Fradam

Across the last few days, there has been a sick story developing, and becoming more localised with more detail each day — the incident taking place in our very own Warringah Mall. It was somewhat disconcerting considering that such a perverse act was taking place in a shopping mall that I’ve known for so long; that there were people like that in my area. Honestly, it shocks me that there are guys out there that are believing that its okay to do things like this; I pray that more news about people being caught stops those who still practice it.

Learning that the man was from Harbord hit even closer to home, having spent a better part of my teenage years in neighbouring Manly High School. However, the latest update (thanks Will), names and shames the perpetrator as a Mr Robert Drummond, a teacher at Cromer High. Those who attended Manly High and read this no doubt were met with immediate shock, as many of us went to school with a science teacher by the name of Mr Drummond! Could this be true… could the originator of this sick crime be someone we had known for 6 years…?

After the initial shock settled passed, the question of “Is that our Drummond?!” began to rise more fervently. After all, how many guys with a surname like ‘Drummond’, would be living in Harbord and teaching?

An investigation to determine this was launched… and resulted in a few reasons to suggest that it was in fact a different Drummond who just happened to live in the area and be a teacher:
- being 41 now, would mean he was 31-37 during the time we knew him at school, and between his balding scalp, and the remaining whispers of hair being reasonably grey, there was a strong claim for him being far older than these news articles would imply
- the teacher referenced in the article taught English, whereas our Drummond was a Science teacher and seemed quite content with staying within that discipline
- Cromer High students have confirmed the presence of a Mr Drummond teaching English there during the same time as a Mr Drummond was teaching Science at Manly High school.

Yep, that about seals it. Different Drummond…

During the investigation however, certain other interesting facts surfaced:
- there was more than one member of the Cromer High staff whom could share some resemblance to Manly Drummond
- there is no Drummond listed in the Manly staff anymore, but there is still one at Cromer.
- Manly Drummond was a teacher who chose not to undertake any other co-curricular activities within the school
- the name Robert Drummond as the teacher of a NSW school has risen before - a different age, a different school and different scandal.

It’s interesting in a way; news and current affairs often seem a little detached; everything happens everywhere else, and even when its local, e.g. the Manly Daily, there is still a certain sense of disenchantment. However, upon seeing a name that was immediately recognisable, and fitting together with so many other local details, it suddenly brought the news right close to home, and for a brief moment, everything seems to be in your own world.

This doesn’t in any way lessen the fact that someone still committed this crime; but it is of some relief to me at least that it was not a teacher that I went to school with, and who taught classes that I sat in. Hopefully whatever punishment is doled out scares off other people who behave like that.