Director of Identity 

“Have Courage and the Good Seed will Grow.” Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice

Last week was an incredibly difficult one for our College community, with the passing of our dear friend and colleague Mr Mark Waddington. Throughout his Funeral Service, in the prayers, stories and conversations shared by colleagues from Edmund Rice communities in lutruwita Tasmania, Ballarat, Victoria and Nairobi, Kenya. Mr Waddington was remembered as a man who modelled the qualities at the core of an Edmund Rice charism, particularly those of service and courage. 

Mr Waddington had the courage to openly question our occupation of the Land and now, and we have the phrase ‘Country that was never ceded’ in our Acknowledgement of Country. We have our own registered muwinina graphics, created by our Aboriginal students and a set of reconciliation footy jumpers which we wear when we play our annual Treaty Match. It was he who mentored young palawa scientist Jamie Graham-Blair through his work in creating a biocultural survey of the plants at the Austins Ferry campus and the tunapri makuminya Project, and was instrumental in our College receiving the Narragunnawali National Award in Reconciliation.

It was Mr Waddington who had the courage to dream of an Immersion to Africa and now we have a community of friends, past students and staff who have walked through the gates of the Mary Rice Centre; their lives have been changed forever. It was he who asked the Old Virgilians Association to consider funding an African classroom and now we have our own Tujenge Mary Rice Centre classroom. 

It was Mr Waddington who served our communities as a mentor, colleague and friend, who coached our cricket teams, and believed they were ready to take on the big boys, and now we have our First XI Cricket team. He always took the time to check in with people, to stop working and look up from his computer, to be available to umpire, score and be present even late into the night, answering an email or providing an infallible proofreading service. 

Mr Waddington modelled for all of us a way of living our Edmund Rice charism with his courageous words and with his selfless acts of service. 

‘My Deeds done in my Father’s name are my credentials” John 10:25