Nuala Hafner is an Australian media personality of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian descent. She is also a

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

Early life and education

Hafner was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, to

ian-born Australian

Dorinda Hafner Dorinda Hafner (born 1947) is an Ghanaian-born Australian storyteller, actress, dancer, choreographer, public speaker, writer and television chef. Early life Hafner was born in 1947 in Ghana, when it was British crown colony called Ashanti (Cr ...

. Her parents met in England, where her father, Julian, was a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, and migrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1977, where Nuala was raised. The couple subsequently split up. She attended Adelaide's

Pembroke School, Adelaide , motto_translation = Out of Unity, Strength , established = 1915 (Girton Girls' School)1923 (King's College)1974 (amalgamation) , type = Independent, co-educational, day and boarding , denominatio ...

, where she was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

of her year before travelling to the UK and Europe. She taught drama in London till 1995. She completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

in 2000 and was admitted to the bar.

Television career

Hafner began her media career at the age of three months when she appeared in an advertisement for

baby formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

. She also starred in children's program ''

The Book Place ''The Book Place'' was an Australian educational television show for children, which aired on the Seven Network from 1991 to 2003. The show was originally presented by former host of Fat Cat and Friends, Lynn Weston with Brenton Whittle, and A ...

'', and on Seven Adelaide's lifestyle program ''Discover''. Nuala joined ''Seven News Sydney'' in April 2003. She presented the weather and Canberra bulletins until she left on 22 December 2006 to work overseas, filing reports from Seven's London Bureau. In 2008, she took another role, appearing on ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

'', ''

Weekend Sunrise ''Weekend Sunrise'' is an Australian breakfast television program, broadcast on the Seven Network and currently hosted by Monique Wright and Matt Doran. History In 2005 the Seven Network replaced its struggling Sunday morning program ''Sunday ...

'' and the

Seven HD 7HD is an Australian television channel, owned by Seven West Media, originally launched on 15 October 2007 featuring unique breakaway programming from 10 December 2007 to 4 October 2009 and a HD simulcast of Seven until 25 September 2010. The ...

show ''

The NightCap ''The NightCap'' was an Australian television talk show broadcast on 7HD. It was the first Australian television program to be produced exclusively for an HDTV multichannel. The show began broadcasting on 12 February 2008 and screened every Tue ...

''. In 2009, she moved back to Australia and became the entertainment editor on ''Sunrise'', ''Weekend Sunrise'' and '' The Morning Show''. In 2010, she was appointed ''Sunrise''

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

correspondent. In November 2011, she resigned to return to her studies. In January 2012 she filled in for

Grant Denyer Grant Craig Denyer (born 12 September 1977) is an Australian television and radio presenter and motor racing driver, who has worked for several television networks, including Seven Network and Network 10, mostly serving as a presenter. In 2018 ...

and returned as a guest reporter. In July 2013, Hafner was appointed as Melbourne news presenter for

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

's new breakfast show ''Wake Up'' hosted in Sydney by

Natarsha Belling Natarsha Belling (born 29 May 1970) is an Australian journalist. Belling has previously worked at Network 10 as a television presenter, news presenter and reporter. She spent over two decades with the company until being made redundant in Augu ...

and

James Mathison James Mathison (born 14 January 1978) is an Australian television presenter and former independent political candidate. Early life Mathison was born in Sydney, New South Wales and grew up in Northern Beaches suburb of Frenchs Forest. He atte ...

. By November 2013, the programme lost 50% of its audience share and rated lower than ''Breakfast'', which was axed the year before due to low ratings.Colin Kruger:
Ten cost cutting looks like a silver lining
', Sydney Morning Herald, 14 November 2013. In November 2014, Nuala returned to the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

and appeared on ''Sunrise'' and ''

''.

Other qualifications and roles

Hafner studied drama at

and occasionally acts on stage. She continued her studies in psychology during her television career, for which she was awarded the

Capstone Prize A capstone course, also known as senior synthesis, capstone unit, capstone module, capstone project, capstone subject, or capstone experience, serves as the culminating and usually integrative experience of an educational program. It may also be r ...

, and completed a Master of Clinical Psychology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafner, Nuala Australian television journalists People from Adelaide Australian people of Ghanaian descent Australian people of English descent Living people 10 News First presenters People educated at Pembroke School, Adelaide Year of birth missing (living people)