Official Opening of the Brisbane Grammar School STEAM Precinct

Headmaster, Brisbane Grammar School, Mr Anthony Micallef; staff; supporters; parents and students, good morning.

I would like to join your School Captain, Sam, in acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and also pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here today.

Thank you all for your warm welcome. As Official Visitor of Brisbane Grammar School, it gives me great pleasure to be joining you this afternoon for another incredible milestone in this school’s long history, and I thank your Headmaster, Mr Anthony Micallef, for inviting me to be here.

In July 1912, when my Vice-Regal forebear, Sir William MacGregor officially opened the school’s first science wing, he said that it marked an important point in the history of education in Queensland. Rather presciently, he also said that while BGS was “not starting the locomotive of education for the first time”, it was “going to be putting on more steam”.

Now, over 100 years later, this magnificent state-of-the-art STEAM Precinct, is testament to a continuing drive by BGS to be ahead of the curve—to anticipate a future that will most definitely require imagination together with critical thinking.

Alongside its impressive high-tech facilities, laboratories, art studios, and 300-seat auditorium, this stunning six-story building also represents a transformative shift in education.

Here, students will benefit from a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach that enables the creativity and humanity of the Arts to blend seamlessly with Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, preparing the boys for a world that values entrepreneurship, ingenuity, and flexibility. 

I am so pleased, to see the principles of wonder and design being integrated into the sciences, generating a combination of qualities that will forge the ground-breaking, even life-saving discoveries of tomorrow.

I know that from its beginnings, BGS has been built on the generosity of its donors—its loyal Old Boys, parents, teachers, industry partners and many enthusiastic supporters who over successive generations have enabled the school to grow, develop and flourish.

As the largest and most ambitious capital project in the school’s history, the forward-thinking vision of this amazing STEAM Precinct could not have been realised without your effort and assistance.

And so, I thank each of you here today, for your extraordinary altruism, which has helped create this remarkable Precinct that I know will benefit many young men into the future.

I also commend architect and past student, Hamilton Wilson, for designing such a unique space—which I look forward to touring following the official proceedings—and I extend my congratulations to the Board of Trustees, the Headmaster, the construction experts, and all those involved in bringing this visionary project to life.

It now gives me great pleasure to declare THE BGS STEAM PRECINCT officially open and unveil a plaque commemorating this special occasion. Thank you.