Child Sex Abuse Inquiry: Pedophile Ring at Tasmania Boys School

Dr John Bednall, former Hutchins Boys School headmaster

A former headmaster of a prestigious Hobart, Tasmania boys' school has admitted he failed to interview former students and teachers over paedophilia claims against another former headmaster.

John Bednall, who was headmaster at Hutchins School in the 1990s, was giving evidence at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

In 1993, a former student, known as AOA, wrote to Dr Bednall seeking an apology from the school for the abuse he allegedly suffered at the hands of former headmaster David Lawrence in the 1960s.

Dr Bednall conducted a five-week investigation into AOA's allegations and found there was no supporting evidence that he was abused.

When asked at the inquiry whether he had interviewed any staff members or anyone from the Hutchins School Board, Dr Bednall replied: "No".

Hutchins Boys School (Anglican) one of Australia's oldest and most
prestigious schools. It is located on the outskirts of Hobart, Tasmania

Nor did he interview any former students who were at the school at the time of the alleged abuse, he said.

"Well, the former students would have been out of the school some 16 to 20 years. The answer is no," he said.

He was also questioned about the decision to appoint a psychiatrist for advice about the complaint made by AOA against Mr Lawrence.

"I thought it was the most sensitive thing we could have done for AOA," he told the inquiry.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Angus Stewart SC suggested that by seeking advice from a psychiatrist there was a perception the school was dealing with a case of mental illness.

"I'm not in a position to draw that sort of conclusion," he said.

"But I certainly believed there were things in the letter that confused the situation."

Minutes from a Hutchins board meeting in 1995 reveal psychiatrist John Isles told the school to cut off correspondence with AOA.

Hutchins finally apologised less than a month before this royal commission inquiry.

'Homosexuality, not paedophilia', forced resignation

Mr Bednall earlier told the inquiry he believed Mr Lawrence resigned as headmaster because he was a practising homosexual, not because he was discovered to have been abusing at least one boy.

"There had to be some other reason as to why Mr Lawrence resigned, and I offer to the commission my opinion that it could well have been that he was identified as part of this homosexual group in Taroona," he said.

Dr Bednall based his opinion on his understanding that a sexually explicit letter from AOA to Mr Lawrence "never actually went to the board of management".

The letter written by AOA in about 1970, when he was no longer a student at Hutchins, was intercepted by Mr Lawrence's secretary.

The commission heard that the letter was opened by the headmaster's secretary, who showed it to the school chaplain, who then passed it on to deputy headmaster John Kerr.

But Dr Bednall said there was no need for Mr Kerr to bring the letter to the attention of the Hutchins School board as Mr Lawrence had already resigned.

Dr Bednall criticised Mr Kerr's decision.

"It would be an astonishing act to not send a matter like this to the board," he said.

Victim 'gutted' by school's failure to apologise earlier

In his evidence to the commission, AOA said that sometime in 1970, Lawrence told him in a hotel room in Sydney that the letter "opened a can of worms".

Lawrence allegedly told AOA: "I have lost my job and lost my wife."

On Wednesday, AOA told the commission he was gutted by the school's failure to apologise.

A month ago, more than 20 years after he first approached them, AOA received an apology from the Hutchins School.

AOA felt Dr Bednall "was normalising what had happened ... and somehow blaming me for what had occurred".

Dr Bednall told the royal commission that at the time of his investigation he did not feel equipped to understand the complexity of the situation.

He had difficulty apportioning blame entirely on Mr Lawrence.

"I don't believe a child is capable of consent, no, but I believe a child is capable of acquiescing," he said.

The relationship between AOA and Mr Lawrence continued after the student had left school.

Dr Bednall said in the 1990s, he was not in a position to make any judgments about the relationship.

"I just note with interest that the contact continued," he said.

"Certainly in 1994 ... I would find it extremely odd that a boy who was being sexually abused would return for more abuse."

Dr Bednall defended his handling of the complaint.

"At no stage in this whole affair did I ever draw any conclusion as to whether the abuse had occurred of not," he said.

"The only position I was able to adopt was that it was complex.

"It was never a matter of believing or disbelieving him it was a matter of understanding it."

Dr Bednall will continue giving evidence on Friday, along with Bishop Ronald Francis Stone, former Assistant Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania.

In 2002, Dr Bednall resigned as headmaster of Wesley College in Perth after being accused of accessing "objectionable material" on a work computer.

Police investigated the matter, but charges against Dr Bednall were dropped.

Inquiry hears of teacher paedophile ring

Earlier today, the commission heard from a former teacher who claimed up to eight Hutchins teachers were involved in paedophilia.

Geoffrey Ayling at the Royal Commission hearing in Hobart

Geoffrey Ayling, 74, started his teaching career at Hutchins School in 1962, before quitting three years later because of the school's failure to deal with the problem of widespread sexual abuse of students.

Mr Ayling told inquiry that it was well known at least three teachers were dismissed for paedophilia.

"I was concerned that the students were being abused and the headmaster was working in conjunction with some teachers," he said.

Mr Ayling believed the school board knew the abuse was occurring, including by headmaster David Lawrence, and did nothing.

"The reason that I have come forward now to the royal commission, is the school knew that this was happening in 1965 and they allowed it to continue until Lawrence's resignation," Mr Ayling said.

"I believe that it was allowed to continue out of fear that the school would acquire such a bad odour that would significantly add to the deteriorating reputation of the school with Lawrence as headmaster.

"I believe that there was a conscious decision by the school to cover this up in the 1960s and to keep this information about its teachers from becoming public."

At the time, Mr Ayling reported his concerns to former Tasmanian MP Michael Hodgman - the late father of premier Will Hodgman - who told him to "leave it to me".

"Mr Hodgman's advice to me was that I should say nothing. He said that if I went to the police to make a statement that I could be subpoenaed and I would be in 'dire difficulty'," he said.

"He said that if I was to go to the board then it would be expected that they would take an aggressive and defensive approach to my allegations."

Mr Ayling believed Mr Hodgman told the board, although they did not discuss the matter again.

Last year, Mr Ayling reported his experience of teaching at Hutchins to Tasmania Police and then police minister David O'Byrne.