On Thursday 3 September, St Peter’s College commissioned Mr Barnaby Eaton as the School’s 11th Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School.
In his address, Barnaby reflected on stewardship, service and the responsibility we each have to contribute to the community we inherit. He also spoke about the people and values that have shaped him and the importance of using what we have been given for the benefit of others.
Congratulations to Barnaby on his commissioning and on taking up this important role at St Peter’s College. His address is shared below.
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There are moments in life when you become particularly conscious that you did not arrive where you are by yourself. Today is one of those moments for me.
I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me in being commissioned as Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School. I am grateful to the Chair – Mr Balnaves and the CoG, the Headmaster – Mr Browning, to my colleagues, to the boys and families of this School, and to the many people who have encouraged, challenged and supported me over the years.
I am also particularly grateful for my family.
Like all of us, I have received far more than I have created for myself. I have been shaped by generations before me who passed on the Christian faith, the importance of service, the value of education and the belief that whatever gifts we possess are best used for the benefit of others. I think of my parents, who modelled those things in their own lives, and of my own family, who have shared the journey that has brought me here.
Much of whatever I am able to contribute has first been given to me. And perhaps that is an appropriate place to begin today, because I think there is something important in that idea for all of us.
We receive.
We add.
And eventually, we pass it on.
None of us begins with a blank sheet. Gentlemen, when you arrived at this School, you entered a story that began long before you. Look around this place. This Memorial Hall and the names on that back wall, the fields, the classrooms, the Chapel, the traditions, the sporting contests, the academic disciplines, the expectations of how a St Peter’s student should conduct himself.
You did not create any of them. Nor did I.
Almost everything we encounter here exists because somebody before us decided that something worthwhile should be built, protected and passed on.
Teachers have accumulated knowledge, skill and expertise and now give it to you.
Generations of students have established traditions that you now inherit.
Families and Old Scholars have given generously so that opportunities might be available to young people they would never meet.
There is great privilege in that.
As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 25, Jesus once told a story about a master who entrusted his servants with different amounts of wealth before leaving on a journey. The important question in the story was never whether each servant had received the same amount.
The question was: what did you do with what was placed in your hands?
That is a useful way of thinking about privilege.
Each of us has received different gifts, opportunities and circumstances.
Comparing what we have been given is not especially useful.
The better question is: what are you doing with yours?
Are you burying your talents? Consuming the opportunities? Or are you developing them, multiplying them and putting them to work for the benefit of others?
That is one of the great ideas within our Anglican tradition.
We are stewards.
We are entrusted with things that are valuable, not simply so that we can enjoy them, but so that we can care for them, use them well and share them.
I feel that responsibility very keenly today.
Much has been entrusted to me in taking on this role.
And boys, much has been entrusted to you as well.
You have opportunities here that many young people around the world could scarcely imagine: The Teachers. Friendships. Facilities. Music. Sport. Leadership. Service. Faith.
The opportunity to discover what you are capable of.
Today, a report was released finding that Australian students spend one third of their lesson time waiting for their class to be calm enough so they can learn – the equivalent of 12 weeks of learning each year. We do not encounter distraction to that level here, but we need to be mindful of setting the standard and not reflecting the standard of the world.
A great education should help us recognise the value of what we have received.
But it cannot stop there.
One of the great responsibilities of a school is to pass on what humanity has already learned.
Because somewhere in this School today there will be someone who will solve a problem we cannot yet solve, create something that does not yet exist, lead an organisation, serve a community, teach a generation, make a discovery, or simply become someone others can depend upon when things are difficult.
That, in part, is the purpose of education.
We give you what we know so that one day you can see further than we can.
And that is especially important in a boys’ school in today’s world.
Our task cannot simply be to help boys become successful.
We want to form young men who are useful.
Young men with knowledge and the capacity to use it.
With character that can be trusted.
With courage to act.
And with an understanding that their abilities bring responsibility to others.
Our motto, Pro Deo et Patria, points us in precisely that direction.
Towards something greater than ourselves.
Gentlemen, this is your school. Own it.
Not because the School exists to serve you, but because you have a responsibility for it.
Look after it.
Protect what is good.
Challenge what can be better.
Look after its people.
And when something needs doing, do not always wait for someone else.
But remember this too.
This is your school only for a while.
For our Year 7s, five more years may seem like a long time.
Ask a Year 12 how quickly it passes.
One day, every boy here will walk through the Avenue of Honour for the final time as a student.
Every teacher will eventually teach a final lesson.
Every Headmaster will eventually hand the responsibility to someone else.
We are all temporary custodians.
The School will outlast us.
So, what condition will it be in when we hand it on?
Will it be kinder because we were here?
More courageous? More ambitious? More inclusive? More intellectually alive? Stronger in service? Deeper in faith?
That is the challenge.
Receive what has been handed to you. Be grateful for it.
But do not stop there. Add something. Create something. Lift someone.
Make this place stronger because you were here.
And eventually, pass it on.
I began by speaking about my family.
Today I am conscious that whatever I bring to this role comes from things others first placed in my hands.
Faith. Education. Opportunity. Examples of service. Encouragement. Love.
Perhaps that is how inheritance is supposed to work.
We receive something we did not create.
We care for it.
We add what we can.
And eventually, we place it into somebody else’s hands.
That is the responsibility I accept today.
I am enormously grateful for what has been entrusted to me.
I will do everything I can to honour what has come before, to serve this community well and help build what comes next.
And gentlemen, I ask the same of you.
Barnaby Eaton
Deputy Headmaster/ Head of Senior School
