Celebrating 75 years of physical education graduates

“A little more grey – or just less – hair, a little slower moving around, reluctantly a little wiser, but with the same energy, enthusiasm and hilarity that we had in 1985.”

That sums up Physical Education alumnus Bruce Hamilton’s reaction to catching up with friends and classmates at the School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences (SPESES) celebration of 75 years of graduates, held on campus recently.

Organised by the Otago Alumni Office, more than 130 alumni gathered for a lively programme of talks, tours and events that facilitated a weekend of reconnections and trips down memory lane.

Bruce, former High Performance Sport NZ and Olympic Health team lead, says it was great to get to chat to current lecturers and students, and to see the “super impressive” facilities of the School.

“Listening to the talks from alumni on Saturday morning was a reminder of the privilege we all had attending this amazing University and PE School and the lifelong opportunities it provided us all.  So much positivity, experience and talent in the room – it was very humbling,” Bruce says.

He was also struck by the close interconnections of health and physical education/sport science, and the many opportunities that careers with foundations in sport and exercise science have to influence the health and wellbeing of the New Zealand population.

Dean of the School Professor Elaine Hargreaves says she was honoured by the number of alumni who made time to come to Dunedin and celebrate the School’s history.

“I enjoyed immensely listening to their reflections and stories of their time as a student from late 50s through to the late 90s, and what they have achieved since graduation,” Elaine says.

One of the two earliest graduates to attend, Rosalie Mitchell from the Class of 1958, says she loved the format of the weekend and the research reports on the first morning.

Rosalie says the weekend reflected the “great philosophy of inclusion that PE School was about when I was there”.

“It was heartening to hear the life stories of people who had found PE School transformative in their lives.”

After Otago, Rosalie spent her career in teacher education, teaching PE and other subjects at the Auckland College of Education and University of Auckland for 40 years.

Another School alumni Chris MacDonell, Unipol’s Marketing and Wellbeing Coordinator, helped organise tours and games for those attending the reunion. As a graduate of the School, Chris says it was fun to show “fellow ex-Phys Eders” the extensive range of Unipol’s recreational activities and facilities available to students.

“One of these facilities is Trotters Gorge Hut that many of the School’s alumni went to as part of the outdoor education training, and it’s fantastic this hut can still be booked and used by tauira today.”

Reunion alumni also had the opportunity to participate in a range of games from badminton to bowls at Unipol, including a retro-inspired aerobics class taken by 1990s student Tina Neville, a Tauranga-based Zumba instructor.

Tribute to Philip and Olive Smithells unveiled

The School’s history was celebrated with the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the pivotal role played by Philip and Olive Smithells, presented by two of their sons James and Mark.

Philip, the first Director of the School, and Olive were an enterprising couple who energised the development and teaching of physical education as a core subject in schools throughout Aotearoa.

Philip remained Director of the programme until his retirement, as a professor, in 1974, and Olive was a guest lecturer and taught practical classes in the School for over 20 years.

Speaking to the enduring connections alumni have with the School, Elaine says the reunion highlighted the very strong friendships created in the cohorts of students who have studied physical education.

“I took away lots of gems that I can implement to ensure that the very strong connection they feel to the School can be cultivated in our current students who are our future alumni,” Elaine says.

“I was told by many that they don’t want to wait until the 100th to get together again, and hopefully next time we can encourage some students from post-2000 to join in the fun!”

Reflecting on the reunion celebrations, Bruce says he was impressed to see the “abundant enthusiasm and vigour of returnees from the many earlier years”.

“Returning with a bunch of mates to the home of so many great memories from 40 years ago was ridiculously seamless with relationships rekindled like we'd never left the place. A huge thanks from me and the class of 1985 to those who put on the show - it was a hoot.”