Our Team

Murray graduated as an Optometrist from The University of New South Wales in 1979. His first professional job was with Gibb & Beeman in George St Sydney, a long-established practice where he was fortunate enough to learn the traditional skills of spectacle making as well as optometry.

Murray moved to Melbourne in the early 80’s working with a group of optometrists, specialising in contact lens prescribing with contact lens laboratory Contavue and Concact lens retailer Contax. He started Associated Vision Consultants in 1986, consulting adjacent to OPSM, where he opened practices in each of the major shopping centres in Melbourne. AVC became the largest group of consulting optometrists in Australia. He also had the privilege to work in ophthalmology practices during this time.

Murray has had a wide range of experience in practice, including industrial eyecare, providing eye examinations to the Victorian Australian Defence Forces, General Motors Holden, Ford, Toyota, CSIRO and the Government Aircraft Factory. He has also provided extensive Aged Care Facility Support with a purpose-built, fully equipped Mobile Eyecare unit which he used during the late 80’s, early 90’s.

Murray was in the first group of Optometrists to complete the Ocular Therapeutics course run by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1993. By 2000 this received endorsement to prescribe PBS medicines.

After the sale of AVC, Murray opened his independent private practice in Monbulk in May, 2000. Shortly thereafter, this became the first Optometry practice in Australia to host Ophthalmology with the introduction of Dr Michael Slade, 23 years ago and more recently the introduction of Associate Professor George Kong.

Murray now celebrates 45 years practicing optometry and 25 years practicing in Monbulk.

Murray has been married to Kerry for 44 years and together with their son, James, enjoy living and working in the hills. He was brought up on a farm in the Hawkesbury district in NSW and appreciates the value and rewards of hard work.

Hannah is an enthusiastic optometrist who has fallen in love with the local community of Monbulk. Hannah has been working at the practice since graduating with a Bachelor of Biomedicine with Honours and a Doctor of Optometry at the University of Melbourne in 2018.

Equipped with the latest knowledge and skills in the profession, Hannah is a highly motivated and friendly optometrist with a keen interest in disease management and children’s vision.

Hannah is supervising the optometry students at Melbourne Uni each Wednesday this year and available in Monbulk Mon, Tue, Thurs & Fri.

Outside of optometry, Hannah enjoys swimming, yoga, seeing live music, going to art galleries, watching the footy and playing table tennis. Hannah is a vegetarian and when she’s not consulting you’ll find her out the front talking about cooking and recipes with Kerry.

Bridie is a highly dedicated and patient-focused optometrist with seven years of experience in optical and eyecare services. A recent graduate of the University of Melbourne, she combines a strong academic foundation with a wealth of hands-on experience, demonstrating unwavering commitment to delivering the highest standards of eye care.

Bridie is deeply passionate about promoting eye wellness. This passion extends particularly to paediatric eye care, where she finds immense satisfaction in helping children achieve clear vision and healthy eyes from a young age. She believes it’s essential to educate both children and parents on the importance of eye health and clear vision, and how it can contribute to a child’s overall wellbeing. Her passion for paediatric eye care is driven by the belief that clear vision is the foundation for a child’s success in school and beyond, and she is committed to empowering families with the knowledge to maintain good vision long-term and help children reach their full potential.

Bridie’s expertise isn’t limited to routine care. She is particularly skilled in managing ocular disease, including those involving glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Her proficiency in advanced diagnostic equipment, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) and retinal imaging, allows for early detection and monitoring of these conditions. Bridie is also committed to ongoing professional development, regularly attending conferences and workshops to stay up with the latest research and advancements in optometry. This dedication ensures her patients receive care that is not only compassionate but also evidence-based and at the forefront of modern eye care.

When she’s not helping her patients, you’ll find Bridie spending quality time with her husband and family. She’s also a true sports fan—especially when it comes to footy. Supporting the Saints has taught her a thing or two about unwavering loyalty, patience, and the occasional heartbreak!

Dr Michael Slade is a Melbourne trained Ophthalmologist (eye specialist) whose services include general Ophthalmolgy, cataract /squint /oculoplastics surgeries and paediatric Ophthalmology.

Michael graduated with a Medical degree from Melbourne University in 1983, and completed his Ophthalmology Fellowship with training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear hospital in 1992.

Michael has a clinic at Yarra Ranges Optical in Monbulk every second Friday. His main rooms and surgical theatre are at Monash Specialist Centre in Clayton, and he also has a private practice in Ashburton.

Michael is a personable, family oriented, caring professional with a keen interest in cricket, AFL, cycling and skiing.

Associate Professor George Kong

A/Prof. George Kong is a comprehensive ophthalmologist and Glaucoma subspecialist with extensive experience in cataract surgery, comprehensive glaucoma management, and complex glaucoma surgery (trabeculectomy, tube shunt operations).  He is an award winning surgeon in the area of Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS).  He also performs pterygium surgery, common eyelid surgeries and ICL refractive correction surgery.
He is a Consultant ophthalmologist at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital where he is a member of the Glaucoma unit.

A/Prof. Kong completed VCE in Melbourne finishing top of the state of Victoria in Mathematics.  He then completed his medical degree (MBBS) from The University of Melbourne, Australia.  He successfully completed his PhD in 2011 supported by National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Training Scholarship.  He was awarded the prestigious Eberhard Dodt Memorial Award from the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) for his work on retinal electrophysiology.

A/Prof. Kong completed RANZCO (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists) accredited training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
Subsequently, he embarked on a subspecialty Glaucoma fellowship at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital where he gained medical and surgical expertise in the treatment of glaucoma.  He then traveled to Cambridge, United Kingdom, where he gained expertise in
the advanced management of complex cataracts and glaucoma conditions such as glaucoma caused by inflammatory eye diseases (uveitis) and children’s glaucoma.  He has also trained in laser procedures for glaucoma and in new surgical techniques of Minimally
Invasive Glaucoma Surgery.

A/Prof. Kong published over 50 international peer-reviewed journal articles, 5 book chapters and is a reviewer of several ophthalmology and optometry journals.  He was instrumental in the development of the GONE (Glaucoma Optic Neuropathy Evaluation)
website which has helped thousands of optometrists and junior ophthalmologists around the world improve their optic nerve examination techniques.  He is a co-inventor of software for visual field testing software on iPad – Melbourne Rapid Fields.  He is also the inventor of the Semi-open technique of XEN stent insertion and was awarded Best Surgical Film award at the International Glaucoma Surgery Congress in London 2020.  A/Prof. Kong was awarded the Gerard Crock Trophy in the RANZCO Annual Scientific Congress 2022 for his work on visual field home monitoring for glaucoma.

A/Prof. Kong also speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently.​

Current Affiliations:

A/Prof. Kong is a consultant ophthalmologist at the Glaucoma Research and Investigation Unit at Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
He also has appointments as a Consultant ophthalmologist at the glaucoma subspecialty and general ophthalmology clinics at Eastern Health and Monash Health.
He has an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor position at The University of Melbourne.

Kerry has been with the practice from the very beginning. Her role as Practice Manager and Receptionist is to keep the whole show running smoothly.

She enjoys interacting with the patients in the front of the shop and finds developing long term relationships with multiple generations of families particularly rewarding. She believes that her Irish ancestry is responsible for her amazing memory of patient interactions. We think it’s also responsible for her embracing and outgoing temperament.

Kerry is responsible for purchasing frames and really enjoys following the latest eyewear trends to keep the stock current. She loves vibrant colour and design but also ensures that there is something to suit every taste and budget. She gains great satisfaction from finding the perfect frame for each individual.

Kerry is Murray’s partner in life as well as business. They have married for nearly 45 years, obviously she was a child bride. They live on a small acreage in Olinda with a growing menagerie of dogs, cats, chicken, sheep and alpacas, often referred to as the furries, featheries and fleecies. Her particular happy place is in the kitchen surrounded by a pile of recipe books and with a cooking program on the TV.

Kerry is a lifelong Magpies supporter.

Following the loss of one of their beloved Labradors last Christmas, Kerry is wondering whether she has one more puppy left in her…We think Absolutely…!

James joined the team after completing his university studies at ANU in Economics and Law in 2012. He has been trained by Murray in lens fitting and traditional frame adjustment and provides invaluable input into all areas of practice management. James is kind hearted, very loving and caring, and is always watching out for Murray and Kerry’s wellbeing. Knowing that James has their back is a great comfort for the family. With his Economics-Law Degree, James is well placed to provide clear confident guidance for the practice on a daily basis and into the future.

James’ frame and lens technical knowledge is very extensive and he is the go-to person for the high powered , tricky prescriptions. He is good at saying NO when a frame choice is not going to work for that individual face and vision requirement and providing guidance to a more informed, technically sensible outcome. This is an absolute must for the High Myopes, kids with strabismus from High Hypermetropia. Also, Anisometropia (large difference in prescription between the eyes, one eye needs much stronger lens than the other) is particularly tricky and attention to detail is essential. Failure to observe this would leave the patient compromised, which is why James double checks every job being ordered for correctness.

James’s extensive computer skill has earned him the title of “IT Department”.

James enjoys joining his friends in online gaming and is known to disappear into his den for solitude when not at work. He also enjoys cooking, being very imaginative and inventive. He likes trying new recipes from abroad with amazing flavours and we always look forward to James joining Kerry in the kitchen.

In December James adopted 2 cats from the animal shelter in Coldstream. They have been a wonderful addition to the family. Gus, the old Labrador has welcomely accepted them as replacement for his departed nephew Toby who passed away just prior in December. James has named the new cats Jake & Elwood. Quite fitting to their behaviour, as it turns out…Brothers in crime.

Mark started his optical career in 2016 in Tasmania and graduated as an Optical Dispenser from RMIT in 2018. Previously, Mark worked in the Hospitality industry for over 20 years so has a great deal of experience in customer relations.

In 2021 Mark along with his wife Sharon moved to Melbourne to be close to family and was keen to continue working within a close-knit community, so Yarra Ranges Optical was a perfect fit.

Customer service and providing a wonderful experience is extremely important to Mark.

Outside of work, Mark enjoys going to local markets, the cinema, theatrical plays, sporting events, especially at the MCG, and watching his beloved Hawthorn Football Club.