Scotch College

Swimming Club makes a comeback

The Old Scotch Swimming Club in the early 1980s had virtually ceased to be an Old Boys' body and consisted mainly of current boys and their parents.

Many of the boys were on the School swimming teams and wanted additional training and so would use this Old Scotch club as a way to train on Saturday afternoons. Reg Steele, parent of three boys then at the School, was the president. He kept records on an early computer, and ensured well-organised starters and timers with stop-watches so that each boy could race against himself, competing against his previous best. With such boys came their brothers and sisters.

This cheery banner on waterproof canvas tells us several stories. When a club had to add "Inc" to its name in the early 1980s, we see a tangible sign of how the past 20 years have obliged voluntary organisations to become more formal and professional. Soon the banner was replaced altogether because the organisation changed its name from Old Scotch to Scotch Family, a sign of a wider change back then in how the Scotch community conceptualised itself. (It was also a sign of changes occurring in this particular swimming organisation -see article.) The third story here is this banner's own survival. Put in a wardrobe in 1983-84 by Will Irving (1986), it sat there snugly until Will's mother, Judith, donated it to the archives in 2003.

The preponderance of children at this nominally Old Scotch club meant that there were separate events for the under 10, under 14, under 16 and under 18, whilst all the "oldies" were lumped into one race called "Vintage".

Office holders were boys such as Will Irving (1986) who was Secretary in his Year 9 and 10 (in 1983 and 1984), before the pressure of study got too great, whilst Will's father, Edward, who had dutifully turned up to an AGM soon found himself on the committee and later became President.

Quite why the Old Boys were so few is unclear-and Jim Mitchell at the Archives would welcome suggested explanations-but the process was hastened when Scotch began building the Glen Sports Centre and closed the old outdoor pool during 1983.

That year the Club swam in the MLC pool and in gratitude to MLC the club embraced MLC girls and their families. To allow this (and indeed to formalise what had already happened, with so few members over 18) the club renamed itself from "Old Scotch Collegians Amateur Swimming Club" to the "Scotch Family Swimming Club".

But the Club stumbled in making use of the new indoor pool at Scotch. In contrast to the new pool's narrow confines, the old pool had been surrounded by a wide and welcoming lawn where people could sprawl on the grass. Those hot Saturday afternoons had been a time not just for swimming hard but also for talking and lazing socially in the sun and also sunbaking (still popular then!). The new indoor pool had no such area and the social side of the Club diminished.

It is now 2003 and OSCA is re-establishing the Old Scotch Watersports Club. For more information contact Tim Shearer on 9810 4302.

 

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Stumped

Where is Ben Barnett buried?

Where is Ben Barnett buried? Ben Barnett (1925) played in the First XI in 1924 and 1925 and later played cricket for Australia. He died in 1979. A memorial Service was held for him in the chapel a week after his death, but this appears not to have been his funeral, which had already occurred as he died interstate. No-one seems to know where he is buried. Information please to Jim Mitchell (03) 9810 4293 jim.mitchell@scotch.vic.edu.au