Alumni Spotlight
Medal of the Order of Australia for OSC David de Vos Following the wonderful news that Mr David de Vos (OSC 1961) had received the Medal of the Order of Australia as part of the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours List, we were fortunate to have him visit the school and reflect on his career and time at Scotch.
David received his award for contribution to the broadcast media and there have been significant contributions!
Is there a body of work or an interview that you are particularly proud of?
As well as being a journalist for well over 50 years, David has been a presenter, a scriptwriter, a director, a producer, and received numerous accolades for his work, including the 2008 AH Kornweibel Arts Prize as a part of West Australian Media Awards. He was also the feature prize winner at the 2003 and 2006 Australian Journalist Association.
I loved the Holiday Programme. I was the Executive Producer of the 7.30 Report in Perth, and the opportunity came to front up the Holiday Programme. It wasn’t like Getaway; it was real stories. That’s what I enjoyed the most. The Police Training Academy series was also a highlight. When I first presented the concept to the police, one of the officers I presented to was Chris Dawson. I felt he would say no but I was wrong, and it ended up being an incredibly rewarding series.
Our conversation was wide-ranging, touching on David’s time as a bartender at The Marlborough Head in London in the late 1960s through to the rise of the Teal Independents and the state of Australian politics. David, you joined the ABC in 1968 and your career spanned the golden age of television, a time before streaming services and when television personalities were stars. What are some of your fondest memories?
I think it was the golden age and it was wonderful being in WA when we made stuff here. Now it is very difficult to get things done in WA; they’re only concerned with Sydney. The other side of the Blue Mountains you can forget. I started at a time of 16mm film, and a magazine was only 10 minutes long. This required greater preparation and then a maximum of five questions, leaving little room for error and upon returning to the newsroom, everyone would watch the rushes and feedback was immediate! Nowadays, with digital files, people can use recordings as a notebook, talk for three hours and then edit, and this is how I do it too.
I had other particularly memorable interviews including Bill Cosby, Lee Kuan Yew, and Robert Mugabe, who was absolutely terrifying. The Mugabe interview came about because of not being able to get an interview with the ANC in South Africa. It was at the time when Qantas flights were flying into Harare once a week, so I spent a week over there and interviewed Mugabe who had a handshake like a lettuce. He wasn’t the President yet, but he was terrifying. I also experienced a riot in Colombo where I felt the impact of tear gas where you don’t know what to do. You can’t open your eyes and following an explosion we witnessed the horror of limbs removed from bodies and the smell of burning flesh. Not that I’d want to be a foreign correspondent, but I was doing stories for Four Corners. What drew you to a career in journalism?
Default, I think. I did an English degree at university. I waited for a mate to finish his degree and then headed off to Europe and did all the usual things. Then I came back and got a job as a cadet at the ABC. I don’t know that I’d thought about journalism, but it
involved words and writing, and I was happy with that. So, I slipped into it and I’m never quite sure if it has been the right thing for me. I’d like to have been an archaeologist! What are some of your memories of school?
I was not a star at school. Many of my friends were. I played cricket with John Inverarity once. I don’t think he was impressed! My worst moment was in the army cadets, on the camp at Northam. We were a big unit, and we did a raid on St Louis who were slightly smaller unit than us. Mr Patrick McGushin was a Latin teacher and the Commanding Officer, he was apoplectic and accused us of this, that and the other. Then he said, “who went”, and the five bad boys put their hands up and I put my hand up. We got sent back to school and on the steps outside his office Max Keys was in an icy rage. Then he saw me, the good boy! So, nothing happened. No one was caned; I probably saved the cooler boys. I got to know the school much better when my wife, Ainslie, was on the school council. The Centenary Ball in a massive U-shaped tent is another highlight. What advice would you give to current students looking to take a similar path in journalism?
Make sure there is an end point, that there are jobs. If you look at local news, there are very few males. Anyone can become a journalist these days because many people come from different careers. A lot of lawyers become journalists. I think there are probably better jobs. That said, considering my career, it has been good to me. I’ve been everywhere. A big thanks to David for his time and we sincerely hope the investiture, to take place at Government House after this edition of Clan has gone to print, was a success.
Old Scotch Collegians
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