Scotch College

What they're doing now

1930s

Sir Zelman Cowen (’35) has published his memoirs, A Public Life – The Memoirs of Zelman Cowen. Sir Zelman was born in St Kilda in 1919 and was Dux of Scotch in 1935. At the age of 19 he became the youngest tutor in the history of Melbourne University, and was Rhodes Scholar for Victoria in 1940. He is a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and he was Vinerian Scholar for 1947 and awarded the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law. After a decade as Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England and the University of Queensland, Sir Zelman was Governor-General of Australia from 1977 to 1982.

Dr Alan Gilchrist (’38) was recently honoured by the Antarctic Division of the Department of Science by having two geographic features at Heard Island named after him – ‘Gilchrist Beach’ and ‘Gilchrist Aiguitles’ (spiky hills). He is a keen supporter of Scotch rugby and is photographed here with Sandy Buchanan (captain), Richard Brownlee and Mark Gronow.

He is pictured here with the Captain of Rugby 2006, Sandy Buchanan, and two members of the first XV, Richard Brownlee and Mark Gronow. Alan has attended every rugby game that the first XV have played at home this year, as well as the final which was recently played at Geelong Grammar between Scotch College and St Kevin’s. It may well have been Alan’s loud support that encouraged the Scotch boys to the win!

1940s

Ian Beith (’46) was selected as an announcer at a small-bore rifle and pistol shooting competition, held at the Melbourne International Shooters’ Club facility at Fishermen’s Bend in the lead-up to the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Ian then worked as an announcer at the Games, a role he had also played during the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane 24 years earlier.

Don McDonald’s (’43) grandfather, George Farlow, was a contemporary of Sir John Monash (1881). Farlow was a close friend of Monash and was best man at his wedding. Don, known as ‘Black Mack’ at school, was always keenly interested in sport: he was under 12 athletics champion in the Junior School. After leaving school he once fought three boxing bouts at the old West Melbourne Stadium (later Festival Hall). ‘I was soundly thrashed in the first two,’ he said, ‘but in the third I had a close tussle with another young bloke, and we ended up being voted the “best fight of the night”. We got three pounds for that, which was a fortune in those days.’ Don later competed in the first Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in 1953 in a special supercharged Austin A40 (number 18). He failed to finish the race, after his Austin blew a head gasket. Don is now retired – almost. He keeps in touch with the business world by working three days a week as a courier for a business colleague.

1950s

From country practice to international committees, from gardening to medical research, from family life to philosophical quest. That’s the scope of the autobiography of Charles Bridges-Webb (’51), To Travel Hopefully, published last year. After four years at Scotch as a boarder, Charles studied medicine at the University of Melbourne. Next came 15 years as a country general practitioner, during which he became an active member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and commenced general practice research. This led Charles to become a member of the World Organisation of Family Doctors’ International Classification Committee, of which he was chairman from 1991 to 1999. Earlier, he was appointed Foundation Professor of Community Medicine at the University of Sydney in 1975. Charles took early retirement in 1994 and ceased clinical practice, but is still involved in some research activities.

John Bunton (’51), president of the Hunter Valley Scots’ Association is pictured with Darvill Malcolm (’51), High Commissioner of the Hunter Valley Scots’ Association and Marie Malcolm, unveiling a historic stone presented to John by Clan Chief Robin Malcolm. The ceremony took place at Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina, USA. Darvill then brought the stone back to Australia and now it resides in the History Wall on Tynwall Hill at Glen Innes. Darvill and John Bunton have been friends since 1950.

David Cowper (’56) was unable to attend the official opening of the Main Oval cricket nets and the 1955–56 cricket premiership reunion in August 2005. But he did visit Scotch earlier this year to see the great new facilities for himself. Dave was the wicketkeeper and an aggressive batsman in Mike Winneke’s (’55) and Ian Law’s (’56) premiership 1st XIs. He is currently on the coaching panel of the Warwickshire County Cricket Club in the UK. Dave played 299 games of cricket for Richmond in the Victorian Cricket Association competition. He also played two games for Victoria with his brother Bob (’58). Despite limited opportunities, Dave had a highest score of 60 not out and a Bradmanesque batting average of 94 for Victoria, and participated in a rare Victorian victory over the touring England cricket team in the 1965–66 season.

Brian Gentle (’54) is Senior Pastor at Haymount United Methodist Church, Fayetteville, in North Carolina, USA, one of several North Carolina churches in which he has served. Brian has also served as a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, and is chair of the Academic Committee at the Methodist College and of the board of trustees of the Methodist Retirement Homes in the North Carolina annual conference.

Tony Lamb (’55) received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day honours list for service to pharmacy, to the Australian Parliament and to the community. After a pharmacy apprenticeship, Tony completed a BA at Melbourne University and then a Diploma of Education at Monash. He was elected as federal MP for LaTrobe in 1972 and was re-elected in 1974, becoming secretary of the Parliamentary Labor Caucus and Chair of the House of Representatives Environment Committee. He was elected as MHR for Streeton in 1984, and re-elected in 1987, becoming Deputy Government Whip. Tony founded the Parliamentary Group of Amnesty International in 1973, and Parliamentarians for East Timor (1987). From 1991 to 1998 Tony was director of the Australian Institute of Pharmacy Management. He is now researching for a PhD at Swinburne University of Technology.

Ros and Peter Turnley (’57) and Rhonda and Ian McMurtrie (’58) visited the Top End to see Tony Pickering (’57) and his wife Jude. The party visited the remote Cobourg Peninsula in Arnhem Land, and one morning they happened across another tour group. While exchanging pleasantries with the other group, Peter and Ian were surprised at a sudden exclamation from a member of the other tour party, who had spotted Ian’s Old Scotch cap. The exclaimer turned out to be Grant Mullenger (’58), son of legendary master ‘Curly’ Mullenger, and the coincidence was compounded by the revelation that Grant and his wife Jan now live in Dromana just a few doors from the McMurtries’ holiday house. That evening, armed with a couple of bottles of red, Grant and Jan called on the Turnleys, Pickerings and McMurtries for some fun and reminiscences of Scotch days from long ago.

John Winneke (’56) was the president of the Court of Appeal from its inception in 1995 until his retirement a year ago. John is now chairman of the Odyssey House drug rehabilitation network.

1960s

Doug Ackerly (’67) is continuing his varied and interesting career as a broadcaster, humorist and journalist. He currently writes for the Thursday Green Guide supplement of The Age.

Philip Bezemer (’69) was a volunteer on a Bike Path Discovery Day, orchestrated by Bicycle Victoria to encourage cyclists to use paths rather than roads. Philip rides 15 km to and from work every day.

David Evans (’60) was the instigator and chair of a committee which raised funds for the Waler Memorial in Bicentennial Park, Tamworth, NSW. The memorial honours the Australian Light Horse, which served our servicemen so faithfully in the Boer War and the Great War. Known as the ‘Waler’ because it was bred in NSW, the horse was famous for its courage and endurance. Designed and created by sculptor Tanya Bartlett, the memorial was unveiled and dedicated on 29 October 2005.

Max Jelbart (’67) is currently the United Dairy Farmers of Victoria’s central councillor.

Fellow Scotch ’64 boy John Pilkington has done even better than Stuart in marathon running. Not satisfied with having run his 47th marathon recently, John hopes to make the Melbourne marathon in October 2007 his 50th. He ran marathon number 47 on the Gold Coast, clocking 3 hours 54 minutes and reaching the finish line despite overheating a little at 34km. John is also an author. He has just published a revised edition of Big River Days, his history of the Big River, an alluvial and reef gold mining area along a river valley of the same name, about 150 km north-east of Melbourne.

Earlier this year, Neil Lucas (’64) became Administrator of Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories – Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Neil is based at Christmas Island, located in the Indian Ocean 1500 km off the West Australian coast. At a latitude of 10 degrees, Christmas Island is just 380 km south of Java Head in Indonesia. Cocos, a tiny coral atoll comprising of 27 islands, is another 970 km to the west of Christmas Island. Neil’s role varies considerably from formal Vice-Regal duties to functions delegated by the Federal Minister responsible for Australia’s territories. Fortunately he doesn’t have to count the red crabs which live in the forests on the island – there are around 80 million of them! The pristine forests and bird and marine life (including the red crabs) make Christmas Island a very interesting destination.

Former School Council member Stuart Macintyre (’64) has recently been appointed to the prestigious Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University, commencing in 2007. In a recent interview in The Age, Stuart was asked: ‘How does a Scotch boy become a communist?’ He answered: ‘Because I had such a good education.’ After Scotch, Stuart completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) at Melbourne University in 1971, a Master’s from Monash University in 1975 and a PhD from Cambridge University in 1979. He has lectured at Murdoch University in Perth and Melbourne University, and was Dean of Melbourne University’s Arts faculty from 1992 to 1996. Stuart is a keen long-distance runner and has completed seven Melbourne marathons.

1970s

Jon Ling (’71) is now based in Auckland, after being appointed chief executive officer and a director of New Zealand’s third-largest listed company, Fletcher Building Limited. Jon, a keen windsurfer, is missing his favourite windsurfing location – Sandy Point on Bass Strait – but is searching out good windsurfing spots around Auckland. Jon’s son, Chris, who is a boarder in Year 10, was number 14 in Scotch’s victorious First XV rugby team this year. His daughter, Victoria, is boarding at Camberwell Girls’ Grammar.

Phil Weymouth (’78) has relocated to Bahrain, where he has joined long-time Bahrain friends in a digital-imaging company, as general manager and head of photography. His work involves photographic and film projects for a variety of clients. Phil attended the Photography Studies College in Melbourne and was a photographer with Stock and Land newspaper and Lonely Planet guides for 10 years. He has also worked for Bloomberg News, the Sunday Herald Sun, Outback magazine and many other publications.

1980s

Jim Carr (’85) is married to Jen with 2 children, Tilly and Oliver. He is working full-time at The Cisco Coy in the USA. Jim is completing his MBA from Indiana University, which he will finish in December.

Peter Graze (’83) is in Switzerland with his family. He has a global marketing role for Ciba Specialty Chemicals, serving the paper industry. ‘It’s a great job, seeing the global marketing perspective from corporate headquarters, and being able to really influence the directions that the organisation takes strategically,’ Peter told Great Scot. Peter and his family have a globe-trotting life: he expects that over the next few years he will probably be transferred to one of the Ciba group’s companies somewhere around the world. Peter, his wife Desirée and their three children, Benjamin (5), Natalie (4) and Caitlin (2), are enjoying their time in Europe, frequently travelling to picture postcard locations in Switzerland and other parts of the continent.

Ewen McKenzie (’83) is currently the New South Wales Waratahs’ Rugby Coach. Ewen won 51 caps as prop for the Wallabies during his international rugby career.

Ian Royston (’86) and his wife Fiona are the proud parents of Tara Heather Royston, born on 10 April 2006.

Mike Weller (’85) has recently relocated to Albury and accepted the role of Commercial Manager – Cereals, with MasterFoods Australia New Zealand.

1990s

Ned Bell (’91) will marry Alison Baxter on 25 November.

Rupert Dyer (’97) is working in China. Earlier this year he completed a unique fundraising marathon along the Great Wall of China.

Captained by Jeremy Farrington (’96), the Anglesea Surf Life Saving Club inflatable rescue boat team won the Surf Life Saving Victoria IRB championships, held at Lorne. The team won the right to compete in the Australian championships at South West Rocks, NSW. The team included, Scott Yeomans (’02), Andrew Doyle (’02) and Nick Demiris (’01 – team manager). In early August Nick Demiris became one of Victoria’s youngest to be sworn in as a Justice of the Peace for the State of Victoria at the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

Matt Gurry (’98), described in his school days as ‘Scotch’s own Harry Connick Junior’, recently released a new CD.

Chadden Hunter (’90) worked on the epic BBC nature series Planet Earth, screened on ABC Television earlier this year, in particular the episodes which looked at life in the earth’s mountains and caves. Narrated by David Attenborough, Planet Earth is a unique celebration of life on earth, which visits almost unreachable locations to film rare action and intimate moments with a host of wild creatures.

Mat Le (’95) was married in June and honeymooned with Em in Italy.

Bruce Mason-Jones (’94) and his wife, Shanagh, welcomed a new daughter, Amelia Grace, born on 10 December 2005.

Andrew McCann (’96) is a Partner and Sales Manager at Bennison MacKinnon Carmichael Real Estate in Armadale.

Oliver Charles Troedel, born 5 August 2006, 8.5 pounds, son to Alastair Troedel (’91) and Miranda.

Matt Welsh (’94) claimed a gold and two silver medals at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, playing a crucial role in securing the Australian men’s team’s only Games swimming gold medal, in the 4 x 100 m medley relay. In April, Matt won three gold medals at the world short-course championships in Shanghai, in the 100 m backstroke, the 50 m backstroke and the 50 m butterfly.

Greg Wiggill (’97) is engaged to Jane Fitter, sister of David (’94) and Cameron (’00). Greg and Jane are planning to marry in August 2007.

2000s

Old Scotch footballer Ed Batrouney (’02) has headed to Georgetown University in Washington DC where he is studying Law/Arts on exchange from Melbourne University.

Sam Blanch (’04) has just returned from a one-year trip to Russia, and is studying Arts and Law at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Murray Lamb (’03) recently won an award which included a $2000 business start-up grant. This grant helped him to launch Delmare this year, a magazine presenting cutting-edge designers and their innovative creations.

James Meredith (’05) spent last year on a soccer apprenticeship with English Football League side, Derby County. He was nominated as the player of the year at Derby’s academy and has earned a two-year professional contract. James’s brother Matthew is in Year 7 at Scotch.

Robert Padbury (’02) is currently living in San Francisco, and is halfway through a Bachelor of Science in Videogame Art and Design at the Art Institute of California.

And the Old Scotch Football Club is also missing Bill Snaddon (’02), who is studying Commerce/Arts on exchange at Clarkson University in upstate New York from Monash University.

Anglesea lifesaver Scott Yeomans (’02) helped to rescue three people stranded by a rising tide on a rock offshore from the coast between Aireys Inlet and Urquharts Bluff. Scott anchored the man and two women to the rock with his hands and feet, as big waves threatened to dash them into the sea. Thirty minutes later the four were winched to safety by a hovering helicopter. Scott rejected any description of himself as a hero. ‘I’m not a hero. It’s just part of the service,’ he said.