Mr John Higgs OAM

Having attended school in Bendigo, John Higgs was pleased to have the opportunity to return when a position arose in the Faculty of Education at the local campus of La Trobe University. A graduate of three universities and a lecturer himself, John had always harboured a great love of education and was keen to get involved in the community of Girton College, where his two children attended the Junior School. In 1992, serving as a parent representative on the school council, John was staggered when the Chair, Bishop Ben Wright, announced at the council’s regular monthly meeting in August that the school would close at the end of the year. John and the three other parent representatives immediately started phoning parents to inform them of the decision to ensure they wouldn’t have to read the news in the Bendigo Advertiser. 

The turning point for John came the next day, when his son Edward – in Prep at the time – came home and innocently asked “Dad, we have our teachers, we have our books, we have our classrooms – why are they closing our school?”. In that moment, John decided he was not going to let that happen. Driven by their deep love of learning and hope to provide the best possible education for their children, John and a hard core of parent representatives quickly formed with the initial goal of overturning the decision, which soon evolved into the fight to create Girton Grammar. John’s background in education proved advantageous in the group’s initial planning, with the committee holding regular community meetings that enabled John to assemble the team that ultimately would make them successful.

One of the vital factors contributing to the cohesion of the group was the formation of an office in the Sandhurst Trustees Building in View Street. John fondly recalls the astonishing number of people who would come into the office to offer their support. The office served as the venue for the myriad meetings that needed to occur, with some members of the group meeting every day until the school opened. Another factor that was pivotal to the group’s success was their ability to secure government funding, which saw John travel to Canberra alongside fellow founders Jan Thomas and Richard Trigg to meet with the then Minister of Education, Kim Beasley. Just before Christmas, the group was ecstatic to hear they had received Category 6 funding – the best present any of them could have received after their efforts that year. 

John considers the creation of Girton in a matter of months as his greatest achievement, made possible by the group’s incredible skills and ability to keep the community with them on the journey through regular communication. He still gets a buzz when he sees a student donning the Girton uniform – the fact they are able to attend a world-class school in Bendigo is the ultimate fruit of the group’s labours. Now retired from his position at the university, John takes great pleasure in “giving back” through his involvement in many community groups. He enjoys a wonderful life with his family, spending as much time as possible with his two children, Alexia and Edward, who he believes benefitted immensely from their Girton education. His greatest joy comes from his four grandchildren.