PBHSOB ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Dear Old Boy
OLD BOY ADAM NUNN CYCLING OVER 45 000KM FOR CHARITY
Old Boy Adam Nunn (Class of 2012, School House) is currently undertaking an epic adventure – he has started a cycling trip around the world together with friend Ron Rutland – and it’s all for charity!
Adam told the Old Boys Association that by Sunday 30 January 2022, the duo had just finished their “warm up” which was a 1 579km ride from Cape Town to Windhoek.
The official starting point will be in Tokyo where the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Their end point will be at the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, after touching base at the2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup (which is being played in 2022) in New Zealand.
This encompasses approximately 20 months on the road covering 45 000km, through 48 countries on six continents.
According to Adam when we spoke to him a few weeks ago, “We now are doing some logistics in trying to find the safest and easiest way into Japan to start one of the two main events. It looks like we need to quarantine in Tanzania for two weeks and then fly into Japan for another 10 days hotel quarantine”. Thereafter they will cycle from Tokyo to Aukland (20 000km) for the Women’s Rugby World Cup and from there begin their Race to Rugby World Cup 2023 and cycle roughly 25 000km from Santiago to Paris.
Adam has promised to keep us updated as they progress and has also offered to give a virtual talk to Boys High School pupils when they have decent WiFi coverage along the route.
The charity which will benefit from this challenging endeavour will be ChildFund Rugby, the official charity partner of the 2021 RWC, as well as for various Sport for Development programmes supported by the 2023 RWC.
We are all cheering you on Adam and Ron and we are exceptionally proud of yet another Boys High School Old Boy who is literally setting the pace in the world of sport whilst devoting time and effort to charity.
For more information please visit https://racetorugbyworldcup.com/ or follow on Instagram @racetorwc
The PBHSOB Association wishes Adam and Ron all the best on their epic journey and will keep the Old Boys updated on their progress.
OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION BRANCH VISITS TO BE REVITALISED DURING 2022
Whilst the Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys Association is based in Pretoria, there are various Branches throughout the country and indeed, across the globe.
The intention of the Association Branches is to allow for the regular gathering of Old Boys who are unable to attend the main functions held in Pretoria, due to travel and time restrictions.
The Branches form part of an integral network of Old Boys wanting to stay connected to the School and to each other
Not only are there Branches active in most Provinces in South Africa but also in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
Each Branch should consist of a chairperson and a secretary who should ensure that a member database is maintained, updated regularly and the updated information sent to the PBHSOB Association Office. They should also arrange an annual event and casual get-togethers with Old Boys in the Branch area whilst being conscious of prevailing health conditions and Government Regulations.
Now that COVID-19 restrictions have eased, making travel and social interaction easier, the Board of Directors has decided to revitalise the activities of the Branches.
During 2022, the following Branches will be visited by delegates from the Association’s Board of Directors and the Headmaster, Mr Greg Hassenkamp, when his schedule allows it: Cape Town, Hermanus, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. These get-togethers will be in the form of a lunch or dinner at a venue decided on by the convenors in each area.
Dates and the contact details of the convenors will be included in the March 2022 newsletter.
Remember to encourage all Old Boys to join the Old Boys Association and to register on Alumnet by clicking on the link on our website or visiting www.pbhsoba.alumnet.co.za
MORE NEWS FROM SUMMER SPORTS DAY 2022
Summer Sports Day not only involves playing various sports such as soccer, tennis, cricket, water polo and many others but also incorporates various cultural and intellectual activities such as chess and debating.
Ms Elena Fratini, who coordinated the cultural events, gave feedback to the school’s Headmaster, Mr Greg Hassenkamp.
Two rounds of Chess were played – the first round had 11 players in total and the second round had 10 players, both rounds were PBHS vs Old Boys.
PBHS won the first round against Old Boys 6-5 and Old Boys won the second round 6.5 vs 3.5.
The Old Boys beat PBHS at debating.
Five Old Boys joined the Photographic Society for the day and they did a mentorship programme with the school’s five photographers and had a wonderful time photographing the events at the school throughout the day (our very own paparazzi).
REUNION NEWS!
For the first time, we are having a 70 Year On Reunion in 2022.
Mr Ron Sutherland from the Class of 1952, together with some of his classmates, decided that the time is right to celebrate 70 years of being a PBHS Old Boy. They approached the school and the answer from the Headmaster Mr Hassenkamp was a resounding yes.
The groundbreaking reunion will take place on Friday 6th May 2022 at the school starting with tea and a chat in the Reeler Room, a tour of the Museum to take the group on a walk down memory lane, attending an assembly for old times sake and then on to a long and enjoyable lunch at the Clubhouse in Lynnwood.
Because they are such a generous reunion group, they have extended an invitation to those Old Boys who matriculated in the years 1950 to 1955 inclusive.
Their motto is “You can get the Old Boys out of PBHS, but you can’t get PBHS out of us Old Boys”!
Former Headmaster, Mr Bill Schroder and current Headmaster, Mr Greg Hassenkamp are expected to say a few words at the tea and lunch.
For more information or to book your place, please contact Mr Ron Sutherland on the e-mail address: ronvon@mweb.co.za
Other Reunion dates taking place this year are:
60 Year On Reunion, Class of 1962 – Friday 13th May 2022 (convenor – Mr Donald Jones)
50 Year On Reunion, Class of 1972 – 26 & 27 August 2022 (convenor – Mr Rod Cairns)
40 Year On Reunion, Class of 1982 – 28 & 29 October 2022 (convenor – Mr Simon Brown)
30 Year On Reunion, Class of 1992 – 02 & 03 September 2022 (convenor – Mr Chris Oberholzer)
20 Year On Reunion, Class of 2002 – Saturday 30th July 2022 (convenor – Mr Devon Light)
10 Year On Reunion, Class of 2012 – Saturday 13th August 2022 (convenor – Mr Daniel Swiegers)
For more information contact info@pbhsob.com by e-mail
DO YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION?
A Brief History of the Old Boys Association
Pretoria Boys High School was founded in 1901 in the old “Staats Model” School on the corner of Skinner and van der Walt Street. In 1909, after several other homes the Pretoria College moved into the new school buildings on the hill (Waterkloof Kop), east of Pretoria. In 1910 the Pretoria College amalgamated with ‘Eendracht Skool” to form the Pretoria Boys High School under the headmastership of Mr WH ‘Billy’ Hofmeyr. This was as a dual medium school, which it remained until 1924 when Afrikaans Medium High School, ‘Affies’ was built.
While 1901 was the starting date of the school, it took until 1919 before the school issued invitations to the Old Boys to attend a reunion. This can be seen as the opening of the Old Boys front. An attempt had been made in 1914 to start and Old Boys body but this did not come to anything.
It was on the 6th of December 1919 that 60 Old Boys, who had responded to the invitation of the School, gathered for an enjoyable day spent at the School. Cricket was played during the day and in the evening the first Old Boys Dinner, ‘which was a powerful testimony to the skills of the Matrons of the Houses’, was held in the Big Hall of the School. After the feast a meeting was held and it was unanimously resolved that an Old Boys Association be formed. Carson Cross was elected the first Chairman with Albert Meeser as his secretary.
It was at the meeting that it was decided that on the first Saturday of every December a reunion dinner would be held. Later the date was changed to the second Saturday of November. This was again changed due to exams and the close proximity of Guy Fawkes to the third Saturday in October. In recent years it has been held in the first half of March. *
It was during the war years that many of the minute books went astray, as a result no official records remain of the Association activities until after the war. Research still continues, however, in order to fill the blanks in our history.
On the 20th of December 1948 the Pretoria High School Old Boys Association was formed as a Registered Limited Company, not for gain, and the Articles and Memorandum of the Association were signed in Solomon House witnessed by Mrs Francois Brooks, the wife of Bill Brooks.
The formation of a company was necessary in order to enable the Association to purchase a piece of property in what is now Lynnwood from Frank Struben. This is now Hofmeyr Park and the home of the Pretoria High School Old Boys Club.
The objects for which the Association was established were:
To foster, promote, encourage and provide facilities for, social intercourse, sport, intellectual pursuits and all types of meeting and association between, and mutual interest among, ex-pupils of High Schools in the Union of South Africa and elsewhere, particularly between and among Old Boys of the Pretoria High School for Boys, pupils of the said school, parents and well-wishers of Old Boys and pupils of the said school and masters thereof.
To promote, establish, assist in the administration or government of schools, colleges and educational centres, to promote education and sport in all their branches and particularly to do whatever may be required or calculated to further and advance the good and interest of the Pretoria High School for Boys, its Old Boys, Pupils and staff.
– Roger Herbert
(The Pretorian 1997)
IN MEMORIAM – LIZ ROGERS
Ms Liz Rogers passed away on 29 January 2022. From 1986, she was a teacher at PBHS for over 20 years and she will be missed by all who knew her. Tributes flowed in from her friends at the School.
The following tributes from three of her good friends –
In memory of Liz Rogers…
Liz looked after me when I arrived at PBHS, as a young teacher in the English Department, in 1987. Having never taught before, let alone teach English, I certainly had a lot to learn and Liz was happy to oblige. She had an amazing knowledge of the English language and its literature and able to reduce any tricky concept to its absolute essentials. It is this acutely incisive mind that I shall miss. Liz was one of the reasons that I stayed in teaching.
But Liz’s life was not always easy. I recall at least two periods during which she was away from school. It became clear after the first, in the early 1990s, that she was struggling with depression. It took years and another more serious episode before the doctors worked out the correct combination of medications for her. Through these trying times Liz would be chin-up, stoic and teaching with her customary enthusiasm. She often confided in me that it was having to get to school by seven o’clock that kept her going.
Some of our happiest times were spent on holiday together at Liz’s family holiday-camp on the coast of the deep, rural Transkei. This place was paradise, and I was privileged, with Gill Wroth, Helene Donaldson, Jeanne-Mari Neefs, Lincoln Keeton and my own family members, to spend April or July holidays there. Here we could walk, swim, cook, eat, drink, play bridge and Scrabble, and laugh to our hearts content. And what fun we had! I have an enduring image in my mind of Liz lolling in the river wearing her black-and-white bathing costume and a white peak cap pulled over her eyes. We walked across the kilometre-long beach daily, tapped our feet against the rock on the other side and then returned. Liz was very fond of this place and in addition to our holidays, she spent time there with her brother Howard, his family and her mom. We were regaled with stories from ‘the old days’ when the camp could only be reached by boat.
Thank you Liz, for these memories. You were the centre of it all. We honour you for your fortitude, good sense and friendship.
Niel van der Watt
LIZ ROGERS (GW)
I lost a dear friend (a BFF) last Saturday. Ms Liz Rogers passed away on Saturday 29 January, after an unequal struggle against PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy), a degenerative and unkind brain disorder. When I last saw her, in November 2021, she was confined to a wheelchair and was not quite on top of her cognitive functioning.
But I have such happy memories of my friendship with Lizzie. I met her when I arrived at PBHS in 1990. We taught together, discussed boys together, ‘winged’ together, organised house plays together, spent holidays together …. Mr Schroder, in an email to me this week, spoke of Liz as being ‘a valuable member of staff and a real character’. She was indeed!
Ms Rogers was the ultimate grammarian. She could explain what distinguishes the active from the passive voice and make accessible the difference between a gerund and a present participle. When I was a Sunnyside Form II tutor, and she language checked my report comments, she zapped me for splitting an infinitive. I was not happy, but she was right. Mrs Donaldson reminds me that she loved A Tale of Two Cities and the sacrifice of Sidney Carton, and Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. A deep vein of romance unfulfilled! And yet, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when she had a choice, her preference was (as is mine) for Georgette Heyer and Nora Roberts rather than Thomas Hardy and Herman Melville. Simple souls, we girls!
Liz Rogers loved her boys. When she left Boys High, she told me that she remembered the boys with joy. ‘Hello, my dear’ was always her line of welcome. I know many boys will remember ‘Granny’ or even ‘Super Granny’ with fondness. That name stuck after a flustered junior got it wrong! And she loved it. (Cornel van der Westhuizen told the story in the November 2008 edition of Boys Highlights). Ms Rogers stored sweeties in her cupboard and was always ready to reward or to console. She was an aficionada of Shrek movies, much to the delight of her boys. I remember trying to teach Maths in Room 20 with fantasy dialogue echoing up the passage from Room 24.
In the late 1980s, Liz was detailed to teach ‘Safety Driving’ to senior boys. Anyone involved will surely remember. She remembered kangarooing around the Fishpond in the school’s blue-and-white Citi Golf. As Mr Schroder wrote to me: ‘there will be hundreds of Old Boys who will remember her with gratitude and affection.’ Let us remember her together, giggle at her idiosyncrasies and love her forever. Rest in peace Lizzie mou!
Gill Wroth
LIZ ROGERS
Ms Elizabeth Rogers, Liz, or Lizzie to her friends, joined the English Department of Boys High in January 1986 after teaching in Port Elizabeth for many years. She and I shared a connection as I had lived in PE as well. She immediately became an integral member of the English Department and shared her wealth of experience with her colleagues – including me, a second-year teacher – and, of course, her boys. She loved teaching her boys and often kept them quiet and working by bribing them with sweets. She was of the old school and did not care too much for the new ways of doing things. If you needed to learn language you needed your workbook and a textbook. Just before a matric dance, many years ago, she regaled her boys with the story of her own matric dance at a convent school. She told the boys that no partners were allowed, and the bishop was in attendance and that they had to kiss his ring. That brought the house down and she had to be told why the boys burst out laughing. She was, of course, mortified.
Liz’s extramural commitments involved assisting me with tennis. She was always willing to drive tennis players to various fixtures around Pretoria. She and I worked backstage for numerous productions which were directed by the very innovative Mr David Wylde and suitably assisted by the late Ms Theresa Noble. There was fun and laughter backstage, but she always ensured that the props she was responsible for were in their correct place for the actors on stage. Later she took on the role of co-ordinating the House Plays with Ms Wroth. The boys soon realised that she would not allow any smut on stage. Hence, what the boys presented at the dress rehearsal was not necessarily what was seen on the night of the production (such as ‘girls’ in minis). Needless to say, Liz ensured that those naughty boys were suitably dealt with later by the housemasters or the headmaster.
Liz enjoyed going out for a cup of coffee or a meal or having friends around. I was one of a group which met regularly for a lunch on a Friday afternoon. And of course, a school term could not end without a lunch at a pizzeria or coffee shop. She ensured that we all knew where we had to be. These meals were always a fitting end to a hectic term and the way to ease into a well-deserved holiday. We have certainly missed her organisation of these luncheons and coffee afternoons since her relocation to Cape Town.
Liz celebrated her 70th birthday on 18 November and a week later Ms Wroth and I flew to Cape Town to celebrate this milestone with her. By then she was in frail care and wheelchair-bound, but the spark of the old Liz, although dimmed, was still there. Little did we know that that would be the last time that we would enjoy her company. She passed away on Saturday 29 January. I shall miss her laughter and the wonderful conversations we had. May you rest in peace special friend.
Alan O’Brien
Please remember to send any snippet of interesting information to info@pbhsob.com for the attention of Sally