Ada Waite formerly Gooch (Cooke 1920) 1917-1920; Prefect Ada was still in her final year at School when her older sister Jean helped form the OCA in April 1920. In 1924 Ada was the OCA’s Rural Member but stepped away when she married Jack Gooch in 1928, to raise her family at Manberry Station, Carnarvon. She returned in 1955 as the OCA’s Representative to Council, and served as the Vice President of the metropolitan area from 1957 to 1960, after which she joined the OCA Committee. She was widowed in 1964, and retired from both Council and OCA Committee in 1966. In 1975 Joan Hale (Blackall) hosted a morning tea attended by Miss Barr (1949, Principal 1968-1989), of a gathering of Old Girls who were at PLC in its first few years. Among those present was Chrissie Dods (1920), Margaret Stewart (1922), Jean Hyde (Wingrove 1922) and Clare Briggs (McLintock 1920). Unable to attend was Enid Jenour (Clarke 1922) and Mrs Edna Slee (Rose 1921). Of course these are the women who feature very strongly in the OCA - not only from its inception, but over many ensuing decades. Ada remarried in the late 1970s – in her mid70s - to James Waite, but was widowed again in 1984. She died at the grand age of 99 in 2002. Ada retained a lifelong interest in the OCA, attending events and fostering interest in the Association. That dedication and commitment passed on to her daughter Susan Mercer (Gooch 1960) who was active in the OCA from 1963 to 1996, and returned in 2018 to the OCA Committee; her granddaughter Ann Mercer (1990) who has also been involved in the OCA in recent years; and in future, we hope, to her two great granddaughters; one of whom is in our Year 10 cohort, and the other entering Year 7 in 2023.
Top: Ada Waite formerly Gooch (Cooke 1920) aged 70 in 1973, courtesy Sue Mercer (Gooch 1960). Above: Ada Waite formerly Gooch (Cooke 1920) aged 87 in 1990, courtesy Sue Mercer (Gooch 1960)
PLC OCA Centenary
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