THE TRILOGY OCEAN CHALLENGE
Two Old Boys will defy all odds to raise funds for deserving boys with limited resources
What is the Trilogy Ocean Challenge?
The Trilogy Ocean Challenge, also known as “the toughest swim in Africa”, is a daring spectacle of human endurance, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in open-water swimming. This unprecedented event, a world-first, dares to defy the elements as two ultra-distance athletes embark on a gruelling journey through the unpredictable waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the Western Cape. AND it’s all for a good cause – to generate funds through pledges to enable talented boys to attend Pretoria Boys High School on bursaries.
What does this entail?
Over 152 km of relentless, treacherous ocean awaits, in a series of three extreme open-water swims, two of which have never been completed as a solo swim.
- False Bay Crossing – 33km: December 2024
- Dassen Island to Robben Island – 53km; February 2025
- False Bay Double Crossing – 66 km; March 2025
Introducing the fearless
Chris Oldnall and Peet Crowther are going above and beyond to champion this cause. They are risking their lives and pushing the limits to raise crucial awareness and funds for the Trilogy Ocean Challenge, ensuring that even more young lives can be transformed through education and sport.
Peet Crowther (2007, Matheson) lives for the thrill of the extreme. An adventurer with a fearless heart, Peet has braved the unforgiving waters of the English Channel and completed a string of daunting international endurance events. His commitment to open-water swimming is matched only by his desire to drive change.
Chris Oldnall (2005, Matheson and Deputy Headmaster at PBHS) is a force in the world of ultra endurance sports. From conquering ironman races to mastering treacherous open-water swims, Chris thrives where others falter. His relentless pursuit of the impossible makes him the perfect match for the Trilogy Challenge.
“It’s going to be brutal but we will succeed, we will endure the ultimate test. No-one has conquered it, but we will be the first. This is more than a swim, this is about change. We’re diving into the impossible to create opportunities for talented children with no resources,” said Chris.
This is an initiative of the South African Hall of Fame
In early 2024, the South African Hall of Fame achieved a remarkable milestone by enrolling 10 deserving scholars at Pretoria Boys High School on bursaries, providing them with access to quality education and life-changing opportunities.
Additionally, 15 permanent coaching staff were employed to support the programme, ensuring a lasting and positive impact on the school and its students.
The South African Hall of Fame is dedicated to inspiring our youth, creating opportunities and giving hope to talented children facing adversity.
Some technical details as explained by Peet Crowther
“The swims will be observed by The Cape Long Distance Swimming Association. Strict rules are to be followed as we swim under the category ‘Solo unassisted swim’.
This means that we have to swim from start to finish without resting or touching the boat.
Even though we swim as a tandem it is still a solo effort as both of us swim the entire distance.
Apart from the ultra distance, we also have to stay within 15 meters of each other for safety reasons. We have different open-water swimming experience and pace, and this will be one of the biggest hurdles to cross, adding to the uniqueness of this challenge,” Peet told the Old Boys Association.
Update: According to Peet, it seems like the first swim, The False Bay 33km crossing, might be sooner that expected as the weather becomes more stable in Cape Town. So anywhere from 15 November onwards. We will keep the Old Boys posted.
What can we do to support this heroic effort?
Let’s not forget, that Peet and Chris are not doing this for personal gain or glory but for a worthy cause. Start by watching this video which gives an insight into the Trilogy Ocean Challenge: https://youtu.be/o2eX_NX4kLM and visit the website https://halloffame.co.za/trilogy-ocean-challenge/ to make a pledge, no amount is too small. “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give,” Winston Churchill.
Follow our two adventurers on Instagram:
@peetcrow
@the_crows_crossing
@the_bone_machine
@thesouthafricanhalloffame
Photos of Chris Oldnall and Peet Crowther preparing for their epic 152km swim over three events
Photos, text and video courtesy: The South African Hall of Fame and Peet Crowther
REUNION NEWS
40 Years On
Our sixth and last reunion of the year was, fittingly, the 40 Years On of the Class of 1984 which took place on Friday and Saturday, 25 and 26 October 2024.
On Friday, 25th October, 47 Old Boys and five of their partners joined us for a day at the School on the Hill, starting with an early tea on Solomon House lawn where they got re-acquainted and the jokes flowed. Old Boys joined us from various parts of the country and from the United States, Dubai-UAE, the United Kingdom, Chile and Australia.
After a tour of the school’s grounds, led by Headmaster Greg Hassenkamp, and a visit to the Museum, the beautifully renovated Reeler Room (the original gym), boarding houses and the Bill Schroder Centre, a special assembly was held for the Class of 1984.
The Head Prefect of 1984, Paul Theron, and the Deputy Head Prefect, Brian van Onselen joined the Headmaster on stage for the duration of the assembly.
Mr Paul Theron is the founder and CEO of an investment management firm in Johannesburg called Vestact. He’s a regular media commentator on business and political issues. Paul entered the finance world soon after receiving an MSc (Engineering) in Energy Studies from UCT. He is a very keen runner.
Doctor Brian van Onselen studied medicine at the University of Pretoria. He played cricket for Pretoria University and Northern Transvaal between 1985 and 1989. He worked in Canada as a GP for two years before returning to SA to specialise in ophthalmology. He’s been in private practice as a specialist since the year 2000, and is currently at the Sandhurst Eye Centre in Johannesburg. He is the current editor of the Ophthalmic Opinion medical journal.
As is customary during a special assembly, Paul Theron delivered a speech which was appreciated by all in attendance especially the boys to whom the message was mainly directed.
Mr Theron said, inter alia:
“I suspect that most returning Old Boys attending assembly here 40 years after matriculating, tell you much the same thing.
But you already know tht you are lucky to attend one of the world’s best schools. You already know that you ought to treasure the friends that you make here. You already know that we are very proud of you. You already know that you are our country’s future, it’s leadership. You know that we have high expectations of you, in the decades to come.
So, I decided to avoid telling you what you already know, and rather dispense some basic life advice today. Now, the best life advice is simple advice. For example, ‘be kind’. That one will take you a very long way. You don’t really need any other instructions to lead a good life, beyond ‘be kind’.
Another very simple message: Keep walking, or better still, ‘keep running’. Theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said – ‘every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it’.
Movement is life. Do some exercise every single day. You have one body. Cherish it”.
The group then went onto lunch in the Sommerville Pavilion and enjoyed a sherry at 17:30 whilst The Last Post was played by a school trumpeter.
52 Old Boys of the Class of 1984 returned to the School on Saturday evening for their formal reunion dinner and were joined by Headmaster Greg Hassenkamp, former Headmaster Bill Schroder and PBHSOB Association’s Dr Humphrey Lewis. Again, traditionally, they ended off their reunion weekend at the Old Boys Club in Lynnwood.
The Class of 1984 Group Photo
L-R: Headmaster Greg Hassenkamp, Brian van Onselen and Paul Theron
REUNION DATES FOR 2025
The reunion dates for 2025 have been set and the Head Prefects/Deputy Head Prefects have been contacted to start alerting their classmates and making the initial preparations.
60 Years On, the Class of 1965 – Friday 16 May 2025
20 Years On, the Class of 2005 – Saturday 26 July 2025
10 Years On, the Class of 2015 – Saturday 16 August 2025
30 Years On, the Class of 1995 – Friday & Saturday, 29 & 30 August 2025
50 Years On, the Class of 1975 – Friday 12 September 2025
40 Years On, the Class of 1985 – Friday & Saturday, 24 & 25 October 2025
We are looking forward to seeing these Old Boys next year and ensuring that their reunions not only bring back special memories, but make extra special new ones.
OTHER IMPORTANT 2025 DATES TO REMEMBER
Saturday, 18 January 2025 – Summer Sports Day (Old Boys Day)
Saturday, 7 June 2025 – Annual Old Boys Dinner at PBHS
Summer Sports Day (Old Boys’ Day) set for 18 January 2025
Old Boys’ Dinner 2024
BRANCH MEETINGS
The Annual Joburg Get-Together
Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys Association holds several reunions and get-togethers throughout the year to re-connect our old boys with their school and its leadership.
On Friday, 1 November 2024 the annual Joburg Get-Together was held at the Thundergun Steakhouse, Randburg and over 40 old boys of all ages met and had a festive time together, united by their close ties to the school on the hill in Pretoria.
Many thanks to Bruce van Wyk (1998, Solomon) who has convened the Joburg Event over the past few years and is continuously thinking of ways to improve the event and increase attendance. Combining the monthly Thundergun lunch with the annual Joburg Get-Together certainly paid off this year and we appreciate all Old Boys, School Executive members and Association directors who joined in.
Headmaster (and old boy, Class of 1990) Greg Hassenkamp caught up with an old boy from the Class of 1947, Robin Hulse, who is a regular at the Thundergun lunches.
PBHS Headmaster Greg Hassenkamp with Old Boy Robin Hulse
2025 BRANCH VISITS
The 2025 Old Boys Branch Visits have been scheduled as follows:
Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha)
Friday, 28 February 2025
Tzaneen
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
White River
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Cape Town
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Hermanus
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Johannesburg
Thursday, 6 November 2025
OLD BOYS’ ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
It’s great to read or hear of our Old Boys’ activities and achievements. We learned through the PBHSOB Association’s LinkedIn group of the notable achievement of Old Boy Warwick Stone:
Warwick Stone, Solomon (2008) has built his career in aviation, initially training as a pilot while completing his schooling. Over time, he has shifted to a more business-centric role within the aviation industry and currently works for one of the largest aerospace and defense companies globally. Recently, he completed his second master’s degree, specializing in Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning.
His thesis examines the application of mmWave radar technology in aircraft safety systems, particularly for enhanced object detection during critical flight phases, such as landing and takeoff. The model he built as part of the study integrates mmWave radar data with optical inputs, specifically infrared camera feeds, to create a composite image that enhances the accuracy of object detection encountered by aircraft in varying environmental conditions. This application was chosen due to the critical need for reliable sensor data fusion in aviation, where adverse weather and low visibility can significantly impact flight safety.
Congratulations from all of us Warwick, we are so incredibly proud of you!
Warwick Stone, Class of 2008 (Solomon)
WE CELEBRATED MR SCHRODER’S 80TH!
On 19 September 2024 former Headmaster Bill Schroder (Headmaster 1990-2009) celebrated his 80th birthday! His family arranged a birthday party at PBHS which was attended by about 200 well-wishers from his extended Pretoria Boys High School family and his closest friends.
We all wish you a joyous year ahead Mr Schroder and thank you for all that you continue doing for the beautiful school on the hill which you hold so close to your heart!
Bill Schroder cuts his birthday cake while Robert Salamba looks on (it was delicious!)
Photo: Tracey Housdon
PRETORIA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY
As we rapidly approach the end of the year – always a good time to look back and reflect – it is well worthwhile looking through a book which has pride of place in the Old Boys Association’s office: Pretoria Boys High School – The Story of a South African School 1901-2001 by John Illsley.
‘GAMTOOS’
The School’s Ghost
According to the folklore of Boys High, the East Bell Tower is haunted by a ghost who walks the upper passages.
How did the bell tower come to be haunted?
Well, that depends on whose story you choose to believe. One tale has it that Gamtoos was a labourer who died during the building of the east tower, that his bones still lie buried in the walls and that his restless spirit continues to walk the corridors.
Another, more elaborate version involves two characters, as related in this schoolboy account.
Two convicts, Gamtoos and Galiker, were once working on the rugby fields. They killed their guard, but Gamtoos was wounded in the leg. They took refuge in the bell-tower, stealing day boys’ sandwiches during the day. Gamtoos’s wounded leg turned septic, so Galiker, after stealing a saw from the wood-work room, cut off his friend’s leg. Galiker died shortly after. His skeleton, ‘George’, which is in the art room, is also used to scare new boys. Gamtoos cut himself a wooden leg and, the story goes, whenever new boys are brought to school, Gamtoos makes his appearance, hobbling around on a stump, enveloped in a black cloak and hat, pulled low over the eyes. (Anon).
The origins of the legend, if not the ghost, date back to at least the 1950s and, not surprisingly, may have had much to do with Walter Battiss. His interest in Bushman rock art took him to many sites across South Africa and, on one such expedition, he discovered the skeleton of a bushman in a cave. These bones were stored in the Art Department for many years and were referred to as ‘Gamtoos’, possibly because they were discovered in the vicinity of the Gamtoos River. The incomplete skeleton vanished mysteriously.
Gamtoos became real enough to many generations of boarders who experienced the ritual of being guided through the main buildings at night in what was a regular chamber of horrors. Rattling skeletons, black cloaks (normally the academic gowns of obliging housemasters) and even the stomach-turning visceral image created by ox hearts, all were part of the experience. In the early 1990s, on the grounds that it was too terrifying for Form I pupils, the tradition was outlawed by the powers that be. Whether the ghost felt bound by this banning is debatable. Sceptics, or those of a more rational disposition, might suggest that the eerie sounds in the east wing of the main buildings are nothing more than the creaking mechanical sounds of the antiquated device that activates the chimes. But, if you should be in the vicinity of Room 1 at night and should hear the sound of a door opening and closing, movement on the wooden floorboards and inexplicable noises in the dome …
Photo from the book ‘Pretoria Boys High School – The History of a South African School’ by John Illsley
PBHS ACTIVITIES AND NEWS SNIPPETS
PBHS Remembrance Day 2024
The school will hold its annual Remembrance Day Ceremony on Monday, the 11th of November at 11:00.
If Old Boys, parents, or members of the community would like to attend, please RSVP by sending an email to pr@boyshigh.com.
“Lest we forget”.
PBHS Hockey
Victor Louw (Form III Abernethy House) is part of the South African Under 17 School Boys Hockey Team taking part in the third edition of the Dato Mirnawan Cup. The tournament is hosted by the Malaysian Hockey Confederation and is being played in Kuala Lumpur from 1-10 November 2024. According to @sashockey on Instagram, “the South African U/17 Boys team kicked off the 2024 Mirnawan Cup with an impressive 9-1 victory over Canada”.
(Photo: PBHS Facebook)
PBHS Basketball
Pretoria Boys High School recently announced a new Director of Basketball, Mr Ludwig Gerdes, who will be taking up his post in January 2025. Mr Gerdes is a PBHS Old Boy (2012, Abernethy).
Photos: PBHS Facebook
PBHS MUSIC DEPARTMENT 🎶
PBHS music boys recently played their ABRSM exams and performed exceptionally well.
The following boys received their Gr 7 qualifications:
Owen de Jager
Matthew Kirk-Coughlan
Ruan Oosthuizen
Chad Donkin
Eric Fidos
Pieter Vorster
Micah Strydom
Philip Anspach
A number of our boys also received Gr 8 qualifications:
Benjamin Cloete (saxophone)
Emmanuel Gibberd (flute)
Ralf Schoeman (saxophone)
Omatla Bokaba (saxophone)
Jason Lee (cello)
Reuben van Nieuwenhuizen (violin)
Benjamin Crewe-Brown (saxophone)
Adam van Heerden (double bass)
Eduardo Ferreira (saxophone)
Joshua Bouwer (piano and trumpet)
Hrehaan Rajnund (guitar)
Ethan Wallace (saxophone)
Daniel de Villiers (saxophone)
A special mention goes to Dylan Wesley-Smith who received his ARSM Post-grade 8 diploma with a fantastic 92%.
Photos and text: PBHS Facebook
IN MEMORIAM
WILLEM (BILL) SCHUURMAN (CLASS OF 1957)
Willem Gerhardus van Enter Schuurman known as Bill passed away on Friday October 11, 2024 at home in New Braunfels, Texas.
Bill was born on June 21, 1940 in the small town of Wakkerstroom in a picturesque corner of rural South Africa.
He graduated from Pretoria Boys High in 1957. He then pursued a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Cape Town, living in College House the oldest university residence in Africa. He completed his degree in 1962, after which he stayed on to complete a law degree with a focus on patent law in 1964. Immediately thereafter, he joined South Africa’s leading intellectual property law firm, Adams and Adams, where he soon became a partner.
In 1979, Bill, his wife Fiona (née Barnetson) whom he had married in 1969, and his four young sons emigrated to Houston, Texas. He worked for the intellectual property law firm Arnold, White, and Durkee, moving to the firm’s Austin office in 1983. Bill developed a remarkable record of success in handling patent and trade secret litigations for plaintiffs and defendants and in appeals of patent cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He retired in 2015, completing a 50-year career.
In the late 90s, Bill and Fiona parted ways, and Bill married Karla (née Arnold), with whom he has been happily married ever since. Bill was always extremely dedicated and driven, practical, and unsentimental traits that served him well as a successful immigrant and attorney. He welcomed and adapted to big changes in his life, didn’t expect comfort, and never complained. He was kind and generous, held few grudges and focused on peace and harmony in his life, and had a big smile. He made work life fun with running jokes and pranks, and deeply enjoyed mentoring younger colleagues. Bill was a special person who will be dearly missed.
Bill is survived by his wife Karla, sons Gregor, Bruce, Angus, and Geordie, grandchildren Ike and Twyla, stepchildren Lee and Emily, ex-wife Fiona, brothers-in-law Cedric and Peet, nephews Michael, David, Andrew, Stephen, Anton, and Martin, beloved caretaker Lisa, and a large circle of other family and friends. – Adapted from an obituary by his family in the United States.
Bill Schuurman (1957)
