GALLERY OF ACHIEVEMENT INDUCTEES 2021/2022
Mr Peter R BARKER AM (1973)
Peter has spent most of his career as a freelance professional Chinese interpreter and translator. He first began learning Chinese at CGS in Year 7 and continued his studies in Chinese through to Year 12. He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree (Hons) at the University of Melbourne with majors in Chinese and Indonesian and a submajor in French. Peter was awarded an Australian Government scholarship to study in China upon completion of his university studies. He studied at the Beijing Languages Institute and Beijing University. In 1980 he returned to Australia to complete his Diploma of Education and the following year taught Chinese to native Chinese speakers and English as a Second Language at Richmond Girls High School. In 1982 Peter received a Victorian Government Teacher Scholar Award where he returned to China to study at Nanjing University. In 1984 Peter successfully took part in national examinations for an Australian Government scholarship to study in China to become a professional interpreter. He undertook a two-year course at the United Nations Interpreter Translator Centre in Beijing where he majored in simultaneous interpreting. He then went on to work in the Australian Embassy in Beijing as an interpreter for the Australian ambassador. Peter returned to Australia in 1988 and established his company working as a freelance interpreter. For thirty years he acted as Australia’s most senior Chinese interpreter working on all major government bilateral exchanges between Australia and China as well as with private industry and at international conferences. Peter received an Order of Australia in 2018 for his achievements in developing Australia’s relations with China. Peter retired in 2019.
Mr Johan Handoko DURST (2008)
Mr David Antony HAINTZ AM (1983)
After school, Johan initially went on to study opera at the Victorian College of the Arts, however balancing a music career with high-performance sport proved challenging, with sport eventually winning out and Johan deciding to pursue undergraduate studies in economics and Indonesian.
David is a Certified Financial Planner and a past director of the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) in which time he was instrumental in the push for professionalism. He had a 26-year career with his own firm, and subsequently became a founding director of Shadforth Financial Group.
Johan’s first represented Victoria in the 2009 Under 18 National Championship in Darwin. Following a strong performance, he received a full scholarship to the Victorian Institute of Sports Hockey Program. In 2010, Johan was selected in the Victorian Under 21 team and later that year was included in the Under 21 Australian team.
David was the sixth adviser in Australia to be awarded a Fellow of the FPA and served on the FPA Disciplinary Committee for seven years, the FPA Professionalism Committee for six years, and was a National Judge at the FPA’s inaugural Value of Advice Awards. He is a founding trustee of the Future2 Foundation, and lectured at the FINSIA for six years, and was a member of the international Financial Planning Standards Board – Developing Markets Practice Management Working Group.
During the 2011 season, Johan captained the Under 21 Victorian team and also led the Under 21 Australian Team that won a silver medal at the inaugural Sultan Johor Tournament in Malaysia. Johan’s career breakthrough came in 2016 when he was part of the Victorian Open Age Team, the Vikings, which won the Australian Hockey League. The Victorian Vikings went on to win the title again in 2017 and Johan was also awarded Goalkeeper of the Tournament. In 2018, Johan was selected into the Australian Men’s Hockey Team, the Kookaburras, and moved to Perth to join the team’s training base. Later that year he made his debut against Germany with the Kookaburras that won gold at the 2018 Champions Trophy as well as the inaugural edition of the Hockey Pro League in 2019. Johan remains part of the Kookaburras, is a proud member of the Hawthorn Hockey Club in Melbourne, and is the current Chair of the Australian Hockey Players’ Association. Johan is currently undertaking postgraduate studies in energy and minerals economics.
Having departed Shadforth in 2015, he has established Global Adviser Alpha – a B2B consultancy with a passion for helping leading global advice businesses become world class and achieve outstanding results for all stakeholders. In 2017, David published a book titled The Life-First Advisor – How the new financial coach connects ‘money’ with ‘meaning’. David remains the only adviser in Australia to be awarded the two prominent awards – Australian Financial Planner of the Year (2005), and Australian Best Practice of the Year (2004). In the 2022 Australia Day Honours List, David was awarded as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
SQNLDR Sean Andrew HAMILTON CSC (2001)
Dr Michael LIFFMAN AM (1964)
Mr Tim J MILLIKAN (1987)
Sean Hamilton was a CUO with the Camberwell Grammar School Cadet Unit. Upon graduating in 2001, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Sean attended the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and he studied a Bachelor of Arts, graduating in 2004 with a double major in History and Computer Science.
Dr Michael Liffman was founding Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment (now the Centre for Social Impact) at Swinburne University. The Centre pioneered professional education in grant making and social investment in Australia and beyond.
Tim Millikan completed his schooling at Camberwell Grammar School in 1987 and undertook a youth exchange year with AFS to Thailand in 1988. Tim studied Arts at Monash University. He was active in student politics and was elected General Secretary of the Monash Association of Students in 1994. He was also an active member of the Monash University Choral Society, holding several committee positions including President. Tim graduated in 2004 with First Class Honours in Thai Language in Culture in 1994.
Sean completed the RAAF’s pilot training between 2005-2008, and was was posted to Williamtown as a F/A-18A Hornet fighter pilot. Sean completed F/A-18A tours at 77SQN and 3SQN before deploying to Afghanistan for six months as a Heron Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) operator in 2012. Sean and his team provided Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) for the Australian Regular Army and the Special Operations Task Group in the war against the Taliban. After returning from Afghanistan, Sean was posted to 1SQN flying the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. After completing the Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course, he deployed as the 1SQN FCI to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to conduct strike operations in Iraq. Throughout this 2014-2015 deployment, Sean and his SQN provided Close Air Support (CAS) to defend Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces (ISF and KSF) in contact with the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL). Between 2015-2017 Sean focused on tactics development, furthering the RAAF’s warfighting capabilities’ through enhancing their technical and tactical integration. In 2017 he returned for a second strike deployment to the UAE, this time as 1SQN’s Flight Commander. Sean completed his tour as 1SQN’s A-Flight Commander in 2020, being awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for his contribution to RAAF Air Combat tactics development and training. Sean is currently a Squadron Leader (SQNLDR) completing a Masters of Strategic and Defence Studies at the Australian Command and Staff College.
Michael has a background in social policy and research, community work, and philanthropy, and was CEO of one of Australia’s leading private foundations, The Myer Foundation, and President of the Australian Association of Philanthropy (now Philanthropy Australia) of which he is a Life Member. While at the Myer Foundation, Michael established The Cranlana Programme, and was closely involved in the establishment of Asialink. He was the first Australian Director of the International Network on Strategic Philanthropy. His publications include A Tradition of Giving: Seventy-five Years of Myer Family Philanthropy, (Melbourne University Publishing, 2004). He is a Director of Montsalvat. Michael was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2022 for services to higher education and the not-for-profit sector.
In 1995, Tim joined the Department of Foreign Affairs through its graduate program and completed a Master of Arts (Foreign Affairs and Trade). Tim has had the honour to be posted in Port Louis, Mauritius (1998-2001); Brasilia, Brazil (2006-09); Accra, Ghana (201316) including Acting High Commissioner from December 2015 to April 2016 and shorter assignments in Bougainville as part of the Peace Monitoring Group (JanMay 2002); Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (Oct 2010-Mar 2012); Harare, Zimbabwe (Oct 2016-Jan 2017); Pretoria, South Africa (Jun-Jul 2017) and Ankara, Turkey (Aug 2018-Sep 2019). Tim is currently posted to Dublin, Ireland as Deputy Head of Mission and Consul, a role he commenced in September 2019. His current role includes reporting on developments in Ireland from Brexit, possible unification on the island of Ireland, and assisting Australians in Ireland affected by COVID and helping those who want to return to Australia.
Dr Tom (Justin) PLAYFAIR AM (1961)
Justin still has a vivid memory of his enjoyable 5 years at Camberwell Grammar School from 1956 to 1960. He missed out on the Matric year as he returned to Sydney with his parents. During the 6 years at Sydney University Medical School, Justin developed an interest in Ophthalmology. He was encouraged to return to Melbourne to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital as it was at the forefront of modern innovative Ophthalmology. These 3 years inspired him to study further at Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge. It was here that he developed his skill in vitreo-retinal surgery and also married his Scottish wife, Jacqueline. Justin returned to Sydney in late 1977 as he had taken up an offer from Professor Bilson to share with him his vision for Sydney Eye Hospital. For the next 40+ years he worked as a vitreoretinal surgeon, becoming Head of Ophthalmology and President of the Sydney Eye Hospital Foundation before retiring. In 2021 Justin was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to ophthalmology, and to professional colleges.
Professor John M TONKIN (1956)
John attended Camberwell Grammar School from 1948 to 1956 where he was Head Prefect, Captain of Derham House and Captain of Football. He also represented the School in Cricket and Athletics and was an Under Officer in the School Cadets. He went on to study at Melbourne University and then at the Melbourne College of Divinity. John left for America in 1963 where he completed his PhD. During this time abroad he came to a decision to change his career direction in favour of an academic career in European history, with a particular interest in the Reformation. On his return to Australia, John took up a position in the Department of History at the University of Western Australia (UWA), where he remained for the rest of his academic career. John served both as Professor and as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. On the strength of his many outstanding publications he was elected as Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. On retirement, John was accorded the honorary title of Emeritus Professor and continued active association with UWA as Senior Honorary Research Fellow. He was appointed as Cathedral Scholar at St George’s Cathedral and in this capacity, he gave whole series of lectures on church history and related topics in the Cathedral’s Centre for Education and Spirituality. John is remembered not only for his academic achievements but also as a gentle, caring man who enjoyed the company of his friends, a good joke and a glass of red.
(1939 – 2019)
Mr Robert Neil WALLACE (1969)
Robert (Rob) Wallace, elite marathon runner, running coach, and former retail owner of ‘Run On’ in Dallas, Texas, left many footprints on this earth. Born on 21 June 1951, and raised in Croydon, Rob started running as a 12-year-old encouraged by the CGS Sports Master, Roy Whitehead. He ran cross county for the school in the morning, then at Olympic Park for the Richmond Harriers in the afternoon. He received an athletic scholarship to Long Beach State in California, eventually transferring to the University of Texas El Paso, where he set two running records in 1974, before graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. In 1976, he placed second at the Australian Olympic marathon trials, won the Australian Marathon Championship in 1977, and represented Australia in the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games. He ran twenty marathons under 2hr 20mins, with several first-place finishes to his credit including the Dallas White Rock Marathon in 1980, and finished 9th at the Boston Marathon in 1982. Rob and wife Rebecca started a running specialty shop named ‘Run On’ in 1995, which grew to six stores, and a race timing company before selling in 2012. He was regarded as a visionary in the retail running industry, setting an example for running stores all over the US. Between hundreds of marathon clients he coached and as the co-author of How to Train For Your Bucket List Marathon, he poured his soul into the running community. Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2019, Rob continued to run, hike, bike and climb mountains near his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado where he and Rebecca retired in 2014. He was an avid gardener, cook, and yogi, loyal to his canine companions, and always perturbed by United States’ continued use of the imperial measurement system.
(1951 – 2020)
Dr John Oastler WARD (1957)
The Gallery of Achievement The Camberwell Grammar School Gallery of Achievement was established to acknowledge and celebrate the success of generations of Old Camberwell Grammarians. It is an ongoing, evolving project, which aims to inspire current and future students to pursue excellence in a wide range of careers, community service and sport.
Born in 1940, John was educated at Camberwell Grammar and graduated as Dux of the School. He then went to Melbourne University where he did his B.A. (Hons) before proceeding to Toronto, Canada, where he completed his Ph.D. on the medieval uses of the classical doctrines of rhetorical persuasion. He then returned to Australia and took up a permanent teaching position at the University of Sydney in the Department of History where he taught, mainly, medieval European history for the rest of his employed life, retiring owing to ill health in 2003. John was one of the last teachers of the night school at Sydney University where he enjoyed meeting fully employed people whose interests got them to take up nocturnal studies at the University. He published books and numerous articles on his specialist subjects. During some of this time he was also alderman, councillor and ultimately Mayor and CEO of Ashfield Municipality, Sydney (now amalgamated into the Inner West Council) from 1978 to 1994. He emphasised heritage and respect towards the historic parts of his municipality and for a long time he was associated with the Ashfield and District Historical Society (of which he is a life member). In his later years he ran walking tours of the municipality. He also helped publish a book on the early history of Ashfield and NSW: Remembered With Pride: the Recollections of an Australian Gold Digger, by Mark J. Hammond, edited, introduced and annotated by Brian Hodge (Maruba Press, Lewisham, 1988)
A detailed biography of each past student inducted will be included in a Gallery of Achievement Perpetual File, to be held in the Camberwell Grammar School Community and Development Office. Some of these biographies have been edited for space. Full biographies are available at www.ocga.org.au.
CAMBERWELL GRAMMAR SCHOOL Phone: 9835 1777 www.cgs.vic.edu.au