20 to one Famous Alumni: Hornsby students that rose to fame
THEY are famous faces across the globe that discovered their talent in our schools. Here is Hornsby’s top 5 most famous faces.
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THEY are famous faces across the globe that discovered their talent in our schools.
The team at the Advocate have debated our list of the Hornsby Shire’s most famous alumni, and you may be surprised who we discovered along the way.
From critically aclaimed film stars to authors and even former prime ministers, Hornsby schools have produced an honour roll of successful alumni that have made it on the world stage.
Here is Hornsby’s top 5 most famous faces.
#5. GOUGH WHITLAM — Knox Grammar
EDWARD Gough Whitlam was born in the Melbourne suburb of Kew on July 11, 1916.
His family moved to Turramurra in 1921, after his father Frederick Whitlam became the Deputy Crown Solicitor for the NSW Government.
He attended school at Mowbray House and then Knox Grammar School up until 1926, when his father was transferred to Canberra and he transferred to Telopea Park Intermediate High School, where he was known for editing the school magazine, The Telopea.
Whitlam went on to complete his leaving certificate at the early age of 15 and was considered too young to attend University.
The day Japanese aeroplanes attacked the US Naval Base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was the day Whitlam registered to serve in the Royal Australian Air Force. Although he was not called up until June 1942, six weeks after marrying Margaret Dovey.
Whitlam became a member of parliament on February 17, 1953 where he was recognised as one of the most articulate members of government, according to federal government reports.
Whitlam led the Labor Party to power for the first time in more than 20 years in 1972, before controversially losing his position as PM.
The governor-general dismissed Whitlam amid the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
A host of new policies were introduced under the Whitlam Government including the termination of military conscription and lowered barriers for Asian immigration into Australia. He died on October 21, 2014.
Today we are saddened by the death of Knox Old Boy Gough Whitlam. #goughwhitlam pic.twitter.com/qcH6QO4fU8
— Knox Grammar School (@knoxgrammar) 21 October 2014
#4. HUGO WEAVING — Knox Grammar
THE GROUNDBREAKING Australian actor is one of the most recognisable faces across the globe.
Hugo Weaving is known for his roles as Elrond in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies and Agent Smith in The Matrix Trilogy.
The actor also took up the mantle of supervillain Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Weaving attended Knox Grammar in 1976, after returning to Australia from England, where he lived for several years.
#3. PETER GARRETT — Barker College
WE HAD to ask ourselves, ‘how do we sleep’ without Peter Garrett in the top 10.
The former Barker College student and Midnight Oil frontman has brought us some of the greatest Australian classics of our time.
Garrett and Midnight Oil rose to fame in 1982 when the Power and the Passion hit the ears of hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.
Garrett was born on Sydney’s Upper North Shore in Wahroonga on April 16, 1953 and studied Barker College during his youth, while also attending Boy Scout classes nearby.
Garrett was in the graduating class of Barker College in 1970, before going on to complete a law degree at Canberra’s Australian National University and the University of NSW.
Garrett was studying at ANU when his father died from an asthma attack.
It is also reported his mother died several years later in a house fire.
#2. MEL GIBSON — Asquith Boys High School and St Leo’s College
MEL GIBSON is an internationally renowned actor and filmmaker, best known for his lead roles in the first three Mad Max movies and Lethal Weapon, as well as his depiction of Sir William Wallace in Braveheart.
His role as director and producer of the historical retelling resulted in Gibson receiving two Academy Awards, Best Director and Best Picture.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge was also received by critics as one of the all-time-best-directed battle scenes in film history.
Gibson first found his love for acting while gracing the stages of Asquith Boys High School and St Leo’s College, after moving to the Upper North Shore from New York in 1968.
Countless Hornsby residents have recalled childhood encounters with Gibson, on local community Facebook page: ‘You grew up in hornsby if you remember’.
“Mel Gibson lived in Mt Kuring-gai and my nana played bingo with his mum,” one post on the popular group read.
Gibson went to high school at St Leo’s and Asquith Boys and had haircuts from Dominic in Asquith.
“My daughter’s boyfriend’s father went to school with him at Leo’s and was a good mate,” another post said.
The pair had a night out on the town, in Milsons Point, the night before Gibson auditioned for the Mad Max role, and the rest is history.
“Kjell who owned the Village Gym (opposite Forbes Footwear and next to the cinema) was the Lord Humungous In Mad Max 2,” the post said.
#1. HUGH JACKMAN — Knox Grammar
THE TONY Award winner and Academy Award nominee is a much-loved triple-threat in the performing arts — and found his feet on stage in the halls of Knox Grammar in 1985, during a production of My Fair Lady.
The team at the Advocate wrestled over the idea of ‘the huge jacked-man’ taking out top spot, but following vigorous debate, someone else took the cake.
The Australian actor and all-round nice guy is renowned for his role as Wolverine in Marvel’s X-Men series, as well as a stellar performance in the musical, The Greatest Showman.
Jackman won a Tony for his role in The Boy from Oz, and even won an Emmy Award for one of his appearances as host of the Tony Awards.
Jackman was school captain of Knox Grammar in 1986.
The Hollywood super-star has a habit of visiting his former school, including a meeting with HSC drama students in 2012.
“It was a wonderful, inspiring experience for the boys,” said Knox Head of Drama, Michael Griffiths at the time. “Hugh was very engaged in the rehearsal that he witnessed and he gave boys some valuable feedback about their performances.”
Jackman also visited the school’s John Williams Hall, the venue where he played the lead role of Henry Higgins in the 1985 Knox production of My Fair Lady.
