Births, Deaths and Marriages

Births

Isla Joan Woodcroft Faulkner was born on 14 February 2020 to parents Tamlyn Faulkner (Brown, 2005) and David Faulkner, and proud big sister, Grace Lily.

Sloane Morrison was born on 27 October 2020 to Bianca Monahan (2006) and Blake Morrison.

Indooroopilly teacher, Shelley Clarke, husband Gareth and daughter Margaret, were thrilled to welcome Hugh Arthur McCasker to their family on 25 November 2020.

William Joseph Ray was born on 11 December 2020 to parents Matthew and Sinead Ray (Indooroopilly teacher) and big brother Theodore. Quinn Estelle Corbin was born on 2 February 2021 to Dimity (Rutherford, 2008) and Ken Corbin—8lbs of perfection!

Archibald (Archie) Gordon Lai was born on 7 January 2021 to proud parents Elisa (Poon, 2006) and Scott.

Indooroopilly teacher, Maggie Jin, and husband Terry welcomed the arrival of their second daughter, Eleanor, on 25 January 2021, weighing 3.4kgs. Maggie has started adapting to life with two children and is enjoying spending time with her family.

We remember

Ron Gerlach 02 June 1928 – 09 April 2021

Ron worked as the Bursar at St Peters from 1979 for over 15 years. St Peters was very close to his heart and we thank him for his service to the College.

Doris Weigel (Prenzler) 4 November 1929 – 27 February 2021

Doris began her career at St Peters in 1951, teaching in the Primary School. In 1956 she began teaching German and Geography in the Secondary School. Doris took several breaks away from St Peters, teaching at the PNG Lutheran Mission, in England and Germany, resigning at the end of 1972 to accompany her parents on a trip to Germany. She married in 1985 and made Germany her home.

Doris was a dedicated teacher. She lived on campus and was involved in a range of extra-curricular activities such as Sport, student plays and supervising girls on excursions.

Margaret Oppermann (Hiller, 1948) 13 November 1930 — 21 January 2021

Margaret’s parents were the caretakers of Ross Roy when it was being turned into a school, and consequently she was the first girl enrolled at St Peters. She participated in all activities the College offered like Basketball and the Girls’ Choir.

On leaving school, she worked in a country newspaper in Boonah and in an accountant’s office in Kingaroy. Margaret married Colin Oppermann in 1953 and they farmed a large property of cattle and vegetables.

As well as bringing up her family and supporting her husband, she also worked in library and administration roles of country State Schools for 21 years. Margaret also completed a BA with a double major in History at the University of New England, Armidale in 1997. Since 2001, she had been a presenter and broadcaster of the local Community Radio RIMFM 100.1.

Her children: Stuart (1979), Barbara (Blanch, 1972) and Wendy (Creighton, 1973) all attended St Peters.

Mervyn Guse (1956) 18 August 1939 – 26 January 2021

Mervyn Guse was born in Wondai and spent his early years in Proston. At five years of age, he had an accident that caused him to lose his left leg. Mervyn was enrolled at St Peters in 1953 and spent four years here as a boarder. On leaving school he was employed as a pay clerk in the Railway in Brisbane.

Mervyn left Brisbane and moved north and was involved in crabbing and prawning for a number of years. In 2002 he moved to Kurumba and there his working days ended.

Nora Leong Hui (Cheung, 1958) 9 May 1941 – 24 January 2021

Nora Cheung was born in Madang, PNG, and became a Prisoner of War baby during the Japanese occupation. She was the second child following Robert, and the eldest girl of what was to become a very large family.

Post-war, Nora was educated by missionaries and she was sent to board at St Peters in her Scholarship year, gaining a bursary at the end of Junior (Year 10). However, to Nora, family was paramount, and she returned to Madang to find a job and help raise her siblings, who all attended St Peters.

Nora worked as a cashier at Burns Philp and also taught Sunday School. She met Steven Leong from Rabaul and they married in 1962, and ran their own small general store. They had three children Sharon, Darren and Jeremy. A move to Mt Hagen saw them set up a business, S&N Leong trading. And a later move brought them to Australia to live at Eight Mile Plains.

Sadly for the family, Steven passed away in 2007. It was a difficult time for Nora, but several years later, she met Simon Hui and the pair married in Hawaii in 2012.

Niel Robert Fabian (1959) 24 April 1942 – 29 December 2020

(In his own words)

Annerley boy, Niel attended St Peters as a boarder from 1956 to 1959. St Peters not only provided a sound education, but there were lots of extra-curricular activities.

In 1960, I completed the last of the one-year Kelvin Grove Teachers' College training courses and taught Primary for three years. During this time I had started a Commerce degree part-time and took the next two years off to complete my Commerce degree.

In 1966, I moved to Melbourne, worked in accounting for nine months then joined IBM and spent most of my working life in the computer industry.

In 1988, I left the computer industry and spent two years sailing a trimaran in the Whitsundays offering adventure trips. Eventually, I sold the business and moved back to Brisbane where I worked part-time in an admin role for Life Be In It for a number of years. In 1995, I moved back to Sydney and worked in computer recruitment. I retired and returned to Brisbane in 2000.

I married Sue Constable and we lived in Mosman in Sydney with our son Peter.

Garry Mason (1960) 16 October 1944 – 16 January 2021

Gary attended St Peters for his Sub Junior and Junior years. In 1960, he was a member of both the 1st XI Cricket team and the 1st XV Rugby team, playing in the position of breakaway. He gained a Junior pass.

Julene Burley (Bishop, 1962) 2 November 1944 – 2 December 2020

Townsville girl, Julie was first enrolled in 1958 in the Scholarship class. She was a Sub Prefect in Sub Senior and a Prefect in her Senior year. Julie attended Kelvin Grove Teachers’ College and because of the Teaching Scholarship system, was contracted to teach for the Queensland Education Department for two years.

In 1966 she married Robert Burley, remaining in Townsville. They had three girls and Julie became a stay-at-home mum for their formative years. She became an artistic rollerskater, winning awards and becoming a judge, giving it up after a severe injury.

Julene returned to teaching when her daughters were grown, and upgraded her qualifications with a BEd followed by an MEd, specialising in Guidance and Special Education.

Fuller eulogies will appear in the SPOSA Bulletin.

Marriages

Austin Mills (2013) and Stephanie Balmer (2013) tied the knot on Saturday 1 May, 2021. They were married at Kooroomba Lavender Farm and Vineyard in front of friends and family, including all eight of their grandparents! Congratulations.