The Lord Mayor's question last Speech Night gives us much food for thought. He asked, "What are we here for?" There are many answers we could give to that, but would each and every one satisfy that little voice deep inside us?
One boy might say, "I am here for the sole purpose of gaining as many 'A' passes as I can. As far as I am concerned, nothing else worries me." This is indeed a very selfish attitude to adopt. A boy with that train of thought has no place in a school of this kind. Plenty of schools could give him that, but ours is one which can instil in him those qualities which go to make a fine man and a noble character. This person is prepared to take all that the School can give him in the academic field, but he is not willing to repay her for her gifts, except in so far as she may gain any reflected light from his glory.
Some boys, whose parents can afford the luxury of sending their sons to a famous Secondary School, use it as an excellent opportunity to pass four years in a lazy way. Their place in society is assured, irrespective of their scholastic successes, so they make no effort to work. Any knowledge they accumulate is purely accidental. These boys, if they do anything of a worthy nature for the School, do it purely by chance, for, if they cannot raise themselves out of their lethargy to do school work, how can they possibly make a success of the more exacting task of bringing a good name to the School?
There are those whose sole aim in coming to school is to play sport. Academic studies hold not a scrap of interest for them. At a Great Public School, outstanding sportsmen have an excellent opportunity to place themselves in the public eye, which will assist them in their sporting careers at a later date. These boys, and the procurers of many "A"'s, reflect a certain amount of fame on the school, but, when they leave, do they depart with a balanced education or with one which is horribly one-sided?
Then we come to the youth, who, when he comes, says, "I intend to gain as much as possible from my days at the Brisbane Grammar School." This lad does not hesitate to familiarize himself with all aspects of the School and to participate in those in which he will do most good. He cannot but gain a well-balanced education and thus, if not during his school days, at least in later life, he will stand out as a fine gentleman and a worthy product under the stamp of "A Product of the Brisbane Grammar School."
Just what qualities will make him stand out? At first, he looks like any other school boy, but, on closer examination, we see that in everything he attempts, he exhibits a keen interest, and does not do it solely because he has been asked. He is not necessarily brilliant at school work, nor is he a perfect example of good behaviour, but he knows his place and does not attempt to move himself from it. He does not accept all that is told to him as gospel truth and he is continually seeking reasons for statements. He does not hesitate to voice his opinions, usually regardless of whose toes he treads upon. He is quick to perceive the hypocrite and the teller of tall-tales, and marks them down as such.
Above all, he is active in several spheres. He is not content to drift along with the "tide in the affairs of men", but seeks to shoot the breakers the moment they are formed. There are all too few of his breed to-day, more is the pity. Thus, it is up to us all to imitate him, so that, when we leave, we can look back and say, "These four years have done both the School and me some good."
In the coming year the State of Queensland is to celebrate the Centenary of its foundation. The Brisbane Grammar School is just ten years younger than the State itself and in ten years' time we will be celebrating the Centenary of the foundation of the School.
On such occasions we look back with pride and admiration upon the achievements of our forefathers, and with gratitude, too, because to us falls the heritage of their labour. The men of the past hundred years were builders. They built schools and churches and homes and roads and bridges and railways and founded great businesses and tamed the wildernesses.
But the true greatness of these men who developed the State and built the School lies not so much in the material wealth they created and which we now enjoy, as in the intangible things in their faith, honour, loyalty, steadfastness, unselfishness, devotion, courage, and comradeship.
These intangible things are the truly valuable things in the heritage of the past, and we owe it to the past and to the future to preserve and defend them against the challenge, in a changing world, of the materialistic philosophies that menace them to-day.
The School is the stronghold where the challenge is being met, the place where the future character of the Nation is being forged, and more than ever to-day we, the Old Boys of the Brisbane Grammar School, must rally to the support of the School in all its undertakings, to preserve and extend in the community the ideals that our School stands for.
Thomas Blacket Stephens (16) is yet another Old Boy who has strong family ties with the B.G.S. His grandfather, the late Hon. T. B. Stephens, was the School's first Chairman of Trustees, and his father, the late Hon. W. Stephens, was one of the boys who attended the School in 1869, its opening year. His brother, W. Stephens (22), has a son at B.G.S. at present: R. W. Stephens, of Form VIc.
Dux of the School in 1920, our new President continued his studies at the University of Queensland and the University of London. Admitted in 1926 as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and as a Barrister in 1932, he has for most of the ensuing period practised Law in Brisbane as a Solicitor. At present he is partner in one of the City's leading legal firms.
His experience with the Citizen Forces as a Captain in the Australian Field Artillery stood him in good stead when the Second World War came. He eventually rose to be a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Australian Army Legal Corps of the 2nd A.I.F. and served as Chief Legal Officer with the H.Q. of the Second Australian Corps.
Apart from his profession his interests are varied: theatre, broadcasting, public speaking, yacht-racing, bowls, bush-walking, and travel. He is a Past President of the Brisbane Repertory Theatre and of Rostrum Club No. 12. He finds scope for his keen mind in his membership of the Law Reform Committee of the Queensland Law Society and the State Advisory Committee of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Since taking up the Presidency, he has already displayed his energy in inaugurating a new Membership Drive.
Old Boys' Association (Founded 1898).
Subscription — Annual: 15/-, due 1st July. Boys joining immediately on leaving school, 5/- to 30th June. Life Membership: £15. Badge: 5/-.
About 60 Old Boys were present in the Great Hall on Wednesday, 10th September, when the Council's Report and Statement of Accounts were received and adopted. The meeting amended Rule 5 to add "an Assistant Secretary (Membership)" and "an Assistant Secretary (Magazine)". In recognition of his work for the Association, and on the unanimous recommendation of the Council, Mr. K. A. Lemon was elected an Honorary Life Member. The Headmaster, Mr. H. F. Newell (20), reported on the School's current progress.
Vice-Regal: On 22nd October, the President, Mr. T. B. Stephens, accompanied by Vice-President Dr. Fitz Vincent, made an official call upon His Excellency the Governor of Queensland, Sir Henry Abel Smith, at Government House, to present the respects of the Association and express the loyalty of the Old Boys to the Throne.
Pegg Legacy: After consultation with the executors of the Estate of the late S. S. Pegg (1881), the Council decided to use this Legacy to help towards equipping and furnishing the Centenary Building Project.
Celebrated Saturday, 1st March. In the Great Hall two scholarships and three bursaries were presented: the 1957 Reginald Heber Roe Scholarship to R. P. Johnston (by Vice-President T. B. Stephens); the Trustees' Scholarship to J. M. Fenwick; the Evans Bursary to J. E. William; the Nowlan Bursary to R. B. Newell (son of the Headmaster); and the Mason Bursary to J. H. Pearn (presented by Miss Mason).
J. G. Nowlan Bursary — Founded by the O.B.A., to the boy entering the School with the highest pass in the State Scholarship Examination who receives no other assistance than the State Scholarship subsidy.
1958 Nowlan Bursary: R. B. Newell (son of the Headmaster).
Reginald Heber Roe Scholarship — Founded by the O.B.A. in memory of R. H. Roe, M.A., Headmaster of the School 1876–1909.
Roe Scholarship named in this issue (1957 award, presented at Foundation Day 1958): R. P. Johnston. (The Roe runs on a "leaving boy proceeding to University" cycle and is presented the following Foundation Day; the 1958 Roe is named in the 1959 issue as J. B. Douglas, 1958 School Captain. The photo caption "Scholarship and Fellowship Winners, 1957" also shows P. R. Johnston — R. H. Roe Fellowship; W. G. E. Cooksley — Open Scholarship; J. H. Pearn — Mason Scholarship.)
Scholarship & Bursary Winners (boarders' list / entering boys): Trustees' Scholarship — J. M. Fenwick; Evans Bursary — J. E. William; Nowlan Bursary — R. B. Newell; Cobb & Co. Bursaries — E. J. Wilson and K. K. Smith; Mason Bursary — J. H. Pearn.
The 1958 issue carries Old Boys' Births / Marriages / Deaths registers and a personal column, not reproduced here.
Source: The Brisbane Grammar School Magazine, December 1958 (School's 90th Foundation year). Notation: The 1958 issue states explicitly: "the figures in brackets after names denote the year of entry to the B.G.S." — so all "(year)" tags below = year of ENTRY. School Captain 1958: J. B. Douglas (Magazine Editor: C. G. Holland).
In this era, an Old Boy's year designation was the year he entered Grammar; the convention today is the year he finished. A boy who started in 1993 and finished in 1997 was (93) but is now '97.
Brisbane Grammar School Old Boys' Association · Old Boys History. Part of the OBA Knowledge Project.
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