A group of proud young men were recognised on Wednesday afternoon when Moree Clontarf Academy held its 2025 awards ceremony and graduation.

More than 60 Moree Secondary College students from Year 7 through to Year 12 were applauded for their hard work and initiative under the Clontarf program, which is getting incredible results across the board.

Moree Clontarf Academy director, Alex Barker, who oversees the program with Wayne Craigie and Brian Smith-Saunders, said 2025 was an amazing year – an inspirational year

“We have 40 boys at the moment who are employed casually or part-time, and we have three boys on school-based traineeships,” Mr Barker said.

“We also have three boys who have graduated Year 12. This is a great achievement, and would not have been possible without the help of a lot of people, especially Moree Secondary College principal Bethany Kelly and her leadership team.

“Clontarf started at Moree Secondary College in 2012, and the foundations of our relationship with the school is now pretty much ingrained, and there is some great history when we look at the Clontarf Honours Board.

“The school and the program have intertwined really well,” he said.

The 2025 school year was punctuated with highlights and benchmarks – and there were plenty, Mr Barker said.

“We’ve had 64 morning training sessions this year and 58 afternoon school activities – morning sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays and afternoon sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays,” he said.

“We’ve also been on 13 camps throughout the year as well as six day trips.

“I think our most memorable moment this year was when the Year 7 and 8 boys won the rugby league carnival at Narrabri,” he said.

The Moree squad won the Ed John Saunders Memorial Shield, named in honour of long-time operations officer at the Carol Avenue Moree Junior Campus.

“That was pretty special,” Mr Barker said.

“Ed John was at the Carol Avenue campus for a long time, and it was very special for our boys to win the shield.”

Three Clontarf students, Brent Hourigan, Jayden Tighe and Jack Coventry, graduated Year 12 and there are currently 40 boys employed in Moree on a casual or part-time basis outside school hours.

Student Elijah Makisi, who co-chaired the ceremony with Dom le Milliere, told the large gathering of students, teachers, parents and carers how the Clontarf Academy at Moree Secondary College was making a difference.

“The Clontarf Foundation exists on six program pillars that are our key area of focus in everything we do. They are education, leadership, sport, wellbeing, employment and partners,” Elijah said.

Student Maverick Noakes, who also works part-time at Moree Court House, was named Academy Member of the Year, the award presented to a student who demonstrates all Clontarf values, is a leader within his peer group and role model to other students.

Member of Northern Tablelands, Brendan Moylan, presented Maverick with the prestigious award and said the Clontarf program is a program that works.

“It’s tried, tested and effective,” Mr Moylan said.

“Often in Macquarie Street, people talk of all the bad things about Moree, but one of the great things is Clontarf.

“We’ve seen that this year with a 94 per cent attendance rate, which is phenomenal – an increase from 70 per cent last year.

“Clontarf is definitely working, and Alex and the guys are doing a great job,” he said.

“There are future leaders up on the stage today, future Year 12 graduates and future university graduates.

“These boys are learning life skills and school skills as well as routine and discipline – it’s a wonderful organisation getting incredible results in Moree,” Mr Moylan said.

Special guests included Clontarf Academy NSW north-west regional manager, Luke Stahlhut, who manages academies at Moree, Inverell, Narrabri, Gunnedah, Quirindi and Tamworth.

Mr Stahlhut said Clontarf’s ultimate goal is to have students graduate and finish Year 12 with a High School Certificate, and hopefully go  on to employment.

“That’s evident already, with a  lot of these young men currently employed part-time or casually in Moree,” he said.

“What that creates, with those young men working while still at school, is a snowball effect.

“In our academy, we highlight the good work the boys are doing in the workforce, with things like wall posters to highlight their achievements, and that gets others talking and asking the questions around getting employment,” Mr Stahlhut said.

“The achievements this year are absolutely fantastic, considering the bash-up Moree consistently gets.

“We know this is a tough space, but we also know there’s a lot of good coming out of the area, especially with these young fellows and the way they conduct themselves – not only in school and on the sporting fields, but in community settings as well,” he said.

“They’re doing a really great job and to see three young men graduate Year 12 at Moree Secondary College is fantastic.

“It’s not only those three young men, but the lads that are consistently showing up. We have our new beginners in Year 7 who have bought into the program well and are doing great things.

“All the boys right through from Years 7 to 12 are doing a great job – they are good, young men and we are so proud of them,” Mr Stahlhut said.

Mr Barker said the Moree Clontarf student body participated in numerous camps and excursions throughout the year.

“The boys don’t just have fun on these camps. It’s all about building routine and structure – building foundations and personal skills,” he said.

“We also travelled on excursions to universities at the Gold Coast and Newcastle, and visited the indigenous centres there to show the boys how university is an option if they’d like to take that path.

“There are a lot of pathways available for the boys to do that,” Mr Barker said.

Students who recorded a better than 90 percent attendance record included Cooper and Chase Picker, Tyreece Boney, Ethan Draper and Anthony Williams, with Hayden Anderson topping the ladder with 99.4 percent.

The Leadership Award, recognising a student who has displayed leadership qualities in the academy and on camps, went to Elijah Makisi.

Most Improved Awards went to Chase Picker and Alex Conners, and Dom le Milliere received the 2025 Clontarf Spirit Award, presented by 2017 winner, Rhys Smith.

“The Clontarf Spirit Award is dedicated to the student who shows true Clontarf spirit in everything they do,” Elijah Makisi told the audience.

Alex Connors received the Improvement Award for increased participation in Clontarf activities, camps and community engagement.

Harley Williams, Tyler Chatfield, Josh Hourigan, Brendan Washington, Bailey Edwards, Dom le Milliere, Aidan Edwards, James Creighton, Brent Hourigan, Maverick Noakes and Xander West received Employment Awards.

Top Trainer Awards were given to Kian Townsend, Isaac le Milliere, Josh Hourigan, Nemo Tighe, Michael Tooth, Ethan Draper, Leonardo Morales and Hayden Anderson.

Relieving school principal, Stevie Drenkhahn, said the Clontarf Academy has been a major part of everyday school life for more than 10 years.

“Clontarf has helped many of our young Aboriginal boys finish their formal schooling through providing sports incentives and connections with their families and culture,” Ms Drenkhahn said.
“Clontarf builds important relationships with employers in Moree to enable our students to gain real skills in the work place, with an array of opportunities to discover employment options suitable to their skills and desires.
“Having students engage in Clontarf builds their resilience, sportsmanship, organisational and leadership skills.

“It is great to see so many of our students enjoying the program and being recognised for their determination and commitment towards building a brighter future for themselves and our community,” she said.

Words and Images: Bill Poulos