and the Wakhan Valley of Tajikistan.

Above: Looking back down the Valley towards the Afghan Mountains of the Wakhan Range from just below the summit of the 4344 meter Khargush pass (Tajikistan).

Below: Resting by the Salt Lake after crossing the 4344 metre Khargush Pass (Tajikistan)

Adam tends to ‘wild camp’ around 50 percent of the journey, resting just off the sides of the road. Other overnight spots have included fields, orchards, city parks, and by lakes and rivers. In larger cities, he treats himself to a cheap guest house or hotel. Fortunately, he has also been invited into people’s home to stay overnight, which is a fantastic bonus.

Some of the major highlights that Adam has experienced so far include the side trip to Gallipoli, the historical cities of Yazd and Esfahan in Iran, and the Silk Road city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan. Scenery-wise, the remote snow-capped alps of the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan and cycling along the Danube were sights to be seen. To date, Adam says the best country he’s ridden through was Iran. He found the people overwhelmingly friendly

He’s only had a few mechanical problems to date with two broken chains, a ripped tyre, a blow out and just five flat tyres in 10,000km – sounds like Lady’s Luck is on his shoulder - for most of the time.

While much of the journey has been tough-going, getting an invitation to rest up at a villa adjacent to the Caspian Sea in Iran - which resulted from a random meeting of a local in a fruit shop - helped ease the weary body. Whereas one of the best moments was finding cold water in the Turkmenistan desert.

Unique sights abound across 10,000km – one included coming across two eccentric Englishmen driving a 1950s Bentley through the rugged Pamir Mountains.

Adam says that one of the great advantages of being on a bike is that it’s a great draw card and an excellent way of meeting so many kind people.

Keep up with Adam’s journey through his Facebook page ‘Adam Glover cycling London to New Zealand’ or his word press blog: www.2011adamglovercycling.wordpress.com All the best Adam. We look forward to hearing and reporting on part two of your journey and your eventual arrival back home.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 57

Old Boys in the News

Adam’s journey hasn’t been all smoothsailing so far. He said that the scariest moment was hearing the sound of the safety catch coming off a machine gun when the Tajikistan Army tried to sneak up on him when he camped by a river next to the Afghanistan border. With hands up and the words ‘tourist’, ‘tourist’ saved the day for Adam.

On average, Adam cycles 100km a day, but has cycled as much as 174km between Nis in Serbia and Sofia in Bulgaria.

The Funny Side of Life

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terrible magician, a yellow Power Ranger and now a rising comedian - Nic Sampson (2000-2004) is pretty happy with the way things have turned out. The 24-year-old actor and comedian grew up in Wellington, attending Wellington College, and now lives in Auckland.

Nic studied Drama at College, though said he never thought he would make it his career. I wanted to be a magician, but I was terrible. I was eight or nine and all my tricks came from this one book, he said. I wanted to be a rock drummer, too. I was generally either in a play or in the Music Room.

Afterwards Nic travelled to London's Globe Theatre following his performance in the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare festival. In London he received news from an earlier audition that he had secured the part of the yellow power ranger in the Power Rangers television series.

Filming took a year, and Nic said the experience was fantastic. I was thinking this is what I'm going to do. If this is what being an actor is all about why doesn't everyone want to do it? I had tons of money and was running around Auckland.

I had a pretty deluded idea of the acting world.

When filming ended, the work he expected to keep rolling in didn't.

While working at a bakery he decided to stop waiting around for someone to come to him, and began creating his own pieces.

After some joint writing, mostly with friend Joseph Moore (2002-2006), Nic went out on his own last year, writing Idiots. It included actress Antonia Prebble, was part-directed by Tom Sainsbury and was staged in Auckland.

I'd wanted to do something with all my friends.

It was the first piece I'd written solely myself.

Patrons were not charged for tickets, but rather

were asked at the end to pay what they thought the show was worth. It encouraged people to come; there was no pressure to pay. The concept, and play, obviously appealed, he said, because they pulled in about $1200 over the three nights.

Nic has had a few cameo appearances including as a mechanic on Go Girls, and can be seen in the occasional McDonalds and KFC television advertisements. In 2007 he was cast in fantasy action film The Warrior's Way, which starred well-known actors Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston and Kate Bosworth.

He enjoyed acting, but said his real passion was writing and performing comedy. One of the script writers for C4's [British comedy show] The Jono Show, Nic has hopes of writing his own television series. He particularly likes Spaced, by Simon Pegg. I really like writing. It's even better when people you really respect do [perform] it for you.

For me, it's more fun to see someone else do it.

The Wellingtonian

Slaving Over a Hot Cello

H Old Boys in the News

aving fled from Nazi Germany to New Zealand with his family in 1937, Wilfred (Wilf) Simenauer (1944-1945) first started school at Otago Boys’ High School before transferring to Wellington College in 1944.

He returned to OBHS a year and one term later.

School days weren’t always the happiest for Wilf and his brother Frank (who did not attend Wellington College), with many boys of the war-time era, more than a little insensitive. However, he says his own classmates eventually came to understand the difference between a Nazi enemy, and a German refugee.

Wilf was also a very fine musician, which led his father to withdraw him from the 1st XV at OBHS, Dunedin - in order to ‘protect his hands’. And it was music which became Wilf’s greatest love.

Having travelled to Britain, Wilf joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra where he was sub-Principal Cellist from 1950 to 1953. He played as Principal Cellist for the Sadler’s Wells Opera & Ballet Orchestra from 1953 to 1955, while also deputising for the BBC’s Symphony Orchestra, the BBC’s Concert Orchestra, and other symphony orchestras in London.

Wilf then went on to play for the Philharmonia Orchestra (1955-1957); the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1957-1960) with whom he also played four Glyndebourne Opera Seasons, and in 1959 he became a Founder Member and co-Principal cellist with the St Martin-in-the-Fields Ensemble; and from 1960 to 1964, Principal Cellist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra .

Upon returning to New Zealand, he became the Principal Cellist for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra from 1965 until 1970, when he went as Principal Cellist to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 1970, after which he returned to the NZSO as Principal Cellist until 1993, when he retired.

He has also been a regular soloist with the BBC, ABC, Radio NZ, and the New Zealand Chamber Music Federation, along with playing concertos in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Wilf was the solo cellist on the NZSO’s Tour of Australia in 1974, along with Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Michael Houston.

58 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Wilf’s book -Slaving over a Hot Cello is a stimulating account of an idealist whose career was at times turbulent and possibly controversial.

Although largely autobiographical, it also covers the exploits of many of the world’s greatest conductors who have ever lived, such as Victor de Sabata, Giulini, Koussevitky, Beecham, Karajan, and many others. The foibles of human nature and corruption engendered by the freelancing world, are equally exposed. Many amusing anecdotes experienced in a lifetime of playing in orchestras are liberally scattered throughout this book. Some matters of musical interpretation and technique will also be of interest to many. The strong musical opinions held by the author may be given some credence by the many testimonials by such luminaries as Sir Adrian Boult, Sir John Pritchard, and many others ( to be found in the appendix). https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/slaving-over-a-hot-cello/ isbn/978-3-8443 1819-7

Gareth Kean - Still making a Splash

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ast October at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Old Boy Gareth Kean (2005-2009) thrilled us all with his wonderful exploits in the pool. His silver medal in his favoured 200m Backstroke was a marvellous effort. His time of 1:57.37s lowered the NZ record by more than one second and it was the eighth fastest time swum in the world for that event in 2010.

Gareth Kean found himself the centre of attention when he showed off the silver medal he won at the Commonwealth Games to fellow Wellington College students.

Less remembered, but also impressive, were his efforts in making the finals of both the 100m and 50m Backstroke where he placed fifth and eighth respectively. Gareth turned 19 during the Commonwealth Games.

Gareth has been recognised a number of times this year for his excellent performances in 2010. His awards include: • the Westpac Emerging Talent award at the Halberg Awards in February.

• the Most Outstanding Performance of the Year in International Competition at the State insurance Swimming NZ Awards in April.

• the Wellington Sportsman of the Year award at the Wellington Sports awards in May. Gareth was also presented with his sporting Blues from University Sport New Zealand in June.

In his specialist 200m Backstroke, Gareth’s heat time was just outside the top eight and he did not make the final. While he would have been disappointed about that, the greater mark had already been made. Race analysis showed that the greater part of Gareth’s improved 100m Backstroke times were due to improvement in his starts and turns – a particular focus he and his coach Gary Hurring have had this year. In time, these gains will also transfer to the 200m Backstroke.

Gareth was again to feature prominently on the international stage at the World University Games in China a couple of weeks later. He won gold

Gareth is now training again after three weeks out of the pool due to illness since the University Games. He has recovered much of the 7kg he lost during that time and is positive about what lies ahead of him. Having now qualified for the Olympics, his goals now include making the Olympic finals in each of the 100m and 200m Backstroke events. In the interim, Gareth will continue to train under the watchful eye of Coach Gary Hurring – himself a former New Zealand backstroking great who won Commonwealth Games gold and World Championship silver medals more than 30 years ago. He will target minor international meets later this year, like the Queensland and NSW State Championships in Australia, as part of his build-up for the London Olympics.

Gareth is humble about his swimming achievements and very appreciative of the continued interest the College community has in how he is progressing. He is very proud to be a Wellington College Old Boy and has been generous in making himself available to the College. Last year he visited the College as the assembly guest for that year’s swimming presentations. Afterwards he spent much longer than he needed, mixing with students and staff, providing many with an opportunity to see what a Commonwealth Games medal looks like and to have a photo taken with him.

At just 19 years of age, Gareth is an exciting

prospect who has done extremely well to rank within the top 10 in the world in both the 100m and 200m Backstroke. We were all very proud of Gareth’s efforts at the Commonwealth Games and will be watching with a great deal of interest his progress in the build-up to next year’s Olympics.

We wish Gareth well with his training and every success in pursuit of his goals.

Martin Vaughan Wellington College Swimming Convenor

At the 2010 College Sport Wellington Awards, longtime Wellington College Swimming Convenor, Martin Vaughan was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Prize for his contribution to Swimming at Wellington College since 1983. The ‘total-enthusiast’, Martin has single-handedly ensured that swimming has remained an important component of the sports calendar at Wellington College as well as at the inter-collegiate level.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 59

Old Boys in the News

In international competition this year, Gareth has continued to raise his standing amongst the world’s elite backstroke specialists. At his first FINA World Championships in Shanghai in July, Gareth again showed a capacity to lift himself for the big occasion. This time it was his performances in the 100m Backstroke that captured attention. He broke the NZ record twice on the way to placing eighth in the final of that event. Gareth improved his best time going into the meet (54.47s) by nearly a second which is a huge improvement at this level. His time of 53.50s was faster than Liam Tancock’s time in winning gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games and it now ranks Gareth eighth fastest in the world in the 100m Backstroke (from 28th in 2010). Perhaps more importantly, it has qualified him for the Olympics in England next year with the qualifying mark set by FINA at 54.40s.

in the 100m Backstroke, bronze in the 200m Backstroke and narrowly missed another medal in placing fourth in the 50m Backstroke. Gareth’s fast lead out in the backstroke leg of the medley relay played a significant part in New Zealand securing a rare bronze medal in international relay competition.

Peter Taylor - Rowing to London

W

ith his festive season over, Peter Taylor (1997-2001) can expect to spend most of the next 300-odd days getting flogged from one end of Lake Karapiro to the other.

Doesn't sound like much to look forward to, but the 27-year-old Wellington rower relishes the thought of returning to full training next week.

Olympic gold medals aren't won in the pub and anything less than standing on the top step of the London Games' dais next August will be a massive disappointment for Peter and lightweight double sculls partner Storm Uru. We get three weeks off, straight after world championships, so this is pretty much our Christmas and new year break, Peter said during a rare trip home.

"We get to relax, so a group of us travelled a bit.

You get stuck into some really bad food and have a few drinks here and there. It's just a chance to take the brakes off a bit and let the mind have a break.

Old Boys in the News

It's fun, but after about five days of that you feel a bit gross. You normally find a few of the rowers are either back in the gym or out on the road running, just to try and get the body feeling healthy again. So it's back up to Cambridge on Sunday to start training again on Monday. You know, there's some unfinished business there so we want to start working again."

Peter and Storm finished just centimetres short of claiming their second world title, at September’s championships in Bled, Slovenia. Having led early, they were eventually pipped on the line by the Great Britain double of Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter.

Initially I was pretty disappointed. It was a bloody good race and a bloody tough race, I can tell you that, said Taylor.

But we had a good race and we were happy with how things had gone. Looking back and reflecting now, we had a really good six-week buildup and a good week of racing and, on that day, we got

beaten by a technically sharper and clinically better crew than us.

No, the only colour the Wellington College Old Boy is interested in is gold.

I can see us having quite a lot of improvement left in our stroke and the technical side of things, so I'm actually quite upbeat and quite positive, looking forward to London.

We know we're not going to do well in London without working our arses off. But we're both fully committed to rowing, there's no outside influences.

It sounds strange that people can spend half their life in a boat and still not be happy with their stroke.

Everything else is put on hold for London and we both know that's what needs to be done.

It's like the perfect golf swing, isn't it? You always search for it, you always aim for it and some people are just a lot better at it than other people, Peter said.

There were glaringly obvious things that I can see we need to improve on from that [world championship] race. You know, I was pretty devastated afterwards because we'd worked so bloody hard for it and we believed we could do that race well. To fall just short hurt quite a bit.

Still, second was an improvement on last year's third place and meant the 2009 winners now have the full set of world championship medals.

Yeah, it did, said a laughing Peter. But it's not something I was trying to aim for.

It must be quite a thing to have your name and your dreams so intertwined with one other person.

Mention Peter Taylor to sports fans and chances are they'll think you're talking about the former Australian offspinner or the man who helped Brian Clough guide Nottingham Forest to two European Cup football titles. It's not till you preface it with Storm Uru that you automatically associate it with rowing.

We get on bloody well, we really do. We'll be good friends after rowing. We haven't had a fist fight yet.

We both have times when we need to escape because when you get tired of training you can get grumpy or short-tempered pretty easily.

But we've been around each other so long now – it's been nearly four years – that nothing that happens in the heat of the moment is ever taken to heart, Peter said. We're both working towards the same goal and need to achieve it the same way.

The Dominion Post

60 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

A Coaching Marathon

W

ith almost seventy years between them, long-serving staff members Vic Paulson (left) and Rob Corliss (right) aren’t any closer to throwing away the chalk, or in their cases – hanging up their whistles.

he says. And where to in 2012? Still in the planning stage he replied cautiously.

Vic and Rob, besides teaching, have dedicated themselves to four score and ten years collectively to coaching Basketball (in Vic’s case) and both Rugby and Cricket in Rob’s case.

Vic started here at the College in 1974, hailing from the US where in North Dakota he was in the starting five of the local High School team (he comments that there were only eight boys at high school and three of them were wrestlers). Missing out on the Junior Varsity team, he gave Basketball away for a while until he moved to New Zealand.

He began teaching Physics initially here at the College and as Technology and IT came to the fore, Computer Studies. Vic’s passion for Basketball was realised as soon as he started at Wellington College by coaching the Junior B team (who incidentally won the Wellington Junior B title) and by the year had stepped up to take the Senior A team. Outside school, he was also playing for the Wellington National Club tournament.

1975 saw Vic coach around 16 Wellington College teams plus a Form 3 and 4 Inter-form competition – a further 14 teams – certainly a very busy schedule for one man.

En Garde!

F

or several lawyers around the country, their athletic passion centres on a sport that can trace its origins back to the battlefields of yore.

It may sound silly, but the sport of fencing is very like the sport of tennis, says Anderson Lloyd partner Barry Dorking. You’re slowly leading your opponent into making a mistake. Barry is one of several lawyers who fence in Dunedin, and many who do so throughout the country. There are a lot of lawyers who fence, says Barry. Fencing has always been a strong university sport, and a lot of the university fencers are law students. The legal mind applies quite well to fencing. It’s often been described as physical chess.

The point about fencing is that it’s one sport where it requires a mixture of skills, so it’s not just the strongest, it’s not just the fastest, it’s not just the cleverest, says Roger Hayman, (19621966) founding partner of Hayman Lawyers in Wellington, a firm that has a fencer in action as its logo. You have to be capable in all those areas to be successful, but you can still be a successful fencer if you’re small and not that strong, if you’re

Players who stood out in Vic’s mind include David MacCalman (1971-1975) who went on to be the top-point guard in the National Men’s Club Champs in his first year out of College and by year’s end, in a wheelchair following an horrific diving accident (see David’s story on page 49 of this Lampstand). Tony Smith (1976), who for around ten years was Point Guard for the national team, Rewi Thompson (1974-1978), who while at school was in the NZ men’s rep team and attained three MVPs over five matches) and debuted in the Tall Blacks later that year. Rewi is now coaching High School Basketball in New Jersey.

Vic’s personal involvement outside school saw him play in the NZ Men’s Club nationals from 1975 to 1982, acting as player/coach for the last two years. He played in the inaugural NBL season in 1982 and in 1983 and also coached.

And 30 years plus on, Vic is still coaching at the College – College Basketball is more exciting cunning and fast. With fencing, it’s not necessarily the most athletic person or the strongest person who’s going to win – there’s a considerable mental element. It’s about deceiving your opponent, and even though they may be bigger and have longer limbs than you have, it’s still possible to beat someone like that, so it’s a great challenge.

Both Barry and Roger were first introduced to fencing as high school students, Barry at Selwyn College in Auckland, and Roger at Wellington College. One of the teachers at Selwyn was in the New Zealand fencing team, and within a couple of years of first picking up a sword as a 15-year-old, Barry made the Auckland senior team and started going to national tournaments. Roger also had a good first teacher; his coach at Wellington College was the late Justice Tony Ellis (1948-1952). He ran that club on his own, and taught us. For Roger, who is now the patron of Fencing Central, the appeal of fencing was very simple: I think it was a bit about the romance of playing with swords, and you know, the old way of doing things, just the

Rob’s cricket involvement and successes mirror his rugby coaching, taking junior teams from 1979 through to the 1st XI in 1987-88 and again for a season in 2002. There are not too many weekends where Rob wasn’t coaching or supporting cricket and rugby fixtures where the College was involved - and this has continued.

You certainly have to admire the countless personal hours, days and years that Vic and Rob have given to the extracurricular programme at Wellington College. Both are great role models, both who have made huge sacrifices – all for the enthusiasm, passion and love of the game. romance of duelling with swords.

Roger, who fights with the foil, gives pointers on such technique to youngsters at Club Toa, which is run out of the gym at a local school in Wellington. The oldies like us just come along and fence, as long as we give a few bouts to the juniors, and teach them a few tricks, they welcome the veterans to come along, and just take part, he says. I attend the club every Saturday morning and fence for an hour and a half and then go to the pub for a drink. Although he doesn’t take part in official competitions much any more, Roger did recently place third in the open division at a tournament to celebrate the centennial of his old Victoria University Club. He laughs that he won a $25 gift voucher, but had to spend several times that on the physio, following his efforts.

NZLawyer magazine In contact with Roger with regards to this article, he said that George Stratigopoulos (1963-1967), another Old Boy, is still fencing with Roger on Saturday mornings.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 61

Old Boys in the News

Vic says his most memorable game was the Senior B team playing at the Nationals in Rotorua in 1976 where they beat the favourites, Church College in the quarter-finals by eight points – it was the most physical game I have ever coached,

he said. Four hours later, was his least memorable game when the jubilant team’s good fortune came crashing down in the semi-finals, by losing to Christchurch Boys’ High School.

Five years after Vic started, Rob Corliss joined the teaching staff, fresh out of training college and into the Maths Department. Rob’s keen interest in both Cricket and Rugby was called upon and he assumed the role of coach of the 2nd XI in the summer and the 4B team in winter.

His rugby coaching and enthusiasm kept him on the number one until 1999 with the senior teams including the 1st XV in 1998 and 1999 where he achieved two consecutive and remarkable wins in the National Top Four competition. He then stepped back and for the past ten years has coached various Under 55kg teams with the jubilant honour of winning the grade competition this season. As Rob says, any win over Silverstream, is a good win. However his least memorable match and loss was the Quad final in 1998 when we went down to Nelson College. Players under Rob’s tenure who have gone onto further success include Neemia Tialata, Kane Thompson, David Palu, Ross Kennedy, Brendan Watt, Otto Rasch, Ben Castle and Justin Purdie to name a few.

W

e may not have any Old Boys in the All Blacks in this year’s Rugby World Cup. However we do have four Old Boys playing - albeit for Tonga and Manu Samoa.

International Rugby Kudos

Our congratulations to Tomasi Palu (2000-2004), William Helu (1999-2004), Kane Thompson (1995-1999) and James So’oialo (2005-2006) on their international selection.

Tomasi, William and Kane all played for the Wellington College 1st XV while James moved to Rongotai College and to their 1st XV.

(L-R): Tomasi Palu, William Helu, [Tonga] and Kane Thompson, James So’oialo [Manu Samoa]

Au revoir, Neemia

Old Boys in the News

Wellington College Old Boys in the 2010 Lions team at Albany Stadium with TV3 Presenter, John Campbell, after playing North Harbour (L-R): Reg Goodes, Neemia Tialata, Dane Coles, John Campbell, Nick Passi, Lima Sopoaga and in front, Buxton Popoali’i

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eemia Tialata (1999-2000) has always had a lot more to him than just the ability to shunt other big men backwards at scrum time.

Sport has been his meal ticket for the past eight years and the 28-year-old believes he has the ability to carry on for another decade if his body allows. But as his Hurricanes career ends it deserves to be remembered for more than just scrums, tackles and hit-ups.

Few players have impressed more off the field than the affable giant. When Samoa was hit by a tsunami it was Neemia who designed and sold T-shirts to raise funds for the victims, with tens of thousands of dollars going back to the islands.

Of the many other examples, perhaps the most endearing was when Christchurch was struck

by February's devastating earthquake. As rugby folk ummed and ahhed over what to do, Neemia tweeted immediately to cancel the match against the Crusaders and focus on what really mattered – the victims. He then organised a charity basketball match that raised more than $30,000.

Leaving his family behind was the toughest part of his decision to sign with French club Bayonne from next season. I'm at a stage of my life where I'm ready to move on and start my future with my partner [Sally] and further my career and get more experience, he said. I think I'll enjoy the French culture. I'm really looking forward to that and I know I'll grow more as a person as well.

62 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

That has been a constant theme for the tighthead prop, who is looking forward to completing the final year of a degree in visual arts. I've always liked working with kids and teaching was always going to be there when I finish rugby – intermediate or secondary schools. I've always loved my art, so I have that to fall back on. I've been lucky I have built up a pretty big portfolio over the last eight or nine years, just doing bits and pieces for a lot of charities and my own stuff as well ... clothing, tattoos, all sorts of stuff.

Neemia's rugby hasn't been all plain sailing. A few years back he was given an ultimatum by the All Blacks coaches at a time when the ELVs (experimental law variations) were reducing the game to a confused hybrid of touch and rugby league. It was more of a wakeup call for myself.

I wouldn't say I was cruising, but I got a bit too comfortable and got a kick up the butt and got back into it.

My partner plays a big role and my mum as well, but also the players – my good mates Ma'a [Nonu] and Piri [Weepu]. I still remember my talk with Ma'a at the time telling him how down I was and how I had let things slip and I'd let it get to me. He helped me through that.

An ambassador for Arthritis New Zealand, Neemia says he has learned to manage his knees and hasn't had any pain for the past two years.

An easy interview, Neemia hasn't always had an affinity with the media. He was an easy target for critics who labelled him too slow for the modern

game. Some of it has been unfair. Pushing 130kg, Neemia was never going to be fleet-footed but has always fitted the job description of a tighthead prop. He showed during last year's ITM Cup that he was no spent force and earned an All Blacks call-up for the end-of-year tour.

He should thrive in France, where tightheads play well into their 30s. I'm not going over there to retire, he says.

Neemia grew up dreaming of being a Hurricane and rates the 2006 season in which the side reached the ill-fated ‘fog final’ as the highlight.

But he says he'll cherish the friendships with fellow players, rather than the rugby memories.

His final season with the Hurricanes will be remembered as much for what he did off the field as on it.

Hurricanes debut: 2004, v Chiefs Wellington debut: 2003, v Otago All Black debut: 2005, v Wales (Tests: 43)

Taking a Shine to Sevens

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uxton Popoali’i (2005-2009) was a star at Wellington College and for his Northern United Club but the fullback struggled to break into the Lions' NPC side and took his sidestep to Otago this year. It was just a decision I made for my footy, more game time in the ITM Cup and hopefully I can stand out more, he said.

Norths boys, mucking around and backyard footy.

I'm learning off the experienced guys.

Buxton's path to top-level rugby hasn't been straightforward - he had heart valve replacement surgery in 2006. I still check it, every six months, just to see how it is. I take medicine every month but it doesn't annoy me. It gives me an extra boost and keeps the germs away and the blood running through my body.

Buxton is living in Dunedin with schoolmates and fellow Otago squad members, TJ Ioane, Joe Hill, Titapu Pairama-Lewington and Hanipale Galo. Buxton is also an accomplished rugby sevens player, and appeared in two sevens tournaments for New Zealand in 2009. He was again on the New Zealand sevens squad in 2011.

Speed and stepping, it suits a little fella like me, I'm not that big. I also want to aim for that black jersey [All Blacks] and I've got to start somewhere so hopefully this is the pathway.

It’s Blues for Hobbs

New Hurricane

Is Jeff an All Black? was the question of the youngsters, who hung off their hero.

Not yet, but whatever the future holds, it’s unlikely to affect Jeff’s popularity at the Wellington primary school where he works three days a week as an after-school carer.

I’m studying education at the moment and looking to become a primary school teacher so it works out quite well with rugby, he said. We play games, that sort of stuff.

There’s about 100 kids and eight of us.

Jeff’s rise is a home-grown tale with the Porirua-raised kid heading to town at attend Wellington College, where he was in the same 1st XV as Highlanders 1st five, Lima Sopoaga. An U20 national representative last year, he was enticed to Marist St Pats and despite not having played for Wellington, has secured a Super Rugby contract. I’m keen to prove to myself at that level and if people back me I back myself...

There’s a lot of pressure but pressure is just a challenge and challenge is good.

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ichael Hobbs has joined the Wellington exodus to the Blues after being overlooked for a Super Rugby contract with the Hurricanes. Michael, who can play first or second five-eighth, confirmed he had signed a two-year deal with the Blues, who he played for in 2009. The 23-year-old, who has recovered from a back injury to resume ITM Cup duty for the Lions this season, joins fellow Wellingtonians Piri Weepu and Ma'a Nonu in Auckland. There was nothing that turned me away from the Hurricanes. At the end of the day it wasn't an option, unfortunately, Michael said.

No Looking Back

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eg Goodes (2006-2009) attracted the attention of the Wellington selectors after a stellar performance for local club, Poneke to make the Wellington Lions 2011 team.

Reg emigrated from South Africa in 2006, and spent three years in the Wellington College 1st XV and culminated his selection for the NZSS team which also included Lima Sopoaga.

His desire now is to become a Hurricane and one day earn a trip back to his former home in Pretoria and play at the hallowed Loftus Versfeld. I've got a few mates playing for the Bulls in the Currie Cup, and I'll hopefully play against them one day. That's my big goal for the next few years, he said.

Once, Reg might have spent a lot of time looking back over his shoulder towards the old country. But he's here to stay now. I've been living here almost six years, so I'm kind of building the accent and I feel like a true New Zealander. I'm a permanent resident but I'm also applying for my citizenship soon.

Blue’n’Gold Nugget

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ima Sopoaga (2005-2009) is the oldest of four boys. His younger brother, Tupou (2006-2010), currently plays for the Bulldogs in the Toyota Cup. Playing for the College’s 1st XV, Lima won four local championships and captained the side in 2009. Sibling number three is Zek, who has just spent his second year with the 1st XV and still has another year at the College, and there’s still one more yet to start at Wellington College.

Aged 19, Lima was selected for Wellington in the 2010 ITM Cup and made his debut against Manawatu. He quickly established himself as the squad’s starting number 10 with a series of performances which belied his age. He finished the season with 88 points in nine appearances to help Wellington to reach the semi-finals of the competition, where he impressed by scoring 21 points although Wellington fell to eventual champions Canterbury.

Lima followed his former Wellington coach Jamie Joseph south, signing with the Highlanders for 2011. Expected to back up Colin Slade, he ended up starting the opening game of the season against the Hurricanes with Slade injured, and responded in fine fashion by scoring a try and kicking two penalties in a 14-9 victory. However, in his second start he suffered a shoulder injury which ruled him out until the late stages of the season.

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Old Boys in the News

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effery Toomaga-Allen (2000-2004) is a gentle man and a handy set of monkey bars to the Thorndon School kids who hang off him, but it’s not why the Hurricanes are crowing about their big signing. At just 20-years-old, the tighthead prop has been snapped up on a two-year contract with his home franchise and touted for a huge future in rugby.

I've only had two sevens tournaments, Dubai and South Africa in 2009. But I've played a lot with the

Looking for more playing time, Buxton moved to Otago for the 2011 ITM Cup. He quickly established himself as a starter on the wing, and scored his first provincial try in a 32-25 victory over Auckland on 20 July. He finished the season as the province's leading try-scorer with 4, and was the only Otago player to start every match over the year.

Scarfies Make NZ Universities Rugby Team unforced errors.

The second game at Santa Barbara in the cooler climes of the Californian coast was a much closer affair; NZU leading at half time with some sound defending and strong attacking, showed how quickly the team had come together.

Unfortunately it was all undone in the second half with a lapse in concentration for ten minutes, let the USA take the lead and shut out a close game 21-11. Never to lie down, the NZU team rallied and felt the last game was for the taking. In the inspiring surroundings of Stanford University the team approached the game in true University rugby style, throwing caution to the wind and delivering a fantastic match where the lead changed three times and hung on the last play of the game, defending their line for 25 plus phases.

NZU 23-20 USA. (L-R): Luke Fiso, Ian Tulloch, Jesse Johnson

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he NZ Universities U21 side was created to develop a pathway for rugby playing students into the senior NZU team and further representative honours.

The U21 team that toured the USA this year, were selected from the nine New Zealand University clubs. The three games were against the US Collegiate All-Americans, made up of the top

rugby players at university in the USA. The games were held in San Diego, Santa Barbara and San Francisco over a two-week period. The USA provided strong opposition the NZU team; the USA team won the first game 60-17 in ‘tepid’ conditions of 35 degrees. The USA showed pace and an ability to score from turnovers. NZU created good scoring opportunities but converted only half of them; NZU’s undoing was the

Ian Tulloch, Coach (1984-1988)

World Cup Champions

Old Boys in the News

A Quad of Wins

Jesse Johnson (2004-2008) and Luke Fiso (2003-2006) were some of the stand out players for the NZU team and will surely have a chance of making the NZU senior side in the near future.

If you are intending to study at University make sure you connect with the affiliated rugby club.

The people, style of game and camaraderie is akin to what you experience at Wellington College.

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t’s been a stellar year for 1st XV Coach, Chris Wells (1971-1975). Not only did his 1st XV win Quadrangular for the ninth successive year, but the team also took out the Wellington Secondary Schools’ Premier One Title.

If 1st XV coaching didn’t take up all of Chris’ free time, he also managed to coach the Wellington U18 team who won the Hurricanes U18 title – for the fourth successive season – and with seven of our own 1st XV in the squad.

Chris, who joined the teaching staff in 2000 has coached the 1st XV for eight years between 2000 and 2011 and has six Quad wins and four Premier One wins under his belt. He stepped down at the end of this season.

Not content to let the grass grow between his feet out of the rugby season, Chris is head of the College’s new Sports Academy and Head of Athletics.

64 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Congratulations to Solomona Sakalia (2005-2009) [second, bottom left] and Lima Sopoaga (2005-2009) [far bottom right] who were members of the New Zealand U20 team that beat England in the World Champs in Italy, sealing a fourth consecutive crown for the Baby Blacks.

Cricket at Wellington College (c 1930s)

The Best Prop ever...

Cricket 1st XI returns to School Competition

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he Wellington College 1st XI is returning to the College Cricket competition after a ten-year absence. The change was one of the recommendations to come out of Cricket Wellington's club cricket review this year.

Wellington College has played in the Men's grades since October 2001 and spent two years in the Premier Men's competition, in the Hazlett Cup. They were relegated from Hazlett last year but at the end of summer, they were near the top of the Senior 2 men's grade.

Born

24 June, 1938

Last Test

Died Club Province All Black Debut

18 November, 1992 Petone Wellington 23 October, 1963 v Oxford University at Oxford

Tests Games Total Points

14 June, 1969 v Wales at Auckland 24 26 27 (9 tries)

All Black No.

636

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technique. Those qualities, combined with a reputation as a player against whom it was unwise to take liberties, helped ensure ‘Hoodeyes’ was unchallenged by no opponent.

It is a general assumption that the King Country farmer was the finest of all men in black. But there are those of his generation who reckon Ken Gray's ability and contribution meant he gave the legendary ‘Piney’ a run for his money over the period they were the rocks of the All Black pack.

He was the equal, at least, of Meads, former All Black back Grahame Thorne said. He was the best forward I ever played with.

As the All Blacks steamrolled their way through one of their greatest periods - 1965-1969 - Ken was a key player. With hooker Bruce McLeod and fellow prop Jack Hazlett, he anchored the scrum in an unchanging eight through the four tests against the Lions of 1966.

Meads is invariably held up as the epitome of the ruggedly powerful, irresistibly dominant All Black footballer. But whenever Ken's name is mentioned, contemporaries talk with a degree of reverence of an immensely powerful, uncompromising prop, who departed the game in curious circumstances.

Ken, even at 31, would have been a cornerstone in the All Blacks' campaign to win in South Africa for the first time in 1970.

But Ken opted not to tour in protest at the political situation in the republic. The selectors tried repeatedly to persuade him to change his mind.

He didn't, and that was the end of a great career, which had begun on the tour of Britain, Ireland and France in 1963-64.

The Wellingtonian, who never made the 1st XV at Wellington College, played his early serious rugby as a lock before moving one row forward in 1961. His debut came at Dublin against Ireland in 1963 and the only tests he missed until 1969 were through injury. He played 24 tests, missing four only in 1967-1968.

Standing 1.87m and weighing around 101kg, Ken combined formidable strength with superb

Ken was surprisingly mobile and, as teammate Waka Nathan recalled, as a No 2 in the lineout there wasn't anyone else up to his standard in the country. But it was more than that. His handling and short bursts were spot on and he never stepped back, Nathan said. He and Pinetree were two of the toughest guys around at the time.

During his time in the All Blacks, other props came and went - Sir Wilson Whineray, his first captain, Barry Thomas, Hazlett, Alistair Hopkinson, Brian Muller - and Ken swapped sides as needed.

At representative level, Ken led Wellington to wins over South Africa and the Lions in successive years, but twice was in charge of unsuccessful Ranfurly Shield challenges, a source of deep personal regret.

After his rugby days, Gray became prominent in local body politics in the Hutt Valley and Porirua and had been confirmed as the Labour candidate for Western Hutt in the 1993 national election. In 1992 he died suddenly of a heart attack.

A great forward, wrote TP McLean. Durable, vigorous, relentless, pursuing and supremely intelligent.

NZ Herald

Wellington College will now be the team to beat in Premier 1 – which from this summer will be known as the Premier Youth grade. Next term they play Hutt International in the Wellington final of the 2011 Gillette Cup competition.

However, Wellington College has not made the Gillette Cup national finals since 2008, with HIBS winning the Wellington playoffs last year and St Pat's Silverstream being successful in 2009.

Robbie Kerr, (1979-1984) director for Cricket Wellington and a former coach of the Wellington College 1st XI, said their return would be fantastic for the College Premier competition. Not having Wellington College in the competition has detracted from it and we do see it as a good result, Robbie said. The aim was to raise the standard of the Premier College competition to a level similar to the Senior 2 Men’s grade.

Graeme Sugden, the President of the Wellington College Cricket Club, said he was disappointed that the 1st XI had to stop playing Senior 2. We would have liked to have stayed where we were but we can see both sides of the arguments and hopefully it will help the school competition.

The return of Wellington College means that the Premier Youth grade will be expanded to eight teams this summer, with either Paraparaumu or St Patrick's (Town) being promoted from Premier 2.

St Pat's will be promoted if they beat the HIBS 2nd XI in a match scheduled for Labour weekend, while Paraparaumu will gain the last spot if St Pat's lose against HIBS or if the game is drawn or washed out.

The eight-team Premier competition will begin on 29 October and for the Fourth Term will comprise seven rounds of one-day matches. The top two teams will meet in a final, while the bottom two will compete with the top two from the second division for the right to remain in the grade.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 65

Old Boys in the News

en Gray (1951-1954) gave even Colin Meads a run for his money in their era, writes David Leggat of The NZ Herald. The greatest All Black? Simple. Colin Meads, right?

Their return to the College competition will strengthen the Premier 1 grade and should be welcomed by the other schools, which in the past decade have only been able to test themselves against Wellington College if they met in the Gillette Cup playoffs.

Hard Work Pays off

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o more chasing rubbish trucks or digging drains for Joe Austin-Smellie (20032007). Instead, the Wellington College product can now ink his occupation as 'professional cricketer' and knuckle down towards his long-term goal of becoming a New Zealand test wicketkeeper.

The 20-year-old snared his first Cricket Wellington contract last year. He wasn't hugely confident, and felt he had just an outside chance of nailing his career goal he had set since leaving school. The last couple of years I really focused on playing cricket. I haven't really thought too much about other careers, he said.

I worked a lot of different jobs: running behind rubbish trucks, a teacher's aide, landscaping, labouring - all sorts of things.

Joe was the headline act of the province's ten contracted players, largely because he got the wicketkeeping slot ahead of veteran former international Chris Nevin. While it was a tough call on a loyal Wellington stalwart, those at Basin Reserve headquarters felt Joe's cricketing talents couldn't be ignored.

Old Boys in the News

Everyone from chief executive Gavin Larsen, to Wellington Firebirds coach Anthony Stuart, to high performance coach Shane Deitz will tell you

how good the youngster is, with bat and with gloves.

really looked up to. I'm a bit more traditional with the bat, he said with a chuckle.

Dunedin-born Joe made his first-class debut in 2009 against Northern Districts in Hamilton, amid an injury crisis. He was dismissed for three by test paceman Tim Southee, then returned in the second innings to bat 4 1/2 hours for 97 before falling lbw to another international quick, Brent Arnel. After three first-class matches, his batting average is a handy 40.50 and he has snared five catches.

Joe played rugby on the wing for the Wellington College 1st XV but the decision on which sport to choose was a no-brainer. I was just better at cricket. It was always No1.

Deitz, his mentor and a former South Australian wicketkeeper, said: He's ready to go and he's done the job in first-class cricket. He can only improve on what a good start he's already had.

Everything about the way he trains and his attitude, it makes him very easy to coach. He ticks all the boxes.

Joe is a naturally gifted player, and in Deitz's words, a dynamic gloveman in the Brendon McCullum mould.

He took up the gloves when he was ten, when his idol across the Tasman was at the peak of his powers. When I was young, I guess every young keeper looked up to Adam Gilchrist. I haven't really modelled my game on him but he's a guy I

He credited his father, Mike Smellie, as a huge career influence; always obliging his requests for throws at the park as a youngster. There is also a future pathway to England for winter playing stints with the help of a British passport via his mother, Claire Austin.

Now the hard work begins. Austin-Smellie doesn't own a car – maybe next year – so has to catch the train to Mana for pre-season training, or rely on a mate for a lift.

His first goal was to make the eleven for Wellington's first Plunket Shield match, then prove himself in all three formats this summer.

I see myself making a contribution in Twenty20 but I can't count my chickens. It's exciting, but for me the dream is test cricket. Twenty20 is fun and it's exciting and everything is over in three hours.

But the longer form of the game is the big goal for me.

Along with Joe, three other Old Boys have contracts for the 2011/2012 Firebird’s season including Harry Boam, Josh Brodie and James Franklin.

Marc Ellis as a Cricketer

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n March, a Twenty20 Earthquake Relief Cricket Match at the Basin raised $500,000 for Christchurch.

Well done to all those involved in organising the match. A full report was posted on Cricket Wellington’s website.

I was interested to see All Black Marc Ellis back on the cricket field. When I was at Wellington College, he was captain of our 1st XI (1989-1990), a team that in those years was coached by former Wellington player Wilf Haskell and also included future Wellington allrounder Stephen Mather and future All Whites midfielder Simon Elliott who impressed at last year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Marc Ellis was first coached by his father and cricket lover Chris Ellis (who played for Kilbirnie Cricket Club and who gave Marc the cricket initials ‘MCG’ Ellis). Marc was a schoolboy allrounder, could bat and bowl and also kept wickets.

Aged ten, he played for a local Hutt Valley rep side at Wellesley College in Eastbourne. He was also an U18 Wellington rep. I was looking through my old copies of The Wellingtonian. There’s mention of Ellis as a wicket-keeper batsman in the 1988 66 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

season highlights: ‘M. Ellis 73 v Hastings’ and a partnership of ‘107 between Ellis (68) and Stephen Mather (49) v New Plymough Boys’ High School’.

In the traditional fixture against Wanganui Collegiate, Ellis blazed 49 in the First Innings.

Against Hastings, Ellis batted ‘intelligently and with great flair’ in a fifth wicket partnership of 127 with Brian Watson.

The captain’s report by Alex Blades reads: The 1st XI of 1988 was an impressive side. The team’s strength lay in its depth and diversity of talent: the batting line-up was strong and dependable, the bowling attack versatile and consistent while fielding was generally steady without being exceptional. Of its nineteen matches, the Eleven was unbeaten in all but two.

I gather from Ellis’s biography Crossing the Line that he played some club cricket after Wellington College but then gave up the game for rugby. He continued to play in the Auckland Business House cricket competition after retirement from rugby league and rugby. Ellis states: Of all the

games I’ve ever played in my life, cricket is my favourite...I still play cricket now and I just love spending a whole day in the sun with my mates, having a laugh. Ellis showed something of his batting ability in the earthquake charity Twenty20 making a useful 25 not out off 11 balls, including two fours and two sixes. His bowling was less successful with 41 runs taken from his two overs.

That same year of Ellis’s cricket successes, 1988, the Wellington College Cricket Pavilion was opened at 10.30am on 15 October by the then Governor-General of New Zealand Sir Paul Reeves. Those at the ceremony included former New Zealand batsman Johnny Beck who played against South Africa with Sutcliffe and Blair in the famous Second Test at the rugby ground Ellis Park, 1953/54 season. Sir Paul and John were teammates in the Wellington College 1st XI of the late 1940s.

Mark Pirie (1987-1991) (Sources: Wellingtonian 1988, Wellingtonian 1990; Marc Ellis: Crossing the Line, with Kirsten Matthew (Hodder Moa, Auckland, 2006) and Cricket Wellington’s website)

Students of the Wartime Evacuation

Barracks’ Week

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came across this photograph which I thought would be of interest. The photograph was taken by Jack Short, the Evening Post Head Photographer, at the final parade of Barracks Week, during February 1955.

Cadets was a compulsory school activity, and 1955, being only a few years after the end of the Second World War, Army activities were still taken seriously by all concerned.

Back: Front:

D Salkeld, ESD Forbes, JL King, AH MacLeod, JN Weston, BN Simpson L Bor, D Mawson, ACD Forbes, K Stuart

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illions of British city children were evacuated to safer places during the second world war.

Some hated living away from their families – others didn’t want to go home again.

In 1940, Wellington College played host to at least ten boys evacuated to New Zealand from war-time Britain. It all began in June 1940, after Dunkirk, when Britain stood alone against the might of Hitler and his armies. It seemed inevitable that Britain would be bombed and invaded.

Such a grim possibility encouraged the Dominion Governments of Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to offer to look after children from Britain for the duration of the war. In response to this generous offer, although not without controversy, the Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was set up. It arranged for children aged from 5 - 15 to be evacuated. No parents or relatives were allowed to accompany the children but volunteers (mostly school teachers) served as escorts, one for every 15 children.

Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, a committee was formed in Wellington to find suitable families willing, as part of the war effort, to adopt the evacuees for the duration of the war.

Both David and Andrew were in the College Orchestra while I played College Rugby and Cricket, and was in one of the finals of the College Boxing Tournament. I recall that in August 1942 in my final year at College, I was commanded to come before a court set up by the Senior Debating Society to raise cash for the Patriotic Fund. A formally prepared summons accused me of importing into New Zealand a Scottish accent without the express permission of His Majesty's Customs Officers.

After a hilarious ‘trial’, I was fined sixpence and discharged. The evacuees remember Wellington College with gratitude and appreciation and will always be thankful for the way New Zealanders provided a home away from home during the war years.

At the end of WWII, I returned to Scotland with the other evacuees and in due course, graduated from Edinburgh University with a MA and BD and a MLitt from Durham University. I returned to New Zealand in 1958 as a Church Extension Organiser for the Baptist Union of New Zealand.

In 1962, I became a Minister of the Oxford terrace Baptist Church in Christchurch and then general Secretary of the National Council Churches in New Zealand.

Angus MacLeod, Auckland (1940-1942) amacleod@clear.net.nz

At this parade it was traditional for the students to take over control of the Cadet Battalion, and although the Masters were present and in uniform, they took an observer role. In addition there was usually an army dignitary who would inspect the Parade and take the salute at the dais in front of the Assembly Hall of the main school. On this occasion it was the highly decorated and greatly respected New Zealand Army Corp Officer, Brigadier Alan Andrews.

With the main ground being renovated for the Quadrangular Tournament later in the year, the final parade was held on the number three ground, which was an ideal space for the six army companies of four platoons each, an ATC (Air Training Corp) company and a Naval company.

Major EMP (Eric or Fane to the students) Flaws was the Battalion Commander and Frank Crist, Wing Commander of the ATC. I have a feeling that the Navy unit was under the direction of a Naval Officer from Navy HQ. In this photograph below, the three senior under officers from left to right are myself, Alan Lockie and Trevor Bringans. The Naval Officer is Don Stewart. (It’s good to see everyone in step).

Of further interest in this photograph is the Old Boys’ Pavilion in the background and the fence surrounding the Bell Baths. Both have since been demolished.

Warwick Bringans (1951-1955) wbringans@xtra.co.nz

Your Letters

The first shipload of 89 evacuees arrived in Wellington on 27 September, 1940 on board the Ruahine. They were all from Scotland and were given a warm welcome by the Prime Minister, (Peter Fraser) and other officials and later, were introduced to the families who had volunteered to care for them. A week later the Rangitata arrived with 113 English children who were also given a warm welcome.

Wellingtonian, 1940

While the two ships were nearing New Zealand, tragic news arrived that the ‘City of Benares’, a ship with evacuees going to Canada had been torpedoed in the Atlantic and 77 children lost their lives. Such was the U-boat menace at this time, that the CORB scheme was abandoned and no more evacuees were sent abroad. Altogether 1532 children went to Canada, 577 to Australia, 355 to South Africa and 202 to New Zealand.

Four of the evacuees attended Wellington College from October 1940. They were Andrew and Spencer Forbes and myself from Scotland and David Salkeld from England. The evacuees were given a warm welcome at the College and quickly settled into College life.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 67

boy amongst men at this job.

Fond Memories of Eric Flaws

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(Eric)MP Flaws taught me English both in the eleventh year and thirteenth year in 1955 and 1957. He was Head Prefect of Wellington College in 1939 and had gone on to the 1940-45 war where he had come back as a Major in the New Zealand Army. He was commonly known as Fanny (or was it Fane, as I later found to be a family name) or sometimes Butch.

He was one of the best teachers that I had at Wellington College over my time there. A man not to suffer fools gladly, but a deep understanding of how to motivate most boys. He was at times demanding but fair, and took a joke on himself, if it was a good one. His style of teaching was not orthodox, but very successful.

Your Letters

Once he came in on a Monday morning complaining of the quality of the referee his favourite 2A rugby team that he coached, had had on Saturday and consequently suffered a loss.

After several minutes about what was wrong, he made the comment that that he was not blind. To which Hugh Williams, now Sir Hugh replied, No Sir definitely not, just a little one eyed. Fanny gave him a baleful stare but went to his desk and began lessons for the day.

Another time he was giving me a dressing down and finished with the shot, As for you, you don’t even have to shave every day. My voice headed off my mind with the reply, I bet there are many times when you are in a hurry, and wished you didn’t have to too Sir. I waited with bated breath, but a quiet grin was the result on his way back to his desk.

We of course tried to get him to talk about his time at the war. It would take up some teaching time and be interesting. He usually declined, but one day he told us of a little of his time in the Pacific Islands. The main drive had gone through and left a number of the smaller Islands still occupied by the Japanese. They were aware if they left them alone they could end up as a problem. To remedy this, small groups were sent in by submarine to keep them unsettled.

They would leave the submarine in a small boat and quietly land on a suitably situated beach.

After their job was done they would rendezvous with the submarine again and depart. The small group consisted of Fijian solders with Eric in charge. He made the comment that he was just a 68 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

They would establish where the sentries were, often by their smoking. One would silently creep up on the unsuspecting sentry and dispatch him with an arm around his neck and then snapping it. Eric said they moved in absolute silence and even a few metres away there was no sound.

The sentries dispatched, they had two favourite methods to stir things up. One was to carefully enter the tents where the Japanese slept in threes for safety and knife the middle one and take off, the other was to set trip wires between the tents attached to explosives. Once the trip wires were set they would then proceed to the canteen and make one hell of a row with the pots and pans. As the explosions were going off they would quickly retreat back to the boat.

However one night the submarine was unable to rendezvous and they spent a very uncomfortable twenty four hours trying to avoid the Japanese that were running around like angry hornets. All of them carried some form of injury of sort and he displayed a scarred web between his thumb and forefinger when asked where he had been shot.

This was the only time in my memory that he referred directly to the war. All of us were mesmerised by the descriptions and never once did we ever think he had delivered a tall tale.

For one thing it didn’t fit in with Eric’s nature or perhaps he thought he would settle a few old scores all at one time. I don’t think so.

Kahu Pattison (1953-1957) kahuitara@clear.net.nz

Sporting Genes

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s is evident in many New Zealand sports the talents of one generation seem to follow through to later generations of the family.

Here are two examples which will interest Old Boys who attended College in the early 1940s.

Kane Williamson - a current New Zealand Black Caps cricketer is a grandson of the late Stuart Williamson (1941-1943) [D: 1994]who was an accomplished sportsman at the College in the early 1940’s.

Kane played cricket for Bay of Plenty seniors at the age of 15 years, and fulfilled his potential in that sport becoming a Black Cap at age 20, scoring a century in his first Test Match. He attended Tauranga Boys’ College and in his last year, 2008, was Head Boy. Contemporaries will remember that his grandfather, the late Stuart, played in the 1st Cricket XI in 1942 and 1943, 1st Hockey XI in 1941 and 1942, making a successful switch of codes in 1943 to become a member of the 1st XV that year. He also performed well in Tennis and Boxing championships in 1941 - 1943. After leaving school, Stuart played Hawke Cup Cricket.

James O’Connor - this young Wallaby Rugby star is a grand-nephew of Ray O’Connor (19421946) who played Cricket with Stuart Williamson - 1st Cricket XI in 1943. James, who was born

on the Gold Coast, Queensland, first played Rugby League and Union in South Auckland at a very early age. He attended Nudgee College, in Brisbane. He soon appeared in Australian National Schoolboy Rugby teams. James is now a regular member of Australian Rugby teams and plays Super 15 for ‘Western Force’. His grandfather, Maurice, Ray’s brother, played Rugby in Wellington before and after WWII. As well as his prowess in Cricket and Hockey – both 1st XIs 1943 – 46, Ray O’Connor won the EO Hales Prize for All-Round Sport in 1946, having also been successful in boxing during his time at College. Ray went on to represent Wellington, Auckland and Canterbury provinces, and the South Island at Hockey. He also represented NZ Universities at Cricket and Hockey.

Ray now lives in retirement in Sydney’s suburb of St. Ives.

Sources: ‘Wellingtonians’ 1941 – 46, Rugby CV’s on the Internet, R O’Connor & O. Nixon.

Gerald Aburn (1941-1945) gerald.aburn@xtra.co.nz

Name the Photos

I

have just returned from many weeks around England, Europe and USA and have finally got around to opening up this year’s Lampstand [a really wonderful production]. I notice that on pages 9 and 70 you are asking for photo recognition and I certainly can help with some but of course you may already have received the answers by now. Anyway here goes.

Page 9.....laughing boy on the left [half face] is the late Jack O`Brien. Boyd Gardiner is in the centre facing camera and K.G. Stewart on extreme right. I really should know the others too but at this stage can`t put names to faces without seeing the team sheet. If you have a list it might help me further if you need more.

Page 70...the first three boys standing at bottom right are all old Karori boys...Olstan Whitehead [front], Max Lusty [middle] and Bruce Porter.

The one standing directly above the girls heads could very likely be me but I can’t be 100% sure.

Barry Hornblow (1943-47) barryaich@xtra.co.nz

Truancy Pays Off

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thought you may be interested in an incident that happened to me back in my time at Wellington College and would probably not happen today.

While I was a student, I had a job in the winter months at Athletic Park selling rugby programmes on Saturday afternoons.

During one winter, there was a mid-week game where we were obliged to sell the programmes. I think it was a Springbok game. Along with two others from the College, we took the day off from school without permission.

The following day, we returned to school with the

One Man’s View

‘required’ note to explain our absence of being away ill.

Unfortunately we were all seen and thus reported to the school. The following morning at assembly, we were summoned to the Headmaster’s office where Mr Heron suspended us for three days. It had mentioned in the following day’s newspaper that three boys from Wellington College had played truancy to sell programmes but our actual names were not mentioned. For the record, I made £10 which in those days would have been equal to an average man’s weekly wage – well worth it.

Vass Coory (1953-1956)

Bonjour

R

eceiving a list of the Firth House and 1966 reunion lists allowed me to recognise many, many names, faces and personalities and all the things we used to get up to, as though it all just happened yesterday. Indeed, I only have the most delightful memories of those years I spent at Wellington College and wouldn’t have traded them for anything.

Since many of my former Old Boy friends sent me their best wishes on the occasion of the recent reunions via my brother (Charles) who attended the Firth House Reunion, it may be of interest to many of them to hear from me as it indeed is for me to hear from them.

Having lived out of New Zealand for since 1971, I qualified as a NZ Chartered Accountant and have worked, travelled and lived in the United States, England, Vanuatu, a number of African countries and France – where I now reside with dual nationality. I am bilingual in English/French.

I am also a qualified practitioner of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture having achieved a Diploma in Chinese Acupuncture (UK, France) in 1988 and have worked in that capacity in Africa in conjunction with my Chartered Accountancy assignments and continue to do so in Pontarlier, France where I live with my French wife.

As an aside, on page 69 of the 2010 Lampstand, Bob Balchin wrote in respect of EO Hall (deceased). Eric Hall is in fact my uncle, and it may be of interest to some readers, especially Bob, to obtain further information on this subject.

Chris Taylor (1962-1966) chris500taylor@aol.fr

Trevor is the great-grandson of Headmaster, Joseph Mackay. Joseph was one of the makers of Wellington College as Headmaster for ten years from 1881. He has sailed from Aberdeen to Australia in 1865, then to New Zealand to teach Maths at Nelson College. Two years after his arrival in Wellington, he appointed his protégé from Nelson, JP Firth, to the College staff.

His great-grandson, Trevor Mackay, was no such scholar but became an accomplished sports reporter, who two years ago, published One Man’s View as a fund-raiser for the Wanganui Cancer Society. Below, we have reproduced Trevor’s chapter on his time at Wellington College

I

f breeding counts for anything and racehorse breeders say it does, I should have been Dux of Wellington College.

For my great-grandfather was a long-serving Headmaster at the school.

In truth, I failed miserably as a scholar and could not wait to leave the establishment. I was overawed from day one, perhaps because I was one of the smaller boys in a large congregation.

My interests were sport, sport and more sport and, to a slight extent, girls. On the first day of my attendance, a fellow called Mr McAloon (called, uncharitably ‘Loony Mac’ by the boys, but not within hearing distance of him), who was then Deputy Principal, announced at an assembly that a great grandson of a former Headmaster was in the audience. I remember being extremely embarrassed. There were to be no favours for the relative of the former principal. A teacher named Bernie Paetz ensured that I was the first boy strapped in the class. The offence, from memory, was ‘talking’. Mates tell me I haven't changed.

Our third form master was Mr Haig, who apparently suffered from a disorder from the war.

He reacted badly to the sounds of bombs about to drop. The genteel lads at Wellington College imitated the sounds at certain moments and drove him away.

Bullying among the boys, rather than boys acting insufferably toward vulnerable teachers, came in the form of students given rank over others in military training sessions at school. Half-witted upper fifth formers took the opportunity to drill their ‘soldiers’ after the sessions were supposedly over and during the students’ morning break.

Teachers had access to canes and straps and to the awarding of detention – Room Nine, boy and Prefects were able to impose detention, too Room 13, boy.

I recall wanting to discuss the merits of an All Black team with my mates, and wishing to do this in relative privacy. So we quietly went to the College's top ground, away from the masses, but seems this was not allowed at lunchtime. A zealous Prefect followed us and it was Room 13, boys. You could do a lot of things on the top ground, but they did not include eating lunch away from the hordes.

The one joy of being in the Army A company at Wellington College - I was not officer material, you understand, although my grandfather was an army career officer and my father was the physical training instructor for the Maori Battalion - was that my marching companion was Ian Uttley, later to be a gifted All Black centre. You could talk sport and have a joke with Ian, who seemed to have, invariably, a happy disposition. As a rugby player, and one who exhibited his skills at an early age, he was a glider as a runner. Opponents seemingly had him covered, to make a tackle, only to find they were clutching mid-air.

College days were interesting, too, because Wellington Cricket Captain Trevor Barber was a neighbour and he helped develop my enthusiasm for cricket. I once got some crucial runs in an inter-form match because I had special armour for my groin. Mr Barber kindly lent me his steel groin protector. I was fearless that day. My fellow players had to protect their parts with Len Hutton plastics – imagine fragments of plastic imbedded in the wrong place - but I was the man of steel!

But I was less than that on the College rifle range, despite having family with a military background.

Our squad had to, on the double, place their paper target on the target board and then race back, gather their rifles, and, with everyone in a firing position, Fire, fire off shots at their respective paper targets. I led off, carrying a paper target across the range to the target board, but it was a windy day. Commands were being shouted and had to be obeyed. I had time to insert perhaps one, instead of four, drawing pins to secure the target. I may have got two of four scheduled shots away, with the target flapping in the wind, when we were ordered to stop.

The best days at College were when the 1st XV played. Half a day off and it was a delight to attend games. Wellington College had some good teams in my years there, the centre Bill Fleming, a Junior All Black and Wellington representative, being one of the stand-out performers.

Another game was trying to board a packed tramcar simultaneously with hundreds of others straight after school. When boarding, you grabbed hold of a bar and hung on, hoping to be swept irresistibly aboard by the multitude surging behind. Rugby’s maul might have been invented THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 69

Your Letters

Please convey my warm wishes to all those who may remember me from 1962-1966. Who knows, perhaps one day I just may be able to make it back for a future reunion.

N

ick Hill (1963-1967), with the approval of Trevor Mackay (1954-1957) sent us a copy of Trevor’s book One Man’s View – the reflections of a Nomadic Journalist.

by a coach seeking to catch a tram and seeing how Wellington College boys did it in the 1950s. The idea was to get on the tram so that the 3.58pm train to Johnsonville could be caught. You would possibly see the Tech girls. The sane alternative was to walk a few blocks, on leaving the school, and catch a half-empty tram at Courtenay Place.

The St Patrick's College boys fared badly in the tram-boarding stakes, being one stop down the track after the Wellington College boys’ main point of entrance. I’m ashamed to say that I was a small and silent witness when, in some cases, St Pat's boys who tried to board were pushed off. In another tram saga, a Tech student kindly took my cap and threw it on to another track. I disembarked quickly but before I could gather it, a tram, travelling in the opposite direction, ran over it. Tech paid for my new cap - and we beat that school at rugby with our 2nd XV. Having started in the midstream of students at College, in Form 3B, I graduated to 4B, no longer being hoisted from behind by my trousers at school assembly and apparently standing for what seemed an age when everybody else was sitting down. Nor was my friend Bruce Heather using me as often to demonstrate to classmates how to apply professional wrestling’s aeroplane spin just before classes resumed after lunch.

Life was becoming agreeable, with a Springbok tour imminent and rock ’n’ roll coming into vogue.

But in 1956 I had new classmates. I was one of a few demoted to an apparently lower form. There was no warning. Class rolls were read at assembly and former classmates departed without me. The Springboks kept me fully occupied in my School Certificate year. Why study if you could follow the progress of teams in that epic rugby year?

Your Letters

Fortunately, my form master in 1956 was Frank Crist, good enough to play rugby for Wellington as a tight forward, and the celebrated coach of the College’s 1st XV. Frank was a hard but fair man. He knew my father and shared our interest in sport. So he overlooked my pitiful efforts in Science and Maths. At one unforgettable Maths class, New Zealand was heading for its first cricket test win, at Eden Park, against the West Indies. Frank, bless him, put the radio on for the cricket commentary and chalked the scoreboard on to the blackboard. We were doing Maths of a kind, counting runs and wickets. But Frank was not a fellow to be trifled with. Students who fell afoul of him felt the power of his arm in The Valley of Death to which he had invited them. They never wanted a second helping.

My unfortunately modest cricket skills restricted me to Saturday morning cricket only at Wellington College (apart from special games played immediately after school). I captained my form team and was keen enough to bat and field with a broken arm on one occasion. I got a ball on leg stump and there was applause from team mates when I hit it for four. The pain in the arm, which I brought into play, was excruciating.

Because of my limited sporting skills I decided an early retirement as a rugby player was in 70 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

everybody’s interests.

At 14 years of age, in 1955, I became a copy boy for Wellington's Sports Post, which was published on Saturday nights. My job was to go to various grounds to assist the kindly, erudite, Ben O’Conner who, apart from being an accomplished journalist, was a good tennis player. But my role as a copy boy was related to Ben’s Saturday winter role as the Sports Post's rugby league reporter.

Ben would write up the early game, usually at Anderson Park, and I would take his copy, as fast as possible to the Post sub-editors in Willis St (no mobile phones in those days). You’d have thought I was carrying the crown jewels. Speed was the essence without dropping Ben’s copy. There was a downhill run to the Cenotaph and then it was full throttle up Willis Street.

I developed a healthy respect for rugby league and its players in the mid and late 50s. Wellington had some good players in my teenage years, St George’s Johnny Dodd among them.

But 1956 was principally the year we beat the Springboks and the year in which we recorded our first test cricket win. School Certificate was a non-event by comparison and it was certainly that for me. As an example, for the maths exam, I at least read the paper before going to the movies.

The year 1956 was the year two of the Springboks came to Wellington College, spoke at assembly, and indicated they would ask a question. I had a fleeting moment where I thought I might be able to answer. I had studied Wisden Cricket Almanacs and New Zealand Rugby Almanacs and they had been my homework for some years. The question, when it came, was political: Who is the Minister in South Africa for... What a let-down. Not a question about sport. A swot got the right answer.

Damn the Boks. Hope they lose the next test.

Oh, yes, my upper fifth year. It was going nowhere in particular so, at 16, I put College days behind me, had a holiday in Auckland, and joined the New Zealand Government Tourist Department.

Thomas Paul

I

came across The Lampstand and the article about Thomas K Paul while researching a cousin of my late father. My father’s cousin was Jack O’Callaghan the rear gunner on Wellington Z8793 on 1st January 1944. I have also made brief contact with a chap whose grandfather was a cousin of Thomas K Paul. The true story of Violet and Tom was again deeply moving.

I’m not sure if I can add anything more to the information you already have, as the little I have is mainly about Jack and his time in the RNZAF. I only have one picture of Jack taken in 1934 which I’m very happy to share Kate Tame, kktame@sky.com

Gidday

H

appy New Year to you. I hope you are enjoying the lull at school before 2011 gets into full swing.

First off, thanks for including my article in the Lampstand last year. My parents and old school mates really enjoyed it and it is something to be proud of. It made my day when Roger Moses sent an email giving me a pat on the back for how far I have come. The next leap in my career is tackling a Masters of Engineering at the University of New South Wales in March - looking forward to that!

Paul Wrigley (1997-2001) paul.wrigley@gmail.com

Photo Identities

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hanks very much for the latest magazine. With regard to the picture on page 9 Wellington College vs St Patrick’s (Town), Athletic Park 1947. Half Time - and you ask ‘Can anyone name the players for us?’ Well yes I can do just that, as I was in that team. The players shown from left to right are; half of Jack O’Brien, Peter Riddell, Bill Wilson, Barry Usmar (obscured), Boyd Gardiner, Noel White, Dave Arbuckle and Ken Stewart (Captain).

Also, on page 70, the supporters were at the above mentioned match which was the only game played at Athletic Park by the 1st XV that year.

Wellington College won this game 8-6 but later lost to Silverstream (0-6), as well as losing twice to Hutt Valley High School 6-17 and 3-5.

Note: In those days, a try was worth three points and if converted (two points) was called a ‘goal’ (five points).

Peter Riddell (1943-1948) peterriddell@xtra.co.nz

Yokoso

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onfirming my contact details and to advise that I currently work for the US government but live on Yokota Air Base in Tokyo and write for Stars and Stripes newspaper, which is a daily newspaper for members of the US military stationed overseas.

If any classmates are in Tokyo, please get in touch and I’ll shout you a beer and a round of golf. I can even arrange rugby if you still play. My cell is +818055114257.

Seth Robson (1983-1987) RobsonS@pstripes.osd.mil

Lampstand Updates

Y

ou may already know of this death but I had a call from the younger sister of Bill Shirer to tell me that Mack Nicol (1941-1944) had died.

I think he would have been in 5A in 1943 and 6B in 1944. He was a good friend of a good friend of mine who married my informant, Judy McNiell (formerly Shirer).

The good friend of mine was Peter McNeill (1941-1944) who would have been in the same classes as Mack Nicol and who left school after getting his Higher School Certificate. Notice the difference in the name spellings. Once he was of age, Peter reckoned that McNiell was more correct than McNeill so he adopted it.

He was the last born of the McNeills in a firm of engineers called Hamilton McNeill that had their workshop on Aotea Quay on the wharf side opposite the end of the platforms at the railway station. Peter was from a large family of eight; sadly his mother was widowed in the Great Depression years in the early 1930s.

Peter was living in Kenthurst, Sydney when he died from a massive heart attack on Christmas Day in 1981. Peter was a public accountant turned farmer (in Warkworth) but hard work on the farm was the start of heart problems for him. When I last saw him, he was Secretary to an education authority in Whangarei.

I don’t believe I’ve set eyes on Mack since he finished at College in 1944 (maybe once with his wife some years after). However, I believe that he and his wife and Peter and Judy were good friends and probably saw a bit of each other while both couples lived in the Wellington area.

Peter worked for Wilberfoss Harden initially and I saw he and Judy a bit while I was single until about 1952 I would reckon. [Bill was at Med School, Dunedin for six years 1946-1951 and I

Potential All White

T

Born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1924, Brian grew up roaming the rugged seaside hills around the small suburban town of Island Bay. He relished rough-and-tumble play, which he called ‘feverish exploits’, excelled at Soccer, and went on to study at Wellington

I moved to Australia in 1955 and used to make a point of catching up with Peter on my rare visits (too costly in those days) if possible. His farming came to an abrupt end when he had a heart attack (ostensibly from too much hard yakka as we say in Australia). My last sighting of him was in Auckland when he was secretary to the Whangarei Schools Board.

Next, he and Judy moved to Kenthurst in Sydney where his married middle daughter and her husband were into horses. Sadly most of the family were together there on a Christmas Day when he had a massive and fatal heart attack. I understand that Bill (who was present there at the time) said there was absolutely nothing that could be done to save him. He would have been aged about 55 at the time. Sadly, we never caught up in Sydney after his move there.

Judy McNiell and I are the only ones left (out of a fairly large group well known to each other in WWII times and just after) as Judy keeps reminding me. Aged 83 I hardly need reminding.

I was interested to see the shot of the Pipe Band (c. 1946 -1947). I think my brother-in-law can confirm this. He is the piper (aged 14) on the extreme left in front of the last drummer on the extreme left. I think that the band was newly formed about 1944.

I was delighted to read the snippet on Arnold Hansson. We haven’t seen each other since 1945 but my contribution in 2001 on the formation of Teachers’ College because it allowed Wednesday afternoons off for sports. Afterward, at Victoria University, he gained an introduction to play theory and began teaching primary school, where he became fascinated by what he called ‘unorganised games’ - physical play unsupervised by adults He completed a BA and MA, and was then awarded the first Education PhD in New Zealand in 1954. He then travelled to the USA on grant from the Fulbright Programme, where he began an academic career with a focus on children's games, adult games, children's play, children's drama, films and narratives, as well as children's gender issues and sibling position.

Brian has been the President of The Anthropological Association for the Study of Play and of The American Psychological

6A Lower brought him out of the woodwork, so to speak, and we have been in touch from time to time since.

I was also most interested to read the obituary on Craig Burrell. Ivan Cher and I have been in touch with each other for about the last 50 years since he moved to Australia (I moved to Sydney in 1955). Perhaps in the very late 50s or very early 60s, I became aware of the doings of the five medicos that were in 6A in 1945 and Craig Burrell and Colin Fenton from 6A in 1944.

As I have mentioned previously, 6AL was created in 1944 but before this happened I was one of six boys who joined the 1943 residue of 6A for about a fortnight and this residue included Craig, Peter Whittle, Colin Fenton and Graeme Joplin all of whom distinguished themselves in later life.

However, I had no idea that Craig was so active in the New York Academy of Sciences. I was very pleased to see that you found space for recognition of Eric Hall. It is hard to believe, but I have little recognition of ever seeing him after 1945 when I went off to Canterbury University College, as it was then.

The only other contemporaries of mine who are still living who merit detailed obituaries are Peter Whittle, a retired professor at Cambridge University, who was Dux in 1944 and Ivan Cher (retired opthalmic surgeon) who was Dux in 1945.

Bob Coleman (another professor at CU) has died, sadly. Another from my year who comes to mind is R.V.J. (Ray) Windsor who, I believe, was a missionary doctor in South East Asia.

Also, in passing, I could add that Ian Blow, who you met last year, is a member of my Probus Club and early this year we made him a Life Member of the Club. I am also pleased to report that he seems to be in improved health since you met him.

Bob Balchin (1943-1945) rebalc@onthenet.com.au Association, Division 10 (Psychology and the Arts). As a founder of the Children's Folklore Society he has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Folklore Society. For his research in toys he has received awards from the BRIO and Lego toy companies of Sweden and Denmark. He has participated in making television programmes on toys and play in Great Britain, Canada, and the US, and has been a consultant for Captain Kangaroo, Nickelodeon, Murdoch Children's Television and the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.

His academic life consisted of ten years at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, ten years at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, and 17 years at the University of Pennsylvania. He is now retired and lives in Sarasota, Florida. Brian was recently engaged as resident scholar at the The Strong in Rochester, New York, home to the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 71

Your Letters

his is a photo of me in my 1946 NZ Universities Jacket, awarded to me for selection in the NZU Football Team. Perhaps I could have been chosen to represent New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup given my original famous status.

Of course I would have required certain special conditions given my advanced age – such as being allowed to have a nap every 15 minutes – which would refresh me for a further quarter. At halftime, I could have given a mini Meaning of Play lecture, symbolising my 50 books and 350 written articles, to arouse all the players to a frenzy.

Brian Sutton-Smith (1939-1941) Sarasota, Florida

was in Christchurch at CUC 1946-1949 so my contact with Bill was minimal for six years after I left Wellington College]. After Judy and Peter were married they lived in the Shirer weekender at Titahi Bay until Peter decided on going into farming. First he got into training by going into share-farming in the Waikato (like going from the frying pan into the fire I reckon) and after that I think Dr Shirer senior financed them into their own farm in the Warkworth area.

W

Obituaries

ellington College and the Old Boys’ Association extends its sincere condolences to the families and friends of those listed below for whom the Association has received notification of death since the 2010 Lampstand.

• An obituary (sourced from the media or from family) is included on the following pages for some Old Boys. If you can assist us by adding to an obituary or providing one that we do not have, we would be most appreciative. This year, the list is recorded in cohort years.

Class of 1927 • CALVERT, Russell John 1909-2011 of Nelson Wellington College: 1923 WWII:Staff Sgt 2nd EZEF Class of 1930 • GUNN, Kenneth 1914-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1926-1929 Class of 1931 CORNFORD, Arthur Lindsay 1914-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1930-1930 WWII: RAF, Wing Commander Class of 1932 DYETT, Nelson Dalmain 1913-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1927-1931 Class of 1933 • De LISLE, John Felix 1916-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1931, Firth House Class of 1934 • CAUGHLEY, Alexander Michael (Mick) 1916-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1930-1933 WWII: Major; Artillery Officer, awarded Military Cross Class of 1935 TELFORD, Robert (Bob) James 1918-2011 of Palmerston North Wellington College: 1931-1933 WWII: NZMC, 2nd NZEF, 3rd Div (Pacific) Class of 1936 BARDSLEY, Albot Herbert 1918-2009 of Auckland Wellington College: 1933-1935 CURTIS, Jack Compton 1918-2011 of Ashurst Wellington College: 1932 WWII: LBdr 4NZ FdRegt 2 NZEF Class of 1937 • ADAMS, Cliffe Vaughan 1920-2010 of Taupo Wellington College: 1934-1936, Firth House WWII Captain, Dental Corps AUGUST, Ashley Meredith 1918-2010 of Levin Wellington College: 1933 DONKIN, Norman 1920-2011 of Hamilton Wellington College: 1933-1935 EVANS, Philip Thornton 1920-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1933-1935, Firth House WWII: RNZAF LAC HART, Henry (Harry) Francis MBE 1920-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1933-1937

72 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

• PARLANE, Ian McDougall 1919-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1933-1934 REID, Colin Sydney Fraser 1919-2011 of Thames Wellington College: 1933-1934 RNZAF: Flying Officer STONE, James (Jim) Craigie 1918-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1933-1936 WWII Capt. 7 Anti-Tank Reg, POW Class of 1938 COOPER, Alan William 1919-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1934-1937 • GALLOWAY, James (Jim) McDonald 1921-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1934-1938 SPINK, George Arthur 1920-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1934-1936 WWII: Pvte NZMF Class of 1939 BROWN, Charles Keith 1922-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1935-1938 CRAIG, Kenneth David 1921-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1935-1936 DOWSETT, Rowan Thornton 1922-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1935-1936 WWII: RNZAF Warrant Officer 170Sqd FLAWS, Fane Francis George 1922-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1935-1940 Prefect 1940, 1st XV 1940 • LYNNEBERG, Ross 1921-2011 of Porirua Wellington College: 1935-1937 WWII: RNZN Telegraphist Class of 1940 • ARMOUR, Frank Moore 1922-2010 of Sussex, UK Wellington College 1936-1939 Firth House Prefect BANKS, William Herbert 1923-2009 of Surfers Paradise, QLD Wellington College: 1936 • CLARKE, Maurice Leon 1923-2010 of Auckland Wellington College: 1936-1941, 1st XV 1940, Prefect 1940-41 WWII: RNZAF 607 Sqd. CRAIG, Robert John 1922-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1936-1939 GLASSON, William (Bill) James 1922-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1936-1940 • GUNN, Malcolm Bryce, Dr 1923-2011 of Cambridge Wellington College: 1936-1942 Head Prefect 1942

IRONSIDE, Robert (Bob) Hamilton 1921-2011 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1936-1938 NICHOLSON, Bernard Rostron 1923-2009 Wellington College: 1936-1937 SCOTT, Robert Neil 1921-2011 of Hastings Wellington College: 1936-1938 TOMBS, Noel Whitcombe 1921-2010 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1936-1937 WWII: RNZAF, FlSgt TROUGHTON, Edward (Ted) Alfred William (JP) 1922-2011 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1936-1937 WWII: Lt. RNZVVR Class of 1941 ORNSTIEN, Philip Ross 1924-2009 of Auckland Wellington College: 1937 WILLETTS, Arthur Benson 1922-2010 of Palmerston North Wellington College: 1937-1938 WWII: 2nd NZEF Pacific Forces Class of 1942 ANGUS, Paul Alistair 1925-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1938-1941 • CUNLIFFE, Wayland Hughes 1924-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1940-1941 • DEMPSTER, Eric William MBE 1925-2011 of Dunedin Wellington College: 1938-1939 DOVEY, Raymond Eldon 1924-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1938-1940 KERR, Douglas Sidney Stratford 1924-2010 of Blenheim Wellington College: 1938-1941 OSTEN, William (Bill) Victor 1925-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1938-1941 Class of 1943 COLE, Wilfred (Bill) Ernest 1925-2010 of Paeroa Wellington College 1939-1942 WWII: RNZAF • GRANT, Alexander Marshall CBE 1925-2011 of England Wellington College: 1939-1941 HENDERSON, John Basil 1925-2011 of Greytown Wellington College: 1939-1942 HOWEY, Douglas Leonard 1925-2011 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1939-1942 WWII: 20 Squad.

LEE, Peter Charles 1925-2010 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1939-1942, 1st XV 1942

WHITAKER, Cyril, QSM 1925-2011 of Havelock North Wellington College: 1939 Class of 1944 CARRAN, William Gordon 1925-2010 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1940-1944 DAVIS, Ross Bulmer 1926-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1940-1943 HARRIS, James (Jim) Godfrey 1926-2011 of Pahiatua Wellington College: 1952-1943 NEILSON, Wallace Grant Herbert 1926-2009 of Auckland Wellington College: 1942-1945 • SALKELD, David 1928-2011 of Wiltshire, England Wellington College: 1940-1944, Firth House SCOTT, William (Bill) Frederick 1927-2011 of Upper Hutt Wellington College: 1940-1944 WILSON, James Robert Graham 1927-2011 of Waipukurau Wellington College: 1940-1942 Firth House Class of 1945 EATON, John Bishop 1927-2010 of Tauranga Wellington College: 1941-1944 GOODSON, Lewis Arthur 1927-2011 of Palmerston North Wellington College: 1941-1945 Firth House Prefect, 1st XV 1945 • HANSSON, Arnold George 1926-2011 of Paraparamum Wellington College: 1941-1944 NICOL, William Mack 1927-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1941-1944 PHILIP, Ian Gavin 1927-2011 of Whangamata Wellington College: 1941-1944 SMITH, Clyde Alexander 1928-2011 of Nelson Wellington College: 1941-1944, 1st XV 1943 SNADDEN, Malcolm Wylie 1926-2010 of Clyde Wellington College: 1941-1945, Firth House (Prefect) SWAFFORD, George Frederick 1929-2010 of Auckland Wellington College: 1941-1945 WELCH, Donald Cranstoun 1926-2011 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1941-1945 Master: 1950-1956 Don left the College for Stratford Technical High School in 1956.

• WINDSOR, Raymond Victor James (Dr) 1928-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1945, Dux 1945

Class of 1951 Whitlock, Ralph Marcus Lawson (Toby), Dr 1934-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1947-1952 Class of 1952 THOMAS, Evan Edward 1935-2011 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1948-1952, 1st XV 1951-52 Class of 1953 • HAY, Roger Douglas 1934-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1949-1952 MARTIN, Alan Ross 1935-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1949-1953 • REED, John Matthew 1936-2011 of Hunter Valley, NSW Wellington College: 1949-1952 Class of 1954 KITTOW, Graham Bruce 1936-2010 of Waipawa Wellington College: 1950-1953, Firth House LITTLE, Kenneth John, JP 1937-2011 of Paraparaumu Wellington College: 1950-1953 WOODWARD, Warwick Stratford 1937-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1950-1953 Class of 1956 ANDERSON, Charles (Chas) Stuart 1938 – 2010 of Byron Bay, NSW Wellington College: 1952-1956, Prefect: 1956, 1st XV 1956 (C) JOHANSEN, Peter David 1939-2011 of New Plymouth Wellington College: 1952-1956 Prefect 1956, 1st XV 1956 • MATSON, William (Bill) Lindsay, ONZM 1939-2011 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1952-1957 MUIR, Neville Howard 1937-2011 of Levin Wellington College: 1952-1955, 1st XV 1954 TOON, Robert (Bob) George 1937-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1952 Class of 1957 • MITCHELL, David John 1940-2011 of Auckland Wellington College 1953-1957 ROBERTS, Donald Bruce 1940-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1953-1957 STONE, Melvyn Arthur 1940-2010 of Otaki Wellington College: 1953-1957 • WHEELER, Charles Grant 1940-2011 of Chichester, England Wellington College: 1957-1958 Cross-Country Champion 1957-1958 Class of 1958 CLOUSTON, Robert (Bob) William 1940-2011 of New Plymouth Wellington College: 1954

JUDD, William (Bill) Neville 1939-2010 of Feilding Wellington College: 1954-1956, Firth House KNIGHT, Philip Leigh (Professor, DPhil) 1940-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1954-1958 McPHERSON, David Eyton 1940-2010 of Auckland Wellington College: 1954 STEWART, Edward (Ted) John 1940-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1954-1957 Class of 1959 • ARNOLD, Scott 1941-2010 of Levin Wellington College: 1957-1958 • DRAKE, William (Bill) George 1941-2011 of Santa Fe, USA Wellington College: 1955-1958 FROST, Michael Gavin 1941-2010 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1956-1959 • MILLER, Alexander Bruce, MNZ 1940-2011 of Franz Josef Wellington College: 1955-1959 Class of 1960 SCOTT, Brian William John 1941-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1956-1959 TAYLOR, Terence (Terry) Mervyn 1942-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1956-1961, Firth House Class of 1961 HATTEN, David Bruce 1943-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1957-1960 Class of 1962 HENSKIE, Brian Frederick 1944-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1958-1960 Class of 1963 BEVAN, Ross Graham 1946-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1959-1962 Class of 1964 HURST, Anthony (Tony) Noel 1946-2011 of Shropshire, England Wellington College: 1964 Tony passed after a courageous three year battle with cancer. He came to Wellington with his family from Dunedin in late 1963, and completed his secondary schooling at Wellington College. He then went on to Victoria University and after teaching in NZ for a few years, headed off to England where he spent most of his working life counselling students in high schools in the Midlands, UK. Brian Hurst JP, (1964 - 66) Class of 1965 COOKSLEY, Graham Noel 1947-2011 of Greymouth Wellington College: 1961-1964, Firth House

CUTHBERT, Alexander (Sandy) Morris 1948-2011 of New Plymouth Wellington College: 1962-1965 LANG, Garrick Thomas 1947-2011 of Picton Wellington College: 1961-1964 LAWRENCE, Roger William 1947-2011 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1961-1964, Firth House Class of 1968 EWING, David William 1950-2010 of Sydney, NSW Wellington College: 1964-1968 Class of 1969 GUERIN, Michael James 1951-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1965-1969 • MOODY, Graeme Cameron 1951-2011 of Wellington Wellington College 1965-1970, 1st XV 1967-70, 1st XI 1968-70 Class of 1972 • LITTLEJOHN, Roger Philip McMillan (Dr, PhD) 1955-2011 of Mosgiel Wellington College: 1968-1972, Dux Top in NZ in Scholarship, 1972 Class of 1975 THOMAS, Gregory Keith 1956-2011 of Waikanae Wellington College: 1970-1975, Firth House 1st XV 1974 Class of 1976 BAKEWELL, Nigel Ralph 1958-2011 of Seattle, USA Wellington College 1972-1974, Firth House KITCHING, John Oxley 1958-2011 of Wellington Wellington College: 1972 Class of 1977 DUNCAN, Noel William 1960-2011 of Foxton Wellington College: 1973-1976 Class of 1979 • WHITE, Warwick John 1962-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 1977-1979 Cross-Country/Athletics Team NZSS Cross-Country Team Died in Budapest Class of 1982 LAU YOUNG, Mark Fritz (Pastor) 1964-2011 of Lower Hutt Wellington College 1978-1982 1st XV 1982, Prefect 1982 Class of 2004 • HOWARD, John (Jack) William Rangitane 1987-2010 of Wellington Wellington College: 2000-2004 British Army: Private 3rd Bat. Parachute Reg. KIA in Afghanistan Staff • CROWLEY, Bruce Balharry 1925 -2011 of Wellington Former Master: 1957-1961 THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 73

Obituaries

Class of 1947 GLEN, Colin Morton 1929-2011 of Tauranga Wellington College: 1944-1948 1st XV 1947-48, 1st XI 1947 LENA, Raymond Sydney 1930-2010 of Foxton Wellington College: 1943 LIDSTONE, William (Bill) Kenneth 1930-2011 of Levin Wellington College 1943-1946 McCULLY, Robert (Bob) James, BPharm 1929-2011 of Tauranga Wellington College: 1945-1946 Class of 1948 • BRASCH, Donald James, Professor 1931-2003 ofDunedin Wellington College: 1944-1948 • GASKIN, Henry Ernest 1930-2011 of Masterton Wellington College: 1944-1947, Firth House JACOBSEN, Frank Hoban 1930-2007 of Whakatane Wellington College: 1944-1947 McALLUM, Stuart Henry 1930-2010 of Sydney, NSW Wellington College: 1944-1947, Firth House REID, Leonard Robert 1930-2011 of Paraparaumu Wellington College: 1945 McELWAIN, Barry Edward John 1931-2011 of Upper Hutt Wellington College: 1944-1948 • STIMPSON, Harold (Harry) Claydon 1930-2011 of Wanganui Wellington College: 1944-1947 THORBURN, Douglas Donald 1930-2010 of Picton Wellington College: 1944-1945 WAKELIN, James Robert (Bob) 1911-2011 of Lower Hutt Wellington College: 1944-1946 • WILSON, Ian George Bruce 1930-2011 of Christchurch Wellington College: 1944-1948, 1st XI Hockey Class of 1949 MASON, Royston Norman 1931-2011 of Paraparaumu Wellington College: 1945-1949 1st XV 1949 MATTINGLEY, Barry Frederick 1931-2011 of Paraparaumu Wellington College: 1945-1946 TAYLOR, William (Bill) Desmond 1931-2011 of Levin Wellington College: 1945-1949, 1st XI Hockey Class of 1950 • REEVES, Paul Alfred (Most Rev, Sir) 1932-2011 of Auckland Wellington College: 1946-1951 1st XI 1949-1951, Prefect 1951

Frank Armour

Scott Arnold

F

S

rank Armour passed away peacefully at home in England, in November 2010 at the age of 88. His daughter Carole tells the story of her father’s involvement in ASBAH - from the beginning.

Cliffe Adams

C

liffe Adams died at Taupo, where he was living In retirement, following a short illness. He was in his 92nd year. Cliffe was born in Pahiatua where he had his early education, coming to Wellington College in 1934, where he started In Form 4A. He left College In 1936.

His Father, Robert Tasman Adams attended Wellington College (1901-1904) as did Cliffe's three brothers: John (1931-1934), Bob (1937-1939) and myself, Donald (1944-1948). All three of us were Firth House boarders.

Cliffe had happy and successful years at College - as a scholar in his final year, as a Prefect and holding senior rank In the Cadet Battalion. He was an enthusiastic sportsman, playing Rugby for the 1st XV as a speedy number 8 forward, and excelling in Athletics. In 1936, he won the senior championships in both the 100 yard and 220 yard sprints and also winning these events in the Inter-collegiate Sports.

After leaving school and while attending Victoria University and Otago University, he continued with his love of the sports field - winning New Zealand University Blues In the 100 yards and 220 yards sprints in 1938 and 1939. In those same years, his brother John won new Zealand University Blues in field events - shot-put and discus. These achievements were a matter of great pride to their father Robert, who had been a keen sportsman while at College, as senior hurdles champion and also competing in Gymnastics.

Obituaries

Cliff graduated in dentistry from Otago in 1943.

After a short appointment at Wellington Hospital he was commissioned in the New Zealand Dental Corps, serving in new Zealand and the Pacific region.

On his discharge from the Army, he returned to Pahiatua, where he practised general dentistry until his retirement to Taupo in 1985.

In 2009, Cliffe attended the ‘60 Years Plus’ Old Boys’ Reunion, and in 2010, he attended the Firth House Reunion, Cliffe regarded these as very special occasions. It was a great joy for him to return to the school as an honoured visitor and learn how it flourishes. He met (a few) old friends but made, many new friends. At the Firth House Reunion, he was the oldest present and was privileged to light the College Lamp at the Dinner. For him this was a most significant and symbolic occasion, to ‘take the light and hand it on’.

Cliffe is survived by his second wife, Catherine and his three children from his first marriage to Diana.

Don Adams (1944-1948)

74 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Dad found, when I was born with spina bifida, that there was little, if any, support for families in the same position and so decided to try to make a change. He subsequently became a founder member of Sussex ASBAH (SASBAH) and ASBAH. This involved contacting the national press, other pockets of parents around the country and arranging meetings in London and elsewhere. He was the first national Hon. Secretary from 1966 until 1968 when the first General Secretary was appointed.

Together with my mother Betty, his commitment to improving the lives of people with spina bifida and hydrocephalus led to many years of voluntary service for SASBAH. As well as his experience with SASBAH he was a member of the ASBAH Executive Committee for several years before becoming its Finance Officer in 1973. He held this post for ten years before ‘slowing down’ in 1984 and finally retiring in 1986.

On retirement he became an Hon. Life Member of ASBAH. During his time the Executive Committee included a number of surgeons, doctors and physiotherapists.

Now called the Board of Trustees, half the members have SB&H, a move he certainly approved of and which shows where we have come from since 1966.

Representing ASBAH, Frank, my mother and I joined other senior members of staff and their families at a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in July 1979. He lived to see both ASBAH and SASBAH develop from parents-led networks to the comprehensive organisations they are today.

In 1969 Dad organised the final leg from Horsham to Brighton of ‘The Great Walk’ from Berwick to Brighton. The vast majority of walkers (there were 340) were, in the words of the home-made board carried all the 28 miles, for spina bifida children.

In the 1970s and early 80s, Frank assisted with the organisation of the ASBAH annual conferences which were held in several cities around the country.

Speakers addressed these meetings on subjects such as housing and medical issues.

These conferences regularly attracted an audience of 100-140 people (these being parents, doctors, educationalists and an increasing number of adults who had SB&H.) Over the years, Dad wrote several articles for LINK: • The Great Walk. (Autumn 1969 p.13/14) • ASBAH’s first 18 years. (Nov/Dec 1983 p.3) • Colourful Beginnings. (April 1991 p.20) • ASBAH Pioneers. (Aug/Sep 1993)

cott Arnold passed away in April 2010 in Levin where he had been living for a year or so since moving from Auckland. Scotty was rhythm guitarist for the Tornados - from Titahi Bay in the early 60s. His move was prompted by the formation of Reunion, a band made up of a few 'relics' from the Tornados (Scott's band), Skyrockets, and Supersonics, whose main activity centred around the Levin area, in March 2008. A funeral service was held for Scott at the Levin RSA with friends and family.

He took on the task of revitalising his guitar skills with passion but was hampered by a severe arthritic related condition in his hands which surgery later on helped to some degree.

The Tornados original line up were, Barry Coupland (1954-1957), Scott Arnold, Bob Taylor, Kevin McKeefry and Ian (Lemmie) Hughes. They enjoyed moderate success locally including several recordings released by HMV (EMI). After a very popular season around Nelson and Motueka, they made critical career choices and moved to Australia where their decision was quickly justified. Johnny Devlin adopted them as his own and gave them the new name, Devils (a description which still applies!).

They were also known as the Kiwi Four in Australia and were very popular especially in the many league clubs there. Inevitably, a few shuffles occurred which saw, among others, the inclusion of Colin Lock, ex Skyrockets, into the band.

The reunion was held at Barry's home in Horowhenua. All the original Tornados were there ie Barry, Scott, Ian, Bob and Kevin. Colin, who was not an original, arrived on Sunday and stayed overnight.

It has to be said that the success of the reunion was largely due to the huge impact that the music of those days had on us all. No wonder our musically inclined grandkids still thrive on it.

Don Brasch

T

he last issue of The Lampstand noted that Don Brasch had died, but perhaps appropriately for the reserved and quiet man he was, it did not record his distinguished career.

Don grew up in Waikato Street, Island Bay Our Street in Brian Sutton-Smith’s 1950s book of that name, and attended Island Bay School. His father was a cabinetmaker. Don came to Wellington College in 1944, and was placed in Form 3A. He stayed in the A forms throughout his College career, finishing as a member of the 6A Class of 1948.

His commitment and good wishes to ASBAH remained until his death.

On leaving College, Don was awarded a DSIR Bursary to study Science. He spent the next four years at Victoria University. Long vacations saw him working at the Dominion Laboratory in its old premises behind Parliament. On graduating MSc with Honours in Chemistry, he began full-time work at the Dominion Laboratory. In 1954, newly married to Pat Quinn, Don travelled to the United States. The next two years were spent at the Pulp and Paper Institute in Wisconsin and a further two years at Queen’s University in Canada where he completed a PhD in Carbohydrate Chemistry. On returning to New Zealand, Don resumed his career in the DSIR, now at the newly established Chemistry Division in Gracefield.

Carole Armour, January 2011

In 1967 Don was appointed Senior Lecturer in

He later wrote another article How and Why ASBAH began. His closing words in that article were We are now where we are. It is 2004, keep at it!

Chemistry at Otago University. Soon promoted to Associate Professor, he spent nearly thirty years at Otago.

Don was a most dedicated member of staff in the Chemistry Department. As well as being in charge of the teaching of Applied Chemistry, he led an active research group in Carbohydrate Chemistry and published numerous papers in research journals.

During those years his life mainly revolved round the Chemistry Department and his family. However he was an active member of the Otago Tree Society.

Just a few years into his retirement, Don suffered a serious stroke, after which he was largely confined to his house in Dunedin. Don died in 2003 and his wife Pat a year later. They had two sons and two daughters. One son (Michael) manages a wine-bottling plant in Marlborough, while the other (Stephen) is in the electronics industry in Christchurch. Their daughter Nicola is a Chemistry Professor in the United States while Helen is a Consultant Pathologist at Hutt Hospital.

Sir Michael Hardie Boys (1944-1948)

Russell Calvert

B

orn in Masterton in 1909, Russell Calvert celebrated his 101st birthday two years ago. I’m not what I used to be, he confessed, although Oakwoods Village (Nelson) staff and residents were amazed at his agility and quick wit. After going to Wellesley College, Russell attended Wellington College, then Nelson College. Russell had originally wanted to join the merchant navy, but he was unable to find the money necessary to fund his career as a captain, so eventually started work with his uncle as a dental technician in Wellington. He worked as a dental technician throughout his career and started a dental laboratory in Dunedin, where he lived for 52 years.

He lived through both world wars, and served in WWII in the army in Greece and the Middle East, and for a short time in New Caledonia.

Russell was Mayor of Dunedin from 1965-1968 and forty plus years on, still retained an interest in the issues of local body politics as he was when he campaigned for rates reform in Dunedin in the early 1950s. If it affects people, you become concerned, he said. And councils affect places in which people live. If wrong decisions are made, it can make life unpleasant or impossible.

He became involved with the Kew Ratepayers and Householders Association in the 1940s, but it was as organiser of the Dunedin Combined Ratepayers Association’s 1953 campaign for unimproved value rating that he first enjoyed local body success.

Winning against council - I was very pleased with that. It was my first stride out into independence.

During his time as Mayor, Russell officially opened the new learner’s pool at Moana Pool and led

After his first wife, Eileen, died in 1977, Russell spent three years at the couple’s holiday home in Arrowtown as unofficial and unpaid assistant green keeper at the local golf club. He and second wife Win moved to Christchurch and then to Nelson to be near her family and Russell helped her campaign for those with spouses in care to qualify for a bigger pension.

On both sides of his family, people have lived to old ages. I’ve inherited the right genes; my father died at 96.

Mick Caughley

A

lexander Michael ‘Mick’ Caughley attended Wellington College from 1930 to 1933. His brothers Denis and James also attended the College during this period.

He joined the ANZ Bank after leaving school and continued to work for the bank right through his career until retiring at age 60 as the South Island Manager. His 42 years continuous service with the ANZ Bank was only broken by the war years.

In 1940, Mick joined the Royal New Zealand Artillery. He served overseas until 1945 in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy and finished the war as Major AM Caughley MC, ED, m.i.d.

In October 1942, he was awarded the Military Cross while manning an observation post in support of the 23rd New Zealand Infantry Battalion in Tripolitania.

The citation reads (in part): Approaching dusk, 13 enemy tanks approached the defended position firing continuously. Captain Caughley, in the face of heavy fire, moved his observation post to a flank where observation was easier and he could direct the fire of two batteries against the tanks, causing them to withdraw. His quiet and determined effort to neutralise the hostile tank attack undoubtedly saved a great many casualties by driving the tanks away. Throughout the campaign, Captain Caughley has distinguished himself by courageous work at his observation post on more than one occasion and his leadership has been an inspiration to all.

During his college days before WWII, Mick contributed to the Wellington College Cadet Corps as a Sergeant-Major. Such military acumen and prowess was developed further during the War when he demonstrated his capability as an excellent soldier and leader.

After retiring in 1976, he lived in Waikanae, Taupo and Auckland. Although suffering from increasingly poor health in his later years, his interest in the RSA, his beloved Fifth Field Regiment, and Wellington College Old Boys never diminished.

Hugh Caughley

Leon Clarke

L

eon Clarke was born in Wellington and lived a good part of his life there, although during his later years he lived in Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland. After attending Hataitai School, Leon and his older brother, Brent (1935-1940), went to Wellington College. Leon was in the Tennis Team from 1938 to 1940 and 1st XV in 1940. He was a Prefect in 1941 before he left school early in the year to follow his brother and friends into the RNZAF. He joined Vacuum Oil Co Pty Ltd (Mobil), while waiting to enlist later in the year.

Leon joined the RNZAF where he undertook pilots’ courses at Taieri and Woodbourne Air Force Stations and gained his wings. Leon was shipped to the UK, where he was seconded to the RAF. He soon took his first flight in a Hurricane. The squadron was converted to Spitfires and Leon saw active service in the UK, the Middle East and lastly in Burma with 607 (County of Durham) Fighter Squadron. It was in Burma that his plane crashed and caught fire. He was badly burned and taken to India for treatment.

Within weeks of Leon’s crash in Burma, Leon’s brother Brent was killed in Bougainville. During the Wellington College 125th Jubilee Celebrations, the Clarke family donated a display case for memorabilia in the Pavilion in his memory.

After the war, Leon rejoined Vacuum Oil Co Pty Ltd and continued to live in Hataitai with his wife Margaret and family of three girls, Leonie, Janet and Sandra. He was soon promoted to Aviation Manager. Later the company was renamed Mobil Oil New Zealand, and he worked there until retirement in 1981 after 40 years’ service.

Leon was a founding member of the Wellington branch of the Brevet Club, an ex-service aircrew club affiliated to the RSA. He was an active member of both and in Auckland where Leon and Margaret settled. He continued his involvement with these clubs, as well as the NZ Fighter Pilots’ Association and the NAC Pilots’ Association. He also maintained a lifelong connection with the Wellington College Old Boys’ Association and with members throughout the country.

Margaret, Leon’s wife of over 62 years, continues to live in Auckland. Two of his daughters, Leonie Clarke and Sandra, and her husband Graham Cheetham, live in Auckland. Janet Clarke and her husband Jim Ormiston live in Washington DC. There are two grandchildren, David and Karin Cheetham. Leon’s younger brother, Maurice Clarke, lives in Wellington.

After WWII, Mick returned to his banking career. He held various managerial roles in Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch.

Obituaries

His council career comprised a hat trick of byelection wins in 1958, 1961 and 1970 and a spell in the mayoralty from 1965-68, always on a platform of Labour Party principles if not always on the party’s ticket. He also had four terms on the Town and Country Planning Appeal Board and was chairman of the Clutha Valley Development Commission in the early 1970s.

the Council which authorised the introduction of fluoride into the city water supply. The visit of the Queen Mother in April 1966 stood out as a highlight of his mayoralty, although he did not find anything exalting or terrifying about it. She was a dear old soul. She had a good sense of humour and was fairly open. It was a great privilege to be able to get into conversation with a person of that stature. But it’s not what makes the clock turn around. There were more important things in the world, he said.

Mick had three children, Helen, Robert and Hugh.

Robert also attended Wellington College in the 1960s.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 75

Bruce Crowley

O

n Friday, June 17, 2011, Mana College hosted a service to remember, honour and farewell a truly amazing New Zealander, Bruce Crowley (aka ‘The Crow’), an exceptional teacher, leader, soldier and sailor. Bruce was a great conversationalist, selftaught pianist, keen gardener and cook, traveller, animal lover, writer, poet and avid crossword fan (who was still attempting the daily crossword and code cracker two days before he passed away). He was a family man who loved life and contributed with great wisdom to so many people throughout New Zealand and beyond.

Bruce was actively involved in organising his farewell service with his trademark lists and attention to detail. He created a ten-page timeline of his life, wrote a poem entitled Memories of an Incurable Romantic for inclusion in the service sheet, selected photographs for the slide show and prepared a mock-up of the programme. Above all, Bruce wanted his farewell to be a happy occasion and this is exactly what happened with many stories being shared that had the College Hall ‘rocking’ with laughter, no doubt like some of the assemblies that Bruce took.

The Principal of Mana College, Mike Webster, recalled the love for this mighty Mana College totara at the College’s Golden Jubilee in 2007, where Bruce received a standing ovation.

Born in Tauranga on 1925, Bruce had many wonderful memories of his primary school days in Tauranga and secondary school education in New Plymouth and Palmerston North, before going on to Christchurch Training College and University in the early 1940s.

Bruce’s great love was teaching and his first posting was to Raetihi Primary School followed by a relieving position as sole charge teacher at Makakahi Valley School on the banks of the Manganui-o-te-ao River.

Bruce described the 12 pupils as lovely mischievous kids who had me on a wild horse in no time after solemnly telling me it was a placid old horse. By 1946, Bruce, aged 22, had been appointed Acting Headmaster of Mohaka Maori School! One day after school, a group of scrub cutters asked Bruce to check their applications to join J Force and on impulse he filled in one too. Three weeks later, he was in the army!

Obituaries

Bruce was based in Japan in 1947 and 1948 where he made a name for himself with the Colonel by taking English classes for junior and senior students and getting his pupils to put on concerts in addition to his army duties. This helped to foster better relationships with the locals and Bruce felt really at home in his new community. Winning a photo competition and a Commonwealth talent quest helped his cash flow and Bruce also passed a history paper towards his degree while stationed in Japan.

He was very sad when it was time to leave.

Bruce’s love of travel saw him plan his first OE in 1949. As he was now an accredited freelance journalist, he used the additional cash to pay for his insurance policy. In planning for his funeral service, Bruce commented that this insurance policy happens to be paying for today’s funeral and your drinks at the after-match function!

76 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

From 1950 to 1952, Bruce covered most of the world’s shipping lanes as a steward in the British Merchant Navy. After returning to New Zealand in 1953, Bruce taught at Tokomaru Bay before moving to Wellington in 1956. While completing his BA and Diploma in Education, he did some relief teaching at Wellington High School and then took up a permanent position at Wellington College teaching Physical Education, English, French and Social Studies.

Bruce began teaching at Mana College in 1961. He was appointed Deputy Principal in 1968 and, after a brief spell at Tawa College, he returned to Mana College and remained there until his retirement in 1985. He continued to relieve at the College well into his retirement.

One speaker at Bruce’s farewell service warmly shared that this instinctive and intuitive man had a special soft spot for the students that needed a little something extra, those on their own or on the outer.

Bruce was able to inspire, encourage, motivate and connect with them in a way that no one else could, often through humour, and this gave them an extra ‘hand up’ in life.

And a former student’s message on a special card made for Bruce before he passed away said one of the truly great gentleman and mentors in this world, we all loved this man with a passion. Bruce was a mighty totara, he was a champion.

With a love of honky tonk and jazz, playing the piano was an important part of Bruce’s life and he formed a jazz band with a few lads from the sixth form called Father Crow and the Scarecrows. No matter what the occasion, if there was a piano in the room, Bruce would soon be hammering out the old songs with a pint of beer bouncing precariously on top!

Bruce yearned to visit the places he had not seen or wanted to see again and, in his retirement, he enjoyed overseas trips to Europe and Britain and cruises through South East Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Panama Canal. As Bruce put it, I called this spending my sons’ inheritance!

We celebrate the life of this remarkable man whose influence continues on through the students whose lives he touched, through his many friends throughout the world, his loving wife Valma, sister Paddy, sons Dean and Mark, and their families.

Mana College

Wayland Cunliffe

W

ayland Cunliffe was a quiet man who enjoyed a quiet beer and watching his beloved Avalon play on Fraser Park. To those in the know however, he was much more than just a rugby follower.

The 81-year-old, who was always known as Way, was a giant of sport in Taita. A Life Member of the Taita and Avalon Rugby clubs, the Wellington Rugby Football Union, the Centurions Rugby Football Club, and the Taita Bowling Club, he was also a vicepresident of the Taita Cricket Club.

His greatest achievement was undoubtedly the 24 years (1967-91) he spent as the honorary treasurer of the Wellington Rugby Football Union. In these days of professionalism, the treasurer’s job was

unpaid but hardly straightforward.

One of his jobs was to collect the money for matches at Athletic Park. In the days before eftpos and Ticketek, everyone who bought a ticket paid with cash. Way had to collect the money and sitting under the old grandstand, he had to count every dollar.

Fittingly, his funeral was held at the Avalon Rugby Club and attracted a who‘s who of Taita sport, as well as former All Black captain, Andy Leslie who acted as a pallbearer. A number of senior WRFU staff also attended.

Way joined the Taita Rugby Club in 1946 as a player before becoming an administrator. He never married but devoted his spare time to sport particularly rugby. He had an unswerving passion for Avalon and attended every match until his health stopped him from attending away matches. In 2005, the Club recognised his 60 years of service with a silver salver.

Outside sport, Way was involved in the Taita RSA, and having sent three years at Wellington College, worked his entire career for the Mines Department and enjoyed taking scenic train trips.

Way suffered a stroke in April and in the past few months, a number of Avalon members stayed by his bedside.

The Hutt News

John de Lisle

J

ohn de Lisle, former Director of the NZ Meteorological Service died in May this year.

John was one of a generation that became involved with weather forecasting during WWII. John only attended Wellington College for one year - 1931 - when he was one of many who were evacuated from Napier following the 1931 earthquake. He returned to Napier Boys’ High School the following year. After leaving Auckland University in 1937 he went teaching, and then was commissioned in the Meteorological Branch of the RNZAF in 1942.

He served in the Pacific Islands, where forecasters often flew with aircrews as observer/gunners, and occasionally took part in combat.

John returned to teaching for a time after the war, then joined the NZ Defence Scientific Corps in 1950 and was sent to study meteorology at Imperial College, London. John gained his PhD in 1953, then returned to New Zealand and re-joined the Meteorological Service in 1956. He started in the Climatology Division, eventually becoming Assistant Director (Research) in 1967 and Director in 1973.

His published research covered a broad area from climatology to numerical weather prediction. He was a member of many scientific committees and learned societies and represented New Zealand at the Seventh Congress of the World Meteorological Organisation in 1975.

After his retirement in 1977, John took on the considerable task of writing a history of meteorology in New Zealand. This was published as Sails to Satellites in 1986 by the NZ Meteorological Service and remains the standard reference work on its subject.

Eric Dempster

E

ric Dempster MBE, attended Wellington College from 1938 - 1939. He was a talented left-hand batsman, who sold his wicket dearly and a left-arm finger spinner who relied on accuracy rather than spin to get him wickets.

He played for Wellington from 1947-48 until 196061. One of the features of his batting in the middle order was that he tended to shine in adverse conditions. He had the ability to defend dourly or attack with relish. He made one first-class century in 1956-57 against Canterbury, 105, and shared a sixth wicket partnership of 140 in 118 minutes with WCOB, John Beck, who made 56.

He played five tests for New Zealand between 1952-54 and toured South Africa on New Zealand’s inaugural tour in 1953-54.

He played his entire club cricket for Midland and will be forever remembered as a forthright captain who was a martinet. He believed that a senior player should look a senior player and his teams that won three senior Wellington Championships were the best turned –out in the history of Wellington cricket.

He left Wellington for Dunedin in his role as an orthopedic technician making prosthetic limbs. He became the District Manager of the Dunedin Limb Centre and in his spare time he became a cricket umpire who controlled 14 first-class games and three international limited overs games.

In 1986 in the Queen’s Birthday Honours he was made a Member of the British Empire, MBE, for his service to the disabled and cricket.

Don Neely

Bill Drake

B

ill Drake, a long-time member of the Wellington Alpine Club passed away earlier this year in Santa Fe, USA. Those who knew Bill will remember him as a keen ski-tourer, climber and tramper. His love of the outdoors was reflected in his photography, and his work and hobby of map making which was recognised world-wide. He leaves many friends with fond memories of trips to remote and wild areas of the mountains.

Henry Gaskin

W

airarapa tennis has lost one of its true identities.

News that Henry Gaskin had passed away at Wairarapa Hospital in March will have many happy memories flooding back for those who had the pleasure of enjoying his company, on or off the tennis court. One wonders how many of them would have blinked in disbelief in reading that Henry was actually in his 80th year.

Not only that, he was regularly beating players who

The Henry Gaskin playing style had no frills about it.

Yes, he could be an astute tactician but he was never into long rallies.

was a hurdle Bryce was not prepared to face, and effectively he retired. Some older patients wanted to stay with their old-fashioned doctor (even without a computer) and he tended their health needs till just a few years ago.

For Henry if the opportunity was there to hit a winner he went for it no holds barred. In his heyday the power of his ground shots had many a higher rated opponent grasping at thin air, and that wasn’t only at club level but in the many hundreds of representative games he played for Wairarapa as well.

Bryce’s own health deteriorated in the last decade.

A brief final illness took him on March 27. He was 87.

He is survived by his second wife, Dot, sons Graeme and David (1955-1958), daughters Diana and Cindy, adopted daughter Rebecca, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The advent of Masters tennis was a boon for Henry.

He travelled widely to compete against those of his own group and, it goes without saying, the results were impressive. Most of the tennis there is of the doubles variety and Henry relished that discipline, the power of his shots often having players at the net scrambling for cover.

Bryce was the oldest son of Mafie and Harold Gunn and was born in Christchurch on December 20, 1923. His father was a health administrator with the Department of Health. They moved back to Wellington. Bryce enrolled at Wellington College and was a good student and sportsman. He was in the Cricket 1st XI from the fifth form and in his final year, captain of the Hockey 1st XI and Head Prefect.

The fierce competitiveness shown by Henry on the court was the exact opposite of his demeanour off it. He had the gentlest of natures and his quick wit was always apparent. Laughter was in the air whenever he was around.

Henry’s elder brother Albie attended the College from 1940-1944.

Wairarapa Times Age

Bryce Gunn

T

hey no longer make doctors like Bryce Gunn. He turned out any time of day or night for a sick patient. People came to his home and knew they would always get help.

Often he was paid in garden vegetables or with a fresh-baked cake. Son Graeme (1964-1965) says his father was not in it for the money.

In the wild Coromandel of 60 years ago Bryce’s Dodge car commonly became an ambulance taking sick or injured to hospital. At least, once a body was tucked into the boot for a long ride from the rural outback to the Coromandel Hospital mortuary.

For five years in the 1950s Bryce (backed by his doctor wife, Meredyth) was the sole general practitioner in the Coromandel peninsula. The roads were poor and unsealed. Coromandel was considered ‘remote’.

In 1958 they moved to Cambridge where there were four doctors and room for a fifth. They established a medical practice. The surgery was a room in their home. The practice was a 24-hour-a-day sevenday-a-week job and Bryce and Meredyth swiftly became a part of the community. Bryce was part of the cricket scene, the Cambridge Golf Club, the Cambridge Harness Racing Club, Deputy Mayor and at one point – a community leader. Meredyth, mothering two sons and two daughters, was the family representative in educational organisations, and ‘the doctor is in’ when Bryce wasn’t.

Two with professional commitments, family commitments and community commitments, is a recipe for stress, and by 1973 the marriage wore out.

Meredyth moved away. Bryce stayed in Cambridge.

He was a much-loved doctor, loyal to his patients and they were totally loyal to him. He continued in practice till the 1990s. Computerisation became a necessity in the evolution of general practice. It

After his final year he was conscripted into the army, trained at Linton Camp, learned to use anti-aircraft guns, and became part of the wartime defence of Rongotai Air Base (now Wellington Airport). In 1944 he took his medical intermediate at Wellington’s Victoria University and entered Otago Medical School in 1945. He played hockey and golf for the university and gained a New Zealand University Blue in hockey. While at Otago University he met and married fellow medical student Meredyth Wilson.

He completed medical school in 1949, did his two house officer years at Palmerston North Hospital, and a further year as a medical registrar.

Bryce and Meredyth headed for Coromandel in 1953. The unsealed roads were frequently washed out or closed by slips. Bryce’s practice took in the whole of the peninsula, including Whitianga, often a difficult trip. There was a large marae-based Maori population and Bryce made monthly visits to Colville, Port Charles, Kennedy’s Bay and Fletcher’s Bay. There was much obstetric work.

Son Graeme recounts family lore: the roads were so bad the sump of Bryce’s car was always at risk.

To protect it a steel plate heavy enough to defeat a landmine was installed.

Daughter Cindy Farquhar (a post-graduate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at University of Auckland) says Bryce continued to be the quintessential family doctor when they established in Cambridge. He was involved in all aspects of family health including deliveries, elder care and child health. He did not run an appointment system – patients turned up. Eventually his clinic moved to the house next door.

Graeme, led to cricket enthusiasm by his father, says Bryce had no chance to play at Coromandel but looked to golf opportunities. He was one of those responsible for the establishment of the Coromandel Golf Club. Graeme notes that Bryce was president of the Cambridge Golf Club in 196667 when the clubhouse was extended. His services to golf over the years earned him membership of the elite Waikato Eagles.

In Cambridge, cricket opportunities quickly offered.

Bryce played for the Cambridge Cricket Club in the era when Cambridge dominated the Hamilton senior competition.

Brian Jonasson, President of the Cambridge Cricket

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 77

Obituaries

It only seems like yesterday that the name Gaskin was regularly appearing on the scoresheets of regional one inter-club games. But that’s hardly surprising because Henry was, in fact, still a member of the Masterton club’s premier team into his late 50s and early 60s.

were often one-third of his age.

Association, says Bryce’s fellow players credited him with above average skills. He was regarded as a very quick player, whether in cricket, snooker or golf. He was a batsman of great enthusiasm.

He was reputed to have challenged bowlers by advancing down the pitch to meet them before they released their delivery, sometimes earning the rebuke I’m not ready yet! Although his time in whites at Cambridge was towards the end of his playing years, he was noted for quick reflexes and picking up difficult catches.

In 2008 Bryce was elected the association’s patron, a position he held till his death. His interest in cricket never flagged. He generously shared with younger players his knowledge of Cambridge and the Victoria Square cricketing venue, says Brian.

Charlie Hunter, president of the Cambridge-Te Awamutu Harness Racing Club, says Bryce served the harness racing community as honorary doctor for more than 40 years. He was elected a life member. He bred and raced several trotters with some success. Bryce never missed a race meeting in more than 40 years as club medical officer.

He retired three or four years ago when health problems became too much. He enjoyed the social aspect, was keen on horses and liked a flutter.

In 1988 Bryce’s services to his community were recognised with the Cambridge Community Medal.

It was a very special presentation by then GovernorGeneral and Old Boy, Sir Denis Blundell.

Bryce was a particular friend to St John Ambulance, as were all the local doctors, says one former ambulance officer. He did a lot for Cambridge.

Bryce’s funeral was a private family function followed on April 8 by a memorial service held in the Cambridge Raceway Alf Walsh Lounge. There was a large attendance. Among those paying respects were dozens of Bryce’s former patients including many middle-aged people that his doctor’s hands helped deliver into this world. They acknowledged he was from a different era.

Roy Burke (1946-1947)

Ken Gunn

K

en Gunn was born at Roxburgh, Otago at the beginning of the Great War; the third child of a family of five boys and one daughter. At the age of four his family moved to Pleasant Point near Dunedin. His father, a Presbyterian minister, was killed tragically in a motorcycle accident leaving his mother Annie to bring up a young family in poor circumstances with Jim still to be born.

Obituaries

The family later moved to Wellington and it was there that the boys had their secondary schooling at Wellington College (Arthur, 1926; Ian 1929; Ken, 1936; James 1933) and was perhaps the oldest living Old Boy at the time of his death.

After leaving school he took up employment with the Railways. He always wanted to be an engineer but his application for an engineering scholarship through the Railways was turned down because of his young age [15] and the opportunity to go to University was apparently lost.

In 1935 shortly before his 21st birthday he moved to Samoa where he took up a position as a very young manager of a copra plantation. He married Joy in 1940 and worked in Wellington in the Public Service

78 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

before moving to Auckland with his young daughters Bonnie (Jenny) and Fairlie to begin his own business.

He later worked at NZ Insurance and studied for his accountancy exams at night, obtaining a position at Crown Lynn as an accountant and rising to a directorship at Ceramco and ‘right-hand- man’ to Tom Clark. His job at Ceramco took him around the world, visiting the famous English potteries, trade missions to Korea and Japan, discovering and exploring developing clay deposits and quarries from North Auckland to China. He enjoyed a highly successful business career at Ceramco.

Retirement gave him time to pursue his many hobbies; writing [including the family history], painting, woodturning, bee-keeping, gardening and skiing until age 89, and travel.

He always had some project on the go and was a delightful dinner companion, able to converse on any subject - travel, sport or politics.

He held endearing and admirable qualities and was really a true product of his age and generation which served him well all his life. Faced with early hardships he showed the grit and determination of a Southern man with patience and stickability to the task in hand.

He was blessed too with physical strength developed from his love of outdoor pursuits — tramping, mountaineering and skiing. He was erudite and learned as demonstrated by his writings, his artistic talents, his skill with his hands - an extraordinary allrounder.

A devoted family man, he maintained traditional ties with Scotland and the Shetlands but he was also modern and forward—looking with his acceptance and adjustment to modern technology. He had great rapport with his grandchildren and special pride in his great-grandchildren and will be sorely missed as head of the family.

The Gunn Family

Arnold Hansson

I

n the 2010 Lampstand, we made special mention of Arnold Hansson who, from the proceeds of selling his beloved woodworking tools made a very generous donation to the College’s Technology Department which enabled them to buy a specialised laser cutter.

Arnold was the only child of his father Arnold (born Hansen) and an English mother. His father was a forestry expert who migrated from Norway (near Oslo) to eastern Canada in the early 1900s and probably changed his family name at the same time.

He served in the Canadian forces in WWI and met his future wife in England at that time.

Arnold (snr) was a graduate of Yale but deterred Arnold from attending university of the ground that (in his opinion) having a university degree did nothing for him.

Arnold was one of nature’s gentlemen and had many talents, to say nothing of his painting. He was an only child. He was only married once to a divorcee, I believe and there was no issue from that marriage.

I have the impression he as very much liked at Kapiti for all of his fine talents and as a person.

He did mention to me once that he saw something of nephews and nieces of his wife who was an Australian. I believe that Arnold worked mainly in advertising and this is how he met his future wife.

Arnold was a very talented painter and was featured on television last year with regards to his passion.

Bob Balchin (1943-1945)

Roger Hay

R

oger Hay, Architect, long time Arch Centre member, recent Fellow of the NZIA, tireless battler for the rights of the disabled and a scourge of incompetent officialdom everywhere, passed away in September 2010 aged 76. Roger will be missed by many for his tireless championing of the rights of the disabled and for his work on revising the building code. Suffering from bad emphysema, and with his partner Valerie disabled as well, he knew first hand how hard it is to be disabled in the modern world.

Born in 1934, he attended Wellington College from 1949-1952 and then gained his degree in Architecture at Auckland in the 1950s. He worked for the Ministry of Works on projects such as the massive South Island hydroelectric dams, and their powerfully massed structures housing New Zealand’s turbine power, including the mighty Benmore power station. He was taught in the days when all standards were set, firmly, by the MoW, and this continued on in his time with the NZ Standards Association.

His love of getting details correct, and of setting out his argument in a logical, numerical manner, probably was generated in this period of his life.

He continued his work with IBS in the 1960s, and still had a passionate fervour for systems to logically industrialise buildings. Roger wrote a lengthy, detailed and carefully structured appraisal of Invercargill in 1963 The Face of Invercargill – A Critical Survey for the NZIA Journal, which probably still stands as one of the better discussions of architecture in our southernmost city. Other written works for the NZIA journal include an article on Professionalism, The Fire Bylaw – a Trojan Camel… on Two for Te Aro and Control Debate on the battle with the law over Building Standards .

Roger was an active member of the Architectural Centre, being the Secretary in 1961, and on the committee in 1967 – 68, where he was responsible for the newsletter. In recent years, Roger has been a guest lecturer at both Victoria University and Weltec, where his knowledge and entertaining storylines will be sorely missed.

Weltec Newsletter

Jack Howard

S

lain soldier Jack Howard‘s (2000-2004) emailed accounts of war in Afghanistan told of battles, booby traps, air strikes and near-death experiences, writes former Wellington College schoolmate Jonathan Chilton-Towle (2000-2004).

Jack kept in constant email contact with his friends back in New Zealand, and these messages form a journal of his experiences in Afghanistan. He was a talented writer. For those of us who knew him well, reading his accounts of combat and life in the war-torn country was pretty amazing. He wrote of closerange gun battles with the Taleban, calling in air strikes, explosive booby traps and near-death experiences.

I

t was with sadness that the Ministry of Defence confirmed that Private Jack Howard, from 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 5 December 2010.

Private Howard was serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade's Reconnaissance Force on a patrol ten kilometres south west of the provincial capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, when he was fatally wounded during an action conducted against insurgents operating in that area.

Having arrived in the United Kingdom he applied to join the Parachute Regiment and subsequently completed the Combat Infantryman's Course held at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, North Yorkshire. On successfully passing out in November 2007, Private Howard was posted to 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) in Colchester. On joining the battalion, he was posted to B Company and deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008 on Operation HERRICK 8. During his time with 3 PARA, he deployed on exercises in the Netherlands, Norway, Kenya and the USA. Throughout this period Private Howard served with distinction and was identified by his regiment as a potential high flyer with much to offer.

True to form, in April 2010 he volunteered for service with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force and successfully completed the Brigade Reconnaissance Force cadre, excelling during the demanding build-up training, before deploying on Operation HERRICK 13. During this time he qualified as a sharpshooter and a team medic. Right from the outset of the tour he rapidly established himself as a leading personality in his section and platoon. His sense of humour and easygoing attitude made him an immensely likeable figure whose friendships with his comrades spanned both rank and age. He had been at the very forefront of all the Brigade Reconnaissance Force operations up to the point when his life was tragically taken.

All of those who knew Private Howard will be poorer for the loss of this engaging, compassionate and inspiring young man. He leaves behind his parents Roger and Anne, two sisters Charlotte and Isabella, and his girlfriend Sophie.

Lieutenant Colonel James Coates, Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, said: Private Jack Howard was the archetypal paratrooper.

Choosing to leave behind a life in his native New Zealand, he volunteered for the challenges of service in The Parachute Regiment and rose to those challenges time and time again. Jack was selected for service with the Brigade Reconnaissance Force [BRF] of 16 Air Assault Brigade and moved across to this elite unit from 3 PARA in July of this year.

He had always aspired to serve in this role, very much in the vanguard of operations in Afghanistan, and he fulfilled his aspiration in spades. He was an exceptional operator and made a real impact on all those who had the pleasure to work with him. This was his second tour in Afghanistan.

www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations

Jack has been killed in action, Roger Howard told me in a shaking voice. He wanted to let his good mates know before it becomes official. It felt like being hit with a baseball bat. I just stood there stunned for a while, and then I knew I needed to get home. I walked through the central city in a daze. Everyone around me seemed so happy going about their lives without a care in the world, and at that time I hated them for it.

My family shared my deep sense of shock and loss. I remember thinking over dinner that if things are this bad in my home, the horror facing Jack’s parents must be unimaginable. After dinner, mum gave me a lift over to my friend Alex’s place. A few of Jack’s closest friends gathered there to remember him and to help each other cope in that black time. Everyone seemed as stunned as I was, and many people’s eyes were red from crying. We talked of the past and the good times we had with our friend.

I came to know Jack in the third form at Wellington College. I’m ashamed to say I don’t recall the first time I met him, but he was part of the group of people I began to hang out with regularly.

Jack was a great guy and had all the qualities that were most important in a man.

He was confident, determined, ambitious, intelligent, charming and a natural leader, but most of all a good and loyal friend. I always thought he would go far.

He was popular with everyone in the school and although he was not a prefect, he was a top student and was heavily involved in extra-curricular activities, especially drama which he loved.

Jack always had a martial streak in him. He was fascinated by all things military, he loved reading military history, going paintballing, watching war films, and even tabletop war gaming. He was also involved in the Air Force Cadets after school and had a leading role in that organisation by the time we graduated.

We were not surprised when Jack decided to join the NZ Army after school. He attempted to enlist as an officer and although he did well in the selection tests, he was rejected because they said he was too young and they wanted him to have more life experience. I know that it was Jack’s ambition to return to NZ and enlist as an officer again once his service in the paratroopers was done, and there is no doubt in my mind that had he returned he would have made a fine officer.

Jack was pretty down after failing army selection. He came to join the rest of us at Victoria University, but he didn’t enjoy it. He once told me that he was ‘burnt out’ and that he felt his study was ‘irrelevant’. He wanted to do something more in his life. Jack quit university after first year and flew to the UK, where he enlisted in the British Army as a paratrooper.

A lot of people thought he was crazy for doing it and told him so, but he would not be dissuaded from this goal. Jack passed the rigorous paratrooper training with flying colours and soon enough he was serving his first tour of duty in Afghanistan.

My heart goes out to Jack’s family. The grief and pain they faced must be a thousand times worse than my own. I want them to know that they do not need to suffer alone. Jack had many friends and every one of us is there to help bear this terrible burden.

Rest in peace, Jack Howard – you were the best among us and you will be missed.

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 79

Obituaries

Where others might have chosen the easy option in life, Jack lived his dreams in full knowledge of the risks involved. He was a brave and utterly dependable man and a good friend to all. The regiment has lost a rising star. "Jack was immensely proud to be both a Para and a New Zealander. He was absolutely passionate about what he was doing.

News of his death this week came to me when my cell phone rang and the number showed up as Jack’s phone. That’s weird, I thought – maybe he’s giving me a call from his base. But when it turned out to be his dad on the line, a feeling of dread began to grow.

Roger Littlejohn

I

t is with sadness that we report that Roger Littlejohn died on the morning of 6 March, 2011, following a battle with secondary melanoma, having just turned 56.

Roger was employed as a statistician with AgResearch (formerly Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries), based at the Invermay (Mosgiel) campus, from August 1983 until his death. He was an expert in the analyses of time series and in the application of hidden Markov models, and made major contributions in the analysis of hormone profiles and data on animal positions through time.

He devised practical solutions to the diverse range of problems that were presented to him and was greatly appreciated by his workplace colleagues. He contributed to over 200 publications.

He contributed to the wider statistical community in a number of ways, including being a committee member of the NZ Statistical Association. Roger was the Editor of the NZSA newsletter 2002-2006, President of the NZSA from 2006-2008, and NZSA Webmaster J2004-2010. For the last few years Roger has been the ANZJS Non-Editorial Management Representative and on the Awards Committee. He was a member of several conference and workshop organising committees, as well the board of directors for the NZIMA Hidden Markov Models and Complex Systems programme. He also contributed a number of time series procedures to the Genstat procedure library.

Roger was always ready to help and promote others, as was seen in his mentoring of a number of project and thesis students. His own contribution on writing work plans is a testament to his eloquence and humour.

Away from work Roger was an active member of the dramatic society, and of his church. He was a devoted father and husband. He leaves his wife Annette and two children, Jeremy and Tabitha.

Roger will be missed as a colleague and friend by us all.

AgResearch Stats Team

Ross Lynneberg

A

new signature was added to the National Army Museum’s wall in the museum’s popular Prisoner of War display. The wall contains signatures of New Zealand POWs from all services, including those of Charles Upham VC and Jack Hinton VC. More recently, the National Army Museum was lucky enough to have added that of Ross Lynneberg (# OSAKA14/619).

Obituaries

Ninety-two year old Ross Lynneberg served in the Pacific with the Royal NZ Navy before being transferred to the Royal Navy. He arrived in Hong Kong the day before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, the same day they bombed Hong Kong. Like many others, Ross was captured by the Japanese in Hong Kong on Christmas Day, 1941.

Nine months later he was shipped to Japan together with 1,816 other captured Allied soldiers on the troopship, Lisbon Maru. The troopship carried no Red Cross markings to indicate POWs were aboard and was torpedoed by the USS Grouper and severely

80 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

damaged. The Japanese troops aboard were transferred to another ship but the POWs were left locked in the holds with no food or toilets. Beriberi and dysentery were rife, and the Japanese were going to leave the POWs to drown.

As the ship began to sink some of the POWs escaped, some were shot, others were killed in the water and others including Ross jumped overboard, swam for a few miles before being picked up by a Japanese patrol boat. Only half of the men who boarded the Lisbon Maru made it to Japan alive, and a further 200 died soon after arrival.

Ross spent the remainder of the war in POW camps, serving 1,374 days in captivity. He suffered malnutrition, beriberi, malaria, and was subject to cruel and unusual punishment. He also witnessed the bombing of Hiroshima and remembers seeing the B29 fly overhead and the huge mushroom cloud explosion. He is a living piece of history and the National Army Museum gives its heartfelt thanks to Ross for sharing his story and adding his signature to the POW wall.

Alan Main

A

lan Main was born in Dunedin.

His family then lived for a time in Napier before moving on to Wellington in time for him to attend College as a ‘Karori Boy’.

He will be remembered as a very thoughtful, caring, competent person and, a natural leader in anything he became involved in. At College, he was a School Prefect and a member of the 1st XV for two years.

He considered he had been fortunate to have been a student at Wellington College and maintained a keen interest in it for the rest of his life.

Another lifelong interest was in his Scottish ancestry.

He pursued this when called up to do CMT by joining the NZ Scottish Regiment in which he later earned a commission.

He started studying Accountancy at Victoria University but did not finish because of a lack of money and the fact he was not prepared to impose on my parents. Instead he joined Woolworths in 1954. By 1959 he was the youngest branch manager in New Zealand. He went on to become the NZ Distribution Manager and, finally, the Auckland Regional Manager. In later years he held senior positions with a number of large national companies finally retiring in 1999 at which time he owned his own kitchen appliances business.

Alan had an acknowledged expertise in the world of retail marketing where he achieved a national reputation. He lectured in this subject at university level and was prominent as the leader of a number of organisations in this field namely, at various times, the president of the Wellington, Auckland and New Zealand Retailers’ Associations. Finally he became the inaugural President of the NZ Retailers and Merchants Assoc.

After retiring Alan was an active golfer, a mentor for small business operators and keen overseas traveller. He was also President (for two years) of his Probus Club. It was typical of this man that he took great pride in, and was completely loyal to anything he became involved in. Nowhere was this more apparent than with his regard for his own family. He

is survived by his wife Judy, three children and four grandchildren.

Alan died after a long battle with cancer. During this time he didn’t waste time bewailing his fate. He got on with life. He was a brave man.

John Laurenson (1951-1955)

Bill Matson

T

he Kapiti and international swimming community are mourning the passing of Bill Matson, who died, on his birthday, aged 72.

He was the boy from the bay who met the Pope and the Royal Family, but always had time for his grandchildren and the Raumati Swimming Club, said his family.

Bill, who lived in Waikanae, dedicated more than 40 years to swimming administration and was Vice President of FINA, the international federation for aquatics, since 2005.

He died following surgery in Shanghai, China, while attending the FINA World Championships.

Born in Oriental Bay in 1939, Bill began work for the Labour Department in 1957 after he finished at Wellington College.

A keen cornet and trumpet player, he played in bands around the country and in the early 1960s was national cornet champion. He played for the national orchestra until they became fully professional and wanted Bill to join. His wife Joan, whom he married in 1962, said music was a hobby to Bill, not a career.

The couple had two children, Paul and Sue, and moved to Hamilton and Dunedin for Bill’s work. Paul was given swimming lessons for his fifth birthday and from there Bill joined the local Dunedin swimming club and started his decades-long involvement with the sport.

Mrs Matson said her husband was a good administrator and the family joked that Bill could not swim two strokes to save himself. That’s the irony of the whole thing, said daughter Sue. Bill retired at 60, as Deputy Secretary of Defence, after 42 years’ public service. Son Paul said the world of swimming kept Bill busy — something to fill in the hours when he wasn’t playing golf.

The family estimated Bill spent between 15 to 30 hours a week volunteering, depending on what competitions were on. He held many administration roles locally, nationally and internationally, including Past President and Life Member of Swimming New Zealand and also of the Wellington Swimming Association.

Bill was president of Oceania Swimming Association from 1991 until 2008 and was only the second New Zealander to be elected to the FINA Congress.

Last year he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for his services to swimming.

Through his voluntary roles, Bill met the Pope in Rome in 2009 and nearly all of the royal family, bar the Queen, said his family. Mrs Matson said her

husband, who grew up in Titahi Bay, used to say, what’s a boy from the Bay doing here? when he was travelling the world and meeting famous people.

He’s a good one to play six degrees of separation because he would normally nail it in one or two, said Sue. However, Bill still enjoyed popping down on a Sunday night to Raumati pool, said Mrs Matson.

He had a dry sense of humour, but despite his hard exterior was a gentle giant on the inside. He would only let you through if he wanted to, but he was all soft and smushy inside.

Alex Miller

E

nvironmentalist Alex Miller, who was honoured for his efforts on the West Coast, died of cancer aged 70. The Franz Josef man was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007 for his conservation work on the West Coast.

A friend and colleague said Alex will be sorely missed by the conservation community. Alex possessed a unique talent for mediating difficult discussions - a skill particularly useful during his time on the West Coast Conservation Board. He was also former ranger for Totaranui and Franz Josef and more recently, he was known for his work designing a Cessna to be used for tracking birds in a kiwi recovery programme.

Alex was a half-owner of the company and lived at Docherty Creek just down the road from Franz Josef Glacier where he owned his own private airstrip.

His experience as a ski plane pilot goes right back to the days of the Mount Cook company. In the early 1990s, he purchased the West Coast operation but continued to use the Mount Cook name and pooled the two Cessna 185 ski-planes he purchased with the Mount Cook fleet. Eventually, the Mount Cook side of the operation came up for sale and Alex teamed up with Richard Royds to take full control of the ski plane operation. Prior to flying ski planes for a living, Alex was a national park ranger and before that, a mountaineering guide.

David Mitchell

D

avid Mitchell, poet, writer, performer, teacher and cricketer, died in June this year. He was arguably one of New Zealand’s finest poets, and certainly one of the more innovative.

David Mitchell was born in Wellington in 1940. He was a keen sportsman in his younger years. His biographers Martin Edmond and Nigel Roberts note: He enjoyed cricket, rugby, fives, swimming, diving and water-polo. At Wellington College in the 1950s, New Zealand captain John Reid named Mitchell as one of Wellington’s five outstanding schoolboy cricketers. At rugby, he was a second five-eighth and coached by Sam Meads, cousin of Colin and Stan.

After school he attended Victoria University (195859), then graduated from Wellington Teacher’s College in 1960 and taught his probationary year at Upper Hutt Primary School, before leaving New

Graeme Moody

Throughout the ’60s and ’70s, David quickly established himself as a leading poet on the New Zealand poetry scene (especially with the publication by Stephen Chan and later Trevor Reeves of his collection Pipe Dreams in Ponsonby (1972, 1975). In 1975, he received the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Fellowship to Menton in France. David was often the iconic poet of the period, as Peter Olds wrote: David was good with the girls, he looked good, he dressed well, he spoke well…while people admired him I think they secretly envied him.

Throughout this time, he lived variously across the Tasman (Sydney, Wellington and Auckland) and worked briefly in the Education Department in Wellington in the mid 1970s.

Perhaps health issues and concerns or retreat from literary fame dogged much of his life after the 1970s. His poetry output was seldom in print.

However, he worked as a teacher for 30 years, and in the 1980s co-founded the successful poetry readings at the Globe in Auckland (now continuing at various venues as Poetry Live), later completed a BA at Victoria University, and he kept up his cricket interest playing club cricket mostly for the Grafton Club until 2002. His biographers note: Cricket was poetry, David said.

Despite publishing little, his poems made their way into major Oxford and Penguin anthologies of New Zealand poetry as well as specialist anthologies like James Bertram’s New Zealand Love Poems, Alistair Paterson’s open form - 15 Contemporary New Zealand Poets, Alan Brunton, Michele Leggott and Murray Edmond’s Big Smoke: New Zealand Poems 1960-75 as well as journals like Printout and Poetry NZ in the 1990s.

Yet it wasn’t until 2010 when his friends Martin Edmond and Nigel Roberts put together his selected poems, Steal Away Boy: The Selected Poems of David Mitchell (Auckland University Press) that he again appeared in book form. That same year, in declining health, he was also very happy to be included in the anthology A Tingling Catch: A Century of New Zealand Cricket Poems 1864-2009.

David is survived by his two daughters: Sara and Genevieve.

David’s presence will be missed. Like Syd Barrett, the Pink Floyd founder, who in some ways mirrored aspects of David’s life towards the end: his crazy diamond will shine on. Wish you were here.

(More about David at his blog: davemitchellpoetry. blogspot.com) Mark Pirie (1987-1991)

O

ne of the amazing things about sports broadcaster Graeme Moody’s premature death was to learn that he was 60 years old.

Moody – ‘Moods’ to so many of his mates - was not one of those overweight sports reporters who did no more than watch from the sidelines. He was fit, active and perpetually young.

He biked from the family home in Seatoun to work at Newstalk ZB in Abel Smith Street each day. He started cycling seriously several years ago when a dodgy knee caused him to stop jogging.

He was also a keen yachtie. As a youngster he had been a talented cricketer and rugby player, good enough to spend three years in the Wellington College 1st XI, which he captained, and four years in the 1st XV, of which he was vice-captain.

But his real sports love was surfing, which made his death by drowning in Australia while surfing all the more ironic. He loved nothing more than to get out in the surf at Lyall Bay or, even better, up the Wairarapa coast.

He was always so full of bounce that his death was even more devastating to his legion of friends.

His funeral at Old St Paul’s drew more than 500 mourners.

Graeme attended Karori Normal School and later remained at Wellington College until he was 19, returning in his last year, he said primarily for sport.

He did the journalism course at Wellington Polytechnic in 1971. From there, he took a job at the Whakatane Beacon. He stayed in the town and moved to Radio IXX. Though he loved sport, he covered everything in Whakatane, from the Matata Water Board to the local council. l was playing rugby and reporting it, he said last year. To read the reports you’d think I played quite well. Whakatane was where he caught the surfing bug - and won two Royal Humane Society awards for surf rescue.

He had a stint in Australia, doing odd jobs, such as labouring and spraypainting the inside of fridges, to fund his surfing obsession.

When he returned to Wellington in 1973, his life turned around. He met his future wife, Bev Wood,

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Obituaries

His first poem publication was in the Wellington College annual The Wellingtonian.

Zealand for London in 1962 (doing casual and relief teaching) and travelling to Europe. Overseas his experiences drastically altered his poetry and he returned to Wellington in 1964 somewhat ahead of his time.

commentator wasn’t for him. He'd done two Olympics, five Commonwealth Games, four Rugby World Cups and countless other rugby tours, but was never carried away by the job.

It was noticeable at his funeral how often the point was made that, even in a profession where ego often runs rampant, he was exceptionally modest.

He stopped touring because he preferred to be home with Bev and to do the more simple things in life, especially surfing.

He and Bev bought a shed from the Fort Dorset Army Base and had it transported to White Rock on the Wairarapa Coast. There they spent many happy weekends, often with friends and family. And, of course, all that surf was on his doorstep.

With his friendly personality, he would have been a natural for television but never ventured down that road. I’ve got good face for radio, he joked. He liked the anonymity that radio offered.

So he became a Wellington broadcasting identity, reporting for Newstalk ZB, delivering the sports news every day and covering local rugby matches. who was training to be a teacher, So l did three years at Wellington Training College, followed by three years primary school teaching in Auckland, he said.

The two married in November, 1976, and settled in Wellington, where Graeme finally turned to his true calling, sports reporting. He'd been practising since he was six. He was enthralled by the rugby commentaries of Winston McCarthy and after a big game, would rush into the yard of the family home in Croydon Street, Karori, and score wonderful tries, describing them in his best McCarthy imitation.

At the 2ZB offices in Wellington, he impressed with his knowledge and enthusiasm, so much so that some of the more seasoned and less industrious sports broadcasters got a bit sniffy initially, feeling he was showing them up.

Graeme came to national attention as a rugby commentator during the controversial 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand, when he and John Howson covered the matches for Radio New Zealand. Graeme covered the news side of the tour. John was perceived as pro-tour and I was perceived as anti-tour, he explained. John was the No 1 commentator and I was there to provide the balance. But it wasn’t like that. John was just an outstanding broadcaster, and my views on the tour really swung, depending on what I’d been seeing that day. In the end you would have to say it was hard for New Zealand. What a winter that was.

Obituaries

Graeme’s first test call was the 1987 World Cup match between France and Romania in Wellington.

Five years later, he replaced John McBeth as the country’s No one radio rugby caller and for the next few years travelled the world covering the All Blacks.

He was an outstanding commentator, with clear delivery, the ability to sum up quickly and a master of voice inflexion.

In 2007, he won the Mobil award for the best New Zealand sports commentator. He was always very enthusiastic. At the 1990 Commonwealth Games he said on air: If Anna Simcic wins this final, I'm going off the 10-metre diving board. She did, and he did.

However, he eventually decided the life of a touring

82 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

He seemed happy in his own skin and had friends everywhere which made his sudden death all the more tragic, a hammer blow, as his boss at NewstalkZB, Jason Pine described it at his funeral.

Graeme’s older brother John Moody, attended Wellington College 1962-1966.

Joseph Romanos, The Dominion Post

Ian Parlane

I

an Parlane was a member of the Tawa Rugby Club for over 50 years.

With the rapid development of Tawa Flat as a desirable place to live together with the post-war baby boom, there was an urgent need in the late 1940s for the establishment of schoolboy rugby. At the time, the Club had two 11-12 age group teams but there was nothing available for younger boys.

Ian was asked if he would organise rugby for the younger set. He accepted the challenge and within two years, Tawa had four teams playing rugby on Saturday mornings. Not only did Ian organise this section of the Club, he was able to set up a fundraising team to buy jerseys for the players. This was a very successful operation and in the short space of a few months, all teams were playing in the club jerseys. The title ‘Godfather of Tawa Schoolboy Rugby’ sat well with Ian. Towards the end of the 1950s, Ian became a member of the Executive of the Club and in 1960 was appointed Club Captain. He held this position for three years. In 1994 he was made Life Member of the Club.

Ian was very proud of his achievements within the Club and at the 60th Jubilee, he was one of the speakers who captivated the members with his knowledge of it in the early days. He was a very loyal supporter.

Pat Quinn aka

The Great Franquin

A

fter a life of scrabbling to make ends meet, Pat Quinn hit upon a winning formula at the age of 35. In fact, he hit the jackpot. As the Great Franquin, hypnotist extraordinaire, he wowed packed houses in his homeland New Zealand, as well as in Australia and Hawaii, earning enough money over three years to keep him and his family in style for the rest of their lives. At the height of his popularity, he received up to 4000 letters a week from people seeking cures for their ailments, although he was often quoted as saying he was just an entertainer. In 1957, John Sands named a board game after him called Franquin’s ESP. Francis Patrick Joseph Quinn was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on January 22, 1914, the second of five children, to Laurie and Edith Quinn. His father was a theatre manager and his flair for promotional stunts made him popular with employers and the public. But in 1919, a stunt involving corseted chorus girls displeased the city’s bishop and Laurie found himself unemployed. His search for work took him and his family all over New Zealand and to Australia.

Pat developed an interest in hypnotism after reading George du Maurier’s 1894 novel Trilby. As an adult, he loved to tell the story of when, as a nine-year-old, he hypnotised a neighbour’s child, curing her of her habitual sniffle.

His introduction to show business came after he met Eileen Smithson while on a seaside holiday in 1932. She was a singer and when her father, Joe, who sang, yodelled and played harp and piano, organised a charity concert for the unemployed in 1932, he appointed Pat MC. In 1934, Pat became assistant manager of a cinema, just as his father had been. He also became breakfast announcer on an Auckland radio station and had his own show at night, The Film Fan Show, in which he and Eileen sang hits from movies. In 1935, the pair were married by the station’s manager, the Reverend Colin G Scrimgeour. Pat enlisted in the army in 1939 and, after the attack on Pearl Harbour, was sent to Tonga as an intelligence officer. While there, he put together a revue that featured dancers, singers and musicians, with the cast made of soldiers, nurses and whoever else was available. On hearing about the show, a US admiral asked Pat to put something together for ‘his boys’. With little time and no cast, he made a show by combining his showman skills, quick wit and hypnotism.

When the war was over, Pat put his gift of the gab to use in a sideshow of a travelling fair. He acted as spruiker for the show, which included a motorcyclist who rode ‘the globe of death’, two Russian roller skaters and a puppet show. His next sideshow act was Nella Axion, the Psychic Half Lady, who was able to impress punters with her presence thanks to her partner, Jenny, who quizzed the people while they bought tickets and relayed the information to Nella via an earpiece. This successful act broke up when Pat, who had been romancing Jenny, turned his attentions to Nella. Jenny began to feed Nella misinformation, ruining the show. Pat’s next act, a 50-centimetre horse, was another success.

It was while working on the sideshows that Quinn

first saw a display of mnemonics and realised it would be the perfect partner for hypnotism.

His Great Franquin stage act began to take shape in 1949. With his sister Laurel as assistant, he began his debut tour in Wellington, at first playing to a half-empty house. However, when John Shannon, a former sideshow crony and inventive and diligent promoter, joined Pat’s small team, their fortunes changed.

It was Shannon who arranged for the use of a shopkeeper’s window in the town of Blenheim to be used as part of the act: Pat would hypnotise a subject and have them stretchered to the shop window where they would remain, asleep, until the next day’s performance, when he would awaken them on stage. This became a standard openingnight procedure and the crowd that accompanied him from the theatre to the shop and back again added to the spectacle. By the time the group arrived in Auckland four months later, the Great Franquin was a sensation.

The show’s success was repeated in Australia. He opened in Brisbane and by the end of the run, he was selling out Her Majesty’s Theatre.

He and his family moved into a house at Dover Heights and he spent three years touring Australia.

In 1953, having made his fortune, Pat retired from show business and went to work on a crayfish trawler in Western Australia. A year later, he was back on tour. I just got bored doing nothing, he told The Sun in 1955.

He toured Australia, New Zealand and the mainland US and played at the 6000-seat Civic Auditorium in Honolulu for the second time. He also appeared on Groucho Marx’s You Bet Your Life and made television specials for channels Seven and Nine.

He quit again in 1960 but in ‘67, he was back, telling The Sun-Herald in early ‘68: I reckon this tour really will be the last. I don’t want to be like Nellie Melba.

This time he was true to his word. He had divorced Eileen in 1962 and in 1971 he and his second wife, Beris, moved to the Gold Coast, where he spent his last decades enjoying the fruits of his property investments. He is survived by his daughter, Robynne, and granddaughter, Elizabeth.

John Reed

I

n Australia, when John Reed established the publishing branch of A H & A W Reed Australia in 1964, popular and ironical book trade gossip was of The New Zealand Publishing Invasion. Timing could not have been better. The series of full-colour New Zealand books Reeds had published were translated into Australian full colour books that covered similar genre; natural history, Aborigines and the Australian landscape and cities. These were all large format books that had not previously been available in such abundance of colour illustrations and at relatively modest retail prices.

In Wellington, John had been production manager of the book publishing company. In Sydney he was managing director of the brand-new company. His chairman commissioned the first Reed list of Australian titles and John looked after warehousing and marketing, before taking over the commissioning and publicity.

In the 1980s, the overall Reed company ran into financial difficulty. They had outgrown their financial backing, and were facing stronger competition from

television, radio and UK-based publishers. Such an unhappy ending overtook all the locally financed book publishers of Australia and New Zealand, including Angus & Robertson.

In the breakup of the Reed company – at the time it had five office-warehouses and over 100 employees – John was the one who suffered most, for the downfall that he was not personally responsible for.

John had immense gifts, which he passed on to his children, a multitude of friends and to his publishing business.

He had courage, endurance and generosity – just weigh these words as you think about John, Courage, Endurance, and Generosity.

He was everybody’s best understanding loving father .

friend

and

an

John went too soon, which is an injustice. He had lived a very full life and probably strained his physical core by hard work. The publishing century that linked Alfred, Clif and John Reed has ended John Reed was the last of a century-long dynasty of Reeds who were book publishers, and who revolutionised book publishing in New Zealand.

Paul Reeves

A

s a Prefect at Wellington College in the 1950s, Paul Reeves stood at the gates to ensure pupils pulled up their socks and straightened their caps before heading home. As governor-general three decades later, he was a breath of fresh air, dispensing with the stuffed-shirt formality of his predecessors.

Where previous governors-general reserved the ballroom at Government House for official functions, Sir Paul saw it as the ideal space for 100 whanau invited from Taranaki for a sleepover.

Only 15 years before his appointment, New Zealand governors-general still wore plumed hats and ceremonial uniforms in public. He became the first to be photographed wearing running shorts.

But he also exuded the gravitas and dignity that high public office often demands; putting him at the top of the list when Labour Prime Minister David Lange decided the next governor-general should capture the mood for change sweeping New Zealand.

As someone of Maori descent who easily straddled the Māori and Pakeha worlds, Sir Paul was also symbolic of the era of reconciliation the Lange government hoped to usher in. He was urbane, down-to-earth, witty, warm and tangata whenua the perfect choice for a country asserting its newfound independence and on a quest for identity.

For Sir Paul, it was the latest step in a public life marked by firsts. As well as being the first Māori governor-general, he was the first clergyman to take the post, the first Māori to head the Anglican Church in New Zealand and the youngest bishop when he took the helm of the Waiapu diocese at 38.

Paul Alfred Reeves was born in Wellington on December 6, 1932, the second son of D’Arcy and Hilda Reeves. His father was a tram driver, and with little left from his wages after mortgage payments on the family’s modest house in working-class Newtown, times were tough.

Sir Paul recalled his start in life with fondness and pride. However, taking umbrage when an Auckland newspaper said he was raised in one of the less desirable inner precincts of Wellington. It happens to be the suburb which I loved and where I was loved, he said.

At Wellington College, he was taught by men who had just returned from WWII and who were looked up to as role models of leadership, courage, discipline and duty.

He learned early, too, to deal with life’s knock backs.

Despite excelling in his favourite subject, history, he unexpectedly failed School Certificate and had to repeat the fifth form.

The man who made the move into Government

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Obituaries

After his five-year term as governor-general ended in 1990, he became the church’s first permanent representative to the United Nations in New York a post that was followed by significant roles in the rewriting of the Fijian constitution and monitoring elections in troubled Commonwealth states.

House in November 1985 was very much shaped by the experiences of the boy schooled at the college next door.

views, and warned him to keep his counsel in the new role.

But Sir Paul, who was knighted on becoming governor-general, continued to speak out. In 1986, he pushed the boundary by saying the Government’s economic reforms were increasing the gap between rich and poor. Mr Lange brushed aside the criticism, but rebuked Sir Paul when he made similar comments in 1988.

It was what Sir Paul did behind the scenes that most marked his time as Governor-General, however.

Given a steer by Mr Lange to modernise and demystify what many saw as an archaic institution, he threw open the doors to Government House.

He organised public open days and sleepovers for whanau from his connection, hiring mattresses to deck out the ballroom floor.

His warmth and often self-deprecating humour ensured a more down-to-earth atmosphere at Government House. He ensured those invited to events there were drawn from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.

A comment to The Listener just before he took up the post illustrated how he was unaffected by his lofty elevation in status. What will I be called as Governor-General? Looks like it will be His Excellency, the Most Reverend Sir Paul Reeves. Hell of a long handle, eh? But my mates will still call me Paul.

As his term drew to a close in 1990, he was confirmed as the Anglican Church’s first full-time diplomat to the United Nations, a three-year appointment which included liaising on issues such as refugees, famine and the Middle East. Between 1995 and 1997, he chaired a committee that reviewed Fiji’s constitution, with recommendations that paved the way for multi-race elections in 1999. He was also involved in constitutional reform in Guyana and observed elections in Ghana and South Africa.

He became the inaugural chairman of Toi Te Taiao: Bioethics Council in 2002 and the chancellor of Auckland University of Technology in 2005. He was admitted to the Order of New Zealand in 2007.

In July this year, he stepped back from most of his public duties after being diagnosed with cancer. He was buried after a state funeral in August.

His ability to bounce back from disappointment was illustrated by his significant academic achievements after he left school. He enrolled in Victoria University after winning a Sir Apirana Ngata Scholarship, and completed an MA before going to St John’s Theological College in Auckland.

Obituaries

He was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1958, and the next year married Beverley Watkins, a young teacher who grew up in Karori. The pair met at university, but church rules required Sir Paul to wait a year after becoming a deacon before marrying.

Five days after the wedding, the couple sailed for Britain, where he took up a scholarship to study at Oxford University. He served as curate in two English parishes and was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Oxford in 1960.

They returned to New Zealand in 1964 and he became the vicar at Okato, in Taranaki. The move led to him reconnecting with his Māori roots. His mother was from the Taranaki iwi Te Ati Awa and he began to learn tikanga Māori from relatives in

84 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

the Puketapu hapu. This awakening of his Māori side would lead to close involvement in many Māori issues, including the Port Nicholson Block treaty claim years later.

He leaves behind his wife, Lady Beverly Reeves and three daughters. Sir Paul’s grandson, Ben Tunui is currently in Y10 at Wellington College.

Sir Paul being knighted by Sir David Beattie in 1985

He also began a rapid rise in the church. He was elected Bishop of Waiapu in 1970, taking up the post in March 1971, became Bishop of Auckland in 1979 and Archbishop of New Zealand in 1980.

He took a public interest in social justice and political issues, campaigning against racism, poverty and nuclear testing. He was a leading supporter of the Citizens for Rowling campaign (a failed grassroots bid to get Labour Prime Minister Bill Rowling reelected), and a vocal critic of sporting contacts with South Africa and the 1981 Springbok tour.

His political activism was a source of controversy when Mr Lange confirmed him as governor-general designate in March 1985. National leader Jim McLay said he had ‘reservations’ about the appointment, given Sir Paul’s tendency to express strong political

David Salkeld

offered. He applied for a permanent commission, and spent short periods in Germany and Egypt.

In 1954, a colleague from Farnborough, Peter Stevenson, took him sailing to France and Alderney.

In Alderney he met Peter’s cousin, Elizabeth, whom he married in September 1955 at St John’s in the Wall, Bristol.

In 1962, accompanied by two children, our father and mother went to Singapore. There, apart from military duties that took him to Thailand and Hong Kong, my father sang in operetta, taught us to swim and, to the alarm of many of his military friends, took us on camping holidays on the beaches and in the hills of Malaya, where on one occasion he was memorably arrested as an Indonesian spy.

David and Elizabeth with Roger Moses in 2009

D

avid Salkeld was born in November 1928 in Sea Mills, one of the first council estates in Bristol.

The family soon moved to Monks Road in Bristol, where David attended Bishops Road School, conveniently situated just over the garden wall. Less conveniently David then contrived to catch almost every common childhood ailment, (and some not so common) and break his arm.

His mother, a gifted mathematician, coached him during long convalescences, and he won a scholarship to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Bristol, taking up his place just as war started in 1939. The pattern of resilience in the face of adversity which we associate so strongly with our father was set early on.

In 1940, fearing that air raids would cause heavy loss of life in industrial cities, his parents took advantage of a British Government programme to evacuate inner city children to the Dominions.

Following a gruelling voyage in which the convoy he sailed in came under attack, resulting in a detour around Iceland during which he later said that he had never felt so cold or so seasick, he, his elder sister Margaret, and two younger brothers, Donald and Oliver, arrived in a welcoming and warm New Zealand in October 1940.

David saw this time in New Zealand as the turning point in his life. The family he stayed with, the Stewarts, gave him an example of generosity that he took as a model for his own conduct. He threw himself into school life at Wellington College with enthusiasm, learning the clarinet, playing fives, joining the swimming team, making lifelong friendships. Holidays were spent on farms in North Island, where, always accident prone, he managed to break his arm again.

Called up for National Service, to his surprise he found the Royal Air Force to be ‘just his cup of tea’, perhaps relishing the combination of adventure, intellectual challenge and public service that it

Returning to England early in 1974, he was seriously injured by an IRA bomb planted at the National Defence Staff College, Latimer. The bomb left him permanently deaf. Hearing aid technology was undeveloped, as were public attitudes to disability.

Never one to accept second best or to dwell on what might have been, he chose to be invalided out of the RAF in 1975, and in 1976 went to work for British Aerospace in Stevenage. He learned how to lip read; was an active member of St Nicholas Church in Stevenage, and in 1980 renewed his ties with New Zealand, visiting Wellington for a 40 Years On Reunion of his class, from which renewing of friendship, many more visits followed. He also renewed his connection with the West Country, where his parents and brother still lived, buying a small house in Bath as a weekend retreat. He and Elizabeth were searching for a larger house in Bath to move to on retirement when they serendipitously came across New House near Corsham. They moved here in 1988.

Retired, but not retiring, David continued to lead an active and vital life. He went to study metallurgy in the Engineering Department at Hong Kong University; where he was encouraged by Brian Duggan to go for tests for a different hearing aid. We can still remember him telling us he had been alarmed by strange sounds on his umbrella walking down to the University - it was the noise of raindrops, which he hadn’t heard since 1974. The new hearing aid proved a sound success, a liberating device which accompanied him everywhere. He attended church at St Bartholomew’s Church, Corsham, volunteering to edit the parish magazine, and established it as the lively ecumenical magazine it still is today. Following his heart attack in 1994, he and Elizabeth have attended the smaller church of St John’s Gastard and have been profoundly grateful for the worship and fellowship there.

When a major stroke took away his language in 2003, he battled to regain his speech, and to learn to read and write again, in order to continue his friendships, conversations and research. He and our mother continued to travel the globe, making journeys to New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong and the States only last year.

David spoke warmly in hospital of the love of family and friends. He had wide interests, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and a wonderful sense of humour. His delight in puns brought laughter to many meal times and is a sin inherited without compunction by his children. Indomitable to the last, he fought back from many physical challenges.

David never ceased from exploration. He travelled, studied and delighted in life until the end.

Pepe Erskine and Kim Salkeld, England (April 2011)

Ted Stewart

T

ed Stewart started at Wellington College in 1954.

He came with a reputation as a fine schoolboy cricketer having been a Wellington Representative at primary School level.

He was quickly into his stride in the ‘elite 4A third form’ team. He was an elegant left hand batsman who was clearly earmarked as 1st XI material.

Having achieved this goal at an early age he became a fixture in the team with his consistent performances.

At College, he was remembered with affection by many of his contemporaries. He never seemed to be anything other than a pleasant personality with a keen sense of humour and loyalty.

Ted spent his whole working life in the Pharmaceutical Industry and seemed to love his work. Cricket however, was his greatest love. He joined the Wellington Collegians Club after leaving College and very soon was scoring runs in the Premier Grade. He continued to play cricket into his sixties and was a very loyal and respected club member of that club and indeed all that played against him. Ted would clearly not have tolerated the sledging that is common in today’s cricket!

Ted was also a keen rugby follower who would analyse last week’s game with anyone who was prepared to listen.

His workmates and old team mates alike remember him as a good friend.

Bruce Heather (1954-1958)

David’s scientific and historical interests continued too. He was twice Chairman of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies, (the STS) and editor of its journal. Through this he made new friends across the world and engaged in research that stretched from the scientific basis for dating archaeological evidence to celestial dynamics and explanation

Obituaries

In 1944 he won a place to study engineering at Christchurch University, but the end of war in Europe was approaching and he was brought back to England early in 1945. Back home in Bristol he was able to meet his youngest brother, Stephen, born in 1943. He returned to Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, winning a City senior scholarship for university entrance exams in 1945 and 1946, but was unable to take up a place as universities were flooded with returning service personnel. However, he applied to be a lab assistant at Bristol University, and always resourceful, subsequently wangled a place to read Physics there, graduating in 1949.

We returned to England in 1965. Postings in MoD and Yorkshire were followed by two years in Washington DC as defence signals liaison with the British Embassy where his experience of satellite communications came into its own. There were more family camping holidays, this time in a tiny beaten up caravan, touring right across the USA and into eastern Canada. David sang with the Embassy Players and built lasting friendships with colleagues, neighbours and in the congregation of St Andrew’s Church, Arlington.

of unusual patterns of radioactive decay in rock formations. He and Elizabeth visited friends and family in America, Hong Kong, Australia and his beloved New Zealand, and also had memorable holidays in Egypt and Hawaii.

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Harry Stimpson

H

arold Stimpson died with his boots on, and by all accounts, that was a fitting way for him to go. Harry, as he was known, was found on his forestry block during a police search when the 80-year-old failed to come home for lunch.

An active and long-standing member of the community, Harry was probably best known for establishing the family business, Stimpson's Pharmacy, in the 1960s, and helping to found the Aramoho Shopping Centre in Wanganui.

An enthusiastic tramper with a passion for plants and native trees, Harry liked to find his own way. If he could get off the usual tracks and forge his own way cross-country, that was what he enjoyed the most. As a ‘brilliant’ navigator and map reader, he never got lost - not for long, anyway.

A recent trip to Great Barrier Island was a good example of Harry's ‘independent’ way of tramping.

He had arranged to meet a fellow tramper and get on to a newly-laid track. Harry had set off ahead so he could set his own pace, and they were to follow and meet up at a boat at the end of the track which would take them back around to the start. What we didn't know was that we had to turn left almost immediately, so we carried on ahead. Eventually, we realised, and about half an hour after we got back this boat came in with him lolling in the back, asking where we had been.

Harry’s bushcraft skills were something to be admired, and he would be missed by the club. He might not have been as active as he was 20-30 years ago, but people still had a huge amount of respect for him. Harry could still be found sweeping up leaves at the shopping centre long after he retired.

His family said Harry was a shy man but had a lot of friends, thanks to his active involvement in the community. As well as the tramping club, he was a member of the jazz club, the Cossie club, Probus and he would listen to children read at Gonville School each week.

Harry's daughter, Brenda Stimpson, said she would always think of him as a man of few words, but great presence, who liked a dry joke and had the ability to laugh at himself. He was quietly amused by the follies of life and was certainly a less-is-more man.

What you saw was what you got, there was no artifice about him, she said.

Last year her parents took a trip to visit their three children living overseas: Bruce in Brisbane, Susan in Paris and herself in Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, a friend suggested to her father that they tramp up in the San Gabriel Mountains - he was worried about how steep it would be, but once they got there he left the young bucks in the dust - despite being nearly 81, she said. He was gentle, kind and generous and would be sorely missed.

Obituaries

Grant Wheeler

G

rant Wheeler, who was a New Zealand CrossCountry representative in 1965 and 1967, died recently in England at his home in Chichester, West Sussex.

Grant was a member of the first New Zealand team to compete at an International Cross-Country Championship in Ostend Belgium in 1965 under the management of Ossie Melville. Grant finished

86 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

31st and coincidently also finished 31st at the 1967 International Championships in Barry, Wales .

He won the Wellington Centre Junior Cross-Country title in 1958 and the senior title in 1964. He also won the Centre marathon title in 1967.

The first New Zealand team that competed in Belgium in 1965 was: Jeff Julian 6th, Peter Welsh 16th, Pat Sidon 18th, Norris Wyatt 20th, Bryan Rose 24th, Geoff Pyne 26th, Grant Wheeler 31st, Barry Everett 40th and Alan Parkinson 71st.

Cyril Whitaker

C

yril Whitaker, QSM was born in Oamaru in 1925 and his love of aviation was sparked when he was just four and seated on the lap of his father, who took him for a flight. That was in 1929, and in 1938, after his family moved from the South Island to live in Hastings, he would often cycle out to the Bridge Pa Aerodrome to watch the aircraft. He served his apprenticeship in the auto electrical business and also the power industry and at the same time furthered his interest in flying at Bridge Pa Aeroclub, amassing over three hundred hours in Tiger Moths.

He joined the local Air Training Corps during the war years and met Piet Van Asch, who was his adjutant.

Having done electrical work for Piet, he eventually joined Aerial Mapping as a navigator and at Piet van Asch’s bidding took over the Company’s flying duties after doing his twin engine training in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. It would become a long and happy association - with Piet developing New Zealand Aerial Mapping.

Cyril had a long association with the Aviation Industry, gaining his Commercial Airline Pilots Licence in 1960, and during his distinguished career, flew more than thirty different types of aircraft.

Cyril was a life member of the Hawke’s Bay and East Coast Aero Club, and had been patron for the past 14 years - only recently being unanimously voted into that role for another year. Many of the Club’s pilots flew a formation tribute after the funeral service which was led by an aircraft from New Zealand Aerial Mapping - the aviation company he was with for 38 years.

Warwick White

T

he life of New Zealand adventurer and businessman Warwick (Waz) White ended tragically in Hungary in September, 2010.

The 48-year-old had just competed at the Triathlon ITU World Championships in Budapest. Hungary media reported that he was found on a city street in the early hours of Sunday morning after being stabbed. He passed away while being taken to hospital.

Waz will be sorely missed by his friends and family, including a son and daughter in Wellington, a grandson, his mother and sister in Christchurch, father in Levin and four nieces and nephews. His large network of worldwide friends is a testament to his easygoing personality, love of fun and willingness to help others advance adventure sports.

Waz had spent most of the last eight years living in South America and Europe. He travelled extensively, setting up language schools and adventure programmes around the globe and developing property. Waz achieved excellence by winning the international LTM Star awards held in London in the category of Best New agency in 2006, being a finalist in 2007 and being short listed for Best Small Spanish School Latin America in 2009.

Before leaving New Zealand he had spent close to 15 years as a secondary school and tertiary teacher in Wellington and the Wairarapa, as well as running several adventure tourism businesses, owning the Big Coast and sharing his passion for the outdoors and the adrenalin rush of sport.

Waz was a passionate sportsman and adventurer all his life, in particular loving running, climbing in New Zealand and Nepal, rafting and triathlon. He was in representative teams in Christchurch and Wellington as a school boy where he attended both Christchurch Boys’ High School and Wellington College. He also represented New Zealand in corporate triathlons in the 1980s.

When he died, Waz was representing Ecuador at the World Triathlon Championships in the 45-49 age group where he finished 38th in the men’s sprint event. He was due to return home to New Zealand to climb Mount Cook later this year.

Ian Wilson

I

an Wilson signed on a ship to work his passage to England. With an honours degree in engineering from Canterbury University, where he had come top of his class, he should have had no trouble getting a job in Britain.

The ship turned out to be a tramp steamer, going wherever there might be cargo to pick up. This meant the voyage to England might take years.

When Ian discovered this, he left the ship in Australia, on the understanding he would sign on another of the company’s vessels. Instead, he took an engineering position on a giant project to install an industrial sewerage system in Victoria.

In 1995, he married his long-time girlfriend, Ginny Holmes, from Masterton and settled into his career.

Ian would become well known in Christchurch as a consulting engineer and a caring person who brought energy and cheer to his many pursuits. He developed Alzheimer’s disease eight years ago and died in January, aged 80.

He was born and raised in Wellington. After schooling at Island Bay Primary and Wellington College, he began studies at Canterbury University in 1947. His first job was at the Wellington City Council’s waterworks, as assistant engineer.

The couple returned from Australia in 1958 and settled in Christchurch. Wilson became design engineer for Holmes Engineering and lectured at Canterbury University. He much preferred working in the field and soon gave up the academic life.

His work on many construction projects with Holmes involved him in collaborations with noted architect Sir Miles Warren, who designed the Wilsons’ 1960 family home on the Port Hills. He later became a partner in the firm of Davie, Lovell-Smith.

When work tailed off in the 1980s with the economic downturn, the Wilsons ran the St Martins Rest Home for twelve years. He also did real estate exams and sold properties, then ran Harcourt’s property management section. But, always an engineer, he established his own consultancy, which he ran from home.

He was active in the Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand and its British equivalent.

He enjoyed politics and served twelve years as an elected member of the Christchurch Drainage Board. He chaired its finance committee.

His forays into national politics were less successful, much to the relief of his family, who wanted to see more of him. His involvement in Jaycees led him to the National Party, whose ideology of individual responsibility and freedom he shared. He chaired the Christchurch Central electorate committee.

However, his tilts at election to Parliament in St Albans, Riccarton and Sydenham, respectively, failed. Ginny says he was not too upset, as these seats were Labour strongholds and, besides, he disliked party leader Sir Rob Muldoon. He opposed National over the controversial issue of raising the level of Lake Manapouri to increase its power station’s generating capacity. He argued that an equal increase could be achieved by enlarging the outfall tunnel. As author Les Hutchins says, in Making Waves, later events vindicated him.

Ian was similarly vindicated over his promotion, in the 1960s and 70s, of an ocean outfall pipe for Christchurch’s treated sewage, when such a system was installed 35 years later.

His conservation ethic led him to active membership of the Save Manapouri campaign, the Christchurch Civic Trust, which he chaired in its early stages, and the short-lived Scenery Preservation Society.

Much of his spare time was spent helping others.

With Jaycees, he made regular visits to show films to intellectually handicapped residents at Templeton Hospital. Daughter Debbie said, He liked to serve the people and loved to help the needy. He allowed no discrimination against any groups in society.

He liked children and, in his thirties, began acting in plays for the Children’s Theatre. This led him to the Repertory Theatre, with whom he did some acting and much administration. He was chairman of the Repertory for many years.

Ian learned to fly while doing compulsory military training with the air force in the early 1950s. He then joined the Canterbury Aero Club and made many flights over the years, often carrying passengers on joyrides and scenic excursions.

He was an avid tramper and photographer, who never went anywhere without his camera. He played the piano by ear and loved to liven up social occasions with old favourites and popular songs. He was keen on astronomy and enjoyed playing squash.

His father came from Scotland and Ian kept the Scottish link alive by membership of the Burns Club.

He missed few Burns Night dinners in Christchurch over many years.

Ray Windsor

R

aymond Windsor, who died in Auckland in August, aged 83, was a distinguished Old Boy who achieved renown in several spheres. He spent only one year, 1945, at Wellington College after transferring from Otago Boys’ High School, but in that year he earned 1st XV and 1st XI honours, was made a Prefect, won the 6th Form Chemistry Prize and both a Turnbull and a University National Scholarship.

He displayed exceptional musical talents, giving piano recitals while still at school and later with the National Symphony Orchestra. He also had a fine baritone voice and performed as a soloist with the Auckland Choral Society.

He devoted his early career to surgery and graduated from Otago Medical School in 1951. After two years of residency in Auckland hospitals, where he met his wife-to-be, Gwen Thompson, a nurse, and advanced surgical training in Wellington, Dr and Mrs Windsor moved to Britain, where he gained specialist surgical qualifications. On returning to New Zealand in 1958 he became a research fellow and then a locum consultant at Greenlane Hospital’s famous cardiovascular surgical unit, training under (Sir) Brian Barratt-Boyes.

A deeply committed Christian, Ray had long cherished a desire to serve people of the developing world as a medical missionary. He and his wife joined the Bible and Medical Missionary Fellowship, which sponsored hospitals in India. His first appointment was to Mussoorie in North India and in the ensuing 20 or so years he served in various capacities as a doctor, community healthcare leader and administrator in the sub-continent. He was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1983 for ‘services to the people of India’. Throughout this period the Windsors raised a family of five children.

In 1982 they moved to England where Ray was appointed principal of All Nations Christian College, a leading missionary training institute. His tenure was interrupted in 1985 by news of his mother’s ill health and he returned to New Zealand to help care for her. He remained actively involved in global mission work with a range of Christian organisations but in more recent years the onset of Parkinson’s disease reduced such activities.

He died peacefully at home in Mt Albert, Auckland, survived by his wife and children.

David Lawson (1941-1945)

Jim Galloway

W

hile serving with the 2NZEF in Italy WWII, Jim Galloway had some commonsense knocked into him the hard way.

When he left Wellington College in 1938, Jim began work as a clerk in the dairy division of the Agriculture Department. He embarked on part-time commerce studies at Victoria University and joined the Army Territorials, as a member of the Khandallah Platoon of the Wellington Regiment, attending weekend camps. When war broke out in 1939 he was too young to enlist so he continued his studies and joined a firm of public accountants.

In 1942, he enlisted and saw active service in the Pacific and at Guadalcanal. He was later sent to Italy with the 2NZEF’s 23rd Battalion where he saw further action in the advance from Cassino to Trieste via the River Po. Three of his four grandparents emigrated from Fifeshire in Scotland and he always wore his Galloway tartan tie when attending pipe band concerts or contests. McDonald was his grandmother’s maiden name and he was proud of his Scottish heritage.

After the war, he resumed his studies while working in an accountancy firm. In 1949, he joined Odlins Timber and Hardware, where he worked for 36 years until his retirement in 1985. With Odlins he was first an assistant accountant and then moved up the ranks to assume the roles of company secretary and general manager, finance and administration.

It was at Odlins that he began his association with Wellington Free Ambulance and the Odlin Trust, set up by the general manager in his time, Charles Odlin.

It was no coincidence that Odlins was located next door to the Wellington Free Ambulance station in Cable St. As a member of the Odlin Trust, Jim served as secretary, trustee and later chairman of the trustees, investing funds for the purchase of ambulances.

He was a trustee for many organisations. He was appointed by the Presbyterian Church Assembly as a member of the church property trustees during the 1970s and 1980s before being appointed chairman of trustees from 1982 to 1984.

He was also a trustee of the NZ Red Cross Foundation, following in the footsteps of his father, Malcolm, who was general secretary of the Red Cross for 36 years from 1923 to 1958. Malcolm Galloway had earlier won a military cross in the trenches in France during WWI. In September 2010, Jim was awarded a North Wellington Voluntary Service Award for his outstanding contribution to Khandallah Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the church choir in the tenor section and played the piano at the Malvina Major Retirement Village for ANZAC Day and other services. He also played a prominent role in the sporting arena and was a senior rugby player for Onslow Rugby Club. He was a long-playing member of the Khandallah Bowling Club and a RSA national bowls titleholder.

As a chartered accountant, he gave freely of his time to help many people with their tax returns, financial affairs and dealings with the IRD. Given Jim Galloway’s active altruistic life after WWII, there are plenty of people in the Wellington community with good reason to celebrate the fact that a German sniper was narrowly off target when he fired at a Kiwi sentry on the banks of the Senio River in Italy 67 years ago.

The Dominion Post

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 87

Obituaries

While on sentry duty on the banks of the Senio River, near Faenza, he was shot in the head by a German sniper bullet. There were entry and exit holes on the top of his helmet. He was stunned and his head was grazed as the bullet passed through. He found the spent bullet the next day in the mud of the sentry trench and held on to it, as a reminder of his good fortune, for the rest of

his long life.

Alexander Grant, CBE

A

lexander Grant (19391941), who died on September 30 aged 86, was the Royal Ballet’s most remarkable actor-dancer in its golden period from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Alexander created such indelible roles on stage as the lovable simpleton Alain in La Fille mal gardée; Bottom in The Dream (dancing on point); the Pirate Chief who raped Margot Fonteyn in Daphnis and Chloe; and an apparently nude Eros in Ondine. These, and many of his other great performances, were in ballets by the Royal Ballet’s choreographer Frederick Ashton, who would fall deeply in love with Alexander. If Fonteyn was Ashton’s muse for female roles, Alexander’s influence on Ashton’s more unorthodox male characters was no less important.

As a dancer, Alexander’s brilliance was recognised very early in the Sadler’s Wells Ballet; people there described him as “like a puppy dog”, and he was one of the company’s most popular members. The great American critic Edwin Denby saw in his dancing the beautiful suspense of an animal pounce, and his youthful bravura was enshrined in the scorching solo of leaps and turns created for him by Ashton as Spirit of the Fire in Homage to the Queen, the ballet made for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953.

As a comic mime, he was generally thought to be unsurpassed, able to invest the most eccentric roles with true pathos; and while this aspect of his performance became celebrated worldwide, most men in the company knew that he also outdanced them in classical roles. Michael Somes, Margot Fonteyn’s chief partner, poured a jug of water over Alexander’s head after Sadler’s Wells Ballet’s dazzling debut in Los Angeles - Professional jealousy, I suppose, Alexander observed.

Alexander’s activities were just as colourful offstage as on. He always felt a bit guilty, he said, for introducing Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn to the hippie area of San Francisco, Haight-Ashbury, where in 1967 they were caught up in a police drugs raid and jailed overnight.

Obituaries

Alexander Grant was born on 22 February 1925 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of hoteliers. He was one of two brothers who would become major names in the Royal Ballet: Garry Grant, 15 years younger than Alexander, later took over many of his parts. Alexander resolved to become a dancer when he was six. Inspired by the rare tours of émigré Russians to the islands, he studied ballet at Wellington College, and won a scholarship to the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School in 1944. Because it was wartime, the London company was short of men, and Alexander was swiftly taken into the company itself.

Two years later the former Diaghilev choreographer Léonide Massine came to London to stage Mam’zelle Angot, decorated by André Derain. Massine seized on Alexander for the virtuosic central role of the amorous Barber, and it made the young dancer a star. Massine and Grant had much less success with a Scottish-themed follow-up, Donald of the Burthens, designed and composed by Scottish artists, with Alexander as the kilted Donald threatened by Beryl Grey as the figure of Death.

88 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Above all, Alexander’s distinction as a classical dancer, combined with his mastery of character, enabled Ashton to develop what were usually subsidiary supporting roles – the bravura trick soloists – into key players in the main drama, often introducing a provocative sexual charge.

As a young man, Alexander was lusted after by both sexes, as well as by Ashton himself. As the Pirate Chief in Daphnis and Chloe (1951), the dancer described his orders: I used to have to rush on stage, pick Margot up with one hand and run off with her, and then ... swing her round and round, throw her on the floor and proceed to jump all over her. The swooning fans who gathered at the stage door to catch a glimpse of him were astonished to find how short he was.

In Sylvia (1952) he had to stand immobile through most of Act 1, resembling a naked stone statue of the love-god Eros; when he suddenly moved, it created a shock much enjoyed by the audience.

Ashton then cast him as the sailor hero of a Madam Butterfly-like ballet, now lost. This was Madame Chrysanthème, with an Alan Rawsthorne score and a Nagasaki setting, in which Alexander’s insouciance underscored the tragedy of the Japanese geisha whom he betrayed.

In 1957 Alexander was closely involved with the gestation of Ashton’s ballet Ondine, as the composer, Hans Werner Henze, stayed in his Battersea house while Ashton and Alexander worked on what would be a very radical rewriting of the classical ballet idea.

Alexander himself danced the Mediterranean Sea god Tirrenio, in a stormy whirl of green seaweedlike costume ravishingly designed by Lila de Nobili.

His superb incarnation of the puppet Petrushka and his eccentric Dr Coppelius in Coppelia laid the foundation for the two most famous character roles Ashton then created for him: as the capering halfwit Alain in La Fille mal gardée (1960), and Bottom the Weaver in The Dream (1964).

In the first, sporting topknotted hair, he turned gawky cartwheels and conveyed a vain hope of love, finding solace in his red umbrella when spurned.

In the second he turned a few short minutes, as Bottom wears a donkey’s head and capers about in point shoes, into a cameo of great pathos as well as comedy.

When Ashton died, he bequeathed the ownership of La Fille mal gardée to Alexander, and its popularity kept him busy staging it globally, from the Bolshoi Ballet to the National Ballet of Canada, where he was Artistic Director from 1976 to 1983.

Alexander continued to perform character roles created for him by Ashton, requiring less active dancing but no less powerful characterisation. He was the blustering William Meath Baker in Enigma Variations (1968) and the dejected husband Yslaev in A Month in the Country (1976), opposite Lynn Seymour.

Arguably, the frequency and power with which ‘older man’ roles recurred in British choreography

by Ashton and his successor Kenneth MacMillan could be traced to the conviction and stage presence brought to bear by Alexander.

He was a keen collaborator on Ashton’s 1971 film Tales of Beatrix Potter, in which he performed Pigling Bland, repeating his feat from The Dream by dancing on point while wearing an enormous animal head. The following year, Alexander became director of the Royal Ballet’s outreach wing, Ballet For All, and was asked to take over leadership of the National Ballet of Canada four years later.

There he was sometimes accused of overloading

the repertoire with Ashton ballets, but by the time he left in 1983, the Canadian Ballet also had a wide international modern ballet repertoire that included work by Kenneth MacMillan, Maurice Béjart, Jerome Robbins and rising home-grown talent such as the later NBC director James Kudelka.

Alexander Grant is survived by his companion of more than 50 years, Jean-Pierre Gasquet, and by his brother Garry.

The Telegraph

On his return to Britain, Alexander was an extremely popular guest, in 1984 dancing the Dago in Ashton’s evergreen early hit Façade at the choreographer’s 80th birthday gala at Covent Garden. Alexander also had character roles with London Festival Ballet, such as Dr Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker and Madge the Witch in La Sylphide.

While touring Europe in 1956, my mother and I arranged to meet Alexander in a small pub, after his performance at Covent Gardens.

A NOTE FROM THE ARCHIVIST:

It was a night of much laughter and happy memories, as talk of wartime concerts for the troops at Paekakariki and the Hutt were recalled. Alexander

Vale • Noel Lynch

T

Without doubt, Noel Lynch has provided some

In 1990, I wrote to Alexander. He remembered that long ago evening and kindly sent a pair of his ballet shoes, photographs and newspaper clips for the newly established Archives of his old College.

The ballet shoes, photos and concert programmes are on display in the Reception Foyer of the College.

Paddianne W Neely

Eventually, once the quality had reached Noel’s expectations, the singlets were finally handed out in front of the reluctant audience as it had now dragged into their precious interval time.

hough not an Old Boy of Wellington College, Noel Lynch was a long-standing and respected stalwart of the Wellington College family - in particular, to our rowing community. Noel passed away on 16 October, 2010.

Noel was an incredible person and the Rowing Club was extremely fortunate to have obtained his coaching and mentoring advice over the last decade.

The boys, coaches and parents who were lucky enough to meet Noel, will have fond memories of this charismatic approach to the sport of Rowing.

In 2006, he was awarded a Life Membership of the Wellington College Rowing Club. This was among many other life memberships that he has gained over the years at schools, clubs and rowing associations. In 2002, he was honoured with the New Zealand Order of Merit for a lifetime of services to Rowing and Music. The rowing team gave him a Guard of Honour at Government House. This involved the boys lining up with rowing oars to form a tunnel, so that Noel could walk through, before he was presented with this prestigious award. In 2010, another generation from the Rowing Club, who were coached by Noel in their Novice season, gave Noel a Guard of Honour, but sadly this time it was at his funeral. James Butchers (2006-2010) who attended this service has compiled the following memories of Noel, from past and present students of the rowing team.

was one of the entertainers engaged, my mother a wartime driver.

While away on rowing camp, not only did Noel make good to his reputation as a musical instructor, with numerous threats of ‘I’ll whack you with my stick’ as he tried to teach the squad the music and lyrics to songs such as Hey Ho, Nobody at Home, but he also made good to his reputation as a rowing fanatic.

of the fondest memories for Wellington College Rowing both on the water and around the dinner tables with his singing lessons. It was a very special occasion back in 2005 when the rowing squad sang in public under the tutelage of Noel. They spent a great deal of time practising at the Johnsonville RSA in preparation for a fundraiser event and it was a real privilege for a lot of the rowers to get involved in that performance. Another notable occasion of Noel’s singing was a demonstration that occurred during one of the notorious and prestigious rowing singlet presentations at Assembly. After the Headmaster, Roger Moses, asked Noel to say just a few words, he proceeded to the podium only to proclaim the lack of musical talent among the boys.

This was followed, as expected of someone with as high standards as Noel, by a singing lesson to the 900 Wellington College students in attendance.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK • Our numbers on Facebook are growing. If you’re on Facebook and not a member of the Old Boys group then you need to be! Just login to Facebook and search for “Wellington College Old Boys”, click on “Join Group” and that’s it – nice and simple.

EMAIL us • Help us to tell you news from the Association (including forthcoming reunions and events) by providing us with your email address, so we can keep you up-to-date. Email us at oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz with your details and save a tree or two!

OLD FRIENDS • Don’t forget to sign up to Old Friends - a NZ based website that you can register and associate yourself with your school. There are around 2000 Old Boys who have already registered under Wellington College link (www.oldfriends.co.nz), many who have recorded their memories. Others are using the ‘Looking For’ link to find missing Classmates and others have posted Form Class Photos. It’s worth a look!

Noel had been involved in bringing the sport of rowing back to Wellington College and for that which we are all extremely grateful. Noel was a fine man - as a teacher, musician, rower, coxswain and coach - he was always generous with his time, advice and praise. That said, he did have a sharp wit and tongue – during one spring camp he asked the novice coxswains why they should steer the boats up the right hand side of the river, most of whom replied with an answer along the lines of it being something to do with the tides/currents. It was to this that Noel replied, No, it's so you don't get hit by the bloody boats on the left hand side!

Obviously a trick question! Noel had a phenomenal memory and an interest in all the rowers. After each session on the water, he would sit us down and go over specific parts of the stroke on which we could improve individually, as always looking for the best in everyone. On behalf of Wellington College Rowing we pay tribute to Noel; a magnificent man with a strong spirit and zest for life.

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Obituaries

Don’t forget to send us your change of address if you move house or email provider.

WCOBA Ties and Badges

D

on’t forget about the Wellington College Old Boys’ Ties and Lapel Pins - available for purchase from the WCOBA Office or via the order form overleaf.

The Ties retail for $30.00 each and the Lapel Pins are $5.00 each.

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You can also subscribe to a Life Membership to the Association for $150.00 which gives you your certificate and Lapel Badge, which helps support the Association in its endeavours with the College.

Subscribe to the Collegian

Remember The Archives before you go to the tip!

Are you an Old Boy or former staff member of Wellington College? Do you have any relatives or know friends who are? If so, you may be able to help the Archives obtain some of the following: Memoirs Please send your stories College Life; Students, Staff, Old Boys, Trophies, Photographs Prizes Uniforms Caps, Ties, Blazers, Boaters Sports Gear Jerseys, Caps, Boots Medals Dux, Badges, Awards, War Medals Book Prizes Academic Awards Art Work Paintings, Sketches Books

By Old Boy Authors Music Recordings by Old Boys Reports Academic, Certificates Papers Governing Boards, Headmasters, Parents’ Association Correspondence Letters to and from Staff, Students and Old Boys Please contact Paddianne W Neely • Wellington College Archivist Tel: 04 382 9411 (W) • 04 386 2072 (H) or Email: oldboys@wellington-college.school.nz

O

ld Boys may be like to subscribe to The Collegian (the College’s monthly newsletter) to acquaint themselves with current news of the College and forthcoming events.

Each issue includes news from the Headmaster, the Head Prefect and the Board, plus coverage of our Arts and Sporting activities and success stories achieved by our students, plus academic news, international students’ activities and the Old Boys’ Association.

Rugby Badges Have you played for the Wellington College Rugby Club?

The Collegian can be emailed to you or read on our website (free of charge) or you can subscribe to a mailed copy.

Were you in the

Please complete the fold-out form (right) to order your subscription. Back copies can be read on our website: www.wellington-college.school.nz (About Us/News/Collegian). You can also catch up with the lastest daily College News and Events by going to our Intranet Site: www.mycoll.school.nz

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ere’s your chance to support the WCRFC and gain recognition for your selection into these premier teams.

Buy one, or more of our gold and enamel badges and wear them with pride on your hat, tie, or blazer when supporting your old school on the sidelines.

Or buy one as a memento for the next generation. Samples above show the Club Badge, the 1st XV badge and the Under 15As Badge.

The Club Badge is $12 each (incl p&p) The Team Badge is $15 each (incl p&p)

Wellington College Cufflinks

O Classifieds

ld Boys, Mark McKeown (1999-2003) and Cameron Johnston (19992003) have set up their company Cufflink Suite - they manufacture and provide a vast range of cufflinks, including ones made for particular schools such as New Plymouth Boys’ High School and St Thomas’.

At the time of going to print, a sample of the Wellington College Cufflinks was not available to show you. However, Old Boys can contact Mark direct to get more information about placing an order for College Cufflinks. They will retail for $30.00 a set and to see examples of their extensive range, visit their website: www.cufflinksuite.co.nz or email Mart at mark@ cufflinksuite.co.nz or telephone 04 801-7950 90 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Email your order to: rugbybadges@wellington-college.school.nz Make cheques payable to: “Wellington College Rugby Club Trust” and send your order to: Rugby Badges c/- Wellington College, PO Box 16073, Wellington 6242

Will You Help Save the Lampstand?

Dear Old Boy

You will be dismayed as I am that the future of the Old Boys’ magazine The Lampstand is uncertain.

It is primarily a matter of funding, with the operations budget of the College getting tighter each year.

Yet the strange irony is that we are getting better and better at giving every Wellington College student an accelerated start to College life.

This focus on providing excellent academic teaching requires the College to regularly define what expenditure is absolutely necessary and what is not.

With your help, we can continue The Lampstand in its current format, size and quality.

There is a view suggesting that The Lampstand is not essential. Yet I know that you will agree with me that it has is a vital place in College life. If you enjoy reading this issue, you will consider that The Lampstand is an integral part of bringing Old Boys together and maintaining the long-lasting links with your old school.

Imagine leaving Wellington College with no way of learning what former classmates and team members are up to. Imagine no WCOB database of Lampstand recipients to invite to reunions. It links strongly with the Old Boys’ Association and helps maintain the substantial College Archives.

If you regard that The Lampstand as an essential publication, your contribution will help cement its continuance.

Your donation will send a strong message that the Old Boys value The Lampstand, the keeping of the database of Old Boys, the continuation of reunions around New Zealand and other parts of the world, as well as maintaining the College Archives.

Using the attached form and pre-paid envelope, please make your donation so that I can inform the College and the WCOBA Executive Committee that the response to ‘Save The Lampstand’ appeal has been substantial and a clear vote for its ongoing publication.

If you are able, please make a generous donation, so that next year’s publication is ensured.

With my thanks for your anticipated support.

Roger Moses ONZM Headmaster, Wellington College THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 91

The Wellington College OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION and THE ARCHIVES PAST 

PRESENT  future

Lumen accipe et imperti 92 • THE LAMPSTAND, 2011

Dear Roger I wish to support the Wellington College Old Boys’ Association and the College Archives today AND Save the Lampstand...

With my donation of:  $250  $100  $50

 $25

 Other: $___________________

Family Links

 I enclose a cheque made payable to Wellington College OBA  Please charge my credit card:

 Mastercard

 Visa

Cardholder’s Name: ______________________________________________________________ Credit Card Number: .........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|..........|.........|.........|.........|

Expiry: ........|.........|.........|.........|

Signature: __________________________________________

Alternatively, donations can be made to the WCOBA Bank Account.

Please record your details for identification and receipting purposes.

Do you have relatives who have attended Wellington College so we can link up family members?

(See page 47 for more details) Relationship ie Father/Son/ Grandfather

Initials, First Name and Surname

Years at Wellington College

Still Alive?

02 0500 0590254 025 • BNZ, Wellington Please return this slip with your donation in the enclosed pre-paid envelope after you have completed the details below and overleaf.  Tick here if you require a receipt: by email  or by post .  Making a Bequest? Tick here if you would like more information on how to leave a gift to Wellington College and/or the Wellington College Old Boys’ Association in your Will.

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION and FEEDBACK

PERSONAL DETAILS

Change of Address/News/Achievements/New Contacts/Obituary/ Suggestions of Old Boy to Profile/Your Profile

Surname: Title:

 Mr  Dr

 Prof  Other: _________

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SHARE YOUR NEWS WITH US

First Name: Mailing Address:

Post Code:

Email: Tel: Home Tel: Work Mobile: Year Started @ WC

.........|.........|.........|.........|

Form Class:

Year Left WC

.........|.........|.........|.........|

Form Class:

WCOBA INFORMATION Please send me details on the Class of 1962 Reunion Please send me details on the Class of 1972 Reunion Please send me details about the 55 Years + Reunion WCOBA Life Membership Subscription $ 150.00 WCOBA Tie $ 30.00 WCOBA Lapel Pin $ 5.00 Mailed copy of the monthly Collegian N’Letter $ 25.00 Emailed PDF of the monthly Collegian N’Letter No Charge TOTAL $  I enclose a cheque made payable to Wellington College OBA  Please charge my credit card:  Mastercard  Visa Alternatively, payment can be made to the WCOBA Bank Account.

Please record your details for identification and receipting purposes.

02 0500 0590254 025 • BNZ, Wellington Cardholder’s Name: ________________________________________________________________ Credit Card Number: .........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|.........|..........|.........|.........|.........|

Expiry: .........|.........|.........|.........|

Signature: __________________________________________

THE ARCHIVES DEVELOPMENT OFFICE WELLINGTON COLLEGE OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION OFFICE

THE LAMPSTAND, 2011 • 93