"I don't want to destroy the school, but I do want them to accept the fact that Jim Graham was a rather sadistic individual." Comrie Bucknell, former student of The Armidale School, says he was sexually abused by Mr Graham. Credit:Nick Moir The school, which charges up to $45,000 a year for boarders, is now accused of covering up its veneration of Mr Graham. The allegations come days after prestigious Melbourne school St Kevin’s College was rocked by an abuse scandal that led to the resignation of its headmaster after he provided a reference for a convicted sex offender. After the Herald asked the school whether it denied allegations of abuse levelled against Mr Graham, among other questions, a spokesperson said the figure "depicts an educational moment when the direction of a teacher ignites the fire of creativity in a student" and was entirely funded by a former pupil as a gift to the school. One of the web pages dedicated to late housemaster Desmond Lyle ‘Jim’ Graham, prior to it being pulled offline. Credit:The Armidale School

But within an hour of responding to the Herald, a page depicting the statue and recounting the concert was removed, as was a memorial page for Mr Graham, and another with his biography. Another page dedicated to Mr Graham's scholarship fund was temporarily removed before being restored at the time of deadline. Asked why the pages were not available, the school did not respond. Former student Donald Makim, who wrote to then-headmaster Murray Guest early last year to say he had been "violently physically abused" by Mr Graham on many occasions said he was shocked the material on the teacher was missing. A page on the school's website paying tribute to Desmond Lyle 'Jim' Graham that was later pulled offline. Credit:The Armidale School "I think it’s suspicious," Mr Makim said.

"I doubt it could be coincidental. If they have actually erased it, it definitely looks like they’re trying to cover it up [their earlier praise of Mr Graham]." Loading Mr Guest responded to Mr Makim that he was "deeply sorry that you were treated in a way that would be unthinkable today" and Mr Makim's report of his experiences was being built into a database. But he said that, while Mr Makim's comments about Mr Graham "have certainly been heard and noted", the statue was "by no means, nor is intended to be" a tribute to the late former staff member. Mr Guest died in a car crash near Armidale late last year.