1997 School Magazine

A Tribute

0 n the evening of Saturday 30 August, a happy group of some forty guests - mem- bers of the Board of Trustees past and present, senior staff and old friends - met for dinner at the Owen Wordsworth Room at the Queensland Uni- versity of Technology, to celebrate the twenty-first yea rof the career ofMrsJudith Hancock as Principal of Brisbane Girls Granunar School. Among the many and varied tributes paid in the course of the evening, none was more memorable d1an that of the Chairman of the Boa rd Dr Cherrell Hirst, who spoke movingly both of the highlights of Mrs Hancock's years at the school and also of her own association with the Principal as a member of the Boa rd and more recently as Chai rman. The fo llowing is part of that address which Dr Hirst illustrated with a coll ection of pertinent slides. "We are; that we are to seek a11d 11ot to yield" These words were written about the life and approach to life of a great man, Ulysses. Not only was he a great and wise leader, generating prosper- ity and harmony within his kingdom, but he was also a grea t explorer of uncharte red lands, unintimidated by the unknown. He opened doors where none existed and motivated his fo llowers to achieve great things. This is the style of leadership we have seen in this school during the last two decades. The words seemed fitting fo r tonight 's fun ction as we ga ther to pay tribute to Judith Hancock's twenty-one years as principal of Bris- bane Girls Grammar School. During this evening we will go back to 1977 and together reOect upon those twenty-one years. We will think hack to the world of 1977, to die Brisbane Girls Grammar School of 1977, and the Judith Hancock of 1977. Before we do I wa nt to set th scene and atmosphere fo r tonight 's celebra tion. \Vie are a group of individuals who have been touched hy the work of Judith Hancock in educa tion or in the school. We are tonight celebrallng that work and so it must he a happy evening. We want Judi th to remember this night fo r ever, so please make it specia l fo r h r. Enjoy yourselves with her. Also we do not want this evening to be too formal to properl y enjoy it. So rela , enter into the spirit of celebration and make it a specia l occasion for Judi th, and for the Brisbane Girl Grammar School. Before we go one second further, I want to thank all those who have been involved in tonight's orga ni zation planning, encouraging, working. A special thanks is due to Sue de Tassanyi who has put an enormous amount of effort into making tonight a smooth and enjoyable event. Now, let us go back to 1977.

The world: !di Amin died; Indira ousted from political power in India; Elvis died; Maria Callas died, Sudat and beginning of talks of peace in the Middle East. Australia: Granville rail disaster; 1bornbirds a best seller; Don Chipp forms the Democrats; beginning of World Series Cricket. Brisbane: pre-Commonwealth Games; the Riverside expressways were just being completed. Brisbane Girls Grammar School: that is difficult for me. I am aware of the BGGS of the mid-sixties and from what I hear it hadn't changed a great deal by 1977. But we' ll hear more about that from others. You in 1977; where were you and what were you doing? I did think about getting everyone to wear the clothes they were wearing in 1977 but then I realised that it probably would not work because some of us would not fit into those clothes for various reasons. I for one was pregnant for a good part of 1977, and Elizabeth would probably be wearing a school uniform and might not be too comfortable. Obviously we all have images of ourselves. It was a long time ago. And yet, every day of every year since then, Judith Hancock has been in this school; giving, teaching, motivating, encouraging, girls and staff. She has toiled, planned, dreamed, worked and persisted for each of those years to bring this school to the position and reputation it holds today. I want to share with you some images of Judith spread over these twenty years. She has been an educator. She has been a leader; out in front encouraging and motivating others to follow. She has been a wife and mother. We are glad to have her family here tonight, especially Stephanie, who has come all the way from Canada. She has been a friend. She has been an innovator. She has been a stirrer. She has been a learner and a formal student. I could go on and on. Suffice to say at this point,Judith, you have given the last twenty- one years of your life to the Brisbane Girls Grammar School. We thank you for what you done, for where you have brought this school, and tonight we pay tribute to you for those years of your life. They have often been blood, sweat and tears but I know they also have been much , much more. They have also been your enjoyment and your fulfilment and the school and the thousands of capable, confident, successful young women who have passed through its halls are your reward. Each of us here tonight is proud to have played a sma ll part alongside you, in various ways, as you have achieved this mighty work. Let me repeat those words from Ulysses and add a few others - they seem so apt for this particular occasion because they describe your approach to this school. I am a pmt of all that I have met;

ho111 d11[{ it is to pause, to make a11 end to ntst 1111b11r11ished, 1101 to shi11e i11 11se as though to b1·eathe 111ere life. Life piled 011 life we,·e all too little, a11d of 011e to me little 1·emai11s; b11t eve,:y hom· is saved from that eter11al sile11ce, somethi11g more a b1"i11ge,- of 11ew thi11gs, a11d vile it we,·e Joi· some three s1111s to sto1·e a11d hoa,-d myself a11d Ibis grey spirit yean1i11g i11 desi,-e, to JoUow k11owledge like a si11ki11g star beyo11d tbe 11tmost bo1111d of h11111a11 tbo11ght Come my Jrie11ds 'tis 1101 too late to seek a 11ewe1· wo,-/d p11sb off, a11d sitti11g we[{ i11 orde,- smite tbe s01111di11gf111·1·ows;Jor my p11,-pose holds to sail beyo11d tbe s1111set, a11d the baths of all tbe westem stm·s, 1111/il I die. It may be tbat the g11{fs will wash us dow11 it may be we shall to11ch the Happy Isles a11d see the great Acbilles, whom we k11ew tho' 11111ch is take 11, 11111ch abides; a11d tbo' we a'l'e 1101 110w that st'l'e11gth which i11 old days moved emth a11d heave11; that which we are we a,-e 011e eq11al tempe,· of he,-oic hearts, made weak by time a11dfate, but stro11g i11 will to strive, to seek, toJi11d, a11d 11ot to yield