Dr David Mulford 2009 – 2018

Over the last week, the College as a community has given thanks and bade a final farewell to Dr David Mulford, culminating in a special celebration at Annual Prize Giving on Friday 7 December.

Dr Mulford, at the many addresses he has given over the last week, has continually stated his passion of teaching.  He has been asked many times to reflect on his achievements at Newington and here are what he notes are his Top 10 Achievements:

1. Restoration of pride and community, based on positive relationships – boys, staff, parents, Old Boys. There is an incredibly positive “feel”, “tone” and “culture”.
2. Enhancement of the essential diversity ethos of Newington – ethnic, religious, geographic, socio-economic and non-selective entry.
3. Re-engagement with Tonga and Tupou College, and growth in “hands on” practical service.
4. Nurture of our driving theme of turning “boys of promise into men of substance”.
5. Quality of staff, quality of leadership teams at all 3 campuses, and securing the right mix of long-serving talented staff with the new.
6. Driving the restlessness to always improve on what we do and why. There have been numerous academic, co-curricular and spiritual initiatives. There is much evidence of success. Learning and what is best for boys has been at the core.
7. Return of the vital goodwill ingredient by staff and management.
8. Strengthening of our loathing of stereotyping or branding or categorisation – promoting boys to be “themselves at their best”.
9. The promotion and funding of teacher improvement.
10. Upgrade of all learning spaces at all 3 Campuses

Dr Mulford’s efforts with Tupou College have led to Tupou College announcing last week his appointment to their College Council.

We thank David and Judy for their service at Newington and we wish them all the very best for their future.

Click here to view Dr Mulford’s farewell by the boys.

Thank You

A special Thank you to Ian Thomas (ON 1963) and Dr Peter Green (ON 1964) for the contribution as Board Members for the AIS USA Foundation.  Both Ian and Peter were foundation members of the Board and we thank them for their efforts over the years.

For North American Old Boys you can make a donation to the College via AIS USA Foundation.  To make a donation, please click here.

On behalf of the College, the Office of Community & Development would like to thank you for all of your support in 2018. Without your support our Bursary boys would not be able to achieve such success.

On 30 November a number of our Donors were able to join us at our Donors’ Thank You function where we said goodbye to David and Judy Mulford. However, through your support, David’s legacy will live on at Newington through The Mulford Bursary and will continue to change lives into the future. Thank you to everyone who has already supported this bursary and as announced at Prize Giving by the Council Chairman Tony McDonald (ON 1976), we are excited to have this bursary begin in 2019.

And in further exciting news for our bursary recipients, this year’s Year 12 Davis Bursary holder, Kenny Chen was awarded Dux of the College for the IB Program. This fantastic news follows last year’s inaugural recipient Richard Zhang (ON 2017) accepting the position of Patron of the Phillip Davis OAM Mathematics Bursary. The Davis Bursary is currently being funded by an anonymous Old Boy for Years 11 and 12 boys only for a total of six boys, with the end of 2019 seeing us halfway through this support. With the support of donors, we are hopeful that by the end of 2022, we will have enough in the fund to commence a Year 7 boy in 2023 on a six year, fee free Maths bursary and then every six years thereafter, forever. Despite Phil Davis’ generous bequest, we remain a long way short of that goal but hopefully with your support we will get there by 2023.

Even better news for our Chris Wild (ON 1991) Indigenous Bursary with our two new Wild Bursary recipients, Bailey Roberts-Lintmeijer and Harrison Marsh and their families both having the chance to meet the Wild family at the Donors function. We also have two more Indigenous boys starting in Year 7 next year as part of our Indigenous program. Again this bursary and these recipients are being personally funded by a group of Old Boy Ambassadors as the fund corpus continues to build. We are currently halfway to our target that will enable an Indigenous boy to start in Year 7, every year, forever. Again, it is only with your support that we have got this far and we hope you will continue to support us until we reach our goal.     

Please see below images from the Donor Thank You Event on 30 November 2018.

2018 Newington Medal – International

The Annual Prize Giving on Friday 7 December was the announcement of the 2018 Newington Medallists.  The International Award was received by Dr Ronald Lu (ON 1962).

Ronald Lu commenced at Newington College in Term III in 1959 and completed his secondary education at the College at the end of his Sixth Form year in 1962.

Whilst a student at the College he was considered “a student of steady application and reasonable achievement.”  He obtained B class passes in English, Mathematics I & II, French and Physics in the State Leaving Certificate examination.  In 1962 he was awarded the ONU Service Prize for Shooting.

At the end of 1962, Ron was offered a place at University of Sydney to study Dentistry, although his passion was Architecture.  Through the intervention of the Headmaster, Rev. Trathen at Ron’s request, he was able to pursue his passion at the University of Sydney.

In 1976 he founded Ronald Lu and Partners (RLP) in Hong Kong.  RLP is dedicated to the delivery of world-class projects across the globe and has become a specialist in delivering super high-density and mixed-use developments in response to the demands of Asia’s fast-growing economies.  Under Ron’s stewardship RLP has become the leading architecture practice in Asia.  The firm has over 600 staff, is headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.  Ron’s work has been globally recognised winning many international architecture awards and partnered with the internationally renowned Frank Gehry on his first project in Asia.  RLP is committed to charity and social responsibility, the firm has been awarded the Caring Company Logo for six years in a row.

At the forefront of Ron’s success has been education and sustainability.  He has steered the team at RLP to ensure all their projects create greater economic, social and environmental value.  Over the last forty years Ron has mentored and ensured that everyone with his passion for architecture is provided with the opportunity to do more, learn more, and create more.  He has established the leading architecture graduate programme with universities in China. 

Sustainability and working with limited space in creating buildings that do no harm to the environment is a focus of his design.  Ron lead the creation of the first Zero Carbon Building in Kowloon Bay Hong Kong.  RLP is leading in promoting the sustainable design concept.  Each project looks at exploring measures such as wise use of renewable energy, energy efficient design and technologies, green transport, higher greening ratios, more advanced recycling and waste management measures, to progress towards the long-term vision of carbon-neutral communities. 

Ron is a practising Christian, a philanthropist and a passionate golfer.  He is currently the President of the Hong Kong Golf Club.

Ron, through his work, has been able to lead the way in focussing on education, sustainability and philanthropy in his industry.  This lifelong and extraordinary contribution to architecture and the impact it has on so many people provides an inspirational example of achievement for past and present students of the College.  It is an honour to name Ronald Lu as the Newington Medallist (International) for 2018.

2018 Newington Medal – Australia

The Annual Prize Giving on Friday 7 December was the announcement of the 2018 Newington Medallists.  The Australian Award was received by Rob Wild (ON 1965).

Robert Owen (Oscar) Wild has had a lifetime association with Newington.  Rob attended Newington from 1958 to 1965.  His Father Owen also attended Newington from 1930 to 1933 and his son Christopher from 1986 to 1991.

Rob was a keen sportsman whilst at the College commencing during his time at Wyvern House, where he played in the 1^st XI and 1^st XV and was awarded Cricket Colours.  In the Senior School Rob was a specialist middle and long-distance runner.  He won Open 880 yards and Open Mile races in the College’s Annual Sports carnival and in 1964 was runner up and in 1965 the winner of the Ellison-Stewart Trophy for middle distance running.  Rob was a member of the 1^st XV and 2^nd XI and was awarded Football Colours in 1964 and 1965.

It was not only on the sporting field that Rob displayed his leadership qualities.  By 1964 he was a Cadet Platoon Commander and also served on the Student Representative Council.  In 1964 he was appointed a prefect and in his final year in 1965 he was Senior Prefect.

In the December 1965 issue of The Newingtonian Rob wrote ’No matter how many years go by, no matter where I go or how I live, no matter what happens, I shall never forget those eight wonderful years as a schoolboy at Newington: and no matter how much the times change, “Dear Newingtonia” will always warm my breast and “Adieu, Old School” will choke my voice.’

Rob’s leadership qualities were evident early on, not only from his time at the College but in his early career where he started in the building products division of CSR, whilst also completing a BA in Marketing and Business from the University of Wollongong.  He had several management positions within CSR before he moved onto Cordells, where he spent 25 years before retiring as Managing Director.

Rob’s commitment to the College has been steadfast throughout the years.  Rob has been an active Old Boy through becoming a member of the Founders Society and, until recently, a Committee Member of The 70 Club. 

In 2011, Rob and Jenny Wild tragically lost their beloved son Christopher.  To honour Chris, they established The Chris Wild (ON 1991) Indigenous Bursary.  Chris was a school teacher and his passion was teaching Indigenous children.  Chris and Jenny along with family and friends wanted to honour Chris’ passion for Indigenous education.  Rob works tirelessly with the College to ensure the sustainability of the Bursary and to ensure that many Indigenous boys will have the opportunity to have a Newington education.

Rob has lent his support to many families that have experienced the same loss that they have through the mentoring programme Compassionate Friends NSW, an organisation which offers and provides friendship and support to bereaved parents and their families following the death of a child.

In addition to his work with Compassionate Friends, Rob, over recent years, has also been providing support for Newington families who have lost a child.  Considering the personal tragedy that has overtaken him and his close and loving family, his commitment to helping others deal with their own tragedies marks him as a man of extraordinary character and faith.

It is because of Rob’s community spirit, his leadership qualities and unwavering love of Newington that it is an honour to name Rob Wild the Newington Medallist (Australia) for 2018.

USA Reunions

On 30 September The Water Bar in San Francisco was the venue where Old Boys joined together with David and Judy Mulford, to celebrate and share their happenings.

New York was the last of the Newington USA reunions for 2018. All Old Boys, David and Judy Mulford and ONU President, Alex Baykitch AM (ON 1982) were hosted by Dr Peter Green (ON 1964) and Marise Santo at their Manhattan home. Thank you Peter and Marise for again opening your home to our New York contingent.

A special thank you to Rod Bosman (ON 1978) for leading the overseas reunions and Renee Payne – Development Officer for her work bringing the reunions together.

A full gallery of images can be viewed below.

Good News

The stories and achievements of our Old Boys and Past Parents are a constant source of inspiration for our current students and to all our Newington community. Help us keep abreast of your achievements by sharing your stories with us and also make sure you keep your contact details up to date with Newington.

To share your news with us email: alumni@newington.nsw.edu.au

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