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Interview with Angelo Haggiyannes – 1974
Angelo was day boy, with a brother Paul who matriculated in 1970. Angelo acknowledged that
the boarding facility had held the school together with its team spirit and sport especially
suffered when the boarding closed, the numbers declined and the spirit wasn’t there. In 1974
there were 263 pupils in the high school and then 1 boy was expelled.
He recalled his first day in standard 4 in 1968, Mrs Kempster was the headmistress and he met
his first friend playing marbles in the area next to what is now the Chapel of Mary. He was
originally at H A Jack and then his father decided to send him and his brother to St David’s. His
brother went into standard 6.
He was captain of the B swimming team, captain of the athletics team and played rugby until
standard 7 when he was badly injured, his left arm still shows the results of that injury. He was
awarded an honours blazer which he still has. He wasn’t a great academic, but had an ability
with the written word and did take part in the debating society and drama. He played the lead
role of Thomas More in the play ”Man for All Seasons”. It was during rehearsals at Rosebank
Convent that he saw Rosemary, his wife for the first time and said to his friend “that’s the girl I
am going to marry”. Four of the boys in his year married girls from Rosebank Convent.
He was the second non-Catholic pupil to become head boy, the first was Buckley-Jones. He
was elated when made head boy, the competition was strong, but it was the first year that the
boys voted which was probably the reason he was elected. Alan Van Den Handel was vice
head boy and his brothers Rick Standard 8 and Theo followed.
During his time at St David’s there were no black pupils but in 1973 an exchange student came
from the USA, he was black, it caused quite a stir and the school came in for a lot of flak over
this.
He knew Br Anthony and Br Timothy well. Other brothers were Br Mario (Boing) Br Andrew
(Drac) who was mean and drew blood; Br Bernard (he left the brotherhood); Br Aidan who was
involved with the boarders and controlled their purse strings; Father Plestus; Mrs Kempster.
He recalled the stables where the grade 00 block is now and “The Inandas” weren’t there.
Most of the boys in his time did well and went into the corporate environment; some such as
Thierry Dalais became brave and opened their own private financial institutions. Greg Boyes-
Varley, another old boy and Angelo’s surgeon, epitomises what the school stands for “Take
Courage and Be a Man”. Boyes-Varley had a cleft palate and a stutter for which he was
mocked, a humble man who became one of the country’s best maxilla facial surgeons.
His last day was rather a letdown and he remembers some of the boys went to his home for a
few beers. He was a people’s person and knew every boys name in the school. This principle
he took into the business world.
On leaving school he went to Wits and studied for a BA Law, went into the army for two years,
came back and did an LLB and was admitted as an attorney in 1986. He practised for five years
and then went into insurance.
MOBS put some money towards the bar in the College Pavillion including Mark Waner, Willy
Benson (DBN), Greg Hut (NZ), Alan Van Den Handel, John Koel (Dbn) became an actuary with
Liberty Life, Colin Richardson – senior partner, Mercedes Benz, Rivonia Rd.
JLE November 2011