MESSAGE FROM THE ALUMNI OFFICE

Increasingly the OBA is using social media to share news and it’s great to see member engagement increasing as our Facebook and LinkedIn pages attract followers. Our post on Digby Gibson was particularly well received on our digital platforms and we’ve reproduced his remarkable story below for our wider audience. Please remember to share your news with the Alumni Office and follow event updates on the OBA website.

Deborah Hill Alumni Coordinator, Old Boys' Association

QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS

We proudly recognise the following Christ Church Grammar School old boys listed in the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours:

Dr John Van Bockxmeer OAM (’02) for service to medicine and to the community
Mr Marcus Canning AM (’91) for significant service to the arts and to the community of Perth
Mr Ian Eckersley OAM (’64) for service to primary industry

Congratulations on your outstanding service and contribution to society.

DIGBY'S REMARKABLE STORY

When Digby Gibson (’88) lost both parents as a young boy, foster care and separation from his siblings was a very real possibility. However the Headmaster at the time, Tony Hill, and his wife Elsa became guardians of the children and took them into the Headmaster’s Residence. Digby continued his education at Christ Church Grammar School with support of a bursary, followed by UWA qualifications leading to employment at Christ Church as a Humanities teacher. “We are blessed to be part of a very big extended ‘family’ who have watched over me," said Digby. “I continue to enjoy my connection with the Old Boys’ Association and the incredible team of people I work with every day at this great school,” he said. To follow Digby’s amazing story, click here.

FUTURE FOCUS

Year 12 students were inspired by the personal and professional experiences of old boys during the OBA’s Future Focus program last week. A diverse range of industries were represented by Leigh Travers (’03), Andrew Popovic (’10), Sam Matyear (’10), James Baron-Croston (’06), Owain Chandler (’16) and Matthew Vear (’11) who encouraged the students and offered practical advice for the transition beyond Christ Church Grammar School. Thank you, gentlemen, for sharing your unique journey since leaving school and instilling confidence in the opportunities ahead. Follow Member Updates below for details about our Future Focus presenters.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

DATE	EVENT
JULY
Wednesday 14	Unforgettables Mid - Year Luncheon
Friday 16	Unflappables Mid - Year Luncheon
AUGUST
Friday 6	Class of 1980 - 40 Year Reunion
Friday 27	Class of 1981 - 40 Year Reunion
SEPTEMBER
Friday 10	Class of 1976 - 45 Year Anniversary
Friday 10 (TBC)	Old Boys' Annual Lunch
OCTOBER
Thursday 21	OBA Annual General Meeting
Friday 22	Class of 1961 - 60 Year Reunion
Friday 29	Class of 1970 - 50 Year Reunion
NOVEMBER
Thursday 18	OBA Sundowner
Friday 26	Class of 2001 - 20 Year Reunion
DECEMBER
Friday 3	Class of 2021 - Linga On
Wednesday 8	Unforgettables Christmas Lunch
Friday 10	Class of 1961 - Christmas Lunch at NGC
Saturday 11	Class of 1991 - 30 Year reunion

MENTOR, FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE

For three weeks current Year 12 student, Monte McGrath, joined Trevor Badger (’83) as a helping hand on the Pingrup farm. It was a chapter in Monte’s life that he shared in his reflections of Trevor as a great role model and mentor. “Trevor treated me more like a friend than a boss… he gave me responsibility, trusted my capability and we enjoyed adult conversations about monetary markets,” said Monte.

Monte’s story is one of many shared between members of the Christ Church Grammar School community as we remember Trevor as a vibrant, well respected colleague, friend and family man.

Trevor was a leader during his school years and subsequently as the sitting Country Representative on the OBA committee (a responsibility he held since 2012). His contribution, particularly to the boarding community, was significant. Thoughts are with all those touched by Trevor’s life.

Deus Dux Doctrina Lux

CLASS OF 2011 - 10 YEAR REUNION

It was fantastic to have over 60 old boys meet up at Steve's for the first time in so many years. Although many of our esteemed year group have retained their youthful looks we were thankful for the name badges as some boys had definitely changed beyond recognition! It was a fantastic night with many staying until closing time, enjoying the close proximity forged as the Class of 2011. Of course, there were many boys who were unable to make it due to the state of the world, however we hope it won't be too long before we all see each other soon!
George Haggett ('11)

CLASS OF 1971, 50-YEAR REUNION

Our reunion came together on Friday 28 May at the Cottesloe Hotel where 39, mostly grey haired and/or balding, eager to out ‘story’ each other peers, finally gathered. As would be expected, name tags did help to identify some and the inevitable noise level soon resulted in many having to lean into the conversations so that story punch lines weren’t missed. What a great evening. Read more...
John Cramer ('71)

KARRATHA GATHERING

Special thanks to Ben Breheny (’93) for initiating an old boy event in Karratha and to those who joined him at the pub. Pictured L to R: Raymond Tanner (’85), Robert Scott (’95), Cam Moir (’87), Ben Breheny (’93), Peter Bailey (’94) and Mathew Jewkes (’02).

CCGS OLD BOYS’ CLAIM VICTORY AGAIN!

Our chance for victory in the 2021 College Cup was strong going into the Foundation 36 sailing regatta, with three teams representing Christ Church Grammar School Old Boys’ in the alumni challenge. For the 12th time in 29 years we took home the Perpetual Trophy, while also placing fourth and last in a fleet of nine competitors. Well done to the crew of Will Hammond (’70), Kingsley Piesse (’71), Mark Caddy (’72), Mark Pridham (’73), Willy Packer (’76), Peter Bowman (’77), Peter Gilmour (’77), Peter Kernot (’78), David Hay (’79), Grant Alderson (’83), David Yu (’86), Benjamin Durham (’94), James Kornweibel (’95), Luke Paterson (’99), Adam Hancock (’02), Robbie Gibbs (’05), Jay Halligan (’06), Lachy Gilmour (’14), Alex Negri (’14), Aaron Wright (’16), Liam Forrester (’17) and Alex Harden Jones (’17).

OBA MEMBER BENEFIT: SUBSIDY ON DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE

After completing a Defensive Driving Course, James Wilson (’16) wants old boys to know that the three-hour training is not only about safety on the roads.

"Defensive driving isn't about boring driving. It's about exciting driving. Or rather, safe exciting driving. As young adults, we don't assess risk particularly well, especially in and around cars. The course teaches you how to protect yourself and your passengers, should the worst happen and you lose control of your vehicle," said James.

James took advantage of the $100 rebate on the course, available to Life Members through the Old Boys’ Association. For details visit the OBA website and follow Member Benefits or call the Alumni Office. Happy Driving!

STUART HALUSZKIEWICZ ('91)

Since leaving Christ Church in 1991, Stuart has spent his entire career working as an actor, director and writer in theatre, radio and film. After spending 10 years in London, Sydney and Melbourne he returned to Perth in 2005 to start a family and settle back into the West Australian Arts scene. Stuart had his beginning in theatre with The Midnite Youth Theatre Company under Tony Howes, and cites the reason he started doing plays was to meet girls! When Jenny Davis OAM came to direct a play for Midnite, Stuart was cast alongside her daughter Rebecca – they now have two children and have been married for 24 years!
Following 3.5 years as an Associate Director at Black Swan State Theatre Company, he is now Artistic Director of THEATRE 180, the evolution of Agelink Theatre which was founded 28 years ago by Jenny. Further information about Stuart and THEATRE 180 can be found here.

LAW STUDENT SEEKING WORK EXPERIENCE

Hock Yew Tan (’15), is currently studying the Juris Doctorate in Sydney and would like to shadow an old boy at a Sydney law firm for a week to understand industry operations. Please contact Hock Yew at hyewtan4@hotmail.com if you can support his career interests.

MEMBERS' UPDATE

Jason Chu (’16) is working at Microsoft as a software engineer at their headquarters in Redmond, Washington (although working from home in Seattle due to the pandemic). He studied computer science at UNSW for three years, with summer internships at Atlassian in Sydney (via UNSW's Co-op program), then at Microsoft by applying online.

Owain Chandler (’16) After completing Year 12 as School Captain, Owain pursued medicine at Curtin University and graduates later this year.

Matthew Vear (’11) After extensive tertiary study at UWA, an internship at BHP, followed by placement at Golder Associates, Matthew was offered a position at Rockwater - a leading consultancy in Hydrogeology that specialised in Geothermal renewable energy. Rockwater designed and supervised the construction of the geothermal system that now heats the joint CCGS/MLC Aquatic Precinct.

Andrew Popovic (’10) Andrew initially pursued journalism and film at university and went on to build a business in film. He returned to study to pursue a Masters of Teaching and is absolutely loving it!

Sam Matyear (’10) Sam completed a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Western Australia, and a Masters of Law at the University of Melbourne. Over the past decade, he has worked as a speechwriter and advisor to various parliamentarians and Ministers, including the former Minister for Defence and the President of the Australian Senate. More recently, Sam has become the co-founder and CEO of several companies in the energy and construction industries, and provides government relations advice to businesses and organisations.

James Baron-Croston (’06) completed a Mechanical Engineering and Investment Finance degree at UWA and is now Director of Automation at Haultrax which is an engineering firm that specialises in the implementation of large-scale mining technologies such as driverless trucks and digital mining solutions. In this role he works as a Project Manager leading a team of Engineers, Electricians, Programmers, and Commercial Analysts. – always with an eye for growing the business through new technology or opening offices in different parts of the world.

Leigh Travers (’03) After completing a Commerce and Communications degree with majors in banking, investment finance and psychology Leigh became an assistant broker at Euroz Securities. He then became a stockbroker at Euroz for another five years before joining digitalBTC - the world’s first publicly listed digital currency company - as a BDM and running trading operations in the southern hemisphere.

Michael Henderson (’78) Professor Michael Henderson (’78) was recently nominated for West Australian of the Year in recognition of his entrepreneurial and philanthropic interests and passion for hockey. His achievements were published in Business News (2 June, 2021).

The OBA would love to hear from you about any success stories relating to our old boys! If you would like to share any such achievements with us, then please forward them to oldboys@ccgs.wa.edu.au

MESSAGE FROM THE ALUMNI OFFICE