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The Otago Boys' High School Foundation
PO Box 11,
Dunedin, New Zealand
Tel +64 3 477 2546
Fax +64 3 477 5468
Firstly welcome back – when I sent the last newsletter you all would’ve been recovering from too much egg-nog and Christmas ham and looking forward to a few days break before the New Year dawned. Well, here we are – back where we left off ready for another year and the challenges that no doubt lay ahead for us all.
Life at the Foundation has been busy in our first 3 weeks back and top of the agenda was welcoming our new Foundation Assistant – Debbie Billows. Debbie comes from a strong Event Management background having spent the past 15 years here in Dunedin, Auckland and Invercargill. Already she is making an impact with managing the many events we have lined up over the coming months including the Young Boys Network early February, the 1940’s Decade Reunion late February, the OBHS Foundation Golf Classic in March and the many other events and reunions throughout the year that are still in the planning stages. Whilst we welcome Debbie we bond farewell to Darlene Williams who has been with us since August last year. We wish her well with her new endeavours.
The school has been particularly quiet over the past 3 weeks but just in the last few days the familiar sound of footsteps in the hallway has sparked life back into our grand old building as teachers and office staff return to get the year underway. Of interest is the amount of young lads waiting to be interviewed for positions at the school. Last year our role sat at just over 870 students with early indications that this year it will grow to over 950. This is testament to the incredible work Mr Rennie, our senior staff, teachers, school board and PTA has done over the past few years in building the school’s reputation and continuing to position Otago Boys’ as the leading educational institution in the region.
For us at the Foundation - last year was tough so I implore those of you who have been considering joining us in partnership by becoming a Foundation Member to do so. The school is growing and with that the need for funding. Over the coming months there will be more and more opportunity for you to play your part starting with our first annual appeal in March. Please keep an eye out for this and give generously.
So there we have it – as you will see from the newsletter below we have plenty coming up in the next few months so do your best to get along and support your Old Boys’ network and the Foundation. It is a great way to catch up and reconnect with the school and in most the cost to attend is nothing – just your time.
In closing – we apologise for this month’s newsletter being so short but due to the holiday period it was hard to find appropriate material. We promise to have more stories on our Old Boys’ from around the world in February.
However, sit back and enjoy the read…
Best regards,
Douglas Kamo
CEO – OBHS Foundation
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Or call Toll Free on 0508 011 737 and quote ‘Otago Boys’ High School’
WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT – THANK YOU!
* Since the December newsletter, the following Old Boys and connections with the school have made pledges or donations and have been registered as Members of the Foundation:
We are genuinely appreciative of their continued support and belief in the Foundations objectives. If you wish to find out more about how you can make a pledge or donation please click here or contact info@obhsfoundation.co.nz
Enduring Vines
Dunedin-owned Akarua winery was one of the earliest Central Otago vineyards and David Skeggs (1976-1980) proprietor talks about the health of the industry and what the future holds.
Central Otago vineyards have gone through two distinct phases – the years when everyone thought people were made to grow grapes in those inhospitable hills, and the years when having discovered you could make gold medal-winning wine near Queenstown, everyone decided to try their luck.
Akarua Vineyards have endured through both phases – the 50ha Bannockburn property was one of the earliest wine companies in the area, and remains one of the regions best-known producers. Now with around 65 neighbours for company in Central Otago, plus a host of contract growers, the industry is at the point where only the fittest will survive.
Some 18 months ago David told his father – former Dunedin Mayor Sir Clifford Skeggs – that the vineyard needed some hands-on attention to turn it into a money-making enterprise which has resulted in Skeggs overseeing the hiring of a new winemaker- multiple medal-winner Matt Connell – and rebranding exercise.
A lot of vineyards in Central Otago had been struggling, so we decided we needed to freshen things up and have a bit of a change, to put some more time into it so from an ownership point of view we could make sure we get a return on our investments.
With more than 60 wineries, 80+ growers and approximately 140 wine labels, Central Otago wines have boomed in recent years – thanks to no small part to the astonishing quality of the region’s pinot noir.
Luck?
Roger Kan (1947-1952) was feeling lucky yesterday. "A dracaena in our lounge flowered and my old uncle always said to buy a Lotto ticket when a dracaena flowers, because it's lucky," 
he said. But, Mr Kan is a special breed of sportsman and would much rather catch a big salmon than win Lotto.
"I knew it was my lucky day, so we took the boat out about 8am." Two hours later, he had landed a shiny 4.5kg salmon off Port Chalmers. "It's my first for the season. I'm very happy," he said.
Mr Kan, who is blind, is the chairman of the Dunedin Community Salmon Trust, which was established at Sawyers Bay two years ago to create a salmon-rearing facility to supply smolt for Otago Harbour. "It seems to be improving every year. There's a lot of krill in the water at the moment and there are quite a few salmon running."
Mr Kan's wife, Jessie, said landing a big fish never failed to thrill her husband. "He was just like a little boy when he came home. He was so excited about his fish. But he's always like that when he gets a fish," she said.
Forward Thinking
The forward thinking of Forbury Park Trotting Club members half a century ago shone through last night as the club celebrated 50 years since lights were switched on at the historic track.
But for Viv Anngow (1939-1941), it was horses - especially horses that won races - that were behind his continued attendance. 
Mr Anngow was at Forbury Park on January 27, 1961, and clearly plenty of times in the interim, at a club that general manager Paul Knowles said had benefited from the decision to spend 20,000 to install electric lighting.
Mr Knowles said it was significant the club had managed to last as long as it had. "It was definitely forward thinking 50 years ago," he said. The lights were used about 20 times a year, and were particularly important for picking up winter racing.
Mr Anngow (85) was a member of the club in 1961, went on to become a committee member, served two terms as president of the trotting club, and turned up last night for the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the lights.
He did not have strong memories of the night the lights went on, but was clear about why the club had been a part of his life for so long. It's just a love of horses," he said of his continued attendance. And Mr Anngow's passion should last into the future, he said, with his daughter, grandson and great grandchildren all involved in racing.
Donations Gratefully Received
After his father died in a farm accident last year, Antony Nichol (1988-1992) wanted to thank the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter crew for their help and support in the best way he knew how - donating the proceeds from the sale of five lambs to the helicopter rescue trust.
Alan Bruce Nichol (62) (1962-1965) died on Abbotsford Station in the Lee Stream area after 
being run over by his truck, which he had parked on a slight incline while attending to livestock, on December 8.
He was found by his son who immediately set off an emergency locator beacon, triggering a rescue helicopter crew call-out.
"They were first on the spot," Mr Nichol said.
To pay back the gesture, and recognise the relationship the Nichol family has with helicopter staff, and Helicopters Otago, he decided "we had to do something". Five lambs were sold to PGG Wrightson Otago for $900, which was given to the Otago Rescue Helicopter Trust this week. Rabobank, Peter Lyon Shearing and Desborough Pasture Consulting boosted the donation to about $1500.
Paramedic Doug Flett said the gesture had "sad circumstances behind it", but the money would go towards an iPad for the helicopter, which would be used as an easier and more efficient way to access topographical maps and charts while flying.
Receiving money from the sale of lambs was "a little bit different", but the offer was "very generous", as the trust relied on donations from the community to help continue its work.
PGG Wrightson Otago regional manager Grant Edwards said his company bought the lambs in part because it was a great cause, but also out of respect for the Nichol family, long and established clients of the stock and station firm.
If you find a story on an OB’s Old Boy share it with us all!
Send it to info@obhsfoundation.co.nz and we will do our best to include it in the next newsletter.
Recently the OBHS Foundation received an email requesting some information on an Old Boy who attended the school in 1889. It came from the Alumni Manager at Brighton College in the United Kingdom and on digging through our archives found out that Major Frank Holmes (1889) also known as "Abu Naft" (the father of oil in Arabicl) was instrumental in finding and developing the oil wells in the Middle East.
A British Geologist, he was born on a farm in Southland New Zealand in 1874, and attended Otago Boys' High School, Dunedin in 1888-89.
He worked in a South African gold mine and for two decades was an itinerant mining engineer, specializing in gold and tin, all around the world. During World War I, he was a quartermaster in the British Army.
In the period after World War I, oil had been discovered in southern Persia (now Iran). Ibn Saud of Arabia sent a representative to London to persuade the British to drill in Arabia, but there were no takers. British Geologists had concluded there was no oil in that part of Arabia.
Defeated, the representative was ready to return when he was introduced to Major Holmes, who was intrigued with the possibility of oil in the region, and had helped set up the Eastern and General Syndicate in London to investigate. In 1923 he persuaded the Sheik of Bahrein to give him an oil concession in exchange for drilling drinking wells, which were badly needed by the nation. He then employed five of the best geologists in Europe, and spent years trying to persuade English oil barons to take a chance on a favourable report from one of those geologists. All turned him down. In 1924 he also obtained an oil concession from the Sheik of Kuwait.
Finally, Holmes asked the British whether they would waive their treaty rights and let him try to interest American capital. They assented, and Holmes went to the Gulf Oil Corporation, headed by Andrew Mellon. The company sent one of its own geologists to Bahrain, who reported two spots which were excellent prospects. However, Gulf called the deal off after Mellon was appointed Ambassador to England, to avoid political complications.
Gulf offered to help Holmes negotiate with another company. He tried first to re-interest the English, pointing to the favorable report of the Gulf geologist, but the British insisted there was no oil in Bahrein. Standard Oil purchased Gulf's interest in the concession for $50,000, and went on to hit oil in June 1932.
1940’s Old Boys’ Recollections
As part of the registration process for the 1940’s Decade Reunion (to be held 21, 22 February 2011) we asked our Old Boys’ to write a profile on their memories of attending Otago Boys. This makes for great reading so we thought we would share some of these memories with our extended network of Old Boys’.
“Getting bawled out – socks not up to my knees as I came through the main gate” (Bill Trevathan 1944-45)
“During this period World War II was going on which caused all sorts of staffing problems. We had a lot of retired teachers , but with Rector Kidson in charge, the School made it through this very difficult period” (B Duncan 1941-1945)
“Chipping my new school hat badge on the archway to make it look as though I was not a 3rd former” (Watson Barkman 1943-1947)
Great memories of boarding at Campbell House – the dorm water bomb raids, dorm midnight feasts, the early morning runs around Littlebourne and sneaking down to the pie cart in the last night of the term” (Trevor Watson 1941-1945)
A True Magician
On Friday 21st January at the Taieri Golf Club, Jonathan Usher (1983-1987), after hacking his way around the course, finally regained the honor of the tee on the 17th after parring the previous hole.
The 17th is a par 3 of approximately 131 metres – a strong northerly breeze up his backside; he pulled a pitching wedge out of his bag. Upon striking the ball, Mr Usher, Strang and Barker were all of the opinion that the shot would be short, but to our amazement, it pitched on the green, bounced a couple of times and rolled into the hole to complete the “perfect” shot! Much yelling and yahooing around followed.
After the round Jonathan was having, Barker and Strang are now both of the belief that Mr Usher does possess magical powers – there is no other possible way it could have happened!
It is still not too late to register for what will be a wonderful occasion which will see our Old Boys’ from the decade of 1940 return to their school some 60 to 70 years on.
The reunion is scheduled for 21 & 22 February 2011 to coincide with the Christ College interschool & 125th anniversary cricket match between the two foes.
Interest in this reunion is outstanding with 109 Old Boys’ and 52 partner/companions pre-registered to date.
A reminder – the completed registration form together with payment is due Monday 31 January 2011
If you require a registration form, please email admin@obhsfoundation.co.nz or call the Foundation office on +64 3 477 2546.
REGISTERED SINCE LAST NEWSLETTER 9
TOTAL REGISTRATIONS TO DATE 455
MAKE SURE YOU ARE PART OF THIS
HISTORICAL EVENT BY REGISTERING NOW!
Contact the Foundation admin@obhsfoundation.co.nz with ‘Register 150th’ in the subject line or a call +64 3 477 2546, and leave a message. Include your full name and years of attendance.
We have compiled a bevy of outstanding activities during the months of February, March & April and all you need to do is put aside an hour or two of your time, register your attendance, and get along to enjoy some great networking and socialising opportunities.
We begged Dunedin Venue Management to let us have a tour of the Forsyth Barr Stadium in February. We had the right amount of weight and bias in convincing Balmacewen Bowling Club to let us use their green for a roll up. And we struck the jackpot with Dunedin Casino agreeing to host an exclusive free Blackjack Tournament.
FORSYTH BARR STADIUM VISIT
Dunedin Venue Management Ltd has agreed to give us an exclusive viewing of the stadium just five months out from its grand opening! Join us for a tour around New Zealand’s largest indoor stadium and gain inside knowledge on how this magnificent structure is coming together. Following the tour join us at Innocent Bystanders for a jar or two, nibbles and a chance to catch up with old school mates.
When: Wednesday 2 February 2011
Time: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Where: Forsyth Barr Stadium & Innocent Bystanders (Corner Octagon & Lower Stuart Street)
Cost: Cash bar at Innocent Bystanders - Nibbles supplied
ROLL UP@ BALMACEWEN BOWLING CLUB
Join us for a roll up and a bloody good laugh as you try to take out the 'Young Boys' Singles Master Bowls' title. With tongue firmly in cheek and measuring callipers in your pocket we invite you to play a few ends at the Balmacewen Bowling Club, enjoy a couple of cheap jugs, a BBQ and plenty of 'bias' remarks as your old school mates do their best to become the next 'Young Boys' Singles Master'. Guaranteed to be a great evening!
When: Wednesday 2 March 2011
Time: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Where: Balmacewen Bowling Club, Balmacewen Road, Dunedin
Cost: $10 (to cover venue, coaches, bowls hire and BBQ) -Cash bar will operate
DUNEDIN CASINO 'GAME ON' NIGHT!
This will prove popular so register early!
Dunedin Casino will host our 'Young Boys' After Work Detention' in April with a Blackjack Tournament. Numbers are limited so be one of the first to register and you could be playing for the title of 'OB's Gambling Shark 2011'. If you've never played before - don't worry, the team at Dunedin Casino will be there to lend expert advice .Get along for a fun, friendly, competitive evening and support your Old Boys' network.
When: Wednesday 6 April 2011
Time: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Where: Dunedin Casino, 118 High Street, Dunedin
Cost: No Cost. Free drink on arrival. Nibbles will be provided. Cash bar will operate.
To register for any or all of these events please email admin@obhsfoundation.co.nz.
The 2011 tournament is fast approaching and as with the last five tournaments this one is as popular as ever!
We want to ensure you are given every opportunity to hold you place early so within this document you will find out the necessary information to get involved.
The tournament date has been set as FRIDAY 18 MARCH 2011.
If you wish to hold your place in this years tournament please contact the Foundation Administrator or 03 477 2546 or email admin@obhsfoundation.co.nz. This tournament is all but full, will only a small number of spaces left available (3 hole sponsors and 6 team entries), so register your interest now to avoid disappointment.
No fees are required now as we will invoice you closer to the time. If your situation changes – please let us know so we can release the spot to other interested parties.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to hosting you at the 6th OBHS Foundation Annual Ambrose Golf Classic.
The Windsor Castle in Parnell will hold DETENTION (Drinks & Nibbles) for all our Auckland based Old Boys this month!
It has been a long time between drinks for our Auckland based Old Boys' so we felt it high time we got you all back together for a catch up.
Otago Boys High School Foundation CEO - Doug Kamo will be there to spread the good word about your school, to discuss the potential of establishing an Old Boys' Chapter in Auckland, give an update on what the Foundation is doing to assist your school and all the gossip about what's happening in Dunedin.
This is a great chance to catch up with old school mates, network with other like-minded individuals and make new contacts.
F & B Voucher courtesy of the Windsor Castle!
When: Thursday 24 February 2011
Time: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
Where The Windsor Castle, 144 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland
Cost:$10 per person - Nibbles Supplied - Cash Bar will operate
To register for this event please email admin@obhsfoundation.co.nz.
All Foundation card holders receive 5 cents per litre discountto the national pump price for petrol and diesel. Discounted petrol and diesel can be purchased at all BP,RD Petroleumand most Gasoline Alley retail sites along with Truck Stops.
HOW IT WORKS:
If today the national price for a litre of 91 octane is $1.729 cents. The cost to you would be $1.679 cents. If on the West Coast 91 is currently priced at $1.909 cents per litre and on the Coromandel Peninsula it’s sitting at $1.959 cents per litre – those with Foundation fuel cards will still pay $1.679 cents per litre. That’s a 28 cpl saving!
This offer is open to all Otago Boys' High School - Old Boys', staff, parents of a student and their immediate family members so please pass this on to a New Zealand based family member you think may well benefit from joining the program.
There is an annual fee of $20.00 + GST per card of which $10.00 comes directly back to the Foundation in the form of a donation from RD Petroleum. On top of this RD Petroleum gifts 0.05 cents for every litre poured. There are no additional transaction fees.
Cards are linked to a bank account with all payments being made by direct debit. Fuel bought one month will be billed for the 20th of the following month. Card holders will receive an invoice giving ample notification of the amount to be debited against their account.
If interested in joining please download the appropriate forms below and return directly to RD Petroleum, PO Box 1487, Christchurch 8140 or if you have any queries call them on 0800 44 00 14.
Important:
Individual Application – Click here
Limited Companies Application – Click here
We extend our condolences to the families of the following Old Boys:
Ray Campbell (1933-1935) passed away on 7 January 2011 in Dunedin.
Dr Ken Laing (1934-39) passed away on 18 January 2011 in Christchurch
Dr John Wilson (1965-1969) passed away on 28 December 2010 in Dunedin
We also extend our sympathies to:
Stuart McFarlane (1975-1979) whose father Ivan passed away on the 28th December 2010.
Peter and Murray McLachlan (1971-1979) whose father John passed away on the 7th January 2011 at Fulton Home, Dunedin.
Bruce Findlater (1956) whose father Bruce passed away on the 12th January 2011 in Dunedin.
Jack Ingram (1934-1941) whose wife Carmel passed away on 10 January 2011.
Newsletter researched by Debbie Billows and compiled Douglas Kamo
The OBHS Foundation greatly acknowledges the support of the Otago Daily Times
from which many of the photo’s in this publication are sourced.
The Otago Boys’ High School Foundation acknowledges the assistance it receives from
Konica Minolta with all of its office printing requirements
