Nudgee College’s most outstanding former students
From scientists, politicians and judges to musicians, fashion designers and sportstars, Nudgee College has a long list of amazing graduates. We profile some of its most notable alumni.
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WE asked Brisbane schools to nominate their most outstanding former students and the response has been overwhelming.
From Supreme Court judges to musicians, artists and more than a few politicians, their lists prove our schools have long been producing leaders in their fields and continue to do so.
Today we present the most notable alumni of St Joseph’s Nudgee College at Boondall.
RIGHT REV JOHN BATHERSBY
Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane
Born and raised in the country town of Stanthorpe, John was a boarder at Nudgee College and went straight from there to Pius XII Seminary at Banyo.
His first seven years as a priest were spent at Goondiwindi before he was sent to Rome in 1969, where he completed a licentiate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a diploma in spirituality at the Pontifical Theological Faculty Teresianum.
In 1972 he was appointed to the staff of Pius XII Seminary, where he served as spiritual director for seven years before returning to Rome in 1979 to undertake a doctorate in theology and spirituality.
He returned to the seminary for a period before being appointed Bishop of Cairns in 1986.
Five years later he was anointed Archbishop of Brisbane – a position he held until 2011.
Archbishop Bathersby was a member of the International Catholic-Methodist Dialogue from 1989-1995 and a member of the executive of the Confederation of Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania from 1991-1994.
From 1997-2000 he served as president of the National Council of Churches in Australia and in 2001 Pope John Paul II appointed him co-chair of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Working Group.
He also chaired the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, and was a member of the Bishops’ Permanent Committee.
In 2008, he was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for his service to the Catholic Church in Australia, particularly as archbishop of Brisbane, and to the community through the promotion of ecumenical dialogue.
Archbishop Bathersby died on March 9 this year, aged 83.
DR STEPHEN DALEY
Scientist and Rhodes Scholar
Stephen is a Biomedicine Discovery Fellow in the Infection and Immunity Program at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University.
After leaving Nudgee College he trained in veterinary medicine and surgery at the University of Queensland, graduating in 2000.
In 2002, after a brief period in practice, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to undertake a DPhil at Oxford University.
An expert in immunology, his research focuses on T cell development in the thymus, where T cells “learn” to recognise healthy cells at the molecular level.
This helps the immune system avoid excessive damage to healthy cells during immune responses against pathogens and tumours.
In 2013, Stephen shared in the publication of a paper, in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, which showed that self-reactive T cells are eliminated at two separate stages of development in the normal thymus.
PROFESSOR PETER KANOWSKI
Scientist
Peter has been researching, teaching and working in forest and environmental policy for 20 years, initially at Oxford University and now at the Australian National University where he is Professor of Forestry in The Fenner School of Environment and Society.
His research and teaching cover topics including plantation and farm forestry, forest conservation and management, environmental policy and forest genetics.
Peter was a Schlich Medallist at the ANU, where he completed an Honours degree in forestry, and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he completed a doctorate in forest genetics. He worked in forest management and research in Australia for three years and lectured at Oxford University’s Forestry Institute for seven years, before taking up the Chair of Forestry at ANU in 1995.
Peter was head of the ANU Department of Forestry from 1996-2001, foundation head of the School of Resources Environment and Society from 2001-2008 and deputy director of the Fenner School of Environment and Society from 2007-2008.
He spent two years as a deputy director general at the Center for International Forestry Research from 2012-2014, while on leave from the ANU.
Peter has worked actively with The Forests Dialogue since 2006, co-leading a number of its initiatives.
He was a member of Australia’s State of Environment 2011 Committee; the Council of Australian Governments’ National Bushfire Inquiry 2003-4; the board of the National Arboretum Canberra and was education program chair of the CRC for Forestry.
In 2001, Peter received the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Community Outreach and in 2016 was co-recipient of the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Supervision.
PETE MURRAY
Musician
Born and raised in Chinchilla, Pete and his family moved to Brisbane when he was 16 and he attended Nudgee College for his final two years of secondary schooling.
He only started to learn the guitar at age 22 but his ability soon improved and one day he worked up the courage to take his guitar to a barbecue, singing songs by Neil Young and Crowded House.
His main interests were travelling and pursuing a career in sports medicine but enough people told him he had the talent to be successful in music and he began playing small gigs around the country.
In 2002 he released an independent album, The Game, and the following year signed a contract with Sony BMG Australia.
His next album, Feeler, entered the ARIA top 50 album charts in 2003 and scored two ARIA nominations.
The release of So Beautiful as a single spurred sales, driving the album to No. 1 on the Australian album charts in late March 2004 and six times platinum status.
Pete has released three more albums and continues to be one of Australia’s favourite recording and touring artists.
MICHAEL RUSSO
Fashion designer
Michael was an investment banker living in London when he literally bumped into aspiring fashion designer and fellow Aussie, Tamara Ralph, in Chelsea in 2006.
The pair began a friendship which turned into love and within a year they had launched fashion label Ralph & Russo, based in a small flat with a spare room just big enough for a mannequin and a sewing machine.
Today, Ralph & Russo is of one of the world’s best-known fashion houses and creates outfits for a client list that includes international celebrities, billionaires and royalty.
It is based in a seven-storey Mayfair salon overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace and has gone global, with stores in cities including Paris and Monaco.
In 2013, the duo appeared on Fortune magazine’s list of the 40 most successful business people under 40, alongside Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
In 2014, Ralph & Russo became the first British fashion house in over a century to be accredited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
In early 2018, it was announced that Meghan Markle would be wearing a Ralph & Russo gown for her official engagement photo shoot.
Later that year, Angelina Jolie wore Ralph & Russo for a royal event.
DR MARK LOANE
Rugby union international / ophthalmologist
Mark was a boarder at Nudgee College and was just 18 when he was first selected to play rugby union for Australia in 1973.
He went on to play 89 games for Queensland and 28 Tests for the Wallabies, including captaining the side in six Tests and seven other tour matches between 1979 and 1982.
Described by Bret Harris in his book The Marauding Maroons as “the closest thing to a folk hero Queensland has seen”, Mark was noted for devastating runs.
Once he had completed his medical studies in 1980, he moved to South Africa to gain medical experience. He played rugby there in the Currie Cup and was selected as a junior Springbok.
On his return to Australia in 1981 he was immediately called back into the Test and Queensland teams.
After his rugby union career, Mark focused on a career in ophthalmology and was awarded the Cedric Cohen Medal for Excellence by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.
He established the Cape York Eye Health Project – an initiative that provides remote indigenous communities in Queensland’s north with vital eye care and has restored sight of more than 20,000 patients.
In 2011, Mark was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his work with remote, rural and indigenous people.
He has also been inducted into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame, named as one of Queensland’s top 50 sportspeople of all time and immortalised with a photograph as part of the permanent collection in Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery.
In 2019 he was named a Queensland Great in recognition of his significant achievements in ophthalmology as well as on the sporting field.
Mark now practises at a Brisbane eye surgery where he specialises in cataract surgery and glaucoma treatment.
PAUL MCLEAN
Rugby union international
Paul was one of seven members of the McLean family to play for Australia in either rugby league or rugby union.
He made his debut for Queensland in 1973 and made his Wallaby debut the following year against the All Blacks.
In all, he made 31 Test appearances between 1974 and 1982.
Paul was a world-class goal kicker and at his prime there was no better tactical kicker in the game.
He was also a gifted runner and passer, playing mostly at fly-half for the Wallabies but on some occasions was shifted to fullback or centre.
Paul captained Australia in one match, leading the team to a 22–9 win against Fiji in Suva in 1980.
In his 1982 farewell season, he reached 1000 points for Queensland in his 100th and final game.
On the day of that game, the main grandstand at Ballymore was named the McLean Stand in honour of the contributions from the McLean family to Queensland and Australian rugby.
After retiring from rugby union, Paul took up a position as sales manager in the Brisbane office of Ansett and rose to become state manager.
He later moved into commercial real estate with FPD Savills and went on to become Queensland managing director in 2002 and then CEO for Savills Australia and New Zealand in 2009, overseeing operations and employing more than 1000 staff.
In April 2016, Paul stepped down as CEO to focus on the Queensland and New Zealand businesses.
He was president of the Queensland Rugby Union from 1999 to 2005.
In April 2005 he was appointed president of the Australian Rugby Union, a position he held for nearly five years.
In 2011, Paul was inducted into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.
He is also a director of Youngcare, a charitable organisation that works to create choice in care and housing options for young Australians with high care needs.
SEAN DORNEY
Journalist
After leaving Nudgee College at the end of 1968, Sean studied economics at James Cook University, where he was editor of the student newspaper.
That secured him a cadetship at the ABC and in 1974 he was seconded to work at the National Broadcasting Commission in Port Moresby.
He returned to Australia in 1976 but was back in PNG three years later as the ABC’s correspondent.
In 1984, Sean was deported by the Papua New Guinea Government for his role in the Four Corners interview of James Nyaro, a West Papuan rebel commander fighting the Indonesian Government.
The following year, he left the ABC to work as a press secretary in the Northern Territory Government for 18 months.
He was allowed back into PNG in 1987 and served for another 12 years as the ABC’s correspondent.
Sean was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1990 by the Papua New Guinea Government for his reporting on the Sandline affair – a political scandal that became one of the defining moments in the history of PNG, brought down the government and took the country to the verge of a military revolt.
He won a Walkley Award for his coverage of the Aitape tsunami in 1998, and in the same year the Pacific Islands News Association awarded him the Pacific Media Freedom Award.
In 2009, Sean was deported from Fiji for his reporting on Frank Bainimarama’s abrogation of the country’s constitution.
Sean covered Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region for 38 years and in 2000 was made a Member of the Order of Australia for “service to journalism as a foreign correspondent”.
The Australian Council for International Development awarded Sean its inaugural Media Award in 2012.
In 2018 he was awarded a Walkley Award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
Sean was recognised as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs in November 2018 and the following year the Government of Papua New Guinea recognised him as a Companion of the Star of Melanesia.
In 2018 he returned to Nudgee College to receive a Signum Fidei award – the highest honour that can be conferred on a college old boy.
During his time in PNG, Sean was also a member of the country’s national rugby league team in 1975 and 1976.
He has published three books – Papua New Guinea: People, Politics and History since 1975 (1990); The Sandline Affair: Politics and Mercenaries and the Bougainville Crisis (1998) and The Embarrassed Colonialist (2016).
ROCKY ELSOM
Rugby union international
Rocky was captain of the Nudgee College First XV and made the Australian Schoolboys side.
Following that success, he spent two seasons with the Canterbury Bulldogs rugby league club in Sydney and was a prop forward in its 2001 premiership-winning Jersey Flegg Cup side.
Rocky returned to rugby union in 2003, making his debut in Super Rugby for the NSW Waratahs. He also co-captained of the Australian Under 21s at the 2003 Under 21 World Cup.
Rocky continued to progress in the Australian rugby scene, starring for the Waratahs during the 2005 season and gaining selection for the opening Test against Samoa.
He held his place in the Wallabies and re-signed with the Waratahs, which saw him stay at the NSW franchise until the end of the 2008 Super 14 season.
In 2007 he received the Matt Burke Cup for the Waratahs, along with the Herald Award for the best performing Super 14 player and the NSW Medal for outstanding contribution to NSW rugby.
That same year, he was named the most valuable flanker in Australia.
Rocky developed into one of the dominant members of the Australian forward pack, becoming the first choice blindside flanker after starting in all but one of the Wallabies 20 Test matches over 2007-2008.
In 2008 he was named Wallaby of the Year and that year signed a one-year deal with Irish provincial side Leinster.
He finished his international career with 75 caps for Australia between 2005 and 2011, captaining the side from 2009-2011.
Rocky holds the record for most tries by a Wallaby forward and is one of only a handful of Australians to win a Heineken Cup medal twice.
He was European Player of the Year in 2009 and inducted into the European Cup Hall of Fame in 2010.
After retiring form rugby union, Rocky took over RCNM Racing Club Narbonne Mediterranean in 2013.
RCNM’s 2013/14 season, Elsom’s first at the 110-year-old club, broke almost every major record in the club’s history.
JIMMY MAHER
Cricketer
Originally from Innisfail, Jimmy played 150-plus first-class matches for the Queensland Bulls, was part of a successful World Cup campaign, played one-day cricket for Australia and captained his state.
He has been an integral part of Queensland’s strong top order that helped the state dominate the Australian domestic scene for a decade from the mid-1990s.
Jimmy was 21 when he first tasted Sheffield Shield success in 1994-95.
The Bulls went on to win four more titles, including a hat-trick from 1999-2000 to 2001-02, before Jimmy took over as leader and guided them to success in 2005-06.
His most memorable batting performance was 223 in a Queensland total of 6/900.
Jimmy was first selected to play for Australia in two one-day matches in 1997–98.
In 2002 he was included in the Australian ODI squad as a spare batsman and fill-in wicketkeeper for the next few seasons, including the 2003 Cricket World Cup, but never managed to obtain a regular place in the side.
In 2001-02, he became the first batsman to reach 1000 runs in the Pura Cup.
Jimmy retired from all types of cricket at the end of the Australian 2007-08 domestic season.
At the time, he was the second-most capped Bulls player with 154 first-class games and the first Queenslander to reach the double of 100 Pura Cup matches and 100 domestic one-day games.
In 2010, Jimmy co-founded the non-profit organisation Bulls Masters, which uses former Queensland cricket greats to help foster and develop cricket throughout the state and provide community support and assistance to local charities and indigenous communities.
JASON AKERMANIS
AFL player
It was while he was attending Nudgee College and playing with Mayne in the QAFL, that Jason was spotted by Brisbane Bears talent scouts.
He completed year 12 during his first year with the Bears.
After the Brisbane Lions came into being in 1997, Jason made a name for himself as one of the club’s most talented players and in 2001 won the AFL’s coveted Brownlow Medal.
Known for his goalscoring abilities, in 2002 Jason won the AFL Goal of the Year award.
He was part of the Lions’ premiership-winning squad in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
He was the club’s best and fairest player in 1999 and 2005, leading goal scorer in 2004 and named in the All Australian team in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004.
But after clashing with Brisbane Lions management and making several inflammatory public statements on subjects ranging from drugs in sport to gay players in the AFL, he was traded to the Western Bulldogs for the 2007 season.
In 248 games for the Lions he had scored 307 goals.
He remained with the Bulldogs until July 2010 when the club terminated his contract, effectively ending his AFL career.
DAVID ‘LUTTSY’ LUTTERAL
Media personality
The man they call “Luttsy” began his radio career in 1994 at FM88 Hyper Radio at Aspley.
He worked as a sports journalist and broadcaster at Radio 4BC Brisbane from 1996-2001 and in 2002 co-hosted a Triple M weekend show Blood Sweat and Beers with Ashley Bradnam.
In 2003 the show changed name to Good Morning Darra.
That same year, Luttsy started to appear weekly on the ABC TV’s The Fat and he later moved with the show to Channel 7.
In 2004 he featured weekly on 110% Tony Squires and in 2005 began co-hosting the new Nova 106.9FM Brisbane breakfast show which enjoyed rating success for almost a decade.
He was supposed to be “the sports guy” but quickly became a listener favourite for his quick wit and cheeky irreverence.
In 2009, he headed to Los Angeles where he spent the next couple of years before returning to Nova in 2011.
Outside radio, Luttsy appears on the NRL Footy Show and is a regular on the Nine Network’s 20 to 1.
He has served on the board of The Queensland Academy of Sport and been brand ambassador for companies including XXXX and Audi.
BRENDAN NASH
Cricketer
After leaving Nudgee College, Brendan played grade cricket in Brisbane and was leading run scorer in the 1999–2000 season.
Before breaking into the senior side, he had represented Queensland at under-19 level as well as playing for the Queensland Colts and Queensland Academy of Sport.
He made his debut for the Queensland Bulls in 2001 but in the 2002–03 season his form slipped away and he was not offered a contract for 2004–05.
Brendan then decided to restart his career by moving to the West Indies as he was eligible to play for Jamaica through his father Paul, a Jamaican Olympic swimmer.
In October 2007 he was named in the Jamaican squad and played a key role in Jamaica winning the KFC Cup.
When he was not selected for the Test series against Australia in 2008, Brendan decided to play for Monton & Weaste CC in the Central Lancashire League during the Caribbean’s off-season.
He played a major part in Monton & Weaste CC winning the CLL Wood Cup final, in which he was named man of the match.
In 2009, Brendan joined East Lancs. in the Lancashire League.
Between October 2007 and May 2011, he scored 1093 Test runs for West Indies at an average of 35.2.
But within months he had a run of bad form and was dropped from the Test side, and in October 2011 his central contract with the WICB was allowed to lapse.
In 2012 he signed for Kent, for the English county cricket season, and stayed on for the 2013 season when he guided the club to an unlikely County Championship win.
He left the club in August 2015.
RON GRAINER
Composer
After graduating from Nudgee College in 1938, Ron studied civil engineering and music at the University of Queensland.
After the outbreak of World War II, he joined the RAAF and was assigned to Radar Station No. 58, Townsville. While stationed there, and in subsequent similar postings, he contributed to barracks recreation activities by scoring and organising numerous servicemen shows.
In February 1940 he joined the RAAF entertainment unit but was seriously injured in an accident just a few months later. On his recovery, Ron was discharged from the RAAF as permanently medically unfit and a rehabilitation course took him to the NSW State Conservatorium of Music.
He received his teaching and performing diploma for pianoforte in December 1949 and during 1950 and 1951 began appearing in a series of solo artist radio shows for the ABC.
In 1952 Ron left Australia for London with his wife and 10-year-old stepdaughter and found a three-month engagement playing piano in a nightclub.
In search of his big break, he entered song competitions and performed in TV plays and in 1960 achieved public recognition with his theme and incidental music for the TV series Maigret.
That won him the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Composition for Film, TV or Radio in 1961 and work began to pour in from a wide range of genres including theme music for The Goon Show, Steptoe and Son, Tales of the Unexpected, the movie To Sir With Love, documentaries, dramas and children’s shows.
Most famously, in 1963 he wrote the iconic theme music for the Doctor Who television series.
Ron also worked with the instrumental group The Eagles, who recorded a number of his themes.
After living on a farm in Portugal for several years, he returned to London in 1974 and had a second round of creativity, scoring the Emmy and BAFTA-winning miniseries Edward & Mrs Simpson as well as Tales of the Unexpected (1979) and Rebecca (1979).
Ron passed away in February 1981.
TERRY WHITE
Businessman and politician
After high school, Terry studied pharmacy while apprenticed to a chemist in Scarborough. After graduating, he bought a pharmacy at Woody Point in 1958.
He later headed overseas and got his first taste of politics when he worked on the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy.
On his return to Australia, Terry joined the Queensland branch of the Liberal Party.
He was first elected to parliament in September 1979, at a by-election for the seat of Redcliffe.
Terry fell in with a group of MPs who disagreed with Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen and Liberal leader Llew Edwards on a number of issues.
Despite that, he was appointed Minister for Welfare Services in December 1980.
In 1983, he was sacked by Bjelke-Petersen and Edwards after crossing the floor to vote against them on a matter.
In response, Terry called a spill motion in the party room to declare the party leadership open and was elected leader of the Liberal Party
When Joh Bjelke-Petersen refused to appoint him as his Deputy Premier, Terry pulled the Liberals out of the Coalition, leaving Bjelke-Petersen seven seats short of a majority.
Soon after, at the 1983 state election, Terry’s Liberal Party was decimated although he retained his seat.
He lost his position as Liberal leader but retained his electorate until the 1989 election when he was defeated in the massive Labor wave that swept through Queensland after the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
After leaving parliament, Terry concentrated on his business career.
He sold his first pharmacy franchise in 1994, and by 2010 there were more than 150 Terry White Chemists outlets across the country.
He served as president of the Pharmacy Guild and was involved in the founding of the Australian Institute of Pharmacy Management.
In 2012, Terry was appointed board chairman of Metro South Hospital and Health Service.
He was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2011, for his significant contribution to the advancement of the pharmacy profession and to his community.
JOE BURNS
Cricketer
Joe made his Sheffield Shield debut in February 2011 and the following season developed into one of the highest-scoring batsmen in Australian first-class cricket, resulting in a call-up to the Australia A side to face the touring English.
He scored 114 in a one-day game, not long after being named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
Joe continued his good form and was top scorer for the Brisbane Heat in its win over Perth Scorchers in the final of the 2012–13 Big Bash League season.
His performances brought him to the attention of English side Leicestershire, which signed him for part of the 2013 County season but that was cut short when a hip injury forced him to return home.
In December 2014, Joe was selected to play for Australia in the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
He made his first Test century against New Zealand at the Gabba and made his One Day International debut for Australia against Ireland in August 2015 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In December 2017, Joe scored his maiden first-class double century, batting for Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia.
In March 2018, Cricket Australia named him in its Sheffield Shield “team of the year”.
That same month, he was urgently recalled to the Test side following the suspensions of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for ball tampering during the tour of South Africa.
In February 2019, Joe was in the Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka.
He was not a member of the Australian squad to tour England in 2019 and still plays for the Brisbane Heat in the KFC T20 Big Bash League and for Queensland in Australian domestic cricket, with many good judges believing he should soon be recalled to the Test side.
GORDON DUNSTER
Football referee
Gordon was in his final year at Nudgee College when he began refereeing football matches in 1976 at the age of 15.
A decade later, a promotion to the National Soccer League as a referee and linesman signalled the start of an illustrious career.
Involvement with the National League culminated in Gordon officiating several National Soccer League Cups and grand finals between 1992 and 1996.
During this time he was twice named Australian Linesman of the Year and was chosen to control many international matches played in Australia.
Gordon’s international representation began in 1981 and eventually grew to the point where he was given the chance to officiate throughout the 1992 Olympic Games, including the role of assistant referee in the gold medal match.
That same year, he was named FIFA’s No. 1 Linesman in the World.
His rise to international prominence also included officiating at several World Cup qualifiers and appearing at the 1994 World Cup where he assisted in the quarter-final.
Gordon was also involved in various Tri-Nations matches, the four Nation’s Cup tournaments and finals, as well as many national and international Youth League games.
He retired in 1998, having been named the world’s No. 1 assistant referee for seven years running and being the only Australian ever to officiate at an Olympic Games final.
In an effort to expand and help with the growth of refereeing, Gordon became involved as a state refereeing coach in Canberra.
In 2004, he was inducted into the ActewAGL ACT Sport Hall of Fame.
PROFESSOR JOHN BOLDEMAN
Nuclear scientist
Born in Longreach, John spent much of his childhood in Maryborough before attending Nudgee College.
He went on to study physics at the University of Queensland and joined the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) while continuing his studies.
John worked at the AAEC, and then ANSTO, for 42 years, rising to the position of Director of Physics.
He was awarded a PhD from Wollongong University and a D.Sc from University of NSW in 1984.
He organised the purchase and installation of the Antares accelerator in 1988 at ANSTO.
John is best known for his contribution to the Australian Synchrotron located near Monash University in Melbourne.
Heavily involved in the development of the project from initiation in the 1990s, including co-designing it and monitoring its construction, he became the Foundation Technical Director in 2001 and also the Victorian Government’s principal Adviser on the project.
John received a Lifetime Contribution Award for his work on the ANTARES Tandem Accelerator and the Australian Synchrotron.
He was elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 1993 and in 2015 was made an Officer of the General Division of the Order of Australia for services to Australian science and technology.
WILL CHAMBERS
Footballer
Will began playing junior football in the Northern Territory and at the age of 13 moved to Brisbane and played for Nudgee College.
As a schoolboy, he was signed by the Melbourne Storm to compete in the NRL from 2006.
Will played for the Storm in the 2009 NRL grand final win against the Parramatta Eels. The club was later stripped of the premiership due to salary cap breaches.
He switched to rugby union from 2010 after signing a two-year deal with the Queensland Reds to play in the Super 14.
After a disappointing 2011 season he was released by the Reds after missing a place in its 2012 squad.
After a brief stint with Irish club Munster, Will returned to the rugby league with Melbourne Storm in 2012, immediately adding an NRL premiership to his credits.
In 2013, he played in the Storm’s World Club Challenge victory over Leeds Rhinos.
Will was called into the Queensland team for the 2014 State of Origin series, making his debut at Suncorp Stadium in Game Three.
In 2015 pre-season, he captained the Melbourne Storm in the NRL Auckland Nines. He was also selected for the Indigenous All Stars in the 2015 All Stars match.
That same year he was selected for the Australian Kangaroos, making his Test debut in the centres against New Zealand in the Anzac Test at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
In October 2019, the 31-year-old was made life member of the Melbourne Storm. Just days later he announced he was leaving the Storm and returning to rugby union with a Japanese club.
In a sterling rugby league career, Will won three premierships, played for Queensland in 14 State of Origins and also played seven Tests for Australia.
BERNIE POWER
Publican
Bernie Power will always be remembered as the publican who revolutionised the Queensland beer market.
When Castlemaine Perkins and CUB both changed their terms of credit to hoteliers from one month to seven days in late 1985, Bernie became determined to brew his own brand.
And so Power’s beer was born.
Bernie headhunted a number of young brewers to produce Power’s Bitter, Power’s Gold and Power’s Dry.
He ensured his company was at the forefront by sponsoring the Brisbane Broncos and Cronulla Sharks NRL teams.
By 1991/2 Power’s had claimed roughly 14 per cent of Queensland’s beer market until being bought out by Foster’s Group CUB brewery in 1993.
JACOB ELORDI
Actor
Jacob began showing interest in acting when he was young and was involved in many school dramas.
His first appearance in a Hollywood film was in the 2017 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, filmed mostly in Australia.
That same year he appeared in Swinging Safari playing the role of Rooster and also starred in The Kissing Booth in the role of Noah Flynn.
Jacob has also appeared in the 2018 horror film The Mortuary Collection and in 2019 began playing Nate Jacobs in the HBO television series Euphoria.
He is currently filming The Kissing Booth 2 in Cape Town, South Africa, with a release date sometime in 2020.
Also in 2019, Jacob became a Calvin Klein ambassador alongside models Bella Hadid and Naomi Campbell.
BRENTON RICKARD
Olympic swimmer
After suffering the disappointment of missing the Athens 2004 Olympics, Brenton moved to the Australian Institute of Sport, where he would spend almost five years.
He finally emerged at international level in 2006, swimming at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where he won silver and bronze medals.
Brenton arrived at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a medal contender and went on to set Australian, Commonwealth and Oceanic records, capturing silver medals in the 200m breaststroke and 4x100m medley relay, and finishing fifth in the 100m breaststroke.
At the 2009 World Championships in Rome, he became the first Australian man in 45 years to win a world or Olympic title in breaststroke.
That same year he was named the AIS Athlete of the Year.
Brenton spent a decade on the Australian swimming team, winning around 30 medals at major international meets and 19 national titles.
After retiring from swimming in 2013, he was Manager Sport Services for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
He currently operates a sporting consultancy business and is general manager of the Australian Swimmers Association, which is responsible for collective bargaining for the elite swimmers of Australia and provides them with professional and wellbeing services.
RICHARD MILLS
Conductor and composer
Born and bred in Toowoomba, Richard was a boarder at Nudgee College and has gone on to become one of Australia’s most sought-after composers and music directors.
On leaving school, he studied in London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He worked as a percussionist in England and for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, starting to conduct and compose in the 1980s.
Richard has worked with a number of the nation’s music organisations and his works are regularly performed throughout the world. His compositions range from major orchestral and choral works to ballet music.
His CD recording Richard Mills Orchestral Works with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra has become a bestseller on the ABC Classics label.
His three-volume CD of the film music of Franz Waxman with the same orchestra was awarded a Deutsche Schallplattern Kritiks Preis in 1992, and he has conducted recordings with the West Australian and Tasmanian symphony orchestras.
Richard was commissioned to write music for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the 2000 Olympic Games and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
He was responsible for the Australian Bicentenary re-orchestration of Charles Williams’ Majestic Fanfare, the signature tune of ABC news and television broadcasts.
Richard was also engaged to conduct Opera Australia’s first complete production of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in the State Theatre, Melbourne, in 2013, the bicentenary of the composer’s birth.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1999 and received the Green Room Award in 2001 and 2002.
He also received the Helpmann Award in 2002 for his opera Batavia, in 2006 for his conducting of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, and in 2007 for Best Musical Direction of his opera The Love of the Nightingale.
He also received the Ian Potter Foundation Award for Established Composers.
Currently artistic director of Victorian Opera, Richard previously served in the same role for the West Australian Opera and as artistic consultant with Orchestra Victoria.
TIM CARMODY
Judge
After leaving Nudgee College, Tim enrolled at the University of Queensland in a Bachelor of Laws degree, but dropped out after a semester.
After several years in the police force, in 1976 he resumed his study of law at the Queensland University of Technology, while still on the force.
He later worked as a clerk in the Public Defender’s Office, while he completed his part-time studies.
Called to the Bar in 1982, as a barrister his roles included counsel assisting the Fitzgerald Inquiry between 1987 and 1989.
From 1989-1991 Tim was one of the junior counsel assisting the special prosecutor conducting subsequent prosecutions arising out of the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
He was junior counsel in the inquiry into the Criminal Justice Commission between 1996 and 1997.
In 1998, Tim was appointed Queensland Crime Commissioner and in 1999 he became a senior counsel.
In 2003 he was appointed a Judge of the Family Court. He resigned from that court in 2008 and returned to private practice.
Tim also presided over the Queensland Child Protection Commission of Inquiry and handed down his final report in July 2013.
From July 2014 to July 2015 he was Chief Justice of Queensland but resigned amid ongoing tensions with other members of the judiciary.
He remained a Judge of the Supreme Court, sitting as a supplemental member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal before resigning his commission as a judge altogether in September 2019.
PROFESSOR WILLIAM COMAN
Scientist
During his final year at Nudgee College, William obtained a Commonwealth Scholarship to study medicine at the University of Queensland.
Following his graduation, he worked as a registrar at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane and then at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, and as a senior registrar at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London from 1967-1969.
William then served as chairman of otolaryngology at the University of Queensland for 37 years.
In that time, he also served as president of both the Cartesian Society and the Australian Society of Otolaryngology. He was also chairman of the Australian Board of Otolaryngology.
William has established an international reputation for his skills in all major domains of otolaryngology, including research into ear diseases specific to the Aboriginal population, investigation into the molecular behaviour of head and neck cancer, and elucidation of mechanisms of swallowing disorders.
He was appointed a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon to the Princess Alexandra Hospital and served as the Garnett Passe Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation Professor of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery from 1999-2011.
In 2010 he was a member of a team of doctors who developed a new approach to the formulation of an Epstein-Barr virus antigen-based nasopharyngeal carcinoma vaccine.
In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the English College of Surgeons and two years later was awarded life membership to the Australian Society of Head and Neck Surgeons.
In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship to the American College of Surgeons.
William was the foundation chair of the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation in Brisbane.
He was chairman/director of the Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Queensland and the Princess Alexandra Hospital from 1974–2011.
He has supervised and mentored more than a dozen PhD students throughout his career, published more than 50 peer review articles and book chapters and has lectured at more than 70 national and international meetings, conferences and courses.
William is currently Emeritus Professor of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Queensland and chairman and trustee of the Garnett Passe Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation.
SEAN McMAHON
Rugby union player
A 2011 Australian Schoolboys player, Sean was the youngest to ever play for the Australia Sevens team in 2011 and went on to feature in the side for another two years while also making the Australia Under-20 squad for the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa.
He took his first steps in senior rugby with GPS in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition.
He was named in the Melbourne Rebels extended playing squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season and played his first match in the February 2014 season opener.
In March, he was signed to a two-year deal with the Rebels.
He was part of the Australian Sevens squad that won the bronze medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and captained the Australian Under 20 team at the World Championships while juggling his debut season with the Melbourne Rebels.
In October 2014, Sean was named in the Australian Wallabies to play against the Barbarians and a week later made his Test debut against Wales.
He was a member of the 2015 World Cup Squad and played in the pool matches against Uruguay and Wales.
In late 2017, after several years in a Wallaby jersey, Sean turned down multiple offers to play Super Rugby in Australia in favour of joining the Japanese-based Sunwolves club.
JOE TOMANE
Rugby league/union player
Joe attended Nudgee College in his senior year and in 2007 was selected in the Australian Schoolboys.
The following year he joined the Melbourne Storm in the NRL and in 2010 switched to the Gold Coast Titans on a two-year deal.
That same year, he was also selected in the Samoan training squad.
In June 2011 Joe returned to rugby union, signing a two-year deal with the Brumbies to play in the Super Rugby competition.
He made his international debut playing against Scotland in June 2012 but an ankle injury during training ruled him out of the rest of the Test series.
He went on to play a total of 18 Tests for the Wallabies.
In July 2016, Joe confirmed that he would be leaving the Brumbies for French club Montpellier at the end of the season.
He spent two seasons at Montpellier before joining the Fardy club in Dublin.
WESLEY DENING
TV personality/producer
School captain in his final year at Nudgee in 2000, Wesley first made a name for himself as host of TV programs including Totally Wild, Totally Wild: Antarctica, Ten’s First at Five News, Kick2Kick and was also as a contestant on Big Brother Australia 2004.
After appearing on Big Brother, he appeared in radio advertisements for several Brisbane radio stations and in 2005 became an ambassador for Tourism Queensland and an Australia Day Ambassador.
In 2006, his first year of reporting with Totally Wild earned him a Logie nomination for the Graham Kennedy Award for Best New Talent on TV.
In addition to his work in front of the camera, Wesley also travelled Australia as a speaker for the National Young Leaders Day, a biannual event held in all five major capital cities.
In 2009, after moving to the United States, he began appearing on truTV’s The Smoking Gun Presents, as one of the many co-hosts. The show is filmed in New York and Los Angeles.
In 2011, he was signed to host and star in a hidden camera prank series for Disney Channel, entitled Code: 9. It premiered on the Disney Channel in July 2012 and aired in the UK, Australia, Canada, Russia and New Zealand.
Wesley is the founder of the WD Entertainment Group production company.
Its first TV series The Stafford Brothers premiered for Fox8 Australia and went on to play in more than 10 countries.
In 2014, WDE produced and launched The Flying Winemaker on Discovery Channel TLC and Big Crazy Family Adventure for the Travel Channel.
Wesley is currently still based in Los Angeles.
DAMIEN ISTRIA
Gymnast
Damian competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
At the 2002 Games in Manchester, he took silver on the horizontal bar and four years later won the gold medal in the same event in Melbourne.
That saw him commemorated on Australian postage stamps.
After retiring from competitive gymnastics, Damien became an acrobat at Cirque du Soleil.
He stayed with the troupe for seven years while studying for a Bachelor of Business and Masters of Applied Finance.
In 2013, he made the transition into finance, firstly with the Brisbane Airport Corporation and more recently as a business analyst with an energy company.
JACK MCLOUGHLIN
Swimmer
Jack burst on to the scene at the 2016 Australian Swimming Championships where he obliterated his best time in the 1500m freestyle to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
He had swum mainly the middle distance freestyle events as a junior and at the 2013 Australian Youth Olympics won gold in the 200m freestyle relay.
At the 2015 World University Championships, Jack won silver in the 400m freestyle and finished fifth in the 1500m freestyle.
At the Rio Olympics he finished ninth in the 1500m heats, just missing out on a place in the final.
Jack represented Australia at the 2017 World Championships, placing 11th in the 1500m and 13th in the 800m.
His breakout meet was the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast when he won gold in the 1500m and silver in the 400m.
He kept the medal momentum rolling at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships when he won the 400m freestyle and bronze in the 800m.
At the 2019 World Championships he earned his first world medal as a part of the 4x200m freestyle relay team which won the gold in Commonwealth record time.
CHRIS LYNN
Cricketer
After leaving Nudgee College, Chris played for the Queensland Under 19 side and made his first class debut as a 19-year-old against South Australia at the Gabba in March 2010.
He represents the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League, where he is known as a big-hatting batsman.
As well as playing for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield competition, Chris has played domestic cricket in India, the Caribbean and Europe.
He made his Twenty20 international debut against England in Hobart in January 2014.
In January 2017, he was named in the Australia One Day International squad for the series against Pakistan, making his debut on January 13, 2017.
CLYDE LEWIS
Swimmer
Training with Dean Boxall at St Western club in Brisbane, Clyde hit the international swimming scene at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Singapore when he won gold in the men’s 200m individual medley.
Later that year he picked up five gold medals, two silver and one bronze at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Samoa.
Clyde made his Australian Dolphins debut at the 2016 World Short Course Championships and two years later, at 21 years of age, helped the 4x200m men’s relay team to silver at the Pan Pacific Championships.
That same year he took the gold medal in the 400m individual medley and bronze in the 200m individual medley at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
At the 2019 World Championships, Clyde swam career-best times in the 100m and 200m freestyle events.
In the semi-finals of the 200m freestyle, he set the second-fastest Australian time ever.
MITCHELL SWEPSON
Cricketer
A leg-spin bowler, Swepson made his List A debut for Cricket Australia XI in October 2015 in the 2015-16 Matador BBQs One-Day Cup.
That same month, he made his first class debut for Australia against New Zealand.
He made his Twenty20 debut for the Brisbane Heat in January 2016.
Twelve months later, Mitchell was named in Australia’s Test squad for the series against India but he did not play.
In August 2017, he was added to Australia’s Test squad for the tour to Bangladesh, but again did not play.
Mitchell made his Twenty20 International debut for Australia against England in June 2018.
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