Harold Baker MSC, eulogy and tributes

Harold Baker was well esteemed by everyone.  His friend and co-community confrere, Jim Littleton, offered this eulogy.  Other tributes follow.  Funeral photos courtesy of John Walker MSC.

Harold Baker was born in November 1923, just over 97 years ago. He grew up in Rose Bay. He has described his parents as people of "deep faith" who were "very open and enthusiastic and practice of their faith close quote. He came to know the Missionaries of the Sacred friend was the younger brother of an MSC, John McGhee. Harold attended the Apostolic School for the last two years of his secondary education and, after the novitiate, he took his first vows in February 1943.

He completed seven years of seminary training at Croydon monastery and was ordained in Melbourne by Archbishop Mannix in July 1949. He had desires of being a missionary in Papua, but his first appointment was to the teaching staff of Downlands College in Toowoomba, where he gained a love and appreciation of the Ministry of education and remained in that for the rest of his life.

The appointment to Downlands lasted only two years, After which he was appointed to Chevalier College in Bowral initially as College Bursar and later as Sports Master. Being Bursar gave him a lifelong interest in finances, and in later years he was the community Bursar at Daramalan and a member of the Board of Management of Mingarra, MSC residential development of the former Croydon monastery.

After six years at Chevalier College, Harold was transferred back to Downland's as a teacher and dormitory master. I have memories of working with Harold when I was Director of Senior Studies at Downlands, 1962-1965. Con Jordan was the Director of Junior Studies; Harold and Val Patterson were in charge of discipline which we now call Pastoral Care. As four Assistant Principals, we were a strong organisational team supporting a fine Rector, John Mooney.

My memories of Harold from those days are of a very wise and just person who related well with students could understand their issues. He was also the Swimming Coach and I still have memories of him swimming strongly and effortlessly up and down the pool after the students vacated it. No doubt he learned to swim years before at Rose Bay.

Harold had study leave in 1969 it, where he completed a BA degree specialising in Mathematics. He was Principal of Downlands for the next six years. Despite suffering frequently from migraine headaches, he led the College very effectively and represented it well at all public locations. Migraine headaches were an affliction that plagued Harold for much of the rest of his life; he endured it patiently and without complaint.

Harold would claim as one of his achievements the introduction of co-education for Years 11 and 12 students at Downlands. Downlands was the first MSC school to do this; the others did the same in the years that followed. It was a joint venture with St Ursula's College. Since then the MSC have always seen co-education as a better preparation for life – one of the boarding houses  at Downlands has been named in honour of Harold, Baker House.

When Harold's term as rector of down man's expired, he was transferred to Daramalan College in Canberra where he became the new Deputy Principal and took responsibility for the year 11-12 section of the College, In this capacity he was an excellent support to me as he could be relied upon to gently maintain peace and order in that section of the College time of widespread student unrest in society; and under his guidance the students did change.

Later that year, 1975, Harold and I spent some time in the United States visiting secondary schools from which we hoped to learn something of value that could be implemented at Daramalan. Harold was particularly impressed by a Teacher-Advisor system and was able to implement that at Darmalan soon after. It involved a teacher meeting on a daily basis with about 15 students from different year groups to support, direct and guide them. It has worked well, and, as far as I know, still operates in a modified form.

With the advent of co-education for the senior classes at Daramalan in 1977, Harold introduced Ballroom Dancing as an Enrichment subject for years 11-12. It became very popular and soon over 100 students would gather once a week in the evening in McCowage Hall to take the course. Many female students came from the nearby Braddon Catholic Girls High School, now called Meerici College. The course culminated in a Debutante Ball toward the end of the year.

Harold was an excellent dancer himself, very agile on his feet, and enjoyed being able to assist young people towards some of the refinements of education. At the Debutante Ball he looked the part and always the one to whom the debutantes and their partners were presented. On one occasion that person was the Governor-General of Australia. Harold continued this ministry for over 30 years

Harold’s subjects at Daramalan initially were Mathematics and Religious Education. The ACT system of education is different from that of all other states in that it involves both School Based Curriculum and School Based Assessment. Which were distinctly his, while being approved by the Board of Secondary School Studies. They were "Becoming a Person" and "Preparation for Marriage". They were very popular with students. A past student wrote of them in a later College Year Book that "Fr Baker presented illuminating classes on the beauty and dignity of human sexuality.

In July 1999 Harold celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination. Bishop Pat Power, whom Harold had taught at Chevalier College years before, and who will be attending the burial at Douglas Park this afternoon, joined us for the celebratory dinner. A past student, Kate Hages, gave the following lovely tribute to Harold on that occasion:

Fr Baker was present to us and our community (Years 11-12) by walking in it. He taught us, spent time with us in the quad, listened deeply and we knew without overt recognition that he was there for us. Only as the years pass do we reflect and appreciate that he lived the lessons of the heart for us."

Several hundred Daramalan past students have written similar words of appreciation of Harold on Facebook in recent days.

Ministry extended beyond Daramalan College. Like many of us in the early years, he took his turn in celebrating weekend Masses at Aranda and Page and elsewhere. He fostered for many one of the 4 Lay MSC groups in Canberra. The group met on a monthly basis and appreciated his spiritual insights. Harold was also the chaplain for many years to one of the Teams of Our Lady, and he enjoyed the friendships that this group provided.

In the 1990s Harold produced a variety of leaflets of varying length. One, entitled "The Heritage and Spirit” (24 pages) has been used extensively in all four MSC schools. Another was concerned with the Marian Dimension of the MSC charism. There were others about his "Trekking in Nepal" and his "Experience in Israel"

Harold lived at Daramalan for 45 years, which, of course, is a record. He was the Religious Superior of the MSC community on two occasions and community Bursar for most of those 45 years. He was an exemplary religious. He was always at Community Mass, unless migraine is prevented him. He cherished evening community prayer.

In the things that he mastered. He was wise and prudent in decision-making. He was always a welcoming host to any visitors. He was kind and non-judgemental by nature; rarely have I known him to complain or criticise; he exhibited patience and contentment – in fact he has reminded me of the smiling Buddha. In brief, Harold reflected the MSC charism in a wonderful way and exemplified number 32 of our Constitutions:

"Ours is a spirit of family," formed by kindness and understanding, mutual forgiveness, by gentleness, humility and simplicity, by hospitality "and a sense of humour"

All who have lived with Harold are the richer for the experience. May he rest in the peace of God's love which he cherished.

TRIBUTES

From Chevalier College

The following is an excerpt from Fr Franzmann's book "This Many Faceted Gem":

Fr Harold came to Chevalier in 1952 after ordination and two years teaching at Downlands.  He was appointed to be the school bursar and to continue his studies of mathematics at university.  The plan for studies proved impossible, but while he was bursar he taught General Mathematics to the seniors.  In 1955, Fr O'Bryan took over as bursar and Fr Baker was placed in charge of senior discipline and the senior dormitory.  Then he also became sports master, in the days when the sports master took a leading role in all of the sports: coach of the first XI, coach of the first XV, manager of the athletics.  To a great extent, Fr Baker filled the man of all purposes role that Fr Tyler had until he returned to Downlands at the end of 1956.  As bursar, he was involved with all the business dealings of the college, including major undertakings like the purchase of Bosco House and, at the end of his time, the initial planning of the Kelly wing.  He cared for maintenance, directing the brothers in their tasks.  He is remembered with affection by he senior students he cared for as house master; he taught them Mathematics and Physics, and recalls them with like affection, and is unwilling to accept the assessment they sometime make of themselves that they were a difficult lot in his time".

From Downlands

Downlands Magazine 1975, Harold's last year here, has a report on his 25th Jubilee.  His parents attended. 25 priests con-celebrated and some 70 priests were present for the occasion from Toowoomba and surrounding dioceses. 19 of those years had been spent at Downlands - the last six as the 8th Rector (1970-75). Many fine tributes were paid to him "for his priestly example, his humane understanding and his unflagging interest in the pillars and the persons that are Downlands."

Fr Val Patterson continues these words of praise in his report in 1976: he writes: "Only the all-knowing Lord. whom he clearly served in all he did, can adequately record what Fr Baker gave to Downlands as priest and teacher, Dormitory Master, friend and guide, Headmaster and Administrator, during his 19 years at Downlands. During his last six years as Rector, the College developed enormously; it was with his initiative and leadership that co-education at downlands was conceived, planned, worked out and made so fruitful. The organizational structure of the school was changed with Form Masters and Subject Masters appointed. The Radford report was introduced and, through many difficulties, was made to work efficiently. Day students were enrolled; Christians of other denominations were welcomed. On the physical side, the Cuskelly Library and additional science rooms were built and the 1975 classroom (Dwyer Hall) block was made possible, planned and begun. Through his many activities in the Association of Independent schools, and the headmasters Conference, the Association of the catholic Schools Principals, the Queensland Priorities Commission of the of the Australian Schools' Commission, through his energy and generosity, he contributed to education in the whole of Queensland. Both downlands and Queensland, I have no hesitation in saying, owe Fr Baker a great debt of gratitude.  

 Writing in his book, Downlands the First Fifty years, 1981, Fr John Mooney dedicates Chapter 12 to Co-education, (17 pages) and after only 10 years tried to assess Co-education at Downlands and Fr Bakers part in it. In the chapter Fr Baker offers his own impressions of those days.

I dont have any hesitation in naming Harold as a Great Downlander. Vince Carroll MSC