OSA CONNECTIONS NEWSLETTER

Dear Old Scholars

Welcome to our April edition of the OSA Connections newsletter.

OSA Patron and St Hilda’s Principal Fiona Johnston will be travelling interstate next week and will enjoy connecting with those Old Scholars attending the St Hilda’s 130th Anniversary Sundowners in Melbourne on Tuesday 21 April, Sydney on Wednesday 22 April, and Brisbane on Thursday 23 April.

We also look forward to the upcoming OSA Mother’s Day High Tea on Saturday 9 May. This event is now fully subscribed.

Enjoy this edition of the newsletter, which includes Old Scholar news, recent and upcoming events, and an OSA Heritage focus on Headmistress Miss Catherine Small (1932 – 1946) and her contributions to St Hilda’s.

The Committee would be delighted to hear from Old Scholars with accounting and/or auditing backgrounds who may be interested in volunteering. Please email oldscholars@sthildas.wa.edu.au.

As always, we would love to hear from you. Please send us your news to the above address, and if you need to update your contact details, you can do so at the following link:

Click Here to Update Your Contact Details

致以最美好的祝愿、

阿曼达-伯特博士（科德，1989 年）
President of the GHS & St Hilda’s Old Scholars Association

In 2026 we are celebrating 130 years since St Hilda’s was founded in Claremont. Please join us in celebrating our history, connectivity and future by coming together across the nation on the following dates.  This is the last chance to buy some tickets for next week’s insterstate Sundowners.

Melbourne – Tuesday 21 April – Loop Roof Top Bar, Level 3, 23 Meyers Place. 

Buy Melbourne Tickets Here

Sydney – Wednesday 22 April – PLEASE NOTE A CHANGE OF VENUE

Palmer & Co Bar (below The Establishment), Abercrombie Lane, Sydney.

Buy Sydney Tickets Here

Brisbane – Thursday 23 April – The Regatta Hotel, 543 Coronation Drive, Toowong 

Buy Brisbane Tickets Here

Each sundowner event will run from 6pm – 8pm with drinks and canapes and we look forward to seeing you and marking this significant milestone.  If you know of any Old Scholars who reside or are visiting these capital cities for any reason, please forward this link to them.

Hong Kong Sundowner- 29 June

Bangkok Sundowner- 30 June

Kuala Lumpur Sundowner- 2 July

Jakarta Sundowner – 3 July

Singapore Sundowner- 4 July

This year the GHS & St Hilda’s Old Scholars Association is celebrating St Hilda’s 130th Anniversary with a very special High Tea event on Saturday of the Mother’s Day weekend in May.

We have had a fantastic response to this inaugural event, and it is now fully subscribed.

Date:    Saturday 9 May 2026
Time:    2.30pm – 4.00pm
Venue:  School Hall 

A reminder for those attending there will be a few stalls, including the St Hilda’s Boarder’s produce stall, the OSA stall, flowers, and a photo booth to capture the family moments of the day.

We look forward to welcoming you to these upcoming events. Links to these events will be provided as the dates approach.

OSA CROCHET
Date: 3rd Wednesday monthly (22 April, 20 May & 17 June)
Time: 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Venue: Heritage Centre, Hope Nicholas House

INTERSTATE SUNDOWNERS

MELBOURNE
Date:  Tuesday 21 April
Time:  6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: Loop Roof Bar, 23 Meyer Place, Melbourne, VIC

SYDNEY
Date:  Wednesday 22 April
Time:  6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: NEW VENUE: Palmer & Co Bar (below The Establishment), Abercrombie Lane, Sydney, NSW

BRISBANE
Date:  Thursday 23 April
Time:  6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: The Regatta Hotel, Toowong, QLD

OLD SCHOLAR UNDERGRADUATE MENTOR DAY
Date: Wednesday 6 May

OSA MOTHER’S DAY HIGH TEA
Date:  Saturday 9 May
Time:  2.30pm – 4.00pm
Venue: School Hall

INTERNATIONAL SUNDOWNERS

HONG KONG
Date: Monday 29 June
Time & Venue TBA

BANGKOK
Date: Tuesday 30 June
Time & Venue TBA

KUALA LUMPUR
Date: Thursday 2 July
Time & Venue TBA

JAKARTA
Date: Friday 3 July
Time & Venue TBA

SINGAPORE
Date:  Saturday 4 July
Time & Venue TBA

OSA 70+ MORNING TEA
Date: Wednesday 12 August
Time: 10.00am – Midday
Venue: School Hall

OSA COUNTRY LUNCH
Date & Venue:  TBA

OSA PIN PRESENTATION ASSEMBLY / LUNCH
Date: Monday 14 September
Time: 12.20pm – 2.00pm
Venue: Joy Shepherd Performing Arts Centre & Heritage Centre, Hope Nicholas House.

OSA ART EXHIBITION OPENING NIGHT 
Date: Thursday 17 September
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: JSPAC Foyer

OSA ART EXHIBITION 
Date: Thursday 17 – Sunday 20 September
Time: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Venue: JSPAC Foyer

CIGS GOLF
Date:  TBA

OSA AGM & THANK YOU EVENING FOR OSA YEAR REPRESENTATIVES 
Date: Tuesday 13 October
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: Gallery, Heritage Centre, Hope Nicholas House.

OSA SOCIAL GOLF DAY & LUNCH
Date: Friday 6 November
Time: 8.30am – 2.00pm
Venue: TBA

OSA CHRISTMAS CHAPEL SERVICE & REFRESHMENTS
Date:  Wednesday 2 December
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Venue: Whitby Chapel & Gallery, Heritage Centre, Hope Nicholas House.

On Wednesday 11 March we returned to Euroz Hartleys for our second Women Lifting Women summit with a series of inspiring stories and advice.

We were thrilled so see over sixty Old Scholars from year groups 1981 through to 2024 attend. There was something for everyone in this evening of anecdotes, stories on perseverance, finding your purpose, tips on planning, and laying down good financial foundations.

There were many takeaways from the evening, but the standout theme was that a St Hilda’s education equips individuals with the courage and confidence to step into the world and chart their own course, even when the pathway is unclear, or when the course they ultimately pursue did not yet exist.

Thank you to Michelle Broom (Marfleet, 1989), Sarah Battaglia (2012), Claudine Mah (2016), Chantal Mah (2015), Victoria Parker (2016), Alumni Coordinator Lizzie Warburton, and Director of School Development and Philanthropy, Kellie Hasluck, for organising the event.

Our thanks to each of our inspiring speakers; Anneke Brown (1994), Lauren Cramb (2002), Katrina Ryan (Euroz Hartleys) and Tommy Payne (2004), for sharing their career journeys and to our wonderful hosts, Euroz Hartleys, for sunset drinks and canapes afterwards in the beautiful reception rooms on the 37th level of QV1.

On Wednesday March 25 we held our annual OSA Bridge & Mahjong Day. It was pleasing to see so many familiar and new faces.

Fiona Webster (Black, 1985) and Sascha Hill (Lidbury, 1985).

It really is a lovely event where we welcome in the wider community and enjoy the surroundings of the Heritage Centre, with a delicious sandwich lunch.

Thank you to Jill Binning (Mansel, 1960), Jane Barker (1986) and Victoria Parker (2016) for volunteering and making the day such a success.

St Hilda’s Old Scholars Tennis Team 2026

Cyclone Narelle blew wild easterlies but that couldn’t stop the Old Scholars from turning up and playing their best tennis. We all had a ball and the team came a respectable third place, behind PLC and Iona. JTC/Loreto put on a delicious lunch to celebrate a day of excellent sportswomanship.  

The St Hilda’s Tennis Team included Katrina Chisholm (1979), Ari Harold (Treleaven, 1983), Fiona Allan (Richmond, 1983), Sheen Storm (Richmond, 1983), Jessie Lamond (Ladyman, 1988), Melissa Styles (Smyth, 1994), Michelle Smith (Black, 1995), Phoebe MacKinnon (Mair, 1998), Susannah Phillips (Baker, 1998).

Please contact me if you are interested in playing in 2027.

Susannah Phillips (Baker,1998)

It was a wonderful evening on Thursday 2 April for the Class of 2016 10 Year Reunion, with a fantastic turnout and a warm and lively atmosphere from start to finish. We had about 55 attendees across the evening, starting with a tour of the School led by Alumni Coordinator, Lizzie Warburton.  We saw some new spaces and the old favourites, including the beloved Boarding House. It was great to see what the School has been working on since we have left (including the very impressive podcast room!).

After the tours and endless chatter in the Heritage Centre, we made our way to Pep’s Wine Bar where conversations flowed just as easily as the glasses of fabulous wines and charcuterie boards. It was incredibly heart-warming to see so many familiar faces, with Old Scholars travelling from near and far to be there; including Alisha Cleary, who made the journey from the United Kingdom just the night before, Noelli Bariacto off the back of her studies in New York, and our rurally based Boarding girls. Their enthusiasm and willingness to reconnect added something truly special to the occasion.

Throughout the evening, there was a real sense of shared history and community, with plenty of stories, laughter and renewed friendships. Moments like these highlight the enduring connection Old Scholars have with one another and St Hilda’s, and it was a pleasure to see those bonds so clearly on display. The event was a great success, and we look forward to many more opportunities to bring everyone together again in the future (we all promised to not leave it as long between catch-ups!).

The day before the Class of 2016 Reunion we also welcomed back the Class of 2016 parents for a morning tea.  It was the first time most of them had visited St Hilda’s since their daughters left a decade ago.

Date:  Saturday 19 December
Time & Venue: 4.30 – 6.00pm – Heritage Centre & Tour of School
Next Venue: From 6.00pm Mosman Park Bowling Club
Details: TBA

Organiser: Sarah Wallace 

SAVE THE DATE

Date:  Saturday 31 October
Details: TBA

Organiser: Kate Buffham

SAVE THE DATE

Date: Saturday 21 November
Time & Venue: 4.00 – 5.00pm – Heritage Centre & Tour of School
Next Venue:  From 5.00pm – The Albion Pub, Private Room, Cottesloe
Details: TBA

Organisers: Pia Rigby Marazzi, Sue Ransom (Clarke) and Jane Henderson (Dadour).

Date:  Sunday 25 October 2026
Details: TBA

Organisers: Sue Gillett (Wisbey) & Ann Treadgold (Cariss)

SAVE THE DATE

Date:  Friday 11 September
Time & Venue: 

RSVP:  oldscholars@sthildas.wa.edu.au

Organisers: Deanne Newman (Benney) & Robin Creswell (Cummins)

SAVE THE DATE

Miss Catherine Small, Headmistress 1931 – 1946

Miss Catherine Small (1930s)

The leadership of Miss Catherine Small covered a dramatic period in world history; both the Depression and World War II presented her with unexpected challenges that also proved her worth and versatility as a headmistress.  It was not the world Miss Small (Irish born and English-Scottish raised) would have imagined when she accepted the challenge of crossing the world to become headmistress of the newly-named St Hilda’s in its purpose-built Mosman Park campus.

She had to deal with a range of war-caused shortages; from teaching and ancillary staff to food and clothing. Parts of the School were requisitioned by the Red Cross as an evacuee centre, the buildings were covered in blackout material and girls were given the task of digging air raid trenches as part of their physical education classes.

Miss Small had completed a Masters degree at Oxford University where less than half the students were women.  “Of course it was fun in Oxford. It was Brideshead time …but that was only the wealthy elite who lived like that.”  After university she taught in Twickenham and Liverpool, and then began her Australian adventure.

‘Hope Nicholas House’ was the original homestead called ‘Coedmarw’ (meaning tall trees in Welsh), which then became ‘Le Fanu House’. It was used by the Principal, also as a dining room and the sick bay.

She recognized that her best chance of promotion in the English education system was to look overseas (although not to New Zealand, she was advised, because one teacher who headed there had died while having her appendix removed!).

Through contact with the quaintly-named Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women, she heard that Miss Parnell’s Girls’ High School was to be sold to the Anglican Schools’ Commission, moved to a new campus, and renamed St Hilda’s Church of England School for Girls.

Coincidentally, one of the drivers of the change, Archbishop Henry Frewin Le Fanu, was in London for the Lambeth conference and she arranged to meet him.

“I had never heard of Perth” she said in an oral history. “Yes, looking back on it, it was brave of me. It was 1931, in the midst of the Depression. Many of the girls had had to leave school”.

“I can’t remember how I felt coming out here. It must have been exciting – it was all new. I arrived here in January and I had the general idea that it was going to be hot.”

Miss Small was Headmistress for 16 years, including seven years of war. By 1942 the fear of invasion had grown stronger and while it was decided that evacuating the school was not possible because of the difficulty of finding suitable accommodation outside Perth, the number of boarding students had dropped to a level which made it possible to relocate them.  After a search, the School settled on the small Wheatbelt town of Bencubbin where five different buildings could be made available for boarders. It was a complicated arrangement with staff from St Hilda’s alternating every two weeks to ensure that teaching carried on as normal.

Miss Small was a regular visitor to Bencubbin, even turning her hand to cooking, and reported in a Speech Night address that “the girls liked the freedom of the township and the surrounding bush. Health was almost unbelievably good and there was not one of us, who went backwards and forwards, leaving Perth in the rain and returning in the rain, who did not benefit from our stay.”

Back in Perth she suggested forming a Parents’ Association, however informally, so that external resources might be used to smooth the many shortages the School was battling, from finding materials to repairing the School lawnmower so that lawns could be mowed, to seeking help with laundry. “The burden of such difficulties is so great that it would free me for educational matters if parents could help.”

Mrs Cameron retired in 1946.

In later years, when speaking about the education of girls in the 1930s, Miss Small said that right from the beginning she felt that academic standards had to be toughened.

“We just did not have much of an idea of education for girls, or value it. The capacity was there for the girls. It was the social and economic barriers which lasted right through the 1930s and into the war years.”

She was a founding member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls Schools of Australia and the writer of many historical papers. She also later wrote the biography of pastoral explorer Frederick Wittenoom. She was awarded an MBE for her contribution to youth, was a past president of the Karrakatta Club, and a life member of the Girl Guides’ Association. The award presented to her on that achievement is in the St Hilda’s Heritage Centre.  In recognition of her contribution to the School the main administrative building was named after her, Catherine House.

She left St Hilda’s in 1946 and married Professor Robert Cameron, then Professor of Education at the University of WA, and she died in 1990.

As we approach ANZAC Day on Saturday 25 April, when we will stop to remember the sacrifice and service of our defence forces, we are pleased to have a valuable insight on the long and distinguished career of Old Scholar Lieutenant Colonel Gwenda Caspersonn, CSC (Grist, 1985).

Field training at Duntroon in 1988

Gwenda graduated from St Hilda’s in 1985, spending the following six months on the family farm near Donnybrook. She then joined the Army as an enlisted soldier in June 1986 and following 18 months of service, commenced officer training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra.

Graduation week at Duntroon in 1989

A highlight during her time at Duntroon was being part of a military parade, reviewed by Queen Elizabeth II during her 1988 Australia Tour. Her Majesty presented a Royal banner to the College and the following day, officially opened New Parliament House.

Upon graduation from officer training, Gwenda was allocated to an Army logistic corps. She spent the next three decades posted to various roles in Albury-Wodonga, Brisbane and Canberra. Gwenda’s career has included training roles at the Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in northern Victoria, the Australian Defence Force Academy and a range of key roles within Defence and Army Headquarters in Canberra.

As a soldier in 1986.

The highlight of her career was a three-year posting from 2011-2013 as the Staff Officer for Joint Personnel and Logistics at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC. This role saw her work closely with US counterparts, predominantly in the Pentagon. Gwenda facilitated the exchange of information on key Defence personnel policies particularly related to the opening of combat roles to women, removing the ban on non-heterosexual personnel serving in the US military and support to wounded veterans.

Gwenda was awarded a Gold Commendation for her work in the role; primarily in recognition of her contribution to the development of processes accounting for Australian Defence personnel and their families in North America following catastrophic events and disasters. The posting to the US provided an exceptional opportunity for Gwenda’s family as well; her husband and two children joining for the duration of the posting and forming lifelong memories together.

Gwenda and her family returned to Canberra in early 2014 where she worked in a range of key strategic roles. The first of which was in Attaché Management, involving the selection, training and support of the Senior Australian Defence Force representatives working in Australian Embassies and High Commissions across the world. This role was followed by three years as the Chief of Staff in Defence Force Recruiting.

At Government House in Canberra upon presentation of a Conspicuous Service Cross by the Governor General in 2024.

Gwenda’s final full-time role in the Army was the Army Coordinator, compiling and responding to tasks from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. It was in this role that Gwenda was recognised in the 2024 Australia Day Awards with a Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC).

Fitness and wellbeing are a fundamental part of Army life and throughout her career, Gwenda was able to play hockey in various representative teams. At the peak of her hockey performance, Gwenda represented Defence in the Defence Women’s National Team at the Australian Country Championships and later at the World Masters Games in Sydney.

After more than 37 years of full-time service, Gwenda transferred to the Army Reserves in early 2024. Since then, she has continued to support the recruitment of future officers by chairing Army Officer Selection Boards.

Throughout her almost forty-year career in the Army, Gwenda has led and managed soldiers, sailors and aviators in service, public servants and contractors. She has been involved in the management of large-scale commercial contracts, complex personnel cases and supported the recruitment of the future Defence workforce. She was a trailblazer in the 1990s, being among the first women posted to roles previously only open to men. Throughout her service she has witnessed the transition across the Navy, Army and Air Force whereby all the 300+ different roles are now open to all; regardless of gender.

Gwenda’s career is indicative of just a few of the many unique opportunities available to those who join the Australian Defence Force shared by all who serve, including world class training, a wide array of roles, great job security, travel, and some incredible memories and friendships along the way. Like many of her peers, Gwenda has shared her journey with her family taking the opportunity to experience different cultures and locations throughout Australia and around the world.

Anyone wishing to know more about the opportunities available within the three Services is encouraged to visit www.adfcareers.gov.au

We are excited to announce that on 2 April Mirandas Edmonds’ (1994) film, Whale Shark Jack (PG), was released on Stan. Old Scholar Miranda Edmonds co-directed and produced the film, but the production included several old scholars.

Whale Shark Jack is an Australian family film starring Abbie Cornish and Michael Dorman, and is a story about family, friendship, and the natural world as a young girl comes to terms with the loss of her father by embarking on a risky mission to save her best friend, a whale shark named Jack.

Megan McCracken (Egerton-Warburton, 1984)

Our congratulations to Megan McCracken who was voted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame on 5 March 2026.

Megan was one of twenty inspiring West Australian women who have been added to the WA Women’s Hall of Fame – including dedicated educators, sports pioneers and cultural leaders.  The Hall of Fame was established in 2011 in recognition of the Centenary of International Women’s Day,  and brings recognition to a wide array of women from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, across different sectors in rural, regional and metropolitan WA.

In 2026, sixteen women were inducted, with a further four women acknowledged posthumously in the ‘Roll of Honour’.

Megan was voted in the category of Business Leader and Gender Equity Advocate.

The citation reads as follows:

Megan represents the rare combination of exceptional business leadership, unwavering community commitment, and transformative impact on gender equality across multiple industries critical to Western Australia’s economy. Her inspiring impact extends to volunteering as Chair of the National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO), mentoring women and advocating for systemic change.

March was also the month for the top honours for the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) WA’s Women in Resources Awards (WIRA) 2026.  The evening celebrated 18 individual finalists, of which one is Old Scholar Marnie Finalyson (1992).

Marnie Finlayson

(CME News Release) Raised in the Goldfields, Marnie’s career began on the tools, mustering sheep and shovelling ore, often as the only woman on site. That determination led her to graduate from the WA School of Mines as a minerals processing engineer. She went on to lead Rio Tinto’s Battery Materials business and now serves as a Non-Executive Director at Northern Star Resources.

Throughout her 25-year career, Marnie has been a leading voice for women in resources. She co-chaired the Pilbara Women in Mining Network to create peer support for women in remote operations, a model that inspired similar initiatives across other regions. At Rio Tinto, she helped drive cultural reform, by supporting the implementation of recommendations from the company’s landmark workplace culture review. Marnie has been a mentor in many formal programs including Women in Mining WA (WIMWA) where she has participated since its inception in 2012.

She currently dedicates around 20% of her time to mentoring, advocacy and public speaking, sharing her story with audiences from students to executives. She has spoken at AusIMM conferences, WIMWA Summits, and university and school forums, inspiring thousands to pursue careers in mining and leadership. Recognised among the 100 Inspirational Women in Mining, she continues to work with government, industry and education bodies to strengthen inclusion and drive cultural change.

We are very lucky that Marnie regularly gives her time to current students as an Old Scholar mentor and congratulate her on this prestigious award and the recognition it brings.

Congratulations to Annie Buckman (2025) who was selected to perform in the 2026 Performing Arts Perspectives at His Majesty’s Theatre on Monday 20 April.

Antonia at the Art Gallery of NSW with her portrait of Holden Sheppard.

Congratulations to Antonia Naarstig (1991) whose portrait of Geraldton author Holden Sheppard has been selected for the 2026 Archibald Prize Portrait competition at the Art Gallery of NSW.  The results will be announced on Friday 8 May.

On Friday 10 we welcomed Narisa Kubota (1999) back to St Hilda’s, with her family, who were visiting Perth from Bangkok, Thailand.  Narisa attended St Hilda’s from 1996 and went on to study at the University of Western Australia where she studied International Economics, this is is her first visit to Perth for about twenty years.

Narisa with her son, aged 3.

It was a great opportunity for Narisa to share with her family memories of School days as we toured familiar rooms, and also for her to see the newer developments and a significant number of new buildings at the Bayview Campus.

She particularly remembered being woken up and evacuated from Parnell House as a boarder, when it caught fire in 1999.

Narisa and her husband have kindly offered to host the St Hilda’s Sundowner in Bangkok in June at their restaurant in Bangkok.  This will be a wonderful opportunity for Fiona to catch up with Old Scholars who are currently resident in Thailand.

St Hilda’s Old Scholars have been invited to take on the challenge and represent the School at this year’s College Cup on Sunday 17 May at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club RFBYC). This much-loved regatta has been bringing together crews from Perth’s private schools for a day of fun, friendly rivalry and exciting racing on the water for over 20 years.

Sailing is one of the few sports where women and men compete on equal terms, making it the perfect opportunity for St Hilda’s alumni to assemble a strong, competitive crew and take on the boys. Whether you’re an experienced sailor or keen to get involved, this is a fantastic way to reconnect, represent your school and be part of a memorable event.

Let us know if you are ready to hoist the sails – it’s time for St Hilda’s to make its mark at the College Cup.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Debbie Blaauw, Yachting Operations Manager at RFBYC.

We are very sorry to announce that the following Old Scholars have passed away.

30 January 1935 – 10 March 2026

Anne Cleland and Letitia Donaldson (1950s)

On Friday 13 March the Love/Marshall family gathered in the St Hilda’s Whitby Chapel to farewell Old Scholar Tish Love (Letitia Donaldson 1952).  The wake was held in the Heritage Centre, the same room where a seven year old, Tish Donaldson, would have had her meals in 1942, having been rapidly evacuated from Malaya by ship, as the Japanese invaded.

A few years ago Tish recounted her early days at St Hilda’s, when WWII swallowed up the only life she had known with her parents in Malaya, and it is a wonderful insight into how life was for those children.

Tish’s father was captured by the Japanese and held in Changi Prison for 3 ½ years, but for the first 2 ½ years they didn’t actually know whether he was alive or not.

Tish started as a day girl in the Lower 3rd shortly after arriving with her mother by ship in Fremantle. She clearly remembered the Principal, Miss Small, who would walk around in her academic black gown.

After the War her mother returned to Malaya and Tish started boarding at Margaret House which was then a simple building with a tin roof, and her dormitory was partly on the veranda, with canvas awnings and no glass windows.  When it rained, the outside row of beds would have to be moved in, but no-one thought anything of it and she didn’t recall feeling cold.  Each week the boarders were given a clean flat sheet and a pillowcase and they would take off the bottom sheet, then move the top flat sheet to the bottom.  They had to make their beds each morning but were not permitted to return until the evening.

Food was basic and whilst nobody complained too loudly, they did envy the day girl’s sandwiches. The boarders were rostered into groups known as the ‘Dining Room Gang’ to help deliver meals to the Dining Hall.  For recess they would queue up in front of ‘orderlies’ who served out fruit, usually an apple, from a bucket, and occasionally pieces of cake.

During the Poliomyelitis epidemic students were not allowed off school grounds and the awful tasting vaccines were given out on sugar cubes. There were often power blackouts when the dormitory would be plunged into darkness and the girls would resort to lighting oil hurricane lamps.

In Junior Dorm there were five students who remained friends all their lives; Lucy Richardson, Eleanor Gronow, Norma Duthie and Fae McNeil. The furniture was sparse and there was not much for the students to do although they were occasionally permitted to visit the ‘village’ in Mosman Park to spend their pocket money. Tish was given 2’6” (two shillings and sixpence) per week.  One of her favourite outings was to a small shop called Mowdays on the Swan River (where Mosman’s Restaurant is now).  The friends would order a milkshake which arrived in a big silver flask and they would have 5 straws to share it between them.

The boarders used to walk, in school uniform, to St Luke’s Church every Sunday morning. They had to save some of their pocket money (after putting aside milkshake money) for the School Chapel Fund.  Tish paid into that fund for over a decade of Sundays, so, she would tell us, that she, Lucy, El and Fay paid for the school chapel.  How fitting that Tish’s funeral and farewell took place there.

Both of Tish’s daughters Susan Marshall (Love, 1974) and Dr Sarah Love (1979), and her granddaughter, Sarah Marshall (James, 2001), attended St Hilda’s and her great granddaughter, Sophie James, is enrolled.

31 December 1941 – 2026.

Helen Hawkins (1958) died peacefully in East Fremantle on 19 January at the age of 84 years.Helen entered St Hilda’s on 13 February 1951. She achieved a Junior Certificate in 1956 and a Leaving Certificate in 1958 in English, French, German, History, Geography and Biology.

23 February 1941 – 24 February 2026.

It is with great sadness that the Hamersley family announces that Jane Laidley Hamersley passed away peacefully on 24 February surrounded by loved ones.

Jane was born in 1941 and arrived at St Hilda’s on 10 February 1948 and achieved a Junior Certificate in 1956. She left St Hilda’s on 9 May 1957.

Jane moved to Mount Hill Station (a 4-hour drive north of Perth and 38kms southeast of Geraldton) in the late 1960’s after marrying Leonard Hamersley. They resided at Mount Hill and later at Well Station and remained there until 2005, after which they retired to Bullsbrook.

Jane founded the very successful Walkaway Pony Club and helped found the Walkaway Kindergarten. Together with Leonard, Jane also founded the Walkaway Polo Club.

A funeral service was held at Karrakatta Cemetery on 18 March.

7 May 1945 – 25 February 2026

Corrianne was named after the girl in the Aboriginal legend, The White Hovea, documented in Deborah Buller-Murphy’s book, An Attempt to Eat the Moon. This was done with admirable foresight by her parents, since the Corrianne of the Dordenup people legend was described as Corrianne the Beautiful!

Born in Carnarvon, she spent most of her childhood in City Beach. Being ten years older than her two youngest brothers, she was involved in their upbringing while their mother took care of their unwell father.

Corianne attended St Hilda’s from 12 February 1957 and left on 8 December 1960. Due to her father’s need for surgery that could not be performed in Perth at the time, she left St Hilda’s early and her family moved to Melbourne. There she met her future husband, Guy, in 1965 and they married two years later.

In the early 1970s Corrianne was living and working in London, as secretary to an architect who was, amongst other things, president of the British Institute of Landscape Architects (now the Landscape Institute). One of Corrianne’s last tasks was to organise a worldwide conference of landscape architects, in Switzerland, at which she had the pleasure of welcoming the Australian delegation, led by her uncle’s brother, John Oldham.

Corrianne gave birth to two sons, James in 1974 and Charles in 1975. Now living in Sussex, she devoted her time to raising a family, making a garden, managing a household and running a part-time upholstery business. She enjoyed playing bridge, collecting antiques and going to lectures on the Arts. She liked to entertain and was considered a good cook by all. She was a long-standing member of Wives Fellowship, which aimed to bring together married women with a common interest in upholding Christian ideals in marriage, motherhood and community service.

Two separate periods of employment in Europe for Guy meant that the family lived near Delft for two years and near Brussels for three. Corrianne took full advantage of expatriate life, enthusiastically embracing skating on frozen canals in The Netherlands and skiing in the Alps. It also led to the purchase of a series of campervans and ten or more years of European camping holidays.

After Guy’s retirement, they moved to Somerset and happily spent many years rebuilding a stone farmhouse, restoring its barns and again creating a garden and grounds.

Corrianne returned to Western Australia on many occasions for holidays and to see family and friends. She maintained a strong interest in medical matters and was an early adopter of alternative treatments. Generally in very good health throughout her life, she was diagnosed with dementia around the age of seventy and bore it for the last ten years of her life as it progressed towards an inability to walk and to talk in her final twelve months.

As a Bussell descendant, she was resolute of purpose and dismissive of setbacks. She was a very talented and capable person, with a calm temperament and a kind, supportive and loving personality. She is much missed by Guy, James and family (wife Kelly and daughter Olive) and Charlie and family (wife Vanessa, daughter Aiya and son Rowan).

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