St Patrick’s College to induct three new Legends

Three fine Old Collegians of St Patrick’s College who have dedicated much of their lives to helping others will be honoured as Legends of the College at an Annual Celebration Dinner in August.

The St Patrick’s College Old Collegians’ Association (SPC-OCA) will honour the exemplary work of these men, while also announcing a Young Achiever of the Year at the gala dinner on Saturday, August 31. Two long-serving staff members of the school will also be honoured for their contributions over several decades to improve educational outcomes for boys.

SPC-OCA President Allan McKinnon said he was delighted to honour men who have been so influential in helping others.

-The mission at St Patrick’s College is to raise fine boys to the status of great men, so for us to be in a position to honour three gentlemen who have clearly met that standard makes us incredibly proud,- Mr McKinnon said.

The three inductees in 2019 will be as follows:

• Peter Blenkiron (SPC 1974-77),– pictured -“ As a victim and survivor of child sexual abuse while he was a student at St Patrick’s College, it would be entirely understandable if Peter had never set foot on College grounds again. However, despite his own torment, Peter has long been a beacon for fellow survivors, acting as a spokesman, a confidant and a leader in their quest for acknowledgement, support and adequate redress. Importantly, Peter has also reconnected closely with the College, helping to establish our Old Collegians Pastoral Care Program and providing input into the development of new curriculum offerings aimed at the wellbeing of today’s students.
• Dr Michael Flynn (SPC 1961-63) -“ Upon graduating from the University of Melbourne in Medicine in 1969, Michael joined the Royal Australian Navy as a Surgeon Lieutenant having been -drafted- in the Australian Defence Force’s Vietnam-era birthday ballots. Thus began a life of elite medical practice in the military forces, attending operational service in the first Gulf War and in East Timor. Michael was seconded to the Australian Embassy in Beijing during the time of the Tianenmien Square crisis and led the combined surgical support team from Australia to Banda Aceh after the 2004 earthquake and tsunami. Michael retired from full time service in 1998 in the rank of Commodore and has since served as the NSW Director of Counter Disaster Planning in the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
• George Devine Treloar (SPC 1900) -“ George was a commanding presence in the battlefields of World War I, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and being awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross from Great Britain. In 1919 he joined the British Mission to the White Russian (pro-Tsarist) armies as assistant military secretary. When this mission withdrew from Constantinople, he served with the Tsarist army as a colonel. However, the White Russians were defeated, and Treloar was appointed to command a British camp for Russian refugees at Toulsa on the Sea of Marmara. He worked for two years voluntarily and continuously, endeavouring to improve the hardship and sufferings of these Russian refugees. He was awarded the Russian Order of St Vladimir with Crossed Swords and Bow, the Order of St Stanislaus, and St Anne (Tsarist Russia). Treloar became a representative of the League of Nations High Commissariat for Refugees in northern Greece, and between 1922 and 1926 was engaged in the resettlement of over 108,000 refugees. For his humanitarian efforts, he was awarded the Order of the Redeemer (gold cross). The refugee village Thrilorion was named after him and thousands of Pontian Greeks across the world regard him as the saviour of their people. A statue of George Treloar will be unveiled in Sturt St on September 8 this year.

In addition to inducting these Legends, the SPC-OCA will also celebrate West Coast Eagles premiership player Liam Duggan (SPC 2009-14) as the Young Achiever of the Year.

Finally, the College is delighted to announce that the recipients of the 2019 Facere et Docere (To Do and To Teach) award will be long time audio-visual technician Glenn Fisher and administrative and clerical assistant Kerrie Leach who have provided great support to College teaching leadership teams since 1987. Glenn and Kerrie will create history by being the first non-teaching staff in the College’s history to receive this high honour. The Facere et Docere Award honours staff members for prolonged excellence in teaching and College-related work.

The gala celebration dinner will be held in the College’s OCA Pavilion, overlooking the Main Oval, on Saturday August 31 which will feature inducted Legend and nationally respected journalist Paul Bongiorno (SPC 1957-62) as the Master of Ceremonies.

Tickets for the dinner cost $50 and are available online now at https://www.trybooking.com/BBZJO