Foundation Day
Dr Emma O'Rielly's "Fight to Win" Reflection:
Good evening and a very warm welcome to colleagues, students, parents, Old Girtonians, special guests and founders to the celebration of Girton’s 138th year.
On this day, every year, we honour and remember those who founded our school.
This is an important ritual that serves to nurture the culture of gratitude we strive to instil in every student. And while this year, the entire school community cannot experience in person the magnificent music from our students and enjoy the incredible architecture of this grand place, we will soon ALL sit shoulder to shoulder in the stillness of quiet reflection for this important school event.
Girton is championed on the spirit of the fight.
In 1884, Mrs Aherne, an Irish Catholic and Miss Hill (later to become Mrs Millward), an Australian Protestant, stared down religious divides to create an exceptional school for girls. At the time, there were twenty-one private schools in Bendigo and the odds of two women starting a successful venture were minimal at best.
But they defied the odds.
The odds were again defied in 1919 when then Head, Miss Gertrude Pratt, said that the past year had been one of the most successful despite difficulties caused by the outbreak of influenza. Then in 1937, under the Headship of Miss Emily Agnes King, the school battled against the poliomyelitis outbreak, enduring school closures and continuous disruptions to learning and events.
These two school leaders faced challenges with which recent history makes us familiar, and they, too, prevailed.
Miss King, in particular, who was Headmistress from 1932 until 1938, is acknowledged as a person of great fortitude.
She was offered the Headship of Girton in 1921 but refused the offer, determined first to gain more experience. She spent the next ten years teaching in Canada, England, Europe and then returned to Australia to work at Toorak College.
When she finally accepted the position of Head in 1932, Australia was still experiencing the trauma of the Depression. Money was scarce for most people, and unemployment was still widespread. The school’s success under her leadership is attributed to her diligence and capacity.
Miss King was no stranger to the fight.
Miss Olive Emily Jarvis Gordon and Miss Sidney Lilla Warren steered Girton through the Great war years in the 1940s. Against the backdrop of curtailed services for the civilian population, controlled prices, and rationing of food, petrol and clothing, they fought to keep the school open.
And they won.
The most recent fight by our forebears was that of 1992/93.
When Bendigo’s Girton College announced its closure in August 1992 after 108 years of operation, a group of parents and staff banded together to explore options for a new beginning.
The newly formed “Friends of Girton” refused to accept that a high-quality Independent School for their children could not be established for the new school year in 1993.
This band of courageous visionaries, some of whom are here tonight, was inspired and brilliantly led by Mr John Higgs, Girton Grammar School’s first Chairman, alongside Mrs Jan Thomas and Mr Chris Morey.
At this juncture, on behalf of the entire school community, may I acknowledge and thank the following Friends of Girton members who are present here tonight:
- Mr John Higgs
- Mr John Palmer
- Mr Colin Tracey
- Mr Richard Trigg
The hard work of this group of people who lobbied, fund raised and dedicated countless hours of voluntary labour resulted in the establishment of Girton Grammar School and on 2nd of February 1993 the school opened its doors to 302 students and 30 staff.
Girton students did not miss a day of school between the school’s closure and incredible re-opening.
The hard work undertaken to establish the school was met with more hard work and clear vision by our founding Headmaster, Mr Clayton Jones, valiantly supported by the founding Deputy Head, Mrs Robyn MacCulloch and the founding Head of Junior School Mr Dennis Garoni. Mr Clayton Jones and Mrs Robyn MacCulloch are here tonight.
To these Girton Grammar founders, who embraced the fight, we owe considerable gratitude.
When students proudly sing the school song and stamp their feet to accentuate the words, “fight to win”, this is what the noise is all about.
The spirit of the fight is remembered today and will forever shape the culture of this school.
Our founders have maintained that education is concerned with imparting, by word and deed, Christian values regarding attitudes to life, to morality and to other people. They have been the guardians of the Girton tradition, and now, it is up to us to carry forward the spirit and the ethos that comes from enduring through hardship to the stars.