Gerald Francis John Dart OBE (20 May 1905 – 17 August 1978) was a teacher, educational philosopher and playwright who was

Headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the teacher, staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school ...

Ballarat Grammar School , motto_translation = Honour Follows Labour , streetaddress = 201 Forest Street, , city = Wendouree , state = Victoria , postcode = 3355 , country = Au ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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from 1942 until 1970. He was made 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 ...

(OBE) in 1971 for services to education and was a founding Member of the

Australian College of Educators The Australian College of Educators (ACE) is an Australian national professional association for educators. Membership is open to all professional educators working in the early childhood, school, and tertiary education sectors, as well as to ed ...

(MACE).

Background

G.F.J. Dart was born in

Westport, New Zealand Westport ( mi, Kawatiri) is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in 1861, it is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast. Originally named Buller, it is on the right bank and at the mouth of the ...

, the son of the Anglican priest

John Dart John Dart (died 1730) was an English lawyer and cleric, known as an antiquary and man of letters. Life Initially an attorney, but not successful in the profession, Dart obtained a title for holy orders. In 1728, he was presented by the master ...

, and educated in

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

. He completed

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 ...

degrees in both English and Latin at 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 Christchurch (now the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

). While he was at university he wrote and produced the Canterbury University College Reviews. Dart began teaching at Cathedral Grammar School, Christchurch (1929–1934). While visiting England from 1936, he met Elizabeth Williams whom he married in 1939. After teaching at Anglewood School,

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

(1938–1940), Dart went to Ballarat Grammar as Senior Master in 1941. He was Acting Headmaster in 1942 and appointed permanently in 1943.

Views on education

G.F.J. Dart held individualist views on education which he expressed in

plain English Plain English (or layman's terms) are groups of words that are to be clear and easy to know. It usually avoids the use of rare words and uncommon euphemisms to explain the subject. Plain English wording is intended to be suitable for almost anyone, ...

through speeches and various writings. His views meant that some practices, common in other schools, were not to be found at Ballarat Grammar. In 1944, for example, Dart oversaw the abolishment of the

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

, which he believed was divisive, creating artificial factions within a school. Houses were not reinstated at the school until after Dart's retirement, when one of the new boarders’ houses was named Dart House. Dart also opposed formal team

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

, although he encouraged public speaking and discussion. In 1949, the year debating was discontinued at Grammar, he wrote, “We do not consider it desirable to encourage boys to argue for causes in which they do not believe.” During the 1960s it was the school's policy to cap numbers at 450. Dart supported this in a 1964 address to Old Boys by outlining the advantages of smaller over larger institutions. The school's

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

unit was disbanded during Dart's headmastership, but it is not clear whether this was for philosophical or practical reasons.

Manual work and self-sufficiency

At the time of Dart's headmastership, Ballarat Grammar was a small

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

boys’ school of up to two hundred or so students, at least half of them boarders from country towns and farms, especially in

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and Western District regions of Victoria. Dart was an active gardener who valued manual work. He encouraged students in outdoors projects and in small farming enterprises which developed the school's

self-sufficiency Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

, for example by producing vegetables and eggs for the school kitchen. The school ran a piggery and at one stage kept two draught horses. In the early 1960s, some senior boys designed and built a students’ common room that later became the school's library for a time, and from the mid-1960s students and teachers laid many square metres of brick paving around the school.

Plays and playwriting

G.F.J. Dart produced the school's annual plays, choosing works by such writers as

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

and

Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially ''The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograph ...

. He also wrote several plays, including ''My Last Duchess'', based on

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...

, performed at Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat (1952); ''The Tower of Babel'', produced for the Ballarat Begonia Festival (1959); and a parody of ''

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll ''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...

'' entitled ''The Summer of the 777th Billy-can'', also performed at Her Majesty's (1960).

Retirement

After G.F.J. Dart retired at the end of 1970, he and Mrs Dart lived in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Tallebudgera Tallebudgera is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tallebudgera had a population of 3,667 people. Geography The Tallebudgera Creek forms a part of the western and eastern border of Tallebudgera. History Th ...

on the

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hinterland.

References

* ''Who's Who in Australia 1971'' (entry on G. F. J. Dart) * M.J.W. Boyle, ''Winds of Influence: A Short History of The Ballarat Grammar School 1911–1971'', (n.d.) * "The Ballarat Grammarian", 1968–69 * Catherine Williamson, ''From Cowpatch to Rose Garden: The Memoirs of Kit Williamson, A History of Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School 1941–1993'', (1993)
Her Majesty's Ballarat – 50 Golden Years: 1945–1952

T.H. Timpson: A Registrar Remembers (foundation of Australian College of Education)

* ttps://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1085380 Order of The British Empire: Gerald Francis John Dart {{DEFAULTSORT:Dart, G.F.J. 1905 births 1978 deaths Australian headmasters People from Westport, New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire University of Canterbury alumni People educated at Nelson College People educated at Ballarat Grammar School New Zealand emigrants to Australia