Docco's Diary | St Peter's College in 2006

Young men who left St Peter’s College twenty years will be invited back for a 20 year milestone reunion on Saturday 7 November 2026. We decided to look back to 2006 and remember the many excellent features of the year.

Photo: At Speech Day December 2006: the Guest of Honour Professor Ian Plimer, the Chairman of the Council of Governors Dr Mary Sutherland, and the Headmaster Mr Philip Grutzner.

In 2006 Dr Mary Sutherland was elected the first female chair of the Council of Governors.

In 2006, the Australian economy was strong with low unemployment (around 5%), and a booming resources sector. The federal government recorded a large surplus, allowing net government debt to reach zero for the first time in three decades. Australia hosted the successful Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and finished top of the medal tally. In the Ashes, Australia held a 3–0 lead in the 2006–07 series by the end of the year. The 2006 Census (8 August) recorded 19,855,288 residents, a 6% increase since 2001. In South Australia, the state population hit roughly 1.55 million, with notable growth in outer Adelaide areas. The first Apple MacBook was released on May 16, 2006. In late January, bushfires affected several parts of South Australia during a period of extreme heat. Australia experienced a severe, widespread drought in 2006 that impacted agricultural production across South Australia. Boarding numbers at St Peter’s College are often impacted when the agricultural sector is facing challenging times.

In 2006 we had 1,041 boys in the School. 683 boys were in the Senior School: 609 Senior School dayboys, 74 boarders. There were 358 boys in the Junior School. There was only the one boarding House: School and Allen. Day boys in the Senior School were in one of nine Houses: Short, Farrell, Hawkes, Da Costa, Woodcock, MacDermott, Howard, Young and Farr. There were 65-70 boys in each House. We all know how important the House system is in our School. It provides boys with a strong sense of belonging, better pastoral care and leadership opportunities. Headmaster Bickersteth was wise to start the House system when he arrived in 1920. Our School would not have been as successful as it has been without a strong House system.

In 2006, Saints became one of the founding members of the ‘G20’, an organisation that links leading schools around the world. The twenty founding schools originated from South Africa, Australia, Britain, Europe, Hong Kong, Jordan, Turkey, and the United States. There were four founding schools from Australia: The King's School (Sydney), Melbourne Grammar School, Scotch College (Melbourne) and ourselves. In more recent years the G20 Schools have become the G30 Schools.

The academic results of our Year 12 group were again outstanding.

131 boys sat for the SACE examinations in November 2006. 3 boys achieved a Tertiary Entrance Ranking (TER) of 99.95. 11 boys gained a TER of 99 or more. 54 students (41%) gained a TER of 90 or more. 45% of all grades gained were As. 83% of all grades gained were As or Bs. 40 SACE Certificates of Merit were gained in 19 different subjects. P Thiyagarajah and SGC Ohlendorf achieved four merits. GTS Dunseath-Hamilton, AA Singla, IJ Harpas achieved three merits. There were 19 boys doing the IB programme. Konrad Pilch gained the maximum of 45 points, and Ken Menz, Andres Sarnari, Rahul Thyagarajan and Michael Weightman scored 44 out of 45 points. 

A successful new Mentor system was introduced in 2006 in Headmaster Mr Philip Grutzner’s second year at the helm. This involved allocating groups of about fourteen boys within each House to a staff mentor for closer assistance and support. It also provided a more efficient means of communication between staff and parents. Research has shown that having a significant, trusted adult in school is crucial for a child's development, providing a "secure base" that fosters emotional safety, positive behaviour, and academic success. Children's behaviour often stems from emotional needs, and a key adult can provide the necessary stability and support. A strong, consistent relationship with a school adult supports a child's mental health, reduces stress, and allows them to feel safe to explore and learn. These Mentors help boys build resilience, and develop a positive sense of self, which is essential for learning. Two effects of this change were to involve nearly all teachers in a pastoral care role and to link nearly all teachers to a House.

Two boys achieved Keys Awards.

Konrad Pilch was awarded Keys for his amazing achievements in a range of academic subjects. He also won the National Competition in the Tournament of Minds and was a finalist in the Young Achievers Business Person of the Year in 2005. He was part of a team that obtained first place in the National Final in the Future Problem Solving Competition Final in 2001 and, in 2002 he came second in the International Final of that competition in Connecticut, USA. In the International Baccalaureate (IB) Konrad scored the highest score and a perfect IB score of 45.

Sean Ohlendorf was awarded Keys for a magnificent commitment to the School in many areas, especially in Music, Drama, French and the academic program. In 2026 he was Captain of Music and was a wonderful leader and role model for the younger musicians in the School. Sean also balanced this commitment with an outstanding performance in the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) in which he received five perfect scores of '20 ' and one '19 '.

For almost one hundred years the St Peter's College Mission has continued its work both in helping the less fortunate in our society and educating boys in the needs of others. A sum of $35,000 with an equivalent amount from the Mission Guild was raised and given to local and overseas charities in 2006. Year 10 boys experienced what it means to be poor, infirm or in care by their spending a week at an agency dedicated to the core of the young, the old, the infirm or the homeless. This work reminds us of our obligation to support those who have only a fraction of the hope, resources and skills available in this School.

Music remained strong. The number of students learning instruments and voice was about 420 which is over 40% of the School's population. As Director of Music, Mr Keith Wilson, in his final year at St Peter’s College, said: “Whether boys study music in the classroom, through private instrumental or voice lessons, or by way of an ensemble in the choral, strings, wind or percussion areas, it is vital that as many boys as possible take up these options. Artistic and aesthetic education is a crucial part of an all-round education, especially for boys, and we must provide a variety of opportunities for self-expression through music and the Arts in the broadest sense. Overall, boys who did take up the opportunities provided by the School were able to be part of between 20 and 30 performances throughout the year, including public concerts in Memorial Hall and Big School Room, community events and performances given by visiting artists both within the School and outside it”.

Photo: Mr and Mrs Roger Cundell with the piano they generously presented to the Drama Centre. Thomas Khoo performed on it at the Presentation.

2006 was a good year for Art and for Drama productions.

Thirty Year 12 boys exhibited their work at The Year 12 Art Exhibition that was held for the 10th time  in the Senior School Art Centre. The Exhibition displayed a wide range of subject matter and covered a variety of media. As well as painting, drawings, ceramics and sculpture, it was pleasing to see the exciting work being produced by the Art Design students. Computer graphics and digital manipulation of images are becoming a natural part of the Art curriculum. Students are excited by the use of this technology and are keen to experiment and include the computer as yet another tool in the making of art. Seven of our students were invited by the SSABSA moderator to exhibit their work in the 2007 SSABSA Art Show. Guy Martin's metal crab, Kurt Justice's oil painting, David Sawers' photography, Gavin Crump's mix media, James Kiemeier's skateboard design, Will Verco's poster design and Ilya Harpas's theory work were all on display. Their selection for this prestigious show continued to demonstrate the outstanding quality of work produced by Art students at St Peter's College.

The School again put on an outstanding French play “Le manage de Figaro”, written by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais in 1784. As Mr Andrew McKenzie, Director, commented: “In their enthusiastic interpretation of this fine play, the young French student actors from Saints and Wilderness certainly captured the pace, verve and adventurous spirit of the original. Responding well to the challenges of an adapted text which even so was very difficult to master, the whole group combined brilliantly to put on a series of lively, convincing performances”. 2006 was Mr Andrew McKenzie’s final year at St Peter’s College. The French plays he directed every year were wonderful.

Arthur Miller's modern classic, “The Crucible” provided an opportunity for Saints students to work with students from Seymour College. As Mr Greg Elliot, Director, commented: “Because there were so many students from both schools wanting to participate we were able to have two casts performing on consecutive nights. Each cast member made a tremendous contribution to the creation of their roles, and the overall production, and the actors playing the same role, in the different casts, brought unique qualities to their roles. “The Crucible” was most impressive because of the ensemble feel of the performers, working towards a common goal. “The Crucible” was an outstanding success with over 900 people attending the four performances”.

The Year 12 Drama production of “Cloudstreet” was described by students from another school as "a triumph". Audience members remarked about how faithfully the production had brought to life Tim Winton's novel and that the performances were so mature that they had to remind themselves that they were watching a school production. There were full houses for all performances.

Boys benefitted again from a large range of societies and clubs which provided opportunities. These included Art Club, Chess, Chinese Society, Computer Society, Debating, French Society, Future Problem Solving, German Society, Historical Society, Mooting Society, Public Speaking, Scientific Society, Tournament of Minds.

The Exploration Society had a busy year. 2006 saw a large number of ventures on both mainland Australia and New Zealand, from rock climbing in the Grampians, kayaking around the coast of Kangaroo Island, cross country ski trips, to the new addition of mountain bike days.

The TocH group was active in 2026. Service activities during the year included: Native tree and shrub plantings at the St Peters Billabong, Clean up Australia Day, Meals on Wheels, Volunteering for St Mary Magdalene's Collective Saturday evening dinners, Members of the group donating blood, One member of the group volunteering to assist as a student study mentor, Badge day collections (SIDS, Mary Potter Foundation and Epilepsy) and Volunteering for the 'Slowdown VII' at Adelaide Oval in support of McGuiness McDermott Foundation children's playground project at Women's and Children's Hospital.

There were a range of overseas tours and visitors from overseas in 2006.

Four staff and twenty students (10 boys and 10 girls) from our sister school in Shanghai, Shixi High School, visited us for their School's third biennial week-long study tour to St Peter's College.

The Headmaster travelled to China as part of a forum on international education related to Shixi High School's 60th Anniversary celebrations.

There were exchanges with French and German students. Some of our boys visited France and Germany. French and German students visited us.

These boys were involved in the first the first "Saints to Fiji" venture: Alastair Coles, Ethan Dorrestyn, Jamie Fortune, Bradley Hooper, Shridhar ('Reggie') Krishnan, Vaiben Lipman, James Milosh, Mark Pivato, David Sawers, Oliver Sheahan, Peter Tan, Nick Williamson. They built a house as part of the Rotahomes project, a long-standing Rotary initiative aimed at building sustainable housing for poor families in Fiji. They were led by teachers Mr CI Taylor and Mr PA Hadfield.

There were also student exchanges with Trinity College School, Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, and Bishop's School, Cape Town, South Africa.

It was a good year for sport. Our athletes won the “Intercol” and the Achilles Cup for the 35th time in 36 years.

The basketballers had an excellent season.

Nearly 100 boys chose Badminton as their winter sport.

The First XI Cricket had an excellent season. From the fifteen matches played (two were washed out), the team suffered only one loss. Two of the most significant wins were the Intercollegiate contest and the final of the State Secondary Schools Knockout Cricket competition. We also retained the Ian Hume Memorial Trophy (against Pulteney Grammar), the Reid Conwillan Cup (against an Indigenous XI) and won the inaugural Ian Hume Trophy (against Eton College). Henry White made 174 in the Intercollegiate match.

 In football, the First XVIII finished the season with 10 wins, 5 losses and a draw from 16 games.   .

The First XI Hockey Team won all of their games except two.

In Rowing, the First VIII won the Head of the River for the second year in a row. Mr Lindsay Southcott, long-time coach of St Peter's First Crews, described the 2006 race as the best he had ever seen, with the School crew overhauling first Princes, and then reeling in Pembroke to register a wonderful victory.

In Soccer the First XI won four games, lost five, and drew both cup matches 2-2.

The Squash Teams had a good season.

The Interschool Swimming team showed great promise in the Wednesday competitions, defeating all opponents in the five minor rounds. In the final which doubles as the Intercol, the team was up against the powerhouse schools of PAC and Pembroke and we were third.

The First Tennis Team enjoyed a successful year. We finished in second position on the ladder, winning 10 of our 13 matches. We won the Intercollegiate match 11 rubbers to 1.

The Open A Volleyball had a good season.

The Open A Water Polo had ten wins and three losses.

Yet again there was much that was “strong, and lovely, and of good report” going on at St Peter’s College in 2006. “Beauty order and reverence” continued to be the message of our School’s “walls and fields”. There were again a wide range of opportunities for boys in the co-curricular programme and also many leadership opportunities. The morale of the School was high. In 2006 there was greater openness to the wider community with visits from leading sporting teams and increased access by outside bodies to our magnificent grounds and facilities.

We hope that many of those who left in 2006 will return for their 20-year milestone reunion on Saturday November 7th, 2026. They will enjoy the reunion. They will meet some friends they have not seen for 20 years. They will find a School experiencing record enrolments, with many new facilities, including a 2015 refurbished Pentreath Building that is used mainly for Middle Schooling, the Hill Wing transformed into an excellent Music Centre in 2018, and a 2021-22 redevelopment of the Big Quad and Big School Room, which they may like to see. The grounds are looking more beautiful than ever in 2026.

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.