(A-Z) Homburg, Robert (1848 - 1912)
HONE, Sir BRIAN WILLIAM (1907-1978), headmaster, was born on 1 July 1907 at Semaphore, Adelaide, son of South Australian-born parents Frank Sandland Hone, medical practitioner, and his wife Lucy, née Henderson. Brian was educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide, where he was senior prefect (1924) and captain of tennis and cricket. At the University of Adelaide (B.A. Hons, 1928) he was prominent in student life and won Blues in cricket, football and tennis. Despite a very large, almost lumbering, frame, Hone was quick on his feet and had remarkable ball sense. During the 1929-30 cricket season he opened the batting for South Australia, scoring a century against Victoria and averaging nearly 50. Solid in defence, he scored heavily off the back foot, punching the ball with powerful forearms. He was thought to merit Test selection.
In September 1930 Hone went to New College, Oxford (B.A., 1932; M.A., 1938), on a Rhodes scholarship that led to an important friendship with Sir Francis Wylie, warden of Rhodes House. He achieved honours in English—C. S. Lewis was his tutor—through well-organized hard work, and won Blues in cricket and tennis. Twice in three years his mature batting saved the Oxford XI from defeat by Cambridge, the highlight being an innings of 167 in 1932. Next year he was a shrewd and forceful team captain.
From 1933 to 1939 Hone taught at Marlborough College, Wiltshire. Influenced by its master George Turner, he became insatiable in pursuit of good educational ideas and techniques. He hosted discussions about them long into the night, especially when made head of the new department of English. The multifaceted life of a boarding school intrigued him, and the strength of Marlborough's music and art astonished him. His enduring love of fine printing led him to establish the Marlborough College Press in 1934. He enjoyed being in charge of things and was a meticulous games coach. Along formal English lines, but with a relaxed Australian tone and a schoolteacher's eye, he wrote Cricket Practice and Tactics (London, 1937). It was the height of his literary achievement.
Select Bibliography
Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, Liber Melburniensis (Melb, 1965); J. W. Hogg, Our Proper Concerns (Syd, 1986); C. E. Moorhouse, Challenge and Response (Melb, 1989); Independence, 3 July 1978; Age (Melbourne), 1 Aug 1950, 28 Feb 1969, 27 July 1978; newsclippings, letters and other papers (privately held). More on the resources
Author: Weston Bate
Print Publication Details: Weston Bate, 'Hone, Sir Brian William (1907 - 1978)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, pp 481-483.
