School to review Brierley names
Wellington College says it will review the naming of buildings referring to Sir Ron Brierley if the multi-millionaire businessman is found guilty of possessing child exploitation material.
The Wellington high school has a venue named after Brierley – Brierley Theatre – which opened in 1988, as well as a ‘‘Sir Ron Brierley Turf’’.
News of the review comes after a sexual abuse victims’ advocate and a marketing professor said the school might have a mandate to remove references to the name, in the wake of the charges Brierley is facing.
Yesterday, board of trustees chairman Paul Retimanu said the allegations put against Brierley were ‘‘deeply concerning’’ to everybody in the school’s community.
Brierley, a former corporate raider, faces six counts of possessing child exploitation material after Australian authorities allegedly discovered more than 200,000 images and 512 videos on his devices.
The 82-year-old was born in Wellington and is a graduate of Island Bay School and Wellington College.
‘‘Sir Ron Brierley has been a prominent philanthropist to a number of organisations in New Zealand, including Wellington College,’’ Retimanu said.
‘‘Like many schools, we benefit from alumni donations to support significant capital works projects, but our first obligation is always to our students and our school community. The board is critically aware of this and is also mindful of the need to observe due process.
‘‘We will be closely watching the outcome of the judicial process and review the naming of buildings if appropriate.’’ Fiona McNamara, general manager of Wellington Sexual Abuse Prevention Network, said it was ‘‘not such a great idea’’ to be ‘‘publicly celebrating’’ someone’s success, if that person had been accused of such a serious crime. McNamara said the theatre’s name was inappropriate, ‘‘particularly in the context of it being a high school, and the [alleged] crime is one that has harmed children’’. ‘‘While we might want to celebrate the successes a person has had, it’s really important that we also look at something that’s serious and harmful – that we don’t just ignore that and forget about it.’’
The school should be ‘‘seriously considering’’ a renaming, even ‘‘from what they know now’’, McNamara said.
On February 10, it was announced that Brierley was expected to plead not guilty to the charges.
Dr Michael Lee, associate professor at the University of Auckland, whose research specialises in branding and marketing, said Wellington College was in a tricky situation.
If Brierley was found guilty of the offences, the school would be within its rights to protect its brand and reputation by changing the name, he said.
However, if the school were to act now, ‘‘before the legal process has been allowed to run its full course, in fairness to the parties involved’’, it could be jumping the gun.
But the charges relate to ‘‘very serious offences’’, and a mandate could exist from such a ‘‘heinous [alleged] act’’, he said.
A spokeswoman for the Wellington College Old Boys’ Association said the association took the same stance as the school’s principal and board of trustees.
A spokesman for Brierley said while he ‘‘has been a keen supporter of community, cultural and sporting initiatives over many years, he does not wish to comment at this time’’.
Brierley was first arrested at Sydney International Airport in December, where border officials detained him as he was attempting to board a flight to Fiji.
Detectives seized his two carry-on bags, a laptop and electronic storage units, where they allegedly found the child abuse material.
The matter would return to court in Australia on April 2.