Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition

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The Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition is an annual competition in impromptu public speaking between representatives of each of the Great Public Schools (GPS) and Combined Associated Schools (CAS) in New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1935, in honour of Lawrence Campbell, a famous teacher of elocution in various schools in Sydney, in the early twentieth century. Between 2006 and 2013, in all but one year (2009), the competition was won by a student in year 11. At the 2015 World University Debating Championships in Malaysia, three of the eight speakers in the Grand Final (representing Sydney, Oxford, and Harvard) were former Lawrence Campbell winners – a testament to the quality of the Lawrence Campbell competition.

The Lawrence Campbell Oratory is widely regarded as the most prestigious, and difficult of the New South Wales Public Speaking Competitions. Each school is represented by one speaker. Each speaker is required to give a speech of eight minutes length of one of three topics given to him 15 minutes beforehand. In this competition, the emphasis is on oratory, the art of speech, and so the manner of delivery counts at least equally with the subject matter. The emphasis is on giving a speech that combines humour with pathos, dramatic elements with more conversational moments, serious commentary with light-hearted asides, quotations drawn from a variety of sources, but all around a common thread based on the chosen topic, and showing the style of the candidate. Accordingly, the style of speech is very different from many other public speaking competitions in which candidates research and prepare speeches of their own in advance, often on questions of current affairs or public policy. With only fifteen minutes to prepare and without the aid of books or references, the content of the speech will test the candidates' general knowledge and ingenuity.

Participating schools

Crest School Location Enrollment Founded Denomination Day/Boarding School Colors Number of wins
Barker College Hornsby 2700 1890 Anglican Day & Boarding Red & Blue 3
Cranbrook School Bellevue Hill 1600 1918 Anglican Day & Boarding Red, White & Blue 2
Knox Grammar School Wahroonga 3200 1924 Uniting Church Day & Boarding Black & Blue 3
Newington College Stanmore 2000 1863 Uniting Church Day & Boarding Black & White 5
St Aloysius' College Milsons Point 1300 1879 Catholic
(Jesuit)		 Day Blue & Gold 6
St Ignatius' College Riverview 1500 1880 Catholic
(Jesuit)		 Day & Boarding Blue & White 23
St Joseph's College Hunters Hill 1000 1881 Catholic
(Marist Brothers)		 Day & Boarding Cerise & Blue 7
Sydney Boys High School Moore Park 1200 1883 N/A Day Chocolate Brown &
Sky Blue		 8
Sydney Church of England Grammar School North Sydney 1600 1889 Anglican Day & Boarding Navy Blue & White 7
Sydney Grammar School Darlinghurst 1900 1854 Non-denominational Day Black & Gold 16
The Armidale School Armidale 600 1894 Anglican Day & Boarding Navy Blue & Straw 0
The King's School Parramatta 2140 1831 Anglican Day & Boarding White & Sky Blue 2
The Scots College Bellevue Hill 2100 1893 Presbyterian Day & Boarding Gold & Blue 4
Trinity Grammar School Summer Hill 2200 1913 Anglican Day & Boarding Green, White & Grey 4
Waverley College Waverley 1500 1903 Catholic Day Royal Blue & Gold 0

Each school is represented by one speaker. Saint Ignatius’ College has the most distinguished history, with twenty-two winning candidates in the competition's history. Waverley College and The Armidale School have never fielded a winning candidate.

Topics

Because of the emphasis on oratory, the topics usually admit of wide latitude for the candidates to be creative. Often, quotations from literature, public figures, and popular culture are chosen as topics, along with proverbs or even single words. Past topics include:

  • Assume a virtue if you have it not
  • One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name
  • I must follow them, for I am their leader
  • He thinks too much – such men are dangerous
  • Because it was there
  • The devil can recite scripture for his purpose
  • The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars
  • I am Fate's lieutenant; I act under orders
  • Couch Jumping
  • Right as the world goes is only in issue between equals in power while the strong do as they will and the weak suffer as they must
  • Chaos Often Breeds Life When Order Breeds Habit
  • Look at my works, you mighty, and despair
  • Two cheers for Democracy
  • Blood will have Blood

Notable past winners

The Lawrence Campbell oratory competition has many distinguished previous winners, particularly in the areas of law, politics, and the arts. Famous past winners include:

The only people to have won the competition on two occasions are:

  • RW Bowie (Sydney Grammar – 1939, 1940)
  • Murray Gleeson[1] (St Joseph's – 1953, 1955)
  • Anthony Jones (Scots – 1999, 2000)
  • Jeremy Raper (Sydney Grammar – 2001, 2002)
  • Joseph Ware (Barker College – 2008, 2009)

Controversies

Previous winners and runners-up

References

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