Dancing

In 1969 compulsory dancing lessons for the first three forms took place in the gym during three lunchtimes each week.  Senior students were catered for with voluntary Tuesday evening classes, and dances ranged from the Queen’s Waltz and the Tango to the Madison and the Cha Cha.
A student wrote that ‘many of the students at Concordia are endeavouring to be transformed from elephants to a lighter-footed species… Maybe we’ll all appear on Showcase in a few years!’

The lessons bore fruit on May 3 at the Girls Hostel with ‘a bunch of about 90 swinging young people from the Leaving and Matric classes dancing their way through from 8 to 11 pm at the end of term social. After invigorating dances such as Queens Waltz, Military 2’s and 3’s and modern dancing there were drinks and sweets on sale for all those in need of a revitalizer and able to  afford it.

The first Year 12 Formal was held at the German Club on July 29^th 1989.
A student describes her experiences of this major social occasion in 1992.
‘The Terrace Hotel was decked out with groovy gold and silver balloons ready for an onslaught of disco dancing babes and daddies…. The chicken wings were the ideal mass and size to be suspended from helium balloons…. The disco-inferno pumped all night (until 10.30 pm) interrupted only by all too familiar speeches commending us on our fine conduct.’

In 1999 a student wrote that ‘everyone under twenty-one looked absolutely gorgeous and some oldies managed to look alright as well. I can personally say I have never boogied with so many people over the age of forty to songs that were produced before I was born.’

Note: All quotations are taken from The Brown and Gold magazines. The photo shows a junior social in 1966.

Concordia vs Immanuel

Students who attended Concordia or Immanuel in years between 1955 and 1971 will remember the annual athletics competition between the two colleges held in Term 1.
The battle for the Kumnick Shield was taken very seriously, and Concordia’s war cry in the 1971 Brown and Gold magazine is certainly an indication of this.

Rumba rumba small in number,

We are still the best around!

Tumba tumba never slumber,

We will drive them to the ground!

But that year, we are told, ‘Immanuel was again superior in athletics. This was not due to any lack of fitness in our team; on the contrary, they were fighting fit.’ The trouble was we were just too small.  Immanuel must breed giants down at their school – but with continuous effort David will defeat Goliath yet……Lunchtime was a splendid success. Here the real ‘warfare’ took place, as hoses were used to quell the enthusiasm of competing cheer squads.’
However, relations between the two colleges were not always marked by such friendly rivalry. The late 1950s gave rise to tension and unpleasantness in the sporting arena. This was seen as a spill-over from strong feelings in current theological discussions between the two Lutheran synods in preparation for their eventual merger in 1966.
Letters between the headmasters of Immanuel and Concordia in 1959 refer to incidents of booing and even more unacceptable behaviour at sporting events.
Immanuel staff could not agree with the Concordia stance ‘that the animosity results chiefly from football matches, and that tennis, cricket and athletics contests were free from such manifestations of feeling.’ They decided to suspend the intercollegiate athletics events for the time being, believing that ‘the two schools should not develop as institutions that hate and belittle one the other.’
After a cooling off period of two years, the event was restored to its place as an annual fixture in 1961.  It was also decided to allow girls to compete for the first time. No doubt this was seen as a possible civilising influence!

The photo shows a scene from the 1964 athletics.

 

New to Australia

During the years following World War II Concordia’s staff and student population was enriched by refugees and migrants from many European countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Ukraine.
In the late 1940s it was very difficult to find domestic staff for the girls hostel.
A 1949 report somewhat ungraciously states that ‘we have forced to employ two Baltic migrants, despite the fact that this meant accommodating three children of tender age. We shall probably be obliged to engage another such migrant.’ Nevertheless, when a new cook from Latvia introduced the girls to her home cuisine the tasty results led to requests for plenty of second helpings.
A full page article in which a refugee Latvian student describes the conditions in Europe he left behind appears in the 1950 Brown and Gold magazine, and draws attention to a unique group of ‘new Australians’ at Concordia. The 1961 magazine features an article entitled ‘A Memorable Sea Trip’ in which a student reflects on the adventure of migrating to from the Netherlands to Australia by ship.
By 1960 students from overseas were leaving their home countries in order to attend Concordia for their secondary education. In 1962 Anna Tan from Malaysia was the first Asian student to enrol as a boarding student at Concordia; and the following year saw another first when two students from Papua New Guinea attended the college.
By 1964 overseas students formed a significant ‘minority group’ at Concordia. There were representatives from Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States, as well as sons and daughters of Australian missionaries serving in PNG.
It was estimated that at that time 7% of students either held foreign citizenship or came from overseas to study at the College.

 

Peace Memorial Wing

When Concordia’s enrolment reached 200 in the early 1950s, it became clear that an upgrade of key classrooms and facilities was urgent. The rather makeshift science rooms and laboratory were well past their ‘use-by date’ and were described in the 1952 Brown and Gold as ‘dismal and dungeon-like’ and ‘poorly equipped.’
As a result, plans were drawn up for an extension of the old chapel building. They included a large science lecture theatre, a laboratory and storerooms on the ground floor, and classrooms and a theological library upstairs.
A public meeting convened at Concordia in July 1952 resolved that this wing should be erected as a public war memorial and be known as the Concordia College Peace Memorial Wing.
The new building costing £22 000 was dedicated on the first day of the school year on February 11 1953. The Premier of South Australia, the Hon. Thomas Playford unveiled an Honour Roll bearing the names of 117 old collegians who served their country in World War II. 

Rowing

In 1986 rowing became available to students at Concordia under the guidance of Pastor Geoff Burger, himself a former rower. However, this initiative soon faded, and it was not until 1996 that the sport was re-introduced with Mr Bill Donaldson as staff coach. Interest was keen, with four crews of four rowers and a number of students enthusiastic to compete in pairs events.
Negotiations enabled Concordia to join the Torrens Rowing Club which gave the squads access to all necessary equipment. Each of the crews trained twice a week after school on the River Torrens and rowed at regattas on the Port River, the Murray River and at West Lakes under the banner of Concordia College.
After five successful seasons it was decided to cease offering the sport. The 1999 Brown and Gold magazine cites that ‘high costs, whole day regattas, and a lack of access to the latest rowing equipment for training purposes all contributed to a decline of student interest in rowing.’

The photo shows the 1996 rowing squad

 

 

 

Football

 

 

Football has been an important feature of life at Concordia for well over 100 years.
In 1924 the very first issue of the annual school magazine (The Brown and Gold) devotes two pages to lively and detailed descriptions of every match for the very successful season. The writing style is rather different from modern commentators.

‘An important feature of the Australian game is that it is forbidden to touch a man below the knees; it is forbidden to touch his arms; it is forbidden to touch his back. These drastic rules leave little opportunity for players to be rough….Football! There is a charm in the very word. Just hear it breathed and you immediately picture to yourself a green oval with four uprights at each end, and on it thirty six athletic figures… You immediately see that tense struggle, feel the excitement, hear the roar of delight when the ball skims gracefully between the goal posts.
In 1939 another contributor  eloquently writes that ‘ the strenuous game of football leaves us rather tired and bruised, but we learn the meaning of obedience to rules, self-confidence, self-control, the two pleasures of play (winning and losing), and a lot  more. Those are lessons you learn when you are prepared to strip and get out into the cold and wet and chase that football with a will. Certainly you feel more comfortable in your overcoat, and it requires very little effort to lean against the fence and howl at the players. But who prefers to be a spectator when he can sit down after that strenuous third-quarter and wipe his wet brow while he sucks his orange? And there’s more than an orange to be gained from it!’

 

 

 

Clubs

In 1964 clubs were a very important part of life at Concordia. Lessons were interrupted every Wednesday afternoon, and apart from girls competing in basketball and hockey teams, all 300 students participated in clubs of their choosing.
Students were encouraged to ‘broaden their horizons’ and gain a deeper knowledge of an extra-curricular topic which interested them. The ten clubs were Handwork, Stamps and Coins, Drama, Current Affairs, Chess, Music, International Topics, Public Speaking, Boys’ Hobbies and Light Opera.

 

Mrs Champion supervised the junior girls in the Handwork Club. Their activities included cane-work, especially basket-making, as well as knitting for charity. The girls also sewed evening bags. Junior boys were keen members of the hobbies group where they learnt the art of model-making and practised with cars, plans and boats.

 The photos show Ingrid Kaulins (Handwork Club) and Jonathon Ruwoldt (Stamps and Coins Club).