ALUMNI PROFILE | Wolter Peeters
Rowing competitors from around the world gather at Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith to compete. Rowers on the practice lake during their early morning warm up session before competition commences for the day. 21st March 2013
Wolter Peeters Graduating Year: 1992 Profession: Photojournalist, Sydney Morning Herald The Peeters family have been associated with St Paul’s from its very beginnings. Their expertise and support were crucial to the establishment of the school’s native tree planting programme and the beautiful gardens which students, staff and the wider St Paul’s community still admire and draw inspiration from today. St Paul’s alumni, Wolter Peeters, is an acclaimed photojournalist, currently working with the Sydney Morning Herald and recently returned to St Paul’s to undertake a series of promotional photoshoots for the school. 10 |
St Paul’s Grammar School
What is your family’s history with St Paul’s? My family’s history with St Paul’s goes way back to when the school was in its infancy. My older sisters, Esther and Anita, were part of the foundation class which met in a factory unit in Jamisontown and we were heavily involved with the early development of the school. I recall many weekends were spent laying the turf on the oval and working alongside the Barratt family making the mud bricks for the Secondary School Library. Most of the native plants that continue to grow so beautifully around the school grounds were donated through my parents’ native plant nursery in Cranebrook. My wife, Naree (nee Anderson), is also a St Paul’s alumni and was School Captain in 1997/1998. What was your favourite subject at school? Why? The subjects I enjoyed the most at school tended to be the more practical ones. I particularly enjoyed doing Industrial Arts and Engineering Science with Mr Neil Marshall as our teacher. I still recall him telling us our drawing pencils had to be ‘sharp enough to pierce cold porridge!’ He definitely had a way of bringing out the best in us. Who inspired you growing up? My older brother, Otto, was my best mate growing up. With three older sisters, we were as thick as thieves! Otto’s determination throughout the years was encouraging to me. This determination led to him training to become a pilot, eventually working as a pilot for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Describe your typical working week. There is no such thing as a typical week in my role at the Sydney Morning Herald - each
day is different from the next. You need to be prepared to drop everything you are doing at a moment’s notice to cover the urgent breaking news of the day. For example, I was asked at very short notice to cover the arrival of US President Barack Obama when he visited Sydney in 2018. After several hours of security checks and waiting at the airport, I only had a few minutes to document him disembarking from his aircraft. Select media were then hustled into a van which became part of the presidential cavalcade that trailed him to his next destination. I have had the privilege of documenting many major news events such as this, including asylum seekers arriving on Christmas Island; flood, drought and bushfire seasons; royal visits; and the rise and fall of Prime Ministers and Premiers. My career has also given me the opportunity to enjoy some great experiences, like flying in formation as a passenger with the RAAF Roulettes, upside down, over Sydney Harbour! I have had the chance to meet and photograph a range of famous people, including Hugo Weaving, Brad Pitt, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Bryan Brown and some amazingly courageous people like those in the NSW Rural Fire Service. As a photojournalist, you never know what job you will be sent to from one day to the next and that is a large part of why I love my work. How did school help consolidate your career path? St Paul’s gave me a great Christian education, an outward looking worldview and a solid work ethic that has stayed with me. I really enjoyed the Visual Arts programme at school, so I think that informed my passion for photography.
