On Friday 4 October 2024, 60 members of the Class of 1974 came together at The Gallery, Waymouth Street, Adelaide for the 50th year reunion of their Year 12 cohort.
It is undoubtedly true to say that it was an excellent event, for a variety of reasons.
The venue worked perfectly for a group of this size. The program for the day ran like clockwork thanks to the work of Master of Ceremonies Richard Myhill. Several people travelled from interstate, or from the country regions of the State, and it was especially good to see so many boarders attend (thanks to the great work undertaken by Tom Shannon to rally support).
An important additional feature of the day was that it was also conducted as a reunion for the 1974 First XVIII Intercol football team, with a significant number of players coming together to celebrate their demolition of St Peters as part of a season when the side was undefeated, including with a win against Wesley College in Melbourne.
Special mention needs to be made of the speeches.
PAOCA President, Andrew Sullivan, updated everyone on the activities of the Old Scholars’ Association.
Mark Newman then proposed the Toast to the School. Mark was the 1974 School Captain and travelled from Tasmania for the event. As he said in his speech, it is hard to believe that fifty years have passed since we left the school and the ongoing connection with PAC will be different for each person attending the reunion. He went on to say that life’s journey would have taken us all in many directions and that the friendships and the lessons we learnt during our school days went a long way to developing us into who we are today. He concluded an excellent speech by noting that the reunion was a great way to reconnect. As said in our school song, We’re Princes Men – Yes, now and always Princes Men.
The Head of the Preparatory School, Jon Gelsthorpe, responded on behalf of the Headmaster David Roberts, especially updating us about plans for the redevelopment of the Preparatory School.
John Clements then spoke to mark the occasion of the 1974 Football Intercol.
The last “formality” for the day was a roving mic session, which allowed us to focus on some highlights and achievements in 1974, and since we left school.
The afternoon concluded with a significant number of Old Scholars adjourning to the roof-top bar to continue conversations and enjoying each other’s company and the excellent venue.
Special thanks are extended to Mary-Ann Standish for her work in organising the event. Indeed, the consensus appears to be that we should organise another reunion in five years’ time given the success of this event!
Richard Dennis
Class of 1974 Reunion Committee
