After a distinguished career spanning decades, Michael Owen, a name synonymous with both Emmanuel College and the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club, stepped into retirement from teaching at the end of last year. Known for his quiet dedication and leadership, Mr Owen leaves behind a flourishing legacy for outdoor education for Emmanuel students today and into the future.
As both a past student and now, past teacher of Emmanuel, Mr Owen’s memories of school go back a long way, to his days as a Form I (Year 7) student in 1977. It’s no surprise that most of his memories are connected with sport, both because of his own interests, and that CBC throughout its history fostered participation and success in a wide variety of sports. For Mr Owen, this was basketball, volleyball, swimming and football. Throughout his time as a student he was an enthusiastic participant in all sorts of team and individual sports, and loved when the annual athletics day would come around.
“I was not a great athlete, but they were fun days.” He says.
Recollections of the Billy Cart Race, where each year level had to build a cart with a designated number of wheels, brings to mind some fantastic, albeit ruthless, examples of teamwork for him. While memories of Mat Ball, a game played in PE which had few rules, brings an immediate grin to his face, as he describes it as “a pretty brutal game where you just had to get your ball to the mat.”
His dedication to sporting pursuits both in and out of school led to him being named the 1981 CBC Sportsman of the Year as a Year 11 student.
CBC also lay the foundation for Mr Owen pursuing a teaching career. He recalls vividly the arrival of his first lay PE teacher in Year 9 – Mr Bryan McGarvie, and highlights these PE lessons as being one of his early influences for a career in teaching.
However, it was the influence of Mr John Hingston that left an enduring impression on a young Micheal. In addition to spotting Mr Hingston regularly at the beach, Mr Owen was inspired by the way Mr Hingston creatively captured the attention of his broadly sports-mad students in the sciences. “He was always looking for different ways to present things. I wasn’t a really great science student, but he taught me Chemistry in Year 12 and Physics in Year 11. . . and it’s probably the only reason I hung in there with it because of the stuff he used to do.”
Following his tertiary studies and some early work at Portland High School, a chance meeting with Mr Hingston led to Mr Owen promptly taking up a position teaching science at CBC Warrnambool. The decision to return proved to be a perfect fit, and quickly saw Mr Owen innovating in the space and taking on various leadership roles. Through his 30-plus years of teaching, Mr Owen has been Sports Coordinator, Year 8 Coordinator, and Year 9 Coordinator, and through all of this has seen great change in the delivery of education, and the broad attitude of students towards their schooling.
“I suppose the thing that I was really happy about was that when I started, the kids came to school and they were doing the traditional school subjects. Then, the feelings of the kids was you have to come to school. And I think over the next 10 or 20 years, things changed where kids wanted to be here because of the stuff they were doing. They knew they were going to be going surfing during the day, or they’re going to be doing something in music.”
Out of all his achievements, Mr Owen sees his role instigating the introduction of Outdoor Education at the College as what he is most proud of. Arriving at the College at the time of the amalgamation, this change created a much larger student base and really enabled the school to expand and be creative with what it could offer. Mr Owen saw this as the perfect opportunity to introduce a subject like Outdoor Ed, as it not only provided students with valuable skills, but also instilled in them a sense of teamwork and resilience. The subject quickly gained popularity among students and grew, soon seeing it offered at VCE level with outstanding results. “I remember in the early 2000s, 10 students out of the 30, got more than 40 on the outdoor exam, which was the highest in the State for that year,”
. . . I think over the next 10 or 20 years, things changed where kids wanted to be here because of the stuff they were doing.Michael Owen
Outside the classroom, Mr Owen’s involvement in surf lifesaving further demonstrates his commitment to community service. As a member of the Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club, he has spent countless hours training and mentoring young lifesavers. His leadership within the club, including his tenure as club president, mirrored his approach at the College—fostering teamwork, dedication, and a sense of responsibility.
He has an impressive list of achievements in surf sports, which sees him regarded as one of the most successful ski paddlers in Victorian Life Saving history. Key titles include:
Michael’s impact extended far beyond his own success. His contributions earned him Life Membership at WSLSC in 1998, and also led to induction as an Emmanuel College Inspiring Alumni in 2019.
Reflecting on his career, Michael acknowledges that both surf lifesaving and teaching have always been about building strong, supportive communities. Teaching in particular brought some new challenges with it each year. His dedication to both in Warrnambool have now continued for decades, and his love for them is still evident.
All the best Mr Owen!
