King’s Birthday Honours 2026
MHSOBA warmly congratulates members of the MHS Old Boys community who have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2026 for their outstanding contributions across their various fields.
A full list of recipients can be found here, and MSHOBA congratulates all who have been recognised this year.
Member of the Order of Australia
Associate Professor Miron Goldwasser AM, M.B, B.S, M.Sc, FRACS
MHS 1958-1961
For significant service to orthopaedic surgery, and to clinical education and training.
Miron is the child of holocaust survivors; his earliest memories were of living in a displaced persons camp in Germany. He attended Elwood High School before transferring to Melbourne High School. Noted for his involvement with Alliance Française, he was elected S.R.C. Form Rep and Form Captain in 1959 and was part of the Sentinel staff. Completing his matric with Honours in Pure & Applied Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and two Speech Night Prizes: Calculus and Applied Mathematics, and Pure Mathematics.
Miron studied Medicine and a Master of Science, travelling to Canada as a Research Fellow at McGill University 1976-1977, then Chief Resident, Orthopaedics, Montreal General Hospital and Montreal Children’s Hospital, Canada 1977-1978. On return to Australia, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) in 1978, specialising in Orthopaedics. He commenced as an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Preston and Northcote Community Hospital (PANCH) in 1978, as well as at St Vincent’s Hospital as an assistant. In 1985, St Vincents promoted him to Surgeon, a position he held until 2014. Miron was head of Orthopaedics at PANCH from 1994 to 1998 and, upon PANCH’s closure, he moved to the Northern Hospital from 1998 to 2011.
Miron taught at The University of Melbourne as a Clinical Instructor in Orthopaedics (Department of Medicine) 1979-1986, Senior Associate (Department of Surgery) 1986-2014 and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, St Vincent’s Hospital, since 2014. Whilst at RACS he was an examiner in Orthopaedic Surgery 1997-2005 and a Faculty Member, Surgeons as Educators Group, 2000-2009.
In 1998 he was a founding member of the Victorian Orthopaedic Foundation, serving on the Board, including as Chair 2013-2012. In 1982 the Australian Orthopaedic Association admitted Miron as a fellow. He was a Member of the Victorian Board of Studies, 1991-1997, Member, Undergraduate Education Committee 1992-2003 (Chair 1996-2000) and was made a Life Member in 2014.
Medal of the Order of Australia
Colin Roy Axup OAM, B.A (Hons), Dip.Ed, Grad.Dip Strategic Studies.
MHS 1981-1984, MHS Staff 1992-2010
For service to Secondary Education.
Colin attended Caulfield North Central, and from his first year at Melbourne High School in 1981, his two main passions were clear: cadets and rowing. In both he would progress each year, until he was a WO1 and in the 1st VIII. Colin’s organisational skills were noted early when he capably took charge of the Form activities at Tecoma. Parental support was vital for sporting and co-curricular activities, and Mr Axup was thanked for towing the trailer to events, and Mrs Axup for her cooking.
After leaving MHS for university, Colin remained an active member of the Melbourne Rowing Club, coaching the Juniors in 1985 and the Second VIII in 1986. He was also active with the cadets, and a family connection provided a number of radios for use at Bivouc in 1986. In 1988 Lieutenant Axup took command of Langley Company. This involved training recruits, a challenging role on which the future performance of the Cadet Unit would depend.
Returning to MHS in 1992 as a teacher, Colin taught politics, history and German, and continued his involvement in rowing and cadets (now a Captain). He was Rowing Master 1993-1994, Assistant House Master at Yarra and was promoted to Commanding Officer of the Cadet Unit in 1994 with the rank of Major. He also served on School Council for several years. In 1995 Colin ended his involvement in rowing and took up sailing. In 1996 he was President of the Staff Association and added photography for the Unicorn to his repertoire. In 1998 he was Level Co-ordinator for Year 10. Saki Ganella’s long reign as House Master of Yarra ended in 2002, with Colin taking over the helm, and another Cock House win (repeated in 2003). He was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel the same year.
In 2007, Colin ended his involvement with sailing, instead assisting with water polo, along with being promoted to full Colonel. In 2009, he took over as Registrar, overseeing the intake of new students to MHS. Finishing at Melbourne High School in 2010, he was Vice-Principal at Williamstown High School, before commencing as Principal of Stawell High School 2013-2015 and then foundation Principal of the new select entry school, Suzanne Cory High School 2015-2021. In 2021 he succeeded Sue Bell as President of the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals, of which he had been Deputy President since 2018. In 2026 he finished his term and returned to the Department of Education in a specialist role.
Colin is also involved in the State Schools Relief, a Board Member since 2021 and currently serving as Deputy Chair. He was a Board Member of Ourschool 2022-2025 and Executive Secondary Representative, Wyndham Network 2016.
In the Australian Army Cadets, Colin was Cadet National Liaison Officer, School Based Units, 2001-2003; Staff Officer Grade One Personnel, 2003-2007; Deputy Commander, 2007-2010; President, Army Cadets International Exchange Program, 2010-2013 and Youth Project Officer, Cadet Reserve and Employer Support Division, 2010-2013.
For two decades, Colin has been involved in Curriculum development as an Assessor for History Revolutions 1998-2000; Examiner for Political Studies, 2001-2005; Member of the National Politics Review Panel 2011; Member of the Exam Development Panel for Australian Politics 2012 and Examiner for Australian Politics 2013-2017.
Colin has been a Member of the MHSOBA Committee for many years, serving as President since 2022.
Member of the Order of Australia
Geoffrey Robert D’Ombrain OAM, Dip.Ed, B.Ed, M.Mus.
MHS 1949, MHS Staff 1956-1963
For service to music and to education.
Geoff came from Box Hill High School to MHS to complete matric, quickly making his mark as School Prefect, Conductor of Waterloo, and playing flute in the Combined Concert (with Mac.Rob). After graduating from MHS, he joined the Education Department and attended the Teachers’ Training College 1950-1954, completing a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Education. Geoff began his teaching career at Reservoir High School that had opened the year before, the first wave of LTC secondary schools that would soon envelop Melbourne. After half a year at Moreland High School (under the Headmastership of noted MHSOB George Stirling), Geoff returned to MHS.
1956 was George Langley’s last year as Principal. George had expanded and developed the music program, introducing the Military Band and other groups. Initially under Music Master Peter Larsen, who left at the end of 1956, Geoff was the only music teacher for two years and then followed several teachers before Jacques Berlinski arrived in 1961. Conducting the Orchestra, teaching music, overseeing the House Chorals, music camps at Tecoma and the combined mid-year concert with Mac.Rob as well as Speech Night, and Assistant Yarra House Master – this was a busy time. In 1957 he enlisted help from his fiancée, Miss Hill, joining the music camp at Tecoma, where her cooking skills were greatly appreciated. They were married the following year, and as Mrs D’Ombrain, she continued to cook for the yearly music camp. Geoff also showed his sporting side, playing in the Staff vs Students Football Match (the staff were successful).1961 marked the next big expansion, with the first Opera, HMS Pinafore. Thus began a tradition of an annual opera concert (initially Gilbert and Sullivan, later musicals) that has continued until recent times.
In 1964 Geoff was promoted to Westall High School. In 1965-1967 he was Music Method Lecturer at Melbourne University. In 1975 he was founding head of the Department of Music, Melbourne State College (the old Teachers’ Training College), where he remained until 1982.
In 1983, he and another old boy, Rex Keogh, leased Pirra Homestead, which they turned into an Arts Centre. Geoff has been involved in many other music groups, such as Conductor, Dandenong City Orchestra, Coordinator, Corroboree for Melbourne City Council, 1999, Composer, Arranger and Performer, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 2003-2014 and Director, Ballarat U3A Performance Choir, since 2019.
Member of the Order of Australia
Dr Paul Valent OAM, MBBS, DPM, FRANZCP
MHS 1952-1955
For service to the Jewish Community.
Paul was born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, and within 6 months of his birth, the Munich Agreement saw the disintegration of his homeland. His family moved to Budapest, where they lived on false papers, trying to avoid the Holocaust. In 1942, his parents were captured and sent to Auschwitz, but they managed to escape and reunite with Paul, who had been living with an aunt. All of his father’s siblings (eight) and two of his mother’s siblings were not as fortunate and died in the Holocaust. The family migrated to Australia in 1949; Paul attended Elwood Central before coming to MHS in 1952. Noted for his soccer and academic skills, Paul represented Waterloo in debating, soccer, hockey, tennis and swimming. He was also on the Magazine Committee (contributing stories and poems for The Unicorn) and involved in B’nei Akiva. Awarded Honours in Chemistry, he won a Commonwealth Scholarship providing a pathway to study medicine.
Specialising in Psychiatry, he was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1970. Working at Prince Henry’s Hospital, he helped establish its Liaison Psychiatry team in the 1980’s, which he carried over to the Monash Medical Centre, also as a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at Monash University.
In the 1980’s he helped co-found the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, has been President, and was made a Life Member in 2007. In 1990 he helped co-found the Melbourne Child Survivors of the Holocaust Group, of which he was also Foundation President. Paul has also been a member of the Testimonies Advisory Panel of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum. Paul was part of the Mental Health Response Team to the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires. A prolific author, Paul’s most recent book was about Mental Health during the Pandemic.
Medal of the Order of Australia
Dr Abhishek Kumar Verma OAM, MBBS, FRACGP
MHS 2001
For service to medicine and to medical administration.
Abhishek is the oldest of three brothers to attend MHS, all of whom have become doctors. Completing his VCE at MHS, he was involved in the Public Speaking Club. Abhishek studied medicine at the University of New South Wales before commencing as Junior Medical Officer, Gosford and Wyong Hospital 2009 – 2012; Psychiatry Medical Officer, Brisbane Water Private Hospital, Woy Woy 2012 – 2015; General Practitioner, Narregate Medical and Dental Clinic 2015 – 2022 and at the Main Street Medical Centre Lilydale, since 2022.
Developing his management skills, Abhishek has served as a Board Member and Chair of the Clinical Governance Committee at the Edenhope and District Memorial Hospital, 2018-2021. He has also been a Board Member of the Yea and District Memorial Hospital since 2020 and a member of their Clinical Governance Committee. As of 2023, he has been a Board Member of Alfred Health; Chair of the Audit Committee and Member of the Quality and People Culture Committee.
Admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2016, he has been a Member of the Victoria Faculty Council 2017-2023; Expert Committee Standards for General Practice Committee, 2018-2024; Court of Examiners, since 2017. He received the General Practitioner of the Year Award in 2022.
Abhishek is currently Chair, Victorian Medical Board (a member since 2017); Chair, Cosmetic Practice, National Special Issues Committee, since 2022; a member of the Sexual boundaries and family violence, National Special Issues Committee since 2020 and Chair, Registrations Committee, Victorian Medical Board.
The Verma Family Scholarship is an annual prize available to MHS Old Boys studying health.
Medal of the Order of Australia
Rodney Reginald Watson OAM, M.A, B.Sc.
MHS Staff 1978-1982
Rod was a student at C.B.C. St Kilda from 1951, followed by the Secondary Teachers’ College in 1957. Rod started his teaching career at Caulfield High School before transferring to MHS, where he taught mathematics. He was immediately appointed Year 10 coordinator and assisted the S.R.C. in running their socials. In 1979 he was promoted to Assistant Senior Master and joined in the Staff Revue under the direction of David Niven. In 1981 he was part of the Central Australia school trip and, along with several other teachers, created and performed a song that summarised the trip. Rod was a Senior Mathematics teacher, the Central Region’s consultant in mathematics, and assisted with the timetable and examination organisation, and was involved in the Gifted Children’s Task Force. At the end of 1982 he transferred to McKinnon High School.
Rod was active in the teaching of mathematics, as a committee member, Experimental Teaching in Mathematics, 1963-1965; Co-Innovator, set theory of trigonometry utilising unit circle; Committee Member, Victorian and Universities Examinations Board,1974-1986; Moderator, Australian Mathematics Competition,1990-2009; Member, Year 12 Examinations Setting Panel, 1978-2005.
When Rod retired from teaching, he started volunteer work for the community Radio Station 3MBS in 1998 and for the Puffing Billy Preservation Railway (a member since 1970), as head Conductor 1988-2019.
Rod has also been Secretary of the Past Principals Association since 2019, was once President of Gardenvale Central School Council for a year, and a member for eight years, Member, MacRobertson Girls’ High School Council 1979-1983 and was Director/Member, Year 12 Maths Camp, Mathematical Association of Victoria 1974-1982.
Our special thanks to Luke Savage, Honorary School Archivist, for his advice regarding these Honours.