OCA GOLF DAY

MON 8 MAY

To be held at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club. All are welcome!

Please contact Robin Collier (Wilson, 1969) at robinjcollier@gmail.com for more details.

Registration is required online, by Monday 8 May. All past students of PLC are Old Collegians who can vote at the AGM. Our Honorary Old Collegians are very welcome but not able to vote.

You are entitled to just attend the brief AGM for free before the Luncheon, or join the AGM Luncheon for a light meal and drinks and to hear the 2022 Women Out There Fellowship (WOTF) Fellow, Rosalie Lui (2006), describe her project in Kenya to improve the lives of single mothers and their children. Register for either the AGM meeting, or the meeting and Luncheon, through the QR code below or by ringing Julie Schroeder on 9805 7889 by Monday 8 May 2023.

Election of CommitteePLC OCA is recruiting!

Nominations for the OCA Committee must be received on the nomination form that is available on request from plc.melb.oca@gmail.com. The form must be signed by the nominee and two other Old Collegians and returned by Friday 5 May 2023 at plc.melb.oca@gmail.com. Forms can be photographed and emailed to PLC OCA.

The OCA is a busy and vibrant committee with up to 19 members who are currently drawn from Old Collegians from 1973 to 2011. The current subcommittees of PLC OCA are:

• Finance and Investment

• Women Out There Fellowship (WOTF)

• Group B Selection

• Communications (OCA FB and Zoom – creating live links)

• Governance

• Mentoring/PLC Women

• Scholarship Fundraising

• Events

Most of our current committee members have offered themselves for re-election; however, we are always pleased to welcome new Old Collegians to join us in building a great future for all Old Collegians, wherever they live in the world. This year we are seeking Old Collegians with skills and passion for fundraising for our OCA Scholarship Fund and further members for our busy subcommittees of Communications and Mentoring/PLC Women. Join now to be part of planning the 150th celebrations in 2025.

Geelong Branch

Celebrating its 72nd year, the Geelong Branch of the PLC OCA enjoyed a recent meeting on Sunday 26 March at the Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Grovedale. We enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea and especially appreciated the warm service offered to us by a young woman from the community.

We also felt very privileged to have Deputy Principal Lisa Saffin share with us a wonderful account of life today at our alma mater, and of how the staff and girls coped during COVID.

North East Group

The first meeting of North East members of the PLC Old Collegians was held recently at King River Café, Oxley, which was a great success as we were all so pleased to be meeting again for lunch.

There were 25 members present plus two chauffeurs who also joined us.

As usual, Ben and Judy at the café served us a delicious two-course lunch, as well as tea and coffee.

Principal Cheryl Penberthy joined us for lunch and shared of some of the many activities at the school. It’s all so different from the 1950s when some of us were boarders in East Melbourne!

We also welcomed five members who travelled from Melbourne to be with us.

Since our 60th Celebration a year ago, two of the original Benalla members – Robin Sadler (Say) and Thelma Cook (Crilly) have sadly passed away.

We plan to hold two lunches each year from now on and the next will be on 4 October at Shepparton.

If you would like to join us and are not on our mailing list, please email me jcuddon@outlook.com and I will send details at the appropriate time.

Mornington Peninsula Friendship Group

The Mornington Peninsula PLC OCA Friendship Group had an extremely well attended lunch at Kirk’s on the Esplanade in Mornington in February. Thirty-two Old Collegians from school leaving years 1950 through to 1979, including eight new to the group, enjoyed a happy, if noisy, time together. We were delighted to be able to launch a book written by Old Collegian Christina Pemberton, formerly Barbara Lawton (1963). Her story tells of the adventures and challenges that she and her husband, Allan, encountered when taking on an unusual opportunity in the South of France. Titled, France on a Handshake, it is a most interesting story which may encourage others to embrace opportunities as they arise. A number of friends bought her book and Christina is generously donating a percentage of the sales to the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The photo shows Christina, the author, Jan Kirchner, editor/ typesetter, and Anne Neil, who officially declared France on a Handshake launched.

Our next lunch will be on 22 July 2023. This is on a Saturday to enable those who have commitments on weekdays to attend. If you are interested in joining us, please ensure that we have your contact details so we can keep you informed. Send your email address, mobile phone number, year of leaving school and maiden name to lemonjam.lj@gmail.com and we will add you to our communications list.

ACT Branch

The PLC in Canberra group met for afternoon tea on 18 March 2023 at Caphs Café, Bar and Restaurant, a historic dining venue located in the heart of Manuka in the ACT. Caphs is a heritage-listed building and is the only restaurant in this region that has continued trading since 1926. As usual, we enjoyed catching up on news and were delighted to be joined by Julie Schroeder from the Development Office to hear about life at PLC since the lifting of COVID restrictions in Victoria. If you’d like to be added to the mailing list for future events, please email Morag Donaldson (1987) at plcincanberra@ hotmail.com or contact the PLC Development Office.

Morag Donaldson (1987)

The Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship has been awarded since 1959 to students who would not otherwise be able to attend PLC. This scholarship was set up to honour Miss Hailes, a greatly loved Vice Principal (1933-1954) and Acting Principal, after her sudden death in 1958.

Please join with other Old Collegians who have for many years donated to support this scholarship, helping girls attend PLC in honour of Helen Hailes and the value we place on the importance of educating women. One of the most important offerings by the OCA is the provision of scholarships. The OCA actively encourages the community to give back and donate to support these ongoing scholarships, providing an opportunity to change the lives of the next generation of girls so that they may benefit from all that a PLC education has to offer.

Our Birthday League Governor

Ms Denise Poon (1978) is keen to welcome you into the Birthday League and send you a birthday greeting as you donate each year to support our OCA Scholarships. Donations are acknowledged by the PLC OCA in PLC in Print.

Bank Details for EFT Donations

Bank: CommBank

Account name: PLCOCA

Account BSB: 063 197

Account Number: 00900486

Reference Details: ‘HH’, and the name you wish to be acknowledged by in PLC in Print, or ‘anonymous’.

Denise Poon Contact Details

Address: 499 Neerim Road Murrumbeena Victoria 3163

Email: mimosacarnegie@gmail.com

Phone: (H) 9571 1197 (M) 0438 365 277

Ailsa Wilson (Watson 1978) President Old Collegians’ Association

Birthday League Donors

The PLC OCA wish to thank all Birthday League Donors for their kind and thoughtful support of the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship fund. This fund supports talented students, usually the daughters or granddaughters of Old Collegians, who would otherwise be unable to attend PLC for financial reasons.

Dr Kate Cherry

Mrs Dawn Best

Mrs Deborah Williams

Mrs Roselyn Muir

Mrs Alison Rechner

Mrs Helen Bailey

Mrs Judith Boucher

Mrs Leonore McClintock

Miss Anne Smith

Dr Rosalind McMillan AM

Mrs Lois McKay

Mrs Janet Davies

Ms Robin Perrin

Mrs Helen Haysom

Mrs Natalie Cronin

Dr Tabathia Pettitt

Mrs Bronwyn Tacey

Mrs Joan Andrew

Mrs Wendy Fishley

Dr Bev Hookey

Mrs June Noble

Mrs Yvonne Knowles

Mrs Lesley Falloon

Mrs Helen Carson

Mrs Dorothy Ramsay

Mrs Anne Neil

Miss Joan Montgomery AM OBE

Mrs Christine Wilson

Mrs Alison Kidman

Mrs Helen Guilfoyle

Mrs Elspeth Arnold

Miss Lauris Murnane

Ms Helen Beanham

Mrs Jean Oldfield

Mrs Claire Douglas

Mrs Val Reid

Mrs Claire Macmillan

Mrs Helen Dent

Mrs Peg Randell

Mrs Anne Hoadley

Dr Merrilyn Murnane AM

Mrs Janet Brown

Dr Jennifer Henry

Mrs Diana Cherry

Dr Glenys French

Mrs Belinda Steele

Mrs Christine Gorrie

Mrs Jean Garrow

Mornington Branch

North East Branch