29 March 2023
Our Pembroke old scholars are represented by a Committee of dedicated and passionate people who volunteer their time to help bring our events and activities for the old scholar community to life. Learn more about who the Committee are and read about their favourite School memories.
Rachel Bageas (1991)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
If I have to narrow it down I would pick the 1990 production of the play Dimboola. I was in Year 11 and it was an extracurricular activity. The play is based on a country wedding with many interesting characters. We had a great time dressing up and exploring the outrageous aspects of the different characters. The audience members were the guests of the wedding and entered the old downstairs DY Hall via a reception line like you would at a real wedding. Those interactions with the audience members were just as much fun as performing the play itself. It was such a great cast, and we had a lot of fun during rehearsals and production week.
What are three things you can’t live without?
Books, cats and cheese. I realise that makes me sound like a crazy cat lady already but that’s ok.
Fiona Black (1997)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
My favourite Pembroke memory was sitting on a tiny rock ledge 150m above the ground at Mt Arapiles rock climbing camp. It made me realise that I could achieve anything with a bit of hard work!
What are the three things in life you can’t live without?
My three things in life that I just can’t live without are family, coffee and sunshine 😊
Penny Campbell (1975)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
Touring to Sydney with the Pembroke Girls Choir in 1974. We were the first South Australian choir to sing in the very new Sydney Opera House, we won every competition we entered in the Sydney Eisteddfods. It was so very exciting and we sang in the plane all the way home entertaining the other passengers.
Name a dish that reminds you of your childhood.
Roast lamb with potatoes cooked in the pan drippings, all the veggies, cauliflower cheese, homemade mint sauce. My grandma's specialty cooked on the wood stove in Tanunda.
Andrew Harrison (1996)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
A fond memory of Pembroke is school soccer. Soccer in the 90s was seen as a poor cousin to AFL, but soccer was where my passion was. And having an ex-Socceroo (Jim Muir) as a school coach was pretty cool.
Name a dish that reminds you of your childhood.
Baklava was a dish that mum and I used to make together when I was about 10 years old. It was a real labour of love. I only came across the baklava recipe again a couple of years ago, and I now make it a few times a year. I’ve tried to get my own kids involved in baklava making – but sadly, their only interest is in baklava eating!
Philippa Hook (1958)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
My favourite Pembroke memory is of the children who struggled with their learning to understand that they can learn, but they just do it differently. When they understood this, they usually made significant progress and had gained some self-esteem. In later years, meeting with some students and learning about their successes in their careers or the goals they had set for themselves for their future was wonderful to hear.
My favourite memory of Girton was our Leaving Ceremony because it represented our path to the world beyond school. We carried candles and stood along the balcony of the southern wing of the upstairs classrooms. We were all dressed in white. We sang the hymn “Lead Us Heavenly Father, lead us ...” and little did we know then that much of the message in the words of the song turned out to be true.
Holly Jamieson (1997)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
Rowing! Loved the training, the regattas and the camaraderie.
If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Napoleon Hill (can we pick people from the past!?)
Rachel Johnson (2017)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
I think that my favourite memory from my time at Pembroke would be participating in the school musical. I didn’t have a lead role, but everyone came together, and it was really enjoyable to go to rehearsals with my friends, and to make sets for the show after school. Finally getting to the performance after weeks of work was so exciting and the rush that came with the show was fantastic.
What is one thing you have always wanted to try but been too scared to?
I’ve always wanted to try skydiving, although it has always scared me too much to try. I hope to change that in a few years though.
Kathryn Lymn (1985)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
One of my favourite memories from school days – Mr Inverarity sitting on a drawing pin in Yearr 10 Mathematics class and then asking one of the girls in the front row to remove the pin from his bottom (poor man!).
What are the three things in life you can’t live without?
Three things I can’t live without (would prefer not to live without) – chocolate, coffee and my family.
Evie Metz (2012)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
While I have many wonderful memories of my time at Pembroke (and many that I would not disclose!), I have particularly fond memories of my IB classes in the Senior School. My History class watching devastating films with pizza or fresh fruit Friday in Biology, of my Hill House cohort and our wild escapades on our School Camps, of all our wonderful co-curricular activities that were available to us, but I think the Pembroke activity that stands above all else is Pet Show Day! It was always so wonderful seeing all the animals out on the oval with a particularly proud moment when my own puppy won Best Small Dog (the ribbon hung over her water bowl for many years). As I now work at the School, Pet Show Day continues to be my favourite day of the year, with guinea pigs in costumes, the chickens, horses and all of the dogs – if you feel the same way as me, please enjoy a little teaser from last year.
The best advice I have ever been given was…
My dad always used to say “don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good”. There is a lot of wisdom in allowing yourself to not aim for perfection and this is something I try to remind myself of frequently.
Ali Michell (1998)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
My favourite memory of my time at Pembroke would be anything involving my school camps, as well as the Outdoor Education trips in the Senior School. Such good times with friends, and some great teachers too, in some stellar locations!
Name a dish that reminds you of your childhood.
Lamb shanks made from a recipe in my kindy parents recipe book!
Dr Peter Noblet AM (1964)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
The celebrations after winning football and cricket finals playing for King's Old Scholars.
The best advice I have ever been given was…
“Nobby never be a shrinking violet. Grasp every opportunity in life with both hands.” Said to me by Rev. Ralph Cook, Headmaster of King’s College.
Professor Rick Sarre (1972)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
Favourite King’s memory is sitting in Bills House in the office of the school newspaper, the Clarion, with 6 classmates, typing and printing (on a Gestetner machine) puerile nonsense while congratulating each other loudly on how funny and clever we were.
The best advice I have ever been given was…
From my King’s Year 8 class teacher, John Hunwick, who said, in 1968, “You know, Mr Sarre, that if you stopped mucking around in class you might actually do very well academically.”
India Wadlow (2021)
What is your favourite memory from your Pembroke, King’s or Girton days?
I have a lot of wonderful memories from my time in Middle and Senior School at Pembroke. The best memories I have from School were from the Year 10 ski trip to Falls Creek. The most excited I've ever been was when we all gathered at the airport at 5 am. It was like a school camp but interstate with all your friends and going somewhere with skiing, the choice of hot meals and hot showers. In the first-morning ski class, I made new friends that I am still close with now. The meal times all together, the movie room, the pool tournaments and the dorm rooms were all memorable. By the end of the trip, most of us thought we were way better than we were which often ended in falling and becoming stuck amid a run far too advanced for us, but with many laughs and a few injuries it is still my favourite memory from school.
What is one thing you have always wanted to try but been too scared to?
Flying around Turkey in a hot air balloon. I've always wanted to try this, but there's a catch: I'm terrified of heights, and I don't think a hot air balloon would make me feel particularly safe. But, it does look like a fantastic experience, and I hope to experience it someday.