Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2005

COMMUNITY

afoundationstuderit remembered

Bertha Marie Burdorff was born in Queensland in 1861, and attended

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Brisbane Girls Grammar School from 1875 to 1878. Her younger sister Matilda also attended Gills Grammar

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circumstances of the School's foundation 130 years ago: the desire for excellence and the desire to facilitate opportunity for all. Intertwined like the strands of a steel cable, these noble ambitions live on in the everyday life of the School and give its mission strength and flexibility. Girls with all kinds of gifts and abilities may change the world - even just their own - for the better. I remember seeing news coverage of a speech Bathara Bush gave to a women's college in the United States several years ago. She closed by saying 'someone in this very theatre may one day become spouse to a future President of the United States. ' Oh dear, a faux pas? Then the denouement: '... and I'd like to take the opportunity of wishing him the best of luck. ' Of course, this brought the house down The culture in this School is about excellence, equality and opportunity - there is 00 doubt about this now in 2005, and our girls are still very industrious and mostly charming. I am not sure what Sir Charles Lilley would make of such comments as those made by Barbara Bush or what he would make of our girls if he were to wander through the grounds at lunch time or visit classrooms in action. 11 does not really matter. What does matter is that by understanding the principles by which this School was founded, our young women will use their education and appreciation of human diversity to imagine how things can be different as well as the faith and courage to make it happen. I've changed the gender specificity of the original quotation but George Bernard Shaw might have been describing our ethos when he wrote these words: "Some women see things the way they are and ask 'why'. We see things the way they could be and ask 'why not'"

Bertha was the first w man to be awarded the Fairfax Prize from the University of Sydney. This prize is given to the student who obtained the highes aggregate marks. in 1880 Bertha became an assistant mistress at Girls Grammar and in 1883 left the School to travel to Europe, to attend the Leipsic Conservatorium of Music. On returning to Brisbane she

established a secondary school for girls Bertha was very active in supporting her old School, and was President of the Old Girls Association in 1900. She died in 1925 in November 2004 the grave of Bertha arie Burdorfi, was restored at Toowong Cemetery funded by the generous support of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School Old Girls Association.

afittingadditiontotheSchool's fineartscollectio

At the 2003 Centenary of Women's Suffrage in Australia Dinner the School bought a limited edition print of the 'Trust the Women Mother poster. The original poster created by Australian suffragette, Dora Meeson Coates was used in suffrage processionsin 1908 and 1911 in London where Australian and New Zealand women supported their British counterparts in their efforts to win the right to vote. This particular print is signed on the back by former Senator Margaret Revnolds, who, as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women during Australia's Bicentennial Celebrations in 1988 presented the original hand-painted banner to Bob Hawk. This limited print was personally presented to Queensland's own in jinitable Dr Dale Spender for her significant efforts in finding and securing the original banner for Australia from the Fawcett Library in London, where Dr Spender served for many years as honorary librarian. it was Dr Spender who donated

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the print to be sold at the Centenary of Women's Sufirege dinner to raise funds for the most worthy organisation, Second Chance, fighting homelessness amongst Brisbane women - a charity actively supported by our School community.

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