Background of Ray Whiteman
RAY WHITEMAN BRIEF HISTORY.
BORN: 31/5/1927 at Erskineville, an inner suburb of Sydney.
FAMILY MEMBERS: 6 boys and one girl. Ray was the fifth child.
FATHER’S OCCUPATION: A labourer who worked as a sawyer. He was out of work a lot during the Depression and depended on Relief Work. At one time, after a long spell of unemployment, he finally landed a job only to have the Union go out on strike. He died in 1935 leaving Mrs Whiteman to bring up the family.
ATTENDED SCHOOL:. Ray went to Lewisham CBC until he completed his Intermediate, and at the age of 15 in 1941, he went to the Juniorate at Strathfield where he finished his schooling. He then trained as a teacher in the CB training college.
POSTINGS: He was sent to teach in New Zealand and remained there till 1952 when he made his final profession. He was then able to go home for a short stay with his family. This was the first time he had been home with the family since he went to the Juniorate ten years earlier. After this brief visit he was sent back to New Zealand where he remained till 1958. During this time Ray studied for his B.A. through the University of New Zealand completing it by correspondence in 1959 after he returned to Australia.
His first appointment in Australia was to Gregory Terrace at the beginning of 1959. He only had a brief meeting with his family on his way to Brisbane. The CBs were men in a hurry and had little time to spare for personal time, they were “soldiers of Christ” and as such were expected to follow the Rule of the Congregation to the letter. Although Ray thought this haste was unreasonable he obeyed and went to Gregory Terrace as directed.
Appointed as Principal to St. Columban’s Albion, he arrived there at the beginning of 1962 and took up the completion of Duhig Hall which had been commenced by Br. Gunn the previous year. St. Columban’s was at the beginning of the greatest expansion in its 70 year history and Ray set about enthusing the parents to build a College worthy of their sons. St. Columban’s became a “college in its own right” instead of being a feeder school for the more prestigious colleges such as Terrace, Nudgee and Downlands.
LEFT CBC: At the end of 1967, Ray left the Congregation to which he had devoted his life since he went to the Juniorate in 1941. He was beginning a new phase of life at the age of 40 and it was to be marked with the same fire, determination and success that characterised the earlier phase.
His dispensation from the CB Congregation came through at Easter, 1968, just in time for him to marry Anne and catch the plane to Calgary, Canada. Here he was to be Superintendent of Religious Education for the Calgary Catholic School system. There were 1400 lay teachers and a handful of religious all of whom needed help in the field of Religious Education as many of them had not been trained in the subject.
Ray was to stay for 15 years and in the process try to reform the system as he had done at Columban’s. Realising that he needed more education himself he obtained leave and went to Note Dame University at South Bend, Indiana, one of the great Catholic Universities of the USA. He was given leave to complete his Master of Arts and was so successful that he stayed on to finish his Phd in Religious Education and so became Doctor Whiteman.
In 1982, it was time to move on again and Ray resigned his position at Calgary. On his return to Australia he was invited to take up a Lectureship in Religious Education at the Catholic Teachers College, Dutton Park. This, in time, became part of the Australian Catholic University and Ray continued on at Mitchelton till he retired in 1983.
HEART PROBLEMS: Problems with his heart slowed him down until a successful by pass operation at Christmas, 1995 enabled him to function better. While still fighting arthritis, he
has obtained relief by a course of injections.
HOME AND GARDENS: In retirement Ray and Anne have spent much time in landscaping their home at Priestdale and nurturing the local fauna.
Conclusion. Ray Whiteman is one of a rare breed of men. He is an idealist who believes in truth, justice, compassion and a fair go for all. He believes in the innate goodness of people who are created in the image of a loving God, and that if they are led by example and encouraged, they will perform miracles. This was what happened at St. Columban’s Albion when he became Principal. He trusted the parents, gave them their head and they did the rest. A miracle happened and the impossible was made possible.
Ray’s life has been a constant battle against overwhelming odds and he has never given up, he has always accepted the challenge, and won, mostly. He is a fighter and he fights for what he believes. This usually involves the welfare of others, students, parents, friends, relatives, neighbours. Love of neighbour is important and treating others as self, likewise. The Golden Rule always shines through, even though the students could not always see it.
Among the challenges Ray has faced are:
The challenge of poverty in his childhood and youth, where he had the example of his mother to show him how it was beaten.
The challenge of being a Christian Brother who was always expected to teach boys whatever subject they needed to be taught wherever they needed to be taught, where he had the example of numerous Brothers to show him how to succeed.
The challenge of reforming the Religious Education in a school system, where he had the example of Edmund Rice to show him how it could be done.
Ray has not finished yet; he is fighting one more battle. The cancer is not going to beat him. His spirit is undimmed and he has the example of Christ to show him how he can win, again.
This article was prepared by Saint Columban’s College Historian Pat O’Shea.
Pat’s address is 52 Royal Street VIRGINIA 4014 Telephone (07) 3260 7384