What have they been up to?

David Broadfoot (OSC 1963)

After leaving school my first full time job was with the industrial supplier, McPhersons where I was fortunate enough to spend time with a mentor and fellow OSC, Merv Matthews. After 4 years with McPhersons, I was approached by Rothmans to join their marketing team. They were recruiting in the sporting arena and at the time I was showing some potential playing golf. I learned some valuable lessons in management and marketing, but my golf game didn’t improve.

Helen and I were married in 1968 and later with two children, Genevieve and Drew, I accepted an offer from Applied Power, a US-based hydraulics manufacturer, to open an office in Perth. This led to a transfer to Canada and then to the US. We were away for 10 years before coming home to Perth. I took up a position with Scotch, dividing my time between the OSC and launching the Alexander Society, recognising OSCs and their families who have made significant donations to the College. It was a great pleasure to reconnect with Merv Matthews at this time. The 60-year reunion, held earlier in the year, was a great opportunity to renew old friendships.

Cameron Newham | 1983

After leaving Scotch I attended The University of Western Australia. My first job was as a software engineer, and I’ve stayed in that profession ever since. In 1993 I wrote the IT book Learning the Bash Shell. In 1996 I moved to the UK and have had several IT jobs in various places in England. My main interest and claim to fame is having visited and photographically documented in detail over 9,000 rural parish churches in England, amassing a library of 600,000 images. On the strength of this, I was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Penguin Random House approached me in 2020 and suggested I write a book using my pictures. This resulted in a major book, Country Church Monuments, published in October 2022, which showcases 365 of the best monuments to be found in rural churches in England and Wales.

David Bowman | 1993

After leaving Scotch College I launched straight into studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Australia. On graduating I lived and worked for a few years in the Pilbara, followed by a short stint of railway maintenance in London before settling back into a range of Iron Ore project roles based in Perth. I’m now firmly settled in Perth and consulting across the broader mining industry.

Amongst all of this I’ve served in the Army Reserve Pipes & Drums and Volunteer Fire & Rescue. I have recently reconnected with my son Tom in Year 9 this year.

Michael Culley | 1993

I left Scotch in 1993 and went straight into the family business that my great grandparents started in 1925, Culleys Tearooms, in High Street Fremantle. I took the business over from my father Darrell Culley (OSC 1960) becoming the fourth generation to be involved. We now have a production bakery in Kardinya. From here we service wholesale products including pies, cakes and bread to cafes, sporting clubs, pubs etc. We proudly have four retail outlets in Kardinya, Bibra Lake, O’Connor and the original Fremantle store.

I am happily married to Melissa, and we have four sons Charlie, Jack, Tom and Leo. I have competed in The Rottnest Channel swim close to twenty times with three of my mates from scotch 1992 leavers Ross MacKinnon, David Young and Simon Wroth. Our team is called ‘Scotch on the Rocks’. I still catch up with many other friends from my school days and keep a close eye on the sports results in the PSA.

Tim O’Donnell | 2013

Following internships at KPMG and EY, I worked in the EY Mergers and Acquisition team until 2019. I was then a Director in UBS’ Australian investment bank, working with mining clients from UBS’ Perth office. In June 2023 I left UBS and am now Vice President at Appian Capital Advisory LLP, a private capital fund investing in mining and renewable energy assets globally.

Whilst I remain in Perth, Appian is based in London, providing a great opportunity to travel. In December 2022 I married my wife, Sofia, with our wedding attended by many OSCs.