Our Collective Memory

Schools like Wesley have numerous “sacred sites”, places around which memories gather, and often in which history is made. These kinds of places are important for our collective memory, and I note that in the August issue of Lion there are a number of references to the role which memory plays in our schooling, in different ways. Students and staff often develop strong affections for significant places, and yet any institution needs to adapt to changing circumstances and different demands, sometimes calling into question the continued usefulness of such places. The link between past and present, between what worked once and what is needed now and for the future, is often a matter for careful consideration. Memory and renewal are both combined in our culture, and each requires attention; together they have constituted our history over nearly a century and a half.

An artist's impression of the new Music School

So far this year there have been three openings, each of which  is a part of Wesley’s vision for the future.  On 20 May the Yiramalay/Wesley Studio School in the remote Kimberley was officially launched and then visited by the Governor General, Quentin Bryce, on 11 and 12 August; on 6 June the new Sports Complex at Glen Waverley was opened; and on 27 June a smaller but no less significant opening happened at St Kilda Road: the Silagy Gallery,  in the Sir David Rivett science laboratories (the result of a donation by the Silagy family). Reports on each of these are to be found in the August issue of Lion, since they, too, are now a part of our history. These openings, all notable occasions, serve as a reminder that no school can  ever stand still. As our song The Best School of All reminds us, the school which is “handed on” from one generation to the next must always seek to improve its purposes to its students in subsequent years.

So, it is important to appreciate buildings and what they stand for, but not so much that this stands in the way of better facilities. Very soon, much cherished buildings at the St Kilda Road campus are to undergo a major overhaul, but while the physical changes will be marked (internally at least), the spirit that has inhabited these buildings – especially the historic Menzies Wing and Adamson Hall – cannot, of course, be touched at all. The Music School has outgrown the increasing demands placed upon it, and its loss will not be mourned; it has done its service, but clearly has been inadequate for a number of years. Yet, in all three buildings, the memories associated with everything that has occurred in them cannot be erased, and let’s be thankful for that.

Samuel Andrews, Chair of the Bunuba Aboriginal Corporation and Peter Harrison,
President of the Wesley College Council, unveil the plaque at the opening of the
Studio School, 20 May 2011

In the case of the Menzies Wing and Adamson Hall, what we are planning is a complete refurbishment: the present Music School will disappear altogether, to be replaced by a state-of-the-art four storey building that finally will satisfy the burgeoning needs of the performing arts. This redevelopment of the Moubray Street Precinct (as it is known) will be the most significant since the Nicholas brothers largely rebuilt Wesley in the 1930s. Plans, developed with Cox Architects, are now being finalised, and building will start towards the end of the school year. It has also been largely facilitated by the Wesley College Foundation in the lead up to the College’s sesquicentenary in 2016 and, to date, $3.5 million have been raised.  With such support, memories will be preserved, new facilities will be provided, and the future is promising.

No one will ever forget the work that has gone on in the present buildings. But these too are now valuable memories, part of a culture that is ever-developing, and will be enjoyed always by those who experienced them. But it is time to move on. Every student who leaves a school is entitled to love what they have experienced but should be rightly disappointed if things don’t change.

With best wishes

Helen Drennen