Anthony Michael Hannon

Anthony Michael Hannon started teaching at Randwick Boys’ High School in 1962, followed by a spell at Fort Street High School. In 1968 he migrated to Canada by ship, 5 weeks across the Pacific Ocean. He lived in Toronto, teaching at Northern Secondary School for 5 years. On his return to Australia, he commenced teaching at Sydney High in 1974. 

As a history teacher, he gave pupils a life-long love of history. He taught critical thinking, sourcing and research methods. He introduced the boys to search engines when the internet was barely a thing. David Farrington recalled:

“One of my favourite classes was my year 9 “war” class.  A history elective whereby Mr Hannon would educate us with war games, strategy analysis and videos which, to the 15 year old, was so cool that we didn’t even realise we were being taught history.”

Hannon made an impact in his first season as a rugby coach at High with the 14s squad in 1974. From 1975 to 1977 he coached the 15s until given the 1st XV in 1978 and was appointed Rugby Master in 1980. He became a name synonymous with hard, running rugby built around disciplined forward play. He was highly respected by his colleagues in GPS rugby. It is said he developed more Waratahs than perhaps anyone else.

In 1993, Hannon's first XV defeated King's School (30-8), beat St Joseph’s College (25-15), won every game but one, produced six members of the GPS firsts, including four who went on to represent Australian Schoolboys (Mark Stcherbina, Jason Jones-Hughes, Caerl Murray and Luke Mann).

Spiro Zavos, founding writer of The Roar, wrote:

“He was a meticulous preparer of the team. His sides were drilled with a combination of plays to select from that were often effective. He selected well, and he had a gift for enthusing his players – especially the backs – to express themselves on the rugby field with dynamic running and clever play. …

All in all though, Tony was a terrific coach. He was enthusiastic and encouraging, but realised rugby is a hard game with collisions as its centrepiece. His players were taught to be tough and hard and smart. But never dirty.

Australian rugby could do with some Tony Hannons at all levels of the game, from the schoolboys to the Test level.”

After 2002, he coached the 13As, 14As and 15As. Still a devoted coach who inspired boys to play the game, he no longer wanted to manage the stress of coaching the 1st XV and getting them prepared psychologically each week.

Notwithstanding his ability as a Rugby coach, Hannon’s game was tennis and he had been a skilled and dedicated player in his youth. It is little known that in the mid-1980s you could find him often around dawn on the school’s tennis courts having a hit with Jamie Morgan, the school’s most recent Old Boy Davis Cup player.

He was the founder and only President of the Sydney High Impecunious Trekkers Society (the “impecunious” was sometimes dropped for official publications to avoid a problematic acronym). Several hundred Old Boys have great memories of adventurous camping trips ranging from 3 to 16 days. In Hannon’s own words (writing in 1991):

“Many times we have tramped in Tasmania, climbed in the high country of the Australian Alps, traversed the Great Dividing Range, waded through swamps, crashed through miles of dense scrub, navigated up and down mazes of ridges, air-boated and li-loed down rivers, explored valleys and tablelands, gazed on plunging waterfalls, moved over the landscape in times of flood and times of drought. For the 90% who never trek this is stupid, even repulsive. Fair enough. I cannot explain why we hike with ten days' of food and equipment hammering us into the earth with every step. All I know is that the disease is incurable - thank God.”

He remained on staff into his 70s and retired from full time teaching at the end of 2014, after 40 years at High.

Many tributes were paid following his death in July 2022. Deputy Principal, Con Barris (1971) said:

“When I first met Tony in 1985 in the then English/History faculty I was so struck by how kind, thoughtful and considerate he was that I thought it wasn’t real. No one is this nice. I was wrong. Over the next 37 years I learnt just how good this beacon of the teaching profession was. We have all been touched by Tony whether by his stories, his actions or his unconditional friendship and support. He cared for all, especially his students. He was a teacher first and foremost. There was never a better colleague who was respected by all.”

Long-serving Principal, Kim Jaggar said of Hannon:

“He loved to talk about sport and history. In my experience, he was one of a kind – accomplished, knowledgeable, humble.”

Luke Mann (1994) said:

“Tony was High Rugby, its heart and soul, not to mention a passionate History teacher … When I think about Tony the words that come to mind are many – gentleman, scholar, mentor, coach, dedicated, prepared, strategist, innovator, passionate.”