De La Salle Orange 60 Years Reunion

On Wednesday 30th October 2024, 41 De La Salle Orange old boys gathered together for a sixty years’ reunion at the Ophir Hotel-Motel in Orange. Two cohorts were involved: those who completed the 1962 Intermediate Certificate and 1964 Leaving Certificate and those who did the 1963 IC and 1965 LC. That year was the state’s last Leaving Certificate class before the commencement of the HSC in 1967. Sadly, none of the teachers are with us anymore but their impact on our lives continues. Brothers Cassian (Paul Rigby), Phillip (Elwin), Virgil and Basil (Collins) were fondly spoken of.

Old boys came from such a variety of locations, some travelling well over 1000 km to attend. That is a testament to and appreciation of the efforts of the organising committee: Bernie Duffy, Joe Gough, Steve Tobin, Richard Harrison, John Nunn and Peter Hooper. Thanks fellas.

Proceedings were opened firstly by Bernie Duffy, 1965 school vice-captain who welcomed all, clarified some housekeeping matters and read out apologies. He also made a point of showing appreciation to all classmates who served our country in Vietnam, acknowledging that they were not afforded a proper welcome home when they returned in the seventies. All present were very much in accord with Bernie on this.

Joe Gough, 1964 school captain acknowledged the absence of some of our comrades due to their health or to having passed away, but also noted the resilience of those able to make it some sixty years after leaving school.

Brother Garry Coyte, 1965 school captain rounded out the formalities, reminiscing that for him, DLS Orange was a happy place of friendship, growth and equality. Garry, who is still active in Lasallian education, made a strong point of acknowledging the spiritual formation afforded to our two classes, with four of our number, Graham Peter (Bro. Tim), Mick Neville, Roger Farland and himself entering the brotherhood. Doug Akehurst (RIP), had part of his secondary education with us at DLS Orange and completed his schooling at Stannies in Bathurst. He became a Vincentian priest with varied appointments in Australia & the Pacific. Fr Doug spent the last of his priesthood years at Stannies in Bathurst. (Read more about Fr Doug at https://catholicweekly.com.au/obituary-fr-doug-akehurst/)

Apart from the above formalities, the day was completely unstructured, allowing everybody to move around, talk and catch up with one another at will. I personally found this to be a really good format and was able to see just about every classmate present from my 63/65 cohort.

A lot of water has, of course, flowed under the bridge since those heady days. None of us is in the spring of youth anymore and while I was mostly unable to put a name to a face, once I discovered the name, the face came back loud and clear. I think the thing I most enjoyed was the complete lack of hierarchy: no bosses to impress, no customers to satisfy, no KPI’s to meet, and no agenda – just mates from a time when we were all teenagers on the cusp of adulthood: fresh, having fun, looking forward to the next stage of our lives and heading out into the world to make a go of things. In a way, I was transported back to that magical time, and came away at the end of the day very happy for the experience.

Hearing and reading so many varied stories of life, love, achievement and growth I think we can all say with full justification that we have lived up to the school motto: Esto Vir – Be a Man.

Source: Phil Clarke (LC 1965)