Concert Tour

On the first day of the 1937 May holidays a handpicked group of 20 male students set out on a 1300 kilometre coach tour through country areas of South Australia. It was hoped that this exciting new venture would stimulate support for the College and attract new students at a time of dwindling enrolments during the Great Depression.

The gymnastics items, with students forming human pyramids and demonstrating bar work and tumbling skills, were more popular with audiences than the musical items – but it was the clown who stole the show.

Proceeds from this tour helped furnish a common room which ‘provided a more comfortable retreat for our smokers and a better background for our wireless set’. It also made possible the purchase of a number of gramophone recordings of the ‘Comedy Harmonists’.[1]
The concerts had been so successful that a second tour was organised for the western part of Victoria the following year. But in 1939 when the concert party was once again under way (in a coach nicknamed the ‘Yellow Peril’), World War II broke out. Dr Hamann was quick to advise that any items sung in German should be instantly deleted from the programme. Unfortunately this meant the end of the very popular ‘Schnitzelbank’ [2] as well as some much-loved folk songs.

 

Photo: Concert tour party in Pinnaroo

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[1] A German all-male close harmony ensemble performing between 1927 and 1934. They were enthusiastically received on an Australian tour in 1939, and many Concordia students attended their Adelaide concert  on June 20.

[2] Humorous  ‘cumulative’ rhyming  song with a refrain.

 

    

Student Newspapers

In 1954 the first issue of the Concordia Times was released. This student-produced newspaper  aimed to a give ‘a better understanding of the college and of the activities and achievements of students’, as well as a ‘little healthful entertainment.’
Representatives from each class contributed humorous snippets, serious articles and sports reports. Censorship and revision were an inevitable part of the process. The final product, rather amateurish by today’s standards, sold for four pence.Some years later, in 1968, a new generation produced The Student, a small newspaper which focussed on amusing incidents in college life.

‘Events which might otherwise regrettably pass unheeded are dutifully recorded for the enjoyment of all. This paper in its small way contributes much to a brighter college atmosphere.’ (The Brown and Gold, 1968).
The Student was published about once a month by a keen and dedicated group of students with help from staff members. It also included class activities, sports, jokes, cartoons and even the occasional controversial subject.

Commercial Interests

The 1934 school year began with just 13 new students, five girls and eight boys. They joined a class known as ‘Sexta’, a Latin word meaning 'sixth'. If you were to walk past their classroom between 2pm and 3pm on any school day, you would have heard the staccato click-clack of three typewriters.
The college had decided to cater for the needs of students who saw their future in the business world. Book-keeping, shorthand and typing formed a new course of instruction, and an experienced teacher, Miss G.M Wood, was appointed.
Typewriters at the time were very expensive, so only four second-hand machines were purchased. With seven students in the typewriting class, a rotating roster system was implemented to allow everyone enough opportunity to improve their skills.
It could be argued that the girls had an unfair advantage in becoming proficient typists - one of the type-writers was made available for their exclusive use in the hostel.

Photo
Girls (L-R): Eileen Siebert, Dora Georg, Florence Gladigau, Edna Pluckhahn
Boys (L-R): Albert Scholz, Alwin Schroeder, Clemens Pietsch, Norman Wendt, Walter Zweck, Gerhard Fischer, Louis Hoffrichter, Bert Schmidt.

Concordia Gardens

The summer of 1905 was particularly hot and dry. When Concordia’s Highgate campus was dedicated on February 22, the 500 visitors walked through bare and dusty grounds with just a few sparse trees and scrubby bushes.

However, by 1927 this desert had been transformed into an oasis almost resembling the Garden of Eden.
‘One of the first things which attracts the attention of a visitor to Concordia is its beautiful garden. On entering the college gates from Cheltenham street, on the right was a small orchard with grapevines, a pomegranate tree as well as almonds, oranges, mandarins, peaches, loquats and lemons.
On the left there is a lawn with the grand old palm of Concordia, under which boys so often listen to popular artists on the gramophone. Surrounding the lawn is a border of roses…. A large graveled drive through picturesque flower beds and fruit laden trees leads to the main entrance.  Other gravel paths lead through stately pines and cedar trees….The garden is a constant source of pleasure and recreation for so many a Concordian.’
 (The Brown and Gold, 1927).