Where are they now – Maurie Tanian (SPC 1959-61, PY1962)

The College recently reconnected with former day student Maurie Tanian (SPC 1959-61, PY1962), who visited the College recently.

It had been 60 years since Maurie was a day student and it bought back a panorama of memories.

“My greatest achievement there was making the St Pat’s 1st XVIII Football Team and during my recent visit, I was delighted to see the photo still hanging on the wall,” said Maurie.

Maurie has shared his path in life after leaving St Pat’s in 1961.

“My family lived in Ballarat so when I left St Pat’s, I went to Ballarat Teachers College and continued to live in Ballarat for the next five years. During that time, I played Aussie Rules with the Ballarat Football Club seniors under coach Lenny Templar. I played on the wing.

“After that, I got a teacher transfer to Castlemaine and played for Castlemaine in the Bendigo League. Ron Auchettl from Carlton was the coach.

“After my footy career finished, I continued with my teaching career and also became heavily involved with the Lions Clubs organisation, eventually becoming a president of a Melbourne club  and later, a District Governor. I guess you could say the highlight of my time in Lions was when I was elected to the position of National Chairman of the Lions Clubs of Australia in 1996-1997 (it is always a one year term).  Lions Australia had about 30, 000 members at that time.

“At the same time, I became Principal of a primary school in Laverton and would go on to be Principal of a larger school in Footscray. This was a pretty challenging time for me being a Principal and National Chairman of Lions which involved a lot of interstate and overseas travel.

“After my term as National Chairman came to an end, I took early retirement from teaching, and my wife, Anne, and I went to live in Aix-en-Provence in France. I spent part of my time at the University of AIx-Marseille where I attempted to perfect my Australian-French. We had a wonderful time living there and have returned a number of times since. In fact, learning French would pay off for me as in the last couple of years as I have been the Lions International  Co-Ordinator for the French-speaking countries of New Caledonia, Tahiti and Vanuatu. This has meant more regular travel overseas again.

“As to more recent times, in 2018 as lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, I was chosen to be a member of the Queen’s Baton Relay and carry the Baton around a section of Williamstown. A great thrill!

“Nowadays, my life has slowed down somewhat. Anne and I live a quiet life in Williamstown. I am still doing a little relief-teaching, I’m still a Lions Club member, and I am always very thankful of my great time at St Pat’s which helped set me up in later life.”