Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 94

Archives
TOP: A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT
THOMAS ROBERT CLAUDE
WARBURTON’S UNIQUE BLAZER
POCKET. ABOVE: GORDON DUFF
FISHER’S GIFT FOR STROKING THE
1941 1ST VIII TO VICTORY.
CLIVE DISHER’S
MISSING MEDAL
Scotch is seeking a missing gold
medal from a famous race in 1919
the Cross of St Andrew, and tennis racquets squeezing out of the
bottom of the-then new Scotch Coat of Arms, accompanied by school
colours for an astonishing five sports: tennis, rowing, athletics, cricket
and football!
No Scotch blazer pocket has ever before had oars or racquets in
those positions. The coat of arms at the time was considerably larger
on a proper blazer pocket, and tennis was not then a full-colour sport.
A quick check of the database showed that Warburton played none of
his ‘colour’ sports in a first team, if any at all. It seems, therefore, that
the entire pocket was a concoction of his own invention. Whether this
was made for a play, or whether he paraded around Hong Kong in it
as the greatest Scotch athlete to that time will never be known, as the
story is likely to have died with him and his wife.
On 3 June 2019, Mike Nicholson (SC 1960-72) donated several
boxes of Scotch treasures that belonged to his late father, George
Harvey Nicholson (born 3 June 1917, SC 1924-36, died 30 April 1997).
Like Fisher, Nicholson was uniquely placed to create a fantastic hoard
of Scotch material. He was a member of the 1934, 1935 (winning
Captain) and 1936 (Captain) Athletics teams, the 1935 and 1936 1st
XVIIIs and the 1933 (cox) and 1936 (stroke) 1st VIIIs. He was 1935 and
1936 Monash House Captain, a 1934 Probationer, 1935 Prefect, and
1936 School Captain. Nicholson coached the 1940 and 1941 (winning)
1st VIIIs, co-edited Scotch’s centenary history, and was a member of
the School Council.
There is much to be processed, but a gem immediately identified
was the previously ‘lost’ original minute book of the Old Scotch
Collegians’ Club. No doubt used in editing the centenary history,
it dates from the club’s 8 February 1895 foundation at Young and
Jackson’s Hotel, until the meeting of 5 October 1897. Now transcribed
by former School Council member and Archives’ volunteer Pam
Marshall, it documents the growth and functions of the club, and the
involvement of men of current or future note, including committee
member and Test cricketer, William Bruce (born 22 May 1864, SC
1879-81, died 3 August 1925) and his classmate and cub member
John Monash. Foster’s Lager was the beer of choice in the club rooms,
and functions included smoke concerts (puff on a cigar and listen to
music) and a musical 'at home' for ladies.
The club, which was less embracing than its upstart competitor,
the Old Scotch Collegians’ Association, ended at a meeting on 20
September 1935 when it became the Public Schools’ Club of Victoria,
now also defunct. The minute book now gives us an insight into the
Victorian-era style of Old Boys’ devotion to Scotch.
The Archives welcomes the donation of any of the many other such
Scotch treasure troves that must exist.
The December 1962 edition of
The Scotch Collegian included an
article with this photograph, that
announced Clive Disher’s donation
to the School of the gold medal he
received as a member of the winning
Australian crew at the 1919 Royal Henley
Peace Regatta. Unfortunately, the Scotch