I am excited to continue the role of President throughout 2025 and I’d like to welcome and highlight the 2025 Old Sydneians’ Union Committee:

President: Nicholas Manettas (OS 2009)
Secretary: David Ross (OS 1965)
Treasurer: Craig Duly (OS 1977)

Returning Committee Members: Walter MacCallum (OS 1987), Peter Gibby (OS 1964), Tony Wakefield (OS 1980), Tim Lindley (OS 1991), Tom O’Neill (OS 2009), Ethan Tsui (OS 2018), Andre Bressan (OS 2000).

Additional New Committee Members: Steve Gonski (OS 1975), Phil Beaumont (OS 2010), Peter Economos (OS 2005), Jack Pinczewski (OS 2005), Stanley Tanudjaja (OS 2019), Thomas Kirkland (OS 2019).

This committee is full of energy and inspired to effect change, pioneer new programs and ultimately work closely with our esteemed networks to provide many of you an opportunity to engage and re-engage with the wider community of Sydney Grammar School.

One initiative is the OSU Mentoring Program. There have been many prior attempts to establish a mentoring program, but I can officially confirm that the 2025 OSU Mentoring Program has been launched and is now in session, with special thanks to Tom O’Neill. All credit to the 248 individuals registering from the initial Expression of Interest as both mentors and mentees, and sincere thanks to the 130 who followed up with specific mentor/mentee details. This OSU Mentoring Program has targeted university students in their last years and paired them with established industry leaders. The OSU decided to launch this program with a cohort of 24 pairs, which will allow us to track results, effect change and scale the program in the future. As this is a new program, we will take a measured approach to ensure its longevity and success.

Further to mentoring, Tim Lindley and Phil Beaumont will run industry-based ‘Grammar in Business’ networking evenings. By popular demand, ‘Grammar in Real Estate/Property’ is likely to be the next event in this series by Old Sydneians, for Old Sydneians. Tim Lindley also hosted a private board lunch with the past Chairman of Trustees David Gonski (OS 1971), inviting a number of Old Sydneians, who are affecting great influence and change amongst our community. We hope to continue hosting such lunches in the future and thus drive further community engagement on an ongoing basis.

In the coming terms, Phil Beaumont and I will launch another initiative, ‘The Alligator Wine Club’. We will aim to establish this club as a means of gathering like-minded Old Sydneians to network and share their respective life-journey, with the intention of developing education/understanding, and a deep appreciation of fine wine.

The OSU also has a number of upcoming events set for your calendars:

• Young Leavers’ Event (OS 2023 and OS24) on Wednesday 23 April – Book Here
• The Annual Great Debate on Thursday 24 July
• Back to Weigall Day on Saturday 26 July
• The OSU Annual Lunch on Thursday 28 August at The Strangers’ Room, NSW Parliament
• The OSU Golf Championship on Thursday 9 October
• The Annual General Meeting (tentatively confirmed for Wednesday 26 November)

The OSU has a distinguished history of receiving Order of Australia Awards and this year is no different. On behalf of the Old Sydneian network, I would like to congratulate the following: John Bowie Wilson OAM (OS 1961) for his service to the financial sector, and Daniel Dreyfus OAM (OS 1973) for service to the community through charitable organisations. 

With the end of Term I and the commencement of Term II, I continue to encourage you all to bring forth more ideas of how you would like to engage with the Old Sydneians’ Union and Sydney Grammar School. We, as volunteers, devote our time to bring this community closer, create stronger cross-generational relationships and ultimately provide opportunity and value to all within our network. We are excited for the future of the OSU in driving meaningful outcomes for you as individuals and we are even more excited for Sydney Grammar School and the quality of our peers emerging from this great well-rounded institution.

I look forward to seeing more of you engage as we continue to provide further opportunities.

Nicholas Manettas (OS 2009)
OSU President


Nick Manettas' opening address at the Mentoring Workshop


L-R: James Stevens, Nick Manettas and Peter Economos


Guest Speaker James Stevens

Basketball

It has been a challenging season playing against such strong teams, but the boys have responded well. They have trained particularly hard and performed consistently in Saturday matches. Jack Lacy-Smith (VI) was rewarded for his outstanding performances with selection in the GPS Firsts again this year.

Cricket

The Firsts had a successful season, finishing third, with 10 wins and 4 losses. Jonty Snyman (498 runs), Joel Alexander-Easaw (29 wickets) and Myles Kapoor (439 runs, 14 wickets) were selected for the GPS Combined and Myles was also chosen to represent the CIS and NSW Metro U/17.

Rowing

It has been a very satisfying season for our rowers. The Junior Shed came away from the All-Schools regattas with a lot of confidence, building for next season. 

The Year 10 rowers fielded a Fourth Year 10 VIII for the first time in many years. All crews rowed personal best times at the Head of the River and special thanks to Chris Iredale, coach of the First Year 10 VIII, who finishes a long coaching career with Grammar. 

The Senior Shed had an excellent season. This was started by a State Championship in the Under 19 coxed IV and finished with a win in the Nationals. The crew comprised of our only Form VI rowers: Charlie Slack, Toby Berkelouw, James Fifield and Curtis Pepper, with our First VIII coxswain Ian Bierer (Form V). Our Second VIII also claimed a bronze medal in the NSW Schoolboy Head of the River. 

For the first time in a while, there was genuine expectation placed on the top crews coming into the Head of the River. Unfortunately, despite both VIIIs and both IVs rowing season-best times, Grammar wasn’t quite able to beat as many other schools as hoped. 

Tennis

Despite facing many injuries, all age groups experienced more than eighty percent wins and there is great strength in the younger teams. The Seconds came a commendable fourth place. The Firsts finished fifth but were just as close to The Scots College, who won the competition, as to St Ignatius’ College, who finished sixth. There are definitely two tiers in the Firsts competition at the moment, and Grammar has cemented themselves among the top schools. Lucas Lin (IV), our number one player, is ranked number three in the GPS and played in the GPS Firsts against CAS and ISA.

Swimming 

The Juniors secured second place in the GPS Swimming Championships and the Intermediate squad came third. Grammar finished the last night of competition on another high, winning the All age 6 x 50m relay.

Term II Music Events 

Term II Concert - Thursday 15 May from 6:30pm in the John Vallance Hall
Organ Recital - Sunday 22 June from 4:00pm in Big School

Term II Ithaka Lectures

Professor Alan Duffy is a professional astronomer and science communicator, and the Lead Scientist at the Royal Institution of Australia. He joins us on Wednesday 7 May at 6:00pm in the Alastair Mackerras Theatre. 

Book tickets here.

On Wednesday 4 June at 6.00pm in the Alastair Mackerras Theatre, Mr Alastair MacGibbon, the Head of Australia’s Cyber Security Centre and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on Cyber Security will join us.

Book tickets here.

Careers Convention

The Sydney CBD Schools Careers Convention will be held on Monday 2 June in the Palladium building for boys in Forms IV, V and VI and their parents. From 5:00pm to 7:00pm, in the Palladium classrooms, advisers from many career and university areas will be available for consultation. If you can assist with this consulting, in your own career/academic area, then please contact Mr Peter Whild by email pjw@sydgram.nsw.edu.au.

Australia Day Awards 

Congratulations to the following Old Sydneians: 

Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division: 

John BOWIE WILSON OAM (OS 1961)
For service to the financial sector

Daniel DREYFUS OAM (OS 1973)
For service to the community through charitable organisations

Reunions

Saturday 26 July – 1990 35-Year Reunion Weigall and Phoenix Hotel (Convenor: Michael Tomlinson)
Saturday 26 July – 1985 40-Year Reunion Weigall and Woollahra Hotel (Convenor: Morgan Parker)
Saturday 9 August – 2020 5-Year Reunion Hotel CBD Fourth Floor TBC(Convenor: Mason Ginters)
Saturday 11 October – 1980 45-Year 11.00am Reunion School Tour and then Lunch at Strangers’ Dining Room Parliament House (Convenor: Tony Wakefield)
Saturday 11 October – 1965 60-Year Reunion Lunch at College Street (Convenors: Paul Weaver, David Harris, Rod Ovens, Norm Fitzpatrick)
Saturday 18 October – 2000 25-Year Reunion College Street (Convenor: Andre Bressan)
Saturday 25 October – 2005 20-Year Reunion College Street (Convenor: Lachlan Renshaw)
Saturday 8 November – 1975 50-Year Reunion College Street (Convenor: Graeme Lowry Jones, David Wurth, Geoff Atherton, Phil Beale, David Lewis, Steve Gonski)
Saturday 15 November – 1995 30-Year Reunion College Street TBC (Convenors: Ragavan Thuraisingham, David Yeo, Toby Slade)
Date to be Advised – 2015 10-Year Reunion Venue TBA (Convenor: George Glen)

PLEASE NOTE: Paul Kotala (OS 1976) would like to start organising the 50-year reunion for next year. Please email Paul (pfrk58@yahoo.com.au) with ideas, venues and prospective dates etc for this event.

A “mini reunion” of 1972 leavers took place recently at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron at Kirribilli, as Peter Kindred celebrated his 70th birthday.

L-R: John Perkins, Brian Gulley, John Kingsmill, Michael Muir, John Lenne, Andrew Cohen, Rory Milne, Craig Moran, Steve Walker, Peter Kindred, Tim Maddox, Steve Gengos, Ian Brown

Old Sydneians at a Charity Event

On Saturday 15 February the Chinese New Year was celebrated by a variety of Old Sydneians at a charity event for ‘Giant Steps’ at the Sky Phoenix Restaurant. For many years, Sylvia Yeung, mother of Nicholas Tsang (OS 2022), has been involved with Giant Steps, which helps educate and provide support for children and young adults with autism and other disabilities. The event raised $40,000.

L-R Back Row: Sanjay Chhabra (OS1989), Saul Deane (OS 1988), Sylvia Yeung, Steve Gonski (OS 1975), Martin Rossleigh (OS 1974), Tobin Meagher (OS 1991), Richard Henchman (OS 1991), Jacob Horowitz (OS 1991), Sam Aquilina (OS 2022)

L-R Front Row: Geoffrey Liu (OS 2022), Orlando Clerc (OS 2022), Myan Retna (OS 2022), Nicholas Tsang (OS 2022), Oliver Bardsley (OS 2022)

Matt Sumner (OS 1999)

At Grammar, Matt was a Prefect, CUO in Cadet Corps, and a member of the First XV and First XI cricket. The teamwork and structure instilled in Cadets and team sports proved invaluable, shaping his twenty-year career in technology and leadership. Spanning Mining, Telco, Web Hosting, SaaS and AI, he has led teams across APAC and the United States, scaling a multinational SaaS company’s revenue by sixty percent, resulting in a successful M&A exit. Matt’s knack for revenue enablement and building cohesive teams has delivered consistent profits.

Imagining what would have ideally helped him grow as a school leaver or early career professional, he co-founded LaunchPad in 2024. It’s a global platform connecting professionals with vetted mentors from companies like Microsoft and Salesforce, using smart algorithm matching to refine skills and fill gaps. Through AI, it builds robust, tailored development plans for teams and individuals based on mentoring engagements, reducing employee turnover and increasing performance.  

Matt maintains relationships with his close school mates and frequently works with Old Boys in the professional network. 

Liem GRIMES (OS 2019)

Liem attended Grammar from Year 5 at Edgecliff (2012) until College Street Form VI (2019). After School, he studied a Bachelor of Languages/Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and now he is continuing a medical degree at the University of Sydney. 

In recent years, Liem has been fortunate enough to support CHIA (Children’s Hope in Action), an Australian charity operating out of Hoi An in Central Vietnam. Alongside his parents, he has watched how CHIA’s projects have materially improved the lives of some of Vietnam’s most underprivileged. With an emphasis on improving both educational outcomes, as well as the lives of people with a disability, the experience has allowed him to reflect on his own lucky experience at Grammar with Cerebral Palsy. He says that the entire school community accommodated him and his disability ensuring that he received a first-rate education. As a consequence, Liem has developed a strong resolve to secure accessibility for all and he is passionate about the work that CHIA is doing towards that goal.

High School Headmasters

Peter D Miller (OS 1983), presently Head of Geelong College, will commence at Shore on January 1 2026. He will be the third Old Sydneian to occupy the role of Shore Headmaster. Leonard C Robson (OS 1912) was the Head of Shore from 1922-1958 and Robert AI Grant (OS 1959) also held this position from 1984-2002.

Here follows a list of some other Old Sydneians, who have gone on to head senior schools:

DA Garnsey (OS 1926) – Canberra Grammar School

R Rofe (OS 1943) – Brighton Grammar School (Melbourne)

HA MacDonald (OS 1947) – Peninsula Grammar School (Melbourne)

AM Mackerras (OS 1945) – Sydney Grammar School

RA West (OS 1950) – Trinity Grammar School

D Lloyd (OS 1945) – Macarthur Anglican School

JB Windeyer (OS 1957) – Launceston Church Grammar School

AJ Hill (OS 1957) – Christchurch Grammar School (WA), Melbourne Grammar School, St Mark’s School of Southborough (Massachusetts USA)

A Anderson (OS 1960) – Kinross Wolaroi School (Orange)

PG Lennox (OS 1964) – Brisbane Grammar School and later Redlands

J Garrick (OS 1990) – Canberra Grammar School

RB Malpass (OS 1994) – Sydney Grammar School

Many thanks to Bob Grant (OS 1959) for helping provide this information. Please let me know if we have left someone out of this list.

If you have news of some significant event or achievement, that you would like published, please contact Steve Gonski (OS 1975) on smg@sydgram.nsw.edu.au.

Sadly, many of our Old Sydneians have passed away in recent times, and the School sends condolences to friends and family. 

Old Sydneians who have passed away since our last Old Sydneian e-Newsletter:

Alfred Harry Hugh (Hal) MYERS (OS 1940)
Donald Campbell McPHAIL (OS 1945)
Alan Barton DOUST (OS 1946-7)
Geoffrey Keith ALLEN (OS 1948)
Beresford Roger BLUETT (OS 1949)
Jack (John) Leonard JORDAN (OS 1949) 
Clifford Francis DODDS (OS 1952), Andrew Hunter MAHER (OS 1952)
Robert Stewart BOAG (OS 1952-3)
(Brigadier) John Edward COLVIN AM, RFD, ED (OS 1953), Ralph Marcus JOSEPH (OS 1953) 
Dr Gordon Douglas (Doug) HUNGERFORD (OS 1956-7)
John Clement QUILTER (OS 1957)
Bruce James O’BRIEN (OS 1960)
William (Bill) Stanley WHITBY (OS 1960-1)
Mark Moorhouse JENNINGS (OS 1971), Jonathan Robert WOOD (OS 1971)
Andrew Charles CHADWICK (OS 1972)
Andrew Julian SILVERS (1980-1)
Matthew James SHELLABEAR (OS 1991)
Jeremy Sean KWOK (OS 2011)

Also, there were several significant people who contributed greatly to the School:

Michael Bernard KELLY was involved as a rowing coach from 2015 and worked as the front gate sergeant from 2016.
John LINGARD was at St Ives Preparatory School from 1956-1973. He had several major positions, including Sportsmaster and Senior Master.
Anthony (Tony) Patrick GILLIES was at St Ives Preparatory School from 1966-1977. He held the position of Sportsmaster and was a member of College Street Air Force Cadets staff.
Susan LAVELLE was at Edgecliff Preparatory School as Art master from 1984-2001. She also helped run the WOW holiday camps.
Jennifer MAFFEY was married to John MAFFEY OAM the Headmaster of St Ives Preparatory School (1973-1991).
Patrick (Paddy) Jonathan Kyle FLOWER gave over 30 years’ service to the GPS Old Boys’ Council.

These are the names that we have been made aware of at the Alumni Office. If you know of any Old Sydneians who have recently passed away, please contact the Alumni Office on (02) 9332 5843 or alumni@sydgram.nsw.edu.au.

The latest edition of SGS magazine, Edition 19, Spring 2024 is available in an online electronic format here.

A vast number of hard copy magazines are ‘returned to sender’ each time the School sends a new edition out to subscribers through the post. If you are regularly on the move and would prefer to receive the SGS magazine online via email, or would no longer wish to receive a hard copy of the magazine via post, please kindly notify the Alumni Office on (02) 9332 5918 or alumni@sydgram.nsw.edu.au.

You are able to view most editions of SGS magazine anytime via the School’s website.

Alligator Grammar! A History of Sydney Grammar School Rugby

Jim Cattlin (OS and First XV 1961) has published Alligator Grammar! A History of Sydney Grammar School Rugby. The book delves into the 150-year history of rugby at the School, with 440 photos of teams, action shots and illustrations. Purchase here for $50. 

In Gallant Company

Dr Philip Creagh’s (OS 1965-1966) book honouring the Old Sydneians who died in World War I is available, at a cost of $65 plus postage via the following link. This book includes short biographies of each Old Sydneian who didn’t make it home, comprising details of their school career, the circumstances in which they found themselves during the war and events leading to their untimely demise.

Old Sydneians’ Newsletter

Editor:

Mr Steve Gonski

smg@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

Alumni Office 

Ms Charlotte McColl

alumni@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

Publications Office

Ms Dimetra Skondras-Silva

publications@sydgram.nsw.edu.au