Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 1995

Friends and past students

Extending Friendship

A history of success Felicia Johnston Once there was a studentwho went to Brisbane Gir ls' Gram mar School . After graduating in 1990, she began an Arts Degree a t the University of Queensland. Whilst tactfully Ignoring the many inquiries about what she was upgrading to, this girl, after deciding that Japanese at Uni versity was "deathly boring", nonetheless completed her ma jor and discovered the joys of History. Always being somewhat of an obsessive, she relentlessly pursuedstudyingfirstAmerican, thenAustralian, Pacific, nuclear, GenuanandrmaUy,RussianHis· tory. At the end of her second year of University in 1992, she won the Dennis Murphy Prize for topping the subject, ' 'Prob lems in AustralianHistory". Not content with winning only one University prize, the girl, at the end of her third year of Univer sity, won the Joan Allsop Prize, which is awarded to the top third year history student. Her Bach· elor of Arts completed, she started her Honours year in His tory, which included writing a thesis on the topic, "America, the Allies, and the Bomb: The Anglo-American Nuclear Part nership,1940-1946". As I am sure you are all sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipating, I will teD you her name: Kimberley Johnston. To continue, Kimberley was awarded First Class Honours, a University medal, and lastly, she received an Australian Post· graduate Award scholarship to study her Ph.D. This thesis is on the topic, "The Anglo-American Nuclear Relationship, 1946 1958". In case you have not al ready guessed, our identical sur· names being a rather large hint, KimberleyJohnston ismy (shud· der, dare I admit it) sister. So, bow did a student from Brisbane Girls' Grammar School become interested in nu clearpolitics? It all began in Miss Williams' History class in grade10 when Kimberley decided that His· tory was iotere.1ing. It was, how· ever, in Dr Siracusa's fint year Ameri<:anm.torycoursethatKim berley became intrigued by atomic diplomacy. Her Ph.D. will take three years to complere, and in the mean lime she ls tutoring in A~ History, which she ls enjoying. She plans to become a University lec turer and perhaps an adviser in nu clear policy after she finishes her Ph.D.

Friends now need your mem bership application and the area you would be willing to assist students so that the database can be kept current. Your applicalion for membership is included in this Gazette. As well as the Alumni reun ions in which cherished memories and old friends are revisited, the network ing side of Friends also includes the Annual Dinner arranged jointly with the Parents and Friends. The Annual Dinner will be held at the Brisbane Sheraton Hotel on the lastThursday of Term 3, on the 14th September. The Sheraton has arranged special accom modation rates for parents ofboarders who want to share this special evening with their daughters before taking them home for the holidays, as well as other Annual Dinner guests. Friends of Girls • Grammar has different and complimentary ob jectives to those of the Old Girls' Association and Parents and Friends. Since its beginning two years ago, Friends has assisted stu dents with career choices, alumni with networking, and staff with a mentor's database . Last year Friends sponsored current year 12 student. Vicky Muller, to attend a Music Summer School allhe Queensland Perform ing Arts Cenlre. Please comple te the included application for membership and indi cate the networking area with which you are willing to assistlhe School and its students.

John Woollen

Do you want to learn what sur geons and nurses do in the operating theatre, how actors and musicians pre pare for that gala .performance, how judges and banisters spend their day, or what goes on behind the scenes at a rock concert? The Friends of Girls' Gram mar is lhe School organisation that will facilitate this exploration of po tential careers . Formed in 1993 to support theOldGirls' and Parents and Friends' Associations, the objectives of the Friends of Girls' Grammar are to establish a mutually supportive net work of members lo further the inter ests of the School and foster a benefi cial relationship between the School's wider community and its students and staff. The sp~cial goal of the Friends ofGirls' Grammar's is the creation of closer links between contemporarystu dents and the School's wider commu nity through a mentoring and network ing system lhat assists careers educa tion. Friends' groups are being created in regional, interstate andoverseas cen tres to assist with this goal. In 1994 · Friends organised Alumni reunions in Melbourne, Sydney and Launceston, arranged the Foundation Day Celebra tion and began establishing a database ofSchool mentors and contacts for the use of our present students and staff. Reunions will again be organised throughout Australia in 1995.

pine forests; eventually giving way to the last of the winter snow, as we trudged towards the pinnacle ofour journey at three thousand three hun dred metres. The saying "what goes up must come down" took on a whole new meaning as we walked up seemingly endless stony stair cases, which left aerobic step classes for dead! The majestic Machhapuchhare mountain and Annapurna range were undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. Sinking into a natural hot spring after six days without a bath ran a close second! We wanted to steer clear of the well-trodden tourist trails, and that is exactly what our support party did. From our guide and por ters we learned so much, and more about ourselves. Believe me, eight days sharing a tent wlth your Dad and brother and you're bound to find out more about them! Thank fully relationship strains were few and far between as we faced the challenges Nepal dished out. There were hurdles in language and land differences, but they made the trip all the more fulfilling. It is hard to sum up a "holi day" like this. Meeting people who had never seen a white trekker be fore was certainly a unique experi ence which has left me grappling for words. As I said to another ex Grammar student who I bumped into in Kathmandu, it is a small world, but one with such vast dif ferences. It's those differences which make travel such an educa tion and exciting pursuit. If there is such a thing as a travel bug, there is little doubt infectious trips like the one to Nepal, have left me with an incurable case.

Vear12,1989

"Namaste"- I can still hear tbe greeting echo when I think of Nepal, its friendly people and the majestic mountains they call home. "Hello, how are you" and warm smiles met our trekking party as we traversed ancient peaks rising shoulder to shoulder with the high est ranges of the Himalaya - the highest and youngest hills on earth. So many asked why my fa lher, brother and I bad our hearts set on exploring this natural won der. In a nutshell, it was a pact we made a decade ago. So many asked if we were prepared. Physically and medically we were. What took us by surprise was the breathtaking beauty of this tiny landlocked coun try; a feast of cultural diversity and religious beliefs. With visa in hand, we dis embarked in Kathmandu early Feb ruary to face a city which, in my father's words, looks like it is re covering from a bomb blast. There is affluence, but you would have to scale guarded walls to gel a glimpse of the Royal Family's opulence. For the majority of the population, life is lived in low-set shanties . Closer to the city heart, home for some is an apartment pack, which looks like it wouldn't fare much better in strong winds. The streets are cluttered with rubbish, livestock and locals. There are people everywhere, jostling for space amongst traders, commuters, and tourists like us. Women wrapped in colourful cloth, line up to collect water for family meals. The luxury of using clean water to wash is not enjoyed by so many. Agriculture continues to dominate the economy; however, the city is luring would-be farmers to try their hand at trading. Be it clothing, carpets or carvings , friendly and cunning, shopkeepers try desperately to haggle, and en tice away your rupee. Their cur rency does not fair well against the Australia dollar, so there are cer tainly bargains to be had from bar tering! I could safely bet that a number of the tenacious young boys we met would give Wall Street's stock exchange sharks a run for their money. Leaving this fascinaling city, we travelled to lhe Annapurna region in central Nepal which was literally a breath of fresh air. Throughout the eight day trek, we talked lO so many wonderful char acters, whose lifestyles are dictated hy Ihe terrain. Terraced slopes trans formed into rugged hills, and lush

Friends in Perth

and father, and then in conjunction with her husband. With the very positive interest expressed both by those Friends who attended , and the many who were un able to, it is certain the Friends of Girls' Grammar will continue to grow and achieve its aims in Western Aus- . tra1ia. Whilst the gathering was small, it was a very positive and friendly afternoon where the Friends shared many memories of B.G.G.S. Friends' Application for Mem

Gillian McAdam

·~

Friends of Girls' Grammar held an inaugural reunion in Perth in March. Nine friends met for afternoon lea, and included seven Old Girls, the daughter of an Old Girl, and one brave Past Father, and many happy and amusing memories were shared. Mrs Rachel Pidgeon (Malian) was voted 'MostHonouredGuest,hav ing started at B.G.G.S. in 1923. Mrs Pidgeon told of her encounters with 'Blossom' Lilley,the science syllabus in the 1920s, ("What we were taught then would fit into an eggshell"), and how she practised dentistry, following the family tradition of her grandfather

bership fonns were offered. and a cou ple were taken. I am certain that, with some follow up, there will develop a small but strong nucleus thai will allow Friends to grow in Perth. The Friends of Girls' Grammar Incorporated ·Application for Membership T.[tle:(Piease indicate) Prof, Dr, Mr,Ms, Mrs, Miss___________ Surname: · Given names:(a!so indicate preferred name)____________ lf·past student, Maiden Name·."_________Years at BGGS____ CurrentAddress:._~----'--o:----------------

(H) (Fax) ---- ------- ____ . ..._ _ ·-· ... ~ --- ~ -- ·· · .... ._ ..... ... .. ------------ .. --- -- ..... -- .... --- -- ----- ----·· - P

Kim and herfather setting off