“Melbourne still has lots of wealth and entrepreneurs, especially in property, and there’s a lot of start-ups,” says Samuel, “but these people are interested in getting things done, not what school you went to. Business and politics and policy are far too tough these days to rely on the relevance of the schools.”
Terry Moran AC has had a vantage point from the peak of public service to witness school connections at work. He grew up in working-class Fitzroy and Reservoir in the 1950s and 60s and attended the Catholic school, Parade College. He recalls his family stories of job advertisements advising Catholics not to bother applying.
“You’re walking in the footsteps of people who did great things … I can’t explain it fully. It’s just in the ether; it’s in the walls.”
Academic, TV host, Wesley old boy and columnist Waleed Aly
He eventually headed the premier’s department in Victoria and then the prime minister’s department in Canberra.
Moran says social change since the 1960s, including the movements against the Vietnam War, and for civil liberties, feminism and multiculturalism, helped break down sectarian and school network barriers, diversifying Melbourne’s business and political life. In government, he says, the old school tie was finally “buried”, ironically, by Kennett.