You could say it started with one teacher – Mr Lindsay Newnham, who taught Ancient Greek and Roman History and Latin for 39 years who inspired a lifelong curiosity in Roger Hawthorn (OW1968). You could also say it was helped by Roger’s aunt and uncle, Betty and Alfred Wall, who financed his first overseas trip where he visited the lands he had learned about and demonstrated a remarkable generosity when the Wall family donated land which became Chum Creek.
These examples have led Roger Hawthorn, former teacher at the St Kilda Road Campus, to generously donate some of his fascinating collection of antiquities which will reside in a special cabinet in the College’s History Gallery. His hope is that the objects will inspire other students to learn, collect and give back to the school that has given him a life pathway. The collection covers ancient Roman, Greek, Chinese and Vietnamese pieces, acquired over a lifetime and inspired by his days at Wesley.
Lindsay Newnham was a methodical teacher – described by some as ‘exacting and rigorous’, a great intellectual, who kept meticulous notes on all the events and people of Wesley during his time, from when he started in 1947 until his retirement in 1985, at which time his subjects also stopped being taught at Wesley.
The College has been a grateful recipient of the many documents and books he used while working here. His outwardly reserved demeanour hid a pride in his students which he could only express once exams were over. He had been Dux at his own school, Carey Baptist Grammar, and was interested in the Arts as well as intellectual pursuits. He worked behind the scenes as Prop Manager for many of the school plays, and wrote the lyrics to All Of Us Are One.
Roger was his student, so later, as a fellow teacher, found it very disconcerting to return to Wesley College and sit in the staff room with his former revered teacher, and call him Lindsay, not Sir!
This lifelong interest has led him to write possibly the only history of the Island of Lemnos, covering its ancient Greek occupation right up to the end of World War I. This book, with a foreword written by Dr Ross Bastiaan (OW1968), is also in the College Collections.
After leaving teaching at Wesley, Roger remained in contact with a number of alumni, and having been inspired by one of his own teachers, has gone on to inspire others. It is his hope that his gift of antiquities will light a spark of curiosity in future generations.
Margot Vaughan
Curator of Collections
