North Sydney Boys, Girls High School: Top 15 alumni
Oscar winners, Australian of the Year recipients, comedians and environmental campaigners are among the high achievers to have come through the doors of North Sydney Boys and Girls High Schools over the decades. FIND OUT THE TOP 15 FORMER STUDENTS.
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Oscar winners, Australian of the Year recipients, comedians and environmental campaigners are among the high achievers to have come through the doors of North Sydney Boys and Girls High Schools over the decades.
The North Shore Times this week looks at 15 notable former students from the schools who have gone on to achieve recognition in fields ranging from sport to law and media to medicine.
ALLAN BORDER
Synonymous with the sport of cricket, Allan Border is one of the most prolific batsman in Australian Test history and maintained a test average score of 51. Border, now aged 65, was born in Cremorne and grew up in Mosman. Since graduating from North Sydney Boys High School in 1972, Border clocked up countless cricket achievements including holding the all-time run-scorer record in test matches from 1993 until the record was surpassed by Brian Lara in 2015. He now lives in Queensland.
BENITA COLLINGS
One of the most recognisable faces and voices for generations of Australian children, Benita Collings presented more than 400 episodes of Play School from 1969 to 1999. Collings has also appeared in numerous theatre productions, soap operas and serials including A Country Practice and Homicide. Speaking at the 50th anniversary of Play School in 2016, Collings said she believed the show had lasted the test of time because it had “kept up with what’s happened in the world”.
MARK HUMPHRIES
Armed with a sardonic wit, Mark Humphries is one of Australia’s leading comedians and is known for lampooning politicians in the nation’s highest offices. The Killara local, who graduated from North Sydney Boys High School and grew up in Crows Nest, has appeared on countless television and radio programs is now the resident satirist on ABC current affairs program 7.30.
NICOLE KIDMAN
Now one of Hollywood’s biggest names, Nicole Kidman grew up on the north shore and attended both Lane Cove Public School and North Sydney Girls High School. The Oscar winner has appeared in more than 80 films and television programs including Moulin Rouge, The Hours, Big Little Lies and Lion. Kidman – who ranked as the fourth highest-paid actor in the world last year – is also a producer and will headline the upcoming miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers based on the novel of the same name by north shore author Liane Moriarty.
ALAN MACKAY-SIM
The renowned biomedical scientist, Alan Mackay-Sim pioneered ground breaking research into stem cells that contributed to the treatment of spinal cord injuries. In 2017, he was named Australian of the Year – using the recognition to campaign for long-term government commitment into research and health spending. Taking the stage to receive the honour, he said: “researchers need a long view, much longer than the political horizon.” Mr Mackay-Sim – who grew up in Roseville – was also the director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research at Griffith University before his retirement in 2015.
CATHERINE MARTIN
With four Oscars, five BAFTAs and a Tony Award up her sleeve, Catherine Martin remains one of the world’s leading costume and production designers. Martin, who was born in Lindfield and worked at Roseville theatre while attending North Sydney Girls High School, is best known for her work on films and theatre productions including Moulin Rouge, La bohème, The Great Gatsby and Strictly Ballroom. Her next film will be the upcoming biography of Elvis, which recently filmed on the Gold Coast.
LUCY MCCALLUM
Lucy McCallum has worked in the legal profession for more than 30 years and has served as a NSW Supreme Court judge since 2008. The North Sydney Girls High School graduate began working as a solicitor in 1986 and later became a prosecutor for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Her achievements include working alongside asbestos victims in the James Hardie Royal Commission and pro bono work for refugees in immigration detention. In 2019, Justice McCallum was elevated to the NSW Court of Appeal.
ELISE NORWOOD
Olympic athlete Elise Norwood is one of Australia’s highest scorers in the competition and at the age of just 24 captained the Australian Women’s Water Polo team. Norwood, who grew up in Roseville, clocked-up her 100th international game in 2005 during the FINA World League Final series in Russia.
PETER OVERTON
The Channel 9 news reader is one of the most familiar faces in broadcast media and began presenting evening bulletins in Sydney in 2009. After graduating North Sydney Boys High School, Overton went on to work as a reporter for current affairs program 60 Minutes and also held positions at 2UE, Sky News and the Seven Network. Alongside his media work, Overton, who lives in Willoughby, serves on charities and organisations including the Charlie Teo Foundation and the Australian Numeracy and Literacy Foundation.
DAVID ROBINSON
David Robinson’s pioneering contributions to diagnostic ultrasound is recognised for putting Australia ahead of the game in safeguarding pregnancy and making birth less dangerous for mothers and babies. After graduating North Sydney Boys High School, Robinson went on to build Australia’s first ultrasound scanner in 1961 and a year later recorded Australia’s first ultrasound image of a foetus. During his career, Robinson received many accolades, including a doctor of science degree of the University of NSW.
DORJEE SUN
Born and bred on the north shore, entrepreneur Dorjee Sun set out on a mission to save the world in 2007. Since then, the former North Sydney Boys High School student has taken on the big boys of American business in a fight to save the rainforests of Indonesia from deforestation”. The story of Sun’s quest in carbon conservation was told in the documentary The Burning Season and he has also been recognised as one Time magazine’s “Heroes of the Environment. Sun credits North Sydney High School with giving him both drive and a social conscience. “The school was a very competitive environment and it also pushed to you do something that made a difference, something that counted,’’ he said.
MARGARET THROSBY
Fondly nicknamed “the velvet throat”, Margaret Throsby has interviewed thousands of notable people on ABC programs in a career spanning more than five decades. After graduating North Sydney Girls High School, Throsby overcome major barriers for women in broadcasting and in 1975 became the first woman to read national radio news since the 1940s. Over the years her achievements include presenting ABC Classic FM’s Morning programs from 1994 to 2011 and receiving an Order of Australia honour in 1989.
JOHN TRELOAR
Olympic medallist John Treloar was a track and field athlete who is considered to have been one of Australia’s greatest male sprinters. He was also ranked as one of the world’s fastest men between 1947 and 1952 and clocked up six Australian championship titles in his career on the track. In 2000, Treloar was awarded the Australian Sports Medal and a year later was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. In 2011 North Sydney Boys High School named the school gymnasium in his honour.
ANDREW VERN-BARNETT
Driven by a desire to improve services for children with autism, Andrew Vern-Barnett is known for working tirelessly to lobby politicians and government authorities to support health outcomes for young people. In 1966, Mr Vern-Barnett worked alongside his wife Margaret to launch the Autistic Children’s Association of NSW and by 1971 opened the first school in Australia providing autism-specific education programs – now known as the Aspect Vern-Barnett School in Forestville. He continued to work in the field until his death in 2011 at the age of 88.
NAOMI WATTS
The Oscar nominated actress attended North Sydney Girls High School where she met Nicole Kidman before the long-time friends hit the big screen. Watts, who also attended Mosman High School before transferring to North Sydney, rose to international prominence in 2001 with the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive and has since featured in blockbusters including King Kong and The Ring. She was nominated for Academy Awards for her leading roles in 21 Grams in 2003 and The Impossible in 2012.