Khaya Majola Week brings a fitting end to Graeme College’s 150th celebrations
It is fitting that Graeme College’s 150th celebrations will conclude with the annual Khaya Majola Week that is being hosted in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) from 16 to 20 December.
Cricket has been an integral part of extra-curricular activities at the school since its establishment back in 1873. The school was founded as Grahamstown Undenominational Public School until it was renamed Victoria High School for Boys in 1910.
During the process of registering the school’s crest in 1938 at the College of Heraldry, the school needed a new crest as it had been using the Grahamstown Municipality’s crest since its inception.
It was then decided that the time was right for the school to be renamed Graeme College.
Back to cricket – the school has only produced one Protea in Jon-Jon Smuts but it has been producing first-class cricketers for many years. First-class players who went to Graeme include Lorrie Wilmot (Eastern Province and Border), Peter Emslie (Border), Wayne Wiblin (Border), and Kelly Smuts (Warriors).
Currently, the school’s cricket program under the leadership of Greg von Molendorff plays a pivotal role in Cricket South Africa’s pipeline as they are a Focus School with CSA Blue Chip Status. This status was awarded back in 2019 and it underlines the important role the school plays in the development of cricketers.
Schools are measured against the Schools Quality Index (SQI); schools that achieve 90 percent on the SQI assessment are awarded the official CSA Blue Chip Status for that year. An annual assessment is done of all schools to monitor their progress against the Index and schools will be incentivised in various ways to encourage them to improve their score on the SQI.
Von Mollendorff has coached the First XI at Graene since 2016 replacing the legendary Graemian Ian Suttie (1982-2016). Former Griqualand West cricketer Titch Searle coached the First XI from 1950 until 1972. He made a major contribution to building the legacy of Graeme College’s cricketing program.
The highest recorded innings by a player at the school belongs to Lorrie Wilmot who scored a double-century (204*) against Victoria Park in 1959. Jon-Jon Smuts has scored the most centuries for the First XI with 14, between 2004 and 2006.
The best bowling figures belong to a certain D Kearney during the 1926 season when he grabbed all of St Aiden’s College’s wickets at the cost of 118 runs. The Victoria High School for Boys surprisingly still lost the match.
Makhanda has become known to be a haven for feral donkeys. The president of the Eastern Province Cricket Union, Leon Coetzee, even welcomed the boys and coaches during the opening function of the Khaya Majola Week with the words “Welcome to Makhanda, the home of potholes and donkeys,”. There is even a restaurant in town called The Pothole & Donkey.
Legend has it that some of the donkeys carry the genes of a mule named Moscow – that was responsible for pulling the pitch mower at Graeme. Moscow was an important member of the school’s cricket staff in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Unlike today’s mowers and rollers used on the school’s modern facilities, the famous mule was also known to fertilize the pitch while mowing.
Graeme College’s motto is Virtute et Opera which means “through courage and hard work”. The school has truly embraced and lived its motto during the first 150 years of the school’s existence.
Additional Sources:
*Graeme College: an illustrated history through 15 decades by Peter Breetzke & Erne van Hille
*Graeme College’s official website
