Momentum for OSCA’s birth - Scotch College

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Momentum for OSCA’s birth

WORDS: Mr Bruce Brown (’60

Greatscot _dec 2011_54a

Foundation Day again is here, Hurrah! Hurrah!
We welcome it with hearty Cheer, Hurrah! Hurrah!
Time’s nicked his hundred and sixtieth notch
Since first he saw the infant Scotch,
And we all feel proud of the College that’s at the top.
(Foundation Day Song)

Had the 2011 Foundation Day Concert been held on the school’s actual birthday, Thursday 6 October, it’s highly likely that a song which used to be sung when the concert was held on, or as close as possible, to the school’s birthday would have been sung with the same gusto as in former years.

This year the date marked an important anniversary for both Scotch College and the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association. Not only was it the school’s 160th birthday, but it also marked the centenary of a remarkable dinner held to celebrate the school’s diamond jubilee at the Melbourne Town Hall. The dinner, attended by 600 guests, provided the impetus for the establishment of the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association, which will celebrate its centenary in 2013.

The dinner remains a unique event in the school’s history because it is still the only formal dinner at which a serving Prime Minister has been an official guest. In addition to the Labor Prime Minister, Andrew Fisher, other dignitaries included the Governor, the Acting Premier and the Lord Mayor. Sir John Monash proposed a toast, and following the dinner the Old Boys marched up Bourke Street to the Exhibition Building where the first Foundation Day Concert was held.

Left is an extract from the forthcoming book, With a Keen, but Loving Eye – A Centenary Celebration of the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association, which will be published in 2013.

The jubilee celebrations clearly generated momentum during 1912 and 1913 for the creation of an organisation to cater for Old Boys across all age groups.


The 1911 Jubilee

George Wood’s return to Scotch in 1909 was an important element of Littlejohn’s grand plan for celebrating the school’s diamond jubilee in 1911. Wood was given the responsibility to oversee the four editions of The Scotch Collegian published each year and a supplementary edition, The History of Scotch College, in 1911. His role became even more significant when Littlejohn’s health deteriorated seriously during 1910, so much so that at the end of the year there were fears that he could even lose his sight. He was given leave and returned to Scotland to recuperate, which meant that he missed the jubilee year celebrations. The task of arranging the celebrations was now left in George Wood’s capable hands.

Wood’s contribution to the cultural fabric of the school and the creation of a common tradition for Old Boys across generations was to be profound. Buoyed with the success of The College Song he wrote a further four school songs: The College Anthem, still sung in the modern era, The Diamond Jubilee Song, set to the tune of When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again which was later amended to become The Foundation Day Song; a football song, Scotch Boot the Leather, O to the tune of Robbie Burns’ Green Grow the Rashes; and finally the Scotch Mixture starting with the words ‘You may hear a lot of a wily Scot and his independent air...’ to the tune The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. Wood’s blending of clever lyrics and popular tunes struck a chord with both boys and grown up ‘boys’.

Although the jubilee was marked by a number of events including a ball, a back to school day for Old Boys and interstate dinners, the focus of the celebrations occurred in Melbourne on the evening of 6 October 1911. More

than 600 men gathered for dinner at the Melbourne Town Hall attended by the Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, the Governor Sir John Fuller, the Acting Premier Mr Watt, the Minister of Education Mr Bilson, the Lord Mayor Cr Davey and numerous federal and state members of parliament. The Melbourne Argus treated the dinner as a major event, and summarised the speeches given by the various dignitaries.

Following the dinner, Melburnians witnessed the unusual sight of 600 men, including John Monash, marching up Bourke Street to the tune Cock o’ the North en route to the Exhibition Building, where they were to join the boys of the school at what was to be Scotch’s inaugural Foundation Day Concert. There had been much anticipation in the lead-up to the concert and there was not a spare seat to be found. The boys sang the five songs arranged by George Wood and the remainder of the program was filled with items by a professional orchestra and professional singers. Nevertheless the concert was well received, and the new school songs in particular were an outstanding success with both boys and Old Boys.

The next day the Melbourne Argus reported: ‘After 10 o’clock His Excellency the Governor (Sir John Fuller) appeared on the dais and was greeted with cheers. He said “I am only here to say one or two words. I want to tell you that the whole spirit of the great public schools is of real importance to the British Empire. High ideals are an essential of the life of a nation. You lads have a great continent to develop and the great future for it is in your hands.”(Cheer)’

(The Argus, 7 October 1911, page 19)