Peter Morton Moyes (9 July 1917 – 27 July 2007) was the Headmaster of

Christ Church Grammar School , motto_translation = God is our leader, learning is our light , established = , founder = William Joseph McClemans , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day and boarding school , gender = Boys , deno ...

and Chairman of the

Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia The Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia (HCISA) was founded in 1931 and amalgamated in 1985 with the Association of Independent Headmistresses to form the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. It is ...

. He was born as the fourth of six children to parents

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

and Helen Moyes. Educated at St Peter's College in Adelaide he moved with father to Sydney where he completed his education at

The Armidale School , motto_translation = Without God, Nothing , location = Armidale, New England Tablelands, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

, and finally the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939. He started his teaching career as assistant master at

Canberra Grammar School , motto_translation = For God, for Church, for Country , city = Red Hill , state = Australian Capital Territory , country = Australia , coordinates = , type ...

, which was postponed by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After returning from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, he volunteered to join militia units in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, where he had been in support of Australian Brigadier Arnold William Potts. He was later appointed to the

Z Special Unit Z Special Unit () was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that in ...

, where he trained spies, but later returned home upon doctors orders. Once the war ended, he and his wife, Judy travelled to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where he became a Latin and History teacher at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. After three years, he returned to Australia, teaching at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ty ...

. After spending two years in the role at Geelong Grammar, he came to Perth to take up the headmaster position at

. At the time of his appointment at Christ Church Grammar School, the diocese was considering closing the school. He set about strengthening the schools academic record, which increased student numbers from 259 when he arrived in 1951 to 1020 when he left in 1981. After leaving Christ Church in 1981, he started to create lower-fee, co-educational, boarding, community-based Anglican schools. He structured the five schools he created to take advantage of the highest levels of government funding, using parent's resources to create a program with high parental involvement and using the available facilities of the wider community, such as sporting fields, rather than duplicating them. His model became a template for the development of Anglican education across Australia.Mendez, Torrance. ''Principal taught of love and learning'', ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' p. 55, 2007-08-24. His influence stretched across South-East Asia, where he helped train school principals in the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. Moyes 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 ...

in 1982 and a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1995. He was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001. He died on 27 July 2007 and was survived by his widow Judy, and three children: Christopher, Penny and Liz.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyes, Peter Australian schoolteachers Australian headmasters 1917 births 2007 deaths Chairmen of the Headmasters' Conference of the Independent Schools of Australia People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide Members of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire