A Message from the Rector

By RIchard Hall | Posted: Thursday April 23, 2026

I was asked this week why we still do an ANZAC service. "Because it is part of our DNA," I replied.

Now, this person was not anti-ANZAC, nor were they lacking understanding of the connection to our school; rather, they were asking if it had relevance to the boys in our school today, some 111 years after the Gallipoli landings.

Yes, it is still relevant to our boys—because it is in their DNA.

Some of the fundamental building blocks in DNA are called nucleotides. Apologies to the professors in our school, but we call our "nucleotides" our traditions and our connectors. Our ANZAC service, so well-presented today by our school, is a perfect example of this.

My thanks to Emeritus Professor John Broughton, who spoke to our boys so well and so thoughtfully today. As an educator (with over 50 years of experience in the Otago Dental School) and as a playwright, Professor Broughton was able to capture the essence of ANZAC in his fictional piece describing the conversations likely heard in the trenches.

The boys were captivated by his skill with language, his layering of tone, his symbolism, and the grit that these words elicited. To be connected to events from 111 years ago through our DNA, supported by such powerful language, was a special experience—one I will treasure.