Stop Press - Gregory Terrace

Dean of Identity Mr C Ryan
I have never been to East Timor. I have read about it, watched stories on the news and met a lot of people who have been. I have had the pleasure
of teaching young men from East Timor and sharing in their story as they have grown up and graduated from school and gone to University.
One of the fascinating elements of coming to Terrace has been becoming a part of our special relationship with the ministry of the Christian Brothers
in East Timor and all of the people in the Terrace Family who are connected to the continuing story of these wonderful people.
At Assembly this week, we focussed for some time on this part of the life of our amazingly busy school. Each year, a group of Year 10 students
and staff (sometimes parents too!) travel to Timor as a part of our annual Immersion program. Of course, dozens of parents, Old Boys and friends
are members of the Terrace Timor Network which supports the ministry of the Brothers in fascinating ways including volunteering, health education
and service and in facilitating the initiatives of Just Coffee and Just Cards which provide regular employment and income for some people.
The Years 5 to 7 students and their families have also financially supported the employment of some teachers for the past few years through the
Lenten Appeal.
Our guest this week was Br Bill Tynan, who lived and worked in East Timor for the past decade. Bill is a great friend to Terrace. He has hosted
hundreds of people to Timor and continues to be greatly interested in building relationships between our school and the Timor ministry which are
mutually beneficial. Make no mistake; the life expectancy of a Timorese child is much lower than any Australian's. Make no mistake, access to
quality education and health care is extremely challenging for many Timorese children. In some parts of East Timor, accessing safe drinking water
continues to be very hard. Our friendship and support are needed and valued.
I greatly look forward to visiting East Timor for the first time and I know that I will be a welcome guest when I go. While we often think of how we
may help the people of East Timor, it is the simple impact of the hospitality, joy and humility of our friends on us that is incredible. When this year's
group of Year 10 men, Mr Rob Johnson and Mr Paul Antenucci depart in early September, they stand on the shoulders of the friendships forged
over almost a decade of journeys and on their return; they will never be quite the same. May our community continue to benefit from this change
of heart and mind which is a gift from the people of Timor.
Director of Sport Mr D Wright
As a boy growing up in Brisbane, I had a keen interest in anything to do with sport. I loved it - from sitting up at night listening to radio broadcasts
from England of the cricket to supporting the mighty Tigers at Langlands Park, Lang Park and other suburban grounds around Brisbane. Names
such as Alan Currie, Rod Morris and Jeff Fyfe are prominent in my memories of those days. But perhaps the name that sticks out the most is a
rugby league legend from an earlier era who rose to my recognition not through his playing achievements (and they were outstanding) but through
his coaching – particularly of the Queensland league teams. Barry Muir coached the Queensland side from 1974 through to 1978 (two years prior
to Origin). Muir was a long time outspoken critic of the system that allowed the best Queenslanders, who had moved to play in the Sydney competition,
to represent New South Wales – against his beloved Queensland.
Muir and Queensland faced a monumental task in those days – their opposition seemed impenetrable, unbeatable – a scenario often referred to as
matching David against Goliath.
But Muir had faith in the men of his team and stuck to a basic philosophy. He is often quoted (and misquoted) but the central theme he would
preach to his players was the opposition were "just the same as us and that they have two arms and two legs and bleed just like us; that they can't
run without legs – so chop them down every tackle."
The Queensland teams of that era were outnumbered, outplayed, outweighed and underpaid in comparison to their NSW counterparts. However,
what they did have was the want, will, courage, commitment and desire to sacrifice themselves for their mates in battle. These Queensland teams
fought hard against more favoured opponents. No-one expected them to win – sometimes they did, but in every contest they gave their best.
So what do Barry Muir and his self belief have to do with Terrace v Nudgee this weekend? Everything! Terrace will face their supposed Goliath
this weekend. This year we are better prepared than ever before. We are back at Tennyson and we have the belief that we can win.
As we head into this weekend, remember Barry Muir's words: "They are just the same as us…two legs…two arms…and they can't run without
their legs."
Forget the reputation – forget the previous results. The most important time is game time for every boy from the U13D Black through to the First
XV – what you do, how you commit, how you tackle, how you compete will decide the outcome – not reputations.
Let's tackle our Goliath this weekend and introduce them to Tennyson.
PHOTO SCHEDULE - SATURDAY 18 AUGUST
To view the full photo schedule please click here.
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