Meet our Alumni

A successful businessman, Sir Peter Derham has made a significant contribution to the community through his extensive charitable work.

During the Second World War Derham served with the Royal Australian Air Force in the South-West Pacific and then in Australia's occupation force in Japan. After the war he attended The University of Melbourne and then joined his father's company Moulded Plastics, which later became Nylex. He was appointed its Managing Director in 1967.

In 1980 Derham received a knighthood in recognition of his service to industry. Derham has served as Chairman of the National Training Council, The Australian Tourism Commission and the CSIRO Advisory Board. He has been an influential fundraiser for many charitable causes, including for the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, the St John Ambulance, the Shrine of Remembrance Restoration Appeal and the Breast Cancer Network Australia's inaugural Field of Women in Canberra.

He is a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John. Derham has supported the Alfred Hospital for almost three decades, raising funds for the Radiotherapy Appeal in 1985 and the Burns Unit in 1992. He remains a patron of the Alfred Foundation Board. He has also campaigned against child abuse and was founding President of the Victoria Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

At the request of Peter Costello he founded the Higgins 200 Club in 1993 and remains its patron. In 2001 Derham received the Companion of the Order of Australia for his contributions to tourism development, commerce, science, the community and the preservation of heritage sites in Antarctica. Derham remains involved in charity work and is currently lobbying for the restoration of Mawson's Hut in Antarctica.