FOUNDATION
KEITH PRALLE GREATLY APPRECIATED HIS SCOTCH EDUCATION
LEFT TO RIGHT : KEITH PRALLE (’ 28 ) IN HIS EARLY DAYS AT SCOTCH ; KEITH AT WONBOYN WITH HIS BELOVED WARTIME JEEP ; KEITH IN OLD AGE ; KEITH AS A SENIOR SCHOOL BOY IN HIS BLAZER
A DEEP LOVE OF SCOTCH , AND THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Oscar Keith Pralle ( SC 1922-27 ) – known as Keith to avoid confusion with his father , William Henry Oscar Pralle , who was known as Oscar – came to Scotch in 1922 from Hawthorn West Central School to begin in the Junior School , aged 10 . He had been born at home at ‘ Placida ’, 4 Coppin Grove , Hawthorn on 19 May 2011 .
Keith arrived at Scotch at a time of great change . Scotch had begun a gradual move from East Melbourne , where it had occupied premises since 1854 , to Hawthorn , beginning with the opening of the Junior School in 1916 . Although the East Melbourne campus did not close until the end of 1925 , Keith ’ s entire Scotch education was at Hawthorn .
Keith was an above-average student at Scotch . He passed the 1927 Leaving Certificate examination with passes in English , British History , European History and Economics . After leaving Scotch , he worked in office jobs before receiving an inheritance from a great-uncle , who had supported Keith at Scotch .
He enjoyed a round-the-world trip for several months , then began working at Ramsay and Treganowan , which imported specialised oils from the USA , as well as selling fertiliser and seeds to farmers . Keith became the firm ’ s sales director , travelling
around the world and working at the firm until he retired in 1976 , except for a brief period when he ran his own business .
Keith loved the outdoors , especially fishing , which he indulged in at Wonboyn Lake , near Eden in southern NSW . In 1952 he bought a property in the region with a cousin , whom he later bought out . He expanded and improved a cottage on the property . Keith loved good cars , and he kept a wartime Jeep at Wonboyn for driving into the countryside .
After his retirement , Keith would spend six to eight weeks at a time at Wonboyn , and he happily remained in the home of his birth at 4 Coppin Grove , Hawthorn , living there until the age of 78 when he sold it to Roger (’ 69 ) and Lesley Gillespie , whose son , Aaron (’ 97 ), like Keith , lived there while attending Scotch . Keith and Peg moved to 37 Radnor Street , Camberwell , which was later sold to Andrew (’ 83 ) and Caroline Rolleston .
For the last 35 years of his life , Keith ’ s other great happiness was his friendship with Margaret Pamela ( Peg ) Collins , whom he married in St Vincent ’ s Private Hospital , Fitzroy , on 5 December 1991 , only weeks before his death . The wedding service was conducted by former Scotch Chaplain , Archie Crow (’ 38 ).
Keith died at Fitzroy on 28 December 1991 , aged 80 , having lived a full and happy life . He is buried at Wonboyn .
Peg had a life interest in Keith ’ s estate . After she died on 27 March 2021 , aged 95 , the Scotch Foundation hosted memorial drinks in her honour at Scotch in the Tolson Centre ’ s Bill and Dianne Sides Museum on the evening of 20 May . Relatives , friends and former neighbours of Keith and Peg attended the event , and colourful stories were told of the couple and their lives in Melbourne and at their holiday home at Wonboyn .
In appreciation of his deep love for Scotch and the excellent education it had given him , Keith Pralle left a significant bequest to the School , a portion of which will be used to endow the Keith Pralle Scholarship , to enable boys whose parents would otherwise be unable to fund a Scotch education , to attend the School . The balance of the bequest will be allocated to the Scotch Foundation corpus .
DAVID ASHTON (’ 65 )
( This article is based on biographical material about Keith Pralle which was researched and written by the Scotch College Archives staff .)
www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 63