Maritzburg College Old

History

The MCOBA has its origins in 1896. After the highly successful athletics meeting of 30 May 1896, which was held in Alexandra Park in most glorious weather before a crowd of over 2 000, Mr RD Clark (MA) (Oxon) (Headmaster 1878 - 1902) and a group of Old Boys and friends of the school assembled around the dinner table at College for a congenial evening. During the course of a lively speech, Mr Clark proposed the setting up on an Old Boys' Assoication to foster a spirit of esprit de corps among past and present membes of the school. Mr Clark expressed the aims of the Association in his prize-giving address of 1896 as being "for the purpose of getting all Old Boys who can do so to meet together once a year, and foster, by prizes and otherwise, all the legitimate aims of the school."

Most of the legwork for getting the Association founded appears to have been done by Ernest Holgate, an Old Boy who was on the staff at that time. His labours bore fruit on 11 January 1897, when a small but enthusiastic group of Old Collegians, responding to several advertisements in the press, braved the inclement weather and attended the inaugural meeting in the Supper Room of the Town Hall. The meeting was presided over by the Attorney-General, Mr Henry Bale (later Sir Henry Bale), with Holgate as secretary, but most of the talking was done by Mr Clark. It was decided at this meeting to circularise all the known Old Boys informing them of the new Association, and, by 4 November of the following year the fledling organisation could boast 30 paid-up members.

Sir Henry Bale Although the MCOBA continued to grow and prosper until Mr Clark's eventual retirement as Headmaster in 1902, it lapsed somewhat in the early years of Mr EW (Pixie) Barns' term as Headmaster and required the stimulus of Mr Clark's presidency from 1904 to get it going again.