b'F R O M T H E B E G I N N I N Gsion of ones own ideas or imagination I want a full vocabularyand unhampered self-expression, and when some of these boys areauthors in their own right, we will get the proof-readers to checktheir spelling and full-stopsif there are any patient enough!As for writing lessons, Nimmo would draw two long lines ontheblackboardalongbothedgesofhislargeruler,withoutremoving it. Then he would write Jehova the Jove of the Jewsor some such, which the boys had to copy into their books. Billsown signaturewhich he described as fourteen pothooks andanOwasuniqueandmuchpractised,andoccasionally mastered, by the boys.While he tried to instil in often unwilling minds the essentialgroundworkofknowledge,thepurposeofeducationwas,forNimmo, the development of the character. His aim was to helpeach boy mould himself in accordance with the attributes of theRhodesScholargentleman,scholar,athleteandhewasimmensely proud of Richard Ashburner (191617)the one OldBoy to secure that valued prize and who went on to become aJudge of the Supreme Court. By accepting the Rhodes Scholar ashis model, each boy, gifted or not, would develop a well-roundedcharacter and become a solid and valued citizen.Nonetheless, Nimmo delighted in the acquisition of knowl-edge and scholarly pursuits. As the boys in the upper years pro-gressed under his tutelage, an academic group would emerge ineachclassand,withinthis,competitionbecamequitekeen.Nimmo fostered this, both for its own sake, and for the rewardsit never ceased to bring. Under his guidance, the boys wouldstudy the Sydney Grammar scholarship papers, with the resultthatCoogeePrepwaswellrepresentedovertheyearsintheWeigall,GraingerandTrusteesScholarshipstothatschool.Nimmos boys were equally successful in winning scholarships toThe Scots College, and in gaining entry to selective High Schools,particularlySydneyHigh.In1952hewasabletoclaimthat,since the first scholarship was won to Scots in 1915, Coogee Prephad won a total of 116 to that school alone55 Major and 61Minor Scholarships.4 8'