Thomas returns to celebrate milestone

Acclaimed performer Thomas Armstrong-Robley clearly remembers the first time he sang in front of an audience – it was an audition for a school musical at Southern Cross Catholic College and, it was so last-minute, he sang Advance Australia Fair.

“I wasn’t planning on auditioning. I hadn’t sung in front of anyone before. I was terrified of it. I don’t remember how they (my friends) coaxed me into the room, but I ended up in the room and I sang the Australian national anthem … I had nothing else prepared,” Thomas recalls.

His performance was good enough to secure a role in The Wiz, a show which awakened a natural performer.

“That was the show that kind of lit my fire for singing and performing and studying a character,” Thomas says.

“That was kind of where it all began. Without this place, and without those particular friends who pushed me (to audition), it wouldn’t have happened.”

Thomas will return to the place, which holds so many treasured memories, to celebrate 30 years since seven Catholic schools on the Redcliffe Peninsula amalgamated to form Southern Cross Catholic College.

The college is hosting a gala event under the stars on August 30, with Thomas and his six-piece rock’n’roll band providing the entertainment.

The evening will be a ticketed sit-down dinner. Past and present families, staff and former students are invited to the adults-only event. Present students will not attend.

Joining Thomas and his band will be college music teacher Steve Petersen, who was one of his early mentors.

Treasured memories

Thomas started at Southern Cross Catholic College’s primary school at Scarborough in Year 3 after moving to the Peninsula from the UK in 2002. He graduated in 2011.

“I was one of those kids who really didn’t want to leave school. I thought there’s no way it gets better than this, which is the greatest testament to what a great school it was,” Thomas says.

“I was always given an opportunity here to put on events or get up at assembly and do a song or a skit … they really encouraged me to push and pursue (performing).

“When the floods happened in 2011, that was the first time I ever produced an event … a flood benefit concert.”

Thomas says teachers supported his ideas and encouraged him to give them a go. This has been the foundation of what has become his career.

He is looking forward to celebrating the college’s 30-year history at the gala.

“I’m only a small part of that history but I get to be the representative for the arts side of things, which is a privilege,” he says.

“It’s been a massive part of my history. Of the thousands and thousands of students who have come through this school, I’m just one guy but the impact that it had on me as one person is massive.

“I’m sure there’s thousands of stories of similar impact in different ways, different fields. For me, I can say wholeheartedly it was instrumental.”

After that very first musical at Southern Cross Catholic College, Thomas performed with theatre companies and went on to study at the Queensland Conservatorium after college graduation.

He says he now can’t imagine doing anything else.

Event details

What: Southern Cross Catholic College Gala Under the Stars

When: August 30

Time: 6pm

Visit the website for more details and tickets