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FOUNDERS' DAY ASSEMBLY 2010

Friday 5 February was the 81st Founders Day
The Headmaster Simon Murray welcomed the following special guests:

  • Bishop Stuart Robinson - Bishop of the Diocese of Canberra Goulburn and Visitor of Canberra Grammar School
  • Mrs Gwen Leonard- Mr Peter Leonard's widow
  • Mr Richard Winnett- OB 1959 and a friend of Peter Leonard
  • Mr Tony Howard- Canberra Grammar Board Director & Chair of the School Development Committee
  • Rev & Mrs Tyrrel- Former Chaplain and teacher at Canberra Grammar and friend of Peter & Gwen Leonard
  • Ms Angela Boothby- Station Manager Win Television
  • Ms Jessica Good - Win Newsreader
  • Ms Lisa Mosely- Recipient University of Canberra Peter Leonard Scholarship and trainee at Win Television
  • Mr Greg Soulsby- Managing Director, Better Music - Sponsor
  • Mr Chris Herring- NSW & ACT Sales Manager, Yamaha - Sponsor
  • Mrs Lyn Winnel & Mrs Jenny Prince- Mother and aunt of Matt Winnel
  • The Venerable Susanna Pain wife of the Reverend Nikolai Blaskow
  • The Reverend Richard Browning - Chaplain and Head of Community at Radford College

He advised that today we have three celebrations happening this afternoon and whilst they are all different they have strong connections.

  • First we have a recognition and celebration of Founders Day
  • Second we will commission the Reverend Nikolai Blaskow as Associate Chaplain at Canberra Grammar
  • Third we will celebrate and recognise the significance of a remarkable Old Boy, Peter Leonard, Class of 1959 who passed away in September 2008.

The Headmaster went on to speak about the history of Canberra Grammar.
The history of Canberra Grammar goes back to a small house in Lambie Street, Cooma which still stands today. There Mr Barnard established the Church of England Grammar School for boys and girls in 1906. In 1908 the equipment and goodwill were sold for 17 pounds to the Reverend Charles Burgess, Rector of St Paul's, Cooma, who embarked on a 'venture of faith' - the establishment of Manaro Grammar School.
The Reverend Perkins was the Foundation Headmaster. He went on to become Headmaster of The Armidale School and then the founding Head of Cranbrook.

So in some important ways our beginnings grew out of the Manaro district some 104 years ago and in 2006 we marked the centenary of that foundation.

When the Reverend Perkins left Monaro Grammar for TAS there were three more Headmasters and then Canon Edwards took the helm and moved the school to where we now stand. Canberra Grammar was founded here in the national capital on the 5th February, 1929 - it was a Tuesday.

Canon Edwards was very much interested in the holistic development of young men and he founded this school on the premise that if education is to produce the right results it must be education of the right type.
He had this to say in those very early years …. And I quote from the 1929 Canberrian as it was then called….
We live in an age when Education is considered a panacea for all ills. Education is most eagerly sought after. That is all to the good, but if it is to produce the right results it must be Education of the right type.
Education worthy of the name must deal with the whole human personality, and since the personality of man possesses a physical, a mental, a social and a spiritual aspect, Education must concern itself with all four, otherwise its resulting development will tend to be partial and unsymmetrical.
Educate the mind alone and you have a sceptic, one of those 'know-all,' 'cock-sure' individuals.
Educate the body alone and you have a brute, a mass of brawn but no brain.
Educate the social instincts alone and you have a worldling, a jazz fiend with not a serious thought in his head.
Educate the spiritual alone and the product is a fanatic.
But educate all four with proper emphasis, according to their due proportion in the personality, and the result is harmoniously developed, consistent Christian character worthy to be a citizen of our great Commonwealth, and of the greater Commonwealth of God.

Eighty-one years later we are still about shaping and forming character and we continue with enthusiasm the nurturing all of the young men of Canberra Grammar.
I have often said there is something very special about a Canberra Grammar boy and indeed a Canberra Grammar Old Boy. They are gentle men, two words, who have a quiet confidence about themselves. They are often selfless … seeking to serve human-kind. They are often articulate, engaging with an affable nature. They are often good company.

I am not surprised by any of this but I don't take it for granted. For eighty-one years we have strived at Canberra Grammar to educate the body, mind and spirit. Every boy and young man is important and valued for his uniqueness and the special gifts he brings to bear across the School.

I thank you and all who have gone before you for shaping Canberra Grammar as one of the finest schools in the nation.


Special Presentation from the 1959 Old Boys in memory of Peter Leonard
Richard Winnett Old Boy, Former Prefect, member of the Class of 1959 gave a speech in honour of former Old Boy and well known Canberra identity Peter Leonard as follows.
The Canberra Grammar School 1959'ers year group awards a History prize at speech day each year, in the name of Tony Coplans. Now the 1959'ers are delighted to present a gift in the name of Peter Leonard, a fellow student in the 1950's.

Peter died of mesothelioma on 23 September 2008, several months after retiring as a news reader from WIN television in July 2008. While it is not certain what caused the disease, the family's home in Hackett was targeted for asbestos removal in the early 1990's.

Peter was a widely respected public servant and broadcaster who made a huge contribution to the Canberra community. He made an enormous contribution to the local media industry over 45 years. For many years he dedicated himself to a wide range of community programs and events, and in recognition of his community service, he was named Canberra Citizen of the year in 1991. Peter also had a successful career in the public service, working for the former National Capital Development Commission.

I thought you boys would like to hear a little about Peter, and life at Grammar in the 1950's.
In the 1950's Grammar was a much smaller school with only a few hundred students, around a third of whom were boarders. We had to be pretty robust! The dormitories weren't heated in winter and we had to light wood fires to heat the classrooms. If you talked after 'lights out', you got the cane! 'Train smash', an oily mix of tomatoes and onions, was a regular dinner dish. And that stone wall you see at the top side of the oval was built by boys on detention. No wonder we had a few boarders run away!

As Senior Boarder in 1959, Peter had his own room at the top of the stairs, near where the bell tower is today - today the dormitories are classrooms. His role included making sure the boarders got up on time, changed their sheets, and made themselves look spic and span at the beginning of each school day. At bed time it all happened again - lights out now boys!

It is interesting to reflect on how Peter's interests at school impacted upon his career. He was a keen English student, stimulated by his English master Revered John Tyrrell, and in later life they became good friends and neighbours. I am pleased that Reverend Tyrrel is here with us today

Peter's interest in a career in radio began at school. He was the proud owner of a sophisticated new 'reel to reel' tape player and recorder and he recorded and played for us all the pop tunes of the time, for example songs by Elvis Presley. Peter even boasted that he recorded his study notes on his tape player and played them back through his head phones while he slept!

Peter took a first step into broadcasting when 'work experience' was arranged by the school, at radio station 2CA. He later made a career as an announcer with radio station 2CA, then withABC radio Canberra, then WIN television. So boys, your choice of 'work experience' can be a very important step towards your future career!

At one time Peter was the morning announcer on an ABC radio program that started at 5:00AM, and went till 8:00 AM. All usually went very smoothly, but one morning he slept in! He was woken up at home with a phone call and told that Canberra listeners were wondering what had happened to the ABC!

Peter had a very convincing manner on the radio and a good sense of humour. For example on one April Fool's Day, he read a 'news item' that convinced Canberra listeners that Lake Burley Griffin was to be fully drained to enable the Government to kill off the carp, so as to save the trout and native fish. Many believed him.

Peter did Canberra Grammar proud and is an example to us all. The 1959'ers are pleased to have collected money for an award in his name and know that he would be thrilled that the money collected, along with fantastic support from Better Music and Yamaha, will be used to assist a talented student at Canberra Grammar. Being a humble man, we know he would have wished that this gift would not be just in his memory, but would be seen to be in the memory of those other 1959'ers who have now passed away.

The 59'ers have selected Matthew Winnel, a student in Year 12, to receive this trumpet commemorating the life and influence of Peter Leonard, an old boy of Canberra Grammar School. The 59'ers believe that Matthew embodies the many qualities that Peter demonstrated throughout his life.

Matt, we are sure that you will have a wonderful musical future based on your achievements to date and your musical ambitions. And remember - not that 'the Force will be with you', but 'the 1959'ers will be with you' throughout your future career.

Presentation of Trumpet to Matthew Winnell
Matt Winnel Thank You Speech:
Image In his thank you speech Matt thanked his family and his various trumpet and music teachers and the entire Canberra Grammar teachers and staff and in particular Mr Woodland and the music staff. He also thanked the Coopers for his scholarship to attend Canberra Grammar School.  He went on to say the following.

Because what the 59'ers have done for me is unbelievably incredible.
Back in 2008 when I was awarded my Associate in music for Trumpet Performance I performed on an EB trumpet as part of my program. However the instrument was only hired to me. To own a higher pitched trumpet of my own has always been on my mind but simply out of reach. Last year I did some extensive work on my technique when performing on high piccolo trumpet in A, which I am currently borrowing from the ANU, School of Music. So, although I have now had a fair bit of experience on beautiful piccolo instruments in the past, in particular for baroque repertoire, I have never owned my own.

I returned to school this year, and I couldn't be more grateful and enthusiastic to get into my music and HSC studies - But then, well, what a surprise it was!
I am simply in disbelief that right here lies my very own D/Eb trumpet. And it is all thanks to the generous and amazing efforts of the 59'ers, and support from Better Music and Yamaha.

I promise that I will perform with this instrument at my very musical best always, as I head off to university and then, into the world.
I will treasure it forever and continue to use it to sing.

The piece Matt performed was Trumpet Concerto in Eb by Hummel, Mov II.