July 1955 School Magazine

July. 1955

Brisbane Girls' Gramm.ar School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

July, 1955

CURRENT EVENTS. We came back to School this year to find a number o1 pleasing innovations. Many classrooms were painted and all had been provided with electric clocks. It was thus that we welcomed to the School Mrs. Stenders, Miss Munro, and Miss Marks, the last an old girl of the School. Unfortunately we had to say "Good-bye" to Miss Lilley, Miss Glover, Miss Anderson, and at the end of first term to Mrs. Kronfeld, in whose place we should like to welcome Miss Douglas. The Tuck-shop now provides ice-cream and drinks on Wednesday, as well as on Monday and Friday, when more substantial lunches are also wld. We are very grateful to the Boys' Grammar School for the invitation to their Swimming Carnival on the 25th of February. Sixth Form girls were also grateful for the invitation extended tc them by Mrs. Hirschfeld to serve afternoon tea at the Man- nequin Parade which she organized a t the Boys' School and at -which b eautiful costumes were shown to an admiring a udience. A film of the Davis Cup shown at School on the ll th of March was enjoyed by a ll tennis enthusiasts. The inter-form Swimming Carnival was held on the 15th cf March. Sixth was the winning form, with IIIE and IIIC fol- lowing very closely. On the 26th of March, the In,ter-School Swimming Carnival was held in the Valley Baths. Our con- gratulations go to Clayfield College and Somerville House, and to our own team which carried us to third position. At the Inter-School Life Saving Competition for the McWhirter Cup we came fourth . We are now practising diligently for the Inter-Form Ath- letics Competition, which will be held on the first of July, and for the Inter-School Sports on the 16th of July. This year the present girls were hoste2ses on Old Girls ' Day. We must congratulate the Old Girls on winning the "A" tennis match and the "B" and "C" basketball matches. The Science, Debating, and Dramatic Clubs continue to increase in membership, and again this year they a re provid- ing instructive entertainment for many girls. The Senior School attended, on the 12th of May, an enjoy- able performance of Shaw's witty play "Pygmalion" by the Independent Theatre of Sydney. In June many girls saw "King Lear" produced by Twelfth Night Theatre. The School Concert, presented on the 15th and 16th of June, was a great success owing to the untiring e fforts of those concerned. 10

Essay for the Betty Woolcock Challenge Cup, 1954.

"NOT ONCE OR TWICE IN OUR ROUGH-ISLAND STORY THE PATH OF DUTY WAS THE WAY TO GLORY."

To win immortal glory and to leave, When life is past, a living memory, To mark the W:Jrld with impress of one's thought And action; more than fame or reputation This, through all ages has crowned man's endeavour. Duty, not blind allegiance is !he path A moral obliga tion which may not Be laid aside, but lives as conscience lives Within the soul of man; and when it calls The challenge it extends is that a man, Before all else, be true unto himself. Then, true to self, he must be true to those Whose way of life runs side by side with his, A duty to the State and Commonwealth And more than these, a duty to the world Whose citizen, by right of birth, he is. The path of duty is a narrow road. The way is steep and heavy fall the feel That tread it yet, monotonous s tep by s tep. But ever, in the distance, shines the gleam That lures man on, although the way be hard, To triumph in completion of the task, And satisfaction cheers the weary heart As, each step won, the next is easie r made . "Net once or twice in our rough island-s tcry"- The Chronicles of England cry the names Of gallant men , the noblest of their race, Who sought not power for self or worldly might But :Jnly sought the strength to do their duty, The fortitude and courage to endure . That signal of Trafalgar was not new To Nelson's flee t, nor were his men the last To rally to its challenging demands. From the Armada to Dunkirk its words resound And still it is the watchword of their breed. "We shall not flag or fail," this confidence Sprang not from vanity or empty pride But from the certain knowledge that their strength Lay in the loyal service of their people . For those who walked the path the way was long, The end unkn:Jwn; but when, at last, the read Was travelled and they dared to raise their heads Bent, as they walked, in deep humility, They saw, behind, the long road they had come Aglow with radiance of self-sacrifice 11