This article is an excerpt from the 2023 Captain of School’s Inaugural Speech given by Daniel Cash.
The weight of history hangs in the air at Melbourne Grammar School.
To behold an institution so closely linked to the development of a city and a modern country is rare. The portraits of our past Headmasters hung in The Old Melburnians War Memorial Hall gaze down at current students and carry in their expressions all the gravitas of a history rich and real.
Headmaster (1858 – 1875) Dr John Bromby’s ponderous stare calls to mind days of side-whiskers and House boxing, and Headmaster (2009 – 2019) Roy Kelley’s confident posture reflects a School settled and thriving. Just as the stone steps in the Quad sag under the burden of countless footsteps which have come before – footsteps of statesmen, sportsmen, scholars and philanthropists – there is the clear presence of history at our School.
The trend here is clear: our past is rich and prominent and precious. It is daunting, too.
How do we honour this history? The answer, I feel, is to evolve. Evolution is not antithetical to history – indeed, our history is change. The updates and progressions made by this School over the years define its past – new policies, new buildings, new Houses, new curricula. If we stop evolving, stop changing, we will not conserve history – for history is not static – rather we will lose our footing, miss our chance. Evolution and improvement are essential to honouring our history and winning our place in the future.
What does that look like – changing? It is the Interschool Conference on Gender and Sexual Diversity we held in 2022. It is the Service programs our Houses continue to work with, the Towards 2030 set of goals and values, and the increased collaboration with Melbourne Girls Grammar. If we can commit to never resting on our laurels, to never halting in our procession forwards, we can honour our history.
The new Find Your Voice Committee (focused on promoting mental health) and the new Across Boundaries Committee (focused on celebrating cultural diversity), as well as the renamed Pride Alliance, are promising indicators of another step forward. Our busy daily schedule unites with these new initiatives, and in so doing honours our history yet looks with young eyes to the future.
We are remarkably fortunate to be connected to this School. It is therefore our obligation to make the most of the opportunities we have. Moreover, with a past like ours, we must do our forebears proud.
This coming year, may we continue on our course in time, so that, a century from now, students look back at our achievements, our instances of compassion and inclusion, and wonder how they will live up to our standard. This coming year, may we aim to have all voices heard, all good ideas actualised, and all worthy standing traditions upheld.
