Wesley College benefits from ‘transformational’ donation

Top private school Wesley College has been gifted its biggest donation in almost a century thanks to the dying wish of a meat exporter.

The donation was Wesley College’s biggest donation in almost 100 years.

A leading meat processor and exporter has emerged as the donor of a “transformational gift” to elite Wesley College.

The unspecified amount is the largest donation to the co-ed school in recent history, topped by that of the Nicholas brothers nearly 100 years ago.

The donation is not included in Peter Henry Greenham’s will and was finalised before his August 16 death at 83, last year.

However, a $5m donation to the Royal Botanic Gardens is named in the will, made a month before Mr Greenham died.

Philanthropist Peter Henry Greenham died in 2020 aged 83.

A year ago, as Melbourne’s second lockdown challenged the most hardened, Mr Greenham was in the last stages of a pancreatic cancer battle.

Among his last wishes was a significant donation to Wesley College, the school he attended and credited with giving him a good start in life.

An Old Wesleyan from 1953, earlier generations and his children, Peter and Lucy, attended the school.

His son, Peter, the sixth generation to head HWGreenham which sells premium brands, such as Cape Grim Beef, said his dad never wanted to make a fuss.

A $5m donation to the Royal Botanic Gardens was included in Mr Greenham’s will.

The undisclosed sum will be out towards a redevelopment of the St Kilda Rd school and will bear the name of Peter senior’s uncle Reg Greenham. RA Greenham attended Wesley in 1929.

“Dad donated money to Wesley throughout his life for various projects.,” Mr Greenham said.

“He looked at the time at Wesley with fond memories and being a good time in his life.” Mr Greenham Jnr said they would not disclose the sum but “it will support a major future capital development”.

“He did not want a big hoopla about it,” he said.

“We chatted to them and they showed us what they would do with it.”

Details of the donation are revealed in the just released Wesley annual report.

“This year, the Wesley College Foundation received the largest donation in recent history, from an alumnus who wanted to give back to the school in recognition of all that Wesley had done for him. This transformational gift, reminiscent of the historic philanthropy of the Nicholas brothers during the 1930s, will assist the College with future developments,” school chairman Marianne Stillwell said.

The Nicholas brothers’ donation, in today’s dollars, would be equivalent to $75m.

George Nicholas, who developed Aspro, made major donations to Wesley in the 1930s.

The Greenham estate supported the Royal Botanical Gardens, National Gallery of Victoria, Cabrini Hospital, Alfred Hospital, and other causes.

Only the Royal Botanic Gardens is singled out in Mr Greenham’s will.

It received $5m and in exchange the family will have naming rights for the library for 25 years.

Mr Greenham also left a Brett Whiteley painting of his late daughter, Arkie, called Arkie Under the Shower. It sold in 2014 for $1.23m.

A property at Fairlie Court, South Yarra, was sold in December.

Wesley was contacted for comment but did not respond.

As the pandemic hit in March, 2020, Wesley cut and deferred fees and was able to claim $17.2m in JobKeeper to pay staff as its cash flow slowed down.

Its declaration to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission reveals it was able to recover and transfer $5m to the Wesley College Foundation Scholarship Fund to support students over the coming two to three years.

In addition to supporting Wesley, the Nicholas brothers, Alfred and George, left money to many Melbourne institutions.

George Nicholas, who launched Aspro, and his brother donated half their estate to philanthropic causes.

In addition to Wesley, then a boys-only school, they supported Methodist Ladies College.