28 PLC in Prin t | Ma r ch 2 0 2 2
PLC i n P ri nt | Mar ch 2 0 2 2
There and Back Again Everyone has the pure intention to keep in touch with their friends after high school, but the reality is that life isn’t that simple. There are groups of high school friends who remain best friends into university and afterwards, but for most of us, we lose touch once we leave school and begin our careers in the big wide world. In general, family, school and home location characterise us and heavily influence our associations in later life. Family has been found to have the strongest influence, with schooling being the next most important impact. Teachers guide children on what they want to become in the future; they also push kids to go beyond their limits and help them achieve their best. All these influences shape our character. Three Old Collegians have suddenly crossed paths at the Federation of Community Legal Centres in Victoria. Louisa Gibbs is the organisation’s CEO; Michelle Taylor is the Operations Manager; and Linda Loveder is the Executive Assistant to the CEO. None of these co-workers had come across ex-PLC girls before, nor had they met each other, as they were all from different years; however, they found they shared a common outlook. The values instilled in these pupils, by the school, have generated a camaraderie in their professional lives. Whether we like it or not, we are all connected to our teenage years in some way. High school friends strengthen that connection by setting up Facebook groups and organising school reunions to relive the moments from the past. You will always be connected to your secondary school in some way because those were the years when you grew up. We all walked down the same hallways, had the same teachers, sang the same anthem, lived by the same rules and gained close friends as we grew up in the strong social environment our school created for us. People who went to the same school share a familiar and safe place, no matter how much time or distance separates them, and they can always go back in time and laugh about the silly things that they did at school while growing up. When you reconnect or connect with someone from the same school, it is as if for a moment, nothing has changed. You share traditions and a unique aspect, aspects that helped define you as you grew up.
We’ve all wondered at times if high school determines who we become as adults and now that these three women have met, many years after their time at PLC, it is obvious that the school environment does have an immense impact on adult lives. The Federation of Community Legal
Centres Victoria is a not-for-profit peak body that supports and advocates for Victoria’s 47 Community Legal Centres (CLCs). For fifty years, CLCs have been at the forefront of helping those facing economic, cultural, or social disadvantages to access free legal services; and advocating for more equitable laws.
News of Old Collegians Births Sara Tavasz (Hancock 2006) and James welcomed a son, Dominic, on 8 October 2021. Dominic is their first child.
Marriages
Left to right: Michelle Taylor, Louisa Gibbs and Linda Loveder are delighted to be working together at the Federation of Community Legal Centres (VIC)
Katherine Scott (Moore 2010) married Sam Scott on 13 February 2022 in a joyous outdoor ceremony in the Yarra Valley. Their marriage was celebrated with many Old Collegians in attendance, including maid of honour, Saran Jones (2010), and bridesmaid, Natalie Kieleithner (2010).
Michelle Taylor (Lam 1997) spent her early career years working in community grass roots sports and event management, then went on to spend much of her career in business operations across the corporate sector in the financial, telecommunications and technology industries. She joined the not-for-profit sector in 2019 and in 2021 commenced with the Federation of Community Legal Centres. Michelle has three primary-school-aged children. In closing, these three women are ever so thankful to PLC for its full academic and social guidance, which has touched their lives and been a lasting influence in their adult lives.
Louisa Gibbs (1992) commenced with the Federation in August 2021. Earlier in her career, Louisa served as Principal Solicitor of Inner Melbourne Community Legal. She also spent 13 years living and working in Vietnam, Solomon Islands and Senegal, working on justice sector strengthening programs, building the capacity of national lawyers, and partnering with women’s groups to draft and advocate for the introduction of dedicated domestic violence legislation in three Pacific Island countries. Louisa and her husband Andrew have three sons aged 14, 13 and 11.
The PLC community is saddened to learn of the passing of the following Old Collegians and community members. Obituaries
Linda Loveder (Black 1979) is happily married with one child and has travelled extensively and worked throughout her career as a professional Executive Assistant to many CEOs in private, corporate, and not-for-profit organisations. Some major career highlights for Linda were working for Qantas, Mercedes-Benz, and the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne. Linda divides her time between Collingwood and Phillip Island. As Linda is nearing retirement in the next ten years, she will see her only son getting married this year and looks forward to grandchildren.
Rosemary Post (Gladwell 1948) died peacefully, aged 90 years on 11 March, 2022, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where she had been a long-time resident and an active and much-loved member of the local community. She is survived by her elder sister Mrs Patricia Storey (Gladwell 1946), a former Head Prefect of PLC. Ann Radford (Bromilow 1961) passed away on December 11, 2021.
The Hon Raymond Moyle Northrop QC passed away on 31 December, 2021, aged 96. Ray had a long and distinguished career as a barrister and judge. He served on the PLC Council from 1968-1980. Ray joined the PLC Council in 1968 and was elected Chairman in 1972. His time as Chair coincided with the difficult and challenging period for the school as the Presbyterian Church entered into union with the Congregational and Methodist Churches to establish the Uniting Church in Australia. Ray remained Chair of the Council until 1980 when a new Council was established following the awarding of the school to the Continuing Presbyterian Church. Ray was committed to the success of the school and was a staunch supporter of its then Principal Joan Montgomery. In her recent book, The Vetting of Wisdom, Kim Rubenstein (1982) provides a compelling analysis of this tumultuous period. With his two daughters attending the school, Ray’s support of the school was consistent with his deeply held belief in the importance of a liberal, humane and scientific education for women. Ray was born on 10 August 1925 in New Britain, then part of the Australian Mandated Territory of New Guinea. He returned to Australia with his family at age two. Ray completed his secondary education in Melbourne, matriculating from Melbourne High School in 1942 before joining the Royal Australian Navy in January 1943. He served as a seaman on the Tribal Class destroyer HMAS Arunta until 1945, seeing active service in the South West Pacific, New Guinea, the Philippines and Borneo. Ray graduated Masters of Laws from the University of Melbourne in 1950, and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor in Victoria the following year. From 1952 Ray practised solely as a barrister, later specialising in industrial law. In 1976 Ray was appointed a judge of the Australian Industrial Court and the Supreme Court of the ACT, and was appointed a founding judge of the newly formed Federal Court of Australia in February the following year. Ray served on a number of legal bodies during his professional career, before voluntarily retiring from the Federal Court in 1998. He was the last remaining founding judge to retire, aged 73. Ray married Joan Peacock in December 1954. Ray would later reflect that marrying Joan was without doubt the most important decision of his life. Joan was a source of great inspiration, support and loving care for over
50 years until her death in 2008. Together they had five children: Merinda (1974), Nerida (1975), Christopher, Rohan and James. Education and the Church were very important to both Ray and Joan. Ray was a member of the University of Melbourne Standing Committee of Convocation for ten years from 1965, becoming Warden of Convocation and later President of the Graduates. In 1975 he was elected to the University of Melbourne Council, serving as Deputy Chancellor of the University from 1985 to 1993. It was in his capacity as Deputy Chancellor that Ray had the honour of conferring the degree of Doctor of Philosophy on his wife Joan in 1990. Throughout his life Ray was a respected member of the Presbyterian Church and later the Uniting Church, serving as procurator of the Presbyterian Church from 1974-1976. Ray’s community service was recognised in 1995 when the University of Melbourne conferred him with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws “for long and distinguished service to the community, particularly in the fields of law and education.” Following his retirement Ray became involved in the Navy Historical Society and the HMAS Arunta Association. Amongst other things, Ray was instrumental in the successful campaign to erect a memorial to the three World War II Tribal Class destroyers on the foreshore at Queenscliff. A highlight of his retirement years was leading the 2012 ANZAC Day march in Melbourne. Throughout his life Ray was guided by a strong sense of duty and obligation, and was unfailingly supportive and encouraging of those around him. His good humour and the twinkle in his eye persisted even through the trials of the COVID lockdowns over the past two years. He is survived by his five children, ten grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.
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