Great Scot December 2017 GreatScot_152_Dec_Online | Page 98

Obituaries
Completing his degree, Ken taught
at Eton College, England (1968-72).
On 29 August 1968 he married
Helen Hilda Mary Maclean at
Tayport, Fife, Scotland.
In 1973 Ken began teaching
science at Scotch. Living with
his family in Callantina Lodge,
he had boarding house duties in
Arthur Robinson House. In 1977
Ken became House Master of
McMeckan House, remaining
there for 14 years. Ken cared for
more than 70 boarders with a quiet
energy, diligence and compassion.
Strong professional bonds and
personal friendships developed
between the staff on the Hill as
tutors, mentors, guardians and
counsellors. Ken became Senior
Boarding House Master in 1988.
Ken’s particular passion was
geology. Students enjoyed field trips
to geologically significant locations.
On holidays, Ken gathered samples
for Scotch’s collection. On Thursday
afternoons he was Scotch’s Scout
Quartermaster. In 1989 Ken was
appointed School Registrar, retiring
in 1994. He remained involved with
Scotch in retirement, supporting
school programs and attending
functions. Ken devoted his life to
education, committed to ensuring
that every student had the chance
to fulfil their potential. The number
of Old Boys and staff who spoke
fondly of Ken, and would visit or
correspond with him long after
they left Scotch, is testament to
the positive influence he had for so
many years.
He died on 11 June 2017.
CONDUIT,
Bruce (’55)
Information for
much of this
obituary came
from former
colleagues:
Bruce was born at Melbourne
on 25 November 1937 and
98
School Archivist – Mr Paul Mishura
attended Scotch from 1950 to
1955. He played in the champion
1954 1st XVIII, and in the 1955 2nd
XVIII. Relatives at Scotch were his
nephews Stephen (SC 1977-82),
Mark (SC 1978-83) and Peter
Bodon (SC 1981-86), and great-
nephews Angus (Year 9) and Max
Bodon (Year 5).
In 1956 Bruce joined the
Department of Civil Aviation,
followed by six years in the
Postmaster General’s Department,
during which he completed a
Bachelor of Commerce degree at
Melbourne University. In 1963 he
was recruited by the Department
of Trade and Industry as a trainee
trade commissioner.
Bruce’s first posting was to
Washington DC in 1964, and then
Brussels and Paris (1965-68),
followed by a further six months in
Washington. Returning to Australia
in 1968, Bruce spent over a year
in the trade commissioners’
pool before becoming trade
commissioner in Taipei (1970-72).
In 1972 he was reappointed to the
Commonwealth Public Service and
seconded to the Public Service
Board. In mid-1974 he went to
Beijing on a short-term placement,
followed by three years as state
manager (regional director) at
Melbourne (1975-77).
In 1978 Bruce was appointed
to Tripoli, which was a tough time
to be there. He had language
training in Florence before
becoming consul-general and
senior trade commissioner in Milan
(1980-83). When Austrade was
established, Bruce was senior trade
commissioner in Jakarta (1983-87)
cultivating locals who influenced
the Indonesian government’s trade
reforms, with some later helping
to form APEC. He was senior
trade commissioner in Tokyo and
Singapore, then state manager
based in Sydney (1987-90) before
retiring in 1996.
Colleagues remembered him as
a caring man, with a deep integrity
and professionalism, and a dry
sense of humour. He treated foreign
staff with respect and cultural
sensitivity. Bruce was a fount of
knowledge, and a good, confident,
and decisive leader who could build
teams. His enjoyment of social
mingling was an important asset for
a trade commissioner.
Bruce suffered from
emphysema for some time, and
died at Canberra on 27 March 2017.
DENNERSTEIN,
Ross Nathan
(’86)
Extracted in part
from an obituary
by Bob Talbot in
The Australian
Jewish News:
Ross was born on 11 February
1969, the son of gynaecologist and
Old Boy Dr Graeme Dennerstein (SC
1950-55). He attended Scotch from
1981 to 1986. Ross was a 1985
Form Five Officer, a 1986 School
Officer, and 1986 Minor House Vice
Captain of Ingram House, in Selby
Smith (Major House). A member of
the 1986 4th XVIII, he was a good
athlete who captained his 1986
House Athletics team.
Also at Scotch were Ross’
brother Benjamin Mark Dennerstein
(born 26 October 1972, SC 1983-88,
died 30 March 2012) and grandfather
Nathan Dennerstein (born 12 June
1894, SC 1908-11, died 21 March
1958). On 8 March 1998 Ross
married Penelope Jane Barnes at
Sydney, New South Wales.
Ross earned his restricted pilot’s
licence, setting the foundation for
his career and passion. Barely old
enough for a driver’s licence, Ross
flew for commercial operators in
several states. He became the
youngest pilot ever recruited by
Australian Airlines/Qantas, and by
21 was a first officer. One of the
youngest ever as a captain at 28,
Ross flew for Qantas for 16 years,
and senior colleagues considered
him ‘the complete aviation
enthusiast’. To help children afraid
of flying, Ross collaborated with
The Wiggles on the Fly Through the
Sky video, with over three million
downloads internationally.
When ill-health temporarily
stopped him flying, Ross joined the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority as a
flight operations safety inspector.
He led the team that introduced
advanced guidance technology for
safer landings at New Zealand’s
Queenstown airport. It had flow-on
effects across Australasia, and, as
an expert on performance-based
navigation, Ross represented
Australia at the International Civil
Aviation Organisation.
Returning to flying, Ross
became a captain and flying
operations development manager
with Jetstar, overseeing new
technology rollouts and mentoring
flight crews. In over 25 years of
flying Ross logged more than
16,000 flight hours. An active
yachtsman, windsurfer, kite surfer
and snowboarder, Ross died
suddenly of a heart attack on
16 October 2016, 24 hours after
flying to Queenstown. The Ross
Dennerstein Foundation was
established to fund research into
preventing sudden cardiac deaths
in healthy young people.
HEDGES,
Malcolm
James (’57)
Malcolm’s wife,
Janet, wrote:
Malcolm was
born at Perth,
Western Australia, on 24 July 1940.
He attended Scotch from 1952 to
1957, and was a keen rower. He
was also permitted to attend sea
cadets instead of school cadets.
Great Scot Number 152 – December 2017