Few are fortunate enough to define their life, and legacy, by a passion that has left an enduring mark on both.
For Rob Liddle (OM 1959), that passion has always been athletics.
Not necessarily the pursuit of medals or records, but the friendships, opportunities and sense of belonging that grew around the sport. Through Melbourne Grammar School and, later, the Old Melburnians Athletics Club, athletics has become a thread running through his life for more than seven decades.
Now, Rob has made the extraordinary decision to leave a transformational bequest to Melbourne Grammar School, establishing the Old Melburnians Athletics Club Scholarship Fund.
Income from the fund will support up to four General Excellence Scholarships at any one time for students who demonstrate exceptional athletic ability or promise in track and field, and who compete for the Old Melburnians Athletics Club. It will also fund exceptional coaching and mentoring, creating opportunities for generations of students to come.
The nature of Rob’s gift ensures its impact will endure in perpetuity. It reflects not only Rob’s belief in the transformative power of education, but also his commitment to a community that has given him so much.
“Not only has the Club gifted me with a community of lifelong friends, but I feel that we owe it to the Club’s history to secure its future,” Rob says.
The Old Melburnians Athletics Club is a successor to the historic Hare & Hounds Club first established in 1892, one of the four founding clubs of the Victorian Amateur Athletic Association (now Athletics Victoria) in 1894.
Legendary Old Melburnian Edwin Flack (OM 1890), Australia’s first Olympian and the first Olympic champion in the 800 metres and 1500 metres running events in 1896, was also an original member.
Re-formed as the Old Melburnians Athletics Club in 1927, the Club has continued to provide generations of Melbourne Grammar students with opportunities to compete, connect, and remain part of a community long after leaving the School.
Rob has been giving back to the community already for decades, as the inaugural and continuing trustee of the Ian Gawler Fund, which was established by the Club to help provide practical assistance to athletes pursuing opportunities at state, national and international level.
Named in honour of former Club Captain and champion decathlete Ian Gawler (OM 1967), the Fund reflects the same belief that underpins Rob’s gift today: that talented young people should be given every opportunity to flourish.
The new bequest builds on that commitment. By tying his legacy to Melbourne Grammar School, Rob hopes to support young athletes at an earlier stage of their journey: creating opportunities to attend Melbourne Grammar, benefit from exceptional coaching and mentoring, and ultimately help grow the Club community that has shaped his own life.
As the Club approaches its centenary in 2027, Rob also hopes his bequest will ensure future students can experience the same friendships and values that athletics provided him.
“Quite apart from the joy of competing, they will meet not just other athletes from the School, but a wider community of athletes,” he says.
“The more friends you can make, the better.”
Dan Martin, Head of Athletics at Melbourne Grammar School and President of the Old Melburnians Athletics Club, says Rob’s bequest is a powerful expression of what school sport can achieve.
“Not only have scholarship recipients blossomed on the sporting field, but it’s allowed them to have an academic path that they perhaps wouldn’t have had at their previous schools,” Dan says.
Importantly, the impact extends far beyond performance.
“Their sporting ability is important, but their leadership abilities and the demonstration of their values aligning with Melbourne Grammar values are equally as important.”
The bequest will also support coaching, an area which Dan says can be fundamental to a young person’s development.
“Coaches have the opportunity to really influence the course of a student’s life,” Dan says.
For Rob, the value of athletics has never been measured solely by performance. The friendships, lessons and values he gained through the sport have endured long after his final race.
“Melbourne Grammar gave me not just a good education, but fantastic values,” he says.
“I think that’s probably the greatest benefit that I got.”
The students who ultimately benefit from Rob’s generosity may never know him personally. But through the opportunities his gift creates, they will become part of a community that has shaped his life for more than seventy years.
“To any of the boys who are awarded the Scholarship,” Rob says, “all I would say is, enjoy your journey.”
In doing so, they will continue a legacy built not on achievement alone, but on community, character and a lifelong commitment to helping others succeed.
