One hundred years have passed, and with them the growth and development of a century. The boys continue to arrive and depart, to respond to the sombre notes of the school bell — not in the horse and buggies of yesteryear, but in modern vehicles; the boys continue not dressed in the varied attire of 1868, but in the characteristic blue-blue uniform of today; the boys continue to harass their masters as they have done for a century, and time keeps rolling on.
The dreary monotony of school life still continues, undaunted by the grasping materialistic world of politics and science around us. Because today the school follows basically the same routine as it did in 1868, does this mean that these years have been ones which have stagnated in the languid viscosity of conformity, or does it mean that we have weathered an era of mixed fortune, of prosperity and depression, of peace and war, and of success and failure? Surely it is the latter! Surely the name of Grammar has stood solidly and unwavering through a maelstrom of criticism and humbug. Yes, we can certainly look back with pride over these hundred years, and because of this, we can look forward with faith to a prosperous future.
This year has seen the school toast to a century of achievement in a year of celebrations. Yet this year is the same as any other. It is an insignificant yet intrinsic link in a chain of the history of a great public school. We have celebrated for the thousands of young men who have made Grammar more than a school, but an educational institution, where a person can receive an education which prepares him for his debut into a world of social and political turmoil.
We have played our part, and now hand over to our successors the same proud heritage which was handed to us. We hope that the school will be able to weather the next 100 years as well as it did the last. Let us hope that in 2068 the boys will still continue to arrive and depart, to respond to the school bell, to harass their masters; and that they will gain an education better than that we have received, for progress wills it, and progress should not be impeded.
Neville Sandford
The Constitution of the Old Boys' Association provides that "the object of the Association shall be to effect a bond of union amongst past pupils of the School to promote a spirit of comradeship and to form an effective link between past and present pupils and in every way to further the welfare and interests of the School in the community".
Association achievements linking past and present pupils include the annual awards of the Reginald Heber Roe Scholarship and J. G. Nowlan Bursary as well as the donation each year of prizes for academic and sporting prowess, the gifts of Honour Boards for the First and Second World Wars, the Memorial Library, the Swimming Pool, the Honour Gates at the School Entrance, Rowing Boats and Hurdles for Athletics. More recently, members of the Association formed the nucleus of the planning Committee during the preliminary stages of the Centenary Building Fund Committee and also participated in its work.
In conclusion, it behoves me as the Seventy-first President, to exhort all members to maintain a keen interest in the activities of the Association in order to ensure the continued success of the O.B.A. to the mutual benefit of its members and the School. I also desire through this column to express the appreciation of our Association and to gratefully acknowledge the "devotion to duty" of our Editor and Magazine Secretary, Mr. K. A. Lemon, who for so many years has written the Old Boys' Jottings and has meticulously compiled the lists of University Graduates and the Old Boys' Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths.
P. M. Silcock
Subscription — Annual: $4.00, due in advance on July 1st. Boys who join immediately on leaving school: $1.00, including badge, to June 30th. Life Membership: $80.00. Badge: 50 cents.
(Presented by His Excellency the Governor of Queensland at the Centenary Commemoration Assembly, City Hall, 28 February 1968.)
The September 1968 "Centenary Year Magazine" records the Centenary celebrations. The School Captain (D. R. Brown) and Vice-Captain (P. L. Byth) are the same as in the December issue. The Centenary Magazine was edited by N. L. Sandford, produced by Mr. H. R. Cowie.
Brisbane Grammar School's long-awaited Centenary celebrations began with a Commemoration Assembly held in the City Hall, only several hundred yards from the original site of the school. The 1100 members of the school marched down Albert Street to the city in an impressive display. At 11 a.m. the official party entered the City Hall in the presence of the Governor of Queensland (Official Visitor to the School). After the National Anthem, the Headmaster, Mr. M. A. Howell, delivered the commemoration address, of which an extract follows:
"We are met here today, as you all know, to celebrate a century of achievement which began on the 29th February, 1868, at a site in Roma Street when His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, later the Duke of Edinburgh, laid the foundation stone of this school, and during this period of celebration it is our intention to do honour to them who have been responsible for this achievement.
"To begin a school is a splendid achievement in itself, requiring initially a faith in the value of education as the most potent force for good in any community … To encourage and nurture the growth of a school over one hundred years demands not only these qualities, but faith and idealism, courage and perseverance as well … We honour, therefore, our founders, our past headmasters, trustees, masters and benefactors without whom nothing could have been achieved.
"Our thoughts throughout this year therefore will go back to men like Hockings and Stephens of the Legislative Assembly who began it all; to Sir Charles Lilley and Sir Samuel Griffith, both Chief Justices … to men like Justice Woolcock who devoted forty years of his life and so many hours of his time to the service of the school … We honour, of course, our past headmasters, men such as Reginald Heber Roe, headmaster for thirty-three years, whose services to Queensland education continued after he retired from the school, and who became Inspector General of schools and the first Vice-Chancellor of the Queensland University; we honour Harlin and Bousfield, Stephenson and the other fine men who followed them …
"Our thoughts go back to Mason and Nowlan, Porter and Cowan, Deeney and Kennedy, and the hundreds of other men who taught the thousands of boys who have passed through the school … We would hope too that we will not forget to honour the men and women who have given loyal service to the school in other ways than teaching, men such as George Rilatt who literally served the school as janitor for fifty-one years …
"It is natural too that we would want to honour the many eminent men who received their education at Brisbane Grammar. Sir John Lavarack, great soldier and first Queensland-born Governor of this State; T. J. Byrnes, one of our finest scholars and Premier of Queensland; and hundreds more … no less than thirteen who have been knighted for their services … We honour others such as J. J. Hilder and Arthur Benjamin who contributed to Australia's reputation in art and music, and we honour the many great sportsmen … And if we honour these men we should honour too the fifteen thousand men who since that first school day in 1869 have been educated at Brisbane Grammar and have played their part in our society."
Following the Headmaster's address, His Excellency the Governor presented the nineteen scholarships and bursaries traditionally awarded on Foundation Day, including the R. H. Roe Scholarship to R. J. Vann (see Part 2).
The December 1968 Old Boys' Section carries the usual Births, Marriages and Deaths registers (compiled, as the President's Message records, by K. A. Lemon). These registers are not reproduced in this transcript.
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.
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