OBITUARIES/VALETE

JOHN KING NIXON (TC 1954)

18 July 1935 – 11 March 2021

John attended Geelong Grammar School where he played cricket, sang in the chapel choir and was on the debating team. In 1954, he began his law degree at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1957. He was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship and won the FL Armytage Scholarship for residence at Trinity. He was joined there by his Geelong Grammar mate Tim Murray, with whom he would ‘wive’ in Behan, and law students John Batt, Adrian Smithers and Clive Tadgell, all of whom went on to become judges.

John represented the College on the tennis and squash teams, and in his final year was vice-captain of tennis and captain of squash, winning all his matches except for a couple of doubles games. He was awarded a ‘University blue’ for squash and a half blue for tennis. He also excelled academically, winning the Law School’s Jessie Leggatt Scholarship for Contracts in 1956.

John completed Articles in 1958 and was admitted to practise in 1959, reading with Basil Murray and John Mornane and establishing himself in the field of common law. He was soon called to the bar. He was appointed a Judge of the County Court in 1981 and served for 29 years, the last three as a Reserve Judge. He also acted as chairman of the Racing Appeals Tribunal for much of that period.

Following his retirement in 2010, John served as a senior member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). At his retirement, Justice Forrest noted John’s ‘courteous, fair and incisive qualities’ and his ability to ‘appreciate that many had traversed a difficult road before appearing before him in court’. John married Elizabeth Hawdon in 1959 and they had four children.

(ADAM) BOYD MUNRO (TC 1961)

12 June 1942 – 13 March 2021

Known as ‘The Captain’ for his exploits in the air, Boyd had a large personality and fierce determination. Whether competing in an air race, presiding in a boardroom or negotiating with government regulators, he was fearless and passionate about everything he took on. Boyd studied mathematics at the University of Melbourne, entering Trinity in 1961. At College, he rowed in the 2nd VIII and was on the swimming team. His daring nature and love of flight manifested early. In 1962, an Ansett helicopter landed on the Bulpadock during Juttoddie and the favourite to win was kidnapped in the arms of “secret agent” Munro. The scene was recreated for the Juttoddie’s 30th anniversary in 1992, with Boyd present.

On graduation, Boyd joined IBM. Having offered his employer an input spooling solution for IBM’s mainframe computers and been rebuffed, he left for London in 1969 where he joined Hawker Siddeley, manufacturer of aircraft and railway locomotives. With Peter Hargrave, Boyd formed Software Design, Inc (SDI), developing and marketing his product, now called GRASP, which was one of the first global, independent successes in the industry.

In 1973, Boyd established the company’s base in Bermuda, but always maintained strong links to Australia. He had land at Wards Mistake Station near Guyra in northern NSW, and ran his own train, transporting cargo and hauling heritage passenger carriages. As president of the Association for the Protection of Users of Mobile Phones (APUMP), he argued against the premature shutdown of the analogue phone network in 1999, especially in rural areas where no satisfactory alternative had been provided.

Boyd is remembered most for his many flying exploits, holding the speed record for London to Milan set in 1979, winning the inaugural Paris-New York-Paris race in 1981, and taking out the Singapore to Christchurch race in 1987 to claim a Tiger Moth as a prize, though not before winning a legal challenge brought by the organisers. He flew his prize to Sydney, flying under the Harbour Bridge without permission, but claiming a trans-Tasman single-engine record. He was president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Australia (AOPA) and, in 2000, established the lobby group Air Safety Australia, representing it at senate hearings on rural transport. He was instrumental in gaining approval from regulators for aircraft to carry portable emergency locator transmitters.

Boyd married twice and had five children, one of whom, Thomas, entered Trinity in 1990. With his wife Jo Ann, Boyd bought Orchil Castle, a country house near Gleneagles in Scotland, living there for 13 years while renovating it to its former glory before returning to Australia in 2016. Boyd was a generous donor to the College and his gifts enabled the founding of the David Wells Scholarship.

BELINDA CHU-FONG WONG-BARKER (TC 1995)

17 June 1977 – 5 March 2021

Belinda was born in London, the only child of Kingsley Wong – a doctor working at Hammersmith Hospital – and his wife, Maria. When Belinda was three years old, she and her family moved to Hong Kong, where she was educated at King George V School. At age 14, she became a boarder at Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) in Melbourne. She was school accompanist and attained her Royal School of Music Advanced Certificate in piano.

Belinda entered Trinity in 1994, studying combined commerce and science degrees, having been advised by her father not to study music. She did, however, join the Trinity choir and a College singing group, performing in musicals and serving as treasurer for the College chamber orchestra. Belinda was assistant musical director on the 1996 College production of Bye Bye Birdie, editor of the College Bulletin in 1997 and a member of the choir on its first overseas tour in 1998.

Music was also a big part of Belinda’s life after College. She joined the early-music chamber choir Ensemble Gombert in 2004, becoming president in 2015. She also sang regularly with the Melbourne Chorale Ensemble, Consort of Melbourne, St John’s Toorak and St John’s Southgate Bach Choir and Melbourne Octet. Belinda was a member of the board of the Australian International Opera Awards and was active on her local primary school P&C committee.

After graduating from university, Belinda worked for IBM in corporate services, completing her CPA qualification and rising to team leader in planning and acquisitions. In 2009, in the College chapel, she married co-worker Marshall Barker. Their first child, Jasper, was born in 2011 and Madeleine followed in 2014. Belinda left IBM in 2015, but soon began teaching online for Swinburne University’s business school. She was working from home when she suffered a fatal brain aneurysm.

Belinda was warm, caring, generous and funny (a trait she inherited from her father). She was dedicated to her family and to ensuring that all around her achieved their best. She was an independent, determined person who would solve problems in her own way, and her organisational abilities were a source of constant awe. She was only 43 years old when she passed away, before she had had a chance to fulfil everything of which she was capable.

DIANA MAE SMITH

13 October 1943 – 23 July 2021

Diana joined the staff of Trinity College Foundation Studies in 1991 as Director of Studies following 20 years at Camberwell Anglican Girls Grammar School where she taught mathematics, history and computing and held various leadership roles. In 1996, she was appointed Deputy Director of Foundation Studies to assist Denis White. In 2002, her contribution to the College was recognised with her election as a Fellow of Trinity College. The Warden at the time, Don Markwell, said that her ‘outstanding work over more than a decade at Trinity College has reflected her strong commitment to high academic standards, liberal education, and the welfare of students and staff alike. She has already made an exceptional and enduring contribution to Trinity College, to the University of Melbourne, and to the education of many thousands of students from dozens of countries around the world’.

After the sudden death of the then-Director, Alan Patterson, in November 2002, Diana agreed to serve as Acting Director, then was persuaded out of her intended retirement in 2003 to become Director of Foundation Studies. She retired in 2006.

In retirement, Diana cared for her mother, Phyllis, who died in 2015, aged 97. Diana leaves a sister, Pamela, and brother, David, and was an ‘extravagant’ aunt to three and great-aunt to six.

She is remembered by colleagues as a caring and gifted teacher and administrator who always put the welfare of others first. Her unassuming style set the tone for the excellent reputation the Foundation Studies program achieved for its pastoral care and student support. At all times, Diana is said to have ‘breathed generosity and compassion’ and was incisive, calm and humble as a leader.

VALETE

We are saddened to acknowledge the passing of the following alumni and friends of Trinity College.

William Louther Hunter Armstrong (TC 1946) Peter Noel Sherwin Atcherley (TC 1958) Jordan Ashley Auld (TC 2015) Ian Masson Bassett (TC 1949) Dr John Rowan Blogg (TC 1949) John Robson Burgess (TC 1958) Ann Margaret Burgin (TCTS 1991) Geoffrey Burridge (TC 1947) The Revd Patricia Diane Byrne (TCTS 2011) Dr Graham Leslie Caldwell (TC 1968) Callum Andrew Cheyne (TC 1990) Eric Morris Cohen (TC 1945) Commodore Ormsby Roscoe Cooper (TC 1958) Michael Gerald Bickerton Coultas (TC 1950) Philip Dixon (TCTS 2015) Dr Walter Charles Thomas Dowell (TC 1947) Roger MacLeod Dunn (TC 1958) Chester Eagle (TC 1952) Dr Bruce Condell Edwards (TC 1943) Lois Erickson (TCTS) Thomas Anthony Dominic Fitzgerald (TC 1973) Dr George Edward Footit (TC 1949) John Kendall Francis (TC 1944) Dr Ronald Bowen Cameron Galbraith (TC 1949) Jamie Austin Dawson Gatehouse (TC 1958) Jeffrey Arthur Gyles (TC 1963) Dr Hugh Malcolm Hadley (TC 1948) Graham Hardie (TC 1959) Peter John Hird (TCFS Maths Lecturer, 1997) Dr James Bryon Houghton (TC 1953) Tadeusz Irlicht (TC 1951) Catherine Anne Job (TC 1980) David Robert Holden Kennedy (TC 1949) Dr Donald Edward Kennedy (TC 1948) Dr David Brian Mackey (TC 1953) Nicholas Martland (TC 1975) Dr David Alexander McCredie (TC 1944) Valerie Miles (former staff member) Ian Robert Monotti (TC 1963) John Desmond Moore (TC 1951) Gabrielle Louise Moylan (TC 1980) Adam Boyd Munro (TC 1961) The Revd Dr John Raymond Neal (TCTS 1953) The Honourable John King Nixon (TC 1954) Dr Harold William Riggall (TC 1960) Robert Henry Robertson (TC 1947) Ian Gregory Seddon (TC 1967) Diana Mae Smith (Senior Fellow, former Director of TCFS) Dr Ben MacMahon Wadham (former tutor) George Russell Webb (TC 1955) Belinda Chu-Fong Wong-Barker (TC 1995) Dr Roger Kenyon Woodruff (TC 1964)