News of OGG - September
Monday, 27 September 2021
News of OGGs Catherine Button (Ga'91), Harry Moore (FB'94), Sam Strong (P'94), Easton Wood (Cu'07) and Summah Bedford-McGinty (EM'17) is featured this month.



Catherine Button (Ga'91)
In July, Dr Catherine Button QC was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The appointment took effect on 9 August 2021. Catherine sits in the Commercial list of the Court. She has specialised in corporate, commercial, regulatory and tax law for over two decades.

Before being called to the Bar in 2007 Catherine was a Senior Associate at Minter Ellison and worked in Law Reform in the UK. She was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor in 2000 and was appointed a QC in 2018.

Catherine is the author of a book on international trade law, The Power to Protect: Trade, Health and Uncertainty in the WTO, published by Hart Publishing (2004).

Catherine Button was the joint recipient of The Old Geelong Grammarians Prize for Dux of the School in her graduating year of 1991. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from Melbourne University, a Bachelor of Civil Law, a Master of Philosophy in Law and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar.

Commenting after announcing three new appointments to the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, Jaclyn Symes said, “It’s an honour to make appointments to the Supreme Court bench that include two accomplished women armed with decades of extensive legal experience and a formidable list of achievements.”



Harry Moore (FB'94)
Harry recently relocated to London after he was appointed Global Head of Distribution of First Sentier Investors in May 2020 to provide global oversight of sales and distribution leadership (the move having been delayed by COVID-19). Harry is a member of the Executive Committee and the Enterprise Leadership Team at First Sentier, where he has worked for a decade. Prior to this role, he was Managing Director, Australia, New Zealand & Japan with responsibility for business development and client service in these markets.

Before joining the firm in June 2010, Harry spent six years at Russell Investments as a consultant in the Institutions and Governments team, providing strategic investment advice and implementation to domestic and pan-Asian clients. Harry has also worked as a client advisor and analyst at UBS Wealth Management Australia and Johnson Taylor Potter.



Sam Strong (P'94)
Sam is directing a Queensland Theatre production of Trent Dalton’s blockbuster novel, Boy Swallows Universe, which opened to critical acclaim as part of the Brisbane Festival. Adapted for the stage by playwright Tim McGarry, the play successfully draws out the key themes of Dalton’s epic almost 500-page book and translates them into a physical space, with the story of Eli Bell’s traumatic childhood set against a 1980s soundtrack, a rotary stage ensuring constant movement, and the clever use of video montage for the sets.

Sam navigated multiple threats of lockdowns to bring his vision to stage, with The Guardian describing the result as "a booming argument for the supremacy of the live theatre experience". Boy Swallows Universe plays at QPAC, Brisbane until 3 October.



Easton Wood (Cu'07)
Easton is aiming to get his hands on the AFL Premiership cup for a second time on Saturday (first bounce at 7.15pm AEST) when the Western Bulldogs take on Melbourne in the league's showpiece fixture. In his 13th season with the Bulldogs, Easton has played 14 games - including all three finals to date - and looks to be peaking at the right time of the season, having experienced multiple hamstring strains and an ankle injury in 2021. Easton, who captained the Bulldogs to the flag in 2016 but has since passed the captaincy baton to Marcus Bontempelli, opened up to The Age earlier this week about overcoming multiple setbacks this season. "At that point, before I got the scan on the ankle, I thought: ‘If this is a break, I am out for three months and that is probably season over’. Going through all these waves of ups and downs, particularly with the third hamstring I did, I am thinking: ‘All right, is this the writing on the wall. Is it just the body saying I might not be up to it anymore?’

“But thankfully, as I have always done, I have gone back and worked with the physios and the fitness staff and just put the work in. I can’t believe we are playing in another grand final.”



Summah Bedford-McGinty (EM'17)
Summah has completed a Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC) program with Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), which offers opportunities and career development for Indigenous people. A Kidja and Jaru woman from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Summah joined GGS in Year 7 and completed Year 12 in 2017. Summah said that her education at GGS "made a difference in my life, which is something that I could only wish for more Indigenous kids to have". "The opportunity to go to a boarding school on the other side of the country exposed me to a totally different culture and mentality of Australia," she said in a post on the Yalari LinkedIn page.