Hamish Falls-Anderson (OB number) wants Old Boys to continue wearing their 'stripes' after their College days' are over.

Hamish finished College in 2022 with his final College memory as a member of the first College XI to lift the Gillette Cup, the New Zealand secondary schools boys one day cricket competition.

After talking with senior masters Neil Porter and Chris Sellars about a Gap year, Hamish took up a post as an economics tutor and cricket coach at a boarding school in the Surrey countryside, England.

While in the UK, Hamish played an extraordinary amount of cricket, often averaging three matches a week for the London New Zealand Cricket Club and the exclusive private Hurlingham Club in south west London where all the Royal Family are members.

It was at Hurlingham where Hamish spied countless members sporting beaded belts in varying colours associated with their famous schools such as Eton and Harrow. Something of a traditionalist, Hamish liked the idea and thought it would be perfect for the College Old Boys.

“It was amazing seeing the importance and relevance of these belts on a larger scale in the UK with thousands of Old Boys from their respective schools proudly wearing their belts in
all corners of the world, bringing about conversation between Old Boys' who otherwise would have never known each other. These Old Boys belts have made trips as far as the North Pole.”

Now Hamish is selling the belts, that are handmade by an impoverished Maasai tribe in Kenya, through Fulham-based company Manyatta.

Hamish has designed two styles, embellished with either the CCOBA colours or the traditional black and white stripes.

“This isn’t a business venture in any way, shape or form, it’s solely for the good of the Old Boys to expand their brand recognition. I don’t make any money from this. If an Old Boy goes to put their Manyatta belt on, if it brings a smile to their face and brings back a fond College memory, then that's a job well done,” Hamish says.

“What I want to do is increase recognition that every wearer is part of the College community and if we could have a College belt at the highest point of the globe that would be pretty amazing too.”

Hamish is currently taking orders for the belts, which cost $189 and range from 28in to 56in. They come beautifully packaged in a branded gift box, dust bag and printed story about the belts beading process and background on the local tribe each purchase supports. You can contact Hamish on 027 557 6777 or email hidden; JavaScript is required for further information or to place your order.

After his two years overseas, Hamish returned in late 2024 and has just finished his first year of law and finance at the University of Canterbury, with an eye on a career in commercial

law. Needless to say, he’s still playing cricket – for the Valley of Peace, the Willows and the Old Boys Collegians.