JUBILEE HISTORY TEXT, 1911. Chapter V - 'Norman Morrison's Career'.The following text is an excerpt from the
Jubilee History Text published in 1911.
Norman Morrison's Career 'When the College resumed after the holidays in February, 1891, new boys, as they came from their first interview with the Doctor in the little office inside the porch, and old boys, as they went to their classrooms, were met by a newfigure. It was that of a tall, slight man with a boyish face, adorned by a small silky moustache. He had a boyish, halfshy manner, and, as he stood in the hall with his hands in his pockets, he looked more like a moustachioed senior boy than a master. But it was Norman Morrison, who had come to the College asvice principal, and he was becoming acquainted with the boys. He called up every one of them, asked his name, won hisfriendship in an instant, and in the next persuaded him to join the cadet corps. These were his first two objects—to know the boys, and to, bring them all into the cadet corps. He succeeded in both.
It was characteristic of the man that he won the liking of every boy in the school at once. At 9 o'clock that morning most of them had never heard of him except in a shadowy sort of way as an Old Collegian and a Morrison. At 10 o'clock every boy felt that he had one firm friend the more, one man whom he was proud to know, and who seemed proud to know him too. Norman Morrison inspired the same feelings in everybody. He had the supreme gift of winning real affection. His old school fellows, the men who were at Ormond and the 'Varsity with him, his teaching colleagues, the men who rowed and played football with and against him, the, outside people who merely met him for a while and never learned to know him—all were imbued with the same feelings of lasting affectionate regard. He made friends everywhere he went. The men he commanded in the infantry and the artillery worshipped him. The boys he taught loved him. He was always the same. The winning charm of manner, the quick sympathy and ready understanding were never lacking. Years afterwards, when those boys who first met him on that February morning in 1891 were grown into men they found in Norman Morrison the same truefriendship, the same affectionate interest which had won them in the beginning.
Perhaps the explanation of his charm layin the fact that he always remained a boy at heart, though with it he was a man in understanding and ability. Responsibility and the worries of a large school silvered his hair and lined hisface, but theman inside preserved always the great enthusiasm of youth, the keen delight in boyish joys. He remained young at heart always. A typical scene—and one which describes him as nothing else can—is that of Norman Morrison, the principal of a great public school, in the dormitory with the small boys after lights were supposed to be out, romping and playing, and engaging in surreptitious feastsfrom hidden stores of good things. Then, when in the distance he heard the footfalls of the approaching master on duty, he would exclaim, with an air of suppressed excitement. "Here he comes, boys. Out with the lights," and he would steal out in the opposite direction as pleased and happy as though he had been a veritableschoolboy in terror of a long "impot," Wasit any wonder the boys loved him?
He controlled his school as no other man could do. It was not run by regulation and rule. His personality reached everywhere. In the early days, when he was only viceprincipal, he was known as "Normie" to boys and masters alike. "Normie's" approval was the prize all strove for. His disapproval was the worst possible punishment. When he became head of the school his pet name was changed to "the Skipper," and the same feeling became accentuated. He became the criterion of all conduct. There was no need of rules and regulations in such circumstances, The school took its lorefrom him. His influence pervaded it through and through.
His own ideals had been formed in the College, and one of the greatest achievements of the old school is that it produced such a man as Norman Morrison. He was born in it, brought up in it, trained in it. Its traditions and ambitions were his traditions and ambitions. He saw the school in all stages of development. He was born on December 4, 1866, at "Knowle House." He was 4 years old when the school was moved to the Newtown site. Later he went to school there. Before that he was the pet of the older boys. He was a frank, manly, little chap with the same open transparent honesty which characterised him throughout his life. He was the Doctor's pet, too, and was generally to be seen on the fat little college pony pounding along beside the old chariot in which Hugh Mackay used to drive the Doctor. There is no record of the year in which he was first entered as a pupil at the College. His name was not put down in the register. But he appears in 1876 on the prize lists of the first class. He would be 10 years old then, and it is probable that it was his first Year at school. He obtained first prizesfor English, history, geography, Scripture, and reading. Every year he obtained prizes. In 1877 he won the classical prize in the second class; in 1878 second prize for English, history, and geography, in the same class; in 1879 first prize in English, history, and geography, and equal first in algebra. In 1880 he was third for the Scripture prize in the fourthform.
He was a good student, if not a brilliant one. When it was decided by the Doctor in 1884 to send the post matriculation class forfirst year arts at the University, Charles Norman Morrison was one of the candidates who successfully passed his year without having received any other instruction than that given at the college. This was a great achievement for the school. That year he received prizesfor Greek, natural philosophy, and logic. For some years this system was maintained, and many collegians passed their first year examinations at the University without having left the College.
In 1885 Norman Morrison went into residence at Ormond College. There was a regular little colony of Old Geelong Collegians there; few of them did any work. Norman. However, he was not one of those to neglect his studies, and he passed his second year arts in 1885, taking his third year and the degree of B.A. in 1886. It was intended from the beginning that he should become a schoolmaster. Perhaps the Doctor, than whom there was no keener judge of a teacher, saw that he was specially adapted for such work. Perhaps Norman chose the profession himself.
In athletics he had made a fine reputation at the College. He was a splendid ruckman in the football team, a good kick, and afine mark. At cricket he was an excellent bat; but the game had no great attractionfor him, and he never devoted to it proper attention and practice. He was keen on running, and the holding of the College Sports at the end of the year always drove away from the cricket field those boys who were training for various races. Norman Morrison possessed great endurance as a runner, but had a bad style, which failed to turn it to best account. He was a fast and plucky jumper, and was always a hard man to beat over hurdles, especially in the longer distances. He won the 440 yards steeplechase in 1884 after running second in it the year before. In both these years he was second in the 120 yards hurdle race.
When he went to Ormond, Norman Morrison devoted himself chiefly to football and rowing. He played football with the Ormond College team and won his University "Blue" for football in 1888. He was a leading oarsman and stroked the Ormond crew. His interest in intercollegiate rowing at the University was always keen and his memory is retained in the Morrison regatta held by Ormond College every year.
In 1888 he took out his M.A. degree and joined the teaching staff of Brighton Grammar School under Dr Crowther. Before that he had done some coaching at the University and had proved himself to be afine teacher. He had also interested himself in military work, and had, in 1890 obtained a commission in the 2nd battalion of infantry. Hisvalue as an officer was highly appreciated, and when in 1890 he proposed to leave Melbourne to becomevice principal of the College, efforts were made by the military authorities to induce him to accept an adjutancy on the permanent staff. He refused, though he wasvery enthusiastic about military work. In 1892 be transferred to the Militia Garrison Artillery, joining the Geelong Battery. In 1894 he was given the rank of captain. After the death of Dr. Morrison in 1898 he found the College work engrossed all histime. He was transferred to the reserve of officers that year, and in 1905 went on the unattached list. He worked marvels with the Geelong College Cadet Corps, quadrupling its strength in afew years, and bringing it to a wonderfully high state of efficiency.
After four years at the College—during one of which, 1894, he acted as Principal—Norman Morrison left on a tour through Europe and Great Britain. He examined closely the methods of the large public schools in England and Scotland. He was away during 1895 and a part of 1896, and when he returned he had learnt much that was useful, and much that he afterwards carried into effect at the College. All the improvementsthat have been made in the last 20 years must be ascribed to his influence.
In the beginning he believed that the College would do well enough as a private school and, with Dr. Crowther, he formed the Schools' Association of Victoria, and firmly believed that he would be able to bring the private schools up to the level of the Geelong College. But he soon found that this was impossible. The public schools of Melbourne, mainly owing to the growing influence of their Old Boys' Associations, began to absorb the private schools, and the time, soon came when the College stood out far above all other private schools. Norman Morrison was then in sole command of the College, and he saw clearly that if itsfuture were to be as bright as its past it must become a public school. He set to work to achieve this. It became his chief ambition. He made no secret of the fact that he was willing to make almost any personal sacrifice, provided that the College was admitted to the Public Schools on an equal footing with those already in existence.
In the end the Presbyterian Church took over the school, and while the interests of the Morrison estate were safeguarded, Norman Morrison himself suffered considerable personal loss. But he regarded that lightly, so long as the futureof the College was assured. He was appointed headmaster, for a term of five years. He was then just 41 years of age. He had been Principal of the College since he was 31 years old, one of the youngest men who had ever held such a responsible post. His hope was that at the end of hisfive years as Headmaster the College would be properly set on its new course and that he would be able to retire and take part in its direction merely as an Old Collegian. That was his hope, though he doubted his own ability to sever the ties which bound him so strongly to the old school.
Death severed them for him in sorrowfully sudden fashion. When school was over on Friday, November 12, 1909, he went out to hisfarm at Mount Moriac, and in the dusk of the evening set out for some shooting. Shots were heard by the two men at the farm cottage, one just before dark being a particularly loud report. In the morning Norman Morrison was not in his room. A search was instituted, and about the middle of the day he was found beside a wire fence, 300 yardsfrom the cottage—dead. One leg and his gun were entangled in the wire. That, together with his shotriddled hat and a dreadful wound in his head, told the sad story. Both hammers of the gun had caught as he passed through the fence. In looking back to see what held the gun he had eased the strain and had received the full discharge of both barrels in theforehead.
His loss seemed irreparable. At the College it was felt that a muchloved elder brother had been removed. All over Australia Old Collegians and those who had known him mourned his loss. He was buried on November 16 amid a scene which faintly expressed the love and respect in which he had been held. His death served, perhaps more than anything else, to rally round the College those who had known him and admired his work. Among the Old Collegians especially there was formed a strong resolve to keep closer than ever to the old school and help it along the path. Norman Morrison had planned for it. To perpetuate his memory the hall, which had been projected before hisdeath, was completed and erected as a memorial to "the Skipper." But he has a finer memorial than that in the hearts and lives of those who look back with loving regard to the memory of his friendship.'
Sources: Sources: Geelong College. History, Register, .. And Records by G, McLeod Redmond. Melb; Sands & McDougall, 1911. pp 40-48.