THE PRINCIPAL WHO COULD HAVE BEEN : GEORGE HENRY FREEMAN
A man of ‘ sterling principles ’ sought to succeed Dr Alexander Morrison
GEORGE HENRY FREEMAN
Applications were invited in 1903 from those who wanted to fill the very large shoes of Dr Alexander Morrison ( born 3 February 1829 , died 31 May 1903 ). Principal of Scotch from 1857 until his death , he set Scotch on a firm , stable and enduring base , and the man who would follow him was expected to build on that legacy .
Dr W . S . Littlejohn : The Story of a Great Headmaster by Alexander Einar Pratt ( born 11 August 1902 , SC 1916-22 , died 5 April 1947 ) tells the story of the successful candidate , whose wife pushed him to apply for the job , dictated testimonials that had to be typed , and ensured the application was sent on time . Unfortunately , what happened to this famous , Scotch-changing application , is unknown .
Another application was received from George Henry Freeman . An original duplicate of it was donated to the Archives on 25 November 2020 by his grandson , Bill Freeman , of Charlton . Both men attended Wesley College . This 1903 application is the only one of its kind known to Scotch .
Born on 7 May 1865 , at the time of his application , George had been Principal of St Andrew ’ s College , Bendigo , for 14 years , having previously taught all classes at all levels , including Classics and Scripture , at Scotch , from 1887 to 1889 . Glowing references from Morrison referred to George ’ s students achieving high Matriculation pass rates .
He had unsuccessfully coached Scotch ’ s 1888 crew , and , in his application , he stated that he had coached Scotch ’ s cricket and football teams . As a cricketer , he organised and played in a country team against the English XI in 1902 .
Referees described him as being of ‘ sterling principles ’, ‘ in the prime of his manhood ’, ‘ gentlemanly and correct in his manners and bearing , irreproachable in his moral and religious character ’, ‘ absolutely sober in his habits ’, ‘ a good scholar ’ and a ‘ judicious disciplinarian ’.
George later taught at Bendigo High School from 1912 until his retirement . He died at Bendigo on 30 July 1937 .
The 25 oldest known living Old Boys ( as at 25 November 2020 )
1 . Rev . William Morgan , b . 23 October 1915 . Captain 1935 . Aged 105 2 . Arthur Henry Chesterman Atkins DFC , b . 5 August 1917 . Aged 103 3 . John Morton Parker , b . 24 July 1918 . Aged 102 4 . Joshua John Pitt , b . 31 May 1919 . Aged 101 5 . Alexander Marshall MC , b . 18 September 1919 . Aged 101 6 . Malcolm Robertson Riddle , b . 18 December 1919 . Aged 100 7 . Ronald Taft , b . 3 June 1920 . Aged 100 8 . Kenneth George Dumbrell , b . 17 January 1921 9 . Graham James Carrick , b . 5 March 1921 10 . Peter Richard Thodey , b . 17 June 1921 11 . Edward McLaren Holmes , b . 9 November 1921 12 . Donald Graham McDonald , b . 23 November 1921 13 . Robert Dennis Greenslade , b . 5 December 1921 14 . Geoffrey Martin Dalton , b . 18 December 1921
15 . Geoffrey Arthur Tingate , b . 30 October 1922 16 . Warwick Laslett Exton , b . 20 November 1922 17 . Dr James Ashton Keipert , b . 31 December 1922 18 . George Stanley Gordon , b . 27 January 1923 19 . William Simpson Brake , b . 12 May 1923 20 . Ross Franklin Smith , b . 24 July 1923 21 . Alan Gibson MacQuarrie , b . 27 July 1923 22 . Bruce Acland Miles , b . 2 August 1923 23 . William Grano , b . 2 October 1923 24 . Maurice Smith , b . 15 November 1923 25 . John Rollo English b . 23 January 1924
The youngest boy is Gabriel Jamie David Berry b . 23 April 2015
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