News of Alumni - Archive 2003
Michael Hwang (1967)
Marion Weiss (1967-68)
William Plain (1968)
Michael Nicholls (1968)
K.S (Peter) Pun (1968-69)
Ros Madden (Ros Wood, 1968-70)
Vinod Kumar (1969-71)
Mitsuyoshi Adachi (1972)
Peter Cramp (1973)
Azman F. Shafi (1975-78)
Ben Fong (1978-80)
Warren Whitley (1978-80)
Jiaoru Qian (1979)
Larry Kwok (1979-80)
Mohamad Termidzi bin Hj Junaidi (1980)
Ted Chan and Silvia Liu (1980)
Greg Bird (1980-84)
Dr Josef Khan (1986)
Gavin Austin (1987-89)
Sumalee Traichoke (1989)
Christel Hennequin (1995-96)
Ian Gutierrez (1995-96)
Andres Gomez de Silva Garza (1995-2000)
Binh Pham (1998)
Paulina Maugkusasono (1997)
Rebecca Bollen (1998-2000) and Arthur (Artie)
Manalac (2000)
Bart van de Laar (1999)
Navneet Nair (1999)
Nadege Lechevrel (1999-2000)
Vincent Malaypillay (2001-2)
Shamoon Halai (2002-3)
Michael Hwang (1967) and his wife, Laura, met with IH
friends during their visit to Sydney in February this year.
Michael is a Senior Counsel and Arbitrator whose
expertise is sought internationally.
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Marion Weiss (1967-68) and her husband Wilfried
Meier wrote in November last year to pass on that they
had just become grandparents. They noted that their
other two children (Markus and Annette) are studying
for their final exams. Markus in Computer Sciences and
Annette in Social Work.
^top
William Plain (1968) sent news earlier this year:“… after
eight years as professor in the Japanese national university system,
Universities of Niigata and Tsukuba, I
shifted to a private university, Nagoya University of
Foreign Studies five years ago. My wife, Renata, is still
active with her painting and our son Guglielmo, having
finished distance schooling from Australia has now
completed a year of Japanese studies at the university
here and will be attending Adelaide University this year.”
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Michael Nicholls (1968) updated his details in
December of last year: “I was in IH in 1968 just for the
one year studying engineering. Worked in the Chemical
Industry for 20 years before retiring in 1989 to become
a superfine merino woolgrower. I am always pleased to
receive news of the alumni and particularly those I knew
in ’68.”
^top
K.S (Peter) Pun (1968-69) wrote in November last
year and would love to hear from his friends in 1968 and ‘69:“ I
am sad to read about the sudden death of Tham. He was such a nice
and happy fellow. He was the second
person I met when I first arrived at the door of IH in
1968. On the other hand, I am happy to read about
Anny Be and John Hunter. John was my next “room”neighbour on the
third floor. I still remember vividly the smell from his room whenever he opened
his door and
his refusal to take any Chinese food since he was one of
the two persons I have ever known who could not take
any Chinese food at all. I have already officially retired,
although I work as hard as ever – now for quite a
number of unpaid jobs in Hong Kong and Mainland
China as my way of paying back to society and my way
to keep my mind from the sadness of my wife’s passing
away in May. I became a grandfather three years ago
and my second grandchild, predicted to be boy, is
expected to be born a few weeks from now.”
^top
Ros Madden (Ros Wood, 1968-70) wrote recently: “As
it’s so long since I sent any news it’s a bit hard
to
encapsulate things. Our young ones are well on the way
to adulthood, both being part way through tertiary
studies. I am still enjoying my work at the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare after ten years there. And
I still hope and pray for world peace! Actually, in last
July’s Alumni News it was reported that Richard
(Madden, now an honorary member of the Alumni) and
I celebrated a wedding anniversary last January with
many friends including several alumni. We asked people
to bring a small symbol of the good things that survive
(and/or that we hope survive) for inclusion in a painting
of the party, that one of our friends has now completed.
We wanted to celebrate that “some good things
survive”, a rather minimalist but nevertheless comforting
thought that occurred to us in late 2001 at the time of
our anniversary and many other less happy events. The
themes that emerged from all these symbols were: love, friendship,
family, friends, children;
family recipes, food and wine shared
nature, special places; music, poetry, art;
humour, fun;
reconciliation;
peace;
education and learning;
traditions and ceremonies;
kindness;
memories;
hope…
^top
Vinod Kumar (1969-71) wrote recently to pass on
his new contact details and is keen to get in touch with the
alumni from his time, especially Genny Ferguson, Anne
McCarthy, Val Hazelwood and Gwen Burrows. He
notes that he has recently completed a four-month tour
of Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France,
Spain, Morocco and the UK.
^top
Mitsuyoshi Adachi (1972) sent the following news
in February: “I am working for the Public Hall in Nagara,
Cifu City, as director. I have to hold several meetings at
night because most of the members work in the
daytime. I find it very meaningful for me to learn more
about my town and its people for their welfare and
communication. I attend drawing clubs, culture circles
and Chinese sports clubs twice a week. Thus, I try to
keep myself active and alive a lot. Never too late to
learn! I always think of IH and its people.”
^top
Peter Cramp (1973) wrote in November last year to
update his contact details: “I’m currently based in
Thursday Island, Torres Strait, and am the Manager of
Remote Area Services for Maritime Safety Queensland;
this means I do oral exams for Masters Certificates of
Competency, investigate shipping and pollution
incidents and a lot of educational activities. I still
maintain my home in the rainforest village Kuranda, just
behind Cairns. I was amazed to read an article in the
Weekend Australian referring to Damien Wolfhart of
1973 as a medical director in one of the ravaged areas
of the former Yugoslavia, and have also heard from an
Indian mate who’s a ship’s engineer, that Dylan
Devesan (also 1973) is still working in medicine in Alice
Springs.
^top
Azman F. Shafi (1975-78) updated his contact details
in September 2002. He wishes everyone a Happy New
Year and would love to see any old friends travelling
through Kuala Lumpur.
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Ben Fong (1978-80) emailed in January this year:“ Essentially
I am a full time GP working on my own. I am involved in a number
of Government’s boards and
committees, such as the Licensing Appeals Board and
the Department of Health’s Shatin District Health
Committee. Academically, I am an Adjunct Associate
Professor in Family Medicine at the Chinese University of
Hong Kong and a Visiting Lecturer to their School of
Public Health. After work I spend a fair bit of my time in
voluntary service, particularly in my capacity as the
Commandant of the Training Institute of the
Government’s Auxillary Medical Service. We are
involved in first aid services in the parks, social functions
and special events of the government. We also
participate in disaster medical emergencies. I was called
out to the airport when a plane crashed during the
typhoon in 1999. Nonetheless, I spend enough time
with my family. Our two eldest ones, Sidney and
Adelaide are in high school and the youngest, Oscar, is
about to finish primary schooling.
Kung Hey Fat Choy for the year of the Goat!”
Since then Ben, in his role as Community Vice-Convenor
of the Hong Kong Men’s Forum, extracted the relevant
health advice circulated in Hong Kong for the prevention
of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and
forwarded for our information.
^top
Warren Whitley (1978-80) emailed SUIHAA in
December last year to update his contact details. He has
recently moved to Singapore.
^top
Jiaoru Qian (1979) who
has been working for UNESCO in Paris since 1993 visited Sydney
recently with his wife,
Shuqin and had dinner with Mr and Mrs de Graaff, the
current Director of IH, Jessica Carroll, her partner, Philip
Milton, Gwen and Richard Ng and Joan Rowlands. Qian
wrote to thank them for “a wonderful dinner with you
all… My short visit to IH brought back sweet and my
stay there so many years ago. Next time I come, I will
definitely to stay in the House for a few days.”
^top
Larry Kwok (1979-80) sent news from Hong Kong
where he is trying to organise a scholarship to allow
students of Sydney University to undertake postgraduate
Chinese studies at the Peking University in
China.
^top
Mohamad Termidzi bin Hj Junaidi (1980) wrote to
express his concern about the bushfires in Australia:“
I hope it’s far away from where you all are.” Termidzi went on to mention the Waterfall train
derailment which he had heard about on CNN that
morning – before most of us in Sydney!
^top
Ted Chan and Silvia Liu (1980) emailed Mr de Graaff
in March of this year. Their son Yan Yin (who was born
when Ted and Silvia were living in IH) will graduate from
the Royal Academy of Music in July this year. Violin
study and performance is his major subject. However,
he will stay in the Academy for one more year for his
professional diploma. Ted is still working as a planning
consultant and Silvia is operating two private music and
arts centres.
^top
Greg Bird (1980-84) sent news in November 2002 and
passed on his regards to fellow SUIHAA members. He is
an accredited tai ji instructor, and spends much of his
time reading a lot of books. He is currently preparing a
talk and an essay in connection with the use of labyrinth
and labyrinth-like arrangements in warfare as recorded
in classical Greek, Roman and Indian literature.
^top
Dr Josef Khan (1986) wrote recently to update his
contact details. A citizen of Canada and the UK, he is
currently working in Finland.
^top
Gavin Austin (1987-89) wrote recently. He is “alive
and well”(!) in North Ryde, where he studies and teaches
at Macquarie University. He got married earlier this month,
and is looking forward to starting a family. He would like
to say a special hello to Mrs Rosemary Berrick, who
showed him enormous kindness when he was at IH.
^top
Sumalee Traichoke (1989) contacted SUIHAA recently
to update her contact details. She is still working at the
Rajabhat Institute Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya (Thailand)
where she will be until 30 September 2008.
^top
Christel Hennequin (1995-96) wrote in January: “Hello
to everyone from 1995-96. I had a wonderful 2002! I
had the pleasure of meeting one of my best friends,
Masako. She stayed at my place for a week and visited
Paris. We had a wonderful time remembering and
sharing ideas. She practiced her French with me and I
practiced my Japanese with her. This coming March, I
plan to go to Japan for the first time in my life and I am
so thrilled about it! That is the magic spirit of IH! Masako
will be my guide in Tokyo, fortunately for me!
In 2002, I also met Franck and his family at Charles de
Gaulle Airport. My best friend Ken came for my 30th
birthday in Paris. I had news from Vagira. Indu called me
at the beginning of the year to wish me a happy New
Year! Tony sent me e-cards. Anyway, thanks to IH,
thanks to you, my friends, I have opened my mind: I
have learnt so many things; I have discovered places I
had never thought I would visit one day; I have pushed
my limits and learnt new languages.” Enjoy life and
have fun! Happy New Year 2003 to all of you.
^top
Ian Gutierrez (1995-96) wrote
to update his contact details recently. He is currently working
in Sydney as a
Senior Strategy Analyst for Optus Mobile.
^top
Andres Gomez de Silva Garza (1995-2000) sent
news recently. After leaving IH in May 2000 Andres found a
job teaching full-time in the Computer Engineering
Department at a small private university in Mexico City
called ITAM (Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico– Mexican
Autonomous Technology Institute). He teaches various undergraduate
and master’s level
courses in Computer Science and tries to do some
research in his spare time in order to continue
publishing, which gives him a chance to travel to
conferences in different places. His job is enjoyable,
though sometimes it can be quite hectic and stressful,
and has the advantage of frequent and lengthy vacation
periods, which allows him to travel even more! He has
seen ten alumni outside of Australia since leaving
Sydney, and returned to his former room in IH for a
three-week period in December 2001-January 2002
(during which time he caught up with more than 50).
^top
Paulina Maugkusasono (1997) contacted
SUIHAA recently to update her contact details. She recently
married a Dutchman, Yuan Li Chen, in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Both are currently working and living in
Shanghai, China.
^top
Binh Pham (1998) sent us the following photos of
her daughter Milly (Amalie Vera Clarke) who was born on 2
November last year.
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Rebecca Bollen (1998-2000) and Arthur (Artie)
Manalac (2000) sent news of their recent wedding and
return to Australia: “Recently we traveled back to
Australia from New York where we are currently living
and working. Our vacation was full of happy occasions
including, most notably, our wedding on 28 December
2002. It was a wonderful celebration, made all the more
significant by the attendance of several IH friends. We
were happy to be back in the presence of family, good
friends and sun! We hope to return to Australia
permanently some time in 2004, but in the meantime we
have plenty to do here, shoveling our way out from
under two feet of snow! Our best wishes to all for a
happy and peaceful 2003.
^top
Bart van de Laar (1999) wrote in March this year: “After
graduating in Applied Physics at the University of Twente
in the Netherlands in January 2002, I applied for the so called
Japan Prizewinners Programme, organised by the
Dutch government. To my surprise I won and am now
studying in Japan! First, I learnt Japanese for six months
and I am now completing an internship with Olympus,
the camera manufacturer. I will soon be undertaking
research on Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy,
but with my current knowledge of Japanese, that Nobel
Prize is still some way off!”
^top
Navneet Nair (1999) sent
news in February this year. After a stint with a Silicon Valley
technology startup,
Navneet has returned to Mumbai, where he is heading
the User Interface Team for a firm named Tufan
(translated into English it means whirlwind). When work
does not keep him busy he keeps himself occupied by
travelling to some of the lesser known places in India or
by trying to add chapters to his novel, which he hopes to
finish by the end of the decade.
^top
Nadege Lechevrel (1999-2000) wrote
recently: “Hi
everyone! Living at IH was great and I only have happy
memories (and crazy pictures) of that transcendent
experience. It has helped me think “international” – the
words culture, habits or politics now sound different to
me… and this is of great value!
I’m currently living in Paris with my boyfriend and I work
in a secondary high school in the suburbs. I’m also doing
a PhD at the EHESS (Ecole des Hautes en Sciences
Sociales) where I hope to get a Cotutelle agreement with
the University of Sydney in a year or two.
I’ve been wanting to go back to Australia since I returned
home and this will finally happen this year! (I’ve been
saying “I’m coming!” for the past two years – without
showing up – but I guess that was a way of keeping the
prospect of the trip real!) My boyfriend and I have
planned to go to Sydney. At last someone is going to see
where I lived and hopefully will also meet some of the
people I met there…”
^top
Vincent Malaypillay (2001-2) wrote recently with
the sad news that his mother had passed away. He has been
working in Singapore since leaving Sydney but is
currently thinking of moving back to Penang to be closer
to his father.
^top
Shamoon Halai (2002-3) sent news recently about
his wedding last December to Sameena.
^top
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