The 2018 school year has flown by and we have just welcomed another 180-odd men and seven young women (from Year 6) in as Old Wesleyans. I always enjoy welcoming them into the Association and explaining to them what we the OWCA does, but I also see young people about to embark on an extremely exciting new chapter of their life and I wonder what they will experience and achieve.

Based on the inductees into the Gallery of Honour, it’s fair to suggest that this year’s graduating students will achieve and experience a vast array of success! The opening of the Gallery on November 3 was a magnificent night and one that we will remember for a long time. The sheer breadth of achievement attained, not just by the inductees but also the nominees, demonstrates that when students pass through the hallowed halls of Wesley they do more than pay deference to the College motto of ‘by daring and by doing’.

With the introduction of the Gallery we have received some amazing memorabilia from the inductees that we will be showcasing over the coming months. So compelling is the memorabilia, we are now in the early stages of designing a wonderful location within the school grounds (potentially right in the heart of the College!) to showcase Wesley’s rich and proud history. We hope this will deliver our 14,000 strong membership a dedicated place to visit, reminisce and browse. In the meantime, check out the progress of the digitisation of our archives at https://ehive.com/collections/7363/wesley-college-perth. This will form the foundation of a wonderful digital display to eventually complement the memorabilia display.

But more on that next year!

The opening of the Gallery of Honour also provided an opportunity for the alumni to gather to farewell the seventh patron of the OWCA. A changing of the guard, so to speak, does not happen that often and it is with a twinge of sadness that we say farewell to David Gee after 15 years. He has been an avid supporter of the Old Collegians, and has invested many hours in touring many of us through the various new features of the College and has always been keen to hear how Wesley was back in a particular era.

That sadness is lessened, however, by the impending arrival of the eighth Head of College, Mr Ross Barron. We are currently planning some functions for early 2019 to introduce our new Head of College and OWCA patron to the alumni, stay tuned for updates.

The OWCA are also working with the College to bring the Arthur Marshall General Attainment scholarship into the College’s scholarship portfolio. We are aiming to fully fund this scholarship and we are well over half way to our first investment goal. Arthur’s summer tennis camps were my first introduction to the facilities that Wesley has to offer and Arthur was a true gentleman. His life epitomised ‘by daring and by doing’, so it is fitting that all Old Wesleyans embrace this initiative and help us raise the necessary funds for the Mildred Manning Scholarship Trust.

Other than that, I trust that 2018 has been a productive year for you and your families. Stay safe over the forthcoming festive season and I hope to see you in the New Year.