News of OGG - December 2023
Friday, 8 December 2023
News of King Charles III (Timbertop'66),  Philip Cornish AM (Cu'73), Ali Moore (Je'82), Geoff Lemon (FB'99), Jam Sheahan (P'15), Lauren Ryan (Cl'16) and Sandy Mackinnon (current staff) feature this month.

King Charles III (Timbertop'66)



A 17-year-old Prince Charles arriving in Sydney in 1966 enroute to Timbertop is the first stamp in a special limited edition collection released by Australia Post to celebrate King Charles III’s 75th birthday. The black-and-white photograph features a young Charles arriving in Sydney where he was greeted by then Prime Minister Harold Holt. The collection will feature two unique stamps of the royal patriarch for his special day, alongside a colourful print to commemorate his coronation. Australia Post said the one-off collection “serves as a tribute to his dedicated service, education, and the betterment of society”.

“This collection encapsulates the essence of King Charles III’s legacy, embodying his continued commitment to tradition and progress.”

All three limited edition stamps are priced at $1.20 and are now on sale across the country.

Philip Cornish AM (Cu’73)

Philip was guest speaker at the 22nd annual Tower Luncheon on Saturday 11 November 2023. Philip talked about his remarkable career in the telecommunications industry in Australia, culminating with his role as a Director of Vodafone Australia and driving the shift from analogue to digital networks. He also talked about his philanthropic work, which has included serving as a Director of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, as Vice-President of the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and an ongoing role as a Director of the National Gallery of Victoria Foundation, where he established the Cornish Family Prize for Art and Design Publishing. 

In 2021, Philip was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to the telecommunications sector, and to the community.

Ali Moore (Je'82)



Ali will continue as the Melbourne Drive host on ABC Radio in 2024. Ali filled in as the host of ABC Radio Melbourne’s afternoon slot following Rafael Epstein’s move to mornings in September. Ali has now been appointed as the full-time replacement, eight months after the ABC began an extensive review of its local radio services. In the most recent radio survey, ABC Radio Melbourne held the highest overall audience share of the five metro Melbourne stations, at 8 per cent, up 0.6 points on the previous survey. Ali has been a regular program host on the ABC (where she began her career as a cadet in 1987) since returning to Australia from Singapore in 2017, initially filling in on News Breakfast for Virginia Trioli. Ali has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist and broadcaster. She was working in Singapore for BBC World News on Newsday and Asia Business Report, having previously spent time as the ABC’s China Correspondent in Beijing. Ali has covered major news and current affairs events with the 7.30 Report, ABC News 24 and as host of Lateline Business. Ali also worked with the Nine Network (from 1996-2006), where she was a reporter and eventually presenter of Business Sunday, as well as reporting and presenting on Today. Ali is a former Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at The University of Melbourne, producing and presenting the ‘This is Not A Drill’ series of hypotheticals with Asialink, the ABC and the Wheeler Centre.

Geoff Lemon (FB'99)



Geoff has been behind the mic on radio coverage for the ABC and the BBC’s Test Match Special throughout a banner year for Australia’s cricketers, ranging from the men’s Cricket World Cup victory, the men’s and women’s Ashes, and a tour of India. Geoff took a moment on Twitter, prior to calling Australia’s triumph over India in the World Cup final, to acknowledge just how far he had come. “Today I'm commentating my third World Cup and my first final, after a year also doing an England Ashes and a Test tour of India. Ten years ago these ideas had never crossed my mind. It feels great.” In 2014, Geoff started his commentary career calling overseas tours from his living room in Brunswick for Roar Radio, which later became known as Whiteline Wireless: pirate radio launched with the intention of commentating Australian tours that weren’t being covered by the ABC or SEN.  Together with Adam Collins, with whom he hosts The Final Word Cricket podcast, the pair shook-up the radio establishment in this country and, almost 10 years later, find themselves commentating for the ABC and SEN, respectively, and covering the game's big issues for The Guardian.

A.J. (Sandy) Mackinnon (Staff 2004-)



A.J. (Sandy) Mackinnon (Staff 2004-) has published a hilarious and heart-warming memoir of teaching, treasure hunts and finding your own way in life. Quaint Deeds: Unlikely Adventures in Teaching and Treasure-hunting (Black Inc., October 2023) was chosen as Non-Fiction Pick of the Week by The Age. Described as “an irresistible ode to the magic and mystery of youth”, the memoir recalls the ups, downs and unexpected detours of a teaching life. The Age critic Cameron Woodhead praised Sandy’s “truly enchanting gift for whimsical storytelling” and suggested he was “the kind of dedicated, mildly eccentric teacher who makes a lifelong impact on his students”.

Sandy also recently appeared on ABC Radio’s popular Conversations program with Sarah Kanowski: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/sandy-mackinnon-jack-de-crow-part-two/102959574. Having taken long service leave from his role at Timbertop in 2023, Sandy set off on another sailing adventure, this time from the Black Sea in Romania, across the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic Seas, navigating hundreds of islands, rocky reefs, a broken rudder and a hole in the hull, hoping to reach the magical port of Venice.


Jam Sheahan (P'15)

After three years as a punter at The University of California, Berkeley, Jam was drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League in May 2023. Jam's Blue Bombers finished the season with 14 wins and four losses, progressing to Canada's version of the Super Bowl - the Grey Cup -  to take on the Montreal Alouettes. Winnipeg led for all bar the last 13 seconds of the final, losing in agonising fashion. Jam was called upon to punt five times, including in bizarre circumstances on the final play of the game. Jam was brought in as a receiver - an extremely rare occurrence for a punter - and had his first reception for the season before unleashing a drop punt long down the field, receiving a brutal shirt front from an opposing player in the process. The hope was that the opposing team would muff the catch, allowing Winnipeg to recover the ball and score, but alas Montreal controlled the ball to claim victory.

Lauren Ryan (Cl'16)



It's been a remarkable year for Lauren, representing Australia at her first open age World Championships in Budapest in August in the 5000m event, having already recorded personal best times in each of the 3000m, 5000m and 10000m in 2023. Earlier this month, Lauren won the Australian 10,000m National crown at the Zatopek:10 event in Melbourne. “It still hasn’t sunk in! To pull it off is always exciting, it’s a testament to my coach and the training we are doing” Lauren said. “With three laps to go I was thinking can I do it or can I not? The pace stepped up a bit and then with 200m to go I had that feeling of go now or it’s not going to happen. I went and didn’t look back.”