“That’s what Nuffield has given me, exactly the same as TGS — a networking capability that is just beyond what I can even explain. It is something you have forever.”Jake Moon
My time at TGS has given me a networking capability beyond what I can explain — it’s something you have forever.
Jake Moon is a sixth-generation primary producer. He is dedicated to agriculture and is currently working at his family’s St George farming enterprise, tackling some of the sector’s biggest challenges.
The 28-year-old says his family moved to the St George irrigation precinct in 1978, initially growing rockmelons and watermelons, hence the business name Moonrocks. Seasonal and market changes led them to switch crops frequently, growing grapes, broccoli and even wax flowers over the years. Currently, they grow onions, garlic, pumpkins, grapes and cotton. Jake explains that they grow and pack everything on site. They regularly supply major chain stores all over Australia and have diversified, launching the e-commerce business, G’day Garlic, to sell directly to customers.
An idyllic childhood on the farm meant he was primed for his current job. “I spent a lot of my years in the workshop annoying our mechanics and boilermakers. Unbeknownst to me, I learned a lot — pulling small engines apart when I was 11 or 12 years old; I just thought that was normal.”
The TGS Old Boy boarded from 2010 to 2014 and rates his years at the School as some of the best of his life, cherishing the friends and networks he established. He credits TGS Vocational Education and Training Coordinator, Mrs Marian Rathie as his saving grace at TGS. “I was very fortunate to have had the relationship I had with her because she helped me.”
Jake says that despite now having completed his Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness (Horticultural Business) at the University of Tasmania, it was good not to feel like a failure for choosing not to go to university upon leaving TGS. That, he said, was Mrs Rathie’s best piece of advice and it stuck with him.
After TGS, Jake worked as a ringer at Lorraine Station near Burketown before returning to his family’s farm for several years. He later joined JKT Contract Fencing in Central Queensland, which was owned by a friend and former Moonrocks employee. Afterwards, he moved to Goondiwindi, where he worked in broadacre cropping, heavy haulage and logistics.
In 2022, Jake moved back to St George and took on a role with Moonrocks as the engineering and maintenance manager.
Jake won a 2024 Nuffield Scholarship, awarded to a small number of Australian farmers each year. It aims to unlock individual potential and broaden horizons through study and travel overseas. His topic is titled “Harvesting and Storage — The Missing Puzzle Pieces for Garlic and Onions.”
Jake’s focus is on “the mechanisation of onion and garlic harvesting and optimising post-harvest storage processes, essentially trying to innovate better ways to guarantee a premium product.” His scholarship is supported by Hort Innovation using the Onion Research and Development Levy.
Jake has already been to Brazil and the United States, making connections in the international farming community.
OMNIBUS / BALLIWANGA IS GOING DIGITAL
In 2025, there will be an increased digital distribution of the Omnibus and Balliwanga magazine. Increasingly, readers are requesting a digital edition only. Moving to a largely digital publication will also support the School’s goal of being an environmentally sustainable organisation.
If your alumni year is 1975 or earlier, you will continue to receive a printed copy in the post. For those whose alumni year is 1976 or later, you will receive a digital edition, however you can opt in to continue receiving a printed edition.
Those wishing to continue to receive a print copy can opt in using the link below.
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We See You - Mitchell Wilkes
That was the heart-wrenching diagnosis for Year 10 student, Mitchell Wilkes, right on Christmas in 2021. Mitchell’s mum noticed he wasn’t reading properly and had a gut feeling that there was something wrong with his eyesight. A trip to the optometrist revealed a thinning in the retina, and further tests showed that Mitchell had a genetic condition called Stargardt Disease, a juvenile macular degeneration illness that results in slow central vision loss.
Correcting our School's official record commemorating World War I and World War II
On the eve of our 150th year, we're calling on the School's alumni, parents, past parents and greater community to aid us in correcting the record of our involvement in two watershed geopolitical events of the 20th century. For the last four years Toowoomba Grammar School Museum Volunteers, Mrs Ann Hallam and Mrs Sue Palmer, have been updating the School records on Old Boys, staff and Trustees for the World War I and World War II theatres of war. Over the years several staff and volunteers have…
A Pioneering Woman of TGS
My late husband was a teacher, and our four children are all teachers, which we encouraged them to do because it is the best job in the world. It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for 36 years, working under four Headmasters: Mr Bill Dent, Mr Hugh Rose, Mr Peter Hauser and now Dr John Kinniburgh. I still drive into the School each day and smile, looking at the beautiful place it is — magnificent ovals, gracious trees and historically significant buildings. It is difficult to express the…
NZ Rugby Tour success, more than winning matches across the Ditch
The teams were undefeated and it was a trip the players will never forget. This tour was years in the making and heralds a new era of touring and hosting different rugby schools to give our players opportunities for growth as athletes and as people. Head of Sport - Rugby, Mr Lincoln Clapham, explained they selected 46 students to take part in the ten-day tour and began training last year. From Term 1 onwards, the squad trained twice weekly on the oval plus two and sometimes three gym sessions…
Aussie Teen Reading Habits Revealed
I was recently sent an article, summarising some research from Deakin University around the reading habits of teens in 2024. Some of it was, as the title suggests, surprising. Some was not. However, all of it was built around the importance of reading, and supporting our teens to read, which is something that every one of us should do. While we tend to see our teens as digital natives, recent research from Deakin University suggests that the average Aussie teen reader would rather flick through…
Now More Than Ever
The one-of-a-kind Indigenous artwork is emblazoned across the shirts for the First IV Tennis team, jerseys for the First XI Football team and First XV Rugby team and First V Basketball team's singlets. National Reconciliation Week is a significant date on the calendar for all Australians, running from Monday, 27 May to Monday, 3 June. The incorporation of this Indigenous design in our uniforms is a significant milestone for our School, especially for our 47 Aboriginal and Torres Strait…
It's a numbers game, making mathematics mainstream
Term 2 has been a busy one in the Mathematics department; from multiple year levels having extended assessment tasks to competitions run inside and outside the School. Using mathematical equations to recreate artwork The Year 11 Mathematical Methods students got a chance to be very creative with their assessment - using numbers to reproduce artwork. The boys visited the 2024 Grammar Art Show in Term 1 and were given the task to reproduce a chosen work using their knowledge of mathematical…
Bucolic beginnings, boarding and becoming a bowel surgeon
Coming from a cattle property near Injune I was in awe of the School’s ovals with lush, green grass and immaculate facilities. I found being able to throw yourself around and not risk skin cuts and grazes quite novel. Sharing the same field where many Old Boys and past heroes trotted was inspirational. I found the comradery among the boarders my most overwhelming memory. It was like having 60 brothers with similar interests all living under the same roof. There was always someone around to kick…
Our Other Mother
Meet Ms Janelle Fletcher, the House Mum of Corfe, whose journey at TGS began back in 1992 as an instrumental music teacher. Her story is one of deep connections, love for the arts and an unshakeable bond with the students of TGS. From the time that Janelle first stepped onto campus and shared her musical talents with young minds to now creating her own “mum moments” in Corfe — she has nurtured a profound sense of community and established connections that have lasted through generations. Her…
