Our aim is to foster and develop the skills to learn, grow and succeed in the 21st century.
Dave enlisted in the Army Reserve as a Rifleman two days after his 17th birthday. Before Year 12 had even properly started, he’d shipped off to Kapooka for four weeks of basic training in his Year 11 summer holidays. He came back with a shaved head and missed the first two weeks of school.
“I was deadset on going to Duntroon,” he says. “Which is why I made sure I completed Year 12.” He did complete it, something he credits in part to one teacher in particular.
Dan Bradley taught Design and Media Studies, and the two now work together at Clare High, which Dave acknowledges with a laugh. “He’ll probably never let me hear the end of this.” Bradley pushed Dave to do the work he was capable of, offered support during lunch and after school, and kept his classroom a genuinely warm place to be. Dave had moved out of his dad’s house at the start of Year 12 and was living in a share house with mates. Bradley’s classroom was a steady point in an otherwise turbulent year.
“I actually passed Year 12 too,” he adds. “Amazingly.“
After school, Dave worked a vintage at a winery while keeping up Reserve training, then moved into concrete labouring. “Nothing gets you fitter than shovelling and wheelbarrowing concrete.“
At 21 he headed to Canada on a working holiday, landing on the Lake Louise ski fields in Alberta. It was his first time seeing snow. He learned to ski surrounded by the Canadian Rockies. “And I haven’t skied since,” he says.
Back in Australia, he transferred from the Reserves to the Regular Army at 23, posted to the 7th Battalion (7RAR) as an Infantryman at Edinburgh in Adelaide. He worked from section machine gunner to specialist in the mortar platoon, providing indirect fire support for the battalion.
In 2016, 7RAR deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. Dave was selected for Iraq as part of the Force Protection element, tasked with protecting training teams from the ever present threat of insider attacks which were becoming increasingly prevalent in the Middle East area of operations. Serious, demanding, and formative work.
After discharging from full-time service in 2017, Dave tried an adult plumbing apprenticeship that didn’t eventuate, and ended up labouring for a landscape construction team. He enjoyed it. Around the same time, ex-colleagues working as private security contractors at the Australian Embassy in Kabul got in touch.
He did a stint in Kabul managing armed guards (mostly ex-Gurkhas), keeping diplomats safe, and responding to incidents including rocket attacks and car bombs near the embassy.
Back in Australia, he worked casually as a security contractor for Border Force at Adelaide’s immigration detention centre while studying a Certificate III in Horticulture at TAFE. He picked up RAAF Reserve shifts on the side. “They promised me there was no digging of gun pits and the periodic fitness assessments were much more lenient than the army“
After finishing his qualification he joined Light Regional Council’s horticulture team and within a year was leading the tree crew. Then came his first daughter, a move back to Clare to be near family, and a new venture: the stressful, rewarding and sometimes bizarre world of running a small service business, Clare Garden Services, launched in 2023. “I made plenty of mistakes, learned a lot, and met some wonderful clients who became friends.“
The business came to an end not by choice but necessity. Years of physically demanding work had taken a toll on his knees, ankles, shoulders, and back. His specialist told him it was time to find something less rigorous.
He’s now back at Clare High School as an SSO in the Tailored Learning space three days a week, supporting students alongside a youth worker and teachers. The rest of the time: dad duties, and helping manage a mate’s vineyard.
“I’ve come full circle. Nearly 20 years since I left Clare High School, I’m back as a staff member, which is still taking a bit of getting used to. I’m loving the new challenge.“
Dave doesn’t offer polished advice. He offers the real kind.
“I think I’m a living example of ‘still figuring out what you want to do’. Don’t feel like you can’t try a few different things out before settling on something. The days of going into a job straight out of school and staying there for 20 years are over. I know people who studied at uni and have never worked in the field they studied in. It’s great to have a goal or a direction you want to go in but don’t feel constrained by that. You may find yourself in a job you never even considered and end up loving it.”
“Studying is helpful but nothing beats life experience in my opinion!”
“Drink plenty of water, eat well and try to get enough sleep. Take care of your mental and physical health when you’re in your late teens and into your twenties. This will set you up for later in life. Walk as much as possible, exercise and find something you’re passionate about. Sport, gardening, drawing, reading, martial arts, whatever it is. Make sure you spend time doing it. If you have any spare time, consider volunteering. You’ll learn great skills and probably make new friends too.”
“Always be curious and willing to learn from someone with more experience. Big ears, little mouth: more listening, less talking!“
“Finally, make a real effort to be kind to people. You just might turn someone’s day around.”
And the proudest moment of his remarkable, winding life? Not Iraq. Not Kabul. Not the battalion or the business… “Becoming a father to my two girls. Everything else pales in comparison.“
