Making headlines

Peer pressure is not always a positive. But for Georgie Chumbley, the influence of friends at Brisbane Girls Grammar is something she will always cherish.

`Grammar is known for its academics, but the best thing BGGS gave me was lifelong friends,’ she says. `I can’t overstate the good influence my very studious friends had on me. I was a bit of a class clown. My friends subconsciously guided me to work hard and study more.

`I feel like we’re bonded from Year 8 as Gibson girls, and I love watching from afar and seeing them do amazing things.’

Georgie’s friends have no doubt been watching her, too, as she rises through the ranks of television journalism. A familiar face to many, she seemed destined to find her way on screen after spending her youth `reporting live’ to the family camcorder.

These days she has a much larger audience, as Queensland correspondent for Channel 7’s Sunrise. But Georgie has never forgotten some spot-on career advice from BGGS Deputy Principal (Academic) Dr Bruce Addison, who was her Economics teacher back in the day.

`I was handing in an Economics assignment when Dr Addison told me in passing, he thought I’d be a good TV reporter. I can’t remember if I was already considering journalism or if that was the catalyst, but it obviously struck a chord.’

After leaving Girls Grammar, Georgie studied Journalism at QUT, putting in many hard yards on unpaid internships before landing a job with WIN News Toowoomba when she graduated in 2012.

From there, she travelled extensively to earn her stripes as a regional journalist, living in North Queensland and the Northern Territory and reporting from some of the most remote communities in the country.

`It was completely eye-opening for a girl who’d spent the majority of her life in Brisbane,’ she remembers of the time. `I only spent 18 months in Darwin, but the experience I gained and the friends I met were life changing. It helped me grow, not only professionally, but personally.

`You don’t need to travel overseas to experience different ways of living, different cultures. We have some of the most beautiful and vibrant communities in the world right here.’

These days Georgie is based back in Brisbane but can still find herself reporting live from anywhere across the state. In early 2025, she was prominent in rolling coverage of Cyclone Alfred as it monstered South-East Queensland, and she revels in the spontaneous and often candid nature of live news.

`My job gives me an excuse to go up to anyone and strike up a conversation. I’m always surprised at how generous they are in speaking to me. You never know where that conversation is going to go. And when you’re live on air—that’s part of the fun.’