Community news

Kingsley Robert Bremner (1943) (dec) on 21 March 2025; husband of Lenore Bremner (dec); father of Gregory, Janice, Pamela and Alison; brother of Truda Bamford (Bremner) (1951) (dec).
Kingsley was born on 11 July 1926 in Benalla, Victoria. He was the eldest child of Robert and Elsie, and his sister, Truda, arrived seven years later.
He attended Benalla East State School for his primary and early high school education and was a keen young cricketer during the Bradman era. In 1937, he made the local paper when, playing as a substitute for the Footballers Cricket Club, he caught the final batsman to win the match. He was only 11 years old.
After the family moved to Ballarat in 1939, Kingsley attended Ballarat College between 1940-1943, where he served as Henderson House Captain, captained the First XI to a premiership and set a school mile record of 4 minutes and 50.2 seconds. He completed a Diploma of Mining Engineering at the Ballarat School of Mines in 1947 and, from 1951, he attended the Army School at Balcombe before being posted to Western Command Field Section, Karrakatta, as a Topographical Surveyor.
In 1956, Kinglsey married Lenore Cassie Kelly, a marriage that lasted 69 years. They had four children: Gregory, Janice and Pamela (twins) and Alison.
After reassessing his future, Kingsley served in the Royal Australian Survey Corps, rising to Warrant Officer Class 2 before taking his discharge in 1962. That same year he joined the Western Australian public service, later becoming Supervising Draftsman Level 2 – PWD before retiring in 1984, aged 58.
Kingsley remained a valued member of the school community throughout his life, maintaining close contact with school and supporting students through the Scholarship Fund.

Don Walker (1948) (dec) on 11 January 2025; husband of Margaret Walker; father of Lyn and John; brother of Ivor Walker and Robert Walker (1952) (dec).
Don was born during the ‘great depression’ and lived through the second world war. He became a student at Ballarat College and, although he described himself as a poor student, he excelled at everything he turned his hand, heart and mind to. He farmed the land, fell in love with Margaret, became a father and, later, a grandfather. He spent his life working to ensure that his family prospered, supported the development of Skipton and was respected by his friends and wider community members. He was fair and just in dealings with everyone, gave to the world and made it a better place for all of us.
“Australian farming in the 20^th Century has contributed not only to primary production but also to the development of families and rural communities across the country. The order of our lives and of these communities kept us humble, supported and strong.” – Don Walker, 2010.

William ‘Bill’ John Peden (1950) (dec) on 28 December 2025; husband of Ann Peden; father of William, Michael and Susan; brother of Judith Peden (1956) (dec) and Anthony Peden (1959).
Bill attended BC between 1948-1950. He was a member of the 1^st Rowing Crew as well as the 1^st XVIII Football Team.

Dr Douglas Malcolm Hill (1953) (dec) on 3 March 2026; husband of Pat Hill (dec); father of Tricia (dec), Craig and Wayne; brother of Jean Horne (Hill) (1955); Helen Farrington (Hill) (1957) and Dr Marie Young (Hill) (1962).
Doug Hill attended BC between 1951-1953. During his final year of school, he served as Librarian in the Weatherly Library.

Bruce Rogers (1955) (dec) on 23 January 2026.
Bruce boarded at BC between 1946-1953. He was a talented sportsman and a member of the 1953 1^st XI Premiership Cricket Team when he was in fourth form.

Robert Norman Bath (1963) (dec) on 4 March 2026; husband of Helen Bath; father of Georgie Bath (1991); grandfather of Joe Reed (2024); brother of Margaret Dent (Bath) (1969) and Anne Nicholls (Bath) (1973).
Robert boarded at BC between 1955-1963.
Robert was a storyteller with a great memory. Stories from his time at College (as it always was to him) featured teacher, Michael Stock, and their school trip by train to NSW; John Birt as a young teacher before becoming a champion footballer; and Murray Dyer, who gave an outstanding speech at the Class of 1964 Reunion in 1989.
During Robert’s time as President of the Old Collegians between 1991-1993, he was proud to unveil the Vietnam Veterans Honour Board in 1992.

Jon Michael Guymer (1963) (dec) on 30 December 2025; husband of Marlene (1965); father of Melanie and Emily; brother of Tony Guymer (1967), Roslynne Winkler (Guymer) (1969), Barbara Guymer (1971) (dec) and Frank Guymer (1979).

Andrew James Berry (1966) (dec) on 9 November 2025; son of Andrew Berry (1933) (dec) and Nancy Berry (dec); brother of Nanette Barnett (Berry) (1962) (dec), Di Berry (1964) and Janet Hetherington (Berry) (1968).
Andrew attended BC between 1955-1966.

Nola Oliver (dec) on 29 January 2026; wife of Geoff Oliver (1945) (dec); mother of Andrew Oliver (1970), Louise Myer (Oliver) (1974) and Cathie Dyer (Oliver) (1977); grandmother of Fiona Oliver (2000), Samantha Greenwood (Oliver) (2003), James Oliver (2007), Jack Dyer (2009), Lottie Dyer (2012), Max Myer, Edwina Myer and Lucy Myer; great grandmother of Teddy Teasdale (Year 2) and Lucille Teasdale (Year 4).
Nola was an involved and valued member of the Clarendon community for many years. She was a past parent and grandparent, a past Foundation member and Foundation Governor, a past member of the Ladies Committee and a generous donor.

Luigi Bazzani (dec) on 25 February 2026; husband of Athalie Bazzani; father of Andreas Bazzani (1989) and Alysia Bazzani (1992).
Luigi was a past Foundation member and a valued soccer coach in the late 1970s. In 1979, he coached the boys 1^st team through an undefeated season.
In 1969, Luigi arrived in Australia from England and married his wife, Athalie, the same year. The couple lived in Bendigo until moving to Ballarat with their family in 1975.
While in Bendigo, and because of his love for soccer, Luigi and two like-minded friends advertised for players interested in a casual game. They were swamped with unexpected responses, leading to them initiating the Bendigo Soccer Association, which today has over 60 senior teams and hundreds of junior players.
Luigi truly enjoyed his involvement in the school’s soccer program. Headmaster at the time, Ron Horner, was also very keen on the world game and was utterly delighted with the results they achieved while Luigi was coach.
Luigi went on to coach the U15 Victorian State Squad but, sadly, growing work demands prevented him from continuing as long as he would have liked. He felt several of his Clarendon students were ideal candidates for the Victorian Squad.

Bella Huggins (2016) and Harrison Griffith.

Ally O’Connor (2017) and Charlie Bradshaw.

Neeve Hoffmann (2018) and Tom Hearn.

David Ritchie (1972) and Janet Parfenovics (Aston) (1972) at Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, in January.
David and Janet first met in 1971 as Year 11 students when Ballarat College and Clarendon Presbyterian Ladies College amalgamated and, as a couple in Year 12, David rowed in the winning Head of the Lake crew while Janet was the Dux of the cohort.
They remained together during their first years at university before going their own ways. Janet moved to Sydney to begin a career in visual arts with her husband, Edward, while David graduated as an anthropologist and married his wife, Mickey. Sadly, Edward and Mickey passed away in 2007 and 2017.
Through mutual friends, David and Janet reconnected and married in January 2026 at Lake Wendouree. They were joined by many Old Collegians to celebrate their union, including Janet’s sister, Marian Simpson (Aston) (1968), David’s brothers, Stephen Ritchie (1974) and Alastair Ritchie (1988), as well as their friends Tony Douglas (1972), Margaret Goy (1972), Phillipa Griffiths (1972), Lynn Morgan (1972) and Tony Young (1972).

Hugh Baird (2009) and Amanda Chong in February.

Bryony Botha (Donald) (2017) and Ivan Botha – a son, Ford Pieter Botha.

Margaret Coutts (1950) posts an update and image of her coffee time to her Facebook page each week. She encourages past students and Old Collegians to reach out to her via her Facebook page.

Dr Sheridan Palmer (1972) is an established art historian who has been involved in the Arts for many decades. She has worked as an art practitioner and been awarded prizes for sculpture and drawing, as well as awards and grants for her work as an art historian. Recently, she worked as a Senior Research Associate (2020-2024) with a team of Australian and international art historians on an Australian Research Council project reassessing postwar modernism and Australian artists in Britain and Europe. Their book will be launched at the Ben Uri Gallery in London in October. She was also appointed associate curator at the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale and has scheduled a large exhibition for the summer of 2027/28 that uses native Australian animals as a lens to look at colonisation, displacement, extinction and adaption.

Jill Oliver (1973) and Cathy Oddie (1996) were recognised for their contributions to the local community as 2026 Great Women of Ballarat Honourees. Past parent, Sherley Hart, was also honoured.

Tor McRae (1993) published his book, Fitzroy North ‘People, Place, and Protests’.

Sonia Smith (1994) recently opened Modern Lingua, a new language institute in Ballarat designed as a long-term contribution to Ballarat’s cultural and intellectual life. Sonia’s background includes many years of work with the United Nations in multilingual education.

Clare Esposito (Moran) (2000) is the senior advisor family law at Relationships Australia Victoria and principal lawyer at Moran Legal. Recently, Clare was appointed to the Board of Directors at Djerriwarrh Community & Education Services.

Kate Moran (2001) is a mother of four and the manager of Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre, where she runs community development and education programs, working with groups in the district to combat social isolation and food insecurity. Kate also works in examination development for the VCAA and operates a successful embroidery design business, with her work being despatched to clients in the United States, Europe and throughout Australia.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul O’Donnell (2003) was appointed as Commanding Officer of the 8th/7th Battalion, The Royal Victoria Regiment, in January 2025. He also assumed command of Security Response Task Unit 8/7, a unit responsible for the defence of Australia in times of crisis, conflict and war. During his first year in command, he led significant improvements in the battalion’s preparedness for conflict, conducting major collective training activities and exercises designed to prepare soldiers for a wide range of contingencies and operational environments.

Tom Berry (2018) was signed to play several games for Redan in the Ballarat Football Netball League this season.

Sophie Byrne (2018) placed 1^st in the Great Otway Gravel Grind Female 49km and 2^nd in the Female 106km events. She also placed 2^nd in the elite category at the 2025 UCI Gravel World Series Gravelista.

Georgia Scobie (2020) graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Dental Science (Honours) in April and is currently working as a dentist at Dental on Errard in Ballarat.

James Forsyth (2024) was selected for the Men’s U21 Victorian Eight crew to row at the Australian Rowing Championships. He is also rowing in the student four event at the Royal Henley Regatta in the Prince Albert Cup, representing The University of Melbourne.

Ali Thomlinson (2024) performed with her band, The Rest is History, at the St Kilda Festival in February. She is the lead vocalist and lyricist.

Max Mason (2025) was awarded a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley, where he will continue his rowing career and study economics.

Click here to read about our 2026 reunion cohorts and what they’re doing now.

Team College United won the Major League Indoor Soccer Tuesday B Grade Premiership in March. Players included teachers Scott Anderson, James Behncke, Kyle Hammill, Michael Searl (2002) and Andrew Stewart, as well as Old Collegian, Lucas Black (2016).

Violet Cotsell (2020) was awarded Deakin University’s Bank First Award in recognition of her academic excellence during her Master of Teaching (Secondary).

Many staff participated in the 2026 Ballarat Marathon events. Scott Anderson ran the full marathon, Anh Anderson, Adrian Bunting, Callum Charlton, Jen Findlay and Kirsty Walsh ran the half marathon, Paul Feakins-Taylor, Courteney Ligeti, Kerryn McPhan, Parisse Permezel, Poom Sangruang and Anna Sheldrick ran the 10km event, Chloe Rees (2009) ran the 5km event and Adrian Bunting ran the 1-mile event with his son, James.

Josh Kors also ran the full marathon with Old Collegian, Frazer Cocking (2006), achieving a new personal-best time of 4:33 for Frazer.

Tessa Patrikeos was a member of Ballarat Redan’s 1^st XI Women Premiership team.

Jodi Toering’s latest book, Rain on the Rock, was named a 2026 Notable Book in the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Picture Book of the Year category. This is her third book to be recognised by the CBCA.