Some 70 members of the 1961 Alumni assembled in Sydney on Friday 2 September 2011 for their 50 Year School Reunion.   Held at the Harbourview Hotel in North Sydney, Conveners Stephen Litchfield, Philip Dawson, David Robinson and Rodney Northam all contributed in making sure the event was a memorable one for all those who attended.

Prior to the formal dinner which commenced at 7.00pm more than 40 from the year were treated to a Tour of the School.  Led by Rick Clive (OBU) and the School Bursar, Mrs Kathy Dickson, the tour included visits to the School Library, Archives, the Prep School, the Year 12 Art Exhibition, the historic Graythwaite mansion and the grounds surrounding it.

A number from the year attended from afar notably Graham Perrett who made the long trek from California.  Others to make long journeys were Chris Roberts and Brian Smith (Victoria) and Ray Huntley (Queensland).   From NSW country centres came Hugh Anderson (Millthorpe), Sandy Blomfield (Quirindi), Richard Cutler (Glenbrook), John Docker (Goulburn), Anthony Grigor-Scott (Currabubula), John Forrest (Redhead), Bill Kerr (Rylstone), Ian Scott (Nowra), Bill Trounce (Calala) and Brian Turton (Walcha).

Senior Prefect Stephen Litchfield as MC was a hoot.   In his opening address he immediately made everyone feel most welcome.   To kick the night off he read from the 1961 School Fee Statement  given to him by Ross Alexander, who had come across it in going through his late father’s papers, recently.  This had everyone rolling in their chairs including the Chairman of the School Council Steve Williams regarding the amount of money parents paid in those days.

Stephen then called on Rick Clive from the OBU to set the mood for the evening.   Rick gave an entertaining and at times funny speech, filled with snippets of nostalgia in giving his review of the year.   David Robinson was called on to say Grace, while the Hon Dennis Cowdroy gave a wonderful Toast to the School.   Steve Williams responded by addressing the audience on the continued success of the School .  He also spoke on the planned development of Graythwaite and Stages 3 and 4 of Northbridge which will commence next year.

The official side of the evening concluded with a number of Old Boys waxing lyrical on their days at School as well talking ‘fondly’ of the Masters who taught them. 

The evening finished at around 11.15pm with the whisper that a few may have batted on to another venue for a further hour or so.

In addition,  David Robinson hosted 10 Old Boys from Form 1 1954 at his home on Sydney’s lower North Shore for lunch the following day. A report on this luncheon can be found on the News Section of the OBU website.

Thanks to John Anderson and Rick Clive for the photos taken throughout the event.

Martin McMurray & Iain Campbell-Bruce	Bruce McGilvray & John Cooper	Graham Perrett & David Harricks
Dennis Cowdroy giving his Toast to the School	David Robinson & Bob Neil	Bob Neil & Andrew Marr
Philip Dawson & Michael Love	Stephen Litchfield & Garry Rothwell	Bill Ferris & David Scanlan
Rodney Northam & Steve Williams (Chairman of School Council)	Howard Bonnette & Toby Donnan	Toby Donnan & Richard Cutler
Gray Hughes & Jim Roberts	Grant Woods & Barclay Wade	John Russell & Ted Harvey
Sandy Blomfield	Peter Alexander & Ian Kilpatrick	Beach Thomas & Ken Taylor
Rick Clive (OBU) & Ross Alexander	John Graham, Paul Wood & Chris Roberts