The Bulleen classroom

Bulleen was one of my greatest classrooms. Not for quadratic equations, chemical formulas or grammar, but for the values that have shaped my life ever since.

When I think about what Trinity gave me, I think of teachers and lessons, of course, but also of wet boots, cold fingers, a forward pocket that never seemed to open up, and the quiet moments when a group of students learned what it meant to belong to something bigger than themselves.

Integrity meant fair play. Do the right thing, no cheap shots, no excuses. Accountability was turning up every time, even when you didn’t feel like it. Collaboration was teamwork. Doing your job so someone else could do theirs. Respect was simple. Shake hands with your opponent, win or lose. And excellence wasn’t about trophies, it was about effort and trying your best, always.

My most vivid memory came in Year 10 football. Many of our best players had moved up to the Firsts and we lost most weeks. But one wet, windswept day at Bulleen, everything clicked. The ball lived in the mud, every tackle hurt, and somehow, doing it for each other, we held on for a stirring win.

Our coach, the late Jonny Tapp, was crying. Not because it was brilliant football, but because it showed what happens when a group commits, suffers a bit together and finds a way. That moment has stayed with me ever since.

That’s what Bulleen means to me. A place where character is formed through shared effort.

Today, as an Old Trinity Grammarian, parent, Treasurer on School Council, and Chair of the Trinity Foundation, those lessons still guide me. Facilities matter. Not as monuments, but as environments that shape people.

The fields and buildings at Bulleen aren’t just background scenery. They’re where courage, teamwork and resilience take root; where friendships are forged; where young people discover who they are.

Supporting Bulleen is about more than bricks and turf. It’s about backing the next generation to learn what we learned there.