Old Stithian - Australia and New Zealand Reunions

Australia - Sydney and Perth Reunions

On Monday, 26th June, David Du Toit, Head of the Boys’ College along with his wife Rachel hosted our first official Sydney Reunion.  With assistance from Old Boy, Lloyd Chater Class of ’92 who suggested the Squires Landing bar and what a magnificent spot the 28 alumni gathered at with the Sydney Opera House as a backdrop.

Antony Sive, Class of 1975 was our eldest Alumni at the reunion with our youngest, Kevin Joseph Class of 2016.  What a diverse group of individuals all with one big common trait- their love for St Stithians College and the different stories they can share.  This group of alumni are definitely keen for more regular catch-ups and we hope to setup a more established Australia Chapter.

David then made his way to Perth and we managed to get another group of amazing Alumni together on Wednesday 28th June at the Northbridge Brewing Company.

Brian Atkinson Headboy of 1966 was in attendance along with Ian Mackenzie Class of ’65 and Stewart Henderson Class of ‘67 reminisced with their wives about the matric dance in 1965, the first ever one held in Mears Hall!  Ian came along with his wife, Sue Mackenzie who was a councillor at the Boys’ College for many years and their Son Rod Mackenzie class of 1994.

The Richter family were also present, Carin use to teach at the Boys and Girls College and their daughters Teagan and Josie matriculated in 2015 & 2018 respectively. 

This smaller group of approximately 20 alumni were equally passionate about St Stithians. The group had a good chuckle about the various photo backdrops they had been seeing on Social Media at the other reunions- they felt that the venue gave them no chance to compete with Tower Bridge or Sydney Opera House.

New Zealand- Auckland, Tuesday 4th July 2023

David was enroute to the International Boys’ Schools Coalition Conference in Auckland so we knew we had to plan for one last reunion in Auckland! We had a very small group of Old Stithians in attendance, from our youngest alumnae- Joanne Etzinger Class of 2014 to our oldest alumni Robert Harpur Class of 1970.  We had a lot of the Boys’ College along with some of the Boys’ Prep staff also in attendance for the small reunion.  We had Danial McLachlan class of 1999, Son of former Headmaster Ian, who travelled with his wife, Katy- a staff member from the Boys’ College who was presenting her research paper to the Conference.

#OnceASaintAlwaysASaint #InspiringExcellence #MakingAWorldOfDifference #StrongerOneAndAll