Alumni
Cover image: L-R Graham Gourlay, Lyndsay Farrall, Stephanie Farrall and Ann Gourlay, at the 50+ Alumni Lunch in February
50+ Alumni Lunch
We started the year with a bang and held our biggest Alumni reunion on Sunday 26th February at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania with 150 people attending the 50+ Lunch from all states of Australia. The newest cohort welcomed was the Class of 1972, to our most experienced alumni Nola Totham-Kenny from the Class of 1947, all enjoying the occasion.
The weekend festivities started for some interstate visitors with a tour of the School on Saturday 25 February under a very warm sky.
Then on the Sunday with rain threatening but holding off just to the end, they all gathered at the Royal Yacht Club with its beautiful view over the marina and River Derwent for a wonderful lunch. There certainly was a buzz in the room with lots of excited old Friends’ scholars catching up with old friends, with some not having seen each other since they had left school.
To see more photos follow this link
We would like to share with you some of their experiences from this weekend.
“An overdue email to say thankyou to you and your team for the work on the very successful 50+ reunion at the end of Feb. Sue and I enjoyed catching up with some who we had not seen since leaving school. We never lived in Tas after finishing Uni and Nursing so there were lots to say hello to. The ring around late last year urging people to attend worked very successfully. The word got around that something was on, so people didn’t want to miss out. We also enjoyed the Saturday school tour. The facilities are very impressive and a great credit to all involved in creating them. The Royal Tasmania Yacht Club is an excellent venue for such an event, and we thought the meal was just right.”
Bob (1961) & Sue (1962) Hall (nee Baird)
“What a terrific event it was, from all reports the best 50+ ever!”
Brian Correy (1969)
“Thank you all for a successful weekend for we people who no longer live in Hobart - I enjoyed the tour of the school on Saturday and meeting old friends on Sunday at lunch - very glad I was able to get to Tassie for this reunion.”
Anonymous
“A very successful reunion, it was a memorable occasion.The events you organised renewed my pride in Friends’ and my closeness to my fellow students and teachers of the time.”
David Hamilton (1961)
“Congratulations, it was a great event & so wonderfully attended. Thank you.”
Brian (1961) & Jenni Wright
Alumni Updates
Have some news or something to share? Email your update to stayconnected@friends.tas.edu.au. We welcome all updates - whether it’s big news or something special to you.
New Ventures - Michael LAM (2015) and Sharon LAM (2018)
Michael moved here from Hong Kong as a boarder for Year 11 before being joined by his sister Sharon and mother. Recently The Mercury featured a story on their exciting new family business The Lazy Brunch, complementing Hobart’s thriving cafe and food scene, adding their own influences with a varied and quality menu. Definitely worth a visit!
What happened when you left School, how did you get where you are now?
Our path after Friends’ was just like most of the others, a new start with Uni. It was a miserable start as we were starting a new chapter, as well as a lot of excitement. Sharon started a business degree and I have chosen to complete an engineering degree. We weren’t as certain for the future in our decision makings, but it turns out sometimes uncertainties would also bring along different opportunities. Hence this led us to build the brand Lazy Brunch - a family style brand desired to thrive for excellence dining experience for the community.
Who influenced you on your journey - in work and life?
There were too many mentors that we are fortunate enough to have met, a lot of people that we looked up to as well. Our commitment to our work and life falls into the enjoyment of each day, we have developed some self-reflection skills in order to leave an open question to ourselves, which is are you a better version of yourself each and every day. The answer to the question is never one-sided, in fact it should be an open question as life is about enjoyment, however having the ability to reflect on our own encourages ourselves to self-motivate, be in better shape and vision differently.
Do you have a fond memory of your time at Friends and how did the School influence your journey?
Our time at Friends’ has been very memorable, especially classes we had with David Brooks and Joe. We have always looked up to them as teachers with tons of patience and wisdom, Joe always kept his sense of humour and the willingness to always offer help, and classes with David always had that expectation from him motivating us to achieve better results. This has shaped us to keep in mind to always have open arms in your heart to offer help, ability to make people laugh as well as the self-expectations that will hugely assist you in different situations.
Do you have any advice for our current students or your younger self?
Being an international student who came from a totally different background, we were very shy to reach out and build relationships. Building strong relationships with friends, family, and colleagues is essential for a happy and fulfilling life. So, our advice to the younger generations is to take the time to invest in these relationships and prioritise meaningful connections.
Read The Mercury article here (subscriber only)
Alia HAIDER (2021). Congratulations to Alia on reaching the Finals of the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards, Community Service and Volunteering Category! Alia completed the All Abilities Future Leaders school program when attending The Friends' School and worked with students living with a disability at Southern Support School. In addition, she assisted with planning and organising a school social and volunteered at other Young Leaders of Tasmania events and programs.
Elizabeth VAN DONGEN (2015) has been recognised again for her tireless work around helping others living with Cystic Fibrosis bettering their lives and those of their families and selected as a Finalist of the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards in the St Lukes Health Healthier Communities category!
Winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Presentation Dinner on Friday 12 May 2023 and we wish Alia and Elizabeth all the success in their categories.
Bridget DUNNE (2004). Hard work and perseverance has paid off with Bridget being awarded the prestigious General Sir John Monash Foundation Scholarship for 2023. She certainly embodied the beliefs of General Sir John Monash who believed that education is not given for individual benefit, but for the higher duties of citizens who seek to advance society. After completing her Bachelor of Arts and Law, Bridget recently spent three years working on justice and human rights in Myanmar and will now use her scholarship to undertake a Master in Criminal Justice Policy at the London School of Economics. Congratulations Bridget!
Lily NEYLAND (2022) has had a busy time since graduating last year. Not only did she complete a challenging 11 day voyage on the Young Endeavour in January, she became an Ambassador for the Young Endeavour Youth Scheme and will participate in a 2nd trip on the Young Endeavour with an Ambassadors group in June. Truly a test of learning about oneself, abilities, teamwork and small spaces!
She has then gone on to win in the National I3 Awards, in the Senior Scientific Inquiry Award for her research investigation into the impact of nutrients on the growth of Salix fragilis cuttings. Her entry was submitted as the top Senior Research Investigation from the Tasmanian Science Talent Search (TSTS) by the Science Teachers' Association of Tasmania. Her commitment to inquiry, innovation, and ingenuity was clearly evident in the project and it is wonderful that her work is being recognised at this level! Read more here.
Samantha CLIMIE (2015). In the first week of term, the School held the Clemes Academic Awards Afternoon in The Farrall Centre. It was an important occasion to acknowledge the academic results of our hardworking 2022 Year 11 and 12 students. We were also fortunate to hear from recent Rhodes Scholar and 2015 alumna Samantha Climie. Samantha shared a wonderful message for our new graduates and encapsulated our hope and wish for students to let their lives speak.
You can watch Samantha's presentation below.
For information on the Clemes Academic Awards event and a copy of the program with award recipients, please click here.
We were pleased recently to take two former Alumni, Ernie ARKLE (1965) all the way from the USA, and Malcolm WOOD (1965) on a tour of the whole school. Ernie, in particular, was interested to see the expansion in the Design & Technology department as he had spent a lot of time there and marvelled at the changes in buildings. They loved finding long term staff they were involved with listed on the Honour Boards and were delighted (or was it scared?) to see their old student cards!
The World Transplant Games is held this April in Perth with over 1500 sportspersons with donated organs from across the globe competing and double lung transplant recipient Jade GALBALLY (MITCHELL, 1995) and her business TX Active, has been chosen to clothe our Australian representatives with her active sportswear designs for transplant athletes. What an incredible honour to dress our athletes with her inspiration of the colours of the Australian bush and a revamped vision of the Aussie Green & Gold on view to the world. She has incorporated on the front of the polo tops the art of local Western Australian First Nations Indigenous artist Ken Farmer who is also a transplant recipient as well. Congratulations to Jade on this achievement and we wish her well as she will also be a competitor for the first time in the Swimming. Read more here
The Friend’ Old Girls
The Friends’ Old Girls met up recently at the Saigon restaurant in Glebe Hill, where a very enjoyable lunch and a lot of chatter took place. We are always delighted to see old scholars catching up regularly so if you have a group that meets, please let us know!
About the Friends’ Alumni Community
Alumni Representatives are volunteers who create meaningful connections amongst the alumni community and with the School. Together they work across geographic locations, cohort years and different parts of our community to broaden and deepen connections amongst our community, foster and promote life-long connections, share stories, and advocate for the School and its Purpose and Concerns. The Friends’ Alumni Community encompasses alumni and their families, former staff and volunteers, and friends of the School – wherever they are in the world.
The Friends’ School LinkedIn
Please register with the Friends' LinkedIn page to join our growing digital alumni community and participate in mentoring opportunities globally. Don't forget to select The Friends' School from the drop down list in the education section of your profile to be included in the alumni section of the School's LinkedIn page, and follow the page for updates and information about the School and alumni community.
Stay Connected
stayconnected@friends.tas.edu.au
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