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Reginald Heber Roe (3 August 1850 – 21 September 1926) was a headmaster of
Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...
,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and first vice-chancellor of the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
.


Early life

Roe was born at
Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
,
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, the son of John Banister Roe, a draper, and Mary Anne ''née'' Allies. E. Clarke,
Roe, Reginald Heber (1850 - 1926)
, ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', Vol. 11, MUP, 1988, pp 437-439. Retrieved 11 November 2009
Reginald had a sister, Eliza Banister Roe (wife of Alfred Downing Fripp, artist) and a brother Henry Dalton Roe (Master Mariner). Reginald Roe was educated at Christ's Hospital school,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, was head Grecian in 1869, and won a scholarship which took him to
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...
, intending to enter the Church. Roe rowed in the college eight and won first-class honours in the final mathematics in 1872 and second-class honours in the final classical schools in 1874. Roe graduated B.A. (1875) and M.A. (1876). He was a private tutor at Oxford for a short period.


Career

In 1876, Roe was appointed headmaster of the Brisbane Grammar School (founded 1868) and had only a small number of pupils, but during Roe's reign of 33 years he built up a great public school. He was a good administrator and recruited quality staff; he was thoroughly interested in the problems of education, and, an athlete himself, realized the importance of games and the help they could give in the development of the boy's character. Roe married Annie Maud, daughter of Captain Claudius Buchanan Whish, on 23 December 1879 in Brisbane. Roe worked tirelessly for the foundation of a university in Queensland, and in 1890 gave an address on "A University as a Part of National Life". He was for a period president of the university extension movement, and, when the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
was established in 1910, became its first vice-chancellor and held this position until 1916. He was an early member of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, was a member of its publication committee, and at the meeting held at Christchurch in January 1891, was president of the literature and fine arts section. His presidential address is printed in the ''Report'' of that meeting. Roe had visited England in 1900 and reported to the Queensland department of public instruction on state inspection as applied to secondary schools. In 1909 he resigned from Brisbane Grammar School to become inspector general of schools and chief educational adviser to the Queensland government, retiring in 1919. He died at Brisbane on 21 September 1926 and buried in
Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...
.Deceased Search
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
He was survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters. Roe's third son, (Dr) Arthur Stanley Roe, became the first Queensland Rhodes scholar in 1904.


Legacy

Roe was a good swimmer, rower and
lawn tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player, and has been called the father of lawn tennis in Queensland. At different periods was president of the Queensland Rowing, Swimming and Lawn Tennis associations. He was also a member of the
Queensland Club Queensland Club is a heritage-listed Club (organization), club house at 19 George Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built from 18 ...
. As an educationist he was a combination of learning and sound common-sense, interested in ideals and all things intended for the improvement of mankind. Roe did useful work as educational adviser to the government and as vice-chancellor in the difficult early days of the university, but his greatest influence was as the head of a great school. In 2022, the University of Queensland established the R.H. Roe Award "to recognise individuals who have made a unique and lasting contribution through their dedicated service to UQ." The inaugural recipient was Emeritus Professo
Fred D’Agostino
UQ bestows Honorary Awards on outstanding community leaders
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
, 2022-12-15


References

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External links


Roe Reginald Heber
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search
R. H. Roe, official portrait
— Painted by Josephine Muntz Adams {{DEFAULTSORT:Roe, Reginald Heber 1850 births 1926 deaths Australian headmasters Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Burials at Toowong Cemetery British emigrants to colonial Australia