Martin Scott KC’s address to the Year 12 Valedictory Dinner on Saturday 18 October 2025.
In proposing the toast to the 2025 Leavers I will speak directly to them.
You might remember something I said at the ANZAC Service, about walking out the School gates for the last time as a student and becoming in that moment an Old Melburnian.
It sounds important. It is important. And here you are. But what does it mean?
We all know that when we walk across the Quad and out the gates for the last time we follow in the footsteps of some of the most important people in the life and history of this country. Leaders in every field of human endeavor.
For us, there is a certain weight of expectation. But what exactly is expected of you?
Consider the example of the three Prime Ministers, Deakin, Bruce and Fraser. You may know a lot about them or nothing at all. Either way, you would recognize that each of them was considered a great man of his own time, however different that time was to our own. After all, no Deakin possibly no federation and certainly no High Court. No Bruce, no modern Australian government as we know it. No Fraser, no refugee resettlement policy.
None of that was easy. It required courage and persistence.
But where does it come from, courage like that? And who am I to speak of it?
Courage like that comes from within. It is personal. It is a matter of character. And I can speak of it for the same reason you can.
Their courage rested on three articles of faith that all Old Melburnians have believed for 167 years. The first is a belief in the individual and in individual responsibility. The second is a belief in education and its power transform lives, in particular education at our great School. And the third is a belief in the importance of good character. Without that, the other two will only get you so far.
That is the Old Melburnians legacy that is now your responsibility. But how are these great men relatable to you or to me? What are they to you? What are we to them?
Imagine if they were here in their prime and you were to meet them. How would you converse?
With the man as a great man, the public figure, the Prime Minister?
The answer is none of these. You would converse with them as easily as you converse with each other, as you would with any Old Melburnian, regardless whether you know them. You would converse as brothers.
Something Deakin, Bruce and Fraser, all Old Melburnians have always known above all else: for us, at the end of the day the road always leads back to the Quad.
There is a photograph in the School archives that makes that point for me. It was taken in 1952 in front of the Witherby Tower. It is the very first Bruce House photo. Sitting in the front row, in exactly the same place he sat 50 years before in his own School photos, was Lord Bruce, sitting among his newest brothers.
One final thing. About what it means to be an Old Melburnian.
If these great men were here, what would they say? Something like this:
Each of you has the opportunity for greatness. True greatness does not only lie in public achievement, however much we may admire that or be inspired by it. True greatness comes from within. It is personal. It is a matter of character.
Identify your opportunity for greatness in that sense. Seize it and let nothing dissuade you in your task. If you do that then you will have met expectations. And you will understand the true meaning of Ora et Labora.
On behalf of all Old Melburnians, I welcome you to our ranks and I wish you every success in the journey ahead.
But always remember where the road ultimately leads for you and for me. Take it. And when you return to the Quad, you will be met by the warm embrace of a brother.
I invite all to stand and join with me in toasting the remarkable 2025 Valedictorians.
