List of Old Sydneians

The following is a list of notable past pupils of Sydney Grammar School (SGS). Former pupils of the School are known as Old Sydneians.

High Court of Australia

 * Sir Edmund Barton (1859–1864), former Justice of the High Court of Australia and the first Prime Minister of Australia
 * William Gummow, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
 * Sir Anthony Mason, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and Chancellor of the University of New South Wales
 * Sir Richard O'Connor (1867), former Justice of the High Court of Australia and politician
 * Albert Piddington, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
 * Sir George Rich, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
 * Sir Victor Windeyer, former Justice of the High Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia


 * James Allsop AO, current Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia

Supreme Court of New South Wales

 * Sir Leslie Herron, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
 * Kim Santow, former Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal, and a former Chancellor of the University of Sydney
 * Sir Kenneth Street, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
 * Sir Philip Street, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales

Other notable lawyers

 * Alan Blow AO, current Chief Justice of Tasmania and Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania
 * Sir Norman Cowper, former lawyer. businessman, and administrator

Australian parliament

 * Sir Edmund Barton (1859–1864), the first Prime Minister of Australia; Justice of the High Court of Australia
 * Peter Baume, former Senator for New South Wales; physician; Chancellor of the Australian National University
 * Max Falstein, Member for Watson (1940–1949) in the Australian House of Representatives
 * Paul Fletcher, Member for Bradfield in the Australian House of Representatives
 * Sir William McMahon (In Office 10 March 1971 – 5 December 1972), 20th Prime Minister of Australia
 * Harold Thorby, former Member for Calare in the Australian House of Representatives and NSW government minister
 * Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia

New South Wales parliament

 * Sir George Fuller, former Premier of New South Wales
 * Alex Greenwich, current Member for Sydney
 * Sir Norman Kater, politician, medical practitioner and grazier
 * James Macarthur-Onslow, member of both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council; Australian Army Major General; later a businessman
 * John Maddison, former Attorney General of New South Wales
 * Harold Thorby, former NSW government minister and Member for Calare in the Australian House of Representatives
 * Andrew Tink, former politician, historian and author

Other state parliaments

 * Alan Cobcroft, former member of the Legislative Council of Samoa
 * John Fletcher, former Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and cricketer
 * Charles Mein (1857–1859), justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
 * Sir Boyd Dunlop Morehead, former Premier of Queensland

Local government and community activism

 * George Newhouse, former Mayor of Waverley Municipal Council
 * Brett Solomon, co-founder of accessnow.org

Public servants

 * Vivian Brain, electrical engineer and first Deputy-Chairman of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales
 * Nicholas Cowdery, former Director of Public Prosecutions in New South Wales.
 * Sir Robert Garran, former lawyer and first Solicitor-General of Australia
 * Sir Hubert Murray, former Lieutenant-Governor of the Territory of Papua and boxer

Military service

 * General John Antill, Australian Army Major General during World War I
 * Clive Caldwell, Royal Australian Air Force World War II ace fighter pilot
 * General Sir Harry Chauvel, Australian Army Chief of Staff
 * General John Grey, Australian Army Chief and Chancellor of James Cook University
 * James Gordon Legge, Australian Army Lieutenant General during World War I
 * James Macarthur-Onslow, Australian Army Major General during the Second Boer War and World War I, and later politician and businessman
 * Henry Normand MacLaurin, Australian Army Brigadier General during World War I

Academia

 * Henry Kingsley Archdall, academic and clergyman
 * Sir Christopher Clark, academic and Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge
 * Alec Hill, historian
 * Dr Stephen Spurr, headmaster at the Westminster School
 * E G Waterhouse, linguist, professor of German at Sydney University, plant breeder

Social sciences

 * Hugh Mackay, social commentator and former Chairman of Trustees of Sydney Grammar School
 * Malcolm Mackerras, psephologist

Media and journalism

 * George Blaikie, author and journalist
 * Richard Carleton, reporter with the Australian edition of 60 Minutes
 * Charles Firth, member of The Chaser comedy team
 * Bruce Gyngell, first man to appear on Australian television
 * Paul Karp, chief political correspondent at Guardian Australia
 * Dominic Knight, member of The Chaser comedy team
 * Chas Licciardello, member of The Chaser comedy team
 * Tim Palmer, journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 * Siimon Reynolds, Australian advertising executive who developed the Grim Reaper advertisement for AIDS awareness
 * Nicholas Stuart, author and journalist
 * Jonathan Swan, journalist with Axios

Business

 * Len Ainsworth, founder of Aristocrat Leisure Limited
 * Demetrius Comino, engineer, inventor and philanthropist
 * Sir James Oswald Fairfax (1863–1928), newspaper proprietor
 * Sir James Reading Fairfax (1834–1919), newspaper proprietor
 * David Gonski, current Chairman of the Future Fund, Coca-Cola Amatil, Australia Council chairman, and Chancellor of the University of New South Wales
 * Simon Hannes, Macquarie Bank executive who was convicted of insider trading
 * Sir Samuel Hordern, a director of Anthony Hordern & Sons
 * Steven Lowy, co-Chief Executive Officer of Westfield Corporation

Athletics

 * Slip Carr, Australian Olympian sprinter (1924)
 * Lachlan Renshaw, Australian Olympian middle distance runner (2008)

Boxing

 * Sir Hubert Murray (1872–1877), English Amateur Heavyweight Boxing Champion; Lieutenant-Governor of the Territory of Papua

Cricket

 * Eric Barbour, NSW cricketer with 23 first class matches and 1,577 runs
 * Sir Edmund Barton (1859–1864), first class umpire; first Prime Minister of Australia
 * Jim Burke, Australian international with 24 tests and 1,280 runs
 * Albert Cotter, Australian international with 21 tests and 89 wickets
 * John Fletcher, Queensland cricketer with 3 first class matches and 97 runs
 * Sir Norman Gregg, NSW cricketer with 3 first class matches and 116 runs
 * Hunter Hendry, Australian international with 11 tests and 335 runs
 * Sammy Jones, Australian international with 12 tests and 428 runs
 * Alan McGilvray, NSW cricketer with 20 first class matches and 684 runs, most notable for his cricket radio broadcasting
 * William Robison, NSW cricketer with 1 first class match and 15 runs
 * Fred Spofforth, Australian international with 18 tests and 94 wickets; first test cricketer to take a hat-trick
 * Alan Walker, NSW and Nottingham cricketer with 94 first class matches and 221 wickets; also played for Australia in rugby union
 * Sammy Woods, Australian and England international with 6 tests and 10 wickets; also played for England in rugby union

Rowing

 * Mervyn Finlay, Australian Olympian (1952; 1 bronze medal)
 * Joe Gould, Australian Olympian (1936)
 * Frederick Septimus Kelly, British Olympian (1908; 1 gold medal)
 * Vic Middleton, Australian Olympian (1952)
 * Hugh Ward, Australasian Olympian (1912); soldier who was awarded the Military Cross and two Bars
 * Stuart Welch, Australian dual Olympian (2000 and 2004; 1 silver medal, 1 bronze medal)

Rugby league

 * Dallas Hodgins, North Sydney Bears player
 * Nick Pappas (1969–1978), Chairman of South Sydney Rabbitohs

Rugby union

 * Malcolm Blair, Australian international with 3 caps and 0 points
 * Ernie Carr, Australian international with 6 caps and 3 points; brother of Slip Carr
 * Slip Carr, Australian international with 4 caps and 9 points; Australian Olympic athlete; brother of Ernie Carr
 * Tim Clark, Australian sevens international
 * Cam Crawford, NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies player with 13 Super Rugby caps and 40 points
 * Emile de Lissa, President, Barbarian F.C.
 * David Emanuel, Australian international with 9 caps and 0 points
 * Arthur Finlay, Australian international with 12 caps and 0 points
 * Charlie Fox, Australian international with 17 caps and 6 points; also the Australian captain
 * Charles Hammand, Australian international with 2 caps and 0 points
 * Bill Hemingway, Australian international with 5 caps and 9 points
 * Julian Huxley, Australian international with 9 caps and 22 points
 * Wal Ives, Australian international with 5 caps and 0 points
 * Doug Keller, Australian and Scotland international with 13 caps and 0 points; also Scottish captain
 * Bob Loudon, Australian international with 13 caps and 12 points; Australian captain; brother of Darby Loudon
 * Darby Loudon, Australian international with 4 caps and 5 points; Australian captain; brother of Bob Loudon
 * Jack Maddocks Current player for the Melbourne Rebels, played for Australian Under-20s
 * Hyam Marks (1886–1892), Australian international with 2 caps and 0 points; played in first ever test
 * Andrew Mower, Scotland international with 13 caps and 0 points
 * Walter Phipps, Australian international with 1 cap and 0 points
 * Roland Raymond, Australian international with 13 caps and 30 points
 * Alex Ross, Australian international with 20 caps and 43 points; also the Australian captain
 * Geoff Storey, Australian international with 8 caps and 0 points
 * Alan Walker, Australian international with 5 caps and 3 points; also a first class cricketer
 * Alfred Walker, Australian international with 16 caps and 9 points; also the Australian captain
 * Johnnie Wallace, Australia and Scotland international with 17 caps and 48 points; also the Australian captain
 * Clarrie Wallach, Australian international with 5 caps and 0 points
 * Colin Windon, Australian international with 20 caps and 33 points; also the Australian captain
 * Sammy Woods, England international with 13 caps and 6 points; also an international for Australia and England in cricket

Swimming

 * Boy Charlton, Australian Olympian (1924, 1928 and 1932; 1 gold medal, 3 silver medals, 1 bronze medal)
 * Frederick Lane, Australian Olympian (1900; 2 gold medals); Australia's first Olympic swimmer

Tennis

 * John Newcombe, seven-time Grand Slam winner

Other sports

 * Andrew Lock, Australian mountaineer
 * Rohan Chapman-Davies, Australian Olympic mogul skier
 * Jim Ferrier, golfer

Film and theatre

 * Dr Richard James Allen, writer, director and choreographer (Thursday's Fictions 2006 and numerous short films)
 * Stephan Elliott, writer and director (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 1994)
 * Richard Francis-Bruce, Academy Award-nominated film editor (The Shawshank Redemption 1994, Seven 1995, Air Force One 1997)
 * Andrew Lesnie, Academy Award-winning cameraman (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2002)
 * John Meillon, film, television and voice actor (Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II)
 * Gregan McMahon, actor and theatrical producer
 * Julian McMahon (1973–1986), actor; son of Prime Minister McMahon
 * Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, film and theatre actor

Music

 * Alexander Briger, conductor
 * Nigel Butterley, composer
 * Tim Derricourt, songwriter for indie rock group Dappled Cities and current English master at Sydney Grammar School
 * Ross Edwards, composer
 * Sam Fischer, singer-songwriter
 * Rob Hirst, drummer for Midnight Oil
 * Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor
 * Antony Walker (1980–1985), conductor

Visual arts

 * Charles Bryant, visual artist
 * Max Dupain, photographer
 * Donald Friend, visual artist and author

Writing and poetry

 * Dr Richard James Allen, poet, dancer, choreographer and director
 * John Le Gay Brereton, poet and professor of English
 * Michael Dransfield, poet
 * Joseph Jacobs, folklorist and literary critic best known for preserving fairy-tales such as Jack and the Beanstalk and The Three Little Pigs
 * Dowell Philip O'Reilly, poet and short story writer
 * Banjo Paterson, poet and journalist

Science and medicine

 * Dr Bryan Gaensler, Young Australian of the Year, 1999; former assistant professor of astronomy at Harvard University; current professor at the University of Sydney
 * Dr Rowan Gillies, former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières
 * Sir Norman McAlister Gregg, ophthalmologist who discovered the link between maternal rubella and birth defects
 * Edward Rennie, chemist