The Ngo family - an Australian success story

Floating at the mercy of the sea, their food supplies exhausted and their boat broken down, Son Ngo and his mother were waiting to die. It was 1982 and the pair were attempting the perilous journey from Vietnam to Australia on a rickety boat, fleeing their homeland after Son’s father was killed in the war.

Found by Thai pirates, their boat was searched for valuables and even their teeth were checked for gold caps. With nothing to take, the pirates attempted to kidnap a young girl, but tossed her back after realising she was too sick. In the end they took pity on the boat people and left a small amount of food and water.

The extra supplies saved their lives, lasting for three days until the boat was found by an oil ship. Son, 10 years old at the time, said the moment he was lifted to safety stays with him today. “It was like stepping on to heaven,” he said. “As soon as we got on to the ship our boat sank. We were that close to drowning.”

Son and his mother were taken to Bidong Island, known as Refugee Island, off Malaysia and later transferred to Australia.

It was a similarly difficult story of survival for Son’s wife, Thuy Nguyen and her family. With their lives in danger in Vietnam, her father prepared a fishing trawler for their escape in 1976. He was discovered, and the trawler shot at, killing two people. He was forced to flee without his family, as he would have faced a firing squad for the escape attempt.

Thuy, just a year old at the time, and her mother, brother and sisters followed a few months later in another boat. It broke down and an oil ship proved the saviour again.

The family was taken to Japan and looked after by a religious group, and later transferred to Australia where Thuy reunited with her father.

It took several years for both families to get back on their feet and there were many people along the way that made a difference to their lives in Australia, including Lynne and Miles Moody. The Moodys will soon become a fourth generation BGS family – Frank ’27, Miles ’61, James ’93 and James’ two sons enrolled to attend the School.

“My family have known the Moodys since I was six years old,” Thuy said. “My parents used to own a Chinese takeaway restaurant in Everton Hills, where they were frequent patrons. They noticed how my siblings and I would help our parents every evening and then huddle together in the dining area after trade to do our homework.”

“Mrs Moody was an English teacher at St Margaret’s and Professor Moody was the Dean of Engineering at QUT at the time. They both assisted my older siblings with English, Maths and the Sciences. They not only became our mentors, but second parents to us all and their children are like siblings to us.”

Son and Thuy attended the same primary school, though didn’t meet officially until university in 1995. They started their careers in engineering and law respectively and married in 2000. Their careers saw them move between Australia and Vietnam, before settling in Miles in regional Queensland.

It was there that they moved into the supermarket business. By that time their first son Eagle was born, and he was followed by Jaguar, Saigon and Marlin. They lived on a hobby farm in Miles and embraced country life.

“It was a great experience for the kids,” Son said. “Eagle rode a motorbike before he knew how to ride a bike, that was the sort of lifestyle we had. The kids had a fantastic upbringing and we attribute their resilience to this country experience.”

Business opportunities and the desire to send their children to school in Brisbane saw the family move to the city in 2009.

Son said he had always wanted to send his son to Brisbane Grammar School. “I had a neighbour and he was a BGS boy, he had a very dignified way about him. The way he conducted himself I really respected. Then when I was at university, the engineering guys from BGS showed great leadership and I was impressed by that.”

“When I entered the workforce at BHP, some of my fellow engineers were BGS Old Boys and their communication skills and the way they conducted themselves in group projects really sold me on a BGS education.”

Eagle started at BGS in Year 6 and completed seven years at school, awarded dux in Year 12 and a perfect 99.95 ATAR. He is now studying a Bachelor of Science as part of the undergraduate Doctor of Medicine at The University of Queensland, with the aim to one day become an ophthalmologist.

“With my parents from a refugee background, for them to be able to send us to BGS, I feel very fortunate,” Eagle said. “I felt I couldn’t waste that opportunity and that’s what motivated me to keep going and make the most of it.”

While still at school, he co-authored a children’s book on amblyopia (lazy eye) and patch therapy, Amazing Amber and Her Lazy Laser Eye. Written with his uncle, Dr Jason Cheng, the book was published last year and aims to normalise patch therapy and help others gain a basic understanding of lazy eye. It has been published around the world and translated into five languages.

Eagle is following in his father’s footsteps, with Son having proved a successful graphic novelist. With the help of his family, Son has so far published five books in the Legendary 12 series that combines stories on the Chinese zodiac from his childhood with those he created as bedtime stories for his children.

Jaguar, currently in Year 10 at BGS, is thriving at the School. He was chosen to narrate the School’s 150-year anniversary video last year and this year finished top 12 in the Queensland schools open debating competition, despite his youth.

Saigon is in Year 7 at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and Marlin is in Year 2 and a few years away from starting his BGS journey.

Son and Thuy are grateful for the opportunities that every community they have lived in has given them, from Brisbane to Moranbah, Bundaberg and Miles. Eagle aims to one day return to Miles to work as a doctor.

The same sentiment is held by the Ngo family towards BGS. “Our family is so proud to be part of the Brisbane Grammar School community,” Thuy said.

“From day one, the parents in the P&F have made us feel so welcome and the School has made a real difference to our two older sons, helping them transition into the young men they have become. The boys love their school and it’s clear that their connection with BGS will be ongoing.”