Alumni Spotlight: Philip Tana

When I look back on my years at Saint Philip’s High School, I do so with enormous gratitude and affection for the school, the Servite Order, and the dedicated lay teachers who helped shape the lives of so many young boys during those formative years.

The first classes at Saint Philip’s High School commenced on 11 February 1958, with Father Rogan teaching the inaugural Grade 5 class. I completed Grade 4 at St Kieran’s Primary School next door before beginning at Saint Philip’s in 1959.I still remember our Year 5 class of approximately 50 students under the leadership of Father Rogan. He was a strict disciplinarian, and school life in those days was very different from today. There were firm expectations, and many of us look back on that time as one that helped shape our resilience, respect, responsibility and character.

That same year, I was honoured to receive the “Most Improved Student” award, something that gave me confidence and encouragement moving forward.

Saint Philip’s gave me far more than an academic education. It gave me a moral compass that I may never have received elsewhere. The Servite Fathers, Brothers and lay teachers taught us discipline, respect, faith and personal responsibility. Those values stayed with me throughout my entire life and career.

Several teachers left a particularly lasting impression on me.

Mrs Enid Jowett, our Year 10 English teacher, inspired in me a lifelong appreciation for language and communication. She had a unique ability to make English exciting while teaching us the importance of grammar, structure and clear expression. Tragically, her death in a motor vehicle accident devastated the entire school community, and many of us still remember her influence very fondly.

I was also enormously influenced by Mr Lucas, whose passion for Geography brought the subject alive and made students think about the wider world beyond the classroom.

Another major influence was Mr Shanahan, a relief Physics teacher at Servite (later to become Principal) whose engaging and practical teaching style transformed my understanding of Science and Physics.

I owe a great deal to those teachers. Their influence motivated me to pursue tertiary education and gave me confidence in my own abilities.
That inspiration led me to the University of Western Australia, where I graduated with a degree in Chemistry, majoring in Organic and Inorganic Chemistry.

Following university, I was required to complete deferred National Service during the Vietnam War era. Although I had been posted to Vietnam, hostilities ceased just one week before I was due to depart. I subsequently returned to Perth, completed a Diploma in Education, and began my professional career teaching science at Balcatta Senior High School.

In 1976, I married my wife Leeanne, and together we raised three children.

While I enjoyed teaching enormously, entrepreneurship was always in my blood. I eventually left education to work as a chemist with George Weston Foods, but before long the entrepreneurial spirit resurfaced once again.

I joined my brother Nick Tana – who had also attended Saint Philip’s several years after me – in the fast-food industry. Beginning in the late 1970s, together with several business partners we built and operated a major Australian fast-food network that included Chicken Treat, Big Rooster, Chicken World and eventually Red Rooster stores across Australia under Australian Fast Foods Pty Ltd.

At its peak, the organisation operated approximately 450 stores nationally.

I spent more than 30 years in the fast-food industry as Director of Operations, overseeing stores throughout Australia and internationally.

My role took me across the globe, helping establish operations in China, the Czech Republic, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Thailand.
In 2007, we sold our interests in Australian Fast Foods to Quick Service Restaurant Holdings, marking the end of an extraordinary business chapter.

Looking back, I can honestly say I worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week — but I never felt like I worked a day in my life. I genuinely loved every minute of it. The principles, discipline and work ethic that Saint Philip’s instilled in me so many years ago remained with me throughout my entire career.

Now, nearly six decades after graduating, the bonds formed at Saint Philip’s remain as strong as ever. In 2026, the Class of 1966 celebrates their 60-year reunion — a remarkable milestone for a group of classmates who still gather for coffee on the first Thursday of every month.

To me, that says everything about the friendships and values formed during those years. The Servite Fathers, Brothers and lay teachers created a culture of loyalty, mateship and lifelong connection that still exists today.

Saint Philip’s was a very special place and a very special time in my life. I will always remain grateful for the education, values and opportunities it gave me.