Delivered as a speech by Munronian Tony Morrison in 2003.

Thomas Carlyle once said:

“…no great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”

Ladies and gentlemen, Munro College was all of 99 years old and already great when a 29 year old Richard Roper became its tenth headmaster in 1955, but history is always illuminated by its great personalities, and so the name Richard Roper has for the past 48 years become synonymous with Munro College.

In the same way that a CEO can establish and define the corporate culture of a successful company, so did Richard Roper establish, enhance, and enshrine many of the values, traditions, and guiding philosophies of this great institution during the more than quarter of a century that he spent as captain of the ship.

Perhaps the greatest burden of leadership is to lead by example, and setting a good example in all aspects of his life was probably the greatest part of his legacy.

For all of us who attended this school during the Roper era; when we say that Munro College played a major part in defining who we are, then what we are saying is that Richard Roper played a major part in that definition, because this was Roper’s Munro.

Like a CEO reporting to his shareholders, he came to chapel in the mornings and kept us abreast of what was happening in our school, especially on occasions when he saw it fit to dispense justice, and so we learnt, through the transparency of his policies, that justice should not only be done, but that it should be seen to be done.

Because he actually lived his Christian philosophy, we learnt that Christianity was less about preaching than practicing what you preached.

The tell-tale Munronian swagger has its roots in the confidence derived from surviving the journey of a tough boarding school. But while that confidence was reinforced by his example of strong leadership, because we saw him laugh at himself, we learnt to be emotionally secure enough to not take ourselves too seriously.

While Munronians acquire a healthy appreciation of women partially because of boarding school-induced deprivation, we learnt very early to respect women as well, because while it may have been easy for a boys school to become a bastion of chauvinism, Mr. Roper’s attitude towards the few women of the school community led us by example to be gentlemen and to treat ladies like ladies.

After all, it was indicative of his total lack of insecurity or chauvinism that in April 1955 he had married a woman who was as strong and as smart as she was pretty. That move was also a sign of his vision, for Merle Roper was destined to become not only an indispensable part of his life, but also a vital part of the school that for many years was to become his life.

Apart from learning how to be gentlemen, we learnt many other lessons of manhood while becoming young men in this city set upon a hill.

While the military austerity of boarding school itself gave us the backbone to stand up for whatever we believed was right (and sometimes even what we well knew was wrong), Mr. Roper’s example of strong but humble leadership taught us to be bold enough to take tough decisions, and to be big enough to apologise when we make mistakes, as we saw him do.

In the full life he lived outside of the headmaster’s office, we learnt from his spirit of involvement that life is not a spectator sport…because this was Roper’s Munro.

We watched this first-class educator and meticulous administrator direct all the multifaceted aspects of the school’s life, and we learnt valuable lessons of organization and management…because this was Roper’s Munro.

Because of the several student organizations that he encouraged, like the student’s council, cadets, and the debating society, we learnt the rationale and civility of informed discussion, the humility of service, the responsibility of leadership, and the accountability that should come with responsibility…because this was Roper’s Munro.

He not only encouraged sports, but insisted on discipline and fair-play and gentlemanly conduct in sports; and so we learnt life-lessons about teamwork, ethics, and about accepting both victory and defeat with grace and dignity…because this was Roper’s Munro.

Whether in matters of attire, social activity, or academic or athletic endeavour, he insisted always on correctness and good order, and so we learnt that high standards can only be achieved and maintained through discipline in all areas of life…because this was Roper’ s Munro.

In the melting pot that Munro College became in his time, we learnt from his egalitarian example to be tolerant of persons of diverse backgrounds, and to appreciate and respect each other along the lines of personal values instead of along the lines of class or colour…because this was Roper’s Munro.

Mentor and maestro, icon and institution, leader and legend, we are who we are, and we gather here today…because this, was Roper’s Munro.