Junior School

Old Collegians’ Association

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OCA President’s Report

I was delighted to welcome 130 Old Collegians to the iconic Supper Room at the Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday 12 November to hear and be inspired by the Rt Hon. Sally Capp (1986), Lord Mayor of Melbourne.

Sally explained how her PLC education, its values, the beliefs it instilled and the encouragement to try new things, had prepared her for the complex projects at the Melbourne City Council. Not least being that her team has undertaken significant initiatives in addressing homelessness, lockdowns and lockdown recovery. Sally shared that being Lord Mayor has been the hardest thing she has ever done, but also the most enlightening and rewarding. She encouraged us all to look out for these ‘light bulb’ moments in our lives and take advantage of them.

Sally thanked current and past PLC staff and students for attending and reflected on how much she values being a member of a group of PLC women who have had such an incredible influence on one another.

At the high tea, there was representation from PLC cohorts from 1949 to 2018 as well as current and past staff, including 17 Old Collegian mothers and daughters. The 1980s was very well represented by 34 Old Collegians, seven past staff and a whole table from 1986.

During the afternoon we presented Marilyn Forde (PLC staff 1973-1983) with her certificate of Honorary Old Collegian. Marilyn recalled what an inspiring group of teachers were with her at PLC.

This year our fundraising in aid of the OCA Scholarship Fund raised $1,975 and I wish to thank everyone for their generosity including the Old Collegians who donated 10 of the prizes, PLC for donating a further seven, and Alex Frew (1978) for organising everything. There was much excitement about the major prize. It was a Catherine Manuell Design On Board Wheely in a stylish blue and gold pattern. Fittingly, Marilyn Forde was the recipient. I’d also like to thank Lisa Leong (1989), author of This Working Life, and Genevieve Rogers (Gawler 1999), author of Hullabazoo, for donating their books for the event.

The OCA was established in 1903 by Melbourne’s first doctors and Dame Nellie Melba and is the oldest Old Collegians Association in Australia. We have much to look forward to. In 2023 we celebrate our 120th Anniversary, and in 2025 we will join with PLC in celebrating the 150th Anniversary of PLC.

If you would like to be involved in planning these celebrations, please reach out to us at plc.melb.oca@gmail.com or through our Facebook group PLC Melbourne OCA.

Ailsa Wilson (Watson 1978) President Old Collegians’ Association

C A. L to R, Ailsa Wilson (Watson 1978), Sally Capp (1986), Wendy Davenport (1976) and Debbie Barbour (1986).

Debbie introduced Sally and Wendy presented her with a laptop compendium generously donated by Cath Manuell (1980) of Catherine Manuell Design. B. L to R, three generations of one family came together with Jennifer Roberts (Munday 1980), her mother Joan Munday (McPherson 1950) and daughter Louise Roberts (2012). C. Melissa Wong (1987), Gay Knox, Li-Leen Tan (1986), Joyce Khor (1986). D. L to R, Anne-Marie Williams, Lisa Saffin, Cheryl Penberthy and Li-Leen Tan (1986).

The following is an excerpt from the President’s Welcome from the 2022 High Tea with Sally Capp event.

A very warm welcome to everyone at our PLC OCA High Tea in the Supper Room of the Melbourne Town Hall. Having PLC women back in the centre of Melbourne is a delight and symbolic too.

Our founding fathers set up PLC in East Melbourne in 1875 because they wanted their daughters and sisters to have the same educational opportunities as did their sons and brothers. They understood the power of education to improve lives, families and whole communities. From that campus in Albert St, the PLC speech days were held here at the Melbourne Town Hall through until the 1960s.

In 1918 and 1920, Dame Nellie Melba sang here, filling the Town Hall for concerts in aid of the OCA Scholarship fund which was being set up after the war to help educate girls at PLC – girls whose families had been affected by the war through death and injury. The wife of the then Lord Mayor was an Old Collegian and organiser. We are proud that the OCA Scholarship fund still operates today, each year supporting seven or eight scholarships – the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship, the OCA Scholarship and the Melba Music Scholarship. One of our current Melba Music Scholars, Anisha Ravishankar (2023), will perform for us on saxophone today.

Not only are we back in the Town Hall – but our fellow Old Collegian, The Right Honourable Sally Capp, is Lord Mayor of Melbourne, no less!

We hope this iconic location will help remind us of the PLC education and values that we each share with our own PLC class, with generations of Old Collegians from over the past 147 years and with the six decades of women here today from the Class of 1949 through to the Class of 2018. An education designed to take each of us through our whole life, through all times both happy and sad. To equip women with knowledge, personal skills and values to navigate the world, to lead their own projects, families, businesses, professions and communities. May each of our own PLC experiences be a source of comfort and strength to us throughout our whole life. As we share this time together, let’s each recall our own highlights, perhaps the shared experiences of PLC Music, House Concerts and PLC Sport. Experiences where we found new skills and talents and worked together as teams. Let’s remember the teachers who nurtured, encouraged and inspired us, and the lifelong friendships formed through PLC.

D Ailsa Wilson (Watson 1978) President Old Collegians’ Association

SAVE THE DATE 2023 OCA EVENTS

Event Date

Kellet Cup

OCA AGM & Luncheon

Driver Cup 13 Jun

OCA Scholarship Donors Luncheon 20 Jun

PLC OCA Women 24 Jun

OCA Spring Luncheon 11 Nov

The Annie, Jean and Doris Lamont Scholarship

The Annie, Jean and Doris Lamont Scholarship is awarded annually for Old Collegians to assist with the continuation of their tertiary studies, either in Australia or overseas. To apply, please email adminoffice@plc.vic.edu.au, by Friday 10 March 2023.

Dr Sarah Heynemann (2005) and Katherine Sewell (2007) were the 2022 Lamont Scholarships recipients.

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.

PLAYERS

REGISTER HERE

REGISTRATION CLOSES 10 FEB

2023

KELLET CUP

TUESDAY 21 MARCH

PLC OLD COLLEGIAN ALUMNI VS

PLC GSV TENNIS STARS

Play commences at 4.15pm, followed by refreshments and cup presentations, concluding at 5.45pm. Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship Fund

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 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 Mrs Lois McKay Mrs Janet Davies Ms Robin Perrin Mrs Helen Haysom Mrs Natalie Cronin Dr Tabatha 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 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 Mrs Janet Brown Dr Jennifer Henry Mrs Diana Cherry Dr Glenys French Mrs Belinda Steele Mrs Christine Gorrie Mrs Jean Garrow Mornington Peninsula Friendship Group North East Branch

The Sydney OCA group held a lovely Christmas luncheon in Roseville and enjoyed catching up with each other and hearing news from PLC. The group will continue with its coffee mornings during 2023 at various locations. Please contact Julie Phillips (Rank, 1961) at t.j.phillips@bigpond.com for more details. Were you in Prep 1C with Mrs Cooper in 1974?

In 2024 it will be 50 years since 24 excited girls put on their summer dresses, blazers and straw hats and entered PLC for their first day of Junior School. I am planning a reunion lunch for 2024 and would love to hear from anyone who was in Prep 1C in 1974 or who can help with any contact details of girls from the class. I’m looking forward to sharing memories, maybe a few tears and lots of laughter. Please contact me via rosieinohio@yahoo.com

Rosemary Keogh (1986)

Mornington Peninsula Friendship Group

The theme for the Mornington Peninsula Christmas lunch this year was ‘Bring a gift, buy a gift’ with the funds raised to go to the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship Fund. Twenty-two members brought along great gifts which were enthusiastically bought, raising $315. COVID and the busy time of year reduced our numbers, but all who attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves, judging by the non-stop chatter. There is something special about long-term friendships! We were also delighted to have Julie Schroeder join us.

We have decided to have our winter lunch next year on a Saturday so that those who are prevented from attending on a weekday may be able to join us. It would be great to catch up with more Old Collegians living and working on the Peninsula. If any are interested in joining us then or at any of our lunches, please ensure that we have your email address.

Email your contact details to jkirchner46@gmail.com or lemonjam.lj@gmail.com and we will ensure you receive plenty of notice of the date.

Our summer lunch will be on Wednesday 22 February 2023 – being ever optimistic that summer will be here by then! Save the date and watch for our email in January.

Jan Kirchner (Morrison, 1963) and Pam Booth (1959)

Kim Rubenstein (1982)

On 17 August 2021 Kim Rubenstein (1982) announced her intention to run as an independent Senate candidate for the Australian Capital Territory in the 2022 Australian Federal Election and established the Kim for Canberra party. In January 2022, the Australian Electoral Commission approved her application to form the political party called Kim for Canberra. Kim ran on a platform of climate action, integrity, gender equality, territory rights and the Uluru Statement from the Heart, with a view to changing the way politics is conducted in Australia. With thousands of members and supporters, the Kim for Canberra campaign gained much public attention, getting major media coverage. While unsuccessful, the Kim for Canberra party received 12,622 primary votes and a further 30,349 second preference votes. B

C D

Geelong Branch

Our next Geelong Branch gathering will potentially be on a weekend in late February or March 2023 to allow working Old Collegians to attend. A room at Narana Aboriginal Culture Centre is the suggested venue.

Anne Parton (Donaldson, 1955) President Geelong Branch President PLC in Canberra Group

The PLC in Canberra group took advantage of a timely break in the recent spring rains to catch up on Saturday 26 November. It was relaxing to sit outdoors in the sunshine and catch up on current news, followed by some hilarious stories about school days at both the East Melbourne and Burwood locations. Unfortunately, a number of Old Girls were waylaid by illness or enjoying long-awaited holidays, but we hope to gather again en masse in March 2023. 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. E A. L to R: Julie Phillips (Rank, 1961), Fran Miller (Alchin, 1970), Norma Smith (Digby, 1942), Nette South (Weller, 1962), Patricia Ellis (Stevens, 1962), Julie Schroeder, Gill Whitney (1966), Sandy Dudgeon (McCay, 1956), Susanne Crotty (Cohen, 1960), Marg Wines (Glasier, 1954).

B. L to R: Bronwyn Street (Morgan, 1963), Anne Neil (Hare, 1963), Prue Humphreys (Perdriau, 1963), Jan Kirchner (Morrison, 1963), Margaret Carroll (Hamilton, 1963), Pam Curtis (Wells, 1963) C.C/D Twenty-two members at Kirk’s Bistro, Mornington.

D. E L to R: Marie King (McClelland, 1961); Gabriella Pendergast (Gyorffy, 1962), Heather Shelley (McCracken, 1969), Helen Willett (Rank, 1957/58), Fran Hunt (Wylie, 1972) and Morag Donaldson (1987).

Nineteen members from Shepparton, Benalla and Wangaratta areas braved the miserable weather to meet at the Shepparton Uniting Church in the Narthex – a week before the floods. It was wonderful to see ‘old’ friends again and there was much chatter and laughter. The Ladies’ Catering Committee served a delicious meal of casseroles, with vegetables and rice which was most acceptable on such a cold day, with a tasty dessert to finish.

Ailsa Wilson (Watson, 1978), Lauris Murnane (1955) and Wendy Fishley (Olney, 1955) joined us from Melbourne. Ailsa shared events to be held for Old Collegians as well as a little about the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship recipients. PLC Principal, Cheryl Penberthy, sent a letter and report detailing some of the activities being held at the school.

Due to many members ageing and unable to drive too far, it was decided to hold only two lunches each year from now on and they will be in March in the Wangaratta area and October in Shepparton. The first lunch for 2023 will be held at King River Café on Wednesday 1 March. If you would like to join us and are not on our mailing list, please email jcuddon@outlook.com and I will send details at the appropriate time.

Judy Cuddon (Clezy, 1957) North East Group President

2023 OCA Netball

Registration for the 2023 Netball season is now open. Please complete the expression of interest form if you are interested in playing with us next season. We currently play in two competitions, outdoors on Saturday afternoons at Ashwood High School and indoors on Tuesday evenings at the Oakleigh Recreation Centre. The details for the seasons are below:

Saturday Afternoon Netball: Autumn 2023 – First game: 18 February; Grand Final: 3 June Spring 2023 – First game: 22 July; Grand Final: 9 December

Tuesday Evening Netball: Autumn 2023 –First game: 31 January; Grand Final: 20 June Spring 2023 – First game: 18 July; Grand Final: 12 December

Sam Khong and Clare Haysom Viv’s Place in honour of Vivienne McCutcheon OAM (Penington 1950)

Viv’s Place is a new 60 apartment complex in Dandenong for mothers and children who are victims of family violence and homelessness. It is permanent accommodation launched recently by Launch Housing and the first of its type in Australia, modelled successfully in New York. It has 60 independent apartments of varying sizes, with communal facilities such as a play area for children, kitchen, meeting rooms, and support counselling from Uniting Care.

It is named after Vivienne as she was a passionate social worker and activist, and was involved in the establishment of the Hanover Services for homeless men, and was the first qualified social worker to be employed there. She later became involved in many social projects and served on several boards. In 1995 she was acting Health Commissioner and in 1996 she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services in welfare, education and health. She sadly passed away in 2020 after a severe stroke.

Margaret Turner (Penington 1948) (Vivienne’s sister)

PLAYERS

SUBMIT AN EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Helen Jessup (Ibbitson, 1940)

It is a long time since I’ve been in touch with my alma mater. I currently live in New York, having been married to an American, now deceased. Formerly I also lived in Bangkok, Jakarta, London, and Washington, DC.

I received my BA in English literature and French at the University of Melbourne and later an MA and PhD in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art History, London University. I taught at Chulalongkorn University, the ANU in Canberra and Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and curated exhibitions of Indonesian and Cambodian art for several museums in Paris, Washington, Japan, New York and Germany. I’m the founder and President of Friends of Khmer Culture and a founding trustee of the United States-Indonesia Society. Formerly I served for more than twenty years on the board of the Archives of American Art and the American Friends of the National Gallery of Australia.

I have four children, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren, and since they live in four different countries I spend a great deal of time on international flights.

Old Collegians’ Mothers and Daughters Morning Tea

Mothers, grandmothers and daughters all celebrated their shared history of a PLC education at the annual Old Collegians Mothers and Daughters morning tea. Excited students from all areas of the College enjoyed a delicious morning tea together and their mothers and grandmothers caught up with former school friends.