Bob has been a strong supporter of Scotch College and of OSC for a very long time, and he is a member of the Alexander Society, which recognises OSCs who have made provision in their will for the benefit of Scotch College. This interview is an edited part of a much more extensive oral history which Bob has provided to the College. The full oral history and Bob's additional notes are being preserved in the Scotch College Archives.
Bob Howie (OSC 64) was born in Irvine, Scotland and migrated to Perth on the SS Morton Bay in 1950. After a stint at North Perth Primary School, he arrived at Scotch College.
From the compelling figure cut by then Headmaster Dr Maxwell Keys as he strode across the campus in full academic gown to the flying chalk sent across the room by his beloved Latin teacher, Bob recounts some of his most memorable moments as a Scotch boy.
Following a visit to Canberra as a young man fresh out of school, Bob found himself quickly recruited into the ranks of the then Commonwealth government's Department of Air. Foreign Affairs soon called and a series of international postings from the Hague to Bangladesh.
Direct from the Headmaster's Office, Tartan Ties invites you to sit back and listen to our chat between Michael Silbert (OSC 79) and Bob Howie (OSC 64) who shares his incredibly rich and varied life experiences including 'the best years of his life' as a Scotch student.