The Dudley Schroeder Gates, as they stand today.
One year, during the QCOBA national presidency of Ross Parry-Davies, Dudley Schroeder had occasion to admire the gates leading to the field at Kearsney College in Natal. He thought how nice it would be if Queen's also had am impressive gateway to its main playing field, being the Parry Davies Field. Schroeder made contact with the National President.
Within a short time Ross got a prominent Old Boy architect, Owen Powell, who produced a pleasing concept and his brother Brian Powell, a structural engineer, was asked to do the design. Boet Stone and James Bolt, also Old Queenians, provided the construction work and the plaque to be fitted to the gateway.
With Ross's urging, funds for the project began to come in from branches and individual Old Queenians all around the country. Dudley Schroeder had once commented to Ross that he felt a great affinity towards Archibald Parry-Davies - one of his predecessors as headmaster of Queen's - and, while keeping his idea a deathly secret, on unveiling the gateway some months later, Ross was delighted at Dudley's pleasure in discovering the gateway had been named in his honour.
Ross added that, as Dudley Schroeder's second name is Hector, it was axiomatic that the gateway became known among the boys at the time as "Hector's Hek". The story is a remarkable chronicle of the goodwill and co-operation which exists among Old Queenians to work for the improvement and, in this case the beautification of Queen's College.
