Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2010

B R I S B A N E G I R L S G R A M M A R S C H O O L

QUETTA

AN EVENT WHICH TOOK PLACE, AT SEA, 120 YEARS AGO WAS TO HAVE A DIRECT EFFECT ON BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND ITS COMMUNITY, AND WOULD LEAVE A LEGACY WHICH HAS CONTINUED THROUGH THE LIFE OF THE SCHOOL TO THE PRESENT DAY.

clothing of the time did not survive. The School greatly mourned the loss of members of its community and in their memory, raised funds to strike a commemorative medal. The Board approved the Wight Medal for Music, which was first awarded in 1891, and has since been awarded every year to the student who performs best in a piece for piano.

On 28 February 1890, the SS Quetta, en route to England was sailing off the Great Barrier Reef in far North Queensland, when the ship struck an uncharted reef. On board were many passengers and crew, including two sisters, both past students of Girls Grammar, Annie and Isobel Wight. There was great loss of life and the Wight sisters along with many of the women on board who could not swim and wore the very restrictive and voluminous

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