John Maloney (51-55)

Born in 1938, John attended Wesley from 1951 to 1955 and was a member of Hardey House. In his final year, he won the Kenneth Slatyer Prize for Physical Education and was promoted to the rank of Under Officer in the Army Cadet Corps.

He attended Graylands Teachers’ College and taught with the WA Education Department for three years before travelling overseas and interstate.

In 1963, he returned to teaching in Wesley’s Preparatory School. In 1968, John’s appointment as Bursar coincided with events which cemented the College’s growth.

Under the Headmastership of Clive Hamer, membership of the College Council was refreshed and a building fund appeal was commissioned. State and Commonwealth funding and local government rezoning of the land north of Swan Street enabled growth and the expansion of the Prep School. Also, in 1968, the State Government rezoned the Collier pine plantation and Wesley was granted ten acres to create the much-needed Collins Oval Playing Fields.

Upon his appointment as Bursar, John was invited to assume the role of honorary treasurer of the Old Wesley Collegians’ Association (OWCA). To generate capital, parents of graduating students were encouraged to fund their sons’ Life Membership of OWCA. With an acceptance rate approaching 100%, the Association’s wealth grew rapidly in leading to incorporation and the purchase of income producing office properties in South Perth. With a firming financial base, the Association was able to introduce the OWCA Scholarship.

The catalyst for the separately incorporated Wesley College Endowment Fund was a bequest from the estate of Howard Bantock. By 1993 it was acknowledged that the growth of this fund justified discrete management and should be excised from bursarial responsibilities which had also grown dramatically. John took this opportunity to retire from the Bursar’s role and continue as Endowment Fund Secretary. In 1995, he also assumed the role of OWCA Director, thus creating an important synergy of both entities.

In 2002, OWCA published They Shall Not Grow Old, a synopsis of the lives of the 56 Old Wesleyans who lost their lives in World War II and Vietnam. John considers this a major contribution to the fabric of the College.

He regards the founding of the Mildred Manning Scholarship Trust as a lasting initiative of his 40 year tenure as a teacher, Bursar, Endowment Fund Secretary, OWCA Treasurer and Director.

He is an Honorary Life Member of the OWCA and the Bursars’ Association of WA and served as President for each association.

John Maloney was awarded an OAM in the Order of Australia in 2007 for service to education, particularly in the field of financial management of independent schools, through executive roles with professional organisations, and to the Old Wesley Collegians’ Association.