Last week I had occasion to meet with the new members of the Ulysses Society. For those who are not aware the Ulysses Society was formed in late 2000 to provide an opportunity for our most intellectually capable Year 12 students to come together and revel in debate and conversation on challenging topical issues. In mid-2000 I put the idea for such a Society to the Senior School staff and received an enthusiastic response. Mrs Diana Primrose, Dr Bruce Faraday and Mr Jock McLean formed a small group to develop the idea and for the past eight years it has been a great success. Current staff patrons of the Society are Dr Robert Bearlin and Mrs Primrose.

Early documents on the Society reveal the aims: 'We see it as something that will extend the best boys in a number of ways. We would like them to examine such areas as religion, ethics and morality, social responsibility and philosophy. We would like them to be extended by guest lecturers whose brief would NOT to be an after-dinner speaker but to facilitate the boys' participation and intellectual stimulation. He/she should be a tutor who would conduct a symposium. Our aim would be to stretch minds and stimulate intellect rather than "educate" except in the broadest sense of the term.'

The Ulysses Society meets each term for Friday dinner meetings in the Board Room. They are formal occasions with members in coat and tie, linen tablecloth and waited on by the staff patrons. A guest speaker provides the initial food for thought. Past guests have included Hugh Mackay, Geoff Pryor, Professor Tom Frame, Professor Stephen Parker, Jack Waterford, Dr Geoff Garrett, Ms Pru Goward and Bishop George Browning.

The first Society meeting 2008/2009 will take place on Friday 28 November with Mr Shane Rattenbury, CGS Old Boy (1989) and the new Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly as our special guest. Shane Rattenbury featured in the most recent edition of the RHO which can be found online at this link: http://www.cgs.act.edu.au/images/content/general/documents/rho_web.pdf

The 2008/2009 members of the Ulysses Society are: Alexander Abbey, Robert Albertson Kill, Felix Anderson, Derek Bayley, James Bornholt, James Butterworth, Gavin Chan, Will Comensoli, James Cribb, Andrew Dawson, Chris Hingee, Hong_An Le, Lucas McCallum, Mark Raymond, Con Tieu-Vinh and Samuel Watson.
I met with these boys last week over lunch and we discussed the aims of the Society. I asked the boys to write back to me with their answer to my invitation to join the Society and also to explain to me why we had chosen the name Ulysses. There were some interesting responses and I'd like to share them with you.

Dear Mr. Murray,
I am writing to accept with great pleasure my invitation to join the Ulysses Society. On the name of the society, the first most obvious connection to be made is to Ulysses (from the Aenid) or Odysseus (from the original Iliad / Odyssey) being renowned in both poems as a hero of cunning. His chief attribute, and what he used in his adventures, was his intelligence - as the Ulysses society, is the equivalent of an 'Academic 1st 15', his brains were the stand-in for typical Greek brawn - heroes like Achilles and Agamemnon. So, that is the first and primary reason for the name. However when reading before writing this I came across something about how the poet Dante included him in one of his poems. In this story he writes some of the story of Odysseus / Ulysses, with his final journey being a quest for knowledge. I think this is quite fitting in terms of the Ulysses Society being a journey in search of knowledge, discussion and understanding. So in conclusion, I am delighted to accept this invitation to the society and I am looking forward to the first dinner on 28 November.
Sincerely,
Felix Anderson.

Hello Mr Murray

Thank you for the invitation to join the Ulysses Society. I would very much like to be a part of it and will do my best to engage myself and contribute to engaging others.
I believe that the Ulysses Society was named after the poem Ulysses by Lord Alfred Tennyson because Ulysses, in the poem, speaks of never being in one place - always seeking, being compelled, to travel far and venture into places not common to man. This yearning for new experiences and the knowledge gained from these experiences is what drives Ulysses, and if I'm correct, it is therefore a fitting name for the purpose of the group - to gather together and challenge the thoughts each others' minds and our own.
Sincerely,
Con Tieu-Vinh

Headmaster
I happily acquiesce to your kind invitation to take part in the Ulysses Society 2008-09. I look forward to what's to come from our meetings together and the first on the 28th November.
Ulysses is the Latin appropriation of the Greek hero Odysseus. Ulysses or Odysseus features in great works like The Iliad and more centrally in The Odyssey and other Greek epics. Odysseus or Ulysses is a master tactician and as we know, if the Iliad is about strength and might, then the Odyssey is about strength of mind and cunning. We would perhaps relate our meetings and discussions to the great voyages and feats of mind which this hero undergoes in these ancient stories, in order to better ourselves and grow our own knowledge.
Kind regards,
Lucas McCallum

Dear Mr Murray

I would be delighted to accept the invitation to join the Ulysses Society. The academic "First XV", whose title comes from that great Greek hero Ulysses or Odysseus. Where generally, the virtues for Greek heroes were great strength or skill on the battlefield, Odysseus was one who succeeded through intelligence and cunning. Another representation of him is in Lord Alfred Tennyson's poem. A part I find particularly relevant to the Ulysses Society is the final few lines. "Strong in will / to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." I hope that this year, we can in our meetings, strive for new ideas and thoughts, collaborating with each other and using our different thinking styles to full advantage. I am very much looking forward to our first meeting.
Regards,
Mark Raymond

Mr Murray

I would be delighted to join the Ulysses society, and look forward to meeting again Friday week.
As to the naming of the society, I researched and thought up three reasons, which I have listed below in descending order of which I believe to be most likely:
1) For me, 'Ulysses' brings to mind connotations of adventure, appropriation(s), and long-lasting renown. Hence it is somewhat appropriate for a group of students considering both old and modern areas of debate and discussion.
2) 'Ulisse,' a character of Dante's 'Inferno' (so Wikipedia states) was sentenced to hell, partly because of his quest for knowledge greater than what a human ought to.
3) 'Ulysses' is a pleasant sounding word, particularly when followed by 'society'.
Sincerely,
James Butterworth.

I extend my best wishes to the Ulysses Society and look forward to hearing about the journey in 2008/2009.

Simon Murray

Headmaster's Address to the Vintage Club Assembly, Monday 24 November, 2008

Firstly, a very special welcome to all members of the Vintage Club, and to their wives and partners attending today. Members of the Vintage Club left the School 50 or more years ago. Our oldest Vintage Club member here today, Irwin Prowse OBE, left the School in 1933. Welcome also to our special guests, Reverend John and Joan Tyrrel, and Mrs Dawn Waterhouse. Reverend Tyrell was on the staff from 1952 until 1982. Mrs Waterhouse is a friend of Canberra Grammar, and widow of the distinguished CSIRO scientist, Dr Douglas Waterhouse.

I invite each one of our Vintage Club members to stand as I introduce you to the Assembly, and refer to the historical School events that occurred in your cohort year.

Irwin Prowse, OAM, Class of 1933:

In 1933, according to Archival records, Bishop L B Radford, first President of the School Council, retired;
The FCT Champion Cup and the AGS Senior Cup were won;
The School held its first swimming carnival;
On the results of the Leaving Certificate Examination, E G Whitlam was awarded a Scholarship to read Classics at Sydney University.

Judy Edwards, Class of 1935: Daughter of Canon and Mrs Edwards.

In 1935 work commenced to complete the east side of the quadrangle with four new classrooms, four dormitories, masters' quarters, a dining room and kitchen;
The Old Boys' Union presented a cup for the best all-round sportsman in the School;
Bishop Burgmann dedicated the new Chapel;
Three School Captains: Bill de Salis, Dick Brackenreg and Garnet Ellis presented a brass cross for the altar;
In the inter-school swimming carnival, the School regained the Parkhill Cup for the freestyle relay race.

Herb Mould, Class of 1937:

In 1937 Dr Cyril Norwood, president of St John's College, Oxford, and formerly Headmaster of Marlborough and Harrow, was present for the unveiling of stones set in the cloister walls;
The stones came from the English public schools, namely Eton, Westminster, Winchester, St Paul's, Charterhouse, Uppingham, Clifton, Tonbridge, Shrewsbury, Sherborne, Wellington, Rossall, Cheltenham, Repton and Radley;
Dr F Watson established two prizes in perpetuity for boys gaining the best passes in the Intermediate and Leaving Certificate Examinations each year.

Paul McKeown, AM, Class of 1940:
Mr McKeown is a former Headmaster of the School from 1959-1985.

In 1940 a play evening was first presented with each year staging one-act plays.

Alan Reid, Class of 1942:

In 1942 Sheaffe House won the inter-House shield for the fourth year in succession;
The First XI, under the captaincy of JN Hobbs, won the soccer competition for the first time.
Bruce Merriman was mentioned as 'the best of a good team'.

Ben Champion and Robert King, Class of 1943:
In 1943 Garnet Ellis donated a prize in memory of his father, Harold Ellis, one of the School's earliest and best friends;
William Moriarty ('44) won the Lady Isaacs Prize for an essay on 'Australia and the future of her trade in the Netherlands East Indies' in the annual competition open to students attending Canberra schools.

Peter Marshall, Class of 1944:

In 1944 Mr A J Kitchen presented The Richard Kitchen Trophy for competition in debating between Canberra Grammar and Canberra Church of England Girls Grammar School
Mrs Sanchez (nee Alison Binns) fiancee of the late Geoff Rose ('37) gave a collection of aeronautical books. This collection is always on display in a special section of the Resource Centre, which is dedicated to the memory of Flying Officer Geoff Rose, who was killed in WWII. The Resource Centre still purchases collections from Mrs Sanchez's bequest.

Bruce Mould, Ted Reynolds and John Rogers, Class of 1945:
In 1945 Garran House was used as a Junior House for boys not in the Senior School; the Department of Home Security had previously occupied this space.
Phillip Alston ,The Hon Wal Fife, and Frank Lamond, Class of 1947:
In 1947 The Rev A E Gardner (Senior teacher and Housemaster), was appointed acting Headmaster when Canon Edwards took up his appointment with UNICEF in Greece.

Geoff Cox, Graham Hart, David Nott and Brian Sear Class, of 1948:
In 1948 Canon D A Garnsey commenced his duties as Headmaster at the beginning of the third term;
Lady Gowrie presented a new bell in memory of Lady Garran, to replace the old one. The bell is located in the Quad.
Edward King won the Lady Isaacs prize for the best essay on 'The Need for a National Theatre in Australia'. This was the first time the prize had been awarded to a third year student.

Jim Winnett and Richard Taber, Class of 1949:
In 1949 Rev A E Gardner left for a holiday in Greece after 16 years of invaluable work for the School.

Dick Hart and John Rolfe, Class of 1950:
In 1950 the Gardeners', the Handcrafts', the Carpenters', the Painters' & Glaziers' and the Builders' Guilds were formed to help boys develop useful skills to contribute to the maintenance of the School Buildings and grounds. The woodwork and farm mechanics departments moved into the new workshop, near where the maintenance department is now;
The Rev K S Crossley was appointed first Master-in-Charge.

Brian Cox, Class of 1951:

In 1951 the three masters' cottages were completed on Monaro Crescent;
A course in social studies was introduced in First Form. It replaced the separate subjects of Geography and History;
The School Committee was increased to contain guild representatives, a day boy representative, a library representative, as well as the Headmaster, masters, prefects and form captains;
Two sporting Houses were created in the Junior School: Manaro House after the Manaro Grammar School and Radford House after Bishop Radford, who was Bishop of Goulburn at the time of the foundation of Canberra Grammar.

Brian (Ben) Boyd, Curtis Campbell, Kel Harpley, Bill King, Graham McClintock, Jim Notaras, Don Thomson, John Winnett, Russell Wong, Class of 1952:
In 1952 the Old Boys' Union formed a scholarship fund guaranteeing fixed sums for five years. The first scholarship was awarded in 1952 and called the Pursehouse Scholarship in memory of Lloyd Pursehouse; Combined classes in some subjects in senior forms were held with the Girls' Grammar School;
An additional 20 acres were granted to the School by the Department of the Interior;
The first separate Kindergarten class for five-year-olds was formed;
The RG Curtis Memorial Shield for Junior School inter-House competition was presented in memory of an Old Boy, who was killed on the Montevideo Maru in July 1942. Mrs J Pike gave money to reorganise the library in memory of her husband, Archdeacon Pike, and her grandson R G Curtis (at School 1929-1934).

Gary Bladen, John Hickman and John Nadin, Class of 1953:
In 1953 the boarders were divided into Blaxland and Jones Houses and the day boys were put into Sheaffe House;
A second Old Boys' Union Scholarship was created and called the Eddison Scholarship, in memory of the three Eddison brothers who were killed in WWII;
George Garnsey, the School Captain, won the Lady Isaacs Essay Prize awarded by the Canberra University College to the secondary student who wrote the best essay on an Australian theme. Sir Robert Garran presented the prizes on the occasion of the School's 25th speech day;
The School had a record enrolment of 232 boys;
The First Hockey XI captained by C Willis, won the C Grade Championship.

Ian McDonald, Colin Maxwell, Bert Potter and Rodger Sands, Class of 1954:
In 1954 Rev H Hunter became Master-in-Charge of the Junior School following Rev KS Crossley's move to take charge of science in the Senior School;
The First Form had a three-day camp at the Murrumbidgee;
Two wooden buildings were bought from the Dept of the Interior and one was made into classrooms for First and Second Grades (Years 7 & 8);
The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon R G Menzies, laid the foundation stone of the War Memorial Gymnasium on 17 July; now the War Memorial Hall.
Dr H V Evatt, Leader of the Federal Opposition, presented the prizes at Speech Day;
The Old Boys' Union added the Farrow Scholarship in memory of R W Farrow to the existing Pursehouse and Eddison Scholarships.

John Barton and Geoff Moore, Class of 1955:
In 1955 a new Constitution for the School was approved by the Diocesan Council;
A Board of Management replaced the School Council;
The School catering was let by contract;
Five surplus RAAF huts were acquired. One was allocated to biology, two as annexes to the sports shed and two for pottery and weaving;
A fourth scholarship was established by the Old Boys' Union, called the Sautelle Scholarship;
The Bishops of New York and Chicago as well as Bishop Burgmann planted trees along the upper stretch of the driveway;
Rev Harold Hunter retired at the age of 72;
The Inter-school athletics was won for the second time since the competition started in 1938;
The Hockey XI again won the C Grade Cup, this time captained by L Hunt. For the first time the School won the Inter-School Swimming Carnival.

Allan Ross, Class of 1956:
In 1956 C M Jay won the Ewing Prize for the best pass in the ACT in the Leaving Examination.
John Aremwa, Alan Johnston, Tony May, Peter May and Phil Nadin and Arthur Roberts, Class of 1957:
In 1957 Mr C S Roots came from Tasmania to be Master-in-Charge of the Junior School;
An appeal for a new Chapel was launched;
Four new classrooms were built at the northern end of Garran House;
Work on the War Memorial Gymnasium neared completion;
G Broderick was first in the State Junior Gymnastics Championships;
The Headmaster, Rev Garnsey, was invited to become a member of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia;
Group X was formed as a training corps of senior boys under Mr P N Shaw.

David (Jim) Boyd, Wayne Braithwaite, David Gillett, Noel Hickman, Jim Kilby and Chris Timpson, Class of 1958:
In 1958 the Headmaster, the Rev Canon DA Garnsey, was elected the fifth Bishop of Gipplsand. An Old Boy, PJ McKeown, was appointed to take his place at the beginning of 1959;
His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir William Slim, officially opened the War Memorial Gymnasium on 2 August;
Thirty-One plaques in memory of Old Boys killed in the World Wars were placed over the entrances to various rooms by the Old Boys' Union;
A social committee made up of six girls and six boys, elected by the Fourth Year students in the respective schools, was started. Its function was to arrange and organise social activities between the two schools, Canberra Grammar and Canberra Girls' Grammar.

We are delighted to have Vintage Club members spanning a period of twenty six years beginning in 1933 with Irwin Prowse up until 1958 fifty years ago.
Our Vintage Club members are the living legends of our school. It is indeed a very special day when we are able to welcome fifty-four of our most significant Old Boys back to Canberra Grammar.

Gentlemen join with me as we honour Old Boys who have gone before and also these fine men of Canberra Grammar.

This was a very special Assembly and very much enjoyed by our oldest Old Boys. They were particularly appreciative of the three cheers given to them by each of the Houses.

My special thanks to Ruth Penberthy, Krista Hooke and David Alcorn, who planned this Vintage Club reunion and did much of the organisation.

Simon Murray
25 November 2008

Class of 1957
Back L to R: Jim Kilby ('58), Alan Johnson, Peter May, Phil Nadin, John Aremwa
Front L to R: Arthur Roberts, Tony May

Front L to R: Brian Cox ('51), John Hickman ('53), David Boyd ('58)

A restructure is to take place in the Development Office as we seek to position it to meet current and future needs of the School. These needs can be summarised as:

Strengthening relationships between and across all sectors of the School community: Alumni, Parents, Students, Staff, Board and the wider Canberra community
Alumni support including Old Boys' database, events management, communications, reunion activities
Enhancing communications within, across and beyond the School community
Developing and enacting successful fundraising for the School
Successful marketing of the School.

There is to be a name change of the office to Community Relations effective from the beginning of next year when the majority of new appointments will have been finalised.

We are seeking to fill a number of positions:

Director of Community Relations

Reporting to the Headmaster, the Director of Community Relations is a member of the Strategic Team responsible for the strategic positioning of the School's services to achieve the desired educational and business goals. The Director will have control for development in areas including student recruitment, customer service, relationship marketing between the School and its stakeholders, image projection and image protection strategies. The Director will provide support to the staff, student body and parent community groups through enrolment strategies, project management, communications and marketing planning.

Philanthropic Programs Manager (Part time 0.6 initially)

The Manager will work closely with the Headmaster and the Director of Community Relations to establish, manage and enhance the School's philanthropic activities. The position will play a significant role in achieving the School's fundraising and development objectives.

Alumni & Community Relations Officer

Reporting to the Director of Community Relations, the Alumni & Community Relations Officer will primarily provide administrative assistance and support to the Director while also being responsible for the implementation of the School's alumni relations strategy, co-ordinating community events and media liaison.

Communications Officer

The Communications Officer will report to the Director of Community Relations and be responsible for ensuring that the School's external and internal publications, both online and print, are written in a positive, effective manner.

I have engaged Philip Mayers of Silverman/Dakin as the consultant to find suitable applicants for the Director of Community Relations and also the Philanthropic Programs Manager. This firm has considerable experience in the field of recruitment to positions of Development, Fundraising, Marketing and also Community Relations.

I believe it will be possible for the two appointments to be made by the end of the year with the view to the successful applicants taking up their positions by mid January 2009.

The appointment of the Communications Officer, and the Alumni & Community Relations Officer will take place once the above two positions have been filled.