Palmerston North Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association CONTACT 2014 A full size colour version of this newsletter can be found on www.pnbhs.school.nz in the Old Boys section 28 November 2014 Volume 14 Issue 1 1964 1st XV Reunion Weekend 1984 Cricket tourthe Year9 to Australia Specials Reunion play PN OB Dinner - John Winter, Ian Henshaw, Matene Love Hawke’s Bay restart an annual Dinner Old Boys Golf Day a driving success! The Senior Brigade at the Auckland Dinner 9 Old Boys in Manawatu Turbo squad for 2014 Mrs Annette Brookie and family at Opening of E. Brookie Memorial Shelter School ANZAC Parade 2014 I am pleased to report that the PNBHS Old Boys’ Association is in good heart and going from strength to strength. 2014 has been a From the very active year as you can see from the report below. I wish all Old Boys a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward President to your company at Old Boys’ functions in 2015. John Naylor • Annual Old Boys’ golf tournament at superior register of Old Boys and able to raising. It is an exciting development for Hokowhitu in April 2014 which raised produce regular electronic newsletters, the School. $4,200, another good turnout in lovely thanks to the efforts of Dominic King. The 2014 Business Alumni nominations weather. Thanks to Rolf Leenards for Anyone not receiving these, please have been made and I am pleased to ad- the great organisation. contact Dom at [email protected]. vise that Paul Baines and Rob Stalker have • Old Boys’ dinners in Palmerston North, nz accepted this honour. A function was held Auckland, Tauranga and Napier – all Donations to School have been made this on 28 November 2014 to present Paul and well attended with excellent speakers. year totalling $25,500. These have been Rob with their plaques. • ANZAC ceremony at the School, the used to support: My thanks once again to the Committee best such ceremony in the country. • Jacob Oram’s contribution to the of the Old Boys’ Association who have will- • Old Boys’ jazz ensemble which played School’s cricket teams, ingly helped and participated in all events at both the School’s annual music con- • Dom King’s endeavours with the new this year. They are a great team and great cert, and the annual charity concert, su- database, and the database software, company, and include Dave Bovey, John perb musicianship, should be full-time! Whitehead, Michael Lawrence, Stuart • Rector’s shouts at the Speights Ale- • the Errol Brookie Memorial Shelter, Leighton, Rolf Leenards, Peter Justice, Jus- house and at College House before the • the OK Chorale, tin Doolan, Matene Love, Simon O’Connor, Palmy dinner. Thanks Mr Bovey! • the new goal posts and Ash Hazlitt, David Barker, Dom King and re- • The instigation of the Good Buggers • the sporting caps. cent addition, Ewan Westergaard. Cheers Club, made up of a bunch of good gentlemen. buggers who are contributing month- A plan is in place for a new PNBHS Old Boys’ ly amounts to the PNBHS Education Pavilion to replace the Jubilee Rooms. The We have our final event of the year on Fri- Foundation Trust, in order to assist new pavilion will be built close to the site of day 12 December – 5.30 – 7.30 pm – at the those young men who have the poten- the existing Jubilee Rooms and will consist Masonic Hotel. This is the Year 13 leavers tial to achieve at a high level but do not of changing rooms and an Old Boys’ lounge. function and Christmas drinks. We wel- have the means to do so. The funds raised at the 2014 golf tourna- come the 2014 leavers to their first Old • The new Old Boys database is up and ment have gone to drawing the plans for Boys’ Association function and shout them running and now providing us with the this building. This will be a long term proj- a drink. All Old Boys are welcome, food will ect, reliant on sponsorship and other fund be supplied and a cash bar will operate. 2014 has seen a number of Old Boys functions held at the school, and an ever-growing number of Old Boys who have visited their From the old school; some have spoken at assembly, others re-visited the Rector memories of their youth at a school that in many areas is unrecog- nisable to how it was in their time here. Dave Bovey The 1964 1st XV enjoyed a weekend celebrating 50 years since playing together; the OK Chorale celebrated their ‘21st’ with a combined concert in the Speirs Centre Auditorium; the 1984 cricket team that toured Australia showed that in the 30 years since their tour time has not dimmed their enthusiasm on the field, although there were suggestions that dwindling skill and mobility were something of an issue in the victory over the Year 9 Specials, the Rector, as a guest player, included. And the 1979 1st XV got together to commemorate 35 years passing. In addition to these groups, we were privileged to have a number of Old Boys join with current School groups for the annual School Con- cert. The combined Stage Band was superb and performed with much gusto and enjoyment. 2014 also saw the opening of the E.W.Brookie Memorial Shelter – a mini replica of the old grandstand, erected by Rolf Leenards and his team in Mr Errol Brookie’s memory at the scoreboard end of the 1st XV field. Errol, as you will no doubt know, made a significant contri- bution to the school, as a student then later as a teacher, and was very active in the Old Boys Association, providing Zorro’s Notes for the Palmerstonian for many a year. Errol’s contemporaries now have a place to watch the games sheltered from Palmerston North’s gentle westerlies. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all Old Boys to visit the school when in town, whether it be to see how the school has changed, or to watch a sporting or cultural performance. I would also like to extend an invitation to the annual school prize giving ceremony, which celebrates the success of the young men of the school. It is an evening that encapsulates what we as a school are aiming to achieve and gives an insight into the vast array of opportunities and achievement of our young men. This year has seen a regular E-newsletter sent out to Old Boys on our database, which is designed to keep all Old Boys and friends of the school up-to-date with what has been going on in the school throughout each term. We hope this has proved popular and useful, partic- ularly for those living abroad. I would again like to thank John Naylor for his continued work in the role of President of the Old Boys Association. John’s support of the school is most appreciated and under his stewardship the OBA has taken a most proactive role in supporting a number of the school’s initiatives. The time he gives to the school is significant and we are lucky to have someone so committed to the role. I would also like to thank all those Old Boys on the OBA for their continued support and commitment. Indeed, my thanks go to all Old Boys of the school who give so generously of their time and support. I wish you all an enjoyable and safe summer break and all the best for 2015. Contents 1. Introduction by John Naylor and David Bovey 2. Old Boys’ Dinners 3 Old Boys’ Golf Day 4. Rugby and Cricket Reunions 5. OK Chorale Reunion 6. Recent Leaver’s Function 7. Notes on Old Boys 8. Obituaries 9. Development News and New Initiatives This year we have continued with the initiative to make greater contact with Old Boys of the School. From the feedback we have got back and from the newspaper clippings, it is tremendous to see the huge range of activities Old Boys have been involved in all around the world and the degree of success that many achieve. We hope that part of the reason for your successes goes back to your time at PNBHS - the opportunity you had here, the education inside and outside the classroom and the inculcation of values that have stood you in good stead. Of course school days are a time when many make lifelong friends. Thus the reason for our out- reach initiative is to keep you up-to-date with what is going on at the school, to let you know what your mates are up to, to keep you involved with the institution that played a significant role in your development and, for some, to enable you to put something back into the school. During this year we have sent out three email newsletters. Towards the end of 2013 the Association invested in an online CMS (Cus- tomer Management System) into which all the details we had on the old Centenary Appeal database have been placed. However, a database is only as good as its contents and much of the data we have is out of date, especially addresses and emails. This is a nightmare for any institution - keeping up-to-date, so a desperate plea from me - if you have not been getting emails and other correspondence, please let me know. I would also greatly appreciate any contact details you may have of friends and acquaintances that you might have.