Docco's Diary | St Peter's College in 1976

With a fifty-year reunion of those who left in 1976 on Saturday November 7 2026, we looked back fifty years and remembered the many outstanding features of 1976 at St Peter’s College.

Australia was in a state of shock in early 1976 after the dismissal of the Whitlam Labour Government on November 11 1975 by the Governor-General. There continues to be discussion as to whether this should have happened. In 1976, Sir Douglas Nicholls was appointed Governor of South Australia, becoming the first First Nations person to hold vice-regal office in an Australian state. South Australia won the 1975/76 Cricket Sheffield Shield. Athol Macdonald (1st VIII, 1971) represented Australia in the Eights race at the Olympic Games held in Montreal in July. Economic conditions in Australia in 1976 were not good. The Australian economy in 1976 was experiencing "stagflation" – high inflation (approx. 14-17%) and high unemployment. There was low productivity growth and significant pressure on manufacturing and primary producers.

Despite this, life went on well at St Peter’s College. When Lent Term 1976 began, there were 1,004 boys at Saints – over 700 in the Senior School with nearly 300 in the Preparatory School. In the Boarding Houses – School/Athelney (operating as the Junior House) and Wyatt and Allen (the Senior House) – there were 157 boys. 

Dayboys in the Senior part of the School were in one of eight Houses: Da Costa, Farrell, Hawkes, Short, MacDermott, Woodcock, Howard and Young.

Young House won the Sir George Murray Shield for the best House in school work. This was the criteria for the Sir George Murray Shield at that time.

Speech Day 1976 was memorable because of the return visit of former Headmaster Canon Guy Pentreath (Headmaster 1934-1943) who had not been back to the School since he left. Many Old Scholars who had known him as Headmaster were present – and Memorial Hall was packed when he began by speaking of “this most exciting invitation to leave my retirement and come here again. . . . How can I not be proud when I recollect that I was, once upon a time, in close association with this great community. . . It is certainly a changing and improving community. . . . I see many, many visual changes as I look around the School. . . . I cannot imagine any Old Boy coming back to this School and not being delighted with the changes he sees”.

As Reverend JSC Miller said: “We look back to his Headmastership and realise how indebted we are to him for what he accomplished during his ten years here from 1934 to 1943. It was Canon Pentreath who was responsible for the liberalizing of the curriculum – for introducing Woodwork, Art, Engineering, which have brought satisfaction and enjoyment to many boys, and for developing Music, starting the Carol Service, which ever since has been a notable occasion at the end of the school year. It was Canon Pentreath who carried through a building programme which transformed the School, getting rid of old buildings in the Big Quad and the Little Quad – and adding Da Costa Hall, the Changing Rooms, the Headmaster’s House, and new accommodation for the boarders in School House. It is this building – to the north of the Main Oval, which the School Council has decided in future shall be known as ‘The Pentreath Building’– as a tribute to all that Canon Pentreath achieved for this School.

His presence among us in the last few days has brought forth a great response from Old Scholars who know him as their Headmaster. To them, and to us who are members of the School today, his visit has made apparent the continuity of the life of an Independent Church School such as this: his visit back to St. Peter’s after 32 years has given us all a deeper understanding of our history, together with an awareness of the privilege and responsibility of belonging to Saints.”

 After the Prize giving ceremony in the Memorial Hall, there followed the naming of the “Pentreath Building”, previously occupied by members of School House. It was built in 1936 during the building scheme initiated by Canon Guy Pentreath soon after he became Headmaster in 1934, but it was never officially named. It had become known as “New School House”. On Speech Day 1976 – forty years after it had been built – the Archbishop of Adelaide invited the Reverend Canon Pentreath to unveil the plaque naming the building.

Photo: Canon Pentreath unveiling a plaque on the Pentreath Building

The Matriculation Results were excellent again in 1976. 134 boys presented themselves for the examination, of whom 97 gained full matriculation. The total number of subjects passed was 564 out of a possible 671. All those who repeated the P.E.B. examination in 1976 gained full matriculation. Six boys gained straight ‘A's and seven gained four ‘A’s. 59 boys who were awarded at least one ‘A’. Thirteen of the Matriculation Merit Awards announced by the Public Examinations Board were gained by boys from St Peter’s College. T. J. Morton was awarded the Schulz Prize for German. In 1976 for the first time, the Young Exhibition was awarded to two Sixth Formers – one dux of the School on the Science side, the other on the Arts side. We congratulated both S. W. Westwood and T. J. Morton.

Community Service was introduced as an activity into Monday Period 6. About twenty volunteers from the “Intermediates” participated in an effort to help a group of elderly citizens living close to the School. Setting off by truck, bicycle, or on foot, the boys gardened, cut lawns, and did other small jobs to help these elderly folk.

In 1975, the Government had decided to withdraw army and air cadet units from schools. It was decided that an enlarged programme of group activities would be conducted during Mondays, period 6, in 1976, in order to fill the gap. It was thought to be educationally desirable to provide opportunities for boys to:

                “give service to others, both within and outside the School,

                acquire useful skills unconnected with School work and games,

                particularly those of an outdoor nature,

                learn from being with a group,

                learn from the control and instruction of others,

                and benefit from contact with organisations and people outside the School”.

A wide range of activities was made available to boys at Intermediate level and above. The activities included aero modelling, an airmanship course, archery, an army group, art, bridge, a car maintenance and servicing course, community service, drama, emergency services, engineering, fitness and weight training, gardening and school grounds maintenance, house magazine editing, house filming, library work, school museum work, music groups (including examination music, taping music, modern music, and making music), photography, a pistol shooting course, road safety (compulsory for all at Intermediate level), science workshop and electronics, School Magazine, School photography, sea scouts, sports coaching for both summer and winter games, sports equipment maintenance, squash, a stamp club, study groups, a typing course, ventures, and war-gaming.

In February 1976 work began on the site of the new School Library to the west of Da Costa Hall, that we now know as the Miller Library. The area between Old School House and the Gordon Building was fenced off at the beginning of the Lent Term, leaving a narrow passageway alongside the west of Da Costa Hall. Members of the School, throughout the year, watched the progress of the buildings with great interest.

Photo: Construction of Miller Library

Music was again strong at St Peter’s College in 1976. There was a full programme of musical activities throughout the year. On Saturday, 26th June, the Instrumental Competitions were held as part of Open Day. The adjudicator, Lady Mary de Crespigny, Director of Music, Presbyterian Girls’ College heard 70 performances throughout the day in Memorial Hall, and selected the following as prize-winners:

‘A’ AWARDS

Andrew Teusner                  Bagpipes (Elementary)

William Morton                    Piano (Elementary)

David Murdock                    Organ (Intermediate)

Francis Greenslade             Recorder (Intermediate)

Michael Beare                      Clarinet (Senior)

Mark Leslie                           Piano (Senior)

Craig Tidswell                       Flute (Senior)

Julian Miller                           Violin (Senior)

Sudarshan Selva-Nayagam  Violin (Senior)

‘B’ AWARDS

Alistair Woods                        Clarinet (Elementary)

Stephen Goodwin                   Trumpet (Elementary)

James Edwards                      Guitar (Elementary)

Stephen Fitridge                      Trumpet (Intermediate)

Andrew Lawrence                    Violin (Intermediate)

Michael Lucke                          Violin (Intermediate)

Christopher Millhouse              Cello (Intermediate)

Graham Possingham               Clarinet (Senior)

Philip Tolley                               Violin (Senior)

At the end of Term 2 orchestral concert in Memorial Hall The Orchestra of 67 players performed a variety of works, highlights of which included the ‘Pirates’ Overture of Sullivan, the Nocturne and Wedding March (Mendelssohn) and a first performance of a Symphony (1964) by Michael Freyhan – a work full of fun and surprises! A feature of the orchestra this year was the improvement in the Brass section – no less than six trumpets, two horns and one tenor trombone – playing with great confidence and strength.

In the September/ October A.M.E.B. exams in music, 38 senior school boys sat for theoretical and practical exams. Some notable results included:

MJJ Wilkinson    Theory (Second Grade)    94%

JT Tucker            Violin (Sixth Grade)           A

FJM Greenslade Theory (Second Grade)     92%

MA Leslie             Piano (Eighth Grade)         A +

                            Theory (Fifth Grade)           80%

JG Pavey             Horn (Third Grade)             A

SL Fitridge           Trumpet (Fourth Grade)      B

J C Miller             Theory (Sixth Grade )          82%

                            Violin (Eighth Grade)            A +

MH Beare            Theory (Fifth Grade)            89%

                             Piano (Sixth Grade)            A +

                             Clarinet (Fifth Grade)          A

SJ Selva-Nayagam  Theory (Fifth Grade)        87%

                              Violin (Eighth Grade)           A +

AB Fagan              Theory (Fifth Grade)            85%

                              Piano (Sixth Grade)             A

CM Tidswell           Theory (Sixth Grade)           80%

The annual Carol Service was held on Wednesday, 1st December in St. Peter’s Cathedral. The Headmaster who started this tradition 42 years ago, Canon Guy Pentreath, was present and read a lesson at The Service. 

The School Play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw in Memorial Hall was much enjoyed by all who saw it and by those who took part.

There were a range of outdoor activities that provided opportunities for boys. One of these was the Murray Venture. Approximately 80 miles of the River Murray between Waikerie and Blanchetown were covered in nine days of perfect weather during the May vacation.

Another 1976 development was the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme – at the initiative of Mr. D. C. C. Daintree. Greater use was made of ‘Karakeep’, our country property near Meadows, where a number of important improvements were made in the accommodation facilities.

A range of clubs and societies also provided opportunities for boys. These included: Debating Society, Literary Society, Film Society, French Society, Chess Club, Science Workshop, Rural Youth Club, Photographic Society and Historical Wargaming Society.

It was another good year for sport.

In Athletics, George Murrell won the Australian Under 17 Schoolboys Triple Jump at the Australian Schoolboys Championships. We won the Achilles Cup by a large margin. The College Cup was won by MB Frayne for the second successive year, with DF Wells second and CW Morgan third.

For the second year in succession we won the Tennis Intercollegiate match. Our Tennis team also won the premiership in their grade of the Metropolitan Lawn Tennis Association. In the Student Association, in which we competed against the top 14 schools in the State, our first team had won the last four successive premierships – in that time playing 61 matches of which we lost only four.

In the Head of the River Regatta, we won the Gosse Shield for the fifth successive year. At the end of the season, the Rowing Club parents raised money towards a new eight. This fine boat was recently named ‘Lindsay Southcott’ – it marks the School’s appreciation of Lindsay’s remarkable years of service to the Rowing Club.

 We had a most successful 1st XV Rugby team, which won the Intercollegiate match.

In Squash, both the A and B grade teams won in the grand finals.

In the Athletics season, in spite of unfavourable weather, twelve records were broken on Sports Day. Bruce Fayne won the College Cup for the second year in succession, following in the steps of his brothers – John, won the Cup in 1972 and Geoff – who was the winner of the College Cup in 1973 and 1974. The Cup has been in the Frayne family for five successive years. In addition, John was Captain of the School in 1972, Geoff in 1974 and Bruce this year – each in his second Matriculation year. All three matriculated at their first attempt, but returned to School to improve their results to qualify for Dentistry – and all of them led the School most ably and always with modesty.

In Water Polo, Philip Richardson and Tim Souter were chosen with the State Schoolboys team to contest the Australian Championships held in Sydney in April. 

In Basketball we fielded 14 teams – four Open and ten Under-age. This consolidated the Club’s aim of providing teams for boys of all levels of ability.

In Football the results were mixed and we lost to a strong PAC Team in the Intercollegiate match.

In Cricket an exciting Intercollegiate match was drawn when we needed 24 runs to win with three wickets in hand.

In 1976 we looked back 100 years at some of the earliest known photographs of the boys in the School dated 1876/77.

In 1976 the Premier of South Australia was old scholar Don Dunstan, who had attended St Peter’s College in Da Costa House from 1940 to 1943. We were in the “Dunstan Decade”. He led a socially progressive administration which saw Aboriginal land rights recognised, the first female judge (Dame Roma Mitchell) appointed, the first non-British governor, Sir Mark Oliphant, and later the first Indigenous governor, Sir Douglas Nicholls. He enacted consumer protection laws, reformed and expanded the public education and health systems, abolished the death penalty, created a ministry for the environment, enacted anti-discrimination law, and implemented electoral reforms such as the overhaul of the Legislative Council, the upper house of Parliament, and lowered the voting age to 18. He also established Rundle Mall, enacted measures to protect buildings of historical heritage, and encouraged arts, with support for the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company, and the establishment of the South Australian Film Corporation.

When at St Peter’s College, he had developed public speaking and acting skills, winning the public speaking prize for two consecutive years. His academic strengths lay in Music, English, History, and languages including Latin. He was uninterested in sport, although he did play House football. He joined the Boy Scout troop and the Debating team, but it was in the school plays that he shone. In 1941 and 1943 he took leading roles in the dramatic society’s annual productions, including starring in John Drinkwater’s Abraham Lincoln. Along with essay prizes, he won the school’s public-speaking prize while still only in his Intermediate year (1941). In 1943 he passed Leaving Honours and appeared on the State-wide general honours list. In that final year he was a prefect in Da Costa House. He became one of the most significant political figures of twentieth-century Australia.

We hope a large number of those who left in 1976 will return for their fifty year reunion on Saturday November 7 2026. They will enjoy the reunion. They will meet friends they have not seen for a long period (in some cases 50 years). They will have a chance to see some of the new educational facilities that we now have at St Peter’s College. 

Researched and written by David Docwra
David Docwra retired from St Peter’s College in December 2015 after 37 years’ service and is fondly remembered by many as a dedicated teacher, a committed coach of squash, cricket and soccer, and most especially as a passionate Head of Hawkes House for 21 years. David remains connected to St Peter’s College and regularly provides historical articles for the St Peter’s Old Collegians’ newsletters. In 2023 David was made an Honorary Member of the St Peter’s Old Collegians’ Association.