Toorak College Mt Eliza top 20 students of all time
From trailblazing doctors and lifesaving scientists to para equestrians, authors, actors, engineers and artists, Toorak College has produced top leaders in every field. Here are 20 leading graduates from the prestigious Mt Eliza school.
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Toorak College has produced groundbreaking leaders in every field.
As part of our new education series on alumni at Melbourne’s top schools, here are the 20 best-known graduates from the prestigious Mt Eliza school, with details on what they’ve achieved.
Emma Nankervis, class of 2018
From a very early age, Emma Nankervis had a passion for basketball, playing for the Frankston Blues in the South East Australian Basketball League from 2015-18 where she was named the team’s most improved player in her final season.
She has represented Victoria since 2014, playing throughout the ranks of the Victoria Metropolitan team.
After graduating from Toorak College, Nankervis went on to play for the Nunawading Spectres in the National Basketball League.
This year she signed with the Washington State Cougars in the USA, representing Washington State University, where she is also currently studying sports science.
Washington State women’s basketball head coach Kamie Ethridge said they were excited to have her on the team.
“Emma meets so many needs for our program,” she said.
“She has size, length, athleticism, mobility, a great IQ for the game, and a great motor.
She brings competitiveness, intensity and energy every time she steps on the court.”
Sophie Matthews, class of 2010
After Toorak College, Sophie Matthews went on to study aerospace engineering at Monash University, graduating in 2015 with first class honours.
Now a product development engineer at Ford Motor Company, Ms Matthews has worked in a range of roles, from resolving cross-functional issues to providing engineering solutions that bring to life the vision of Ford’s creative designers.
Currently, she is the instrumental panel feasibility engineer for the upcoming Ford Ranger platform.
In this role, she is responsible for the development of feasible part designs that meet styling intent, working daily with styling and studio engineering, as well as component-level engineers.
Ms Matthews has returned to Toorak College several times as a guest speaker.
“It’s important to show students that enjoying science and math can lead to a really fun career path,” she said.
Lorraine Kabbindi White, class of 2009
Lorraine Kabbindi White returned to the Northern Territory after finishing her VCE to help local school in her birthplace, Gunbalanya.
She inherited her grandfather’s passion and talent for painting – her grandfather, Bardayal ‘Lofty’ Nadjamerrek AO, was a distinguished Aboriginal leader and artist in Western Arnhem Land and one of the last of his generation to create rock art in this area – and went home when he died to continue painting in his tradition.
In 2012, Lorraine held her first exhibition in Lorne, Victoria.
Her paintings, which she describes as being in the Mimih style of her ancestors, often show the spirit beings, animals and plants of her grandfather’s country.
Outside of art, Lorraine is currently the primary caregiver to six indigenous students currently studying at secondary schools across Melbourne, as part of a program run by the
Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, aimed at supporting students from remote or regional communities.
The six girls live with Lorraine and rely on her as their carer until they finish their schooling.
Jasmine Chong, class of 2005
Jasmine Chong, from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, attended Toorak College as a boarder
After graduation, she moved to the United States to pursue her college education and studied fashion design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, one of the top art schools.
Most of Chong’s senior collection was sold before she moved to New York to apprentice under luxury fashion designers Marchesa, Thakoon, Anna Sui, Tory Burch and Halston.
She eventually enrolled at Parsons School of Design in New York where she earned a degree in fashion business, marketing and merchandising.
She launched her eponymous label at New York Fashion Week in 2016.
Chong’s work has been featured in ELLE, New York Magazine, and Fashion Times.
Sally Hines, class of 1998
Sally Hines is the chief operating officer of The Big Issue and Homes for Homes.
The Big Issue is an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and creating job opportunities for people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage.
It’s a fortnightly, independent street paper which vendors buy for $4.50 and sell for $9.00 keeping the difference.
Homes for Homes is a new initiative from The Big Issue that will help raise an ongoing supply of new funding for social and affordable housing.
Funds raised through Homes for Homes will be awarded to experienced community housing providers which will also create new employment opportunities and result in millions of dollars of flow-on economic benefits.
Before joining The Big Issue Sally worked in employment services, community
development, youth mental health and health for more than 10 years.
She has held various strategic, service delivery and operational management positions including establishing new not-for-profit businesses across Australia in diverse communities.
Brooke Satchwell, class of 1997
Brooke Satchwell is an actor, model and entrepreneur.
During her time at Toorak College, she was cast in the hit television series, Neighbours. Playing the role of Anne, Satchwell quickly became one of Australia’s most popular young actors, winning the Logie award for Most Popular New Talent in 1997 and People’s Choice Award’s Most Popular Teen Idol in 1999.
Brooke has appeared in many television shows such as Packed to the Rafters, Playschool, Wonderland and has appeared as a guest panellist on shows such as Good News Week and The Panel.
Brooke has also appeared in many theatre productions and on film.
Most recently she has starred in the Australian television drama, SeaChange.
Commander Susan Harris, class of 1993
In 2018, Susan Harris – the first ever female executive officer of a Royal Australian Navy submarine – was awarded the Australia Day Conspicuous Service Medal.
Harris was recognised for exceptional leadership, dedication and professional knowledge as both a workforce specialist and submariner.
As submarine workforce manager, she was responsible for identifying key workforce risks and their implications for the submarine force.
She worked with key stakeholders to design retention and remediation measures to ensure that the submarine workforce have the right education, training and preparation to deliver Navy’s submarine capability.
Today, Harris works for the Navy as deputy director workforce generation cycle and also is a Member of the Board of Trustees for the RAN Relief Trust Fund.
Kerry Turnock, class of 1988
After graduating from university with a Master of Science (Geology), Kerry Turnock went to work in the resource sector.
“My first posting was to Paraburdoo, a remote town located in the Pilbara, northwest WA.
“As a mine geologist my days were long, hot and dirty,” she said.
“In summer it would often be over 45C in the shade, with heat radiating out of the iron ore like an oven.”
Ms Turnock said it was a “very different world” to what she was used to.
“This was most evident upon my arrival, when was told I would have to live in the single men’s quarters with several hundred men because the five rooms set aside for single women
in a town of over 2000 people were already occupied by a handful of nurses,” she said.
But it didn’t take long for the red dirt and the people to get under her skin.
“I quickly came to love the vast open spaces, the big-hearted people and a way of life that is very different to my life growing up on the Mornington Peninsula,” she said.
That position as a mine geologist was merely the first step in a career that has included roles as an exploration geologist, mine scheduler, shipping superintendent and manager of technical marketing.
She is now working with BHP as the practise lead in geoscience research and development.
“As a woman in a male-dominated industry, achievement has come from diligence, determination, competency, a strong work ethic, self-confidence and resilience,” she said.
“I have had many wonderful opportunities to work in some of Australia’s most spectacular and remote locations and to challenge myself in ways I could never have thought possible.”
Professor Sharon Ricardo, class of 1984
Sharon Ricardo spent nine years completing a Bachelors and PhD in Medicine at the University of Melbourne.
Her scientific pursuits then led her to further research training and a Professorship at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, focusing on the development of therapies to combat kidney disease.
In 2000, she returned to Australia and established her own laboratory at Monash University, where she continues to work as a Professor and research group leader.
The laboratory focuses on the development of new stem-cell therapies to promote organ regeneration and repair.
Her research studies have been internationally recognised, receiving many awards, and have been published in more than one hundred medical journals.
They have resulted in several international patents enabling the development of new therapies to promote organ growth in premature babies.
Prof Ricardo is involved in the promotion and education of science to the broader community, engaging with secondary school students, patient groups and philanthropic societies.
In her central University role as Academic Director, she is an advocate for graduate students and is passionate about helping them reach their goals.
Sharon is a mentor in the Monash University Mentoring Scheme for Women, and as a successful female scientist makes an ongoing contribution towards the next generation of female leaders.
Kim Sajet, class of 1983
Shortly after graduating from Toorak College, Kim Sajet enrolled in art history at the University of Melbourne.
While studying, she became the curator of the Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre (MPAC).
At just 24 years old, she became the youngest director of a regional art gallery.
Following a stint as director of the Waverly City Gallery and an MBA at the University of Melbourne Business School, she and her family moved to the United States.
Since then, Sajet has been, at various times, the director of corporate relations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the senior vice-president of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the president and CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Along the way she also completed a Master in Art History at Bryn Mawr College and a Certificate in Museum Leadership at the Getty Institute in Los Angeles.
In April 2013 Sajet became the first female and non-American to direct the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian in the United States.
Sandra Sdraulig AM, class of 1980
Sandra Sdraulig is an executive coach and lawyer with more than 20 years’ experience as an executive and chief executive in both the commercial and cultural sectors of the Australian film, TV and digital media industry.
While gaining this experience she developed a reputation for innovation, leadership and delivering exceptional results within complex, diverse and ever-changing companies.
Ms Sdraulig was chief executive of Film Victoria from 2002 to 2011; executive and artistic director of the Melbourne International Film Festival; film distribution & marketing manager for Palace Entertainment and distribution manager for the Australian Film Institute.
As well as leading ‘Through The Roof’ Executive Coaching Women, she also consults to the screen industry on strategic policy and planning, is the chair of the Adelaide Film Festival and vice president of The Natalie Miller Fellowship.
Sally Bloomfield, class of 1980
A passion for design from a young age saw Sally Bloomfield gain experience working for many retailers such as Inarc Design, Designer’s Guild and Esprit, before she landed a nine-year role at Style Counsel as a fashion stylist and producer.
Following this, Bloomfield became the Melbourne editor for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, a role she held for three and a half years.
It was at this time that Bloomfield met her future husband, Ian Robertson.
Together, they bought the 85-room Albany Hotel in South Yarra, running the hotel for nearly 15 years.
In 2016, her husband passed away after a 20-month battle with cancer.
A week later, she launched her Homeware’s business ‘Bloomfield and Webber’.
Not long after, she was asked to join the cast on Season 4 of The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Bloomfield has since launched Bloomfield fashion and accessories and is focusing on building her hotel brand.
she divides her time between Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula and Umalas in Bali, where in 2017 she opened her boutique health and wellness retreat, Bloomfield Bali.
Joanna Murray-Smith, class of 1979
Upon graduating from Toorak College, Murray-Smith travelled for a year before launching into an honours degree in English and fine arts at the University of Melbourne.
Winner of the Felix Meyer Creative Writing Scholarship at the University of Melbourne, her writing career began when she was commissioned to write her first play, Angry Young Penguins, in 1986.
In 1990 her play Atlanta brought her work to the attention of mainstream theatre audiences, and she has rarely had a quiet moment since, authoring numerous plays including Honour, which was written in 1995 and won the Premier’s Literacy Award for Drama, Flame (1994), Redemption (1997), Nightfall (1997), Bombshells (2002), The Female of the Species (2006), The Gift (2011) and Fury (2013).
Never solely a playwright, she has also written short stories, screenplays, several books – including Sunnyside and Judgement Rock – and the libretto for an opera entitled Love in the Age of Therapy (2002).
Her work has appeared on stages in London’s West End, on New York’s Broadway as well as in Europe, Scandinavia, South and Central America and Asia.
Of her prolific writing career, she has said, “There’s no better life than waking up in the morning and thinking, ‘What story am I going to tell today?’”.
Sally Francis OAM, class of 1978
Sally Francis was acknowledged with an OAM in the general division of the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year for service to horse sports, and to people with a disability.
Born on the Mornington Peninsula into a family that ran a successful riding school business in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, she came up through the pony club ranks to become a successful all-round competitor in equestrian events.
At 25, she embarked on a career with the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) that was to last another 25 years.
During that time, she became involved in the Australian Para Equestrian team, attending numerous world championships and Paralympics as a carer, Chef d’Equipe and, in Hong Kong in 2008, as assistant coach.
In 2012 she led the team at the London Paralympics, where one of the riders won gold.
Francis continues to run the family’s horse and cattle agistment business on her 400-acre
property, Tooradin Estate.
In 2011, her long and varied career with horses took another turn when she attended a workshop in Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL), which she focuses on today.
Jean Kittson, class of 1973
Jean Kittson is an author, public speaker, actor, comedian and scriptwriter for stage, television, theatre, radio.
Kittson came to national attention on ABC TV’s, The Big Gig, followed by Let the Blood Run
Free, Kittson Fahey, Good News Week, The Glasshouse, Flat Chat, The Einstein Factor, and many more.
She is also known for her comedy debates for the ABC, Channel 9 and Channel 10 and is a regular panellist on ABC 702 radio drive program, Thank God It’s Friday and a weekly panellist on Today Extra, Nine Network.
She has been a regular columnist with New Weekly, Sunday Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney Magazine, Inspire Magazine, the Readers Digest Health Smart Magazine and the online magazine, The Hoopla.
She is the author of two books, Tongue Lashing and You’re Still Hot to Me: the Joys of Menopause and has contributed to many others.
Her next book We Need to Talk about Mum and Dad is published by Pan Macmillan and is out in March 2020.
She was a founding director of the National Cord Blood Bank, the inaugural chair of the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation (AGCF) and a founding ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia.
She currently the patron of Palliative Care Nurses Australia, and an ambassador for the Macular Disease Foundation, the Australian Gynaecological Foundation, the Raise Foundation and Taldumande Youth Services.
Danielle Hyndes OAM, class of 1953
Danielle Hyndes’s passions in life are politics, heritage and issues relating to women, which she says she has been able to pursue thanks to the support and tolerance of her immediate family.
She established and chaired the ACT Women’s Council – the women’s branch of the Liberal Party – a position that enabled her to build momentum for successful legislative change in the areas of domestic violence, human trafficking and mental health.
Her efforts were recognised by the party’s Meritorious Service Award in 1996.
Over the years, Ms Hyndes has held a leadership role in the ACT Heritage Council, an advisory role to the Chief Minister for the ACT on the status of women and long-term membership of the Legal Aid Review Committee, as well as being involved with many community organisations including Meals on Wheels, the Australiana Fund and the Children’s Medical Research Foundation.
Her tireless efforts advocating for those in need led to an International Women’s Day Award in 2002 and an Order of Australia medal in 2004.
Prof Mary-Jane Gething, class of 1965
Mary-Jane Gething studied science at the University of Melbourne, majoring in chemistry and biochemistry, and then went on to complete her Honours and a PhD in Biochemistry.
Her university years coincided with the beginnings of the women’s movement in Australia, and she became an early member of the Women’s Electoral Lobby.
“I’d noticed that of the small number of senior women academics I’d encountered at the university, most were either unmarried or childless, so I joined the newly founded Community Controlled Child Care group – a collective dedicated to persuading government, industry and the public that women could not play a full role in society without the availability of high-quality child care,” she said.
In 1973 Ms Gething became the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Shell Scholarship in science and Engineering to undertake postdoctoral research in England.
It was here she began to use the emerging techniques of recombinant DNA to study protein structure and function and began a career-long scientific collaboration with her future husband, Joseph Sambrook.
She helped to establish the first Rape Crisis Centre in England.
In 1981 she moved to the United States, where, working alongside her husband, a major outcome of their work was the generation of variant forms of an enzyme whose function in the body is to dissolve blood clots.
Their patent for an improved form of the enzyme was licensed by biotech companies to produce pharmaceuticals that have been used for nearly twenty years to successfully treat heart attack and stroke.
When the family returned to Melbourne in 1994, she rejoined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne, serving as the first female head of the department.
Janet Limb AO, class of 1955
Janet Limb left Toorak College in 1955 and studied law at Melbourne University.
She achieved her degree in three years, then spent a year working and travelling through Europe.
Back in Melbourne, she realised there were a lot of migrants who required intensive English teaching, so she undertook a Diploma of Education and Graduate Diploma in teaching English as a second language.
Janet continued to teach part-time, and in 1984 she responded to an advertisement for volunteers to train as Melbourne Zoo Guides – a role which Janet held for twelve years.
Simultaneously, with a desire to get more involved with her local community, Janet joined the TaskForce Drug & Alcohol Agency as chairperson of their Skillshare Program, as well as running a breakfast program for children at Prahran High.
In 2000, Janet joined the Board of Trust for Nature, holding the position of chairperson between 2003 and 2006.
“My time at the zoo had alerted me to the importance of land management for conservation, and our mission is to ensure that all significant areas in private ownership in Victoria
are conserved,” she said.
In 2019, Janet was awarded an Australian Day honour for distinguished service to
the community through philanthropic support for charitable, social welfare, and medical research groups.
Irene Singleton (dec), class of 1927
After graduating from Toorak College in 1927, Irene Singleton studied nursing.
When WWII broke out, she volunteered with the 10th Australian General Hospital unit and was stationed near Johore in the south of Malaya.
Driven out by the advancing Japanese, she transferred to the 13th Australian General Hospital unit.
After Singapore fell, Ms Singleton’s unit tried to escape on the ship Vyner Brooke in February 1942, but it was torpedoed and sank.
Lieutenant Irene Singleton was one of only 31 nurses who survived the sinking, and the executions that followed on the beach of a nearby island.
She and her fellow nurses made their way through mud and mangroves, only to be captured and taken prisoner.
Ms Singleton was held as a prisoner of war, surviving malnutrition, beatings and disease, for more than two years before finally succumbing.
She died a prisoner of war on February 20, 1945, the only Toorak Collegian to have died in active service.
Dame Mary Herring DBE (dec), class of 1912
Dame Mary Herring graduated from Toorak College as head girl.
Bucking the conventions of the time, she went on to study medicine at Melbourne University, graduating with first-class honours.
In addition to her achievements as a doctor, she is remembered for her tireless work furthering women’s health.
In 1926 Dame Herring, together with two of her colleagues, established antenatal clinics in Prahran and South Melbourne to look after low-income women in a time when illness, poverty and difficult living conditions meant that maternal mortality rates were frighteningly high.
In 1934, she was involved in opening the Women’s Welfare Clinic (which, controversially for the time, offered family planning advice), and later, another antenatal clinic in Collingwood.
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During World War II, Mary was involved in forming the AIF Women’s Association to support women during the war.
She also held leadership positions with the Save the Children Fund, the Australian Red Cross and the Victorian Council of Social Service.
Described by The Argus as ‘one of the finest examples of Australian women … with a record of selfless devotion to the service of others’, Dame Herring was awarded a Commander of the Order of St John in 1953 and a DBE in 1960.