Colin Macdonald Gilray (17 March 1885 – 15 July 1974) was a Scottish-born

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player, soldier and educationalist. He represented both

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in rugby union and won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a captain in the British Rifle Brigade. A

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, he became headmaster of both

John McGlashan College John McGlashan College is a state integrated boarding and day school for boys, located in the suburb of Maori Hill in Dunedin, New Zealand. The school currently caters for students from years 7 to 13, including 120 boarders and up to 30 interna ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, New Zealand, and

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

, and served as deputy chancellor of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

on two separate occasions.

Early life and family

Born at

Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach Tatha''; Scots: ''Brochtie'') is a suburb of Dundee, Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until ...

, Scotland, on 17 March 1885, Gilray was the fourth child of Annie Gilray (née Macdonald) and her husband, Thomas Gilray, at the time professor of English language and literature at

University College, Dundee A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. The family moved to

, New Zealand, in 1890 after Thomas Gilray was appointed professor of English language and literature at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1889. Gilray was educated at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

, and went on to the University of Otago, where he was president of the student union. He graduated in 1907 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English and German (first-class honours) and classics (second-class honours). Awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1907, Gilray went to

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, graduating

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

with second-class honours in 1910. Between 1910 and 1913 he taught at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist me ...

, London. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1913 and then returned to New Zealand, practising law at

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

. On 24 November 1917, Gilray married Ethel Muriel Standish at

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

, Surrey, England. Ethel was the daughter of Arthur Standish, the first

mayor of New Plymouth The Mayor of New Plymouth is the head of municipal government of New Plymouth District, New Zealand. Since the 2022 local elections, the mayor is elected directly using the single transferable vote electoral system; prior to that, first-past-the-p ...

. She was in England as a nurse at the No. 2 New Zealand General Hospital in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

, where New Zealand troops were hospitalised, and was particularly noted for her massage work. The couple went on to have one daughter.

Rugby union

A wing three-quarter, Gilray played for the Otago University club during his undergraduate studies. He made his provincial debut for in 1904, and also played for the South Island in the inter-island fixture that year. In 1905 he declined a place on

The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...

tour of the British Isles, France and the United States, but he did play for New Zealand against the touring Australian side in their single Test match, at

Tahuna Park Tahuna and Tainui are two small, somewhat vaguely defined suburbs of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. They lie to the south of Andersons Bay and Musselburgh, close to Dunedin's southern coastline ( Ocean Beach). Both are often considered parts o ...

, Dunedin, on 2 September 1905. The 14–3 victory by New Zealand was to be Gilray's only appearance for the national team. He continued to play for Otago through the 1906 season. After taking up his Rhodes Scholarship, Gilray played rugby for Oxford University and London Scottish. He made his debut for

on 21 March 1908 in the

1908 Home Nations Championship The 1908 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 18 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not officia ...

, against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Inverleith Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills a ...

, with Scotland winning the match by 16 points to 10. He was awarded an Oxford

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

later that year. In the

1909 Home Nations Championship The 1909 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 16 January and 20 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not offici ...

, Gilray made two appearances for Scotland, against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and England. In the latter game he scored his only try for Scotland. He made a further appearance for Scotland, in the

1912 Five Nations Championship The 1912 Five Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirtieth se ...

against Ireland. Gilray also captained London Scottish. Back in New Zealand in 1914, Gilray made one final appearance as an injury replacement for the Otago University team during the local club competition final.

Military service

Gilray enlisted in the British Army in early 1916, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in July that year. He was wounded on 13 November 1916 during the latter stages of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. Promoted to captain, he was invalided back to England in September 1917. He was awarded the

, gazetted on 1 January 1918. For the remainder of the war, Gilray trained officer cadets at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

. From 1921 until 1935, when he was transferred to the retired list, Gilray was a captain in the 2nd Battalion Otago Regiment,

New Zealand Territorial Force New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Teaching career

Gilray returned to practising law in Milton in 1919. However, in 1922 he was appointed principal of

in Dunedin, succeeding Arthur Gordon Butchers. During his tenure, Gilray developed music and science at the school, and raised academic standards. While visiting Queenstown in September 1931, Gilray sustained a fracture dislocation of his left ankle when it was run over by the car that he was pushing in an attempt to make it start. He was left with one leg shorter than the other. Gilray was elected to the University of Otago Council in 1925, and the Council of the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

in 1927. In 1933 he declined nomination as vice-chancellor of the University of Otago. In 1934, after 12 years at John McGlashan, Gilray took up the post of principal of

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

, following the death of the incumbent,

William Still Littlejohn William Still Littlejohn (19 September 1859 – 7 October 1933) was a Scottish-born schoolteacher who spent most of his working life in New Zealand and Australia. He was headmaster of Nelson College from 1899 to 1903, and of Scotch College, Melbo ...

. With 1500 pupils at Scotch College compared to about 200 at John McGlashan, Gilray found that he was fully occupied by administrative tasks, although he occasionally still found time to teach English or religious studies. Under his leadership the school developed its art, theatre and music programmes, and he resisted higher student fees. Gilray was a member of the standing committee of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia (HCISA) from 1939 to 1952, and served as its chairman between 1949 and 1952. He retired as principal of Scotch College at the end of April 1953. In the Australian

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

Gilray was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in recognition of his services as principal of Scotch College. His brother, Thomas Gilray, was also appointed an OBE in the New Zealand 1951 New Year Honours, for services as a medical practitioner.

Later life and death

Following his retirement from Scotch College, Gilray continued as executive officer of the HCISA for 10 years. He served as deputy chancellor of the

from 1954 to 1958 and 1959 to 1962. The University of Melbourne conferred an honorary degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

on Gilray in 1956. Between 1961 and 1965 Gilray was a member of the Committee on the Future Development of Tertiary Education in Australia, chaired by Sir

Leslie Martin Sir John Leslie Martin (17 August 1908, in Manchester – 28 July 2000) was an English architect, and a leading advocate of the International Style. Martin's most famous building is the Royal Festival Hall. His work was especially influenced ...

, which led to a formalised ‘binary divide’ between the universities, as research and teaching institutions, and other higher education teaching institutions. Ethel Gilray died in 1968. Colin Macdonald Gilray died in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...

on 15 July 1974, and he was buried with his wife at

Box Hill Cemetery Box Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Melbourne's eastern suburb of Box Hill, Victoria in Australia. It currently occupies 12.5 ha (31 acres). It is known as the resting place of notable figures from Melbourne and its heritage-registered Co ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilray, Colin 1885 births 1974 deaths People from Broughty Ferry Scottish emigrants to New Zealand People educated at Otago Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players London Scottish F.C. players Rugby union wings University of Otago alumni New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Alumni of University College, Oxford Oxford University RFC players British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross New Zealand Army officers 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand emigrants to Australia Australian schoolteachers Australian headmasters Chairmen of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia Officers of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Box Hill Cemetery Rugby union players from Dundee 20th-century Australian educators Scotch College, Melbourne