A hundred years ago | Schoolboys’ empire tour

Rugby, August 4: A party of forty public and secondary schoolboys left London to-day for Australia. They travel under the auspices of School Empire Tour Committee and will spend the remainder of the year touring Australia. Before the train left a letter was read from the Prince of Wales, which said, “Such tours are admirable from an education view point. My own experience tells me how much there is to learn from seeing other parts of the world and there is no adequate substitute for the real knowledge to be gained in this way. More especially do I welcome the idea of tours for schoolboys to Dominions from Imperial view point. Boys will, on this occasion, be in the position of representatives. I am confident they will see to it that those who meet them in Australia will judge well of them and through them of the country of schools which they represent.”