6 minute read
Women of their word
ALUMNAE MERITAE
Women of their word
On Tuesday 13 April, the whole School, members of the Old Girls’ League and invited guests gathered in the Dawn Jones Sports Centre to celebrate the achievements of two outstanding Dio Old Girls: Jenny Wheeler (PY 1963) and Nicola Legat (PY 1973).
After last year’s Alumna Merita Assembly was cancelled due to COVID-19, it was a real relief to be able to acknowledge Jenny and Nicola’s successes in the sphere of publishing and journalism.
We extend our warmest congratulations to them both and thank them for their contributions to their fields and their excellent example of service to every member of the Diocesan Community.
Jenny Wheeler – a love of writing
Jenny Wheeler’s career as a writer began five decades ago when she joined the New Zealand Herald as a news reporter in 1971. She subsequently worked at the Auckland Star and then at the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
Jenny went on to take a leading role in launching two of New Zealand’s most iconic publications: the Sunday Star newspaper (now the Sunday Star Times) in 1987, of which she was editor for six and a half years, and NZ House & Garden magazine in 1993. Her last position before leaving journalism to pursue other interests was as the first female editor of the New Zealand Listener from 1994 to 1997. Jenny recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Magazine Publishers’ Association for services to magazines. She has also returned to her first love, publishing the historical mystery series Of Gold & Blood, which is set in 19th Century Gilded Age California. The ninth book in the series is currently in production. The Joys of Binge Reading, featuring author interviews with nearly 150 international writers who are all passionate about popular fiction. It’s now available on Audible.
At the Alumnae Meritae Assembly, Jenny spoke about disruptions to the publishing industry, including artificial intelligence writing fiction and how the revenue from audio books is soon set to surpass that of print books.
“Ten years ago, indie publishing – where the author does it all herself, not relying on traditional publishers as an intermediary channel – was seen as mildly disreputable,” she said. “How times have changed. By 2018, more than 40 per cent of overall e-book revenue was to self-published authors. That trend has only accelerated in the last three years.”
Jenny had a positive message for any aspiring writers in the audience: “You are entering a fast-moving publishing world completely unlike any we’ve seen before. There’s never been a better time to be a woman, or an author. The opportunities are huge and the competition is also titanic.”
For those interested in a career as an author, she also offered this advice: “Plan for the long haul, as even the most brilliant single book won’t make a career. Don’t try to be perfect – silence the inner critic on your first drafts and just get something down on the page. You can always go back and re-write it. And lastly, don’t be afraid of failing. Think of it as practice.”
Jenny says that Dio helped lay the educational and spiritual foundations for her professional resilience. “When things got overwhelming, it was always a comfort to remember a simple faith credo honed by the school experience: ‘Do your best and trust God for the rest’. I guess it’s simply another way of saying the harder I work, the luckier I get, and in turbulent times, it’s proved to be more than enough.”
Nicola Legat – the satisfaction of giving back
Nicola Legat is another outstanding writer and past student. She first attended Diocesan in 1971 after her family moved to Auckland from Christchurch. In 1973, her final year, she was a prefect, head of Mitchelson house and Dux. Nicola graduated from the University of Auckland and then trained as a teacher, living in Canada for several years and working for a magazine publisher.
In 1984, back in New Zealand, she joined the staff of Metro magazine as a writer, then became its editor from 2000 to 2005. Nicola also wrote for North & South magazine and won numerous journalism awards during her time with both publications. After leaving Metro, she moved into book publishing and became the publishing director of Random House New Zealand. It was a role that saw her named Publisher of the Year seven years in a row.
In 2015, Nicola established Massey University Press and she is also the publisher for Te Papa Press. Nicola was awarded an ONZM in 2018.
In accepting her Alumna Merita award, Nicola acknowledged all the women who have attended Dio. The award, she said, “symbolises the deep intergenerational bonds that make Diocesan so special, and it demonstrates how the School values aspiration and success.”
Nicola told the story of Mary Pulling – the incredible woman who came out from England 116 years ago at the age
Nicola Legat with her parents, Reg and Diana Legat.
of 33 to found our school – and the legacy she left us.
“To me, she is a guiding star. We can all learn a lot from her life and use her as a role model. She was the headmistress for 22 years, and in that time she laid the groundwork for all the School’s values.”
Service to Dio, its pupils and staff, and her Anglican faith, was Mary Pulling’s focus, explained Nicola. She believes that if we went back through the life stories of all the Alumna Merita award recipients over the years, service would also be a big part of their careers.
Having a successful career after you leave school isn’t all that valuable unless it also involves giving back to the community, she said. “Giving back means taking the privilege of the great start this school has given you and making sure that you repay the benefit of that.
“When I think of my own career as a journalist and publisher, I can see that the service I’ve been able to enact has been about helping Aotearoa be a better place: fairer, safer, healthier, more inclusive, a better caretaker of the environment, more expressive of our Treaty obligations, more vibrant, open minded and tolerant.
“Journalists are often criticised for being negative muck-rakers, but what we actually want to do is expose all those who stand in the way of those good things I just listed, and to celebrate all those who are working hard to make sure they happen.”
Nicola has always been keen to roll up her sleeves and help get things done. She urged the Dio girls in the audience to do the same.
“Step up and give service. You can do that by seizing opportunities whenever and wherever you find them. You will find that they enrich you and that no matter how local or specific, you can and will make a difference.”
Jenny Wheeler (centre) with her granddaughter Stephanie Bickerstaff (left), her sister Julia Hillier, and her niece Emily Hillier (right).
