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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
RD fuel card
* The Foundation has entered into a partnership with RD Petroleum which opens the way for a 5½-plus cents per litre discount on petrol and diesel.
All Old Boys, their families, work colleagues and friends are able to take advantage of this offer with the Foundation also benefiting through a rebate from RD – so it’s very much a win/win/win situation.
There are no set-up or annual fees associated with the cards nor are there any transaction fees. Fuel can be purchased at all BP and Gasoline Alley outlets and Truck Stops throughout New Zealand with the discount applying to the main centre pump price. Those buying fuel in more far-flung areas – the likes of the South Island’s West Coast and hinterland or the Coromandel Peninsula – will benefit even more, saving up to 28 cents a litre.
Please contact Steve Davie (03/4778977, 027/4370335, info@obhsfoundation.co.nz) if you wish to receive the appropriate forms.
Two of our Old Boys based overseas have sent a timely reminder of New Zealand’s prices – Andrew Clark (1977-81), living in Texas, reports the locals are complaining about the price of petrol which is now $US2.89 a gallon which equates to about $NZ1 per litre. And Peter Blair (1978-82), who is in Dubai, notes petrol retails at 49 New Zealand cents per litre, costing him about $25 to fill his Honda Accord. Bottled water is more expensive in Dubai than petrol!
Foundation members
* Since the October newsletter, the following Old Boys and connections with the school have made pledges or donations and have been registered as Members of the Foundation –
Pledges and donations have now passed $750,000.
It’s a small world
* Jock Anderson (1961-64), perhaps better known to some at school as Russell Gray Reid Anderson, is a career journalist.
He is currently the editor of the new Truth and also operates the internet site – www.caseload.co.nz
Jock and fellow Old Boy Jim Mora (1967-71) addressed the latest gathering of the Auckland branch of the Old Boys’ Society earlier in the month at the University of Otago premises in the Queen City. Among Jock’s tales was this:
I made a day trip to Tirau (the corrugated iron and antiques township on Highway 1, south of Cambridge) the other weekend, just for a bit of a look around, grab a beer and generally be nosy.
My girlfriend and I were rummaging through some old stuff in an antique shop and I noticed a book case.
I looked through the books – several were about the West Coast – before coming on a copy – in near mint condition – of the Old Boys’ Centennial Register. It was a snip at $30.
When I got it home I found inside a handwritten note, on Otago High School Old Boys’ Society letterhead, from J.O. Lucas, Convenor of the Register Committee, dated March 4, 1963, urging the sending of a two pound cheque before the closing date of March 15 to ensure obtaining a copy. Mr Lucas had also sent a copy of a circular, dated September 6, 1962, explaining the many fascinating topics in the Register.
Unfortunately, I cannot decipher the name of the person Mr Lucas was writing to – it may have been a Mr or Miss Neale, or Nale, or a name like that.
The note shows that a cheque for two pounds and sixpence was sent on 6/3/63 to secure a copy of the Register, which I now have.
A small world.
Dinner with Merv Hughes
* DVDs of last month’s Foundation biennial dinner are available for purchase at a cost of $20.
The DVD features the full evening’s entertainment – magician Jonathan Usher, guest speaker Merv Hughes and the race call. If you wish to purchase a copy, please contact the Foundation office.
Congratulations
* John Matheson (1964-68) has plenty to smile about.
A Rhodes Scholar in 1975, Dr Matheson – a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, based in Dunedin – completes the first half of a rare family double.
His daughter, Dr Julia Matheson, has been awarded the same scholarship, making the pair just the second father-child combination in the history of New Zealand Rhodes scholars and the first featuring University of Otago graduates. The first such duo comprised Justice William David Baragwanath (1964) and his daughter Emily Baragwanath (2001), both Auckland University graduates.
Julia Matheson, a house surgeon at Dunedin Hospital, is also an accomplished singer and musician who last year won the Emily Hancock Siedeberg Memorial Prize as the university’s top female medical student. The scholarship will allow her to pursue clinical researchand she plans to study for a MSc in integrated immunology and a DPhil in surgery at Oxford next year.
Julia’s scholarship capped a good week for John with him being elected president of the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association.
Seven Otago Boys’ High School Old Boys have won Rhodes Scholarships with three of New Zealand’s first four recipients coming from the school. The full list is – James Allan Thomson (1904 – Geology), Robert Alexander Farquharson (1906 – Geology), Colin MacDonald Gilray (1907 – Literature), Norman Davis (1934 – English), Lester Francis Moller (1935 – Law), John Alexander Matheson (1975 – Medicine), John Navid Danesh (1992 – Medicine).
* There has been a changing of the guard at Scott Technology in Dunedin with one Old Boy being replaced by another.
After 32 years as its chairman — a term understood to be one of the longest in the country – Graeme Marsh (1947-51) has stood down, the reins now in the hands of Stuart McLauchlan (1971-75).
Graeme, who is the Otago Boys’ High School Foundation’s Patron, joined Scott in 1969 as a director and six years later became its chairman. He indicated two years ago he would retire as a director before completion of his term of chairman and will formally step down at the annual shareholder meeting in Dunedin on December 6th.
He has a long and distinguished career in business. Beginning as an accountant with Sinclair and Haig, and later a partner, Graeme had early investments in ice cream businesses; bought Cooke Howlison Motors; took a controlling interest in J and A P Scott which became Scott Technology, followed by the purchase of Blackwell Motors in Christchurch; took a controlling interest in John Edmond and was managing director and chairman of rope manufacturer Donaghys.
Many of the companies, spanning from the late 1960s to late 1980s were merged or bought out, while Scott Technology was floated in 1987. Scott Technology manufactures and exports production lines from its Christchurch site around the world and in Dunedin concentrates on research and development into a meat processing robotics joint venture with meat company PPCS.
Graeme has also served on the University of Otago council, been a director on the Dunedin City Council’s subsidiary holding company and with Mercy Hospital, and established the Cooke Howlison Community Trust while overseeing private family companies Oakwood Securities and Oakwood Properties.
In 1995 he was awarded a CBE for services to business and the community in the Queens Birthday Honours List and was also named Deloittes - Management Executive of the Year.
Stuart, a businessman and accountant based in Dunedin, is a member of the University of Otago council and is currently chairman of the Highlanders’ rugby franchise. He also has directorships with Scenic Circle, Dunedin Casino and the Dunedin City Council’s subsidiaries City Forests, City Bus, Aurora, Delta and Dunedin International Airport.
Where are they now?
* David Pine (1957-61) recently attended the reunion of the 1957 intake along with his wife Margaret - and thoroughly enjoyed the companionship of school mates, many of whom he hadn’t seen for almost half a century.
In fact, David was so enthused by the re-assembly, he wrote an article in the New Zealand Insurance Journal.
He has given us permission to reproduce that contribution here:
Most of us are happy when our college days are over, so that we can get on with the business of life. We tend not to give our college much thought after we have left.
Last weekend Margaret and I attended a reunion of my college, Otago Boys’ High School (OBHS) in Dunedin. The format of the reunion was interesting in that only those who started at the school in 1957, 50 years ago, were invited. The result was that everyone at the reunion was the same age. My college days weren’t the happiest of my life and so I had made the decision to attend with some trepidation. I needn’t have worried.
Of the 200 boys who started at OBHS that year, about 30 of us turned up to the reunion. I’d kept in touch with only a handful of them over the years so it was the first time I’d seen most of them for about 46 years. Back then, we were only just getting started with our lives, and now here we all were approaching retirement. Some of the guys I recalled as being quite brilliant young men at school, and these ones had indeed gone on to great things. For example, among our number we had two surgeons, two judges and three dentists. The rest of us were spread among a wide array of occupations, from retail to property development, and from IT to insurance.
There were two things that struck me about this gathering.
Firstly, no one cared what others had done for a living. We were all just glad to be there, to find out what everyone had been up to, and to remember the good things that had happened to us at college. Secondly, with the benefit of hindsight, we were all extremely grateful for what we had learned at OBHS and how we had grown.
One of the guys mentioned that a teacher who was retiring had said to him “Work hard, be humble’. At the time he thought “Oh yeah, yeah, so what?” Much later, he realised the significance of this simple piece of advice.
While at the reunion we were encouraged to make donations to the school – via the Otago Boys’ High School Foundation – to ensure its ongoing development. Government funding goes only so far, and even a public school like OBHS needs a lot of additional support to stay ahead of the game. Many of us have decided to help out as best we can. When you think about it, high quality education is the best insurance for the future of New Zealand.
Perhaps it’s time for you to think about giving something back to your old school. They will be glad of your help.
David (BBS, CLU) was with AMP for 28 years until 2001, when he chose to become independent. At that time, he set up the Pine Financial Group which he operates with Margaret. He is a past president of the NZ AMP Agents Association and of the NZ Insurance and Investment Advisers Association, and is a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table.
Recent deaths
* We extend our condolences to the families of the following Old Boys –
Peter Murray Meldrum (1968-71), died in Sydney in mid-September 2007, aged 53.
Lester Norman Cannon (1951), died in Dunedin on 10th October 2007, aged 71.
Doric (Alfred Doric) Mabon (1946-51), died in Oamaru on 11th October 2007, aged 74. Doric was a retired secondary school principal and was the brother of John Mabon (1946-51) and Alexander Mabon (1948-53).
Ross McLean Broadbent (1927-30), died in Christchurch on 12th October 2007, aged 93. Ross worked in the finance industry, spending many years with the Bank of New Zealand before an involvement with private business. He was the treasurer of the North Canterbury (Christchurch) branch of the Old Boys’ Society and was made a Life Member of that branch. Ross was the son of John Leslie Broadbent (1903-04), the brother of Lawrence Keith McLean Broadbent (1928-30) and the uncle of Lewis Keith Broadbent (1963-67).
Andrew Forrester McLay (1932-36), died in Waimate on 16th October 2007, aged 87. Andrew was prominent in local body politics and was a former Mayor of Waimate, being awarded the MBE in 1985 for services to local government.
John Christopher Albert Vickers (1940-41), died at Karitane on 21st October 2007, aged 81. John is the brother of Graeme Vickers (1947-51). Graeme is a Friend of the Foundation.
Jim (James Merrett) Wilkinson (1936-39), died in Timaru on 27th October 2007.
Stuart (Thomas Kay Stuart) Sidey (1922-25), died in Wanaka on 28th October 2007, aged 99. Stuart served as the Mayor of Dunedin between 1959 and 1965 and was a Dunedin city councillor between 1947 and 1963. He was a prominent businessman, was active in many facets of the city’s life including 36 years with the University of Otago Council, serving as both pro-chancellor and chancellor, and also proved successful as a race horse owner and breeder. Stuart was also a Senior Fellow of the Foundation.
Les Alpine (1943-44), died at Raumati Beach on 3rd November 2007, aged 80. Les was a retired secondary school teacher with most of his service with Wellington College and Kapiti College at Raumati. He finished his career with an eight year involvement at the New Zealand Correspondence School. Les was a Friend of the Foundation.
* We also extend our sympathies to –
Alex Restieaux (1963-67) whose father Les died in Dunedin on 11th October 2007.
Warwick Connor (1974-78) whose father Robin died in Dunedin on 11th October 2007.
John Boardman (1951-56) whose mother Inez died in Dunedin on 13th October 2007, aged 101.
Colin Boswell (1955-59) and Duncan Boswell (1959-63) on the death of their mother Lettie in Dunedin on 14th October 2007, aged 102.
Adrian Thyne (1984-85) whose father Pat died in Dunedin on 15th October 2007.
Alan Forrester (1952-54) whose brother Douglas died in Dunedin on 16th October 2007. Douglas was the brother-in-law of Barry Russell (1949-53).
Ian Barker (1958-61) whose mother-in-law Margaret Crawford died in Dunedin on 19th October 2007.
Stephen Hinds (1973-77) whose father Ken died in Dunedin on 23rd October 2007.
Adam Gavegan (2005) whose grandmother Val died in Dunedin on 25th October 2007.
Don Lawson (1955-58) whose wife Patricia died at Brighton on 29th October 2007.
Brian Coulter (1950-51) whose mother Jean died in Dunedin on 4th November 2007.
Stuart Sykes (1977-79) whose mother June died in Dunedin on 5th November 2007.
Steve Davie
Chief Executive
