Happy Birthday, Dallas Hamilton (OSC '33)!
Dallas Hamilton recently celebrated his 104th birthday on Friday 13 March. The occasion was marked with a celebratory morning tea (complete with birthday cake and candles), featuring a visit from Scotch College Headmaster Dr Alec O'Connell and Scotch College piper, David Stulpner.
Dallas was born in March 1916, in the middle of the First World War. He was born in East Fremantle, and was the eldest of five; three brothers and two sisters. Dallas' sisters unfortunately died of infectious diseases when Dallas and his brothers were young. His father was a professional engineer whose works were being built in Welshpool and the family moved to Swanbourne, which in the early 1920s was a small village. Dallas and his family lived only a few hundred yards from Scotch College, which Dallas describes Collegians House as being "the outstanding building" of Swanbourne.
Dallas started at Scotch College in 1930, in what would now be the equivalent of Year 9. His two younger brothers, Beverly and Murray Hamilton, subsequently joined him at Scotch. Dallas and his brothers were day students, and Dallas recalls that for him the biggest change in coming to Scotch College meant that he "had to wear shoes and socks everyday which was a big burden to most young West Australians!". At that point, the College had approximately 400 students and, along with the rest of the country, was suffering through the effects of the Great Depression.
In 1932, Dallas was the recipient of the Gordon Gooch Scholarship, which enabled his family to send his brother, Beverly, to the College. Beverly subsequently won a scholarship, and so the youngest Hamilton, Murray, was able to join his two brothers. When announcing that Dallas had won his scholarship in the Scotch College Annual Report at the 1932 Speech Night, Principal PC Anderson described Dallas as "a very fine type of boy".
All three Hamilton boys had been members of the Scotch College Cadets as students, and enlisted to serve in World War Two. Beverly was killed during the war, and Dallas came home injured. Before enlisting, Dallas was working for BHP steelworks in Newcastle, and recalls seeing "more shells being made at BHP than [he] ever saw in the army." He had to use "skullduggery and enterprise" in order to get a permit to be able to enlist, as his work was part of the war effort.
Dallas credits many Scotch College staff has having a profound impact on his life and love of education and learning, including Leigh Jenkinson and George Campbell. Dallas later became a meteorologist, and travelled extensively through working with the Air Force and was at one point he was "on loan" to the United States of America.
Dallas' advice to leading a fulfilling life includes a broad education, reading, and: "Don't smoke, don't drink, eat less", which he admits sounds pretty austere!
