The Way of Service: Faith and Leadership at Riverview
FR ROB DAVOREN SJ, ACTING RECTOR
Last Saturday was the first opportunity this term for the boys to participate in winter sports. By all accounts, they enjoyed their matches against visiting schools and often supported other teams. I was impressed by the organisation, which had grounds looking their best and all necessary equipment in place. I wish to commend Mr Cameron Anderson, our new Director of Co-Curriculum; Mr Andrew Szabo, Head of Sport; Mr Clint McGuire, Sports & Activities Administration Officer; and the many other staff who contributed to these thorough and professional preparations. Equal credit goes to our dedicated College coaches, who ensured their teams were not only well-presented but also conducted themselves with the character and pride we expect of Riverview boys.
In addition, our P&F organisers and volunteers ensured the hospitality offered to our families and visitors met the usual hallmark Riverview standard. Hungry patrons could choose several locations, including the P&F Regis BBQ (in front of the Regis Canteen). At First Field, there was the OIU BBQ and the P&F canteen at Fr Mac pavilion. I wish to particularly commend the efforts of Claudia McInerney - 2026 P&F President, Leesa Feilen - 2025 President and Canteen Supervisor, Nick Ridgewell & Jen Wright - 2025 & 2026 Treasurers, Diane Tucker - P&F Head of Merchandise, David McKay - OIU BBQ and Ben Frawley - OIU BBQ Captain. Also, the countless parents, Old Boys and Riverview friends who devote hours each week.
I have enjoyed the opportunity to be back at a Jesuit College with such a rich history. A fine collection of the College’s annual yearbook, ( Our Alma Mater ), enabled me to view a snapshot of Riverview one hundred years ago. In the 1926 Alma, I was delighted to find several references to Kevin Fagan (OR1926), who was then in his final year at the College. Many would know the senior boarding house is named in his honour. It is the first building seen when entering by the top gate. Kevin won a scholarship reserved for boys from Tasmania and during his years at the College, displayed excellence in many areas of College life.
In 1926, he was Head Prefect and Stroke of the Eight and gained a gold medal for Debating. He was Dux of the College for two years in a row, 1925 and 1926. Kevin Fagan was also the lead in the College’s production of Hamlet (detailed below). His involvement in such a wide range of areas exemplifies the Jesuit educational principle of whole-person education. His significant achievements could have led to a comfortable, well-rewarded career in post-school life. While pursuing a career in medicine, he was an example of a Jesuit alumnus whose life displayed great generosity and care for others, especially his patients. This became particularly evident during his years in military service. The following citation is from the College archives.
Kevin Fagan in the 2nd XV 1925 seated second from right.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, Dr Kevin Fagan joined the Army Medical Corps, and when posted in 1942 to Singapore with the 8th Division, he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese, at first in Changi and later on the infamous Burma-Thailand Railway. His devoted care of the other prisoners won praise, with one of his contemporaries declaring him,
“The most inspiring man I have ever met. It is no exaggeration that many people survived this ordeal as a result of his personal efforts. Above all, there was the extraordinary courage and gentleness, and the incredible endurance of the Medical Officer, Major Kevin Fagan. Some 20,000 British and Australian troops share my view. Dr Fagan treated any man needing treatment to the best of his ability; he also carried men who fell; he carried the kit of men in danger of falling, and he marched up and down the whole length of the column throughout its entire progress.”
After the war, he returned to Sydney, becoming Chief Surgeon at Prince Henry Hospital (1946) and practising as a specialist in Macquarie Street and as a surgeon at Lewisham, Royal North Shore and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals from 1947. In 1969, he retired to his property, Cooinda, south of Yass, for pastoral pursuits, including fine wool production. He died in Yass Hospital on June 18, 1992.
The Kevin Fagan House was officially opened on 20 August 2000. The then Rector Fr Chris Gleeson SJ remarked,
“So on this day when we open and bless Kevin Fagan House, we recall his great gift of companionship, of being with people as a doctor and a friend. We have chosen to name the new Boarding House after him because he had that remarkable quality for which all of us Ignatians strive - the gift of being with and for others”.
Current members of the College family are privileged to have such a fine example of an old scholar who made such a selfless contribution to the lives of others. Further quotations are displayed in the foyer of the Kevin Fagan Boarding House.
A further school achievement of Kevin Fagan was his lead role in the 1926 production of Hamlet . A local theatre critic and honorary secretary of the Shakespeare Society of NSW, W.J.P Fitzgerald, described a visit by ferry, then a walk up from the wharf, the only means of access at that time:
“Remembrances of the production by the College of Macbeth a couple of years ago acting as the stimulus, I had little difficulty in inducing a party of enthusiasts from the Shakespearean Society to make the river trip and the steep but romantic walk up to the College to see: Hamlet performed there on the 12th August, under the direction of Mr. Harry Thomas and Father Finn, S.J.
“The effort was well rewarded, for the usual packed house witnessed a performance second only to the Macbeth production, which I have always regarded as the finest schoolboy production I have ever seen. It has been said that the occasion always produces the man; and the present one was no exception, for it introduced the boy, Kevin Fagan, made, one would think, to order for the part. Kevin Fagan was Hamlet himself, possessing a musical voice; he gave the soliloquies their full value in point and emphasis, without missing the rhythm that is part of the glory of Shakespeare's blank verse."
It is timely that our Senior Drama production of the adapted screenplay Shakespeare in Love opens next week. Also, Singin' in the Rain commences later this month. We wish both casts and crews the best wishes and trust they will receive reviews as complimentary as those received 100 years ago!
Last Sunday morning, I celebrated my first 9.00 am Boarders' mass for the term. I was pleased to observe that the proud tradition of singing strongly and showing great reverence in the chapel continues. I commend the boarders for respecting these important values. The Gospel from John 14 features Jesus' words, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
The way he speaks of is not like a road or path, but a process. The 'Way' of Jesus, through his coming suffering and death, will end in the new and abundant life that he wants for all his followers. To follow the Way of Jesus is not to 'go' anywhere. It is to become a special kind of person, a person whose whole being reflects the truth and life that Jesus reveals to us.
It is to be a person who is totally identified with the vision and the values of Jesus. As Christians, we seek to follow the way of Christ, here and now, whether we are in Year 5 or 85 years old. We can make our world happier and more just through our actions and care for others. The life and service of Dr Kevin Fagan certainly attest to this.
