Tennis Success

'Success in sport seems to be the normal thing at Concordia. We can boast of premiership teams in most of the games played at C.C, and tennis is one of these.’ These were the opening sentences of the tennis report in the 1944 Brown and Gold.

However, tennis balls were scarce during World War II, and those available were of a very inferior quality. This led to a waning interest in tennis among the younger boys. Another problem was the sad state of disrepair of the courts which could not be asphalted for the duration of the war. (The photo clearly shows the badly cracked court surface.)
In spite of this, the committed members of the A team achieved an undefeated premiership during the 1943-1944 season, winning all matches against seven other schools – PAC, St Peters, Immanuel, Kings, Adelaide HS and Sacred Heart.

The photo shows Keith Nagel who had a ‘powerful service and served many aces’; Elmore Leske who was a left-hander marked by ‘dogged tenacity’; Robert Paech  whose ’cross-court drives were a delight to watch, and are often quite unplayable’; and Everard Leske who kept a ‘cool head’ but was soon ‘wet with perspiration’.

1938

The 1938 first year class, known in those times as ‘sexta,’ had a unique claim.  Both the tallest boy (Clemens Koch) and the shortest boy (Ernest Kriewaldt) in the college were members of this class of 10 boys and 10 girls. Some of the students came from as far away as Western Australia and Queensland.
This year had other special features, and the diary in the 1938 Brown and Gold provides details of these along with some memorable events for the boy boarders.

Feb 5: Owing to the infantile paralysis epidemic[1] the commencement of the school year has been postponed for three weeks

March 10: No small stir is caused by a breakdown of the electric light system. For once it is not some inquisitive spirit wondering what happens when the metre is switched off.
March 27: We take part in the celebrations in the Adelaide Town Hall commemorating the 100^th anniversary of Lutheranism in Australia
April 15: We experience something extraordinary in the way of thunderstorms and hail. A blocked gutter turns the stairs into a miniature Niagara
June 8: We listen to a short wave programme [2] from Klemzig, Germany, in commemoration of the centenary of the first Lutheran emigrants to Australia
July 13: Dinner unusually fowl [3]
July 14: Another poultry dinner. Many thanks to the Brinkworth Ladies Guild
July 19: And yet another. This time it is the Meribah [4] fowl-houses which have suffered
July 28: 'Carlos' [5] clipped two seconds off the time given as a slice of bread consuming record. It now stands at 33 seconds.

 Notes

1. Outbreaks of poliomyelitis were responsible for many school closures before the introduction of a vaccine in the 1950s

2. Listening to the radio was a much enjoyed pastime
3. Chicken dinners provided by country Lutherans for boarders were always a special treat
4. Small town 176 km from Adelaide in the Loxton Waikerie area
5. Most students were known by nicknames, many of them far from complimentary!

Smoking Rules

During the 1890s when Concordia was still at Murtoa in Victoria, school rules were clearly defined for both mature age theological students as well as much younger boys beginning their secondary education. 
One particular rule stands out: Students shall not at any times smoke in the classrooms or dormitories. No student under the age of 18 years shall be permitted to smoke.

In fact the smoking habit became a preoccupation for several generations of writers for the Brown and Gold magazine.
In a full page article in 1927 Elmore Zweck meditates on a momentous event in his life. He had turned 20, the then legal age at the college to indulge in smoking, and he felt that his ‘health warranted a pipe.’ He chose a beautifully polished stringy bark model costing one shilling which he came to regard as ‘a good companion and an excellent friend’.  He believed that ‘tobacco, in moderation, has added much to the pleasure of human existence. If you find that tobacco weakens your nerves, gives you palpitation of the heart, or debilitates the stomach, well – give it up.’
It appears that pipes were seen as status-boosting coming-of-age accessories. Several formal photos from the first decades of the 20^th century show senior students clasping their prized possessions in their hands or between their teeth!

Students were not the only ones with the habit. The 1938 Brown & Gold has the following notes: ‘Smoke issuing from every crevice of the library – the college board is meeting…..Acrid smoke billowing into classrooms – the gardener is at work.’
In 1944 a full page article entitled What a fag! discusses the merits of pipes, cigars and cigarettes before advising the reader not to smoke; while the 1957 Brown & Gold reveals a healthy changed attitude to smoking. ‘Far from the healing powers once attributed to it, tobacco is today being earmarked as the cause of one of the deadliest diseases of mankind…. Perhaps in smoking, or rather in the giving up of smoking, is revealed the amount of will power most of us have or have not.’

Teachers

The 1954 Brown and Gold magazine featured a full page article on teachers at Concordia. These are just a few extracts.

‘Perhaps teachers receive more criticism than people in other professions, because they have the difficult task of trying to impart some knowledge to students who often seem to be most unwilling to learn. Unfortunately they are criticized behind their backs. Students are quick to see a particular characteristic in a teacher, and before long that teacher is familiarly known among the students by a name describing that peculiarity. For this reason, teachers should be careful what they do or say because students often seem to be more attentive to these things than to class work.

At Concordia we have teachers with a wide variety of methods and mannerisms. We students notice particularly the pet sayings and mannerisms of our teachers. Although Mr Georg is a very good teacher, he frequently says ‘I mean’ in an attempt to make clearer what he has already said. Mr Robertson, our science teacher, is noted for his humour and his old school tie which he always wears. Mr Krieg, when in a meditative attitude, makes a practice of slowly rubbing his chin or elbow.
I hope I have not been too critical and given anyone the wrong impression of any of our teachers. We are fortunate to have such very good teachers, but they are unfortunate, because the shortage of teachers means they have more work to do than they should have.’

The photo shows Concordia's teachers in 1964.

One Hundred Years Ago

In 1911 61 students were enrolled at Concordia, all boys and young men. It was not until 1927 that Concordia opened its doors to girls.
In the early years the college consisted of two departments. The Classical Department was the equivalent of the secondary school section and stretched over 6 years. The curriculum was described as ‘a course of mathematics and kindred sciences, which sharpen the intellect and encourage studious habits, as well as a study of the languages necessary to furnish a more complete understanding of the Bible.’
Subjects taught included Catechism, Bible History, Elocution, Algebra, Arithmetic and Penmanship, all designed to prepare young men to study theology or to follow some other vocation such as teaching.
The different year levels were known by Latin names, and to us today, seem to progress backwards. The junior years began with Sexta (Latin for ‘sixth';) through Quinta (‘fifth') into Quarta (‘fourth’). After the third year it became a senior class, progressing from Tertia (‘third’) into Secunda (‘second’) and finally Prima (‘first’). Once the final examinations at the end of Prima were passed, students were eligible to enter the seminary or Theological Department for a further 3 years of study.
The Quinta students in the photo were in the second year of their studies at the college. In 1910 they made up Sexta, the largest class ever to be admitted.

Ash Wednesday

 
 

In 1983 Ash Wednesday fell on February 16. As temperatures soared towards 43 degrees many students were looking forward to cooling off at the annual swimming carnival that afternoon in the Adelaide Aquatic Centre.
Weather conditions worsened as the day wore on, with extreme dryness and gale force northerly winds laced with dust from the dry inland. This combined to provide perfect conditions for the spread of devastating fires in the Mt Lofty Ranges.

Mrs Chris James remembers watching the smoke haze and maintaining radio contact during the swimming carnival. She recalls that there were a number of staff with homes in the hills, including Pastor Geoff Burger, the college chaplain whose house on the side of Mount Osmond was visible from the oval. Pastor Geoff led prayer sessions as the fires continued to spread. His home was spared.
Many roads were closed, so students living in the hills were unable to go home that afternoon. Arrangements were made for them to spend the night with friends or relatives.

During the week following the fires, Forum organized voluntary offerings and collected a total of $1004.67. After widespread discussion and consultation this was donated to be equally shared between five Country Fire Service brigades.

The photo was taken from the Suaviter, formerly the chapel.
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Royal Visit

When Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburg visited Australia in 1954, it was the first time that a reigning monarch had set foot on our soil.
As the royal tour progressed through the country, excitement in Adelaide began to mount. The streets were decorated and school students everywhere continued to practise for mass dances and displays.

On March 19 Concordia’s staff and students went to their allotted space in Gouger St in the city to view the royal cavalcade and catch a glimpse of the queen.
On March 23 more than 90,000 primary and secondary school students gathered at the Wayville Showgrounds. They treated the royal couple to a thunderous welcome as their Land Rover slowly made a complete circuit of the oval. By the time the Queen and Duke reached the dais, boys had run out on to the oval to form a giant version of the word ‘Loyalty’. Primary school children dressed as kangaroos, kookaburras, cockatoos and aboriginal people then performed a colourful ‘wattle dance’.
Concordia girls took part in other items which followed. The last display to be performed was the most spectacular, as 7000 young people carrying coloured hoods swayed from side to side to give the effect of a flag or standard fluttering in the breeze.