Alumni Newsletter, April

Headmaster Message

Master Plan

As a School, we are enormously grateful for all we have inherited and for the foresight and commitment of those who have come before us.

What has been passed on to us can be seen in many of the School’s traditions, programmes and quite tangibly in our campus facilities.

The Junior Campus has evolved significantly since it started as the site for Broadland House Church of England Grammar School in 1845. Just last week, I enjoyed sharing the photos below with Grade 2 as I shared with students about change over time as part of their current inquiry.

The Senior Campus, once a 25-acre farm, continues to benefit from the historic buildings constructed during the first half of last century along with more recent developments including the refurbishment of the Learning Hub which students have been enjoying this term.

Over the last two years, considerable thought has been dedicated to the ongoing development of both campuses.

In 2021, we were pleased to announce the acquisition of more than 5000 square metres of land for the Junior Campus, the majority of which will be green space. We expect that later this year students will be able to commence use of some of this new land and over the coming months a Master Plan for the Junior Campus will be developed.

At the Senior Campus, in recent years, we have continued to renew and develop our learning spaces while also working through a process to develop a Master Plan which will guide the coherent development of the Senior Campus over approximately the next 15 years. An overview of the Senior Campus Master Plan was emailed to alumni this week and I would encourage you to read more about the Plan on our website and to watch the video below.

Richard Ford
Headmaster

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Alumni Updates

Old Launcestonians and Launceston Grammar have officially strengthened their relationship with the aim of benefiting players and students.

Launceston Grammar senior boy’s coach Jay Schulz, also an OLs player, explained the new Player Pathway Program.

‘There’s an affiliation that’s been there for years but nothing as official set in place,’ he said.

‘We’re going to give the school kids the opportunity to come and join in at OLs and we’re going to have the coaches come here and help out and have much more of a relationship and connection as opposed to just saying ‘well come down if you want to’.

‘We’re putting a program in place so everything’s more set firm and everyone knows what’s going on and what’s going to happen.’

OLs senior coaches Abbey Green and Kane Sanders as well as players will help out at Grammar training and games.

The school’s players will also have the opportunity to train with OLs’ men’s and women’s teams.

OLs, an NTFA club, is also benefitting from using the school’s facilities.

Grammar has boy’s firsts and seconds who play in the statewide SATIS competition which runs through term two.

The girl’s senior team plays in the NSATIS competition against independent schools in the north and north-west. The school’s girl’s program was introduced four years ago and is led by coach Adrian Finch.

There’s also a boys’ year 7 and 8 football team which plays in the Northern High Schools Sports Association.

OLs, which doesn’t have a junior program, is keen to foster a pathway which will see more Grammar players join the club when they finish school.

‘It’s (SATIS) only a short season with only six or seven games. But then it’s what happens after that,’ Schultz, a former AFL player, said.

‘We want to try and keep the young boys and girls coming to OLs after that and joining the training there so that as a year 12 is coming up, they feel like they’ve got a home and a club to go to as well. That’s the idea behind it.’

Former AFLW player Green is looking forward to passing on knowledge to the young players.

‘I’ll be coming down assisting with training drills and mentoring them on game days as well. Most importantly, forming that relationship and being that extra support,’ she said.

‘It’s about helping them throughout their football careers while they’re still in school and making sure they have the best possible football experience while they’re young and then transitioning into that women’s senior program.’

Having Green’s support is an exciting prospect for Grammar player Ashton Billing.

‘Especially for the women’s side because usually we do have a lot of male coaches and getting the female perspective will definitely change us up this year,’ she said.

Billings’ teammate Olivia Frost is likewise pumped for the experience.

‘I’m really looking forward to promoting girls in AFL and pushing for everybody to have a go, especially the younger ones,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Sanders was pleased to see the partnership made official.

‘It’s fantastic, it goes back to tradition where the grammar school always aligned with Old Launcestonians Football Club – as were other schools around Launceston,’ he said.

‘It’s going back to the grassroots and providing a pathway for grammar students to join a senior football team.’

OLs president Tom Harrison explained the school had allowed the club to use Grammar-based Faulkner Park in the off-season. The club’s home ground is Invermay Park.

‘Being able to use the school facilities has added great value for our players,’ he said.

‘In a town that’s probably short a football ground, it’s been quite tough. To be able to get those facilities to allow us to compete against some of those bigger football clubs has been a huge bonus.’

He said the club was delighted the school wanted to reciprocate the relationship.

‘Our football club has had its ups and downs, but we feel like we’re in a really good position,’ he said.

‘The school’s had a strong footballing background and combined with our background, I think we can do something great in the Launceston community.’

Launceston Grammar headmaster Richard Ford said it was a boon for the school and club.

‘The history between the school and the football club goes back a long way but this development takes it to a whole new level,’ he said.

‘For our students, they’re inevitably going to benefit from the expertise within the local club, with people like Abbey Green and Kane Sanders mentoring them.

‘We know the club is also going to benefit from having a pipeline of players coming their way, (who are) leaving school with a desire to keep on playing.

“One of our hopes for all students is they’re fit for life and continue to be involved and contribute to the community.’

Source: The Examiner April 11, 2022

Journalist: Brian Allen

Tony and his wife, Rachael arrived at Launceston Grammar in the mid 1960s from the UK. He arrived six months late due to a motorbike accident in which Rachael broke her leg.

Tony originally taught Physical Education (PE) but his real forte was English Literature, which he later taught to matric. Tony became Head of Sport, coached the 1st XI to State Premierships and then became head coach of a very successful Athletics team. Tony’s weight training programmes greatly enhanced the performance of the School’s sporting teams. Tony was also a driving force in the construction of the long overdue Tom Room gymnasium.

*”I found him to be a great coach who always had an excellent rapport with his players and somehow always managed to remain calm. It was during this time Robbie Harrison and myself babysat for the Winders and I fondly remember the food they would leave us was a marked improvement on our Boarding House food at that time.” (1)

*”Tony worked tirelessly across all sports and had a great relationship with all students. He was a gentle, kind man with a good sense of humour and totally devoted to his work. Tony was never conventional as expressed by his eccentric forms of dress.” (2)

In his later days at Launceston Grammar he was Housemaster of Wilkinson. Tony also instigated a programme of sports administration whereby students organised and conducted athletics meetings. One of these students was Brian Roe, who was named Athletics Australia Official of the Year for 2016. “I was inspired by Tony Winder.”

Tony left Launceston Grammar at the end of 1973 but not before a farewell party, shared with Brian Smith, that lasted nearly a week!

He was appointed Boarding House Master at Ballarat College and then moved to Wesley College where he spent sixteen years.

*”He was comprehensively immersed in literature and language and an equal determination to make sure his students got his message about the joys of reading and writing. They surely enjoyed his irreverent and often satiric views of life. His admirable energies also found their way into the rich co-curricular life of Wesley, in sport, the performance arts and publications.” (3)

Several years after Rachael’s passing, Tony married Helen Drennen, the Principal of Wesley College. Following his retirement, he suffered ill health and later moved to 25 acre property near Yungaburra on the Atherton Tableland of North Queensland. In these later years he would sit on the verandah of his Queenslander and write poetry and sip red wine.

Vale Tony.

John Bailey
John Russell
Dawson Hann

Alumni Newsletter, April

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