For more than fifty years, Dr Daryl Murdoch has built schools, shaped teachers and opened doors for students across Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Teaching was in his DNA, with a principal for a father, Daryl was the one to follow in those footsteps.
Arriving at Avondale in 1973, he spent three years earning his Diploma of Primary Education and playing every sport on offer, in his words, “you name it, I played it”. The Avondale experience opened many doors and set him up for a career of serving others.
His first job was as the sole teacher and principal at what became Border Christian College in Albury. With just twenty-four students enrolled, Daryl’s plans for expansion with the local community church future-proofed the school’s growth.
Daryl took another remote opportunity at Narromine Christian School, and after three years, the growing Murdoch family moved back to Daryl’s hometown of Adelaide, where he was appointed principal at what is now Prescott Primary Northern. Over twelve years, enrolments grew from seventy to two hundred students. A highlight was watching his own child complete their primary and secondary schooling there.
In 1996, Daryl was appointed Education Director in New Zealand during a pivotal period of unification for Adventist schools. After four years, he took a well-earned break for PhD studies, focusing on the role of principals in small primary schools in Australia – government, Adventist and Catholic and a topic he knew well after nineteen years as a teaching principal.
Three years later, he was called to Lilydale Adventist Academy, now Edinburgh College, where he also left his mark, rebuilding enrolments and restoring faith and culture at the school.
In 2008, Daryl’s reputation and experience were recognised by the National Director of Adventist Schools Australia, John Hammond, who taught him the ropes and arranged for him to follow the succession after two years, when he was appointed Director.
During his thirteen years at ASA, he made many notable contributions to Adventist Education. Daryl prioritised unifying the quality of our Adventist schools and creating the Quality Adventist Schools improvement program, which was adopted across the South Pacific. He then worked with a team and developed the Encounter Bible program to modernise and recontextualise spirituality within the school system. The program caught the eye of the US conference and was later adopted internationally.
Today, he continues to build education opportunities for students through the Laos Adventist mission.
What began as a humble career of serving his students to help them reach their purpose and make an impact has grown into a legacy of leadership and impact, culminating in Dr Daryl Murdoch being named Avondale University's 2026 Alumnus of the Year.
- Aveline Adams
