Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2015

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UNIFORM PLAYS A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN OUR IDENTITY

FLAGS UNIFY A COUNTRY, A PEOPLE, A SPIRIT UNDER COMMON VALUES. IN THE SAME WAY OUR UNIFORM UNITES US AS A SCHOOL — JUST AS WE FLY THE SAME FLAG, STRIVE FOR THE SAME GOALS, AND SHARE THE SAME VALUES — OUR UNIFORM IDENTIFIES US, UNITES US AND SYMBOLISES WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE STAND FOR (JACINDA EULER, PRINCIPAL).

AUTHOR Mrs Pauline Harvey-Short Associate Dean

Aspects of uniform come and go. However, each element of the Girls Grammar uniform plays a substantial part in our history, whether it is an enormous pair of bloomers, a IIIB babushka, a ‘Take our Wake’ swimming t-shirt, or a non-regulation House ‘hoodie’. One often-overlooked item of the Girls Grammar wardrobe is the swim coat. How could we forget an item of apparel which triggers such emotive responses as ‘How can we forget the swim coats!’ or ‘I loathed them. They were anachronistic and we should have gotten rid of them’ or ‘My elder sister, Jan, wore it and I had the ambition to do the same’ or ‘Look at the funny coats we have to wear’ and a particular favourite, ‘I used one as a dressing gown for years’? The prickly, wool flannel coat was introduced in 1936 with a School set purchased from McWhirters department store in Fortitude Valley, by Miss Benney, the swimming coordinator and history teacher. The purpose was multifaceted. The coat was deemed to give the swimmers and lifesavers a sense of uniformity, pride and professionalism. It also served to keep the swimmers warm and to preserve their modesty for the much-maligned march past when Grammar teams marched proudly into the Valley Pool with a white towel ceremonially folded over their arms. In the early decades, girls competed in a programme which included the Senior and Junior Brockway Cups; the fifty metre Senior and Junior Freestyle Championships; the senior and junior diving events; backstroke and breaststroke races; and relays.

2015 Swimming Captain Lauren Hogg (12R)

1967 Swimming Coat (BGGS Archives)

The coats were an affordable expense when the swimming team was small in number. The 1937 swim team comprised four senior swimmers and five juniors. At the recent 2015 QGSSSA carnival held in March, the Girls Grammar team boasted 100 swimmers, seventy- two competing and twenty-eight reserves. Like all items of clothing, contemporary fashion wielded a great influence — the final swim coats in the 1970s were royal blue, terry toweling minis! These coats were introduced in 1965/66 and once again were worn proudly by the Girls Grammar team. Like their wool flannel predecessors, the coats were a useful item of clothing for both the competitive swimmer and the McWhirter Cup lifesaver. The demise of the swim coat for the Girls Grammar QGSSSA competitor came in 1973. This was inevitable with the March Past becoming a thing of the past and the advent of a more liberal society. 1973 Captain, Anne Belcher, remembers wearing the coat for the last time and the subsequent sale of coats and towels to the School community. When shown a photograph of the swim coat from the 1970s, a 2015 swim team member responded with ‘That’s really cool’. Today, the Grammar swimmer does not ‘march past’ but is represented by her captain under the Girls Grammar banner standing behind the blocks. The 2015 Captain, Lauren Hogg, stood proudly in her blazer and Physical Education uniform during presentations representing the 100 strong team united in royal blue. Perhaps the 2016 QGSSSA carnival at Chandler could see a retro look with the return of the royal blue swim coat. Just like history, fashion repeats and who knows - it may give us an edge!

REFERENCES Euler, J. (2014). Unpublished speech, BGGS School assembly, 7 May

Swim coat pictured bottom left in this photo of the 1967 Lifesaving Team (Barbara Alexander Collection).

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2015