About

Board of Governors

Governance of the College

As a company limited by guarantee, Oxley College Limited is a non-profit organisation. Membership of the Company is open, upon application, to parents, staff and friends of Oxley. The membership elects the Board of Governors for specific expertise they might bring to governance. Elections to the Board are held annually and members retire by rotation.

The Board is responsible for determining the overall policy of the College, for exercising financial control and for the appointment of the Headmaster. Management of the College and appointment of the staff are delegated to the Headmaster.

The Board of Governors

Dr Stephen Barnett – Chairman of the Board of Governors

Dr Barnett joined the Board of Governors in May 2012. He is the Managing Partner and a General Practitioner with the Bowral Street Medical Practice, and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong.
Dr Barnett is a former student of Oxley College. He completed his medical degree at the University of Newcastle, followed by two years at Concord Hospital in Sydney. His post-graduate studies were undertaken in the United Kingdom where he gained a Diploma in Child Health at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford followed by two years training as a General Practitioner. He joined the Bowral Street Medical Practice in 2002.

His interests focus on the intersection of medical education, health care delivery and information technology. He was awarded a PhD Virtual Communities of Practice in GP training in 2014, and continues to work, research and teach in medical education. Dr Barnett is a parent of three children attending Oxley College.


Mr Roderick McAllery – Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors, Chairman of the Building Committee

Mr McAllery joined the Board of Governors in December 2017. A graduate in Computer Science from Brown University in the United States, Mr McAllery was the former Chief Executive of Trading Post Australia, the Australian subsidiary of the Paris-domiciled global classified advertisements company Trader.com.

After the sale of the Australian business to Sensis, Mr McAllery relocated to London in 2005, and for five years until 2014 was the Chief Executive of Pamoja Education, an online International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme course development and delivery company.

In 2015, he returned to Australia and moved to the Southern Highlands where he now resides with his wife, Diane. He brings to the Board extensive management and business skills and experience in education.


Ms Anni Baillieu

Ms Baillieu joined the Board of Governors in July 2016.

Ms Baillieu was educated in the United Kingdom and has enjoyed a long career in the travel industry. She worked with British Airways in Sydney for six years before becoming the Managing Director of local business, Moss Vale Cruise and Travel, retiring in December 2022 after 32 years.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from The Australian National University. A former parent of Oxley College, Ms Baillieu is an active contributor to the Southern Highlands community.


Mrs Jane Crowley

Mrs Crowley is the joint founder and Managing Director of Dirty Janes (Permanent vintage markets) across two locations, Bowral and Canberra. Working in retail for over 25 years, her experience and expertise extends beyond antiques into small business, commercial interior design and sourcing.

She is passionate about preserving the beauty of the environment we enjoy in the highlands while undertaking mindful development. Mrs Crowley is also an avid advocate for charities, including The Hamlin Foundation, Pop-In and the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. Mrs Crowley has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Canberra University where she majored in Organisational Communication. In 2022, Mrs Crowley also joined the Board of the Bowral Co-operative.

Mrs Crowley joined the Board of Governors in 2021 and has three teenage children, one of whom is currently at Oxley.


Ms Kirsten Keith

Originally from Scotland, Ms Keith is a lawyer with a background in international criminal law, having worked for the Prosecution at various international criminal tribunals. More recently, she lectured as a casual academic at Southern Cross University. Ms Keith joined the Board of Governors in 2021.

Her community work includes membership of the Australian Red Cross NSW IHL Advisory Committee and Adviser to the African Australian Advocacy Centre. Ms Keith holds Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies, a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws in Public International Law.

Ms Keith has two children at Oxley.


Mr Brian Kirsch

Mr Kirsch joined the Board of Governors in September 2022.

He has more than 25 years’ experience as a company director and has a strong background in strategic planning, compliance, risk management, finance, human resources, marketing, engineering, technology, and corporate culture development. Mr Kirsch is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Since 2008, he has held various director level roles at several companies in Fiji. He is the current President of the Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association and former Chairman of the International School Nadi. Mr Kirsch was born and raised in Germany before moving to California to attend Stanford University where he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in biomechanical engineering.

Mr Kirsch and his wife (an old Oxleyan) relocated to Bowral in early 2020 primarily for the purpose of enrolling their two children in Oxley College.


Mrs Mandy Lawson

Mandy LawsonMrs Lawson joined the Board of Governors in May 2012. Mrs Lawson was a school parent from 2000 to 2011 when her three sons were educated at Oxley College. She was a parent representative and a regular volunteer across many of the College’s activities, particularly in drama, sport and the Parents’ & Friends’ association fundraising efforts.

Born in the Southern Highlands, Mrs Lawson has spent her adult life in the district. Her charitable work includes involvement with the YWCA Encore organisation assisting women who have had breast cancer.

She was responsible for the establishment of the popular property press magazine seen weekly as an insert in the local press.


Mr Malcolm Noad

Mr Noad joined the Board of Governors in December 2017. A graduate in marketing of the University of Technology Sydney, Mr Noad had a longstanding career with News Limited in various executive and senior management positions, including membership of the News Limited Board of Directors. Between 1998 and 2003, he was a member and later, Chairman, of the Board of the National Rugby League. His close association and interest in sport led to culminating his working life as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canterbury-Bulldogs Rugby League Football Club from 2004 to 2008.

He has been active in community, sporting and charity organisations, including Chairman of the Centenary Institute of Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the International Triathlon Union’s World Triathlon Series.  He is currently a member of the Bowral Blacks Rugby Club Committee. He was a voluntary Coach of the Oxley College Girls A Soccer Team when his daughter attended the College.


Mr Douglas Melrose-Rae  

 Originally from the UK, Mr Melrose-Rae has extensive school leadership experience, having held roles as Principal and Executive Principal at a number of schools in London. He was one of the youngest Principals in the UK when appointed to the 19th largest primary school in England. Since arriving in Australia with his family in 2009, he has held senior policy and implementation roles in the NSW Department of Education including leading the Evaulation Unit within the NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation (CESE).

Mr Melrose-Rae holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Geography and was one of the first recipients of the National Professional Qualification for Headship from the National College of School Leadership. Mr Melrose-Rae is currently Associate Chief Executive at the Association of Independent Schools of NSW. Mr Melrose-Rae and his family relocated from Sydney to the Southern Highlands in 2021, and has one daughter who currently attends Oxley College.


Ms Christine Windeyer

Mrs Windeyer joined the Board of Governors in July 2016.

A local resident, Mrs Windeyer is a Principal of Spectrum Asset Management. She has over thirty years’ experience in finance, with leading domestic and international banks and holds a Bachelor of Science from The University of Sydney and a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Management from The University of New England.

She represented the National Australia Bank on the Australian Financial Management Association debt markets committee, served as a Director on the Board of Adult and Community Education and was a member of the World Junior Athletics Championships Organising Committee.