The Wynne Years
F rom playing schoolboy rugby for Brisbane’s Churchie on Upper to leading Christ’s College, Garth Wynne has taken an interesting journey to the Executive Principal’s office of New Zealand’s only independent secondary school for boys. Garth credits several “serendipitous circumstances”
Headmaster, Richard Bromley. Then, in consultation with famous Housemaster Brian Le Vaillant, we organised an exchange programme between the schools. That continued for several years and was also enabled by College Headmaster Rob Zordan, a former colleague from earlier in my career.” In 2011, Garth returned to Christ’s College during his sabbatical from his role as Headmaster of Christ Church Grammar School in Perth. “I met then College Headmaster Simon Leese on several occasions and, during the timing of my transition from my Perth role in 2015, the College leadership position appeared,” Garth recalls. “My wife, Annie, and I saw it as an opportunity to go back to our earlier, almost gypsy-like career steps by coming to live in New Zealand. It certainly fitted in with my interest and experience. “My predecessor, Simon Leese, and former Bursar Colin Sweetman had been consumed by earthquake renewal and spent time and energy in ensuring the physical school was ready for the
next steps in 2016. So, I was given the Board brief, essentially, to try and move the school forward … a modern, independent New Zealand school,” Garth says. That covered academic, pastoral, and co-curricular programmes, alongside nurturing College’s Anglican identity. “The spiritual health of the school is obviously a key to its ongoing success,” he says. “It has been maintained during my time through my support of an already very strong, Chapel-led programme. I have been very fortunate to have two wonderful Chaplains, Bosco Peters and Cameron Pickering. I have also been witness to the significance of our school choir and the way in which we nurture our particular Anglican identity. Personally, I was proud to initiate a new school hymn and the concept of a school lesson, ‘The Good Samaritan’. In collaboration with Bosco and Cameron, we have created our unique Anglican identity, which, although always evolving, speaks to our faith-inspired soul.”
and a “sense of alignment” for facilitating his path to Christchurch.
“My first trip overseas without my parents was a rugby union tour of New Zealand as a student of the Anglican Church Grammar School, Churchie, in Brisbane,” he explains. “We first landed in Christchurch and I played rugby on Upper. And that was my first touch point with the College community.” Fast forward a few years to the late 1990s and Garth was now a Housemaster at The Southport School (TSS) on the Gold Coast, seeking ways to expand an exchange programme for boarders. “I reached out to College and was put in touch with College’s Deputy
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