Marist Brothers High School Darlinghurst
Blue & Blue
Christmas 2018
Gentlemen,
Wow, what a year
it has been.
“The Last
Hurrah” reunion was another record number in attendance for the
anniversary luncheon of the closing of the school. Yet again,
schoolmates found each other, some who had not seen their mates since
leaving school. Laughter continued to echo off the walls and poignant
moments were recalled. Toasts were made to missing friends and to those
who’ve passed on. Later, toasts were made for the sake of toasts alone.
What an inspiring group of individuals!
Frank Curtin [Class of 1945],
who dedicated his business career to the Forestry Commission, finished
off an Arts degree, which he commenced at 75.
How fitting it was for the closing anniversary to coincide
with Br. Paul Murphy’s Diamond Jubilee: 60 years as a Marist Brother.
The late Br. John Murphy, Darlo’s last Principal, could not have chosen
a more fitting time for his brother, Paul, to sit in for him, than at
this reunion celebrating the closing of the school, half a century
later.
As Br. Paul Murphy celebrated, he pondered, ”Where did the
60 years go?” Murf poignantly recalled and shared the last moments of
the closing of Darlo as a school, when he sat with his brother, Br. John
Murphy, at the base of the spiral staircase, lamenting that the school
was to be demolished for a high-rise development. Of course the
development did not proceed and the building remains as an historic
trust.
If it hadn’t
been for the kindness of Pete
Sullivan [Class of ‘65] arranging beverages for the raffles, we
would not have shown a modest profit and that’s not to diminish the
importance of a rescue dash by
Bill Duncan O.A.M. [Class of ‘64]. When Pete fell ill at the last
minute and could bring neither himself nor the beverages to the reunion,
Bill, unsure whether he was to carry the donor or the beverages, chose
wisely. The raffles went well. Also a nice bottle of vintage red was
donated by the Hart Hotel [no relation to the good Br. Norman] to the
OBU committee. So, following the regulatory OBU procedure for critical
determinations on matters of substance, a quick scissors, paper, rock,
saw Bernie York walking away
with a big smile.
It was most
gratifying for the OBU team to receive a standing ovation from the
members at the reunion, being most humbling but unfortunately everybody
only clapped; ‘didn’t throw money. Clearly, we’ll all have to try
harder. Next year, we’ll have discrete wheel barrows positioned at
tables.
Fr. John Worthington
[Class of ‘64]
celebrated
Mass at St. Patrick’s, prior to the reunion. What a
refreshing and inspiring delivery, extricating from the most
conventional sermon forms, captivating and engaging those present. What
a loss to the commercial world: he did forsake fame and fortune, for
surely he would have made a brilliant encyclopedia salesman.
We received word
from Peter Downey [Class of ‘68]
in which he writes, “Prior to
the re-union in July, number of us from the 1968 Fourth Form –
Manny Prouzos, Robert Schiavuzzi,
Ray Gilmore, Greg Martin, and I - caught up for a meal in Riley St,
Darlinghurst. It was more than a simple catch-up; some of us hadn’t seen
one another since we were sixteen. The evening was filled with stories,
reminiscences and laughter. It served as a pre-cursor to the big
re-union in July marking the 50th Anniversary of the High
School’s closing , which we resolved to attend. We spoke about how good
it would be to make contact with Joe Fulton (former Br Redmond), who
taught us over the last few years, and to invite him to join us.
Efforts to contact him, however, proved
in vain. Our disappointment was heightened at the re-union when Michael
Howard quoted from the article that Joe had written for the final
edition of the Blue & Blue magazine. Imagine how Joe would have felt
hearing himself quoted fifty years later. At the conclusion of the
luncheon, I spoke with Michael. To cut a long story short, he was able
to supply some contact details. This resulted in Ray Gilmore and I
sharing an enthralling lunch with Joe at West’s Ashfield a few weeks
later. My fellow Fourth Formers were not to be left out; we all plan to
meet up again in October, Joe included.”
Extract of the
article by Bro. Redmond Adrian Fulton, B.A., Dip. T.G. as read by
Michael Howard
[Class of ‘64] at the reunion, “And
so shortly the demolition squad will be moving in, to raze the present
building and erect a thirteen storey block of home units in their place.
It is natural that we all experience some regret, some desire to alter
the now inevitable course of events – but we must stop there: rather, we
must accept the situation as the only realistic one, consoling ourselves
with the paradoxical thought that even in its own death-knell, and
perhaps more positively and deliberately than at any other time, the
High School is still proclaiming the theme that has exemplified it over
its long history: Servo Fidem. It it because there is a Faith to be
served and to be promoted that Darlinghurst, having lived its era
faithfully and, by God’s grace, gloriously, must now unselfishly make
way for other schools, very much its successors, to assume the role it
has been privileged to play for ninety-three years.
What
has been written here purports to be a sketchy survey, no more. It is
painfully obvious that the attempt to capture the true spirit of the
High School and its magnificent past has not been wholly successful –
perhaps it is idealistic to seek to do so. The reader must rest content
with what is little more than a eulogy of past Directors and a few
illustrious Old Boys typical of the many, a few notable events and a
catalogue of successes in study and sport. It is easy to record these
and the contribution each has made to the maintenance of the ideals for
which the High School has stood so firmly; less easy to record, but
equally significant are the others who, as teachers or as pupils, have
lived those ideals in the day-to-day activity of classroom and sports
field in a manner perhaps far less spectacular but nonetheless
important: these too merit praise. While they have no annalist to record
their achievements – and perhaps no achievements even, in our worldly
sense – we may be sure that their patient, consistent living of God’s
Will in the spirit of their ‘Servo Fidem’ is recorded in a far more
important place.’
Full article at
http://www.mbhsdarlinghurst.org/b&b_archives/1968/Blue%20&%20Blue%201968.pdf
With the
correspondence, we also received best wishes to all from
Kevin Read [Class of 46] who
turns 90 in August 2019.
Among others who sent apologies, was
Oleh Butchatsy. He was in Paris at the time. We’re trying to resolve
veracity of the report that Oleh is building a new persona around golf
prowess and Parisian influence and now prefers to be acknowledged as
“Hole-in-one Pierre”.
Fr. Michael
(Fallon), MSC.wrote, “Thank
you for including me in the invitation. I am an MSC priest (ordained in
1961). I was at Darlinghurst in Year 1 of secondary in 1949.
Unfortunately I am giving a retreat here at Douglas
Park on "Genesis" on July 11, so will not be able to attend. I trust you
will all have a great day.”
Fr. John
Doherty
[Class of ‘63] was also on
retreat, unable to attend. His classmate,
Fr. John “Juan” Anderson,
wrote from Peru: [email]
Br. Norman
was also unable to attend, unfortunately. The rumour that he flatly
refused to be included in the sing & dance Christmas review-fundraiser
for the OBU president’s retirement package, is totally false and, of
course, we’re investigating the source of that rumour. Anybody wishing
to send money regardless, should send cheques to: the poverty-stricken
OBU president’s {note the humble small “p”} ostentatious villa in
Lichtenstein. (address to be
advised).
Tony Morrissey
[Class of ‘65] offers
suggestions for our esteemed Premier Gladys Berejiklian, while he still
battles valiantly for restoration of TAFE in its previous form:
Opinions-3
Are gone the good old days, when the pollies didn’t
sell the farm? Also,
Opinions-4 is a must-read for TAFE supporters.
Reg Richardson A.M. [Class of ‘53] encountered
Tony Baine [Class of ‘57] under rather unusual circumstances for a
reunion but that’s better left for them to recount. It’s always good to
hear from Reg. He wrote,”I
thought that you may be interested in this exchange of emails .
I ache been an
advisor to the Mosman Art Gallery for 20 years and Jane Hurley works
there and is a lovely young woman.
[The “ache” Freudian slip by Reg clearly shows his devotion to the
Gallery]
I knew that her
partner, Des, was a musician but didn't realise he was
Bernie Cannon's son. She apparently saw my name in the Old Boys
Bulletin, which you guys so brilliantly produce .
I think that you
may be able to extract some details from the exchange of emails , about
Bernie and Des for a future bulletin .”
Kyran O’Donnell [Class of ‘54] wrote, “In a
chance meeting I "found" another Old Boy in this area.
He is the second eldest of the Imbriotis clan from Surry Hills
(and a Souths supporter of course).
One Con Imbriotis
whose youngest brother is Paul.
Paul Imbree [Class of
1947] played halfback in the premiership winners of that year.
He has attended Dinners in recent years.
Con is 90 and was very closely associated with Souths in younger
days and a friend of 1950's great, Bernie Purcell.
I repeat, what
an amazing group of men the OBU has. At last year’s reunion, we saw
Alan Willoughby [Class of
‘37] celebrating his 80th anniversary since walking from
the hallowed halls of Darlo. Those celebrating their 50th
anniversary of Darlo at the same function, surely had immediate
restructuring of their potential future, as the youthful, energetic,
intellectually-agile Alan intermingled. [photo]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
John Stanley [Class of ‘64]
kindly sent a few photos of the reunion and I bear the responsibility of
not having arranged photos of the record number who attended:
1. The digital
editing expertise of the OBU is sometimes in question but we do our best
to compensate for lighting corrections, particularly when the hirsute
appear less so:
reunion photo 1
2.
Photo 2: Bernie York;
Chris Minahan; Fr John Worthington; John Stanley; Tony Smith; Tony
Morrissey; Shane Smallwood & Denis O’Connor.
3.
Photo 3: Col Sullivan,
Kym Derriman, Warren Thomas
4. Photo 4: Michael Howard & Mike Bradley
In an effort to instill the value of “it’s not what you have but how you use it”, the late and loved, Brian Wiley, asked John’s older brother, Geoff, to stand in class with one other in 1961, referencing recent Vocational Guidance results. He said that even that those standing had genius IQs, they were both barely passing in school exams. Geoff retired as an expert in vehicular spare parts, the other as a gatekeeper. Somebody once wrote, “It’s not what you’ve achieved in life that most matters; it’s how you’ve lived it.” If not, they should have.
If we,
the MSHSDOBU, do one thing going forward communally, as other OBU
generations have done in leaving a legacy, surely the impetus is upon us
- this dying breed - to change the face of mankind just one degree. If
it is so, let’s give it our best shot. The unborn are our best chance
and few of us will be here to see too many more of them, as they emerge.
Their wellbeing, however, is something held in the ethos of every prayer
that we said. Masses have
been celebrated for the success of “The Children’s Manifesto” and a
papal request is being made, sent to one of our Old Boys in Rome, Fr.
Denis Hallinan, requesting delivery to His Holiness regarding a Mass at
Christmas 2019 in St. Peter’s Square for such children in need.
Kindly, Matt Huchinson, the new Principal at Marist College
Canberra, offered his assistance and so we may see some inspiring things
emerging under the Darlo colours in 2019.
Maintenance &
Repairs:
Robert
Dick [Class of ‘61]
Had the best of treatment at St. Vincent’s recently and is in recovery
mode after some diabolical internal surprises & subsequent operation. He
advised that the regular yearly reunion for LC’61 +/-, regretfully had
to be cancelled for 2018 but shall be back on, same time, in 2019.
John
Gallagher
[Class of ‘67] and his irrepressible humour were missed at the
reunion as he was recovering from bouts in hospital, which he attributes
to the results of “a miss-spent youth and middle-age” and to which the
writer annexes “and since then too.”
Peter
McMaugh [Class of ‘52]
recovering from heart surgery at the time of the reunion, lamented being
unable to attend. Pete has been supplying B&Bs for scanning, to augment
the
OBU’s online
library.
Warren Thomas
[Class of ‘65]
has relocated to Bermagui toughing
life out, as he writes, “Retired completely and didn’t bring my CV down
here. Incognito and loving it. Two great golf courses nearby and skiing
only two hours away. Life is good!”
Lost & Found
Mark Sinclair
has been found with the help of several, including
Warren Thomas [Classof ‘65]
and
Bernie Woods
[Class of ‘61]. Bernie advises that he’s
“been friends with the Sinclairs, the best part of 45 years (Mark's
wife, Judy, passed away almost 2 years ago). Mark is in Moran Nursing
Home, 99 Caldarra Avenue Engadine.” Regretfully, Mark is suffering acute
memory loss. Mark is an absolute legend of the OBU, having served on the
previous Board for over a decade and having continued for several years
with the current one.
Kyran O’Donnell
re Mark Sinclair
I remember Mark
clearly in my first year at Darlo in the lines before school.
He was a real "Jack the lad".
Little did i realise that he was off to the seminary along with
Pat Mc Auliffe* at the end of the year.
My sister-in-law grew up with the Sinclair boys in Maroubra Bay.
She was saddened to hear of his medical condition.
*Married Rosemary & I at Lane Cove in 1969.
Rowley Mackay
[Class of ‘61]
for those who’ve been enquiring, is alive and well, brimming with
health and still at home in Paddo, while attending class reunions at
Robert Dick’s home.
In Memoriam
Brother Raymond Mulvogue
and ex-student of Darlo passed away (14 Oct 2018) rather unexpectedly in
the US recently in his way to a Marist renewal in italy. He had not been
all that well but had doctor’s clearance to travel. His body remained in
the USA and was released to return to Australia for burial. He was 79
but joined the Marist Brothers after completing School at Darlo. Bro.
Ray was community leader of the aging brothers’ home at Randwick.
R.I.P. Bro. Ray
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Justin Cranney, who we knew as
Br Walter, passed away on the July 4th 2018, aged 88. He
was often seen at Bondi but lived his last days in an Aged Care facility
at Maroubra.
“Best teacher I ever had,
changed my life in a positive direction.”
Tony Smith
[Class of ‘64]
R.I.P. Justin
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Br. Charles “Charlie” Aquilina passed on the
28 July 2018. The tributes flowing in from OBU members were such that
regretfully, there is simply not enough space to accommodate them all
but below are some for reflection.
R.I.P. Charlie
.. sad very sad.. the Old
Ordeer changeth yielding place to new .. hope God fulfils himself in
many, many ways.. As the pot opined
Karam C Ramrakha
A grand Gentleman that has left a fond memory of laughter and kindness,
RIP Charlie, u were the best,
Regards your old Paul Street Wollahara ( now Bondi Junction )schoolmate,
Colin
Sullivan
I am sure Charlie will be fondly
remembered by many and it should be a nice farewell at St Greg's where
he spent so much of his life. His final resting place of Mittagong is
also a place where he spent a number of years. Vale Charlie.
Tony
Madeley
May the good Lord receive Charlie
into full glory...
Fr John Anderson
Charlie was/is much loved by those
of us who had contact with him over the years.
Really enjoyed his company at many
OBU lunches over the years.
RIP
Warren Thomas
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>..
John Kerwick [Class of ‘65]
passed away in 2017 and was a Vietnam Veteran.
R.I.P John
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Vincent
Connell
A well regarded
member of the former Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission
and a gentleman.
R.I.P Vince
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Frederico “Fred” Gregson [Class of ‘66] passed away on 22 May, 2018 at Macquarie
University Hospital, aged 68. Fred is remembered by his classmate,
Mark Knight. [eulogy-p1;
eulogy-p2]
R.I.P. Fred
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tony Jones (Class of ’65), one year after his passing- a Memorial service is
being held on Saturday, 2nd March 2019 at Manly (Steynes Hotel –
Function Room) commences midday. Numbers are limited. Please email OBU
for seating.
R.I.P. Tony
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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then apply it across your mouth.
MICROPORE SURGICAL TAPE WITH DISPENSER PACK 50mm x 9.1m costs about
$5.00.
[The OBU takes no responsibility for the above and it’s passed without
prejudice]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Brain challenge: sent in by
Peter Derriman [Class of ‘62]
A guy is in such a
hurry that he quickly parks, runs off leaving the engine running but
forgets his parking space number. What is it?
You have only 20
seconds to figure out the correct number for this specific parking
space.
Remember, when you click on the hyperlink, your
time starts – ready? …set ….
Humour:
Laughter – the best medicine: “This
will occur”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Subject:
annual confirmation of your contact info - please
Reply to confirm your email
address.
We have had a
number of Old Boys, who have changed their email addresses in recent
times and several didn’t receive advice of the reunion. If this email
does not reach you, then there is absolutely no need to respond !!!
Should you wish to be assured of receiving the B&B, please respond and
also advise of a phone contact and/or postal address for backup, where
possible.
May you all be blessed with peace this
Christmas and beyond.
Servo fidem
Kym Derriman
Gatekeeper
*LC Year refers to those who sat the LC or HSC in that year and also to their classmates who left school in earlier years.
President, OBU
Kym Derriman
9311 3344
Vice President
Tony Morrissey
9311 4598
Secretary
Bernie York
Marist Executive
Br. Paul Murphy
Tony Smith
Treasurer
Philip Hogan
Chairman
All mail to:
The Secretary,
MBHSD_OBU
POB 6177
Malabar 2036
eMail:
Old Boys' Union
Old Boys' Union