"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." — Aristotle.
Let us not make the mistake of seeing the only fruits of an education as the acquisition of a T.E. Score at the end of the Grade Twelve year. It would seem that such fruits are intrinsically bound up with the bitter roots. It cannot be avoided that, in many ways, while being a memory that can be looked back on with fondness, one's period of schooling can be a time of bitterness; of countless traumas, strains and worries. But the fact that the educative process brings a youth face to face with such psychological dilemmas makes it an all the more rewarding experience.
To use an accurate, even if insipid, cliché — discovering oneself, one's ability and limitations, is painful but totally necessary if the most is to be tapped from life in later years. School life plays perhaps the most important role in this process.
While this publication can in no way really reflect the traumas involved with becoming "educated," it is, or attempts to be, an indication of the fruits of education and involvement in school life. The process of education seems inherently painful, but the final result is, no doubt, a just reward.
T. Mather, D. Graham (Editors)
School Leaders 1979 — School Captain: William Boydell. School Vice-Captain: Tim Brusasco.
Subscription — Annual $8.00, due July 1st. Life Membership $160.00.
By John Dowsett (62), President
"I welcome this opportunity to write a short note to all Old Boys, whether members of the Association or not. The Association is in difficulty in trying to find a role both in the life of the School and in the lives of Old Boys. The Association can no longer make meaningful financial contributions to the School, as school-financing is now a very expensive business.. Hence it is misleading to think that we can contribute in this area other than on a very limited basis.
We are obviously not appealing to Old Boys, as we notice a continuing decline in membership coupled with a decline in attendance at functions. Despite a commendable effort by Michael Carter and his supporters in trying to organise the Ball in 1979, the Association was unable to run this activity at a profit. Similarly, attendance at the Annual Dinner was down somewhat on last year.. Some other functions (for example the Christmas Party) have already been abandoned through lack of support. Association sporting-teams have also not continued, again because of lack of support.
What then is the Association to do?.. It may be desirable to attempt to affiliate the Old Boys' Association with the other support organisations (such as the Parents and Friends' Association) for the purpose of forming one integrated organisation which could more efficiently provide financial assistance to the School and attend to the organisation of functions such as Old Boys' Reunion Dinners. Such a proposal will provoke an immediate hostile reaction amongst many of our members, but I urge you to honestly consider the extent to which the Association is able to justify its existence at the present time. The only really worthwhile contribution which the Association makes is the Old Boys' Section of the Magazine, which has for so many years been produced by Mr. Ken Lemon..
I recall many a School Assembly in which both Mr. Newell, the previous Headmaster, and Mr. Howell, the present Headmaster, urged upon us the general rule that one gets out of an activity what one puts into it. We are all getting very little out of the Old Boys' Association at the moment, and I suspect that it is because none of us is really putting very much into it. Let's do something about it."
John Dowsett (62), B.A., LL.B. (Hons.), President
President: A. Stewart Hogg (1962); Secretary: Ewan Solley (1964); Vice-Presidents: John Maddock (1950), Nick P. Sandford (1964); Council: Maurie Barltrop (1937), Frank Buckland (1933), Jack Fury (1939), Craig H. Milne (1962), Guy Verney (1965), Evan Webb (1955). (Elected at the A.G.M., 4th April 1979.) A Victorian Group also operated, with N. G. Caflisch (41) a Past President.
With the conclusion of the Headmaster's address at the Foundation Day Assembly, the traditional scholarships were awarded:
*The 1979 issue carries an obituary-style Deaths section.
School Captain 1979 was William Boydell (Vice-Captain: Tim Brusasco). No separate captain's report; the Editorial (by editors T. Mather and D. Graham) is the senior-school piece. The OBA section carries a notable, candid President's message by John Dowsett (62) questioning the Association's future role. (The full office-bearer list is not clearly legible in the scan; the President and Honorary Life Members are recorded below.)
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