Hilton College Estate – Pinnacles and the Gwens Valley
Notes : For many Hilton boys, climbing Pinnacles has been a rite of passage. Immensely rewarding, the climb is also stretching and many a boy has made it to the top only because he was given a leg up by his friends. From this lofty peak, formed over 180 million years, any illusions of grandeur are drowned out by the wonders of nature and the sense of our being part of something so much greater than ourselves. Many a young man has stood on Pinnacles with Hilton College behind him and his future before him, inspired to serve the world with purpose. Artist Scott Bredin is a direct descendent of the first pupil registered at Hilton College: Thomas John Allan. Thomas John was the son of Evelyn Thomas Allan, who arrived in South Africa on board the Lady Jane. He was a friend of Captain Gould Arthur Lucas, who bought the farm on which the Reverend William Orde Newnham opened a day school. Evelyn Thomas erected the first buildings on what ultimately became Hilton College. Thomas John was born at Hilton and was the first pupil in 1872. His son, Arthur Vere Allan, was also born at Hilton, attended the school and was dux in 1906. Henry Vaughan Ellis, who was headmaster from 1878 to 1904, was his godfather. Arthur fathered twins – a son, ET Allan, who attended Hilton, and a daughter, Mary Teresa. Mary married Waldene Bredin and had two daughters, Mary and Judy, and a son, John, who attended Hilton College from 1961 to 1964. John married Paulette Strachan and they had two sons, Scott and Murray, both of whom attended Hilton College. Scott (Ellis) matriculated from Hilton in 1991. On the occasion of Hilton College’s 150th anniversary, artworks have been commissioned from painter and ‘old boy’ Scott Bredin and sculptor Alexander von Klitzing that reference the Hilton College estate and the life the learners experience there. The proceeds from the sale of these lots will benefit the ‘Lift Up Your Hearts Fund’ for human capital, which grants financial aid (bursaries and scholarships) to boys of families who cannot afford the college’s fees. Countless boys have been afforded a Hilton College education from the proceeds of this fund.
