Scotch College

Alex Lyne: a Tiger's appetite for geography

When Alec "Tiger" Lyne came to Scotch to teach geography, English and history in 1942, the geography equipment at Scotch consisted of one cupboard of maps.

He became Senior Geography Master in 1945, and by the time he retired in 1974, there was a well-equipped geography room, a library of 4,500 books, and several other geography teaching rooms. In 1945 there were five boys studying the subject in year 12: by 1972, just before his retirement, there were 75 year 12 geography students, and large numbers studying geography in every other year group. Alec Lyne had a remarkable career as a Scotch boy and as a Scotch teacher. Now aged 93, he continues to pursue a very active retirement. In this interview with David Ashton, he recalls his School and teaching days, and gives some thoughtful views on where geography teaching is heading.

Great Scot: Your own association with Scotch dates back almost 80 years; to 1924, when you began at School here. However, your links go back much further than that, because your grandfather was one of the first six boys enrolled at Scotch in 1851, and won the geography prize in 1853. Is that where your interest in geography originated? Alec Lyne: I'm not certain about that, but I discovered only recently that as well as the prize my grandfather won, my mother also won a prize for geography at Essendon State School in 1889, so it does appear that geography is in my genes!

GS What was it like being a Scotch boy in the "roaring twenties"?

AL: Very different from being a Scotch boy in 2003! I started in 6E in 1924, when there was quite an influx of new boys. Interestingly, when I started teaching at Scotch in 1942, my first appointment as form master was to 6E! Like most new boys, I was quite overawed by the place. I can remember how formidable the Principal, Dr Littlejohn, appeared and even the prefects were frightening enough. I can recall a boy nudging me when we were standing in the quadrangle, and saying: "Look! There are two prefects". It was actually the School Captain, Alec Sloan and the Vice-Captain, Frank Nelson, and they certainly looked big and important. Alec later became Headmaster of Ballarat College, and Frank became a judge. I was not sporting at all. I suffered from asthma, and the treatment in those days specified "no vigorous sports" - quite different from the recommended treatment today. Instead, I took a great interest in clubs and societies at School, including the Literature Club, the Science Club, the Dramatic Club, the Debating Club and the Student Christian Movement. I remember the famous master "Cakey" Adams taking us to workplaces on Saturday mornings - everyone worked on Saturday mornings then - and we'd see first hand how places like the Bryant and May match factory and the railway workshops operated. It was very good practical experience. Anyway, at the end of it all I was joint Dux of the School with Russell Love, who became a world-renowned figure in mathematics. We remained close friends until his recent death.

GS After you left Scotch in 1928, you went on to Melbourne University, and you were a resident in Ormond College from 1929 to 1932. Who were some of your contemporaries at Ormond?

AL: There were the Rev Gordon Powell, later Minister of Scots Church in Collins Street, and a Scotch College Councillor; and future Chairmen of the School Council, Archibald (later Sir Archibald) Glenn, and Ian (later Sir Ian) McLennan. Other Ormond contemporaries included Frank "Faf" Fleming, Ewen "Ginner" Davidson and Harold "Billy" Blenkiron, who became legendary Scotch teachers; and Rhodes Scholars Dick Latham, Ross Campbell and Ken Wheare. It was quite a group.

GS What were the circumstances of your appointment to Scotch in 1942?

AL: I started teaching English, geography and French at Brighton Grammar School in 1933. I really wanted to teach at Scotch, and when I approached the then Principal Dr Gilray in the late 1930s, he said he'd put me on a short list, but didn't have a place for me at that time. I got my chance when three teachers unfortunately died in quick succession.

GS You were in charge of the Scotch Dramatic Society from 1945 to 1967, and produced 19 plays during that time. What were some of the highlights of those years?

AL: I took on the producing role just after the war, with the help of Frank Paton and Keith Darling. I was very keen for the boys to help in the production of plays, including taking on backstage work, scenery production and booking. Perhaps the most ambitious effort was staged in the Memorial Hall - "Satire of the Three Estates" - a sixteenth-century Scottish drama which we tackled in the late 1950s with a cast of 85 boys. We also successfully produced many other challenging plays, including a number of Shakespearean plays. I'm watching the development of the James Forbes Centre with great interest, because the old Mackie Hall had its shortcomings as a theatre, including cramped space, poor lighting and a tiny orchestra pit. Still, we made the best of it, and achieved some notable successes.

GS You were a founder of the Geography Teachers' Association, and you are now a life member. As well, you are a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. How did the subject of geography develop while you were at Scotch, and why did you believe so strongly in the need for an association of teachers?

AL: When I started at Scotch in 1942 and for years afterwards, geography was not even being taught at Melbourne's only university, except for economic geography, as part of a Commerce degree. That meant that there was no academic leadership in the subject, and little discussion and cooperation between School geography teachers. Geography had become a "dead" subject - students took notes and regurgitated the material in exams. All of this concerned me greatly. Although I'd had no formal training as a geography teacher, I had done an external diploma in geography from London University, and I'd also done some research - a study of fruit growing in Box Hill, Ringwood, Doncaster and Burwood. I was also on the council of the Incorporated Association of Registered Teachers of Victoria. During the 1950s, Jock Herbert of Trinity Grammar School (and later Scotch) and I discussed the idea of an association for geography teachers, and when we mentioned it to our counterparts in a number of schools, we received strong support. So in the late 1950s we formed the Geography Teachers' Association of Victoria, and I became the first president. We started a range of activities, including organising seminars, publishing a magazine and running a conference. Now the association has about 800 members and conducts all those activities and more. Prof Basil Johnson, the first Professor of Geography at Monash University in the early 1960s, initiated a whole new approach to teaching geography, and we followed it up in the schools. We ran evening short courses for teachers and weekend camps for field work. Geography gradually became an exciting "human" subject again, with the help of our teachers' association and with guidance from the universities. At Scotch we started field work excursions in the mid-1960s. We'd head off on Friday afternoons, and study country towns, rivers, and farming during the weekend. At first we were feeling our way a bit with this new idea of excursions, but it gained momentum. These days, geography is still a vital subject, although it went through a phase in the 1980s when it became more like social studies, but now basic geography seems to have come back. I really believe you need that "human" element in the subject as well as studying physical geography.

GS Your interest in the "organisational" side of teaching also extended to starting a common room association at Scotch in the 1950s. What were your aims in doing this?

AL: Again I felt that organising teachers into an association could gain positive results for the teachers as well as the students. I spent a year in England in 1951, and every School I visited had its common room association. On my return to Scotch I suggested the idea to some of the senior masters, and although most were in favour, the reaction among some of them was negative. One said: "What are you trying to do? Teach the Principal how to run the School?" However, the new Principal, Richard Selby-Smith (who was to start in 1953) was an Englishman, as was his successor, Colin Healey, and they understood and appreciated the benefits of common room associations. So the new Scotch Common Room Association began in 1952, and I was secretary from then until 1973, and president in my last year at Scotch in 1974. I believe we achieved a lot for the staff, and always had good relations with the Principals.

GS What about the future of geography teaching?

AL: I believe it has a great future. All sorts of employers are now taking on people trained in geography; people who know how to analyse and synthesise information, so the need to teach geography is greater than ever. And it's constantly evolving: geographers are now involved in environmental studies and sustainability, for example. I remember how the "human" element of geography used to appeal to boys whose other subjects were all in the sciences. They enjoyed the change of emphasis, and some even switched to humanities when they went to university. For all these reasons, geography will retain its vitality and appeal.

GS How did you acquire your nickname of "Tiger"?

AL: I suppose it was because I was so fierce in class! No, it was really because some people assumed my surname was spelt "Lion", and made the obvious connection with "Tiger".

GS What have been your major interests in retirement?

AL: Early in my retirement I wrote three text books, though the first one, a study of greater Melbourne, was actually published by Cambridge University Press when I was in my last term of teaching at Scotch, and was immediately used as a School text.

I was then asked to write a similar book on Canberra, called "Canberra - A Planned City", and this was followed by "Australian Resources". I also wrote a number of chapters for geography textbooks, and I've also written a privately-published history of one side of my mother's family

My church, Central Box Hill Uniting, has always been a major interest for me. I've been an Elder since 1956, and I've also been on the board of management for some years. Our church now has a vibrant Korean congregation, and this has breathed much new life into it.

We operate a young people's resource centre, with two pool tables, a table tennis table and a whole row of computers, and I spend one afternoon every fortnight working there. About 20 young people a day come to our centre, many of whom are street kids who have dropped out of School. We offer them tea, coffee and whatever help and advice we can provide.

Another important function of the centre is to teach young people from non English-speaking backgrounds to learn conversational English. Many of them are from South-East Asian countries and are studying at TAFE. It's rewarding to be able to help them converse in English.

I also belong to a walking group, and we walk every fortnight in very interesting parts of Melbourne. Recently we walked 8km from Kooyong station to Richmond station, part of which was on the track under the Monash Freeway next to Scotch. It took me back to lunchtime walks along the creek when I was a Scotch boy.

I still love gardening - and there's a great opportunity for that in my large and rambling garden!

David Ashton