University Of Queensland Notable Alumni

American–Australian naturalist Terri Irwin is best known as the co-host of The Crocodile Hunter, along with her husband, the late animal expert Steve Irwin. She has also been part of shows such as Croc Files and Crikey! It's the Irwins, and helped in the development of Australia Zoo.

Once accused of being anti-Christian, Australian artist and Art Nouveau veteran Norman Lindsay is remembered for his controversial cartoons and drawings, mostly erotic or politically charged. Some of his works were once burned for being pornographic. He also experimented with sculpture and was an amateur boxer, too.

Born to a cattleman father, Storm Keating spent her early years on her family farms. Initially a TV producer, she has been part of shows such as The Apprentice Australia and The Voice UK. Now a luxury fashion designer, she also maintains a fashion blog. She is married to singer Ronan Keating.

Peter C. Doherty is an Australian veterinary surgeon whose work and research on the immune system earned him the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In 1997, he was adjudged Australian of the Year. Over the course of his illustrious career, Doherty has received several other prestigious awards, such as the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.

Johann Olav Koss is a Norwegian former speed skater best known for winning three gold medals at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer. He is also known for winning gold and a silver medal at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville. In 2018, Koss became a member of the Olympians for Life project, which aims at making the world a better place.

Quentin Bryce is an Australian academic and politician. She served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014 and is the first woman to have held the position. She attended the University of Queensland, where she studied law and became one of the first women accepted to the Queensland Bar. Following a legal career, she entered politics. 

Ken Ham is an Australian Christian fundamentalist, apologist, and young-Earth creationist. He is the founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Christian apologetics organization. Ham advocates accepting the Book of Genesis creation narrative as a historical fact and has been criticized for his unscientific views. He views homosexuality as a sin and is against same-sex marriage. 

David Malouf is an Australian writer widely recognized as one of the country’s greatest writers. He graduated from the University of Queensland and taught for a while. He began writing seriously in the 1970s and became a well-known author within years. He received the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature in 2016. 

Liberal National Party leader and former Premier of Queensland Campbell Newman was born into a family of politicians and senators from Tasmania. After serving the Australian Army for 13 years, he bagged civil engineering and MBA degrees. As the mayor of Brisbane, he was named the world’s fifth-best mayor.

Born to a farmer in Australia, Raymond Dart initially wished to become a medical missionary to China. However, he was later pushed by his father to study science. He later grew up to be a renowned anatomist and anthropologist, best known for discovering the first fossil of the Australopithecus africanus.

Wayne Goss was an Australian politician cum lawyer who served as the  Premier of Queensland from 1989 to 1996. He was a member of the Labour Party. He worked as a solicitor before entering politics and was a key figure in the civil liberties fight against the Bjelke-Petersen Government. He was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2001. 

Dane Bird-Smith is an Australian race-walking athlete who competes in the 20-kilometer race walk. He set a best of 1:19:28 hours for the distance in 2017. He competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a bronze medal and emerged as the gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. His father is David Smith, also an international race-walker. 

Eric Partridge was a New Zealand–British lexicographer whose writing career was interrupted by his service in the Royal Air Force and the Army Education Corps during World War II. Over the course of his literary career, Partridge wrote over 40 books and his papers are archived at institutions like the University of Birmingham and the University of San Francisco.

Alf Howard was an Australian educator, scientist, and explorer. He is best remembered for his expedition to Antarctica on board the RRS Discovery; he served as the hydrologist and chemist aboard the RRS Discovery. At the time of his death in 2010, Alf Howard was the lone surviving member of the expedition.

Harry Gibbs was an Australian judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Australian High Court from 1981 to 1987. Regarded as one of the most influential federalist judges of Australia, Gibbs played an important role in many cases including the famous Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen. In 2012, the Sir Harry Gibbs Legal Heritage Centre was opened in his honor.

David Theile is an Australian retired backstroke swimmer who won a gold medal each at the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. He also won a silver medal at the 1960 Olympic Games. After retiring from competitive swimming, David Theile went on to become a successful surgeon and medical administrator.