TRUST NEWS|WESTERN AUSTRALIA EDITION 02 | MAY 2016 - JULY 2016
Governor calls for Courage and Kindness Her Excellency the Hon Kerry Sanderson AO, Governor of Western Australia highlighted the potentially lethal impact of published public criticism and called for courage and support for people confronting mental health issues when she presented the National Trust of Australia (WA)’s CY O’Connor Lecture, 16 March 2016 at the Constitutional Centre.
ABOVE: Her
Excellency the Hon Kerry Sanderson AO presents the 2016 CY O’Connor. Lecture G Pickering
ABOVE: WA Quilters show the Governor a display of their work depicting CY O’Connor’s life. G Pickering
The Governor drew on her distinguished career as CEO of the Fremantle Ports for 17 years when she highlighted the foresight of CY O’Connor in his planning and execution of the original port development and in particular the Fremantle’s inner harbour.
up his new post in WA, the Governor described the Irish engineer as someone who was evidenced base, accurate, committed and who rarely took any holidays.
The infrastructure was a game changer for Western Australia at a turning point in wealth and population growth. A series of rarely seen Fremantle Port Authority archival documents illustrated the acclaimed engineer’s concepts and vision for a sell out audience which included many O’Connor decedents. Detailing O’Connor’s success as an engineer for New Zealand’s challenging harbours before he took
O’Connor’s demise, lack of support and his suicide in the ocean off Robb Jetty, south of Fremantle on 10 March 1902 was central to the Governor’s lecture. She called for more kindness and courage in the work place. The Governor who is the Patron of the National Trust in Western Australia said she spent every day in an environment created by CY O’Connor during her time with the Fremantle Port Authority. A collection of evocative small quilts by the WA Quilters were displayed during the event and focussed CY O’Connor’s life and death.
Inside this issue PERSPECTIVES
INNOVATION
PLACES PLACES
The unique works were purchased well before the end of the night. The National Trust holds the CY O’Connor Lecture each year on or about the anniversary of his death to celebrate his legacy by considering creativity, sustainability and humanity in the pursuit of excellence. View the CY O’Connor Lecture at www.nationaltrust.org.au/wa
ABOVE: Detail
of one of the colourful quilts. G Pickering
CATALYST
OUT AND ABOUT OUT ‘N’ ABOUT