The mebourne graduate December 2014 email

The Melbourne Graduate

THE MELBOURNE GRADUATE The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Inc.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 1

The Melbourne Graduate

“It is easy to be proud & harsh & selfish - so easy. But we have been created for better things.”

Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997)

Editorial and Photography

Shirley Ho, Eliah Castiello, Zac Matthews.

All other images are used with permission and are the direct property of the publication from which they were obtained.

Printing

City Copy

The Melbourne Graduate December 2014 – Volume 67, Number 2 Periodical Newsletter of The Graduate Union Print Post Approved PP337834/00022 Incorporated Association Registration Number A0023234B December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 2

The Melbourne Graduate Contents ADDRESSES Chair of Council

4

CEO and Head of College

5

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 102nd Annual General Meeting

6

The Hon David Harper AM QC

11

Betty Keay, Honorary Life Member

13

MEMBERSHIP Valete

16

Membership

23

Donations

27

Our Members Margaret Dean Yos William John Hasker AM John Irwin Thomas Morton Rachel Davies Dr Viet (Linda) Nguyen Tim Everson Chanchal Chandramouli Candice Tan Slavery Links

28 31 32 34 35 36 36 37 38 40 42

National Student Leadership Forum Mattias Bjรถrnmalm Annelies Van de Ven

43 44

OUR PATRONS Acknowledgement of Patronage

46

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 3

The Melbourne Graduate from the Chair of Council It is a privilege to serve as Chair of the Graduate Council, as we stand together on the threshold of a new era.

The University of Melbourne is again at the forefront of tertiary education in Australia.

Graduates from around the world are enrolling at Melbourne. Each year, more than 600 choose to live at Graduate House.

Our Head of College, Dr Kerry Bennett draws on her personal experience and understanding of this international collegium, to create an inclusive, vibrant, collegiate experience for some of the most talented graduates from around the world.

The Graduate Union is a college of graduates, and each of us is part of the life of this college. I encourage you to invite graduates among your family and friends to participate in an event at Graduate House. As we build our international collegium our programs are evolving to be welcoming, inclusive and relevant to the thousands of graduates currently enrolled at the University of Melbourne.

Together we can ensure that our college continues to evolve to meet the opportunities of the present and the needs of future generations of graduates.

I extend gratitude to our immediate past Chair, The Hon Justice Tony (Gaetano) Pagone, for his term over 2013 and 2014 and for seeing to completion the introduction of new rules and a comprehensive program of compliance. I thank also our Vice Chair, Cheryl Kidston, for acting as Chair until I was elected to this position in September 2014.

The Council focus is now on strategic growth through continued engagement with the Graduate community to build our international collegium.

I thank the friendly and hardworking staff at Graduate, as well as my fellow Council Members for their tremendous support and long hours of voluntary contribution.

Best wishes to our Graduate Union of family and friends for a happy and safe festive season.

Mr Rhys Watson Chair of the Council of The Graduate Union December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 4

The Melbourne Graduate from the CEO and Head of College The end of the year brings a range of reflections on the past year and on what is to come in 2015.

On our achievements, we have had another successful year of GU Collegiate with a range of excellent presenters for our long standing and well-attended Monthly Luncheons and Twilight Lectures. Through the now popular ‘GU Tastings’ before and after the Twilight Lectures we are proud to have showcased our local primary industry providers. Our College Table initiative three times each semester has proven to be a great success, the regular Wednesday night Bridge group has expanded significantly and our Italian diners speak far more fluently in this beautiful language than twelve months ago. The Women’s Forum continues on a monthly basis and we are grateful for their summary in the monthly newsletter so that Members afar can feel involved in their in-depth and robust discussions.

The popular Finance Seminar Series with Peter Clark has concluded after two great and informative years.

The Resident Members this year have again been outstanding and I am confident that we will hear more about many of them in years to come – such is the level of excellence in academia, leadership and commitment to making a difference. We are fortunate in having these upcoming world leaders-in-theirfield in college. In particular, I commend the members of the inaugural Graduate House Student Group, Annelies Van de Ven (President), Chieh-You (Jai) Chen (Vice-President), Rebecca Young (Treasurer), Mattias Björnmalm (Events Coordinator), Candice Tan (Publicity Coordinator), Tim Everson (Sports Coordinator) and Sophie Clark and Tessa Satherley (Secretaries). The GHSC has established changes that have improved the experiences of their fellow college residents and those who will succeed them. In addition to their ongoing collegial activities, such as the culture dinners and table tennis tournaments, 2014 has also seen the very first Graduate House Ball, an event that we hope to continue on an annual basis.

Our non-resident Members this year remain also as outstanding. Ours is not a passive membership that demands entitlements. Ours is a membership that is active, appreciative, engaged and productive. On a daily basis the staff and I have the honour of communicating with and learning from graduates of all ages, disciplines, countries and cultures. We are grateful not only for your support in sustaining the Association for its future and for guiding quality control for our operations, but also for the support that you offer and give to each other.

Over 2015 we have a number of exciting initiatives. We are seeking to set up an outdoor café on Leicester Street to cater for the passing crowds of graduates in the precinct city-side of Grattan Street. We have established an affordable ‘non-resident student graduate’ membership division so that these graduates will then choose to join up. City-based in-career professionals will be meeting under the Graduate House brand. We shall be launching our new and improved website, as well as a crowd funding platform to support education, research and other graduate endeavours. We shall also be working to strengthen our ‘Culture of Philanthropy’ through an improved annual giving program and formation of a bequest society.

We look ahead with confidence. We know that we have the right resources to grow. Our Council and committees have the very best mix of skill and experience. Our values, our Members, our partners and our wonderful staff are what will continue to fuel our ongoing growth and success. On behalf of The Graduate Union, our global international collegium, and all of us here at Graduate House, I thank you all for 2014 and wish Members and their loved ones the very best in 2015.

Dr Kerry Bennett CEO and Head of College December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 5

The Melbourne Graduate The Annual General Me eting (AGM) The evening began as Major General Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld AM OBE CStJ, President of The Graduate Union, introduced himself and welcomed Members. Before the AGM proceedings began, an announcement was made to congratulate the winners of the 2013 Graduate House Research Scholarship and Bursaries, and of The GU and House of Australia International Blogging competition.

The successful recipient of the 2014 Graduate House Resident Research Scholarship was Resident Member Chanchal Chandramouli for her research entitled ‘Sex differences and renin-angiotensin system in the diabetic heart’. Chanchal outlined that she intended to use the funds to attend one or more conferences over 2014 to present her results. Ms Chandramouli is currently undertaking her doctoral studies in cardiac physiology which she began in 2013. In congratulating Ms Chandramouli, the President presented her with an inscribed trophy and a framed certificate. The Graduate Union wishes Ms Chandramouli all the best in her future projects and looks forward to hearing and learning more about her research.

President Rosenfeld welcoming Members to the 2014 Annual general meeting.

Bursaries to support coursework studies of Resident Members Rachel Davies (Law, Juris Doctor, Law School), Tim Everson (Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences), Thomas Morton (Doctor of Optometry, Graduate School of Science) and Dr Viet Nguyen (Doctor of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences) were then presented. The President acknowledged the importance of this new category of award for the graduate student community and wished the recipients well with their studies.

Next, Mr Richard Dixon and Ms Christine Jenkins of House of Australia International presented Resident Member Candice Tan with the prize of a three night escape for two at Lyndoch Hill in the Barossa Valley for her post entitled ‘United Nations’ at her blog site ‘The Ramblings of a Procrastinating Grad Student.’ This literary gem captured the experience of residing at Graduate House with an interesting global community of academics.

Research Scholarship winner Chanchal Chandramouli explaining her project to President Rosenfeld.

Upon declaring the AGM opened, the President welcomed all Members to the meeting and introduced the Auditor, Mr Anthony Law, the Accountant, Mrs Kay Gulenc, the Returning Officer, Mr Ron Ritchie, Members of Council and staff. The AGM took off at a brisk pace as documents and rules were explained, and apologies and proxies were announced. The meeting maintained its pace as the minutes from the 2013 AGM were adoped as a true record and no other business was raised. It was reported that a total of ninety-eight proxies were received, of which ninety-six were valid.

Professor Rosenfeld then began his address in which he expressed delight in being the President of The Graduate Union and applauded the wonderful work being undertaken by the Association. He described The Graduate Union as a

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 6

Bursary awardees (from left) Dr Viet Nguyen, Thomas Morton, Tim Everson and Rachel Davies.

The Melbourne Graduate The Annual General Me eting (AGM) vibrant institution that provided an ideal culture for students and academic visitors to embrace life here and to return home with great memories. The President extended gratitude to the Chair of Council, The Honourable Justice Tony Pagone, and to all Members of Council for their vision and significant contributions. He acknowledged Dr Kerry Bennett, in her role as CEO/Head of College, and all staff for the enormous work done in promoting The Graduate Union and in providing excellent services. The President concluded his address by stating that The Graduate Union was on a firm footing financially and that the future for the Association was bright and with the possibility of great growth.

The winner of the GU Blogging competition, Resident Member Candice Tan (left) with Chanchal Chandramouli, recipient of the Graduate House Research Scholarship.

His speech was followed by an address from the Vice-Chair of the Council of The Graduate Union, Council Member Cheryl Kidston, who began by acknowledging this proud period in the history of The Graduate Union with Major General Professor Jeffrey V Rosenfeld as the President of the membership and The Honourable Justice Tony (Gaetano) Pagone as the Chair of Council.

She then explained that Council had been successful in addressing over two hundred recommendations from three external governance and financial control reviews in 2010, 2011 and 2012; and that a considerable amount of time had been devoted to developing the new Graduate Union Rules. Vice-Chair Kidston expressed confidence that this work had positioned the Association as contemporary and meeting the new regulatory environment while reaffirming commitment to tradition and the important purposes of this longstanding and respected Association. Her speech included a report on the recent governance restructure which included establishment of five subcommittees – Governance and Nominations, Finance and Audit, Membership and Marketing, Buildings and Facilities, and Remuneration – each with clear delegations of authority and terms of reference.

In her view, all of these activities had led to improvements in the accountability, transparency and responsibility of Council. Additionally, she reported that upgrades made across the entire facility to improve the quality of facilities, together with improvements to all aspects of the services provided to Members and visitors to Graduate House, had all contributed to positive results that included increased occupancy and enhanced reputation of The Graduate Union. She thanked the CEO/Head of College and staff for their dedication and great work throughout the year.

Council Member Vivienne Corcoran reported on the Strategic Plan that had been developed in 2013, identifying the priorities from 2013 to 2015 as: (a) Advancement and Major Projects; (b) Financial Stability; (c) Quality College and Meeting Facilities; (d) Effective and Well-Structured Governance; and (e) Membership, Organisational Development and Culture. In providing an outline of major capital projects over the year, Cr Corcoran indicated that these had contributed significantly to the value and quality of the facility and that these investments included repairs to the roofs of the William Berry Wing (thanks to a major bequest from Mr Ron Davey), the installation of reverse cycle air conditioners and refrigeration units in the main building, refurbishment of the residents’ kitchen, installation of a new bicycle shed and the construction of a new back fence and gate. In pointing to the productive year for The Graduate Union, Cr Corcoran explained that over 21,000 people from over 250 key academic, government, charitable and not-for-profit organisations had used the academic and professional development meeting services, and that the GU Collegiate functions and activities continued to provide excellent value to Members.

In applauding the development of new publications that included booklets relating to Member benefits, fundraising, meeting bookings and advertising through The Graduate Union, Council Member Corcoran

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The Melbourne Graduate The Annual General Me eting (AGM) explained that these, together with a strong and increasing internet and social media presence, were contributing to improved visiblity of the Association locally, nationally and internationally. Council Member Corcoran concluded her report by explaining that Council had met for strategic planning purposes in April and that a number of major options for future development, growth and expansion of the Association were now under consideration.

The President acknowledged and thanked Council Member Corcoran for her comprehensive report and welcomed the CEO/Head of College to the podium.

Dr Bennett began her address by thanking Council and staff for all their hard work in 2013. She then moved on to the 2013 Survey of Members and Other Stakeholders, explaining that the response rate had been high and that the large amount of data and information provided through analysis of the results had assisted greatly in identifying gaps and needs in service and directions for quality improvements. Dr Bennett then extended special thanks to Member Jane McKellar for her probono work on the Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) survey of staff and Council that had been undertaken throughout 2013, and outlined how the results were being implemented to foster productivity, positivity and an effective team-based organisational culture. Dr Bennett expressed intention to repeat similar surveys in the future and in line with development of the next Strategic Plan.

The CEO/Head of College informed Members that 2013 also saw an increasing focus on collegial initiatives that included: • expansion of the College Tutor Program, which now has about fifteen tutors providing tutorials in their academic disciplines as well as in a wide range of languages; • the formation of sustained college groups, such as those now which met for trivia nights, table tennis tournaments, soccer and badminton games; • the inclusion of a tie, a winter scarf and a branded cloth bag to the College Garb and merchandise range to continue to strengthen the college identity and a recognisable presence and ‘brand’ in the academic and general community; and • the formation of GUCA (Graduate Union College Alumni) to foster continued contact with past residents of Graduate House.

Dr Bennett then reported that revenue from ‘catering’ and ‘accommodation’ were respectively near double the revenue from these sources in 2006 and provided assurance to Members of the success with the major capital investment programs that had been undertaken since that time. In concluding, the CEO/ Head of College brought attention to the Fundraising and Benefactions Committee, and invited Members to support its role in developing a structured and sustained programme of donations, endowments and bequests.

The report from the CEO/Head of College was accepted unanimously by a show of hands from the attending Members and the President thanked Dr Bennett for her sound leadership, her significant contributions to the Association and her dedication.

Council Member Leo Santalucia, Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, then took to the podium to provide a brief outline of the key results for the financial year ending 31st December, 2013. He reported also that significant progress had been made on developing a comprehensive range of finance-related policies, procedures and internal financial controls and that a sound risk mitigation and management process was in place. The Financial Report, as published in the May 2013-2014 Annual Report of The Graduate Union, was then submitted to and received by the Members.

In providing his report on the 2014 election of members to Council, the Returning Officer, Mr Ron Ritchie, announced that four valid nominations had been received for three vacancies on Council, that an election December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 8

The Melbourne Graduate The Annual General Me eting (AGM) had thus been required, and that 242 ballot papers had been received of which 229 were valid.

After the Returning Officer had announced the results of the elections, the President thanked Mr Ritchie for his report and for his services during the elections, declared Mrs Jennifer Batrouney QC, Dr Phillip Cobbin and Mr Rhys Watson elected until 2017, and congratulated the candidates.

Returning Officer Mr Ron Ritchie (left) with President Rosenfeld.

Mr Anthony Law, FCA, Registered Company Auditor was then reappointed by Members as the external independent auditor of the Association for the year ending 31st December, 2014. The President extended gratitude to Mr Law for his comprehensive audit of the 2013 financial report of the Association and for his guidance in ensuring implementation of reforms and improvements over the last few years.

Council Member Jennifer Batrouney QC, Chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee, then took to the podium to outline the three motions tabled for consideration by the Members. Council Member Batrouney explained that the new Rules, though modelled around new legislation for incorporated associations and regulatory requirements, had been designed to keep the spirit and meaning of the current purposes and rules of the Association intact. Council Member Batrouney extended gratitude to the members of the committee and to the CEO/Head of College for their contributions to the development of these new Rules.

Council Member Batrouney then answered a number of questions pertaining to the new Act. In response to a question about the Chair of the Governance and proportion of elected Members on Council, Council Member Batrouney Nominations committee, Jennifer Batrouney QC delivering her report. indicated that the provision for appointment of Members on Council allowed for the selection of people with identified and needed skills, expertise, experience and qualifications for governance. She also mentioned that the new Rules gave provision for participation at the AGM by Members who were overseas or interstate through information and communication technology.

In response to an enquiry on the provision for Council to add membership divisions, Council Member Batrouney responded that this gave some flexibility for the Association to respond to changes in the membership base and needs without having to call on the entire membership, and that any new Councilresolved division (category) of membership would be presented to Members at general meetings. In response to a question about the use of technology for Council meetings, Council Member Batrouney explained that this would enable Council Members to participate in meetings even should they be in regional Victoria, interstate or overseas.

The President thanked Council Member Batrouney, the Governance and Nominations committee and the CEO/Head of College for their hard work in developing a sound, contemporary and appropriate set of Rules. He commended the new Rules to the Members, adding that he saw them as serving the Association for many years to come, just as the previous set of rules had so done since 1990. Following the putting of the motions and counts of the show of hands, the Members then resolved to adopt the new Rules and to repeal the previous Purposes and Rules.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 9

The Melbourne Graduate The Annual General Me eting (AGM) Council Member R. Kingsley Davis, Chair of the Membership and Marketing Committee, invited to the podium by the President, then declared the award of Honorary Life Membership to Ms Betty Joan Cathles Keay in appreciation of long service and ongoing support of The Graduate Union.

Readers are referred to a more detailed account of Ms Keay’s ‘graduate pathway’ and of her contribution to The Graduate Union on page 13 of this edition of the Melbourne Graduate.

Vice-Chair of Council, Cheryl Kidston, presenting the report from Council.

Graduate Union Members at the 102nd Annual General meeting.

A report on addressing the matters raised at the 2013 AGM was presented by The CEO/Head of College. Dr Bennett expressed gratitude for the introductions that had been provided by Member Mr John Farrell to a network that was developing solar energy technology which had been identified as having potential use by the college and reported that the concept of presenting an interdisciplinary seminar series for members had been introduced to members at Meet and Greets and in 2013 newsletters. Member attendance as observers at Council meetings was welcomed. The 2014 calendar distributed to Members at the end of 2013 had included all meeting dates. The 2015 calendar, currently being prepared, was intended also to include all meeting dates.

As per Member requests, Dr Bennett reported that the Membership Application form had been simplified and the Membership and Marketing Committee were considering development of a simplified fee structure. The Election Kit and the regulations for elections had been reviewed and amended prior to the 2013 and 2014 elections; and were scheduled for a review prior to the 2015 elections. Finally, she explained that suggested amendments to the 2011 AGM minutes had been discussed by Council.

In question and discussion time, Member Ms Barbara Funder stated that she had taken the opportunity to attend Council meetings as an observer, that she felt it to be an interesting exercise, that she was grateful for the opportunity and that she would like to encourage other Members to attend these meetings.

Member Mr John Farrell, declaring his position as President of the National Federation of Independent Business in Australia, congratulated the CEO/Head of College and the staff for their tremendous efforts in expanding and improving the Association, and reminded Members of the need for cross-disciplinary activity. Council Member Davis recommended that Members attend College Table lunches, scheduled on three Fridays each academic semester, which involved eminent scholars dining with Members and discussing important graduate-related issues, such as cross-disciplinary collaboration. Immediate past Chair of Council, Mr David Sparks, in supporting the gratitude extended by Cr Batrouney to the Governance and Nominations committee for development of the new Rules, added his appreciation for the contributions of Council Member Cheryl Kidston and Member Meredith Doig, previous members of this committee.

The Chair advised that the next Annual General Meeting was scheduled for Thursday, 29th May, 2015. He thanked Members for attending, invited them to enjoy drinks and conversation in the Phillip Law Members’ lounge before dinner and closed the meeting.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 10

The Melbourne Graduate The Hon David Harper AM QC

The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne Incorporated was very proud to have the Honourable David Harper AM QC deliver the AGM Dinner address. The Hon David Harper is a former Judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, former President of The Graduate Union (1997-1999), of VACRO (1995-2012) and of the Judicial Conference of Australia (2010-2012); and a former member of the Victorian Law Reform Commission (2001-2008). Since 2001, he has been President of the International Humanitarian Law Committee of the Australian Red Cross (Victoria).

The Hon Harper expressed first his pleasure in returning to an invigorated and vibrant Graduate House. He then began his address entitled Sentencing and the Courts: Justice, the Media and Public Opinion with a quote from Sir Winston Churchill: The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilisation of a country. A calm and dispassionate recognition of the rights of the accused against the State, a constant heart-searching by all charged with the duty of punishment, a desire and eagerness to rehabilitate in the world of industry all those who have paid their dues in the hard coinage of punishment, tireless effort towards the discovery of curative and regenerative processes, and an unfaltering faith that there is a treasure, if only you can find it, in the heart of every man and woman – these are the symbols which in the treatment of crime and criminals mark and measure the stored-up strength of a nation, and are the sign and proof of the living virtue in it.

Powerful words, but as David said, words that receive no audience in the corridors of the tabloid media or the halls of Parliament House. As expressed by David, “calmness, dispassion, logic and rationality are wanderers in a foreign land when the administration of criminal justice is under consideration.” He was of course talking about the state of sentencing in Australia, and continued on to outline his views on the media’s impact on the public opinion of sentencing. He claimed that sentencing must be devoid of irrational or emotive reasoning, and instead be based upon evidence if it is ever to meet the standards set

by Churchill.

David spoke on how the media is untroubled by the objective requirements of sentencing judges, their interest instead resting on emphasising that which aggravates and not that which mitigates. From his perspective, the media promotes the aggression necessary to promote public outrage if it ensures a ‘good story’, thus the public feels angry once a sentence that is less than their outrage is delivered, regardless

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 11

The Melbourne Graduate The Hon David Harper AM QC of the mitigation circumstances that the judges have to consider. David claimed that this act is not only an abuse of the media’s news disseminating function, but a means of searching for an audience and enhancing their political and commercial interests.

He illustrated this line of reasoning by referencing the 2006 independent report by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria entitled ‘Myths and Misconceptions: Public Opinion versus Public Judgement about Sentencing’ and by reading out the following passage from this report: Newspaper portrayals of crime stories … report selectively, choosing stories, and aspects of stories, with the aim of entertaining more than informing. They tend to focus on unusual, dramatic and violent crime stories, in the process painting a picture of crime … that overestimates the prevalence of crime in general and of violent crime in particular. Thus public concerns about crime typically reflect crime depicted in the media, rather than trends in the actual crime rate. The news media also provide little systemic information about the sentencing process or its underlying principles. … As people are overly influenced by single-case information, people falsely generalise that leniency characterises the entire sentencing process.

The report also found that when the public is given more information about a case or a series of cases their level of punitiveness reduces significantly. This finding was evidenced further in a 2011 report entitled ‘Public Judgement on Sentencing: Final Results from the Tasmanian Jury Sentencing Study’ which was released by the then Federal Minister for Home Affairs and Justice, Brendan O’Conner. The research underpinning this report was undertaken by two eminent legal academics, Kate Warner and Dr Julia Davis, and is considered the most important study done into attitudes on sentencing in Australia. Such results added to the suggestion that increased information results in reductions in punitiveness by the public.

Hon David Harper said that newspapers which were more robust and less interested in tabloid sensationalism reported accurately and informatively on the launch and results of the Tasmanian study. However, it was not until six weeks after the release of the report that the Herald Sun reported briefly on the results of the study. Of note, was that this was on page 38 of this tabloid newspaper. The ABC’s Media Watch program wrote a letter asking the Herald Sun’s editor whether the coverage on the study was felt to be adequate. The editor responded with a simple “yes” before citing statistics on sentencing that ignored the overarching results of the study. As if to add insult to injury, the Herald Sun held a government-funded survey with questions like “Do you think crime is increasing?” “Do you feel less secure?” and “Do you feel that there should be more police on the streets?” Though 82% of respondents to these leading questions believed crime to be rising, as David pointed out, this is simply not the case.

The Hon David Harper’s speech was well received, and was followed by a number of questions into such issues as parole and government involvement into the Herald Sun survey. In response to a light-hearted question from Cr Cobbin on whether or not tabloid newspapers will ever feel guilt, there was a general guffaw!

The Graduate Union extends gratitude to The Hon David Harper for speaking at the 2014 AGM dinner and looks forward to seeing him in again at Graduate House soon.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 12

A photograph of The Hon Justice David Harper in a 1997 edition of the Melbourne Graduate when announced as our President.

The Melbourne Graduate Betty Keay - Honorary Life Member

Citation On the occasion of the Award of Honorary Life Membership of The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne to

Betty Joan Cathles Keay

Betty Keay has made a long and notable contribution to The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne.

These remarks are structured as follows.

Pre-Graduate Union-Family and Education;

Graduate Union Involvement; and

Other Interests.

I shall commence with something about Betty’s life before joining The Graduate Union.

Pre Graduate Union Betty Joan Cathles Keay was born in Melbourne, her greatgrandparents having migrated from Scotland in the 1850s. She is the eldest of two daughters of Percy Cathles Keay and Nellie Florence Adele Florence Keay née Lyle. Perce Keay was an accountant and company auditor in the Victorian railways. He was also the honorary auditor for his church. Nellie Keay was a teacher at Methodist Ladies College.

Betty commenced her education at Moreland Central School. She then attended University High from form 3 to matriculation in the days when the US forces camped on the school oval and occupied the newly completed Royal Melbourne Hospital. Miss Keay commenced a degree in science at this University but was not able to complete. She then worked at the Commonwealth Aeronautical Research Laboratories at Fisherman’s Bend for four years undertaking mathematical computations for the testing and modification of aeroplane wings carried out in a high-speed wind tunnel.

She then taught Mathematics at Strathmore High School, University High School, Coburg High School and Melbourne College of Textiles in Pascoe Vale (TAFE) now part of RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology). She continued teaching until her retirement in 1988.

Betty has lived in the family home at Brunswick all her life. In approximately 1980, while teaching, Betty obtained a Graduate Diploma of Business Studies at Swinburne and a Graduate Diploma of Curriculum Administration at Rusden. As part of her studies she wrote a research paper on determining the price of shares.

In 1981 Betty obtained the degree of Bachelor of Education from The University of Melbourne.

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The Melbourne Graduate Betty Keay - Honorary Life Member Graduate Union Involvement As those who attended this University may recall, in earlier days it was necessary to pay a fee for sports as part of the tuition fee package. Miss Keay made use of this fee by swimming at the Beaurepaire Pool.

At the pool she met a friend Patricia Young who was a member of The Graduate Union. One day Pat took Betty to The Graduate Union for a meal. Pat suggested that Betty should join as The Union was a good place to have a cup of coffee and work between lectures. Miss Keay found the Association to be “friendly” and on 1st May, 1982 she joined as a Life Member.

Miss Keay is a long time and highly skilled bridge player. At the time she joined the Association she played Bridge at the Essendon Bridge Club. Her bridge partner was some years younger than herself. Each time Betty went overseas she told her partner to obtain another associate. Eventually, in about 2002, she did and this led to Betty’s involvement at Graduate House.

At this time, Bridge nights were just commencing at The Graduate Union. So Betty came to our Association to play Bridge. Numbers were small. At one stage they dropped to about six people. Betty quickly took on the organisation of the Bridge Group and rebuilt it. Eventually, and by word of mouth, the group recruited members from the Neighbourhood House in Carlton, social workers, teachers and Carlton Probus.

The Graduate House Bridge Group now comprises about 28 people. It meets each Wednesday night and 16-20 players attend to enjoy this intellectually stimulating game, supper and the company of other like minded people.

More recently Betty has handed over the organisation of the Bridge Group to Graham Skewes and Joan Thompson who alternate on a weekly basis. Betty continues to be a quiet leader and inspiration to the group.

The Graduate Union Bridge Group meets every Wednesday night, from 7.30pm till 10.00pm.

Miss Keay also plays Bridge at Moonee Valley Bridge on Tuesday nights.

Betty tells how, in about 1990, a group of the players met and discussed the way they might bring about some changes in the Association. They arranged for two members from Solo Graduates to stand for the Graduate Council. These candidates were elected.

During her time as a member, Betty has been a supporter of the Monthly Luncheons, the Twilight Lectures and the Sunday Music Concerts.

Betty has always been a regular at Graduate Union events and in this photo at the mid-year Christmas dinner in 1995, Betty (seated right) is seen here with residents Nini Fornasiero, Shari Godin and Fay Stevens, whom, as GUCA members, we hope to hear from.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 14

She well remembers Mr Bill Berry, SecretaryWarden from 1948 to 1984; Mr Ian Barrah, Secretary-Warden from 1991 to 1995 and Mrs

The Melbourne Graduate Betty Keay - Honorary Life Member Frances O’Brien, Secretary-Warden from 1996 to 1998. She says that Fran O’Brien was very good in her appointment. She “held the place together, looked after the students and saw what needed to be done”.

However, she was never given sufficient money to implement these needs.

Betty can best be described as a quiet achiever. She is seen often around Graduate House. She always has a smile and something to say to people by way of a greeting. On 6th December, 2013, at the Chairman’s Christmas Cocktail Party, Betty was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for her organisation of the Bridge Group at Graduate House.

Other Interests In the 1960s and 1970s Betty was Secretary and President of the Coburg Tennis Club. For about 15 years she played pennant “C” in the LTAV competition and “B” grade in the North Suburban competition. During this period she also umpired championships at Kooyong.

Miss Keay has an active interest in genealogy. The advent of the computer has helped her to pursue this hobby. She tells of a relative who, in the 1850s, had a shipbuilding business on the Yarra River near Flinders Street. Since the 1990s Betty has been a volunteer at the Public Records Office in Victoria. This commenced when she was looking through microfiche films to trace members of her own family. This became a regular pastime and while involved with that she was invited to join a group at the Public Records Office to index the films held there. That led to her being involved in indexing of shipping records from 1950 to 1924.

Subsequently Betty has assisted to index all inquests held in Victoria and records of World War I Soldier Settlements.

Miss Keay’s penchant for overseas travel is legendary. In June this year, she will travel to Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and the United Kingdom, an excursion of 60 days.

The Graduate Council thanks Betty for her significant contribution The Graduate Union of The University of Melbourne and is proud to award her Honorary Life Membership.

Betty received her Certificate of Appreciation at the 2013 Chairman’s Cocktail party from immediate past Chair Justice Pagone, for her effort in organising the Bridge Group.

Betty received her Honorary Life Membership Certificate from Professor Rosenfeld (right) and Cr Kingsley Davis.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 15

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Associate Professor Harold Charles Richards AM We are saddened by the news that Associate Professor Harold Charles Richards AM passed away on 2nd June, 2014 at the age of 88 years. A Graduate Union Member since 2010, Professor Richards AM is the co-founder of Hardcastle & Richards Consulting Engineers.

The ‘graduate pathway’ story of he and Roy T Hardcastle AO, Life Members and business partners, was featured on page 26 of the July, 2013 issue of The Melbourne Graduate.

In November 1979, a bronze relief by renown artist Michael Meszaros, entitled Compression and Tension was presented to the Department of Civil Engineering to mark the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the partnership of Hardcastle & Richards.

Harold Richards accepted an honorary appointment as Associate Professor and later commented: “It was a great honour to be asked. It was one of the most important things that I have done helping intelligent people and having the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to them.” Over the years Harold and Roy have also been consistent donors to the School of Engineering. Harold has also donated to International House, while Roy is a former member of the University’s Committee of Convocation and a regular attendee at Heritage Society events. Theirs is a track record of outstanding contribution to the University on many levels. Their passion for the University and their industry is undiminished after many decades of service.

A tribute to the generosity of this extraordinary person was published in The University of Melbourne Annual Giving Update 2010 at http://www.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/giving/annual_giving_update/ annual_giving_update_2010.pdf Additional tributes for Professor Richards AM: Cherished husband, companion and friend of Joyce. Adored by his children Anthony, Margaret, Noel, Rosalie and Naomi. Loved, admired and respected by Christine, Chris, Janice, John, Joe and Michael and grandchildren Saffron and Trefor, William and Karla, Yolanda and Chris, Tom, Maggie and Eddie, Edward (dec), Rosalie, Vivienne and Kit, and great grandchildren Beatrix, Elizabeth (Elsie) and Lachie. A life lived to the full. http://tributes.theage.com.au Published 6th June, 2014 The Rotary Club of Carlton Our friend and founding President of the Rotary Club of Carlton, Harold, died at his home on the 2nd June, 2014 in the presence of his beloved wife Joyce. His passing was gentle with a loss of wellness over his later years but retaining the sense of wisdom he was remembered for, together with his love and concern for those around him. Harold’s leadership qualities were recognised by Rotary when he was asked to form the Rotary Club of Carlton, and when the Club was chartered in June 1985, he was elected Charter President.

Under his leadership the Club became known as the “friendly club” and continues to this day. Over time Harold’s guidance and commonsense has been a pervasive influence in all our major decisions.

His “service above self” will be greatly missed but long remembered. The Rotary Club of Carlton honours the memory of our respected Charter President as a man of integrity, who was the rock of our Club for 29 years. The Rotary Club of Carlton acknowledges his guidance, his calm common-sense and his exceptional “Service above Self”. Our condolences to his family and those close to him. http://tributes.theage.com.au December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 16

Published 10th June, 2014

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Mr Ralph Edward Skilbeck Mr Ralph Skilbeck was a regular attender at GU Collegiate functions, as well as a supporter and donor. He passed away peacefully in Knox Private Hospital on 23rd June 2014 at age 86 years, after a short illness.

Ralph will be remembered fondly. He was charming, generous and blessed with a sense of humour that was delivered with a dead pan face until the joke was delivered, whereupon his face would light up with a sunny grin! He attended many of the Music Sundays, and was always pleased to welcome the performers warmly and offer them refreshments following the performance. He was a regular also at Monthly Luncheons, Twilight Lectures, the Chairman’s Cocktail functions and the Members’ Christmas parties. Never afraid to take on the technology age, he was also a keen follower of the Information Technology Series that we convened here in 2012. The last function that Ralph attended at Graduate House was our annual general meeting and dinner on 29th May, 2014.

Mr Skilbeck attended (Melbourne High School), graduating (or exiting as this school records) in 1943, to then become an active member of Melbourne High School Old Boys’ Association, joining many and varied committees to assist with the organisation of their reunions and events.

Ralph joined the Australian Boys Choir back in 1939, as an eleven year old where he remained a chorister till 1944. Ralph’s son Mark was also a member of the Choir, becoming one of the first choristers who was a son of an ‘old boy’. Ralph attended the 70th Anniversary celebrations of the Choir in 2009.

Mr Skilbeck worked as a hospital administrator throughout his career, completing a course in Hospital Administration at the University of New South Wales in 1975 as an external student and with sponsorship from the then Victorian Hospital’s and Charities Commission. He is mentioned in several Annual Reports from this Commission as having attained outstanding results in each year of his enrolment. As he progressed through a number of senior hospital management roles in Melbourne, he contributed to mentoring and leadership programs for earlier career graduates through his membership of the Victoria Regional Group of the Australasian College of Health Service Management.

Ralph will be missed here at Graduate House. We shall remain grateful to have had the opportunity to be a small part of his full and joyful existence.

The following tribute to Ralph from this family, was published in The Age Newspaper: Passed away peacefully in Knox Private Hospital after a short illness.

Loved father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather of Catherine and Lou, Kate, Matt, Mason, Christopher, Abby, Layla, Maya, Joanne, John, Jamie-Lee, Britney, Millie, Ella; Helen and Alan, David, Grace, Ruby, Tom; Wendy and John; Mark and Libby, Jessica, Tom, Amelia, Lachlan, Michael; Michael and Jaslyn.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. http://tributes.theage.com.au Published 25th June, 2014

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 17

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Mr Leonard Joseph Coysh Mr Leonard Joseph Coysh died on the 11th June, 2014.

He will be greatly missed and remembered by our staff.

A Member of our Association of graduates since 2011, Mr Coysh was seen regularly at Graduate House with his business partners, David Logan and Keith Ryall, for meetings and executive recruitment interviews.

He was appointed as a Teaching Fellow at Monash University following his Master’s degree in the late 1960s, specialising in Industrial Relations and Economics.

Len and Toni married in 1967 while he was working at Monash. During this period he was a regular media commentator on federal and state government annual budgets and economic policies. He became a friend of Bob Hawke (Prime Minister of Australia, 1983-1991) through his interest in industrial relations when Bob presided over the Australian Council of Trade Unions in the 1970s.

In 1970, Len left academia to commence his career as a trade union official, joining the Australian Federation of Airline Pilots as its research officer and over the next 16 years rising to lead the Union as its Executive Director. In 1977, Len was elected to Brighton Council and remained a councillor for six years becoming Mayor for the 1982/1983 term. From 1979 to 1985, he headed up the industrial relations division of the Victorian Football League Players’ Association. Mr Coysh was recruited to Ansett in 1988

by Sir Peter Abeles to work as a senior human resource and industrial relations executive. By 1995, he had joined Slade Partners, an executive recruitment firm where he worked until 2006. In 1999, Len and his son Jarrod purchased a farm at Whitehead’s Creek in North Central Victoria which became an important part of family life for the extended Coysh family. From 2010 to 2013, he was founding director of the successful Coysh Logan Ryall Health Services Executive Search firm with co-directors David Logan and Keith Ryall.

Len graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from The University of Melbourne in 1965 and with a Master of Economics degree from Monash University in 1969. He was a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club and a keen supporter of the Bombers (also known as Essendon Football Club).

Additional tributes for Mr Len Coysh: COYSH Leonard Joseph 17.11.1943 - 11.6.2014 Passed away suddenly surrounded by his beloved wife Toni, and his children Jarrod, Michelle and Lisa-Marie. Adoring Pa to Hugh, Imogen, Liam, Aidan, Declan, Finlay and Holly. Loving father-in-law to Jackie, Mark, John and Rod. Brother of Joan. Rest in Peace. http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au Published 13th June, 2014 COYSH. Len. Farewell to an authentic and unique friend, through both good and challenging times. Len you are a legend who will be sadly missed. Our deepest sympathies to Toni, Jarrod, Michelle, Lisa-Marie and families. Keith Ryall and Gabrielle Butler. http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au Published 14th June, 2014 COYSH. Leonard. Len was one of life’s real characters who made a significant contribution to our company over 10 years. His “warts and all” approach be missed. All at Slade Partners. Condolences to the family. http://tributes.heraldsun.com.au Published 14th June, 2014

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 18

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Dr Eva Gizella Eden AM The Graduate Union extends deepest condolences to the family of Dr Eva Gizella Eden AM who passed away on the 7th July, 2014. The following is an excerpt from Eva’s obituary which was published in the 14th July, 2014 edition of The Age Newspaper.

Eva Eden will be remembered as a gifted scientist and educational administrator who devoted much of her life to public service. In 1964 she attained her preeminent appointment as Principal of Janet Clarke Hall within The University of Melbourne, guiding the College through two decades of unparalleled change.

She was born in Hungary but moved to England in 1938 where she entered the University of Cambridge on an Agricultural Research Council Grant. She received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D from that university between 1946 and 1950. Cambridge offered Eva her further experience of residential life as a student of Girton College.

In 1951, Eva immigrated to Australia to accept a lectureship in Biochemistry at The University of Sydney. She taught in various departments including Science, Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Agricultural Science and Pharmacy, and became a Fulbright Scholar at The University of Rochester in 1957. From 1958 to 1963, Eva was Vice-Principal of the Women’s College in Sydney and Warden of St Catherine’s College in Western Australia before moving to Melbourne to take up the Principalship of Janet Clarke Hall, a position she held for 21 years.

Eva’s years of College leadership were balanced by voluntary service to a range of educational bodies including Firbank Grammar, Toorak College and as Chairman of the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. She was President of the peak body of Australian Residential Colleges and the Australian College of Educators, and served on The Melbourne University Council from 1972 to 1975. Eva was Victorian President of the Australian Federation of University Women and Chairman of the Women in Management Group at the Australian Institute of Management. In 1975, the State Government appointed her to Chair the Victorian Status of Women Committee, leading to Victoria’s first Equal Opportunity Legislation.

Eva was a deeply private person. Wishing to define herself in terms of ability rather than gender, she was a Soroptimist, a member of the global organisation that aims to offer women and girls social and economic empowerment. She had the gift of synaesthesia, seeing words and numbers in colour. She took immense pleasure in later life from her association with The Melbourne University alumni walking group, on which she served as Secretary and Treasurer. In 1986, The University of Melbourne recognised Eva’s contribution to education with the Doctor of Laws honoris causa. The citation notes the respect in which she was held ‘in bodies concerned with educational policies and standards’. It praised ‘that thorough acquaintance with the facts and a sharpness of perception of the issues at stake in all that she undertakes, qualities which have made her a valued colleague and leader in many enterprises’. That same year she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to education.

Despite this extraordinary list of attainments, it was for her service as Principal of Janet Clarke Hall that Eva will be best remembered. Eva Eden was nationally prominent in an age in which women were typically underrepresented in senior leadership positions. A serious scholar and gifted administrator, she was a loving servant to education, and to Janet Clarke Hall.

Olive Hamilton (Life Member of The Graduate Union) and Dr Damian Powell (Principal of Janet Clarke Hall)

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 19

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Dr Bertram Sutherland Vanrenen We were informed of the death of Dr Bertram Vanrenen on the 6th July, 2014 (aged 93 years) by his son, Alan Vanrenen. The following has been collated from a tribute written by Alan for The University of Melbourne alumni obituary pages and from a submission made by Dr Vanrenen to the Productivity Commission entitled “Australia’s Health Workforce”.

Born in on the 6th November, 1920 in Essendon to Henry Baumgard Vanrenan and Winifred Vanrenen (née Sutherland), Bertram was the third of four brothers (Henry, 1913-1988; Adrian, 1915-1968; and Donald, 19241992). All brothers attended schools in St Arnaud (a regional Victorian town to the north-west of Melbourne) before becoming boarders at Geelong College to complete their secondary school education.

Having enrolled in Medicine pre war, ‘Bert’ enlisted in the army as a student and when a resident at Ormond College. A member of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps from 1942 to 1946, he undertook active service in the 2/8th Commando Squadron as a Regimental Aid Post (Medical Centre) Corporal and ‘fully trained jungle fighter’ in New Guinea and Bougainville from 1943 to 1946. Notwithstanding post war effects on his health, Bertram re-commenced his studies under the World War Two Rehabilitation Graduate Scheme, successfully graduating in 1951 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

Dr Bertram followed the footsteps of his uncle, the well-known Dr Bertram Milne Sutherland; while his three brothers continued in Agriculture in Victoria. Bertram worked as an ‘Aussie General Practitioner from 1951 till about 1974’ in his own words. He then describes himself as ‘little more than a Community Family Physician’ and ‘a pseudo Employee indirectly of the Commonwealth Government’s Health Department!(HIC)’ Bert was a proud and traditional general practitioner who made family medicine his life’s work. He firmly believed in early diagnosis and preventative medicine and was a firm advocate for early intervention and public health. Particularly following his retirement in 2002, he was also a strong advocate for appropriate pay, terms and conditions, and facilities for Australian family physicians and general practitioners.

In correspondence to a previous Premier of Victoria, Sir Henry Bolte, some decades ago, Ila describes her husband as “ ... that gentle man whose only concern is the health and welfare of his patients.”

The following tribute to Dr Vanrenen from this family, was published in The Age Newspaper: Dr Bertram Sutherland, VANRENEN (6.11.1920 - 6.7.2014) Passed away peacefully at The Gables.

Beloved husband of Ila. Loving father of Alan, Louise and Annabel. Father-in-law to Christine, Troy and Tony. Grandfather to Sally, Amy, Lucy, Chris, Jamie, Vikki, Kate and Alex. He served our country in World War 2, 2/8 Commando COY. Looked after our families for over 50 years in General Practice. Mentor to those who chose Medicine as a career. Rest in Peace as you join your brothers in heaven. http://tributes.theage.com.au

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 20

Published 10th July, 2014

The Melbourne Graduate Valete Dr Robert (Bob) William Gibson Dr Robert William Gibson died on the 28th July, 2014 at the age of 83 years.

Bob joined as a Member of The Graduate Union in 1961 and was elected to the Graduate Council (The Graduate Union’s governing body) in 1996.

His longstanding contribution and dedication to The Graduate Union was recognised through the conferring of an Honorary Life Membership in 2006. He remained on Council for sixteen years until 2012, holding the position of Vice-President from 1999 to 2011.

Dr Gibson was awarded a prestigious life membership of the AFAANZ (Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand) at the AFAANZ annual conference in Sydney in July, 2008 for his exceptional contribution to accounting education and research in Australia. He served on the Board of AFAANZ from 1972 to 1975, and as President of AAANZ (Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand) from 1973 to 1974, the first President of the Association to be appointed from a College of Advanced Education. He served also on the AHSIG (Accounting History Special Interest Group), both as Chairman and as an academic leader, and also as co-editor with Barrie O’Keefe of the Accounting History Newsletter.

A selection of the contributions which appeared in the Accounting History Newsletter under Dr Gibson’s co-editorship and in the initial series of Accounting History during his editorship were reproduced in an anthology, that was published in 1996 in his honour entitled Accounting History Newsletter, 1980 - 1989 and Accounting History, 1989 - 1994: A Tribute to Robert William Gibson.

A prolific author in accounting and financial reporting, Dr Gibson’s works included: The Case for Interim Reports by Australian Public Companies: An Account and Analysis of a Press Dialogue, Department of Accounting, The University of Melbourne (1965); The Valuation of Stock and Its Significance in Accounting, University of Melbourne Extension Committee (1966); Disclosure by Australian companies, Melbourne University Press (1971); Accounting for Monetary Items Under CCA, Deakin University (1980); and Two Centuries of Australian Accountants, Academy of Accounting Historians (1988).

Dr Gibson held a Master of Commerce and a doctorate. He was a lecturer at The University of Melbourne and on staff at the Gordon Institute of Technology before this became the Geelong campus of Deakin University whereby he became employed in the School of Management and rose to the position of Associate Professor. He established his legacy at this campus through the Robert W Gibson Prizes for the best students in the Accounting and Society and the Financial Modelling courses.

Robert worked tirelessly for his family and his local community. He was a member of the Christian College Geelong Board and Chairman of the College Finance Committee for 22 years. A longstanding member of the Freemasons, he was Treasurer for 20 years of the Acacia Lodge of Geelong and for 25 years of the Geelong United Mark Master Masons, as well as the organist of the Geelong Royal Ark Mariner Lodge and Auditor of the Geelong Masonic Centre Inc. and the Uniting Church.

The following tribute to Dr Gibson from this family, was published in The Age Newspaper: GIBSON, Robert William. Aged 83 years. A peaceful passage earlier than expected. Partner to Wendy for 60 years. Father of Keryn (dec), Malcolm, Catriona, Heather and Duncan and their partners, Ross, Marie, Ross, Colin and Frances. Proud Grandfather of Andrew, William, Matilda (dec), James, Genevieve, Cameron, Liam, Kieran, Indigo and Campbell. A man of integrity and faith, with a passion for justice and a brilliant mind. http://tributes.theage.com.au Published 30th July, 2014

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 21

The Melbourne Graduate Valete We extend condolences to the family and friends of Life Members deceased.

The year of joining The Graduate Union is indicated.

Mr John Russell Baxter, 1958 Mr Paul Baxter, 2005 Mrs Ida Margaret Benson, 1974 Professor Eric Hewstone Carman, 1980 Mrs Anne Cassidy, 1984 Mr Laurence Samuel Denton, 1954 Miss Margaret Edmondson, 1977 Miss Betty Rosina Elliott, 1962 Dr Susan Esdaile, 1965 Mr Norman William Gamble, 1950 Mr John Arthur Go odwin, 1957 Mr Gordon Franklin Hattam, 1975 Mr Brian Bernard Joseph Hoy, 1950 Mrs Elin Johnston, 1981 Mr Peter Roland Kenley, 1949 Mr Bruce Harold Lawson, 1975 Mr John Alexander Macdonald, 1950 Mrs Marjorie Jean Murphy, 1955 Mr Hugh Thomson Rogers, 1959 Mr Henry Joseph Rosengren, 1951 Mr John Ferguson Ross, 1962 Dr Geoffrey William Sinclair , 1973 The Reverend Julian Roy Slatterie, 1963 Mr Brian John Talbot, 1953 Professor Emeritus Evan James Williams, 1964

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 22

The Melbourne Graduate Membership New Members We extend a warm welcome to new Members of the Association.

Life Subscriber Members

Members

Mr Andrew Eric Clarkson

Assoc Professor Jeremy John Hammond

Dr Sharon Lierse

Mr Robert Heaton

Mr John Murphy

Mr Peter Thomas Hogan

Dr George Morstyn

Professor Brian Howe

Ms Kim Starkey

Ms Kathryn Beverly Jenkins Ms Mary Kane

Representative Members

Dr Eugenie Kayak

Arts Access Victoria

Ms Nilufar Khundakar

The Australian Market and Social Research Society

Mr Zefan Liu

The Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program

Mr Patrick Gerard Love Mr Mark Lucas

The Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Spatial Information

Mr Fausto Marasco

Human Resources, The University of Melbourne

Mr Vincent John Mirabelli

The Leukaemia Foundation

Members Mr Koray Akkaya Mr Ming Yu Chia Mr John Chu Mr Philip Cormie Mr David Cowie Dr Mary Rossanna Downie Mr Tonnou Ghothane Dr Brendan Grabau Ms Roberta Grant Mr Ben Green

Justice Chris Maxwell Mr Stephen Polesel Mr John Price Dr Nola Rushford Mr John Gillyatt Shaw Mrs Dorothy Skewes Dr Patricia G Smith Dr Massoud Sofi Mr Jim Sonnemann Mr William James Stewart Mr Paul Robert Tyrer Mr Peter John Wetherall Professor Marcus Wigan Mrs Elizabeth Williams

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 23

The Melbourne Graduate Membership Resident Members Ms Hawra Abdul Abbas

Ms Trassanee Chatmethakul

Mr Igor Gontcharov

Mr Daniel Abell

Ms Chiao-Ju Chen

Mr Jedrzej Gorski

Dr Farrah Ahmed

Mr Jing Dong Chen

Miss Ashley Gray

Mr David Alchin

Mr George Cheng

Miss Charlene Greenwood

Ms Zeinab Al-Jasim

Mrs Jin Chun

Dr Christoph Grohmann

Mr David Allinson

Ms Sophie Clark

Mr Russell Guckert

Dr Mohammed Al-Omary

Ms Stacey Coenders

Ms Veena Gullipalli

Professor Samantha Amar

Mr Pasquale Comberiati

Dr Katharine Gupta

Ms Enakshi Ambani

Professor Pedro Crous

Dr Shweta Gupta

Mr David Angdi

Ms Joanna Cull

Dr Line Hagner Nielsen

Mr Johanan Aow

Ms Elizabeth Dale

Dr Mohamed Hagras

Mr Abraham Arief

Mr Heshan Dantanarayana

Mr Jonathan Hall

Ms Shruti Arya

Mr Nima Davari Farid

Mr Derek Hammon

Dr Muhemmed Ashraf Arain

Mr Paul Dickin

Mr Florian Hanke

Ms Genevieve Auld

Ms Maria Dijkstra

Mr Yaoqin He

Mrs Anja Bauer

Ms Karina Djoenaedi

Mr Daniel Heath

Dr Abdel Ali Belaidi

Mr Masakazu Doi

Ms Claire Heffernan

Ms Celine Berni

Mr Jakub Dvorsky

Professor Remko Helms

Professor Zilfali Bin Alwi

Ms Claudine Evans

Mr Albert Herrero

Mr Abdulah H F Bin Hashim

Ms Chunxiang Fan

Mr Harry Holland

Dr Michael Bird

Mr Xacobe Fernandez Garcia

Mr Ryotaro Horii

Ms Natalia Bliznina

Ms Claude Fertin

Mr Bram Hunnekens

Prof Timo Boppart

Mr Nicholas Fisk

Dr Shaik Hussein

Miss Liliana Bray

Ms Becky Focht

Mr Napolean Imperial

Ms Cynthia Brown

Ms Claude Fortin

Mr Stuart Irvine

Dr Ruth Buchanan

Ms Aida Garcia Rodriguez

Ms Angela James

Dr John Campbell

Mrs Sabine Gietzen

Ms Cheryln James Ayadory

Dr Iris Chan

Mrs Samantha Gillard

Ms Iltija Javed

Mr Julian Charry

Dr Stefano Givlieri

Ms Yuping Jia

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 24

The Melbourne Graduate Membership Resident Members Ms Hanin Jildeh

Ms Cara Maritz

Mr Samuel Parker

Dr Henry Jones

Ms Kristina Markova

Ms Renee Pasqualino

Dr Amna Kamal

Mr Alan Masa

Dr Dilan Patel

Mrs Baljit Kaur

Ms Colleen Matthews

Ms Catharine Pearce

Ms Sarah Kavanagh

Mr Christopher McEwan

Ms Kate Pedersen

Dr Michael Kearney

Mr Alexander McFayden

Professor Stephen Peterson

Dr Erfan Khondoker

Mr Daniel McNaughtan

Dr Anthony Pickering

Dr Steven Kim

Mr Kunal Mehta

Dr Joana Pinheiro

Dr Florence Kok

Mrs Dalila Meziani

Dr Alana Piper

Dr Junko Kosaka

Ms Tamara Milder

Ms Alice Pirlot

Dr Johan Koskinen

Mr Andrew Milne

Ms Margaret Pope

Professor Dino Kritsiotis

Ms Patricia Miranda

Dr Min Qi

Mr Daniel Kruse

Mr Fahad Mirza

Mr James Roach

Ms Chinouk Lambrechts

Mr Mahmoud Mohamed

Miss Nicole Robb

Mr Jong Jin Lee

Mr Moritz Nazarenus

Mrs Anna Ryan

Ms Clara Lienicke

Professor Dragan Nesic

Dr Ayesha Salim

Mr Gerrit Lindeque

Ms Janice Ng

Ms Alexia Sandano

Mr Donzheng Liu

Dr Viet Nguyen

Ms Ikroop Sandhu

Ms Qin Liu

Mr Cong Minh Vu Nguyen

Professor Dheeraj Sanghi

Mr Lance Lochner

Dr Chau Kim Nguyen

Ms Tessa Satherley

Professor John Lowe

Professor Lindsay Oades

Ms Arunadevi Sathiaseelan

Professor Yi Lu

Mr Gareth Ogilvie

Mr Ayato Sawa

Ms Stephanie Lui

Dr Babatunde Ogunfowora

Mr Sangram Sawant

Dr Craig Lundy

Dr Christian Ollivier

Ms Roberta Scarpone

Mr Patrick MacDevitt

Mr Christian Olsen

Ms Maria Schoberl

Mr Dean Magee

Professor Francisco OluchaBordonau

Miss Bernadette Scutella

Mrs Andreanne Malacket Mr Imran Malik Mr David March

Ms Khin Htwee Oo

Miss Saba Shaffakat Dr Reza Shahmohammadi

Dr Mark Oxley Mr Denis Isaias Padilla Ortiz

Ms Aruna Shanmugham

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 25

The Melbourne Graduate Membership Resident Members Ms Shirley Shao

Dr Jonathan Tran

Mr Michael Williams

Ms Diksha Sharma

Professor John Trowsdale

Dr Nicholas Witte

Mrs Upasana Sharma

Dr Manan Vaishnav

Ms Wakiuru Wohoro

Mr Chuan Shi

Ms Annelies Van De Ven

Mr Jia Jun Woo

Ms Jenny Shing

Ms Kathy Van Oevelen

Ms Sandy Yang

Miss Parisa Shiran

Mr Willem Van Onsem

Mr Andrew Yeap

Dr Guy Sinclair

Professor Fabia Vecoso

Mr Jason Yong

Mr Manpreet Singh

Mr Marco Velasques Ruiz

Miss Jingyao Yu

Dr Pallavi Sinha

Mr Ramesh Velpula

Mr Will Yue

Dr Stuart So

Mrs Helga Wagner

Mr Chen Zhao

Dr Mohammad Sohail

Mrs Elizabeth Wallace

Ms Emma Zheng

Mr Mark Staker

Mr Jesper Wallin

Mr Zhihong Zheng

Ms Andreia Tarelho

Mr Mark Warren

Ms Marissa Zwan

Mr Jean-Philippe Tetienne

Ms Tamara Watson

Miss Michelle Tie

Mr Colin White

Order of Australia Recipients The Honourable Dr Barry Owen Jones, AO

for eminent service to the community as a leading intellectual in Australian public life, through contributions to scientific, heritage, musical, medical, political and public health organisations, and to the Australian Parliament.

Dr James Allan Mawdsley

for service to community health.

Dr Andrew David Pattison

for services to medicine as a general practitioner.

Dr Gary Raymond Speck

for significant service to medicine as an orthopaedic surgeon, and to professional organisations.

Professor Jennifer Kay Zimmer

for significant service to the visual arts as an administrator, academic and publisher.

Ms Evelyn Margaret Field

for service to the community, particularly through anti-school and workplace bullying initiatives.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 26

The Melbourne Graduate Donations We thank the following benefactors for their generous donations.

Mr Stanton Charles Archer

Mrs Anne Mulholland

Dr Thomas C. K. Brown

Mr David McFarlane

Miss Elizabeth Mary Butt

Mr Edward William Muntz

Mr Leonard Harold Bailey

Mrs Mary Margaret Maslen

Mr John Edward Brearley

Mrs Florence Massen

Mr Douglas Albert Bro oke

Mr Edward John Miller

Mr Albert Leslie Campain

Mr Richard William Manuell

Dr Cecily Edith Close

Mr Kenneth C Mawson OAM

Ms Elizabeth Carvosso

Dr Clarence John Kendall Pawsey

Mrs Diana Mary Cherry

Mr John Price

Dr John Crutchfield

The Carlton Rotary Club

Mrs Margaret Anne Dean

Professor Richard Fairfax Southby

Dr Mary Downie

Ms Tessa Satherley

Miss Joan Forrest Eltham

Mrs Elizabeth Irma Sevior

Mr Kurt H Eppinger

Ms Bethia Campbell Stevenson

Mr John Elligate

Dr Bernadette Taylor

Mr Frank Ford

Dr Geoffrey Norman Vaughan AO

Dr Frances Geraldine Galvin

Mr Brian Royston Webb

Dr James Stuart Guest

Dr Ben Macmahon Wadham

Miss Beryl Ida Green

Mr Danny Zou

Mr Charles Harkin

Mrs Elizabeth Shaw Wright

Red Horse Mr Harry Holland Rear Admiral Anthony Lancaster Hunt Ms Mary Roseann Kelleher Miss Betty Joan Cathles Keay

Thank you to those who contributed to our Donations Box and to others who have donated and preferred to remain anonymous.

Mr Brian Eric Krahnert

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 27

The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Margaret Anne Dean, Life Member 1959 Margaret Anne Dean was born in the coastal town of Minehead in Somerset, England in 1929. She grew up in Somerset and attended five different primary schools before settling (a few weeks after the beginning of World War II) into eight years of secondary education. Her tertiary education was at Bristol University where she gained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in French and Latin. She then gained a Diploma of Education and spent the following year at Bordeaux University as a lectrice, a parttime position where she was mainly responsible for translation and conversation classes. Margaret returned to Bristol for another year before becoming a teacher of French and Latin at Nonsuch High School for Girls in Surrey, south of London.

After three years teaching, Margaret tossed up whether to use her savings Margaret at the 2011 Centenary to buy a car or to spend a year in New Zealand. While still at Bristol, she celebration of The Graduate Union. had become good friends with a New Zealand colleague who, on her return home, had been appointed to a lectureship in French at Canterbury University College, Christchurch (now Canterbury University). New Zealand won and Margaret wrote to her friend to enquire about the possibility of teaching posts in Christchurch. Shortly after, she was surprised and delighted to receive a letter from the Professor of Modern Languages offering her a position as a temporary assistant lecturer for 1967. University appointments could be rather more informal in those days!

At that time, travelling to and from the Antipodes was overwhelmingly by ship (an airfare cost about the same as first class by sea). Margaret booked a passage on the P&O SS Iberia and went off to spend three weeks in Paris to polish up her accent and to fulfil a request for up-to-date teaching materials. It was while having breakfast after attending an early service in the Anglican Church, that she discovered one of the group was also booked on the Iberia. His name was Stan Dean, a mechanical engineering graduate and he was returning home after seven years in Europe.

The Suez crisis entailed a voyage via the South African route and they both disembarked at Melbourne, but having seen little of each other as Stan, having booked in late, could only get a passage in first class.

Margaret travelled on via Sydney and an unpleasant crossing of the Tasman Sea to New Zealand and started work at Canterbury College. She and Stan began to correspond and a year later, when she flew to Melbourne for Christmas, they became engaged. At that point, they calculated they had spent just twentyfour hours together, an unusual basis for an enduring marriage! With a passage via Panama already booked, Margaret returned to England for a few hectic weeks before re-embarking for Melbourne, this time via Suez.

Stan and Margaret were married at Christ Church, North Essendon in May 1958 and settled in Parkville - not regarded as a respectable suburb at that time but it proved welcoming and interesting. Margaret joined Stan as a Life Member of The Graduate Union soon after their marriage. She remembers the first Wednesday luncheons when they were held at the Victoria Hotel in the city. There was a strict 2.00pm finish so that working Members could return to their jobs on time. With the local greengrocer as mediator and go-between, Margaret soon had a job teaching French daily to the recently retired local garage owner until the birth of Margaret and Stan’s first son. In the following years, three more sons and a daughter completed the family.

December 2014 Volume 67 No. 2 Page 28

Margaret and Stan Dean at the David Hamer dinner in May 1995.

The Melbourne Graduate Our Members

Stan became more closely involved with Parkville when, with some neighbours, he persuaded the Melbourne City Council to plant kerb grass and later trees on a large part of the wide asphalted area of Ievers Reserve that separated the rear fences of two streets. It was fast becoming a defacto hospital carpark. This created a safe play area for children and a congenial place for street parties. Many years later, a seat would be placed under the trees to commemorate Stan’s contribution to Parkville.

The years 1967 till 1970 were dominated by two major attempts by the Hospitals and Charities Commission to demolish large areas of Parkville in order to relocate University High school and then use its land for the expansion of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The immediate reaction was the formation of the Parkville Association, of which Stan was co-founder and first President for 12 years. The battles were finally won, but not before they reached State Government level. In order to discourage further attempts, the Association decided to prepare a submission to the National Trust to classify the area. This submission was accepted and so South Parkville became the first urban area in Australia to receive National Trust classification. The submission was later edited

by Hilary Lewis and published by the Association as a hardback (Lewis, Hillary, South Parkville, 2nd edition, 1996) available at the Parkville Post Office.

When her youngest child, Annette, was seven years old, Margaret rejoined the workforce parttime as an emergency teacher at Moreland High School for two years. Not finding emergency teaching a satisfying career and believing that teaching French in local high schools was not sensible, since most of the students had a migrant background and many spoke another language at home, Margaret decided to retrain. The choice was between a Graduate Diploma in Teacher Librarianship and English as a second language.

By the time she applied, only the librarianship course was available, but then she was fortunate enough to secure a position as a Teacher Librarian in charge of the fledging AMES (Adult Migrant Education Services) library, thus fulfilling both her interests.

The above article is a tribute by Life Member Mr Ralph de la Lande (now deceased) in the November 2003 Melbourne Graduate. Both Ralph and Stan graduated with Electrical Engineering degrees from The University of Melbourne in 1949.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Margaret held the position for thirteen years until her retirement at the end of 1990. During that time, the library grew from a small collection of mainly classroom teaching materials to include a teachers’ reference collection and a student borrowing collection; from two staff members to six full-time and a variable number of part-time library aides to service the evening and Saturday morning classes; and the establishment and oversight of the three small satellite libraries in the migrant hostel to service their English Language programs. Margaret encouraged all the staff to see themselves as part of the teaching program by interacting with students and so giving them more opportunity to practise their English conversation skills.

In 1980, Stan took long service leave and Margaret got spouse leave and they set off with their two youngest children, Tim and Annette, to fulfil a long held intention to study Italian in Italy. The destination was Florence and that proved to be a wonderful choice. The adult language school, prior to their arrival, had arranged accommodation for the family within walking distance of the Scuola Media Gramsci. The middle school, unlike most Italian schools which finish at 1.00pm, provided a three course lunch at minimal cost for its students and afternoon classes until 4.00pm. This allowed Stan and Margaret to participate in afternoon activities at their school and time to explore Florence after lunch in a friendly local trattoria. On their return to Melbourne they recounted their experiences at a Wednesday luncheon.

Margaret and Stan both enjoyed travel. Their first trip together overseas was with four small boys under ten, to spend Christmas 1967 with Margaret’s family. It became a six-week round the world journey. Apart from the family celebrations, the highlight was three days in Communist Moscow where it was so cold, (-30 degrees), that even the Russians were complaining! They usually travelled for three months at a time, mostly to Europe where they crisscrossed by train. Their most memorable rail expedition was three weeks from Ostend to Hong Kong via the Nordic countries (including a side trip to Narvik to see the midnight sun), St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the Trans-Siberian railway to Irkutsk, Siberia. From there, they headed south to Ulan Bator where the Mongolian national games, horse riding and wrestling were in progress, then on to Beijing and thirty-six hours to Guangzhou and the last stop before Hong Kong and the flight home.

After retiring, Margaret soon became involved with TADVIC (recently renamed Solve Disability Solutions), as an office volunteer. Stan was already a technical volunteer and brand member. More than twenty years later, she still goes on most Fridays to do filing, stuff envelopes, proof reading and act as an unofficial consultant on grammar and punctuation. She has continued her interest in languages by studying Ancient Greek at The University of Melbourne for two and the half years and then, ten years later, New Testament Greek. She joined the committee of the Parkville Association and became Treasurer in 1996, a post she still holds.

For both Stan and Margaret, a most important part of their lives has been membership of the Canterbury Fellowship, a non-parochial Anglican congregation that worships every Sunday at Trinity College chapel. In 2002, Stan was diagnosed with the asbestos caused cancer, Mesotheliama and died a year later. Margaret decided, with the support of her children, to stay in the family home in the suburb where they had lived for forty-five years and where so many of the neighbours are old friends. She still enjoys coming regularly to The Graduate Union functions, most often for the first Wednesday Luncheons, but nowadays, instead of walking, she uses the red electric scooter, originally acquired to keep Stan independently mobile for a little longer. You may see it parked at the front entrance foyer of The Graduate Union.

Stan Dean is well remembered for his considerable contribution as a Life Member and Chairman of the Graduate Council from 1979-1981.

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Margaret Dean on her red electric scooter parking in the entrance to Graduate House.

The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Yos William, Resident Member 2006 Hi, my name is Yos William, an international purchasing professional, and owner and founder of a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) web design business called Project Optima (www.projectoptima.com). I grew up in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta, one of the largest and most populated metropolitan regions in the world. This lovely, formerly Dutch city I call home still houses many buildings of historic significance and beauty, and the region has seen explosive growth to nearly thirteen million inhabitants today.

After securing my Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at The University of Pelita Harapan in Jakarta, Indonesia, I moved to Australia in 2006. I was inspired by some friends who recommended Melbourne as a great place to live and study. I secured a Master’s degree in Business and Information Technology at The University of Melbourne in 2007. During my time at university, I stayed at Graduate House and made many friends. This unique residential college is a very friendly place and lends itself to camaraderie and the forging of great friendships. Since most of us came on our own to Melbourne, friends became more like family and when the time came, I did not really want to leave! Alas, I did leave my friends. However, I still keep in touch and meet up with some of them who still live in Melbourne.

As a professional, I began my career in 2009 as a Manufacturing Resource Officer at a company called PPDS (Pet Products Development and Services). The company is located in Campbellfield, and is a Hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certified leading manufacturer. PDDS produces pet treats and supplies the products, such as Schmackos, to MARS Petcare and supermarket chains including Woolworths, Coles and IGA. After a couple of years in the pet product industry, I moved on to Shamrock Craft in Blackburn North in October, 2010 where I worked as a purchasing coordinator. One of the leading craft wholesalers in Australia, Shamrock Craft has been operating for more than thirty years. The company imports and distributes craft products mainly to educational markets and major chain retailers such as Spotlight, Lincraft, Aldi,

Me, on the left, with some of Graduate House ex-residents in November 2013.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Bunnings, Big W and the Reject Shop. I must say the role was really interesting since I had to deal with forty overseas suppliers including many in China, Taiwan, the USA, Germany, Philippines, Thailand and India, as well as with another forty which were based locally. There were about 8000 SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) to maintain. Making sure that these arrived on time with the right quantities was challenging and fun at the same time. This was mainly because there were only two of us in the purchasing and planning department!

In early 2014, I felt a calling to pursue a different ambition - owning and running my own company. Being well versed in both web design and search engine optimisation, I decided to forge ahead and found Project Optima along with my partner. This organisation offers a variety of services from website design, redesign and traffic-driving for new or existing websites. These efforts help to drive traffic to sites and increase rankings in search engine results. As its name implies, Project Optima helps to optimise websites for its clients to increase results and drive sales.

Apart from my professional endeavors, I have also been actively engaged in the community where I work and reside. An avid volunteer, I support a number of community activities such as the Buddha Day Festival (2012-2014), the Melbourne Jazz Festival (2008) and the Conservation Volunteers for Melbourne Wildlife Sanctuary (2007). A food enthusiast, I also love trying out new restaurants and frequent many of my favorite eating establishments regularly. In addition, I count myself a big Arsenal Football Club fan and I enjoy catching as many Premier League games as I can.

John Hasker AM, Life Member 1961 My wife Jenny and I were fortunate to be invited to visit Luang Prabang in Laos. This is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage listed town on the Great Mekong River. Our hosts were Melbourne based philanthropists Peter and Liz Cooper who are active in supporting the education and housing of rural based Laotian children with the aim of increasing their likelihood of ultimately receiving a University education.

Luang Prabang is the third biggest town in Laos. It was once the royal capital and seat of government of Laos until the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975. Luang Prabang is three hundred kilometres north of the current capital of Vientiane and has a population of around fifty thousand people. The airport has a modern, recently constructed terminal and we noticed planes from Air Vietnam, Laotian Air and our carrier, Bangkok Air. The Coopers had made many trips there and had arranged accommodation for us all in the picturesque and very comfortable Mekong Estate overlooking the Mekong River. Additionally they had set up lots of interesting activities which included bookings at a number of local restaurants, day and night visits to the market, a half day boat trip on the busy Mekong River and time with the group of youths they had been assisting in their accommodation centre.

Having the right currency was not so easy. An entry visa was a necessity and this could be purchased at the airport on arrival.

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John and Jenny Hasker in front of the ‘Tuk-tuk’ taxi, which is a three-wheeler auto trishaw commonly used for public transportation in Laos.

The Melbourne Graduate Our Members The cost was thirty-two US dollars and this had to be paid for in pristine US dollars. The local currency was the Kip and this was challenging. As we found out, it was probably not essential to obtain local money as everybody seemed keen to accept either US dollars or Thai Baht. There were, however, plenty of automatic teller machines (ATMs) to gobble up our Australian dollars. To get a rough idea, you get a breathtaking eight thousand Lao Kip to one Australian dollar. This requires intense concentration at the ATM to get the decimal point right. This was all very well but I have found no one since who will change our Kips back into Dollars.

The Laos countryside was a tropical rainforest. The temperature was forty-three degrees when we arrived but it did go down and we found it all very manageable. There was a world class premier golf course carved out of the jungle with its hills and valleys overlooking the Mekong River. We were told the course had been built by the Koreans but was now owned by the Chinese.

Our first day featured a walk up a large steep hill on which sits Wat Chom Si, one of the most sacred places in Luang Prabang.

This vantage point gave us great overview of the UNESCO heritage listed town and its location where the Nam Khan river runs into the Mekong River.

At a day market in Laos. Day and night markets are very popular here.

Our next stop was the museum which was once the royal residence. A half day boat trip along the Mekong River occupied the morning of the following day. It was fascinating to watch the fisherman working and the boat traffic up and down the river and we were further spoilt by the fantastic river views from our accommodation. In the early evening of each day, we could see the Buddhist monks brightly clad in their orange robes bathing in the river. The monks were in fact a major tourist attraction with each day at dawn where they paraded in their hundreds for the morning alms round.

Getting up that early was a test but we made it. This is a Buddhist tradition for the people of Luang Prabang. However there are now strong protocols on behaviour of tourists and that the sticky rice that you need to offer into their alms bowls must be purchased from the local market.

All our meals were excellent. This may well reflect the historic influence of the French cuisine coupled with the local knowledge of the Coopers. One restaurant was aptly named L’Elephant.

John and Jenny at a local resident village.

It was a memorable experience and we were grateful that we had the opportunity to visit this heritage listed town in Laos. Our thanks to the Coopers for their kind invitation and for looking after us so well.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members John Robert Irwin, Life Member 1968 John Irwin graduated from The University of Melbourne with a Master of Engineering Science degree in 1969. After graduation, he decided to embark overseas to obtain a Master of Business degree, with the intention of returning to Australia after one or two years. John worked at KerrMcGee Corporation in the early 1970s and subsequently left the office job to work in the field and learn the drilling business firsthand.

It has been 45 years since he made that journey and he has yet to reside back in Australia. He has, however moved on and pursued a remarkable career in the field of offshore drilling.

In the early days of his career, John acknowledged the importance of understanding all aspects of the offshore oil and gas drilling industry in order to build a successful business.

As President and CEO of the international drilling contractor Atwood Oceanics Inc., he played a significant role during his seventeen years of leadership in establishing the company and having it listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He joined Atwood in 1979 and retired in 2010 having served in various executive positions since 1980. Under John’s John Irwin leadership, Atwood Oceanics Inc. received recognition as number two on the “All Star List” of Fortune 100 FastestGrowing US Companies. Among John’s achievement is Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” in recognition of his work in Energy for Houston and the US Gulf Coast and being named “best of the best”

by Texas CEO magazine.

Throughout the span of his career, he has lived and worked in all corners of the globe, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar, Nigeria and Brazil. Prior to joining Atwood, he was employed in US and international management positions by Oklahoma based Kerr-McGee Corporation and its subsidiaries. He has served as chairman and a director of the International Association of Drilling Contractors and as a director of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, and is currently a director of The University of Melbourne USA Foundation. Mr Irwin is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. John has been an independent director of McCoy Corporation and of Inotec Coatings and Hydraulics, Inc. since July 2012.

John credits The University of Melbourne for his success, describing his tertiary years as life-changing and offering extraordinary opportunities and life experiences. These have helped him prepare for challenges in an international career and to develop a life-long quest for continuous learning. The learning pursuit continued with his completion of further education at Purdue University (Master of Science in Industrial Administration) and Harvard Business School (Advanced Management Program).

In 2011, John was appointed as Brenton S. Halsey Visiting Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. The Halsey professorship

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members

is appointed by the University Board of Visitors and endowed by the James River Corporation. It is awarded annually to an individual who is able to share significant industry experience and wisdom with engineering students to advance their professional development.

In his student days in Melbourne, John received a number of scholarships that paved an easier path towards his secondary and tertiary education. These awards provided a sense of worth, recognition and confidence and the personal experience John and Margo Irwin established scholarship funding for Ormond College. played a major role in John’s decision to endow scholarships at The University of Melbourne and for the broader college community. In 2010, the John R Irwin Scholarship was established to provide for students studying for a graduate degree under the Melbourne Model curriculum.

We are very proud to have John R. Irwin as a Member of our international collegium and welcome his contribution to its development. In John’s words “ ... and in running an international company with diversity, how do leaders strive for diverse, inclusive cultures in which people can engage, identify, feel proud of what they are doing (and being part of the group or company), feel enjoyment and satisfaction, feel fairly treated while being held accountable, and so on? Engagement leads to many positive things such as high performance. How do really bright students adjust to becoming a leader in the real world (even in research teams of various sizes) versus a focus on standing out and achieving purely as an individual?”

We hope to continue learning from John and in finding needed answers to these very important questions.

Thomas Morton, Resident Member 2013 Recipient of the Graduate Union Bursary in 2014.

I have recently moved from Canberra to pursue studies in the Doctor of Optometry at the University of Melbourne. I graduated from the Australian National University in 2012 after completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours, majoring in Chemistry and Immunology/Microbiology.

I spent my Honours year at the Research School of Chemistry on a project looking into the detection and regulation of peptide hormones in human lung and thyroid cancer cells. I enjoy research, but I’ve always wanted to be a clinician which is why I’ve started studying Optometry at Melbourne University.

After my graduation, I really hope I’ll be able to travel and work in all kinds of different environments. One of the best things I have found about living here at Graduate House is the opportunity to spend time with the other residents who have come here with such a diverse mix of experience.

Tom playing the piano at the GU Ball during Mad Hatter hour.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Rachel Davies, Resident Member 2013 Recipient of the Graduate Union Bursary in 2014.

I am currently studying law at the University of Melbourne, having begun the Juris Doctor in February this year.

I am currently enrolled in Constitutional Law, Torts, and Legal Theory subjects.

I work as a volunteer at the Mental Health Legal Centre and am a member of The University of Melbourne Rotaract Club. I enjoy discovering Melbourne’s dining destinations in my spare time. I am also a tutor for The Graduate Union, where I offer support in French Language and Political Science as subject offerings.

This is me scuba diving in Cairns.

In this photo, I am snowboarding at Whistler, Vancouver.

I came to Graduate House from Sydney after having spent a significant amount of time there since 2011. I first went to Sydney on exchange during the third year of my undergraduate degree, and returned in 2012 to complete a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of New South Wales.

I completed my undergraduate degree, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Art History, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. My focus was on political theory, particularly democratic theory and Marxism. I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor during my time there and was an active member in the University’s clubs and societies scene. I was also the Managing Director of the Political Science Students Association, and both International Service Director and Vice President of the Rotaract Club of Vancouver.

Dr Viet Nguyen (Linda), Resident Member 2014 Recipient of the Graduate Union Bursary in 2014.

I was born and raised in Sydney. My first reason for deciding to stay at Graduate House is to experience the collegiate lifestyle. I had previously lived up at the crescent in Queen’s College during the five years of my undergraduate course, and had thoroughly enjoyed that experience. I was keen on living on campus and prefer to be surrounded by like-minded graduate students. Secondly, I wanted to be a part of the melting pot of diverse people at different points in their lives, all staying and meeting at one place. So far, it’s proved to be a fantastic stay.

I graduated from The University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Dental Science degree in 2010. In my final year, I was involved in a Rotary project to carry out humanitarian work and research in rural Vietnam. After graduation, I spent two years working at the Sydney Dental Hospital as an intern. This

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involved working in outreach temporary dental clinics in rural and remote Aboriginal communities in New South Wales (Broken Hill, Coonamble, Wellington, Menindee, Wilcannia) in a hub and spoke program. This meant spending two weeks at a time at a location before flying back into the big smoke of Sydney city. I pursued my interest as a paediatric resident for a year at Sydney Dental Hospital Paediatric Dentistry Department, and more recently, have been relocated back to Melbourne to train in the renowned paediatric dentistry program at The Melbourne Dental School.

I am settling back well into Melbourne and spend most of my time working at the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, whilst balancing a large workload of assignments and research. In my free time (which comes rarely!), I like to explore the café culture and dining scene of Melbourne. After graduating, I plan on travelling abroad to work at various childrens’ hospitals whilst pursuing further research.

Tim Everson, Resident Member 2013 Recipient of the Graduate Union Bursary in 2014.

Dr Viet Nguyen (Linda)

This year, after twenty-one years in Sydney, I thought it was time for a change, so I decided to try and continue my studies here in Melbourne. While looking for accommodation, I was recommended Graduate House from a former resident. After looking into it, it seemed like a good opportunity to meet some interesting people and I also saw the chance to sleep in before my 8.00 am lectures.

Last year I finished my Medical Science Degree at Sydney University and this year I started the Doctor of Medicine program at the University of Melbourne.

Initially, I found moving to a new city pretty daunting.

But after meeting a few great people in Graduate House, the whole experience has been pretty easy. Almost every weekend we organise Tim enjoying a cocktail at the inaugural trivia nights, cook “family” Graduate Union Ball and in costume as one dinners and venture around half of Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Melbourne and heading to places like Queen Victoria Markets, St Kilda or trying to get on The Block. I will be starting my studies in the Northern Hospital next year, so I’ll have to move out of Graduate house. But I plan to come back to see everyone, like the koala lady from the last edition.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Chanchal Chandramouli , Resident Member 2012 The 2014 Graduate House Research Scholarship recipient Life before Australia I was born in Madurai, a temple city which is popularly known as the Athens of India because of its rich cultural heritage. At the age of nine, my journey started with a tearful goodbye to Madras to start schooling in Malaysia. As exciting as the new country, new friends and the new culture were, it was initially difficult to have an entirely new language, which is the Malay language, as the medium of instruction at school. Nevertheless, it was an absolute adventure!

I went on to do my Bachelors in Biomedical Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS). My tertiary journey continued at Monash University for Honors in Medical Bioscience. While aspiring for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), I managed to explore a different field, Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the International Laureate University (INTI) in Malaysia. Though it was a packed schedule for this one year curriculum, it was extremely fun and the fact that I could simultaneously appear for Masters in Management Science at Hertfordshire University was an added bonus.

This is me working in the laboratory at The University of Melbourne.

A warm welcome in Melbourne Then came the much-awaited offer of candidature for a PhD in Cardiac Physiology at the coveted Cardiac Phenomics laboratory in the Department of Physiology at The University of Melbourne. Here, I have been welcomed into an enthusiastic and intellectually stimulating lab team under the supervision of Professor Lea Delbridge where I am pursuing research in a field that I wanted to explore - Diabetes and Heart Failure.

I was fortunate to secure accommodation at Graduate House when I came to Melbourne. Being part of the small graduate students community here, I have been able to meet and foster friendship with people from different disciplines, different walks of life and countries that I have only seen on maps before. Proximity to my laboratory and security have given me the freedom to work long hours and the friendly staff members make us feel at home by mothering (and to an extent spoiling) us with hot meals, clean rooms, well-made beds and warm smiles. The College Tables and Twilight Lectures conducted here give us ample opportunities to interact with exceptional minds from various field for our professional development.

The Graduate Union also nurtures graduates with scholarships and I’m indeed grateful to get one too.

About my project Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus - as colloquial as this stereotype maybe, there are significant physiological and morphological differences between the hearts of males and females. More than three decades ago, the Framingham Study identified elevated risk of heart failure in diabetics and that this risk is substantially higher in women. Following Framingham, numerous studies have subsequently documented deterioration of the

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Weekends and leisure time are spent with friends on group outings.

In May, the ladies at Graduate House celebrated Mother’s Day by taking part in the annual Mother’s Day Classic fun run and walk, a cause to provide the community with a great way to honour all mothers and raise funds for breast cancer research.

The Melbourne Graduate Our Members

heart function in diabetic conditions. Interestingly, the heart cell carries surface ligands which bind the female hormone, oestrogen in a specific manner. Oestrogen and insulin, a hormone which helps in moving glucose from the blood stream into cells, can potentially regulate contractile properties of the heart through common signaling pathways. Perplexingly, little of the experimental work on the diabetic heart has explored the aspect of sexual dimorphism of Framingham. This is largely due to underrepresentation of females in animal models of pathological diseases. In addition, the belief that non-human female mammals are intrinsically more variable than males and therefore too troublesome for routine inclusion in research protocols is without sufficient foundation.

The National Institute of Health in the United States has realised the gravity of this issue and has implemented strict policies on inclusion of both sexes across biomedical research multi-dimensionally since May 2014. This is essential to overcome the sex bias in our experimental models so far; a factor which has compromised our understanding of male and female diabetic cardiopathology.

Anatomical diagram of the Renin-AngiotensinAldosterone System (RAAS).

Another component of my PhD project is to examine the role of cardiac Angiotensin II (AngII) in diabetes. The structural and functional defects in a heart progressing towards failure are attributable to 75% of death among female and male diabetics. AngII, the hormone important in maintaining cardiac function, is also known to cause stiffening of the heart through stimulation of fibrosis when in excess.

Recently, AngII has also been suggested to modulate cell death in a diabetic heart directly and through interaction with insulin signaling pathways. This further substantiates the highly plausible interaction between sex hormone, diabetes and AngII. Therefore, my project aims to elucidate the role of AngII and sex differences in the diabetic heart with focus on hypertrophic growth, fibrotic infiltration, metabolic regulation, contractile performance and whole heart function to provide incentive for future investigation with ultimate therapeutic potential.

Upon completion of my PhD, my plan for the future is to delve into the pharmaceutical industry in Australia or Singapore where I hope to be able to put my business administration as well as my science knowledge to best use.

Receiving the 2014 Graduate House Research Scholarship award from the President of The Graduate Union, Major General Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld.

I extend my sincere thanks to The Graduate Union for conferring this scholarship. It is an absolute honor!

I am keen to utilise these funds to present my research findings at the Australian Physiological Society conference in Brisbane this year, to become a professional member of the Australian Diabetic Society and to attend the enrichment seminars conducted at the World Congress of Cardiology in Melbourne.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Candice Tan, Resident Member 2013 While I am currently pursuing postgraduate studies in Media and Communication, my path to get here, like many students in Graduate House, was not a straightforward one.

My undergraduate degree was chosen mostly for “practical” reasons, which is, its ability to score a paying job. Indeed after graduating with a Commerce degree, I moved from my hometown in Sydney to Canberra to work for the Australian Government. But after a few years, I realised that the work wasn’t what I really enjoyed, and took a belated Gap Year to find that elusive ‘passion’.

This photo of me was taken

This photo was taken in New York City

in Bruges, Belgium. next to the Abraham Lincoln statue.

After travelling around Asia, Europe and the United States for a year, while pursuing short courses in “non-practical” fields (such as filmmaking and creative writing), I decided to forego the stable income and job security of a public servant, and to pursue my passion in writing.

Over the years, my stories have been featured in Australian and international publications, and I collaborate with independent filmmakers, NGOs and academics on a range of freelance projects. I chose to study in Melbourne because of its vibrancy and creative streak, and I chose to live in Graduate House because I wanted a college with people who were committed to learning and who had varied professional and life experiences with stories to tell.

At the Annual General Meeting 2014, Candice was announced the winner of the GU Blogging Competition.

The prize package from House of Australia International included a three night stay in Lyndoch Hill, Barossa Valley, South Australia. Candice and her family enjoyed a wonderful trip and she has kindly written a story of her holiday.

Over the mid-semester break, I was lucky enough to spend three nights at the Barossa Valley in South Australia. After winning the Graduate Union blogging competition, The House of Australia International kindly sponsored my accommodation, car hire and other generous inclusions during my time in the Barossa, which was filled with great wines, memorable food and stunning scenery.

Only an hour’s drive away from Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is home to the world-renowned wines that most of us are well-acquainted with, such as Penfolds, Jacob’s Creek and Wolf Blass to name a few, as well as several smaller family-operated vineyards.

Sprawling views of vineyards as we drive along the roads at Barossa valley.

From our base in Lyndoch Hill - a 25 acre property, featuring a lovely rose garden of over 30,000 roses (which was officially opened by the Queen in 2009) - my brother and I explored the beautiful wineproducing region by car and bike. My focus was on a range of sweet wines: from ruby port, white port and botrytis Semillon, as well as happily discovering honey mead (the sweet nectar of the Gods).

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members

Beyond the wines, the Barossa is also known for its fresh produce and foodie culture. So, from sampling the array of cheeses at the Barossa Valley Cheese Company to trying the duck pâté and watching a cooking demonstration at Maggie Beer’s Farm Shop, we also enjoyed some great meals at local restaurants.

My brother David, enjoying great food with a tranquil setting in the background.

Unsurprisingly, my carry-on luggage was filled to the brim with purchases on my return home. Indeed, this was my first time in this world famous wine region and it certainly won’t be my last.

The front view of our accommodation at Lyndoch Hill, Barossa Valley.

Thanks again to The House of Australia International for their generous prize, as well as Christine from Travel Counsellors for organising the trip!

The Château Tanunda Estate, also known as the Icon of the Barossa.

The Graduate Union is grateful to House of Australia International for providing the 2014 prize for The GU Blogging Competition and for offering package deals exclusively for Members of The Graduate Union.

We enjoyed some fantastic meals at the local restaurants.

House of Australia International We are pleased to offer travel services to the Members and friends of The Graduate Union of University of Melbourne. We can cater for all of your travel needs, whether a local day trip as an individual or with a group of like-minded friends and colleagues, or to a special destination of interest, whether this be locally or overseas. No travel enquiry is to o small or to o large and we are here to offer you a service that will specialise in your specific needs.

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The Melbourne Graduate Our Members Slavery Links Australia Inc., Member 2009 Slavery Links works on slavery as defined in the Supplementary Convention 1956 and Australia’s Criminal Code. This is due to a global economy where Australia is exposed to slave-making forces that operate in the Asia Pacific.

Australia is exposed to forced labour and slavery in the region.

Slavery Links provided exhibitions in 2009 and 2013.

Another exhibition is being developed for 2015.

Slavery Links Australia Inc. is a charity organisation that is incorporated in Victoria. The Board and other members work pro bono. We are funded by members and not by the Government, the philanthropic trusts or the public appeals. We are supported by experienced Mentors who guide us in our policy work and we accept donations.

Slavery Links makes a difference because we find ways to minimise the harms of slavery and ways to control them. The intent is to produce:

• better business and government decisions;

• more informed consumers; and

• more engaged members of Non-Government Organisations.

Australians are exposed to slave-making forces and this can be part of the problem. Slavery Links encourages Australians to be part of the solution. It aims to increase community awareness, increase community action and assist organisations to recognise their anti-slavery roles more fully.

Slavery Links has provided education, research and policy development since 2009. Our projects include public speaking, the development of education materials, public exhibitions and a public library.

You are welcome to assist us. Slavery Links would like to include your skills and experience in our work. Anyone interested can contact Slavery Links at P.O. Box 1357 Camberwell 3124 or admin@slaverylinks.org.

Slavery Links with members of the Joint Standing Committee, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, 2013.

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The Melbourne Graduate National Student Leadership Forum The Graduate Union is proud to have sponsored two nominated Resident Members, Mattias Björnmalm and Annelies Van de Ven to attend the National Student Leadership Forum held in Canberra from the 4th to 7th September 2014 on the significance of faith and values as foundations for effective leadership. Both Mattias and Annelies have kindly shared their experiences of attending this forum.

Mattias Björnmalm, Resident Member 2012 Representative to The National Student Leadership Forum, Canberra “Why?” Anyone who has spent any time with kids, or perhaps even been one themselves, has not been able to escape asking this question. It can take innocuous forms like“Why does the lamp shine?”. But be wary, even this seemingly innocent guise can quickly drag you down the rabbit hole. “Because there’s a small piece of metal in the lamp that gives off light when it is heated”. “Why?” “Because electrical resistance in the metal causes it to release light.” “Why?” “Because flowing electrons interact with electrons in atoms of the metal exciting them to higher energy levels which causes the release of photons upon relaxation.”

“Why?” “Because the laws of quantum physics tells us that energy levels are discreet and release of energy must therefore be in the form of quanta.” “Why?” “Because… because I said so”. However, this very innate curious nature of kids slowly fades with time. When was the last time you took the time to really ask why? During four days I spent in Canberra in early September, I was forced to ask why. And even worse, I was expected to try and answer.

It was cold in Canberra. I had never been here before but this is what people usually say when talking about the capital of the nation. I was surprised to see how true it was. At the time of writing it is 21˚C in Melbourne, 22˚C in Sydney, and 14˚C in Canberra. When I attended the National Student Leadership Forum in early September, this was also the case. But luckily the atmosphere of the Forum was anything but cold. I did not really know what to expect beforehand and the idea of “discussing visions” and “inspire change” seemed a bit wishy-washy and I feared that my four days was going to be filled with speakers telling me to “believe in myself”. I was wrong because the Forum was so much more.

At the heart of the Forum was a discussion on what we are doing, where we want to go, and why. This was carried out in small groups of 9-10 people where 2-3 were experienced, in having been there before, and they lead the discussion. Every now and then, most of us had to explain “what we are doing” and it can be as easy as just verbalising parts of your CV. To answer “where you want to go” is more difficult. But most of us have an idea on where we are heading as well. Maybe what you say when grandma asks. It might be fluid and not that well-defined, but there is typically a general direction. But to ask yourself “why” is harder. Much harder.

What are your underlying reasons? Your values? Beliefs? What makes you you? A common underlying value is that family and friends are important. But if this is the case, why then do so many of us spend way more time and effort on our work/studies than with our family and friends? Why is there a common disconnect between our actions, and our plans for the future, with what we say our beliefs and values are?

Another common value is that we want to help others, to be a part of building something better. If you agree with this, then you need to ask yourself: is your present and future reflecting this?

This is not about dropping your business or law or science degree and becoming a volunteer in Tibet. It is about channelling your values through your passions and your strengths. During the Forum we met people from all walks of life, from a CEO of an investment bank, politicians, a principal of a public school, a general of the armed forces, lawyers to journalists. Through their work they do what they are good at and where their passions and strengths lie. What they had in common was that they had found ways to connect this

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The Melbourne Graduate National Student Leadership Forum to their values. Be it the principal who is helping to heal a broken community fraught with racial divide, or the CEO who found ways to use the enormous resource-generating capability of a multibillion-dollar investment bank to effect change in healthcare and education in the developing world. By focusing on their passions and strengths, they can do so much more than by walking away from these professions.

Indeed, some of them who are in the public eye are typically not considered as “noble” as, say, being a volunteer for a not-for-profit organisation. It all just depends on what your values are and if you can channel your skills and talents into these values.

Leadership values at the Forum were discussed against this backdrop. The idea was not how to get others to obey and follow you, it was to take control over and lead yourself and to understand and refine your own values. To channel the skills and talents you have into these and to let them guide you. This is how many of our time’s greatest and most influential leaders worked and how they relate to themselves and their surroundings. Why do they do what they do? Why do they inspire people to follow them towards something better? These all start with that short but powerful question. So when was the last time you sat down in a comfortable chair with a nice cup of tea, thought about what you were doing, what you want to do, and really asked yourself: Why? It’s worth a thought.

Annelies with fellow attendees at the NSLF.

Attendees of the NSLF working in group discussions.

Annelies Van De Ven, Resident Member 2014 Representative at The National Student Leadership Forum, Canberra On Faith and Values From the 4th to 7th September, I attended the 16th Annual National Student Leadership Forum hosted at the Hyatt Hotel and Parliament Hall in Canberra. Mattias and I were nominated by our college about a month prior to the Forum, and at the initial stage of writing my application, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. It really could have been anything from a four-day series of lectures, or even one of those kumbaya type sharing-round-a-campfire events I had been to when I was younger. The website, though impressive and encouraging, didn’t really give much information about the more practical aspects of the Forum. It reminded me a lot of the movie Fight Club. The first rule of the National Student Leadership Forum: you do not talk about the National Student Leadership Forum.

Needless to say, upon waking up on Thursday morning, I was quite nervous. I honestly think my nerves were the only thing keeping me awake that day because 5.00am starts are not exactly my forte. Arriving at the Hyatt didn’t do much to settle my nerves. I arrived in my travel clothes, in this case, it meant jeans and sneakers. Those who have been to Hyatts will know they aren’t really jeans and sneakers kind of places, they tend to be more business attire type hotels. Luckily we arrived well in advance of registration and I had time to change into my ‘parliament-appropriate’ clothes.

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The Melbourne Graduate National Student Leadership Forum Finally at 11.00am, we were given our schedules, which were jam packed with lectures, discussion groups, sporting activities, community service, monument visits and social activities (the main event of the weekend being a Western themed barn dance). At the same time, we were also assigned to our small groups and these were the people we would be spending most of our time with at the Forum. Each small group was made up of a group of around eight delegates from all walks of life and two experienced group facilitators. After meeting our group members for the first time, the Forum got on it’s way for our journey to commence.Before going into the forum on that first day, I would never have expected to have enjoyed it as much as I did. I went in with a lot of skepticism and quite a bit of cynicism on the state of leadership in the world and came out feeling inspired and far more hopeful than I ever thought possible. On our last day, the program director Jock Cameron gave a speech that perfectly summed up the National Student Leadership Forum experience for me and I would like to share his final five points with you. These are: Point 1: If there’s work to be done, do the work Cynicism is a common refuge for those disenchanted with the direction leaders are taking the world today. It is easy to stand on the sidelines and judge the actions of others without taking action yourself. People in power are often seen as a suit of armour. They are seen by others merely as the empty shells of their positions, not as actual people with their own motivations and values. We judge them on their actions, whereas we judge ourselves in our intention. Waiting for the world to change before you choose to have a part in building it. I fell into this trap. I had ideals, but did not think they were worth acting upon. By reflecting on our ideals and transforming them into positive values.

We are able to combat the inertia of cynicism and make an active difference in the world.

Point 2: Make a decision Take action now. Don’t let your motivations fall into a realm of abandoned dreams. Act by capitalising on those motivations, let them propel you to move forward.

Point 3: Become a culture maker, not a culture taker This point pertains to the first one in that it also engages with the necessity in our society to root out cynicism. Creating a culture for yourself takes time, effort and a lot of co-operation. It is not a solo act. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to realise that everyone is important and everyone has a story and that everybody ‘belongs’. Joseph Assaf once insightfully noted that harmony was not an absence of difference but the coordination thereof. By defining the rules of engagement in the life you inhabit, you can create a positive culture for yourself and others in which you can make a difference in the wider world, much like the creators of the forum.

Point 4: Find a way to serve Service is a way to become. We do it not because we feel like it but because it makes us the person we want to be. The more we give away, the more empowered we become and the more we empower others to do the same.

Point 5: Find like-minded friends and build a community Building a positive future for yourself and others is a choice. Though any community requires cooperation between people, the choice to enter into the creation of such a community is one you have to make alone. You have the power to determine how you engage with people. By choosing to share and listen to others as they do the same to you creates a positive atmosphere in which a community can thrive and strive towards a common vision. This does not mean all the members of your community must have the same values, as I stated above, difference is a necessity for harmony, but they should be receptive to one another, to difference, and dedicated to a common purpose.

By actively engaging with others and opening up to them, we are able to create meaningful relationships that can have a profound impact on how we see ourselves and the world around us.

Mahatma Gandhi once said ‘you must be the change you wish to see in the world’. I believe this forum helps give us the strength to become this change, to engage with the world and others as a transformative leader that serves others, listens without judging and perseveres against adversity.

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The Melbourne Graduate Acknowledgement of Patronage We thank our Organisation Members for their continued patronage.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION

BELBIN

DAVID MORRIS CONSULTING

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The Melbourne Graduate Acknowledgement of Patronage

AUSTRALIAN ASIAN ASSOCIATION

RUSHALL CONSULTING GROUP

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The Melbourne Graduate

THE GRADUATE UNION of The University of Melbourne Inc.

Australian Business Number: 55610664963 Incorporated Association Registration Number: A0023234B 220 Leicester Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia Telephone: +61 (0)3 9347 3428 Facsimile: +61 (0)3 9347 9981 www.graduatehouse.com.au admingh@graduatehouse.com.au

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