IT was a celebration 100 years in the making and Gippsland Grammar’s community travelled from near and far to mark the centenary of Gippsland’s oldest independent school.

Over three days, from February 23 to 25, more than 400 people attended Gippsland Grammar’s four Centenary events, including a gala at Maffco hosted by the Gippsland Grammar Foundation (the fundraising arm of the school), a book launch of two books that the school has published to mark the occasion, a Centenary thanksgiving eucharist at the Chapel of St Anne, and a reunion barbecue for the former students of Gippsland Grammar School for Boys (1960-1971).

The Principal of Gippsland Grammar, Michele Wakeham, said the weekend of celebrations was an incredible success that brought Old Scholars together with its current students and families.

“It was amazing to see so many people with so many fond memories of their time at our school return for our celebrations,” Mrs Wakeham said.

“Each of our events had its own distinct feel and was attended by a slightly different cohort of our Old Scholars and current families. My favourite part was watching old friends reconnect and listening to them reminisce. We can’t wait to continue celebrating with everyone throughout the year.”

Gippsland Grammar incorporates five schools: the original Church of England Girls’ School Sale, St Anne’s Church of England Girls’ Grammar School (CEGGS), Gippsland Grammar School, St Anne’s and Gippsland Grammar School (STAGGS) and the Gippsland Grammar we know today, which has more than 1100 students and 280 staff.

On Saturday, February 24, the school launched two Centenary publications. Memories, stories from 100 years of Gippsland Grammar by Ann Andrew – a wonderful compilation of 100 stories from students from the school’s earliest years until today. The second is a children’s book, titled Wheelbarrow’s Birthday, that reimagines 12 of those stories in a form more suitable for younger students.

“While Memories is for the coffee table, Wheelbarrow’s Birthday is better suited to a child’s bedside table. And together they capture the spirit of schoolyard storytelling,” Mrs Wakeham said.

Hugh Williams, an Old Scholar from the Class of 1986, returned to his former school to join the celebrations and to speak at the book launch. He is one former student who shared his recollection of his school years in Memories that were also adapted in Wheelbarrow’s Birthday.

Mr Williams was a trailblazer in the early years of the internet. He worked alongside Bill Gates at Microsoft as well as at Google and eBay. He also invented the infinite scroll, a piece of technology used by billions of people around the world and is one of the world’s foremost experts on internet search and data management.

More than 150 Old Scholars, including many former students from St Anne’s CEGGS, joined Mr Williams at the book launch.

Val Jones from the Class of 1969, who was a former Gippsland Grammar Board member, said she was absolutely thrilled to return to the school.

“Driving to Sale for the book launch, I didn’t quite know what to expect,” Mrs Jones admitted. “But I found my classmates and memories flowed and I was surprised to see many people I knew although I didn’t know they were associated with the school.

“The day showcased how many different people work to make a school, not just students and teachers. A highlight for me was meeting Year 12 student Eden Levchenko who illustrated my story in the Wheelbarrow’s Birthday book.”

Another keynote speaker at the weekends’ events was Lindsay Tanner. A member of the Class of 1973, Mr Tanner was the federal Member of Parliament for Melbourne from 1993 to 2010, and served as the Minister for Finance from 2007 to 2010. Since leaving politics, he has undertaken various senior roles including a director of Suncorp Group and chairman of Essendon Football Club.

In his speech at the Gippsland Grammar School reunion barbecue on Sunday, February 25, Mr Tanner reflected on the values the school embodied at a time when Australia was still under the White Australia Policy.

“The Gippsland Grammar School sent out signals to us as kids that probably seemed subtle at the time, which were that all people of all different racial origins should be treated equal, that racism was unacceptable and that racial discrimination was unacceptable,” Mr Tanner told a crowd of about 90 of his former schoolmates.

“I absorbed these messages, and they had a big influence on me over time. They of course are now mainstream, thankfully, but at the time for a country Victorian boarding school were pretty unusual.”

Gippsland Grammar will continue to celebrate its Centenary throughout this year with a busy calendar of events.

These include the launch of a historic Centenary Walk at its annual St Anne’s Day celebration on July 26, events celebrating multi-generational school families and the return of STAGGfair, the school’s biennial fete.

New scholarships have also been launched in honour of the Centenary, including the Learn, Live and Lead Residential scholarship, Visual Art and Technology scholarships and an Indigenous scholarship.

Families interested in discovering the benefits of an independent school education at Gippsland Grammar are invited to attend the school’s two upcoming Open Days.

The Bairnsdale Campus and Early Learning Centre will be open to interested families on Saturday, March 16 from 9-11am, while the two Sale campuses will be open on Saturday, March 23. The St Anne’s Campus, including the Early Leaning Centre, will be open from 9-11am and the senior Garnsey Campus will be open from 11.30am-1.30pm.

St Anne’s parents Yvette Warren, Jess Warren and staff members Shauna Drew, Bronwyn Barbetti and Lee Nethercote.

Old Scholar and former board member Val Jones with Year 12 student Eden Levchenko, who illustrated the portrait of Mrs Jones in Wheelbarrow’s Birthday.

Coral Jarvis and Jill Williams, who sat next together at school, reunited at the book launch.

Pippa Young, Alanna Magee, Andrew Crawford and Zahra Hanratty welcomed Old Scholars at the school’s centenary eucharist on Sunday, February 24.

Brothers Andrew (left, Class of 1974) and Bill Rule (right, Class of 1976) with Brian Parsons (middle, Class of 1972).