A school means people. Students, staff, and their families become part of the fabric and spirit that is Yarra Valley Grammar. This is how the School has nurtured a persevering identity over much time and change. Every person is invited into the good work of past generations, and can contribute to an ongoing story. The Brooke Nicholas Pavilion illustrates this ideal: it is a specialised building, presently both a sports pavilion and a formal function centre, dedicated to two significant people who have been formative to the School.
Nicholas Brooke and Richard Nicholas were both Foundation students of the School at its inception in 1966 and have been long-time members of the School Board. Both headed the campaign for a multi-purpose building beside the Patterson Oval.
This project, twenty years in the making, represents the shared telling of the School’s story. It showcases the major custodians of Yarra: the 135 Foundation students, the School Board, past and present parents and staff.
A collaborative venture, it communicates an idea that has existed in the cultural language of the School since the beginning – the community becomes your village.Today, the Pavilion is the central hub of sporting events and community gatherings.
It hosts both casual and formal functions, such as reunions, luncheons and morning teas. Perched atop the Patterson Oval, it offers spectators the chance to embody the school’s motto - levavi oculos - to lift up their eyes to see the beautiful panoramic views of the Great Dividing Range.
The Pavilion is primarily an indoor function space that can sit 60 people for a formal meal, or hold 100 for a less formal gathering. Floor-to-ceiling windows are open to the sky, suggesting an outdoor space, and light proliferates throughout the interior.
An expansive deck overlooks the School’s ovals where spectators can cheer on their teams. With kitchen and bar facilities, the Yarra Parents & Friends' Pavilion café runs services over the Winter sports season. Sporting teams make use of the change rooms, showers and first-aid room underneath the function room.
Thursday March 29, 2012 marked a day etched into the school’s collective memory: the opening ceremony of the Sports Pavilion.
Reverend Dianne Sharrock led the day with the official announcement of the dedication to pivotal community members Nicholas Brooke and Richard Nicholas. Now stood a building that celebrates Yarra’s love of sport and sportsmanship.
Board Chairman, Sarah Tipping, proudly unveiled an Honour Board. This acknowledges the contribution of many generous donors to the project. It was a day of spirited congratulation and an extension of gratitude to cornerstones and champions of the School.
Following this theme, Director of Sport, Bryan Harper, also spoke of the future use of the building: of people coming together under the roof for functions and of people sprawling onto the balcony in high-spirits for the post-match rallying cry after a hard fought win.
The Pavilion celebrates the traditional relationship between a story and its teller. The two men it is named after represent an intergenerational continuity, which sees how the School develops the growing of families and makers, of people that leave a mark and who have a welcomed place once they have left.
The stories of Nicholas Brooke and Richard Nicholas start similarly. They were both Foundation students of the School in 1966. Richard's parents migrated from England in 1960 largely to provide greater prospects for their children. They lived on an expansive, rural 10-acre property in Kilsyth, and got word of plans for a school in Ringwood. Impressed with the project, it became the next step in life for son Richard.
Nick grew up in Heathmont. His father Graham was a partner in the accounting firm Buckley and Hughes. Bob Hughes was on the Yarra Valley Formative Committee and later became a member of the School Council. It was primarily because of this connection that Nick enrolled.
They experienced Yarra's adolescence: both can reminisce on the days where a handful of boys walked to the remote school each day.
Their futures would become tightly interwoven with that of the School. Both were members of the Old Boys cricket team, Nick would become both President of the Parents and Friends Association and Yarra Foundation Director, while Richard became Past Students Association President. They would come together as members of the School Board, and both families had children who were students at the School. The Pavilion marks their lasting legacy woven into the everyday life of the School.
The Brooke Nicholas Pavilion plays host to festive community events, like the Welcome Back to Yarra Family Picnic – held at the beginning of the school year – and the Yarra Parents and Friends Biggest Morning Tea. Reunions for Yarra Old Grammarians (YOG) are often celebrated here; over the years we have seen 20, 30 and 40 Year Out Reunions. The Pavilion is home to sports celebrations throughout all seasons – AFL, tennis, hockey and cricket – and hosts volunteer ‘thank you’ events to commemorate and share in the spirit of the community.
Sounds of laughter, applause and conversation form part of the daily life of the space. Regular Yarra Foundation meetings are held here, the significant members of the School having the chance to celebrate in the School’s efforts and look forward, surrounded by history.
