Mentone Memories:
Ross McKenzie (Class of 1969)
Bayside born and bred, Ross McKenzie was a bright-eyed 11-year-old when his time finally arrived to follow the footsteps of his older brother and join Mentone Grammar.
The second of three McKenzie boys to walk the halls, Ross was eager to don the Anderson House colours and start paving his own way at the School which he had long heard stories about. His father was also a key figure in the parent community, driving fundraising initiatives such as the much-anticipated school fetes.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TIME AT MENTONE GRAMMAR?
Mentone Grammar was an enjoyable school. I think it helped me immensely during a time, back in those days, when I could have quite easily slipped off the tracks. The discipline at the School and the education we received from good teachers assisted me a lot in supporting my abilities. The other area that I really enjoyed was the sports program: cricket, football, basketball, tennis, and athletics.
WHAT WAS THE CAMPUS LIKE IN THOSE DAYS?
Classrooms were probably a stark contrast to what they are today, but they were homely and they had a nice outlook over the school oval. The two highlights that I recall were the gymnasium, which was established when I was there and had an extremely good basketball facility, and the ant’s pants was the science block in Lucerne Street, which was bigger than Ben-Hur in those days. We really had some great facilities, so it was very enjoyable.
WHO WERE YOUR MEMORABLE TEACHERS?
Jim Winter, he was also the School Chaplain, Bob Brailsford, Bob Nottle, Don Ingram, Jim Rundell and John White. They were all good teachers. Probably one of the most memorable was Brian Lewis. He was a very good English teacher with a great dry sense of humour.
WHAT CAREER DID YOU PURSUE AFTER SCHOOL?
I started off as an auditor and became a CPA. And then back in 1982, I moved into sales and marketing and worked for various large telecommunication companies in state management roles. In 2001, I moved back to Melbourne as the general manager for a company that specialised in computer-aided dispatch and taxi security cameras and worked in that industry until retirement.
Click on an image below to enlarge:
1969 VI Form
1969 Football First XVIII