FORMER Victorian MP Lindsay Tanner will return to Gippsland Grammar this weekend for the launch of the school’s Centenary celebrations.

Mr Tanner will be the keynote speaker at the Gippsland Grammar ‘Old Boys’ reunion on Sunday February 25 at Neil Forest in the Garnsey Campus, McGhee St, Sale from 12.30pm.

Mr Tanner was a boarder at Gippsland Grammar School from Years 7-12 in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1971 the all-boys’ Gippsland Grammar School amalgamated with the then St Anne’s Church of England Girls Grammar School and the combined schools became known as St Anne’s and Gippsland Grammar School (STAGGS). The school adopted the name ‘Gippsland Grammar’ in 1997.

Following his school years, Mr Tanner was the Federal MP for Melbourne from 1993 to 2010 and served as the Minister for Finance from 2007-2010. Since leaving politics he has undertaken various senior roles including Director of Suncorp Group and Chairman of Essendon Football Club.

Mr Tanner’s recollections from his time at the school have also been included in ‘Memories, stories from 100 years of Gippsland Grammar’, the book the school has published in honour of its Centenary year.

In Memories, Mr Tanner recalled what it was like when the boys’ and girls’ schools amalgamated.

“At the start of Year 10 we amalgamated with St Anne’s (and the) the shock to both groups of students was palpable,” Mr Tanner said. “All of a sudden older boys stopped indulging in games like marbles! And although we were partly insulated from the massive cultural changes of the time, they still brought about a major transformation in school culture. I recall listening to the Woodstock album over and over on a boarding house mate’s cassette player!”

Mr Tanner also paid tribute to the values instilled in him at school that remained with him throughout his political career.

“(The school had) a policy of minimal tolerance of racism,” he said. “I have little doubt that an outlook that later played a fundamental role in shaping my contribution in politics has its origins in my time at Gippsland Grammar. The role of the Anglican Church in changing Australian attitudes on race has received little recognition but it is something I deeply appreciate all these years later.”

This weekend launches Gippsland Grammar’s year-long calendar of Centenary celebrations and all Gippsland Grammar Old Scholars and current school families are invited to all of the Centenary events scheduled for this weekend which include:

Friday February 23, 2024: Gippsland Grammar Gala at Maffco (15 Bundalaguah Rd, Maffra) from 7-11pm. Book last minute tickets here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1133959

Saturday February 24, 2024: Book launch of Memories and Wheelbarrow’s Birthday and tours at St Anne’s Campus, Raymond St, Sale from 2pm. RSVP via email to centenary@gippslandgrammar.au

Sunday February 25, 2024: Centenary Chapel service at the Chapel of St Anne at Garnsey Campus from 10am followed by morning tea and Garnsey Campus tours from 11.30am-12.30pm. Then the Gippsland Grammar School ‘Old Boys’ reunion at Neil Forest, Garnsey Campus from 12.30-3pm. RSVP via email to centenary@gippslandgrammar.au