Scotch College

Big Apple dinner a big night for Old Boys from '52 to '02

There were Old Boys from 1952 right through to 2002 at this year’s most successful OSCA New York dinner, held at Scalleta Restaurant in the shadows of Central Park and the Natural History Museum.

Despite the summer heat, New York’s weather was determined to remind us of Melbourne, with storms stranding some Old Boys at regional airports, and unfortunately forcing a couple of them to miss the occasion. Despite this, our numbers were actually up on the previous gathering in 2002.

We were privileged to secure Mr Michael Thawley, Australian Ambassador to the United States, as guest speaker for the evening. Other guests included Mr Andrew Shearer, Minister/Counsellor (Political) from the Embassy, Mr Michael Robinson AO, Chairman of the Scotch College Council, and Dr Gordon Donaldson AM, School Principal.

After relating some of the more humorous requests made of the Australian Embassy, Ambassador Thawley spoke of Australia’s increasingly important presence on the world stage, in the areas of economics, trade and academia. Dr Donaldson next provided an update on recent School projects, and thanks to Dr Alan Watkinson’s technical wizardry, we were able to relive the exhilarating Head of the River victory as if it were live.

It was a wonderful – and late – evening. Many thanks to the all Old Boys and other guests who travelled far and wide from across the United States and the world to attend the dinner.

James Paterson