Great Scot December 2019 Great Scot 158_December_ONLINE | Page 80

OSCA LEFT TO RIGHT: NEIL BARKER (’65), PHILIP BARTON (’69), MICHAEL EBELING (’78), TOM MITCHELL-TAVERNER (’89), JASON ANDREW (’90) the 2019 AFL Grand Final, with his rendition of Waltzing Matilda. John told The Age that singing ‘Australia’s greatest song’ on grand final day was a career ambition, now fulfilled. ‘It is the only song that all Australians will sing from the heart,’ he told the newspaper. NEIL BARKER (’65) is assisting in the integration of his Melbourne-based fresh produce exporter, BGP International, with Fresh Solutions Group, another Australian-owned fresh produce company. Neil will become a director of the merged group, and BGP will continue to operate under its own name as a separate entity. Neil sees the move as positive for both companies. ‘The synergy between the two companies is really good – there is no duplication of what we both do,’ he said. ‘We are strong in exports and Fresh Solutions Group is strong domestically in Australia.’ Book number 34 by ROLAND PERRY (‘65), Tea and Scotch with Bradman, gives revealing insights into the life of arguably Australia’s greatest-ever sportsman, Sir Donald Bradman. Back in 1995, Roland wrote to Sir Donald, requesting an interview for a biography he was writing about ‘The Don’. To Roland’s surprise, Sir Donald agreed, and so began a series of interviews and phone calls over a six-year period, during which the great man provided Roland with insights into his thinking on a myriad of cricket-related issues – and on other issues such as his tastes in music. Roland told Great Scot: ‘Every prime minister since 1930 has said that Bradman was the greatest Australian ever. But apart from his mighty batting average of 99.94, most people couldn’t name one other feature of the man. An intimate and revealing portrait of Bradman emerged from my many conversations with him.’ Roland’s book was launched in South 80 Great Scot Issue 158 – December 2019 Melbourne on 21 November. For more information: [email protected]. PHILIP BARTON (’69) was a member of the Scotch Athletics team in 1966, 1968 and 1969, and he has maintained his involvement in athletics through the Old Scotch Athletics Club, first as a sprinter from 1966-1983 and for the last decade in cross country. He believes the club is now at its best for many years. ‘We have some very good middle-aged athletes, aged from 40 to 55, dedicated female athletes, and a spate of good young athletes, encouraged by the coaching dedication of GREGOR EVANS (’68) and David Lightfoot. Philip is married, with two children. He is a barrister. As well as running, Philip’s interests include church, singing (he is a member of the Open Door Gospel Singers), Rostrum, gardening, history and literature. ‘I am now on Dickens’ Great Expectations for the fifth time, to which I was introduced by Mr Harrison in 5 Lit in 1968,’ he said. 1970s MICHAEL EBELING (’78) joined real estate firm R T Edgar in 1996 and became a Director in 1999. He is now a Director of R T Edgar Toorak, and also a Director of R T Edgar’s franchising division, the franchisor for the company’s 19 other offices. R T Edgar is a well-known name and a leader in Melbourne real estate. Last Christmas, Michael and his family enjoyed two weeks’ sailing around Pittwater in Sydney, and he sailed to Melbourne with friends in mid-January. Michael also enjoys cycling, and he rides with friends along Beach Road on weekends. After completing Physiotherapy, playing rugby for Melbourne University and doing a bit of travelling, PAUL FARGHER (‘79) settled down with his wife Janine in Ocean Grove, where they have lived for 32 years. Paul and Janine brought up three beautiful daughters, and they now have a young granddaughter. Paul plans to keep working as a physiotherapist in Geelong and Ocean Grove, then retire to spend more time with his grandchildren, get back to surfing, and continue to hit a little white ball at Barwon Heads Golf Club. 1980s For the past eight years PETER NANCE (‘87) has worked at Myer Pty Ltd as General Manager, Supply Chain. Before that he worked at Ikea and Nike, after graduating from RMIT with a degree in Transport/Logistics Management. In October, Peter and 60 friends, including former schoolmates from the Class of ’87, LYNDON HOPKINS, DAVID TAINSH and DAVID DUFF celebrated Peter’s 50th birthday at Byron Bay. After leaving school, TOM MITCHELL- TAVERNER (‘89) studied Architecture, registered as an architect, then set off to travel the world. His travels took him to both London and Abu Dhabi, where he was involved in a number of major transport infrastructure projects. Back in Australia Tom moved to Sydney and joined his family’s market research business. During the global financial crisis Tom started an insights technology company which he then ran for 10 years, and he says he is now working on disrupting the not-for-profit sector with a new digital fundraising platform (www. the-good-crowd.com).