Colonel Spencer Norris

Australian Defence Force

Colonel Spencer Norris attended Brisbane State High School from 1986 to 1990. He had already completed his first year of high school at Browns Plains State High School in 1985, but repeated Year 8 at State High when he moved to the school.

His first impression of the school was the magnitude of the number of students who attended. Engaging with the plenitude of sporting opportunities, Norris undertook rugby, rowing, basketball and swimming. He was ranked as the third-best swimmer in Queensland behind two other State High students. He particularly remembers enjoying the swim carnivals, which were a huge event for him and other students. Spencer mentions the legendary teachers, Mr Bill Sole OAM and Mr Dennis Donnelly OAM as his inspiration.

In year 10, he made his decision to join the Defence Force, following in the footsteps of his father, an army officer who had served in Zimbabwe where Colonel Norris was born. He studied arts in the Australian Defence Force Academy, majoring in politics, before becoming a lieutenant of the Parachute Battalion in Sydney. He has served overseas in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, but has also spent time training new recruits in Wagga Wagga, training units in Townsville and assisting the simulation program in Victoria. He has labelled his career as an interesting one, largely due to all of the travel that he does.

His message to Brisbane State High School students is to take advantage of opportunities, whether extracurricular, academic or social, and to love and cherish the diversity of our school.

Written by Jack Morrow*

*NB: This alumni profile was crafted by a State High student as part of the school's student/alumni interview project during the 2021 Centenary celebration.