Have you got your tickets yet?

For those still contemplating purchasing a ticket to this year's historic Old Boys' Dinner, being held for the first time in 9 years on Saturday 13 August, we refer you to the wise and inspirational words of Matthew Joseph Robinson. Matthew, an Old Boys who attended St Bede's from 1930 to 1933, gave the following toast to the College at the Old Boys' Dinner held on July 9, 1962.      

“We have a more compelling motive for our attendance this evening than the anticipation of food taken in convivial company. We see the occasion as one which enables us to identify ourselves with St Bede’s – as one where men of widely differing age groups, having diverse and, perhaps, even conflicting interests, may meet easily and with evident pleasure. What bond could better brush aside the barriers that would, on lesser occasions, stand between them, or could better accomplish such unity when the pattern of living today, be it in the home or in the arena of world politics, leans so heavily towards disunity.

Our presence does not spring from any expectation of material gain. Nor is it an accepted habit of the New Zealand male to venture forth from his hearth on a winter’s night. No gentlemen! The attraction that draws us here is our desire to be part of St Bede’s. We wish to share in the richness of that spirit that lives here; that has been nourished and developed so well over the years.

The character of the College has been fashioned by Bishops and Priests; by parents and benefactors and, indeed, by every boy who has been through its doors. My greatest pride in the College stems from the thought that St Bede’s is playing her full, together with the other great schools of this country, in sending forth into the world a worthy and disciplined force. Those who have departed from these gates each year, and from these shores in particular years, have manifested the character; they have carried with them the spirit of St Bede’s."

The first Old Boys' dinner was held on October 15, 1925. 

For those who are interested in attending the Annual Old Boys' Dinner and want to make a weekend of it, the St Bede's College PTA is also holding a 'Night at the Races' on Friday 12 August at Addington Raceway: