Scotch College

Archives

Who First Met The New Principal?

Ivan Turnley

Were you the first to meet Donaldson? Roff? Healey? Selby Smith? Gilray?

Do write to tell us the story.

The place of First-To-Meet-Gilray had already been claimed, as we see in a clipping from the Sun News-Pictorial of 13 July 1934. It is a photograph if Ivan Turnley (1940), and the caption reads:

Ivan Turnley, who arrived yesterday in the Wanganella after a month's holiday in New Zealand, is probably the first Scotch College student to meet the new head master (Mr. C. M. Gilray), who is a New Zealander. They were fellow-passengers as far as Sydney.

Your own first encounters with headmasters (or others) can be sent to Dr Jim Mitchell (Co-Archivist), 2 Morrison St, Hawthorn 3122 or to jim.mitchell@scotch.vic.edu.au

The Nation Family.

James Archibald Nation (1872-1945; entered Scotch in 1885), received Robinson Crusoe as a prize for Writing in 1885. This prize now belongs to Erin Dunn on the Gold Coast in Queensland who would welcome any information on that family.

James's parents were Alfred Nation (1848?-1930; entered Scotch in 1858) and Mary Aitken.

Alfred was born in London a few years before entering Scotch, his parents being James Nation and Jane Cleve.

James Archibald Nation was followed at Scotch by three younger brothers: Thomas Aitken Nation (b. 1874; entered 1885), Walter Cleve Nation (1876-1958; entered 1888), and Alfred John (b. 1878; entered 1889).

(This is one of those families that helpfully re-iterates the maiden names of mothers and grandmothers.)

Director of Music "turns" 100!

John Bishop

John Bishop, Scotch's first Director of Music, was born 100 years ago, on 23 October 1903.

Bishop's greatest achievements were to be as Professor of Music and founder of the Adelaide Festival. Along the way, from 1937 - 47, he was Director of Music at Scotch.

He was appointed by Colin Gilray, newly become Principal of Scotch in 1934 and determined to broaden the cultural side of the School. Instead of men like George Wood and Albert Orton, well-intentioned but already labouring under full teaching loads, Scotch would now have a dedicated music-master.

Old Boys remember Bishop as "incomparable", "indelible", "a fantastic teacher", and a "genius". "A completely new, wonderful Day of the Arts dawned at Scotch."

Initially Bishop provoked antagonism, with his long and 'fluffed up' hair, his garish dress and supercilious manner, but in a few years he changed the prevailing attitude to music, giving it a place where none had been before, fostering talented musicians, and broadening the knowledge of ordinary boys.

He worked through existing institutions. Foundation Day Concerts were transformed. Previously, vocal items predominated, mainly from nineteenth-century operas. Bishop reached back to Mozart and Handel and forward to Greig and Holst, and to living composers like Britten, Bliss, T. E. Dunhill, Ireland and Vaughan Williams. He developed the school orchestra and had boys perform as instrumental soloists.

Even the Concert's mass singing had to be done well, and Bishop cancelled a song because the boys could not sing it well enough at the practice.

At the rehearsals in the Memorial Hall, as he grew hotter he "stripped off-bit by bit down to his singlet. The school roared as each item came off", recalls Bill Pugh. One time Peter Wilson remembers that "he ran the length of the hall and "king-hit" a boy he suspected of playing cards during the rehearsal.' 'The best bit of teaching I saw at Scotch," Brian Bayston says, 'was the skill of John Bishop in getting the whole school to do what he wanted."

Bishop's greatest achievement at Scotch was to reposition music within the school, by getting it treated as a sport. The inter-house sports competition was expanded to include music; playing a piece of music earned cockhouse points. Like a sport, music was to have a Captain and the first one was appointed in 1939.

Each boy who today holds an office in any non-sporting activity, or has colours there, is treading a path first marked out sixty years ago by John Bishop.

Dr Jim Mitchell, Co-Archivist

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Where is Ben Barnett buried?

Ben Barnett (1925) was wicket-keeper for the Australian Xl. In our last issue we asked where he is buried.

Andy Ingram (1956) writes from Vienna: "Ben died suddenly in Newcastle in 1979 while on holiday in the area with his wife Mollie. He was cremated at the Newcastle Crematorium, and his ashes scattered to the four winds in the grounds, in accordance of the wishes of his immediate family."

Andy adds: "Ben was my uncle - my Mother Jessie was Ben's sister, and my Father Hec Ingram (Class of '26) met my Mother by way of the Scotch connection, when Ben took my Dad, a hungry boarder, home for some of my Grandmother's cooking!"

The cremation and scattering is confirmed by another nephew Geoffrey Dean (1959) whose mother, Mansel, was Mollie's sister, and confirmed also by an Old Boy Acquaintance of Ben's son.

Ben's sudden illness was from the chronic pancreatitis he had as result of having been a Japanese Prisoner of War. The actual cause of death was cardiac arrest.

The enquiry about Barnett's grave was precipitated by the ABC's Rod Quinn (quinn.rod@abc.net.au or (06) 276-4555) who is compiling a list of the burial places of all Australian Test cricketers.

All four Nation brothers went to Scotch but of their descendants, if any, we have no record at all. Can anyone help?

Jim Mitchell

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Bringing Order To Chaos

Nancy Haugh at her desk

Six months ago, this table was entirely covered under half a metre of publications, reports, programmes, newsletters, books, and papers.

Nancy Haugh (as Nancy Attwood she was on the Junior School staff 1939-44) has steadily sorted the jumble into order and filed it away into over a hundred boxes in the Archives compactus.

This has made all that material readily accessible to enquirers, and has at the same time made the table available for use in other tasks, a double benefit.

Several volunteers work for a few hours each week in the archives, doing valuable work that would not otherwise get done. If you, too, would like to help, contact the Co-Archivist, Jim Mitchell.