A new bursary has its origins in country Victoria
PRACTICAL SUPPORT FOR BOARDERS IN NEED
THE FORMER DARRAWEIT GUIM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ( LATER A UNITING CHURCH ), BUILT IN 1871
Back in the 1950s the ladies of the Presbyterian Guild of Darraweit Guim , 53km north of Melbourne , collected used postage stamps and sold them to raise funds to support the church ’ s missions in the Pacific Islands . (‘ Darraweit Guim ’ is an Aboriginal phrase for ‘ the meeting of waters ’: two creeks , Deep Creek and Boyd ’ s Creek , meet at Darraweit Guim and flow on to become the Maribyrnong River .)
From those humble beginnings the mission became a full ministry in the 1960s , when Darraweit Guim farmer , Old Scotch Collegian James McDonell ( SC 1923-26 ), set up a fund to trade cattle and raise funds to support the ministry . He encouraged other families in the area , including many Scotch families , to support the fundraising .
The fund grew , and it continued to support the Pacific Islands ministry . Times changed ; families moved out of the district and many of the trustees died . The fund became dormant .
But a highly practical new purpose of the fund was to arise . With few of the trustees remaining in office , acting trustee Ian Wilson ( SC 1956-60 ), realised it was time , as he said , for the fund to have ‘ a new mission ’. Ian had come from his family home at Darraweit Guim in 1956 to board at Scotch in McMeckan and School Houses .
Ian understood the value of boarding , and after consultation with the School , the trustees decided to allocate the remaining funds , boosted by two final donations , to Scotch , to set up the Darraweit Guim Boarding Bursary . ‘ It is time for a new mission ,’ Ian said .
Funds in the bursary will be used to offset deserving Scotch boarders ’ expenses for items such as books and stationery . Ian said the aim was in particular to help boarding families experiencing tragedy or financial stress due to the vagrancies of life on the land . The fund was established in 2019 .
The former Darraweit Guim Presbyterian Church ( later a Uniting Church ), built of bluestone in 1871 and still as sound today as when it was consecrated , was sold into private hands in 2014 , and remains vacant to this day . Ian said : ‘ It would be a beautiful thought if once again the word of God could be heard in this perfectly restored historic church , built by the pioneers of Darraweit Guim ’. The Scotch College Foundation is delighted that a new boarding bursary , funded initially through the efforts of dedicated country ladies who collected used postage stamps , and supported by the generosity of Darraweit Guim district families , will provide practical support to Scotch ’ s boarders .
Ian said : ‘ The bursary will honour the memory of those who have gone before in the faith and mission of their time .’ It is anticipated that the first allocation will be made from this fund in 2021 . DAVID ASHTON www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 53