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New&Old Ormond College Magazine No.89 December 2014

Establishing the Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Snapshots

No quarter given This year’s Women’s AFL premiership campaign was an unprecedented success. The team, led by Vicki Powell (captain) and Alex Trollip (vice captain) and under the dedicated coaching of Nat Walker (2013), managed to take the title with a total of 107 points scored and no points conceded. A great team effort both on and off the field saw Saturday’s games against St Mary’s (30-0) and Whitley (40-0) put us in a strong position for the Sunday finals rounds. Following a tough match against St Hilda’s with a narrow win of 9-0, the final grudge match against Trinity, who had beaten us by 1 point for two years running, was set to be a tense one.

After a close first half, only up by a goal, Ormond was able to sustain momentum and ended up winning 28-0. The cohesive team dynamic was by far our best asset; however, special standouts include Cec Cameron’s goal from behind the 50, Emily Serle’s powerful tackles and Jess Adams’s dominance as ruck. Most of all, the team stepped up to every challenge on the field and had a blast doing it – wishing the best of luck to the 2015 team!

Alex Trollip (Arts 2)

The Garma-Bawaka Program In August this year, six Ormondians travelled to north-east Arnhem Land to take part in the 2014 Garma Festival.

Garma is a four-day festival that aims to foster greater understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. We were accompanied by Jane Freemantle, who ensured we made the most of the amazing opportunities on offer such as the key forum, the workshops on Yolngu culture and the nightly Bunggul, a spectacle of storytelling through dance.

On the last day of the festival, we met up with Rob Leach and two more Ormondians to drive to Bawaka, a homeland where we spent four days with Djawa, a Yolngu man who has a passion for his land and family. This part of the trip was dedicated to learning about the culture and stories of the land on which we were staying.

The hands-on experience of Bawaka and the intellectual stimulation we received at Garma were engaging and thought-provoking. The trip challenged our existing ideas surrounding Indigenous current affairs and we hope to bring this awareness and understanding back to the Ormond community.

Eliza Sellars-Jones (Sci 2) 2

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Contents

Students discuss domestic and international affairs on Friday at 1pm

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From the Master

Editorial team

Entrepreneurship at Ormond

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Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Di Bambra Clare Chudacek Louise Curran Peter Edwards Kate Higgins Rachel Toovey Ethan Ziv

Why I gave my gift Introducing the Director, Dr Peter Binks The building

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Life at Ormond World War 1 Ormondians’ greatest service The Graduate Centre Women’s and men’s camps The Pitch project Shaping Ormond’s future Life at Ormond

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Photographers Marcel Aucar James Grant Nicholas King Hayden McMillan Brigid O’Farrell-White Austin Van Groningen Sebastian Wood Ethan Ziv

From the CEL Interning at the Centre for Ethical Leadership The Vincent Fairfax Fellowship™

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Our community Professor Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride

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New & Old is published twice a year by the College Advancement Office for the Ormond community.

Alumni news Honours and Alumni news Scholarship and prize recipients Obituaries

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No.89 DECEMBER 2014

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From the Master

Entrepreneurship at Ormond

Rufus Black Master Rufus Black, Maryjane Crabtree, Andrew Michelmore and Peter Wade - Council Subcommittee implementing the Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Peter Wade has given the College $10 million to establish an Institute for Entrepreneurship, which will teach a new University of Melbourne Master of Entrepreneurship degree.

Rufus Black talks about the importance of this development for the College.

Francis Ormond’s vision, that the College would educate its students so that they would exercise ‘a sensible and important influence in the affairs of our country’, has guided Ormond since its foundation. In each generation, we need to ask what it means to educate students so that they can make a difference.

Why entrepreneurship matters One of the great challenges that Australia now faces is the continued transformation of its economy and, as a result, of our society by the forces of globalisation and technology.

Globalisation’s impact is being felt particularly keenly here in Victoria. Thousands of jobs have been lost from the car industry, aluminium production, oil-refining and countless smaller manufacturing operations as production moves to lower-cost locations around the globe.

Globalisation now reaches far beyond traditional manufacturing and heavy industry. Professional jobs in the service industries like law, finance and accounting are also heading offshore as a highly educated workforce in the developing world grows and the costs of connectivity plummet. Armies of lawyers in Mumbai are completing standardised contracts for Australian firms, consulting firms’ research and data analysis are being done in Bangalore and

Technology is busily reshaping many other industries. Whether you work as a journalist or in a supermarket, technology is changing and increasingly eliminating jobs.

These forces have been at work for some time now, but we are really starting to feel their impact, especially as we can no longer rely on a booming mining sector to take up the economic slack. Australia, like other developed countries, needs to invent many great new businesses to provide the next generation of jobs, opportunities and wealth.

It is not just a matter of the economy. If we do not reinvent our economy, we risk increasing social divisions as we become an evermore multi-tiered society with a diminishing middle.

For the sake of our economic and social future, we need a new generation of entrepreneurs. We are doing it for Australia’s future. As Peter says “If you do what’s worthwhile, and create value, financial reward will flow.”

Great universities around the world, such as Stanford and MIT in the US and the Technion in Israel, are responding to this challenge. They are contributing to the renewal of their economies and societies through the entrepreneurial students they are producing.

These universities are also tapping into a generational shift which is seeing a high percentage of students interested in creating their own businesses. This shift is very much in evidence in Australia as well and, given our circumstances, it is a wave of change that we need to catch.

Australian tax returns are being completed in New Delhi.

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

has had since its earliest days, when it explored whether it could provide subjects for the medical degree.

The timing makes sense for us. We have adapted well to the Melbourne model. We now have a good graduate community with their own precinct, a thriving undergraduate community, high demand for places at Ormond and sound long-term College economics.

Ensuring that all these aspects of the College continue to run well remains our central task. So that our core team remains focused, we have been very fortunate to secure an exceptional first director for the Institute in Dr Peter Binks, who starts with us this year. Peter brings the combination of substantial industry experience including in the start-up world and a strong academic background, with a PhD in astrophysics from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

We are also determined to make sure that the new teaching facility for the Wade Institute blends into our campus, Market research for the University of Melbourne has found

continuing the approach of not reducing our garden or green

that among Victorian university students, over 70% have

space. To achieve this, we are utilising the space where we

considered starting their own business and over 30% said

have our current tennis courts and gardeners’ sheds. The

their reason for wanting to do further study was so that they

students have been keen to see the tennis courts upgraded

could start their own business, with a further 10% wanting

for the last few years, so a new court with seating for

to commercialise the intellectual property they have been

watching games and facilities for outdoor events including

involved in creating.

drama productions will be created on the roof of the new building, enabling us to locate the innovative teaching facilities

Creating the Wade Institute

especially designed for the program underneath.

With the extraordinary support of a $10m gift by Peter Wade, himself a very successful Ormond entrepreneur, the

It is important to the College that the Master of

College and the University have come together to respond

Entrepreneurship students who are to be taught through

to this strong interest in creating new businesses, so that we

the Institute integrate well. The course is to be limited to 60

can develop a generation of young people who will help to

graduate students and they will all be members of the College.

reinvent the Australian economy from the bottom up.

We are aiming for 20 of them to be in residence, with the remaining 40 as non-residents. The resident students will be

The College is creating a home for the Wade Institute for

mixed in among the other graduate students, which will both

Entrepreneurship, through which a brand-new University of

aid integration and strengthen our graduate community.

Melbourne Master of Entrepreneurship degree will be taught.

The degree is being created through a unique partnership

As with our other graduate students, we look forward to

between the Faculty of Business and Economics, the

Master of Entrepreneurship students participating in the

Melbourne School of Engineering and the College. The Wade

full range of College activities, but also making special

Institute will also make a major contribution to the University’s

contributions to programs like our case competition (which

overall project to develop a vibrant entrepreneurial ecology in

you can read more about in this edition).

Melbourne with the University at the centre of it.

We also look forward to traffic going the other way as staff of How this fits with the College

the Institute provide learning opportunities for all students of

While this is a significant development for the College, it has

the College, because we recognise that, while it is important

come out of responding to the question of ‘what do we need

to create a dedicated cohort of entrepreneurs, it will also be

to do in this era to fulfil Francis Ormond’s vision in our time?’.

important in the career of virtually every one of Ormond’s

The move to work in partnership with the University in the

current students that they are entrepreneurial.

delivery of a degree also fulfils an aspiration that the College

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

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Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Why I gave my gift

Peter Wade (1971)

Behind the Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship is the very successful, but low-profile, entrepreneur and Ormond alumnus, Peter Wade. Originally from Geelong, Peter knows first-hand the changes that are sweeping though the Australian economy. He has watched the decline of manufacturing and heavy industry in and around his hometown and how Geelong has reinvented itself several times to meet the challenges it has faced.

Peter observes, “We need to create jobs and opportunities to replace those being lost. Traditional manufacturing is disappearing. Even service jobs, whether they are in call centres or law and accounting firms, are going offshore.

Technology is disrupting existing business from media firms to retailers. Even those who work for others will need to be more entrepreneurial and innovative to help create Australia’s future.“ “We are a smart nation but still too few of our great ideas are generating the future of our economy.”

Peter goes on to say, “I have been involved in supporting education for a while now and it has given me enormous faith in the extraordinary talent of young Australians.” He is keen to

Peter Wade’s background Peter Wade was born in Melbourne and undertook his secondary schooling at Geelong College. At the University of Melbourne he studied commerce, living in Ormond College, and graduated in 1973. At Ormond Peter made strong friendships and the Master of Ormond, Davis McCaughey, was a deep influence on him.

After the end of university, Peter travelled in Asia and Africa with Ormond friends. After a short stint at Lever Brothers, he started leading tour groups through South America, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.

Peter turned his enthusiasm for travel into a business founding Travelbag in 1979, a company specialising in trips from the UK to Australia and New Zealand. Starting a business was in Peter’s blood; his father was a leading and innovative retailer and his mother a restaurateur and property developer. Over fourteen years, Peter built his travel business from a staff of two to over a thousand.

Travelbag’s turnover grew to $700 million by the time it was sold in 2003.

see budding entrepreneurs equipped with the skills they need

Peter has continued his involvement with the tourism

to take that talent and use it to create value, opportunities and

industry and the community through his memberships of

jobs for Australia’s future.

a number of boards and councils: Tourism Queensland (Past Chairman); Australian Pacific Touring; Quicksilver Connections; Ormond College Council; Queensland and Federal Aviation committees. He resides mainly in Noosa Heads, although he spends time in Melbourne and Aspen, pursuing his passions of hiking, hunting and skiing. He is married to Susan and they have two children, Jessica and Christopher.

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Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Introducing the Director, Dr Peter Binks

Dr Peter Binks, Director of the Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

Peter Binks commenced his role as the first Director of

General Manager Strategy and Business Development, and

the Wade Institute in November 2014. Peter brings the

worked in strategy and product marketing roles.

combination of substantial industry experience including in the start-up world and a strong academic background, having

From 2003 to 2009, Peter was a leading figure in the

done a PhD in astrophysics at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

Australian nanotechnology industry. He was the startup CEO of Nanotechnology Victoria, responsible for managing

For the previous 5 years, he was CEO at the General Sir John

a budget of close to A$30 million, delivering investment,

Monash Foundation. The Foundation, established in 2001,

research, policy and educational outcomes for Victoria based

awards scholarships each year to outstanding Australians

on nanotechnology. He was also Chairman of the Australian

to pursue postgraduate studies at leading international

Nano Business Forum (ANBF) in 2008.

universities.

Peter is married with three children and way too many pets.

Peter was also, until early 2014, a Director of listed technology

He is an active sportsman (hockey) and bushwalker.

company Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL), where he was Chairman of the Technical Committee. CFCL developed solid from natural gas and renewable fuels. Peter is a member of the

Creating an entrepreneurial ecology

Scientific Advisory Board of the Defence Science & Technology

For the University of Melbourne, the Wade Institute

oxide fuel cell technology to provide low-emission electricity

Organisation (DSTO), and sits on the Board of education not-for-profit In2science.

Peter was the 1983 Rhodes Scholar for Tasmania, and completed a D.Phil. in Theoretical Physics at Oxford University, in his research topic modelling the orbits of stars in normal galaxies.

After returning from Oxford, Peter worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in Sydney and Toronto (Canada) from 1987 to 1993. From 1993 to 1999 he held senior corporate positions with BHP Pty Ltd in Melbourne and San Francisco, and ran BHP’s Research Laboratory in Clayton, Melbourne. At Telstra Mobile from 1999 to 2003, he was

and the new Master of Entrepreneurship degree are an integral part of its mission to create a leading entrepreneurial precinct. The University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor, Glyn Davis, has observed that universities contribute to their societies in a range of important ways and that, as a world-leading research university, Melbourne recognises the centrality of translating discoveries and ideas into new products and services that add value to Australia and the world. Professor Davis says that the University has been working to create the ‘entrepreneurial ecology’ that is necessary in order for these efforts to succeed. The Wade Institute and the new Masters program will make an important and groundbreaking contribution to these efforts.

First published in Voice December 2014

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

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Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

The building

The architect’s impression of the new Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship

The building for the Wade Institute for Entrepreneurship will

By using light, colourful polycarbonate units with excellent

provide a custom-designed space for teaching entrepreneurs.

sound insulation qualities, anyone can make a successful space

The building is innovative in its approach to teaching and

that meets their needs in this building.

learning, how it is structurally realised and the manner in which it achieves an energy-efficient outcome.

On the occasions when students get together as a whole group for lectures or presentations, they will step into a

The design philosophy behind the building is that if you are

separate pavilion in the garden. This space can transition

teaching people to create, make and innovate, then the space

between providing a place for quiet contemplative creativity

they occupy should invite them to create new things from the

and access to cutting-edge learning technology. Along

moment they walk in. So this space will do just that. Rather

one side is an interactive video wall, a canvas for writing,

than walk into a space full of classrooms and offices, students

presenting and teaching which can also be used to beam in

will enter a space with a kit of parts, from walls and screens to

experts from centres of entrepreneurship like Silicon Valley,

different desk parts and lights, from which they will make the

Switzerland and Israel.

spaces they need.

Creativity is an organic process and it is important to With a simple magnet-based system designed by industrial

provide spaces for intense group collaboration balanced by

designer Joseph Iacono specifically for this building, students

withdrawing spaces for personal reflection. Not only can

and staff will be able to clip together everything they need.

people create quiet personal places inside the building, but the

At the start of the year, they will create the places for

cloisters around the building invite them into the quiet of the

tutorials and small-group learning; as the year progresses and

garden or to sit next to the pond that runs the length of one

students form into teams to work on their own start-ups,

side of the building.

they will be able to build the offices they need. There are no limitations; they might have a 3D printer, devices for testing

They will also be able to climb up onto the roof of the

their apps or changerooms for clothing they are testing. As

building, where they will find an outdoor sport, recreation and

their plans evolve, so can the spaces they inhabit. To help this

performance space.

transformation, the building can turn inside out. Rather than only accessing rooms internally, the cloisters enable perimeter

Structurally the building itself is highly innovative. Designed

doors, creating an active external face to the start-up spaces.

by architects Lovell Chen, industrial designer Joe Iacono and educational design specialist Peter Jamieson, and leading

This is a course where student and staff will work closely

Australian structural engineer Phil Gardiner from Irwinconsult,

alongside each other, so staff are similarly encouraged and

the structural system uses a metal lattice to support the

able to create their spaces out of the kit of parts, configuring

building rather than heavy concrete piers. This lattice structure

their work and teaching spaces to work best for them.

will enable the building to have green walls and to virtually disappear into its beautiful garden setting.

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The Masters degree The Master of Entrepreneurship will provide students with the knowledge and skills they need to develop and launch new innovative businesses, to successfully commercialise products and services, and to help them to launch their first business.

Students will learn how to design new products and services using the latest in Design Thinking and how to develop a successful business model. They will learn about creating the organisation they need, get funding for it and to grow their business. They will learn the finance, marketing and other skills that entrepreneurs need.

The entrepreneurship course is about learning by doing and is highly practical. In the course of the year, students will prototype new products and services, will develop, launch and run a pop-up business and then develop their Environmentally, the building will be built to German

start-up business idea to pitch for real venture capital

Passivhaus standards, so that it will require virtually no artificial

funding.

heating or cooling. All the water will also be captured from the large sports-facility roof to fill the pond outside, where it will

Along the way, students will meet a wide range of

be recycled for use in the garden.

entrepreneurs, and have the opportunity to be mentored by them and get experience inside existing start-ups.

Sitting as it does within a heritage garden of old trees, the building will touch the ground lightly, being built on a set

Part of the excitement of the course is that it will bring

of screw piles to minimise any disruption of their roots. The

together a diverse range of no more than 60 students

whole building will occupy space that was previously an old

who will form a strong network. The course is to be

tennis court, garden shed or carport, minimising the loss of

completed in one year, involving two residential periods

precious green space.

and will take place in an very innovative, purpose-built facility.

Through its design, construction and relationship to the environment, this building aims to stimulate and inspire the creativity of a new generation of entrepreneurs.

CAMPAIGN.UNIMELB.EDU.AU

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

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Life at Ormond

World War 1

Speech by Rufus Black at the World War 1 Commemorative Dinner Ormond College 1914

On 2 September 1914, a dinner was held in this Hall to farewell

had fought in the first war. He would return safely from that

the members of the College who were soon to depart for

war too. Deeply connected to the College, he would serve on

the War. In a college of just 90 students, more than 1 in 10

the Council; his son, Bill Rogers, would join the College and

had already enlisted to be amongst the first to embark. That

one day become the Chair of its Council. Today if you speak

night, they were joined by older Collegians who had signed

to Bill – and he is sorry he couldn’t be with us tonight – the

up. The guest of honour amongst the alumni was Colonial

years between this night and that night a hundred years ago

Pompey Elliot. That night, John Henry MacFarland still sat in

dissolve, because he can speak of a father who sat with the

the Master’s chair.

first Master of the College and heard Pompey Elliot speak.

So tonight, nearly a hundred years to the day, we gather again

While we remember their stories tonight, they are but a few

in this Hall and as a College to remember what unfolded in the

of the nearly four hundred stories of Ormond students who

long years of war that followed.

went to war. For 343 Ormond students went to war, a further 44 joined the College after active service and 11 enlisted but

There is no definitive way to tell the story of this war. It is full

hadn’t embarked before Armistice Day. Nearly 4 out of 10 who

of contradictions of senselessness, suffering and sacrifice on

entered the College in this era are amongst those numbers.

a scale that shattered confidence in notions of civilisation, progress and faith. But equally, from its muddy battlefields

While tonight is the story of that 40 percent, the wider story

and dusty deserts emerged stories of noble human values of

of Ormond during the war, which sets the stage for the

courage, compassion and loyalty, out of which national myths

contribution they made, is also a story about those who didn’t

could be fashioned.

fight.

Tonight we tell the story of the war through the lens of some

As the years of the war wore on, enthusiasm for war waned

of those Ormond students who were here at that dinner a

and doubts rose about the purpose of it all. In time, that

century ago. At the centre of those stories is Pompey Elliot. He

would draw the College into the controversy of conscription.

would go on to shape the war and the war would shape him

The new Master of the time, David Kennedy Picken, would

– and ultimately take his life, but not until he had long fought

tell the Students’ Club that the College ‘must stand for

both on and off the battlefield for its soldiers.

conscription’. But Ormond has always been a plural place.

Esmonde Higgins, whose famous cousin had been killed,

Amongst those soldiers whose stories we will glimpse are

distributed anti-conscription literature. The Students’ Club, as

Keith McKeddie Doig, then the senior resident student of the

it has always done, created the space for debate. And, even

College, Keith J Barrett and John D Rogers. In their stories

while eventually moving from neutrality to endorsing Picken’s

we touch the past, perhaps none more so than in the life of

stand, the debate at the general meeting of the Club did much

John Rogers. He would return from the war and years later

to reveal the widespread dissent from Picken’s view.

fight another one with the same distinction with which he 10

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Those who went to war saw action in all its theatres. 20% of

Major General Downs also represented perhaps the most

the Ormondians served in the Middle East, including Gallipoli,

distinctive feature of Ormond’s contribution to the war effort,

45% served on the Western Front and just over 1 in 5 in both

which was to provide medical personnel, because more

arenas.

than 30% went as medical personnel variously serving in field ambulance brigades, casualty clearing stations, military

59 of these stories ended with many chapters left unwritten

hospitals or as medical officers attached to battalions.

in the trenches and battlefields far away. They died at a rate heading for 1 in 5, which was rather higher than the national

Notable too were our chaplains, with 23 going to serve. For

average of 14%. A further 18% were wounded in body and

the medical personnel and chaplains who went, their casualty

some uncounted number in mind. Of the 4082 Australian

rate was only slightly lower than for those fighting and indeed

POWs, 4 had been Ormond students.

one of the chaplains, Alfred Goller (1902), was killed whilst conducting a burial service.

Ormondians were distributed widely throughout the numerous units that composed the AIF, with the biggest cluster by far

Whether doctors, chaplains or soldiers, Ormond’s students

being the 10 who found themselves in the 5th Division’s 60th

who served did so with great distinction. More than half of

battalion.

those who left as enlisted men became officers (56%): 54 rose to become lieutenants, 83 captains, 46 majors and 12

There was also a small but distinguished company in the

colonels.

Australian Light Horse. Chief amongst them was Brigadier General William Grant, who commanded the last cavalry

And while educational background plays a role in promotion,

charge of history when the 4th and 12th Light Horse

courage is beyond class. So the greatest mark of distinction is

Regiments took Beersheba.

that over 1 in 5 – 89 who went to war – were awarded military or war-related civil honours.

Amongst the ranks of the Light Horse was also Mervyn Bournes Higgins, who we remember every time the rowing

While pride has place tonight, it is not about rank or honour

trophy is returned to our walls, as it was, most fittingly, this

but stories of service. It is about the human tales that took a

year.

generation from this Hall across the seas to far-off battlefields.

Down the years, he has been a personal reminder of the

Of the things they saw and did that should be asked of no

potential that bled into the sands and soil far away. Graduate

human soul.

in law from both this University and Oxford, and member of both the Inner Temple and the Victorian Bar, he was a rower

Of the stories that ended and the chapters that were lost.

in the winning Blues’ boat for Oxford and a reserve for the Olympic crew. His obituary recorded that ‘as a barrister [he] …

Of those who returned who loved the lost.

was winning his way forward with every prospect of following in the footsteps of his father’. So the nation was denied a great

Of a College on whose walls their stories are etched.

force for reform, for his father was the early progressive judge of the High Court, Henry Bournes Higgins, whose Harvester Judgement was a landmark of social reform. The loss of a son was also the grief of a father. Henry Bournes Higgins would record that the loss of his son and only child condemned him to ‘hard labour for the rest of his life’. His public grief, cast in bronze, stands as reminder of the private grief of countless families of the College and the nation.

Amongst the Light Horse was also Rupert Downs, a distinguished doctor and medical graduate of the College, who rose to become a Major General and Deputy Director of Medical Services for the Desert Mounted Corps. His skill and care for his soldiers saw him reduce rates of disease amongst ANZAC troops to well below those of the British troops they served alongside.

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

11

Life at Ormond

World War 1 Commemorative Dinner

Rob Leach Vice Master Ross McMullin (1972)

The World War One dinner was an enjoyable occasion albeit

the successful counter attack at Villers-Bretonneux. Despite

poignant given its focus. The Master’s speech highlighted the

his accomplishments, Pompey was never promoted as highly

proud service, and tragic sacrifice, made by so many Ormond

as he deserved. This was in no small part because he always

alumni.

refused to pander to higher authorities. If you haven’t yet had the chance to read Ross McMullin’s Pompey Elliot, can I

After dinner, Ross McMullin provided a fascinating description

recommend it to you. It’s the story of an extraordinary man

of Australia’s most famed fighting general, Howard Edward

beautifully told.

“Pompey” Elliot. Pompey had a long association with Ormond: he lived here when studying arts and law, returned for the

At the end of the dinner, current students Felicity Gent, Joshua

farewell dinner in September 1918, and was later a member of

Castle and Vicki Powell read letters and journal excerpts from

the College council.

Ormond WWI combatants. Then a new plaque, correcting previous omissions, was unveiled. Perhaps the most moving

Pompey personified many of the ways Australians like to

part of the evening was the roll call of those who did not

imagine themselves – free thinking, not cowed by authority,

return. Dirk and Lesley den Hartog sourced photos of all the

loyal and brave. Pompey led the 7th Battalion in Gallipoli, was

Ormond alumni who died. GC Treasurer, Will Abbey, read out

wounded on the first day, but returned to lead courageously.

the 65 names as the century old portraits were projected one

On one occasion, despite being a senior officer, he himself

by one on the screen.

took on a Turkish soldier in a tunnel. He would never send a man to do something he wouldn’t do himself. Of the seven

Despite the pathos of the event, the 200 of us who attended

Victoria Crosses awarded after the Battle of Lone Pine, four

the dinner found it a fulfilling experience. It gave a chance

went to Pompey’s battalion.

to reflect and show respect, and in this way it was a deeply moving occasion without being glum.

After Gallipoli, Pompey commanded the 15th Brigade at the catastrophe that was Fromelles - described at the Australian War Memorial as the “the worst 24 hours in Australia’s entire history”. Despite this calamity, Pompey led his men to many distinguished successes, such as the Battle of Polygon Wood.

Here Pompey was the only brigadier in the front line and his leadership turned the initial setback into victory. Pompey’s commitment to this battle is all the more impressive because he fought it knowing his brother, George, was dying nearby.

In 1918, when the Germans made their last, and nearly

This year our exhibition has set the contribution of Ormondians within the ‘big picture’ of the War, Ormond and WW1. The exhibition will continue in the JCR Lounge into 1915 and will be revised in April to shift the focus to Gallipoli and the Middle East. We thank Lesley and Dirk den Hartog for their research and curatorship of the exhibition, which provided the foundation for our events.

effective, attempt to end the war, Pompey was central to 12

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Life at Ormond

Ormondians’ greatest service

Austin Van Groningen (2010) Villers-Brettoneux Australian Memorial, France

A prominent theme throughout Ormond’s history has been

Before leaving, I spoke to Dirk and Lesley den Hartog about

that of service to the wider community. Since the College’s

Ormond during the First World War. Their research yielded

foundation, students have been called to contribute to the

fascinating facts and, more importantly, an appreciation that

world beyond the gates.

each name on a board, each gravestone in a field, headlines a personal story of service and sacrifice.

In my time at the College, I saw Ormondians volunteering in endeavours many and varied, from teaching disadvantaged

Some 340 Ormondians served. 65 never returned. The men

students to coaching young sportspeople and helping refugees

who lost their lives are immortalised in memorial plaques

to find their feet. While the nature of their service differed,

beside the dining hall entrance and in the ‘pro patria’ signs to

those who sacrificed their time for others were all linked by an

be found in some Main Building rooms.

acknowledgement of their own great luck and the shunning of any sense of entitlement.

There can be no justifying the horrific losses of the War. The young optimists who so enthusiastically took up arms were

With the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign just months

changed irrevocably, their generation torn asunder by the

away and 100 years since the outbreak of war in Europe

pretensions and pig-headedness of a few men with deluded

already passed, this year marks an especially salient moment

visions of grandeur.

to consider the fortune of our position as past and present Ormondians.

The scars of the conflict litter Australia, every town bearing a memorial, every institution with a story to tell. Ormond is no

In 1914, with the world plunged into war, dozens of

different and the names of its War veterans testify to a history

Ormondians set off, past the gates and across the seas. In

of service with sometimes untenable costs.

serving, they paid the College, the nation and their families the greatest tribute they could possibly give.

It is a great and oft-forgotten blessing that my generation never had to be called to risk life and limb in serving the world

From late June to late September this year of 2014, I travelled

beyond the College.

Europe for the first time and in coincidence with the War centenary. I visited battlefields etched into the Australian

Ormond is a place of boundless possibilities, perhaps

memory at Fromelles, Bullecourt and Villers-Bretonneux.

more today than ever before. We must never dismiss our

I wandered the killing grounds at Ypres, the Somme and

responsibility of service to the peaceful society that makes

Verdun. From Bosnia to Belgium, I followed the course of the

these opportunities possible.

War a hundred years on.

Austin Van Groningen is a past Chair of the Ormond College I had expected to explore the continent while writing for local

Students’ Club General Committee (2012) and currently a tutor

newspapers and travel sites, but ended up getting a whole lot

at Ormond.

more than I’d bargained for.

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

13

Life at Ormond

The Graduate Centre

Rufus Black Master

Ormond’s new Graduate Centre completes the process of

When you reach the second floor, you are among the canopies

the College’s adaptation to the Melbourne model. With this

of the trees. As you step out onto the balcony, the green

building, we have both created a graduate precinct on the

rolls around you on two sides of the building and will be

Wyselaskie lawn side of the College and increased the amount

complemented by the new trees whose canopies will also reach

of graduate accommodation so that we can sustain a diverse

this level.

and lively graduate community.

Not only does the building relate to the garden, but we have It is an interesting building that has been shaped by three sets

also had the opportunity to work on the garden so that it relates

of ideas.

to the building. With the carpark gone and the old roadway reduced to a footpath, we have been able to start enhancing

The first of these was the need for the building to relate well

the parklike experience of that end of the College with new

to what is already on the grounds. The building has done

trees and plantings.

that in a number of ways. The basic concept of a pavilion in the park carries on the idea of Romberg, Boyd and Grounds

Its relationship to the environment is not just in the connection

that drove the design for Picken and McCaughey Courts

with the gardens: the building also has six-star environmental

and the MacFarland Library. Again following our Modernist

standards, while enabling the students in the building to shape

predecessors, we stayed with a stone-coloured brick to

their personal environments through windows and shutters in

harmonise the building with the stone of Wyselaskie Hall

public and private spaces.

and Main Building. Finally, as part of the environmental management of the building, shutters were chosen to echo those of the nearby Lodge.

Secondly, the building needed to relate to the garden around it. The building was conceived to relate to three tiers of the garden from the ground to the treetops. At ground level, windows are full length down to the floors so you can see the indigenous garden surrounding the building. Through a door shared with one other room, students can step out to sit or study on one of the lily pads sitting in the garden.

As you proceed up to the first floor, you can see out into the mid-storey of the surrounding trees. You see the bird and animal life among the trees and sense the canopy over the grasses below.

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The final set of ideas that drove the graduate building

their heritage expertise combined with their contemporary

came from the students. The whole project began with the

sensibility has proved invaluable. The builders Macrobuild, who

architects being taken by the graduate students on a long tour

so successfully delivered the Gables project, teamed up with

of the spaces they then lived in around the College. Students

a larger builder Maben Group for this task. They put a huge

explained how they lived in their spaces, what they really liked

amount of effort into figuring out how to build this innovative

and what was frustrating. This tour helped to establish the

building within our tight and fixed budget. We could not have

size of the rooms, the value of having three windows with

achieved the great result without their partnership with the

different views to further increase the sense of space and the

architects and the College.

importance of students being able to arrange their rooms the way they like them. The result of this last request was the

The building has also been very generously supported by

multiplication of power points around the rooms – a small but

Neville and Di Bertalli and Andrew and Nooky Michelmore.

greatly appreciated feature.

At the end of the day - the most important thing is what Graduate students highlighted to the architects that their

students think of the building. At the launch Nick Hughes (MD

favourite and probably best-used space was the small balcony

4) said, “Whilst not only giving us a place we could call home,

in Allen House. As a result, the new building has made

these spaces have enriched the sense of community within the

balconies a major feature, with roof decks opening out from

Middle Common Room beyond any expectations we might

the common space on the top floor.

have had... a quality of community in which I am immensely proud to say I am a member.”

The Graduate Centre is the work of the architects Lovell Chen, who worked with us on the Gables, and once again

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

15

Life at Ormond

Women’s and men’s camps

Exploring the You Yangs National Park

firewood, cooking dinner, climbing cliffs, crashing for hours through thorns, sharing banter while squelching through swamp and sharing emotion while resting on the summit, humbled and exhausted.

Jon guided our escapades through the bush and we were not sheep. Under a rocky overhang graced by the ochre marks of Indigenous occupation, we made our camp and we felt welcome.

Among that kind of time and place – lived by Jon in the Australian bush – we did what we can hardly find time and Reaching the mountain peak

place for in the city and at Ormond. Out there, we reflected on the masculinity understood in ‘normal life’. Out there, we

The Expanding Horizons expedition

articulated a way towards a healthier masculinity. In the car

“Yes … yes. If I were to leave you with anything, it would be:

coming back, we spoke of this trip becoming a foundational

always hunt the mammoth.”

experience of Ormond life for all genders.

He sat in front of a cluster of young men circling a tiny

Seb Kitchen (Arts 2)

campfire, each clutching a mug or bowl from which they drank their brew. Their silhouettes cut distinctive mops of hair and

Women’s camp

ears and shoulders against a 360-degree panorama of the

Over three days, 25 female students from different year levels,

Victoria Ranges and surrounding farmland. The image spoke to

backgrounds and friendship circles embarked on a project

a sense of stoic individuality among the vastness of our world.

to build their confidence and leadership skills. The weekend

At that moment, these men were silent.

provided a valuable forum for discussion, reflection and learning.

It would be Jon Muir’s longest talk on the trip but, compared to our university lectures, so concise. We were in the presence

Formal workshops provoked discussion on a range of issues:

of a man courageous enough to live each day by his own

What values are most important in a leadership context? What

beliefs and to do so resolutely, openly, lovingly and kindly.

are the challenges women face in positions of leadership?

What are my individual strengths and how can I maximise

We pushed our understanding of how we will live our lives on

these? What are alternative ways of reading this situation or

our own terms. We did it camping solo in the bush, collecting

responding to this issue? We shared our personal and leadership

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

These camps developed out of various conversations with students over the past few years. The benefits of these programs are many, but two central organising aims are predominant.

First, the purpose of separating the genders is to offer time for focused discussion on the challenges and the opportunities faced by young men and young women today.

The second aim is to provide the chance for personal development. Both camps involved activities such as abseiling and rock climbing, designed to test the nerve and inspire team building. They also included periods of solitude to encourage healthy introspection. A key message implicit in both camps was: Whatever type of woman or man you aim to be, follow your own path, not anyone else’s.

That both camps have achieved their aims is a significant challenges and received feedback. We also focused on

tribute to the commitment of the participants. The

practical strategies for managing teams, organising time

young men and women involved returned with new

and setting and working towards goals. These sessions were

understandings not just of their gender, but also of

both challenging and comforting. We were compelled to

themselves.

reconsider our views and listen to alternate perspectives, but also encouraged to find we all struggle with doubts and

Rob Leach Vice-Master

insecurities.

We also faced physical challenges. We abseiled off cliffs with only a harness and ropes, darted across paintball battlefields, let off steam with a boxing class and had a spontaneous swim in the Moorabool River. Sitting on Flinders Peak after our silent hike in the You Yangs National Park, we undertook 30 minutes of independent reflection.

What began as a project to encourage gender discussion became much more. One of its greatest strengths was the diversity of the enthusiastic group and strong connections quickly emerged. Around campfires, at dinner and on top of mountains, we discussed feminism and shared our experiences as young women – conversations that continue

Sailing back to Melbourne

to resonate on our return to Ormond.

As we sailed around Port Phillip Bay and into Melbourne at dusk, it was impossible to wipe the smiles off our faces. We chatted with new friends and returned home with a renewed sense of confidence and appreciation.

Brigid O’Farrell-White (Arts 3)

Enjoying the sunrise after a tough night on the mountain peak

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

17

Life at Ormond

The Pitch Project

Felicity Gent (Arts 2)

Building on the success of other Beyond Ormond Borders programs that look at problem solving, public policy and

Blair Cup

politics, the Pitch Project brings these together in a public

When Jock Blair’s will bequeathed $100,000 to the Students’ Club for sporting purposes, there was a quite unusual condition.

Blair’s will stipulates that each year, the Club must hold a croquet match for its members.

policy–oriented competition. In its inaugural year, teams were given a task to develop a policy initiative to pitch to a sitting federal politician.

Throughout the program, teams had access to the professional expertise of Jennifer Kanis, the state Labor MP for Melbourne, Rose Iser (1992), an Ormond alumna who has worked with the Greens Party, the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Ormond staff members. In developing their pitches, teams conducted considerable research in Melbourne electorates and considered existing programs and policies that tackle youth unemployment.

The program concluded with a presentation to Tony Smith MP, who has served as adviser to the Treasurer, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, and currently serves as Chair of the Coalition Backbench Economics and Finance Policy Committee.

For several years, the croquet match has not been a significant event on the social calendar. The Blair Cup is awarded to the boy-girl pair who are the combined winner of croquet and doubles tennis. Croquet commenced the inaugural Blair Cup, with a champagne brunch served concurrently on Parker Terrace in the sunshine of a beautiful spring day. In the afternoon, the crowds moved to the courts for tennis and Pimms, with Hamish Kelt (Comm 1) and Jade Sheary (Comm 1) winning the Cup. The Blair Cup is set to be a mainstay of the social calendar, recognising Blair’s extraordinary generosity and, perhaps as Blair would have wanted, elevating the place of croquet in Ormond life.

Will Abbey (Arts 3)

The success of both of the final teams reflects their efforts and commitment to a program that went on far longer than initially anticipated – the realities of busy Ormondians and even busier politicians pushed the final date from May to August, and the number of teams dropping as time went on.

The winning team, Isabella Borshoff, Oscar Shaw, Huw Hutchison and Saskia Holloway, developed an innovative program addressing a specific segment of the youth population: those currently employed in entry-level jobs who are most at risk of falling into a cycle of unemployment.

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Life at Ormond

Shaping Ormond’s future

Louise Curran Alumni & Community Relations Associate Annual Giving 2014 co-leaders. From left: Sandy Hatton (1977), Nerida White (1973) and Graeme Willersdorf (1961)

We wish to thank all alumni, parents and friends for their wonderful support of this year’s Annual Giving program.

To date we have raised an outstanding amount of over $200,000 for College projects, which include scholarships, Vesti stonework restoration and the maintenance of our trees. Around one third of our students are scholarship recipients; this year’s main aim was to provide greater funds for scholarships in order to enable more students, from more diverse backgrounds, to benefit from living in the Ormond community.

Ormond College’s Annual Giving program is such a success because it is a team effort. The Annual Giving co-leaders, Graeme Willersdorf (1961), Nerida White (1973) and Sandy Hutton (1977), have continued in their role for many years now, and so too have our amazing signatories, who tirelessly sign many letters to their fellow alumni, parents and friends. For this we say thank you: without your support and the support of alumni who give so generously to the College, Ormond’s Annual Giving program would not be the success it is and nor would we be able to provide the support for as many students as we do.

Annual Giving August 2014 breakdown General Scholarships Hugh Collins Scholarship Indigenous Scholarships Maintenance of trees Rural Scholarships Vesti Stonework

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

19

Life at Ormond

The kitchen team at the Valedictory Dinner

New food culture Great changes have come to Ormond food. Under the guidance of Gavin Porter, the new Executive Chef, Ormond food has been elevated to new levels with a focus on fresh, seasonal produce. Gavin joins us from the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle, and has extensive experience as a chef in many leading hotels. Working with Gavin is an experienced and friendly team who all come from different hospitality backgrounds.

A meal that represents the change is the traditional Sunday roast, which now features whole salmon. Traditional favourites like hash browns have remained but even from the baked beans to the eggs to the chicken curries, everything is just better.

With the online food comments page, Gavin and his team respond quickly to feedback from students, tailoring meals to

20

what the people want. The chefs strive to do their best and it is fantastic to have staff in our kitchen who love food. For most meals, they are popping their heads out and chatting to us, eager to see what is well received and what needs work.

The attendance speaks for itself: Formal Halls traditionally drop in numbers from the first few weeks, yet this semester the hall has been full every week and tables in the vestibule are not uncommon. This is great for the communal eating that goes on daily at Ormond, food is an integral part of college life. You can often learn more over a few meals with engaging people than in a week’s worth of lectures. Food is an integral part of Ormond, with Dr Black aptly pointing out that “food is vital to a community” and the community is certainly responding well to this new development.

George Threadgold (Arts 1)

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The Scouts

Dennis Stammers celebrating 25 years

The ‘Scouts’ are a perfect addition to the Ormond community.

Dennis Stammers has worked at Ormond in various

Aside from being really good at cleaning, they make Ormond

capacities for twenty-five years. In that time there have

feel much more like home. Their constant calls of, “Hello, how

been five Masters. Davis McCaughey, David Parker, Alan

are you?” make us all feel welcome when walking through the

Gregory, Hugh Collins and Rufus Black – Dennis has had

corridors. Not only do they ask how you are: they really care

roles varying from electrician to Maintenance Coordinator,

how you are. I was working on an essay recently and my scout

and now Head of Property Services. Dennis has an

checked in on how I was going with it every day for a week

encyclopaedic knowledge of College’s grounds and

and then celebrated with me when I’d finished it. Indeed,

buildings. There isn’t a part of the campus that doesn’t

I think you would be hard-pressed to find any other staff

literally, or metaphorically, bear his fingerprints.

member who knows as much about our lives as the Scouts do.

Dennis’ passion for Ormond is clear in his patient Their warmth and welcoming nature have made them well

attention to the daily tasks of keeping a 130 year old

loved by the students. Early in the Scouts’ term, I remember

College safe and comfortable. He has also been intimately

one boy telling me that he and his friends had left a thank

involved in recent developments – the Academic Centre,

you card for their scout to show their appreciation, which

Main Building Gables, McCaughey Court seventh floor,

is certainly not an isolated incident. You often see students

and the new Graduate Building. Dennis’ ability to perceive

helping the Scouts to carry bags of rubbish or clean up after

a space’s functionality in design sketches, and contribute

a big night. The Scout Student Service (where we vacuum the

to refinements based on student needs, is one of the

corridors) has quickly become everyone’s favourite, primarily

reasons why Ormond’s new facilities are so well liked.

because you get to spend time with the Scouts (and maybe even score a snack from the scout office afterwards!).

Dennis is always ready with a witty aside or an anecdote from his two and a half decades at Ormond – such as

The Scouts make us feel at home at Ormond and I know I’ll

the time he chauffeured Weary Dunlop in 1990, to when

certainly feel sentimental about saying goodbye to my scout

students pranked the College by putting rubbish bins on

when I leave Ormond at the end of the year.

all the Main Building roof bollards! It’s not unusual for Dennis to be called out in the middle of the night or even

Ellie Ryan (Arts 3), Chair of Ormond College Students’ Club General Committee 2014

while he is on holiday. His commitment to the College is unfailing, as is his friendliness with staff and students. In all these ways he embodies what it is not just to work for an institution, but to be an integral part of a community.

There may have been five Masters over the past quarter century, but there’s only one Dennis!

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

21

From the CEL

Interning at the Centre for Ethical Leadership

Georgia McDonald Project Officer, CEL Victoria Rudolph-Stinger (Sci 3) with Dr Shuang Ren

As part of Ormond’s strategy to broaden the range of

identify the barriers to women’s full participation in the global

developmental opportunities available to resident and

market. Georgia is a graduate student undertaking a Juris

non-resident students, this year the Centre for Ethical

Doctor and says, “The internship is like taking on another

Leadership first offered three paid year-long internships to

subject. There is a lot to think about, a lot of autonomy. It

Ormond students. The internships provide students with

feels like my first proper job. I have been able to contribute to

the opportunity to learn about the practical realities of the

the group discussions with PwC, where people have taken an

research process and of working in a research and teaching

interest in me and my opinions.”

centre.

Dr Sojo agrees and says, “Through this internship, Georgia has The inaugural CEL interns, Georgia Westbrook, Nicholas

learned basic elements about psycho-social factors affecting

Hughes and Victoria Rudolph-Stringer, have spent the year

organisational processes around diversity and equality, how

working under the supervision of the Centre’s research

to investigate these factors, and how to develop and evaluate

leaders.

effective interventions to change them.”

“University students just don’t get these kinds of

Dr Shuang Ren has been working closely with Victoria

opportunities,” says Nicholas Hughes. “Interning at the

Rudolph-Stringer on a longitudinal project that investigates the

Centre is engaging mentally and the researchers were able

emergence of leadership within groups over time. Victoria is in

to find areas of work for me that fell under the umbrella of

her final year of a Bachelor of Science and has benefited from

my professional interests.” Nicholas is a final year medical

an introduction to the different sets of research methodologies

student and was able to use his knowledge of physiology in a

used in the psychological sciences. Led by Dr Ren, Victoria

research project with Dr Boyka Bratanova, a social psychologist

has seen the full life cycle of a research project from the initial

whose expertise is in the mechanisms of social inequality. Dr

research design and the literature review to the data collection

Bratanova has been conducting experiments into measures

and coding stages.

of inequality and writes, “Nicholas’ in-depth knowledge of human physiology has been a valuable asset in understanding

The CEL has greatly valued having Ormond students as a part

the physiological correlates of inequality-induced emotions like

of the life of the Centre. The interns have contributed to staff

stress and anger in our bid to uncover the processes underlying

meetings, joined in the many lively topical discussions in the

the negative effect of inequality on health.”

CEL ‘living room’ and provided an important bridge between the Centre and the College. With recruitment for the next

Georgia Westbrook has been working with Dr Victor Sojo and

cohort of interns underway, we look forward to the fresh

CEL alliance partner PwC in a collaborative project on global

insights they will bring to the CEL.

mobility and the under-representation of women in expatriate positions. Dr Sojo and Georgia are working with PwC to

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

The Vincent Fairfax Fellowship™

Prof Robert Wood Director, CEL Peter Collins, Director of Curriculum, Facilitator and Coach of the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship

Leaders need frameworks for thinking through ethical issues. They also need to understand the psychology of decision-making and how to avoid biases and ethical blind spots that can derail good intentions. Together with Associate Professor Rufus Black, I lead the flagship program of the Centre for Ethical Leadership: the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship™.

The Fellowship offers a select group of senior executive leaders the opportunity to engage with up to twenty others in the most advanced leadership experience offered in Australia.

The Fellowship is supported by the Vincent Fairfax Ethics in Leadership Foundation and was established in honour of Australian businessman and philanthropist Sir Vincent Fairfax, who had a deep interest in encouraging excellence in leadership, a capability which he believed should not be left to chance but actively developed. Sir Vincent envisaged a landscape of leadership in Australia shaped by people who would make a significant impact through their expanded capacity for ethical leadership. Consistent with Ormond’s vision for students to make a disproportionate difference, the Centre for Ethical Leadership is cultivating ethical leadership in the top echelons of Australia’s corporate, community and government organisations.

The Fellowship consists of 10 days held over the course of a

Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin AC and Chairman of Woodside Petroleum and NAB Michael Chaney.

Vincent Fairfax Fellowship Alumnus (2012) and Chief Operating Officer of Rio Tinto Copper Rob Atkinson relates that the Fellowship gave him key insights that have changed how he operates as a COO. “The Fellowship helped me to discover my own leadership style, values and ethical reasoning approach. It was the perfect course for somebody in my position to see the world through different lenses.”

And that is exactly the plan. The diversity and seniority of the cohort contribute to the lively discussions of the ethical issues that confront leaders. Assoc. Prof. Black notes, “That’s why the uptake of this program is so strong. It is a space where we can understand the complexity senior leaders face and people feel they are not being judged.”

To develop ethical leaders, our ethics training must go beyond simply teaching models of ethics as applied to static case studies. Fellows learn how to act as leaders when faced with dynamic, complex problems, through communications and through the development of systems and cultures that promote ethical behaviour.

year at Ormond College, where Fellows take Socratic walks in the gardens and dine in the Senior Common Room. The Fellows explore ethical frameworks for decision-making, the latest research from the world of moral psychology and how to integrate this knowledge into their leadership. One-on-one sessions with mentors from the business sector and intensive coaching by experts in leadership supplement the modules.

Guest speakers have included former Prime Minister Malcolm

The next intake of Vincent Fairfax Fellows will commence in June 2015 and applications for the Fellowship are now open. More information can be found on our website at cel.edu.au. If you are a senior leader interested in applying, please contact Jennifer Jones on 03 9344 1401.

Fraser AC, Westpac CEO Gail Kelly, Chief of the Defence Force

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

23

Our Community

Professor Sir Lindsay Tasman Ride

Sue Ebury Vice-Chancellor Ride of the University of Hong Kong

Spymaster, soldier, physiologist, Vice Chancellor, musician and

Ride’s unit achieved remarkable success in retrieving and

red-headed son of the manse: ‘Ginger’ Ride came to Ormond

transporting wounded to the hospitals. Marched into a prison

in 1919 after fighting on the Western Front as a battalion scout

camp on 30 December, he made a daring escape into Free

with the 38th Battalion. Taking up a scholarship, he enrolled in

China on 9 January; on reaching the Nationalist capital in

medicine and swiftly made his mark. By 1921 he was President

Chungking, he proposed to the British military authorities

of the Students’ Club, represented Ormond at football, cricket

that he raise an escape, evasion and military intelligence unit

and athletics (winning a half blue for throwing the hammer),

(MI9/MI19) to facilitate the escape of prisoners of war and

rowed in the Ormond boat that won Head of the River in 1921,

civilians from occupied Hong Kong. Called the BAAG (British

and played leading roles in the college’s theatrical productions.

Army Aid Group) to conceal its covert function, this became an indispensable intelligence source. Ride’s reputation as a

Ride departed for Oxford and New College as the 1922 Rhodes

spymaster was high in Whitehall and at military headquarters

Scholar. Now answering to ‘Blue’, he represented his college

in India; his agents smuggled news, scarce drugs and money

at rugby, cricket and athletics, and was elected Steward of the

into Hong Kong and people out, rescued downed airmen,

Junior Common Room (remarkable for a colonial), but it was

and provided medical and humanitarian aid and famine relief

on the river that he shone. Once more the powerhouse of the

to refugees, guerrilla forces and Nationalist Chinese soldiers

boat and universally popular, he became Captain of Boats.

alike. But arguably the BAAG’s most important function was as cover for the SOE (Special Operations Executive) and Ride was

Following clinical training at Guy’s Hospital, he graduated

recognised with a CBE (Mil) in 1944.

MA, MB. B.Ch in 1928 and was appointed Professor of Physiology at the University of Hong Kong. ‘Doc’ Ride taught

Despite US and Chinese opposition, Ride triumphed at the end

and reorganised the medical faculty; his spare time was spent

of the war when he organised one of his agents to smuggle

training the Hong Kong Field Ambulance as its commanding

into the Colony the Colonial Office’s official authority that

officer, walking, botanising and playing rugby, tennis and

re-established British government, and Hong Kong remained

cricket. A Rockefeller grant for genetics research in Asia and

British until 1997. He was seconded to Rear-Admiral Harcourt’s

North America resulted in Oxford awarding him the Degree of

staff as a senior military officer but declined a senior

Doctor of Medicine (1939).

intelligence post in the post-war period, education being his first love.

Narrowly escaping the Japanese in Shanghai in 1937 and certain of war with Japan, Ride sent his wife and four children

Ride was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong

to Australia and intensified his training of the Field Ambulance,

Kong in 1949 and his achievements on the war-ruined campus

energetically recruiting his medical students and becoming its

established him as one of the great Commonwealth university

commanding officer in 1941.

administrators, laying the foundations of a large university with 22 new buildings, student numbers trebled, full formal

Japan invaded Hong Kong on 8 December 1941. For the

recognition for degrees in civil, electrical and mechanical

18 days during which the entire island was a battlefield,

engineering and in architecture, and establishment of the

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ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Colonel Ride (centre) with US and Chinese senior colleagues

university press, extra-mural studies, the Institute of Oriental Studies, and student and staff health services. Honorary degrees of LLD were conferred on him by the universities of Toronto, London, Melbourne and Hong Kong, and he was knighted in 1962.

This dedicated and much-loved teacher and internationalist

Sir Ride at a reunion of the 38th Battalion of the 1st AIF on Anzac Day in Melbourne, 1967, published in The Herald of 25 April 1967

Volunteer Defence Force and was its Colonel Commandant, eventually retiring with the rank of brigadier.

Born in Newstead, Victoria, in 1898, he dedicated nearly fifty years of his life to Hong Kong but remained strongly Australian.

He died aged 79 in October 1977.

championed his Eurasian and Chinese students, and numbered Chinese generals and citizens of many countries among his friends and associates. At breakfast or dinner at the Vice-Chancellor’s Lodge, one might talk to a Haldane or Alfredo Campoli, for Ride’s prominence in academic, medical, military and musical life (he was president and conductor of the Hong Kong Singers and an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music) attracted scientists, poets, visiting musicians and colonial administrators to his board. He was the adviser and confidant of governors and the military; he also planned and executed the reorganisation of the Hong Kong

A scholarship honouring Sir Lindsay Ride James Shipton (1989), Colin Jesse (1971), John Berry (1968) and other alumni living in and with a connection to China have established a scholarship for a student from that region to come to Ormond. The scholarship will serve as a bridge, as Sir Lindsay did, between Australia and greater China, their peoples and their cultures.

The Scholarship, providing approximately 50% fee remission, will be awarded from 2015 to a student who would not otherwise be able to attend Ormond.

Additional gifts are being sought to ensure this scholarship is established in perpetuity.

“The family is deeply appreciative of the honour of having a scholarship established in the name of Sir Lindsay Ride, incorporating as it does three important milestones in his life – Ormond College, China and education.”

Elizabeth Ride, daughter of Sir Lindsay Ride For further information on this scholarship, please contact Di Bambra, Director of College Advancement. dbambra@ormond.unimelb.edu.au or 03 9344 1249.

Ride played cricket for the Hong Kong Cricket Club and the University

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

25

Alumni news

Kristen Combo née Radka (2008) and her husband, Jacob Combo, welcomed Kolbe Therese Combo to their family on 17 April 2014. Kristen, Jacob and Kolbe live in Texas in the USA.

Dr Alex Buchanan (1952) has recently had his book My Potted History published. This book is for Alex’s family and tells the story of his most interesting and rewarding life. In

Anthony Healy (1986) has been appointed Managing Director

his book, Alex shares a chapter about how grateful he was

and CEO of Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), as well as joining

to have attended Ormond College, where he worked hard

National Australia Bank’s Group Executive Management

studying seven days a week. Alex has achieved much in

Committee. Anthony previously headed up BNZ Partners,

his 80 years educationally, professionally and through his

overseeing sustainable growth in their agriculture and business

tireless community work. He has received numerous awards

markets.

including a Centenary Medal in 2001, a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2009 and the Paul Harris Sapphire Medal from

Anthony and his family (wife Kate and two children, Patrick and

the Rotary Club of Melbourne in 2013.

Caroline) moved to New Zealand in 2009, having lived in the Middle East, Australia and Asia over the past 15 years.

Dr Steve Cantor (1962) was back in Australia earlier this year, visiting from Arizona in the USA. Steve is a cardiologist

Alan Pilkington (1960) and his family moved to the USA in the

and spent some of his time here visiting the Melbourne

early 1980s when Alan was invited to join his firm’s headquarters

Medical School’s Rural Campus in Shepparton. Steve was

in New York. Alan later became Chairman of the highly regarded

most impressed with the patient simulation program for the

advertising agency DDB Chicago. He changed gears in 2000 and

interactive learning of procedures. While here Steve also

made a move to Colorado to ski, hunt, fly fish and write fiction.

lectured MD3 students, whom he found similar to their US

The latter has resulted in Alan producing two novels and a

counterparts. He enjoyed his time here and hopes to repeat

collection of short stories.

his experiences when he next visits.

Professionally, Alan has a strategy and communications Prof Hilary

consulting practice and is co-founder of a Seattle-based online

Charlesworth AM

company that focuses on natural, organic and sustainably

(1974) was selected

produced foods. Alan now resides in Seattle with Carolyn, his

by the federal

American-born wife, and their three large dogs.

Attorney-General in 2011 as the first

Dr Patrick Porter (1995) has been appointed Professor of

Australian woman to

International Strategic Studies at the University of Exeter

sit as a Judge ad-hoc at

in England. From Arts/Law at Ormond, Patrick went on

the International Court

to Magdalen College Oxford on a Fairfax Scholarship and

of Justice in The Hague

completed a DPhil. He has since held appointments at King’s

to decide if Japanese

College London, the British Defence Academy, and has been

whaling in the Southern

Assoc Professor of War and Strategic Studies at the University of

Ocean was actually for

Reading since 2011.

research purposes as claimed by the Tokyo government.

We congratulate Hilary, an ANU professor of international law and human rights, who was one of a panel of 16 who voted 12 to four majority to answer yes that the whale hunt was in breach of the convention (which allows the killing of whales for science only).

26

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Dr Michelle Thurman née Hanway (1993), her husband, Walter Thurman, and their daughter, Zoe

Ormond College congratulates the members of our community who have received the following awards:

Grace, welcomed twin girls, Alexa Flynn and Willa Sage,

Professor Edwina C Cornish AO (1980) for

to their family on 8 January

distinguished service to higher education, to advances

2014. Michelle currently

in biotechnology and horticultural genetic modification,

resides in the USA with her

and through fostering of partnerships with government,

family.

industry and the community.

Dr Zygmunt E Switkowski AO (1970) for distinguished service to the community, particularly to tertiary education administration, scientific organisations and the

Dr Stephen Whiteside

telecommunications sector, to business, and to the arts.

(1974) has recently had his children’s poetry book

Mr John N Isaac AM (1962) for significant service to

The Billy That Died With

the community of Melbourne, particularly through St

Its Boots On published.

Vincent’s Hospital, and to the law.

Stephen writes for both adults and children and

Mr Fergus Stewart McArthur AM for significant

is especially proud of his

service to the Parliament of Australia, to policy debate in

children’s works. Many

economics, industrial relations and agriculture, and to the

of Stephens’s poems

community of Victoria. His children Sarah (2005), Andrew

have been published in

(2007) and James (2013) have attended Ormond.

magazines and anthologies, both in Australia and overseas, and have won awards.

Ms Serena J Wilson PSM (1982) for outstanding public service through exceptional contribution to the establishment of the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Stephen is a great fan and admirer of CJ Dennis, who has inspired

and longstanding and distinguished service to public

his writing in many ways. He is closely involved with the annual

administration in the area of social policy.

Toolangi CJ Dennis Poetry Festival, held every year at the Singing Gardens in Toolangi, the original home of CJ Dennis.

Fulbright Scholar It’s almost ten years

After Ashiq completed his time at Ormond, he returned

since Ashiq Hamid

to his homeland, New Zealand, and enrolled in a Bachelor

(2004) attended Ormond

of Laws. Following this, Ashiq was admitted as a barrister

College and studied for a

and solicitor and went on to work for two years in capital

Bachelor of Science at the

market regulation.

University of Melbourne.

During his time at Columbia University, Ashiq will be Ashiq now finds himself

looking at financial and economic regulation and the

studying again, except

measures taken by the United States Government to

this time it is on the other

regulate the finance industry in the wake of the Global

side of the world, in New York. Ashiq was honoured to

Financial Crisis. Ashiq hopes to take some of that expertise

be selected as a Fulbright Scholar to read for a Master of

back to his homeland, New Zealand.

Laws at Columbia University. Columbia University is one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and an

Louise Curran Alumni & Community Relations Associate

Ivy League school.

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

27

SCHOL A R SHIP & PR IZE R ECIPIEN TS Semester Two 2014 All Rounder Scholarship Harvey Duckett

(Arts 2)

Tom Allen

(Arts 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Armstrong Prize ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Bessie Robson Music Scholarship Benjamin Provest Isaac Martin

(Arts 1) (Sci 2)

(Arts 1)

(Arts 2)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Joe Kirby Memorial Prize

(Arts 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– John D Rogers Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– David Abraham Prize in Governance & Public Policy

Katherine France Peter Jardim

Charles Shenton

Cameron Muirhead Indiana Belle

(JD 3)

(BioMed 3)

(Sci 4)

(MD 3) (Fine Arts 1)

Caitlin Clifford

(Arts 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MacFarland Scholarship

Renee Sheary

(Env 1)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– MacFarlane Burnet Prize in Biological Science

Elita Frazer

(Sci 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– McLean Family Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– DF & IK Mitchell Scholarship ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Donald Oxer Memorial Prize ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dr Thomas John Moore Kennedy Scholarship Phillip Crane

(MD 4)

Phoebe Snep

(Arts 2)

Rebecca Clifton Saskia Holloway

(Arts 3) (Arts 1)

James Lea

(Env 1)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Ellinor Morcom Scholarship ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Ellis Prize in Classical Studies ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Engineering Scholarship ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Fowles Prize in Law Sally Knowles-Jackson

(JD 1)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– General Bursary Fund Julian O’Donnell Sam Hodgson

(Arts 3) (Sci 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– General Prize Fund Abbie Kanagarajah Brigitte Danks Caitlin Clifford James Vincent Maxim Mattvey Reuben van Ammers

(BioMed 1) (Env 1) (Arts 3) (Fine Arts 1) (Comm 1) (Sci 2)

Indiana Belle Julian O’Donnell Maja Ristovska Robin Sanchez Arlt Rylae Kirby

(Fine Arts 1) (Arts 3) (M.IR 1) (Sci 1) (Arts 2)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– General Scholarship Fund

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– George Cabble Bursary Fund Jade Sheary

(Comm 1)

Peter Jardim

(BioMed 3)

Adam Lipszyc

(Sci 2)

Krystal Green Rylae Kirby

(Sci 2) (Arts 2)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Neville and Di Bertalli Scholarship Isaac Martin Sebastian Kirby

(Sci 2) MD 1)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Peter Callow Memorial Scholarship Fund Alexandra McLennan Benjamin Hooppell Cameron Muirhead Cecilia Bartels Charles Craig Daniel Beratis George Longbottom Jade Sheary Jarita Winslow Jessica McLennan Jonathan Unicek Joshua Mason Lauren Lovick Maxim Mattvey Melissa Howlett Ollie Xue Phillip Crane Phoebe Snep Renee Sheary Rylae Kirby Sally Knowles-Jackson Tom Allen

(Arts 1) (Sci 1) (MD 3) (Arts 2) (Sci 2) (Arts 1) (Comm 1) (Comm 1) (Arts 1) (Arts 1) (Opt 1) (Sci 1) (MD 1) (Comm 1) (Arts 1) (BioMed 3) (MD 4) (Arts 2) (Env 1) (Arts 2) (JD 1) (Arts 3)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Renate Kamener Scholarship Alana Ryan

(Arts 1)

Cassidy Ewan Samuel Younis

(Arts 1) (Sci 2)

Tom Allen

(Arts 3)

Ruby Yang

(M.Eng 1)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Stewart Family Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Gwen & Edna Jones Foundation Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– W J Bayles Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Hannah Kershaw Bennett Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Warwick Bisley Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Hartley Mitchell Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Zatorski Prize

Cassidy Ewan Peter Jardim

Julian O’Donnell

28

Alexandra McLennan Charles Craig

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Isabel Pond Bursary Fund

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– JD McCaughey Scholarship

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Craig Memorial Prize Max Morris

(Sci 2) (Arts 1 )

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Jack Lawson Prize in Law

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Coltman Scholarship Rylae Kirby

Samuel Younis Thomas Mudie

(Fine Arts 2) (Sci 2)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Bill & Joan Paterson Scholarship Daniel Beratis

Ian Gordon Family Scholarship

(Arts 1)

(BioMed 3)

(Arts 3)

Merry Li

(Sci 2)

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Our community

Remembering Dr Rob Simpson (1974)

John Simpson The Simpson family at the tree-planting ceremony to honour Dr Rob Simpson

On Friday 8 August 2014, the life of one of Ormond’s colourful

Another brother, Professor W James Simpson (Chair,

and prominent students of the 1970s – Dr Rob Simpson – was

Department of English, Harvard), wrote: “Rob Simpson

commemorated with a tree-planting ceremony in his honour

supported, sustained and inspired many lives. In both the

on the grounds of the College.

domestic and political domains his was a posture of applying intense rational pressure with the aim of constructively

Rob Simpson – a doctor, surgeon, medical administrator,

resolving disputations, relieving stress, building the future. It is

adventurer and much else besides – died suddenly and

a matter of sharpest, most poignant regret that he should have

tragically in 1994 at the age of 42. Rob was married to Dr

died in the service of the State. The University of Melbourne

Marilyn McMahon and they had one son, Ned Simpson.

and Ormond have lost an exceptional alumnus; Australia has lost an exceptional citizen,” Professor Simpson said.

The tree, a Gleditsia or honey locust tree, was selected by the Master because it is known to thrive in the grounds and has a striking yellow leaf for much of the year. Rob Simpson’s

Simpson, all reflected on Rob’s remarkable life.

The College has learned of the following deaths in our community.

Our sympathy is extended to the families of these Ormondians.

John said his brother had been passionate about many issues

Thomas Malcolm Banks (1991)

facing the planet and these included a strong anti-nuclear,

Eirene Clark (1937)

extended family, along with a number of friends from his Ormond days, attended a commemorative service in which Dr Black, Ned Simpson and Rob’s youngest brother, John

anti-war stance coupled with determination to play a role in ensuring better public health outcomes for people in the

Charles Hartley Ford (1945)

developing world. Robert had a deep commitment to public

Nicholas Talbot (Nick) Hamilton (1945)

health from the moment he started his medical studies and,

Verna (Cliff) Hughes (1938)

after working as a surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital,

John Alexander Macdonald (1937)

he went on to become the Chief Medical Officer for the State

James Herbert Martin (1947)

of Victoria.

Gerard David Neil (1984)

“Rob was a person of intense intellectual focus and in all he

Wayne Glenn Stott (1963)

did in his life, he reflected the Ormond values of learning,

Rebecca Lauren Thomas (2007)

community, diversity and integrity,” John said. “Not merely

Bertram Sutherland (Bert) Vanrenen (1940)

content with his medical studies, Robert also completed a BA

Arthur Robert (Bob) Waterhouse (1945)

in economics and politics and, after graduating, a one-year Master of Public Administration (Health) at Harvard.”

No.89 DECEMBER 2014

29

Obituary

Gerard David Neil (1984)

Dr Sandra Neil (1963) Gerard David Neil

Obituary to honour Gerard David Neil, 26 January 1966 – 5 April 2013 A graduate of Ormond College Musician, composer and unique soul Gerard Neil was many things to all of us. A beloved uncle to his clan of nine nieces and nephews, he was a particularly musical influence in their lives and spent hours playing with, teaching and accompanying them musically. To him, they were like the joy of a million suns; to them, he was so much more: the uncle with a boyish enthusiasm who enchanted them with tales of intrigue and the improbable, the musician who imparted so much more than an appreciation of notes, the life that exists in the music they created. Gerard had the ability to bring inanimate objects to life with the spoken word. He has left an enduring legacy masterfully woven into the fabric of our family that will, for the rest of our lives, remind us of his brilliance. He was a son to be cherished, a brother to be admired, an uncle that every boy and girl would treasure.

A very gifted student, Gerard had a sharp intellect. He focused his work in two fields: computers and music. His highly proficient career in computing was already established by age 14 when he designed a disk operating system for the eminently beige 1980s early personal computer, the Exidy Sorceror, for which he received royalties for many years. In his teens, he worked for one of the founders of Australian video game development, Beam Software, on their acclaimed 1982 game ‘The Hobbit’. He also built an Apple 2e in its earliest years, directly from components. He was a contributor to open source projects and was particularly proud of an email from Linus Torvalds (the inventor of Linux) about esoteric longstanding bugs that Gerard fixed in the Linux kernel. He went on to work in firms including Telstra, CityPower, Redflex,

30

Quest and Sausage Software. For him, being a geek was a badge of honour.

Musically, Gerard was a renowned guitarist, cellist, pianist and composer. In the last ten years of his life, he immersed himself in musical composition. During this time, he organised musical soirees and taught his nieces and nephews the joys of a musical life.

Gerard had a wicked sense of humour that was witty, self-depreciating and razor sharp. This combined with his creativity and he would weave endless stories for the children that were themed around central characters of the likes of fish, lizards and ‘Gordon the Gecko’. He particularly enjoyed multi-layered puns that were so complicated, they were not always apparent to anyone but himself.

Gerard met his wife of nearly two decades, Claudia Mulder, at Ormond College.

He had an intense sense of compassion and empathy, and visited and sat with many people through their physical illnesses, even though he himself suffered from a number of chronic illnesses. He was tender and sensitive.

He was a unique, special soul and leaves a gaping hole in our family. He was a gift to all of us and is sadly missed.

Dr Sandra Neil and Dr Robert Silverberg Dr Georgia Paxton and Dr Julian Neil Dr Simonne Neil and Mr Justin Negri

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Obituary

Tom Banks (1991)

John Knox (1991) Thomas Malcolm Banks

Thomas Malcolm Banks (1991) was born in Maryborough on

Tom followed the Carlton Football Club. This was particularly

15 April 1973 as the fourth of five children. His family moved

handy given its home ground at the time he was at Ormond

to Bairnsdale when Tom was eight, where he attended West

was Princes Park. Tom played cricket for Melbourne University

Bairnsdale Primary School followed by Bairnsdale High School

Cricket Club and under 19s football for University Blues, where

before commencing boarding at Melbourne Grammar School

his older brother Eddie had previously been a star player. He

in year 9 in 1987. Tom was a good student, keen thespian and

loved golf, playing off single figures as a member at both the

talented sportsman at school, playing in Melbourne Grammar’s

Commonwealth Golf Club and Grampians Golf Club, where he

cricket First XI in both Year 11 and Year 12.

famously became club champion in 2002.

Tom arrived at Ormond College in February 1991 to study

After working in the market research, airline and building

Commerce at the University of Melbourne. He was immediately

industries, Tom discovered his love for medical studies in his

selected in the cricket First XI, where he was a hard hitting

late 30s. An aspiration he had mentioned to friends in his

middle order batsman and brilliant fieldsman, helping the

first year at Ormond. He studied to become a paramedic

College win its third consecutive cricket premiership. The

and graduated with first class honours with a Bachelor of

following year he helped secure Ormond’s fourth consecutive

Emergency Health in 2010. He was a very well respected

cricket premiership. Tom also played in the football First XVIII in

member of Ambulance Victoria. Tom loved his work, thriving

both his years at Ormond. If there had been a competition for

on the intellectual curiosity of solving medical problems under

billiards Tom would have been favourite to win. He also starred

intense pressure.

in the frisbee game played on Picken lawn that was popular during end of year exam period.

Tom was an extraordinarily popular person who deeply touched many people with his kindness, loyalty, deep thoughts

Tom made many close friends while at Ormond that remained

and sense of humour. His friendships in life were deep and

close to him during his life. His long time partner, often

longstanding.

proclaimed “the love of my life” and mother of his two children (Wes and Amelia), Professor Sharon Pickering (1991) attended

Tom died suddenly from an illness in July 2014. His funeral was

Ormond at the same time. He also became a central figure

held at Ormond, with both Hall and the Vestibule overflowing

amongst two separate groups from Ormond who continue

with his many friends. Three eulogies were delivered by

to get together regularly - the MOHAG (“Men of Hope and

friends from his Ormond days. His remarkable partner, Sharon,

Glory”) group who meet for dinner two to three times a

delivered an emotional and inspirational eulogy.

year; and the AF Mason golf tour who play in a three day tournament each October.

Tom will be deeply missed by everyone and especially by the three people he cared most about - Sharon, Wes and Amelia.

Sport was a big part of Tom’s life. The Ormondian magazine

However, the impact he left on his family and many friends will

in 1991 had a photo of Tom wearing a West Coast Eagles

last forever. A great man, who has departed us far too early.

jumper for a “Western” themed Master’s Dance. However, No.89 DECEMBER 2014

31

Lest we forget

49 College Crescent Parkville VIC 3052 Australia T: 61 3 9344 1100 F: 61 3 9344 1111 E: admissions@ormond.unimelb.edu.au W:www.ormond.unimelb.edu.au 32

ORMOND COLLEGE MAGAZINE