81-year-old rises to the challenge

Views: 18,995 views. Comments: No Comment.
Tags: centenary-edition, Graduations

UQ graduate Dr Ferdinand Brockhall has proven no feat is ever too great, after receiving his PhD recently.

Dr Ferdinand Brockhall

Dr Brockhall, 81, studied post-war immigrants in Australia, namely Greek and Cypriot migrants.

“Most of the existing research stops once these people were assimilated – as though they had no story after this point,” Dr Brockhall said.

“If you talk to them today, you find that they are proud to be Australian, and despite globalisation and increased mobility, they choose to stay here, in what they consider to be their homeland.”

Dr Brockhall’s supervisor, Associate Professor David Ip, believed the research could also assist with better understanding today’s multicultural Australia.

Professor Ip was also quick to congratulate Dr Brockhall on his achievement, despite facing many challenges.

“Having been away from studying for more than two decades, the technology advancements alone were completely foreign, not to mention research processes, and the theories and concepts in his field,” he said.

Dr Brockhall admits he came close to throwing in the towel, but it was the support of his wife, to whom his thesis is dedicated, that kept him going.

“It was frustrating and challenging, and twice I came close to giving up. But I didn’t know how to tell Wilhelmina, so I kept going,” he said.

Born in Indonesia to Dutch parents, Dr Brockhall and his wife migrated to Australia in the early-1950s.

“I just really wanted to keep learning, and Wilhelmina supported me all the way,” he said.

By Shannon Price

• Home
• Graduate Contact
• Alumni Profiles
• Global Education: Divining world trends