Old Collegians Association
Vale Alan Backman
Alan Backman was key member of the St Bede’s Old Collegians community, who played an integral role in the establishment of the Finian Foundation, which continues to assist current families in need at the College.
Many staff, community and especially old collegians will remember Alan fondly as a instrumental supporter of the association, he showed his support to fellow members by attending every event and always keeping up to date with the current news.
Thank you to Alans family and friends who have provided us with the following insights into Alans incredible life.
"Alan Joseph Backman was born on 22nd June 1946, first child to Max and Mary. He was the first-born male in that Backman generation. He wore that badge with honour and pride.
Alan’s earliest family home was in Brighton. Alan, with his younger sister Marie and his parents, lived in a house on a corner block, facing Nepean Highway and his grandparents, Joseph and Jean Backman had a house which viewed North Road. Behind their home was the family dairy that serviced the local people. One day Alan’s Uncle found him riding his tricycle under the stomach of one of the draught horses, that pulled the dairy wagons. Alan was about 4-5 years old. Fortunately, Alan’s uncle was able to scoop him up and return him to his mother in one piece.
The family then moved to Francesco St, East Bentleigh. Alan transferred from St. James Primary School, Gardenvale to attend school at St. Peters, Centre Rd, East Bentleigh. Alan’s youngest sister, Kerry was born there. Around this time, Alan’s mother became very ill, so his great Aunt moved in to care for the family. The family were extremely grateful for the love and stability she gave Alan and his sisters for the whole of their growing years.
When Alan was nearly 14, his mother told the children she didn't have long to live. Al was inconsolable. It was then that his mother’s friend, Sheila McGuinness, came into his life and the McGuinness family gained another son. That relationship lasted the whole of Alan’s life. He participated in all of their family events - including the recent big birthday bash - and was there when Shelia passed.
Al moved from St. Peters to St Bede's College (Mentone) in his late primary school years, and completed his secondary education there. Al loved his school, because it provided him with the support, and grounding that he needed. St Bede's gave Alan the opportunity to play sport, which he excelled at. He participated in cricket and football within the school and obtained a number of awards. He was chosen to play in the Victorian Junior boys tennis final at Kooyong, without having one tennis lesson!
He played football for Bentleigh, Mordialloc, and he trained for Melbourne under Norm Smith. He was a natural athlete and being ambidextrous certainly helped. When he was older, Alan challenged himself by going on guided walks such as those in Tasmania and Nepal. Many of the friendships Alan made at St Bede's lasted a lifetime. Al gave back to his school by participating on the Old Collegians board, to set up a trust for those families who were having financial difficulties.
His first job was with Joseph Lucas’s in Cheltenham. Mr. Buckley, who lived across the street, helped Al secure the position.
Alan married Jacqui Woods in October 1970 and had three children, Simon, Matthew, and Tara.
Alan, and his family moved to Queensland for a time, where Alan played football at Morningside.
When he came back to Melbourne, Alan joined National Mutual Life as an agent and soon after formed a partnership with Brian Lanyon, as “Lanyon, Backman and Associates”, which had great success for many years as a Financial Services Agency. He later moved out on his own to form Aged Care Financial Services and continued to operate this company until illness struck rendering him unable to continue.
One of the worst days for the family, was receiving a phone call from Sydney's St Vincent's Private Hospital, 7 years ago, saying Alan had had a massive stroke. Alan wasn’t expected to survive. But Alan was extremely stubborn and proved them wrong. Unfortunately, the stroke rendered Alan incapacitated, with him being unable to talk (apart from four words) and confined to a wheelchair.
The family made the decision to bring him home to Melbourne. Alan was so excited to be coming home. It proved to be an excellent decision as his family and friends embraced his return, always caring for him, never abandoning him to loneliness ….. and of course, Al had his phone and Facetime! He still maintained an awesome presence!
Alan was a larger-than-life personality with a big laugh and a big voice. He lived life to the full and loved nothing more than to have a good time and a good laugh in the company of friends and family. Above all, Alan was rarely sad or depressed but mostly happy and bubbly even after his unfortunate illness. Alan will leave a gap in many people’s lives.
Rest in peace Alan. "
(words by Alan's sister, Kerry Hamer, family and friends)
Class of 2013 Reunion
The St Bede’s Old Collegians Association has had a big start to the year, with attendance numbers for our reunions increasing significantly, and planning for our major events quickly taking priority.
On Thursday 9 March, the 10 year reunion took place at the College. Over 60 past students from the Class of 2013 joined the Committee at the Mentone Campus, many of whom had not been onsite at the College since their graduation ten years ago.
Noticeable changes for the students included the new Art and IT facilities, and the work that had been completed on the Sports Stadium.
Thank you to all students who attended this special evening; we hope you all had a wonderful time reminiscing.
Finian Foundation Charity Golf Day
Bookings Now Open
Preparations for the Finian Foundation Charity Golf Day are now well and truly underway!
We warmly invite all Old Collegians, College families, friends and members of the general community to attend what is a spectacular day of sport and frivolity.
Friday 20 October, 2023 @ Rossdale Golf Club
This all-inclusive day offers the below, for the incredibly reasonable price of $150 -
- Hot breakfast, tea and coffee
- 18 holes Ambrose format
- On-course activities (5 major competitions)
- On-course catering and beverage cart
- Buffet luncheon
- Over $2,000 worth of prizes to be won
All funds raised are donated directly to The Finian Foundation.
The Finian Foundation supports current students and families who are experiencing severe financial hardship. We provide assistance with school fees and education-related expenses; uniforms, IT requirements, excursions, cost of travel to and from school and more.
Sponsorship packages are available through the booking portal, and range between $900 and $10,000. These packages are specifically designed to market your business to our network alumni (over 19,000 members) and golf day attendees.
Purchase your ticket or sign up for one of our sponsorship packages via the link below.
https://events.humanitix.com/finian-foundation-charity-golf-day-2023
2023 Reunion / Key Dates
Please diarise the following key dates:
Thursday 25th May – Class of 2003
Friday 16 June – Class of 1973 and prior
Friday 20th October – Finian Foundation Charity Golf Day
Friday 10th November – Class of 1993
Stay Connected
It is never been easier to stay connected with your fellow Beda's!
The St Bede's Old Collegians Association are now on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn! Follow now for access to videos from former and current staff, students and Brothers. You will see announcements regarding Old Collegian Reunions, a 'sneak peak' into our College archives, as well as current College news, and stories from alumni.
Also keep your eye out for competitions on all three of our digital platforms!
https://www.instagram.com/stbedesoldcollegians/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/St-Bedes-Old-Collegians-110814951641349
Linked In
https://au.linkedin.com/in/stbedesoldcolls?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Lucy Turner
Community Relations Officer