The Preliminary English Studies HSC unit, titled ‘Exploring Our Past,’ was a fantastic opportunity for students to visit Newington’s Archives. Students in the class attended an informative session by Newington College Archivist Mr David Roberts who walked them through the exhibition, illustrating Newington’s involvement in the Great War and highlighted the many traditions that are so deeply entrenched at the College. Year 11 students are currently studying the context of World War I through the lens of poet Wilfred Owen and felt that the incursion to Archives helped instil this sense of tradition and pride having discovered their past in further detail.

Students were able to draw connections between the poetry of Wilfred Owen and war diaries kept by Old Boys such as Russel R. Lumsdaine (ON 1905). Boys read extracts from his journal and they used this as a discussion point in class as they gathered further insights to Owen’s writing. During their research lessons, the class had the opportunity to carefully read through 100-year-old copies of ‘The Newingtonian’ from the Library’s stacks. They walked around campus and held up black and white photos to further contrast the differences over time. One such example is Prescott Hall, of which used to be a Library. As students stood in the presence of the Honour Roll, they admired the carefully constructed Memorial and the names of The Fallen. One of the students remarked the similarities between a photo of his team from the recent South Africa Rugby tour and Newington’s First Football VX team photo taken in 1904 – some 114 years ago. The class discussed the famous line from the film, ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ to further cement this notion of exploring our past:

“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable?… But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? Carpe –  hear it? Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

During this exercise, students discussed the significance of having an Archives section in a school such as Newington and the types of resources that are kept here for future generations, of which can only be continued with the help of Mr Roberts and his dedicated team of volunteers.

Lily Young
Teacher Librarian