Class Notes 2022

FROM THE COMBINED EDITIONS OF 2022 REGULUS

If you would like to be included in the Old Collegian's section under Class Notes for the next issue of Regulus please contact the Editor on editor@stac.school.nz with your details and share a part of your story with us.

Dr Ron Jones (1957), a retired gynecologist, obstetrician, and former professor at the University of Auckland, has been awarded the 2022 Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr Jones is being honoured for his role in exposing one of
the biggest medical scandals in New Zealand’s history, around cervical cancer screening. He was part of a group of three Kiwi doctors who exposed ethical abuses in a study examining cervical carcinoma in situ, or CIS, in what was later called the ‘unfortunate experiment’.

Damien Rowse (1997) is part of Rainbow Awakening, a collective of gay men who wish to honour the memory of loved ones lost to AIDS. They offer a shared meal and sharing circle every day in central Auckland. Prior to this, Damien was based in India for six years helping to build a gay ashram. 

Marty Kain (2006) was selected for the USA Twenty20 International cricket squad and made his debut against Ireland in December 2021. 

Sam Blakelock (2007) lives in Los Angeles where he co-founded Pickup Music, a leader in online education, teaching 20,000 students worldwide how to play guitar. Previously, he studied his Masters of Music in New York City and worked in marketing at Carnegie Hall before growing a social media following of one million musicians on Instagram.

Squadron Leader Mike Ward (2007) has served in the Royal Air Force since 2009. He is currently a Flight Commander on IX (Bomber) Squadron flying the Eurofighter Typhoon and is based at RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland. IX (B) Squadron are famed for sinking the German battleship Tirpitz, in November 1944 and they currently hold the UK Aggressor role; training UK and US front line units to fight and win against a peer adversary. Prior to his promotion, Mike served on Number 6 Squadron and as a Qualified Weapons Instructor on Number 1 (Fighter) Squadron, the oldest airborne fighting unit in the world. In this role, Mike was deployed on numerous operational tours in Iraq, Syria, and the Falkland Islands, conducted Quick Reaction Alert in the UK and the South Atlantic, and took part in exercises all over the world from the Middle East to the USA. As a hangover from his days at St Andrew’s College, Mike has taken to all things Scottish from golf to haggis. He enjoys the travel and the unique experiences offered with the RAF and living overseas. In 2020, Mike achieved a Masters Degree in Aerosystems specialising in Air Operations and Tactics from Staffordshire University. He is soon to move to the Middle East to continue teaching on the Typhoon to the United Kingdom’s defence partners.

Jackson Stent (2011) has signed with the Canterbury Rams in the New Zealand National Basketball League. Jackson attended St Andrew’s College until Year 10, then moved up to Westlake Boys’ High School under our Teacher in Charge of Basketball, Ben Eves. Jackson has been studying and playing within the basketball programme and coaching at Houston Baptist University.

Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson (2013) accepted the role of St Andrew’s College Ballet Academy Patron. Joshua is a role model of excellence for the Academy’s dancers. As part of the role, he will be co-choreographing a small portion of the new Company Ballet Syllabus with Dr Carolyn Cairns.

Harry Grigg (2014) won The Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards 2021, held in Frome, England, in December. This is a singing competition for young artists aged 22–30 inclusive, presenting a programme of Wishart and Handel.

Samuel Gilbert (2016) was named in the 2022 Highlanders rugby squad and Raymond Nu’u (2015) was named in the 2022 Melbourne Rebels squad at the end of 2021.

Shilo Klein (2017) and Richie Mo’unga (2012) were both selected for the Crusaders squad.

Kelera Nawai-Caucau (2016) made her debut as Trident Homes Tactix player 69 in Round 1 of the 2022 ANZ Premiership. Kelera, who was born in Fiji, came to New Zealand on a scholarship to St Andrew’s in 2014. Her excellent season with the Pulse last year has led to her joining the Tactix.

Harrison Smith (2016) won the esteemed Gold Medal in Law for 2020 University of Canterbury graduates. Harrison studied at the University of Canterbury and after finishing his degree, moved to Auckland to work as a judges’ clerk at the Auckland High Court. This award has been presented to Canterbury graduates since 1883 and has been won by some very prestigious lawyers over the years. The Honourable Justice Moore presented Harrison with this award in Auckland.

Zack Rumble (2017) won three gold medals at the National Rowing Championships, including the Premier Coxless Four and Double Sculls, to receive his first ‘Red Coat’ presented to winners of a premier event at the nationals. Zack and Ben Taylor (2017) will be trialling for the U23 and Winter Training squads, and Thomas Russel (2017) will be trialling for the 2022 Rowing New Zealand World Cup team. 

Cameron McHugh (2016) is a professional singer and musician, who with his partner, recently opened a performing arts school, THESPA – the only school in Taranaki offering training in all aspects of performing arts. The new school attracted over 80 students in its first week. Cameron took Drama and Music at St Andrew’s and had leading roles in various productions, including playing an incredible Emcee in the 2016 Senior Production, Cabaret. In 2019, he graduated from the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA), where he developed a strong passion for teaching and music direction, writing original music for two shows and accompanying many performances during his time there. After graduating, he went on to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Primary), as well as a certificate in vocal pedagogy and technique from New York City’s biggest vocal studio, New York Vocal Coaching. Cameron also runs his own music studio, Cameron McHugh Music, where he takes private vocal, piano, and theory lessons. 

Saxon Morgan (2018) won the Mini OxMan triathlon which took place in rural North Canterbury in December 2021.

Bella Ambrosius (2019) who is 2nd XI hockey coach at St Andrew’s, was invited to trial for the Black Sticks team.

Harrison Bradley (2019) gained a contract with the Australian Ballet, the largest and most prestigious classical ballet company in Australia.

Zak Foulkes (2020) made his debut for the Canterbury Wizards against Auckland in February.

James Tavendale and Louie Murden (2020), and Emma Inglis (2021) were all medallists at the National Rowing Championships for the Avon Rowing Club.

Lose Faingaanuku (2021) made her debut as Trident Homes Tactix player 70 in Round 1 of the 2022 ANZ Premiership. Lose had a fantastic first game, after playing in the National Netball League while she was a Secondary School student at St Andrew’s. 

Benjamin Freeman (2021) has signed with the Taranaki Mountaineers in the New Zealand National Basketball League. This is the first professional contract for Benjamin. In February, at the Youthtown 3×3 Quest Tour, the Open Men’s category was won by a team consisting of two St Andrew’s Old Collegians, Benjamin Freeman and Tanae Lavery (2021).

Isabella Galvan (2021) was named in the Southern Blast NNL netball team.

Tapenisa Havea (2021 Head Girl) won the Capital Classic Athletics Senior Women’s shot put in February. In March, she had great success at the Jennian Homes New Zealand Track and Field Championships in Hawke’s Bay, winning silver medals for both the Senior Women’s shot put and Senior Women’s discus, achieving personal bests in each discipline. She took silver in the shot put just behind Tokyo 2020 Olympian, Maddi Wesche. Tapenisa has qualified for both the shot put and discus for the Oceania and World U20 Championships. 

Jackson Rhodes (OC 2021) has committed to West Virginia Wesleyan College in the USA. Jackson’s basketball scholarship ensures that he can be a student-athlete for the next four years as he undertakes his undergraduate degree.

Molly Spark (2021) competed in the brutal 2022 GODZone Adventure Race as part of Team FEAR Youth, with their age range from 16–19 years. They finished unranked, but that did not dampen the excitement they felt at the finish line of what some would describe as the toughest adventure race in the world.

Blake Theobald (2021) had his Level 3 Design folio selected for the NZQA Top Art Exhibition. This is a touring exhibition that travels New Zealand, providing an opportunity for current students to see Excellence folios from the previous year. Blake was new to Design in Year 13, so this was a fantastic achievement.

On the first day of Term, 1 the College welcomed fourth generation students, Elliot and Oliver Wallace (Year 9), who are pictured with their sister, Madison (Year 10), and their father, James Wallace (1989), beside grandfather, Tony Wallace (1952). They are standing next to their great grandfather, Keith Wallace’s (1923) recognition post in the driveway of the College.  

Friday 2 September 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the great days in New Zealand sporting history – when the Men’s rowing eight won the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. This was the classic David versus Goliath contest, where a group of Kiwi amateur rowers defeated the professional Eastern bloc nations and the USA. Blasting off the start line in the final, the New Zealand eight led all the way down the Feldmoching course to record an emphatic victory. The youngest member of the crew that day was Old Collegian, Athol Earl (1970), who at 19 years of age, still remains the second youngest New Zealander to win an Olympic gold medal. Athol, who began his rowing career at St Andrew’s, stood out at being 6 foot 5 inches tall and immensely powerful, also won a European championship in 1971 and a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, both in the eight oared boat. Athol also rowed for the Avon Club in Christchurch and more recently became a national rowing selector, contributing to the remarkable success of New Zealand crews over the past two decades in international competition. The St Andrew’s College community would like to congratulate Athol on his outstanding achievements in rowing over his lifetime.

Under his stage name of Ritchie Venus, Michael Brathwaite (1966) has released a new recording called Listen to the Angels, which is a track on American label Spacecase’s compilation LP We Live in Strange Times: a Spacecase Records Sampler.

Paul McEwan (1971) was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for services to neonatal care. Paul has been chair of the Canterbury Neonatal Unit Trust for the last 30 years, following he and wife Julie’s personal experiences with their own children being born prematurely. Since 1992, the Trust has raised more than $600,000 for support services and equipment in Canterbury and Westland, including incubators, travelling costs, and funding New Zealand’s first human milk bank at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.

1st XI coach and College Custodian, Mike ‘Scrump’ Johnston (1974), was selected for the New Zealand Over 60s cricket team.

Tainui Stephens (1975) is one of the producers of Whina, a feature film about the life of Dame Whina Cooper, the beloved Māori matriarch who worked tirelessly to improve the rights of her people, and whose legacy as the Te Whaea o te Motu (Mother of the Nation) was an inspiration to an entire country. Whina was released nationwide in June.

Bayley’s National Auction Manager, Conor Patton (2007), was named the LVD World Auctioneering Championship Winner and then the REINZ Auction Championship Winner, both for the second year running.

Dr Theresa Pankhurst (2011) was awarded a new fellowship to strengthen relationships between the Malaghan Institute and Māori. The Te Urungi Fellowship was established by the Malaghan Institute’s Māori advisory group, whose role is to guide the institute in its work towards equitable health outcomes for Māori. During the final two years of the fellowship, Dr Pankhurst, a Post Doctorate Research Fellow, will be seconded to the Babraham Institute at the University of Cambridge, working with a leading researcher in germinal centre B-cell biology and vaccination.

Tayler Hubber-Davis (2012) was nominated for the National Association of Women in Construction (NZ) 2022 Excellence Awards Rising Star. Tayler graduated with a Master of Building Science in Project Management from Wellington Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation. For the past three years she has been working at Beca as a Digital Engineering Advisor where she has found a passion for Digital Engineering and Building Information Modeling.

Blake Morgan (2013) attended the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, as a Broadcast Engineer providing facilities for Sky Sport NZ at the International Broadcast Centre.

Charlotte Elley (2014) was selected for the Splice Construction Magic netball team for the ANZ Premiership in 2023. 

Henry Shipley (2014) was named Canterbury Cricket’s Player of the Year.

Wairoa dog triallist Ned George (2014) and his trusty Huntaway, Sprocket (second dog on the left), took out the New Zealand Straight Hunt title at the Tux Champs in Taumarunui. Ned and Sprocket finished third in the North Island Straight Hunt with a score of 97, and in the New Zealand run-off a 96.5 score gave them the title. 

The newly formed Te Manu Tioriori Trust, which is dedicated to ‘creating and developing original musical theatre by, of and for the people of Aotearoa,’ has selected Isaac Shatford (2014) to develop his new musical, Ruth. Isaac is writing the book, music, and lyrics for this show. 

Britney-Lee Nicholson (2017) and Frankie Morrow (2019) were selected for the women’s squad for the FISU (International University Sports Federation) World University Championships in Portugal. This is the first time Aotearoa New Zealand has been represented at the FISU World University Futsal Championships since the 2018 edition of the tournament in Kazakhstan.

Christina Shepherd (2017) and younger sister Alexandra Shepherd (Year 13) were featured in an article about their involvement with CanTeen, a charity supporting young people living with cancer, and were invited to fly in an Air Force helicopter with 12 other past and current cancer patients. Christina also visited a Year 13 Physics class as a member of the team from Taska Prosthetics to demonstrate their prosthetic Taska Hand. Christina has been coding for the company since finishing her Bachelor of Science in 2019.

Saxon Morgan (2018) was named in the U19/23 Mixed Team Relay World Championship team, which competed at the Groupe Copley World Triathlon MR World Championships in Montreal.

Four Old Collegians have launched the flag version of American Football in Dunedin. Tom Rance, Laurence Arundell, Nash Forrester and George Gray (all 2018) had enjoyed playing the sport at lunchtime while at St Andrew’s College and are now committed to making the pigskin a popular pastime with their university fraternity.

David Chang (2018) completed his degree in Mathematics at the New Zealand Graduate School of Education, where he won a TeachNZ scholarship to train.

Ayrton Shadbolt (2019), Dougal Shepherd (2018) and Oliver Egan (2017) were named in the New Zealand team for the World University Orienteering Championships in Switzerland in August.

Olivia Brett (2019) was selected to represented New Zealand in Canoe Racing for World Cup 1 in Racice, Czech Republic and World Cup 2 in Poznan, These dates are subject to change. Poland, in May. Olivia won a silver medal in the Women’s L4 500m sprint.

Victoria Lee (2019) is the current concertmaster of the Dunedin Youth Orchestra. This is the premiere orchestra group for 18–25 year olds in the Otago region. Victoria is also returning to play viola in the St Andrew’s College Senior Production in Term 3.

Jack Wang (2020) and his partner Abhinav Manota, won the Oceania Men’s Doubles Badminton Championship in Melbourne.

Lachlan Frazer (2021) was selected for the New Zealand Youth Men’s team for the FINA World Men’s Youth Water Polo Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia in August. Lachlan played for the St Andrew’s Senior A team from Year 9 to Year 13, and was the coach of the team this year. He currently plays for Canterbury Water Polo in the Suzuki National Water Polo League.

Samuel Jeon (2021) gave a stunning concert at the Ron Ball Studio in the Town Hall. Samuel is currently studying piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His performance was outstanding and demonstrated a remarkable music maturity for someone so young.

Basketball

The Aon U19 National Tournament took place over Queen’s Birthday Weekend in Rangiora, with four Old Collegians involved. Te Rina Cooper (2021) and Lose Faingaanuku (2021) were on the Canterbury Women’s team, which finished in second place. Jackson Rhodes (2021) was selected to play for the Canterbury U19 Men’s team in June, but was unable to play due to injury. Benjamin Freeman (2021) was on the Taranaki team, which finished in third place, narrowly missing out on the final. Jackson Rhodes (2021) and Jackson Stent (2012) have made the Canterbury Rams basketball team.

Rugby

Joel Lam (2020) and Sebastian Calder (2019) were selected for the New Zealand U20 rugby squad;
Sebastian Calder (2019) earned his first cap off the bench for the Crusaders, thrashing The Force in Perth 53-15, in May;
Isi Saumaki (2020) and Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula (2021) joined the Hurricanes U20 squad, Will Stodart (2021) was named in the Highlanders U20 squad, and Sebastian Calder (2019) and Joel Lam (2020) were selected for the Crusaders U20 squad, for the Bunnings Warehouse Super Rugby U20 Competition in Taupō;
Sam Gilbert (2016) ran out in the No.10 jersey for the Highlanders against the Western Force in May.

Tennis

The Elmwood Premier Men’s team, featuring six Old Collegians, defeated Cashmere Tennis Club 4–1 in the final of the Premier Canterbury competition. This was a massive achievement, defeating a team that has dominated the last decade of Canterbury tennis. The win capped off an unbeaten season for team members Elliot Darling (2013), Lawrence Darling (2015), Tom Batt (2012), Edward Batt (2017), Hayden Joblin (2009) and Benji McGillivray (2010).

University of Canterbury asteroid hunters have named an asteroid they discovered in honour of eminent mathematician University of Canterbury Distinguished Professor Roy Kerr (1950). Roy is renowned for his influential work in astrophysics resulting from him solving Einstein’s equation of relativity relating to rotating black holes. These are now called Kerr Black Holes.

Hugh Wilson (1962 – Dux of the College) is planning the 2022 Banks Peninsula Walking Festival which takes place during November. Hugh has been managing the beautiful Hinewai Reserve in Akaroa since its purchase in 1987. His innovative work in re-clothing the slopes of the 1230 hectares utilises gorse as a nurse crop to regenerate the native bush.

Hamish Hartnell’s (1963) five decades of service to the Hawarden Volunteer Fire Brigade was honoured at a function in the Hawarden Memorial Hall. Hamish started at the Waikari Fire Brigade in July 1971 while working for Transport North Canterbury before transferring four years later to the Hawarden Fire Brigade for the past 46 years. He rose to the rank of Station Officer and for the past 40 years has mowed the fire station lawns as a service to the brigade.

College custodian and 1st XI cricket coach, Mike (Scrump) Johnston (1974), played for New Zealand in the inaugural 60s Veterans Cricket World Cup in Queensland. After being unbeaten in pool play, and defeating Canada in a close semi-final, the New Zealand team went down to a strong Pakistan team in the final. During the tournament, Scrump took the catch of the series, with a spectacular one-hander over his head.

Phil Mauger (1975) was elected as Mayor of Christchurch in the Local Body Elections in October.

Simon Pemberton (1989) is based in Nea Anchialos, Greece where he is an aerial firefighter. Simon recently spent six days fighting a fire on Lesbos Island which burned more than 3000 hectares, destroyed several buildings and houses, and burned right to the coast requiring the evacuation of several towns.

Michael Ratigan (1994) attended St Andrew’s as a boarder between 1990–1991 as his family were based in the isolated Republic of the Marshall Islands. He was the first non-Pacific Islander, non-British, or non-New Zealand resident to receive a New Zealand student visa. Michael is now the President and CEO of Fjord, Inc., located in Burlington, NC, USA, which designs equipment to protect rope from abrasion that is used in the maritime and climbing industries. Michael was recently awarded a US Patent for a convertible rescue backpack used by mountain rescue teams, rope access technicians, and sport climbers. To date he has been awarded five individual US Patents and three shared US Patents, as well as several international patents. He currently has eight patents under US and international review. Last year during the pandemic, Michael published his first novelette SOS Kwajalein Lagoon, which is based on the tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands which was home to him for 12 years.

Victoria Burkhart (1999) moved to St Andrew’s in Year 13 from Marlborough Girls’ College to take advantage of the College’s Media Studies Department headed by Simon Williams. In 2000, she was accepted into Broadcasting School to study a Bachelor of Broadcast Communication in Television along with 19 other students, and in 2021 successfully topped her class with her final thesis and documentary. Victoria moved to Wellington and began working in the television and film industry on film projects including Chappie, Elysium, District 9, King Kong, and Antarctic Journal. Victoria currently resides in Vancouver, Canada with her husband and six-year-old son. She is a co-producer of the television series Snowpiercer which is based on the Bong Joon Ho film of the same name, and is in its fourth successful season of production. Victoria is also developing various other film projects.

Deborah Wilding (2002) won third prize in the international 2022 Out from the Mist competition for her song, Walls. On World Mental Health Day, ‘Out from the Mist' celebrated the highlights of the power of lived experience storytelling through photography, short movies and music.

Chris Eaden (2008) and Mason Kennedy (2015) were named in the 2023 New Zealand Senior Men’s ice hockey team, Ice Blacks, which will compete in the IIHF World Championship Division II, Group B event in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2023.

Blair Williamson (2008) was one part of an unbreakable team, literally tied at the feet, that raised an incredible $63,000 for different charities by doing a few different, crazy endurance events over the years.

Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson (2013) toured New Zealand to rave reviews playing the lead role of Prince Charming in Cinderella with the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Jack Duff (2015) is making his mark on the Melbourne stage, recently starring in Top Gun! The Musical, and treading the boards for the Salty Theatre in a parody musical. Jack will soon play the role of Skimbleshanks in the musical Cats for eight months, after successfully auditioning for a place on the show on the Royal Caribbean ship Oasis of the Seas. The cast start rehearsals in Miami before heading off, docking between New York and Miami.

Pippa Griffiths (2015) pictured with Rector Christine Leighton after graduating from the University of Auckland Medical School with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

Kelera Nawai-Caucau (2016) has joined the Northern Stars for the 2023 ANZ Premiership netball season.

Zack Rumble (2017) was selected for the New Zealand Men’s Under-23 coxed four which placed sixth in the A final at the World Championships at Lake Varese in July.

Ben Taylor (2017) competed in the 2022 World Rowing Championships in Racice, Czech Republic with the Rowing NZ Elite team.

Taylor Graham (2018) won the 2022 New Zealand TT Premier Class at the National TT Champs. He competed in 14 races, in two classes over two days to be crowned Premier Class Champion on his Production Can-am.

Cam Jackson (2018) opened the batting and kept wicket for a cricket team in The Hague that was placed second in the Netherlands’ Division 2, 50-over League. Cam was also the top run-scorer.

Bella Ambrosius (2019) was selected for the New Zealand Women’s Māori Hockey – Te Waipounamu team.

Olivia Brett (2019) competed in the 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships at Lake Banook, Canada in August, alongside Dame Lisa Carrington.

Campbell Wilson (2020) was named New Zealand Young Piper of the Year for 2022.

Lose Faingaanuku (2021) represented the Tongan netball team which was undefeated at the Oceania Netball Qualifiers. This has qualified the team for the Netball World Cup in 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Isabella Galvan (2021) joined the Netball New Zealand Board in August as one of two Youth Representatives, following her appointment as Co‑Chair of the Netball New Zealand Youth Board (NNZYB). 

Tapenisa Havea (2021 – Head Girl) competed in the World Athletics U20 Championships in Santiago de Cali, Colombia where she was fourth in shot put, throwing a personal best of 15.97m, just 9cm off a medal. She placed seventh in the discus with a season’s best throw of 53.4m

Emma Inglis (2021) raced in the Women's Championship Fours at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, representing Temple University, Philadelphia, with her crew finishing 12th. The Head of the Charles Regatta is the largest three-day regatta in the world, with over 11,000 athletes competing.

Tanae Lavery (2021) was named ‘Rookie of the Year’ for 2022 in the International 3×3.EXE Premier basketball competition. He played in Japan as a member of Lincoln University’s RAMS.EXE Squad, which was the only New Zealand team to advance beyond the round of 32.

Kiara Bercelli (2022) was selected for the Girls’ U17 World Cup football squad, which competed in India.

Cricket: A number of Old Collegians featured in a Canterbury versus Otago cricket game. Canterbury A: Henry Shipley (2014), Rhys Mariu (Captain) and Jesse Frew (both 2019). Otago A: Llew Johnson (Captain), Oscar Wilson (both 2017), Cam Jackson (2018) and Andrew Hazeldine (2012), coached by Ben McCord (2005).