PATRICIANS RECENTLY
From time to time, various Patricians catch up with one another after a break of some time. Sometimes after a month or two and sometimes after a decade or two!
Alternatively, a Patrician may have achieved a milestone or have an interesting life-story to share.
This section of the website is intended to provide an opportunity to let Patricians know what they or others have been doing or who has been meeting whom! Send reports of social gatherings, achievements or other stories to SPOCA via the email address below and we'll try to incorporate it into this or another relevant section of the website.
Gordon McGough ...
... has been a regular email writer to SPOCA and it is interesting to put together his recollections about St Pat's and some stories of his life after school. They have been combined into the short summary below telling something of Gordon 'then and now'. (Click the small 'arrow-in-square' symbol at top right to transfer to a larger view of the article, or simply click the '+' symbol at the bottom).
The most significant work of Gordon's career was the time he spent with the Mermet company (a French company specializing in the manufacture of awning fabrics). He was their Australian MD for many years and developed many French friendships during that time. Because of that connection, he has also been a long-time member of Alliance Français which has a branch on the Sunshine Coast. Partly in connection to the recent D-Day commemorations, Gordon was asked to give a talk to branch members about his ancestral connections to the military, some of whom were members of the Free French Legionnaires. His presentation contained some interesting stories about earlier members of a Patrician family and can be read here.
McGough 2024 story.pdfA Pleasant November Afternoon
There was a very sociable group of OPs who caught up for a chat in November. The report below outlines the general arrangements for the occasion, with a photo showing who was there (the photographer didn't quite make it into the pic ... readers can work out who he was from the attendance list!).
231128 SABB lunch.pdfBrendan LANE (57-63)
Recently Brendan reached a commendable milestone .. 50 years in the priesthood! A report has been added to the melbourne catholic website with some photos. Some of those photos have also been added to our Victorian Collections website. Click on either of those links to read about Brendan's achievement.
The Five Amigos
A group of mates from the later 1960s have been in occasional contact over the years. Some of them include Bill Dowling, John Higgins, Tony Bahr, Rick Favaloro and Peter Rogan. Among this group, Tony has been having a few health issues of late so the other four decided it was time for them to get together for a chat and a drink. The event was organized for later May 2023 ... Bill has forwarded the following summary of the day's unfolding ...
Tony Bahr & the 5 amigos.pdfVale Tony ... unfortunately, Tony passed away less than four months after this gathering. In another way, it was fortunate in that they were all able to catch up one more time,exchanging many pleasant memories. And Tony was able to also catch up with some other old mates in February at the 'Glenferrie social afternoon', attended by over 60 Old Patricians.