To many, the only measure of achievement in four or five secondary school years is success in examinations. Such an attitude is contrary to the spirit and tradition of the Great Public Schools. While academic attainment must always be allowed to be the primary goal in school life, it should never be allowed to become the only goal.
When Dr. Arnold founded Rugby last century he stated that a good school must do more than provide buildings, equipment and staff, although these were invaluable. Dr. Arnold believed that a good school "must foster the varied talents of its students; it must develop latent qualities of leadership in its senior students; it must cultivate the ideal of service, respect for the laws of a civilized democratic community, thoughtfulness for the welfare of others, a feeling for justice, truth and right, and an awareness of the basic dignity of man."
Such noble traditions can never be upheld solely by the buildings, equipment and staff of a school — a heavy onus rests on each and every schoolboy. In this way, school life is a very appropriate training ground for later life, for then, as at school, success and satisfaction come only to those who strive and work for them. A great school has very much to offer, but only those who are willing to repay the debt they owe to their school can experience school life to the full.
Participation in the numerous fields of school life does more than benefit the individual schoolboy; it instills in him a loyalty to the school. Such a loyalty not only enables a boy to share in the spirit and traditions of the school while he is there, but remains afterwards as a bond of allegiance which should never be broken.
The "Grammar" has been blessed with such spirit and tradition for ninety-seven years; in three years the school will celebrate its centenary. The world has changed very much in the last hundred years, and if any institution is to survive in the face of these changes, it must adapt itself to them. This school has always done so, and the success of the Centenary Appeal ensures that such progress will continue. But Dr. Arnold's ideals should never be forgotten; the school has striven for these ideals for nearly a century. The achievements of the school's second century will depend on its old spirit and traditions.
T. B. I. Crommelin
The outstanding achievement of the past year or so has been the success of the Centenary Building Fund Appeal, in which all sections of the School Family have co-operated under the guidance of the National Fund-Raising Counsel.
Old Boys have played a big part in all this, but to me most significant perhaps is the fact that, in consequence of the remarkable efforts of men like Phil Silcock, Ken Lemon and others, some thousands of Old Boys have been receiving "B.G.S. Reports" and the "Grammar News" as compared with the 2000 or so who receive the School Magazine.
To you, members of the O.B.A. or fathers of Present Boys, who are reading this, I would say: "Please try to bring this message to the notice of some of those thousands of Old Boys who do not receive the Magazine." If you passed your copy round your circle of Old Boy friends, it could help them to give more thought to the Old School which did so much for them and perhaps for their sons and grandsons.
I should like you to try to persuade any who are not members of the O.B.A. to help the School by becoming members; for the greater our membership, the greater will be the assistance that the O.B.A. can give to the School. At the same time they will be kept in closer touch with the B.G.S. and its Old Boys and with the various activities of each section of the School Family.
Your Council is aiming at fostering Old Boy Groups in centres outside Brisbane, particularly in those places where gatherings were held during the Building Fund Campaign: these included Sydney and Melbourne as well as country towns in Queensland.
If this message can help to increase the interest in the Old School and to expand the membership of the Old Boys' Association, then the efforts of those who are giving much time and thought to the fostering of these ideals will not have been made in vain.
B. G. Tyrrell
Subscription — Annual: £1, due in advance on 1st July. Boys who join immediately on leaving school, 10/-, including badge, to the 30th June. Life Membership: £20. Badge: 5/-. O.B.A. Ties (of Italian silk) are now available at T. C. Beirne's at 22/6 each.
All Old Boys of the Brisbane Grammar School and all persons who have acted as a Trustee or a Master of the School shall be eligible for membership, on application, and subject to the approval of the Council. As we are always glad to hear news of Old Boys, especially those living outside Brisbane, any information in this connection will be appreciated. Please address correspondence to: The Old Boys' Editor, c/- J. Thomson, Bookseller, 311 Queen Street, Brisbane.
Benjamin Geddes Tyrrell entered the B.G.S. in 1926: in the relevant Scholarship Examination he had been placed first of the candidates from the Eagle Junction School. At the B.G.S. he represented the School in Athletics and in the Second XV as well as being a keen gymnast. In 1928 he was narrowly beaten for the Byrnes Medal by his Form mate, Charles (Charlie) Roe.
In 1961 he assisted in reviving the dormant Victorian Branch of the O.B.A. His son, already known to some of us through the School Concerts, is a prospective member of the Association, as he is in this year's Sixth Form. With the ability, energy and enthusiasm of our new President, we look forward to another successful year.
The School's Foundation Day celebrations this year began with the annual Commemoration Church Service in the Great Hall on Sunday, 21st February, conducted by the Reverend Doctor R. W. Fulcher ('1932), Deputy Master of King's College in the University of Queensland and an Old Boy of the School. The lessons were read by the O.B.A. President, Professor Sutton, and the School Captain, Tim Crommelin. Under the direction of Mr. Broughton, the organist, the School Choir rendered the anthem "How Great Thou Art".
The following Saturday, 27th February, was celebrated as Foundation Day, the 97th anniversary of the Foundation of the School. The usual sporting contests were held between Old Boys and Present Boys in cricket, tennis, shooting and rowing; the Present Boys were again victorious overall. In the cricket match the Old Boys had the assistance of the Headmaster, Mr. Howell, who took several wickets; top score for the School was Rod Maddock with fifty-nine.
During the afternoon, at a ceremony in the Great Hall, the following awards were presented:
Cross-checked: the recipients of the Roe Bursary (Drew Hutton), Mason Scholarship (D. J. Farrell), Nowlan Memorial Bursary (P. A. Phillips) and Legacy award (K. W. J. Adam) are confirmed in both the OBA-section Foundation Day report and the separate student-written Foundation Day account (J. A. Dowsett) in this issue.
At the Evening Reunion in the Gymnasium the Guest of Honour was the new Headmaster, Mr. M. A. Howell, who gave an address on ideals in education. Representatives of Old Boys' Associations from other schools also attended.
The latest addition to the Meritorious Service Board is the name of Herbert Victor Byth, who had a long association with the School, first as a boy from 1914 to 1918, and afterwards as a Master from 1928. In 1940, when Mr. Stephenson retired from the Headmastership, he became Second Master, and for a period was Acting Headmaster. A brilliant student, he graduated B.A. at Queensland University with First Class Honours in Classics and also holds the degree of Master of Arts of Oxford, which he attended on a Travelling Scholarship. He also served as President of the Old Boys' Association.
The 1965 Old Boys' Section carries full Births, Marriages and Deaths registers (scan pages 117–122, magazine pages 103–108). They are not reproduced in this transcript.
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.
Draft site for committee review. Spot an error or hold a missing piece? Tell the OBA