The Old Paradians' Association (OPA) had cause to celebrate at its Annual Dinner that held the induction of our most recent Hall of Fame inductees. Retired County Court Judge David Jones AM (1958) and the Hon Andrew Robb AO (1968) were proud and humbled at the OPA’s generous Award.

We were able to welcome Mr Mark Aiello, Principal of Parade College, and members of the College leadership team, Mary Dourios (Deputy Principal), Doreen Cutajar (Director of Human Resources) and Michael Torpey (Assistant Principal, Partnerships & Organisation), Mr Andy Kuppe, Executive Director EREA Victoria, Mr Ray Bongiorno Chair of College Advisory Board, Mr Darryn Borg, Chair Parade College Foundation, Mr Flavio Cosmelli President Parents of Parade, Mr Angelo Mazzone President of OPA and Fr Brian Glasheen to the evening. Previous Hall of Fame recipients Peter Bedford (1963) and Terry Moran (1967) were also warmly welcomed. Past Principal and Honorary Old Paradian Br Laurie Collins also joined guests.

The evening was proudly sponsored by Total Tools and Striking Constructions and we thank them for their support.

Dr Paul Shannon, former College staff member and OPA Committee member, Vice President and President was also recognised on the night, awarded the prestigious Tenete Award for outstanding services to the College and the OPA.

Our Award winners were joined by family and friends who enjoyed the evening immensely. I have included a brief biography of the recipients below. They are so proud to have attended Parade College. A theme in all the acceptance speeches was enormous gratitude to their families and the College for the values instilled, the opportunities provided, and the lifelong friendships established.

David Jones and Andrew Robb have made an enormous contribution to the community since leaving the College. The Old Paradians' Association and the College is so very proud of them.

Dr Shannon continues his journey in educational leadership as Principal at Mazenod College.

Below is an extract from our Annual Dinner Booklet that gives some idea of the contributions made by our Award recipients.

David Jones AM

David Jones graduated from Parade College in 1958 after matriculating with a Commonwealth Government scholarship. He excelled in the College’s sports programs representing the College in 1^st XVIII football, cricket, and athletics. David was a member of the prefect team.

David accepted a place in a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Melbourne. This was the beginning of an outstanding and diverse career in law. From commercial and personal injuries litigation, President of the Law Institute of Victoria, Chairman of the Legal Aid Commission, which he was heavily involved in creating, and the Australian Broadcasting Commission, David was appointed a County Court Judge in 1985 and remained a Judge until 2002. In his role with the judiciary, David was a model for the efficient, courteous and just conduct of both criminal and civil trials.

David’s dedication to the legal system saw him carry out responsibilities as President of the Accident Compensation Tribunal and President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. After retiring from the Bench, David remained active by overseeing Government reviews and chairing the AFL Tribunal and Anti-Doping Tribunal.

David emailed the Association after the Dinner with some thanks below:

John many thanks to you and the OPA for a magnificent Dinner. The venue, service and meal were great and there was a real Parade atmosphere in the room. We were all moved by the presentation ceremony and the honour that the OPA has bestowed on me. As you would have gathered Parade is part of my DNA and the induction is the icing on the cake!

Hon Andrew Robb AO

Andrew Robb’s connection to Parade College commenced in 1964 at East Melbourne and concluded with his matriculation at the Bundoora campus in its first year, 1968. On leaving school, Andrew attended Dookie Agricultural College and La Trobe University where he qualified in Agricultural Science and an Honours degree in Economics. This led to a varied career as an Agricultural Economist with the Victorian Department of Agriculture, Executive Director of the Cattle Council of Australia, and Executive Director of the National Farmers’ Federation.

Andrew’s career then transitioned to the political sphere where he was appointed Federal Deputy Director and Director of the Liberal Party, Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Opposition, the late Andrew Peacock AC GCL, Federal Campaign Director in the winning 1996 election, and member of the NSW Liberal State Executive.

Andrew was elected in 2004 to the Federal Parliament seat of Goldstein in Victoria which began an extensive parliamentary career including a range of ministerial and shadow ministerial positions. Following the coalition victory at the 2013 election, Andrew was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Trade and Investment. He negotiated Free Trade Agreements with our largest trading partner, China, as well as South Korea and Japan.

After retiring from politics in 2016, among other roles, Andrew has served on the Board of Mind Medicine Australia since 2020. This followed Andrew’s disclosure in 2009 of a lifelong battle with depression prompting him to write ‘Black Dog Daze: Public Life, Private Demons’, a tome on the challenges brought on by depression. Today Andrew is Chairman of The Robb Group, a corporate and investment advisory company.

Andrew similarly emailed the Association expressing his appreciation

Congratulations on the very successful Hall of Fame event. I know from experience how much effort goes into the effective organisation of such a dinner, and you nailed it! My sincere thanks also for the honour bestowed on me by yourself and the Association’s Committee; it means a lot to me.

I caught up with guys who in some cases I hadn’t seen in 50 years, and now I might be able to catch up again occasionally.

Again, many thanks and stay well.

Tenete Award

Dr Paul Shannon

Paul completed his HSC at the College in 1985 and spent the following year as a gap year working on College grounds and in the sport department. Teachers College followed and a career in education followed.

Paul has made an outstanding contribution to the College and the Old Paradians Association. Paul has been a teacher, House Leader and Assistant Principal at the College. Dr Denis Moore, Principal at the College expressed a desire to reinvigorate the Old Paradians Association that had not had a functioning Committee for a few years and gave Paul the brief to see what he could do to re-establish a Committee. Paul proved to be the right man for the job. He accessed a commitment from Lewis Derrico to be President of the newly formed Committee and enlisted a number of other willing volunteers all committed to serving the College and the Association. Paul also contacted Tony De Bolfo and sort his services in the newly created part time paid role of Executive Officer of the Old Paradians Association. A wise move as Tony proved to be just the right man for the role. His passion and energy for the Association was readily seen. Whilst still on staff and after Paul left the College where he had senior positions in schools and at Edmund Rice Education (EREA), he continued to serve the Association in roles as Vice President and President. Paul stood down from his formal involvement on the Committee this year after taking up a Principals position at Mazenod College. The Old Paradians Association and the College are indebted to Paul for his outstanding contribution and is a most worthy recipient of the Tenete Award.

To the OPA Committee, sincere thanks and appreciation for the honour of my nomination for the Tenete Award. It was a very humbling experience when looking at the names of previous recipients. Thank you for arranging the dinner. It was good to share my Award with members of my family, classmates, and former colleagues. Looking forward to next year’s dinner.