McLEAN Dan

1979 – 1994

Dan in the Rocky Horror Show

From the School Magazine 1994

Dan McLean retired from King’s in term two after 15 years at the school as Senior Master and for much of that time as Acting Deputy Principal.
Some of his own impressions will probabiy allow us to know him best:
Most impressive thing about King’s * The ‘family feeling’ – the honest endeavour of the staff and the long hours they ALL put in – NOT a one man effort! The way the boys and staff get along, repectful yet friendly.
*The feeling of kinship I experience with members of successive PTSA committees – ‘Roll up your sleeves and get on with it’ – the positive attitude of all.
Jubilee Year (1986)
I was dressed in my old overalls all covered in paint, probably looking pretty untidy, when I came down from morning tea. I saw a minister of the cloth peering at the class photos along the corridor and knowing Ian was busy I walked up and asked ifl could help him. He thanked me and replied quite graciously that he was an old boy of the school and would just wait until a member of the staff came down to help. I then informed him that I was the Senior Master and again offered to assist – the old fellow, somewhat put out, followed me round to my office where I phoned Ian and told him he had an unscheduled visitor.

Memories of musicals
Painting the floor of the Mayfair Theatre well past midnight – Noel Johnston, David Bell, Bryan Frost and I – finding the next afternoon that the theatre had supplied us with gloss paint – and it reflected all our lights – do it again!
Making the scenery for many shows – in particular David Bell and Pete Buckingham painting the ‘Bridge’ for Oliver in the old hall. Also the multi¬function unit made for Fiddler and the problems we had moving about the old hall stage with its pronounced sloping floor.
The ‘ad lib’ cleaners scene each night with Terry Swain and Grant Koedyk cleaning up after the item Money, Money and the laughs from the audience.
Trying to get the sound and lighting right for the dress rehearsal in the Mayfair with Noel Johnston on the walkie talkie and three or four of us up in the fly tower muddling our way through.
And Bryan Frost’s controlled ‘good humour’ and constructive criticisms over the entire eleven weeks which usually had half of us near to mutiny and vowing – NEVER AGAIN – but after the show it was always different.
Facilities
I have said before that things in general are cyclical and that things move out of and into fashion. One year with the accreditees we built a fitness track and for a while it was in great use, but now-a-days it seems no longer fashionable, and the ‘in’ thing is the fitness machines. Fortunately the cricket practice wickets do remain in constant use and remain as a tribute to the boys who built them.
To end (for the moment)
The memories keep flooding back and you could fill a book with them but overall they were associated with the pleasure gained in activities with other staff and the boys and their parents. Because King’s was always growing each year, each term brought new challenges and new accomplishments. As I watched this progress I got great pleasure out of these achievements. One of the greatest thrills being meeting up with old boys who came back to s~ us and the school and to speak about their own progress. The fact they still cared enough to make that effort said a great deal about the school and their love for the place.
I will continue to watch Kings progress and wish the school and all who are associated with it the best of luck, and I will look forward to the completion of all of the building programme and of course to the first musical held in our own new hall.
[No tribute to Dan would really do him justice. My own impressions of him are of a man of scrupulous fairness, a man who likec: kids and liked his job (or to be more precise cbsnged his job into one he was more at home with), who rolled up his sleeves and did any task he saw needed doing, who was most supportive of his colleagues who might be under stress