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Re Jack Moffatt,
This astounding news will be greeted with astonishment in the Donald
households on three continents where reside those raised on tales of his
whimsical bravado. As the person who kicked off the great Jack Moffatt
saga of 2001, I am mightily impressed by the claim that Chris's viagra/prozac
prize is to belong to Rod Wise. I guess journalists have the best track
record over the last 40 years of OZ in tracking down the important
stuff.
Given what's run in our boys own 'chatroom' about this bloke , we'd
better be careful not to scare him off because he has to be a shoe in to move
the toast at the reunion to the Republic of Australia and all the futurue
anarchists who aspire to sail in her.
Regards
Bruce Donald
Rod Wise assures me he is about to receive his prozac/viagra prize from
Chris Tennant, having traced Jack Moffatt. Details, he assures me, will
follow soon...
In the meantime, here are the first two bios, pre-condition for
attendance at the re-union:
Marc Thompson writes:
I graduated from Sydney Uni with a B. Sc. and joined BHP as a programmer
in training in 1965. Spent 27 years in IT with 18.5 at BHP before taking
on General Manager roles in charge of IT at the Sydney and Melbourne Stock
Exchanges, Citibank's retail bank and CIG. Attended Aust. Admin. Staff
College Mt Eliza in 1979. Changed career in 1992 joining RetireInvest
Sydney. Now a Certified Financial Planner with a Diploma of Financial
Planning. I have a successful business with over 200 clients, mainly in
the pre-retirement and retirement markets.
Married to Gail (from England) since 1968. Daughter Amanda (aged 30) has
BA(Hons) from Sydney and works as a business analyst for C&W Optus. Son
Sam (aged 28) has a B Sc (Comp. Sci.) (UTS) & is ex SBHS 1985-90. He is
currently working in Europe for a US IT consultancy based in Dublin.
Both have dual citizenship which is handy on the job front.
I have been sailing on and off since age 15 and have owned a sailboard
since turning 50. I am also interested in public speaking, currently
President of NSW Rostrum Club 12. In the past I have been a director of
2 credit unions too. I have lived and worked in Newcastle (twice),
Melbourne (twice) before returning to Mosman in 1984.
My school memories are rather dim but coming back with the flood of
stories. I do remember John Newcombe's tennis display and a sign
presumably one muck up day "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter". I remember wagging
school with some others to attend a Claxton Shield interstate baseball match
only to see our photo in the Herald the next day as we sat near first base
watching the action. I remember throwing tennis balls (but not fruit)
over the buildings into the next quadrangle. I remember telling my 1E French
teacher Mr Seiffert that I thought he was 35 to find out that he was
nothing like that, just prematurely bald, embarrassing!"
Kim Davidson's bio :
"Gentlemen,
I am pleased to have been advised re the October dates.and can confirm
that I will attend.
Of some considerable concern however, is the mandatory Bio clause re
attendance, or otherwise. I believe that there is potentially
considerable risk in broadcasting my "colourful racing identity" existence, as
neither my Parole officer nor my serial monagamous existence, will allow for full
disclosure.
If the insistence on a Bio is not to be waived, then I will proceed with
the following abridged version.
After an undistinguished academic career at NSBHS I was persuaded by
my Father that repeating 4th year after having already repeated 2nd year,
might wear out the welcome mat (try HAD worn out the welcome mat) at the
family home as well as, the halls of "learning".
A short time later, after an "interview" at the waterside workers pickup
hall in Sussex St I embarked on my new "career" as a grape picker in
Mildura, This was followed by a couple of seasons in the cane fields
above Cairns and intermingled with a liberal sprinkling of other crops
harvesting and some buffalo cropping in the NT and croc shooting arounf
the Gulf I returned to Sydney at the ripe old age of 21 as a seasoned
nobody(but with abs in my abs). Just when my depression at , and envy of, one of my best mates(a
lad from NSTHS - now appropriately a pub ), had begun to set in, he saved
me, when he described ,as he fondled the red,green and blue pens in his
plastic pocket protector, his future as an accountant "and the great
retirement package he would receive". I was instantly brought out of my
funk. and responded "what the hell are you doing worrying about that at your
age?" A sentiment I still hold.
Nevertheless I suppressed my wanderlust and signed up for the Yorston
and Fortescue accounting course( I still have the text book) and looked
forward to my rich "retirement " as a result. As I flunked out of that 3
months later( "Debit what is near the window , credit what is near the
door etc," didnt work any better there than it had some years before in my
Business Pricipals course at NSBH) I thought to myself ."I know, I will
go back and do my 'Leaving' at night school, sitting at those selfsame
desks at the corner of Miller and Falcon, that I had sat at, unwillingly some
years before."
Unfortunately I was even less disciplined towards academic activities
and soon found myself drawn to an establishment further up the st (Claud
Fays in fact)
After a number of different vocations, all generally involving bush
skills
and generally the non-cerebral side of life , I was "recruited" by the
subsidiary of a subsidiary of a firm from Virgina, to be involved in
"research" in some remote areas of Asia around 1964-5, observing and
reviewing things like re education and re settlement,. Interesting
times!!!
I was subsequently sponsored by my employers to a "college of my
choice"
in the States.They naturally assumed that I had the basic requisites(a
High School Graduation might be nice,for instance ). Not knowing at that
time, Harvard from Thommos Two- Up School, I naturally selected the one
nearest
a beach.
I guess my intermediate certificate -- my one good year at NSBH, looked
like a PHD to the US admissions office as it was from somewhere else
and I surprisingly not only enjoyed my new quest for wisdom , I passed quite
handily.
As of (astonishingly) now, I am an alumnus of OCC-Marine Technology
,Boston College -in - business and law and the Stanford Graduate School of
Business----- so dont let anyone tell you that a NSBH education, albeit
an interupted one-- isnt worthwhile.
I guess an arrest by the fading KGB in the summer of 1992, the subduing
of a Hijacker in 1991 and incarceration in Brazil and Saudi Arabia and a few
other bizarre tales, would only be boring, so I wont go into detail at this
time.
My 4 wives(to be correct the current and 3 former wives) and 4
children(all girls and wonderful kids) have made for a stimulating life
and are living proof that "optimism triumphs over experience" , Like one of
the other contributors ,I too have been married for 30 years(just not to the
same folks) and have enjoyed almost every minute of it. Fortunately
business has been kind and after the kids education and alimony
expenses have been covered there is still a little left over to dabble------
There are many more experiences left in life for us all,I feel sure ,
but none more potentially humbling, than attending a NSBHS 40 year
reunion(after all it wouldnt be complete if you all didnt have the 2nd
year(my 2nd time) holder of the title of "most caned person of the
year"
(I did well that year I got a serving or two, from Carnegie-----something
about attending the school of arts in Crows Nest, instead of Scripture,
from Rice--- the ex wrestler who upon reflection probably liked Misty
McDonald even less than I, but was obliged as the head of the English
Dept. to give me some of his best strokes, to my various extremities, at
Misty's request and finally Batman who had to give out a couple of
whacks every now and then to assert his authority). While I wander down
corporeal punishment lane, I also think back fondly (for those many of you chosen
ones who also attended
Artarmon Primary-- Hey there is another potential reunion!!) to my
punishment at the hands of the principal and consummate sadist, Harold
Mathews. Now theres a memory .That person would have been a great Nazi
prison camp commandant. (rumor has it that as he mellowed he advised
Pol Pot and Sadaam Hussein) He certainly made the NSBH bamboo wielders look
like pikers.
But I digress. The years have flown by and most of you seem to have
had a great life.I sincerely trust it continues,!!!
I must now away as, due to my eclectic background, I am on call as an advisor to Paul Hogan, Russel Crowe and
all the other Australian film icons ,and I also need some time to
remove my tongue from cheek..
I trust this highly censored version of my Bio permits me admission to
the festivities in October. Where else, but on the internet, could someone
speak to such an illustrious group, from his solitary confinement.
The thing that I remember vividly from my youth and growing up in
Australia generally, was our irreverence, good humour and ability to
laugh at ourselves(even at the expense of poor fools like the author).
I trust that the October gathering is a good time for all (assuming
after this little lot that you even send me the right dates and venues) and
that I am not confused about dates or venues. I must admit, that I have
been really confused-- (and nothing from my days at NSBH or elsewhere has
helped me prevail) ever since I found out that Phonetic was spelled with
a PH What a country!!!
Cheers"
OK you lot, get your bio's in or you can't attend the reunion. If you
have already submitted a bio, please check it over and re-submit because I co
uldn't face going through all the old e-mails trying to find those bios
submitted already and in any case, some of you may want to change what
you've sent...
Regards,
Ron
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