Kia ora school, e noho please be seated. 

I’d like to invite Oswald House Prefect, Noah Rogers, forward to deliver today’s reading. 

Today’s reading comes from 1 Peter Chapter 4,  verses 10-11 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  

This is the word of the Lord (thanks be to God) 

Rector Comments: 

Thank you, Noah.  

Today we have two very special guests on the stage with us, John and Michelle O’Sullivan. They are parents of former students so they know Lindisfarne well, but today they have been invited to the College to receive College Honours in recognition of the incredible service and commitment they have made to our College over the past then years. John and Michelle’s service goes beyond Lindisfarne to the wider Hawkes Bay, Central Hawke’s Bay and East Coast communities as you will hear about later in the assembly. Please welcome Mr and Mrs O’Sullivan. 

The focus of my speech today is related to our honoured guests and so I look forward to addressing you later.  

I will now invite Cultural Prefect, Josef Oosthuizen, forward to update us on the latest Arts and Cultural news. 

Cultural Report:  

Silent Film – Mr Selfe last term 

In the last week of term 3, our year 7/8 students and a group of music students had the opportunity to see two silent films that featured Charlie Chaplin. The silent films were accompanied live on piano by Mr Selfe. Percussion and sound effects were performed by pro percussionist Mr Jeremy Fitzsimon. This was an awesome and unique experience. Thanks to Mr Selfe for bringing this to the College.  

Bible Reading competition 

Recently the senior and junior Bible reading competition took place in the auditorium. Congratulations to all boys that entered and prepared a reading for this. In first place in the junior section was Felix Bromhead. In the senior section, Corby Allison was awarded first prize.  

Could Felix and Corby please come forward to accept their certificates.  

Auditions for Production  

Auditions for next year’s senior musical production of Westside Story (School Edition) with Iona College will be next Wednesday and Thursday evenings with call backs for lead rolls on Saturday. If you have registered for this, please look out for notices and emails about your audition time.   

Concert to Honour Mr Snowling  

We wish our Concord Symphonic Band and pipers all the best for tomorrow’s concert to honour brass tutor Mr Snowling. Mr Snowling made a huge contribution to the performing arts at the College over many years, so it will be a privilege to play to him tomorrow. 

Rector Comments: 

Thank you, Josef.  I will now invite Sports Prefect, Matt McKendry, forward to update us on the latest Sports news: 

Sports Report: 

Good afternoon school, it is my pleasure to read the sports report this week. 

In Jujitsu 

Max Russell competed at the Wellington regionals achieving a first place in the men's under 74kg no gi event and a third place in men's under 90kg gi event. At the Taranaki regionals, Max was placed first in the men's under 76kg gi and men's open weight gi. He also placed second in men's under 74kg no gi event and third in men's open weight no gi event. A fine achievement! 

In Life Saving 

Three of our Intermediate students, Wiremu Geary, Hamish McLaren and William Kilpatrick, represented Waimarama Surf Life Saving Club during the holidays at the AON New Zealand Pool Rescue Championships held in Auckland. All three boys achieved top 10 placings, an outstanding effort on the national stage. A special mention to Wiremu, who swam his heart out to win a silver medal in an obstacle relay alongside juniors from clubs across Aotearoa.  

In Swimming 

Sam Skidmore competed at the New Zealand Short Course swimming championships in Auckland during the holidays. Sam did exceptionally well and qualified for three Open finals. He also broke two longstanding HBPB records in the 50m and 100m freestyle events. Sam had 5 top five placings in the 50m, 100m, 200m freestyle events as well as the 50m and 100m butterfly events. The 100m freestyle record had stood for 21 years. Congratulations Sam! 

In Boxing 

Austin McDougall competed in the New Zealand Boxing Championships and won the 90kg Youth Heavyweight Division. Austin was up against the 2025 North Island Golden Gloves Champion in the semi-final, winning with a 4-1 Split decision. The final on Saturday night was won on a 4/1 split decision making it a comfortable victory. He has been re-selected for the New Zealand youth development squad and will represent New Zealand against an Australian invitational team in Wellington early next month. 

In Rugby (European Tour) 

Our Senior Rugby teams travelled across to France and the United Kingdom during the holiday period and all reports suggest an incredible experience both on and off the field. Sincere thanks are extended to Mr Spriggens who organised the tour and Mr Bell, Mr Simutoga and Mr Hakeney who accompanied the boys. The results were as follows: 

2nd XV lost to Massy U18 (10-64), before securing wins against Glenalmond College 2nd XV (20-14), Sedbergh 3rd XV (27-24). They rounded off the tour against Barnard Castle/St Peter’s York 2nd XV, losing 14-22. 

1st XV lost to Racing U18 39-42 before producing some outstanding performances in beating Stade Francis U18 (31-19), Glenalmond College 1st XV (55-0), Sedbergh 2nd XV (51-10) and Barnard Castle/St Peter’s York 1st XV 26-12.  

Well done to all concerned! 

In Hockey 

During the school holidays, several Lindisfarne students proudly represented Hawke’s Bay in regional hockey campaigns, achieving some outstanding results with the under 15 Black team coming second in Tier 1 and the under 15 White team winning the Tier 2 competition. 

Well done to George Foote, Rupert McKimm and Cooper Witheford (HB Black), Angus Gardiner, Leo Fowler and Henry Heald (HB White).  

The under 13 Tier 1 representatives, who went through the tournament undefeated, included Samuel Dirks, Oscar Fitness and Reeve Fan-Robertson. Flynn Webber and George Wickham competed in the Tier 2 event. 

In Golf 

Luke Jarvis competed in the the Hawkes Bay Age Group Championships finishing 3rd in the Boys Gross category. He also represented Hawkes Bay at the New Zealand Eagles National U17 Championships, which took place at the Boulcotts Farm Heritage Golf Club in Wellington. Luke shot rounds of 72 and 71 to finish 1st in the boys Under 17 Stableford and 3rd equal in the Boys Under 17 Gross events. 

Luke teamed up with Ruby Jarvis and Devon Henare for the Teams event, which saw strong competition from 15 provinces. Luke, Ruby, and Devon played outstanding golf over the two days, ultimately winning the Teams event. This is the first time a Hawkes Bay team has won this event.  

Luke also represented Hawkes Bay at the Junior Inter-provincial tournament which was held at the Cambridge Golf Club. Luke played at No 6 and had a great week winning 5 out of 6 games. The team finished in 4th place after a countback on game points. 

The Hawkes Bay Age Groups Championship saw four of our boys competing. George Pogson (1st), Luke Jarvis (3rd), Sam Allen (4th) and Jack Bernie (9th) are to be congratulated on this fine achievement! 

In Rugby 

Over the holidays, several of our intermediate boys proudly represented their regions in the Ross Shield and Wakely Shield rugby tournaments. In the Ross Shield Tournament, Brody Chambers played for Hastings West, helping his team make history by winning all five games, the first time in six years Hastings West has achieved a clean sweep. We also had seven Lindisfarne boys, Magnus Jones, Levi McEntee, Duke Shanley, Ben Common, Charlie Marsden, Alby Redmond, and William Kilpatrick competing for Hastings East in the Wakely Shield Tournament. The team had a strong campaign with three wins and two losses, finishing fourth overall. A special mention to Levi McEntee, who was named in the Wakely Shield Tournament Team, an outstanding individual achievement. 

In Shooting 

At the Regional Fish & Game, North Island and National Skeet championships during the holiday, in the North Island Single Rise event, Charlie Hutchinson shot 10/10 Single Barrel and was placed 2nd Junior in the shoot-off. Robbie Logan finished 3rd in the North Junior Points Score category. 

The A squad of Josh Snijders, Oscar Hunter, Charlie Bothamley, Jacob Mathers and Duncan Logan on a score of 275 / 300 were 2nd in the Points Score team’s event.  

Oscar Von Dadelszen carried his form into the New Zealand event with both him & Duncan Logan shooting 25/25 Single Rise. Duncan finished 3rd in the Open category and Oscar 3rd in the Junior event. 

Duncan was also 3rd in the Fish and Game Single Rise Trophy match. 

In the New Zealand Single Barrel event, Oscar Von Dadelszen placed 1st with Oscar Hunter finishing 2nd in the Junior category. 

Duncan Logan, finishing on a day score of 112/115, was selected in the North Island boys’ team who, in the match late in the day, defeated the South team. 

Rectors comments: 

Thank you, Matt.  

Please join me in singing the National anthem God Defend New Zealand 

Rector Comments:  

And so we now move to our Honours Awards. 

John and Michelle O’Sullivan’s first association with the Lindisfarne was in 2007 when their son Daniel enrolled in the school as a Year 7 student. Daniel was followed by Rory, who attended from 2016 to 2020. And so began a special connection between the O’Sullivans and Lindisfarne College. 

John and Michelle also set up the Evergreen Scholarship for Lindisfarne College in 2015. This is a fund that allocates funds to families each year who are enrolling their son in Year 9 at the College. The Scholarship pays for boarding fees and is what often makes the difference to enable a young person to attend this College. I know there are many of you boys sitting here today who know Michelle and John and know what a huge difference they have made for you and your family. And that’s why today we honour them both with a special Lindisfarne College Tie and Scarf. It’s our way of saying congratulations on all they’ve achieved, but more importantly it’s our way of saying thank you for their selfless acts of generosity and kindness   

In 1978 at the age of 17, John joined his father at Tumu, a name that will be familiar to you all. 

In 1981 they purchased land at Maraekakaho Road and set up Tumu Timbers in Hastings. What began as a 1.0ha operation, today covers over 9.0ha of land at the same site. 

They become a shareholder in Kiwi Lumber and a sawmill in Dannevirke was purchased. From there it’s an amazing story of visionary investment and the building of several companies that are now not only for commercial success, but for never staying from their core family values of respect and kindness for their staff and their families. Everyone who works for their companies, feels connected and loyalty is a theme that runs deep. 

In 2023 the O'Sullivan family received the Entrepreneur of the Year Family Enterprise Award of Excellence 

The award recognizes entrepreneurs who lead successful, multigenerational family enterprises with unique attributes such as resilience, strong values, long-term vision, and entrepreneurial spirit. 

This year John was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and philanthropy. So he was on the King’s Honour’s list. This is what the citation said when he was presented with his honour: 

“Through Tumu Group, Mr O’Sullivan has invested significantly in local infrastructure and organisations including the Hawke’s Bay Community Fitness Trust, Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union, Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter, the Hawke’s Bay Foundation, Te Mata Peak Trust and Kaweka Hospital. 

“In 2014, along with his wife Michelle and other members of his whanau, he set up Tumu Group’s charitable arm, The Evergreen Foundation. The Foundation established a scholarship programme for rangatahi (or young people) at Lindisfarne College and a health fund supporting second opinions in cancer and other specialist services. Through the Evergreen Foundation, Mr O’Sullivan created the Cyclone Gabrielle Relief Fund, raising more than $3.4m for the East Coast region’s recovery, with a special focus on the heavily impacted horticultural and agricultural sectors.”  

I can tell you boys that many of our boarding families received money from the Evergreen Foundation to enable them to transport boys back and forth to school. And this occurred at all boarding schools in our region. 

In addition, Michelle and John, through our Evergreen hardship fund, paid College and boarding fees on behalf of families to ensure they could stay at Lindisfarne.  

So today we say thank you John and Michelle, on behalf of all of us and on behalf of all those who have gone before and who have benefited from your generosity. Please also know that Dr John Wakeman, the former College Council Chair who served the  

College for 40 years and who sadly passed away earlier this year, asked me personally to ensure that you were both presented with honours, so today we honour John’s wishes too.  

Thank you both for all you have done for our College and I hope the association between you both, your wider family and Lindisfarne continues long into the future.  

Thank you. 

Campbell Howlett 

Lindisfarne College has no finer example of a servant leader than Deputy Rector, Campbell Howlett. His tenure at the College has been marked by dedication, sacrifice and unwavering loyalty. There are very few roles within the College that he has not undertaken in his almost 18 years as Deputy Rector and he has also served as Acting Rector on numerous occasions. Mr Howlett is a proud Lindisfarne Old Boy, as is his son Oliver, and his devotion to the College helps to set the tone for the character education embodied in the Lindisfarne Way. Much of what Mr Howlett does at the College goes on in the background and ensures the smooth running of everything from chapels and assemblies to major school events.  

He has been actively involved in all four cornerstones of the College. He has coached and managed 1st XI hockey and football teams and is always available to travel and support our boys. He is a nationally qualified football referee and has taken many tours overseas. The Performing Arts have been a particular interest of Mr Howlett’s and he has been stage manager of numerous productions as well as designing and building sets. He has been the Pipe Major of the Pipe Band and performed this task with his trademark enthusiasm and commitment. The Technology Department have also benefitted from this dedication as Campbell stepped in to take some technology classes in a crisis and is now a valued member of the department. 

Mr Howlett’s dedication to the College has been his driving force and he has unselfishly sacrificed much of his personal and family time to serve. Boys I know that you agree with me when I say Lindisfarne would not be the same without Mr Campbell Howlett. 

Full school Haka 

Reverend Dunnett will now close our assembly in prayer. 

Article added: Monday 13 October 2025