Scotch College

Biggest-ever gathering of Old Boys in joyful celebration of 150

Superlatives compete with each other to describe this year's Old Scotch Annual Dinner - it was indeed the dinner of the sesquicentenary, the biggest OSCA annual dinner yet, the largest-ever gathering of Old Scotch Boys, the most spectacular setting, the most historic day - and it was also tremendous fun.

With the numbers hovering around the one thousand mark until the last week before the dinner, a last-minute flood of applications swelled the final total to twelve hundred and five, a vast gathering worthy of such a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The date - Saturday 6 October - marked precisely 150 years since Scotch's foundation in 1851, and there was a palpable sense of history and occasion in the air. The venue was superb - Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building, the site of so much Australian history, including the first sitting of Australia's first parliament in May 1901.

Now magnificently restored to its original glory, it is recognised as one of the world's finest examples of a 19th Century Public Exhibition Building, of which less than a handful now remain.

But 6 October was Scotch's own historic night at the Exhibition Building. Old Boys and guests from round Australia and across the world joined in one of the most eagerly-awaited major events of our 150th anniversary celebrations.

From 6pm they started to gather outside on a chilly and windy Melbourne spring evening. Greeted by Lt Ross Campbell and his team of pipers and drummers, diners assembled in the vestibule, and at 7.15pm moved to the tables in the main hall.

A spectacular sight awaited them in the hall, where one hundred and twenty tables had been set up in a T shape, with the head table on a stage at the southern nave end, backed by a giant circular video screen. It was a sight to remember, and for the younger Old Boys to tell their grandchildren in fifty or sixty years that 'I was there'.

The main table diners were piped in, including the Governor-General,

His Excellency The Rt Rev Dr Peter Hollingworth ('52), Hon Jeff Kennett ('65), Dr Gordon Donaldson, Mr Paul Sheahan (Head Master of Melbourne Grammar School), Michael Robinson ('55), Chairman of the School Council, and representatives of OSCA Affiliated Societies. Other guests included former Governor-General, Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen ('35), School Vice-Principal Mr Ian Savage, and 2000 OSCA President, Michael Stillwell ('68).

After Rev Graham Bradbeer's grace, OSCA President Rob Logie-Smith ('60) welcomed the guests, including two of the three Governors-General who are Old Scotch boys. The third, Rt Hon Sir Ninian Stephen ('40), was overseas on United Nations business. Rob welcomed guests from kindred societies, especially thanking Melbourne Grammar for its participation in the Football Sculpture outside the MCG, gifted to the people of Victoria.

Rob asked everyone to turn back the clock one hundred and fifty years. Melbourne's population in those early gold rush days was twenty-three thousand and life expectancy was just forty-five years. There was no Aussie Rules football, and the site of the Fitzroy Gardens was a wasteland.

Rob said that on 6 October of that year, twenty-three boys nervously approached the doors of the brand-new Melbourne Academy (forebear of Scotch College), the first secondary school in the colony of Victoria. Scotch was to move from site to site in East Melbourne, before moving to Hawthorn after the Glen estate was purchased for 13,000 pounds in 1914.

After Rob's speech, the 150th commemorative flame was lit, and then came the Haggis Ceremony. In keeping with the significance of the event, OSCA Executive Director Leigh McGregor ('55) seemed to attack the Haggis with even more vigour than usual in his 'slanchy va'.

Dr Peter Hollingworth stepped up to propose the toast to the school. Referring to his unveiling of the MCG Football Sculpture after the Cordner-Eggleston match, he told MGS Principal Paul Sheahan that Scotch's 137-point victory made up in some way for the many MGS victories he had endured during his schooldays in the '40s and early '50s.

Amid much laughter, Dr Hollingworth recalled the names of many of the masters who'd taught him at Scotch, including perhaps the best-known of all, Mr Blenkiron (revered as 'Billy' by generations of Scotch boys). Two of those teachers - Ron Bond and Alec Lyne ('28) - were present at the dinner. Dr Hollingworth said that we should never forget the contributions of Scotch teachers to our development, and the sacrifices many parents make to send their sons to Scotch.

There was a twofold response to Dr Hollingworth's toast, the first by a very composed School Captain, Brendan Ferguson, who remarked that 'I'm the only speaker here I've never heard of!' Brendan said that at first the Scotch students of 2001 were 'not overly excited' by the 150th celebrations. 'We thought perhaps we'd look back in fifty years' time and realise what an important year it was,' he said. But he said that, as the year unfolded, every Scotch boy had become caught up in the spirit and excitement of the celebrations.

'The events of 2001 have given the boys of today the confidence to start on the next 150 years of Scotch's history, with the same commitment and passion that has been experienced over the past 150,' Brendan said.

Second to respond was Dr Gordon Donaldson, who told of the 'great sense of anticipation' that had preceded the dinner, building up during the many significant events of the year, such as the Torch Relay,

Dinner on the Main, History Tour, Highland Gathering and the Foundation Day Concert. Turning to Paul Sheahan, Dr Donaldson referred to the many close links Scotch has with MGS, and the 'sibling rivalry' that spices up the close relationship between the schools.

Despite the excitement of the sesquicentenary, Dr Donaldson said the school hadn't 'lost sight of the power of learning, and the exciting challenges that lead to reaching one's potential.' The Principal noted that in last year's VCE, four Scotch boys were awarded the highest possible score, out of a total of twenty-one who had achieved that mark in Victoria. He said Arts and Music had also continued to flourish, and that on the last day of winter sport, three first teams won their respective premierships - the Cross Country, Hockey and Rugby teams.

Paying tribute to the work of Director of Development, Peter Crook, who retires later this year, Dr Donaldson said: 'Peter has developed the Scotch Foundation into one of the best of its kind in Australia, with great help from his assistant, Margaret Long'.

Dr Donaldson mentioned that at last year's dinner he had encouraged Old Boys to 'adopt an adolescent'. With the world changing for the worse since then, he said, the 'adoption' requirement was more acute than ever.

He thanked the OSCA organisation for its contribution to helping Scotch boys to be aware of their heritage, and to be conscious of the challenges ahead of them.

Proposing the toast to the guests, Hon Jeff Kennett said that the significance of the occasion and the location gave everyone present the chance both to reflect on the past and to focus on the future. The spirit of camaraderie that was so evident at the dinner reminded us how important family and friendships are to all of us.

Thanking Jeff Kennett for the toast to the guests, Paul Sheahan said Scotch was quite close to his heart for several reasons. 'For example, I played my first APS cricket match for Geelong College on the Scotch Main Oval. I scored two and one, and we lost by an innings and 175 runs,' Mr Sheahan said. 'Perhaps more significantly, I proposed to my future wife in 1969 on the verge of the Main Oval,' he said.

Mr Sheahan said more issues united Scotch and MGS than divided them, and that 'our bond of affection and mutual respect strengthens us all.' As both schools strove for excellence, it was up to us to 'light the inextinguishable flame of curiosity' in our students. 'The task of this generation is to imagine what could be, and strive to make it come to pass,' Mr Sheahan said. 'We need your help in achieving our mission.'

Speeches over, there was more than an hour and a half for conversation, reminiscing and laughter, before the evening all too soon came to an end. It was a memorable dinner - right up in the top bracket of 150th celebration events (and what a marvellous year it has been!).

For that, thanks go to Leigh McGregor and the OSCA office team, Rob Logie-Smith, Dinner Convener Bob Welch ('66), Guest Speaker Liaison Campbell McComas ('69), Masters of Ceremonies Stewart Faichney ('64) and Ross Campbell ('58), Music Convener John Ferguson and the schoolboy musicians.

David Ashton