News of Michael Hickinbotham (P'80), Nicola Higgins (Ga'93), Zoe Young (Ga'95), Missy Morgan (Baillieu, Cl'96), Missy Higgins (Cl'01), Nat Thaipun (Ga'12), Sophie Ward (Cl'20) and Star Rose Miller (He'22) feature in this edition.

Michael Hickinbotham (P'80)

Australian Distilling Co., founded by Michael, received their second Best in Class - Platinum Award in three years at this year's SIP Awards, the only internationally recognised consumer judging spirits competition. Geelong Gin received this year's Best in Class award in a field of 64 gins from brands and distilleries from across Australia, the UK, USA, New Zealand, Brazil and many more. "With Geelong Gin joining our Adelaide Gin (2022) as winners of the world's best gin, we are proud to be recognised as makers of the World's Best Gin and Australia's Most Awarded Distillery with more than 300 global awards," Michael said. 

Nicola Higgins (Ga'93) and Zoe Young (Ga'95)

Nicola and Zoe were among the finalists for this year's Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture art prize. For Nicola's first Archibald painting, 'Missy with her ukulele', she painted her younger sister, Missy (Cl'01). "I wanted to capture her in a creative mode, and it just happened naturally," Nicola said. "Missy really lives and breathes music. In the painting, she is in her own little world, completely absorbed in writing a song." 

Zoe painted her mentor, Jill Dupleix (The Hermitage'72), in what she calls "a love letter to Sydney". "Looking towards the window, we see Jill, elegant and bold, an authority without being authoritative, a bloody good woman who has captured the vibrant identity of Sydney through its food, personalities and places." 'Jill's at Bills' is Zoe's fourth piece to be named an Archibald finalist.

Missy Morgan (Baillieu, Cl'96) 

Missy took out the 2024 Mongol Derby – billed as the longest and toughest horse race in the world – earlier this month. Billed by The Equestrianists' Holly Conyers as "...a bloody good ride. About as good as it can possibly get, in fact", Missy led for a considerable portion of the race, going days without seeing another Derby rider. The final day was tense, with Missy holding off a challenge from last year's winner, Sam Jones, to reach the 29th and final Horse Station on her eighth day of competition. 

The course for the Mongol Derby recreates the world's first long-distance postal transmission system, established in 1224 by Chinggis Khaan, utilising a massive network of horse stations. In the Derby, horses undergo a vet check after each leg (with time penalties applied should the horse be seen to be dehydrated or showing signs of mistreatment) and riders select a new horse at each Horse Station. Missy completed the race with zero vet penalties; a feather in her cap, to accompany the overall victory. 

Missy Higgins (Cl'01) 

Missy will be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame at this year's ARIA Awards night, to be held on Wednesday 20 November. "I feel very honoured and grateful," Missy said following the announcement. "So many artists I love and admire are in the ARIA Hall of Fame, so it feels a bit surreal to be joining them. This year has already been really special, now this is going to make it even more memorable." Missy is set to release her first new album in six years, The Second Act, on 6 September.

Nat Thaipun (Ga'12)

Nat was crowned Australia's 2024 MasterChef, winning the reality cooking show's grand finale, which aired on Network Ten in July. Nat won the coveted cooking title after surviving the final "pressure test" of re-creating Michelin-starred British chef Clare Smyth's intricate, 113-step Malteser dessert. "I couldn't believe it, I was in shock to be honest," Nat said. As part of her prize, Nat received $250,000 and a two-week residency at Crown Melbourne's Alumni restaurant. Nat grew up in Sunbury, where her parents ran a Thai restaurant and her mum/food hero, Nutsiree, was head chef. Trained as a barista, she has lived and worked in Switzerland, Japan and New Zealand (while living in New Zealand, Nat developed an insulated reusable coffee cup for local cafes that replaced over 450,000 single-use cups in two years and won a Local Impact Award). MasterChef enabled Nat to embrace her "intuitive" and creative approach to cooking and showcase her culture through her food. 

Sophie Ward (Cl'20) and Star Rose Miller (He'22)

Sophie and Star are currently representing Australia in Rowing at Under 23 level in St Catharines, Canada. The Under 23 Rowing World Championships commenced on Sunday 18 August, and the pair are part of the Australian Women's Eight. In their heat, the Australian crew finished with an identical time as their counterparts from the USA - 6:01.73 - however, the USA were determined to have won by a margin of 5 millimetres after judges reviewed the photo finish (below). The USA Crew progress directly to the final while Sophie, Star and the Australian Eight progressed to the repechage on Wednesday morning (AEST), finishing third and progressing to Friday's final.