WOOD, Douglas Barry (1941-2019)  Wiki.jpg)
Doug Wood (Rowing 3rd VIII, 1958).
Douglas 'Doug' Barry Wood (OGC 1954) was born in Whyalla in 1941, the son of G. A. McC. (Pat) and Mary Wood.
Pat, a prefect and 1st VIII oarsman at the College in 1930, became a minister of the Presbyterian Church and, between 1974 and 1977, Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. Doug’s elder brother, Graeme, and younger brothers Vernon and Malcolm also attended the College (OGC 1951, 1956 and 1960 respectively).
After attending Swanston St State School in Geelong Doug was educated at Geelong College from 1951 to 1958 where he rowed in the 3rd VIII in 1958 and played in the Under 16 B Football Team of 1957. In 1958, he was a corporal of 8 Platoon in the College Cadet Corps. Doug’s strong suits at school were mathematics and rowing; he also enjoyed football and cadets.
Malcolm Wood recalls his brother's life:
During his years studying Mechanical Engineering at the then Gordon Institute of Technology, his passions were the Geelong Cats, rowing and girls. Doug was a handsome young man, with a winning smile. And winning is what he always aimed to do. The Cats won the 1963 premiership, his Corio Bay Rowing Club four won many regattas in Victoria and beyond, and Doug won Elizabeth Bolza, a beautiful Hungarian-Australian and textile chemist.
Doug and Liz married in 1963, and lived in Doncaster before Doug joined Bechtel Corporation in Minnesota in 1967. They later moved to California, where Doug developed expertise in project managing the construction of nuclear power plants. Doug, a strong baritone, sang lustily in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The Pirate King was a leading role that fitted him very well.
By the mid-1980s Doug was operating as a consultant. As a sideline, in a downmarket town near Sacramento, he bought his own bar, decorating it with Fosters Lager posters and bar cloths, Geelong Cats banners and other mementos of Australia. One regular remembers Doug as ‘loud and boisterous and a hell of a lot of fun’. His marriage to Liz having foundered, in 1989 he married Yvonne Given, a Californian realtor who had brokered his purchase of a small horse ranch. Alas, Doug’s horses failed to win races and he sold the ranch. Looking for new fields to conquer, he started consulting in countries emerging from behind the Iron Curtain. His considerable contribution to five countries during several years, mixing with leaders of industry and government, was project managing the reconstruction of coal mines and power stations. He loved the business challenges and learned to appreciate the histories and culture of the several countries. While conservative politically, he felt deeply the plight of vulnerable people.
With courage, optimism and perhaps naivety, Doug decided to ply his business talents in war-torn Iraq. Doug was kidnapped on 30 April and was shown on the al-Jazeera television network on 2 May pleading for his life and urging Australia and the United States to withdraw their troops from Iraq. On 7 May, a battered and bruised 'Doug' Wood with two machine guns held to his head was again shown in video footage. On 15 June, during what was described by Brigadier-General Jaleel Khalaf Shewi, an Iraqi commander, who led an ‘ordinary cordon and search’ operation, 'Doug' Wood was located and freed after the house in which he was held was raided. He had been held captive for forty-seven days.
Malcolm continues:
Captured by terrorists in April 2005, he endured miserable captivity as a hostage until 15 June, when a troop of Iraqi soldiers rescued him. Arguably, the strong efforts of the Australian Government, his family and Australia’s Muslim community had all helped keep him alive meanwhile. His ‘mind-games’included recalling the names of classmates from the College and members of Geelong’s VFL champion teams of the early 1950s—had helped keep him sane.
Back in Melbourne, age, near-blindness and other health problems suggested that Doug should take it easy. But he continued to live life to the fullest, with never a complaint. He was a minor celebrity for some years, being interviewed and giving speeches.
Doug was a gregarious, yet ironically private, man, who was much loved. He is survived by his and Liz’s daughter, Christina, her family, his three brothers and their families, and many friends around the world.Doug passed away aged 78 on 31 December 2019.
Sources: M. Wood May 2020, OGC 1954