Sunbury

Distinguished and Famous people from Sunbury

🏛️ Sir William John Clarke

Sir William John Clarke established his family home on the Sunbury estate after moving from Tasmania to Victoria in 1862. Pastoral wealth supported a life of breeding livestock, public service and philanthropy, with Rupertswood becoming the family's best-known local house. Letters written during the family's European travels in 1874–75 reveal a more domestic side: a father writing to his young son Rupert, who remained in Victoria. Clarke also supported music and other public causes. His inherited wealth should not obscure the distinction between him and his father, William John Turner Clarke: they were different generations with different roles in the family's extensive landholdings.

🎸 Billy Thorpe

Billy Thorpe's connection with Sunbury is a performance that became part of Australian rock history. He and the Aztecs headlined the inaugural festival in January 1972, by which time he had moved from 1960s pop stardom towards a much louder style. The National Film and Sound Archive preserves footage of the band's set, including Thorpe's exuberant exchanges with the crowd. His voice and lead guitar helped make the group a major force in the emerging pub rock era. Sunbury was the festival stage for that encounter, giving the town a lasting association with a musician whose career began elsewhere.