Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 62

Development
ABOVE: REBURBISHED BOARDERS’ DINING HALL INTERIOR
exceptional, lifelong commitment of Michael Robinson AO
(’55) to Scotch, first through his formative relationship with
the School as a boarder, and then in his distinguished four
decades of service to Scotch as President of OSCA (1989),
Chairman of the School Council (1996-2006) and President of
the Foundation (1993-1996 and 2008-2017).
Boarding has always been at the heart of a Scotch
education, and in Michael’s own words: ‘There must always
be a place for “boys from the Bush” on the Hill.’ In establishing
this scholarship in Michael Robinson’s name, the Foundation
sought to raise $650,000 to fund one boarding scholarship in
perpetuity, to enable boys from rural and regional Australia
to attend Scotch, whose families would not otherwise have
the means to fund a Scotch education.
We sincerely thank all those who contributed so
generously to ensure this scholarship became a reality in the
space of only one year. In 2018, we were immensely proud to
announce that our target had been achieved.
I can assure you that this meant a great deal to Michael
– he told me just before he died that he wanted this to be the
first of a number of scholarships. So we will seek to continue
to raise funds for the Michael Robinson Boarding Scholarship,
to enable more boys from the bush to attend Scotch as
boarders.
ON THE SHOULDERS OF A GIANT
‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders
of Giants,’ said Sir Isaac Newton in 1675.
It would be remiss of me not to add my heartfelt
condolences to Judith and the Robinson family on the recent
death of Michael. I will personally miss the near daily knock on
my window, the (very!) brief exchange of pleasantries before
we were into business, which essentially revolved around
how we could improve the Scotch experience for every
boy fortunate enough to enter the gates, irrespective of his
background.
I personally thank Michael for his sensible and discerning
wisdom, for his wise and measured counsel and for his loyal
and generous friendship. It’s a huge void, and it’s now up to
all of us to fill the gap, to pick up the slack and get to work
together. Michael wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
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Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019
THREE NEW
MEMBERS
RECOGNISED
AT FORBES
SOCIETY
LUNCHEON
Graeme Whitelaw (’52) and Max (‘56) and Fay Errington
were recently welcomed as members of the Forbes Society
at its annual luncheon on 20 March. Forbes Society
membership recognises those who have given at the highest
level of philanthropic support to the School or to the Scotch
College Foundation, and the Foundation hosts a luncheon to
thank members for their generosity and to update them on
matters relating to the School and to the Foundation.
Our founder, the Reverend James Forbes, was passionate
about the importance of education to the future of Australia,
and espoused the notion that each generation should be
better than the one before. Scotch has always sought to live
up to Forbes’ belief in the necessity for a broad, general and
scientific education based on Christian principles.
We take this opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge
the exceptional generosity of Graeme Whitelaw, and Max and
Fay Errington, and thank them for the prodigious impact their
generosity will have on the School and the boys of Scotch
College.
Graeme Whitelaw left Scotch in 1952 and had a
successful career in architecture in New York, where he still
lives today. Graeme has recently made a transformational
commitment to the Foundation Scholarship Fund, which
will see two boys attending Scotch at any one time on the
Graeme Whitelaw Scholarship, in perpetuity.
It was wonderful that Graeme, and his son Daniel, flew
from the States to be with us on this special day. Graeme,
who was the beneficiary of some financial support when he
attended Scotch, took a school tour on 20 March. He was