1997 School Magazine

--------- 41,irl!i @rammar ~cbool ;l)jrisbane 1997

Vale Mccrae Grassie

O n Friday 6 June, 1997, family, mem- bers of the School community, former colleagues and friends farewelled Dr McCrae Grassie OAM, MA, MEd(StA), PhD(Qld), FACE, FQIEA, more often referred to simply as Mac, in what was a ve1y moving Service in the school Auditorium. Dr Grassie was born in Dundee, Scotland on 28th May, 1924 to Fred and Jessie Grassie. His early education was at the Harris Academy in Dundee and the Arbroath High School. After leaving school, he attended the University of St Andrews where he gained an Honours Master of Arts Degree in Modern Histo1y and Political Economy and a Master of Education. In Scot- land he qualified to teach in both prima,y and seconda1y schools and held posts as Assistant Director of Education in the County of Fife

School ofEducation at the University ofQueens- land. During his early years at UofQ he gained his Doctorate in Philosophy. Among his most prized achievements were a University Medal in Education and election to fellowships in both the Australian College of Education and the Queensland Institute of Educational Ad- ministration. From 1984 until 1987 when he retired from the University of Queensland, Dr Grassie was Director of the Tertia1y Education Institute. His services to education were recognized when he received an Order of Australia Medal in 1992. Dr Grassie's association with Brisbane Girls Grammar School began in 1981 when he was involved in the whole school evaluation proc- ess. In 1982 he was appointed by the Minister

Dr McCrae Grassie

for Education to the Board of Trustees and in 1986 elected Chairman, a position he held until August 1996. Under his ChairmanshipThe Restoration and BuildingAppeal was launched in 1989 and a Master Plan developed which was completed six years later with the opening of TheMcCrae Grassie Sports Centre named in his honour. This is a lasting tribute to a man always considered a gentleman and a scholar.

where he was Deputy Director from 1958 until 1967. Mac also had a period of time in the British Army in India where he gained the rank of Captain. ln 1950 he married Ma1y Liddle and in 1967 he moved to Austra lia with Ma1y and his two sons Graeme (deed) and Stuart, who both attended Brisbane Grammar School. The move was to allow him to take up a position as Senior Lecturer in the

Professor Dorothy Hill

O n 26 April 1997 relatives, academic colleagues, former students and friends of Emeritus Professor Dorothy Hill, AC, CBE, ga thered at her funeral service in Brisbane. I orothy Hill was born on 10 September 1907 an I lived a meritorious life, making a major on tribution to academia through a number of aven ues and during that time gained a PhD( antab) , DSc, Hon LL.D(Qld), FRS and FA.A. At the service, Mrs Margaret Eva read the P em by Robert Browning called Home Tbo11gbts, from Abroad from a book of poems whi ch Dorothy Hill had been awarded as a Sp ech Day Prize when she attended Girls Grammar School, Brisbane. Since her death there have been many

Dorothy Hill was a student at Girls Grammar from 1920 - 1924 where she had a distinguished academic and sporting career before winning an open scholarship to the University ofQueens- land. She accepted her second choice of career and enrolled in the Faculty of Science. In her first year she took a course in geology and was soon committed to the field, graduating in 1928 with first-class honours and a University Medal , the first woman in the University to do so. During her time at the University Dorothy Hill won an Australian Universities Blue for Hockey. She was awarded a travelling scholarship to Cambridge University to study for the doctor of philosophy degree before the start of World War II. During this time, Cambridge University

Professor Dorothy Hill

outstand ing tributes written about her and her life and work. ne f the most concise and thoughtful was by Professor Ken ampbell , Emeritus Professor of Geology at the Australian 1 ational University. He wrote about every aspect of her life in a Ill st eloquent way- parts of it are recorded here as our tribute to Dorothy Hill, EGGS Old Girl. was at the zenith of its scientific achievement and she learned methods of research, a breadth of scientific perception, the importance of a good critical appreciation, the necessity of a good research libra,y and the value of competent scientific colleagues, as well as developing an appreciation of aspects of culture such as drama and architecture. She remained active in -------------------- 17 ---------------------