Together

celebrating 120 years

umber 1 / volume 28 / n / autumn 2 012

r e h t e Tog e e Women’s colleg the journal of th ey dn sy of ity within the univers

Content s 2 3 3 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8-9 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 14 15 16

Principal points & Chair notes College celebrating 120 years O-Week 2012 House Committee 2012 Leadership Alliance Kitty-Jean Laginha Our donors Jessie Street Council elections 2012 Chancellor’s dinner 2012 College Master Plan From the Alumnae President Channel swim for MS Della Elliott Best friends Emma Moore Rewarding Endeavour Uni Blues Charitable works Vale Staying connected Events calendar

PRINCIPAL points

T

his year marks the end of my period as Principal and, inevitably, I have been reflecting on my time here and what more I can contribute to the College in the time remaining to me.

The scholarly quality of our students and their enthusiasm for College activities: sporting, cultural and charitable, continue to motivate me to ensure that our academic and pastoral programs are as good as possible. Women’s girls deserve the best!

At the same time, enhancing our conferencing and events business, working towards a carbon management plan for the College, and building our fundraising capabilities are important priorities for me in 2012.

In this our 120th year, I hope that many of you will reconnect with the College by attending one or more of the celebratory functions that we are holding. See page 3.

You might also like to donate online to our Building or Scholarship Funds, or perhaps you would like to consider seeking election to the College Council when we call for nominations later this year.

CHAIR notes

O

ur College Mentoring Program continues to be a runaway success in 2012. With three-quarters of eligible senior students currently matched with a professional mentor in the field in which they hope to work (a total of 73 students), the mentoring program reinforces the College’s commitment to nurturing young women’s careers by providing opportunities to workshop their aspirations, to network and to build confidence in their professional pathways.

This is an important and unique initiative of the College, which addresses the often underestimated glass ceiling that women can encounter in their careers. By establishing early mentoring experiences, it is hoped that our students will continue to seek mentors who will enrich their personal and professional lives, and help them to seek opportunities to challenge and extend themselves.

Many of our mentors are drawn from our extraordinary alumnae network, and it is fantastic to see past students reconnecting and contributing to College in this way.

Whatever you decide to do, I look forward to catching up with many of you during 2012. It will be a momentous year!

On behalf of the College Council I would like to extend a vote of thanks to all of our mentors for recognising the vital importance of nurturing and supporting our next generation of leaders.

Jane Williamson

Lucinda Warren

Principal, The Women’s College

2 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

Chair, The Women’s College Council

then

NOW

celebrating 120 years

1892-2012 The Women’s College opened its doors in temporary premises in 1892 in Glebe with four resident students. In 2012, our flourishing community of 283 scholars will celebrate the College’s 120th birthday, and we invite alumnae and friends join the festivities.

Dates to remember in 20 12 For more information please phone: 02 9517 5008 web: w w w.thewomenscollege.com.au /events email: community @ thewomenscollege.com.au

A

s our 7068th fresher signed the roll at the end of Orientation week in March, and the academic calendar swings into action, College is gearing up for a number of events planned throughout the year to mark this special anniversary.

In May a dinner will be held to celebrate the College’s unique contribution to women’s leadership in Australia. In October a gala ball for alumnae and friends will be held in MacLaurin Hall on the University campus, and in December a “back to college” weekend will encompass a variety of events to entice alumnae of all generations and their families to enjoy a nostalgic sleep-over in their old home.

The 120th celebrations also marks the commencement of a new fundraising initiative aimed at launching the new College Master Plan, outlined on pages 8 and 9 of this magazine. If you’d like to donate to this initiative, go to www.thewomenscollege.com.au/ building-fund-donations.php

25 may

Saturday

13 oct

Friday– Sunday

Women in Leadership COCKTAILS AND dinner

Gala SPRING Ball

Back to College Weekend

Friday

at College

at MacLaurin Hall, University of Sydney

7–9 dec

at College

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 3

k e e O - w 2012

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winining words

House Committee 2012 Introducing our House Committee executive for 2012. Pictured with College Principal Dr Jane Williamson, they are (left to right): Secretary Emily Hartman 3rd year Econ/Law

Senior Student India Edwards 3rd year AgEc

Treasurer Victoria Grimshaw 4th year Com/Laws

Leadership Alliance

itty- Jean Laginha, first-year Arts Media student has a way with words. Like many children, Kitty-Jean began playing Scrabble at the kitchen table. She joined a local Scrabble club and started studying words to improve her game, then at age 13 entered her first international tournament, an experience which whet her appetite for further competitions.

Kitty-Jean says competition Scrabble differs from the homespun version of the game in that it is “more strategic, like a mathematical puzzle based around spatial relationships, statistical analysis and probability. You use your word knowledge to analyse the board to get best possible outcome now and later in the game for yourself; at the same time making it more difficult for your opponent. Your ammunition is your word knowledge and that’s what you have to deploy to win the game.”

In January 2012 Women’s College hosted the Alliance of Girls’ Schools’ annual Student Leadership Conference.

T

he conference brought together 150 student leaders in their final year of high school in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Facilitated by motivational team Rising Generations, the conference organised students into “tribal” groups to nut out issues surrounding leadership, team building, decision making, communicating and community service, equipping students with valuable skills to take into their year as leaders in their schools. Alliance Executive Officer Jan Butler reports that the students “were excited to be staying in such an historic and beautiful building – the facilities at the College were exceptional and the staff extremely helpful and welcoming.”

After competing four times in the World Youth Scrabble Championships, Kitty-Jean ranked fifth overall in 2010. And with her game improving steadily, her sights are set on the World Scrabble Championships in 2013. But while she finds the competition exciting, it’s her love of words which really drives her. “There’s something magical and beautiful about particular word formations and discovering a really unusual word you can put on the board, even if you’d never use it normally, she says. “It’s like seeing an endangered animal walking down the street.”

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 5

Grandmother’s IN

Appreciation

OF OUR DONORS

With thanks to all who supported the college in the last six months.

This column recognises our donors and celebrates the diverse range of support the college receives.

No matter how small or large, each gift makes a difference to our students and the projects we support.

Jane Albert Pacita Alexander Roslyn Allan Felicity Bell Vicki Brooke Merilyn Bryce Margaret Chambers Judith Fitz-Henry Janet Flint Heather Fogerty Joan Grimwade Annette Jordan Margaret Lane Frances Macdonald Patricia and Peter Marshall Sakuko Matsui Janet McCredie Gwenyth McConnell Jeannette McHugh Beth Menzies Bruce Miller Anne Mulholland Margaret Murray Elizabeth Palmer Beverley Raphael Nance Park Richards Glynis Ross Margret Scrivenor Jill Shepherd Margaret Sheridan Sandra Sippe Leonie Star Robyn Stransky Noriko Takei Sandra Taylor Mabel Tindal Louisa Weatherly Judith Weaver

footsteps

Feminist and social activist Jessie Street spent her fresher year, 1908, at The Women’s College.

J

essie Street was a key figure in Australian political life for over fifty years; she is recognised both in Australia and internationally for her activism in women’s rights, social justice and peace. In 2011 Jessie’s granddaughter and namesake Jessie Street also entered College as a fresher. Now in the second year of her Political/Economic/Social Science degree, Jessie is aiming for a career in law or foreign affairs. She says of her grandmother: “I never knew her so it is a really nice connection being at College and knowing she was here too.”

council elections

Correction: two names appeared incorrectly in the donor column of the last issue of Together. They should be Sei Iwai and Julia James.

6 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

2012

A Council election is due in November 2012, to fill five vacancies on the Council of The Women’s College within the University of Sydney, caused by the retirement of five Council members.

Nominations will be called in mid-September 2012, to close in early October 2012.

Nomination forms and full details of Council members will appear in the second volume of this Journal in 2012.

Chancellor’s

2012

dinner

A snapshot of our scholarship winners Clockwise from top right:

Alliance representatives Annie Beaulieu (left) and Penny Gribble (right) with Alliance Scholarship recipients Sophie McPhate, Pasuri Susilo, Rebecca Holdt and Lauren Walker. Vanessa Cartwright, winner of the Jay Hudson Scholarship.

Entrance scholars Nicola Borton, Madeleine Gray, Rachael Kwa and Claire Barnes. Inset: students at the dinner. Lee Steele Scholarship holder Katie Miller. Madeleine Swan, winner of the Val Street Scholarship.

Olivia Borton, Matsui Prize for Asian Studies.

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 7

Master In 2012, all Building Fund donations will support developments in the new College Master Plan.

These include: Two new buildings with new student rooms with ensuite and kitchenette facilities, and new flexible spaces for seminars and workshops.

Refurbishment of some existing student rooms.

Additional and improved car parks.

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Menzies courtyard

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reid

In 2011 The Women’s College commissioned a Master Plan to explore options for future development of the College site. pmdl Architecture & Design have drawn up an exciting set of plans and elevations which promise to revamp and revitalise the College, while maintaining its significant heritage status.

8 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

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plan

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T

he University’s recent White Paper lists new accommodation on campus as one of its highest priorities. With several neighbouring colleges on campus also planning major building projects, it is especially important that Women’s College continues to improve student facilities for our future community.

Plans include refurbishment or redevelopment of the Langley wing, including a new Langley entrance or hub. New buildings will maximize courtyards and common spaces, provide flexible rooms for conferencing, and improve car parking.

While the number of student rooms will increase by only 37, additional ensuite rooms are planned

new building langley Hub & courtyard

to attract more postgraduate students and visiting academic staff.

The architects’ plans have responded to student and staff feedback, and will allow the College to meet emerging patterns of demand while protecting the vibrancy and cohesiveness of our community.

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bu wom y a col en’s le bric ge $500 k

2012 marks the first stage of planning towards realising the vision of the Master Plan, with fundraising activities geared towards an initial target of $2 million. We invite you to assist us by making a tax deductible donation to our Building Fund.

To donate online visit www.thewomenscollege. com.au/building-fund-donations.php

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 9

jacqueline hicks

W

e seem already to be running with a busy year, and it is only April! The Women’s College Alumnae Committee has been looking at ways of making 2012 a memorable 120th anniversary of the founding of our wonderful college. This is a year when we are looking forward to reconnecting with Alumnae. There is so much going on.

Members of the committee, our Principal and interested alumnae have been discussing how best to celebrate this momentous milestone. It is important that

From the

Alumnae President we reach out and reconnect with our friends who may have not been back to College since their time as residents. With this in mind, the Alumnae are planning a Back to College Weekend, and looking forward to welcoming as many of our “Wizzies” to come and join us for Wine and Cheese, a “Generations” dinner, and a walk down memory lane.

Another exciting project is the beautiful wraps Diana Gibbs has been commissioned to weave for us, with the wonderful wisteria as a motif. Diana will be attending our April High Tea, and we know that you will be very

Alumnae committee 2012– 2013 President Jacqueline HICKS (1975–76) Vice-President India HARDY (1999 –2002) Secretary Eliza NEWTON (2002– 05) Treasurer Robin WINES (1956–59) Membership Secretary Victoria Harper (MORGAN 1981– 84) Committee Stephanie MOFFITT (2002–07) and Melissa Robins (GLASSON 1992–95)

swim I

We are also pleased to congratulate Rhiannon Hunt on being our successful Alumnae Scholarship holder. With her fellow scholarship holders, she was honoured at the Chancellor’s Dinner on Monday night, 2 April. She has also been invited to attend our High Tea, and I hope you will have a chance to meet and talk to her. Rhiannon has enrolled in a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and we wish her all the best.

The Gala Ball is planned for 13 October in MacLaurin Hall. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in that beautiful building to celebrate. Members of the Alumnae Committee, Stephanie Moffit and Eliza Newton are heavily involved in the organisation of the Ball.

We are looking forward to welcoming you also to the Alumnae High Tea on 28th April, and connecting with generations of Wizzies.

It promises to be a fun afternoon, with a sophisticated High Tea planned to tempt you. Come and share your memories.

Jacqueline Hicks

della Elliott 1917– 2011

channel

n July ocean swimmer Victoria Gorman (2000– 01) will add to her aquatic achievements by becoming the 22nd female Australian to swim the English Channel. Taking time out from her role as Digital Education Content Specialist at Apple, Tori will tackle fifteen degrees Celsius water, strong tidal flows and uncertain weather conditions, wearing only a swimsuit, silicone cap and goggles.

Although accompanied by a certified

impressed by her wraps. Other projects are on the way, and we would love you to join us to discuss ways of highlighting the contribution Women’s can make to our lives.

Channel escort vessel, Tori is not allowed to touch any person or boat during the 34km crossing.The swim is made more tricky by the fact that the English Channel is it also the world’s busiest shipping lane. Tori’s route will have to avoid ships and ferries as well as flotsam and jetsam. The Channel swim aims at raising funds for Multiple Sclerosis.

Tori would welcome donations: http:// torienglishchannel.gofundraise.com.au/ page/torigorman

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Inspired by WATSA, the College’s indigenous outreach group, Kondelea “Della” Elliott endowed a scholarship to the College in 2010, to assist an Aboriginal student with a stipend for personal use during her time at the College. A longstanding feminist and unionist, Della’s portrait by Ivy Shore won the 1979 Portia Geach Memorial Award. College extends condolences to Della’s family and friends at her passing.

Best friends Pam Watson and Karen Robinson [BOYLE] spent one year at College as freshers in 1969, and cemented their friendship house-sharing and travelling in the 1970s. Pam is an archaeologist specialising in historical archaeology and late antiquity in the Middle East. Karen is spending her retirement continuing her travels.

Livi

Pam Karnie and I were in rooms next to each other in Reid and we both studied Arts.

She did very well in the HSC, but then got overwhelmed by Uni and took a long time to get her first degree.

Our first year out of College we rented a house in Kirribilli. We moved to Redfern, then to Surry Hills. We kept moving but we always stuck together. In 1973 we jumped on a boat to England. The goal was to travel indefinitely. There was a counter-culture happening and we were pretty adventurous and willing to try almost anything.

London was freezing and all we wanted was some sunshine, so we decided to go to Spain. The cheapest way was to hitchhike, so we hitched from London to Valencia and around the coast. From Portugal we looked across the water and thought why don’t we go to Africa?

We took a boat to Morocco and went over the Atlas Mountains to an oasis at the edge of the Sahara. There was a revolutionary movement going on and we got a ride with a truck driver who was a member of the rebels. By Marrakesh we had run out of money so we flew to the Canary Islands and lived for a week on a banana and a bread roll a day, until our money was sent. We had one little bag each, about the size of a computer bag. When I think about

ng in

the 7

0s: P am &

Kar en

it, we spent so much of our formative time together.

Karnie ended up going back to University, studying psychology and going into HR and striding the world stage. She married Billy and had two children. I went back to do archaeology and lived in the Middle East.

We went separate ways but we’ve never lost touch. She’s the sort of person I can go and talk to as if she was one of my family.

She has a certain sardonic way of looking at the world that I share, and we both love travelling and living overseas. We’ll be constants all our lives, until we die.

Karen Pammy was a down-to-earth person, and she had a beautiful smile. She’s extraordinarily talented in many different areas. She can play guitar and sing like Joan Baez, and she’s wonderfully artistic.

Our birthdays are a month apart so we had our 21st birthdays together at her house in Carey Bay with all our shared friends and our parents. We were at College with some really radical people and they were pretty exciting times. We marched in the Vietnam moratorium and nearly got arrested in the Springboks protests. The people we met at College are still our best friends. It was amazing that our associations grew from that one year.

When we were travelling, Pammy was the more outgoing one – she brought people into our circle. She was also more principled and I was more pragmatic. When we were starving in the Canary Islands we refused to pawn the bracelets our brothers had given us for our 21st birthdays. Pam wouldn’t compromise herself for a meal by going out with a local boy. I would have!

We had a joie de vivre and an ability to take risks: not many women would have hitchhiked across the Atlas Mountains with gunrunners. There was a huge dose of naivety as well, but we planned our escapades and protected each other.

Pammy can be a bit of a bossy boots.

Before we went travelling she suggested that I read the History of Modern Art because she was an art history graduate. We spent three days in the Prado and she was best guide.

There are intellectual standards with Pammy, and you have to step up to the mark or she can be quite stern. Our friendship is very solid and supportive and not competitive in the slightest.

We admire each other’s talents. I know that if I ever needed Pammy she would be there for me, with bells on.

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 11

Emma Moore

hits the right note

S

oprano Emma MOORE (2006– 08) boarded a plane to Berlin just days after winning the prestigious Australian Singing Competition at the Sydney Opera House in October 2011. Among a host of prizes Emma was awarded the $30,000 Marianne Mathy Scholarship, in addition to the audience vote valued at $10,000. Emma is utilising the scholarship to undertake a Masters in Opera at Die Universität der Künste in Berlin, studying under distinguished American teacher Julie Kaufman.

Emma’s win comes on the back of a string of previous scholarships and prizes, including the Women’s College Music Scholarship, and the Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Vocal Scholarship, which have set her course for a career in opera. For a classical musician Berlin is one of the hubs of the world; there are three major opera companies in the city and some of the major performers in the world appear regularly on Berlin’s stages. “I can go and see them for a ten euro student rush ticket,” says Emma, “it is so enriching and inspiring and rekindles my passion every time.”

In addition to spending three hours each week in singing lessons with her teacher,

rewarding endeavour 2009 Alumna Rosemary Hancock will spend June to December this year fulfilling a dream: perfecting her Arabic language skills in the Middle East. Rosemary recently won the prestigious Endeavour Award which will take her to the Qasid Institute in Amman, Jordan for eighteen weeks of intensive language training. The award will complement her doctoral studies on environmentalism and food ethics in contemporary Islam by enabling her to conduct interviews and decipher primary source material in Arabic.

Rosemary hopes to bring back an enhanced understanding of life and culture in the region. “I’m excited about being somewhere completely outside my comfort zone in a totally new culture,” says Rosemary.

Emma is taking one-on-one classes in elocution, movement and dance, music and vocal/speech coaching. It is a worldclass education which, together with her recent win, has confirmed Emma’s career

choice. “It’s wonderful to have the ongoing encouragement that I’m heading in the right direction, and to have the financial support to develop as a singer and a person is so valuable for me,” Emma remarks.

UNI blues

Left to right: Recent Women’s College alumnae Lavinia CHRYSTAL (2008–11) and Joanna WOOD (2008–10), with Principal Dr Jane Williamson and current students Jamaya Ferguson and Grace Michell. Lavinia, Joanna, Jamaya and Grace were honoured with University Blues for their achievements in sport at the Uni Blues Dinner in December 2011.

12 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

Charitable works no borders

E

ngineering/Commerce graduate Philippa Moorehead (2005 – 08) spent the early part of 2012 participating in the Engineers Without Borders (EWB), Development, Education and Leadership Experience.

Pip was one of six engineers in Australia selected to represent her company (BHP Billiton) for three weeks, travelling around southern and central India visiting remote villages and engaging with local NGOs on the most effective means to instigate lasting change and improvement to some of India’s poorest people.

on a mission

healing hand

V

M

isiting Africa was a life-changing experience for Ashleigh Sheridan (2008–11).

Between completing her commerce degree in 2011 and starting work with a Sydney accounting firm in January, Ashleigh worked as a volunteer teacher the Tshega Mission in the Limpopo region of South Africa.

The mission runs a school for 200 children, seventy percent of whom have AIDS, and ten percent of whom are orphaned, as well as supporting a feeding program and an outreach scheme distributing donated clothing and food to villagers.

Ashleigh’s experiences in Africa inspired her to found Tshega Mission in Australia, a charity aimed at assisting in the work of finding volunteers and foreign sponsors to fund places at the school and to support plans to build a medical centre. In 2013 ten Women’s College students will follow Ashleigh’s trail and volunteer at the mission.

It’s a project of which Ashleigh is enormously proud: “The children learn so much from you and thrive on any nurturing you can give,” says Ashleigh.

“I think the girls will find the experience eye-opening and enriching.”

For information contact: tshegamission@gmail.com

edical student Aimee Wiseman (2011) spent December working in the neurosurgery department at Viet Duc Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, an experience she found “challenging, confronting and intensely interesting.”

Crowded wards and lack of nursing support were the norm, with hospital resources often stretched.

Aimee’s goals for the trip were to improve her clinical competence and to experience living and working in a developing country.

Her expectations were more than met. “It was a wonderful opportunity to follow patients from admission, through surgery and post-operative care and particularly to have hands-on experience in surgery,” she says.

Pip attributes her continued interest in charity work to her early experiences at College: during her undergraduate years she helped to co-ordinate a house building trip to Cambodia with the Tabitha Foundation, and attended the Women in Engineering Conference in Paris. Both trips received College support.

Pip hopes her recent experience in India inspires more College students to aspire to the EWB experience. “The program accepts both professional engineers and engineering students, and is really exceptional,” says Pip. “The trip was very educational and their approach to development is much more advanced than many well known charities and NGOs.” www.ewb.org.au

The high intensity critical care work was something Aimee and fellow medical students rarely experience during their training in Australia. Aimee was fortunate to visit other areas of the hospital, spending time in paediatrics, emergency, cardiothoracics, orthopedics and ICU. The trip, funded by a Hoc Mai Scholarship, also provided a valuable cultural dimension. “Engaging in cultural experiences and sharing meals with Vietnamese people helped me to appreciate the Vietnamese way of life – an experience that cannot be gleaned via travel alone,” reports Aimee.

Engineerin

g change:P ip

Moorehead.

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 13

Katherine CUDLIPP (1965)

Margaret (Peg) Belson MBE (HARRIS: 1947– 49) BA Dip Ed PhD Honoris Causa 2 January 2012 Peg Belson was born in Plymouth in the United Kingdom and came to Australia as a baby with her parents.

She entered Women’s College as a mature student after serving as aircraftwoman in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. Peg was enormously proud of her time at College under Principal Betty Archdale. She often recounted how she expressed her indignation that in her first year, like the younger freshers, she was expected to be back in College for the ten o’clock curfew.

Peg returned to the UK after her Arts degree and had a formidable career as an activist for children. With other Battersea mothers she pioneered the rights of parents to stay in hospital with their sick children in the 1960s. Children had previously faced long, lonely stays in hospital, with infrequent and short visiting hours.

Peg was a founding member of the National Association for the Welfare of Children in Hospital (now Action for Sick Children) and the Children With Aids Charity. From the 1960s she was associated with the development of play in hospital. Peg served on community health councils and undertook patient representational roles during nearly sixty years of voluntary endeavour for children and young people.

Peg was awarded an MBE in 1973 and elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 1993. She was Council Member, ViceChairman and Honorary President of the Sydney University UK Alumni Association (USUKAA). In 2011 she was awarded the inaugural USUKAA Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sources: Louise Belson, Pauline Lyle Smith, USUKAA Newsletter

BA LLB 28 July 2011

Jean Gray (STEWART: 1929 –1931) BA 13 January 2012

Having obtained her BA at RandolphMacon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she was student government president and editor of the student newspaper, Kate Cudlipp came to Women’s College in 1965 as a graduate student on a Fulbright scholarship to study Mathematics. Kate spoke in a soft Virginian accent and would entertain people in her College room with stories of the wilds of the USA. She was a member of the Senior Common Room and catcher for the university’s Women’s Softball Team.

Jean arrived at Women’s College with a University Exhibition after completing her schooling as Dux of Broken Hill High School. At Sydney University she studied French and Latin. Coming from Broken Hill, Jean was unaccustomed to hearing the French language spoken, and maintained that she would never have succeeded in her first trials without the excellent tutorial help available at College.

Kate was associate director of admissions at Webster University in St Louis before moving to Washington to undertake a law degree, and eventually to work for twenty years on Capitol Hill. Kate joined the Environment and Public Works Committee in 1971 and participated in the landmark reauthorisation of the Clean Air Act of 1990. She retired from her role as minority chief counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 1991.

A shy, diligent and conscientious student, Jean endeavoured never to break the 11pm College curfew, but admitted she often unlocked the fire escape to let others in late at night. She recounted an anecdote of a group of her friends getting back late for formal dinner after going for a rare swim at Bondi. One of her more confident friends donned her gown over her swimmers, tucked a rose in the cleavage and went to dinner thus clad.

Over the course of her career Kate was involved in many charities. She lived a life of “questioning and questing” and found her spiritual home in the Seekers Church, a Christian worship community where she became a minister. In retirement she received a Masters degree from Wesley Theological Seminary.

Because of the Depression Jean was not employed by the State Education Department straight after graduating.

She initially worked as a resident mistress at Ascham supervising the boarders in the evenings and at the weekend.

Kate married her long-time partner Carole Grunberg in 2010. Carole recalls that Kate “consistently sought out the goodness in others. She sought common ground among people of different races, religions, political leanings and gender. She sought peace in the midst of turmoil.”

Kate died as a result of spinal injuries sustained when she fell from her bike in Rock Creek Park, Washington DC. Sources: Frances Brickhill, Carole Grunberg, Washington Post

14 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

Jean’s daughter Judy Hunter (GRAY: 1955 –58) writes:

Jean met her future husband, science teacher Albert Gray, in her last year at university. They were married in 1935 while both teaching in Temora, and raised three daughters and one son.

The family moved frequently due to educational postings and Jean returned to teaching when her youngest child went to school, working as a language teacher at Lithgow, Kempsey and Woy Woy High Schools until she retired.

Jean continued to live an active and fulfilling life after retiring, right up until her death at age 100.

Staying connected News from some of our alumnae

1940s

Daphne Elliot AM (DAVISON: 1944– 46) BSc Hons MSc PhD In 2009 Oxford University Press published the fourth edition of Daphne’s Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (co-author husband W.H. Elliot). A fifth edition will follow.

1950s

Lesley Harrington (WILSON: 1957–1960) MSc PhD MD Lesley is a retired physician. She spends her time gardening, volunteering for nature plant societies, travelling and spending time with her grandson.

Wanda Nash (FREESTON: 1950–1952) BA MA RGN FETC Wanda worked with Dame Cicely Saunders as she pioneered the Hospice movement in the 1960s.

She worked in a special school for youngsters with severe physical handicaps while working on an MA thesis on the care of physically handicapped children. In 1985 her book Caring for the Whole Child was published by Harper Collins.

This book became the ‘school nurse bible’. With a background in medical, educational and pastoral care, Wanda was elected to chair the International Stress Management Association.

She has published further books on the interface between stress and spirituality. Wanda is currently Vice-Chair of the Association of the Promotion of Retreats. She is married with four daughters.

h.

Students Lunc Above: Senior Reunion.

Below: 1952

Please send us your news for the next issue of Together: vp@thewomenscollege.com.au

1980s

Catriona Innes (SIMSON: 1980 – 81) BA LLM M.Sc Catriona is lives in the UK and spends her summers in France. She is married with four children.

Mary MYERSCOUGH (1984– 85) Sc MSc DPhil ATCL and Paul Wormell (1984 – 86) BSc PhD

Former College Senior Residents, Mary and Paul are associate professors at the universities of Sydney and Western Sydney respectively. They have two children, one of whom is studying science at Sydney University.

2000s

Sarah OFFNER (2009 – 2010) BA MTeach Sarah is currently working as a secondary school English teacher at Oxley College, Bowral.

autumn 2012 / The Journal of The Women’s College / 15

Events calendar

Women in leadership cocktails and dinner Friday 25 May A sumptuous dinner to celebrate 120 years of The Women’s College and its role in creating women leaders.

Alumnae AGM and drinks Saturday 28 July This annual event gives alumnae the opportunity to set the agenda of the alumnae committee for the year ahead.

Wisteria Lunch Saturday 15 September For alumnae who entered college in 1977 and before.

Gala spring Ball Saturday 13 October The gala ball will be the 120 year anniversary showpiece event.

Glamorous night to be held at MacLaurin Hall.

Back to College Weekend Friday– Sunday 7– 9 December Get your friends together and stay the whole the weekend at College to celebrate our 120 year anniversary. Alternatively, pick and choose from your favourite celebratory events, from wine and cheese tastings to family BBQs, all here at College.

For details of all events, see the website: www.thewomenscollege.com.au/events-list.php Or contact Kate Brabant on Phone: +61 2 9517 5008 Email: community@thewomenscollege.com.au All events take place at The Women’s College unless otherwise stated.

Image credits:

Maja Baska Jan Butler Sophie Henry Lightbox Photography pmdl Architecture & Design Ivy Shore Staff, students and alumnae of The Women’s College

Editor:

Tiffany Donnelly

Designer: Contact details: The Women’s College The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia Phone: +61 2 9517 5000 Fax: +61 2 9517 5006 www.thewomenscollege.com.au

16 / The Journal of The Women’s College / autumn 2012

Regina Safro

Our cover:

Emma Moore (2006 – 2008), winner of the 2011 Australian Singing Competition.

Photo: Lightbox Photography.

Designed and produced by The Women’s College within The University of Sydney in April 2012.