NEWSLETTER TO THE OLD GE ELONG COLLEGIANS ' AS SOCI ATION No. 15 Reg istered at th e G.P.O. Melbourn e for t ra nsmi ss io n by post as a periodi ca l Sept. 1966 numbe rs available, as we ll as the strange changes wh ich had occurred in some o f the vo ices. M emory had a lso to be stirred. MORRISON HALL From both meetings and from the wid e worl d outside, O ld Boys In our last issue o f "Ad Astra" we gave deta il s of the " new Morrison fl ocked a t 6.00 p.m. to Aberdeen House in search of refreshme nt. Ha ll " , and the pa rt played by Pa rents, many of the m Old Co ll egians, T hi s was easil y found by those able to move in spite of t he crush, a nd a nd Fri ends in ra isin g the necessa ry funds for its extension and ma ny acqua intancesh ips were re newed. modernisation. From Aberdeen House to t he Co ll ege Dining Hall in search of mo re Si nce Apri l, D.A. Const ructions Pty. Ltd., with whom t he contract solid refreshment. Here N.rs. Cloke and staff had acquitted t hemselves for the a lte ra t io ns has bee n placed, have commenced work on the nobly, and the 187 dine rs enjoyed a sumpt uous repast. T he installation first stage, whi ch is to com plete the externa l reconstructi on a nd the of the new Presid ent, Eri c Cook, was fo ll owed by his presidential upper fl oor o f the Assembly Hall . The Cl ock Towe r a nd Fl ag Pole address, in wh ich he proposed the toast of the Geelong College. Mr. rapid ly di sappeared, as our photogra ph shows, under the heavy blows Thwaites responded in pl ace o f Si r Arthur Coles, who was reg rettably of a huge meta l ba ll swin g ing f rom the end of a crane a nd used as a absent through illness. ba tteri ng ram, and a lready, the p ill a rs of the new building a re slowly At this stage it has been customa ry to have a guest speaker, but creeping skywa rds. this yea r there was a d eparture fro m the normal. We had a special guest, G. Logie Smith, who led a t roupe of Old Boys, al ready refe rred to in a numbe r of items from the Gil bert a nd Sull ivan operas. He p r ~s i de d at the pi ano and urged a nd conducted f ro m t he re. Pe rhaps the word " presided" goes too fa r, because at t imes he was t reated wi th considerable irreverence by the compere, Bill Rogers, and the vario us sin gers, who re li shed this opportunity to do what t hey wou ld not have da red to do some twenty to t h irty years ago. However, despite fa lse • sta rts a nd missin g parts, the troupe sai led ga ily t h roug h a large number ~ I of selections from the operas. Pe rhaps W . S. Gilbert or Sir A rthu r "T 0 ever yfh ing :;u lli van would not have approved of a ll the li berties taken with words and mus ic, but the rest d the gathering seemed to approve, and lent thei r voices as well as thei r ears. Afte r all, many of them had taken fhere IS a season, pa rt in several of the productions. A ltoget her a n in novation which was . a fime f o apprec iated, a nd a very happy endi ng to Old Boys' Day . W hy was the attendance so good in com parison with other years? Perhaps the Gil bert a nd Sull iva n reviva l had someth ing to do with it . break d own , an d a T he annua l pe rformances of the Gl ee Club used to bring ma ny O ld Boys fro m nea r a nd fa r. Pe rhaps the recent reorganiza t ion of the O.G. fime f o bui ld up." c.A. had something to do with it. As a result of t his, O ld Boys have certa inl y been reminded that l;,ey a re c irizens of no mean city. Several Yea r Reunions have been he ld, one very successful one on ly the day be fore. If the new organization is seen, not on ly as a money-raising gimmick, but also as a means of bringi ng Old Boys c loser togethe r, this is a good thing and the better attendance is a very good sign. President"s Column As I commence my term of administration of an Association The second stage of the development will in volve a lte ration to the office, I would like to thank you such as ours. Howeve r, nearly all g round fl oor, and the general landscaping a nd pa ving of the a rea all for the confidence you have of us can assist the committee by . n med iate ly surrounding the Ha ll . This, however, will have to be shown in me by electing me as replying to our Year Chairman's deferred until a lternat ive accommodation is ava ilable for the nume rous your President; it is indeed an letters, and by helping to provide rooms, such as chang ing rooms, prefect rooms and band room, which honour and one which I value the financial backing for the things a t present a re housed on the g round fl oor. These facilities, it is hoped, highly. During my term as Pre- which have been planned for the will be provided in the new Ro ll and Centre. Those Old Co ll egians who sident I hope I shall have the betterment of our school. were perhaps present at t he layin g of the foundation stone of the Mor­ I pleasure of meeting many of you, Everyone of us must now be ri son Ha ll on the 6th Oc tober, 19 11 , will be pl eased to hear that, and trust that when you are in or aware of the offer made by the when thi s stone was recently moved in connection with the alte rations, near Geelong, you will find a few Association to the College Council the va rio us records pl aced under it to commemo rate the occas ion, were minutes to spare to visit The to finance the building of the in an exce ll ent sta te of preserva t io n. The records consisted of- The College. Rolland Memorial Cent re. This Gee long Advertiser, The M e lbourne Arg us, assorted coins and va ri ous I would also like to express my surely is a tremendous challenge, Geelong Co ll ege Jubilee Noti ces. These, togethe r with current records, thanks to all of you who attended and Old Collegians throughout the have been sea led in a lead contai ner a nd p la ced once aga in under the Old Boys' Day on Saturday, 25th history of the Association have foundation stone. The re is no in d icatio n as yet whe re the cloc k tower and flag pole will be repositioned. The clock is a t present be ing exam­ June, and helped to make my first never failed to accept a challenge. ined by the ma ke rs to see whether it is in a satisfactory state of repair, duty in "the chair" such a memor- Those who knew Sir Francis will while the fl ag po le has been fixed tem pora ril y on top of the Sports able one. The Annual Meeting readily agree that no greater per­ Pavilion. was very well attende d, and the son could be honoured by us. To service at St. David's, which was those of you who could not poss­ conducted by The College Chap- ibly have known him, please accept lain, the Reverend Jack Bentley, the assurance that no man has Old BoysJ Day, 1966 with Mr. Bill Martin, Director of done more for our school - and Music, at the organ, will I hope therefore you - or for education The Annua l Re union of the O.G.c.A. was he ld on Sa turday, 25th become a traditional part of our in Australia, than our late Head­ June, a nd was I he most successful since t he Ce ntena ry yea r, both in Annual Reunion. master; and the honours bestowed numbers a tte nd in g a nd in the enjoyme nt provided. The success of our Annual Re- upon him by the nation and the It got off to a good sta rt in the a fte rnoon with an exce ll ent, we ll ­ union was, I feel, largely due to church testify to the high regard foug ht footba ll match wi th Caulfie ld Grammar School, in which the the renewed interest being shown in which he was held. He was Co ll ege team showed that they rea li sed the ir responsibilities by notching in the Association, and its acti- a man who dreamed and saw a victo ry .