International House Love Stories
VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL
CONGRATULATIONS Tabitha Wilson & Matthew Butcher who are getting married in May. Matt says... We both moved into IH as freshers (2012) and lived on the same floor in G tower. We always crossed each other in the hall and quickly became good friends. 'Tab' would knock on my door every morning to wake me up so that I didn't miss breakfast. We missed each other so much during the mid semester break and soon realised we couldn't be without each other. The rest is history! THE PROPOSAL Tabitha says... We'd decided to go away for the weekend for an impromptu getaway. It was a lovely day so Matt suggested we go on a picnic. I raided the cupboards and off we went to the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane. Little did I know it was all a setup and Matt got down on one knee and proposed. It was simple and private and of course I said YES! We wish Tabitha and Matthew all the best for their big day and beyond! t
Engaged
Karen and Peter Gibson Married 34 years
Karen (nee Gilmore) and Peter Gibson have two children and tw o grandkids.
Karen and I commenced University in the same year, 1975, although whilst I was living at IH, Karen commenced at Grace College. Karen tells me that we first spoke at the athletics field when I was ‘coaching’ one of the girls at IH to throw a javelin. I knew how to throw a ball – it must be the same?! Clearly I was concentrating on the coaching as I have no recollection of that first meeting – and I’ve never recovered the lost ground ever since! But as I recall, we met through mutual friends in 1976, becoming part of a broader social group with George Perry
and Russell Murray as we were all very involved in organising intercollege events, especially with IH running the Inter College Council that year.
Performing in ‘Along Came Jones’ with Fiona Mack and Scott Teske is a particular highlight for me that year – but I think you had to be there!
Finally I summonsed the courage to ask Karen to accompany me to one of the College Balls later that year. The evening must have been a success, because in the following year Karen along with two other friends – Jenny Yarker and Jill McBride - ‘escaped’ from the confines of Grace to move to IH. Maybe it was my ‘presidential’ aura that year, although I suspect Karen moved more to evade the early lock-ins and restrictive visitor policy!
Throughout our time we had great fun competing in and cheering on IH sporting teams (the basketball matches against St Johns and their trumpeter was always memorable), participating in Colympics and its 7legged races, and having our eyes opened to the foods and cultures of so many nations.
Anyway Karen settled in very quickly and in 1978 was the College’s Soiree Convenor, at a time when it involved both a day of food at IH and an evening concert at Abel Smith Lecture Theatre - quite an undertaking.
We have some wonderful memories of our friends, sport and parties from that time, and it is great to be still involved! Peter Gibson is the Deputy President of the IH Board of Management.
Michael Staunton and Eglantine Raux met at IH in July 2010 when they both lived in I tower. Three years later they got engaged on beautiful Stradbroke Island. In 2015, the couple was married at the Chateau of Varengeville-sur-mer in France in a celebration with all their friends and family. They are expecting a little girl in June.
Michael Staunton and Eglantine Raux were married in France
We met in the Semester 2 - "O" Week 2014, but only started to get to know each other better towards the end of the year and the start of 2015. College Idol is what brought us even closer together due to a turn of events, which set us down along the dating path.
Daniel Lee
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Inah Mendo za
Alumni 2015
Since then we have never turned back from it! We hold fond memories of the dining hall banter with friends, studying and lighting fires in the fire place in A common and all the different cultural and cross-cultural events such as Soiree! (by Daniel Lee)