Ormond College New & Old #88 June 2014

New&Old Ormond College Magazine No.88 June 2014

Snapshots

Ormond Sport 2014 2013 was fantastic, with Ormond placing competitively in all sports, winning premierships and the intercollegiate season over Trinity. Another exciting year has begun.The intercollegiate competition is always competitive and Ormondians are putting the hard yards in early. Training kicked off in week one for cricket, softball and squash, and hopeful sportsmen and sportswomen have begun fitness training. Non-competitive sports are on the rise, from yoga to whole-College dodgeball. Our goal is to improve positive attitudes to fitness through social sports and fitness activities. Good luck to all teams!

Vickie Powell (Sci 2) and Pete Redhead (Arts 3) Left: Ormond’s softball team

Clean sweep for rowers For the second time in three years our rowers achieved a clean sweep at the intercollegiate rowing, confidently winning all boat divisions on the day. This was a huge feat, with Ormond taking 11 out of the 12 divisions in three years. It was an honour to have such success in an event that has been running for over 100 years and was the result of strong leadership and hard training from the rowers. The Men’s 1st (Higgins) and Women’s 1st (Margot Foster and Richardson) trophies will be on the Dining Hall’s walls soon.

George Marchant (Arts 2)

Right: Applauding the Men’s 2nd winners

Friday at 1pm Fridays at 1pm provides a semi-formal environment where Ormond students discuss domestic and international affairs. Topics include the political crisis in Ukraine, the Abbott government’s attempt to repeal the Racial Discrimination Act and the implications of the recent budget. The program is popular with students of all year levels. Many find it a useful way to keep up to date on the news and learn from the expertise of peers who have a range of backgrounds and interests. It is also a lively forum for debate of political and economic ideas.

Will Moisis (Arts 4)

Left: Discussing domestic and international affairs on Friday at 1pm

2

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Contents

4

From the Master

Editorial team

Our Heritage

6

Life at Ormond

New life to Francis Ormond’s portrait Caring for the future The disproportionate difference in action

Di Bambra Clare Chudacek Louise Curran Annabel Doyle Peter Edwards Kate Higgins Rachel Toovey Ethan Ziv

12 Our community

Photographers

Unveiling Jean McCaughey’s portrait Student Community Support A richer, broader experience Thanking Jane Freemantle World War I centenary Four Coffees and a Dinner

James Grant Max Marrows Hayden McMillan Sebastian Wood Ethan Ziv

20 Alumni news

New & Old is published twice a year by the College Advancement Office for the Ormond community.

Printed using FSC-certified carbon-neutral paper stock.

Obituaries Honours and Alumni events

PHILANTHROPY

Come to Open Day

&

SCHOLARSHIPS A life devoted to education Coming to the big city

Scholarship recipients 2014 Giving to Ormond 2013

No.88 JUNE 2014

I

II

III

V

Sunday 17 August 2014 To find out more visit www.ormond.unimelb.edu.au or call +61 3 9344 1100

3

From the Master

Our heritage

Rufus Black Master

Great art exhibitions invite us to contemplate not only the aesthetic but values and beliefs.

The marvellous exhibition For Auld Lang Syne: Images of Scottish Australia from First Fleet to Federation currently at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, in which the portrait of Francis Ormond takes pride of place, invites us to reflect on the distinctively Scottish values on which his College was built.

The values laid with our foundation stones were those of the Scottish Enlightenment. They guided us then and they guide us still. It was those values that led the Scottish community of early Melbourne initially to oppose building a college. To be sure, they greatly valued education. Scotland in the 18th century already had literacy rates 10–20% higher than other countries in Europe, with the possible exception of the Netherlands.

At one level, as Don Chambers put it so eloquently in his history of the College’s foundation: “For such Scots the concept of a university college was not only English and therefore alien, but savoured of an Oxbridge aristocratic decadence which conflicted with Presbyterian educational austerity.”

More deeply, as he points out, the model of Oxford and Cambridge offended the Scottish sense that education and denomination should not be linked. At both those English universities, in order to become a student you had to confirm

First Chair of the College Council, Alexander Morrison

your belief in the Church of England’s 39 Articles of Religion.

But they would create a college built on Scottish, not English,

At the great Scottish Enlightenment universities like Glasgow

values. Francis Ormond, who was a faithful Presbyterian, said:

and Edinburgh, there was no such requirement.

“We have no desire to restrict the advantages of the College.

We have no tests . . . it is open to all denominations” and the first

It was not until there was a serious threat that the land set aside for

Council had not only members who were Scottish Presbyterians but

a Presbyterian college would be sold for other purposes, that the

others like the Anglican Augustus Strong, who held the Chair in

Melbourne Scottish community was galvanised into action.

Classics and championed the liberal humanist cause.

4

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

From its beginnings, the College sought to put that neglect right by attracting excellent tutors in philosophy. Throughout its history, that focus on philosophy and ethics has been a defining character of the College. Today, it is thanks to the College’s Seymour Reader that Ancient Philosophy is taught in the University, all first-year students of Ormond take part in a College ethics program and Ormond is home to the Centre for Ethical Leadership.

The power of that early belief that the College had its own distinctive educational agenda and capability to contribute to the University has meant that it is part of Ormond’s cultural DNA to seek ways to play a more expansive role in the life of the University.

In 1880s Ormond, this took the form of seeking to have the ‘prac’ classes taught in the College’s excellent science laboratories, recognised towards a University degree. By the mid-20th century, the same aspiration saw the creation of multiple endowed fellowships so that the College, in a rather more Oxbridge-inspired way, would become home to academics So it was that Ormond would be the college to which Catholic

who also took their place in the University.

students came before Newman was founded and where Jewish students found a home. Today when we talk about

For the Scots, and for those who shared their values, the point

the importance of making the College accessible and being

of a university education was, in the words of Francis Ormond,

a diverse community, we are finding contemporary words for

so that students would go on ‘to exercise an important and

ideas deeply rooted in our history. Part of the foundation of that

sensible influence in the affairs of our country’. This is perhaps

commitment to non-denominationalism was the belief in the

the most quoted phrase in the College’s history. It is an idea that

centrality of philosophy to the educational curriculum. The first

has resonated with each generation.

Chair of the College Council, Alexander Morrison, complained that: “Mental and Moral Philosophy ... [were] subjects now

In the history of Ormond, it is possible to see how these

unhappily neglected at the Melbourne University, but for which

Scottish Enlightenment values have had a universal appeal that

the Scottish Universities have always been distinguished, and

transcends their ethnic and denominational origin to inspire and

which have done so much to mould the national character.”

guide us today.

Ormond Scholars Exhibitioners and First Class Honourmen 1903-4

No.88 JUNE 2014

5

Life at Ormond

New life for Francis Ormond’s portrait

Lesley den Hartog Curator of Cultural Collections

Since 1887 the life-sized figure of the College’s founding

and that the stress of completing the work perhaps contributed

benefactor, Scottish-born Francis Ormond (1827–1889),

to his untimely death, just as Ormond’s indefatigable industry

dressed in a Victorian walking suit with gloves and hat in hands,

has been seen as a cause of his own demise. As well as

and leaning on the plinth of a classical column, has presided

portraits, Dowling’s oeuvre, influenced by the painters of the

benevolently over those dining in Hall. Painted by Australia’s first

English Pre-Raphaelite movement, includes works in religious

locally trained artist, Robert Hawker Dowling, in a convention

and Orientalist genres. Known in Australia in his lifetime as the

that dates back to Baroque aristocratic portraits, the painting

first example of a colonial artist making good in the Old World,

shows the College, one of Francis Ormond’s major philanthropic

Dowling has recently regained recognition through the 2010

achievements, romantically imaged with a sunset glow in the

NGA retrospective travelling exhibition of his works, curated

background. Over the years, Ormond’s gaze became somewhat

by John Jones.

dim and dusty, as did other details in the portrait. In January this year, for the first time since its arrival at Ormond 126 years ago,

While Dowling’s portraits are generally marked by a sensitive

the portrait left the College premises. Having undergone cleaning

attention to the sitter’s face and hands and a detailed and

and conservation, it is now for the first time on public display as

sometimes gorgeous rendering of fabric and clothing, his

part of the Art Gallery of Ballarat exhibition For Auld Lang Syne:

Ormond portrait is unusual in the range of iconography

Images of Scottish Australia from First Fleet to Federation.

which composes the fictive space within which the figure of Francis Ormond is set. It is this, as well as the texture of

There are many parallels between Francis Ormond and

the subject’s clothes and especially his expression, looking

Robert Dowling, the son of a Baptist minister. Both were deeply

as it does with a searching kindness into the future, that

committed Christians and both started life modestly. Ormond

the expert cleaning by the University’s Centre for Materials

was initially described as being of no more consequence than

Conservation has made more clearly visible. The restrained

Frankie the stable boy and Dowling was initially apprenticed as

richness of Ormond’s black Victorian suit is set against the

a saddlemaker before following his vocation as an artist. Also,

dreaming spires of the College, imaged in the background as

just as Ormond can in some senses be seen as an autodidact,

more fully completed than the actual building was at the time

Dowling professed himself to be a self-taught artist and travelled

of painting. There is an arrested energy in this figure of Ormond,

to and from Europe, as Ormond did, to develop the knowledge

whose left foot appears to have just hit the ground to give a

he needed to achieve his professional ambitions. Born in 1827,

moment’s pause, a break for contemplation, before moving

the same year as Ormond, Dowling died in 1886, just three

on. Distinct now in this fictive space are two potted plants.

years before Ormond and just after completing Ormond’s

One, resembling a pineapple, is placed in the middle ground

portrait before he boarded ship to return for an intended last

between Ormond and the College; the other, a generic citrus

visit to England. Writing Dowling‘s obituary, James Smith, his

fruit in a terracotta pot, sits in the foreground, diagonally

friend and art critic, claimed that he was hard at work finishing

opposite the College, enriching the colours and composition

the Ormond commission to within half an hour of his departure

of the portrait.

6

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Iconographically, these details can be interpreted differently.

They may symbolise Francis Ormond’s interest in Australia’s contemporary horticultural progress, an interest which is affirmed by his donation to the College of a copy of Ferdinand van Mueller’s Select Extra-Tropical Plants Readily Eligible for Industrial Culture or Naturalisation, inscribed as a gift to him by the author, the first director of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. These iconographic details may also refer to Ormond’s personal life and the life of the College. Historically, pineapples have been used as a decorative domestic architectural feature and to symbolise hospitality. Citrus fruits, with their association with the golden apples of the Hesperides, were used to symbolise prosperity and happiness and often associated with weddings and marriage. Ormond’s first wife of thirty years had tragically died in 1881, the year the College opened, and in the year before the portrait’s completion he had entered into a felicitous second marriage with Mary Oliphant. Likewise, just as Ormond’s pastoral activities had prospered, so too had the College, whose occupants he encouraged to think of the College as not just an institution, but a home. The College’s original fabric had to be extended under his beneficence to accommodate the growing numbers of young people who wished to reside here while undergoing their university education. This is imaged in the portrait clearly by the inclusion of the planned north facade, the Victoria wing, which Ormond indicated his intention to fund on 14 September 1887 and for which the foundation stone was laid in 1888, well after the portrait was completed and just five months before Ormond’s death.

Francis Ormond’s great grand-daughter, Bea MacDonald, at the For Auld Lang Syne exhibition in Ballarat

of an apocryphal story about the portrait. Frank Raleigh’s long

For Auld Lang Syne: Images of Scottish Australia from First Fleet to Federation

association with the College began when, as a young boy,

Friday April 11, 2014 – Sunday July 27, 2014

he was employed to look after the cows that, in the Oxbridge

10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Art Gallery of Ballarat

Another Ormond benefactor, Frank Raleigh, is the source

tradition, grazed the College’s grounds. On his death, he bequeathed his life’s savings, accrued from his employment

Celebrate the role played by Scots, including wealthy

here, to endow a scholarship that would financially enable

pastoralist and philanthropist Francis Ormond, in the

a Melbourne University student who might otherwise be

development of the Australian nation from the First Fleet

denied the benefits of a College education. While drawing

to Federation, by visiting the For Auld Lang Syne exhibition

the attention of visitors and new students to our founding

at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

benefactor’s portrait, Frank delighted in telling them the story of how one morning, eight years after the institution had

This large and complex exhibition brings together artworks

opened, on the same day that the College received a telegram

and objects from across the country and beyond to

announcing Ormond’s death, he had unlocked the doors of

celebrate the unique contribution of Scots to the

the old dining room where the portrait was hung and found

development of the cultural, social and political life of this

that it had crashed, face downwards, on the floor. Thankfully

nation during its formative years. The exhibition features

the recent conservation has revealed no evidence of the

the College’s large portrait of Francis Ormond by Robert

damage, hidden by a dusty patina, that such trauma might

Hawker Dowling, which usually hangs in the Dining Hall.

have caused. Consequently we can look forward to the return of the beautifully restored painting in August when, with its

The Master, Assoc. Prof. Rufus Black, hosted a special

return to its traditional position in Hall, our founding benefactor

lunch and tour of the exhibition at the Gallery on

will again look out over us into the future with fresh new life.

Thursday 8 May.

No.88 JUNE 2014

7

Life at Ormond

Caring for the future

Andrew Michelmore Chair of Council

One of the council’s chief tasks is to steward the College for the long-term. There is a parable told about New College Oxford which is a salutatory story for any institution that is there for the long run – and New College is anything but new, having been founded in 1379.

In the 19th century, the Fellows of New College found that the roofs of both their magnificent dining hall and their chapel were in poor repair. They called in the great architect of the time, Sir Gilbert Scott. After careful examination, he solemnly explained that, after 500-odd years, all the great oak timbers would need to be replaced.

The bill for the timber looked ruinous. Word of the Fellows’ fears for the future of their college reached even the gardeners, whereupon the head gardener came to the Fellows and explained that 100 years before, their predecessors had directed his forebears, for these were jobs passed down in families, to plant an oak forest to provide the timber they knew the college would one day need. This story invites each generation responsible for an institution like Ormond to ask ‘what is the tree planting we need to do?’

Some years ago we identified that our College’s greatest long-term challenge was, not unlike New College’s, ‘how can we look after our magnificent buildings?’ Time and weather are not kind to sandstone and slate and even our ‘new’ buildings, as they start to reach their half-century, need attention. While much has been done over the College’s history to care for the buildings, eventually the incoming tide of time requires maintenance to turn into replacement. You may have noticed scaffolding on stone buildings and spires around Melbourne of similar age to ours. Our turn has come.

8

The new magnolia near the front gate

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

This year marks the first year in our history when, in accounting terms, we have been able to depreciate our buildings and use funds to start work on the stone. This is an important milestone because if we stay on this path, our buildings will stand the test of time as New College has.

Our gardens have also reached an age where replacement is needed alongside maintenance. During the storms we had last winter and in the wild winds this summer, we have lost two of our mature trees due to ageing, gale force winds splitting them both down the middle. Age has also accounted for a large old poplar in the Main Drive. These come on top of losses in the drought and of the old magnolia near the front gate, which died when the dry turned to the wet. To minimise further losses, our expert arborists have carefully surveyed all our large trees and provided us with a plan of cabling, pruning and special attention to some of the soil to reduce the risk of damage from extreme weather and to extend their lives.

As we care for the old, we need to plant the new, so we have begun the processes of replacing the old trees that were lost.

Some, like the new conifers in the Main Drive, are specimens grown from the seeds of the original trees; others, like the magnolia, have been planted to match. Whatever we are doing, we are paying careful attention to safeguarding for the future that extraordinary experience which tingles the spine, even decades later, of walking up the beautiful drive, with its glimpses and views, and turning the corner to reveal the magnificence of Main Building.

2014 Annual Giving Shaping Ormond’s Future Our focus in 2014 is on shaping Ormond’s future. The College today shares the vision of its founders to make sure that financial need is never a barrier to the extraordinary and life changing experience of being a student at Ormond.

We also have two other important projects this year The erosion of main building pinnacles

18 months ago we commissioned the heritage architects Lovell Chen to survey our fabric and develop a long-term plan.

In short, the report found that if the stone is not to all peel away to reveal the brick skeleton, and in places that is not far off, we will need to spend $80.5 million over the next 20 years.

which you may be interested in supporting: • Vesti stonework restoration — ensuring the long term upkeep of this wonderful building that has served us so well over the years; • Maintenance of our Trees — for safeguarding the

Then there is the slate that we cannot re-nail another time, the

health and longevity of our substantial trees which

lathe-and-plaster ceilings we need to replace, the rewiring we

add so much beauty and character to the grounds.

need to do and so the list goes on. We have recognised that these numbers are beyond the reach of fundraising alone, and help from the government in these straitened budgetary times is unlikely. Therefore an important part of our work in recent

Please join with others this year to support the Annual Giving program. Every gift has an impact on the College and students’ lives.

years has been to transform our economics so that we can do the work our buildings need while continuing to bring fee increases downwards towards CPI.

No.88 JUNE 2014

For more information please contact advancement@ormond.unimelb.edu.au

9

Life at Ormond

The disproportionate difference in action

Students ensuring the hand was assembled correctly

Helping Hands

The program was facilitated by Katrina Renard, Associate Director of Learning (BOB), and alumnus Jesse Poulton (2011).

This year, for the first time, Ormond College students ran during

The event started with an introduction to BOB, followed by

Orientation Week a project called Helping Hands to introduce

a parody on student experiences with BOB and the power

first-year students to the Beyond Ormond Borders (BOB) program.

of team-building. Students were then asked to start putting

The project was initiated, fundraised and facilitated by the BOB

together the different pieces in front of them, without being

O-Week student leaders. Their passion, determination and

told that they were building prosthetic hands. Ten minutes into

commitment throughout the summer to making this project

the process, a special video was shown revealing the nature of

happen ensured that the large cost of funding and running

what they were doing. The emotions, shock and element of

the program did not get in the way of its success.

surprise made students realise how capable they are of making a disproportionate difference in people’s lives.

Following this activity, the team held a BOB fair where students could find out more about the programs offered through the College. The extraordinary amount of interest all the programs received from our students, at both the fair and the official BOB program launch at the start of semester, reflects the success of Helping Hands in creating a positive culture change around community involvement at Ormond. Given the positive effect of this project and its impact on BOB, we hope to see it continue in years to come.

Building the hands as a team

Arnesh Kapur (Commerce 3)

BOB is all about getting students to realise the disproportionate difference they are able to make, and the Helping Hands team wanted students to engage with the program and this idea in a new and exciting way. They wanted to motivate our new students to get involved and to open their eyes to the change they are capable of creating. Helping Hands is run through an organisation called Henricks Consulting and involved our first-year students working together in teams of five to build 40 prosthetic hands.

Once the hands are built, they are returned to Henricks where they are checked by engineers to ensure they have been assembled correctly. Then they are donated to landmine amputee victims around the world who have them fitted by medical professionals.

10

Assembling the prosthetic hand while the dominant hand is disabled by a foam made sock

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Collectively, the Club and College have been working together to develop new initiatives to celebrate the diversity of the Ormond community. Further initiatives to look out for this year include a series of talks on interpreting Australian culture, cultural appreciation societies and a student-published travel guide.

Benton Ching (Arts 3)

The Dance Benefit for Mental Health A display of Ormond’s dancing talent, the 2013 Dance Benefit proved a dual forum for dance as well as discourse and debate

International Student Support

on the topic of mental health. Bold dance medleys were coupled with short video interviews that offered insights into the

International students form a significant portion of the student

question of positive mental health, a debate often relegated

body at Ormond College, comprising around 25% of the total

to the margins of conversation.

student population. In 2014, the Students’ Club and the College have committed to working together to increase the level of

The Dance Benefit responded to a legacy of student

support for international students.

engagement with the topic of mental health. Co-founded by former Ormondians Elly Danks (2010) and Rowena Baer

The College has appointed new staff members with portfolios

(2010) in 2011, the original Dance Benefit was inspired by

suited to meeting the needs faced by international students.

the desire that discussions surrounding mental health be

The appointment of College Chaplain Dr Garry Deverell, whose

less stigmatised in the Ormond community. This legacy –

portfolio includes the integration of international students,

coupled with the innovation and enthusiasm of over sixty

highlights the College’s interest in ensuring that incoming and

dancers, choreographers, lighting technicians and musicians –

returning internationals are given support in settling into both life

created a visual spectacle and a forum for critical reflection.

at Ormond as well as the cultural context of modern Australia.

Another new appointment, Dr Sherina Mubiru, has specialist skills in providing linguistic support to international students who do not speak English as their first language.

At the onset of 2014, the General Committee appointed a member of the Student Support Committee (SSC) focused on caring for the wellbeing of international students. This is a new initiative designed to enhance the care for international students within the Students’ Club, with the Student Support Committee member accountable for ensuring that the international students assimilate well into life at College. The international SSC member sends out an email to each international student containing a welcome guide upon receiving confirmation of their acceptance, to provide a sense of orientation and information on what to expect upon their arrival in Melbourne.

Alexa Thompson (2011) and Caitlin Clifford (Arts 3) at the Dance Benefit event last year

Additionally, before O-Week, a day was dedicated to helping

Dances ranged from the eclectic to the upbeat, with high-

international students source their necessities before University

energy skipping routines performed alongside hip-hop,

began.The day was run in a relaxed and informal manner,

contemporary and jazz. The Dance Benefit celebrated a range

beginning with icebreakers in the morning and, after lunch,

of styles and abilities not restricted to traditional ‘dance’.

members of the SSC took small groups of international students out of Ormond and into the city of Melbourne to sort out issues

With support from the Ormond community, the Dance Benefit

such as bank accounts, mobile phones and university student

raised over $1200 for headspace, Australia’s National Youth Mental

cards. This was done to ease international students of some of

Health Foundation. The video interviews and their warm reception

the stress that comes with being thrust into a new environment,

may be even more illustrative of our progress in engaging with an

being a long way from home and the high intensity of the

issue often stigmatised and marred by suspicion.

O-Week program.

Caitlin Clifford (Arts 3) and Alexa Thompson (2011)

No.88 JUNE 2014

11

Our Community

Unveiling Jean McCaughey’s portrait

Di Bambra Director of Advancement Jean McCaughey’s portrait by Tom Nicholson

Tom Nicholson, Jean McCaughey’s grandson and a

Tom has created a portrait that will speak to the generation

successful artist, was commissioned to produce a portrait

who knew her and also to a generation who never knew her.

which celebrates not only Jean McCaughey’s contribution

What becomes obvious is that Jean was a well-known, very

to the Ormond College community but also 40 years of

talented and greatly loved figure around the campus who

co-residence at Ormond.

had a huge impact on the College in her own right.

Jean played an integral part in this important period in the life

A metaphorical unveiling in the Dining Hall on Friday 22

of the College, when Davis McCaughey was Master of Ormond

November 2013 was followed by a viewing of the portrait in

College from 1959 to 1979. Though dedicated to her family

situ in the library in the J M Young room, the space for which it

and to social justice for the disadvantaged, Jean was also deeply

has been created. This space produces a more intimate kind of

involved in the wellbeing of staff and students, and is the first

experience, as Tom wants the relationship between that portrait

woman to be recognised in a portrait hung at the College.

and the room, and the kind of encounter with Jean that this induces, to be discovered by the viewer.

Tom Nicholson said, “I had to confront both the public meaning of Jean’s life, which was very strongly connected to Ormond, and also a very long-standing connection to her personally. So that question of how you make an image which represents, at least notionally, an instant in her life and how that might stand for a whole range of experiences of her was particularly acute in this work.”

Prior to producing the final charcoal portrait, Tom based the drawing component of the portrait on a photograph taken the day that Davis’s official portrait was unveiled in 1979. Tom specifically chose to depict that moment, which he describes as capturing Jean when she had finished listening and was about to respond to the person with whom she was engaged in the conversation.

Alumni and other members of the Ormond community are very welcome to view the portrait; please contact Louise Curran at alumni@ormond.unimelb.edu.au or 9344 1270.

Jean McCaughey’s family at the unveiling last year. From left: Ellen Koshland, Tom Nicholson, Mary Nicholson, Brigid McCaughey and James McCaughey.

12

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Our Community

Student Community Support

Rob Leach Vice Master

This year, Ormond’s Community Team has been

pastoral care presence and strengthens the team of senior staff

fortunate to add two new members. Dr Garry Deverell

who are on call for critical incidents. Furthermore, Sherina has

has been appointed College Chaplain and Freemantle

offered her assistance to students from non-English-speaking

Fellow. The arrival of Dr Sherina Mubiru marks the

backgrounds who may require help with their academic English.

reinstitution, after a long absence, of the position of Resident Medical Officer.

Garry is an Indigenous Trawoolway man from northern Tasmania with a background in school teaching, parish ministry and academic research. He finds the energy of young people infectious and is excited about working with Ormond students to help them make a disproportionate difference in the world. Garry’s chaplaincy duties include offering pastoral care to staff and students, with a special emphasis on supporting international students and those in the Transitional Residency program (temporarily living at College Square).

Dr Sherina Mubiru

These appointments significantly strengthen the College’s ability to provide pastoral, physical, psychological and spiritual support to our students. After a career in speech pathology, Sherina decided to further her vocation in caring for people through medicine. She currently works as a paediatric emergency registrar at Sunshine Hospital and, as well as being resident in McCaughey

Dr Garry Deverell with students in the JCR

Court, dedicates one day per week to Ormond matters.

Garry is also committed to creating opportunities for theological reflection and intercultural dialogue. As a Freemantle Fellow,

One of Sherina’s first tasks is to ensure that the College’s health

Garry adds capacity to support the Ormond College Indigenous

policies and procedures are up-to-date. She will also initiate

Program, with a focus on implementing the Reconciliation Action

new wellbeing activities and preventative medicine strategies to

Plan. In this way, Garry will continue the good work initiated by

encourage healthy living at Ormond. Sherina provides a female

Associate Professor Jane Freemantle.

No.88 JUNE 2014

13

Our Community

A richer, broader experience

Joe Fennessy (The University of Melbourne) John R Irwin (Chronicle 1969).

John Irwin’s (1968) impressive career achievements are

John credits his time at the University of Melbourne for much

matched by his outstanding generosity to the University

of his success.

and Ormond College.

“The University was life-changing for me in terms of the In 1969 John Irwin boarded a flight from Melbourne’s Essendon

extraordinary opportunities and life experiences it offered;

airport armed with a Master of Engineering Science from the

in preparing me to pursue an international career and in

University of Melbourne and an intent to spend “one or two

developing a life-long desire for ongoing learning.”

years” overseas to obtain a master’s degree in business. Nearly 45 years later he is yet to reside back in Australia, having carved out

That ongoing learning included completing further education

a remarkable international career in the offshore drilling industry.

at Purdue University and Harvard Business School, and a distinguished visiting professorship at the University of Virginia.

Despite the geographical separation resulting from his worldly adventures, the Engineering alumnus maintains a close affinity

As a student in Melbourne, John received a number of

with the University of Melbourne and Ormond College,

scholarships which enabled him to pursue secondary and tertiary

endowing scholarships and making a bequest that will benefit

education. He said the support provided him with unexpected

both institutions into the future.

educational opportunities that opened up a new world for him.

John recently drew the curtain on an extraordinary career that

“In some cases, living allowances permitted me to have time

saw him live and work in all corners of the globe, including

for a richer and broader experience, and do things such as reside

the US, UK, Singapore, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates,

in Ormond College. The scholarships also gave me a sense of

Myanmar, Nigeria and Brazil.

worth, recognition and confidence that were very important.”

This personal experience played a large part in John deciding to

As President and CEO of the international drilling contractor

endow scholarships at the University and Ormond College. In 2010,

Atwood Oceanics, he played a significant role during his 17

the John R Irwin Scholarship was established for students studying

years of leadership in building the company, its listing on the

a graduate degree under the Melbourne Model curriculum.

New York Stock Exchange, and its recognition as number two on the ‘All Star List’ of Fortune’s 100 Fastest-Growing US

Alisha D’Souza, a Masters of Engineering student who received

Companies. He was also the recipient of the Ernst & Young

the scholarship in 2012, says it allowed her to focus more time

‘Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Energy’ for Houston and

and effort on her studies and extracurricular activities, including

the US Gulf Coast, and was named by Texas CEO magazine

volunteering with Engineers Without Borders.

on its ‘Best of the Best’ list in 2010.

14

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

John and Margo Irwin

“It has made managing work and other commitments much

Now residing in Houston, Texas, John is a member of the

easier, more productive and efficient. I am truly grateful for the

University of Melbourne USA Foundation Board and is a

generous support,” she said.

committed advocate for the University, Ormond College, and the city of Melbourne. He is pleased to support Believe

Together with his wife Margo, John has also funded the John

– The Campaign for the University of Melbourne.

and Margo Irwin Scholarship at Ormond College for Engineering and Science students.

“I feel it is important for Melbourne and Australia to have world-class universities and attract talented students regardless

“I have a desire to see both Ormond College and the University

of means,” he said.

of Melbourne do well in the future,” he said.

“It has been an honour to become re-involved with Ormond “I have wonderful memories and life-long friendships and am

and the University of Melbourne at this stage in my life.”

grateful for the life-changing educational experience. Having been absent from Melbourne and Australia – as a resident, anyway – for nearly 45 years, these relationships and memories have become extremely important for me to preserve.”

Further underlining the couple’s generosity, John and Margo are making a bequest to Ormond College, ensuring their legacy is felt by future generations.

“This is an opportunity to give careful thought to those areas that are important to you and that bring you a sense of pleasure, satisfaction, belonging and meaning,” he said of the bequest.

“In my own case, three areas that are very important to me are supporting Ormond College, supporting the University of

“The support from the John and Margo Irwin Scholarship has given me the freedom to broaden my academic interests and welcome new challenges, the motivation to develop a sense of self-assurance in an environment abounding in opportunity and the chance to contribute all I can to the life of the awe-inspiring college that is Ormond.”

Elizabeth Ford (Sci 2)

Melbourne – the Melbourne Model, and professional education – and supporting education in Melbourne in terms of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I am passionate about the longer term competitiveness of Melbourne, the city and home in which I was so fortunate to be born, grow up, and be educated.”

No.88 JUNE 2014

15

Our Community

Thanking Jane Freemantle

Rufus Black Master

Jane Freemantle has made a profound and lasting contribution

Jane has also served as the President of the Senior Common

to the life of the College during her time at Ormond, and we

Room and the staff representative on the College Council. In

have much to thank her for and celebrate on the occasion of

these roles she has championed the centrality of academic

her retirement. She has embodied all that is best about being a

community to collegiate life and offered wise counsel on the

member of the Senior Common Room.

overall direction of Ormond.

What has characterised all of Jane’s many contributions to the College is her absolute commitment to students and their wellbeing. Whether it was providing counsel, mentoring or academic advice whatever the hour, cooking dinner for students or cheering a sporting team at 7 am before heading off to work, Jane has always been there for them. Students’ extraordinary affection and regard for Jane as a result of all that she has done for them was expressed when the Students’ Club took the unique step at the Club Dinner last year of making her a life member of the Ormond College Students’ Club (OCSC).

Or-Ma’am Dinner 2013

Associate Professor Freemantle is first of all a distinguished academic, whose courageous and groundbreaking work is helping to redefine our understanding of the Indigenous population of Victoria.

Jane has turned her personal and academic passion into practical action that has made the College a better place, as the driving force behind the Ormond College Indigenous Program.

It is a mark of her character that she readily points to the contributions of others, but the simple truth is we would not

Receiving her life membership of the OCSC

have this program and it would not have became an integral

Jane, together with her ever-supportive husband, Jim Freemantle

part of how we operate as a College in just six years without

AO, will be greatly missed and fondly remembered,

Jane’s leadership.

and I wish them both all the very best.

16

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Garma 2013

Jane has been an enormously influential woman in my life, both while I was at Ormond and in the time since. I was first introduced to Jane as a warm Senior Common Room member who seemed to be present at every OCSC event, looking for points of connection and opportunities to share knowledge with new students, while also being aware of and worried for those students who might not be feeling part of the College.

During my time at Ormond, I realised that Jane was someone who, whatever the circumstances, made whatever needed to happen possible. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have worked with Jane during the development of Ormond’s Indigenous Program, learning constantly from her integrity and the way this translated into change at an institutional level and relationships on a personal level.

In addition to being a highly regarded academic, Jane established connections with as many students as possible, actively building and maintaining relationships. Jane has been an academic and personal mentor, not just for me but for many others too, and I hope that in the years to come she is able to continue sharing her warmth, care, knowledge

Or-Ma’am Dinner 2013

and stories with those around her.

Jane has played an integral role in nurturing my university

Fi Belcher (2008)

and College experience. Jane was the first to welcome me into the halls of Ormond and over the years she has helped

Jane was the first person to make me feel like Ormond was

me to reach my potential, both academically and personally.

a home away from home. She genuinely cares and I know

She has inspired and guided me and in a maternal way,

she always has my best interests at heart. She goes beyond

and cracked the whip when that’s exactly what I needed.

her official role here at Ormond and is always there for a

Jane remains a close friend and mentor of mine and I am

chat about anything at all, no matter when. Jane is the first

eternally grateful for the generous support she has rendered

staff member I met and will truly be the last I forget.

and continues to render me.

Nina Fitzgerald (Biomed 2)

Bede Jones (2011)

No.88 JUNE 2014

17

World War I centenary

Rufus Black Master Harold “Pompey” Elliott 1899

The Centenary of the start of the First World War is a

He stood against life-wasting British actions on the Western

time to reflect.

Front, he was present on the front line where few generals ever ventured and, as a more junior officer, in the thick of the

Ormond was deeply touched by the Great War. The list of

fight he refused to ask his soldiers to do things he would not

names in the Vestibule of those who served is long. Their

do himself.

images can be seen in the sporting pictures on the walls and their names on trophies and oars. The sense of loss lingers.

These are but a few of the many lenses through which we

When rowers of this generation carry the great brass shield

can view the First World War. The Centenary is an opportunity

of the Mervyn Bournes Higgins rowing trophy into the Hall,

to revisit an important chapter in Ormond’s history and to

we remember a dashing rower, a great scholar and a fallen

explore what it meant then and what it still means to us today.

soldier of the Australian Light Horse.

We start that exploration this year with a dinner to commemorate Ormond people not only fought in the War but they also led.

the great dinner held in the Dining Hall one hundred years ago,

General ‘Pompey’ Elliot was perhaps the most famous among

at which the College farewelled the Ormond men going to war

them. His story still inspires today.

and Pompey Elliot spoke in reply on behalf of the soldiers.

Ormond College World War 1 Commemorative Dinner Friday 12 September, 6.30pm - 9.30pm, Ormond College, $50 per head. Contact Louise Curran on 03 9344 1270 Guest Speaker: Dr Ross McMullin AM, historian and biographer whose main interests are Australian history, politics, and sport. He has researched and written extensively about the impact of World War 1 on Australia and its involvement in that conflict. Dr McMullin’s books include his award winning biography on the notable Ormond alumnus Pompey Elliott and his most recent book Farewell, dear people which includes the stories of several young men, with close connections to Ormond, who were sadly lost in the war.

In researching for the evening we have discovered many interesting stories and much about life at the College at the time, which we will share with you on the evening.

18

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Our Community

Four Coffees and a Dinner

Deb Hull Director of Learning

Want to connect with and support Ormond students without committing hours of time that you don’t have?

From July, Ormond is launching a program that brings together graduate students and alumni. It involves, literally, four coffees and one dinner across the year.

You will be matched with a graduate student who is studying in your field and will meet them for coffee wherever and whenever works for you both.

You might offer insights into your industry, open their eyes to diverse career pathways, give tips about what recruiters are looking for, or just chat about their studies and what they are currently thinking about.

The student will also invite you to dinner at High Table in Hall during the year, to meet with senior Ormond staff and other participants in the program. Initially we are seeking alumni to connect with graduates studying: • construction management

• international relations

• dentistry

• mathematics and statistics

• economics

• mechanical engineering

• education

• optometry

• finance

• physiotherapy

• human resources • Indigenous studies

•p ublic policy and management

• information systems

• research science

• infrastructure engineering

• urban planning

If you would like to participate in this new Ormond program, please contact Louise Curran at alumni@ormond.unimelb.edu.au or 9344 1270.

No.87 DECEMBER 2013

Later this year, we hope to extend the program to medicine and law.

19

Alumni News

Thomas Graham (2003) won $100,000 with his company Map-D in an international tech-engineering competition.

Through his time in the US as visiting scholar at Harvard, he co-founded Map-D which is working with companies including Facebook and Paypal to tackle their Big-Data challenges.

Andrew Holmes (1962) has been elected as the next President of the Australian Academy of Science. Andrew will take up this role after the Academy’s General Meeting in May 2014. We wish Professor Holmes all the best as he takes on this new role and continues his important work.

Jo Jukes (1987) still keeps up with her Ormond mates and has recently joined the Ormond ski lodge at Hotham. Jo has worked in Germany and Australia for Siemens as a project and corporate lawyer. She is married with three children.

Leah Grogan Sakas (2003) and her husband Jack welcomed a baby girl, Vivian Grogan Sakas, on 5 December 2013.

Ross Abraham (1998) is married to Meredith, they live in Geelong and Ross is the owner-operator of Kardinia Dental.

They have two young sons, Oliver, born in 2011, and Dexter, born in 2013.

Vivian Grogan Sakas

James Starling (1997) left Australia in 2003 to trade commodities in Argentina and Brazil. He completed an MBA degree in France in 2005, then worked at a bank in London until 2012. James married Rebecca in Leicestershire in April Dexter and Oliver Abraham

2012 with Dennis Deane (1997) as master-of-ceremonies. Early

Peter Andrew (1984) has spent the last six years out of

this year James took up a portfolio manager role with Trafigura’s

Australia traveling between Singapore, England and Singapore

Hedge Fund Division based in Geneva, Switzerland. James is

again. He sees his three children broadening their views on the

working on a return to the family farm in South Australia.

world. Peter’s career has a real opportunity to make a difference in a (fledgling) industry of workplace strategy. His role at CBRE

Anna Stockley (2002) is living in New York City running

in workplace strategy is a form of management consulting

strategy for Bonobos, an e-commerce company selling men’s

that brings together people, technology and the physical

clothes and the largest apparel brand to launch online in the

environment to reinvent work/learning processes and culture

USA. They now have stores across the country to supplement

to drive business performance and increase employee

their website business. Anna never thought she would be

engagement and satisfaction. Peter’s personal ambition is

managing the expansion of a retail network across America!

to help transform work and workplaces in Asia. Returning to

She loves that she can stay in touch with Ormond via her

Singapore with a large organisation like CBRE has enabled him

youngest sister, Naomi, who joined the College in 2013

to build a regional team and drive into immature markets in

as a first-year and lives in O-Wing.

Hong Kong, China, India, Japan and Singapore.

20

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Sally-Anne Symes (1992) undertook further study on leaving Ormond and travelled overseas. She returned to Australia and has worked in the Victorian water industry for the past decade.

Her role includes sustainability planning, environmental risk profiling and NRM investment. Sal is married, has three beautiful children and lives in Bendigo. She recently started a small business delivering fun, foreign-language programs for young children

The College has learned of the following deaths in our community.

Our sympathy is extended to the families of these Ormondians.

(aged 2–12 years) in regional Victoria. Helping to grow little

Peter William Fay (1947)

linguists and bilingual sustainability warriors is her new passion.

Kenneth John Millar (1944)

Jonathan Wilcox (2008) is undertaking a 3-month internship

Keith Dickson Nunn (1950)

with the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the

Dr Richard John Fuller (Ivanhoe) (1978)

Courts of Cambodia, which is the UN-assisted hybrid tribunal

Dr Ian Peter McIntyre (1953)

tasked with the prosecution of war crimes and genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge in 1975-79. He will be assisting

Robert Andrew Anderson (1965)

the Chamber with judgment drafting and researching the

Margaret Ellen Thom (1946)

relevant laws as the most recent indictment goes to hearing.

He recently graduated as a Sydney JD and was admitted as a

George Rousseau (1960)

lawyer in NSW, where he has been practising criminal law.

David (René) Paul (1958) David, known as René, and I became close friends in 1957, when at Geelong College we shared the prefects’ study with two other Ormond colleagues, David Messenger and Ian Wills. David was a recognised senior English literature and French student. His impish wit and discourses were so engaging, a relief from the stress of impending exams.

David had informed and excited me about Melbourne University and the residential College, Ormond, of which I knew little.

He was Melbourne savvy. When going for interviews at the University, I stayed with David and his family in West Brunswick and was warmly welcomed; his father Norman had been an Ormondian in 1923. So I regard David as the

David Paul and Graeme Robson in the 1961 Ormond College Students’ Club General Committee

influence under which I was fortunate enough to attend

David was a teacher, initially at Ivanhoe Boys’ Grammar,

Ormond, where we were ‘wives’, sharing a study for three

then in England, before going to Scotch College in 1970,

of my College years.

where he was head of history and politics and later head of social education. David was President of the History

David and I shared so many days, so many friends, so many

Teachers’ Association of Victoria in the late 80s and also

experiences, including my anxious help with his recurrent

Chief Examiner of European History. Renaissance history was

asthma attacks. In addition to communal fellowship, we

his love.

shared an interest in music. I was introduced to the early Negro ballads of blues singer Leadbelly, the exciting

David has two sons, Jason and Christopher, from his first

jazz orchestrations of Duke Ellington and the beautiful

marriage to Jennifer Lechte (née Broadbent) and a daughter,

melancholic playing of Miles Davis. I cherish those times.

Dimity, with his second wife, Veida, who did so much to support David with his many problems in latter years,

After David came back from England, contact became less

when he was preparing himself for his death. René will be

frequent until the last few years, by which time David was

remembered with much affection by all who knew him.

battling many serious ailments.

Graeme Robson (1958)

No.88 JUNE 2014

21

Australia Day Honours

Founders and Benefactors

Professor Bruce Harold McKellar AC (1973) for eminent service

The Annual Commemoration of Founders and Benefactors

to science, particularly the study of theoretical physics, as an

was a wonderful occasion where the many members of our

academic, educator and researcher, through seminal contributions

community came together in celebration of our proud tradition

to scientific development organisations and as an author and

of benefaction. The evening began with a service in the Chapel,

mentor.

led by the college chaplain Dr Garry Deverell, which allowed the attendees a moment of reflection on the goodness of

Mr Peter John Jopling AM QC (1974) for significant service

contributing back.

to the law in Victoria and to the community.

Emeritus Professor John D McLaren AM (1951) for significant service to education, particularly the humanities and social sciences, as an academic, mentor and teacher.

Professor Rob Moodie AM (1972), a member of the Ormond College Council and Ormond Alumni, for his service to medicine through HIV/AIDS research and through leadership roles in population health and disease prevention programs.

Dr Heather Y Schnagl AM for significant service to education as a school principal and through roles with professional

Neville (1961) and Di Bertalli with scholarship recipient Stevie Kirke-Groves (Sci 2)

organisations; she is the spouse of Dr Roger Schnagl (1970).

Following this, we reconvened to a jubilant dinner held in the Dining Hall. In between Dr Rob Leach’s stimulating speech on

Mr Paul Sheahan AM (1965) for significant service to

this college’s history, and graduate student Cameron Muirhead’s

education and through roles with sporting, charitable and

thought-provoking words on the privilege of philanthropy,

community organisations.

many scholarship recipients relished the opportunity to engage individually with their benefactors. Praised by some as the

The Honourable Dr Ross Alan Sundberg AM QC (1961)

best event they had attended in years, this year’s celebration

for significant service to the law as a judge, reporter and

reminded us, as astutely put by Cameron Muirhead, that “Life

educator; he was appointed Judge in Residence at Ormond

is a gift… it offers us the privilege, the opportunity, but most of

College in October 2011.

all, the responsibility to give something back, which we can do by becoming something more”.

Dr David Alan Parker OAM (1960) for service to dentistry.

Stephanie McMahon (MD1)

Doctor tackled deadly epidemics

“Working in refugee camps was without doubt one of the

As a young doctor working in

we should be talking about what’s going on in the camps

refugee camps in Sudan,

around diets, water and sanitation.”

most instructive parts of my medical training, learning that

Rob Moodie AM (1972) treated children with

It’s an approach that has guided him through a 35-year

preventable diseases that

career, including in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

could quickly become deadly

when he took a key role in United Nations’ efforts to warn

epidemics in crowded conditions.

communities of the emerging threat. More recently his focus

Seeing a steady stream of children suffering the same types of

has turned to the diseases caused by smoking, obesity and

illnesses, with scarce resources to treat them, led him to think

excessive alcohol consumption.

about the bigger picture.

Obesity and alcohol remain major challenges: “Whether

22

“It’s that notion of sitting on the bank of a river and people

it’s tobacco, alcohol or food, you’re fighting major industries

keep drowning, so you drag them out and save them, and

who are in a sense the vectors of these industrial

then someone says, ‘why don’t you go up the river and see

epidemics,” he says.

who’s pushing them in?”’ says Moodie.

Kate Hagan (Fairfax Syndication)

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Event Diary 1984 - 30 Year Reunion - Cocktail Party

Thursday 17 July 2014

Ormond College at 6.30pm

NSW Chapter Gala

Friday 8 August 2014

Paddington, NSW

WW1 Commemorative Dinner

Friday 12 September

Ormond College at 6.30pm

OCA Dinner

Friday 10 October 2014

Ormond College at 6.45pm

1881 Club Dinner

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Ormond College at 6.30pm

1974 - 40 Year Reunion Cocktail Party

Friday 14 November 2014

Ormond College at 6.30pm

MacFarland Circle

Monday 1 December 2014

Ormond College, time to be advised

Save this Date Friday August 8, 2014 From 7pm

Grab a device and mark your calendar!

The Ormond College NSW Chapter is kicking up its heels for the

Biennial Gala to raise scholarship funds for NSW based students At the house of John Knox and Ro McGinley-Knox, Paddington, 2021 Details to follow...

No.88 JUNE 2014

23

Our heritage environment — integral to the Ormond experience

49 College Crescent Parkville VIC 3052 Australia T: 61 3 9344 1100 F: 61 3 9344 1111 E: advancement@ormond.unimelb.edu.au W: www.ormond.unimelb.edu.au

2014 Ormond College Association Dinner

OCA AGM and Dinner 2014

Names:

Friday 10 October 2014 at 6.45pm

This year’s OCA Dinner will be held on Friday 10 October

Please print full name & year of entry

2014. The guest speaker for the evening is Paul Sheahan

AM (1965). Paul was awarded the Order of Australia

Please print full name & year of entry

Medal in January 2014 for his significant service to

Contact number during business hours

education and through roles with sporting, charitable and

Email address

community organisations. Educated at the University of Melbourne, Paul was Headmaster of Melbourne Grammar

Names for a Table of 12 1

Peer Year

(table captain)

School from 1995 to 2009, having been Principal of his old school Geelong College from 1986 to 1995. Paul is a former Australian Test cricketer who played 31 Tests and

2

3 One Day Internationals as an opening and middle order

3

batsman between 1967 and 1973.

4

The evening will also include the 2004, 10 year and 1994,

5

20 year reunions.

6

6.45pm – 7.30pm Pre-dinner drinks and savouries 7.30pm – 10.30pm Dinner College Dining Hall

7 8 9

Dress: Black/Ormond Tie

10 11

For enquiries please email to: alumni@ormond.unimelb.edu.au

12

RSVP: Friday 3 October 2014

OR seat me with (please tick): my year group

1994 year group – 20 year reunion

2004 year group – 10 year reunion

Dietary Requirements

OCA Dinner only

place/s @ $85 per person

place/s @ $75 per person (2009–13 only)

Total $ Payment Details Cheque (payable to Ormond College) Mastercard

Visa (no Diners/Amex)

Name on credit card Card Number Expiry Signature

/

Please complete form on reverse and return to: OCA Dinner Ormond College 49 College Crescent Parkville VIC 3052 AUSTRALIA T: +61 3 9344 1270 E: alumni@ormond.unimelb.edu.au Book online at: www.ormond.unimelb.edu.au/event