Celebrating the Class of ‘71

Marist Brothers students take a walk down memory lane

They were the Class of ’71 and they came from Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and locally to celebrate days gone by. It was a Marist Brothers Agricultural College celebration earmarked for last year on what would have been a 50th anniversary but COVID saw it postponed to this year but it was worth the wait.

Sixteen of the 22 students from the 1971 class, along with partners attended the weekend of events. Reunion organiser Paul Mann said it all started with the eye opening experience of touring the current Tenison Woods College facilities complete with a glimpse into future plans for the ever-expanding site.

“For many they took a couple of hours looking over the current site – it is certainly very different to the school we all attended,” Paul said. The group then enjoyed a dinner and a night of swapping stories at Sorrentos 5290 where memories from the 1968-71 classes were on rotation on the big screen.

“Interestingly there were 44 students in the 1968 class and by 1971 there was only 22 of us left,” Paul said. “Some went to boarding school in Adelaide, some got jobs and some just left.”

That group of students now boasts an International Winemaker of the Year (Greg Clayfield), a construction industry giant (Vince Versace) and a crown prosecutor (Stephen McEwen) along with some teachers and a raft of other professions.

Being an agricultural college at the time, the 1971 class spent their time in the classroom studying agricultural science, geology, economics and maths and all their lessons were taught by the Brothers.

Paul did remember that a new maths and science building was constructed in 1968 and his 1971 class was part of the family and friends fundraising efforts to build the current day chapel.

“We did one if not two walkathons to the Bellum Hotel to raise money,” Paul said.

He also remembers that many of the students at the boarding house at that time were sons of farmers from Naracoorte, Penola, Coonawarra, Kingston and even Biscuit Flat.

The Class of ’71 was also part of the transition process where the Marist Brothers Agricultural College and Mater Christi College run by the Sisters of Mercy at the Old Convent site on Penola Road, merged to become Tenison Woods College in 1972.

“As part of that, we went to lessons with the Sisters of Mercy and the girls came to lessons with the Marist Brothers, just to test how it would go,” Paul said.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Tenison Woods College providing the region’s premier Catholic education. The Class of ’71 also celebrated with an anniversary cake, Greg Clayfield helped organise an anniversary commemorative wine with the entire weekend rounding up with a brunch at the Blue Lake Golf Club the following day.