Phipps’s peer year was 1958. He left at the end of year 10, after having gained his intermediate certificate. He took up carpentry and worked in many trades, once running his own business, rather quirkily called Gay Erections.

In 1956, Brian Baird, senior geography master, introduced hockey as an alternative winter sport to football, and Phipps took up the new opportunity enthusiastically. He became the mainstay of the year 8 team in the first year of competition, and the first team in the two succeeding years. He affected a Carey beanie on the field and became a legendary figure as he charged around, defending, scoring, and directing his charges with an infectious zest for the game: even when played on cow paddocks in the mud and slush of mid-winter. No synthetic pitches and well-appointed club rooms then!

Phipps missed the game after he left school and approached Brian Baird with the intention of setting up an Old Carey Club. The initial meeting was held at his parents’ home in Canterbury on 18 December 1961. There was overwhelming support for the venture, and the club entered the Victorian Amateur Hockey Association competition in the following year. There was one team only and it enjoyed immediate success, winning the ‘C’ grade premiership.

The club is one of the very few ex-student clubs to have survived to this day. At its most successful period it boasted three men’s, two women’s and a veterans’ team. 

The club owes its inception to Phipps’s inspiration and energy. There were times when it owed its very existence to his perseverance.

He is survived by his widow, Kathy, and two children from a previous marriage. 

Source: David Morgan, 30 August 2023