Update Your Profile
By Filling In This Form
Update Your Profile
By Filling In This Form
The Otago Boys' High School Foundation
PO Box 11,
Dunedin, New Zealand
Tel +64 3 477 2546
Fax +64 3 477 5468
Otago Boys’ High School Foundation
September 2011 - Newsletter
Greetings to all Old Boys
I’m sure you’d all be disappointed if I didn’t mention the rugby – hasn’t the excitement and hype around the Rugby World Cup been great? Not only with the skill levels on the field from the top teams and the minnows alike, but also off the field with both local and visiting fans really enjoying the camaraderie and fun of the tournament. I know my wife Pauline and I have made great friends with a couple from the UK, after a chance meeting in Invercargill after the Scotland-Romania game and then having hosted them back here in Dunedin on a couple of occasions since. They are rugby mad, and each very passionate about their team – the thing being that she’s a Scot and he’s from England! I’m just sorry they’ve moved north now, and we won’t get to see the antics when England plays Scotland on 1 October!
And there’s been camaraderie at School this month as well – one of the real bonuses of this job is enabling Old Boys to connect, both with their old School and also with each other. This was evident during the month at a cocktail function at School, where a dozen or so Old Boys from the Class Year of 1971 gathered. It was great to hear some of the stories they told (absolutely no embellishment of course!) and to see the delight on the faces as old friends were greeted, some for the first time in almost 40 years. As this newsletter is being published, we are about to host 16 Old Boys from 1961 and some of their wives for a weekend back at School – I’m sure the mixing and mingling will be just as much fun for them as it was for the 1971 Old Boys a few weeks ago.
Enabling you to make that connection back to School is a key focus for the Foundation – we need to ensure that the pupils of today are given the chance to leave School feeling the same pride in their association with Otago Boys’ as we did in the past, and which many of the Old Boys coming back decades later for reunions still exhibit. To do this effectively, the work the Foundation is doing to support the School is vital, and in turn your support of the Foundation is equally vital. So, if you’re amongst the 95% or so of Old Boys who haven’t yet made the decision to add your financial support to the School through the Foundation, I urge you to act now, and make that pledge. Every amount makes a difference, if are to truly “provide for the Otago Boys’ of the future”.
Now, just to return to the rugby theme for a moment, I wonder how many other schools around the world can claim that not only do they have three Old Boys playing in the RWC2011, but playing for three different countries? All the best to three members of the 1997 First XV: Filipo Levi (1997-1998) – Samoa, Tom Palmer (1996-1997) – England, and (if I’m allowed to exercise a little editorial licence here), go the All Blacks and Richie McCaw (1994-1998)!!
Regards
Andrew Moffat - Acting CEO
Which Class Year Is Winning the Appeal Race to Have A
Scholarship Named In Their Honour?
The Annual Appeal was launched two months ago and we have now received just over $29,000 in donations from Old Boys in Class Years ranging from 1927 to 2008.
The Class Years with donations from the most Old Boys are as follows:
1st Equal
1947 and 1954 Class Years with 12 donations each
2nd
1950 Class Year with 11 donations
3rd Equal
1951 & 1959 Class Years with 10 donations each
So far we’ve had nearly 300 responses from the 6,500 appeal letters that were sent so if you’ve received the letter but just haven’t quite got round to doing something about it yet, we’d really appreciate you getting behind Otago Boys’ very first Annual Appeal
Let’s show the boys from 1947 and 1954 that they face stiff competition for top slot!. Please contact the Foundation or go to www.raisethechorus.co.nz for your chance to make a difference.
Imagine what can be achieved if just half of those 6,500 Old Boys contribute to the Appeal
Congratulations to the OBHS Foundation team for their ongoing work in putting together this excellent monthly newsletter. The Foundation has also taken over the role of administering the school alumni database and much of the day to day affairs of the Old Boys’ Society. Together we are now so much better placed than ever before to make a real difference to our Old Boys and to the school.
The ‘Raise the Chorus’ Annual Appeal fundraising campaign is a great initiative and I encourage you to make a donation, higher than the value of your class year, with all proceeds going directly back to the school. The Society has not called for subs for the last couple of years so please send a cheque to the Foundation today as a vote of thanks for their work and to support the Society and the present day boys.
Watch this space as we will soon be holding a luncheon or cocktail function to celebrate the amazing achievements of our Life Governor Brigadier (Dr) Brian McMahon who recently won the award of ‘ANZAC of the Year’. Brian is an engaging speaker and an all-round good bloke who has accepted our invitation to share his story with you.
Best Wishes
Brent Alexander
President OBHS Old Boys’ Society
The OBHS Parents’ Association would like to invite you to an evening of cooking and culinary conversation with Dunedin’s own Master Chef Stu Todd….Stu was 3rd in this year’s New Zealand Master Chef competition and will be in the School Auditorium at 7pm on Friday 18 November 2011.
Finger food will be provided, there will be raffles for sale, and you can take the recipes home afterwards. The ticket price includes a complimentary glass of wine or juice, and drinks will also be on sale in the intervals. So don’t miss out on the chance to have a great night out, and to support the School at the same time. Invite your friends and make a pre-Christmas fun night out of it!
Tickets are available the School Office (ph 477 5527) at a cost of $25 for adults, $15 for school children. Hurry, there are limited seats so be in quick!!
Help support your Foundation by investing in one of these outstanding Limited Edition prints, commissioned on your behalf from Old Boy Geoff Williams (1971-1973)
Kura at St Leonards
My little dinghy ‘Kura’ was named after a beautiful young dancer who used to help sell my work before she left to pursue her career dreams overseas. The Maori meaning of ‘Kura’ is ‘treasure, precious and sacred’.
Across the harbour is Hereweka/Harbour Cone, and nestled below is my very first home in Frances St, Broad Bay. Two miles further down the peninsula, my father’s home sits on the edge of Portobello Bay.
For generations our family has been inspired and captivated by the Otago Harbour and the coastal environs.
Limited to 60 prints
Cost $1250 (framed) plus P&P
Hornby Matchbox Rendezvous
My granddad was assistant manager at Hillside workshops in the days when they still made engines. My earliest ‘toy recollections’ were of playing with my uncle’s Hornby train set and collecting Matchbox cars.
Recently it has been a great joy to rediscover, with my grandson, the boyhood pleasures of imagination and possibility engendered by such toys.
Limited to 60 prints
Cost $1250 (framed) plus P&P
For more information and ordering instructions click here to go to the official website
You’ll recall that in July’s newsletter we asked for background information to a painting of the School, gifted to the Foundation by the widow of Rev John Mabon (1946-1951). We have now been able to establish contact with two Old Boys, Kit Macgregor (1967-1971) and Phil Macgregor (1969-1972) who are the sons of the artist Doug Macgregor. It turns out that their father did not attend OBHS but went to Gore High School, and then at Otago University struck up a lasting friendship with John Mabon. Phil Macgregor writes “My mother tells me John would come around to their flat in London St and they would talk well into the night about religion and other things that interested them. The painting was painted at that time and given to John as a token of the esteem Dad held him in. At the time, while a student, John was lay preaching at the Central Methodist Mission (the current site of the Hoyts Theatre)”.
Thanks Kit and Phil for your help, and thanks to others who also assisted including Clifford Mundell (1967-1970) whose email about the “Macgregor boys” pointed us in the right direction to get to the bottom of this story.
Are you ready to go to the rugby? Or indeed for any other sporting or outdoor event in the future? If you haven't got your "Flag in a Bag" you may not be as prepared as you think!
It's a cushion, it's a blanket, it's a 'blackout", it's a rug, it's a bag and it's a NZ flag - all in one. And it's only $89 of which $20 goes to your Foundation thanks to the generous support of Flag in a Bag Ltd.
This is a great product, not just for rugby, but for picnics, for the cricket, for family outings, for outdoor concerts....you name it!
To support the OBHS Foundation, please make sure you add "OBHS" to your name when ordering online (e.g. "Fred Smith OBHS"), or mention the Foundation if you order by phone - and $20 will be donated for every sale.
So, don't delay! Check it out and order yours now at www.flagbag.co.nz
Since the August newsletter, the following Old Boys and connections with the school have made pledges or donations to the Foundation:
We are genuinely appreciative of the continued support and belief in the Foundation’s objectives shown by these Old Boys. If you wish to find out more about how you can make a pledge or donation please contact the Foundation Office on 03 477 2546.
The 1960 First Fifteen is getting together for lunch and libations at Luna Restaurant in Roslyn at 12.30pm on Friday 14 October. The team hasn't met since its playing days and there may be a few tall stories to be told after 51 years.
Hooker Geoff Stevenson, who’s lived in Canada since 1968, is organizing the reunion. You can contact him at geoff-stevenson@shaw.ca
Ten years ago the voyage records of past Spirit of New Zealand and Spirit of Adventure sailings were destroyed in a devastating flood. A campaign is now underway to reconnect the Spirit of Adventure Trust with as many former voyagers as possible. The “lost alumni” campaign is aimed at anyone who has sailed on the Spirit of New Zealand or Spirit of Adventure, and aims to capture details and photographs from past sailings, as well as find people interested in supporting the Trust.
If you were one of the lucky voyagers please go to www.facebook.com/HyundaiNZ to register your details, phone Dean Lawrence of the Spirit of Adventure Trust on 0-9-373 2060 extn 4 or email him on Dean.lawrence@spiritofadventure.org.nz
Geoff Davies (1961-1963) has been appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Algernon Heber-Percy, with permission from HM The Queen, as a Deputy Lieutenant for the county. Dr Davies is Chairman of The Marches Local Enterprise Partnership for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire, and the Founder and Managing Director of Alamo Group. He holds the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion and has strong ties with further and higher education establishments including Harper Adams University College, Walford and North Shropshire College and the University of Wolverhampton, not to mention Otago Boys’ High School where he is a Foundation Trustee.
Geoff’s Lieutenancy duties will include suggesting Shropshire organisations and companies suitable to receive Royal visits, arranging visits, deputising for the Lord-Lieutenant and encouraging voluntary efforts within the community. “I am honoured to have been appointed and I intend to carry out my new duties with diligence and enthusiasm. Shropshire has some wonderful organisations which can benefit from the kudos of Royal recognition and I hope to play a constructive part in helping them to receive it.”
Geoff is also a business ambassador for Shropshire, a former chair and present member of the Shropshire Business Board, a former British Entrepreneur of the Year and a former president of the Agricultural Engineers’ Association.
Geoff was awarded an OBE in 2004 for services to agriculture and rural regeneration. He was born in Grindley Brook, near Whitchurch, brought up in New Zealand and now lives at Lee Brockhurst, near Shrewsbury.
Otago rower Hamish Bond (1999-2003) appears on track for an Olympic gold medal and a permanent place in the elite tier of Otago athletes. Bond and Eric Murray claimed a third consecutive title in the men's pair at the world championships in Slovenia recently. They pipped the British pair of Andrew Triggs-Hodge and Peter Read by 1.5sec, but had to withstand a furious finish from their great rivals.
"We saw our time on the big screen and we were thinking, if we had pushed a little bit more we could have beaten the world's best time," Bond later told the world rowing website. "We trained well. We had good control of the race."
Bond (25), a member of the North End club and a former pupil of Otago Boys' High School, spends most of his year overseas or at Lake Karapiro. But he is a proud Otago man - he still represents his club at major regattas - and he is building a resume fit to compare with the province's great sports figures.
Bond also won a world title with the coxless four in 2007. He and Murray will be favoured to win Olympic gold in London next year.
As Fuel Prices Continue To Soar The OBHS Foundation Has An Exclusive Fuel Card Offer Available To All Old Boys, Past Staff And Their Immediate Family Members.
All Foundation card holders receive 5 cents per litre discount to the national pump price for petrol and diesel. Discounted petrol and diesel can be purchased at all BP, RD Petroleum and most Gasoline Alley retail sites along with Truck Stops.
HOW IT WORKS:
If today the national price for a litre of 91 octane is $2.159 cents, the cost to you would be $2.109 cents. If on the West Coast 91 is priced at $2.389 cents per litre - those with Foundation fuel cards will still pay only$2.109 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.
CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE AND START SAVING ON ALL YOUR FUEL PURCHASES!
Individual Application – Click here
Limited Companies Application – Click here
TOTAL REGISTRATIONS TO DATE 475
MAKE SURE YOU ARE PART OF THIS
HISTORICAL EVENT BY REGISTERING NOW!
Contact the Foundation CLICKING HERE or call +64 3 477 2546, and leave a message. Include your full name and years of attendance.
Ross Brodie (1978-80) of Brisbane, Australia, who passed away on 17 September 2011.
Gervan Duff (1958-1961) of Alexandra, who passed away in Dunedin on 18 September 2011. Gervan was brother of Warren Duff (1954-1957).
Tony Hurst (1960-1963) - passed away peacefully on 19 August 2011 in Shropshire England after athree yearbattle with cancer. Tony was brother of Brian Hurst (1961-1963) and, after OBHS, attended Wellington College and Victoria University, before teaching in NZ for a few years. He then headed overseas and spent his working life counselling high school students in the Midlands, UK.
Kenneth (Ken) Sparrow (1942-1945) who passed away in Dunedin on 7 September 2011.
Alan Blackburn (1960-1964) whose father, Canon Emeritus Alan Blackburn, passed away at Silbury Rest Home, Darfield on 15 September 2011.
Quentin Croy (1985) whose mother, Olive Croy, passed away in Edinburgh, Scotland on 6 September 2011.
Burnett Daglish (1956-1959) whose mother-in-law, Isabel Bryant, passed away on 30 August 2011.
Neil Gillespie (1974-1977) whose father-in-law, Douglas Clark, passed away at Longwood Lifestyle Village, Riverton on 2 September 2011.
Alan Gunn (1974-1978) deceased and Jeff Gunn (1979-1983) whose mother, Dulcie Gunn, passed away in Dunedin on 1 September 2011.
Murray Hale (1960-1963) whose mother-in-law, Isabella Watson, passed away at Ross Home, Dunedin on 14 September 2011.
David Lungley (1954-1959) whose mother, Clare Lungley, passed away at Fitzgerald House, Christchurch on 25 August 2011.
Graeme Jarratt (1963-1966) and John Jarratt (1965-1969) whose mother, Audrey Jarratt, passed away at Mossbrae, Mosgiel on 14 September 2011.
Neil Simpson (1963-1967) whose mother-in-law, Lena de Bres, passed away in Upper Hutt on 17 September 2011.
Martin Smith (1978-1982) whose mother-in-law, Joan Gallagher, passed away at Francis Hodgkins Retirement Village, Dunedin on 7 September 2011.
Chris Starling (1962-1966) whose grandmother, Joan Starling, passed away at Yvette Williams Retirement Village, Dunedin on 9 September 2011.
David (1963-1966), Peter (1965-1969) and Ian Stevens (1970-1974) whose mother, Jean Stevens OBE, passed away on 21 September 2011.
William (Bill) Wright (1960-1964) whose father, Professor James Wright OBE (Lt.Col, NZAMC, 45587, 2 Div), passed away at Ross Home, Dunedin on 8 September 2011.
Edward William Fitzgerald (1944-1946) previously of 51 Grey Street, Dunedin. Is he Eddy William Fitzgerald, married to Margaret Rose Fitzgerald and father of Helen and Ted Jenkins, who passed away at Elloughton Gardens, Timaru on 14 September 2011?
Newsletter researched and compiled by Julie Cheyne and Andrew Moffat
The OBHS Foundation greatly acknowledges the support of the Otago Daily Times
from which some of the articles and photos 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
