How do we tell the full story of our beloved 160-year-old school within a single edition of Lion?
We can’t possibly hope to, of course.
But like readers thumbing through a well-loved book, we can pause in the midst of some memorable chapters, and glimpse the people, ideas and moments that have shaped our story across 160 years.
In our feature story, we plot the remarkable growth of our school, from the two boys who attended on the first day of 11 January 1866 – Freddie Binks and Jonah Dolphin – to the 3,400 girls and boys attending Wesley today. And we spend some time in the retelling of the most consequential chapter in our College’s history: the gradual introduction of coeducation from 1978 onwards by Principal David Prest.
In her feature article, our chaplain at the St Kilda Road Campus, Pastor Kaylea Fearn, rewrites the Wesley founding story with fresh eyes. Her research reveals the fascinating story of ‘The Grand Fancy Bazaar’, a radically modern fundraising event for the times, proposed by Mrs Elizabeth Draper and Mrs Anne Powell. Together with a large group of Methodist women, they stepped in to re-energise the stalled campaign to help secure the College’s future. As Kaylea notes, ‘These women did not simply support our founders – they were our founders.’
There’s a heart-breaking postscript to this particular chapter of our story. In 1865, while the school was finally being built, Daniel and Elizabeth Draper travelled to England to advance Wesley’s interests in Methodist and educational circles, and help recruit its first headmaster, James Corrigan. In a tragic coincidence, on the return voyage to Melbourne, the Drapers perished in the sinking of the SS London in the Bay of Biscay on 11 January 1866 – the very day the College opened its doors.
As the ship foundered in a raging storm, the Drapers are said to have led passengers in prayer, offering comfort amid the chaos. Also lost were the books, materials and furniture they had acquired in England for the new College. They never saw the school they helped create begin its journey.
The ideals that inspired Wesley’s founders, however, did reach their destination. Their belief in whole-person education, moral purpose, intellectual ambition and social contribution remains at the core of our Wesley story today.
Likewise, we can look back to our founders to voice our hopes for the next chapters in our story. Our idealistic and eloquent first school president, the Reverend James Waugh, saw the College as a lasting beacon of enlightenment, faith and public good. His literal vision for the school was thus: ‘May our College be like an angel standing in the sun, sending forth streams of light, for many a year throughout this land.’
It’s a sweet image. Long may our angel shine.
Paul Munn, Lion Editor and Features Writer