Rotary Australia spreads peace to St Peters

In 2021, Rotary will celebrate their Australian centenary. To mark the occasion, they joined the Peace Pole movement. This year, Rotary have been busily donating 100 Peace Poles around Australia and this Term, thanks to the Rotary Club of Kenmore, St Peters’ Upper Primary students were the lucky recipients of Pole No. 50—a proud reminder of the peaceful, multicultural College they learn in every day. 

The Peace Pole movement began 65 years ago. Over 200,000 Peace Poles have now been installed in significant places around the world—each in response to The Charter of the United Nations (UN), which declares that its primary goal is ‘to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,’ as well as ‘to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another’. Each pole is inscribed with the words May Peace Prevail on Earth, often in a range of languages. The intent of the poles is to encourage reflection and response to the call of peace around the world. 

St Peters’ Peace Pole

On Tuesday 5 November, the St Peters Peace Pole was officially installed during a special ceremony with our Year 6 students (the Upper Primary leaders) and special guest, Dr Martin Grabert. Dr Grabert, the immediate past President of the Rotary Club of Kenmore, led the ceremony and spoke to the students about the history and intent of the pole.

The St Peters Peace Pole was inscribed with four languages—English, German, Mandarin and Yagara/Turrbal. Each language was chosen to reflect the College’s history (both as a Lutheran school and the land on which it stands) and the present-day population. While St Peters has often been described as a mini-UN, with people from multiple multicultural backgrounds and corners of the world, the pole, alas, only has four sides!

Mr Kotzur’s Address

In his address to the attending Year 6 students, Head of College, Mr Kotzur, reflected on the blessing and privilege that it is to be a St Peters community member. The Peace Pole, he said, should encourage passers-by to use that blessing to build and promote peace within the school and throughout the wider community, their whole lives long. In the College’s 75th year, the pole is such a beautiful symbol of the attitude and values St Peters stands for—those we always have done and will continue to do so, long into the future.

To close the ceremony, before the Peace Pole was officially blessed by the students and Chaplain Kirstin, Mr Kotzur quoted a passage of scripture from Matthew 5:9.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”

Visit our Peace Pole

We invite you to stroll past, or reflect upon, the Peace Pole when you’re next on campus. Find it near the Upper Primary Undercroft, just inside the Harts Road entrance. 

To watch the video from the Year 6 Peace Pole Ceremony, click below.