RYE resident Josephine Nicholls AM founded national charity Brainwave Australia 30 years ago, and will mark the milestone with a gala at the National Gallery of Victoria on 29 August.
Brainwave supports children with brain conditions and their families across Australia, from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.
The charity began after Nicholls’ eldest son, Nick, was diagnosed with a brain tumour as a six-year-old. Nick and his younger brother, Edward, had both come down with a virus, but while Edward recovered within days, Nick didn’t. His only symptom at first was a change in his balance, before he began telling his mother something was wrong.
“He kept saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got a marching sound in my head, Mum,’” Nicholls said.
It was a family friend, paediatrician Donald Cameron, who ordered the MRI that revealed the tumour. Nick was in surgery three days later.
The operation went ahead despite the hospital’s equipment failing mid-surgery, prompting Nicholls to start fundraising for the Royal Children’s Hospital neurology department.
“We did a fundraiser at the then Hilton in East Melbourne, and we had over 500 people,” she said.
The event raised significant funds but fell short of the cost of an ultrasonic aspirator the department needed, so Nicholls approached then Channel Nine boss Ian Johnson for the remainder.
“He just looked at me and he said, ‘So how much do you want?’” she said.
“And I went, ‘Ah, 25,000,’ which was a lot of money to ask for 30 years ago.
“And he said, ‘You can have that.’”
Three weeks after the Melbourne event, Nicholls ran an identical gala in Sydney, launching what would become a national network.
“Same horse, different leg action,” she said of the approach.
Nicholls said brain conditions received far less attention than other childhood illnesses at the time.
“Kids’ cancer got money, but neuro wasn’t something that was talked about 30 years ago,” she said.
Nicholls said Brainwave’s family camps and events led her to introduce a program for siblings of children with brain conditions, after she saw the toll the illness took on the wider family.
“I realised years later the impact it has on the whole family, particularly on siblings,” she said.
Nick, now an adult and a father, serves as Brainwave’s patron, and his younger brother Edward is set to take on the same role in the near future.
“It’s fabulous,” Nicholls said.
“Both the boys have just taken it on out of their own volition.”
Nicholls said Brainwave’s core purpose was supporting the whole family, not just the child affected.
“I think the key thing with Brainwave is the support level that’s there for all the family,” she said.
Brainwave will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a Great Gatsby-themed gala in the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria on 29 August, sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and featuring a performance from the Tim Campbell Band.
“It’s always a great night,” Nicholls said.
“There’ll be lots of fun and dancing.”
After the fundraising celebrations, Nicholls said the work will continue, to ensure that families facing a similar diagnosis won’t have to go through it alone.
More information about Brainwave is available at brainwave.org.au
First published in the Mornington News – 11 August 2026
